Conducting a Strategic Management Project Essay Example for Free

Conducting a Strategic Management Project Essay Introduction Shell is one of the worlds leading energy group and petrochemicals companies. It has around102000 employees in more than 100 countries. The objectives of the Shell Group are to engage efficiently, responsibly and profitably in oil, oil products, gas, chemicals and other selected businesses and to participate in the search for and development of other sources of energy to meet evolving customer needs and the worlds growing demand for energy. Mission Statement Shells innovative approach ensures that they are ready to tackle the challenges of new energy futures. 1.1 Topic of investigation having a strategic implication. This report explains the team buildings and teams work in Shell and development of its research work progress within the organization. It also presents suitable analysis of the project management and planning, advisory and project implementation of work. In this report, positive results of theories and its test showed that effective teamwork can lead to a success and achieving critical goals of Shell. It may also be able to gain the sustainability of competitiveness. Moreover, study explains that how team performance can be improved through leadership with project planning to face the upcoming challenges in modern era of business environment Shell operates in. 1.2 The aim, scope and objectives of the project. †¢ How can we improve Shells research study about lubes oil? †¢ What strategy we should adapt for improving Shells research? †¢ How and effective team force can be made for this purpose? The aim of the project is to achieve such team management, technology and resources that meet the new emerging energy challenges. Shell need to adapt such management strategies which will make a strong workforce with experienced and skilful team members. Shell wants to be recognised as a great company-competitive successfully and a force for progress. Shell has a fundamental belief that they can make a difference in the world because of its worth in the global market. A strong consumer proposition has been developed for the brand and embodied in the line World Quality which communicates Shell value-based offering in a precise manner, to its core target audience. The purpose of the advertising in the first instance is to support this strong value proposition and secondly to tailor the m edia solution to the store. 1.3 Justifying the scope, aim and objective. In meeting the energy challenges, the world faces three hard truths. The first is that there has been a step-change in global energy demand, with rapidly developing countries like China and India entering the energy-intensive phase of growth. Even with huge improvements in energy efficiency and substantial growth in renewables, fossil fuels will still be the main element of the energy mix by mid-century. The second hard truth is that easy-to-access oil and gas is in decline. As a result, energy will come increasingly from unconventional sources, such as oil sands. The third hard truth is that the increased burning of fossil fuels especially coal for power generation could mean unacceptably high emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and climate change. Meeting the energy challenge Shell is helping to meet the energy challenge with a broad range of approaches. It uses advanced technologies that can unlock oil and gas in more remote or hostile environments, and new techniques to extend the lives of existing fields. We are increasing production from unconventional sources, including oil sands. Shell helps make the most of cleaner-burning natural gas through our output of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas to liquids (GTL) products. We are helping to develop second-generation bio fuels that do not compete with food crops; and we are developers of wind and solar power. 1.4 Evaluation of project research methodology. Methodolgy Research Study should be verified by seniors because all research is based on practical data and that data may vary by location of the research and by person. Need to Understand the Hypothesis before research and development. Which department are more feasible and which person is more interested and suitable for that research. Research should be complete on time. Research conduct at same time on different locations 2.1 Identify sources of data and information that will support the aim of the project. For a company like Shell having the right information about the environment, customs, laws and customer needs is of key importance. To gather this information the company will firstly see the law of the country in which it is going to start business, as we are talking about their business in UK the law allows this business. Here in UK there is a high demand it is a rich environment for the company to run their business. Data about this can be obtained by doing surveys and examining the current market i.e. by observing the similar businesses running in the country. Scanning the Environment In this research study, an appropriate approach of environmental scanning is considered in the industrial organisations that are operating in the chemical industry. Different types of information were used in this study. It included general information about the industry and specific about the participating companies. The type of data that was included was; †¢ Formal data that concerns the companys character. †¢ Data that is publicly available, like in annual reports. †¢ Interviews of managers that provided the history and culture of the companies. This information was very important to analyse and research the topic and to see how other companies are operating in the industry. Strauss (1987) emphasizes the usefulness of the case study approach when used with grounded theory. Grounded theory seeks to generate theoretical statements and, ultimately, complex theories based on empirical evidence, although it can be used in different ways and reach various degrees of complexity. The research design framework adopted in this study can be described as a multiple case study, composed according to the theory building structure, as described by Yin (1989), i.e., where the sequence of chapters follow a theory-building logic, and using the grounded theory method of qualitative data analysis. 2.2 Synthesise the data and information for options or alternatives that support the project aims. An effective information infrastructure was implemented to assess the information required in this research, which included technological information, processes and information acquired by people. A rich collection of scientific and technical information was gathered, which was managed by professionals having different backgrounds. However, some companies just provided a consistent picture which was a small collection made up of journals, literature and reports mainly. The information being pervasive is one of the main reasons in having difficulty in accounting for the costs involved in the research as it depends on specific roles and their performance. The data that was collected showed that in medium or large chemical companies data and information was being handled by 50% staff while in smaller companies about 9% staff was involved. The scope of the companies was assessed by their li nks with Research and Development organisations and hoe they collaborate with the regulatory agencies. Strategic change Larger companies like Shell influence the planning adoption but some other factors also interfere with the tendency, for example in what form the organisation is and what is the management style of the organisation. No evidence was found that suggests that the subsector companies should adopt the planning technique as a planning tool. While, the planning offices are also rare and their main duty is to collect the difficult data which is needed by the top management for decision making. The strategic change analysed mainly talked about increasing the quality of the product, which includes mainly improving the conditions of production. Environmental protection was also an issue in some cases there were highly pollutant industries. Globalisation and diversification were also some important strategic changes. Companies that targeted globalization pursued growth in the industry but some companies just secured their positions in the internal market due to the threat of major competitors operating in the main market. Companies which had a little scope of growth adopted specialization. The main target was to improve the product quality. Some companies claimed that they always pursue improving the production quality while other companies admitted that they have to improve the quality of the product to satisfy the EC regulations. 2.3 Determine an option or alternative that supports the project aims. Other way of supporting the project aim is to use theoretical information and implement it directly on the company. Information is like team management theories. Inductive and deductive research can be used to gather information and to move towards the aim. Deductive research Deductive reasoning works from the more general to the more specific. Sometimes this is informally called a top down approach. Conclusion follows logically from premises Inductive research Inductive reasoning works the other way moving from specific observations to broader generalizations and theories. Informally, we sometimes call this a bottom up approach. Conclusion is likely based on premises..It involves a degree of uncertainty. Inductive type based on induction. Data is collected on a subject and researcher tries to develop theory from this data. 3.1 Evaluate the research analysis to enable conclusions to be made. Team Management It is difficult to build a team and maintain good working relationships. However, team members go through a number of development stages to work together effectively in team performance management. Individuals performing well are rewarded while those who are not performing good are motivated. The functions and roles of its members should be recognised by its team. The leader should establish continuous communication lines and set clear goals that are understood. A team that performs well accomplishes projects quickly and with less difficulty, misunderstanding, and divergence. Strategic Objectives Strategic goals or objectives are broad, high level aims, derived from organisations mission statement and purpose, affecting the whole organization (sometimes referred to as corporate aims). These will be: †¢ Long term (time horizon of several years), although they should be monitored regularly (typically annually) and may be revised periodically. †¢ Responsive to external factors such as new competition, changes in global economic conditions, or customer demands. The term strategic denotes a particular focus of the managers planning and decision making responsibilities. Senior mangers focus mostly on why questions, concentrating on the big picture and providing vision and leadership for employees across the whole organisation. Alignment of team performance and corporate goals To achieve the corporate aims it is necessary that the direction of the teams is towards the long term strategic goal. Managers and team leaders have to keep in mind what they need to achieve overall. And hence, to control the teams in such a way that either they are working on long projects or short its all adding up to the final goal. In the case of Shell the main objective of the company is to provide good quality chemicals. To achieve this there has to be a proper direct and control system of the staff working at the stores from the top management to the staff working on the floor. A good communication and understanding will always lead to easy achievement of goals, satisfying the customer at the end. Mangers are supposed to take into account the demand and supply of the products to make sure every product is available on time and then work should be allocated to the subordinates in a proper system to get all the work done systematically and easily. Proper team management should be done by the supervisors and the team leaders. All the staff should be divided into small teams which have to work in different sections. Proper training should be given to all the team members and a standard way of achieving the goal. This performance target should be given to all the team members and should be monitored and reviewed constantly. This standard should be according to the company policy and should be according to health and safety and customer satisfaction oriented. Providing good work at the end of every shift, which is the availability of all the products on time with good customer service. 3.2 Recommend a course of action that achieves the project aim. Skills that need some development †¢ Communicating †¢ Decision-making †¢ Leadership †¢ Prioritizing †¢ Valuing and †¢ Skills need to be achieved. †¢ To respond problems, experiences and opportunities from which to learn. †¢ To generate ideas without constraints of policy or structure or feasibility. †¢ Involving with other people i.e ideas bouncing off them, solving problems as part of a team. †¢ Need to have a limelight/high visibility i.e can chair meetings, lead discussion, and give presentations. †¢ To be engaging myself in short, activities such as business games, competitive teamwork tasks, role playing exercises. Supporting Others †¢ Motivating †¢ Analysing †¢ Delegating †¢ Reporting 3.3 Analyse the impact of the recommendations. Training courses at Shell for career progression. Management Development Programme Includes: †¢ Consumer Legislation †¢ Customer Service †¢ Employment Law †¢ Health and Safety †¢ Human Resource Management †¢ Policies Procedures Opportunity development builds competitive positions by identifying and utilizing opportunities in the environment. Opportunity development is necessary because your existing positions are constantly being degraded by change. Opportunities exist as openings in the environment that allow you to advance your position in the direction of your mission. These openings are usually small, but by taking advantage of the small openings, you eventually position yourself for the big advances you want. Training After the initial audit our ethical trade specialists work with the suppliers to support them through remediation of any issues that are found. Training is offered to suppliers on particular issues and best practice, at regular intervals. Shell is in the process of more than tripling the size of its own ethical trade team that focuses on training and intensive problem solving with its suppliers. These individuals are trained to the highest levels and are equipped to address endemic problems in the supply chain and come up with viable solutions for the suppliers. 4.1 Produce the results of the investigative project. The purpose of this study was to explain the team buildings and teams work in Shell and development of its research work progress within the organization. It also presents suitable analysis of the project management and planning, advisory and project implementation of work. In this report, positive results of theories and its test showed that effective teamwork can lead to a success and achieving critical goals of Shell. It may also be able to gain the sustainability of competitiveness. Moreover, study explains that how team performance can be improved through leadership with project planning to face the upcoming challenges in modern era of business environment Shell operates in. The main result was in the adoption of the learning and training courses within the company in order to prosper and enhance in the future. Shell is one of the leading companies in the world in the chemical an oil sector and it felt pride in taking these training and development steps in order to move forward and to achieve its project aim as a result of the research program. 4.2 Evaluate the impact of the investigative project The future sustainability of any organization heavily depends on the quality of project management to be able to cope with todays dynamic business environment. There is direct co relation between stake holder business project and the people within the firm. Shell is one of the four largest companies in the UK and has been ranked number one of the top 100 graduate employers in the UK and all over the world. The sustainability of Shell competitive advantage of its brightest people is depending on the successful team work and leadership. The best leaders know how to get others to follow and the best team members know how to follow their leaders. REFRENCES BOOKS: Aguilar, F.J. (1967) Scanning the Business Environment. New York: McMillan. Robert , buttrick ,(2005).The project workout: pearso education limited Edinburgh gate Education 3rd (1) pp, 305-350 Strauss, A. Corbin, J, (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. London: Sage. Strauss, A. (1987) Qualitative Analysis For Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Total Quality Management: The route to improving performance by John S. Oakland (Hardcover 15 Mar 1993) Shell employee control hand book 07/08 Personal development as a strategic manager unit 7001: level 7 strategic management and leadership CMI Checklist: †¢ Personal development planning †¢ Developing strategy for world class business E-learning †¢ Your role in improving personal effectiveness †¢ Development needs and planning development Web links: †¢ www.milum.net 13/12/2009 †¢ www.enotes.com 13/12/2009 †¢ www.quickmba.com 13/12/2009 †¢ www.managers.org.uk 10/12/2009 †¢ www.shell.co.uk 20/12/2009

Candide Essay -- essays research papers

Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire’s novella, Candide, incorporates many themes, yet concentrates a direct assault on the ideas of Leibniz and Pope. These two well-known philosophers both held the viewpoint that the world created by God was the best of all possibilities, a world of perfect order and reason. Pope specifically felt that each human being is a part of God’s great and all knowing plan or design for the world. Voltaire had a very opposite point of view in that he saw a world of needless pain and suffering all around him. Voltaire, a deist, believed that God created the world, yet he felt that the people were living in a situation that was anything but perfect. Thus, the major theme of Candide is one of the world not being the best of all possibilities, full of actions definitely not determined by reason or order, but by chance and coincidence. To prove his point, Voltaire uses pointed satire directed at various organizations and groups prevalent in his time period. In particular, Voltaire takes aim at organized religion, in particular Catholicism, as well as aristocratic arrogance and war. All of Voltaire’s comments are precisely chosen to convey his point that those in power were completely corrupt in all their thoughts and actions. Throughout the entire book, Voltaire portrays religious men, such as monks and priests, as hypocrites who do not live up to the religious standards that they set upon others. Voltaire first attacks the men of the Church and their hypocrisy in chapter three. After escaping from the Bulgars, Candide was obviously in need of food and possibly medical attention, but could find no help. When he came upon a minister who had just spoken of charity, Candide asked for some food to eat, but was harshly turned away. After speaking of charity to others, the minister turned Candide away just because they didn’t share the same view of the Pope. To make matters worse, the minister’s wife proceeded to throw a pot of urine over Candide’s head. Voltaire used these rather repulsive acts to show the hypocrisy found in many church affiliated men of his time. One minute the minister was talking to the townspeople of charity and brotherly love, while the next minute he rudely dismissed a man in need of that very Christian ideal. While I don’t completely agree with Voltaire that the religious men of that time were so blatantly hypocritical, ... ... as it should be. Even after Candide traveled to England, he saw vicious acts of cruelty surrounding him. One example is the death of an admiral that did â€Å"not have enough dead men to his credit,† (111). Voltaire used this brutal death to show that the people of the times were more concerned with numbers than lives. A man was killed merely because he did not kill enough innocent victims. In Voltaire’s eyes, this was the worst form of brutality he could imagine. In a world where everything has a purpose, Voltaire could not see where unreasonable deaths fit in. Although the novella, Candide, was partially written for entertainment purposes, it was primarily written to discredit the views of Leibniz and Pope. These philosophers felt that the world around them was just as God would have it, but Voltaire adamantly disagreed. He presented his point of view by satirizing the Church, the arrogance of aristocrats, and war and violence. Voltaire looked at the world with the idea that there could be something done about all the evil in the world. Although he knew the world would never be perfect, he wanted people to see that the world they were living in was one that could be improved upon.

Acceptable Use Policy Essay

An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is an organization-wide policy that defines what is allowed and what is not allowed regarding use of Information Technology (IT) assets by employees. The following policy is to be followed by all employees of Richman Investments, authorized individuals, vendors, and contractors who use any information technology (IT), electronic, or communication devices owned and/or provided by Richman Investments for the purpose of assisting them with their job-related duties. Access to the Internet is a privilege and all employees must adhere to the policies regarding computer, email, and Internet usage. Violation of these policies will result in disciplinary and/or legal action that may include counseling, revocation of company devices, termination of the employee, and legal action. II. Roles and Responsibilities Every employee must acknowledge that they have received a copy of the AUP and confirm that they have a complete understanding and agree to abide by the rules set forth in the AUP. See more: Basic Economic problem of Scarcity Essay Receipt and signing of the AUP will occur at Employee Orientation, and in the event of changes to the policy, a revised AUP must be signed. III. Policy Directives A. Acceptable Use Management Requirements A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be established to support the development and maintenance of this AUP. Richman Investments’ management team is responsible for keeping the AUP up to current standards and ensuring that new and current employees are kept abreast of major changes and that signatures are obtained from each employee following these changes. At a minimum, skills that should be included include annual User Training and Awareness. A formal review cycle will be established to review all Acceptable Use initiatives. B. Ownership Any electronic files created, sent, received, or stored under the custody of Richman Investments are the property of Richman Investments and use of these files by employees is neither personal nor private. Richman Investments management has the right to monitor and/or log all employee use with or without prior notice. C. Acceptable Use Requirements All users must report any incidents of possible misuse or violation of this AUP. Users must not attempt to access any documents, data, email, or programs in which they are not authorized to do so. Users must report any weaknesses in computer security to the management and/or the appropriate security staff. Users must not share their account passwords, PINs, or Smartcards used for identification and authorization purposes. Users must not make any copies of copyrighted materials or Richman Investments-owned software. Users must not engage in activity that Richman Investments may consider to be indecent, obscene, offensive, or that is illegal according to any law. Users must not download, install or run security programs or utilities such as scanners or password cracking programs that exploit weaknesses in the security of Richman Investments’ computers systems. Access to the Internet from company-owned, home-based computers must follow all rules and regulations outlined for in-house computer resources. Any security issues will be reported to and followed up on by management for further investigation. D. Incidental Use Incidental use of email, Internet access, FAX machines, printers, and copiers is restricted to approved users only and does not include family members. These must not result in direct costs to Richman Investments or cause legal action to be taken. Incidental use must not interfere with the normal performance of any employee’s work duties. Storage of voice messages, email messages, files and documents must be limited. IV. Enforcement, Auditing, Reporting Richman Investments management is responsible for the periodic auditing and reporting of compliance with this policy. Violation of this policy may results in disciplinary action that may include counseling and/or termination, depending upon the seriousness of the infraction. Any employee may anonymously report policy violations via Richman Investments’ Intranet or by telephone at 303-303-3030. IV. References A. Richman Investment POLICY: Information Security. 2013. P 1-6. B. Information Technology Acceptable Use Policies and Procedures. 2013. P 1-8. C. Internet Usage Policy. 2013. P 1-2.

U.S. Football Terms in Spanish

Everywhere in the Spanish-speaking world, fà ºtbol is that sport known in the United States as soccer. If you want to talk about what people in the U.S. mean when they say football, the term is usually fà ºtbol americano. U.S.-style football is perhaps the most popular U.S. spectator sport that hasnt exported well. So it shouldnt come as  a surprise that many of the key English terms for the sport, especially ones such as touchdown that dont have an equivalent in other games, have entered the Spanish lexicon unchanged. Others have been borrowed from other sports: Offside is fuera de juego, just as in soccer. And then there are a few calques as well, such as gol de campo for field goal. Glossary of Football Terms in Spanish Following are the Spanish translations of many common football terms as used by the National Football League, U.S. sports TV networks, Fundà ©u BBVA, and other sources. blitz — la cargablock — el bloqueo, la bloqueada, bloquearbye — el descanso, la fecha librecenter — el centrocheerleader — la cheerleader, la animadorachin strap — el barbuquejocleat — el taco de la botaEl pase pantalla clà ¡sico comienza con formacià ³n de carrera.clipping — el clipping, el bloqueo ilegal por atrà ¡scoach — el entrenadorcornerback — el esquinerodead ball — el balà ³n muertodefense — la defensadefensive end — el exterior defensivodown — el down, el intento, la oportunidaddrive — el drive, la serie ofensivaend zone — la zona de anotacià ³n, la zona final,  detrà ¡s de las diagonalesface mask — la mà ¡scara, la barrafield goal — el gol de campofirst/second/third/fourth and ten — primero/segundo/tercero/cuarto y diezfootball (the ball) — el balà ³n, el ovoidefootball (the game) — el fà ºtbol americanoformation â₠¬â€ la formacià ³nfoul — la faltafullbac — corredor de poderfumble — el balà ³n libre, el balà ³n suelto, el balà ³n perdidogoal — el golgoalpost — el posteguard — el guardiahalfback — el corredor rà ¡pidohalftime — el intermedio, el descanso, entre tiemposhelmet — el cascohuddle — pelotà ³n, la pià ±ainterception — la intercepcià ³n, la interceptacià ³ninterference — la interferenciajersey — la camiseta, el jerseykickoff — la patada, el saqueline of scrimmage — la là ­nea de golpeo, là ­nea de ataqueleague — la ligalocker room — el vestuarioneutral zone — la zona neutraloffense — el ataqueoffside — fuera de juego, la posicià ³n adelantadaout of bounds — fuera de là ­mites, fuera del campoovertime — el suplementario, el tiempo extrapass (completed, incompleted) — el pase, el lanzamiento (completo, incompleto)pe nalty — la infraccià ³nplaying field — el campo, el terrenoplayoff — el partido de desempartepoint — el puntopoint after touchdown — el punto extra, el punto adicionalpossession — la posesià ³npreseason — la pretemporadapunt — el depeja, la patada de despeja, despejar, patear un despejepunter — el despejadorquarter — el quartoquarterback — el pasador, el lanzador, el mariscal de camporecord — el rà ©cordreferee — el à ¡rbitroregular season — la temporada regular, la campaà ±areturn — la devolucià ³n;, el retornoroughing — la rudezarun — la carrerasack — el sack, el placaje al lanzador, la capturasafety — el safety, la autoanotacià ³nshoulder pad — la hombrerasideline — la bandaslotback — el receptor libresnap — el snap, el saque, el centro, el intercambiostandings — la clasificacià ³n, la tabla de posicionessu dden death — el muerte sà ºbitaSuper Bowl — el Super Bowl, el Sà ºper Tazà ³n, la Sà ºper Copatackle (action) — la parada, la atajada, la derribada, el placaje, la tacleada, el derribotackle (player) — el tackleteam — el equipotee — el base, el apoyo, el teethigh pad — la musleratight end — el receptor cerradotouchback — el touchbacktouchdown — el touchdown, la anotacià ³nturnover — la perdidas de balà ³nunsportsmanlike conduct — conducta antideportivawide receiver — el receptor abiertowildcard — el equipo comodà ­n (a comodà ­n in playing cards is the joker)yard (unit of measurement) — la yardayellow flag — el paà ±uelo amarillo Sample Spanish Sentences About Football Una patada corta es un tipo especial de kickoff que se usa cuando el equipo ofensivo necesita recuperar el balà ³n para seguir atacando. (And onside kick is a special type of kickoff used when the offense needs to recover the ball in order to continue its drive.) La muerte sà ºbita consiste en que el primero que marque un gol, à ©se gana. (Sudden death means that the first to make a goal gains the victory.) Un pase de 19 yardas de Matt Ryan a Austin Hooper puso el marcador 14-0 en favor de los Falcons en el Super Bowl. (A 19-yard pass from Matt Ryan to Austin Hooper put the score 14-0 in favor of the Falcons in the Super Bowl.) El pase pantalla clà ¡sico comienza con formacià ³n de carrera. (The classing screen pass begins with a running formation.)