Does ontogeny recapitulate phylogeny Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Does ontogeny recapitulate phylogeny - Assignment Example Ontogeny is the scientific belief pertaining to the development of embryos. The idea behind it is that scientists can trace the evolutionary history of organisms through its ancestral characteristics. The belief is that ancestral characters of organisms will more likely than not, be preserved in an organisms development. The idea is better visualized in the following manner; â€Å"both chick and human embryos go through a stage where they have slits and arches in their necks that are identical to the gill slits and gill arches of fish. This observation supports the idea that chicks and humans share a common ancestor with fish. Thus, developmental characters, along with other lines of evidence, can be used for constructing phylogenies.† (â€Å"Ontology and Phylogeny†, n.d.) On the other hand, Phylogeny is defined by scientists as â€Å"the history of the evolution of a species or group, especially in reference to lines of descent and relationships among broad groups of organisms. â€Å" (â€Å"phylogeny†, n.d.) Phylogeny is basically reliant on the theory that plants or animals all descend from common ancestors. However, due to the lack of scientific basis for this theory to be proven as true, since most of the ancestors of life on the planet are already extinct and the fossils on record are few and far between, this theory is based solely on direct evidence. Having now defined what Ontogeny and Phylogeny are in relation to the evolution of man, we may now coherently discuss as to whether Ontogeny recapitulates Phylogeny. Most scientists do not agree with the ORP theory and reject the thought based upon the embryological evidence for evolution. Basically, if we look at a man and a chick, we will see that both fetuses have gills and slits in the neck. Therefore, both species stemmed from a fish-like existence. However, the animal and the man never turned into fishes before turning into men and chicks. In the case of man, we evolved past that into the

Development of Radio Programs from Idea to Transmission Essay

Development of Radio Programs from Idea to Transmission - Essay Example The transmission modifies into high-speed teletype and other faster modes of transmission such as space satellite, missile-guidance telemetry, and facsimile. During standard broadcasts, music or speech modulates the carrier. Achieving this involves several ways, which include superimposing the amplitude, a phenomenon referred to as amplitude modulation (AM). After the amplification and modulation of audio signals, it conveys to the antenna for transmission. AM modulates the signal, about 5Hz when the carrier frequency lies between 535 and 1,605 KHz. The strongest power output for any AM station is 50,000 watts. The varying of frequency involves a modulation process, a phenomenon called frequency modulation (FM). This results in fluctuation of carrier frequency by about 75 KHz. The frequency of the audio signal plays a major role in determining the variation of the carrier frequency. Even in the contemporary society, radio permeates several aspects of human life. Houses, public spaces , phones, and cars have receivers. Several devices feature designs with the ability of receiving radio. Although there has been extensive development in communication technology since the invention of radio, radio is far from being irrelevant. Indeed, radio has managed to survive critical challenges such as development of internet and other communication devices. Because of the development of modern technology, many sound places transfer music to the world. â€Å"†¦the global network of telecommunications whose musical arms have, with unprecedented rapidity, entered and transformed every social and cultural community in the world.2† However, radio stations remain the most popular medium in the modern world. People tune in to radio mainly... This paper approves that although there are numerous modes of communication and transmission of data, radio continues to play a key role in the development of auditory culture. Most communication inventions still incorporate radio receivers. However, radio serves as a secondary tool in most instances. Alternative technologies have emerged to transfer music to every nation and every individual. This has helped in the transferring of sound around the world more conveniently. Radio transmission entails reduction in the space between the broadcaster and the audience. Moreover, time is restructured since radio broadcasting entails use of present tense. Radio programming is able to combine the aspects of origin, cultural purpose, and form. This helps in creation of a continuous rhythm of sound as well as information. This report makes a conclusion that in the initial stages, radio studios showed designs that helped shun unwanted noise. All the radio programs are prepared with an audience in mind. Therefore, different radio stations design their programs differently depending on target culture. Radio listening has also undergone transformation from the initial stages when listening involved headphones to the current sophisticated devices. In the early stages of radio development, stations such as BBC focused on educative and informative programs and greatly ignored the desires of the audience. However, after the Second World War, the stations that emerged were sensitive of the audience and provided dance and band music, as well as other entertaining programs such as comedy shows.

The History Of The Negotiation Power Tourism Essay

The History Of The Negotiation Power Tourism Essay In general, negotiation mean bargaining process between two or more parties seeking to discover a common ground and reach an agreement to settle a matter of mutual concern or resolve a conflict (Business Dictionary.com). According to Fisher Ury in their book Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In, negotiating is a basic ways in getting what you want from other peoples (1981). While in Oxford Dictionary, negotiation mean discussion aimed at reaching an agreement. In Women Are Getting Even (WAGE) website, they interpret negotiation as conversation between two parties in order to make an exchange. According to Rusk (2006), the meaning of negotiation is discussion intended to produce an agreement. It also can be referring as common solutions that used to make a decisions and settle down the problems (Moore, 2012), a process which is two or more parties attempt to agree on the rate of goods and services that they exchange (Robbins Judge, 2003). Conflict and negotiation are a fact of everyday work-life, yet it often produces anxiety (Cutts, 2012). The UK Border Agency has announced that there are still technical problems with online booking service (Kelly, 2012). This statement shows that sometimes online booking faced a problem such as lost record (Kirschbaum, 2009), security issues (Fane, 2010) and technical issues (Scoot, 2012). There are problems that faced by customer when they used online booking system. Despite the fact that all the respondents (except for one) use computers almost every day, 14% believe that booking online is not securing in general (Bogdanovych et al, 2006). Conflict happen because of these problems. Conflict happen when people did not agree with the issue, it will create a friction or tension between that individual or groups (Nahavandi, 1999). Negotion is a process that examining the facts of situation, exposing the interest of both parties involver and bargaining to solve the conflict as many as possible (Moore, 2012). Negotiation permeates the interaction of almost everybody in the organization (R obbins Judge, 2003). According to Lucas (2008), conflict might occur because of differing perception, inadequate or poor communication and also contrary expectations. These problems often happen when dealing with customer especially in travel agency. In tourism industry negotiation is an important process to gain a mutual agreement of something, especially to travel agencies. It is crucial for them to confirm what their customer wants and need. Through negotiation conflict between travel agency and customer can be reduced. Negotiating through areas of conflict can often lead to win-win situations agreeable to parties, reducing ill felling and conflict (Queensland Government, 2011). Travel agents have the negotiation power because they have maximum choice to offer to their clients (Travel Cafà © Inc 2011). This means they have variety of choices that they can get from their travel suppliers and they can give us the best deal with best value of possible. Online booking lack of first hand knowledge and rarely gives customer opportunity to speak with someone knowledgeable about service that they are booking (Morelock, 2012). The clients and travel agents can assists us to get what we want in our vacation. Online booking allow customer to make all travel plans on the internet means they can do it any time of the day or night at home or while theyre on their lunch break at the office (Oakley, 2012). It is true when we are doing booking online we can make a booking everywhere and anytime but we cannot negotiate the price of the tourism product that we wish to book. If we are negotiating with travel agents, we have the chance to get lower prices as possible. Price negotiation usually occurs during purchasing of materials or supplies (Francois, 2012). For example, if a travel package to Cameron Highlands costs about RM300 for two nights, the clients can negotiate the price lower and can get around RM250. With negotiations, both parties will receive their own benefits and it is a win-win situation (Rusk, 2006). When customer asks an agent to negotiate, means customer are essentially asking the agent to subsidize their vacation (Brock, 2009) but through online system, customer had no change to negotiate with an agent because the price is fixed. The Marriott International, Hilton Hotels, Sheraton Hotels Resorts and others was charged in San Francisco Federal Court on charges conspired to use their market dominance to fix the hotel prices with travel websites like Travelocity, Booking.com and Expedia, a subsidiary of Priceline.com From this case we can see that customer cannot negotiate the price because the price is fixed. The aim of the negotiations is to decide the price that is acceptable for both parties (Francois, 2012) From price negotiation process it becomes bargaining process. Negotiations commonly follow a process of positional bargaining (Cutts, 2012). Oxford Online Dictionary give two interpretation of bargaining, the first is an agreement between two or more people or groups as to what each will do for the other. The second is a thing bought or offered for sale much more cheaply than usual or expected. There are two types of negotiation which are distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining (Robbins Judge, 2003). Distributive bargaining also called claiming value, zero-sum or win-lose bargaining is a competitive strategy that is used to decide how to distribute a fixed resource such as money (Spangler, 2003). Honeyman (2012), interpret intergrative bargaining as one of platform which party try to understand interests of another party, on the expectation that it will helping the opponent to create solution as responsive its own concerns. According to Tewart (2012), many times people sa y they dont like to negotiate (bargaining) yet, they still shop around and never pay full price. The word bargaining here does not only mean price negotiation, it is a much differentiated and broader term (Management Study Guide, 2012). Customer also can bargain to build his or her own trip with or without help from a customer care executive (Agarwal, 2012), asking whether travel agency offer travel insurance (trip Travel Responsibility Informed Protected, 2012) and a customer can seek redress under certain circumstances commonly referred as the right to repair, replacement or refund (Government of South Australia, 2011). These are things that customer can bargain with travel agencies. The freedom of customer is restricted when they make booking through online. Customer cannot confirm their specific requirement when make the online booking through the hotel reservation system (Vyas, 2010). For example, when they make booking through hotel reservation system, if they have something that they dont understand, no place for them to raise the questions. According to Lloyd, booking online doesnt have individual to deal with booking process, it leaf to customer to read and understand the complicated terms and conditions. One of the advantages of booking direct with the hotel, by phone or email, is that customer can request a specific room of the hotel and they cannot normally do that online or with an agent (Trend, 2010) According to Tewart (2012), most people act in their best interest and most people who say they dont like negotiating, actually still want to. This statement show that customers still love to negotiate and online booking system prevent them from doing it. Negotiation is needed in order to secure the resources required for successful project completion (Evans Lindsay, 2008). Through negotiating win-win solutions with customers it will not only give your company the best chance to succeed but will also create relation between customer and your company for future sales opportunities (Douglas, 2003). Negotiation also can increase clarity about the problem, can lead to innovative breakthroughs and new approaches, involvement in conflict can sharpen approaches to bargaining, influencing, competing and also can focus more attention on basic issues and lead to solution (Wertheim,1996) Vyas, J. (2010, August 10).  Disadvantages of booking online on travel portals. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Disadvantages-of-Booking-Online-on-Travel-Portalsid=4832401 [Web log message]. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.wageproject.org/files/neg.php Queensland Government , Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. (2011).Negotiation skills. Retrieved from website: http://www.skills.business.qld.gov.au/running/1172.htm http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/negotiation.html Oakley, R. (n.d.).  The advantages of online reservations. Retrieved from http://traveltips.usatoday.com/advantages-online-reservations-63078.html Lucas, R. W. (n.d.).  Responding to conflict with customers. Retrieved from http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Responding_to_Conflict_with_Customers.html Lloyd, M. G. (n.d.).  Advantages and disadvantages of an online booking system read more: Advantages and disadvantages of an online booking system | ehow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8780323_advantages-disadvantages-online-booking-system.html Johanson, M. (2012, August 21).  Travel websites, hotels accused of price-fixing. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/travel-websites-hotels-accused-price-fixing-751937 Brock, C. (2009, July 13).  Negotiating rates and fares with travel agents. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Negotiating-Rates-and-Fares-With-Travel-Agentsid=2603163 Tewart, M. (n.d.).  People still love to negotiate. Retrieved from http://www.expressyourselftosuccess.com/people-still-love-to-negotiate/ Trend, N. (2010, February 11).http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/columnists/nicktrend/7213438/hotel-booking-should-you-use-an-online-agent-or-go- Bargaining power of customers. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/bargaining-power-of-customers.htm Top questions to ask your travel agent. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://trip.ustia.org/safety/articles/1233/top-questions-to-ask-your-travel-agent/ Government of South Australia, Business, Industry and Trade Department. (2011).  Refunds to customers. Retrieved from website: http://www.sa.gov.au/subject/Business, industry and trade/Starting and managing a business/Running a business/Selling to customers/Sales practices in your business/Refunds to customers Cutts, R. N. (n.d.). Using principled negotiation to resolve workplace issues.  Conflict Management, 3. Retrieved from http://nl.walterkaitz.org/RNicoleCutts_PrincipledNegotiation.pdf Spangler, B. (2003, June).  Distributive bargaining. Retrieved from http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/distributive-bargaining Spangler, B. (2003, June).  Integrative or interest-based bargaining. Retrieved from http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/interest-based-bargaining AGARWAL, S. (2012, October 08). Want to make your own travel itinerary? here are few portals that will help you.  The Economic Times. Retrieved from http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-10-08/news/34322860_1_travel-agents-travel-itinerary-travel-hotspot Francois, C. (2012).  What is price negotiation?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-price-negotiation.htm   Nahavandi, A. Malekzadeh, A.R. (1999).  Organizational Behavior: The Person-Organization Fit (ch. 13).  Upper Sandle Ridge, NJ: Prentice Hall.

The Role of Nelson Mandela and President De Klerk in Bringing about the

Apartheid, means "separateness", this was a social system enforced by white minority governments in twentieth-century upon those of ethnic minorities in South Africa. Under apartheid, the black majority was segregated, and was denied political and economic rights equal to those of whites, this had become a distressing daily routine for the Africans. Therefore in 1991 when De Klerk announced the end of Apartheid, this was a momentous moment for the whole of South Africa and an event, which shall be remembered, in black history forever. After over 50 years of apartheid policies the Africans were finally freed from confinements as the law accounted upon them as equals. However, the question as been raised, as to why did De Klerk put a sudden end Apartheid, and what had influenced his decision in doing so. Throughout this section of this coursework, I shall be analysing the circumstances of South Africa in order to confirm who was more important in bringing about the end of apartheid and minority rule, De Klerk or Nelson Mandela? Nelson Mandela and F.W de Klerk played a vital part in bringing about the end apartheid and minority rule in South Africa. However, their reasons for wanting the apartheid to end deviate significantly. Nelson Mandela was involved in the main resistance against apartheid, the African National Congress, or ANC for short. This large political group in South Africa was involved in many protests against apartheid since its formation in 1912. Mandela joined the Youth League of the ANC in 1944 but had doubts about his commitment to the party. In 1948 the Youth League elected a new ANC president in response to the... ...ndela played a more pivotal role in bringing about the end of apartheid due to his constant exertions and fights against it. However, Mandela cannot be completely commended for his efforts in the termination of the Apartheid. As although, Mandela fought against the apartheid for the best years of his life, on the other hand received no reactions from the Government to his efforts to remove the apartheid. Therefore indicating De Klerk played a crucial part in the anti-apartheid movement as he was president and had the power to end apartheid whilst Mandela didn?t. Overall, making the end of Apartheid a joint combination of both FW de Klerk?s efforts in the negotiations between the National party, although more so, Mandela?s and the ANC progress and constant dedication which helped to bring about the end of minority rule.

Amba 604

Acme Home Improvement de Mexico, SA de CV Project Plan Team Four: Folasade Bamidele Alibaloye John C Caputo Garner Frederick Hixson Hector G Rosado AMBA 604, Section 9093 Professor Stewart February 6, 2004 Acme Project Plan Table of Contents Section I. II. III. Executive Summary Introduction Project Organization Organization Chart Project Responsibilities Staffing Plans IV. Management Process Management Objectives Priorities Monitoring/Controlling Mechanisms V.Technical Process Plan Computing System Project Plan Modification Process Computer Usage Policies Construction Guideline Support Project Acceptance Process Lessons Learned Documentation VI. Work Packages, Dependencies, Schedules & Budgets Work Packages Dependencies Project Budget Summary Tasks on the Critical Path Assignment Matrix 3 4 5 5 6 7 10 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 13 14 14 17 20 23 24 25 2 Page VII. Appendix A Appendix B Acme Project Plan I. Executive Summary Acme Home Improvements has determined it essential that expa nsion into international markets take place immediately.Acme Home Improvements has initiated a joint venture with local partners in Mexico City to form Acme Home Improvements SA de CV. The intent of this partnership is to open Acme's first ‘Do It Yourself’ – (DIY) home improvement store outside of the United States, to meet the competition head on and establish a foothold in international markets. This document spells out our plan for the project's success. The project's sponsor is the Acme CEO, Alex R. Fitzgerald. This project is the first step in his strategic initiative to expand Acme into international markets.Based on assessments, it is critical that Acme SA de CV complete the opening of this store in 12 months or less with a budget of up to $7. 5 million. A key risk is Acme's lack of experience in international markets. As a result, we will rely heavily on our partners to help us mitigate ‘soft' cultural issues and navigate local nuances of business. Because of the soft issues, remaining on schedule is a key driver of project success. To mitigate risks to the project's critical path, we have built feeding buffers into the schedule, and added a project buffer to the project end.Our plan outlines staff responsibilities and a staffing plan for project execution. This staff has strong support from corporate headquarters, a defined scope, budget, timeline, and 3 processes by which to execute the plan. Included in these processes is a structured change control process that ensures changes are relevant, followed through, and controlled. In addition, this document, and the accompanying project plan clearly identify dependencies that can impact project execution. We have separated these dependencies into mandatory, external, and discretionary dependencies (Schwalbe, 2004).Doing this has enabled us to maximize scheduling efficiency. Acme SA de CV has an established technology infrastructure to draw upon. Our plan will leverage this techno logy through wireless local area networks, corporate servers, and use of project management software. Finally, we will utilize a feedback process to capture lessons learned for our future expansion into international markets. Acme Project Plan II. Introduction Acme Home Improvements de Mexico, SA de CV intends to build a 100,000 sq ft retail 4 facility in Mexico Distrito Federal (DF).This effort is part of Acme's strategy to expand into the international home improvement markets. Our Mexico City store will be the initial push into Mexico to meet our competitors head-on outside the United States. This project is critical to Acme's long-term strategy to expand beyond the US borders. Headquarters has allocated $7. 5 million to complete this task. Strategic alignment with Acme's long-term goals, experience with similar projects, and an assessment of the competition dictates that we complete this project within 12 months. Our project is a joint venture with local interests.The project wi ll be challenging for Acme, with inherent risk laying in our inexperience in international joint ventures. ‘Soft' issues, cultural human resource issues will be as much of a driver of cost and schedule as the ‘hard' issues like planning and execution. It is critical to the success of this project, and perhaps the organization's international growth strategy, that this project be completed on time, and on budget. The organization anticipates possible schedule delays and cost overruns due to cultural assumptions and misunderstandings.Knowing that schedule delays will affect costs and international expansion strategy, we pay particular attention to the project's critical path (see Appendix A, and the accompanying MS Project file's network diagram view). To deal with these risks, the team has built several feeding time-buffers into the work breakdown schedule, at constraints along the critical path (Goldratt, 1998). A large project buffer has also been added to protect the e nd of the project. Attention to the safety buffers along the critical path will contribute to the team's successful execution of the project.This plan presents an overview of the project organization, including the team's organization chart, project responsibilities, and staffing plans. Next, the plan addresses the organization's management process related to this project. Management's objectives, priorities, Acme Project Plan and monitoring and control mechanisms are covered in this section. The project's technical process plan is covered next, reviewing such things as the IT support and guidelines for the project, processes for modification, and acceptance of the plan, and the process for documenting lessons learned on the project.Lastly, this plan discusses the work packages, dependencies, schedules and project budget. We begin with a look at the project organization plan. III. Project Organization Organizational Chart: 5 Acme Home Improvements de Mexico Site Construction & Openi ng Project Organization Chart Prepared by: John Tarea, Project Manager John Tarea Acme Projects Project Manager Sade Venda Acme Store Manager Anita Socio Acme Mexico HR Manager Donna Promueva Acme Mexico Marketing Fred Conde Acme Finance Joe Martillo Construction Manager Maria Diseno Architectural ContractorThis organizational chart shows the authority and communications organization for the project. Every one of the team members reports to the Project Manager. Team members are from different knowledge areas and each will contribute with their knowledge and skills to the project. Acme Project Plan Project Responsibilities: Project Sponsor, Alex R. Fitzgerald, CEO Acme Home Improvements. Mr. Fitzgerald 6 has been CEO of Acme Home Improvements for 10 years. He started with the company 25 years ago, working in one of the first Acme Stores. He started as a traditional department manager and worked his way up through Acme's chain.He attended business school at the University of Maryland University College. Mr. Fitzgerald has unsurpassed expertise in the DIY Home Improvement business and has lead Acme through an unprecedented period of growth. Mr. Fitzgerald has a strategic vision that mandates Acme's expansion into international markets. His high level of interest in this project cannot be overemphasized. His role as project sponsor is to take ultimate responsibility for the project. He must sign off on the project charter, confirm successful completion of project milestones, and provide leadership and support to the project manager.At a recent executive retreat, Mr. Fitzgerald commented, â€Å"With the growth of technology, and productivity, the world has never experienced the level of wealth and opportunity for homeownership that it is experiencing now. Our ability to remain competitive and grow is completely dependent on our ability to expand into international markets. † John Tarea, Project Manager: John is in charge of managing the whole project, and th e members that are in charge of the project activities. Also, he is in charge of working with the sponsor and any general people involved with the project.His role is important since he should be able to manage the problem in an effective manner for the project to meet its goal. Joe Martillo, Construction Manager: Joe is in charge of managing the construction activities of the project. As a heavily tasked team member, project planners will watch for constraints associated with this project resource. To enable Joe meet the construction project schedule, he has been allocated the necessary budget to contract various local trades-people and construction specialty firms. Acme Project PlanMaria Diseno, Architectural Contractor: Maria is the architect that researched 7 competitive stores in Mexico, became familiar with Acme store designs in the U. S. , and designed the store to be constructed in this project. Fred Conde, Acme Finance: Fred is in charge of financial oversight of the projec t. He will assist team members in analyzing bids, projecting costs, and controlling expenditures. Sade Venda, Acme Store Manager: Sade will be in charge of managing the store when it is operational. She will also collaborate with H. R. anager, Anita Socio, and Anita's staff in the recruitment, interviewing, and training of new employees. Anita Socio, Acme Mexico HR Manager: Anita will be in charge of the recruitment effort and training of the personnel hired to work in the store. She will work closely with the Store Manager. Donna Promueva, Acme Mexico Marketing: Donna will collaborate with Maria Diseno and Sade Venda on the design and layout of the store interior, displays, and inventory. She is to ensure the store reflects the marketing strategy for the Mexico City market.She is in charge of performing local market analyses, selecting products, and designing merchandising, advertising and promotional efforts for the store. An assignment matrix can be seen in appendix B. Staffing P lan The following charts illustrate the project's staffing and training plans from three perspectives. The first graph presents baseline staffing plans, not taking into consideration feeding buffers that will likely push the actual dates closer to the store-opening deadline of March 1, 2006. The second chart depicts preliminary training targets, and the third illustrates contractor staffing needs.Acme Project Plan 8 Acme Staffing Plan 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Jan Mar May Jul Sept Nov Project Managers Acme- Accts, IT, Supt Lead Contractor Sub-Contractors Sub-Contractor Laborers Training Team Functional Leads Department Heads Store Employees 1 Dec as opening goal Acme SA de CV Training 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Jan Mar May Jul Sept Nov Training Team Functional Leads Department Heads Store Employees Acme Project Plan 9 Acme SA de CV Construction Team 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Jan Mar May Jul Sept Nov Lead Contractor Sub-Contractors Sub-Contractor LaborersNow that we have discus sed the project staffing and responsibilities, we turn to the project management processes, including the objectives, priorities, and monitoring and controlling mechanisms of the project. Acme Project Plan IV. Managerial Processes This section of the project plan provides an overview of Acme's perspective of this 10 project from the point of view of the top managers. Included in this section will be a discussion of top management's objectives, priorities, Management Objectives The Acme de Mexico project has three primary objectives: 1) Complete the six site component preparation activities on time and at/below cost. ) Execute the Acme Mexico FD site opening with a staff fully trained and integrated into the company. 3) Leverage success in Mexico FD to expand and compete across the greater Mexico. Priorities The first priority is completing the construction site on schedule. Operations must quickly assess the impact of unknown and unexpected events as they occur. Delays to the schedu le drive up our costs. The second priority, which becomes the first priority as the site nears completion, is the hiring and training of a store staff. The staff must be fully knowledgeable and fluent in Acme's processes and procedures.Monitoring/ Controlling Mechanisms Acme is new to Mexico and thus requires some very specific tools and techniques to ensure that we remain in control of the project. Given the amount of variables that we may come up against in this project we will have a very strong change control process. This change control process will meet three main goals (Schwalbe, 2004): 1. Influence the factors that create change; ensure that the change is beneficial and impact to time, scope, and budget is understood. 2. Determine that the desired change has occurred.Acme Project Plan 3. Manage the changes as they occur; trying to minimize the number of changes the project is subjected to. (p. 122). 11 There are specific criteria that will drive changes. Specifically, we hav e a management reserve pot set aside. The reserve will be called upon if our SPI falls below 90%. The additional capital spent will be tightly focused upon the current problem and prevention of reoccurrence. Should both our SPI and CPI fall below 90% senior management will become involved to assess status and affect needed changes. V.Technical Process Plan Having now seen the project's organization plans and managerial process plans, we turn now to a few technical aspects of the project. This section describes the technical approaches to control and support this project. In it, we describe the technical processes and approaches relating to this project's computing system, computer usage policies, plan modification processes, construction guidelines, acceptance process, and documentation process of lessons learned. We begin with an overview of the computing system used to support the project.Computing System This project will utilize Acme's wide area network, via wireless access at t he construction site, temporary office locations, and residences. Utilizing portable personal computers, the project manager and team will access the various project tools using MS Project, synchronizing local copies with the master file on the company server. Acme will utilize MS Project Server and MS Project Web Access features to allow project team members to view, collaborate, and update project information from various remote locations and connections. All project plan outputs will be date and time stamped.Modifications to the plan will be tracked electronically, logging a record of who changed what, and when the changes were made. Acme Project Plan Project Plan Modification Process Only the Project Manager will be able to modify the schedule, budget, and the work 12 breakdown structure (WBS) portions of the work plan. Changes resulting in delays greater than five workdays or adding more than $5,000 to the budget estimate must be approved first by the project sponsor. All other changes may be made at the discretion of the project manager. Individual team members will be able to update task completion progress in the work plan.All changes must be requested on the following Change Request Form: Change Request Form Project Name: Date Request Submitted: Title of Change Request: Change Order Number: Submitted by: (name & contact information) Change Category: Scope Schedule Description of change requested: Events that made this change necessary or desirable. Justification for the change/why it is needed/desired to continue/complete the project: Impact of the proposed change on: Scope: Schedule: Cost: Staffing: Risk: Other: Suggested implementation if the change request is approved: Required approvals: Name/TitleCost Technology Other Date Approve/Reject (Schwalbe, 2004, p. 630) Computer Usage Computer use will comply with Acme Home Improvement, Inc. ‘s corporate computing policies, available online to employees on the company intranet. Employees can access the corporate intranet through the company server WAN, or over the Internet. Acme Project Plan Construction Guideline Support Standards for implementing the site construction will comply with Acme Home Improvement, Inc. ‘s Construction Guidelines. Since the guidelines were developed for use in U. S. onstruction projects, however, the project team will consult Mexico City based law firm, 13 Goodrich, Riquelme y Asociados (anonymous, n. d. ). The team will coordinate activities related to zoning, environmental practices, and compliance with other local and federal regulations with the law firm. Project Acceptance Process The project manager is responsible for obtaining sign-off from the project sponsor and project manager at each milestone, and at project completion. The following form will be used to document acceptance of the project:Client Acceptance/Project Completion Form Project Name: Project Manager: I (We), the undersigned, acknowledge and accept delivery of the work co mpleted for this project on behalf of our organization. My (Our) signature(s) attest to my (our) agreement that this project has been completed. No further work should be done on this project. Name Title Signature Date 1. Was this project completed to your satisfaction? Yes No 2. Please provide the main reason for your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with this project. 3. Please provide suggestion on how our organization could improve its project delivery capability in the future. Schwalbe, 2004, p. 633) Lessons Learned Documentation: Acme Project Plan The project manager is responsible for completing a summary of lessons learned throughout the project. The lessons will be documented on the form below, added to Acme Home Improvement's repository of project lessons learned, accessible through the company intranet. Lessons Learned Report Prepared by: Project Name: Project Sponsor: Project Manager: Project Dates: Final Budget: 1. Did the project meet scope, time, and cost goals? 2. Wha t was the success criteria listed in the project scope statement? . Reflect on whether or not you met the project success criteria. 4. In terms of managing the project, what were the main lessons your team learned? 5. Describe one example of what went right on this project. 6. Describe one example of what went wrong on this project. 14 7. What will you do differently on the next project, based on your experience working on this project? (Schwalbe, 2004, p. 624) VI. Work Packages, Dependencies, Schedules and Budgets Work Packages The seven major activities of which Acme’s construction project consists, involve various work packages.By definition, work packages are tasks at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure or WBS (Schwalbe, 2004). The preparation of the site and laying of the foundation is the first course in the construction process. The foundation is the most important part of construction and requires a substantial amount within the apportioned budget for bui lding materials, as well as time. This stage involves the preparation of the site, which may involve some weeding, smoothing and sectioning, before the laying of the sewer pipes, concrete slabs and the sectioning of drainageAcme Project Plan 15 gutters. These different tasks are altogether estimated to take a total of about 50 days, a little over 5 weeks or over a month. Factored into the time is the acquisition of the necessary materials and labor. The next step is the building of the walls, floor and roof of the structure. Once the foundation is underway, the next step is to start building the actual store structure. This involves several work packages including the framing of the floor and walls, and the construction of the roof of the building.The carving out of the different sections of the store, such as the offices, break rooms, greenhouse and bathrooms also occur here. The estimated time here is about 45 days. The dependency here is of the ‘Finish to Start’ type (Schwalbe, 2004), which necessitates that the construction of the walls, floors etc, will not take off before the completion of the foundation. Since these construction work packages are on the critical path, and the construction resources could become a constraint, we inserted a fifteen-day feeder buffer to ensure any delays in the critical path construction activities do not delay the rest of the project.Next is the installation of the electrical and plumbing fixtures. Pipes are run through the building at this point for water outlets at designated spots, including the break rooms and bathrooms. Plumbing fixtures such as water closets, toilets, sinks and drinking fountains are installed. Electrical work is being done at this point, with the installation of wiring, cabling, outlets, the installation of electrical generators, and subsequently the connection to service for both electricity and water. Work here is slated for a total of 45 days.Building construction wraps up with the finishing of the interior, and the stocking of inventory. Here, the necessary dry walling, painting and finishing is applied to the interior of the building, thereafter, the interior decorators take up the job of smoothing and designing to the specifications provided. Other work packages at this point are floor planning for product location and shelf arrangement. The last part of the interior is the stocking of the shelves with products; after all interior fixtures have been tested for safety and durability. Acme Project Plan 16The building of the garage is not directly dependent on most of the preceding processes up to this point, but does necessarily occur after the preparation for the site has taken place. So, this portion of the project starts after the foundation for the site has taken place and the adjacent wall has been erected. The construction of this, like the main building, will involve installation of the garage foundation and the framing of its walls, which are then pai nted, and ending with the marking of parking spaces. The schedule for finishing the store and the garage allows for 155 days, which includes another feeding buffer of twenty days.Acme's construction plan includes an outer garden, and landscaping for this is for 10,000 square feet. This activity will involve the landscaping of the already sectioned area, which entails the layering with soil, rock and concrete slab placing as designed; paving installation and finally, the planting of selected plants and flowers. This is scheduled for a total of 40 days. This time takes into consideration the various needs of the selected plants and the time needed to ready the soil for planting. Throughout these activates, the marketing and promotion planning proceeds.Scheduled to conclude as the store becomes ready for opening, the marketing work package begins with an analysis of the market, including a competitive analysis, a consumer analysis, and an analysis of Acme's strengths and opportunities in the market. Next, the project calls for the development of a product, pricing, and promotion plan. Last comes preparation of the merchandising, advertising, and grand opening promotion plan. These marketing activities are scheduled to take 180 days, but they do not fall on the critical path, nor do they require resources that appear at risk of being a project constraint.The last order of the project is to hire and train the employees for each of the departments. This process will involve the advertisement of vacancies. It will also involve a selection process of interviewing, checking of references and candidate consideration. The training may likely be done in groups and will entail customer service dynamics and necessary need-to-know information on products being sold. This takes time and has been scheduled to Acme Project Plan take 65 days, twenty of which are a feeding buffer at this potential constraint along the critical path for a timely store opening.Dependencies Work on the site is dependent upon several things and based on several assumptions. There is an assumption that we have a specific piece of commercially zoned real estate selected 17 and purchased. There is also the assumption that we have, in hand, the required permits to begin construction and open for business. Acme could not begin the joint venture with its local partners without these items in hand. We would rely heavily on our partners' knowledge of local and regional governmental processes and procedures. Our 12-month timeline could not start until this initial hurdle was cleared.With permits in hand, construction could begin. The mandatory dependencies are such that a natural progression of events must occur for the completion of the structure. Each event is a unique task, however, many are highly dependant on other activities. Certain tasks, like laying the foundation, have finish-to-start relationships with their predecessors. The foundation cannot be poured, obviously, until the site is cleared, leveled, and otherwise prepared. Other activities, like establishing a mobile construction site office, can start simultaneously with another activity, such as beginning to prepare the site, but no sooner.This would be an example of a start-to-start relationship. Of course, other dependencies are also possible. Some tasks must finish along with other activities, while others must finish before another can start. Following is a look at dependencies in the project. As already mentioned, the site must be prepared before the foundation can be laid. Similarly, construction of the walls and floors is dependant upon the foundation being established first. Another finish to start dependency involves building the roof. The walls must be finished before a roof can be constructed.Any delay in completing the wall will push back the start of constructing the roof. A feeding buffer is inserted at this point on the critical path to guard Acme Project Plan against slippage on the p roject schedule by the construction resource, which is used heavily at this point of the project. Likewise, the walls must also be constructed before wires and plumbing can be run 18 throughout the building. Wiring is designated as having a start to start dependency with installing the generator and electrical circuit boxes. Installing the electrical fixtures, however, is dependant on three predecessors being completed first.Wires must be run, walls must be dry-walled, and electrical service must be established with the utility provider. Much like the electrical fixtures, plumbing fixtures cannot begin to be installed until the pipes have been run, drywall installed, and water service established with the utility provider. Finishing the interior presents another series of finish to start dependencies. Walls and roof must be up before they can be dry-walled. The dry wall must also be installed before they can be painted. Painting is a necessary precedent to installing the shelves and display units.Since these activities fall on the critical path where resources are close to being overloaded, an additional feeding buffer is added here. If any of the string of finish to start dependant activities falls behind schedule, the feeding buffer will help maintain the project schedule. Stocking the inventory cannot begin until the interior is finished. We, therefore, have another finish to start dependency. The construction of the garage is a task that would drive how much inventory we can handle, assuming it is used partly to store inventory.With the interior complete we could stock a certain amount of inventory but the garage would have to be complete before we could finish taking receipt of our entire inventory. This would really be a both an external dependency and discretionary dependency. It is a discretionary dependency in that we could stagger our inventory ordering to take receipt based on how the store is completed. If for, example the lights take the longest t o receive, from an inventory perspective, we could stagger the completion of the Acme Project Plan 19 interior portion of the structure.We could order our lighting inventory while completing a different area's interior first and stock it, then come along and finish the interior of our lighting department in time to take receipt of the inventory. It is also an external dependency because we do not control the timetable that our suppliers deliver on. There is inherent risk in setting up a ‘just-in-time' approach to taking receipt of inventory. If, for example, our supply of wiring for electrical instillation is unstable or unpredictable, we may not be able to wire-up our lighting department in time to take receipt of our staggered inventory order.The extent of discretionary dependency that we establish is contingent on our tolerance for risk. Completion of paving and landscaping is purely discretionary. We could build the parking lot and landscaping almost entirely independent o f the rest of the project but it would not make much sense. This task must simple be finished prior to opening the business. Most of our vendors would need the paving completed for access to the property. It would be a start-start for our inventory.It seems sensible to pave the parking lot simultaneously with paving the garage, making this a start-to-start dependency with pouring the garage concrete. Hiring and training employees is both a discretionary and external dependency. At a macro-level it is externally dependent upon the retail and construction job market in Mexico City, it we hire, rather than contract for, construction workers. If the construction market is soft in Mexico City in the window where we are to hire employees, it is likely we will have many applicants with construction expertise applying for work, in an effort to supplement their incomes.If the construction market is brisk when we are to hire, we may have a harder time finding experienced construction labor. A cme Project Plan 20 As a discretionary dependency, we can begin hiring and training when we deem best. While it is optimal to train most of the floor employees in a fully stocked facility that is nearly operational, we could train the core of the store's management/ department heads at one of our American stores.It would be desirable for these new managers to see how a fully functional store runs and meet with US counterparts to gain lessons learned. Acme SA de CV will groom promising managers at its Mexico City site to open new stores across Mexico, so it is to our advantage to train new managers as early as possible. Having discussed the work packages, and task dependencies in the project, we turn now to a breakdown of the $7. 5 million project budget. Project Budget Acme Home Improvements de Mexico, SA de CV 12 Month Construction Budget DIRECT COST DESCRIPTION 1.Construction Materials Temporary Utilities/Rentals Excavation / Blasting Footings / Drainage Foundation/Waterproofing R etaining Walls Underground Utilities Trenching, Backfill, Rough Grading Concrete Slab City Water / Well & Pump City Sewer / Septic System Sewer/Septic/Underground Connections City Water/Underground Connections Gutters and Downspouts Interior Masonry Rough Framing Materials Structural Steel Trusses Lumber &Other wood types Plumbing fixtures Fire System HVAC Electrical – Lighting, Cabling, etc.Electrical Generators SUBTOTALED AMOUNT 1 Acme Project Plan Exterior Stairs Rough Framing Labor Roofing materials Windows & Exterior Doors Garage Framing Garage Doors Exterior Stucco Exterior Siding/Masonry Exterior Painting Insulation Sheetrock/Taping Vanities Cabinets Interior Trim Interior Doors Hardware – Bolts, screws, cords, etc. Carpentry Landscaping Soil Granite / Rocks Plants Walkway Slabs Interior Shelving units Equipment rental Safety Equipment Other Total Materials Cost 2.Overheads and Other Costs Personnel salaries – Direct Project Workers Consultants / Professi onals Administrative personnel Construction Laborers Accommodation Travel Utilities (Phone, electricity, water) Supplies (Stationery, postage, printing, etc. ) Insurance (Workers Compensation) Teachers / Trainers Other Total Overheads and Other Costs 3. Inventory & Labor Costs Shipping Products Truck rentals Loading & Off loading Other Labor Duties (Customs & Excise) Total Inventory Costs 40% or USD 3. 0 million 3 20% or USD 1. 5 million 2 40% or USD 3. 0 million 21 Acme Project Plan 2 Considerations: 1 The percentages and USD estimates are based on a USD 7. 5 million budget. Wages and Salaries may vary significantly, especially with the current exchange rate of 1USD = 11. 1345 MXN and the difference in the cost of living between both countries. This is cheaper in Mexico and since most labor used will be local, the cost of it may be lower than estimated. 2 3 It is possible that the cost of inventory may vary from the above stated due to considerations such as; delays and pressures o f delivery, but with more of a leaning towards an increase.Assumptions: The assumption of the total cost for construction materials is derived from the size of the facility to be built and all that will be required to build it, with a sizeable amount of the cost gong towards the materials for the foundation and walls. Mainly personnel wages and salaries rule the total budget amount for the overheads, with a majority of this going to the professionals or experts in charge of various sections of the project. The total number of people working on this project, aside from its management committee, is estimated to be in the neighborhood of 78.The division is as follows: Approximately 60 for all construction activity and interior work. Among these, professionals are estimated to be five, with a distribution of 1 garage expert, 2 interior designers and 2 building experts. Approximately eight for landscaping duties, with one professional among them. Approximately 10 company professionals fo r the initial hiring and training of employees. The products to be for inventory will likely cost about as many dollars as the construction effort, if not more, due to shipping, handling and the payment of duties on them. Acme Project Plan VII.Summary Acme Home improvement's international expansion strategy begins with this project. The 23 company's joint venture in Mexico City, will lead to the company's first store outside the United States. Within twelve months, and $7. 5 million, the project team is expected to plan, locate, construct, and open the company's first international home improvement store. This plan provided an overview of the project organization, management processes, technical processes, work packages, dependencies, schedules and project budget. Accompanying this document is a MS Project work plan, and Project Charter.We believe the information contained in these documents lay out a realistic plan to enable Acme Home Improvements to successfully open its first sto re outside the U. S. By executing the plan above, we believe Acme can complete this strategically critical project on time and on budget. Acme Project Plan Appendix A: 24 Tasks on the Critical Path Task Prepare site Lay foundation Site & Foundation Ready Build walls Construct roof Feeding Buffer Install floors Dry Wall Paint Feeding Buffer Stock Inventory Duration 40d 10d 0d 15d 5d 15d 10d 10d 10d 20d 10d Start Finish Dependncy 3 4 6 7 8 9 22 23 25 26 27FF 37 38 39 40 Resource Construction Concrete & Paving Joe Martillo Construction Construction John Tarea Concrete & Paving Drywall Painters John Tarea Stock Workers Joe Martillo Human Resources John Tarea Human Resources Anita Socio John Tarea Mon 2/28/05 Fri 4/22/05 Mon 4/25/05 Fri 5/6/05 Fri 5/6/05 Mon 5/9/05 Fri 5/6/05 Fri 5/27/05 Mon 5/30/05 Fri 6/3/05 Mon 6/6/05 Fri 6/24/05 Mon 6/27/05 Fri 7/8/05 Mon 7/11/05 Fri 7/22/05 Mon 7/25/05 Fri 8/5/05 Mon 8/8/05 Mon 9/5/05 Fri 9/16/05 Mon 8/8/05 Fri 9/2/05 Fri 9/16/05 Fri 9/16/05 Fri 9/1 6/05Interior Finished & Inventory Stocked 0d â€Å"Recruit, interview & hire employees† 30d Feeding Buffer Train employees Employees Hired & Trained Project Buffer 20d 15d 0d 82d Mon 9/19/05 Fri 10/14/05 Mon 10/17/05 Fri 11/4/05 Fri 11/4/05 Fri 11/4/05 Mon 11/7/05 Tue 2/28/06 Note: Feeding buffers have been inserted along the critical path where resource constraints exist, and a project buffer has been added to protect the end of the project. Acme Project Plan Appendix B: Responsibility Assignment Matrix: Responsibility Assignment Matrix for Acme Home Improvements de Mexico Site Construction and Opening Project 25Prepared by: John Tarea, Project Manager Date: 2/5/05 1. 1 Joe Martillo Donna Promueva Anita Socio Construction Concrete & Paving Electricians Plumbers Drywall Painters Stock Workers Landscapers Human Resources P R 1. 2 R 2. 1 R 2. 2 R 2. 3 R 3. 1 R 3. 2 R 3. 3 R 3. 4 R 3. 5 R 3. 6 R 3. 7 R 3. 8 R 4. 1 R 4. 2 R 4. 3 R 5. 1 6. 1 R 6. 2 R 6. 3 R 7. 1 R 7. 2 8. 1 8. 2 R R R P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P R P R = Responsible for task P = Performing task P Acme Project Plan Resources: Anonymous. (No Date). Mexico business opportunities and legal framework. Retrieved February 4, 2005 from http://www. exico-trade. com/firm. html#gra. Anonymous. (No Date). Mexico business opportunities and legal framework. Retrieved February 4, 2005 from http://www. mexico-trade. com/sense. html#zon. Goldratt, E. (1998). Critical chain. Great Barrington, MA: The North River Press. Hampton Group, The. (2001). PMTalk newsletter. The project management knowledgebase http://www4pm. com. Retrieved February 3, 2005 from http://www. 4pm. com/articles/PMTalk07-24-01. pdf. Rigby, Ken (2003). Technical Management – a pragmatic approach. 2nd Edition. Retrieved February 3, 2005 from http://home. btconnect. om/managingstandard/techman. htm. 26 Reed Construction Data. (2004). RSMeans ® preliminary cost estimate. Retrieved January 29, 2005 from http://www. firstso urceonl. com/Means/members/result. asp? prname=&project=300&gsf=100000&zip=&Calculate. x=24&Calculate. y=2&Calculate= submit. Schwalbe, K. (2004). Information technology project management (3rd ed. ). Boston: Course Technology. State of Texas, Department of Information Resources. (2003, April 17). Planning guideline: Template project development plan. Retrieved February 2, 2005 from http://www. dir. state. tx. us/eod/qa/planning/projplan. htm#techplan.

Ethics Handbook Essay

We chose you as an employee of Company X because we see you as a valuable person who can contribute to the same priority. As a team member of Company X, are goals are clear. Through public respect, responsiveness, and accountability as our core values, we are able to remain leaders in the industry. The success of our company is dependent on you, our stakeholders, and our customers. We take great pride in our reputation in the industry and continually monitor ourselves for ways we can improve business for our clients, stakeholders, policymakers, and the general public, both local and national. Our reliability is measured through our commitment to delivering service with integrity and through honorable conduct. Because we are at the forefront of public service, we are judged on our choices and decisions. Our reputation is based on the public’s view of our commitment to ethical business practices and our respect for society. As an organization we aim to maintain active engagement in ethical behavior that promotes social responsibility in everyday practices. This is where you come in as an employee. We encourage all employees to actively participate in community outreach and events that foster both your own growth and the growth of social values. Company X will reward this activity if accompanied with ethical decision making by increasing promotion opportunities and/or allowing this experience to be counted in your job description. If you are interested in this opportunity, see Human Resources for a list of approved community outreach opportunities. Company X Values It is the policy of Company X to embrace ethical behavior through clear communication of the laws, rules and expectations that are defined in this code of ethics. In addition, Company X values accountability for good ethical choices and socially respected behavior. We rely on every member to evaluate their own behavior and conduct respectable business through solid every day decision making. Ethics are not fixed, and subject to interpretation through each and every interaction between everyone involved. Because value s and ethical decision making can be challenging, Company X wants to take some of the pressure off the complexities of making difficult ethical decisions. Therefore, this manual provides directives used to evaluate and interpret best practices in the business environment. In addition, these policies and all regulations including administrative actions, apply to all staff  members, contractors, and volunteers and are strictly enforced (see section Member Misconduct).The manual also contains fixed principles, mandatory training, resources for questionable situations, ethics mentor, anonymous hotline, and resources for situations that may be questionable. A signed copy of this manual will be placed in all member’s personnel file and will be used as reference for future use. Please be sure you understand these policies and procedures before you sign the document. We begin by outlining and defining the standards of social and ethical conduct. In addition to standards of behavior, training is outlined. Training is mandated to all staff employed by Company X. Additional training and resources are offered throughout the year in respon se to the changing needs of the industry and social issues and will be announced semi-annually. Principles of Behavior and Conduct No member, contractor or person acting as a representative shall: Discriminate against clients, coworkers, stakeholders, Accept monetary compensation, services in trade or benefit from any interaction directly or indirectly related to the services provided by company x if the value is determined to be at or above $30. Engage in, use or create an appearance of using official capacity to influence clients stakeholders, or other members for personal or professional gain. Knowingly make statements or take action that is untruthful or can be reasonably determined to be untruthful. Engage either directly or indirectly in political campaigns, nor engage in political conversation with anyone while acting in capacity of Company X business. Retaliate against any member who comes forward with claims of ethical violations. Retaliation is mandatory termination of employment without further warning (see section Member Misconduct). All members contractors, or persons acting as a representative shall: Report all incidents of violations to the Ethics Office. Interact and promote personal integrity, honesty, fairness and confidence in compliance with all laws, rules, policies and regulations both internally and externally. Maintain confidentiality in all interactions. Written, verbal, email, phone. Avoid inappropriate associations with clients or client representatives. Engage, actively encourage and support community involvement through support and reassurance in wrap-around service delivery. Utilize efficient use of resources in such a way that minimizes the impact to the environment (energy and materials). Report suspected, potential, or clear violation of ethical misconduct. All members in the chain of command are held to the same standards. Contractors, and any individual acting in a capacity to officially represent Company X are also required to carry out all actions with an intent to promote public trust, integrity, and confidence. From team members to corporate leaders, we expect the same set of principles through a set model of best practices. Best practices is recognized by asking yourself is this decision going to cause harm to someone, is this situation going to violate law or company policy, is my action going to violate stakeholder values, or compromise my position within my job role? Best practices will help us all to remove some of the risks we might face in everyday decision making by communicating set values, social responsibility and ethical standards for all members. Because best practices is subjective, training and resources will be available to provide leadership and mentoring. We encourage open discussion when personal values and ethi cs might cause conflict or confusion. As a condition of continued employment, mandatory ethics training is provided and monitored (see monitoring ethics section below). Ethics Training Leadership teams attend annual ethics training. Training includes skills to monitor and mentor lower staff. As a result, members can be confident that management is able to provide guidance and support for most ethical decisions. In order to communicate Company X’s policies, values, and changing trends in legal and social ethical issues formal training is required. Company X models this by providing training. As a result, all staff are required to complete the following formal training: In the first month of employment, all staff will go through instructor led training targeted toward individual and group acknowledgement of legal situations, ethical dilemmas, social responsibility and reporting requirements. This interactive training will present scenarios in which employees will make decisions whether ethical violations may or may not have occurred. Independent trainers with local management will evaluate answers and offer answers to difficult scenarios. All staff will take a yearly instructor led course on the history of civil rights and one follow up interactive on line course which presents current social, business and ethical issues in industry. General managers will receive value based ethics training  tailored from annual risk assessment data. The goal is for managers to set modeled behavior and create positive influence. Company X sponsors an annual Industry Standards Town Hall meeting. We value transparency and company input from all of us and our intentions are to provide all of us the opportunity to go over changing social issues, our previous year’s successes and failures, and what can we do to support the values of Company X, our clients, and community partners. Our company will be closed on this day while each of us enjoy a paid day to come and participate in this interactive get together. Member Misconduct Company X recognizes ethical conduct is not always easy to define. We value fairness and strive to provide impartial judgment based on facts and data. All reports of violations are reviewed and judged by an independent review board who will at determination of reported violations, determine consequences and refer cases for criminal prosecution if necessary. Consequences for violation of ethical misconduct will be strictly enforced. Company X has zero tolerance for unethical behavior. Informal and formal offenses will be forwarded to the Ethics Committee for record keeping purposes. Informal counsel for misconduct not related to any act of gross misconduct. This is the preferred method for first time offenses. Formal counsel is written report placed in member file for duration of one year. Two written reports within one year that are found to be validated through investigation will result either in unpaid suspension or immediate termination. Unpaid suspension. Gross negligence results in immediate termination and will be referred for criminal prosecution. Monitoring Auditing and Reporting Video monitoring in central locations where customer interactions will be supervised by an independent contractor. This is to protect you as an employee, protect customer interactions, and protect the interest of Company X. All computer and resource use by all employees is subject to monitoring and will be strictly enforced. IT managers have unlimited access to company owned property. Due to the potential time sensitive situations that may arise, no notice will be given prior to IT management accessing company computers. Team members personnel files will be maintained and include reported violations. These files will be analyzed for trends that can be traced back to departments, leaders, hiring practices, or substandard training. The Ethics Office, and Human Resources do not require your written consent for  release of information related to ethical violations. Semi-annual audits will be conducted on all departments within Company X by the Ethics A udit committee: Anonymous hotline reports will be compiled and reported to the Ethics Audit committee. Plan for Evaluating and Improving the Ethics Program After Implementation. The final results of all data compiled by the Ethics Office will be submitted to Corporate Leadership Committee who will analyze the results in order to evaluate potential changes to Company X’s ethical inventory. Data will also be collected from hotline calls, imposed ethical violations, and employee suggestions. This data will be measured against all complaints, judgments, and lawsuits both within Company X and the industry and be used to revise program standards. Data will also be analyzed and evaluated for ethical issues that need to be integrated in to future training and resources for staff. All staff will complete annual on line â€Å"How Are We Doing?† surveys. Focus groups tailored to each department’s group dynamic will analyze the data and make formal recommendations to the Ethics Office Staff, community and stakeholder input will be collected and analyzed for social and ethical value. The Ethics Office will compile the results from all departments and present the evidence to CEOs and senior management. Middle management and supervisors will be included in the final findings. Training will be adjusted and targeted to cultural, legal, and ethical risk factors. Positive yearly ethical performance evaluations, focus group opportunities, and promotional opportunities will be tied to annual employee review. Help and Resources Here at Company X we recognize that some ethical situations may be complex or blurred. Additionally, we recognize that the difficult decision to come forward with information against coworkers may prevent reporting incidents that need investigation. Furthermore, ethical decisions are often confusing and require complex decision making. We are here to help. Furthermore, if you have questions about your own decisions, questions about an incident, or just want to ask questions, we want to support you. For this reason, we provide an anonymous phone line that allows members to report violations, present questions and trouble shoot challenging scenarios. Ethics Office 360-555-1212 staffed by trained ethics officer. Anonymous hotline 360-555-4242 State Office of Ethics 1-999-555-2323 Federal Office of Ethics  1-777-555-7878 We provide annual reports of imposed ethics violations and the penalties imposed. Here is the link to www.companyx/ethics/reports.com I have read and understand the policies and ethical standards set for Company X. I am aware a signed copy of this policy will be placed in my team member personnel file.