Finding and Evaluating Business Opportunities Case Study - 1

Finding and Evaluating Business Opportunities - Case Study Example From a detailed case study, it is identified that original KIPP schools in Huston and New York are successful. Huston and New York schools enrolled approximately 300 and 200 students respectively by the end of 1998. It was a great achievement in the American educational history since majority students had been giving little attention to their education till that period. The KIPP schools admit children by blind lottery without considering their prior achievement, special education needs, or bilingual status. In addition, this program forces the parents and students to sign KIPP commitment forms and documents that clearly define various duties and responsibilities of teachers, students, and parents. These practices are the most notable elements of their operational model that set them apart from standard schools. However, the efficient management strategies raised the KIPP schools to the position of charter schools that they received funding and oversight directly from Texas Education Agency. The KIPP schools possess a good culture as the sustained commitment of students, teachers, and parents became the hallmark of the schools. As a result, the school management could ensure the active participation of parents in this education program. Academic discipline is one of the most prominent qualities that the KIPP schools managements do not like to compromise with. In addition to the academic growth, the KIPP schools also aim at the overall development of each student as an individual. The schools give great emphasis on the recruitment of qualified teachers, and it has largely contributed to the overall success of the KIPP schools. The teachers are given the freedom to practice their own instructional styles and techniques and that makes the KIPP schools different from other public schools. However, above all, the creative strategic formulation of Mike Feinberg and David Levin was the central factor that intensified the rapid growth of KIPP schools. II. In my opinion, KIPP schools must be replicated since their initial ventures were successful. Although, the replication strategy assists the KIPP schools to expand largely, this process would raise numerous challenges to the management. For instance, Feinberg and Levin faced a series of challenges when they planned to launch their middle school program. They engaged in different phases of negotiations in order to get legal sanction from authorities. The same issue may become a barrier to KIPP school replication program also. While carrying out the proposed program, it is necessary to recruit new principals and train them efficiently. It would be a cumbersome task for Feinberg and Levin to ensure improved training packages for these new recruits. Presently, revenue for both schools is gained from public funds controlled either by school districts or state agencies. Since major portion of KIPP schools’ economic needs are financed by governmental authorities, the KIPP schools do not face finan cial crisis. However, the replicated schools may not get adequate financial assistance from government and such a situation would adversely affect this program. Lack of building facilities may also mitigate the effectiveness of new replication program. In addition, the new replication program would meet difficulty in recruiting sufficient fresh batches of fifth graders. Although the initial KIPP school programs are successful, if the students do not give enough priority to their education, it may adversely affect the basic objective of the proposed program. III. It is advisable for Feinberg, Levin, and Hamilton to design a specific path for the implementation of the proposed p

Are some cultures inherently incompatible to democracy Essay

Are some cultures inherently incompatible to democracy - Essay Example However, there was a substantial drawback after Mussolini took power in Italy, and this led to reversal of gains made towards democracy. The number of democratic states reduced significantly in the world to 12 (Huntington, 1993). This was revived after allies won the World War II. This led to a second wave of democratization with 36 countries being governed democratically (Huntington, 1993). Likewise, there was a reverse wave, and the number of democracies came back to 30 (Huntington, 1993). Currently, the third wave is in operation. There are crucial factors that have contributed to the occurrence and timing of third wave move to democracy. Firstly, it is caused by the deepening legitimacy problem of authoritarian regimes in a world where democratic principles are widely accepted. Many people depended on the success of such regimes, but they have been recently faced by the inability to achieve and present economic support. Secondly, the economic success of the 1960 prompted the deve lopment of urban middle class in the majority of the countries. Thirdly, there was a modification of catholic ideologies from the maintenance of the status quo and condemnation of authoritarianism (Huntington, 1993). Fourth, there was external pressure mainly from European Community, the United States, and the Soviet Union (Owen 2002). Lastly, protest has played a key role for subsequent efforts at democratization (Ranker, L. et al. 2007). T

Presentation diagnostic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Presentation diagnostic - Essay Example In this presentation, there was no room for the audience to have doubts regarding essentiality of the product. In terms of benefits, there existed a strategic explanation of the product’s advantages o to the purchasing managers. There was a demonstration of various benefits, which departments would accrue by taking the product as one of their lines of operation. I also demonstrated cost benefits to the managers in relation to the prices that they will charge to their respective final consumers. There was also a demonstration regarding the maintenance simplicity of the product, which will be a benefit to the firm. In practice, an organization results to adopting products that will provide maximum benefits in terms of costs. My benefits captured all the necessary cost issues that would allure purchasing managers to adopt the product. There was also efficient way of dealing with the objections of the clients in different ways with the intention of the distributing department main tain the firm’s reputation. This is via availing probable visual presentation of some of their questions and trying to offer answers though the audience had the chance to inquire for more expounding. This is especially applications of the specific product in real life situation whereby the audience intended to know. The use quotes of some of the management practitioners also provided a ground to win the attention of the purchasing managers. Additionally, efficient application of research work to challenge any objection of the audience also made a fundamental part towards my success though not much compared to what I had expected. The other way that was applicable in my presentation encompassed adopting a convincing tone with the intention of convincing the audience to accept my point of argument. 2.3 Past experience in presentation in relation to performance and communication orientation I have had the experience of presenting in one of the famous contests. This was my first experience where I presented about Beatles and rolling stones, which took a long period while trying to prepare myself appropriately. Before the real presentation, I experienced bouts of fear and nervousness due to the fact public presentation has not been my favorite until I tried it with Beatles and rolling stones. This enabled me to gain essential skills in presenting, which encompassed knowledge on how to win audience’s trust while on the stage. The real task while on stage taught me varied aspects on how to handle each presentation so that in future they will turn out to be successful. This is especially through comments, which I received in the first presentation that helped me in evaluating my weaknesses while addressing the audience. One of the evaluators who attended the presentation commented on my dressing in the earlier presentation. 2.4 Motley’s presentation strategies Motley who is communication practitioner identified some elements that might not be nece ssary when performing visual presentation. Among these factors encompassed memorization of a representation known as an inevitable aspect for any presenter in shunning common mistakes when selling his or her idea to respective audience. Motley cited the mastery of content is necessary but memorization will be like proving of facts in communication. Therefore, presentation ought to flow naturally in order to heighten

Guantanamo Bay Closing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Guantanamo Bay Closing - Essay Example In 2002, more than hundreds of Afghani prisoners were detained in this prison and did not have any rights, which were defined by the Geneva Conventions. However, they were given minimum rights in the year 2006 (Londras, 52). This paper seeks to analyze and investigate the 'Guantanamo Bay closing", it impact on U.S security and international security, in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources. After the September eleventh attack on United States, detention camp was made at Guantanamo base for detainees who were believed to be terrorists. After the U.S invasion in Afghanistan, majority of the suspected Afghani terrorists were move into Guantanamo detention camp(Fletcher, 125). These prisoners were considered to be the associated with Al Qaeda. Guantanamo Bay served as a detention center, where these prisoners were interrogated in order to get information on future terrorist attacks and to track down other terrorists groups. Donald Rumsfeld, the Defense Secretary, had authorized special interrogative methods which were used to compel the detainees to give information regarding terrorist groups and their activities. This was done in order to prevent international terrorism. However, methods such as invading prisoner's privacy, chaining them, exposing them to humiliation, etc were used for interrogation (Fletcher, 129). These acts were subjected to severe criticism. Media, human rights activists and peacekeepers severely criticized these methods and declared them inhumane practices, which violated human rights. In the year 2006, former President George Bush declared that suspected terrorists would be held at Guantanamo Prison. However, minimum rights were given to these prisoners (Mariner, 312). In 2009, President Barack Obama became the President of United States and took measures to close the Guantanamo Bay's prison (Brophy-Baermann & Conybeare, 200). United States of America is considered to be the country, which believes in liberty and human rights. According to critics, the methods devised by Donald Rumsfeld in order to break silence of the prisoners were inhumane and barbaric and they violated basic human rights. Prisoners were forced to wear female underwear on their heads, chained, lashed or exploited sexually so that they break their silence (Fletcher, 131). The military had the authority to use these methods in order to gain information on terrorists groups and activities. According to media reports, these strategies were specially devised for these detainees and were considered to be general procedure for interrogators. Reports also indicate these interrogators threatened detainees if they didn't cooperate with them. Several human right organizations believed that this was violation of human rights. Arguments against Guantanamo Bay Closing Although more than billion of innocent people are subjected to inhumane treatment and tyranny by governments of different countries such as Sudan, China, Somalia, etc, majority of human rights organization have concentrated on Guantanamo Bay Prison. It has been subjected to severe criticism because it had introduced special methods for interrogation. Although it has violated human rights, proponents have failed to articulate a rational and practical rationale for its closing.

Network Design Consultation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Network Design Consultation - Essay Example As for the server Windows server 2008 operating system would have to be installed, this is because the server would be used to manage the entire network. Because Windows Server 2008 is well designed to configure the networks as well as manage files and security settings it will be then recommended as compares to convectional operating systems because it has been optimized to manage a networked environment. To ensure the security of the network from outside intrusion a firewall would be most essential to handle cases of outside intrusion (Davis, 2004). In this case the option of using the inbuilt firewalls that come with the operating system may be used or alternatively a third party firewall maybe procured. For the network to operate a suitable network architecture has to be put into consideration (Hallberg, 2010). In this case a star topology will deployed due to the following reasons: first of all since the network would be managed centrally, cases on interruption upon a nodes’ failure would not disrupt the entire network. Secondly a star topology allows for easy expansion, for instance a technique called daisy chaining can be deployed whereby another switch can be connected to the main switch as another node and serve as a center of a second star topology (Sean Walberg, 2010). Since in this case one topology is deployed our network infrastructure will be illustrated as follows. The device wireless access point will have to be enabled so that the router can propagate wires signals. Secondly SSID (Service Set Identifier) will have to be set to default as well as allow for broadcast of SSID to associate in order to allow for wireless devices to detect the network when they come within range. Chanel settings allows one to select between the available channels offered by the router in our case 11 channels are available, this is

Reasons for Travel Essay Example for Free

Reasons for Travel Essay More and more people all over the world prefer to spend their holidays travelling. Rich or poor, old or young, they strive to leave the place where they live or work, and move to another spot of our planet — at least for two to four weeks a year. They travel to cities and towns, mountains and lakes, across oceans and seas. There are several reasons why the popularity of travel and tourism is growing. The first one is educational value of travelling. Man has always moved from one place to another in search of knowledge. Even now, in the age of technology and global communication, travelling to a different region or country can help discover new ideas, technologies and inventions. The best way of studying geography is travelling, the best way to help you master a foreign language is travelling, too. Moreover, a special kind of tourism has developed, called educational tourism when people travel to study a foreign language or to take up a course in one or several other subjects. The second reason why people travel is entertainment and rest. To see great buildings and natural wonders, listen to national music, get some knowledge about traditions and ways of different countries, taste new cuisine gives us new emotions, helps drive away the stress. Thirdly, there are special reasons. A lot of new types of travelling have appeared like ecotourism, educational tourism, sports tourism. A lot of people travel on business. Now, with the growth of international trade people have a lot of chances to do business with foreign partners, and they do it willingly. Some people have additional reasons to like travelling. When travelling, they do sports, or take care of their health, or get new contacts.

A Dialog Axiata Plc Management Essay

A Dialog Axiata Plc Management Essay Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lankas largest communications service provider is a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad. Dialog being the 4th entrant to Sri Lankas cellular market launched its services in 1995. They were the first digital network in South Asia to launch HSPA + which is the latest upgrade in mobile broadband. In addition to communication service, the company also offers other services such as mobile, internet, international gateway, data and backbone, fixed wireless and media related services and has 200 value added services. The company is currently serving over 7.5 million local subscribers and is the 50% market leader in this industry. They have the widest coverage reaching 95% of the population and are the only operator to cover all the districts. They have 500 salesmen on the ground along with a strong service team of 1000 staff over 125 service centre and 50,000 retailer networks. They are also the highest FD Investor in Sri Lanka. 1.2- Why is Dialog selected Dialog is one of the most reputed companies in Sri Lanka with a highly diversified group of employees where they would definitely have cross cultural issues. In addition, they have been undergoing ongoing strategic as well as transformation changes which as a result would rise to conflicts at the different levels of the hierarchy. Therefore being a large and reputed company, Dialog stands as a challenging company in the competitive market. 2- Culture at Dialog Every organization has its own culture which refers to the beliefs, ideologies, principles and also the values that the individuals of the organization share. The culture plays a vital role in the success of the organization. When it comes to Dialog, the company has adopted a very open and transparent culture where they have embodied honesty and open communication. Transparency is maintained at all levels where superiors are easily available to the subordinates. The corporate culture of the company fits to Adaptability as well as achievement oriented which emphasize winning and achieving specific ambitious goals and the company values competitiveness and personal imitativeness. Dialog is a company that is also working for the benefits of the staff. The company has a dress code policy to make the office attire equal within the staff. Staff birth days are also celebrated at the company level where the relevant departments forward the staff birthday list to HR Department on the 1st week of the month where the staff will get a gift along with an e-card. And they have a policy like staff that comes up with innovative ideas a recognized on a quarterly basis where they are provided with a reward named BRAVO in a special meeting. Obviously the above actions on the company side will lead to high motivation and increase productivity level of the staff. 2.1- Hofstedes Model Diagram 1: Hofstedes cultural 4 dimension Model Power Distance Although Sri Lanka scores high on this dimension, Dialog is more towards the low power distance. They have a decentralized hierarchy where employees and subordinates do not show inequality much. The superiors or the Management team are willing and they trust the subordinates with important jobs. Individualism vs Collectivism Dialog falls towards the collectivism, because the people in the company have stronger bonds to their groups. Masculinity vs Feminity In Dialog its more like a combination of both as this would help them for a balanced approach. They value achievement and competitiveness as well as money and power. However, they also value people and maintain good relationship with them. Uncertainty Avoidance / structured situations At Dialog, the degree of uncertainty avoidance is low. The company always welcomes for new things and changes, and embrace unpredictable situations. The company is very flexible and open to new approaches or ideas. 3- Changes in Dialog During the past, Dialog Company has undergone several Strategic as well as Operational Changes. However, in this assignment only the following recent changes are being explained; Outsourced Call Centre to Firstsource Solutions (2011) During 2011, Dialog entered into a partnership with the BPO service provider Firstsource Solutions where Firstsouce acquired 76% shares of the Dialog Company. The new company was named as Firstsource Dialog Solutions. Acquired Suntel Ltd (2012) Dialog acquired Suntel Ltd, Sri Lankas second largest wireless fixed line operator during 2012. The main reason behind this change was to eliminate one of their main competitors from the market. As a result of the change, Suntels former customer base plus all the employees were transferred to Dialog. Outsourced SAP to Attune Lanka (2012) Business set-up Over the Top Service (2012) During 2012, Dialog opened its largest hi-tech Customer Service Centre in Colombo, where they brought in 150 customer service professions trained in multiple technologies. 3.1- Resistance to Change overcoming resistance Despite the potential positive outcomes, change is often resisted at both the individual and the organizational level (Mullins, 1999). When Dialog brought the above mentioned changes as mentioned in Clause 3 above, the company faced resistances from the employees. However they overcame the main problems and issues as mentioned below; Resistance to Change Overcoming Resistance Suntel employees adapting to Dialog culture Suntel Ltd and Dialog were having two different types of corporate culture. So when Suntel Ltd was brought under Dialog, employees who were working for Suntel had a very difficult time adjusting to Dialogs new culture. As such they were given briefings, training sessions, and were well educated. Employee ranking / salary structure issues When Suntels former employees were brought to Dialog, there were some problems relating to the rankings or position levels and even with the salary structure. Therefore Dialog mapped every staff to the level and was given a probation period of 3 months with given tasks and targets. So if the relevant employee was able to perform to the expected level they were given the same position they had in Suntel. Staff transfer (Dialog Brand loyalty) When Dialogs card centre staffs were transferred to SAP, some issues were raised because people who have been working for Dialog for a long time felt bad and also they didnt actually want to leave Dialog since they felt some kind of proudness working in Dialog. However, Dialog Management convinced the staff that they would not lose anything and will get all the benefits and additional opportunities for their career development. Staff de-motivation effective communication (peers to HR) Security in the past Obviously moving to a new company would feel confused and unsecured about the new environment. In the case of Suntel Staff, they felt that they might not be able to perform well or might even lose the job. Therefore Dialog offered a job guarantee letter confirming that their jobs are not at risk. But any how they were well informed that if anyone who cannot perform to the expected level would be withdrawn from the job. 3.2- John Kotters Change Process Diagram 1: John Kotters 8 steps theory model When we look at the John Kotters change model, Dialog also initially created a sense of urgency when they underwent changes. They convinced the employees the importance of acting immediately due to high competitiveness. Also they formed a powerful group to lead the change effort and encourage the group and created a vision where they communicated with the entire employees. In order to reach the vision, they tried to remove the obstacles that might undermine the vision and encourage risk taking ideas. 3.3- Human Resources Role Human Resource is the backbone of any company and it is their duty to minimize the resistance and make the change a successful one. In Dialogue HR was very certain in properly communicating the employees about the change and ensured that there would be no harm done to any staff and as per the labour law, all the right of the employees were delivered. Even when they took over Suntel, the former staffs service period was counted on a continuing basis. For example if an employee had served Suntel for a period of 6 years, then they had counted from the 7th year when the staff joined Dialog 3.4- Force Field Analysis Force field analysis is a technique by Kurt Lewin that can be applied in a team building program. When we look at the Dialog side, the listed driving forces help the company to achieve their targets or goals. On the other hand restricting forces make it difficult to reach their targets. Some of the major critical factors in the restraining forces that the company is not able control are the high energy cost. For example, the Sri Lankan market is yet to grow but cost is very high 4- Conflicts in Dialog Problems will obviously arise in an environment where diversified people are working and especially if two companies with two different cultures are merged. In Dialog case, most of the conflict arises at the individual levels mainly due to difference in their personal views since some might think the change as a positive thing while others might take it as a threat or risk for them. Also several issues rose because Suntel staff had the feeling that they might be treated unequally or they might not get all the rights what Dialog company staffs already had. 4.1- Sources of conflicts During the change process, several conflicts raised in Dialgue which was mainly due to the following reasons; Nature of work activities When we take company buys but the Company the sales staff do all the documentation promising to give the service within two days. But if they do not hear from the company and technical staff Information not passed properly Communication barriers as difficulties in communicating to all levels of the staff can cause misunderstanding and as a result may create problems especially at the very lower level staff. For example Messenger level staff would not be able to access to intra-net plus they might not be able to understand internal memos or notices written in foreign language). Differences in perception Also different peoples perception would be different. Some may feel that merging the two companies would be obviously an opportunity for their career improvement while other might take it as a huge threat. Uncertainty of Job Security conflicts occurred.. 4.1- Effects of conflicts Conflict situations sometimes can be taken as a positive thing depending on the situation. However, some of the main negative effects of conflicts are; Stress De-motivation Absenteeism (5%) Staff turnover (5%) 4.1- Resolving conflicts When it comes to conflict within the company, Dialog takes all the relevant actions at the right time to avoid unnecessary fights and disagreements. This is because they believe that it would hugely affect the productivity level of the employees. The company has a written code of conduct where every employee follows and is aware about the companies policies and procedures. When handling conflicts, the matter is first discussed at the supervisor or the relevant department level and thereafter then line Manager. If the matter is still not solved then the issue is raised to the HR Dept and further to Senior Management level. In worst cases, Arbitrators are invited to solve the problem if required. When it comes to the procedures, first the staff is negotiated verbally and if that does not help, written explanation as well as enquiries is done. However if all these actions do not work then written warnings are also given. 5- Change Management through organization learning 51- Single Loop Double Loop Learning model As per the model, Dialog uses the two ways to learn from their experience; Single Loop Learning The company takes corrective action to avoid or resolve a mistake but does not go deep into the matter. Double Loop Learning This is where the company looks into the root of the problem to find the underlying cause of the problem. 6- Conclusion Based on the above information and extensive research done, it may be concluded that the company has a very open and transparent culture. In addition, it is successful in managing culture, change and conflict. This is because Dialog Company has a set procedure for everything as per their Code of Conduct. Further when a new staff joins or is recruited, the staff will be provided with a clearly written job description so that everybody would know what is their role and what is expected from them. 7- Recommendations Although the company is successful in managing change and conflicts, the following recommendations would enable the company more Build an innovative platform to encourage creativity among staff Although staff is given the opportunity to come up with innovative ideas, at the moment the company does not have a special department When outsourcing give more choice to employees to choose their own way When outsourcing we feel that the staff should be given a chance to choose what is best for them. For example in case when card centre of Dialog was outsourced, they were not given any chance for their own views whether they want a transfer to another department within Dialog or want to join the new company. If they should have given the chance or at least got some feedback, then they might not have felt negative. Introduce job enrichment to motivate the staffs At the moment there is no job rotation or job enrichment programes within the company. However, if job enrichment programme is introduced, the staff would feel more motivated and responsible for their work. It would enable them to try new tasks and stretch their skills beyond what they have been doing all the time. Go GREEN In order to reduce the companys high energy cost, it can go to solar panels