Category: Uncategorized

Individual Literature Review

Author’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Individual Literature Review

Literature on the basic principles, concepts, tools, techniques, and terminologies employed in project management is abundantly provided by Project Management Institute (2013) in the PMBOK Guide. Other scholars have also focused on addressing these elements in detail from different multidisciplinary and multidimensional perspectives. The current literature review delves into major principles, tools, and techniques used particularly in the preparation of a project charter document.

Different PM Methodologies

Project management methodologies are the set of best practices, principles, methods, procedures, tools and techniques, guidelines, rules, and templates used in managing projects (Špundak, 2014). Based on the PMBOK Guide and the ISO 10006 system, researchers have identified four broadly known and commonly applied project management methodologies, namely, agile, traditional, extreme, and hybrid approaches.

The agile project management methodology is an incremental, adaptive, and iterative approach to delivering project requirements throughout its lifecycle (Project Management Institute, 2013; Wysocki, 2014). The agile project management methodology combines several project management lifecycle models to manage projects with clearly specified goals but without known solutions at the onset of the project. Agile approaches to project management are characterised by high change-oriented adaptability throughout the lifecycle of the project, besides being supportive of team collaboration, communication, a balance between stability and flexibility, and high discipline in attaining incremental progress on project priorities (Špundak, 2014).

The traditional project management methodology represents a universal PM practice that includes developed and proven orthodox techniques in planning, controlling, estimating, and managing project activities. So, traditional project management is regarded as the default approach to project management, even though it appears to be outside the mainstream contemporary projects (Wysocki, 2014). This project management approach underscores low risk and complexity, limited scope change requests, well-comprehended technology infrastructure, plan-driven tasks, and experienced and skilful project teams throughout project initiation, planning, execution, and controlling, as well as closure phases (Wysocki, 2014).

The extreme project management methodology is used in managing complex projects with unknown solutions, unclear goals, and hard-to-understand endpoints. Wysocki (2014) attests to this definition and adds that this approach works best when projects involve pure research and development, process improvements, and product development where risks and project changes are high. The extreme project management methodology has a direct association with the agile project management approach except that it aligns with extreme programming.

The last approach, hybrid project management methodology, combines formal traditional and agile methods to establish a novel project management model (Špundak, 2014). A hybrid project management approach leverages the meticulousness of work breakdown structures, along with the lean and speed benefits of the agile approach to create a detailed and rapid project management approach (Robins, 2017).

Chin, Yap, and Spowage (2012) also argue that project management methodologies can be classified based on the degree of specificity. Based on this classification, five levels of project management methodologies are known. The first level covers guidelines, standards, and best practices. The second level includes the sector-specific methodology, while the third level encompasses the organisation-specific tailored methodology. While the fourth level covers the project-specific methodology, the fifth level includes the individualised methodology (Chin, Yap, & Spowage, 2012).

Project Phases

Based on the conventions of traditional project management, five phases of a project are well-established. The first is the initiation phase during which the feasibility and value of the project are measured and ascertained using tools such as feasibility studies and business cases (Aapaoja, Haapasalo, & Söderström, 2013). During this project stage, the processes that can culminate in project authorisation or endorsement are launched as the Project Management Institute (2013) confirms. Activities in the project initiation phase include creating a project proposal, descriptions of works, and project initiation documents, and organising the kick-off meeting (Chin, Yap, & Spowage, 2012; Macek, 2010).

The second phase is the planning stage where a detailed and well-written project plan is developed to guide financing acquirement, resource attainment, and materials procurement necessary for the project work. The Project Management Institute (2013) says that the project scope’s definition and description is clearer and more specific as more project facts are known. The project plan directs the project team as regards creating quality project outputs, managing risks, communicating project benefits to stakeholders, and optimising project activities and efficiency during their execution (Špundak, 2014; Wysocki, 2014). Activities during project planning include creating work breakdown structures, creating resource, budgetary, communications, quality, and risk plans, establishing the responsibility assignment matrices, scheduling, and stakeholder analysis (Chin, Yap, & Spowage, 2012).

The third phase is the execution stage that entails building project deliverables that meet customer needs through the allocation of resources to the project team while keeping the team focused on task accomplishment according to requirements (Wysocki, 2014). During the project execution phase, results may necessitate updates to the project plan and adjustments to the baselines. Such changes could include resource obtainability and productivity changes, variations to expected activity durations, and changes in unanticipated risks (Project Management Institute, 2013). Activities in this phase include creating change request plans and change request logs (Chin, Yap, & Spowage, 2012).

The fourth phase is the project control and monitoring stage. It involves controlling and monitoring teams’ progress in activities during project execution. Here, the aim is to guarantee the attainment of project deliverables through strategic team task monitoring to eliminate scope creep (Project Management Institute, 2013; Wysocki, 2014). Key performance indicators are deployed at this stage to track team and project performance and cost and time variations.

The last phase is project closure, and it entails delivering the completed project to the client, communicating its completion to all involved stakeholders, and releasing and committing resources to other essential projects. Guidelines are used in establishing lessons learned, conducting concluding project audits, evaluating project performance, and ascertaining acceptance benchmarks and product validations (Project Management Institute, 2013). Project teams document their successes and mistakes and utilise them to build stronger processes for subsequent projects.

Project Manager’s Role

A project manager, as defined in the PMBOK Guide, is the individual assigned by the performing organisation the task of leading the team tasked with reaching the objectives of a project (Project Management Institute, 2013). Depending on a firm’s organisational structure, the role of this individual involves reporting the progress of enterprise-wide projects to a functional manager or a portfolio manager. The project manager also works closely with functional and portfolio managers to ensure alignment between the project management plan and overarching program plans, hence attaining project objectives. The project manager’s role also encompasses restoring a project’s on-plan status by establishing remedial procedures (Wysocki, 2014). Furthermore, the project manager collaborates with business analysts and specialists, quality assurance managers, and other roles in ensuring project benefits realisation. The project manager also establishes a sound system of double-checking and validating task status’ integrity as reported by the team to avoid falling into off-plan status traps (Wysocki, 2014). Lastly, the role of the project manager involves establishing and maintaining effective and repeatable communication processes to keep the team informed about the project.

Project Charter

The PMBOK Guide acknowledges that project charters are among essential project initiation documents. Managers outside the project scope but at levels considered fitting to its needs issues project charters to offer formal authorisation for phases of the project or the entire project (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000; 2013). A project charter covers the product description and the business need requiring addressing, both of which can either be provided directly or referenced to other crucial documents utilised in project initiation. Snyder (2017) suggests that a detailed project charter defines project reasons, besides assigning a project manager’s authority level for the project. Its contents include project purpose, objectives, boundaries, key deliverables, and success criteria, and high-level project descriptions. Other items forming its content are high-level requirements, a concise milestone schedule, general project risks, preapproved fiscal resources, key stakeholders, project approval requisites, sponsors’ names and authority, and project exit principles (Snyder, 2017). A project charter also documents the assumptions and constraints associated with the customers’ needs, anticipated outcomes, and the high-level requirements (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013).

Project Plan

Based on the PMBOK definition, a project plan is an official document that directs project execution, control, and monitoring. In project management practices, this document is used to highlight decisions and assumptions surrounding project alternatives and facilitate communication amongst project stakeholders, together with detailing the costs, scope, and schedule baselines (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000). While a project plan can be detailed or summarised, its information should be sufficient to define key management appraisals of project timing, content, and degree and offer a project measurement and control standard.

In project plan development, outputs of additional strategic planning processes should be used to ensure a reliable and articulate document that offers adequate guidance to project execution and control (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000). The development of a project plan may require several iterations of the initial document to reflect changes in work breakdown structures, project scope, project schedule, and integrated management control plans. Project plan development has five inputs, namely, outputs of other planning processes, constraints, historical information, assumptions, and company policies. Some project plan development tools include structuring a project planning methodology, leveraging stakeholders’ knowledge and skills, using project management information systems, and employing earned value management (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000).

Project Scope

A project’s scope is the project work that must be done and completed to deliver the project product with specific functions and features (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000; 2013). According to Snyder (2017), a good project scope statement enables the definition and development of a project and product scope because it captures the major deliverables, constraints, and assumptions. This scholar adds that the information contained in such a scope statement includes project deliverables, project scope description, project exclusions, and product acceptance criteria. To define project scope, information can be obtained from the project charter, project scope management plan, assumption log, the risk register, and the requirements documentation. In project scope management practices, the project scope offers information essential in drafting the work breakdown structure and the scope baseline (Snyder, 2017; Wysocki, 2014).

Risk Management Plan

Researchers have demonstrated consensuses that effective projects must be based on adequate risk management. Based on the PMBOK Guide, a risk management plan is an indispensable project management plan element in that it expresses the approach to structuring and handling risk management activities (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013). Typical information covered in a risk management plan includes risk methodology and strategy, risk identification, analysis, and response criteria, stakeholders’ risk appetite, risk probabilities and categories, risk management responsibilities, risk impacts, risk probability matrices, and risk tracking and audit approaches, among other items (Snyder, 2017). The information for creating a risk management plan comes from the project charter, companywide risk management policies, definite risk management roles, work breakdown structures, organisational risk management plan templates, and stakeholders’ risk tolerances (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000). Information contained in a risk management plan can guide the creation of cost management plans, risk registers, and quality management and stakeholder engagement plans (Snyder, 2017).

Milestones and Deliverables

Project milestones and deliverables are important components of any project. While project milestones are checkpoints throughout the project lifecycle, deliverables are measurable and tangible project outcomes that are unique and verifiable (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013). Collectively, the two help in identifying when one or multiple project activities have been completed, hence serving as a project roadmap that indicates that notable points within the project have been reached (Snyder, 2017). A milestone event implies the attainment of the next project maturity level (Wysocki, 2014). Deliverables are metrics-based, high-level outcomes associated with the quality of project objectives and are generated as outputs of processes executed towards achieving the project work consistent with project plan and schedule (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013).

When compiling a milestone list, all milestones are categorised as internal vs. external, optional vs. mandatory, or interim vs. final. The information utilised in compiling this list comes from the project charter, scope baseline, and schedule management plan. The milestone list guides the establishment of duration estimates, network diagrams, Gantt charts, and change requests (Snyder, 2017). When compiling a list of project deliverables, they should be identified as summary-level sub-products that mark the holistic and satisfactory project completion (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000).

The WBS

The PMBOK Guide describes a work breakdown structure as a deliverable-centred graphical outline of the project work expressed as activities to be done to finish the project within the project scope (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000; Wysocki, 2014). It is both a reporting structure and a planning tool. A work breakdown structure decomposes project work levels into finer levels where lower-level work packages represent discrete project deliverables. A WBS can be created using the scope management plan, the scope statement, and the requisites documentation (Snyder, 2017),

GANTT chart

A Gantt chart represents a project schedule graphically, enabling planning, coordination, and tracking of its specific tasks and competing them on the projected finish dates (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013; Wysocki, 2014). It is a production control and project management tool that assists in planning for upcoming project stages, tracking project progress, and pinpointing flow-on effects and schedule delays.

Network Diagram

Network diagrams are visual layouts that include detailed information about the sequence of flow of project work. These diagrams are essential analytical tools employed in project scheduling and managing project resources throughout the project life. These tools allow for the computation of the earliest time for completing a project, which cannot be viewed from a Gantt chart (Snyder, 2017; Wysocki, 2014). Research has shown the value of both Gantt charts and network diagrams in managing projects as they help in analysing scheduling alternatives. While the two are useful tools, the Gantt chart is the older of the two, with network diagrams being useful in facilitating project planning, planning, and control (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013).

Resource Plan

A resource plan highlights the critical factors relating to all categories of resources deployed for project completion (Wysocki, 2014). This plan covers information about people, materials, equipment, and human resources needed in executing a project (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000). A resource plan should emphasise the identification of what, when, and the degree to which these resources are required, along with the sources and methods of obtaining and distributing them (Macek, 2010).

Budget

Literature on the importance of project budgets is abundant. The PMBOK Guide defines a project budget as an outline of how overall project cost estimates are allocated to individual activities (Wysocki, 2014; Project Management Institute, Inc., 2000). A project budget is integral to the project cost management process and its components include control accounts, cost baseline, contingency reserve, management reserve, work package cost estimates, activity cost estimates, and activity contingency reserve (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013).

Stakeholder Engagement Plan

This plan is a project management plan component that delineates the actions and strategies for promoting productive stakeholder involvement in project execution and decision-making processes (Snyder, 2017). The information contained in this plan includes current and desired stakeholder engagement levels, stakeholder interrelationships, stakeholder scope and impact, and engagement approach for different stakeholder groups. The information used in compiling the stakeholder engagement plan comes from project charter, change logs, assumption logs, stakeholder register, issue logs, project schedule, and resource management plan, among others (Snyder, 2017). This plan enables the creation of stakeholder register, requirements documentation, communications management plan, and quality management plan.

References

Aapaoja, A., Haapasalo, H., & Söderström, P. (2013). Early stakeholder involvement in the project definition phase: case renovation. ISRN Industrial Engineering, 2013, 1-14. Doi: 10.1155/2013/953915.

Chin, C., Yap, E. H., & Spowage, A. C. (October 2012). Project management methodologies: A comparative analysis. Journal for the Advancement of Performance Information and Value, 4(1), 106-118.

Macek, W. (2010). Methodologies of project management. Contemporary economics, 4(4), 267-280.

Project Management Institute, Inc. (2000). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 2000 Edition. Newtown Square, PA. Project management institute, Inc.

Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (5 Ed.). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.

Robins, D. R. (2017). Hybrid: A new project management approach. United States. IDG Communications, Inc. retrieved November 12, 2019, fromhttps://www.cio.com/article/3222872/hybrid-a-new-project-management-approach.html.

Snyder, C. S. (2017). A project manager’s book of forms: A companion to the PMBOK guide (3 Ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons.

Špundak, M. (2014). Mixed agile/traditional project management methodology–reality or illusion?. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 119 (2014), 939-948. Doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.105.

Wysocki, R. K. (2014). Effective project management: Traditional, agile, extreme (7 Ed.). Indianapolis, IN. John Wiley & Sons.

Name

Course

Course Instructor

Date

10 Things I wish I wouldOne of the things I wish I would have been told the quick rate at which time elapses. Time ran in a mysterious way and I felt that I did not do all the things that I wanted to do. I felt that I did not utilize my time properly in college and the moment I started getting very serious with the education was when time just diminished and High School time just went before me.

Secondly, I wish someone advised me on what High School education is all about so that I could integrate my wishes in my studies. I could not figure out the reality of High School because all the things I wished to do such as avoiding the cold and joining music club were limited with time. I further thought that I would visit many places in School but time as well as school programs could not allow me to.

Additionally, I wish I was advised to start preparing earlier so that I could have gotten the best results possible but the reality hit me on the face. I would always tell myself that examinations are not anywhere near and that I would begin my studies when exams are just around the corner. My late preparation for examinations turned out sour because I did not get the best results I ever wished for.

Furthermore, I was blatantly honest with myself because I could do something in High School simply because someone else was doing but not because I genuinely loved the acts. Groups and most of the discussions I engaged myself into were not constructive as they seemed while I was in high School.

I also wished someone would have advised me to relax my brain as a way of improving my mental health through relation. I wish I knew how to organize myself and relax before handling assignments or tests. Panicking and worries obscured my possible great results in High school.

I regret not finding someone to advise me to set goals and work towards achieving them. I lacked commitment and determination because there was no one to show me the right direction to follow. I think lack of set goals was a big problem in achieving greater success in High school.

I needed assurance that I was in the best place at the right time so that I could literally fall in love with the school. I was not that happy in high school and being in it was really heart breaking and demoralizing. I would have accepted that I was an actual student put in the right place so that I could happily adapt and enjoy my presence in the institution.

Importantly, I wish I had a specific teacher who knew me beyond the classroom so that I would have gotten the best recommendation that truly describes what I am. Perhaps the teacher would have spoken holistically and directly about me without writing the recommendation lightly.

I also wish some advised me to prepare before attending the High School interview due to my uninformed appearance for the interview. The interview encounter was indeed agonizingly awkward because I could not even answer simple questions like why I chose the institution I applied for my studies.

Lastly, I wish I was advised to choose a trusted friend amongst the teachers and students whom I would share my challenges and stress with. Probably the friends would have acted as outlets and cool me off whenever I was troubled.

Week 11 Mon April. 4-Sun. April. 10: Trans and Queer Theory

Week 11 Mon April. 4-Sun. April. 10: Trans and Queer TheoryAttached Files:

 Halberstam (2018)Trans- A quick and quirky account.pdf Halberstam (2018)Trans- A quick and quirky account.pdf – Alternative Formats (1.065 MB)

J. Halberstam 2018, “Trans*: A quick and quirky account of gender variability” on our library online (Preface, chp. 1, chp 6)

 

WATCH: Paris Is Burning” film (available on Netflix and a grainy version on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmUmiLlg-GM )

 

*(11) Participation post response DUE Sunday 11:59pm

*(11) Participation post response DUE Sunday 11:59pmPlease respond to ALL of the following questions in full sentences, spell check, and write at LEAST 300-500 words.

 

While Halberstam does focus on Transfolks, they make the broader argument that trans* is a larger theoretical and methodological perspective that aims to blur the boundaries between rigid binary regimes. The reason for wanting to do this is because of the results that come from fixing the meanings of particular identities as always in opposition to each other as well as with particular value related to them. For instance, they want to undo the social hierarchy between masculine and feminine, black and white, rich and poor. They believe that these identity markers have actually become prison-like for many folks (think of toxic masculinity as one prominent example) while corresponding to social privilege/oppression. Thus, if we realize that we do not have to continue to uphold the various boxes that have been constructed for/by us throughout history (imperialist white supremacist capitalist history), we can open possibilities to liberate ourselves from race, class, and gender oppression. That is what Trans* as thought by Halberstam might offer us.

Now, here are some questions: What is so important about names, naming, and the meanings that names convey according to Halberstam? Why might this be a good place for political organizing? How is naming (think identity names) tied to the production of knowledge generally as well as about a group of people? How is the act of naming related to power? What happens when you cannot name yourself?

For chapter 6, how does Halberstam define Trans* Feminism? Why does Halberstam argue against TERF or anti-trans* activism? What do you think about Halberstam’s argument for inclusivity?

 

How do folks in the documentary film, “Paris is Burning” create community and resist the oppression at the meeting points of race, class, gender and sexuality? Provide a short example from the film to support your explanation. Please provide your reactions to the film in a sentence or two.

Individual Reflective Review

Author’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Individual Reflective Review

In my learning journey throughout this course, individual reflections have been indispensable learning tools because they have allowed me to express my experiences, perspectives, and thoughts in developing various topics and concepts covered throughout the entire unit. In essence, reflective reviews have been illuminations of intense learning experiences expressed as thoughtful and informative accounts of learning accomplishments, lessons learned, improvements made through the learning process, and perhaps some unresolved issues. The impetus of the current reflective review is the critical reflection on two specific items relating to my project. The first is the effectiveness and suitability of the tools I used in planning my project while the second is the examination of teamwork and the performance of my teammates.

Reflection on Project Planning Tools

Tools Used in Project Planning

I used four tools in planning my project, all of which are discussed in the PMBOK Guide by Project Management Institute (2013) and Snyder (2017). These tools include a Gantt chart, a network diagram, a project charter, and a milestone chart. I used the Gantt chart as a tool for planning and representing my project’s schedule graphically. I remember that using the Gantt chart assisted me in planning for all upcoming project stages, tracking progress in ongoing project tasks, identifying dependencies between project activities, and identifying possible schedule delays that could affect the timely delivery of my project. I used the network diagram as a visual tool for detailing the sequence of my project work. Utilising this tool in planning my project was valuable because it facilitated the scheduling and control of key project activities by allowing me to analyse several scheduling alternatives, thereby choosing the most suitable scheduling option. I used the milestone chart as a tool for planning significant project-related events scheduled to take place at specific times in my project. This tool helped me to determine differences in planned dates and estimated dates of achieving particular project milestones at each project-related reporting period. Also, the tool enabled me to track the steps of my project on its timeline, visualise progress towards realising these steps, and comprehend significant risk events associated with my project. I used the project charter as my last project planning tool to set project expectations and communicate my project’s description, goals, purpose, scope boundaries, success measurement criteria, and key deliverables. The project charter was a valuable tool for my project because it provided all the information needed for its commencement.

Tools I Found Most Useful

Of the four tools that I used in project planning, I found the Gantt chart and network diagram as the most useful ones and would use them again in future project planning. One reason I found the Gantt chart most useful was that it simplified the planning, coordination, and tracking of specific project tasks. Also, it indicated the completion of these tasks on projected finish dates. Another reason was that the Gantt chart helped me to visualise the possible project duration, the project resource needs, and articulate dependencies between and among project tasks.

The first reason I found the network diagram most useful is that it provided me with an essential analytical approach to managing my project schedule and resources throughout the project life. The second reason was that it allowed me to compute the earliest time for completing my project, which was not possible with my Gantt chart, a fact that Snyder (2017) and Wysocki (2014) subscribe.

Reflection on Teamwork

Aspects That Went Well

In our project initiatives, teamwork was essential to addressing new challenges collaboratively, performing project tasks strategically, and sharing ideas, information, and responsibilities innovatively towards achieving project goals. Teamwork was also an indispensable part of my learning journey because it allowed me to gain specific skills that I need later in my professional practice. Such skills include collective effort, constructive compromise, sound communication, and the ability to assess teamwork effectiveness. Looking back to what we accomplished as a team, I can attest that five aspects of teamwork went well, which allowed us to function as a high-performance team in project accomplishments.

The first of these elements was communication. I believe that team communication went well because we managed to maintain open lines of communication throughout the project work. We knew that for us to operate as an effective, high-performance team, we needed to embrace honest communication to ensure sufficient flow amongst ourselves. The team members performed excellently as regards maintaining open, honest, and ongoing communication, which stimulated mutual understanding, cultivated a sense of supportiveness and enhanced progress in a productive direction. Such communication also enabled us to freely share information and inventive ideas while allowing each member to comprehend their roles. This was valuable to realising time economy when completing our project initiatives.

The second teamwork aspect that went well was trust and commitment. Following the openness of and honesty in communication, we managed to establish strong bonds and relationships. Consequently, these bonds and relationships were fundamental building blocks of enhancing trust among team members. In turn, this trust made each of them express full commitment to attaining the project goals. By trusting each other, we devoted our energy and time to advance our project purpose and objectives and balance our workloads, which made us deliver exceptional project outcomes. We were fully aware of the fact that distrust could lead to a lack of commitment to project initiatives, besides provoking unnecessary team conflicts that often damage team performance by creating needless gaps between members’ output.

The third teamwork feature that went well was the application of cultural diversity. My team was multicultural, which means that cultural diversity was an influential component of the team. Studying the PMBOK Guide provided by the Project Management Institute (2013) enabled me to learn the need to capitalise on the cultural diversity of team members realised to make the best out of the team. The cultural diversity of the team manifested in the form of diversity in creativity, industry-specific experience, and norms. Throughout the project lifecycle, we appreciated and respected our cultural difference. This, together with blending our culturally diverse skills, talents, and technical competencies, facilitated an interdependent functioning among team members in a team atmosphere of mutual trust.

The four teamwork aspect that I believe went well was the concept of change adaptability. In our team, we were highly adaptable and flexible to changing situations under which we were working. My colleagues and I knew that change when handling project matters is inevitable. Thus, as an effective and high-impact team, we had to adapt to changes arising in our strategies, tasks, workflows, and the ways we were working together. Accordingly, we designed and implemented tactics that enabled us to rally together, address team challenges head-on, and balance our ideological differences without resisting change.

The last aspect of the team that went well was the establishment of team creativity and confidence. There was adequate creative freedom in my team, which allowed us to try new things without the fear of failure. Working on our creativity freely enabled us to blend elements of effective teamwork, trust, change adaptability, open communication, and this enhanced our confidence in our project work. As I reflect on our achievements, I must state that team confidence was essential to our optimal functioning as a group because it cultivated our collective efficacy, defined our intrinsic drive, and impelled our performance.

Aspect That Failed and What Will Be Done Different

Despite these successful team aspects, two things did not go so well with my team. The first was talent differences. While the diversity of talents was crucial to skill enhancement, creativity, and supporting efficacy in our interdependent functioning, differences in talents influenced imbalances of members’ contributions to the team. Some members contributed more to the team than others, and the lack of balance of contribution affected the overall team productivity. I feel that this was not only frustrating for members who felt that they were high-performers but also triggered a few conflicts were experienced. The conflicts we had to deal with as a consequence of talent differences include personality clashes, conflicts over project accomplishment strategies, and opinion differences.

The second aspect that did not go so well was the concept of self-awareness. A few team members demonstrated traits that reveal low self-awareness. These included a know-it-all attitude, resistance to feedback, and unproductive criticisms. Low self-awareness affected the team by triggering low engagement in some instances, but we later solved this problem by encouraging positive team attitudes to ensure high engagement. What I could have done differently as a team member to avoid issues stemming from talent differences is to set project goals based on team members’ capabilities and skills. To overcome problems arising from low self-awareness, what I would have done differently would entail leveraging team feedback to identify cues to traits that indicate low self-awareness in team members.

Summary

This reflective review has highlighted the tools that I adopted in planning for my project. It has also allowed for a critical assessment of the elements that defined the effectiveness and appropriateness of teamwork as we engaged in the project processes. Completing it has been indispensable in expressing my understanding of team dynamics and their impact on successful teamwork in project work. Also, my completion of this reflective review has been valuable to ‘jogging my memory’ of the tools of project planning that I need to include in my project management toolkit in my future professional practice. Going forward, I will take into consideration the teamwork areas I identified as having not done so well to devise some strategies for addressing these areas and making improvements to team functioning.

References

Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (5 Ed.). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.

Snyder, C. S. (2017). A project manager’s book of forms: A companion to the PMBOK guide (3 Ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons.

Wysocki, R. K. (2014). Effective project management: Traditional, agile, extreme (7 Ed.). Indianapolis, IN. John Wiley & Sons.

INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIC MARKETING ANALYSIS AND PLAN

(Author’s name)

(Institutional Affiliation)

Project Outline and Executive Summary

According to a study carried out by UNESCO, more than fifty percent of the international historical and cultural heritage is concentrated in Italy. Even if debates might ensue over the accuracy of this figure, Italy is without a doubt one of the richest nations in the world as far as history and culture goes. Numerous, ancient civilizations have touched the country as much as recent and modern cultural and artistic influences. History, art and culture are essential motives for a considerable percentage of the number of individuals visiting the country each year. In addition to this, they form a strong promotional feature for destinations, towards market segments that are less sensitive to heritage and culture. Not forgetting the fact that, the tourism industries and authorities until recently, have accomplished exceedingly little to render impressive stock of historic and cultural resources available. Even less has been achieved to further the accessibility of the modern Italian traditions and culture (Moller & Deckert, 2009). This then forms a basis for and explains why the traditional cultural and artistic commodities and their use by international and national tourists is the focus of the paper.

Through research of the market, the paper will examine the characteristics of both the supply and demand of cultural and heritage tourism commodities, to have a sound foundation through which to set a tourism marketing strategy is more scientific and with decreased risk. For instance, research estimates that today 55 percent of Italians go on holiday annually. In these cases, 15 percent usually purchase a package tour for a minimum of seven days. Research shows that more young people involved in these travels are between 30 and 20 years old, though individuals aged over 55 make up for a larger percentage of the 55% of tourists. As a result, of the exceedingly high demand for arts, historical and cultural tourism in Italy, the paper will propose a project to begin a new business supplying the demand for arts, historical and cultural tourism (Consulting & Promotion 2011).

Company Description

The company will deal with tourism in arts, history, culture and religious paths. When it comes to religious tourism, more than 3000 structures are available in Italy, more than 56 ancient and modern convents, 25 Euro house receptions, 30 Euro monasteries that are available to be exploited by this kind of tourism. The company will focus on these areas to supply religious tourism demands by targeting individuals between the ages of 70 and 40. The company will also deal with material culture. The key to excellence for culture tourism in Italy is in the ability to deliver and create an efficient diversification crossing the right artistic, historical and monumental traditions with food, crafts, folk territory and wine. Culture in a wide sense to harmonize the traditional view to protection with improvement of local identity in culture (Richards 1996).

The company will also exploit tourism in museums, as there are not enough visitations to museums. The company needs to breathe to the tourists in Italy that the emotions and atmosphere in museums offer a unique experience worth coming back for. The company will carry out an operation to communicate the new tourism features the company is offering within the country, that is involving the people of Italy in processes of systematic rediscovery of their own traditions (Richards 1996).

Goals of the Company

The main goal of the company is to supply the unsupplied tourism demands in Italy especially in the area of arts, history, religious paths and history. The company will exploit all the available and underutilized tourist features related to culture, traditions and religion.

Situation Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

Art, history and culture are essential motives for a significant number of tourists.

The considerable casual attitude of policy makers in relation to heritage is changing to the advantage of tourism companies as a response to the pressure of the competitive of Italian competitiveness as a destination for numerous tourists.

Not much has been done by the industry and authorities to render the impressive cultural and historic stock resources available.

Accessibility to cultural tourism stock is low.

Opening periods and times for cultural attractions are low and many are usually opened after a special request.

Demand for tourism is contracting.

Opportunities Threats

Given the huge presence of cultural heritage, the supply of accessible historic and cultural tourism products is marginal.

Although the number of traditional and cultural heritage institutions is increasing, it has not led to a corresponding increase in heritage- supply for use in tourism.

Interests in consumption of culture and traditions are growing.

Italy has a significant stock of culture and heritage.

Competition is low in the market. Rigid frameworks in legislature

Lack of control of finances

Inadequate and insufficient management

(Richards 1996).

Customer Analysis and Market- Target segmentation

To speak of cultural consumption in the country means that one has to speak of the number of tourists visiting the tree distinct cultural commodities possessed by the state namely monuments and galleries, museums and excavations. Research indicates that national heritage is popular in Italy with respect to regionally and locally owned resources, which stems from importance of national tradition and heritage and from the fact that not less than seven institutes out of ten do not charge for entrance fee. Recent research shows that within the time span of ten years from 1984 to 1994, periods of decline in art and cultural tourism in Italy were followed by renewed growth (Organization for economic Co- ope 2002).

Up until 1991, the trend was worrying. Signs of tourism recovery were observed in 1993 with admissions to galleries and museums increasing. The number of free admissions has also declined leading to corresponding decrease in tourism. The percentage for paying tourists is lowest in excavations and monuments and highest in galleries. The museums are, therefore, between two extremes with 46 percent of visitors paying to enter. The issue of accessibility does not seem to be, as a result, of policies in pricing. Not only, does a larger number of guests pay, but tourists of culture are also assumed insensitive to price changes. Culture and art are presumed to be critical motives for visitors to choose Italy as a destination for holidays (Organization for economic Co- ope 2002).

Marketing Program Guidelines

To market tourism for the company, cultural events can be used as tools of marketing as in the case of Rovereto. Rovereto is a cultural city, and as such is more attractive to visitors if it has a bi- seasonal mountain for both winter and summer. A successful marketing strategy can also include the creation of a brand in which the company deals with. In addition to this, establishment of a strong relationship between the regional or central players and the public body can work as a marketing tool for the company (Consulting & Promotion 2011).

The company can market its tourism commodities by marketing existing cultural events to enhance its new ones. For instance, if the company wants to launch a new festival in the country to attract tourists it has to work on the events’ quality and create an adequate communication channel. Next, the company should launch the calendar of events. Identification of market orientation references and cities such as Vicenza and Brescia, cities in which to emphasize a specialist in communication are also essential. Launching of the planned events then should follow (Consulting & Promotion 2011).

Conclusion

Since Italy is a hot spot for tourism, the company should intend to launch tourism events and activities by following a marketing plan and strategy that intends to attract tourists from all over the region.

References

Consulting & Promotion 2011, ‘The importance of marketing in the tourism sector. New challenges for a growing market’. Viewed 27 February 2012 http://www.slideshare.net/enrico.castiglioni/the-importance-of-marketing-in-the-tourism-sector-english-version

Moller, A & Deckert, M 2009, ‘Project report. Market analyses. Crosscultuour. Viewed 27 February 2012, http://www.central2013.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads/outputlib/CrossCultour_Market_Analysis.pdf

Organization for economic Co- ope 2002, Siena, Italy, OECD publishing, Italy.

Richards, G 1996, Cultural tourism in Europe, Greg Richards, London.

6 Weeks Comprehensive Training Plan

Client X is an amateur long-distance runner that aspires to become a professional long-distance running athlete. Long-distance running involves running for distances that cover more than 2 miles, and it requires athletes to have strong mental strength and stamina. As long-distance running is largely an aerobic exercise, strength and conditioning coaches must develop training routines that build endurance, increase running speed, maintain lean muscle mass, and reduce the risk of injury. The key muscles used by long-distance runners include the hip flexors, the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles. The exercises chosen to work these muscles should follow a periodization pattern that focuses on building strength while improving the quality of an athlete’s run.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7

Week

1 Warm-up exercise One hour of cross-training exercises 30 minutes tempo runs and one hill repeat rest 5 miles long runs with 5- minute intervals of easy pace running 5 miles easy pace running rest One-hour cross-training exercises.

2 Warm-up exercise One hour of cross-training exercises

6 miles long runs with 5- minute intervals of easy pace running rest 40 minutes of Tempo runs and two hill repeats One hour of cross-training exercises rest 6 miles easy pace running

3 Warm-up exercise One hour of cross-training exercises 7 miles easy pace running rest 50 minutes tempo runs and 3hill repeats 7 miles long runs with 20- minute intervals of easy pace running rest One hour of cross-training exercises

4 Warm-up exercise One hour of cross-training exercises 8 miles long runs with 15-minute intervals of easy pace running rest 8 miles easy running pace 60 minutes tempo runs and three hill repeats rest One hour of cross-training exercises

5 Warm-up exercise One hour of cross-training exercises 9 miles long runs with 20 minutes intervals of easy pace running rest 60 minutes tempo runs and three hill repeats 9 miles easy running pace rest One hour of cross-training exercises

6 Warm-up exercise One hour of cross-training exercises 5 miles easy pace running rest 5 miles long runs with 5-minute intervals of easy pace running One hour of cross-training exercises rest Thirty minutes tempo runs and one hill repeat.

Exercises

Tempo runs are sustained running efforts that help the body develop endurance to sustain long runs over longer periods. Incorporating tempo runs into the training plan will help build the athlete’s anaerobic threshold. Hill repeats involve running on hills that are about 300 meters long. Hill repeats help build an anaerobic threshold. Long runs and easy-paced runs are important in building the athlete’s endurance. The athlete should perform both the long runs and the easy-paced runs at a comfortable and convenient pace. Cross-training exercises utilize multiple training exercises to help the athlete build specific fitness components (Foster et al., 1995). Since the athlete, in this case, is a long-distance runner, the training exercises that are incorporated into this plan include ellipticals to build endurance, cycling to develop the major leg muscles, and swimming to build lean body muscles and increase endurance. Cross-training exercises are important to long-distance runners as they help the athletes build stability, increase their motivation levels, and increase their power and flexibility (Krause, 2009). The variations in exercises and the difference in the stressors trick the brain and the muscles into developing and strengthening in ways that optimize performance and improve overall health and form. The warm-up exercises incorporated into this training plan include the squat to overhead press, lunges, body planks, hip twists, and leg balances. The athlete should perform alternating sets of 3 repetitions of these warm-up exercises with a two-minute break between each set. These warm-up exercises incorporate components of stretching and joint movement, and flexibility. They help improve a wide range of hip motion movements, and they target all the large leg muscles such as the glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles. Performing these warm-up exercises is crucial in reducing incidences of injury (Jakobsen et al., 1994).

Overall, this training plan will be effective for the athlete as it helps increase their cardiovascular fitness. Based on the training table, it is apparent that the duration the athlete performs these exercises is increased over time. Increased duration will help improve cardiovascular fitness and gradually acclimatize the athlete’s body to increased efforts and millage. Also, performing the warm-up exercises and training exercises listed will allow the athlete to build core control, improve their balance and gain good form and execution. The peak of the training plan is between weeks 3 to 5. During these weeks, the training intensity is at its highest as it helps the athlete improve the quality of their runs and increase endurance levels. In the last week, the intensity of the exercises performed is drastically reduced to give the body time to recover. Body recovery methods such as massages should be incorporated in this phase. These body recovery methods are crucial in reducing muscle damage and soreness. In the future, the athlete’s training plan will include exercises that focus on overall body strength and help improve the athlete’s weaknesses.

References

Foster, C., Hector, L. L., Welsh, R., Schrager, M., Green, M. A., & Snyder, A. C. (1995). Effects of specific versus cross-training on running performance. European journal of applied physiology and occupational physiology, 70(4), 367-372.

Jakobsen, B. W., Kroner, K., Schmidt, S. A., & Kjeldsen, A. (1994). Prevention of injuries in long-distance runners. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy, 2(4), 245-249.

Krause, P. (2009). The benefits of cross-training. AMAA Journal, 22(2), 9-11.

Assumptions made during production

The labour resource output is constant throughout the production process.

When calculating the cost we assume that the amount of work put in by the human resource is consistent with the projections.

That the workers never miss work during the project.

We assume that the workers are never faced by such challenges like sickness that would make them miss a day of work.

That workers work a standard 8 hours daily with no overtime.

We have not created a provision for working overtime or given any rates for calculating overtime wages.

That there is no labour turnover.

The process only uses the workforce present at the start of production up to the end. I.e. there is no exit or recruitment

That there is no other factor affecting production other than the size of the workforce.

That the production engineer will be involved in every step of production

ASSESSMENT A

6. Steps taken by production manager to reduce risk.

Risk is any incident that can happen in the place of work when least expected and usually results to losses or injury to workersCITATION Cro00 l 2057 (Michel & Galai, 2000). It is always prudent that the manager assess the working environment and identify the risks most likely to be faced. Risk management is the scientific approach involved with quantifying the probability of an event occurring and the effects of the occurrence CITATION Kra06 l 2057 (Andreas, 2006). Risk is an important part of every venture and no benefits would be gained by an entry does not take risks. Some practical approaches to alleviating the possibility of a risk happening and mitigation measures if and when a risk occurs are CITATION Kra06 l 2057 (Andreas, 2006);

Making sure all the workers use proper equipment and wear protective gear.

Making sure that the place of work has a strategic exit point in case a risk occurs e.g. fire.

Installing fire fighting equipment and making sure they are well maintained.

Properly securing the production plant to prevent the risk of theft.

Taking the relevant insurance cover to secure the assets.

This measures coupled by creating awareness amongst the workers, rehearsing evacuation and first aid drills would go a long way in ensuring safety in the workplace is guaranteed. The manager should employ risk management strategies most relevant to his company.

7. Reduction of the budget (cost cutting measures).

Budgeting is the process through which an entity formulates a plan to utilise his/her monetary resources by allocating them amongst the various tasks depending on a variety of factors CITATION Ban03 l 2057 (Alan & Gilberti, 2003). Many business enterprises due to market dynamics have been forced to look for cost cutting measures so as to increase the profitability of a firm and to maintain its competitiveness. The production manager can use a variety of approaches in order to cut on the cost. Such steps include;

Recruiting skilled interns- the manager could use the help of interns to supplement the effort of his current workforce. This would help reduce the time frame of the project and resolving of over allocation issues effectively cutting down on cost.

Automation of processes where possible- the production manager could advocate for the mechanization of some processes. This would help in increasing the effectiveness of the workers, reducing the time taken.

Outsourcing- outsourcing involves identifying non-core operations in a business and contracting them to an outside firm which has greater expertise in carrying out that operation at lower costs CITATION Gre99 l 2057 (Greaver & F, 1999). the project manager would recommend outsourcing some non-core production functions to specialists companies. This would essentially reduce the cost of production and ensure effective use of time.

Economies of scale- the manager could work on ways of increasing the output significantly so that the amount of profits earned supersedes the cost.

HR initiative- the manager would let each member participate in giving ideas and raising suggestions on ways in which the production process would be made more effective. Human resource forms an important part of every production process and HR initiative is one of the best methods of bringing out the best in the workers CITATION Noe06 l 2057 (Noe & Raymond, 2006).

These are some of the ways the manager would use in cost reduction.

8. Smooth running of the product development process.

The project manager’s most important responsibility is ensuring that the production goes on as planned. Some of the prudent steps the manager would take to make sure that all goes well during the whole process include;

Have a deep and detailed understanding of the production process- the manager should make sure he equips himself with all the requisite knowledge about the product.

Team work- the manager should make sure that all the processes are harmonised and that all workers are in sync. This would help in ensuring all the employees pull towards the same goal.

Setting objectives- the manager would set objectives which would act as a guideline and reference point during the whole process. Objectives are very important if a desired target is to be achieved.

Creating a schedule- time is one of the most important resources. A work schedule would ensure that time is properly used hence avoiding any delays during production.

Leading frequent team meetings- the manager should conduct regular meetings with his staff to get updates and to solve any challenges that have come up in the course of production.

Conducting random inspections- the manager should carry out random checks throughout the production period so as to keep the staff on their toes. In essence this would help reduce complacency amongst the workers.

Budgeting- a budget is an important tool in today’s business world. A manager should ensure that all production activities are carried out within the confines of the stipulated budget.

Motivating workers- the manager should keep on motivating the workers since they would be faced with numerous challenges all through the production period.

9. Project related supporting activities, plans, events or tasks that you might have overlooked

1. Conducting a consumer survey.

The company before undertaking to produce should have conducted an opinion poll to have the consumers say on the intended product. Consumers are one of the most important part of a firm’s success. Factors affecting the consumers demand for a product vary a lot. Nowadays market surveys is an important method of identifying the needs of the market and identifying market gaps to be exploited. The firm should have used the various statistical methods of collecting data from the masses then the data would be analysed. The results of the analysis would provide a clear picture on the market needs.

2. Assessing environmental impact.

The company should have formed a team to conduct a study on the environmental impacts that would result from production. An environment assessment report would help in deciding whether it was wise to go ahead with the planned production and would also help in devising proper ways of handling and dumping wastes after production

10. Ensuring product quality is maintained.

The quality of a product is what a company prides itself in. Faulty products have been associated with repair costs and at times cost of replacement. Many firms have been affected by this as faulty products affects the reputation of a producer. The two main methods used in ensuring the product is of the right quality are;

Quality assurance- it involves checking the product at every stage of production. As the product passes through different departments it is checked to ensure that it is of the right quality. At times tests are carried out to help out in gauging the quality. Usually samples are picked during production and in some big companies the quality is checked in computerised systems reducing the possibility of having a product. It ensures that the right raw material is used during production and that each product is produced within a specified time. Maintenance of equipment is an important part in ensuring quality is maintained.

Quality control- it’s conducted by quality control inspectors. The inspectors set the threshold in which the products should reach. Quality control is quite an old fashioned method of guaranteeing quality. Raw materials are sampled and analysed and if they are of the required quality production is allowed to start. During production samples of the unfinished product are collected and tested. This helps in ensuring the production process is devoid of ant defects. Once production is complete the products are again checked before being dispatched to the consumers. However, this practise is quite expensive and wasteful thus many companies have embraced quality assurance rather that quality control.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Alan, B., & Gilberti, J. (2003). Budgeting. McGraw Hill.

Andreas, K. (2006). Risk Management. Emerald Group Pub.

Greaver, & F, M. (1999). Strategic outsourcing a structured approach to outsourcing decisions and initiative. AMACOM.

Michel, C., & Galai, D. (2000). Risk Management. McGraw Hil.

Noe, & Raymond. (2006). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage. (5th Edition ed.). McGraw Hill.

Name:

Tutor:

Course:

Date:

Homeschooling

IntroductionIn 2012, more than three million students around the world were home-schooled, and the number continues to increase at a rapid rate even to this day. In just a ten-year time span from 2002 to 2012, there was eighty-three percent increase of homeschooled children around the world with United States scoring more than ¼ of the number (Kunzman 20). This information or data corresponds with the rise of Americans who think that parents ought to have the right to home-school their children. The rate of homeschooling moved from fifty percent in 2002 to eighty percent in 2012 (Ray 30). Despite the fact that critics state that many parents do not have teaching requirements or credentials and lack of socialization from the home schooled students can lead to poor social skills and isolation. In addition, other scholars have noted that there are many positive effects for students to consider home schooling as compared to the negative effects.Homeschooling is the best option of student’s education since it allows them to have one on one tutoring; the ability to choose the curriculum that fits well with the family customs and beliefs as well a more flexible schedule, and student’s natural ability are some of the advantages of home schooling (Taylor-Hough 11). Home- schooling; which is a type of education that takes place at home has been a contentious choice for education hence opposed by many people and professionals in the past since the early 19th century as it was prohibited in most countries or states up to 1990. Before, then attending public school was the only choice of education because attending public school was compulsory up to 1990.Despite the controversy surrounding home- schooling because of lack of teacher qualification for parents as well as the lack of socialization, homeschooling is a viable option for education since students can have an outstanding education at home and for several other reasons, one of which is the chance to offer students one on one tutoring. Parents have the chance of giving his/her child 100 percent attention whereas a public school teacher must supervise more than 40 children (Taylor-Hough 13). By using one on one method of schooling, students have a chance of asking the parents a question and receive and immediate answer as compared to classroom education whereby the students has to wait for the teacher to have time for questions. Home schooling allows a student to get stronger and well-rounded accessibility and learn at a faster pace as compared to classroom education. As a result, home-schooled students have higher national tests scores and grades. For example, standardized testing in the United States and United Arab emirates as well as the United Kingdom have shown that home-schooled children or students have scored higher than the average students in their countries. Home-schooled children score approximately 1.8 points higher in the ACT and 69 points higher on the SAT.Home schooling permits students to have a more flexible schedule for the homework as compared to students who attend private or public schools which must be in school for more than seven hours a day. If students are faced with inflexible or tough schedules due to disability, illness and sports or even due to family lifestyles, the students may not have the chance to attend on schooling days a week hence causing education disruptions that lead to lower or poor grades in the future. In addition, a student may be limited to studying at the same pace of an average school; brilliant student may feel like he/she is held back while a struggling student may feel pushed or rushed (Kunzman 22). With the availability of homeschooling a brilliant or sharp student can ease or quicken his/her pace and choose or select a challenging curriculum that is not offered at public schools; a student struggling can work at his/her own pace to understand the curriculum fully. In addition, home-schooled students have the option of choosing the number of classes to take at a go; they may opt to choose one subject at a time or even six or seven classes at a time. This kind of flexibility permits home-schooled students to strengthen their education by allowing them to choose how to study for their personal benefits.However, several critics have noted that many parents or guardians lack the required qualifications to tutor their kids complex subjects such as mathematics and physics. It is true that many parents are not able to teach their children difficult subjects because there are not experts in them. Students and parents can choose a correspondence or online courses if they pose excellent computer skills in addition to writing and reading skills, where they can get full attention to a tutor (Kunzman 21). This is a challenge to many home-schooled students who have limited access to internet and computer. In addition, such students are disadvantaged due to low-internet speeds. On tutoring also depends on the availability of the tutor. For example, in a case that the tutor is sick or attending family responsibilities he/she may not be able to teach the home-schooling student.The other negative side of homeschooling is the lack of socialization that can lead to inability to work with others in the future and anti-social personality. Even with the best home-schooling education, you cannot add the social part (Ray 33). Scholars have noted that since home-schooled students do not go out of their houses for school, they may be faced with social problems when they get jobs. However, what critics have not realized is that home-schooled students have a chance of socializing in various other ways including part-time jobs, church activities, and via sports.ConclusionDespite all the advantages of home schooling, parents or guardians should understand that homeschooling is not the only available option for education. Private and public schools are the other possibilities for students who are seeking best education. However, students and parents should comprehend the best alternatives since each option has it positive and negative sides. Home schooling allows students to study at their own speed and to have suppleness with their academic schedules. Parents are also given chance to help their kids with their education. Socialization may be hard to incorporate in a public school education, but it is easy to add into homeschooler’s schedule. Public schools are the best choice of education to many, but one should understand that there are other choices for education. Ultimately, homeschoolers have higher test grades and scores and have a chance to use one on one tutoring. Parents and students should ensure they use the best option since twelve grades where a child is in school is the most significant time for education growth.

Works cited

Kunzman, Robert. “Homeschooling and religious fundamentalism.” International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education 3.1 (2010): 17-28.

Ray, Brian D. “2.04 million homeschool students in the United States in 2010.” National Home Education Research Institute. Retrieved from nheri. org (2011).

Taylor-Hough, Deborah. “Are All Homeschooling Methods Created Equal?.” Online Submission (2010).

Article Summary

Author’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Article Summary

In this article, Finlayson (2014) focused on depicting how political speeches are an integral outcome of societal constructs associated with the aesthetic, institutional, and technological organization and arrangement of communication. The purpose of the article was to provide justifications for the significance and value of political rhetoric in political speeches, particularly in the British context. Finlayson attained this purpose by taking an analytical approach that focused on the areas of political speeches in the past and present, the communicative regime, the virtues of political rhetoric, and the contemporary British rhetoric.

Finlayson (2014) presented several main points the first of which was that rhetoric as an art is essentially concerned with making political arguments and discourses persuasive amidst political contestation by connecting the audiences’ common sense. Here, the author believed that in political communication, rhetoric constitutes both a distinctive theory and practice of communicating persuasively while recognizing that noble and successful arguments in public life integrate and make sense of the propositions derived from the common sense of the people in one’s audience.

The second main point is that political speech in the past is not the same as in the present because public speaking in politics has evolved into a new political system in which the art of rhetoric is no longer appreciated as one of the most indispensable political arts. According to Finlayson (2014), public speaking is a fundamental aspect of politics, and so, preparing and delivering political speeches must reflect appropriate levels of rhetoric to ensure they are persuasive enough to the audiences. Arguing from the perceptive of speeches by Balfour and Cameron, the author held that using rhetoric in political speeches should stimulate audiences to be in immediate agreement or disdain with the speaker.

As regards the communicative regime, Finlayson (2014) argued that technology is at the core of the organization of political communication today. The author held that technology has significantly driven the means by which political communication is amplified, recorded, and disseminated to audiences. Besides this, technology has transformed the scale and cultural distance of political communication, together with its accessibility to audiences and creators and its durability.

On the virtues of political rhetoric, Finlayson (2014) argued that a rhetorical form of political communication must reflect three key features that include proving, pleasing, and persuading. The attainment of these characteristics requires the speaker to demonstrate prudence, wisdom, great judgment, and aptitude to deliver political speeches in a manner that befits the specific context. This makes the audience perceive such communication as truthful, meticulous, and necessarily attractive.

Finally, regarding the concept of rhetoric in Britain today, the author’s main point was a reiteration of the role of technology in political communication. Here, Finlayson (2014) sustained that technology has led to the creation of a new public communication regime characterized by noteworthy redundancy of classical rhetorical skills. For this reason, the author concludes by affirming that the contemporary British political rhetoric is not very good at attaining the three features of an effective rhetorical form of political communication, namely, proving, persuading, and pleasing.

References

Finlayson, A. (2014). Proving, pleasing and persuading? Rhetoric in contemporary British politics. The Political Quarterly, 85(4), 428-436.

Family Health Assessment

In assessing family health patterns, The Gordon’s 11 Functional Health Patterns Assessment proves to be a vital tool because of its ability to enhance caregiver’s understanding of the overall health of the family (Carole, et al, p. 53). In this paper, the focus will be only Thompson’s family consisting of a father age 42, mother age 36, and two teenage daughters (16 and 14 years respectively). The findings of this assessment relates to three of the open-ended questions with reference to the diverse patterns of the assessment tool.

According to the findings, the current health status of the family is not that bad. Their 16-year old child suffers from chest problem managed by adherence to specific regimen from the health provider. One of the health values promoted in the family from childhood is the need to seek medical check-up on a monthly basis unless in cases of emergency. In order to improve their health, every member of the family pays maximum attention on what they consume, engage in daily exercise activities, and adheres to the routine checkups at the family’s health provider (Keeling & Catherine, p. 27).

As a mechanism towards enhancing the family health, the family notes that their daily diet must incorporate carbohydrates, protein, minerals, and vitamins. For instance, on a meal occasion, the family might feed on cereals, milk, and fruits in the course of the day with the aim of improving their health conditions. The assessment also revealed that the family members focus on avoiding too much fat and cholesterol in their meal compositions. In addition, they tend to feed on fruits and salad. According to the father, body weight is a critical issue and every member of the family must monitor his or her weight after every two weeks. This led to a consistent body weight among the family members in the course of last year.

According to the assessment, the family value sleep or rest. Every member of the family goes to bed by nine to ensure that they have approximately 8 hours of rest after every dreadful encounter during the day. The family notes that there are rare cases in which one would not be able to sleep. In such cases, they just lie on bed and let the toll takes its course with exception to illness or health problem requiring medical attention during the night. Prior to bed, the family converges in the leaving as a show of togetherness and prays before departing to their sleeping rooms.

Every member of the family has diverse elimination patterns. For instance, the head of the house (father) has a regular pattern of elimination, which tends to occur very early in the morning before going to work. Other members have irregular elimination patterns. In addition, the family tends to add more fiber to its diet through consumption of fruits and vegetables with the aim of dealing with constipation. In most cases, the family drinks plenty of water and other natural fluids. This is to prevent dehydration and aspects of constipation.

The family a weekly pattern of exercise or activity in attempts to enhance health conditions of the members. This is through engaging in weekly road trips covering about four kilometers. In addition, the girls engage in netball team sports in their respective school to keep fit. As a family, the members participate in family tag-games on a weekly basis playing handball and basketball games. The father has a degree in business administration while the mother has a degree in psychology. The girls are pursuing their high school education. They complain about having some difficulties in handling mathematic problems. In the last week, the 16-year old did vectors concept while the 14-year old could not recall what she did in the course of last week.

Every member of the family has different leisure activity. For instance, the girls prefer to spend their leisure time visiting friend rather than being with the family. On the other hand, their parents spend their leisure time at various joints for dinners. There is no any sensory deficit within the family aided by the quality nutrition for the family. The family views each other as a close friend. They feel like they are there for each other in the time or moment of need. Emotions and moods might vary, but in the end, they feel like one family joined by love and respect for each other. Each family member seeks to portray quality image of the family thus mirroring the perception of the family and each other within the society.

The most important relations within the family include how they feel about each other and how they treat one another. This defines respectful relationship among each family member. According to the girls, their role model is their mother. On the other hand, family role models include Hillary Clinton and Martin Luther. According to the family, there is no problem in relation to reproductive system. The parents are satisfied with the sexuality of the family. Each parent had an objective of having three children. This indicates that they are still in the process of searching for the third child. In order to cope with problems, the family adopts a transparent approach in discussing the issue on a family platform. These mechanisms are effective towards the achievement of the goals and objectives. Finally, no member in the family member has ever suffered from emotional distress.

In relation to these findings, I would recommend two critical wellness nursing diagnoses. These include health-seeking behaviors and effective therapeutic regimen management (James et al, p. 1521). These approaches will ensure that the family maintains its health conditions as well as improve and monitor the condition of the sick child suffering from chest pain.

Open-ended Questions

Values/Health Perception

How would you describe your current health?

What health values are important from your childhood?

What family mechanisms do you engage in to improve your health?

Nutrition

Can you describe the composition of family’s daily diet?

What kinds of foods do you like or avoid and why?

Are in a position to describe your weight patter in the course of the last year?

Sleep/Rest

What are your sleep habits?

In case you cannot sleep, what do you?

What steps do you take in your preparation to bed?

Elimination

What can you tell me about your elimination patterns?

In this family, what do you do in case of constipation?

What fluids do you drink daily?

Activity/Exercise

How do you describe your weekly pattern in relation to activity and exercise?

What kind of team sports do you engage in?

What activities do you participate in as a family?

Cognitive

What level of education have you completed?

What can you tell me about school encounter? Was it easy or you had some difficulties with any subject?

What did you do in the course of last week?

Sensory-Perception

What do you do for leisure?

Would you describe your ability to exercise?

As a family, do you have any sensory deficits? Are they corrected?

Self-Perception

How do you feel about each other?

What are your emotions and moods?

Can you describe how you view yourselves and each other within the family?

Role Relationship

What relations are important to you as a family?

How would you describe family members’ relationship with each other?

Who are their role models?

Sexuality

Do you have any problem in relation to reproductive system?

Would you term your sexuality as satisfactory?

How have your plans achieved with reference to having children?

Coping

How does this family cope with problems?

Are these actions effective or ineffective?

Has any member of the family had any treatment on mental stress or emotional distress?

Works Cited

Weaver III, James B., et al. “Health Information–Seeking Behaviors, Health Indicators, and Health Risks.” American Journal of Public Health 100.8 (2010): 1520-1525.

Keeling, Joanne L., and Catherine McQuarrie. “Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Practice.” Mental Health Practice 17.5 (2014): 26-28.

Nettle, Carole, et al. “Family as Client: Using Gordon’s Health Pattern Typology.” Journal Of Community Health Nursing 10.1 (1993): 53.