Course Reflection on Public Speaking Class Essay

Course Reflection on Public Speaking Class - Essay Example To start with, I have gained much confidence when speaking in public. I was always nervous any time I got a chance of speaking in public. The nervousness was evident; right from sweaty palms, cracking the voice and butterflies in the stomach. The nervousness means that I could not be able to communicate efficiently and effectively. This has drastically changed since I joined the public speaking class. I have gained communication skills that can help me develop as a public speaker. In addition, we do a lot of practice of oral presentation and this has really worked on my confidence. In the absence of fear and nervousness, I am able to make convincing presentations. This has been achieved through maintaining eye contacts, use of right language and tone in the speech (Jaffe, 2012). Secondly, the public speaking class has helped me in improving my accent. As a nurse, the effects of accent in communication can lead to detrimental effects. The modification of the accent helps in avoiding miscommunication and even medical errors that might be caused by the accent problem. The course has helped me increase my effectiveness and efficiency in professional and social communication. In essence, my content delivery has greatly improved (Jaffe, 2012). A simple word in communication can mean loss of life or a patient getting the wrong medication. In addition, public speaking skills have given me the confidence to work in any English-speaking country without fear of being misunderstood when communicating verbally. Lastly, the public speaking class has improved my listening skills. Most of the people lack the patience of listening. As a matter of fact, someone once said that the listening skill is a skill that is almost becoming extinct. A nurse must always learn how to listen to his or her patients, the other medical practitioners like the doctors and other colleagues. I have learnt how to become

Poor Kids Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Poor Kids - Movie Review Example She said that her family does not get three meals a day such as breakfast, lunch or dinner. The supposed unorthodox social condition, that is, meals are usually becoming an option or an opportunity instead of a necessity becomes common among poor kids. Who must be held accountable? Also, there is more to poverty that simply hunger, thirst, or deficiencies, things such as discrimination and bullying are another common pair of issues attached to living below the poverty line. Who is to blame? Surely, the responsibility should be taken firstly by the parents. Parents do have the control over the existing poverty among kids. As they choose to become parents, it should be made a significant facet to consider their financial stability, job, etc. Aid should not only come from government spending as they are insufficient and limited. If I quote Margaret Thatcher, â€Å"There are individual men and women and there are families and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first† (Keay, 1987). These poor kids are not supposed to experience poverty and hunger; they should be in school, healthy, and well-provided with everything they need, and that responsibility starts from the parents not from the

Contract and Event Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract and Event Management - Essay Example The contracts are typically arranged to ensure finest food quality services in the event. There are different types of contracts. The catering contracts for event management sectors will help in saving time and money. Thus, planning the arrangements effectively will help in thriving in the catering business. Remember, an event cannot take place without food (Bode, 2003). Food is important in any event. Hence, adequate planning of providing food in the events by tying up with event management firm is likely to boost the company’s revenue earning. To start with such business plan, you must have some basic knowledge about the food industry and you must posses and urge to give the best service to your client. Offering quality services is the key to succeed in the food industry. Efficiency and preparing tasty dishes will help in gaining quick popularity in the domain. Now, flexibility is essential, as depending on the nature of the product some will order for daily services. Thus, service enhancement is essential (Hayes and Ninemeier, 2012). To maintain consistency in the food preparation the caterer will require good products from the market. Besides, cooking finest dishes and delivering the products on daily basis, the caterer should develop a very good relationship with the supplier. Supplier and caterer must hold a good partnership, as you will require quality product to offer quality services in the catering domain. Creativity and innovation is the key to succeed in this industry (Hayes and Ninemeier, 2012). Thus, the contractor will contact only the dynamic item providers who can supply innovative products to deliver special services in the outlets. The firm should begin with a strategic planning procedure. Now to go about the process, analyze the business in relation to the below mentioned ideas; identification if the idea of the contract fits the

According to the existing material, to write a report to the Essay - 2

According to the existing material, to write a report to the management team to address the strategic issues facing the company as it embarks on expansion including international expansion - Essay Example The company is teaching martial arts to more than 300 primary and secondary schools and had a membership of more than 20000 people. Nippon UK having different brands such as Nippon UK Martial Arts, Nippon Retreats and Martial Arts Holiday, Nippon Uk Presents and Nippon Professional Development (Prestonmartialarts, 2012). Brand identity can be defined as the outer expression of a brand. Brand identity mainly includes trademark, name, visual appearnce and communication. In addition, brand identity helps in identifying a brand and distinguishing it from the other brands. Nippon UK Martial Arts offer their customers the opportunity to practise, learn and understand the martial art skill. The services provided are self defense, children and adult jujitsu, ladies and mixed kick boxing, little ninjas and judo (University of Texas, 2012). Hence the brand identity should reflect its dedication towards their target customer base. In accordance with the vision of Nippon UK martial arts following brand logo has been designed. Weaknesses – Nippon UK Martial Arts goes in a traditional way. The way they follow to teach the students is not fully advanced. So in this case any other school of martial art can take the advantage of using modern and technology based methods to operate. Hence the company has failed to set barriers of entry for new players. Opportunities – The biggest opportunity of the company lies in international expansion. Initially it can expand to the European Union countries. Apart from that the company also has the opportunity to make use of modern tools and techniques for training. Threats – The threat for Nippon UK martial arts comes in the form of intense rivalry within the industry. Training schools such as Freestyle Kickboxing, Red Dragon Martial Arts and Shinobi Kai Basingstoke offer stiff competition (Martialartsclubs, n.d.). The decresing popularity of martial arts can also be

Editorial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Editorial - Essay Example Certain situations like the case of Diane Pretty of Luton reflect that life may at times be in such a condition that death would seem to be a solution to their pains. Diane whose body had become paralyzed from the neck had to be fed through a pipe. The pain and sufferings of the woman made her wish that she died peacefully and with dignity before the disease killed her (Right-to-die case dismissed). Although courts did not allow her to take the step, but situations like these support the act of euthanasia where an individual may require the need to get ultimate relief. Several arguments point in support of the practice. A change in the outlook has been observed that reflects that doctors and professionals in countries like the United States are becoming supportive of the act if it is made legal (Otlowski, 326-327). Several organizations in Washington also support the act including National Association of Social Work, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, and many others (Cundiff, 84). The support mainly arises from the fact that an individual who would never recover may choose to die since the process would relieve the person from his pains. Others viewers believe that euthanasia should be a punishable offence. Since it is a completely private preference, no one from outside should perform such an act on another individual (Somerville, 77). The practice of euthanasia has also been opposed on ethical grounds as well that can be reflected through theories like Divine Command Theory and Kant’s Moral Theory. The Divine Command Theory opposes all sorts of activities related to euthanasia supporting normal death of an individual. Kant’s Moral Theory focuses on the main objectives of undertaking euthanasia and determines the consequences before deciding on supporting or not supporting the act (Stewart, 81-89). The main reason for majority of people not supporting the act of euthanasia is because they believe that â€Å"life is the most

Canadian politics- Position paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Canadian politics- Position paper - Essay Example e of rising temperatures, which is the result of irresponsible human activity that are repeatedly appearing in different media (Environment a priority for more Canadians, poll suggests, 2006). Canada has 243,000 kilometers of coastline that makes it the country with the longest coastline in the country and already eight percent of it faces the threat of submersion due to rising global temperatures and the rapid melting of the permafrost (Global coastlines taking a beating from rising sea levels and storms). The melting of the Arctic permafrost due to rising global temperatures makes Canada one of the key areas in which the immediate effects of rising temperatures will be felt. Experiences of this are already occurring. In the recent summer part of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf above Ellesmere Island collapsed. In addition uniquely high temperatures in Baffin Island Park caused an unprecedented evacuation of tourists due to the threat from flash floods (Boswell, 2008). The growing awareness and experiences of the possible threats from rising temperatures has made environment a national issue of priority to the people of Canada. The importance of environment to the people naturally has an impact on the political parties in Canada. This impact on the political parties in Canada has resulted in their scaling up their agenda on the issue of Environment. Environment is turning out to be a key issue in the impeding election. A recently conducted opinion poll shows that for almost eighty-eight percent of Canadians support in the impeding elections will be based on the stance of the political parties in addressing their concerns on environment (Boutet, 2008). The political plank of the Liberal party on environment is based on the environmental strategy of â€Å"Green Shift† put forward by the leader of the party Stephane Dion. The essential feature of this environmental strategy of the Liberal party is to curb the rise in energy prices through reducing its demand by placing a

The Impact of Project Management in Information Systems Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Project Management in Information Systems Essay The explosion in the computing field in the last twenty years forced the organisations to be computerised for achieving most of their operations using Information Technology (IT) systems. The implementation of the systems requires a management program for the IS applications development. Susan Brock (2003) supports that as the data into valuable corporate information has become more viable through information technologies, the application of IT based projects has risen too (Susan Brock, 2003). The organisations use Information System Projects for either updating, or either upgrading or changing the existing system in order to meet users or customers’ requirements. It is supposed that the tools and techniques used in such IS projects will differ independently based on the projects’ requirements. The roles and responsibilities of each contributor to the projects differ as well. The organisations responded to this new challenge by putting into place project management teams that take into account the technological and organisational complexity of their Information System Projects (Vital Roy, 2006). The management of a software development project presents many difficulties. Most Information Systems projects are considered less than successful or many are simply cancelled. Project Management has been introduced as a major factor for controlling and tracking their projects in order to avoid these project failures. On the other hand many IS projects are successful when are completed on time, on budget, on scope and met the customers and users needs and requirements. This could happen by investigating and analysing the key elements of project management required for the successful implementation of these projects. 2. Project Management in IS projects As it stated above, Project Management is the most important tool for managing, tracking and controlling the projects. David Dixon (1988) defined Project Management as the management tool for estimating, planning, scheduling the activities needed to achieve the expected levels of functionality, quality and performance within the specified constraints for cost, time, schedules and resources (David Dixon, 1988). These activities divided into different tasks which must be assigned to the project team and be controlled by the project manager. Although most of the projects are successful, delivered on time and covered the appropriate requested requirements, some of the projects are considered less than successful and many are simply challenged or cancelled. According to the study of Susan Brock (2003), projects’ failures have reduced significantly considering the number of projects has almost doubled between 1994 and 2002, however almost half of the projects remain â€Å"challenged† (Susan Brock, 2003). During the years, IT professionals researched and studied different situations and suggest some key elements and theories for the successful implementation of IS projects such as the documentation of the Project Initiation Document (PID), the important role of the project manager, the project planning, project quality, etc. 1. Organisational Framework First of all an important section to be investigated and analysed is the organisational framework which considers the organisational structure for IS project work. The organisational framework is established at the outset and well understood by all concerned since otherwise it will be impossible to get important decisions made and to get a clear idea about the project (James Cadle and Donald Yeates, 2001). It is very important to know the customer, sponsor and project manager of each project because they are all responsible to make the most important decisions for the project. The other various roles may be organised in different ways, depending on a number of factors including the type of the project and culture of the rganisation. The other principal roles for an IS project could be the analyst, designer, administrator, programmer, testing team and project office. The PRINCE project management method is suggested for the best organisational framework either in the start or during the process of the project. Projects in Controlled Environment (PRINCE) is a structured approach to project management developed by the UK government (James Cadle an d Donald Yeates, 2001). It was originally intended for the management of IS projects and offers a number of beneficial documents in the management of IS projects such as Project Initiation Document (PID), Risk Log Document, Project Quality Plan, Stage Plan Document, Work Plan Document, etc. 2. Project Manager Another key element, may be the most important, is the project manager. The project manager is appointed by the project board of the organisation and is responsible for the management of the project on a daily basis and for the achievement for the project objectives and expected results. . Role and Skills The project manager is totally responsible for the success or failure of the whole project. The role of the project manager is very important, serious and complicated. James Cadle and Donald Yeates (2001) believe that project manager must track, monitor and check the project every day through to completion and also has to: ? Achieve the project’s objectives on time, on cost and quality constrai nts imposed by the project board. ? Take or make timely decisions to assure the project’s success ? Select project team members Create the project team and be ready for any changes in the team during project process. ? Keep the project board and senior management informed of progress and alert them to problems especially if these could affect the organisations’ or business objectives. ? Recommend the termination of the project if necessary. ? Take role of the communicator between the project board, senior management and project team. ? Select, manage and control subcontractors. ? Give permissions about the internal and external resources decided to be used in the project. ? Face and solve any problems or conflicts during the project’s process Generally, the project manager in an IS project has to create a product usually a new IS system incorporating hardware and software. As it stated above project manager should go through a difficult role to achieve the project’s objectives, however some skills are required in order to be a successful project manager such as: ^ Leadership: project managers must be able to stimulate action, progress and change. ^ Technological: project managers need to have a clear idea and accurate perception of the technical requirements of the project so that business needs are addressed and satisfied. Evaluation and decision making: project managers should have the ability to take serious decisions and evaluate alternatives. The members should be developed from a group of individuals, each with their own interests, style and goals, into a project team that works together to achieve the project’s objectives and requirements using the each other’s strengths. The most original and useful method of team effectiveness is Belbin Test, created by Dr. Meredith Belbin, which includes questionnaires for measuring aspects of personality completed by project team’s members. The scores from the questionnaires will help the project manager to assign the team members into the eight â€Å"team roles† suggested by the Belbin Method. According to the definitions given in the Belbin Test Document the eight project team roles are: ? Coordinator: provides consensual leadership, coordinating project team’s effort however lacking in originality. ? Shaper: A dynamic leader of the team, pushing activities forward and bringing â€Å"shape† to the team. The Shaper can be inspiring but can also be abrasive. ? Innovator: A source of original and a creative team member but sometimes forms a personal attachment to impractical ideas. Resource Investigator: Team’s link to the outside world and another source of ideas with the responsibility to identify and investigate resources that will help the team. ? Monitor/ Evaluator: Keeps the team on the right track and separates the practicable ideas from that are not, however sometimes is insensitive to the team members’ feelings. ? Team Worker: Sensitive to personal needs and upsets, works hard and maintains positive atmosphere in the team. ? Implementer/C ompany Worker: Takes an idea and produces a schedule. The company worker works well with plans and milestones but can be inflexible with any project’s changes. ? Completer/Finisher: Worries about what can go wrong in a project, checks up on detail and focuses the team on project’s deadlines (Belbin Test Document, 2006). If all the key roles of the project team are filled, project team stands a very good chance of success. On the other hand if some key roles of the project team are missing, it weakens the team and may lead to failure. 4. Project Plan Another key element of the project management required for the successful implementation of an IS Project is Project Plan. Planning is very important and essential in order to get the expected results and meet all the objectives and goals after the execution of the IS Project. It involves thinking hard about the IS project, what to achieve and how the team will go about it. The beginning for a good Project Plan is the understanding of the project’s requirements and the project manager must be sure that this is available before the start of the planning. The analysis of the work to be done has been made using the work breakdown structure or product breakdown structure. Work breakdown structure is the method that used to break down project progressively into smaller parts until the end up with individual tasks and work packages. After that project manager may create a Gantt chart using Microsoft Project as the tool for assigning the duration, milestone, resources, cost and staff required for each tasks as identified in the Work Breakdown Structure Diagram. Dave Martin (2004) states that â€Å"Of course ‘slippage’ from the plan is ‘a normal, natural trouble’ and its importance or magnitude is measured against the schedule. Where ‘slippage’ does occur, contingency plans are made by reference to possible implications† (Dave Martin, John Mariani and Rock Rouncefield, 2004). According to the above statement, the planning project breakdown should be revised easily especially when the project manager may need to re-estimate and reschedule some tasks in order to meet some missed requirements or to improve the progress of the project in case of ‘slippage’. Project Plan is also a way of communication between the project manager with the users, project team, project board and senior management so they can be informed anytime about project’s progress. James Cadle and Donald Yeates (2001) are suggested that the project plan must always be in electronic version using either Microsoft Visio for the work breakdown structure or Microsoft Project for Gantt chart or network action diagram. Most of the planning tools have facilities to track progress on an IS project. The data may have to be input manually by the project manager or it may be possible to link the planning tool to a time recording system and capture the input that way (James Cadle and Donald Yeates, 2001). The project manager will be able to compare the actual progress with the plan in order to identify where problems seem to be arising and decide how to solve them. 5. Project Risk Management Information System projects are becoming increasingly complicated and are subjects to various risks. Risks cannot be avoided at all but they can be managed in such a way that they are recognised and their impacts are avoided or reduced. First of all the team has to identify the risks of the project, however each project is unique so its risks will arise from the factors that may not have been seen before in the project. There are a lot of project’s areas in which risk could arise and it is difficult for the project manager to be sure that all the possible risks have been identified. All risks must be highlighted even if some of them are unpopular or never arise in similar projects in the past. After the identification and analysis of each possible risk, they need to be described so that it is clear exactly what each risk is all about (Jamie Smith, 2005). Once there is a brief description of the risk, the project team is in a better position to understand its impact and what needs to be done to mitigate it. The following list, introduced by James Cadle and Donald Yeates (2001), provides the starting point for the identification of possible risks in an IS project:  ¦ The Commercial Background- it may be a new business area in which the organisation has little experience or no market research. The possible identified risk is the lack of information about the background and requirements of the projects  ¦ The Contract- is the formal, legal stipulation of the responsibilities and agreement between the organisation and the project team (Dave Martin, John Mariani and Rock Rouncefield, 2004). There may be the risk of delay or underperformance of the project, unclear terms in the contract about the payment or not linked tangible milestones.  ¦ The users- may be unfamiliar with the new technology or unwillingness to change working practises to fit with the new system such as the London Ambulance System (LSA). The management of the organisation and users may hold very different view of what the system supposed to do.  ¦ Acceptance Criteria – The acceptance criteria may not have been clearly defined in the contract or the customer may not accept some or all of the new system. The Project Plan- possible tight timescales, milestones may be too far apart or deliverables may not have been defined enough to work so the product is not the expected result, the project may be bigger so more staff is required than the estimation at the start of the project. After completing the risk identification the project team should take some actions against those risks like the avoiding actions, try to prevent the risks from occurring, and the mitigation actions where the project teams try to reduce the impact of the risks if they occur. Finally the project teams register the identified risks either using the Risk Log Document which is part of the PRINCE or the risk map if they want to highlight only the very important and dangerous risks. 3. Conclusions The impact of Project Management in the Information Systems Project improved the percentages for the successful projects. It is the management tool for planning, monitoring, tracking and controlling the whole process of the project. The IS project to be considered will be the delivery of a specified information system within given constraints of time, quality, resources and cost, however the project organisational framework is also important because the project team has the chance to get a clear understanding of who the customer, the project’s scope and the purpose of the project is. The PRINCE project management method offers an effective structure for the management of IS project. The project manager plays the most important roles in a project team and is the main reason for the success or the failure of the project. Project manager is responsible for the build of the project teams using the most popular method of Belbin Test. Project Plan is also required in order to track, monitor, control and compare tasks with the time. The suggested tool for planning is work or product breakdown structure for break down tasks into smaller subtasks. Project Manager must take decisions about the duration, cost and resources for each task which can be presented in a Gantt chart using Microsoft Project.