Communication Skill Essay

International convention Conferences, Symposia and Campus Events 2006 The integration of Professional communion Skills into technology cultivation Dorthy Missingham University of Adelaide Origin everyy published in the Proceedings of the EDU-COM 2006 International Conference. booking and Empowerment New Opportunities for Growth in Higher Education, Edith Cowan University, Perth Western Australia, 22-24 November 2006.This Conference Proceeding is posted at Research Online. http//ro. ecu. edu. au/ceducom/91 Missingham, D. The Universtiy of Adelaide, Australia. The Integration of Professional talk Skills into design Education Dr Dorthy Missingham tutor of mechanized engine room The University of Adelaide. Australia dorothy. missinghamadelaide. edu. au ABSTRACT Conventional technology political computer programme is strongly rivet on the bewilderment in schoolchilds of techno coherent k nowledge and skills.However, in fresh stratums, employers sop up progressively a cknowledged that this traditional preparation of engine room students is inadequate, as graduates lack the replete(p) direct of written and spoken colloquy skills inevit desirable to engage with members of other master learn sort outs and with the broader familiarity. Recognition of the in-chief(postnominal) role that communicatory competence plays in schoolmaster achiever within the apply science manufacture has, as a result, led to a human action of tertiary institutions emergence curricula to address these occupys.This paper presents a successful endogenetic engineer conference curriculum, developed for some(prenominal) local and international design students in an Australian university, which register aims to develop both communicatory superpower and union engagement. The grounds that form the technology colloquy Program provide for critical aw arness-raising of community issues such as ethics, sustain baron and gender, English for donnish and professional plan purposes for both English as an Additional Language (EAL) and English background students and innovative search converse for postgraduate students.All grads be strongly informed by scaffolded encyclopaedism techniques, systemic functional linguistics and music genre theory, and most ar gush collaboratively by applied science, Education and Applied Linguistics lecturers. The aims of the Program are to salary increase awareness in engineer students active, and to fit out them with skills for, their future(a) roles and responsibilities, and to provide the community with points whose strong technical knowledge is balanced by an appreciation of the broader loving contexts with which they impart engage in their professional lives.INTRODUCTION The aim for engineer students to acquire professional skills, in humanitarian to technical skills, in erect to enhance both community engagement and career success has been increasingly articulated by ed ucators and industry professionals alike. Professional skills mentioned sundry(a)ly include team train, run afoul resolution, and an awareness of social justice, sustainability and ethics. However, as gamelighted by Adams and Missingham (2006) the need for ameliorated communicative competence in engineer science graduates has been the professional skills area most widely discussed in look into and the engine room profession.Increasingly, engineers work in knowledge-intensive fields that hold both high level inter cast and line of work-solving skills (Alvesson 2004). In the Australian scenery this need is value in the National Generic competence Standards hypothecate by Engineers Australia, which extensively refers to communicative abilities by means ofout its descriptors of competencies mandatory by engineers (IE Aust 1999). However, look on employer satisfaction with design graduates discourse skills indicates they are below coveted requirements, both in Aust ralia (DEETYA 2000) and abroad (Lee 2003).This paper discusses a successful collective engine room Communication curriculum, developed for both local and international engineering science students in The University of Adelaide, which aims to develop both communicative ability, and an judgement of the need and ability for community engagement. The paper begins with a brief comparative interrogation of engineer chat bringing up in other universities, both in Australia and overseas. 346 proportional APPROACHES The critical role that communicative competence plays in both academician and professional success has, over the past decade, been recognised nationally and internationally in a number of tertiary institutions inquired in design tuition (Najar 2001, Riemer 2002, Einstein 2002). A re assimilate of literature, relating to design science communication development, reveals some(prenominal) significant trends familiar both within Australia and overseas. These trends i dentify trey major areas of academic and professional plan communication recognised by educators as important skills needed by graduating engineers.The command of oral testing communication, written communication and teamwork skills tolerate been introduced as part of the undergraduate engineering curricula in various Universities world wide (Einstein 2002, Schowm & Hirsch 1999). Whilst the junto of communication skills taught and the methodologies usaged may set forth amongst institutions one particular theme or nestle often emerges. An inter disciplinal onrush to the t separatelying and erudition of engineering communication (Artemeva, Logie &St-Martin 1999, Jennings & Ferguson 1995) is existence sufficed by a small but increasing number of engineering faculties and colleges.Examination of interdisciplinary accesses is important in relation to the combinatory appeal used by engineering and communication educators within the domesticate of mechanical Engineeri ng at the University of Adelaide. In this respect, reading and t individuallying of oral and written communication skills in engineering communication curricula turn out been considerd whereas team work skills go not been specifi titley examined for this particular discussion, as it is envisioned as worthy of separate dedicated enquiry .Studies undertaken within Australian universities testify the need for high level communication skills. According to Najar (2001) communicative competence, including teamwork and professional create verbally skills for example, the ability to ? inquiry, write and format basic look for extends as swell up as develop formal oral introduction skills is important to prepare students for both ?academic success and the workplace. similarly Riemer (2002) claims that whilst engineering knowledge and technical expertise are important attributes the graduate engineer mustiness be able to present this knowledge ? ith an excellent standardised of communication skills. However, where Najar emphasises written and teamwork communication skills, Riemer (2002) claims that emphasis on oral communication skills is highly valued by employers. Riemer gain ground elabourates that oral communication and presentation skills are ? career enhancers which may be considered as ? the biggest single promoter in determining a students career success or failure (Beder 2000 cited in Riemer 2002).Despite the ostensible emphasis that Riemer places on oral communication skills he overly acknowledges that there are a number of areas of communication skills which are necessary for engineers, including written communication skills, technical terminology and professional jargon. The later two areas are probably topper described in linguistic terms such as genre and discourse, which are indicative that for each specific discipline there is an attendant lecture gardening.Internationally, universities are similarly engaged in the teaching and cu ltivation of engineering communication skills. Einstein in his 2002 overview of changes in engineering rearing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) describes a new approach implemented in the discipline of well-mannered Engineering which was developed in answer to the view that what was being taught in universities was increasingly divorced from practice. As a result twelve courses were either created or developed in most of which ? unceasing oral, written and illustrated presentations were required.Similarly Carlton University in Canada besides recognised that the engineering discipline had specific needs in the teaching and reading of communication skills (Artemeva et al 1999). These needs rivald at a metre to the transition of engineering students from an ? academic to a workplace environment. In the case of Carlton University engineering communication studies emphasise written communication skills. The Carlton University approach described by Artemeva et al (1999) is in contrast to Riemers (2002) theoretical proposition on the intumescency required in developing oral communication skills for the workplace.One other key difference in Riemers (2002) paper to the approaches suggested by Artemeva et al (1999) as well as Najar (2001) and Einstein (2002), is that Artemeva et al, Najar and Einstein are all overviewing curriculums of engineering communication already in existence. A common theme emerging in the literature is that many institutions recommend an interdisciplinary approach to the teaching and learning of engineering communication. Various look intoers and educators claim that linking learnedness of academic communication skills to authentic engineering tasks 347 both challenges students negative attitudes, towards what they term ? earning English, as well as promotes student motivation. Shwom and Hirsch (1999) claim that shared agenda surrounded by disciplines recognises the equal status of engineering and communication, or the ? equal place at centre stage of the course. This view is also reinforced by Jennnings and Ferguson in their 2002 study, of communication engineering skills in Queens University, Belfast, which states that by means of linking the study of communication skills to the exploration of engineering issues that communication skills become a key element in the schoolingal process. Furthermore, ? here is a prominent likelihood that students lead develop a mitigate overall post on their (engineering) subject. Significantly, many courses which have implemented an interdisciplinary approach have feature the teaching of communication skills with engineering design subjects. In an approach similar to that of the instruct of mechanistic Engineering, at The University of Adelaide, engineering schools at Northwestern University, USA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard and Flinders University, South Australia advocate an interdisciplinary approach that combines engineerin g communication with engineering design.In credit entry to the program at Northwestern University, Shwom & Hirsch (1999), claim that design and communication are ? noble-minded partners and that students ? combine knowledge of both fields will make them both better designers and better communicators. Additionally students are convinced of the grandness of communication in engineering. Of the interdisciplinary approach taken at MIT, Einstein (2002) describes design as a synthesising process which requires various visual, written and problem solving skills inferring hence that it is the natural setting for teaching and learning communication skills.He goes on to state that ? design (synthesis), coordination and communication are regarded as the major features of the MIT , cultivated and Environmental approach to engineering study. Najar (2001) discusses the Language in Use (LIU) modules link directly to engineering design suggest work at Flinders University. A notable similari ty with the approach of Adelaide Universitys School of windup(prenominal) Engineering approach is that the development of students engineering knowledge is supported in an interconnected way by the acquisition of professional and academic communication skills.Skills common to both universities include how to channel orally, how to research, and how to write and format research reports. Similarly the interdisciplinary approach employed in the Civil Engineering surgical incision at Queens University, Belfast covers related communication issues in use of the library (how to research), English composition and technical report writing (written communication) and man word form speaking (oral communication).Additionally Queens University covers poster presentation (visual communication) an area that the Adelaide University program covers in fourth twelvemonth but which is not mentioned in the Flinders University program. It is apparent from the literature therefore, that the need for c ommunicative competence in engineering knowledge has been recognised in a number of places worldwide. In particular, an interdisciplinary education approach in engineering communication has been introduced in a range of Universities which offer engineering studies.Despite some differences in the methodologies, curricula and elements of communication communicate by different universities, including the University of Adelaide, these studies indicate that the synthesis of engineering design, which is inherently pragmatical in nature, with the need to communicate the design process and outcomes is both an ideal setting and an important factor for positively influencing student motivation and skills in the study of professional communication.By promoting a shared agenda amid disciplines the literature also suggests that this may also promote student science of the importance of communication in engineering. Regardless of the similarities and differences of engineering communication education taken by the programs discussed here the literature agrees that increased levels of communicative competence relate directly to employability and success in the engineering industry.THE ADELAIDE APPROACH play down The teaching of professional communication skills within the School of mechanically skillful Engineering at the University of Adelaide has evolved over a number of course of studys since the mid 1990s. This development has experienced different iterations with the topical approach developing more directly from a combination of initiatives taken both within the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Mechanical Engineering, and by the then Advisory Centre for University Education (ACUE), now the Centre for Learning and 348 Professional Development (CLPD).These initiatives led to the intro of various courses in Engineering Communication including courses for International Students. The Faculty wide Engineering Communication (EAL) course was traditionally man aged by the School of Mechanical Engineering. In Semester 2, 2006 this course was transferred to way by the Faculty Academic recording equipment in order to reflect the Faculty wide nature of the need for dedicated engineering communication course for international undergraduates. Within the School other initiatives led to the teaching of Engineering Communication to 3rd year students.Initially taught as a separate subject this course was combined with the aim terzetto intent in 2004. In the same year the School of Mechanical Engineering also created a new course, Engineering readying material body and Communication (EPD&C), for entry level students. The Mechanical Engineering Communication approach consists of a entirey integrated, nested curriculum of courses, intentional to explicitly link communication learning to learning in engineering at all year levels, ? develop students ability to construct and present logical argument discursively, ? oster language development fr om sentence level skills to large document written and oral communication, ? countenance active club done branch discussion and response to formative feedback, ? foster the ability to communicate problem identification, formulation and solution to divers(prenominal) audiences and ? use development in communicative ability as a vehicle for fostering students insight into and post on engineering practice in the community, including the social, cultural, political, international and environmental context of professional engineering practice.Each course in the program, illustrated below in Figure 1, addresses these aims while embedded within either broader Engineering course curricula or, in the case of Engineering Communication EAL, within a curriculum that employs specific strategies that address the needs of EAL Engineering students (Adams & Missingham 2006). 349 EPD&C Level I 2 Engineer Communication EAL 1 programme Practice Level I I 2 Engineering and the Environment Level tether 2 Design & Commun. Level troika 2Research Communication Program 1 Design Project Level IV 2 (Postgraduate) Figure 1 Mechanical Engineering Communication courses showing their relationships to each other and the broader Engineering curriculum. 1 for students enrolled in all Engineering disciplines 2 for students enrolled in Mechanical Engineering Theory The theoretical underpinning of the first year Engineering Planning Design and Communication course and the third year Design and Communication course is based on the notion of ? ocial constuctivism as advanced by Vygotsky. In particular, Bruners concept of ? scaffolded learning (Wood, Bruner & Rose 1975) informs the student based approach that is centred on active participatory curricula which aims at assisting students to develop increasingly skilled levels of academic and professional communication. Social constructivism grew from a view that educational methods needed to be base concepts of learning beyond rote memorisat ion, ? egurgitation of facts and the division of knowledge into different subjects. Early approaches sought to provide assume learning situations where teachers allowed students to develop their own knowledge, meaning and truth in a context which would enable them to use the learning throughout their lifespan. Vygotsky developed this philosophy, noting that ? the primaeval fact closely our psychology is the fact of mediation (Vygotsky 1978 p. 166).Social constructivists consider that the dynamic interaction between instructors, learners and tasks provides the opportunity for learners to create their own understanding through the interaction with others and is the most optimal learning environment. The constructivist approach, guiding the Mechanical Engineering communication courses is further reinforced in the application of Brunerian notions of the ? spin around curriculum. Bruner postulated that ? A curriculum as it develops should revisit the basic ideas repeatedly, express ion on them until the student has grasped the full formal apparatus that goes with them (Bruner 1960) p. 3). 350 In the School of Mechanical Engineering these theories guide the designing of courses which are aimed at developing generic language skills which can be used as the seat for current and future application within the engineering industry, rather than a language course focussed solely on communicating engineering terms. The learning and teaching of communication skills across all levels of the undergraduate program enables scaffolding of knowledge to be integrated rather than focussing on a short d of student teacher interaction. by means of this approach skills acquired in first year communication are reinforced in second year Design Practice, extended and elaborated on in the level III course and then reinforced again through workshops and practice in the fourth year Design Project. Borrowing from neuroscience research into learning. the 2006 Level III and semester 2 EAL students have informed the idea of a concept of developing an habitual intellectual framework. Whilst relying on heavily on scaffolded learning, this concept also aims to redress some of the negative perceptions that engineering student have about ? earning English by encouraging students to acquire high cognition learning in communication skills which they can then practice as habit. PRACTICE AND PERCEPTION Three dedicated communication courses are provided at undergraduate level, Engineering Communication EAL (English as an Additional Language), Engineering Design Planning and Communication (Level I) and Design and Communication (Level III). The overall aim of the three courses is to provide students with an nderstanding of the importance of communication to the professional engineer and to equip them with the necessary knowledge, skills, flexibility and confidence to be good engineering communicators. Through the application of Student Experience of teaching method and Learni ng (SELT) surveys students are able to gossip on and assess the impressiveness of the courses to their needs. At the same eon instructors are able to monitor student needs and make suspend changes to the curriculum and methodology if required.Engineering Communication EAL Engineering Communication EAL was knowing specifically to meet the particular needs of international students and to be antonymous to the technical engineering courses students undertake to complete their degrees. Through a categorisation of formal and informal learning strategies students are introduced to and practice basic research techniques. These techniques include ? locating, critically reading and interpreting academically acceptable sources ? presenting their synopsis in the form of evidenced based propositions with sources integrated appropriately ? resenting the argument in both a written and an oral form suitable for an academic audience. The strategies used emphasise participation and practice as key elements to becoming effective communicators. Therefore, companyes are very active, sometimes rowdy and oft fun with group discussions and impromptu presentations of issues, group and individual exercises integrated with couple teaching/learning through guided presentation of answers to the club, and open class discussion inviting students to academically critique their own and others responses.Student Experience of Teaching and Learning (SELT) surveys uniformly indicate that learning outcomes for students are enhanced by ? full participation on (sic) the aims of the course, ? giving feedback to students about their participation, adjusting the teaching ? of various topics accordingly (sic) to the class enabling faster, more effective learning, ? very dynamic lessons and being ? able to sway my learning. imposing assessment strategies involve a series of formative assessments which involve students applying feedback provided to a subsequent assignment.Student comment s indicate that this approach is highly effective. Design and Communication courses The Engineering Design Planning and Communication (Level I) and Design and Communication (Level III) courses are provided for all students undertaking degree programs in the School of Mechanical Engineering. The integration of communication and engineering design was devised specifically to emphasise the importance of professional engineering communication and to ensure that communication is not seen by students as a stand alone subject that can be completed and then forgotten about.The dominance of this approach in set off the importance of communication has been recognised by students who report that the course(s) ? improves your speaking and writing skills, 351 ?helps with the written work in other subjects, they have ? learnt how to write for university assignments, and ? learning academic writing (is) usable to further years of study. A number of students have explicitly stated that the cours e taught them ? to communicate in effect and should be compulsory for all engineer?.These comments are also consistent with graduate attributes specified as important not only(prenominal) by the Faculty but also by the engineering industry, including ? the ? ability to communicate effectively, ? the ? ability to undertake problem identification, formulation and solution ? the acquisition of skills to enable the ? pursuit of life yen learning. charge real(a) is also intentional to be complementary to the Engineering Communication EAL course by providing reinforcement of and extension to the skills learnt.For example, the Level I course provides students with the superfluous educational framework and the opportunity to apply skills learnt in ESL to the needs of report writing and the oral presentation of progress reports on a Planning and Design project. Student feedback through SELT surveys consistently evidence the importance of these skills, for example, ? It was great knowin g how to structure a report properly and the ? introduction to engineering report writing is very comprehensive.A further combinatory approach that has been taken in the Level I and Level III courses is reflected in the establishment of the relationships with prior learning and future learning. For example, Level III examines structure, cohesion, critical thinking and epitome, the use of evidence, presenting arguments both in written and oral form and report writing at a more advanced level than the Level I course. The Level III communication course is also an important prerequisite to level the IV Design Project, where all students must write an extensive design report and present a professional seminar on their project. Challenges and OutcomesEmpirical and anecdotal evidence indicates that engineers are hapless communicators and that one of the factors which influences student choice in undertaking engineering studies is the legal opinion they will not need ? English?. Therefo re, discussions and exercises are designed to encourage students to participate and practice skills, to be flexible in their approach to language and its uses, to contribute their ideas, to build on their strengths and to develop confidence. The value placed on practical evidencing of communication is reflected in a participation mark, worth 20% of the total assessment. As a result classes are noisy and dynamic.Students also find that effective communication can be both useful and enjoyable. For example, SELT comments show ? I like the idea of students presenting ideas on overheads (transparencies) in class activities, the course ? keeps people interested in tasks that could be very muffled, ? A good environment for learning is provided and ? interactivity of the class in tasks helps us to gain a better understanding of the subject. Similar strategies of regular class and group discussions as well as workshop exercises are used throughout the courses to ensure students regularly pr actice the skills of communication.Student response indicates that group learning and discussion ? stimulates learning without placing student under hale and that all studentsare able to learn something regardless of language ability. Individual students and groups are invited to present analyses and answers to the whole class and then to call for comments from their peers. The importance to student learning of this approach is exemplified in the following SELT comment ? Doing exercises and presentations in class forced me to do the work which I other would not have touched if it had been set as homework. I apprize that. Students are encouraged to form cross cultural groups during classes, so that a greater understanding of novelty and its value in engineering is promoted. At the same time students must undertake practical work in developing effective team work skills in order to be able to complete tasks and class based exercises. Students frequently comment that the group work is the best aspect of the course as it provides opportunity to improve interpersonal communication skills and to gain a real sense of diversity through their interaction with students of different socio-cultural, and ethnic backgrounds.Student comments indicate that functional in cross cultural groups encourages ? acceptance of all ideas. Students discuss and at times challenge the characteristics of English for academic and professional purposes as presented in these courses. In doing so, students become increasingly aware of how purpose and socio-cultural factors shape the kind of language used in different contexts rather than 352 viewing language as simply correct or incorrect, or based preponderantly on the rules of grammar.Issues of ethics and social responsibility arise naturally in relation to topics and lecturers encourage students to discuss these in class. Similarly communication and anxiety themes highlight the nontechnical role aspects of engineering. Students have r eflected that ? This (allows you to) practice skills you actually need and there is a ? good balance for a broad variety of skills development. Links to industry expectations are also reinforced through guest presentations from graduate engineers, Engineers Australia and industry leaders.In these way students are encouraged to extend their perception of the engineering industry as a technical culture to include the understanding that engineering is also a communicative culture. Formal Assessment of Student attain A series of formal assessments, both oral and written are also undertaken to ensure that students can also apply research and analytical skills in a ? planned and punctual manner as highlighted by engineering graduate attributes. Formative feedback is disposed on all assignments in order that students may take full advantage of self directed learning.Students who apply the feedback to subsequent assignments are rewarded for both the attempt and the quality of the impro vements made. Students report that this approach provides ? constructive criticism which ? helps each student to ? check their drafts conservatively. Assessment criteria and their relationship to graduate attributes are fully discussed in both the course notes and in conjunction with exercises, and students have expressed this helps them to place learning in the context of professional and industry expectations, ? hen its explained, it makes sense that engineers spend so much time writing reports, talking to clients and presenting project ideas to meetings. RESEARCH TOPICS AND TOPICAL RESEARCH To poke out student awareness of their professional responsibilities as engineers within society, in addition to operating within a company framework, research topics are carefully elect to reflect community and industry concerns. In particular the topics chosen provide for critical awareness-raising of community issues such as ethics, sustainability and social justice.For example, the resea rch topic for the current semesters Engineering Communication EAL course is the Role of Engineers, through which students are exploring issues such as personal and interpersonal skills, engineering education and life long learning, ethical responsibilities, social and environmental factors, holistic thinking, entrepreneurship as well as technical skills. Previous topics have included an examination of gender issues in engineering education and the profession, forensic engineering, and the effects of teamwork on the outcomes of engineering projects.The imbedded nature of the Engineering Communications courses within the engineering curriculum ensures that the research topics are relevant to engineering practice, topical and frequently devised in collaboration with engineering lecturers. Level III Design and Communication research topics, for example, are devised together with the design lecturer and sometimes also with reference to other departmental members. The current semesters re search topic was directly conjugate to the Design Project topics. These topics and the communication research topic specifically designed to be co-related.Through this collaborative approach aspect of sustainability in engineering practice are reinforced and student skills in critical thinking, analysis and evaluation of research knowledge are further developed. In Design the projects are to design a Formula SAE Car, Bio-Oil Trike, Biodiesel Bike, 1. 0 litre Biodiesel political hack Tuk-Tuk, interbreeding Solar Electric Vehicle, Biodiesel Boat, Formula SAE Aircraft, Alternative Energy 2-Seater Aircraft, Hybrid Solar/Biofuel Generator, Fossil-Fuel-Free irrigation system or a Nano-satellite. The topic for the Communication assignments is ? ustainability, applied to the chosen design project. , as outlined below. proposition The broad clinical of sustainable development is ? to achieve social justice, sustainable economies, and environmental sustainability? ( European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, 1994). Australia has a National Strategy for ecologically Sustainable Development which aims to ? meet the needs of Australians today, while conserving our ecosystems for the benefit of future generations? (Office of Sustainability, division of Environment and Heritage, 2006). 53 Task Environmental sustainability is a first harmonic aspect of sustainability. For your Communication assignments you should identify how environmentally sustainable features can be incorporated in the design of your project, for example a bio-diesel boat, or choice energy 2-seater aircraft. In addition, you should compare the effects of these features to a traditionally designed version of your project. You are not expected to justify sustainability. Your research must focus on the specific features of sustainable transport. Yong & Missingham, 2006) Previous research topics have included the following Investigate an ethical dilemma in an engineering project, and criticall y evaluate the response of the engineering company or companies involved, in terms of relevant tenets of the IEAust Code of Ethics. (Yong & Missingham, 2005) Select an example of technological development that is prominent in industrialised society and analyse the benefits as well as the adverse effects of this technology to individuals, society and the environment. Yong & Missingham, 2004) A high level of both professional communication skills and an appreciation of community concerns required to be developed by the Level III Mechanical Engineering students. The topic descriptions have also been carefully devised to illustrate to students the inter-relationship of effective communication and an understanding of the social, cultural, political, international and environmental jounces implicit in the professional practice of engineering.These expectations are detailed in the Research Topic paper give below. ?Your research is to be based on a topic which has social, cultural, econom ic, and/or political implications. Engineers work in every sphere of life. As a professional engineer you will be working in an military of industries, in various contexts, and making contact with many people about professional organisations, government departments and agencies, allied industries and organisations, academics, and others.As an effective communicator and decision maker, you will need to be able to present your interpretation and findings on a range of issues, as will occur in the negotiation and management of projects, the submission of tenders, and the advising of clients. The topic for your research in this subject aims to provide you will strategies to both write and talk about your interpretation and findings about diverse issues. Your writing and your presentations will be an attempt to convince a nonspecialist audience of your point of view.You may choose one of the following areas of research for your project. Topic A the impact of engineering projects on loc al communities The projects you may work on as an engineer could have significant social, cultural, economic, and/or political implications for people and communities who are not directly involved in the execution of the project. Your research task is to Discuss an engineering project which has, or has had, a significant impact/s on local communities Your research is to examine the impacts and outcomes of a specific engineering project on a community or communities.Examples of engineering projects could be dams or hydro-electric projects, weapons testing, mining, the building and operation of chemical or other industrial plants, building roads and railways, and others. The size of the project is unimportant, rather it is its impact on the local community which will be the focus of your research. The impacts could be one of the following scenarios, or a combination of scenarios ? Well recognised and integrated into the planning of the engineering project, yet have provided, or are providing, difficulties in the implementation and outcomes of the project ?Recognised by the local communities or interest groups, but rejected or ignored by project planners and workers ? Unrealised in past projects, with the long-term consequences now the subject of community and/or legal dispute. 354 Your discussion needs to be an examination, that is, an analysis of the impacts arising from the project. Avoid elongated descriptions of the history of the project, the engineering technicalities, or scarcely describing the impacts.You need to read as widely as possible about the project you have chosen, and from your interpretation of the source information provide a discussion of the (perhaps disputed) impact/s of the project. Limit your scope so that you have a specialised focus, that is, analyse only two or three impacts of the project. The word limit set for your assignments means you will not be able to cover all aspects of the project. Your focus needs to be an in-depth exa mination rather than a broad sweep of issues. Topic B the impact of seemingly simple technology on the existence of communities.This topic also aims to examine the impact of (seemingly simple) technology on the existence and quality of life for those who use or used the technology. Your task is to Discuss the impact of a seemingly simple technology on the existence of a community This research topic involves examining the design logic underpinning the technology and importantly the effectiveness of its use. Examples of apparently simple technology could be the boomerang, other hunting implements, for example, harpoons and embitter arrows, a specific type of irrigation system, terracing for the cultivation of crops, and others.Your research needs to take account of ? The design logic underpinning the technology ? The quality of life and endurance provided for those who used the technology ? Any evidence which debates the effectiveness of technology, particularly its long term use. The technology you are examining may have been beneficial for a community in the short term, but in the longer term, further developments, modifications, abandonment of the technology, may have ensured a better quality of life, make up survival, of a community. Long term environmental impacts could be important in your study.Your discussion needs to be an analysis of the effectiveness, or otherwise, of the technology. Avoid lengthy descriptions of the history or the form of the technology. This information needs to be only brief background information. You need to read as widely as possible about the technology you have chosen, and from your interpretation of the source information provide a discussion of the (perhaps disputed) effects of its use. Limit your scope so that you have a specialised focus, that is, on the analysis of two or three aspects of effectiveness of the technology.The technology could be from any era, past or even present day. If you are examining past technolo gy, your focus needs to be on the effectiveness, or otherwise, of the technology itself for its intended purpose regardless of other influencing factors such as the introduction of other technology as a result of invasion, colonisation, or economic factors. Alternatively, the technology could be in current use or development, such as reversions to more environmentally sustainable technologies, for example, wind power. (Wake, 2002) CONCLUSION By promoting a shared agenda between language and engineering disciplines it is suggested that this may also promote student intuition of the importance of communication in engineering. Regardless of the similarities and differences of engineering communication education taken by various programs discussed here, increased levels of communicative competence relate directly to employability and success in the engineering industry.The program developed by School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide represents a successful integr ative Engineering Communication curriculum, developed for both local and international Engineering students in an Australian university, which aims to develop communicative ability, community engagement and an awareness of the social, cultural, political, international, environmental and ethical contexts in which professional engineers practice. 55 ACKNOWLEDEMENTS Thanks go to many colleagues and friends, and to staff and students of the School of Mechanical Engineering who provided input (often unwittingly) to this research proposal. Thank you to Karen Adams for the stimulating and frequent discussions on many things educational and philosophic and Colin Kestell engineering lecturer extraordinaire who can always be relied on to stimulate teaching enthusiasm and creativity.Many thanks go to wonderful colleagues Elizabeth Yong and Kristin Munday whose ample work is also represented here, and to Catherine Irving and Patricia Zoltan whose support, intellectual contributions and hard work have also contributed to this program. Thank you also to Barbara Wake whose commitment to and knowledge of academic communication which, together with the vision of Colin Hansen, Head of the School of Mechanical Engineering have enabled the development of such a successful program of professional and academic engineering communication.Special thanks to Roxanne Missingham for the editing and encouragement. REFERENCE Adams, K & D Missingham (2006) Contributions to Student Learning An overview of Engineering Communication courses in Mechanical Engineering education, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, unpublished (internal) report. Alvesson, M (2004) Knowledge Work and Knowledge-intensive Firms, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Artemeva, Natasha, Logie, Susan & St-Martin, Jennie (1999) ? From Page to Stage How Theories of Genre and Situated Learning Help shut in Engineering Students to Discipline-Specific Communication? Technical Communication Quarterly, Sum mer, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 301-316. Bruner, J (1960) The serve up of Education, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (2000) Employer satisfaction with graduate skills research report, by AC Nielsen, DEETYA, Canberra. Einstein, H Herbert 2002, ? Engineering Change at MIT, Civil Engineering, October, vol. 72, i. 10, pp. 62-69. European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, Aalborg, Denmark, 1994, Charter of European Cities and Towns Towards Sustainability, p. http//ec. europa. eu/environment/urban/pdf/aalborg_charter. pdf> viewed 21 July, 2006 Institution of Engineers Australia (1999) National Generic Competence Standards, IEAust, Canberra. Jennings, Alan & Ferguson JD (1995) ? Focussing on Communication Skills in Engineering Education, Studies in Higher Education, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 305-314. Lee, Tong Fui (2003) ? Identifying essential learning skills in students Engineering education, paper presented at the y early HERDSA Conference, 6-9 July, Christchurch, New Zealand. Najar, Robyn L (2001) ?Facilitating the development of disciplinary knowledge and communication skills Integrating Curriculum, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Freemantle, 2-6 December. Newell, James A, Marchese, Anthony J, Ramachandran, Ravi P, Sukumaran, Beena & Harvey, Roberta (1999) ? Multidisciplinary Design and Communication, International Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 1-7. Office of Sustainability, Department of Environment and Heritage, Government of South Australia, (2006) What is sustainability? viewed 21 July, 2006 356 Riemer, Marc J (2002) ? English and Communication Skills for the Global Engineer, Global Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 6, no. 1. Shwom, Barbara & Hirsch, penny (1999) ? Re-envisioning the writing requirement an interdisciplinary approach, Business Communication Quarterly, March, vol. 62, i. 1, pp. 104- 108. Vygotsky, L S (1978) Mind in Society, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. Wake, B (2002) Engineering Communication cut across Notes, School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide.Wood, D, Bruner, J, & Rose, S (1975) ? The Role of Tutoring in Problem resolution, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, vol. 17, pp. 89-100. Yong, E & Missingham, (2006) Design & Communication Course Notes, School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide. Yong, E & Missingham, (2005) Design & Communication Course Notes, School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide. Yong, E & Missingham, (2004) Design & Communication Course Notes, School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide. 357

Corporate Social Responsibility: Airplanes and Airline Industry

In 1978, The air passage Deregulation Act was purposed and signed by President Jimmy Carter. This federal impinge onicial law came into existence for two main(prenominal) reasons stated by Carter (1978), to encourage our fight against inflation, and to ensure Ameri toilet citizens of an fortune for low- equipment casualtyd air transportation. right aways motives in the air duct business indus picture go way beyond economic decisions for themselves as tumefy as their push-down storeowners. Nowadays, businesses be an essential carve up of society and the air duct industry must exceed their compliance of order and obligations of what is expect of them and focus on the interests of society.In doing so, they must perform incorporated companioncapable business that impart help improve the community, societys youth, charity, education, and too our tabloidt. This corporate genial function should not be an option besides rather an obligation, as that they play an ess ential role in creating good result, a positive image, and a competitive edge for the industry. Corporate social responsibility excessively increases sustainability by assisting the industry in achieving its goals and increasing semipermanent sh atomic number 18holder value.One conjunction that exhibits this corporate social responsibility is JetBlue. They atomic number 18 dedicated to share the needs of Americas youth as well as their community. Ian Deason, the director of airport operations, stated that Flying is our message business our core values include caring, integrity and passion. The comp any(prenominal) will continue to demo their corporate social responsibility in April 2013 by hosting their third unrivaled-year Wings for Autism event at their Boston Logan International personal credit lineport location.The weapons platform is designed to introduce the possibility of flight travel to children with autism and give their families an opportunity to practice the boarding process, belong familiar with the plane, and interact with the pilots and crewmembers. Crewmembers will aggroup up with autism experts at The Charles River Center, where they will be trained to exemplify the expected and unexpected needs of families with children who are autistic. Since the program scooped in 2010, more than four hundred families in the Boston area have been able to participate in the program which the company plans on providing to otherwise cities in the near hereafter (McFadden).JetBlue also partners with umteen nonprofit institutions. One in particular is KaBOOM, an organization that constructs innovative kid inspired playground areas for communities. This past March, following the occurrent of Hurricane arenaceous the partnership hosted a design day in the Sandy impacted city of Long Beach, NY in which children were able to sit mow with team members and assist in the design of a playground that will be constructed there in May of 2013.JetBlue plans to expand this program to other affected cites and since their partnership with KaBOOM in 2006 they have helped build a congeries of 13 playgrounds, engaged 2,636 volunteers and provided a skillful place for children to play in cities across the airline businesss network (BlueTales). Moreover, JetBlue isnt the only airline that is signifying their corporate social responsibly to the community. Transaero, an airline company in Russia implements galore(postnominal) charitable programs. In 2012, the companys corporate social responsibility program made the top three in Russia and they were also charge the top AAA(s) corporate social responsibility rating.Transaero advocates children with cancer as well as their families. They offer camps where children can fit medical and psychological re cuttingal and also fund a year round facility in Moscow, where children and their parents can make legal aid. With cancer treatments and airfare being rather expensive, the company offe rs free flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg or even abroad so that the children can receive their needed treatment. Also many of the airlines employees are regular blood donors and take up regular visits to hospitals and cancer centers to visit with sick children.Olga Pleshakova, the companys chief operational officer stated that volunteering is not just about the companys social responsibility program, scarcely is an integral part of its HR policy that allows employees to learn their lavishly hat sides and develop their potentialthe social initiatives of employees should be met with envisioning and support by management (Tveritina). Oman argumentation and AirBus are two other immaterial airline companies. Both are committed to inspire and educate right aways youth by providing them with an appreciation for science and technology. The two airlines linked forces back in March of 2013 and acquired The Little Engineer workshop.The workshops were conducted at sultan Private Sc hool and Azzan Bin Qais InternationalSchool in Oman and gave untested Omani students a first-hand look into the world of engineering and encouraged them to wage a future career in aviation. (Awal). Furthermore, as mentivirtuosod above the airline industry can safeguard our planet by exercising their corporate social responsibility by going green. Air France-KLM is one company in particular that focuses on this issue. For eight consecutive geezerhood the Dow Jones Sustainability Index has ranked Air France-KLM transport leader in price of sustainable development in the airline sector.This merit is awarded to 19 of the c sustain to responsible companies in the world, each in their own area of activity. Air Frances environmental efforts reduce 400 tons of waste each year (Amstelveen). Air France reduces environmental wastes by recycling old uniforms as well as 80% of inflight obliges. An environmental and social approach was use in designing their vernal inflight, reusable oper atephones. After a flight, the recover headphones are cleaned and repackaged by a company that now employs 50 excess disabled workers thanks to the efforts of Air France.Also, with pollution being a ample issue in the aviation industry Air France is conducting research with experts to create more sustainable biofuels that will cut down on carbon paper dioxide emissions and provide a more fruitful planet for society (The Financial). Additionally, the airline industry has been global before anyone even considered globalization. harmonise to the article The respiratory tracts ball-shaped Dilemma, global travel has been around since the early 1900s. Chalks Ocean Airways had casual trips to the Bahamas and Pam Am had international routes to countries such(prenominal) as China, Japan, and Philippines in the 1930s.International flights are the airlines best chance to steel a profit as well because international flights have the most margins. The Airlines Global Dilemma article als o highlights one key aspect to the globalization of this particular industry and is un deal any other industry, for the traditional airlines, globalization is not an opportunity, but the gravest threat. The reason for this is partially laws, environmental uncertainty and complexity. In the United States, there is a lying-in on how much equity can be held by a non-American.The government keeps it at 25% and the United States is not the only field that does this. There are many diverse laws of that the airlines have to deal with. European laws are the only laws that advance cross border mergers. Mergers for airline companies make a lot of sense business wise if they can be done. If a merger is not possible, many companies do route-by-route joint ventures. The main reason to do a joint venture is to gain get at to areas that companies are weak. Joint ventures are returns agreements where on specific routes the companies share costs and profits. The joint ventures tend to be life -threateninger for he bigger companies to pose but it is a very good way for smaller companies to pose competitive. Through multi-lateral communication, groups of smaller international companies can almost act as a virtual airline itself. The airline market also has many threats. There is the threat of new entrants and threats of substitution that American airlines have to deal with. The air space is getting very crowded for the American airlines so the threat of new entrants is very real. There are many companies that are unveiling the market with many strategies. Polands international airline is an pillow slip of company with a differentiation strategy.They are the first airline in Europe to have Boeings new 787 according to AirGuide trade. The 787 Dreamliner is supposed to be more fuel efficient and more comfortable for passengers compared to older plane designs. There are also companies from the Middle East with good harvest-festival strategies and a distinct competitive returns. The new airlines from the Middle East are capitalized with government funds, running virtually tax free, equipped with new fleets operating out of new airports, are non-union, and offer top notch service according to Airlines Global Dilemma.The airlines in the United States also have strong completion from within by low cost strategy companies. The threat of substitution is most prevalent by companies like Delta-Northwest and United-Continental. American Airlines is a great example of a company currently in Chapter 11 which needs to restructure, cut labor costs, and merge with US Airways. According to an article in Time Magazine, American Airlines labor cost was 4. 4 cents, Delta 3. 4 cents, and United 3. 7 cents per available seat mile.That difference results in flowerions of dollars and probably contributed to American Airlines two billion dollars in loss last year. According to Fortune, the merger should eliminate 1. 25 billion in labor costs. not only do the airline carriers have to deal with globalization but also have deal with airplane makers. Boeing, for instance, has a very different problem than companies like American Airlines and Delta. Boeing has too many orders to fill which could whitethornbe give this supplier stronger bargaining mightiness. Boeing owes it buyers 2845 planes and is only building 35 planes per onth. At that rate, it will take Boeing six days to fill those orders and that is only if they do not get any more orders during that time. Management for Boeing needs to air efficiency. They have made promises to increase production to 60 planes per month. Even at 60 planes per month that still leaves potential buyers waiting for quite a while and that could cause them to apprehendk other international suppliers. many buyers whitethorn go to Europes company Airbus or even try to newer companies such as Canadas Bombardier according to AirGuide.In 2000 the United States Congress passed the Wendel H. crossover Aviation Inve stment and Reform Act for the 21st century. The purpose of this bill was to create a competitive plan for new entrants entering the Airline perseverance. It gives guidelines and requirements for lively airlines to allow new entrants a chance to get started in the business. Another name for the act is AIR-21, and the results for AIR-21 are significantly positive by allowing one endpoint airports to decrease their price by 10%, and for both(prenominal) endpoints to decrease their price by 20%.Some problems new entrants have when entering the Airline Industry, is operations and marketing. Marketing for a new airline can be difficult because of the loyal customers alert airlines already have. However, there are plenty of ways that airlines can increase their loyal customer base, with things such as frequent flyer miles, corporate incentive agreements, and travel federal agent commission overrides. For new entrants these would be considered a threat to entering the airline industry. Another threat to entering the airline industry is starting off with limited operating access.These would include limited boarding gates, ticket counters, baggage handling, storage facilities, and take-off and landing slots. Even though it may seem like a great time for a new airline to open, with existing airlines cutting routes, and raising prices by seat, this would be a very hard industry to enter and have a achievement story. For an airline to see any profit right now while oil prices are higher than ever, they must be able to fly full planes at all times. Lately even existing airlines have failed to see a profit. For example, Virgin Airlines did not see a profit for five years after its first flight.Even Warren E. Buffet was stated in a stark naked York Times article that an investment in US Airways, in the early 1990s, one of his biggest mistakes Here a durable competitive advantage has proven elusive ever since the days of the Wright Brothers. Indeed, if a farsighted cap italist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down. There are many risks entering the Airline Industry, but there are also many rewards if a new entrant were to have a success story. JetBlue reported profits of $1. 5 billion dollars last year, and its revenue at $192 billion dollars.They opened in 2010, and they are now an international airline. At the end of 2011, JetBlue was reported to have an average of seven hundred flights a day. JetBlue is becoming more of a success story than most other new entrants. For a new airline to start up, they need to understand how their investment breaks down. Landing and associated airport charges makes up 4%, depreciation and amortisation 7%, maintenance and overhaul 10%, fuel and oil 12%, flight crew 7%, enroute facility charges 2%, station expense 11%, passenger service 10%, ticketing, sales and promotion 16%, general administrative 12%, and the rest is miscellaneous.The above infor mation was prone by The Airline Industry Trends, Challenges, and Strategies authored by Dr. John Wensveen. Dr. Wensveen noted that there have been twenty five airline failures since 2007. This is because of the global economic crisis in 2008 airlines were forced to increase their rates because of the high oil prices and the falling enquire of people needing to fly. A SWOT Analysis for an airline would go as followed Strengths The AIR-21 act gives new airlines a chance to get started * The reward of having a successful airline is very big * Opening an airline is a Cost-Leadership strategyWeaknesses * The is a very big risk * Oil prices are high * It cost a lot of money to open a new airline * Loyalty systems other airlines have with their customers Opportunities * Being able to start something new * Opening up in an industry that will always be improving Threats * The US Airways merger with American Airlines * The United States Airlines Industry has the potential to become a monop oly with the merger of airlines * Not being able to move loyal customers to a new airline On February 14, American Airlines and US Airways publically announced their proposal to merge with one another.Higher power executives and presidents in these 2 substantially large companies ensure that the soon-to-be merger will lessen competition in the airline industry, provide the airlines customers with a broader network, more choices, and better service (Lawton). However, others do not agree. Many believe that because this newly merging company will be determine at $11 billion and will make-up a thumping 26% of U. S. market share, which would be the worlds largest airline, this will in truth lead to an increase in fares (The Wall Street Journal).Although the future of airfares is uncertain, it is safe to say that both companies are doing an excellent job in organisational communication during this transitional phase. US Airways and American Airlines are currently in a bumpy transitional phase in merging to become an airline powerhouse. US Airways and American Airlines must establish strategies to achieve crude goals and develop this approach, which will require extensive mutual planning. Doug Parker, the former chief executive officer of US Airways, will be taking the role as head of the new company, which will be taking the name in favor of American Airlines (Jones).In a previous interview, Parker stated that theyve got some advantages in qualification the marriage go more smoothly. New management taking the reins of the new American must use a strategic approach to rise a long-term plan. In doing so, this strategic approach will be more beneficial than considering a short-term volatile schedule. There may be a large internal advantage to already having a sufficient amount of employees within the companies, but the public consumer will be more concerned about what disadvantages will affect them through extraneous company decisions.A conflicting potential imp act of this merger is combining obedience programs. Frequent flyers may certainly be an airlines most valued customer. just now as their most valued customer, they should not reap harmful personal effects throughout the process of this combination. According to article American, US Airways Can obligate Lessons from Other Airline Mergers the frequent flyer members of the Aadvantage rewards program will receive perks from both the US Airways program and American Airlines program. Although this is rational decision devising trying to smoothly overlay both reward programs to satisfy existing members, this rationality is bounded.Because of this bounded rationality, decision making is limited because it would be out of the question to add all reward benefits from both airlines into one blended program. For example, American Airlines members, who carry the Express Platinum Card and Black Card had bottomless access to first class lounges. When this merger is finalized, these card memb ers will lose this privilege. (Jones) There may be some rough patches in reorient these airlines but the potential benefits will greatly outweigh the troubles that may be faced. Darryl Jenkins has said that The financial deal is easy the challenges are always in the integration. The new American must show sustainability for their firm to achieve long-term shareholder value. As of April 9th 2013, American Airlines (AAMRQ) closed with a stock price of $3. 58 US Airways (LLC) closed at a price of $15. 70 but dropped . 14 points throughout the course of the day (YAHOO Finance). Work Cited Air France Committed to Sustainable Development. FINCHANNEL. com. The FINANCIAL, 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. . Amstelveen. Sustainable Development Air France-KLM initiation Air Transport Leader in 2012. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. KLM Corporate, 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. . Awal, Jamadil. Oman Air, Airbus Bring little Engineer Workshops Muscat. Arab News. SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPAN Y, 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. . Business & Industry News Aircraft Finance News. (2012). AirGuide Business, 1-16. Hawes, A. (2012, May 25). The Challenge of Starting an Airline. The New York Times.

Geographic History of Henequen in Yucatan, Mexico Essay

In Yucatan, Mexico, sensation of the main considered merchandises has been henequen that thunder mug be obtained from the plant Agave Fourcroydes. The henequen fiber has become evidential to the economical stand of Yucatan since this product has conceived intense demand by international importers, much(prenominal) as the United States, China, Europe, etc. According to Cook (1994), during 1990s, the drudgery of henequen has surged to a total economic export of 150,000 tons annually. In fact, the main production of henequen originates mainly from the state of Yucatan Mexico (p. 29).The state of Yucatan, Mexico, has meaningfully obtained economic benefits from the exports made d one these henequen fibers, such as rope, rigs, sacks, and raw forms. They are usually shipped wislender the proximity of Merida and other cores of henequen production (Patch, 1993 p. 206). The bloom of henequen during the 19th century has signifi hindquarterstly boosted the thriftiness of the state, especially considering that they are worlds main exported of this product. From the analysis of the blooms occurrence, significant characteristics that have been present in the topographical condition of the state caused this wide bloom and production.The geography and climate of Yucatan State have been considered unique and precise much suitable to the growth of henequen. In addition, considering the trends of exports and demands during the early 1900s, the market needfully have significantly affected the consumption of the product. However, as the late nineteenth century approaches, the freeze off in the henequen demand in the market collect to various reasons, such as competition, disco rattling of alternative products and conversion of haciendas in Yucatan, has become significantly noticeable.In the study, the discussion gives emphasis on the chronological history of henequen exports from Yucatan, Mexico. The study starts with the analysis of henequen bloom during the earl y 1900s until its significant decline during the late 20th century. The study also provides important facts on henequen growth, export historical trends contribution of climate for its growth, and the history of its market decline. Discussion geographics of Yucatan The most evident characteristic of Yucatan Peninsula is the bearing of limestone shelf from the eastern to western sections that surfaces above sea level.The limestone shelf of Yucatan is present even be junior-grade the sea, which is real much evident in the eastern Caribbean side. The key to the growth of Yucatan henequen is the thin limestone soils present as one of the characteristics of their lands (Sauer, 1993 p. 178). The areas of Merida and Ticul comprise the flat plains of Yucatan abundant in limestone deposits. Viewing the areas 60 km south from Merida, vast plains of Yucatan limestone are truly much evident and the river areas are flow under the soil.According to Greensfelder & Dogett (2006), the significant characteristic of limestone present in Yucatan is the porous feature, which enables storage of mineral deposits as well as water source. Such features are important in promoting the growth of henequen plants, since the limestone act as the primary nutrient banks of crop grow (p. 17). The borders of the Yucatan state involve the Campeche located in the southern portion, Quintana Roo in the south portion, and the Gulf of Mexico in the north and western perspective.Throughout the peninsula, lakes called lagunas are very much evident and from here on, Yucatan has also utilized cenotes or the collapsed fresh water caverns in order to obtain their fresh water. Yucatan also has their limestone pools called chenes, which also acts as their freshwater storage since the water deposits are usually brought by the underground streams. From this build of ecologic characteristics has aroused the vast variation of exotic flora and zoological science that kept the survival of Mayan civilization present in the area (Perry, 2001 p. 9). Climatology of YucatanThe Yucatan climate entails humid temperatures from November to February, while the driest season progress from November to April. Yucatan climatology is usually tropical and sweltering temperature progresses in an annual scope. The average annual temperatures for the Mexican Caribbean is 78 degrees F or 25. 5 degrees C with significant deviations of 5 to 7 degrees F. During the twenty-four hour period temperatures can push into the 80s and overnight temperatures can drop as low as the 50s and low 60s degree F. The coolest months in this region are the among December to February, where the average highs are from 74 to 76 degrees F (Page, 2005 p. 10).Analyzing one of the areas where henequen is prominently produced, Merida, which is tropical and humid, obtains the annual precipitation of about 1,050mm, which signifies to potential evapotransportation of 2,000 mm (Anton, 1996 p. 118). The climatic condition of wet and d ry area has been beneficial to the sedulousness of henequen growth since this plant tend to adapt to tropical and humid environment, which describes Yucatan peninsula as the perfect place. Added by Anton (1996), the precipitation rates present in the unblemished peninsula accounts to a variation of 500 mm near the northwestern strand to more than 1,300 mm in the northeastern (p.118). The Yucatan climate has been viewed as one of the contributors for the plants intense growth. The Agave Fourcroydes (Henequen) The henequen plant is very exchangeable to the usual African sisal hemp hence, it has acquired the name Yucatan Sisal. The Agave fourcroydes plant can be easily recognized through their leaves that have a barbed and grayish green color. The leaves are processed in the same stylus as sisal, while the strands are carefully cleansed and place under the fair weather to dry (Cook, 1984 p. 29).The henequen stalks can extend up to 2 meters long and 10 cm to 15 cm wide. The prefe rential disadvantage of this plant is the presence of thorns, which is also viewed as one of the primary reasons for the preference of consumer to African sisal since stalks their stalks are free from thorns. A cultivated henequen plant can pass on about 25 leaves annually from the fifth to the 16th year aft(prenominal) its planting. Most commonly, the henequen plant can survive and grow for seven geezerhood without intensive maintenance.In fact, with the favorable topographical condition of Yucatan, the henequen plant usually survives without being attended by farmers (Greensfelder and Doggett, 2003 p. 191). The process of extracting fiber from this plant involves the moorage of their leaves and, from the factories they grind these until the fiber strands are revealed. The main use of henequen is for the binder flex in wheat harvesting. The advantage of henequen product over synthetic fibers is its resistor to marine life propagation, such as algae, barnacles, etc (Greensfeld er and Doggett, 2003 p. 191).

EDMUNDS CORRUGATED PARTS & SERVICES Essay

I. Problem Identification1. Demand on Edmunds Corrugated separate and Services outputs are diminishing. 2. Remote location of its air.3. High price of obturate material.4. Difficulty of replacing industrious and loyal existing employee.II. Objectives1. To keep the go with of its current standing in the market in the future.2. To develop new-sprung(prenominal) parts and products that leave alone compete on new trends of transportation system products.3. To look other target market that will increase its market touch.4. To carry and develop highly skilled worker at an earlier cadence to replace the retiring workforce.III. Analysis and MethodologyThe case is being resolved on the point of view of Mr. Larry Edmunds the Owner.Methodology use in abbreviation SWOT AnalysisStrength1. More than 2 decades in existence.2. It has hardworking and loyal workforce.3. Industry leader with exceptional reputation for reliability. 4. Market share is at 75 percentWeaknesses1. Location is rural.2. Products are not up the current technology.3. Revenues were beginning to show clear signs of stagnation. 4. Current workforces are nearing retirement.Opportunities1. variegation of new and existing products.2. Has 50,000 square foot factory.3. Youthful workforce is easy4. Other alternative business venture is emerging.5. Make use of the net income as a marketing tool.Threats1. Products are going to be obsolete.2. reputation industry is being wipeout.3. Clients are going overseas for a vocalise venture.4. Surviving manufacturers are investing on high quality machines that broke down less frequently.IV. Alternative Courses of Actions1. Develop new parts and product that will cater the new machines use in manufacturing new shipping products. 2. Make a careful study to branch out the business to other areas to increase its share in the market. 3. Find an alternatives source of materials similar durable plastics for shipping products. 4. Hire younger workforce and develop their skills.V. finis / RecommendationThe company should always look on the ever evolving market trend on manufacturing and distribution on its industry. The company should adapt pronto to keep its share in market or introduce machines that will keep industry grow and lower production cost by means of automation.All of the alternative courses of actions are recommended to keep the company move off and achieve its goals.

Perfect Wife Essay

A popular saying goes, Marriage involves triplet rings the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering.If it is commonly felt that jointure is so difficult, why do most people wish to get espouse? Probably, the instinct to arrive a mate is inherent in merciful beings and I am no exception. Somehow, I believe that there is psyche out there who was make specially for me, and, once I find him, we leave fall in love, and get married and only and so depart I feel complete. So, how will I blemish my Mrs undecomposed? What qualities should I be looking for?First of all, I am not looking for Mrs Tall, and pretty. Character is more alpha than looks. I cannot decline that I am attracted to good-looking girl, scarce marrying solely for physical attractor will probably lead to short term pleasure nevertheless life-long regret. I catch also noticed that beautiful girl ar often vain and arrogant, which I find most unattractive. One of the main things that I admire in a women is humility. Such a women will not boast about his wealth, intelligence or achievements, but, kind of calculate some other peoples abilities and achievements. She will also readily accept when he has made a mistake. Such a women would be a joy to live with.Good communication is the key to any firm relationship, most of all, marriage. I would want my future wife to share her thoughts with me. I want to hear her dreams and to share in her struggles. On the other hand, I will also need someone who will be active to listen to me, and interested to know what is happening in my life. There should be no secrets between us.Life is full of challenges. We can expect to confront failure as well as success heartache as well as joy boredom as well as excitement. So, the consummate wife should have a decreed attitude and a good sense of humour. She should be witty and say things which make me laugh. The perfect wife would also be one who can see the silver medal lining behind every cloud, rather than focus on the flaws in every situation. With such a women, I will be back up to look at life in a happier and more positive way.Above all other qualities, the perfect wife will be faithful. She must be someone who really believes in that marriage is made to last till death do us part. She will be addly committed to our relationship, and willing to stay for the long haul, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse as couples name in the wedding vows. The perfect wife would not be put off by other man not even when I have lost my looks. In return, I will also promise my total loyalty and faithfulness to my future wife.Actually, there are many other qualities that make a women perfect wife material. For example, one obvious spirit would be the ability to provide and, though it is not the most important quality, physical attraction must be a part of the equating for a marriage to work well. However, while it is easy to make lists, purpose a women to live up to them will be very difficult. Furthermore, instead of focusing on my requirements for the perfect wife, I think I should recognise my own imperfections, and set about correcting them. As Barnett Brickner said, Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate.

Reflection Summary Essay

The previous weeks objectives covered Power dismantle in Microsoft Office, Presentation Tools, and corpse Development Life Cycle (SDLC). What could be applicable to your workplace or personal, and how your knowledge has increased as a result of what you escortd through the learning activities.We learn more or less presentation tools that ar available in the marketplace and their advantages and disadvantages that they may have. Our team agreed that Microsoft Power Point is the nearly common and most used in the workplace and market place. We were altogether very familiar with how the transcription works, we all have worked with Power Point before. We were all very comfortable with Microsoft Power Point. There ar more other(prenominal) other presentation tools that can be used, and that are available save overall the most common is Microsoft Power Point. The next topic we had discussed was some what business go through to go through new technology.The second word of ho nor question posted we learned was in regards to six stages of the systems development bearing cycle. The system development life cycle (SDLC) has six processes in which info system is process systems investigation, system analysis, systems design, programming and testing, implementation, and operation and maintenance. These six processes are important for organizations to use when deciding on an information system however, these processes are not only for organization, but also for personal use as well. When deciding whether to get a new operation system for a personal computer, you can have some of the same challenges. Consumers have to resolve what kind of budget they have, what will the system do for them, and will the system last for a long time before having to get another system. We didnt realize what business have to go through to implement new technology into the business plan. We learned that it can be a very long, in depth and costly process to implement a new system i n the work place.In conclusion, we have learned many great things as a team about Microsoft military unit point, and presentation. How everyone uses power point for work and personal life. We also learned about System Development Life Cycle (SDLC). How the process can be long and expensive depending on the systemrequirements. We agreed and disagreed on many things but in the end we were able to learn from one another. on the job(p) as team has made it better and easier to learn, we each collaborated on put this reflection summary together. It has made it an even better learning experience working together as a team.

Humanities Study Guide

Study guide Ch 16 Enlightenment Enlightenment 1700-1789- keen and cultural ride. Rococo- pastile, light and everyday scene of wealthy atistocles, and sexual or exrotic. Neoclasicism- Deism- worship a supreme being a god who created the cosmea and set the laws of nature in motion but who never once more interfered in natural or human affairs. Pietism- Philosophes- leaders of enlightenment. Encyclopedie- First massive awakening- Phillip Spener- Jonathan Edwards- Mozart- Departure from Cythera- 1717 oil on canvasOath of the Horatii- 1785 Ch17 Revolutions Capitalism/laissez-faire- rule by the concourse and government keeps out of economy. romanticism- sublime- Industrial revolution- switch to mass production. american revolution- pursuance independence from great britian and taxation without repreatation. french revolution- enligtment freedom and equality for all. resolve of independence-1776 war aganist great britian. Estates-general- adam smith- national constituent assembly- l ouis XVI- king of france and die hard of terror aximilien robespierre- reign of terror- declaration of the rights of man and citizen- goethe-1749-1832 the sorrows of young werther 1774 death of marat-1793 the third of may-1808, 1814-1815 the raft of the medusa-1818 oil on canvas ch 18 triumph of the bourgeoisie Liberalism- democracy and individual liberity. Nationalism- pride in ones nation. Equality and brotherhood real(a) politik- realistic/praticial governing style strong armies 1850-1871. socialism-destruction of class system, proletariat. Evangelicalism-protestant and methodists ranscendentalism- thoreau walden 1859 and rom movement in U. S. Realism- concead in real life, everyday problems. slave yarn-1845 life of fredick douglas and 1850 narrative of sojourner truth. pope pius 9-1848 syllabus of errors and doctrine of papal infallibility. karl marx friedrich engels- communist manifesto 1848. charles darwin- origings of species 1859. charlotte bronte- jane eyre 1847 emily bronte- wuthering high 1847 leo tolstoy- sojourner truth- the slave ship- 1840 J. M. W. Turner

Orion Shield Project Case Essay

In this piece of music, The hunting watch harbour honk is critic wholey examine to determine how effective the exteriorize man set off on withr, Mr. Gary Allison, is in operating as leader. Specifically, the paper focuses on what technological, estim sufficient, effective, commenceual, and other managerial electric bylets plague the success of The hunting watch plate Project. The paper attempts to learn these issues by first introducing the reader to background to a greater extent or little the purpose, and then moving into a deeper discussion of every one of the antecedently mentioned issues. Due to the individuals he works with and the differing situations he is placed, Mr. Allison must make embarrassing decisions at every corner. After examining the fancy, it is set in motion that Mr. Allison potentiometer improve his responses to these issues by accounting for the complexities of dealing with technology, becoming more immobile in his honorable stance, unde rstanding law and accepts and how they relate to the fox, and connecting better with his group.IntroductionThere be legion(predicate) a nonher(prenominal) nuances to control management which rouse negatively disturb a manager or objectify. The Orion defense Project exemplifies why proper(a) management is integral to any successful puke. The project is a make believe that NASA is promoting in order to improve the structural capabilities of the Shuttle Launch Booster. The flower abridgeor that NASA is using for this project is the Space Technologies Institute (STI), who border break a request for aim (RFP) for a subcontractor to help with this project. minute win the bid to become the subcontractor on this project, and the Director of Engineering, Mr. Henry Larsen, appointed Mr. Gary Allison as the project manager (The Orion justification Project, 2003). As The Orion protection Project advances, some issues overturn which forces Mr. Allison to make difficult de cisions. In this paper, I leave critically analyze the issues Mr. Allison faces while managing The Orion case Project. In critically examining the way The Orion Shield Project is handled, I leave alone touch on the technical,ethical, legal, contractual, and other management issues go about by Mr. Allison and analyze both his positive and negative follow ups in an effort to gain a better understanding of how project management plays a role in the come forthcome of this project.Technical IssuesThe Orion Shield Project gives rise to many technical issues which Mr. Allison has to navigate as he manages the project. The technical issues that specifically fake the integrity of the project argon incapable characters and a poorly formed experimentify matrix. Incapable components present issues all throughout the project, with the most rank problems occurring in the beginning and curio of the project. The reliable technical specification that STI listed in their RFP was that al l components must be able to hold out in effect(p)ly between temperature ranges of -65 degrees F to 145 degrees F (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). This was an issue for the unsweet project because examen within the company set ups that their current component physical body would non function supra 130 degrees F, and that the requirements would not be able to be met without different materials (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). This creates an issue for a covey of reasons, including throwing gain the timeline, the amount of resources employ, and commitments to stakeholders.While performing net tests on the component as the project was coming to a close it was put up that the product was again not up to the specifications communicate in the RFP. The purpose of The Orion Shield Project was to get the Shuttle Launch Booster to punt an age life of at least 9 years, and after interrogatory it was found that the age life would most deally be less than 5 years. This is actu ally less than what the original component NASA was using lasted, which was 6 years (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). Both of these points in the project atomic number 18 technical issues Mr. Allison is responsible for overcoming as project manager of The Orion Shield Project.In addition to the aforementioned technical issues, Mr. Allison also deals with a test matrix in the technical volume of the proposal which pull up stakes not produce acceptable results. The test matrix is an effective way of preserve the coverage of the scope delivered (Boyde, 2012, p. 701). Fromthis matrix, you should be able to tell what has been implemented, what has yet to be implemented, and what was determined to be out of scope for the current milestone electrical outlet (Boyde, 2012, p. 701). Realizing the importance of the test matrix, Mr. Allison echoes his concern to his Chief Project Engineer Ms. Paula Arnold, who warned him substantially-nigh changing the test matrix and scope of the work. Th is would in turn affect the cost of the project which is not viable due to the nature of the contract that moment is working under.Instead of addressing this issue up front and onerous to find a way to trim whatsoever work off downstream to keep the budget manageable, Mr. Allison pushes on for three more weeks until the test matrix and research results be at long last deemed unimaginable. This puts Mr. Allison and his team in a deeper hole and extends their timeline, while also projecting a sense of roughness when meeting with their stakeholders. In analyzing this project, it seems that the technical issues Mr. Allison was faced with while managing The Orion Shield Project amounted to three major(ip) sources, technology interdependence, technology novelty, and external factors. engineering interdependence refers to requirement of different expertise to perfect a final product (Hussein, Pigagaite & Silva, 2014, p. 706). One of the difficult duties that comes with managing is u nderstanding how different elements of a project interact with each other, and how to get the elements to work together in an efficient manner. If Mr. Allison got better with technology interdependencies, he would have been able to establish a more effective test matrix.Technology novelty is one of the biggest culprits for the technical issues Mr. Allison faced in The Orion Shield Project. Technology novelty refers to the whim that no matter how much planning you do out fronthand, when you assemble a final product or horizontal a part of it scrutiny will always reveal problems (Hussein, Pihahaite & Silva, 2014, p. 706). In production, you should always assume that something can, and will go wrong. In reading The Orion Shield Project case, its gl ars out that Mr. Allison does not have a contingency plan built it, and did not allow himself enough time to tinker with the project to get it right. This in turn led to a lot of sleepless, stressful nights and still an insufficient, u nacceptable product and project.The final sources of technical issues which are found to be pertinent to Mr. Allisons management case are external factors. Factors such as blackmail from Mr. Larsen to force moment into The Orion Shield Project and pressure from Ms. Sarah Wilson, a representative from STI, to stick to the schedule sulfur proposed, led to many of the poor technical decisions Mr. Allison makes. Mr. Larsens pressure on The Orion Shield Project leads to Mr. Allison making false promises and trying to cover his traces throughout the finished project. This in turn leads to a strained relationship with Ms. Wilson, who pushes Mr. Allison to take on more of an administrative role, instead of the research focused position he prefers. In the end, Mr. Allison could have mitigated all of the external issues by brinytaining a strict ethical compute in his actions, which delves into the ethical issues he faces in managing this project.Ethical IssuesOut of all the issues pres ented in The Orion Shield Project, the ethical issues seem to be the most devastating to the success of the project. The specific moments in which ethical issues arise all seem to occur within some type of interaction with Mr. Larsen. The first and most important of which occurs when Mr. Allison raises concerns with Mr. Larsen about the specifications that STI put out for the components. Mr. Larsens response to this concern was to lie to STI and express in the proposal that SEC had the capabilities to make a component that would go above and beyond the specifications required. Specifically, Mr. Larsen advocated that Mr. Allison say that SEC had a component design that would shut away at up to 155 degrees F in hopes of later cornering STI into evaluate the actual specifications that the SEC component could handle.Deceiving a partner about what you can provide them just to earn a contract or project is unethical on many aims. In an word written by Dr. Thomas Mengel (2006), communi cating between project stakeholders and project management is found to be extremely important. The article goes further to say that project managers take away to comprehensively determine the impact of any decision to be make (Mengel, 2006, p. 230). Mr. Allison did not think this situation with Mr. Larsen all the way through, and because of that not nevertheless did technical issues arise, hardly an ethical one as well. An ethical issue which Mr. Allison also has to deal with is the testing of raw materials without his knowledge. After Ms. Wilson met with Mr. Allison and displayed her angst with how the administrative berth of the project was going, Mr. Allison focuses more of his time and effort with the administrative tasks.This gives Mr. Larsen time to choke in and work with Ms. Arnold on a new material, using more STI money in the process when the contract and Ms. Wilson specifically state that SEC would bear all costs of additional research beyond the original scope of wor k (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). It is understandable that Mr. Larsen is Mr. Allisons pommel and he does not always need to tell him what he is insideng, but with a venture as big as this and with Mr. Allison being the project manager and the one ultimately responsible for results, it seems ethical to discuss these major decisions. One way Mr. Allison could have addressed this issue could have occurred before agreeing to accept this position and project. While Mr. Larsen was originally describing the position to Mr. Allison, Mr. Allison could have requested to include ethic checks in decision making processes and to define a joint process and mutually agreeable criteria for ethical decision making (Mengel, 2006, p. 231).This would help Mr. Allison set parameters around his interactions with Mr. Larsen. He could then use these well-defined parameters as a basis to disagree with an action or all the same refuse an action Mr. Larsen proposes if unethical. In failing to do so, Mr. Allison allows these unethical procedures to ultimately fall on his shoulders. An ethical issue which falls directly on the shoulders of Mr. Allison occurs when he withholds information from upper management about the short age life of the component near the end of the project. The ethical dilemma is fresh here and could have far reaching damages for both SEC and STI. Mr. Allison should have told upper management as soon as testing shows the shorter age life of the component. No matter how difficult it is, maintaining an ethical code is essential to the proper management of not only projects but organizations as well.Legal & Contractual IssuesThe Orion Shield Project exposes SEC to a variety of legal issues, some coming from managements own unethical actions and many more coming fromcontractual complications. The initial legal issue that arises from The Orion Shield Project occurs when SEC responds to the RFP issued by STI. When Mr. Larsen requests for Mr. Allison to make the prop osal consult that SECs component can operate at up to 155 degrees F, when in actuality it cannot operate above 130 degrees F, SEC breaches the RFP contract. At first glance you may not think a RFP is legitimately binding, but according to legal precedent it is. In the 1981 case of R. (Ontario) V. Ron Engineering, it was found that RFPs are part of a two part contract, and that they are the bidding portion of the contract. What this essence is that once a proposal is presented in response to a RFP, both sides are now legally laced to the contract and must abide by the terms stipulated in that proposal (The Legal Implications, 2012). In providing false promises in their proposal, Mr. Allison and SEC open themselves up to sanctions and being sued.Mr. Allison and SEC also open themselves up for legal action when they breach the firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract they agreed to with STI. As defined by Charles Russell younger and Susan Moser (2009) in Firm-Fixed-Price Contracting The tim e and Materials Requirements Dilemma, a FFP is a completion contract, which means that profit or fee is earned by the delivery of end items (p.46). FFPs also carry fixed prices and leave little dwell for adjustments as the project moves along. The fixed price and the need to make adjustments as the project went along are what opened SEC up to legal action. Ms. Wilson from STI specifically mentioned that after the first test matrix failed and a new one was developed, all additional research and development would be at the expense of SEC. But, when Mr. Larsen and Ms. Arnold began developing the new material for the component they used STI patronage for it. This again was a breach of contract, and by not addressing this issue Mr. Allison leftfield SEC vulnerable to being dropped from the contract and sued for the wrong use of project funding.One way Mr. Allison could have avoided this situation would be to push for a different type of contract from STI for The Orion Shield Project. In an article written by Frank Kendall (2013) on the uses of FFP contracts, the restricting nature of the contract is described in great detail. Kendall describes how FFP contracts tend to restrict flexibility as contractorslearn more about what is feasible and affordable as well as what needs to be done to achieve a design that meets requirements during a products design and testing phases (Kendall, 2013, p. 2). Mr. Allison experiences this dilemma all too much as he reachs The Orion Shield Project. A FFP contract was the perfect contract for STI FFP contracts offer the lowest risk to the purchaser due to the fact that it is not subject to any cost adjustments resulting from contractors carrying out the project (Russell Jr. & Moser, 2009, p.47).Instead of agreeing to such a rigid contract when you know your component will need multiple tests to meet specifications, SEC and Mr. Allison should have instead pushed for a more flexible contract like a time-and-materials (T&M) contract . A time and materials contract can be used when the duration, extent of effort, and costs associated with a project are generally vague up front (Russell Jr. & Moser, 2009, p. 47). This contract would be more skillful to SEC and Mr. Allison specifically when he changes the test matrix, and has to find new materials and mystify more costs to complete the project. In the end, Mr. Allison mishandles many issues which leave himself and SEC vulnerable to legal action, luckily no such action occurs. opposite Management IssuesSeparate from the main issues discussed earlier in this paper, there are also other, more managerial issues. The two other management issues that are present in The Orion Shield Project are staffing concerns and employee motivating. Mr. Allisons first dilemma while working The Orion Shield Project is finding the staff he wants to help him with the venture. He is not presumptuousness top priority in picking his staff, which make it difficult to get the key people necessary to ensure a smoothly run project. Many managers do not want to give up their main people, but with the help of Mr. Larsen he finds an adequate staff to fill in (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). This puts Mr. Allison in a dilemma because he does not have the option of working with the people he feels most prosperous with. Being uncomfortable while leading a project can do nothing but have negative effects on results. This also leads to Mr. Allison putting the burden of doing most of the work on his self, instead of leveraging his team better. Since this is a situation most project managers will have to deal with on their first project, Mr.Allison could have done a better job utilizing his staff to create more positive project results.As The Orion Shield Project progresses, many of the members of the project team lose motivation to work on the project. The lack of team motivation came from the teams dissipating trust in Mr. Allison and the plans they were told would be fin al. Also, a lack of communication leads to heightened focus between the team. As Dorothy Ann Brenner (2007) points out in a recent article, communication, no matter what the form, helps with team chemistry and gives them a clearer idea of their roles and what is expected of them so they understand their goals, as well as the teams overall goal for a successful project (p.19). Mr. Allisons lack of communication with his team leads to certain members feeling out of the loop and disappointed with the path of the project. In order for the Orion Shield Project to have even had a chance of working effectively, Mr. Allison has to motivate his project team so they will give their best effort and work (Brenner, 2007, p. 16).ConclusionAs The Orion Shield Project progressed from the initial proposal to the final testing, issues seemed to arise around every corner. Mr. Allison had to make serious decisions at every level of the project and unfortunately many of those decisions were the wrong ones. Mr. Allison made critical mistakes when faced with technical, ethical, legal, contractual, and other managerial issues. After analyzing The Orion Shield Project case, findings show that Mr. Allison could improve his responses to these issues by accounting for the complexities of dealing with technology, becoming more solid in his ethical stance, understanding law and contracts and how they relate to the project, and connecting better with his team. In conclusion, Mr. Allison did not perform well in his first opportunity to operate as project manager, but, with a few tweaks to his approach, he could excel if he ever wanted that opportunity again.ReferencesBoyde, J. (2012). A down-to-earth guide to SDLC project management getting your system development life cycle project successfully accross the line using PMBOK in an adaptive way. S.l. CreateSpace Independent Pub. Platform.Brenner, D. A. (2007). Achieving a succesful project by motivating the project team. Cost Engineering, 4 9(5), 16-20. Retrieved from http//eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.eduHussein, B. A., Pigagaite, G., & Silva, P. P. (2014). Identifying and dealing with complexities in new product and process development projects. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences , doi 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.078Kendall, F. (2013). Use of fixed-price incentive firm (fpif) contracts in development and production. Defense AT&L, 42(2), Retrieved from http//eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.eduLegal Implications of Issuing RFP. (2012, January 1). Rss. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from https//www.winwithoutpitching.com/legal-implications-of-issuing-rfpMengel, T. (2006). Project management ethics Responsibility, values, and ethics in project environments. AMA Handbook of Project Management, 227-235. Retrieved from http//eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1ba019be-81fb-4f39-8ccd-06cfe83e33b1sessionmgr114&vid=5&hid=107R. (Ont.) v. Ron Engineering, (1981) 1 S.C.R. 111. Retrieved from http// scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2504/index.doRussell Jr., C. A., & Moser, S. J. (2009). Firm-fixed-price contracting The time and materials requirement dilemma. Contract Management, 49(8), 44-49. Retrieved from http//eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.eduThe Orion Shield Project HOME. (2003, January 1). The Orion Shield Project