Sunday, March 15, 2020

Project Management Plan

Project Management Plan Free Online Research Papers Project Management Plan Paper There will be several things that will be identified within this paper. The companies that are involved in this paper are American Bank of Indiana (ABI) and the First American Financial Services group (FAFS). The two banks are going to a merger and some of the risks that have came up during this time is how they can merge in a timely manner and how to avoid any risks that are going to be involved at that time. Something that will be explained in this paper is how the changes will be managed by the management team and how these risks can be avoided from happening. Management is looking at coming into this merger while there is a project already being worked on at this time. I will explain how the management team is going to work through this situation. Within this paper it will be explained how management will measure the project risks and also explaining how the project closure should take place when completed. ABI currently is headquartered in Indiana and employees over 1,800 employees. They currently have over 500,000 customers, with 28 branches and over 80 ATM’s located throughout Indiana. ABI has become one of the most successful banks and has been currently working on a project called â€Å"Project Integra.† This project consists of putting all of there current services on a financial software. The project is currently being outsourced to FAFS. The project team also consists of outside contractors that will be involved with the project. The merge between the two companies will take over six months to take place and may be hard for this project team to retrieve the necessary resources to complete the project. Management Responses Identification FAFS needs to have involvement during this project, along with making sure that there is enough on the job training for their current team members. FAFS is also working on other projects so it is necessary that management should not expect them to be available when it comes to this project. Something that needs to be discussed with the management team right away is that FAFS should let the management team from ABI know that they are not always available right away, because of this fact of working on other projects. Something that needs to be done is that there has to be communication between the two management teams. Anything that needs to be discussed should be brought up when it comes to the commitment of ABI’s project. Something that has been an issue is the network equipment that belongs to ABI. The company is already above the cost and with the issues with the network costs this is adding more costs to the budget that was not figured in for the project. In order for ABI to avoid this management team should have created a â€Å"Change Control Board.† This would have evaluated any cost increases and there would have been a reserve within the budget for such issues. The database personnel have had a weak commitment to this project and the project manager needs to deal with this first. Management had requested for help from the database specialists and now they need to deal with how to help fix the problems that have risen from these specialists not having the commitment to the project. In order for the project to move forward on this project they need to be able and plan and they can not do this without the commitment that is needed from everyone involved. If the project manager arranges meetings this can help reorganize the processes and then they can decide on how they will complete the project. With having these meetings this can also help with commitment in the project and coming to a completion of the project. Project Schedule Define Scope Define Requirements Hold a meeting with all necessary parties and discuss project and schedule Get approvals for the project from the correct parties Develop a staffing plan Develop the schedule Develop the project budget Develop a communication plan Review the content of the project for quality Conduct a post-project review These are the main points that should be done when it comes to the project schedule. The management team should look at these things and decide what else they may need to add to the schedule as they are working through the project. There should be timeframes for everything when it comes to the project schedule and when each category will be completed. Weighting Perceived Risk There are going to be several risks involved with planning a project management plan. A major source of risk in project management is inaccurate forecasts of project costs, demand, and other impacts (Flyvbjerg, 2006). Several risks that were established during this simulation are: resource constraints, skills and competency, dependency on FAFS for design inputs, availability systems and standards, legacy systems and standards, infrastructure problems, natural or manmade disasters, technology obsolescence, change in management priorities, lack of team synergy and commitment. The risk management plan that I have included is something that management should look at in order to avoid risks during the implementation and completion of the project. Since the company is looking at the future of both ABI and FAFS, these companies have been looking to outsource this project due to not have commitment of the database specialists. There have been risks so far and there is a chance of more risks if the companies outsource the project to another company. If they would happen to outsource there is the chance of overtime that was not anticipated, delays in the schedule, or even the chance of the costs going over budget. This is something that the project manager needs to look at and then assign the correct staff to the project. He could assign the IT staff to make sure that they are monitoring the project and also help the outsource company where needed. They can also assist in retrieving any reports that the outsourcing company may need. An example would be that management may be able to split up these things to be able to satisfy the constraints. In any case, management must be aware of the constraints before any of these alternatives can be considered, and cost effective decisions made (Just Murphy, 1994). Project Integra could hold several risks for these companies. Management needs to look at these risks to avoid them. The types of risks that they could possibly be looking at are things such as not addressing these skills and competency gaps with their internal and external customers when changing to the new systems. They should make sure that their customers have been informed of this change and provide the necessary resources for training and any knowledge base issues they may have with the new system. Future Risks There is the chance that with the new system that more risks may arise over time. Having everyone up to date on the system and providing necessary training is important when to businesses such as ABI and FAFS are merging into one. Customers will be concerned with these changes and should be informed how this new system may affect them when it is completed. Management needs to make sure that everyone understands the processes and how it is going to fixed when an issue does happen. The management team needs to be prepared for any unforeseen issues. There is the risk of losing customers if they are not informed in advance of what is going on and this could possibly have an impact on the company’s reputations. Measuring Project Risk The project manager needs to make sure that he is directing them In order to complete the efforts of Project Integra the project manager needs to make sure that his employees are being directed in the correct direction. The performance of this project is important and that it is recognized along with all of the elements of the project. Changes as such can be implemented, but there has to be knowledge of the project and the information needs to be provided. Some that is not a major concern is that performance management and the collection of any data that is needed or associated with the project, which is predefined within the performance goal. There are two things that should be looked at when it comes to this project and that is the delivery and the quality of the project in the end. The standard measures should have some impact on the project goals. These measures should be defined in the beginning before the project has been started. The person that is leading this project should be able to obtain what the actual results should be from this measure. With this process these things will be done through increased efficiency and effectiveness of the processes and the product enhancement. The projects outcome is going to come from the performance management of the project. The companies goal is to be able to manage the outcome along with making sure there is reduced or no variance in the work product or process. The project manager is the person who will be in charge. He/she will be making sure that there is output from the staff managers and that the project is progressing as it should. The project manager will also help the employees get involved in the project and help them understand the goals and why it is important for them to achieve these goals. The project manager will be the one to explain why these changes need to be done, how the company will complete the project and what will be the impact in the end from the project. Process performance may be an early warning signal of downstream problems in a project’s quality, time, or productivity (Syamil, Doll, Apigian, 2004). The performance elements and standards should be considered SMART which stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. These are critical elements in which employees should be held accountable for their work. Performance plans should be done for all employees that are involved on the projects and should be flexible so that there can be adjustment or changes made if needed. Feedback should be available from all employees. This feedback will help these employees are achieving their goals and how to work in groups. A project manager should be able to look at the project performance indicators and then make a decision on how he will make things better when it comes to the customer’s satisfaction, developmental costs and the manufacturing profits of the company. Each link in this product concept to economic value chain is pivotal to the economic value of the project (Syamil, Doll, Apigian, 2004). Without monitoring these things and doing this continually, the manager will then be able to identify if there is unacceptable performance during the project and will then be able to provide assistance where needed. The project manager will also be able to increase training if needed and also introduce new skills for the higher level of responsibilities. There are several things that the project manager can do when it comes to the qualifications of the employees and by providing them with skills that will strengthen their ability to work on the project. In order to have effective management the behavior of employees should be controlled, if it is not then there should be consequences in the end. These can be formal, informal or even positive or negative with the employees. Project Closure Approach There are many things that project managers need to do especially when it comes to project closure. They may have all of the things when it comes to starting a project and also when it comes to working through the project. How often do they look at things when it comes to closing the project? The following things should be looked at when it comes to closing the project. These few points are important because the two companies need to understand the way that they do proper synchronization of their companies while merging. A project manager needs to look closely at the completion of the project, the post project analysis, the releasing resources, but something that is very important is that they need to make sure that they close out the work orders. This needs to be done for financial reasons to help the company be stable in their financial status. â€Å"Project success or failure often depends on management’s ability to handle personnel issues properly during this final phase. If job assignments beyond the current project look undesirable or uncertain to project team members, a great deal of anxiety and conflict may develop that diverts needed energy to job hunting, foot dragging, or even sabotage. Project personnel may engage in job searches on their own and may leave the project prematurely. This creates a glaring void that is often difficult to patch (Kerzner, 2003).† The management team needs to encourage their employees to learn this new software once it is implemented within the companies. Often leadership does not do these things and this will help everyone to accept the changes especially if management is there when they use hands on training for their employees. This will help the employees along with their people in customer service because they will understand what is expected of their job. With the development of this software there will be a schedule of events and changes. These changes and events will help employees appreciate what is coming of the new software. Conclusion With this project and making sure that it has been implemented successfully, this is something that ABI has made sure that has happened. ABI is making sure that both themselves and FAFS are prepared when it comes to the changes and how they will be successful they will be in the end. Management has stepped up to the plate to make sure that all of their employees are up to speed on the software and how it will impact their jobs and what will also be expected of them in the end. With this project if the correct steps are followed the merger of these two companies will be successful along with the implementation of the software being a success for both companies. This will help these companies grow as one in their future. With this project the project manager is looking at a lot of things that need to be done. If these things are not done this project could become to be a failure for the company especially as these companies are merging into one. Being prepared for implementation of this project is very important to the manager and this is going to help the company in the future be successful. This will not only be when the merger happens, but in years to come. The company needs to do what is going to be best for their reputation and how they are going to be the number one company in the nation. References Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). From Nobel Prize to Project Management Getting Risks Right. Project Management Journal, 37(3), 5-15. Retrieved February 12, 2010, from ProQuest database. Just, M.R., Murphy, J.P. (1994). The effect of resource constraints on project schedules. Transactions of AACE International: Transactions, 1994, DCL2.1. Retrieved February 12, 2010, from ProQuest database. Kerzner, H. (2003). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, 8e Chapter 11: Planning: John Wiley Sons, Inc. Syamil, A., Doll, W.J., Apigian, C.H. (2004). Process performance in product development: measure and impacts. European Journal of Innovation Management, 7(3), 205-217. Retrieved February 12, 2010, from ProQuest database. Research Papers on Project Management PlanThe Project Managment Office SystemAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaResearch Process Part OneMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceTwilight of the UAWDefinition of Export QuotasBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfOpen Architechture a white paper

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Report of Michael Hill Jewellery Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Report of Michael Hill Jewellery - Case Study Example This leadership theory describes two extremes of leadership concern. Concern for production and concern for people, the leader who is concerned for production targets high results and productivity while the one concerned about people care little about productivity and is more concerned about being loved and approved by the people. This theory defines a few types of leaders; the country club leader has the highest concern for people. This type of leaders assumes that if an employee is happy, work will be well carried out. The relationship between the leader and the employee is casual just like that of friends. The impoverished leader is more concerned about productivity as well as the employees. This leader gives little motivation, therefore, leaving the employees confused about their job and find no joy in doing their set duties. The middle of the road leader balances between his concern for the people and productivity. He settles for less satisfying work and the end result is the mediocre performance. There is also the team leader who insists on high levels of production and employee performance. The leader sets goals and assists the employees in meeting these goals. Finally, the authoritarian leader who leads by controlling, overpowering and demanding; the leader is more concerned about productivity and employees are a tool for achieving this productivity. The objective of this model of leadership is to show that when employee and results concerns are high, productivity will increase accordingly. The leadership at MHJ should better understand this theory as it will greatly improve the productivity of the employees and in turn, lead to higher profits. The organization strives to provide the most fun and friendly environment for the employees. They emphasize that just like their collection, each employee is seen as unique with valuable insights and ideas.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

International Etiquette Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Etiquette Paper - Essay Example In-spite of having a well known government, the country was considered powerless during the period of 1912-1949. However, the dominance of the country in the Second World War against the Japanese smoothens the way for China to become a powerful nation. After that period, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the communist party formed PRC. Hence, with the changing time frame, the country established itself as amid the super powers of the globe (The Ohio State University, â€Å"Part 2: Themes in Chinese History†). Business in China is quite different from other nations of the globe. People in this part of the world focus more on conducting business by building effectual relationship. The people of the country provide maximum value to punctuality. Both English and Chinese languages are widely used in this nation while conducting business (The Canadian Trade Commission Service, â€Å"Business Etiquette in China†). In China, business and works are not conducted on national holidays of the nation. The regular business hours in the country ranges from 7-8 hours each day from Monday to Friday and Saturdays along with Sundays considered as off days. The standard operational hours of business comprise 08 hours to 1800 hours each day with lunch period ranging in between 1200 hours to 1400 hours (Travel China Guide, â€Å"Business Hours in China†). In order to analyze this particular section, it can be affirmed that it is quite important that people end or disconnect their phone calls politely while being in a business meeting or having an important conversation regarding business. However, maintaining contacts through emails, phones and fax is highly appreciated by business group of people in China (Travel China Guide, â€Å"Business Hours in China†). As mentioned above, business people in China values maximum punctuality especially when participating or attending in any sort of meeting. Being on time for having business related conversations or

Friday, January 31, 2020

Virtual Classroom Essay Example for Free

Virtual Classroom Essay In the rapidly changing way that information exchange takes place during our times, the Virtual Classroom Information System, or simply Virtual Classroom, demonstrates very effectively that technology can be explored and utilized to make new ways to do old things, and at the same time be more efficient in doing it. The Virtual Classroom is a web-based information system that basically allows a class to take place over the internet and through a website, breaking the restrictions imposed by distance. It provides a venue where students and teachers can meet, albeit virtually, and do the things that are normally done inside actual classrooms. Although communication is limited through the computer as compared to meeting personally, the Virtual Classroom provides alternative ways that were still effective in providing the users with the information they need. The Virtual Classroom provides functionalities for the following different kinds of users: system administrator, teacher, and student. The system administrator, or sysad for short, is not necessarily the system owner. The system owner is the school who bought a copy of Virtual Classroom and had it installed in a server to be used by that particular school. The system administrator is preferably someone from the school administration. The system administrator has complete control over the system as he/she is the one who has the highest privileges in accessing the system. It is up to the sysad to populate the database with the available classes, and later assign teachers to handle those classes. He/she has the responsibility of managing all other user accounts, be it a teacher or a student account, involved in the system. The system administrator is like a moderator that sees to it that everything is in place and working well. The teacher has lesser privileges compared to the system administrator. He/she is allowed to upload files such as documents, pictures, or animations for the students to download. Also, the teacher can give exams or quizzes through the internet, which are automatically corrected and computed when answered by the students. The teacher is also in charge of the management of the forum of the class which he or she is teaching. At the end of the semester, the teacher can submit the final computed grades through the system. The system developer is preferably someone involved with the system as he or she needs to be well aware of the concerns and requirements asked by the system. The developer should have at least made thorough consultations with the members of the faculty, the students, and most especially the school administration. The Knowledge Building Block The knowledge building block is basically the information available for the system. This is mainly about populating the database with enough data for it to run effectively. With regards to the Virtual Classroom, the knowledge building block contributed by the system administrator consists of the list of students currently enrolled in a particular school, and the list of teachers who are currently available for teaching. This also includes personal information such as student number, name, course, year level and other basic information that the school needs to know. Also, the list of available classes that students can enlist to is populated by the system administrator. The teacher is left with the uploading of the necessary lecture files for the classes assigned to him. Also, exam questions would come from the teacher with the corresponding answer key for the system to automatically check the paper and compute the scores when answered. The Process Building Block This part of the information system is concerned about what the system does with the information, or knowledge, that is made available to it. Basically, a process takes input data and modifies it based on the conditions and logic provided by the system, then finally, outputs the data needed by the users. With the Virtual Classroom, one process is the assignment of the teachers for each class offered by the school. The system should see to it that there will not be conflicts with the schedule. When uploading the files of newer version, the system would automatically replace the old ones and sees to it that the concerned students will be notified either by email or through SMS, if the phone number is supplied by the user. Also, when a student finishes answering an exam, the system automatically checks it and outputs the results for the teacher to see. The Communications Building Block This block involves sending and receiving data between the users of the system. In terms of the Virtual Classroom, the communications block plays a major part in it, because the classroom is basically having a teacher communicate with a group of students so that the students will learn something from it. In this regard, there are several ways that the concerned users can communicate through the system. First, there is a general messaging system. The system allows any user to send a private message to another user, or group of users as long as the sender has prior knowledge of the recipient’s username. Upon receiving the message, the user has options to reply. In addition to this, there is also a message board per class. The management of this board is the responsibility of the teacher because this is where class discussions will take place, and although slow and not as efficient compared to the real classroom experience, information is guaranteed to be transmitted. An important part of this system is the notification system that contacts the needed users through email or through SMS, whichever is available, when something of great importance and ugency demands his or her attention.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

The Big Sleep Movie and Novel :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

The Big Sleep Movie and Novel On first inspection of Raymond Chandler's novel, The Big Sleep, the reader discovers that the story unravels quickly through the narrative voice of Philip Marlowe, the detective hired by the Sternwood family of Los Angeles to solve a mystery for them. The mystery concerns the General Sternwood's young daughter, and a one Mr. A. G. Geiger. Upon digging for the answer to this puzzle placed before Marlowe for a mere fee of $25 dollars a day plus expenses, Marlowe soon finds layers upon layers of mystifying events tangled in the already mysterious web of lies and deception concerning the Sternwood family, especially the two young daughters. When reading the novel, it is hard to imagine the story without a narrator at all. It certainly seems essential for the story's make-up to have this witty, sarcastic voice present to describe the sequence of events. Yet, there is a version of Chandler's novel that does not have an audible storyteller, and that version is the 1946 movie directed by Howard Hawks. Hawks' version of The Big Sleep is known to be one of the best examples of the film genre-film noir. "Film noir (literally 'black film,' from French critics who noticed how dark and black the looks and themes were of these films) is a style of American films which evolved in the 1940s." (The Internet Movie Database LTD). Film noir typically contains melancholy, and not so moral themes. Another characteristic of film noir is just because the main character has the title hero, that does not mean that he will always be alive at the end of the book, or that the hero is always "good." Marlowe in The Big Sleep is a prime example of this concept. In the novel it is questionable how lawfully moral he actually is, concerning the situation of turning Carmen into the police for killing Sean Regan. This aspect of Marlowe's character added yet another difficult task of formatting The Big Sleep to the big screen-the question of how the audience (media) might react to such a personality trait was now placed before the writing staff (IE production codes). The Big Sleep Movie and Novel :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast The Big Sleep Movie and Novel On first inspection of Raymond Chandler's novel, The Big Sleep, the reader discovers that the story unravels quickly through the narrative voice of Philip Marlowe, the detective hired by the Sternwood family of Los Angeles to solve a mystery for them. The mystery concerns the General Sternwood's young daughter, and a one Mr. A. G. Geiger. Upon digging for the answer to this puzzle placed before Marlowe for a mere fee of $25 dollars a day plus expenses, Marlowe soon finds layers upon layers of mystifying events tangled in the already mysterious web of lies and deception concerning the Sternwood family, especially the two young daughters. When reading the novel, it is hard to imagine the story without a narrator at all. It certainly seems essential for the story's make-up to have this witty, sarcastic voice present to describe the sequence of events. Yet, there is a version of Chandler's novel that does not have an audible storyteller, and that version is the 1946 movie directed by Howard Hawks. Hawks' version of The Big Sleep is known to be one of the best examples of the film genre-film noir. "Film noir (literally 'black film,' from French critics who noticed how dark and black the looks and themes were of these films) is a style of American films which evolved in the 1940s." (The Internet Movie Database LTD). Film noir typically contains melancholy, and not so moral themes. Another characteristic of film noir is just because the main character has the title hero, that does not mean that he will always be alive at the end of the book, or that the hero is always "good." Marlowe in The Big Sleep is a prime example of this concept. In the novel it is questionable how lawfully moral he actually is, concerning the situation of turning Carmen into the police for killing Sean Regan. This aspect of Marlowe's character added yet another difficult task of formatting The Big Sleep to the big screen-the question of how the audience (media) might react to such a personality trait was now placed before the writing staff (IE production codes).

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Influential Materialism on Cambodian Society Essay

One of the remarkable transitions in Cambodia began in 1993. It was the economic reform switching from planned-economic to open-free economic market. Since ever, Cambodia gradually boosts the national economy by allowing private possessions and foreign investment. This is a signal of democracy in the nation. To be a democratic country, such rights and freedom must be given to the masses. It is well-known that people want to be equal before the laws and live in a happy life. However, one barrier to newly democratic country—Cambodia—is the citizens. More than half of the Cambodian population is under a poverty line, meaning they are insufficient not only in property but also in education. This situation is not good enough for Cambodians to get influence from the world. Being connected with globalization, Cambodia demands a higher standard and a good quality of production. Among those marketing competition, the most attractive and popular product is high-tech materials. Again, the other half of population might be able to afford such materials in order to live in the society. The society is affected by materialism, which considers possessions more important than values, and its effects range from psychological to economic. Materialism is sometimes used as a status symbol, causing people to purchase items they cannot afford, simply to fit in with an affluent crowd, or to keep up with the people around them. Materialism, although a motivating force in today’s world economy, can erode value systems and affect a person’s overall happiness. Perhaps nobody knows exactly when materialism persists in Cambodian society. And not many Cambodians switch their attention on it. Materialism which is the new tendency can lead the society to face many possible negative consequences. That is, youths must understand what they are doing and decide whether or not stick with it. In today society, we have no doubt an emerging demographic of eager young adults flocking towards new motorbikes, mobile phones, and the newest in tech trends. But is there a lurking danger tacked on to this eagerness? This paper will take a closer look at the Cambodian youth’s tendency toward the new and modern materials, the reasons why youths want to possess the materials, the impact of the material challenges, and some solutions to modify the tendency. Definition Before going further, one key word in the paper will be illustrated. Materialism comes from the word material, so the first word to be explained is: According to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, there are four main meaning of material. First, material means a physical substance which things can be made from. Second, it means information used when writing something such as a book, or information produced in various forms to help people or to advertise products. Third, material means cloth which can be used to make things such as clothes. Finally, material means equipment that you need for a particular activity. The last definition seems the most appropriate meaning for the scope of the paper. In addition, materialism is defined as the belief that having money and possessions is the most important thing in life. Plus, materialism is a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values. These are the definitions of the word â€Å"materialism† on which the paper will focus. Objective Writing is a fun thing but without any specific purpose, the writing seems nothing. Meanwhile, the paper has a few important objectives that might be helpful for other students and readers to find out about the current trend of Cambodian youths. The main purposes of the writing are: ïÆ' ¼Providing the historic background of Cambodian economy Offering the key definition of the term materialism Illustrating the current prominent issues in the society Showing the current trend of the youths toward modern high-price materials Elaborating the plausible causes of the new tendency Explaining probably bad and good impacts on the society Showcasing one effective solution The Presence of Materialism Cambodia is located in Southeast Asia and has an old history in the region. Since the industrialized revolution, Cambodia had become one of the countries affected from modern industrialized countries. Perhaps, nobody knows when materialism started its presence in the souls of Cambodians. However, Cambodia had its own industries in the King Sihanouk era, the time materialism might affect the society. The neutralized country had its first coup d’à ©tat backed by the US in 1970. The general Lon Nol became the first Kampuchea’s president. At that time, there was no progress in economic development. Afterward in 1975, the Khmer Rouge ousted the President and took control over the country, leaving estimated 1.7 million Cambodian died from starvation, overwork, and unlawful killing. Actually, it was the most devastating regime in Cambodian history. On January 07, 1979 the capital city—Phnom Penh—was rescued from the socialist regime. Between 1979 and 1992, there was not any noticeable progress in building the country’s economy. Not until the first democratic election took place in 1993, was the Cambodia’s new chapter opened. Again, it was the transition from planned market to free-opened market. At that time, Cambodia welcomed all types of foreign investments from all over the world. As a result, Cambodia has become the Cambodia today which is the country that needs change. Relatively writing, people do not pay much attention on what they are possessing. They start to work and earn for their daily lives. The celebrating of the new millennium, Cambodia’s economy has gradually been boosted. About five or six years later, the real estate companies came into play. The price of the land was extremely expensive and the owners of the land had sold their land to foreign companies and indeed for local as well. That was the time the phrase â€Å"How much for the ‘ten New Dream motorbikes’ is?† became the amusing and criticized words in every day conversation. Indeed, perhaps that was the time materialism prevailed in the society especially the Phnom Penh city. Nowadays, the most popular materials which attract much of the youth’s attention are high-tech mobile phones such as iphone4, Samsung GalaxyS3, automatic transmission motorbike like Scoopy 2012, big motorbikes such as SL, XR, GS 330, modern sport cars, high-tech tablets, jewelry, etc. Because of those materials, teenagers and adults will do everything to own one of them or even all of them. They think in a short-sighted way because of the compulsion. They, in fact, do not give value for people but the materials the people own. If the current tendency is being applied to the society, the inescapably bad repercussions will be dominated in the society. Progression of Materialism As a matter of fact, materialism happens in the Cambodian society due to many reasons. First, movie via television greatly involves in the progress of the tendency. This means that the influence of materialism to Cambodian comes from movies that are showed on the TV shows or their private computers. Whenever they got some information from the movie for example like they saw something some actors have worn on the TV show, they would probable copy the style and try to act themselves as the actors. â€Å"MY TV† is a very good example to claim about that. Before MYTV television station was established, people in Cambodia seemed to be so simple (comparing to the clothes they have worn). However, people started to dream about the Korean style such as clothes or jewelry. Another example to support this claim is that the advertisement on the TV showing that when Cambodian have saw advertisement of Dream 2012 on the TV, they would probably like that kind of motorbike even it looks idio t. Thus, they try to find money to buy the motorbike. Apart from movie TV shows, jealousy of one individual really spurs the motivation on materialism. This means some people they don’t care about the benefit of the product that they will buy. The most important thing is that they just want to be as modern and elegant as their surrounding friends who already have modern motorbikes, automobiles, iPhones or iPads. One PUC student majoring in TESOL said, â€Å"I would spend some times with my friends—elegant ones—because I want and have modern things like my phone I am suing today, iPhone4. I don’t care about anything because I have the phone like my friends.† By this expression, it implies that the TESOL student does not want any mocking or teasing regarding modern materials. He would probably feel upset and jealous if he does not own his iPhone4. Furthermore, some students want to challenge their reputations with their friends. For example, they want only to be the highest in their groups. Therefore, they try to manage themselves to be the most powerful by having more fantastic equipment in their hands in order to show that they are better than other people. Owning luxury car—Luxus Rx 350—has already given the owner the influence on the surrounding people especially their friends. Moreover, while some foreigners are doing business in Cambodia, they are transferring some new positions on materialism into Cambodia by chance. When Cambodians see all those things such as iPhone, iPad, or other things else, all Cambodian feel that all of those materials would probably help their standards of living becoming higher. Since, they would buy all of the things and start using all the things. In a student survey, 10 out of 13 students wanted a new motorbike of car. They shared the opinion that own ¬ing a vehicle had in fact, very little to do with their studies. Peer pressure is another factor to own a vehicle. 18-year-old high school student, said, â€Å"When they see my friends drive new motorbikes, they want one too. However, their mother re ¬fused to buy for them.† Regarding to migration, some students in Cambodia are very strong enough to study abroad. As the result, some of those could get scholarship to study abroad, while some could not get any scholarship. However, most of them are leaving Cambodia to study abroad. As they are being abroad, they would meet much equipment that some foreigners are using. When the students see all the things, they would advertise their families in Cambodia to use all the equipment as well. By now, the progressing of the materialistic tendency in Cambodian society is gradually escalated due to the above reasons. On the other hands, it is becoming more interesting if the paper also mentions about the purposes of owning materialistic things before discussing any further on the topic. The purposes of owning modern materials With the overall interviews, the data shows that there are two main purposes—meaningful and meaningless. These two terms are used because of many interviewees’ preference. To begin with, there are many meaningful usages of modern, expensive products. First, it has something to do with learning progress. This means that people in Cambodia use some materialistic tools in order to do research and update their knowledge by spending time with some equipment such as computer, iPhone, or iPad. For example, some people use iPhone or iPad for doing research because this kind of thing is really small, easy to keep with, the internet work very fast; plus, it looks really cool. Also they could use all of this instruction to capture photograph, read books, play games, record something, or even call to friends or anybody that they want to ask for help such as homework or assignments. Second, Cambodians own elegant things because they want to make their standards of living better (Ou & Khiev, 2011). This means that people in Cambodia use modern equipment in order just want to have a good standard of living. For example, the construction in Cambodia is really popular now. Many people want to live in a villa to have a comfortable living. In fact, if this idea is hold by almost Cambodians, the country will be difficult to get developed because they think in the wrong ways. Improving living standard is not about owning up-to-date property but to be educated and get promoted. Asides from this, spending less time, saving time, is another meaningful thing to do with modern technology. This means that Cambodia can use the modern materials in order to save their valuable time. For example, they use mobile phone in case they want to communication with their relatives who might be living far away from them. Thus, they don’t have to spend time to travel between places to places that their relatives are living. In addition, the world is running fast by globalization that is Cambodians are competing with the world’s technology. Actually, some people buy some modern equipment in order to show that they are being update people, meaning Cambodians are being civilized citizens. They do not want to live in the traditional way which needs to be updated to balance and equalize like other countries around the world now. On the other hands, there are some meaningless usages of modern, expensive materials. First, some Cambodians do not use their equipment in their hands with appropriate purposes. Some use for only entertainment but they can’t see many more exploitations from the equipment. For example, some Cambodians bought iPhones in order to play game or using Facebook only, but they don’t use the phone in order to do research to increase and learn new things. Another important point of view, materialism shows power and authority, meaning that some Cambodians need modern equipment just want to show their powers in order to threat other people. For instance, some authorities in Cambodia are using modern luxury automobiles such as Range Roll World, Lexus 570, or other branch-new, fancy cars in order to threat some polices or the lower-standard people. When the people see all of those things, they fell inferior to the rich. Thus, the authorities who have modern automobiles can do as many things as they wish. More interesting, some Cambodians would like to buy some materials because they want only to woo girls, or ladies. However, they could not use the material appropriately. For instance, some men buy an iPhone, iPad, a nice motorbike or a car just to woo some ladies while they could now how to use all of the material affectively. This mean that some Cambodians buy good things to use is because they want to show that they are really rich, intelligent to others. For instance, some pupils buy new automobile to show that their family are rich to all their friends. The Possible Drawbacks of Materialism Within this paper, the scope of outcomes is categories into three main fields: self, family, and society. Now the drawbacks will firstly be discussed in the following sentences. The first outcome is dropping out of schools. Some students are skipping school because materialism makes them blind and persuade them to forget their studying. For instance, some students do not want to go to the school because they got a new motorbike or other modern equipment. They would like to make parties or go out with their friends rather than stay in their school to learn from the lecturers. At the end, they could not have a good future or bright future in order to feed themselves as well as their whole family. One sophomore majoring Laws at RULE said, â€Å"I used to drop out my high school because I did have any modern and expensive phone—at that time it was Nokia N95 8GB. I was very upset and jealous when I saw my friends hanging out with those staffs. Then I decided to drop out because I can avoid being teased and annoyed.† Second disadvantage is looking like a gangster. Due to materialism, it can make a person similar to some gangers if we look for a few seconds. For example, some men now are wearing ear rings. As the result, they look really similar to some gangsters. Thus, it could make their reputation down. Plus, the surrounding people will not want to get involved or communicate with because there might be some argument or fighting. Next, bad health is another one drawback. Some people use some materials in wrong condition. Finally, they could face health problems. For example, some people they use their time spending on their phones too much in order to speak for fun with their friends. Hence, they could face many health problems such as brain cancer because of the ratio activity that came out from the mobile phone. Some people also use some materials which risk their lives. For example some people use their motorbikes flying to show that they are handsome and cool. On the other hands, while they are trying to do that, it could have an accident such as breaking their knees or they could die every minute. Regarding to family category, there are a few disadvantages. Some sons in Cambodia got modern motorbikes; they would go out with their friends really often specially, at mid-night. Even that their parents tried to advise them, but they do not want to follow their parents. They tend to go out and have some fun with their friends. Because the sons are being lost in the passion of the materialism, it can lead the family fall isolated. Next, monetary problems are also very common. Some Cambodians never look at their incomes to see how much they would get per month or per year. Even that their incomes are still low, but they wish to get as good equipment as some family’s members who already have high incomes. Thus, sometimes it could link to family financial crises. For example, because of materialism some children ask their parents to buy them nice motorbikes; otherwise, they would not go to school. Normally, parents always want their children to be good students, so they decide to buy the motorbikes for their children even thought that they already know their incomes are still low. To solve the problems they normally sell their cows in order to fulfill their children’s needs. Later on, they could not have the cow to help for growing rise. Thus, it can make the family will face financial crises. Then materialism can cause them to have some arguments in a family, that is, domestic violence. For example, some family’s members want to use as good equipment as the others, in case they don’t have enough money to support. In other to get all the things they need, they generally threat their parents to complete their dream and sometimes conflict can happen any times. Perhaps, children murder their parents for money. The third category is society. Traffic jam, actually, is one of the results of materialism. This means that many people are really love materialism. They do not want to use motorbike or bicycle. They need only good and large car in order to show out their power. As the result, in Cambodia in present, there are too many cars on the streets. Some people drive their car to some coffee shops even though the places are nearby their house. At the end, there is a lot of traffic jam on the road nowadays. Because of new technology, transportation is being updated recently. Cars seem to be very fast. However, some people are not good at driving car and some we re drunk before driving the cars. At the end, the drunk can cause problem such as accident to other people on the street in Cambodia. Besides, Cambodian are destroying environment as well while they are focusing on materialism. For example, in order to create clothes, many clothes industries are being increase to serve the demand of the people. The industries are producing much smoke to the sky. As the result they could pollute the air. Many machined vehicles are also a good example of the materialism that can impact badly the environment. In fact, the smoke from the vehicles is polluting the environment which Cambodians are living as well. Furthermore, materialism can affect badly the state security as well. It means some poor also need to be cool as well as the rich. They do not have money now, so they try to steal the things from street or any place which provide them any opportunity to commit crime in order to get some kinds of materialistic things such as motorbikes, jewelry, iPhones, or iPads. More noticeably, culture destruction is gradually happening. Some people in Cambodia are being crazy because of materialism. Most of them forget about Khmer traditional culture which their ancestors have made for them. For example, some young men in Cambodia are wearing earing on their ear in order to receive admired word from their friends. If we compare to the past, it is really unique because man never wear earing. Women are destroying the culture of Khmer as well. Nowadays, they seem to be too thoughtless. We notice that most of them are wearing short skirts. This is very strange from the past in which all the lady wore long clothes to cover their skins in order not to allow the others to see their skins. When women wear shortly, it can attract men to look at them. Some men could rape the women once the men could get any opportunity. Thus it can lead to criminal cases. Finally, when Cambodians need too many meaningless things, many businessmen would import the products into Cambodia. The GPA of the Cambodians is still low. Most of the Cambodians are farmers. Thus, we could not produce many kind of equipment besides importing them from oversea. As the result, the countries spend a lot of money importing some products such as iPhones, vehicles, and iPads to the countries while we are not able to produce by ourselves. However, materialism has few benefits for the society as well if and only if Cambodians know how to use it, when to own it, and what to possess. The plausible advantages of Materialism Like disadvantage categories, the advantages of materialism is discussed in three main categories: self, family, and society. For individual Cambodia, materialism brings easiness. This means that materialism can make them to get high standards of living. They could feel comfortable because of their materialism. Another point, materialism can increase knowledge. This means that individual can increase their intellectuality such as general knowledge. For example, individual can use a computer, iPad, iPhone in order to do research. All this equipment is really helpful to Cambodian. Spending less time is another advantage. It means that many products in their hands already. Thus, some can use their product affectively while some are not. Cambodian youths use their materialistic things to shorten the time and the distance. For instance some youths prefer modern motorbikes or cars rather than bicycles. Thus, they could spend less time for traveling form one place to another. Mobile phone c an also help them to spend less time as well. Now youth, who have many relatives in provinces when they want to meet their relatives, they don’t have to go to their homeland. They just call to the relatives that are enough. Similarly, materialism can help individual to pack up many things into smaller. For instance, people in Cambodia nowadays, do not have to take a lot of things in their hands. They just need an iPhone which contains many things inside it such as camera, recorder, music, video player, note books, books, and many other things in their pocket. Therefore, they could use all the functions without taking real equipment with such as camera or TV. The next category—Family—that materialism positively affect is discussed by the following sentences. First, it brings closed relationship. This means that materialism can cause the members in most of the family feel closed to each other. For example, when some province family members would come to Phnom Penh to study, they would feel isolated and lonely. However, mobile phone could help them to feel closer to each other. All of them can communicate via mobile phone in order to fell that they are staying together and to know each other information. Next, increasing reputation is another advantage. This means that materialism can help a family to be admired from another family. For instance, if a family was living in a villa, using modern technology such as iPhone and driving modern automobile such as Hummer, the family generally would be admired from the others. Thus, it can make the family to get more reputation by their materialism they got. The next and final category is society. Cambodia is a developing country. As we can see in general, most of the people in Phnom Penh are able to use modern technology such as iPhone, iPad, and computers. Moreover, there are sky-high apartments as well. Furthermore, most of the Cambodian youths are using fantasy automobile. Thus, due to materialism, it could show that Cambodia is a developing country. Moreover, materialism can bring more investment to the country, meaning that due to materialism, it can make other foreign factories or industries come to invest in Cambodia. By seeing the youths are similar to the youths in some investing countries, the investors normally feel more comfortable that Cambodia is secure. Thus, it could also attract the investors come in to do small business as well. Some investors can see the youths in Cambodia are loving materialism such as using clothes. As the result, they would like to invest more garment industries in Cambodia. Relatively, the investment will increase employment rate. As the garment industries are being built from days to days in order to complete some youths’ trend in Cambodia, it can provide some job opportunities for Cambodians inside Cambodia. Economic Effects It is a nice thing to hear and see people are buying products from the markets. This activity shows the progress of higher standard of living in the society. Meanwhile, many people buy things that are not essential to them, leaving people tend to save less. Actually, materialistic people tend to be attracted to â€Å"Conspicuous Consumption,† which is purchasing in order to flaunt wealth (Drake, 2012). In order to get the new and expensive materials, many people go to the bank and get loans. Comparing with their salary, people can comfort their buying with their community. That is a good sign for the banks in Cambodia because their services are running smoothly. However, what will happen if those people are not able to compensate? Most of the banks said, â€Å"It is OK. We lend them our money in return their compensation. If they are not able to give back, we have to do accordingly to the laws of the country. That is seizing the property as collateral for bid. Banks never lose to such cases. Furthermore, a new kind of buying technology is buying using credit cards. This new service also leads to huge debts for adults. Because credit cards make them able to purchase things without cash and let them compensate a little amount of debts, many and many youths are happy with them. Some people do not think about the consequences that they will face after owning things that are not important for their daily lives. Plus, they have ignored the value in people while showing off what they are actually in debts. Interestingly, the country might turn out to be outside economic development but in fact most of its people are in debts of other foreign banks. Spiritual Effects In order to live in peace and harmony, the spirituality of Cambodian must be strong and wise. They have to make a good decision and giving value to people from all walks of life. While materialism offers much value on material, people do not understanding owning things that are important and just for comforting the surrounding people are a waste of time and money. Then it will lead to discrimination and segregation—a group of rich and extravagant people and a group of poor and humble people (Drake, 2012). When a country is about to divide such groups, the consolidation and solidarity will not exist. Thus, the country will not thoroughly make its way toward a well economic, politic, cultural development. Moreover, materialism promotes selfishness and a sense of accumulation as being equivalent to happiness and success. It is said materialism is a form of brainwashing and removes any personal responsibility. For example, when people want an iphone4s, they will not think about any responsibilities that they hold like studying, feeding children, managing the company, and more. They will let the responsibilities go as floating water. Furthermore, it is currently true that most of Cambodian youth are not happy when they see their friend owning expensive mobile phones and riding elegant motorbikes. They will do everything to at least get appropriate materials to go along with their elite friends. This is the most regretful thing that Cambodian society is facing. It has nothing to do now but the future will tell. Effects on Teenagers Teenagers, the most vulnerable, are directly affected by materialism, which often has psychological effects, as they are driven to trendy and expensive items (Drake, 2012). Going to schools and getting involved in the community are what good teenagers have to do. Among these activities, rich and poor teenagers gather together, talk with each other, and tell what they are possessing. Once the topic has been raised, the effect starts to spread. Poor teenagers feel like they are useless because they do not own any technological items to work in their community. They lack of self-esteem. When they return home, they would ask their parents for something that their parents cannot afford. Thus, the discouragement will stay inside the teenagers. Their progress will lose and their team spirit will be reduced as well. Actually, it is because they cannot control their eagerness towards those materials. If they just spend some time thoroughly think about the effect and the current of their family status, they would not face this kind of social illness. More precisely, it is popular that some teenagers will be taunted if they do not own the trendy phones, laptops, and more. Normally, people not just teenagers are not happy when someone is about to laugh at what they lack or weak. Materialism and Crime â€Å"What should you do when you want to possess this?† is a common question asked from one friend to another friend. It is not an easy question for those who are poor. If their parents cannot afford for them, they have to find the way to have it themselves. Teenagers with short-sighted thought will do what is called crime (Drake, 2012). From a criminal philosophy view points, crimes can exist everywhere, happen every time, be committed by anyone. That is in the pursuit of material possessions, turning to crime is not unheard of. People will do corruption and manipulate other people’s energy to get more money just in returning owning luxury car and well-decorated villa. Another simple way is to steal the materials from people around them. Moreover, marketing is believed to glamorize crime with images of criminals living extravagant lifestyles. Some people might be looked elegant but in fact they are criminals whom one day the judges will punish. In addition, this will hinder Cambodia in finding its way toward developed country. Youths have to think in details before doing something; otherwise, they will end up in prison, which will destroy their whole lives and the society they are part of. Optimal Solution In fact, there is no ideal solution since it is the most difficult thing to modify or get someone adapted to what he or she does not want to do. However, this paper shows one solution that might the most optimal one, that is, parents’ advice. According to the research, if you know at least one teenager, you are likely familiar with teen materialism. Many adolescents are driven to acquire trendy and expensive items including high-end handbags, cell phones and MP3 players. Teenage materialism itself is not new, but it has steadily accelerated over the last few decades and something has to deal with (John, 2011). The research originally found a connection between self-esteem and materialism. As a teen’s self-worth declines, he or she looks to purchase expensive items for a boost. Material goods compensate for all those negative feelings people have about themselves. This link yielded another important finding about how materialism develops from childhood to adolescence. Materialism increases from childhood to the early teen years, but then drops as they move into the later years of high school. This mirrors the ups and downs of self-esteem as children and teens grow older. The next question to tackle was how parents and peers contribute to materialism in teens. To answer this, parents and peers is asked whether they can influence materialism by affecting self-esteem. Peers are often blamed for pressuring contemporaries to buy the coolest brands of clothes or electronic gadgets. Parents are often blamed for setting a bad example for their teens–putting too much emphasis on having more and better possessions. However, the evidence suggests that parents and peers can also have a positive effect. These two groups are the most important sources of emotional support, psychological well-being, and feelings of self-worth in the lives of teens. Teenagers with supportive parents and friends have higher self-esteem, which makes them less materialistic. The outcome is clear–being supportive not only makes for happier teenage years, it can also reduce the unrelenting requests for expensive items during adolescence. With this research strong supporting from parents is very crucial and effective in reducing the Cambodian tendency toward materialism because as the rest of the paper, materialism does not develop Cambodian society. Conclusion Even though Cambodia opens market for every foreign product, there are risks for the people when they cannot control their eagerness and compulsion. With the above long discussion, materialism does exist in Cambodian society, and it is now getting into Cambodian youths. Materialism spreads itself via technology and every day communication. Because so many youths cannot control their compulsion, they will imitate what they see on the televisions. Plus, it evolves from days to days if there is not any precaution against it. Interestingly, materialism is occurred in the society by not only the technology but also the people themselves who do it and face it. Regarding to its effects, materialism brings both disadvantages and advantages. And it leads to three categories: self, family, and society. Nobody focuses on the consequences brought by materialism because they are being happy and feel elegant of owing such modern materials. However, it does negatively affect Cambodia, a developing country, needing so much human resource. Thus, if this trend continues to be practiced and be pervasive among Cambodians, the country is likely to be the most difficult country to be a developed one. Therefore we, as Khmer generations, must face these problems courageously, for only by that can our country be glorious as when we were at the Angkor Era. This is no longer the time to mourn over the past agony; this is the time that we all get up and be true Khmer people, the people of the Kingdom of Wonder! With the last point of view in this conclusion, the main conclusion to be drawn is that undertaking reforms by reducing institutional weaknesses offers the best hope to overcome materialism. Corruption will not disappear because of reforms. But reforms will bring it under control and minimize its adverse consequences so that the country can proceed with its efforts to become a modern, developed nation with a good chance of attaining the goal. Therefore, if Cambodia really can fight against materialism and succeeds in the suggested solution, it is time for Cambodia to be the developed country. However, we would say today is very hard for everyone to overcome materialism but tomorrow will be much easier if we do something now.

Monday, January 6, 2020

William Shakespeare s The Tempest - 1277 Words

Shakespeare’s plays are divided into two categories; tragedy and comedy. Though most of Shakespearian plays are tragedies, Shakespeare was also a magician in writing comedies. The Tempest is one of the most popular Shakespearian comedies. Both tragedies and comedies of Shakespeare deal with the struggle and the conflict of the protagonist and other characters with the external environment. The characters of the tragedies have to be overwhelmed while the characters of comedies achieve triumph and succeed in the end. The Tempest has all the attribute of a typical Shakespearian comedy. The paper aims to analyze the attributes of Shakespearian comedies found in â€Å"The Tempest† Like other comedies, The Tempest has a very strong and at the same†¦show more content†¦The second part of the plot also introduces some major characters such as Ariel, a captive servant of Prospero. Other active characters in this part are Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, and Ferdinan d. The complications remain in this part with the development of the sub-plot of the alliance among Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban. Shakespeare uses comedy while handling this subplot. The third part is full of crisis and climax where Prospero prepares magic banquet for his enemies. The forth part is called a resolution in which the audiences are introduced about the marriage contract of Miranda and Ferdinand. Ariel appears in the scene with the news with the failure of Caliban plot. The final stage of the plot is the conclusion. In this part, Alonso came to know that his son is alive and he is in love with Prospero’s daughter. Prospero gets back his dukedom and the play ends with forgiveness. The number of characters has made the plot more complex. Shakespearian comedies have some common characteristics which are found in The Tempest. The first characteristic of Shakespearian comedy is that there is a struggle of young lovers. They have to go through many adversaries to achi eve their love. Miranda is a passive character and Ferdinand is also not the hero of the play. But they are the important couple of the play. Miranda is shown as a meek lady who is very faithful to her love when she says, â€Å"I am your wife, if you will marry me; / If not,