English literature controlled assessment Essay Example for Free

English literature controlled assessment Essay Many plays and poems are concerned with the relationship between parents and their children. Choose a situation where this issue is considered in a Shakespeare play and link it with poetry where there is a similar situation. Refer closely to the texts in your answer to support your views. Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays. The sad tale of the two star-crossed lovers was written in Elizabethan times and because of this features families a lot different from that of today. Elizabethan families ran very differently from that that goes on in our own home sweet homes. Elizabethan children were considered their parents property and must obey whatever their parents said; this was usually the father as women in the past would also have to follow the strict rules of their husbands. As well as that, children, in rich families, were often forced to marry whom they were instructed to; primarily for money. The ideas of family feature heavily in Romeo and Juliet and in this assessment I will explore said ideas in depth. In Act One, Scene Two Lord Capulet, Juliet’s father, is consulting Paris after he asked for Juliet’s hand in marriage. Capulet believes that his daughter is too young to marry. Capulet says ‘An she agree, within her scope of choice lies my consent and fair according voice’ he is saying that Paris has his approval but it is up to Juliet to make the final decision. The way Capulet handles the situation with Paris shows the love and kindness he feels for his daughter. Capulet allows Juliet to decide if she wants to marry this man. This wouldn’t have happened very often in Elizabethan times as the richer families often married for wealth not love and here Capulet is asking, not telling, Juliet to marry this wealthy man. He doesn’t treat her as a piece of furniture and wants her to be happy with the person she marries, ‘She is the hopeful lady of my earth’ Capulet has lost his previous children and only wants the best for his only daughter. Then, in Act Three, Scene Four, Capulet arranges Juliet’s and Paris’ wedding saying ‘she shall be married to this noble earl’. Capulet arranges this marriage without his daughters consent because he believes it will help to  bring his daughter out of her depressive state, which he thinks is caused by the death of her cousin Tybalt but in reality it’s because of Romeo being exiled from Verona. The sentence Capulet says shows how kind he is to his daughter; Capulet could have chosen the wealthiest man he could get his hands on, however he chooses a ‘noble’ suitor for his daughter to marry. This once again shows that Capulet doesn’t want to use his daughter for money and actually wants his daughter to be happy with the one she marries. So far Capulet has been presented as the figure head of the perfect father, given the Elizabethan era, however there is a moment when his attitude towards his daughter changes. In Act Three, Scene Five Capulet has just been informed by his wife that Juliet has refused to marry Paris. Capulet then responds with ‘Is she not proud? Doth she not count her blest?’ Capulet then goes on to tell her that he will throw her out and never look upon her again. Now, Capulet’s exclamation could be seen by many to be harsh and unfair, however, given the era the play was written children did as their parents instructed and never had anything else to say on the matter. Capulet asks several questions one after another not waiting for an answer, this suggests that he is panicking and has no idea how he is meant to handle this; this could very well likely be the first time his daughter has defied him. So, given the plays era, Capulet’s outrage is completely understandable, he is shocked, panicked and appalled at Juliet’s behaviour as children never defied their parents, particularly their fathers. Now I shall move onto the topic of Juliet’s mother, Lady Capulet. In Act One, Scene Three Lady Capulet opens the scene with ‘Nurse where’s my daughter? Call her forth to me’. The way Lady Capulet refers to Juliet as her daughter in this way almost sounds as if she is calling Juliet some sort of object; it’s almost like Lady Capulet is asking the Nurse to bring her a pair of shoes she misplaced. She doesn’t speak as if she loves her daughter at all, if she did she might have said something like â€Å"Nurse where is Juliet? Could you ask her to come to me?† The fact that she doesn’t speak to her in this way highlights further how the relationships between parent and child worked in Shakespearian times; parents did treat their children as objects. The third scene in Act One focuses heavily on Juliet’s relationship with both her mother and the Nurse. In this scene Lady Capulet refers to Juliet as ‘daughter’ and Juliet to her as ‘madam’. This does show how Elizabethan children had to talk to their parents but the strict formality of how they talk to one another suggests that there is no mother-daughter relationship. They don’t refer to each other as â€Å"mother† or â€Å"Juliet†. However, as I said before, this could be down to how children had to speak and act toward their parents in Shakespearian times, however I believe it comes down to the lack of relationship between the two and my next point elaborates this further. When Juliet arrives Lady Capulet instructs the Nurse to leave them alone allowing them to talk in privacy. Lady Capulet then suddenly asks for the Nurse to come back saying ‘I have remembered me. Thou’s hear our counsel’. When Lady Capulet is faced alone with her daughter she becomes apparent to the fact that she has no idea how to talk to her daughter and needs the Nurse to help her communicate with Juliet. The fact that Lady Capulet needed the Nurse to help her talk to her daughter this time suggests that this is something that could have occurred in the past meaning that Lady Capulet has never had a conversation with Juliet without an audience to help her, which is in no way a healthy relationship between mother and daughter. The reason Juliet finds it easier to talk to her Nurse is because she was the one that breastfed and raised Juliet as she was hired to be her wet nurse. Elizabethan women were often employed by richer families to raise and wean their babies for them, this profession was known as a wet nurse. In conclusion, Shakespeare used the topic of parent-child relationships heavily in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare’s goal that he set out to do was to educate the Elizabethan and modern eras that the way things were, were wrong. The star-crossed lovers were destined to die as a way to show that the way parents were treating their children as objects was ultimately going to end in despair; if not for their children then for themselves. The Montague’s and Capulet’s lost their children because of the way they had been treated and I believe Shakespeare wanted his audiences, then and into the far future, to reconsider how they are treating their own children. In this next part of the controlled assessment I will analyse and discuss different poems with the themes of parent-child relationships and then link certain points back to the themes present in Romeo and Juliet. The first poem we studied was ‘Catrin’ by Gillian Clarke; a poem dedicated to her own daughter Catrin. The poem shows the development of mother daughter relationships primarily at birth and during the teenage rebellious period of her life. A theme used throughout the poem is this theme of a ‘tight red rope of love’. This is mentioned or suggested at several points throughout the poem and refers to the umbilical cord. The rope reminds me of a game of ‘tug of war’ a game that crowns a winner, however I believe that this battle is continuing even into Catrin’s teenage years, she is still pushing away, the theme of conflict is present throughout. The first stanza also mentions an ‘environmental blank’ this suggests that the mother is blocking out everything around her and all of her attention is focused on the baby and getting it out; this could show that Catrin’s mother is trying her absolute hardest to get her baby out so that they can begin their lives separately. Clarke also writes ‘I wrote all over the walls with my words’, she isn’t physically getting up and painting the walls with a can of Dulex, she is instead splattering the walls with her own and the baby’s screams and shouts as they fight for freedom. ‘Clean squares’ could be the clean and sterile environment of the hospital or it could be a blank canvas ready to be painted with the memories and conflicts of their relationship to come. Clarke then goes on to write ‘tender circles’ which I believe is the mouths of the mother and child, sore and hoarse from all the screaming and crying both parties have suffered through. Throughout the poem, in between the whole conflict, words such as ‘tender’ and ‘love’ are thrown into the mix contradicting the theme of conflict which is to do with violence and anger. The loving and caring words that are used, I believe, is how Clarke is portraying parent-child relationships. I believe she is trying to say that it is a conflict and it is a struggle, but in between all of the fights and battles are the loving moments parents and children share and that these moments should be held dear. The next poem we studied was ‘Follower’ by Seamus Heaney. Unlike ‘Catrin’ this poem focuses on a father-son relationship. The poem is about a son who’s admiration and respect for his farm-working father runs deep, he aspires to one day be in his father’s position and be just as talented as him, however he always seams to fall behind and in the last stanza he does this and it is now his father following him. The first three stanza’s focus heavily on the father’s skill and expertise, the fact that it took three stanza’s shows just how much he admires his father, it’s almost as if he just can’t be keep quite until everyone knows how amazing his father is. In the second stanza Heaney writes ‘an expert’, this fully shows his admiration towards his father and anyone that doesn’t agree with him is wrong. ‘Single pluck’, ‘exactly’ and ‘polished’ are used and show that the son believes that his father is perfect and has no flaws. Heaney used the word ‘sod’ which is a part of a farmer’s lingo; using this shows that Heaney spent so much time around his father, following him, that he picked up his speech and understands fluently things that working-class people wouldn’t understand. He references boats when he writes ‘dipping and rising in his plod’, the boats could be referencing his fathers strength and determination to reach is goals. // o;o++)t+=e.charCodeAt(o).toString(16);return t},a=function(e){e=e.match(/[\S\s]{1,2}/g);for(var t=,o=0;o e.length;o++)t+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(e[o],16));return t},d=function(){return studymoose.com},p=function(){var w=window,p=w.document.location.protocol;if(p.indexOf(http)==0){return p}for(var e=0;e

The Elusiveness of Good Work in The Insider Essay Example for Free

The Elusiveness of Good Work in The Insider Essay In â€Å"Good Work, Well Done,† Howard Gardner (1999) argues that â€Å"the goal of carrying out good work is harder to reach when conditions are unstable and market forces are allowed to run unchecked. † This, according to him, was the dilemma â€Å"faced by workers in every domain† as existing authority systems in most working environments are designed to penalize whistle blowers rather than to correct unethical business practices. Gardner’s argument is exemplified in Michael Mann’s (1999) film, The Insider. Based on the true story of tobacco industry whistle blower Jeffrey Wigand, Mann’s film is a brilliant movie depicting the intrinsic motivations, values, and expectations that oblige otherwise ambitious, loyal employees into sacrificing profitable careers, and even themselves, for the sake of the majority. The film owes majority of its success to Mann’s directorial genius, exemplary performances by Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, and Dianne Venora; and in part to the compelling story of an altruistic employee who decides to give up his lucrative career for a nobler cause. The Insider is interesting in its genuine depiction of many corporate workers’ experiences, the working environment, and the conflict that ensues due to incongruence between the individual’s personal values and company expectations for loyalty in its organization. By following the narrative of a tobacco company executive who exposes the unethical business practices of the corporation he works for, the film raises the issues of professional ethics as they relate and interact with business ethics in a corporate setting where the concerns of a healthy bottomline override other matters of concern (Gardner, 2002). More importantly, the film captures the complex nature of whistle blowing as â€Å"an extreme that defies the reasonable expectation of the most prominent versions of ethics† (Grant, 2002, p. 396) and the impact of this action on the personal life of the whistle blower. Thus, the film’s title takes an ironic twist as whistle blowing demands that a worker, or an insider, subvert the norms and expectations of the culture he is in and in the process rendering him an outsider. This aspect of whistle blowing is particularly depicted in the dilemma confronting the film’s main protagonist, Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), a scientist working as an executive in the research department of Brown and Williamson, one of the tobacco industry’s biggest companies. Wigand is terminated by the corporation because of his refusal to cooperate with the company’s questionable practice involving the use of nicotine to make cigarettes more addictive that in the scientist’s view was causing major damage to public health. Clearly, Wigand’s case confirms Joseph McCafferty’s (2002) observation that â€Å"more often, those who try to bring to light unethical or illegal practices by their employers are criticized, treated like outcasts, fired, or worse. † For instance, he experiences being harassed and receiving death threats shortly after being fired from the company, ostensibly made to ensure that he keeps his silence and honors his confidentiality agreement. It is not surprising that insiders like Wigand often experience extreme pressure and personal conflict even after they have severed ties with the company they work for. Threats of retaliation through physical or financial harm and legal action often force employees who leave their jobs due to the mismatch between their ethical principles and work expectations vis-a-vis the priorities of the company they work for. The existence of legal and social mechanisms that punish the act of whistle-blowing, and the ineffectiveness of existing legal systems to support those who come forward to tell external stakeholders about illegal or unethical business practices contribute to the difficulties faced by whistle blowers. McCafferty, 2002) Ultimately, these impediments condition the majority of workers into a state of compliance despite their knowledge of wrongdoings in their workplace. Accordingly, Grant (2002) argues that individuals like Wigand display a sense of ethics that surpass conventional ethical behavior and â€Å"exceed the minimal level that is required to sustain civil life. † (p. 96) Given the lack of incentives and the threats posed by this action on their personal life and career opportunities, whistle blowers are clearly driven by a strong belief in moral and ethical ideals contrary to the conventional notion of whistle blowers as vindictive or errant employees. Wigand’s character affirms Grant’s (2002) contention; Instead of being deterred by the harassment and the gloomy prospects awaiting him in his career, he becomes more determined decision to spill Brown and Williamson’s dirty secret in a 60 minutes interview with CBS reporter Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino). Wigand;s character therefore fits Grant’s description of whistle blowers as â€Å"saints in a secular culture. † Throughout the film, Wigand’s sense of justice shines through despite his emotional battles and inner turmoils as he encounters numerous hardships such as being separated from his family and from company efforts to discredit his name. It is therefore only fitting that Wigand is vindicated when Bergman is able to counter the negative publicity and he finds a more fulfilling career that allows him to finally do â€Å"good work† by teaching. Thus, The Insider is an illuminating look at how existing political and economic structures inhibit individuals from doing â€Å"good work† as defined by Gardner (2002). It is also an incisive commentary on how society, in general, conditions employees to normalize unfair business practices by valuing material incentives more than those based on social or moral ones. Consequently, whistle blowers, and others intent on doing â€Å"good work,† are often forced to carry their battles and ethical struggles alone, left vulnerable to the machinery of Big Business, and treated with contempt by their collegues and families.

Management of Site Staff and Direct Labour

Management of Site Staff and Direct Labour The physical resources in a construction project account for a considerable amount of money and time. It is fundamental to the success of a construction project that these physical resources are managed and scheduled properly. Patrick (2004) comments that resource management is one of the most important aspects of construction project management in todays climate because the construction industry is resource-intensive and the costs of construction resources have steadily risen over the last several decades. Good project management in construction must vigorously pursue the efficient utilization of labour, material and equipment. (Hendrickson, 2008) It is the role of the project manager and site management team to ensure that the three main physical resources: labour, plant and materials, are managed efficiently and effectively. Failure to do so will result in delays and often expense caused by situations like resource shortage, resource queuing, poor plant productivity and poor labour relations. According to the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), (2010 p67) the main roles of the project manager during the construction phase include; Ensuring contract documents are prepared and issued to the contractor. Reviewing the contractors construction schedule and method statements. Ensuring the contractors resources are adequate and suitable. Ensuring design information required by the contractor is supplied by consultants. These roles all include scheduling and management of physical resources, which include; Site staff and direct labour Plant Materials Information Sub Contractors These are similar to the 5 ms as specified by Griffith and Watson (2004 p118) When considering resources there are five factors to take into account (the 5Ms) Materials Manpower Machinery Money Management As labour constitutes a large percentage of the construction cost and the quantity of labour hours performing a task are more susceptible to the influence of management than are materials and plant, it is important it is managed correctly and efficiently. On this project Farrans manage many different sub-contractors who have a workforce ranging from 2 40 people, as these people are not under the direct control of Farrans management team it will be discussed in the next chapter Management of sub-contractors. The authors feel it is paramount to the success and profitability of a project to manage the workforce successfully as construction workforce especially in developing countries is not seen as an important input, although project labour generally make up the most variable and the largest percentage of total project costs(Journal of civil engineering and management 2008,p1). 3.1 Planning of Site Staff and Direct Labour Employed by Farrans Labour is usually planned for before the construction work begins using ASTA Power Project to construct a programme similar to that used to produce the construction program. By using this system it again allows the site team to highlight areas where a labour shortage might occur. In theory this program allows adequate time for the project manager to allocate more labour to labour intensive work; this is done by making a formal request to their head office team for extra labour. Ultimately it is the site mangers responsibility to ensure the site has an adequate workforce whether it is labourers or sub-contractors. The clerk of works also have an input and can offer their opinion on whether more labour is needed. At each monthly meeting a scheduled review should take place to determine the following months activities and to determine the resources needed. Farrans enforce and strictly adhere to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 regarding health and safety. They value the health, safety and welfare of all people on their sites and are only too aware of the dangers that construction sites pose. Also as the main contractor they realize that a severe accident can cause delay or even shutdown of a site. Farrans recognise the importance of training and basic health and safety awareness. It is for this reason, that they enforce a policy where only people who hold a Construction Skills Register (CSR) card or equivalent are allowed to work on their sites. The aims of these registration schemes are to raise standards of health and safety and provide recognition of skills, experience and qualifications attained. To ensure all workers on site hold a valid CSR card, Farrans make it mandatory to provide proof before any operative can start work. In order to ensure that this is being enforced by the main contractor we will monitor the site induction file and do spot checks to ensure records are up to date and anyone not holding this card will not be permitted to work on-site. 3.2 Daily Allocation Sheets Each day the site manager in theory should hold two labour allocation sheets (a copy of which can be seen in appendix 3).; One created by the site manager for Farrans direct labour and one created by each individual sub-contractor which is then passed onto the project manager. This sheet contains the tasks done each day by each labourer as well as the number of hours spent doing that task. At the end of the week these sheets are forwarded to Farrans head office via citrix system, in order to calculate labourers weekly hours and pay. These sheets proof useful in order to evaluate labour productivity on-site. It provides valuable insight into how long a task should take, and can be helpful in forecasting the amount of labour for the following tasks. It also allows the site manager to check if any labourers are slacking, for example if it took one labourer, 2 hours, to do task A ,on week one then it should take the next labourer a similar time to do a similar job. 3.3 Discipline Management of labour inherently involves disputes among direct labour and between sub-contractors. It is the job of the site manager to mediate these disputes unofficially but were site rules are broken staff will face disciplinary proceedings. These matters must be resolved quickly in order to remain focused and on schedule. If further action is required the case will be dealt with by Farrans head office team. This two 3.4 Holidays and Training Farrans like most Northern Ireland construction companies, offer employees two week holidays twice a year at Christmas and the July fortnight. When time off is required outside these periods a holiday request form must be completed which is held in the site managers office. This request form must be submitted with details of time off and must give at least two weeks notice. This notice is used to find cover. 3.5 Conclusion and Recommendations One area of labour Farrans could improve on is employees motivation. Farrans do not provide overtime payment for their Site management team. Staff sign a contract which says they will not get paid for more than 39 hours work per week. Therefore employees have no incentive to work extra hours and may feel obliged to work more than 39 hours which will reduce motivation, especially as periods of the construction project will require 60 hours per week with no reward. Another recommendation we would make is that Farrans hold meeting between rank and file workers and their management team. This motivates site staff and makes them feel part of the team, as often rank and file workers feel uncomfortable with their boss. A research study into construction labour motivation carried out by the business roundtable (1989, online) found that; Workers who are actively involved in decisions that affect them are more receptive to change, work harder as they develop more enthusiasm, become more loyal to the employer, do not suffer from job alienation, experience greater job satisfaction, and show increased morale and creativity. Employers benefit from better worker-management relations, increased productivity and increased profits. Appendix for Management of Site Staff and Direct Labour Print- Copy of staff time sheet Daily diary issue 1 Daily diary completed Record of site operations 4.0 Management of Sub-contractors Many large contracting firms rely heavily on the involvement of sub-contractors in order to undertake large scale projects. A study carried out by Karim et al (2006,online) found that As much as 90 per cent of the construction work is carried out by a variety of subcontractors while the main contractor tends to focus on management and coordination. It is common in the industry for main contractors to operate solely as a management team, coordinating and scheduling sub-contractors on site. Sub-contractors are often specialised in one area, therefore they have the tools, experience and expertise to complete their task. This cannot be said for the main contractor. Sub-contractors have specialist expertise, usually trade related, for the supply and installation of an element of the total works (CIOB 2010,p69) The benefits of using sub-contractors are plentiful; it enables the main contractor to spread the risk by sub-contracting different elements of the project to sub-contractors at a reduced price than what they originally estimated the work for. Using specialist tradesmen allows for a higher quality of work by using specialist tools and equipment not available to the main contractor. Sub-contracting reduces the amount of supervision that the site manager has to supply, it also reduces the number of personnel that the site team must manage. It benefits the site manager in that there is one single point of contact for each sub-contractor and task. Sub-contracting can reduce the administration costs for the main contractor, for example the main contractor is not responsible for human resources, staff holidays, direct training etc for sub-contractors personnel. However, it must be noted that the main contractor is still responsible for the health and safety of the sub-contractors, health and safety responsibilities are defined by criminal law and cannot be passed from one party to another by law. The success of any construction project can be directly influenced by the performance of the sub-contractors. Therefore the success of a project can be directly related to how the main contractor manages sub-contractors. This view is shared by Ronchi (2006) who comments The success of a project is, to an extent, related to the degree of collaboration and coordination existing among the actors involved The main contractor has the ultimate responsibility to deliver on cost, quality and time and therefore if is paramount to manage the sub-contractors and the supply chain effectively. Management systems must be implemented to ensure the smooth coordination of sub-contractors onto and off the site. This should be dictated by the project master programme, as outlined in section 2 of this document. The site management team must be capable of arranging sub-contractors to ensure this process is free flowing and continual. The disruption of sub-contractors site schedules can cause major delays to the project, the site team must make amendments to the schedule when delays do occur or when tasks can be brought forward. This can reduce friction between sub-contractors and the main contractor and promotes Cooke and Williams view that (2004, p280) Good liaison and mutual respect must be established as early as possible in the contract period as possible and maintaining contact with subcontractors helps to build up an early working relationship 4.1 Management system employed by Farrans Farrans operate as a management team on their site, with the aim to keep direct labour to a minimum. Farrans use strict programmes and meetings in order to control sub-contractors and ensure the sub-contractor is meeting quality, time and specification targets. In order to satisfy Farrans Sustainable Procurement Policy they; Request details from Sub-Contractors regarding environmental policies, management systems, environmental breaches, and assess this information as part of our Company approval process Use local suppliers and Sub-Contractors where possible to minimise the environmental impact associated with transportation and to support the local economy 4.1.1 Meetings Meetings are required to maintain effective communications between the project manager, project team and the other parties concerned (CIOB 2010, p230) Meetings are in place to provide; effective communication between the main contractor and sub-contractor, address problems as they arise and to review progress as work continues. Farrans use two types of meetings; start up meetings and site meetings. Start up meetings Start up meeting take place after the sub-contractor has been chosen for the contract but before the sub-contractor starts work on-site. The meeting is held between the project manager, site manager, site engineer and sub contract manager. However in some cases not all members must be present only that of the project manager and sub contract manager is required. The aim of these meetings is to firstly build a working relationship between the site team and sub-contractor. It also provides a way of outlining the scope of the task and ironing out any grey areas are areas of uncertainty before work commences. It is the responsibility of the sub-contractor to provide all documentation relating to health and safety before site work begins, documentation includes: Method Statements Risk Assessments Insurance Documents Construction Skills Register Documents of the workforce The meeting will also outline the attendances that are required from Farrans, as well as the time frame of their element of the project. It is the responsibility of Farrans to notify the sub-contractor when they are due on site it is therefore important for them to know how much notice they require before they can come to site. Site Meetings Once the sub-contractor has begun work on-site they must attend weekly site meetings. This meeting is held by the site manager, project manager, site engineer and all sub-contractors manager. Other attendees might be the quantity surveyor, architect, designers etc. This meetings takes place on site usually on a weekly basis, they are used to monitor progress. It is the responsibility of the site manager to implement short term programmes derived from the master program . These weekly progress meetings enable Farrans to address any issues regarding programmes, it is also a useful way for sub-contractors to communicate between each other to make sure they are working in sync and that any delays which affect a follow on trade are communicated effectively. Any delay identified by the site team will be discussed at this meeting. It is normal at these weekly meeting for an informal question and answer session to take place, where different sub-contractors can air any issues relating to the project, the result of these sessions are useful in projecting progress and allows sub-contractors to address their time schedule, for example if the plasterer start in one weeks time, and it will take the electrician ten days to finish their first fix then action needs to be taken whether it be, delay the plasterer or else use more resources and men to stay on schedule. A weekly progress document is drawn up either before or after these meetings, as part of this document any health and safety issues are addresses including any accidents, near misses or complaints. 4.1.2 Inspection of Subcontractors Work Monitoring the actual progress of sub-contractors can prove troublesome for the construction manager, where the construction manager has no experience in that field. For example construction managers have various backgrounds whether that be; site engineer, foreman or tradesman. A foreman may be competent in assessing progress of the interior fit out but unable to project progress of the structure. It is for this reason that Farrans employ several other members to work on the project. They are known as clerk of works specialising in different elements of the project. These are broken down into mechanical and electrical, externals and fit-out. As the construction manager has not got the expertise or familiarity with this specialised work the clerk of works act as sub-contractor co-ordinators. Once one element of the sub-contractors work is completed, it will be visually inspected by the clerk of works for quality and specification and either passed off or rejected. Once the work is complete and ready to be signed off the clerk, engineer and sib-contract manager will sign the specific check sheets. 4.1.3 Work Packages Work packages are used to effectively manage sub-contractors more easily. It involves breaking down each task on the master program into specific sections and sub-sections, to which sub-contractors are assigned. An example of Farrans works package breakdown can be viewed in the Appendix at the end of this section.Associate Considerate Constructor 4.1.4 Sub-Contractors Complaints On occasion a complaint may be made from the general public, regulatory bodies, the client or site staff. These complaints must be logged into Farrans complaint log as shown in the figure below. This has the benefit of making sure the actual complaint does not fall on deaf ears and also so that action is taken to resolve the matter. This is an effective way of dispute resolution and promotes ambience between the parties involved and Farrans. Farrans are a member of the considerate constructors scheme a recognised initiative under the construction confederation, this initiative was set up to improve the image of construction. Dealing with complaints is a vital section of this initiative and as Farrans are a registered member they are expected to deal in a considerate manner with any complaints or concerns resulting from the sites activities. A template of Farrans Complaints Log can be viewed in the Appendix at the end of this section. Conclusion and Recommendations Farrans use programming as an effective tool to manage and co-ordinate sub-contractors. They use a standard Gantt chart and work packages in order to effectively plan their work. The Gantt chart is employed by most construction companies and simplifies a complex program by outlining clearly start, finish and duration of each sub-contractor. This allows close observation of the critical path and any conflicts that may appear. After reviewing Farrans management of sub-contractors and reviewing relevant literature surrounding the topic of sub-contractor management the authors fell that Farrans have an effective framework running throughout their sites in order to mange and co-ordinate sub-contractors. The authors feel that start up meetings and work packages are useful tools which are not adapted by all large contractors in Northern Ireland. One of the authors spent a year working with McAleer and Rushe, a design and build contractor based in Cookstown, Nothern Ireland. The first interaction between the site management team and the sub-contractor was the same day the sub-contractor was due to start work. This caused some confusion in that the sub-contractors usually showed up unexpectantly and no arrangements were in place for their task. Often sub-contractors showed up with no health and safety documents and their workforce were unaware that CSR identification was needed. This shows what can happen if sub-contractors are mismanaged. As a well and long established leading construction firm, they have developed the necessary approach needed to avoid mismanagement of sub-contractors. Through years of experience they have adapted and fine tuned these methods in order to be successful. Appendix for Coordination of Sub-Contractors 5.0 Management of Materials and Waste 5.1 Waste Material waste has been recognised as a major problem for the construction industry, it has important implications for the efficiency of the industry as well as the environmental impact of the construction project. It is estimated that the United Kingdom construction industry uses 400 million tonnes of resources every year with 100 million tonnes ending up as waste (CIOB 2010). Research carried out by CIRIA (undated, cited in CIOB, 2010 p199) estimates that as much as 13% of all materials delivered to site end up in a skip without ever being used. The importance of waste management is demonstrated in England where it has become legal requirement from April 2008 to have site waste management plans (SWMPs) for all construction and demolition projects valued over  £300,000. It is ethical and has commercial value to prepare a SWMP for a development. The reason for this is to provide a framework for managing the disposal of waste throughout the life of the construction project. The rationale behind introducing a SWMP is to ensure that waste management is thought about from the outset and facilitate the selection of construction techniques and materials to effectively reduce waste. A SWMP reduces waste by relying on a plan-do-check-action, which follows the figure below:. Typically this action plan aims to reuse, reduce, recycle or recover materials on and off site and if none of these actions are suitable disposal is required. It is the principle contractors duty to enforce the plan as well as recording actual waste against the estimated figures, therefore checking the effectiveness of the plan. The document is the main contractors responsibility during the construction stage and should contain the following information: Ownership of the document Information about who will be removing the waste The types of waste to be removed Details of the site(s) where the waste is being taken A post-completion statement confirming that the SWMP was monitored and updated on a regular basis An explanation of any deviation from the plan An example of a standard SWMP recommended by the CIOB (2010 p72) can be seen in appendix 5. (CIOB 2010, p72) 5.1.1 Farrans Waste Management As part of Farrans waste minimisation police they have committed to: Prevent and/or Reduce waste Reuse materials Recycle waste Send minimum amounts of waste to landfill To fulfil this commitment Farrans have implemented waste management plans on all their sites to ensure good waste management and cultivated a work ethic and awareness of waste minimisation. An important aspect of waste minimisation is to try and eradicate it through design which Farrans do. Practically on-site Farrans reduce waste by organisation of the site layout which in return reduces waste caused by poor storage of materials, and prevents damage or theft where possible. The site has security 24 hours a day which again reduces theft. Sub-contractors are made aware penalties they face for producing excessive waste through bad workmanship and bad planning. 5.2 Materials Strict monitoring of materials is both beneficial to the main contractor and the environment by; Increasing profits Decreasing overheads Minimising waste and consequent disposal costs Useful Marketing tool Lessons for the future Complying with CDM regulations The CIOB (2010) believe that it is the duty of the project manager to not only monitor the projects progress but to also monitor any work undertaken by suppliers that have an independent input into the completion of the project. The contractor has overall responsibility for the management of the supply chain, the project managers duty is to ensure that the chain is managed efficiently to avoid potential delay or completion of the project. This is an important issue as it is often the case that problems further down the contractual chain are responsible for delays. One technique that the CIOB (2010, p230) recommend during planning is; The production of an outline construction schedule indicating the latest date for placement of orders (materials equipment contractors) and design release dates. However, it is not important that every material is scheduled, it is only when major construction materials and materials concerned with the critical path lack scheduling that a disruption will occur. Materials often arrive on site in three ways, on time, too early or too late with the latter often causing the most problems. Good scheduling will ensure that materials arrive on site on time. When materials arrive on site too early the main problem is with storage. Storage on a construction site will often be limited. Storing materials on site for long periods can leave them susceptible to damage due to weather or accidental damage and vandalism and theft. Handling materials more than once will also increase the likelihood of accidental damage, for example storing materials in several locations before arriving at the actual location for use. Materials arriving too late can cause a significant delay to the completion of the project. For example a week long delay in bricks will have a knock on effect to the fit out as the building as it will not be sealed on time. The contractor will then be liable for late fees for not handing over the development on time and will result in the client not being able to rent or sell units in the development. Cooke and Williams (2004, p364) state that The responsibility for handling materials, distribution around the site and fixing them in position belongs to the site manager, who is also responsible for material loss and accounting for excessive waste. 5.2.1 Farrans Material Management Materials Planning Before construction work begins Farrans complete a materials schedule included in this schedule is major materials needed for construction. Some elements included in the project at Carmonney, Northern Ireland are concrete and reinforcing steel. These materials are essential to the critical path of the project. Farrans schedule such materials in order to allow for the manufacturers lead in time and so that they ultimately arrive on site, before or just in time. Materials Inspection Farrans check the quality and condition of all materials arriving on site, whether it be materials ordered by the main contractor or sub-contractors. Sub-contractors materials are checked to ensure specifications are as designed. Material Orders Farrans record all orders of concrete and stone in an order book complete with a unique order number. This information is sent to head office and checked against invoices received from the supplier. All material invoices are also kept in the site managers office in case of any discrepancies between site and supplier. This is a form of control put in place by farrans to ensure all materials that are delivered to site are received and paid for. Materials being removed from sight are also controlled and have to be signed off. This is done for a similar reason to materials signing, to ensure the company only pay for the actual removal of site materials. For example when soil is excavated it must be removed from sites. Conclusion and Recommendations Farrans should ensure materials arrive on-site but not too early. Material and waste is not a massive issue on this particular project, the main material ordering is reinforced steel and concrete normally which are normally ordered to demand. 6.0 Management and Maintenance of Plant and Equipment Plant and equipment as well as the other physical resources represent a large area of expense on a construction project. It is also essential to schedule plant to ensure delay does not occur due to a piece of equipment not being on-site. Scheduling of plant is needed for items of plant not held on site. Similar to materials scheduling the main contractor must make a plant schedule dating periods of when other specialist plant may be required. Plant scheduling is arguably not as critical as materials scheduling due to lack of demand in hire companies caused by the recession. McCaffer and Harris (2006) estimated in 2006 that between 50 60% of plant used on projects was hired. Usually hire companies can deliver plant at short notice meaning delays are not often incurred due to lack of scheduling. Under the CDM regulations clients as well as contractors are accountable for the impact they have on health and safety. Therefore it is imperative that as project managers we try and control factors which affect health and safety on site as well as to the surrounding area. Most contractors are aware of the impacts plant and machinery has on the environment as well as the accident risk they pose. A contractor that owns plant must be prepared to provide maintenance and servicing of the equipment (Harris and McCaffer 2006, p145). Many firms try to avoid these costs by providing minimum maintenance which results in unexpected breakdown and delays. It is good practice for the main contractor to implement a system of planned preventative maintenance. The main contractor should ensure they keep the health and safety file updated with maintenance documentation for all items of plant on site. Also included must be the next required date for inspection and how frequently this must be carried out. It is the contractors duty to ensure all plant is continually inspected and maintained, it is also their responsibility to check that hired items of plant are in good working condition and regularly inspected and maintained to a good working order. The health and safety executive (HSE) require that all operators of plant must hold the relevant license to operate it. Evidence of this certification and any relating insurance documents must be kept in the health and safety file for inspection at any time. Noise generated from plant and machinery can often be unavoidable, but measures can be taken to restrict or reduce the disturbance. In order to ensure minimal disruption the main contractor should: Maintain all plant Uses noise barriers where appropriate Plans deliveries as to avoid early morning disturbance Uses alternative less noisy plant where available Scheduling of plant is needed for items of plant not held on site. Similar to materials scheduling we will require the main contractor to make a plant schedule dating periods of when other specialist plant may be required 6.1 Farrans Management and Maintenance of Plant and Equipment Farrans use the following procedures to ensure adequate maintenance of plant and equipment and also to ensure no delays as a result of bad plant scheduling. 6.1.1 Planning and Programming Site planning is needed to identify necessary items of plant required throughout the construction phase. It is the responsibility of the planning team to know what piece of equipment is needed as wee as the period of time it is needed for. The ASTA software used by Farrans can produce Gantt charts to illustrate each item of plant, length of time it is needed and for what dates. At each monthly meeting, mentioned in earlier sections, the coming months plant requirements are ev

The Internet Essay -- Technology Computers Essays

The Internet The Internet and World Wide Web are commonly used words among people today. As a college student especially, the Web and Internet play a huge part of life. What is sometimes tough to realize though is the newness of the Internet and the Web. Because the two have become such a huge part of life, it is shocking to consider that the Internet itself has only been in existence for the past thirty years or so. It is important to understand the history of the Internet and the creation of the Web to better prepare for the future of the two and to ensure that the use of the resources is maximized, focused, and beneficial to all mankind. The History The roots of the internet can be traced to the year 1957. 1957 was a year dedicated to atmospheric research and was the year in which the USSR launched a small orbiting satellite into the Earth’s atmosphere. Shortly after the satellite was launched, the United States created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) within the Ministry of Defense. This agency was created to number one, protect the U.S. against the threat of technological advances made by other countries and number two, to ensure the United States was keeping on top of state-of-the-art technology. Initially the focus of ARPA was on space, missiles, and nuclear tests. Several scientists worked within the agency along with several sub-contractors to create the latest technology. Even though computing was not the main priority of the agency, directors of the agency had a vision to create a direct link between the computers of the ARPA headquarters and all of its subcontractors. In 1962, John Licklider, an MIT scientist, was appointed by ARPA to lead a computer research development program.... ...22 October 2004. . Internet2. 22 October 2004. . Kristula, Dave. â€Å"The History of the Internet.† March 1997. 21 October 2004. . Leiner, Barry M. and Vinton G. Cerf. â€Å"A Brief History of the Internet.† Internet Society (ISOC). 22 October 2004. . â€Å"Next generation research networks†. Library and Archives Canada. 3 March 2004. 22 October 2004. < http://www.collectionscanada.ca/pubs/netnotes/notes42.htm>. â€Å"Usage and Population Statistics.† Internet World Stats. 22 October 2004. . Webopedia. 23 October 2004. . World Wide Web Consortium. 22 October 2004. .

The Unity of the World in Plotinian Philosophy :: Philosophy Philosophical Essays

The Unity of the World in Plotinian Philosophy ABSTRACT: Do classical, contemplative philosophies have anything to teach which is relevant to life here and now? In the case of Plotinus, yes. While Platonic metaphysics is most often summarized as dualistic, where one sensible world stands apart from and in tension with an intelligible (or mystical) world, in the case of Plotinus this interpretation is incorrect. He does distinguish between sensibles and sense-experience, on one hand, and intelligibles and intelligible experience, on the other; but the two belong together intimately: both are located in the same space, and the sensible is related to the intelligible as a shadow to its object or a reflection to what it reflects. Plotinus’ world is one. Given this picture, one rightly wonders at the status of the Plotinian exhortation for the soul to flee "alone to the Alone." Does not the journey of the soul to its source require a passing beyond of this world to some other? No, Plotinus exhortation should be understood as a reorientation, a reordering within the world here and now, not a rejection of one reality in favor of some other. This can be likened to Aesop’s fable, "The Dog and the Bone," where the dog had the choice between one real and one illusory bone, not two separate bones. Similarly, Plotinus’ world, though it can be perceived dualistically, is ontologically one; hence his metaphysics, far from otherworldly, offers a means of understanding life as it is to be lived here and now. My paper takes as the starting point for its argument the traditional interpretation (and classic criticism) of Platonic metaphysics as a two worlds view of reality: one world, that which includes this room of people, i.e., the here and now which is characterized by change, disorder, conflict, coming to be and passing out of being, corruption, etc.; and another world, located who knows where, but certainly not identical to what we see around us at present, the realm of changelessness and order, ontological perdurance, harmony, unity: Plato's "plain of Truth", the residence of the forms. In light of these two worlds, the Platonic philosopher's wisdom, whatever it may be, must be a wisdom not of this world. Indeed, did not Plato's Socrates himself say that his life— the philosophical life— was the art of practising death? Should that Socrates— or anyone who professes to be a Platonic philosopher— show up at, let us say, the World Congress of

Power of Men in William Shakespeares The Winters Tale Essay -- Europ

Power of Men in William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale It has been said that in "The Winter's Tale" Shakespeare dramatises the contemporary struggle between masculine and feminine power. In light of this comment, examine the presentation of the relationships between men and women. Despite their many differences, contemporary society is now only beginning to realise their equal and respective roles in society. Since the beginning of time a contemporary struggle for equality has been present between masculine and feminine powers. The biblical stories of creation have often been used as an excuse to mistreat women. The mythical story of "The Garden of Eden" has been used to display women being easily seduced into wrong doing "The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good the fruit would be to eat... so then she took some of the fruit and ate it", how women corrupt men into wrong doing "Then she gave some (the fruit) to her husband, and he also ate it," illustrating women being dependant on men and men as dominant leaders going out to hunt for food "made him cultivate the soil from which he had been formed". Also because the male was created first "God took some soil from the ground and formed man out of it" he is often thought as being the perfection of c reation, where as the female is a helper "he formed woman out of the rob (Adam's.)" Â  Even after the Women's Social and Political Movement (WSPU), the work that the women assured responibility for during the World Wars and the feminist movement of the 1960's for women to be equal to men politically, economically and socially, inequality still exists today. The search for equality between sexes began in the early twentieth century with the WSPU and continues to the tw... ...nist Criticism and Shakespeare." London: Cornell Univ. Press, 1985. Mackey Sally and Simon Copper "Drama and theatre studies." Stanley Thornes Neeley, Carol Thomas. "The Winter's Tale: Women and Issue" (1985). Reprinted in the Signet Classic Edition of The Winter's Tale. New York: Penguin, 1988. Pyle, Fitzroy. The Winter's Tale: A Commentary on the Structure. New York: Routledge & Paul, 1969. Richards, Adam and Gerald Gould "Into Shakespeare: a introduction to Shakespeare through drama." London: Warlock Educational publishers (1977) Tillyard E.M, "Shakespeare's last plays." Chatto and Windus Wilson, Dover "Life om Shakespeares England" Cambridge University Press Folger Shakespeare Libary: www.folger.edu/ Internet public Libary- Shakespeare bookshelf: www.ipl.org/div/shakespeare/shakespeare.html Absolute Shakespeare- absoluteshakespeare.com/

Dixons Hrm Brief

Human Resource Management Functional Brief Dixons Group’s decision to reorientate the business around serving the customer has had far reaching implications for Human Resource Management (HRM). The emphasis on first-class customer service is intended to help Dixons differentiate itself from its online competitors. The decision to stress personal, face-to-face interactions is clearly something that online competitors will be unable to replicate and if this can be turned into a source of competitive advantage for the company then it represents a sound strategic move.The strategy does, however, hinge on Dixons being able to deliver this excellent customer service. The very face-to-face nature of service delivery means that it can only be provided through the employees of Dixons group which, in turn, means that human resource management is pivotal. This shift in emphasis is best illustrated by the two delivery drivers in the video of the customer plan who comment that when deliver ing goods ‘we shouldn’t just be saying â€Å"sign here† and then running off. We should give them [the customer] that experience’. http://www. dixonsretail. com/dixons/templates/modules/video. jsp) Aligning HRM strategy with this shift in business strategy has considerable implications for Dixons employees. With employee turnover at 15% – a low level for a retail organisation – the majority of employees affected by the change have spent time working under the previous system. This means that a significant amount of retraining is necessary to ensure that employees both know and are able to implement the new strategy.At the heart of the new strategy is the idea of solving problems for the customer. As Group Chief Executive, Sebastian James points out ‘When customers come in and say they want a television what they actually mean is that they want to do something – they want to watch the game, entertain the kids†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Traini ng Dixons staff to help solve the customers’ problems involves ensuring that they not merely have excellent product knowledge but also the know how to provide ancillary services around the product.Dixons achieves this through a mixture of techniques, for example workshops and e-learning. Techniques to help the employees remember the key features of particular products are also employed. Through a clear, customer orientated approach, Dixons hopes to be able to help solve their customers’ problems, rather than simply sell them a box. This training has cost Dixons a great deal of money, with all staff having been through at least three cycles of retraining.These efforts, however, appear to be bearing fruit with significantly improved customer advocacy measures. The percentage of customers who are ‘very likely to recommend’ Dixons has risen from 43% to 73% since 2010 (Dixons Annual Report and Accounts 2011/12, p. 9). The Dixons case illustrates how the alignme nt of business strategy with people strategy is important in achieving organisational objectives. The customer metrics appear to be improving and it will be interesting to see how this impacts on the financial performance of the business.