Project Management Sydney Water Company

Introduction The essay is a case study analysis for project management of Sydney Water Company. The company decided to develop a project that would improve its customer services.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Project Management: Sydney Water Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The first section entails the pre-contract planning, business and functional requirements. The second part highlights the tracking of the project against the business case. The third part is on project planning and key milestones. The final part is a table on PMBOK knowledge areas. Pre-contract Planning, Business Requirements and Functional Requirements With regard to pre-contract planning. Sydney Water unveiled the importance of the Customer Information Billing System (CIBS) project to its operations. The project would make the customer services better, supplement the existing information systems and provide efficiency in business. This is how important the CIBS project would have been to the organization. The company did not carry out sufficient planning and specifications regarding the project. This later on resulted to numerous requests for changes and eventually led to colossus extra costs and delays. Prior to getting into the contract with Price Water Coopers, a competent project team should have been set up to do the work. This should have comprised of one member with intimate knowledge in the subject of the project. However, the selected team lacked competencies in handling the work meaning there were no proper mechanisms put in place to select a capable team to do the work. Although Sydney Water realized the significance of a business improvement process, it resorted to the utilization of a computer system during the project. The project was not implemented via a company information technology.Advertising Looking for essay on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper w ith 15% OFF Learn More After coming up with the project, they realized that the computer architecture of the CIBS project was incompatible. Consequently, a functional requirement was not met. It was a business requirement for the company to continue with a project requirement that was integrated. However, this did not materialize. Although testing was a functional requirement, it really delayed and was not done adequately. Relevant documentation was not provided by Sydney Water which made it difficult to have a full access to the selection of a contractor. Nonetheless, apparently, Sydney Water was able to select and evaluate the contractor in a thorough manner. The administration of the contract was inadequate resulting to single variation to the contract leading to a transfer or roles and risks to Sydney Water from Price Water Coopers. Some business requirements were not available for the project. These include important contingencies, hard ware and soft ware that were not included in the initial budget. Besides, from the start of the project, there were unclear procedures on how the project was to be reported to the board of directors. The information given was not clear enough to make the board of directors make a decision or assess the position of the project. Such insufficiency made the board not to be fully informed regarding important aspects and risks pertaining to the project. Management of risks is a very important aspect in any business venture, and more so, in a business project. It is a critical business requirement prior to beginning any project. This is because every project or business is always susceptible to risks. It was therefore a requirement for the project team to identify main risks to the project and come up with sufficient mechanisms of managing the risks.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Project Management: Sydney Water Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn M ore Nonetheless, it did not happen by both the company and the project team. The culture of this organization reveals that all project risks have to be transferred to the contractor when outsourcing of the organization’s key projects. The Tracking of the project against the Business Case A business case is a document whose purpose is to provide the project’s baseline by elaborating the benefits of the business as a result of the project (Gregory, 2009, p. 138). Apparently, there was no support of the CIBS project from a strong business case. The company did not provide a version of the business case that had been endorsed by the board of directors. Even though it was an obvious fact that costs were escalating and benefits were reducing in the course of the project duration, the board never asked for the preparation of a revised business case. The board had the mandate of overseeing the project including making some directions for the business case to be revised. Howe ver, the board did not direct the GM-Finance to do a review on the business case of the project and to be responsive on the project’s fiscal matters. The evidence of choosing CIBS project over other alternatives was not adequate. For instance, there was a discrepancy between the cost of upgrading the existing system in comparison to the budgeted cost of the CIBS project. There are changes that were made on the contingency cost by both the DMR and the board. The business case was not revised accordingly to reflect these changes. This was in spite of prompts from several parties alluding to the revision. For example, in 2001, after the DMR findings, the GM – customer services realized the necessity to make some revision on the business case.Advertising Looking for essay on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The director of Sydney Water project made inquiries with respect to the duration required to complete the project and a budget that the board could accept. Within the same year (2002), the internal audit suggested a formal revision of the business case. This was a reflection of the project management’s belief that what really mattered was the successful implementation of the remedy and that costs were flexible. For example, the recommendations to access the business case from the internal audit to the Sydney Water management were embraced and addressed after six months. This did not materialize and the management reported that it was more concerned with the positive results from the project. An increase in costs seems to have been accompanied by a reduction in benefits during the time the project has been in progress. At almost the close of the project, there were ninety people from the CSD performing several duties on CIBS. This required adoption of several strategies for ma intaining business services. These would include outsourcing functions, hiring staff temporarily and beginning business improvements. The extent at which staff reduced due to CIBS was less in comparison to the benefit outlined in the business case. After a multiple revisions on the R3 benefits realization, still the stakeholders failed to approve it. There were some areas of benefit that varied from the initial business case. These include for instance, e-commerce, closure of some offices and ownership changes. One of the views held by the Sydney Water people was that in the public sector, it was possible for projects of this nature and size to not only go over budget, but to also delay. This could be one of the reasons behind not updating the business case. Project planning This is a task that should be done by the steering committee. Their role should be to assess the feasibility of the project, develop the project’s business plan and take responsibility regarding the proje ct outcomes. The steering committee also ensures that there is an alignment between the scope of the project and what the stakeholders require. The scope of the project is supposed to be defined by the business plan of the project which should be owned by the steering committee. In the project undertaken by the Sydney Waters, this was not adequately captured. This is due to the absence of the steering committee to devise a business plan which should outline the project scope. Second, the CIBS project manager did not come up with a specific Project Execution Plan which should have outlined the responsibilities of the project team. The project manager should plan for the project effectively by forming sub-projects to help in the delivery of the project. This took place since the CIBS project was sub-divided into three: release 1 release 2 and release 3. Third, effective project planning requires the presence of a competent project team. The team should work according to what has been laid down in the Project Execution Plan. Representatives from different units affected by said the project should be part of the project team. The team should also comprise of members with requisite skills. The project team for the CIBS project did not have all the required skills to handle the job meaning that there was no plan in place regarding the selection of the members of the team and their specific qualifications. These skills should be part of the process of project planning. The Sydney Water project fell under the customer services division. However, this division did not have a clear channel of communication with the project team. Also, during the project planning in 2000, input was not sought from Sydney Water by PWC. Moreover, due to the dissatisfaction by PWC’s general project plan, Sydney Waters insisted on improvements. This negatively affected the project success. Thus, there was inadequate project planning in this respect. Key Milestones A milestone is a mar k of progress that indicates when important points in a project have been attained. Milestones are embedded within the project’s time frame and show the important path towards the ultimate output. It is the end of a certain stage that shows a work package or phase has been completed. It is often marked by a high profile review meeting, endorsing of some documents and a completion event. There are several aspects in the CIBS project that point to the way in which the management of the project milestones was conducted. The CIBS project was mainly subdivided into three phases: release 1 (R1), release 2 (R2) and release 3 (R3). R1 and R2 were fully implemented even though R2 was not fully functional. R1 had been scheduled to be completed in August 2000 but it took longer than this. The implementation date for R2 was also changed due to technical issues and phased roll out. Implementation of R3 was also delayed from March – September 2002. This was due to requests for chang e in closure of price negotiations. All these delays were due to inadequate project planning and specifications Another key milestone in the CIBS project was the testing of the solution. It ended up taking a longer time than was anticipated. This made the project to take longer than was planned. Testing also produced numerous errors. Correction of errors took longer than expected because changes were to be sent to the STS in the UK and the feedback was not immediate. The management ought to have known this in advance and use another system that would be in line with the project’s time frame. PMBOK Knowledge Areas Process Group Section Evident Not Evident Comments Initiating Develop Project Charter Develop Preliminary Project Scope Statement X Not comprehensive Planning Develop Project Plan/Execution Plan X Reported to be included in 101 page report Scope Planning X Evident though not comprehensive Scope Definition X Unclear Activity Definition X Project was consumer oriented Activity Sequencing X R1, R2, R3 and testing of solution Activity Duration Estimating X 2 years though aims not achieved Schedule Development X Not comprehensive leading to delays Cost Estimating X Changed (increased) Cost Budgeting X Was increased Quality Planning X Incompetent project team Human Resource Planning X Inadequate due to selection of inadequate project team Communication planning X Poor communication between customer services project team Risk Management Planning X Many changes delays leading to project termination Risk Identification X Ineffective at all levels Qualitative/ Quantitative Analysis X Not adequate due to many changes that occurred Risk Response planning X Ineffective at corporate project levels Purchases and Acquisitions planning X Shown by differences in original and final budget Contracting planning X Evaluation selection without relevant documentation Executing Direct a nd Manage Project Plan/Execution Plan Execution X Sub-projects unveiled: R1, R2 R3 Quality Assurance X Presence of review reports Project Team development X Not skilled in the first place Information Distribution X Very poor Solicitation X Not evident Source Selection X Not clear Contract Administration X ineffective Controlling Integrated Change Control X lacking Scope Verification X Not evident Scope Change Control X lacking Cost Control X Lacking due to budgetary variations Quality Control X Not evident Performance Reporting X Evident Risk monitoring Control X Not done Closing Administrative Closure X inadequate Contract Closeout X At termination Reference Gregory, P.H., 2009. CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor All-in-One Exam Guide. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional. This essay on Project Management: Sydney Water Company was written and submitted by user Delaney U. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Leonardo Fibonacci essays

Leonardo Fibonacci essays Leonardo Fibonacci was born in Pisa, Italy around 1175 to Guilielmo Bonacci. Leonardos father was the secretary of the Republic of Pisa and directed the Pisan trading colony. His father intended on Leonardo becoming a merchant. His father enlisted him in the Pisan Republic, sending him to various countries. As Leonardo continued to travel with his father, he acquired mathematical skills while in Bugia. Fibonacci continued to study throughout his travels, which ended around the year 1200. Leonardo began writing books on number theory, practical problems of business mathematics, surveying, advanced problems in algebra and recreational mathematics. Leonardos recreational problems became known as story problems and became mental challenges in the 13th century. Of all the books he wrote we still have copies of Liber abbaci (1202), Practica geometriae (1220), Flos (1225), and Liber Quadratorum. Sadly his books on commercial arithmetic Di minor guisa is lost as well as his commentary on Book X Euclids Elements. One of Leonardos contributions to mathematics was his introducing the Decimal Number system into Europe. He was one of the first people to introduce the Hindus of those problems are, A spider climbs so many feet up a wall each day and slips back a fixed number each night, how many days does it take him to climb the wall. These problems became quite popular. Another accomplishment was his forming the Fibonacci Series. It is a series of number in which each member is the sum of the two preceding numbers. For example, a series beginning 0, 1 ... continues as 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and so forth. The exact period of this discovery is not known. Leonardo was a bright man, but left mu ...

King Surname Meaning and Origin

King Surname Meaning and Origin King generally comes from the Old English cyning, originally meaning tribal leader. This nickname was commonly bestowed on a man who carried himself like royalty, or who played the part of the king in a medieval pageant. Occasionally, the King surname was used by a man who served in a royal household. King is the 35th most popular surname in the United States and the 36th most common surname in England. Surname Origin: English Alternate Surname Spellings: KINGE Famous People with the KING Surname: Dr. Martin Luther King - American civil rights leaderStephen King - popular American author, best known for his horror booksB.B. King - American blues guitar legend Genealogy Resources for the Surname KING: 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? King Genealogy of Colonial VirginiaA Web site dedicated to using DNA to prove/disprove that the parents of Thomas King (1714-1798) of Louisa County, Va. were William Alfred King (1685-1779) and Sophia Burgess of Stafford County, Va. King Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the King surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own King query. FamilySearch - KING GenealogyFind records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the King surname and its variations. KING Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the King surname. Cousin Connect - KING Genealogy QueriesRead or post genealogy queries for the surname King, and sign up for free notification when new King queries are added. DistantCousin.com - KING Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name King. - References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Darwinism vs creationism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Darwinism vs creationism - Research Paper Example Darwinism focuses primarily on science and is explained through scientific methodology (Witham, 2002). Additionally, biological evolution focuses intently on changes existent in living organisms during their life span. The biological theory explains comprehensively that living organisms share common ancestry and in the fullness of time, evolutionary alterations result in the development of new species. On the other hand, the creationism theory focuses primarily on the notions of creation science. The theory derives from the conviction of a vast majority of Abrahemic religions, which poise that God created the universe, which includes humans and all living organisms all at the same time in the fairly the recent past. This paper will contrast Darwinism and creationism, appreciating both theories’ most prominent assumptions as they relate to the origin of life. Creationists argue that all living beings started out as diverse and individual organisms when God created them. Creatio nism also does not hold the opinion that organisms alter into complete distinct and different animals via evolution. For instance, creationists do not accept as true the idea that single-celled organisms evolved into extremely complex plants and animals, with man eventually evolving into Homo sapiens. Notably, while creationism is not necessarily a scientific theory, creationists continually make use of scientific evidence in order to support their basic argument that it is impossible to prove Darwinism scientifically since Darwinism goes contrary to creationism (Witham, 2002). In addition to condemning evolution, creationists also seek scientific evidence of their own in order to buttress the creation description in Genesis. However, this is highly problematic since it means that creationists cross the bounds between science and religion by attempting to entangle the two origins. This is an extremely ineffective pairing since religion has no proof-giving capacity but science does. Scientists are presently doing the same. Initially, scientists remained in their own realm regarding the origin of life. However, even after arguing that the evolution theory can be proven, scientists are still going contrary to the Bible in order to affirm that the Bible provides a false account. This means that scientists who abide by the Darwinism theory are also crossing the bounds to argue against creationism. Creation science, which affirms the belief that God created the universe, as well as creatures found in it, is essentially not a science since creation by God or other divine beings do not provide concrete scientific rationalizations regarding the origin of life (Witham, 2002). Instead, the creationism theory is an explanation consistent with religious beliefs that an intelligent creator (God) exists and created the entire universe. Creationists attempt to assert this concept, as well as other Biblical stories, by appraising them on scientific grounds. For example, geolog ists attempted to explain all the universe’s geological features with regard to Noah’s flood. To date, no other book apart from the Bible has had more momentous effects on the Western world than the Origins of Species by Charles Darwin. Darwin is renowned for his theories of natural selection and evolution that are presently known as Darwinism. At the moment, evolution is referred to as the alteration of simple forms of life to higher ones as theorized by Darwin (Morris, 1974). Darwin utilized the term evolution for the first time

Human Resources Management Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Human Resources Management Master - Essay Example HRM itself is the new avatar of 'Personnel Management'. Personnel management was largely concerned with the technical aspects of hiring, evaluating, training, and compensating employees. HRM on the other hand leaves scope for career building of the employee, development of a professional relationship and the satisfaction aspect. as per the latest trend, the 'individual' acquires a central place in the HR policies being devised by the management. HRM mainly intends to bring optimum out of the individual so that the company gets maximum output and in turn the individual too gets his due share of profit. This further inspires the individual as well as the team to perform par excellence. Human Resource Management is a very crucial and an integral part of any organization. The very fact that now people are being considered as resource instead of liability marks the importance of human beings constituting this resource. Human Resource environment as such is affected mainly by the following five factors; ii. i. Economic: The economic environment of host country, inflation rates, growth factors and the levels of unemployment affect the HR policies. ii. Demographic: The demographic composition of the workforce like the communities involved, the caste consideration (this becomes a reasonable factor in case of some of the developing economies), the male-female composition, the population density of the country/ region also helps in devising effective HR strategies. iii. Socio-cultural: Religion and culture never tell a person to 'not to work', yet people of some socio-cultural background are found to be less workaholic than others. The effect of family systems like 'Joint family system' or 'Nuclear family system' become crucial factors in forming the habits of individuals and thus formulating of HR policies. Employees sometimes prefer flexibility in their work schedule depending upon the local festive season, local climatic conditions etc. iv. Technological: Rapid technological advancements have reduced the dependence on muscle power to a certain extent. Modernization and automation lead to increased accuracy and less redundancy in the output while increasing the comfort level of the workforce. v. Politico Legal: Prevailing political situation in the country, the party in power, the ideology of government functionaries affect the business environment. Whether it's a democracy, autocracy, monarchy, one party system, or a multi-party system gives enough room for strategy planners to devise HR policies accordingly. The law of the land has always to be kept in mind while doing the recruitments or managing the human resources. For example in some countries, formation of 'workers union' is not allowed while in some others it's mandatory. All these efforts are to be kept in mind while devising strategies/ policies for HRM, with the prime objective of HRM being 'developing congruence between individual goals and organizational objectives while striving for realizing higher standards of performance, satisfaction and quality of working life'. The HR manager is therefore directly responsible towards the retention and upkeep of 'human assets' in an

Historical Development of Continental Philosophy’s Existentialism Essay Example for Free

Historical Development of Continental Philosophy’s Existentialism Essay Absolute Idealism left distinct marks on many facets of Western culture. True, science was indifferent to it, and common sense was perhaps stupefied by it, but the greatest political movement of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries— Marxism—was to a significant degree an outgrowth of Absolute Idealism. (Bertrand Russell remarked someplace that Marx was nothing more than Hegel mixed with British economic theory. ) Nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature, theology, and even art felt an influence. The Romantic composers of the nineteenth century, for example, with their fondness for expanded form, vast orchestras, complex scores and soaring melodies, searched for the all-encompassing musical statement. In doing so, they mirrored the efforts of the metaphysicians; whose vast and imposing systems were sources of inspiration to many artists and composers. As we have said, much of what happened in philosophy after Hegel was in response to Hegel. This response took different forms in English-speaking countries and on the European continent—so different that philosophy in the twentieth century was split into two traditions or, as we might say nowadays, two â€Å"conversations. † So-called analytic philosophy and its offshoots became the predominant tradition of philosophy in England and eventually in the United States. The response to Hegelian idealism on the European continent was quite different however; and is known (at least in English-speaking countries) as Continental philosophy. Mean while, the United States developed its own brand of philosophy—called pragmatism—but ultimately analytic philosophy became firmly entrenched in the United States as well. Within Continental philosophy may be found various identifiable schools of philosophical thought: existentialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction, and critical theory. Two influential schools were existentialism and phenomenology, and we will begin this chapter with them. Both existentialism and phenomenology have their roots in the nineteenth century, and many of their themes can be traced back to Socrates and even to the pre- Socratics. Each school of thought has influenced the other to such an extent that two of the most famous and influential Continental philosophers of this century, Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 –1980), are important figures in both movements, although Heidegger is primarily a phenomenologist and Sartre primarily an existentialist. Some of the main themes of existentialism are traditional and academic philosophy is sterile and remote from the concerns of real life. Philosophy must focus on the individual in her or his confrontation with the world. The world is irrational (or, in any event, beyond total comprehending or accurate conceptualizing through philosophy). The world is absurd, in the sense that no ultimate explanation can be given for why it is the way it is. Senselessness, emptiness, triviality, separation, and inability to communicate pervade human existence. Giving birth to anxiety, dread, self-doubt, and despair as well as the individual confronts as the most important fact of human existence, the necessity to choose how he or she is to live within this absurd and irrational world. Now, many of these themes had already been introduced by those brooding thinkers of the nineteenth century, Arthur Schopenhauer (see previous chapter), Soren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche. All three had a strong distaste for the optimistic idealism of Hegel—and for metaphysical systems in general. Such philosophy, they thought, ignored the human predicament. For all three the universe, including its human inhabitants, is seldom rational, and philosophical systems that seek to make everything seem rational are just futile attempts to overcome pessimism and despair. This impressive-sounding word denotes the philosophy that grew out of the work of Edmund Husserl (1859–1938). In brief, phenomenology interests itself in the essential structures found within the stream of conscious experience—the stream of phenomena—as these structures manifest themselves independently of the assumptions and presuppositions of science. Phenomenology, much more than existentialism, has been a product of philosophers rather than of artists and writers. But like existentialism, phenomenology has had enormous impact outside philosophical circles. It has been especially influential in theology, the social and political sciences, and psychology and psychoanalysis. Phenomenology is a movement of thinkers who have a variety of interests and points of view; phenomenology itself finds its antecedents in Kant and Hegel (though the movement regarded itself as anything but Hegelian). Kant, in the Critique of Pure Reason, argued that all objective knowledge is based on phenomena, the data received in sensory experience. In Hegel’s Phenomenology of Mind, beings are treated as phenomena or objects for a consciousness. The world beyond experience, the â€Å"real† world assumed by natural science, is a world concerning which much is unknown and doubtful. But the world-in-experience, the world of pure phenomena, can be explored without the same limitations or uncertainties.

Ethnography Essay -- Reflexivity Anthropology Essays

Ethnography Works Cited Missing Reflexivity is a qualitative method of research that takes an ethnography one step further, displaying the personal thoughts and reflections of the anthropologist on his informants. Ethnographies generally take an outside or foreign perspective of a culture, like reading a text, and reflexivity introduces a new component of inside description. Here, the anthropologist may describe personal interactions and experiences with natives and use this inside information to make additional conclusions about the people being studied. The ethnographer may also reflect on his ethnic connections with his informants, or his acceptance into the society, explaining that it provides valuable, inside knowledge of the culture and ultimately leads to a greater understanding of the native people as a whole. The importance of reflexivity is illustrated in Dissolution and Reconstitution of Self: Implications for Anthropological Epistemology, by anthropologist Dorinne Kondo. Her reflections lead her to realize that she has lost, or has almost lost, her identity as an American anthropologist and now sees herself as a young woman of Japanese culture. "What occurred in the field was a kind of fragmenting of identity into Japanese and American elements, so that the different strands, instead of interweaving to form a coherent whole, strained and tugged against one another" (78). As she became so immersed in the culture, Kondo began to understand and adopt cultural aspects that are unique to the Japanese, a thus adopted a new identity. At first, she practiced Japanese behavior to be socially accepted and gain the respect of her host family, but she was so successful that community members began to regard her as a fello... ...and to view cultures differently in general. Some Anthropologists with postmodernist ideologies view cultures as "messy text", which is "the most complex and interesting form of experimentation with ethnographic writing now being produced" (Marcus, 187). The influence of Postmodernism also lead to the emergence of reflexivity. Various styles of reflexivity now exist, such as feminist, sociological, and anthropological. Reflexivity contributes to "messy text," because it identifies many cultural aspects ethnographers cannot explain nor understand and thus cannot be fitted, neatly into structure. Reflexivity is also influencing ethnographers to develop new approaches in studying culture. As we have reviewed in several ethnographies this semester, we see that personal reflections of the anthropologists is just as significant to fieldwork as the 'outsider' descriptions.