Corporate Risk Management Essay Example for Free

Corporate Risk Management Essay Risk refers to the uncertainty that surrounds future events and outcomes. It is the expression of the likelihood and impact of an event with the potential to influence the achievement of an organization’s objectives. Risk management is a systematic approach to setting the best course of action under uncertainty by identifying, assessing, understanding, acting on and communicating risk issues. The Corporate Risk Management framework is a systematic, integrated approach with a focus on managing financial risks to enhance shareholder value. The Corporate Risk Management processes are indentification of the risk, measurement , policy, process and execution. Those processes are utilised by corporate enterprises to manage the risk of fortuitous loss. Once corporate risks have been identified and their impact on the firm measured, risk management attempts to control the size and frequency of loss, and to finance those fortuitous losses which do occur. Those are the main definition about the subject, which are to be discussed in this document. Risk Management is an ongoing activity and should be carried out as a part of day-to-day business. The management of risk can only take place within an organisational framework that is inclusive of all parts of the corporate infrastructure. Without this framework, risks cannot be efectivelly discussed, communicated, compared and managed in a coherent way across the whole organisation. Risk should be a feature of any management discussion of any uncertain circumstances including new initiatives of any kind and the implementation of significant projects Risk management deals with insurable and with uninsurable risks and is an approach which involves a formal orderly process for systematically identyfying, analysing and responding to risk events throughout the life of a project to obtain the optimum or acceptable degree of risk elimination or control. Risk management is an essential part of the project and business planning cycle which requires acceptance that uncertainty exists, generates a structured response to risk in terms of alternative plans, solutions and contingencies ,is a thinking process requiring imagination and ingenuity and generates a realistic attitude in an investment for staff by preparing them for risk events rather than being taken by surprise when they arrive. Risk management involves identifying risks, predicting how probable they are and how serious they might become, deciding what to do about them and implementing these decisions. Corporates finance is the specific area dealing the financial decisions corporations make and the tools and techniques used to make the decisions. Categories of corporate financial decision making are : objectives of investment decision, financial decision and financial techniques. Corporates need a more advanced risk management approach in order to benefit from a competitive advantage from strategic risk management. They should manage risks proactively via an integrated approach with a focus on measurable financial risks. Quantitative techniques, such as cash flow-at-risk and earnings-at-risk, are necessary to look at the combined effect of risks on the formulated business objectives. Identification of risks, analysis of implications, response to minimise the risk and allocation of the contigencies are part of the process of managing the corporate risk. The objective to managing the corporate risk is to understand the risk that is known to be associated with the corporate strategy plan. This corporate risk management plan will enable the communication of the risks and risk treatments to be passed down to the strategic business units that may be impacted by the risk and maintenance of the corporate risk register. Altough risks are evaluated at the corporate level, the power they maintain over governments and consumers is phenomenal. Corporate risk startegy often implies planned actions to respond to identified risks. A typical corporate risk strategy includes the following: * accountabilities for managing the corporate risk. * A corporate risk register will be maintained as a record of the known risks to the corporate strategy plan; the types of mitigating action recorded. * Treatment plans are identified that form part of the corporate strategy and will be communicated to the SBUs, so they in turn may manage the risk which may affect them. A first estimate of potential effects can be determined using assumption analysis, decision tree analysis and the range method. These models can then be used to evaluate the effectiveness of potential mitigating actions and hence select the optimum response. Mitigating actions can be grouped into four categories and potential action : * Risk avoidance * Risk reduction * Risk transfer * Risk retention Corporate management, often referred to as corporate strategy, is concerned with ensuring corporate survival and increasing its value not just in financial terms but also by variables such as market share, reputation and brand perceptions. Thus the scope of corporate risk management is wide ranged to support the corporate strategy. A senior corporate manager owns the process and has the staff to resource the analysis and administrative activities. A board member champions the process ensuring access to information and resources. A core group of corporate broad members and strategic business unit executives can draw additional input from stakeholders such as shareholder representatives, representatives from major customers, partners and suppliers and external experts. At the corporate level a corporate strategy plan is often produced. The plan objectives are: * Create and maintain a strategy that achieves the corporate intent, corporate commitments and expectations of the customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. * Incorporate and maintain the commitments and the requirements of business sectors, specifically strategic business units and process owners that support the strategic direction. * Communicate the strategic direction and relevant objectives and target to each strategic business unit. * Manage strategic change to maintain or gain competitive advantage. The risk management process can be viewed as the application of traditional management techniques to a particular problem. Risk management is a continous loop rather than a linear process so that, as an investment or project processes, a cycle of identification, analysis, control and reporting of risks is continuously undertaken. Steps in the risk management process include: * setting risk-return goals, * identification and evaluation of the causes of potential expense or revenue fluctuation, * choice and balance of loss control and loss finance tools, and * implementation, monitoring and review. There are many opinions about those processes. For example Chapman and Ward believe that there are eight phases in the risk management process. Each phases is associated with broadly defined deliverabe, and each deliverable is discussed in terms of its purpose and the tasks required to produce it. Phases and deliverable structures: * Define : the purpose of this phase is to consolidate any relevant existing information about the project, and to fill in any gaps uncovered in the consolidation process. * Focus : the purpose of this phase is to look for and develop a strategic plan for the risk management process, and to plan the risk management process at an operational level. * Identify : the purpose of this phase is to identify where risk may arise, to identify what might be done about the risk in proactive and reactive terms, and to identify what might go wrong with the responses. Here, all the risks and responses should be identified, with threats and opportunitiess classified, characterised, documented, veified and reported. * Structure : the purpose of this phase is to test the simplified assumptions, and to provide a more complex structure when appropriate. Benefits here include a clear understanding of the implications of any important simplifying assumptions about relationships between risks, responses and base plan activities. * Ownership : at this phase client/contractor allocation of ownership and management of risk and responses occur, such as the allocation of client risks to named individuals, and the approval of contractor allocations. Here, clear ownership and allocations arise; the allocations are effectively and efficiently defined and legally enforceable in practice where appropriate. * Estimate : this phase identifies areas of clear significant uncertainty and areas of possible significant uncertainty. This acts as a basis for understanding which risks and responses are important. * Evaluate : at this stage synthesis and evaluation of the results of the estimation phase occurs. Diagnosis of all important difficulties and comparative analysis of the implication of responses to these difficulties should take place, together with specific deliverables like a prioritised list of risks or a comparison of the base plan and contingency plans with possible difficulties and revised plans. * Plan : at this pase the project plan is ready for implementation. The main processes involved in project risk management are: * risk identification, risk quantification and analysis, * risk response, selection of risk response options, * outputs from the risk response process, * outputs from the risk response process, * risk management within the project life cycle, * the tasks and benefits of risk management, * the beneficiares of risk management. Risk identification consists of determining which risks are likely to affect the project and documenting the characteristics of each one. Risk identification should adress both the internal and the external risks. The primary sources of risk which have the potential to cause a major effect on the project should also be determined and classified according to their impact on project cost, time schedules and project objectives. Inputs and outputs of the Risk Identification Process . Inputs to risk identification are given as product or service description; other planning outputs (work breakdown structure, cost and time estimates, specification requirements) historical information. Outputs to risk identification are sources of risk; potential risk events; risk symptoms; imputs to other processes. After identification risks should be ’validated’, for instance, the information on which they are based and the accuracy of the description of their characteristics should be checked. The purpose of risk identification is to identify and the project or service components, the inherent risks in the project or service, to capture the most significant participants in risk management and to provide the basis for subsequent management, to stabilise the groundwork by providing all the necessary information to conduct risk analysis. Risk quantification and analysis involves evaluating risks and risk interactions to assess the range of possible outcomes. It is primarily concerned with determing which risk events warrant a response. A number of tools and techniques are available for the use of risk analysis and quantification and the analysis process. Risk response involves defining enhancement steps for opportunities and responses to threats. Â  Risk avoidance involves the removal of a particular threat. This may be either by eliminating the source of the risk within a project or by avoiding projects or business entities which have exposure to the risk. Since the significance of a risk is related to both its probability of occurence and its effect on the project outcome if it does occur, risk reduction may involve either lowering its probability or lessening its impact ( or both ). Projects may be seen as investment packages with associated risks and returns. Since a typical project or business involves numerous stakeholders, it follows that each should ’own’ a proportion of the risk available in order to elicit a return. Basically, risk transfer is the process of transferring risk to another participant in the project. Transferring risk does not eliminate or reduce the criticality of the risk, but merely leaves it for others to bear the risk. Risk Retention .Risks may be retained intentionally or unintentionally. The latter occurs as a result of failure of either or both of the first two phases of the risk management process, these being risk identification and risk analysis. If a risk is not identified or if its potential consequences are underestimated, then the organisation is unlikely to avoid or reduce it consciously or transfer it adequately. Corporate risk refers to the liabilities and dangers that a corporation faces. Risk management is a set of procedures that minimizes risks and costs for businesses. The job of a corporate risk management department is to identify potential sources of trouble, analyze them, and take the necessary steps to prevent losses There are several steps in any risk management process. The department must identify and measure the exposure to loss, select alternatives to that loss, implement a solution, and monitor the results of their solution. The goal of a risk management team is to protect and ultimately enhance the value of a company. With corporations, financial risks are the biggest concern. Just as with standard insurance policies for physical damage, some financial risks can be transferred to other parties. Derivatives are the primary way that corporate risk is transferred. A derivative is a financial contract that has a value based on, or derived from, something else. These other things can be stocks and commodities, interest and exchange rates or even the weather when applicable. The three main types of derivatives that corporate riskmanagers use are futures, options, and swaps. Corporate risk is especially prominent during difficult times in the economy. Risk management teams will take less chances when the economy is less forgiving. They will do everything necessary to avoid additional risks, which in some cases can contribute to a decrease in credit availability and less overall spending. * Corporate Risk Management ,second edition, Tony Merna Faisal Thani 2008 * Analysis Evaluation,second edition, Neil Cowan 2005 * http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/docs/documents/1/DecsRiskManagementFramewo.pdf * http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-corporate-risk.htm

What Is The Procurement Method Construction Essay

What Is The Procurement Method Construction Essay Procurement is a term which describes the activities of the client or employer who brought about the construction or renovation of buildings. It is a mechanism that provides a solution to the problem: How can I build my project? (The Joint Contracts Tribunal, 2012) In most projects, the client (usually through their consultants or design team) will start the procurement process through the development of the project strategy. The strategy weighting opportunity, risks, and budget constraints of a project to determine the project is suitable to use which procurement method. (The Joint Contracts Tribunal, 2012) For each project, client will very care about the quality of the project, how long the project can be complete, the performance of consultants and the design of the project. Select an appropriate method of procurement is very important for client. Different client need different method of procurement because different policies, resources, organizational structure, the preferred contractual arrangements. Understanding of risk is essential because each procurement method has to follow a set of rules and procedures to select different particular route and risk. How a procurement can successful is depend on whether the construction project parties has comply with their obligations or not, how they identifying the risk of the project and how they deal with the risk of the project. There are four main procurements in construction which are designed by JCTs contracts. The four main procurement methods are: Procurement using Traditional methods Procurement using Design and Build methods Procurement using Management methods Procurement using Integrated or Partnering methods 2.0 a) Procurement using Traditional Procurement Method 2.1 Introduction of Traditional Procurement Method: In the traditional approach, the client must engage consultants such as Architect, Engineers and Quantity Surveyor to design the project. Those consultants design must meet the clients budget and satisfied by client. Once it is not meet clients budget the Architect and Engineers need to redesign the project and the Quantity Surveyor must recalculate the cost of the project. After the designed was satisfied by client and met clients budget, client, Architect or Quantity Surveyor will call tender to give contractors to price and bid for the tender. Client will base on the most suitable price that priced by contractors to make decision, which contractor will be the successful tenderer for the project. The price is not always the lowest but is the most suitable price for the project. Factors to choose a successful tenderer other than price, the contractor must have reputation, pass projects, good financial strength, skills and the contractor cannot have too many projects in hand. The successful contractor must follow the contract drawings and specifications to start the construction work. Contractor also must responsible for his workmanship and material, including work by sub-contractors and suppliers. Any defects, design errors or generated misuse, the contractor has to use his own money to repair or settle the problems. Contractors responsibility Client Consultants responsibility Figure : The Linear or Sequential Process of the Traditional Procurement System (Rosli, A.R, 2006) There are some types of contract will be use in traditional procurement method. These contracts are: Lump sum contract Measurement contract Cost reimbursement contract 2.1.1 Lump sum contract: Before construction project start, the contract sum of this contract is already determined and the amount of project is fixed in the agreement. The contractor must base on the fixed contract sum to construct a building. This contract is not subject to recalculate due to the contract sum is fixed. Once the construction work started, client not allow make any variation. But the contract sum can have a limited change in cost of material, labour and plant if the changes of amount is determined by checking vouchers, a formula, invoice etc. (Frederick University Cyprus, 2007) There are 2 types of lump sum contract: with quantities without quantities Lump sum contracts with quantities, client are based on drawings and bills of quantities to pay to the contractor. It means that any increase in the quantity of material, the contractor cannot claim with client. But contract can claim under provisional sum due to items are not accurately quantified. (Frederick University Cyprus, 2007) Lump sum contracts without quantities, client are based on drawings and contract document to pay to the contractor. It means that contractor can claim if there is any variation about the quantity of material. When the lump sum is total the material price, the work which done by contractor must described in the Schedule of Work. (Frederick University Cyprus, 2007) 2.1.2 Measurement contracts: Sometimes are called as remeasurement contract or schedule of rate contract. In this contract, contractor will pay base on the unit prices in the agreement after he complete the works. All the items needed for the construction work is stated in the contract document and bill of quantities. The contractor has to fill in the unit rate for each item and multiple with the quantities that calculate by Quantity surveyor to get the amount. (Frederick University Cyprus, 2007) 2.1.3 Cost reimbursement contracts: Sometimes is called as cost plus contracts. The contractor in order to construct the building and he will be pay based on the actual cost of materials, labour and plant plus certain percentage profit and overheads. The profit and overheads normally will be 10% of the total cost of materials, labour and plant. (Frederick University Cyprus, 2007) There are three types of fee in cost reimbursement contracts: Cost plus percentage fee Cost plush fixed fee Cost reimbursement based on a target cost 2.2 The cost, time and quality of via using Traditional Procurement Method: 2.2.1 Cost In the early stage of this system, client may require more money to pay those consultants which helped client design the project. But this giving client a guarantee to get the good price to complete the project due to all the design, drawings, and specifications is fully developed and described in detail before contractors start to bidding for the tender. Since client can control everything via using this traditional method, contractor no chances to adjust the project price become higher than normal price. Logically, this procurement system is very fair for client to get lower cost because all the competitors (contractors) must apply price to the project base on the bill of quantity that calculate by Quantity Surveyor. This system also can control over the variation cost but only for small amount of variation. (Rosli, A.R, 2006) 2.2.2 Time Compare with other procurement system, traditional system take longer time than other system to complete the project due to the design and budget must meet and satisfy by client. Although it takes longer time to produce but it considered is the best approach because client can clearly know actual cost to construct his project, can get better design from consultants and get better quality control of the project. Client can use this longer time to make decision and check the project design with consultant team before start construction. (Rosli, A.R, 2006) 2.2.3 Quality Traditional procurement method can come out with a construction project which is high quality controlled compare with other method. This method gives a lot advantage to client to compare the consultants design, decide which design suit his budget, management the project, protected by consultants due to giving professional advice and construction expertise between consultants and contractor. Using this method can give more time for client and consultants to check and develop the design, drawings, and specifications to create a better tender document. But this method do not give any advantages for contractor, contractor no power to design the project because contractor will engage after client and consultants decided the design of project. (Rosli, A.R, 2006) 2.3 Advantages Disadvantages of Traditional Procurement Method 2.3.1 Advantages of Traditional Procurement Method Client can controls the consultant team (design team) Client will have better control over the quality of works Client can obtain the best price through competitive tendering Can easily accommodate any variation of the works as required by the Client Clients interest is protected by the Consultants who serve as advisors and independent certifiers in the building contract Provided that the design has been fully developed and uncertainties eliminated before tenders are invited 2.3.2 Disadvantages of Traditional Procurement Method Client need to face many organisation due to many consultants The project need take long time to complete because many time is required in the early stage to design the building May be too cumbersome for the Client to coordinate with the various consultants the performance of consultants is very important because can directly affect the progress of the works 3.0 b) Procurement using Design and Build Method 3.1 Introduction of Design and Build Method: In the construction world there have four type of main procurement which is Procurement using Traditional methods, Procurement using Design and Build method, Procurement using Management methods and Procurement using Integrated or Partnering methods. In Procurement using Design and build method there is a method that to carry a task in which the design and construction services are contracted by a single entity, it is known as the  design-builder  or  design-build contractor. From the history, Design and Build is similar as master builders or master masons by the Ictinus and Callicrates when they built Parthenon in Athens. In Roman around 40 B.C, describing existing practice in the designed and construction of building was written by Vitruvius. (Timothy N. Toler Toler Hanrahan LLC Atlanta, Georgia) 3.2 Facts: Design and build is one of the procurement that using in building construction industry, following is the definition, method use and forms of contract. 3.2.1 Definition Design and build is a team consisting of general contractor, architect, and engineer. They are build-up to provide an owner with a one source point of contact for the design and construction of their proposed project. Design and build is known as a package deal and it has been use in the building industry for a long period ago. (Jack W E Masterman, 2002) Beside, Design and build combines into a single role the design responsibility of the project A/E and the building function of the prime contractor. 3.2.2 all in As known package deal is one of the all in contracting and it is a type of procurement method where a contractor is given the responsibility for the whole thing that is required and necessary for the design, construction and delivery of the project. Beside, under this package deal system the service of the contractor will be include the preparation of project brief, sketch and final working drawings getting all the approval from authorities, project financing, construction, furnishing and commissioning of all equipments and accessories and handing over the project to the client. Turnkey contract is one of the American term for the all in or package contract. Under this system, a contractor is entrusting to undertake the responsibilities for every necessary and required thing for the construction, completion, commissioning and hand over the project. The word turnkey means that, upon completion, the client is given the key and he can then enter the project by turning the key. The contractor had to do the whole thing from preparing project brief, getting approval, designing, financing, construction, furnishing and decorating to commissioning and handing over completed, cleaned and ready for use project. Develop and construct is also one of the integrated procurement which is much similar to design and build. In this case, the contractor is still given the responsibility for both the design and construction of the project. The difference is that, under Develop and Construct method the design consultants of client will prepare the concept of sketches or designs and passed them to the contractor and develop them and produced the detailed working drawings. The contractor will construct and complete the project based on what it has developed and produced. 3.2.3 Method Use / basis of procurement As known that there have four type of procurement in building industry. Design and Build is one of the procurement that using in the construction industry. Main contractor in Design and Build procurement is responsible for undertaking both the design and construction work on a project, for an agreed lump-sum price. Design and Build project can be different depending on the contractors design responsibility and the initial design in the employers requirements. However, for the Design and Build the contractors design responsibility is much greater than traditional contract with a contractor designed portion. Beside, sufficient time is needed for the contractor to prepare the employers requirements (usually employer will appoint consultants to facilitate this). The sufficient time is needed for the contractor to prepare their proposal and the tender price. By the way, proposal that been prepared by the contractor must matches all of the employers requirements before any of the contract are entered into. Furthermore, normally employer has power to control over the design elements of the project according to their requirements. But once the contract is passes the responsibility to the contractor, so the employer has no direct control over the contractor detailed design. 3.2.4 Forms of contract In the Design and Build procurement there have some of the contract documents which is formal agreement, conditions of contract, employers requirements, contractor proposals and schedule of rates. 3.3 Roles / responsibilities of each party involved Party involved in the Design and Build procurement is contractor and the client / employer. The responsibility of the contractor in the Design and Build procurement is concept design, tender and contracting, construction with detail design and the construction and hand over. Beside, the responsibility of the client and consultants is project brief, feasibility study and tender document. Client and Consultant responsibility Construction and hand over Detail design Construction Tender and contracting Concept design Tender Document Feasibility study Project brief Contractor responsibility Figure : The Integrated Process of Project Designing and Construction in the Design and Build Procurement System (Rosli, A.R, 2006) 3.4 The cost, time and quality of via using Design and Build Method: 3.4.1 Cost Cost for one project of building is very important. In each of the procurement it has their special way to price the cost of a building. In case of design and build, cost is fixed at the tender stage and is subject to design changes, normally it is often higher than the traditional contracting system. Comparison between the design build procurement and traditional procurement, traditional procurement design will be completed during tender stage and it will set up a high level of price certainty except for the fluctuations in the cost of labor and materials. The reason often is higher than the traditional contracting system is because once the tender is accepted, the tender price will be the final contract sum. It is not subject to change, unless there are variations required or instructed by the client. Such additional cost also cannot be avoided because under this procurement system the contractor will to take much of the financial risk. 3.4.2 Time In design and build procurement also know fast-tracking orbuild-it-fast project. So that it is suitable for the private clients, who want quick return on their investment, especially for commercial projects. The projects can be procured by negotiation rather than competition. This is because the design and build procurement save a lot of time depends on traditional procurement. By the way, traditional methods are most suitable for both public and private clients who want to control the stipulated overall time for the construction projects. All the operations are subject to considerable scrutiny and governed by fairly strict procedures especially in government funded development agencies. 3.4.3 Quality In Design and Build procurement the whole construction process (pre and post contract works) is undertaken by only one party which will slightly affect the quality level of the construction project. Design and build method is also suitable to the projects that need early completion, so the quality of the work will be affected. Its compared to the traditional method, traditional method It produce the highest quality of work. The project is usually competitively tendered to a contractor before work starts on a lump sum basis. The design will be done before the commencement of construction and thus, the quality of work will be higher. Each process of construction is undertaken by different parties having varied expertise in the building team. 3.5 Advantages Disadvantages of Design and Build Method: In case of advantage of design and build procurement in construction industry, the advantage is it is suitable for all clients, including inexpert clients and those requiring distance from the project. By the way It is also cost certainty and faster track. Beside the disadvantage is it is not suitable for complex buildings and uncertain or developing client brief. 4.0 d) Procurement using Integrated or Partnering Method 4.1 Introduction of Integrated or Partnering Method: Integrated or Partnering methods of procurement also can know as collaborative procurement. What is an Integrated and Partnering method? It is a form of procurement suited to large projects and a long term commitment between two or more organisations for the purpose of achieving specific business objectives by maximising the effectiveness of each participants resources. (Jack W E Masterman, 2002) Besides that, it also is about working as a team, regardless of organisation or location to achieve and to meet a clients needs. In construction industry, the Integrated or Partnering methods is intended to focus the participants of a project is attentive to delivering a project on time, to budget and to quality. (Jack W E Masterman, 2002) This procurement methods will enables team building and measurement and improvement of team performance on a project to project basis. Other than that, it also knows as a parallel or single responsibility procurement system where the client will only need to deal with a single organisation for both the designing and constructing the proposed project. In addition, the method is also to ensure that the contractors and consultants fully involve into the Integrated and Partnering process. Furthermore, the general approach that using procurement using Integrated or Partnering methods is for the client organisation, consultants, contractors and selected sub-contractors to sign a partnering agreement and can be a legal contractual agreement or regular contracts can be in place with the partnering objectives set down in a separate charter. In this situation, the role of contractor will have to engage and be responsible for design and construction teams for the clients project. Under this method, the clients consultants will prepare a tender or bidding document that include the project brief and clients requirements by information giving by client. After that, the consultant will start invite a number of contractor to bid for the project. For submitting tenders, the invited contractor will produce their own design, construction and cost proposal. Usually the contractor that successful in bidding will into a contract based on lump sum price and a period of time that already fixed. 4.2 The cost, time and quality of via using Integrated or Partnering Method: 4.2.1 Cost The Integrated or Partnering methods will help to reduce the cost of projects of the client. Although these are difficult to quantify accurately as there is a very wide range of percentage savings reported worldwide. Besides that, additional costs are incurred by all partners as a result of the need to hold workshops and to train stuff and also as a result of the expenditure on extra management time. There is little doubt, however, that Integrated or Partnering method will produce greater reductions over cost than other procurement methods. 4.2.2 Time The period of construction and design are reduced and sometime are shortened because the there are good relationship between consultant, contractor and client and with a good briefing about project by client and consultant and contractor can calculate the amount of the project needed and design a projects due to client requirements. Using this method can save a lot of time and select the most 4.2.3 Quality Using the Integrated or Partnering methods, the quality of the final product is improved and safety standards are heightened. This is because mutually beneficial total quality management scheme can be jointly implemented which mean they are good in coordinate their work due to their specialist and can deliver the projects well and quality of the project will increase due to their efficiency. 4.3 Advantages Disadvantages of Integrated or Partnering method: 4.3.1 Advantages of Integrated or Partnering method Conflict among all of the members of the project team, and particularly between client and contractor and contractor and subcontractor or supplier, is reduced, as the number of disputes and claim. Communication between all members of the project team is improved, and the establishment of mutual objectives ensures that the clients needs and objective are known and understood by all of those involved. The achievement of more efficient working and greater productivity that has been recorded as a result of the principle of continuous improvement will benefit all participants in their general activities as well as the specific projects with which they are involved. When involved in Integrated or Partnering methods, the participants should benefit from the increased amount of innovative thinking and research and development that can be carried out as a result of sharing ideas and pooling resources. Contractors, when involved in Integrated or Partnering methods, are able to rely on proportion of their annual workload being assured for at least the duration of the partnering programmed, and the costs normally associated with tendering for the amount of work in the programmed will not be incurred. 4.3.2 Disadvantages of Integrated or Partnering method There is always the possibility that the client will not be able, or may not wish, to honour the arrangement to provide as much work as was originally envisaged, leaving the other partners with voids in their order books which they may find difficult to fill. The relationships built up during the partnered projects can lead to cosy associations which do not encourage new ideas or a dynamic approach to the management of the project. Team members, when returning to their parent organisations, may find that there has been a hiatus in their career progression and that they have difficulty in acclimatising to the different culture. Confidentiality can be compromised as a result of the opening up of information that is normally restricted to the organisations from which it originated. Maintaining the commitment of staff, and particularly senior management, especially during the early stages of a project or programme when the benefits of partnering have not yet become evident, can be problematic and may even prove to be impossible. Difficulties can arise as a result of conflicts that may occur between the partnering charter or framework, which usually are not intended to have any legal standing, and the terms and conditions of the formal contracts between the various parties involved in the projects.

Grendel the Existentialist Monster :: Grendel Essays

Grendel the Existentialist Monster The monster Grendel is the ironic eye through which the action is viewed and from this perspective he provides the reader with never-ending examples of buffoonery and self-parody. Often his claims reveal the Sartrean component in his makeup: "I create the whole universe, blink by blink"(Gardner 22). Gardner,of course,wants to make a point here about solipsism. There is more to the objective world than Grendel's ego. Naturally the universe still exists when Grendel closes his eyes. Likewise, when Grendel says "I observe myself observing what I observe", (Gardner 29) ,he reminds us of Sartre's view of the self-reflective nature of consciousness. As he said in his interview, Gardner planned to parody Sartre's ideas in Being and Nothingess in these sections of the novel. When Grendel says "then I am not that which observes! I am lack. Alack. "(Gardner 29) he plays on the French verb manquer(to lack) that Sartre uses in his description of the lacking quality of consciousness. This ability to observe his observing is a clue to the philosophical underpinnings of the early chapters. Gardner's irony should be crystal clear--Grendel is amusing himself with Sartre's phenomenology. Now what is the reader to make of all this? A brief summary of Sartre's description of consciousness may help. According toSartre man exists on the level of being-in-itself(as a body in a world of objects) and on the level of being-for-itself(consciousness ). The key to understanding Grendel's view of the world is this distinction between the in-itself and the for-itself.Since, for Sartre, being-in-itself is uncreated(he can find no evidence of a creating God) and superfluous("de trop"), it reveals itself as a sort of absurd, meaningless outer reality. But being-for-itself, on the other hand, is the awareness that consciousness is not the being of the in-itself. Its being is revealed in a more paradoxical way-- as an emptiness in the center of being. How can it be aware of itself as an object?Impossible says Sartre. Simply put, the for-itself is the absence or the lack(thus Grendel's "lack") of the objectness of the in-itself . It reveals itself as the nothingness that remains when y ou realize that your consciousness is not an awareness of an object(such as your body), but rather an awareness of the lack of an object; or,to put it another way, it is an awareness of a nihilated presence.Grendel is proof that only an

The Native Boomerang :: Essays Papers

The Native Boomerang Imagine the typical colonial or imperial exploration party as white, rational, glorious civilized male believers encountering dark, irrational, ignoble, savage androgynous heathen. Imagine the currently popular (in policy, not theory) admiration of the native as a centered, serious, balanced, healthy, sane, and enlightened idealized form of the explorer. The first is a mirror in speckled and faded photographic negatives – the other is all that is bad about the subject. In the second the mirror is in 32 Bit True Color Photoshopped splendor – the native is all the subject could aspire to be. In the text of Columbus’ first voyage the boomerang effect of the assumed subject perceiving others’ perceptions of his/her self takes form as a rather unsubtle direct photocopy. While the ‘native’ other usually exists as a foil to define the non-‘native’ ‘subject’, in the case of the first voyage in the â€Å"Digest of Columb us’ Log Book†, the newly encountered native, as a collective and individual, functions as someone radically similar to the subject. In this text, the ‘native’, filtered through a complex circuitry of â€Å"authors† and â€Å"translators†, gives its[1] perceptions and reactions in several varieties: in its self-interest, intrigued by Columbus’ cohort as merchants; in its religious/social nature, awed by the â€Å"men who have come from the skies† (58); and in its â€Å"very simple †¦ not savage† (59) state, reluctant and irrationally attached to native lands and the earth. Columbus’ boomerang vision of his ‘natives’ perception of his expedition explains them as rationally, in both its then-present forms, eager about his presence and held back only by irrational impulse. I call Columbus’ perceptions boomerang vision because they emphasize/generate so much likeness between his expedition and the natives that the text understands the parties not as different people marked by similarities, but as the same sort of folks marked by occasional differences. The explicit justifications[2] used at home for his exploration are what he now ‘witnesses’ abroad as the natives’ response: reasoned excitement for wealth and religious ends balanced against unreasoned hesitancy. Columbus’ seven-year solicitation at the court of Spain included â€Å"repeatedly holding out great prospects of wealth and riches for the crown of Castile† (34), culminating in a â€Å"project for the exaltation of His Church† (103). That, thousands of miles away, he happen to ‘discover’ the precise same appreciation for his project, mitigated only by â€Å"their timidity† (77) is not coincidence, but the circular input and output of images through one filtering lens[3].

Ecosystem Services Essay -- Environmental Science

D1. What are ecosystem goods and services? People have been relying for their daily needs and well-being on nature. The natural ecosystem provides varieties of goods and services to us, for instance, fresh water, fisheries, timber, water purification etc. The benefits that people directly get from the natural systems are called ecosystem services (ES). The natural ecosystem provides both goods and services to us. The ecosystem goods are the things that people produced from soil, water and plants; Crops, Fibre, Timber, Livestock, Tourism, etc. are the example of ecosystem goods. And, at the same time people get a varieties of fundamental and life supporting services such as flood control, clean air and water, pollination of crops and other plants, natural hazard regulation, cultural, spiritual and aesthetic services which are called ES ( Kerr, G., 2010). Classification of ecosystem services The united nation was carried out an extensive study of current condition and trends of ecosystem services with the help of 1,300 experts from around the world and prepared the The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) Report in 2005. This report classifies ecosystem services into four types. 1) Supporting services: It is a fundamental unit of ecosystem services which support other ecosystem services. The soil formation, photosynthesis, nutrient cycling and water cycling are the supporting service in ES. 2) Provisioning services: These include the goods or products obtained from ecosystem such as foods (crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, and wild foods), Fibre (timber, cotton, silk, wood fuel, genetic resources, biochemical, natural ... ...then the decision. The decision maker should know the consequences of their decision in ES, for example how timber supply, making dam and extensive land use for agriculture affect in ES. The decision maker action may change the ES, they should consider the trade-offs among many option at decision making time and should chose the policies that help to foster and sustain the ES (Ranganathan, J. et al., 2008). Conclusion The benefits that we get from the nature are ES and it is indispensable for our overall development and prosperity. Works Cited Ranganathan, J. et al. (2008). Ecosystem Services a Guide for Decision Makers. World Resources Institute. Kerr, G. (2010). Ecosystem Services Approach to Inform Environmental Management, Draft. Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC.

Villain, Hero, or Victim?

Katie Parlier Villain, Hero, or Victim? Jay Gatsby is one of America’s most prized antagonists who the reader genuinely wants to believe in but his personae of a hero is falsely presented and admired. Characters are commonly placed in either the hero or villain category, but Gatsby is the exception because he exhibits more qualities of a victim. Gatsby has fallen victimized by Daisy’s guise. During the initial relationship between Daisy and Gatsby in Kentucky, Daisy continues to encourage Gatsby’s affections even though she knows that there is no future with Gatsby.Gatsby is not and will never be aristocratic and in his pursuit of the impossible, Gatsby loses his identity along the way. A victim is defined as a person who has been harmed or tricked, and Gatsby unquestionably falls prey to Daisy’s ability to â€Å"smash up things and creatures and then retreat back into her money or †¦ vast carelessness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Before Gatsby and Daisy even met, Gatsby had set a goal to leave behind his poor roots and create a successful life full of wealth.Gatsby in the summer of 1924 has accomplished exactly that but because of his encounter with Daisy his initial dream changes and becomes further complicated because it now depends on the actions of another person. After Daisy and Gatsby’s month of romance, Gatsby has tacked on the ambition to not only become wealthy and successful for himself, but for the hope that Daisy will acknowledge his prosperity and select Gatsby as her husband. Daisy presents Gatsby with a false sense of hope because she knew all along that money was not enough, she must be involved with an aristocratic society.This fictitious sense of hope causes Gatsby to attain the maximum amount of money in the minimum amount of time; even it is accomplished in unsavory ways. Gatsby is victimized by Daisy’s lies and becomes a criminal just to satisfy Daisy’s needs. His criminal activity caused as a result by Daisy’s actions lead Gatsby into a downward spiral that is recognizable throughout the novel with the endless parties. Now that Gatsby has acquired his great wealth, he decides to attract Daisy by throwing ostentatious parties that attract people like kids flocking to the wonders of a circus.The never ending flamboyant parties become so vast, that the host morphs into a ghostlike entity with his presence known lurking around the parties every once in a while without being recognized as an actual man. Gatsby becomes this grand and mysterious socialite who not known by the own people who visit his house. His personality does not exist for the partygoers, so they have to create their own versions of the great Jay Gatsby. Gatsby does not bother with making friends while he is in West Egg because his only goal is to attract the attention of Daisy.Because he does not socialize, he has lived the life of a hermit creating new ways to fascinate Daisy while Daisy is out living her life without the slightest memory of Gatsby. Daisy does not acknowledge the presence of others unless they are some use to her, and manipulation and deceit towards Gatsby only continues to escalate as the novel progresses. The final victimized act of Gatsby’s life occurs when takes the blame for Daisy’s actions against Myrtle that eventually lead to his death. Just before Daisy’s hits Myrtle with Gatsby’s car, Daisy has chosen to stay with Tom because of Gatsby’s suspicious business practices.However Gatsby still believes that Daisy will come back to him because she never outright admitted to loving Tom. Just like Gatsby and Daisy’s month of love, Daisy is never able to tell Gatsby the truth and completely end her relationship with Gatsby because she likes the power. In both cases Gatsby is presented with the false sense of hope and once again becomes the victim of Daisy’s fun and games. Daisy is too selfish to realize that she is pla ying with someone’s life and her actions could have long term consequences to others.Up until the very end Daisy continues to manipulate Gatsby like an inconsiderate puppet master. She controls the strings of Gatsby’s life, but when things get messy Daisy takes the quickest way out, to remove her fragile societal image from the dubious situation. Daisy’s influence on Gatsby turned him from a strong-willed man who created a destiny to make himself a better man to a disappointed fool who modeled his life actions after the feelings of another. Gatsby has become the ultimate victim to the alluring qualities of a woman and never has the chance to recover.

The Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist

Antonio Allegio was born in Correggio, a small Lombard town near Reggio  Emilo. His birth date is unknown (Around 1489). His father was a merchant. Otherwise,  Little is known of Correggio’s life or training. In the years 1503-1505 he apprenticed to  Francesco Bianchi Ferrara of Modena. He was influenced by the classicism of authors  like Lorenzo Costa and Francesco Francia which can be found in his early paintings.  In 1516 he was in Parma, where he became a friend of Michelangelo Anselmi,  one of the main Mannerist painters of the period. He remained in that city until 1530.  In 1519 he married Girolama Francesco di Braghetis, also of Correggio and died in 1529.In this period Correggio paints his beautiful painting â€Å"Virgin and child with the  young saint John the Baptist.† It is a painting on oil on panel Italian circa. 1494-1534.  The subject matter of the painting is John the Baptist as a child and his first  meeting of the Madonna and the C hrist child. Influenced by Leonardo da Vinci is  romantic with overwhelming radiance and cool pearly colors. The expressive content of  the painting is of joy, wonder and is playful. It seems to be a happy, leisurely time for all  three   people. The young Saint John Baptist’s mood is of reverence as he bows down and  looks up at the Christ child. The lines in the painting is of a symmetrical composition  arrangement with the Madonna leaning a little toward the young saint almost welcoming  her into her arms.The matter is religious for the young saint is meeting the Christ child as well as  welcomed into the arms of the Madonna. The young Saint John the Baptist’s looks as if  he is kneeling as he looks up from below to look at the Christ child. The figures are  peasants sitting on a bench in a garden underneath a vine. The Madonna is dressed in a  beautiful pale red dress and a cloak that is a rich blue on top and green underneath. The  cloak dr aped over her head is folded over and falling off revealing the green underneath  on the right side of the Madonna and the blue on her left shoulder.The color is rich in texture the brush stroke smooth and one stroke. The colors  are pale, delicate, and deep bringing out the rich color in the painting. The light and cool  pearly radiant color seems to be coming from within the people as well as behind the  Madonna. The specific effect is of symmetry in relation to each other. The work is  organized to show the Madonna in the center lovingly balancing the Christ child on her  left leg as she reaches out her left arm to welcome the young Saint John the Baptist. The  Christ child is sitting on the Madonna’s left leg he is raised above the head of the young  saint and the young saint kneel and look up. The central focus is of the Madonna inthe center and her smile as well as the Christ child balancing on the Madonna’s leg.Antonia Correggio reflected the his torical context of the renaissance by using  the periods work of religious themes found in the Madonna, the Christ Child and a young  John the Baptist. The painting is a stylized and idealized. His religious symbolism is  largely drawn from the work of Jacobus de Voragine (1260) He created dynamic  composition and perspective in his dramatic three-dimensional focused paintings. The  mythological perspective depicts movement, drama and diagonal composition  arrangement. You can find this movement and drama in the painting â€Å"The virgin and  child with the young saint John the Baptist† in the Madonna’s movement of her arm as  she welcomes the young Saint to join her and her son. Also, in the composition of the  three. The Madonna is in the center of the painting thereby catching the eye of the person  looking at the painting.Antonio Correggio was an enigmatic and eclectic painter. His art was a means to  reproduce life in its most persuasive dome stic side. Later, he initiated a style of  sentimental elegance and conscious allure with soft gestures and captivating charm by  using imaginary spaces as a replacement for reality. He used these elements of Mannerist  and Baroque stylistic approaches found at the time of the renaissance. Antonio Correggio  is considered to this day to be one of the boldest and most inventive artist of the High  Renaissance. He was revolutionary and is still influential for subsequent artists.Works Citedhttp://WWW.artic.edu/aic/collections/highlight_search?acc=1965.688&page=&1&ArtistID=310