A cultural framework

A cultural framework Abstract This report is about how a cultural framework can affect a project success. What is meant by this is that you need to have a good project manager and project team in order for a project to meet deadlines and stay on budget. This report analysis and critiques what has been found in the article was conducted by Korin Kendra of Detroit and Laura Taplin of Canada. They analysed the data that was found form a Standish Group survey on project successes and failures this was conducted in the year 2000. The survey found that overall there is a project failure rate of 72 percent. Of the 28 percent it was found that 92 percent of these successes were due to assigned project managers, 58 percent used a defined measurement system and 46 percent used a project management methodology. The study concluded that the main reason for failure was due to the lack of good working relationships. Kendra and Taplin conducted their study by collecting data using an interview protocol they explored the organiz ations design elements, social and technical structures in the proposed success model developed in this study. From the information that they gathered they managed to draw out 5 main themes/conclusions these are, Theme 1: Project Management competences exist at the project manger level in the organization. Theme 2: Project success requires the employment of management process from the project management, system development, supplier management and business planning to be successful. Theme 3: Organizational structures at the project team level are the key to project success. The project structure is important to the success of the project because it determines the project manager level of authority, skills and competencies of the team and the dynamics of the group. Theme 4: Performance measurement systems metrics are defined at the individual, project and organizational level to evaluate project success. Theme 5: Organizational culture determines the importance of project manager com petencies, performance measurements, business process that are employed to perform project work and project organization structures to project success. 1. Background The topic for this article is project success in a cultural framework. This article was written by Korin Kendra of Detroit and Laura Taplin of Canada in April 2004. This report main point is how a cultural frame work can affect project success. What is meant by a cultural frame work is the background and the work ethics of the people involved of the project. This article was conducted to analysis the data that was found form a Standish Group survey on project successes and failures this was conducted in the year 2000. The survey found that overall there is a project failure rate of 72 percent. Of the 28 percent it was found that 92 percent of these successes were due to assigned project managers, 58 percent used a defined measurement system and 46 percent used a project management methodology. The study concluded that the main reason for failure was due to the lack of good working relationships. This conclusion left was question of what is required in a good cultural framework to mak e a project successful. Kendra and Taplin choose to investigate this question and wrote this article. The authors definition of a project success in the IT industry is that a project must have numerous success factors that contribute such as the project being on time, within budget and of good quality. 2. Method Data was collected using an interview protocol they explored the organizations design elements, social and technical structures in the proposed success model developed in this study. The inquiry focused on the organizations culture, project manager competencies, organizational structure design, performance measurement systems and the supporting business process employed in the change efforts to adopt project management. All interviews were conducted in the year 2001 and reflected past, present and future change efforts. The data was the analysed qualitatively using a grounded theory approach and inferential coding to identify the common themes and cultural values that form linkages between project manager competencies, performance measurement systems, process and structures. 3. Critique 3.1 Data are gathered in a scientific manner Data was gathered using an interview process to me this is not a very scientific manner although it is still a very good data collecting technique. They still gathered all the information that was required for the study. 3.2 Underlying assumptions are clear From what I had read the authors didnt really have many assumptions. All the data that they used was already gathered so assumptions were not necessary. Although their main assumption would have been that a cultural framework can affect a project success to which this assumption was very clear and easy to understand. 3.3 Overall Conclusions 3.3.1 What conclusions are drawn by the authors In this article the authors describe five main conclusions/themes that they have discovered. In their research, Kendra and Taplin (2004) established Theme 1: Project Management competences exist at the project manger level in the organization Theme 2: Project success requires the employment of management process from the project management, system development, supplier management and business planning to be successful. Theme 3: Organizational structures at the project team level are the key to project success. The project structure is important to the success of the project because it determines the project manager level of authority, skills and competencies of the team and the dynamics of the group. Theme 4: Performance measurement systems metrics are defined at the individual, project and organizational level to evaluate project success. Theme 5: Organizational culture determines the importance of project manager competencies, performance measurements, business process that are employed to perform project work and project organization structures to project success. 3.3.2 Are these conclusions valid Yes in my opinion is think that all these conclusions are valid as they all hold the main requirements for a project to be successful it is important to note that theme one and three are very important as they both hold valid points of how a team need to form together in order for a project to be successful. 3.4 The authors have some academic or professional standing Korin Kendra is a professor in the college of Management at Lawrence Technological University. She has a masters in industrial engineering and information systems, also has a PHD in organizational development. Kendra is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) Laura Taplin has her masters and PHD in organizational development she is also a certified Management Consultant (CMC). In this article both authors are highly qualified and have gained qualifications in relevant fields to their research. 3.5 The writing is clearly and correctly references its sources This article is very easy to read and explains most things in great detail. All information that refers to other persons work its referenced correctly at the bottom of the paragraph or inserted citations. I found that this piece was easier to read due to most information was grouped into topics rather than all together. 4. References Kendra, K., Taplin, L. (2004). Project Success: A Cultural Framework. Project Management Journal, 30-45.

Investment Portfolio Analysis

B6201 – Investments/portfolio theory| Investment Portfolio Analysis| Course Project Task 6| | Crystal Watkins| 10/17/2012| This paper will Identify and explain the major factors driving the market during this week. It will also identify and explain causes of changes in the market and the index. As well as developed investment objectives and defined risk tolerance levels. I will also include a snap shot of my investments and an explanation of why I choose those particular companies. |The trends that I noticed that were going on with my investments this week were: * Apple – Apple  has asked  Foxconn  to tighten quality control measures while manufacturing the iPhone 5 after complaints of scratches on the device’s body, and that has worsened  its supply shortfall. Stricter benchmarks are affecting production of the anodized aluminum housing used in the device, delaying orders for the  phone,  Bloomberg  said. Apple consumers started complaining of nick s and scrapes to the body of the new phone soon after its launch last month, with some saying there were scratches even before the device was unpacked.While the company said in response to the complaints that it was â€Å"normal† for an aluminum product to â€Å"scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color,†Ã‚  internally, it expressed its displeasure to Foxconn. (Rathee, 2012) * Microsoft – Microsoft  is  reportedly  bringing its flagship product, Microsoft Office to both Apple and  Google's  Android-based devices. This comes from Microsoft's Czech Republic Team, and Petr Bobek, a Microsoft Office productivity manager.Microsoft has been hesitant in the past to bring its software outside of the Windows ecosystem, with the noted exception of haphazard versions of Microsoft Office being available for Mac. Bringing Office to iOS and Android, the two dominant mobile operating systems, would be a change in philosophy for Microsoft. (Ciaccia, 2012) * Johnson & Johnson – The delay for Eliquis is perhaps not unexpected given the size of the trial and the mass of data collected. No matter, it is widely believed to be more efficacious and safer than its  Johnson & Johnson’s  Xarelto and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Pradaxa.If approved, it will likely see strong sales growth. The delay will no doubt please JNJ shareholders whose rival drug Xarelto is only just establishing sales. Its partner Bayer has been forecasting peak sales of over Euro 2 billion for Xarelto even after the FDA refused to expand its indications. If these sorts of numbers are baked into JNJ’ forecasts and Eliquis (if approved) starts to grab market share then this will be a blow. (Samaha, 2012) * Pfizer – Pfizer had four major events expected. It had one success (Inlyta), one failure (bapineuzumab) and two delays.As ever with pharma the patience of a Saint is needed. The two biggest drugs (Eliquis and Tofacitinib) saw poten tial approvals delayed until November and March next year respectively. Both are expected to be blockbusters. (Samaha, 2012) * Nike – Corporate Responsibility Magazine has named Nike one of its top corporate citizens. The magazine ranked the Top 10 Best Corporate Citizens  in categories including consumer items, consumer stables, energy and health care. Nike topped the consumer items list, sharing the honor with Mattel and Gap.The rankings were determined using public data related to companies' responses to climate change, employee relations, environment, governance and human rights, among other variables. [ (Journal, 2012) ] * Sprint – Sprint Nextel Corp. ’s Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse, who took over in December 2007, has worked to fix the mess he was handed after Sprint’s $36 billion acquisition of Nextel in 2005 failed, causing 3. 1 million subscribers to leave the carrier. Now he says that Sprint is on track to return to the black in 2014. Wal l Street has shown increasing faith.Sprint shares are up more than 122% this year, but Hesse is quick to qualify his optimism. I tell the team here, â€Å"You’re not going to see any mission  accomplished  signs anywhere on this campus. †? Bloomberg Business Week reported, that this is a long process. (Marin, 2012) * Verizon – Earlier in the year, wireless carrier  Verizon said  it was planning on expanding its 4G LTE coverage to span over 400 markets by year's end. That was an aggressive goal considering it started the year with only about 190, meaning it was looking to more than double that figure in just one year.Turns out that Big Red wasn't just being overly ambitious, and is actually reaching that goal ahead of time. Speaking at MobileCon, a conference all about mobile IT, Verizon CTO Nicola Palmer said  the carrier is launching LTE in a handful of markets on Oct. 18, bringing its total tally up to a whopping 417, further extending its LTE lead a gainst rivals  AT;T  and  Sprint Nextel. (Evan Niu, 2012) * Target – Radio Shack's partnership with  Target Corp. to place its employees in Target electronics departments is a money-losing deal that Radio Shack should consider ending.The deal, signed in 2009 and  expanded upon in 2011, hasn't replaced the revenue generated by an earlier agreement Radio Shack had to run kiosks in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Radio Shack's Target business lost $17 million more than it did in 2010, Chai said. But the two companies are apparently working to improve things. Radio Shack's kiosks now get placement in Target circulars, and Radio Shack is boosting training of its staff. [ (Journal S. P. , 2012) ] * Wal-Mart – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the world’s largest retailer, rose to the highest ever after the company’s U.S. merchandising head said the back-to-school season was â€Å"very strong. † The shares climbed 3. 3 percent to $76. 59 at 12:46 p. m. in New York af ter earlier reaching $76. 73, the highest intraday price since its initial public offering in 1970. The stock also gained after  Costco Wholesale Corp. posted fiscal fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates. Costco rose 3. 5 percent to $103. 08. (Townsend, 2012) * Toyota – Toyota  is issuing a safety recall for 7. 43 million vehicles across the globe. The Japanese car manufacturer said 2. million of the vehicles with potential window problems are in the U. S. The issue involves the power window master switches of some of the company's most well-known brands, including Camry and Corolla sedans and RAV4 sport utility vehicles, built between 2005 and 2010. Toyota  said in a press release that commercial lubricating agents applied to a â€Å"sticky† window switch could potentially melt the switch or even cause a fire. [ (Carroll, 2012) ] Dow  Ã‚  0. 95%  Nasdaq  Ã‚  1. 21% Your portfolios: WatkinsC Total Value $1,001,095. 54 Today's Change 7 ,944. 81  0. 80% SYMBOL| PRICE| CHG  ;  % CHG| 52-WK RANGE| SHARES| MKT VALUE| GAIN  ;  % GAIN| AAPL| 649. 7925| 15. 03| +2. 37%| 363. 32| 705. 07| 150| $97,468. 87|   $15,001,156. 13|   99. 35%| JNJ| ^69. 55| 0. 95| +1. 38%| 61. 05| 69. 80| 1,464| $101,821. 20|   $146,113,831. 92|   99. 93%| MSFT| 29. 49| -0. 02| -0. 07%| 24. 30| 32. 95| 3,247| $95,754. 03|   $324,418,062. 99|   99. 97%| NKE| 97. 24| 1. 63| +1. 70%| 85. 10| 114. 81| 990| $96,267. 60|   $98,795,822. 40|   99. 90%| PFE| ^25. 80| 0. 23| +0. 90%| 18. 15| 25. 92| 4,144| $106,915. 0|   $414,099,477. 12|   99. 97%| S| ^5. 69| 0. 00| +0. 00%| 2. 10| 6. 04| 19,493| $110,915. 17|   $1,949,171,346. 20|   99. 99%| TGT| 62. 90| 1. 09| +1. 76%| 47. 25| 65. 80| 1,549| $97,432. 10|   $154,687,926. 41|   99. 94%| TM| 77. 32| 1. 11| +1. 46%| 60. 37| 87. 15| 1,222| $94,485. 04|   $121,996,414. 80|   99. 92%| VZ| 44. 08| -0. 42| -0. 94%| 35. 32| 48. 77| 2,207| $97,284. 56|   $220,552,175. 14 |   99. 96%| WMT| ^76. 91| -0. 24| -0. 31%| 54. 81| 77. 60| 1,336| $102,751. 76|   $133,318,224. 24|   99. 92%| Total| | | | | | | $1,001,095. 4|   $3,578,154,437. 34|   99. 97%| The above chart is a snap-shot of my portfolio for the week of October 17th as you can see I made a 0. 80% increase or $7,944. 81  cash profit since my initial investment, which is a $ 7069. 02 positive difference and a huge increase from last week’s profits. Works Cited Carroll, D. (2012, October 10). Toyota Recalls 7. 43 Million Vehicles. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from The Mootley Fool: http://www. fool. com/investing/general/2012/10/10/toyota-recalls-743-million-vehicles-globally. spx Ciaccia, C. (2012, October 10). Here's Microsoft's Most Bullish Move in Years. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from The Street: http://www. thestreet. com/story/11733394/1/heres-microsofts-most-bullish-move-in-years. html? puc=yahoo;cm_ven=YAHOO Evan Niu, C. (2012, October 10). Verizon's Big Red Footprint G ets Bigger. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from The Mootley Fool: http://www. fool. com/investing/general/2012/10/10/verizons-big-red-footprint-gets-bigger. aspx Journal, P. B. (2012, October 9). Nike on ‘Best Corporate

Family Collaboration in Special Education Essay - 1018 Words

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Schindlers Market Expansion Strategy in India Best...

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