Human Behaviors in Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Behaviors in Budgeting - Essay Example A budget can deliver a criterion where employees are encouraged to achieve their targets under certain conditions. Conversely, budget can also inspire disorganization and conflict between employees or managers. If people are dynamically involved in developing budget, then it can be used as a device to support managers in handling their branches effectively. Budget can be a useful device for motivating people but if budget is developed from top level and enforces a threat for employees it can be resisted and will cause harm to the organization (Drury, 2007). Objectives of Budgeting Through budget, organizations can regulate the actions of different divisions. An effective budgetary system can act as a comprehensive control system for organization if there are certain implied or apparent links between budgetary processes and organizational rewards (Flamholtz, 1983). Budgeting comprises of creating specific targets, implementing strategies to accomplish the targets, and occasionally mat ch actual status with the targets. The targets can be general business objectives and particular goals for the individual divisions within organization. Budget provides a way for business by drawing the strategies of the operations in financial expressions. Budget helps organizations to direct activities and decreases the negative results (Warren & Et. Al., 2011). Though budgets are usually related with profit, they also play significant parts in operating several divisions of government. For instance, budgets are useful tools for managing finance for education and ration in rural areas. Budgets are also used in non-profit organizations such as public hospitals and cathedrals among others. Budget comprises of three activities which are planning, directing and controlling. Before planning the budget, it is important for organizations to forecast the amount of budget. The forecasting is often developed by considering the conclusions of past outcomes. Several statistical approaches are used for forecasting budget. The planning phase is comprised of forming specific objectives for future actions. It is a part of management process. Directing is the activity for satisfying the planned actions and controlling is periodically judging the progress of activities with the planned actions (Warren, 2008). Human Behavior in Budgeting Budget can have substantial effect on human behaviour. Budget can stimulate managers for developing their performance; adversely it can also de-motivate from putting extra effort and flatten the self-esteem of managers (Kimmel & Et. Al., 2010). The behavioural problems or dysfunctional consequences can arise from budgeting in three conditions which are: 1. The goal of budget is unattainable 2. The goal of budget is too simple to accomplish 3. The goal of budget disagrees with the goals of employees Unattainable goals: Employees will be de-motivated if performance expectations set by the managers are impractical or unattainable. An aggressive a nd achievable goal can probably motivate employees to accomplish the organizational objectives. Thus, employees should be engaged in

Business Communication - My Role Model in Career Essay Example for Free

Business Communication My Role Model in Career Essay Mr. Mahbub Hossain, my line manager of my previous office, is my role model for my career path. He is the CSM (Customer Service Manager)of Joydebpur branch, Brac Bank LTD. In brief, he is getting MBA from IBA along with his job. Was graduated from DU (Finance), prior that he took places in both HSC SSC examinations. As I worked with him, I found many good qualities in him. By times, I took him as a role model as his qualities impressed me. I am going to point out two of them which is leadership quality and secondly, quick decision (appropriate) making ability. As I have seen him closely, I found all the qualities that a leader should have. He guided the team successfully to achieve the organizational goal. He teamed us up too strongly cheered us to act spontaneously to meet up the goals. He used to take initiatives for cheering us up. So that we never been tired in meeting our business targets. Theory says, a leader has to have seven qualities, but I found more in him. Out of the theoretical ones, his friendly caring attitude made us believe that we are not only team players, even more than that. Personal recognitions helped a lot to follow his leadership willingly, not only for his designation. His interpersonal communication skill ability of finding out team members strength or weakness made him a successful leader. I found him always remain calm in critical situations and controlled tactfully. Always stand with subordinates against all odds (from outside) is remarkable. His keen knowledge and prompt decision making ability is an effective quality for any career. I always found him deciding with the best option. Some of his effective decisions saved potential losses. He even made critical decisions over the phone in instant. His knowledge on current issues, updating about the recent changes made him up to this standard. We people learn from the surrounding. I passed a long time with Mr. Mahbub inside as well outside of our office. I try to adapt these two qualities in me. I wish to be a leader like him as my team members also think like that we are in a team, not like a orderer follower relation. To get leadership quality like him I try to spend more time with him. Whenever we meet, we share our ides. I am gathering theoretical data as I can even exceed his leadership quality. It was said, â€Å"Leaders are born, not made. † But recent studies proved that these leadership qualities can be developed to a great extent. I attended a training program at Briddhi with him (arranged by our organization), which was meant for mid level managers and up comers. Finding out colleges ability seems tough to me. I found this as my area of developments. At any stage of career I should be prompt in making quick decisions with accuracy. As I said just ago, I discuss about every issue with him. If there is any situation I have to decide anything at once, I let him know about the issue and exchange ideas for improvement scopes. Knowledge gathering is a key to professional success. Thats why, I get myself admitted MBA here. I am studying here with hope, I can implement these theoretical knowledge at my workplace. I read a lot of articles written on banking FI (Financial Institutes). Current issues mostly published on web or newspapers. For making myself up to date about, I go through them. Internal circulars helps a lot to updating myself.

Mubai Flooding Case Study Environmental Sciences Essay

Mubai Flooding Case Study Environmental Sciences Essay The metropolis of Mumbai that include suburbs and city region of Mumbai received 39.1 inch (994mm) rainfall in single day on 26th July 2005. This is a case of natural disaster in a single metro city where in flood situation happened because of heavy on spot rain and not because of typical reasons of flood in any area due to over flooding of rivers. Justification of selection of case This case is selected because it is being a flood situation in commercial capital of India which is claimed to be progressing toward becoming city like shanghai in terms of infrastructure and facilities. The financial capital of India grown from 10 lakhs to 128 lakhs of population in a decade but the system waterways, drains, rivers have not been upgraded and updated accordingly. In Mumbai water logging is a decade old problem and we are accustomed to it. In 21st century every year on an average 5 days are lost when educational institutions and offices (Mumbai is the financial capital of India) remain shutting due to heavy rain and flooding during monsoon. The severity of 26th July2005 heavy rainfall and water logging was the situation when thousands of people died, lakhs were injured and uncountable were affected economically and physically. It raises the immediate need for action from multiple agencies. It gives chance to analyse emergency preparedness of government agencies, private bodies, NGOs and individual. To solve the problem various forums and agencies are continuously talking since 1991,but till now nothing has happened as central and state government have not allotted sufficient money to materialize the issue even after the shocking event of 26th July 2005. During water logging and flooding substantial amount of damage caused. Disrupt transportation cause hampering of economic and financial activities. This hurt industry and service sector tremendously .GDP and GNP growth of country rises to 8.5% where Mumbai growth rate falls 2.1%.Mumbai loses more than 800 crore rupees due to this problem. 3000 crore rupees treated as capital investment. Mumbai has given 80,000crore rupees as revenue to government of India in the year 2005-06 and 22,000 crore rupees earned by government of Maharashtra as duties, taxes, cess in the same year. Objectives of Case Study The collection of data related to damage to human life and assets by this flood. Systematic compilation of relevant data to come to the stage of making action plans, policies and procedures for removing water logging and flooding in Mumbai. To identify factors responsible for 26 July 2005 flood in Mumbai. Lessons we learn from this disaster and efforts we are doing to reduce such disasters in future. Developments of an efficient methodology which is economical, easy to interpret by charts and maps related to such severe situation very rapidly and start responding quickly. Review of work done so far on this issue. Area under study Areas badly affected by flood Lower parts of Southern Mumbai Sea shore areas of Western Mumbai Densely populated areas of Central parts of Mumbai Lower area of Kurla and Kalina Roads and Railways were badly affected by this flood. Responsible reasons The sewage system of Mumbai can carry only 25 millimeters of rain water per hour which was extremely inadequate when rainfall was 994 mm. The drainage system was clogged at several places. Heavy rain and High tide time was same that day due to which 103 outlet gates that connected drainages that directly open to sea get overflowed. The situation became worse because drainages were not clean and filled with garbage that blocked the outflow of rain water and it got accumulated on the roads. The severity of situation worsened because warning about heavy rainfall and high tide was not given on time on Radio and Television stations by the civic agencies. The Meteorological department was not having sophisticated weather radars which can give 3 hour prior warning. Massive encroachment on mouth of major nallas and heavy diversions and encroachment of Mithi and other rivers acted as blockage to rain water running towards river. Development by MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) without proper environmental clearance increase the pressure on existing drainage system which is already poor and old fashioned Old fashioned and poor drainage system. Bandra Kurla complex which is constructed by replacing swampy areas; the Environment Ministry of the Government of India was informed about its potential disaster and appeal not to sanction it but no action has been taken on time. Destruction of mangroves ecosystem for construction and encroachment. This ecosystem exists along the Mithi River and Mahim Creek. This swampy area acts as a buffer between land and sea. Sewage and garbage dumps have also destroyed mangroves. The most acclaimed Mindspace (INORBIT MALL) in Goregaon Malad has been built by destroying a large patch of Mangrooves in Maharashtra.1 ^ http://mdmu.maharashtra.gov.in/pdf/Flood/statusreport.pdf Recorded data from government offices Parameter Recorded loss Actual loss Human life loss 1094 2500 Spoilt Rickshaw 25000 370000 Taxis Damaged 3250 4000 BEST Buses Damaged 745 900 Trucks and tempo grounded 6900 10000 Local Trains damaged 43 52 Preparedness expectation from government Loopholes in preparedness in actual system Clean and clear drainage Household waste filled drainages join major nallas and river banks 20 Active out flow gates Only 4 working channel gates 1000 trained volunteers for quick response Appointed procedure and training is pending Result and Recommendations Strategic Planning First is the requirement of suitable methods to make decisions when criteria to choose are too many. Information Analysis System (IAS): A process that systematically access, integrate and analyze the information fragmented in various dependents and independent variables by arranging them in proper hierarchy. To present a new method of calculating risk probability of flood hazard by analyzing data gathered from census, land use mapping, geomorphic details of land cover. Using the above analyzed and integrated data in software like GIS for Hazard mapping. This flood vulnerability risk probability will give the probability of being flooded when certain level of rainfall occur as well as other decision factors of different level and sub factors are also present like high tide, distance of active water gates from sea. It will also suggest methods to nullify some decision factors or level of sub factors at appropriate time so that loss of life and assets can be reduced. To calculate flood vulnerability probability (FVP) there are set of primary data collected from topographic maps, population data of the regional divisions of Mumbai, Atlas Thematic Mapping Organization (NATMO), and Statistical Offices respectively. The FVP is calculated for possible inundated areas of Mumbai. FVP is divided into five category very low, low, medium, high and very high. The categories are based on histogram distribution and the Flood Hazard Maps. Higher the FVP, higher the risk of inundation and water logging threat. The flood hazard map presents relevant and accurate analysis through GIS environment. Flood vulnerability probability (FVP) FVP= à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ (Pab-RIWab) RIWabj Where, FVP = Flood vulnerability probability Pab = probability of level a of decision factor b, RIWab = relative importance weight of level a decision factor b. RIW abj = relative importance weight of sub-factor j of level a decision factor b. Level Decision factor Sub factor Overflowed nallahas Blocked nallahas Distance from connecting nallahas Low lying area Lower than average standard of low lying above sea level(ASL) Distance from sea High tide Outfalls are narrow sized Rainfall Unavailable pumping facility Flood mapping and zoning Flood hazard zoning will help in regulating flood hazard areas minimize the loss of life and assets in future. Flood management and control will help in land planning, controlling and management of water that is a scarce resource. Water needed areas of the countries will get benefitted when flood water will diverted to these areas through proper channeling. Economy of India will move to prosperity when agricultural land and densely populated areas will get sufficient water for farming and drinking Drainage modeling Population of Mumbai has risen by 60% in last 25 years. Migration to Mumbai is the main cause of increase in population. This caused pressure on existing land for housing and infrastructure and resulted in encroachment of land, Nallas, and Mithi river and other river banks and on drainage system. Drainage modeling requires: Emphasis on proper land use planning This is the best method for achieving the goal of Freeing Mumbai from Flood. It requires systematic data collection on the work done in this area and them compiling relevant data to make an action plan. After discussing plan of action with concerned authorities testing it in small area , if it work effectively then apply it in all areas of Mumbai in phases. Mumbai suffers from flood situation when there is heavy rain (or not so heavy rain) and the water does not dispose off in reasonable time. The well known reasons are increasing population, scarcity of land, use of no development zones, without increasing capacity of nallahs constructions are done there, diversion of Mithi river to make airport, disappearance of small lakes and ponds increase in slums whose waste directly goes in water ways. Flood in every monsoon season is become severe in low lying areas of Mumbai which become more dangerous in high tide situation because nallahs width in those areas in narrow and natural drainage is restricted due to new developments like in SV road and LBS marg. The present drainage system in the city consists of underground single water drainages discharging into the sea through short outfalls. The present drainage system in the suburban areas consists of creeks so rainwater runoff towards there. A system of open surface drain consists here. Massive infrastructure development along with cementing of roads and increasing their heights effects water absorbing capacity. To expedite projects that could curb flooding in Mumbai, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee increased the allocation for the Brihanmumbai storm water drain (Brimstowad) project in the current fiscal year from Rs200 crore, earmarked during the interim budget, to Rs500 crore (source DNA ). The project will help the BMC increase the water retention capacity of existing storm water drains. A fact-finding committee appointed to look into reasons for the July 26, 2005, deluge had suggested this as an immediate measure. The Manmohan Singh government, which was at the helm even then, had then agreed to completely fund the Rs1, 200-crore project. Statistics of Mumbais drainage system network: Length of nallahs and drain Type Island city Eastern suburb Western Suburb Total Major Nallah(km) Width >1.5m 9 90 101 200 Minor nallah(km) Width 21 66 42 129 Drain (km) 59 40 51 150 Road side open drain 20 669 1297 1986 Closed pipe drain 443 36 86 565 No. of water entrances 27893 609 1706 30208 System of Rainwater disposal in Mumbai Outfall Island city Eastern suburb Western suburb Total Discharge in Arabian sea 107 29 136 Mahim creek 4 8 14 26 Mahul creek 4 6 10 Thane creek 14 14 Total 186 Outfalls which are below sea level are 45, outfalls which are above sea level but below high tide level are 135 and outfalls above high tide levels are 6. Maintenance of natural drainage There are many natural drainage in Mumbai. Maintaining them is also one efficient method to reduce emergencies like 26th July 2005 flood. Tulsi lake: Its dam have 2 spillways which discharge into Dahisar river and Vihar lake. Vihar lake: Its spillways discharge into Mithi river. Powai lake: Its discharge also meets Mithi river Mahul and Vakola lake, two branches of Mithi River which were existed till 1976 in the map of Mumbai now disappeared on the cost of development. Developing a new action plan for these holding rivers by developing new drain in city and suburbs, and installing new gates and pumping stations is under progress. Management of local disposal and waste: One effective and sustainable solution is to use efficient, cost effective and automated waste collection and processing technology specifically in metro cities is using effective piping system like shown below: Figure 5.: Management of local disposal and waste CAD software gives an integrated drainage design suite that facilitates engineers with powerful but easy to use system convert digital surveyed data into a detailed digital model on ground very quickly. The model can be used to design roadmaps, their alignments and design drainage system, long-sections and cross-sections with the help of CAD software. These ground models can be used for many other applications like land fill management, mineral extraction. Modified Rational Method used for Drainage designs and Foul drainage networks and can be tested for flood conditions using a Powerful Simulation module. Typical flood prevention methods and techniques with sustainable systems such as ingress pavements, paver blocks, parkings and pedestrian walkways shall be used. Research undertaken to examine local governments capacity to manage recovery activities after Mumbai 26th July 2005 flood has shown that their overall performance in conclusion is, in-consistent and problematic(Mehta Report 2006). The reason was lack of resources and poor planning (K B Singh et al. 2007); the difficulty local officials faced was lack of proper planning between pre and post disaster period; Resource dependence on the state government; lack of adequate numbers of professionalized staff; poor leadership and bureaucratic and legal constraints; and the lack of awareness among powerful citizen and business groups that overshadow local government officials efforts. The locally based reconstruction efforts, such as aid that does not meet the needs of the victims and the possibility to delegate all responsibility on local involvement. On the basis of a study of the recovery processes after the flood of 26 July 2005 in Mumbai, public opinion clearly indicates that government j urisdictions, especially local governments, have little guidance to direct their recovery activities. Overcoming recovery implementation problems Is it possible to overcome the problem of local government capacity to manage the disaster recovery process? Researchers showed successful local recovery by communities at their own level. I studied 14 municipal Wards (Chembur, Malad, Borivali, Juhu, Goregaon,Vile Parle, Mahalaxmi, Kurla, Bandra, Kandivali, Tardeo, Sion, Matunga, Wadala) recovery processes and found that the speed and quality of recovery appeared . That was the function of three factors: (1) productive intergovernmental relationships, (2) effective competition for scarce resources, and (3) effective management of CBO decision making. Pre disaster planning was not there because nobody at authority level had imagined such terrific flood situation so post flood recovery was slow and unsatisfactory, which encouraged communities in these wards to organize processes for more timely and efficient action at their own level, clarify key recovery roles and responsibilities, identify and secure  ¬Ã‚ nancing, and avoid repeti tion of such emergencies again in future. Many plans are dif ¬Ã‚ cult to implement; they at least draw our attention to some important features of the recovery process. In particular, they highlight the importance of collective action involving multiple organizations-from both the public and private sectors-which cross governmental jurisdictions. One promising  ¬Ã‚ nding from the Emergency preparedness recovery plans comes from an assessment of the Mumbais roads, railways, drainage system, waste disposal system, municipality proactiveness in future. The citizens and local of ¬Ã‚ cials improvised a successful adaptive strategy that should implemented in the city directly for managing the recovery process. Inter and intra-community network and the local recovery process I found that the degree of integration among organizations that comprise the emergency response network prior to flood in Mumbai is a reliable predictor of readiness and response effectiveness in future. In this regard I conveyed the idea to the Disaster Research Center, the stronger and more well de ¬Ã‚ ned the inter-organizational linkages are prior to an event, the smoother subsequent rescue related activities will go. CBO preparedness is synonymous to Emergency preparedness which requires response effectiveness, and strong structural inter-organizational relations. The role of self-evident natural networks and self-organization in emergency preparedness is necessary and required very much. After 5 years Wards of Mumbai are very considerable in their capacity to respond to 26th July 2005 type emergencies. Emergency groups are now aware about recovery and redevelopment processes. This is a particularly important problem in the reconstruction and recovery phase, where competition over resources and CBO redevelopment goals often replaces the immediate post event spirit of cooperation. Conceptual model of the local recovery process The response phase of emergency management of flood like situations in Mumbai, some of the lessons learned in that context may be transferable to the recovery and reconstruction phases. A variety of studies suggesting that the capacity of citizens and organizations involved in recovery to adapt to changing conditions is higher and inter-organizational aid delivery systems are more capable of meeting the needs and capacities of disaster stricken citizens when intra-CBO and inter-governmental ties are strong. The importance of three key variables related to CBO problem-solving capacity: horizontal integration, vertical integration, and network centralization. Horizontal integration refers to relations among the individuals and organizations within a community. Thus, a CBO with a high degree of horizontal integration is characterized by a tightly knit social network with relatively equal power distributions and features frequent, sustained interactions and communications. Conversely, communities with a low degree of horizontal integration have a weakly knit social fabric. Vertical integration de-scribes a CBOs relations with extra CBO systems. A CBOs ties with larger political, social, and economic institutions may explain resource and information transfers and in ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence the extent to which these institutions are dependent on their environment. Network centralization refers to the power and control structure of the network, and whether network links and activities are organized around any particular one or small group of organizations. Integration and centralization are important complementary measures. Integration is a measure of the extent to which organizations in a system are interconnected; centralization describes the extent to which horizontal and vertical cohesion is organized around particular focal points. Horizontal and Vertical Integration and the Role of Focal Organizations The potential relationships between horizontal and vertical integration and depicts four types of communities. The dominant recovery strategies that characterize each type of CBO. A type I CBO is ideally suited for an effective recovery effort. Communities of this type have well-developed ties to external resources and programs as well as viable horizontal networks that enable it to exert in ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence over CBO recovery activities. Such type of communities rely on preexisting stores of social capacity and cohesion are formed in Mumbai they are showing self-organizing behavior. CBO types by degree of horizontal and vertical integration and disaster recovery strategies. Horizontal integration was high owing to the high degree of interest in and experience with political activities on the part of the citizen ship. The local government develops new partnerships and capabilities with its citizens. A cooperative association of households known as the Neighborhood Survival Network (NSN) was established to facilitate citizen self-help in future disasters. The high degree of horizontal integration played a vital role in aiding overlooked minority and low-income populations in rural mountain neighborhoods and in providing a basis for increasing vertical integration. The central Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) utilized the well-established ties developed by the NSN to assess needs and distribute assistance. Emergency experienced by the people of Mumbai that day stimulated local horizontal integration. Subsequently, local problem-solving capacity was expanded by ve rtical integration between federal relief efforts and local CBO organizations. A type II CBO is an autonomous, relatively isolated CBO with few vertical ties. These types of communities are also formed in Mumbai they have viable horizontal social networks; they suffer from a lack of knowledge about and interaction with important external resources. Communities of this type will adopt a strategy of cooperation with potential resources providers, such as the state or federal government. In type II CBO they have a highly active network of, social clubs, and CBO groups. Owing to the high degree of horizontal integration, the CBO rapidly mobilized its limited resources to set up evacuation centers, provide food and safe drinking water, and establish communication channels to disseminate recovery information. But the scale of the disaster, coupled with the inexperience of local public officials with central governmental disaster aid programs. The city received assurances from FEMA that they would be helped every step of the way. Corruption and bureaucracy is a part o ur system that had eaten up a large share of the relief package. Despite the public pleadings of civic leaders, governments aid was delayed for several weeks. Meanwhile, people discovered that the governments monies would cover only a small portion of the damages. A type III CBO is in a classic state of dependency. They also involved in number in Mumbai lacking a viable horizontal network, it is less likely to take into account local needs, concerns, or values in the recovery effort. A type III CBO does have the advantage of strong vertical ties and channels to facilitate the delivery external aid. They have disproportionate share of disaster-related resources are allocated by the central government. These types of communities will adopt a dual strategy of recovery. Because horizontal cohesion is weak, local policy makers must engage in a strategy based on the cooptation of important constituencies within the CBO. However, owing to strong vertical linkages, these communities will be able to make claims on external resources. In Mumbai such communities are politically powerful communities can bypass normal relief channels and, in effect, coerce the central government into providing massive aid. Overall horizontal integration in such communities is low. Its vertical ties, particularly with corporators and relief and emergency management agencies, are quite strong. As a consequence, these type of communities bypass many of the intergovernmental aid hurdles that other jurisdictions  ¬Ã‚ nd so difficult. Indeed, owing to corporators intervention and the high level of government interest, the aid was mobilized with speed. The main point is to ensure that large amounts of government aid poured into the city and to placate affected groups in the communities. Despite the rapid government response, weak horizontal linkages slowed reconstruction efforts as private property owners and local officials squabbled over the details of CBO recovery. A type IV type of CBO is in large number in Mumbai. They face signi ¬Ã‚ cant obstacles in undertaking successful recovery efforts because it lacks access to external resources. Even if these vertical channels are activated, the lack of intra CBO integration severely limits the ability to man-age the aid process or to in ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence the direction of recovery efforts. CBO leaders in this situation will  ¬Ã‚ nd their strategic options limited to attempting to mediate con ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ict. They had a much lower capacity to cope with the demands of disaster recovery than the communities. Many nongovernmental organization operating in Mumbai after the disaster, with good administrative staff residing in the CBO. A low degree of horizontal and vertical integration was that disaster recovery initiatives were, for the most part, organized outside of the CBO, with little input from the local people. A disaster recovery board was created to oversee recovery and reconstruction. Sometimes committee suffers from internal politics and social resistance. The ability or inability of a CBO to activate horizontal and vertical networks to engage in reconstruction activities is likely related to the presence or absence of focal organizations in the CBO. The focal organizations may or may not governmental entities. Cooperative CBO groups are perfectly capable of taking on this role. The importance of centralized, coordinating mechanisms in disaster response networks are significant. The key actors at the focal points of emergency response networks tend to play a critical role in the formation and maintenance of inter organizational relationships. It is not yet known precisely what role centralized personnel play in the recovery and reconstruction processes. Conclusion: Studies of communities suffering through the aftermath of large-scale disasters consistently  ¬Ã‚ nd that local government of ¬Ã‚ cials play the critical role in shaping the path of recovery and reconstruction. Strategic choices made by local decision makers both before and after an event determine the success of both the immediate and long-term recovery processes. Communities effective as local decision makers increased and also their ability to act, reason to act, and knowledge of what to do. These  ¬Ã‚ ndings highlight the importance of training local government of ¬Ã‚ cials to cope with CBO needs in the disaster recovery phase has increased. After this flood in Mumbai CBO leaders and local government of ¬Ã‚ cials take steps before and after such event to enhance the likelihood of achieving successful recovery and reconstruction outcomes analysis. 1. Develop a recovery plan based on the strengths and weaknesses of your particular CBO. Local of ¬Ã‚ cials are proactive in areas prone to such floods and developing a disaster recovery plans that incorporate speci ¬Ã‚ c information about the strengths and weaknesses of the area. Although emergency response plans are mandated in most jurisdictions, strategic choices in the recovery phase are often made without prior planning. The recovery plan should incorporate with anticipation and re-silience . Anticipation attempts to avoid hypothesized hazards before the fact (planning); resilience is concerned with dealing with events after they have occurred (learning). The recovery plan should be both realistic and  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡exible. 2. Utilize preexisting areas organizations in the recovery process whenever possible. In the recovery model, there are numerous local organizational and citizen capabilities that can be integrated into the recovery process. For instance, horizontal integration can involve organizational collaboration between CBO-based groups and local government. Furthermore, the experience documented by the limited research on disaster recovery shows that vertical integration can be more effective at meeting local needs when activities that strengthen horizontal integration before and during recovery are present. Local government need to know how to use the potentially relevant organizations and policy tools. 3. Designate a focal organization or create a recovery response team with representatives of the multiple organizations that will play a leadership role during the recovery process. It is difficult to convince local governments to place a high priority on planning for low-probability of flood. Emergent recovery networks operate more effectively if they are managed by a central actor. The focal organization or the recovery team should not attempt to control resources or centralize decision making. Rather, their role will be to facilitate information processing for the other stakeholders in the process. 4. Develop and maintain intergovernmental relationships. Successful recovery depends on the timely provision of resources from the state and cental governments. In large-scale disasters, a relatively large number of countries and cities are often competing for the aid and the attention of the same group of relief administrators. The ability to obtain the necessary resources without serious delays depends on the extent to which local of ¬Ã‚ cials understand the intergovernmental relationships in which the CBO is embedded. Nearly all emergency preparedness plans and programmes prepared by various levels of governments have preexisting relationships with state and central agencies. These relationships will be the starting point for developing intergovernmental partnerships in times of emergency. 5. Learn from other parts of country experiences. Although 26th July 2005 Mumbai flood was unique, there are lessons that can be learned by examining the successes and failures of other parts of country that have been visited by same type of emergency. Local government officials should develop relationships with their counterparts in communities that have been through disasters to share information about the recovery process. Lesson learned Unplanned urbanization should be stopped immediately especially when ecological balancing element mangroves are destructed. Improving inadequate capacity of existing drainage system by new drainage designs and ensuring there will be no possibility of drainage congestion. Traffic situation should also need modification. RTO should be

Public Education Essay -- Education Reform

Public education in the United States is perhaps one of the most critical issues we face as a nation. Once pronouncing the United States as a â€Å"nation at risk†, the educational institution began to implement one reform strategy after another. In efforts to improve schooling for K-12 students, education reform has fiddled with class size, revised graduation requirements, and created standardized testing just to name a few. Unfortunately, traditional public schools are still failing to provide students with a quality education. This is disheartening as we learn that the United States lags behind in math and science compared to our international counterparts. It is safe to say that educational reform has spent billions of dollars over the years in an honest effort to reform education in American; however, most reform decisions have produced little changes. Among the many radical education reform strategies implemented, charter schools are perhaps one of the most prominent. It has been roughly twenty years since several states opened a number of charter schools. The best way to describe charter schools is to say they are independent public schools of choice that are free from rules and regulations compared to traditional public schools. Charter schools are accountable for producing results; otherwise, they are subject to closing due to failing performance. There are more than 5,400 charter schools serving more than 1.7 million children across the country (Center for Education Reform, 2010). Currently, 40 states and the District of Columbia have charter school with 41 laws in place and only 13 have strong laws. The states with the strong laws, 65 percent show positive achievement gains (Center for Education Reform, 2010). These stati... ...ountry could benefit from the presence of charter schools. Although traditional public schooling is in trouble, they are not lost. With thousands of students on waiting list for charter school enrollment and a thousand more who will not attend a school of choice speaks to the need for charter schools. Conventional public schools need to move beyond the mandates of a bureaucratic system in order to experience real revitalization. Perhaps Andy Smarick has the right idea instead of trying to fix failing schools close them and start fresh (2010). Perhaps it is unrealistic to believe with the number of failing schools across this country we could replace them with new schools, but it is clear that something has to be done to ensure a quality education exist for all students. In the meantime, why not give charter schools a chance to educate those who they can serve.

The Negotiation Process Essay -- Business, Mediators, Settlement Media

Differences and disagreements always exist in negotiation process. When parties cannot reach an agreement or the power between parties is imbalance, mediators will be demonstrated the significant impact on solving problems and encourage negotiators to achieve consensus. This essay will expound four different types of mediator, which include settlement mediator, facilitative mediator, therapeutic mediator and evaluative mediator. Areas of practice for different styles of mediator also will be stated. Moreover, what kinds of dispute will be solved by different types of mediators and how these kinds of mediators influence the negotiation process are referring. At last, responsibilities and disadvantages of different styles of mediators will be represented. In brief, negotiation is a power game and mediator is always the impersonal rule maker. Mediator means an independent or a neutral third-party who helps the other two parties to consult contradiction or relax relationship during negotiation process. (Edwin, 2002, p 67) The purpose for mediator is clearing target and interest for parties, evaluating advantages and disadvantages for each position, exploring possible options, and encouraging them to reach agreement. A sapiential mediator has significant impacts on handling troublesome problems and facilitating parties to achieve consensus during the negotiation process. Firstly, mediators impel to persuade interlocutors separate interpersonal relationship from the essence of negotiation, and build bridge to connect these two parties. Moreover, mediator provides a neutral stage and give faces to both parties convert controversy to reconciliation when neither of them makes a concession. At the same time, a compromise suggestion which... ...isputes and relax relationship when negotiation sink into deadlock, and it also encourage parties to achieve consensus. A successful settlement mediator respect negotiators and encourage parties to achieve agreement through compromising. However, facilitative mediators focus on convert competitive relationship to cooperative relationship to solve problems, and build trust is important. Therapeutic mediators are also focus on the relationship between two parties. Nevertheless, they pay more attention to the relationship rather than the dispute itself. The most powerful style of mediators is evaluative mediators, who always determine the final outcome in a mediation process. However, it damages relationship between parties awfully. Overall, selecting the right style of the mediator is very important and practical to reach agreement during negotiation process.

Analysis of A Perfect Ganesh :: Perfect Ganesh Essays

A Perfect Ganesh Analysis of the play elements. The author: Terrence Mcnally’s career began in the New York off-off-Broadway boom of the late 1960s. Most of his 60’s plays are not really relevant although some are funny. However, during the 70’s his plays began to get recognition. Nowadays, his plays are performed in off-Broadway theaters and he is known as the author of tragicomic plays, filled with breadth and depth. He still lives in New York and is one of the America best playwrights. He is the author of numerous plays, including Master Class and Love! Valour! Compassion! (both winners of the Tony Award for best play), The Ritz, and Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, which became a movie starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer, and the books for the musicals The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman, which won the Tony Award for the best book of musical. Other successes include Lips Together, Teeth Apart and The Lisbon Traviata. Other plays by Terrence McNally are: Andre’s Mother; Corpus Christi: a play; It’s only a Play;Â   !Cuba si! Bringing it all back home, last gasps; and Where has Tommy Flowers Gone. McNally has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He also serves as vice president for the Dramatists Guild, the American organization of playwrights, composers, and lyricists. His plays have been adapted to many languages, and performed in different countries. The plot The play concerns a two-week travel to India by two rich middle-aged women, who seem to be empty and frivolous. They both have indifferent and painful memories of the deaths of their sons. Although being friends for many years, it is only in this trip that they get to know each other (and also themselves) by experiencing the humanity of India. Katharine Brynne, one of them, is a mother who lost a homosexual son, killed by homophobics, and is haunted by the fact she rejected him. Katharine is also a woman who must deal with her racism, fueled by the fact that the men who killed her son were black. She is also an exuberant and open-minded woman who is willing to take risks and to accept the reality she sees about herself. In contrast to Katharine, there is Margaret Civil, who is more reserved, conventional, and motherly.

Historical Research Essay

Historical research has been defined as the systematic and objective location, evaluation and synthesis of evidence in order to establish facts and draw conclusions about past events. It is an act of reconstruction undertaken in a spirit of critical inquiry designed to achieve a faithful representation of a previous age. In seeking data from the personal experiences and observations of others, from documents and records, researchers often have to contend with inadequate information so that their reconstructions tend to be sketches rather than portraits. Indeed, the difficulty of obtaining adequate data makes historical research one of the most taxing kinds of inquiry to conduct satisfactorily (William 1949). Reconstruction implies a holistic perspective in that the method of inquiry characterizing historical research attempts to ‘encompass and then explain the whole realm of man’s past in a perspective that greatly accents his social, cultural, economic, and intellectual development’ (Billington 1995). Ultimately, historical research is concerned with a broad view of the conditions and not necessarily the specifics which bring them about, although such a synthesis is rarely achieved without intense debate or controversy, especially on matters of detail. The act of historical research involves the identification and limitation of a problem or an area of study; sometimes the formulation of a hypothesis (or set of questions); the collection, organization, verification, validation, analysis and selection of data; testing the hypothesis (or answering the questions) where appropriate; and writing a research report. This sequence leads to a new understanding of the past and its relevance to the present and future. Historical research in education can also show how and why educational theories and practices developed. It enables educationalists to use former practices to evaluate newer, emerging ones. Recurrent trends can be more easily identified and assessed from a historical standpoint—witness, for example, the various guises in which progressivism in education have appeared. And it can contribute to a fuller understanding of the relationship between politics and education, between school and society, between local and central government, and between teacher and pupil. Historical research may be structured by a flexible sequence of stages, beginning with the selection and evaluation of a problem or area of study. Then follows the definition of the problem in more precise terms, the selection of suitable sources of data, collection, classification and processing of the data, and finally, the evaluation and synthesis of the data into a balanced and objective account of the subject under investigation. In historical research, it is especially important that the student carefully defines his problem and appraises its appropriateness before committing himself too fully. Many problems are not adaptable to historical research methods and cannot be adequately treated using this approach. Other problems have little or no chance of producing significant results either because of the lack of pertinent data or because the problem is a trivial one. Research, if it is to be fresh and thereby justify itself, ought to start, at least in a general way, where previous research left off. Thus, it is necessary to find out the present status of scholarly investigation on the subject in hand. This can be ascertained from reliable, up-to-date bibliographical surveys, such as are sometimes found in the more scholarly type of history books now appearing, and from standard bibliographies, general or special, supplemented by notices of new publications in the current historical reviews. The hypothesis provides a framework for stating the conclusions of the study in a meaningful manner. It enables the historian to determine what is relevant to a study and to screen out irrelevant materials. Within the framework of the hypothesis, of course, the historian will pattern his material in some systematic order, such as chronological, geographical, topical, or a combination of these. He will also make judgments concerning the amount of emphasis or space to give to various evidence. Considerable information may be collected on relatively minor points in a study and little evidence on more significant events. Obviously, reporting everything would produce a distorted picture of the past. Determining which data are packed with the greatest significance and how many of them to include requires a continuous reevaluation of the hypothesis and the study as a whole. Weaving raw data into a cohesive, well-proportioned, colorful exposition requires painstaking labor. To achieve the twin objectives of maintaining accuracy and interest, a historian refrains from embellishing narratives with dramatic flourishes that distort the truth, but strives for literary excellence. Stretching or supplementing the existing evidence to create a more spirited narrative is not permissible. Artfully fitting the pieces of established evidence into a simple, vivid mosaic that dramatically delineates past events is the difficult but desired ideal to attain. History is life – and it deserves better than a drab description. The historian cannot sacrifice accuracy for eloquence; but by developing his creative and critical skills he can learn to write lucid, lively, logical accounts without violating the rigorous rules of historical scholarship. Since historians cannot personally view the educational practices of hundreds of years ago, they must rely on observations made by others in bygone days and on the examination of relics. If investigators are fully aware of the fallibility of human observation, they can check the authenticity and credibility of testimony by subjecting it to intensive external and internal criticism. Ascertaining whether every fact is absolutely true is not possible, for the most reliable witness to an event may have erred in perception or memory. But a research worker can determine the credibility of testimony in degrees of confidence – from confidence that is approximately certain at one end of the scale to confidence that is mingled with considerable doubt on the other end. Historians can ascertain with a high degree of probability that some data are true facts. But, because the reliability of data is dependent on the character, circumstances, and competence of the creators and interpreters, they are extremely cautious about accepting any historical artifact or report. The reliability of a historical research report is determined not only by how critically the investigator examined witnesses’ observations of past events, but also by the depth and breath of his knowledge about the past and present. Historical research involves the researcher both in selecting an appropriate problem and devising relevant research techniques. Questions to be asked at this stage are first, ‘Who is to be the object of the study? ’—the great person, the common person, the volunteer, the selected, the coerced? Second, ‘What makes a good informant? ’ Plummer draws attention to key factors such as accessibility of place and availability of time, and the awareness of the potential informant of his/her particular cultural milieu. Third, ‘What needs clarifying in the early stages of the research? The motivations of the researcher need to be made explicit to the intended subject. Sources of data in historical research may be classified into two main groups: primary sources, which are the life blood of historical research; and secondary sources, which may be used in the absence of, or to supplement, primary data. Primary sources of data have been described as those items that are original to the problem under study. Secondary sources are those that do not bear a direct physical relationship to the event being studied. They are made up of data that cannot be described as original. A secondary source would thus be one in which the person describing the event was not actually present but who obtained descriptions from another person or source (Atkinson 1998). Various commentators stress the importance of using primary sources of data where possible. The value, too, of secondary sources should not be minimized. There are numerous occasions where a secondary source can contribute significantly to more valid and reliable historical research than would otherwise be the case. In his preliminary search for historical data, a researcher will find that the card catalog, periodical indexes, bibliographies, historical reviews, dissertations, and research journals provide helpful leads. Although he may locate useful materials in his local library, his search probably will extend to other institutions and to specialized depositories that have business, government, legal, or private papers relating to his problem. Some individuals and agencies have exerted considerable effort to collect educational records and remains and have established a number of historical depositories to preserve them. The types of resources and completeness of the accumulations in the various depositories vary greatly: some contain extensive collections of a particular kind of materials and others have fragmentary collections of items from different fields. Owing to the wide expanse of time and the broad scope of educational endeavors, no one depository, however excellent, can possibly house all the available materials. One further point: the review of the literature is regarded as a preparatory stage to gathering data and serves to acquaint researchers with previous research on the topics they are studying (Marwick 1989). It thus enables them to continue in a tradition, to place their work in context, and to learn from earlier endeavors. The function of the review of the literature in historical research, however, is different in that it provides the data for research; the researchers’ acceptance or otherwise of their hypotheses will depend on their selection of information from the review and the interpretation they put on it. Further, documents required in historical research often date back much further than those in empirical research. And one final point: documents in education often consist of unpublished material and are therefore less accessible than reports of empirical studies in professional journals. Because workers in the field of historical research gather much of their data and information from records and documents, these must be carefully evaluated so as to attest their worth for the purposes of the particular study. Evaluation of historical data and information is often referred to as historical criticism and the reliable data yielded by the process are known as historical evidence. Historical criticism is usually undertaken in two stages: first, the authenticity of the source is appraised; and second, the accuracy or worth of the data is evaluated. External criticism is concerned with establishing the authenticity or genuineness of data. It is therefore aimed at the document (or other source) itself rather than the statements it contains; with analytic forms of the data rather than the interpretation or meaning of them in relation to the study. It therefore sets out to uncover frauds, forgeries, hoaxes, inventions or distortions. To this end, the tasks of establishing the age or authorship of a document may involve tests of factors such as signatures, handwriting, script, type, style, spelling and place-names. Further, was the knowledge it purports to transmit available at the time and is it consistent with what is known about the author or period from another source? Increasingly sophisticated analyses of physical factors can also yield clues establishing authenticity or otherwise: physical and chemical tests of ink, paper, parchment, cloth and other materials, for example. Investigations in the field of educational history are less likely to encounter deliberate forgeries than in, say, political or social history, though it is possible to find that official documents, correspondence and autobiographies have been ‘ghosted’, that is, prepared by a person other than the alleged author or signer. Having established the authenticity of the document, the researcher’s next task is to evaluate the accuracy and worth of the data contained therein. While they may be genuine, they may not necessarily disclose the most faithful picture. In their concern to establish the meaning and reliability of data, investigators are confronted with a more difficult problem than external criticism because they have to establish the credibility of the author of the documents. Many documents in the history of education tend to be neutral in character, though it is possible that some may be in error because of these kinds of observer characteristics. Once the data have been gathered and subjected to external criticism for authenticity and to internal criticism for accuracy, the researcher is next confronted with the task of piecing together an account of the events embraced by the research problem. This stage is known as the process of synthesis. It is probably the most difficult phase in the project and calls for considerable imagination and resourcefulness. The resulting pattern is then applied to the testing of the hypothesis. The writing of the final report is equally demanding and calls for creativity and high standards of objective and systematic analysis. By far the greater part of research in historical studies is qualitative in nature. This is so because the proper subject-matter of historical research consists to a great extent of verbal and other symbolic material emanating from a society’s or a culture’s past. The basic skills required of the researcher to analyze this kind of qualitative or symbolic material involve collecting, classifying, ordering, synthesizing, evaluating and interpreting. At the basis of all these acts lies sound personal judgement. In the comparatively recent past, however, attempts have been made to apply the quantitative methods of the scientist to the solution of historical problems (Boyd-Barrett & Scanlon 1991). Of these methods, the one having greatest relevance to historical research is that of content analysis, the basic goal of which is to take a verbal, non-quantitative document and transform it into quantitative data (Allen 2001). Content analysis itself has been defined as ‘a multipurpose research method developed specifically for investigating a broad spectrum of problems in which the content of communication serves as a basis of inference’, from word counts (Allen 2001) to categorization. Approaches to content analysis are careful to identify appropriate categories and units of analysis, both of which will reflect the nature of the document being analyzed and the purpose of the research. Categories are normally determined after initial inspection of the document and will cover the main areas of content.