Category: Management

The importance to guarantee data security in the cloud is crucial in the contemporary conditions of fast technological development. All measures are to be taken in order to prevent personal data leakage. Identity and Access Management (IAM) is considered one of the most effective ways to provide cloud security. This essay will analyze why Identity and Access Management domain the most significant control for data security in cloud environments.

The operational areas of Identity and Access Management include identity management, authentication management, federated identity management, authorization management, and compliance management. This comprehensive approach ensures that only authorized users are effectively incorporated into the cloud environment (Indu et al. 575). Firstly, identity authentification is crucial for cloud security, as it allows to verify and prove the identity of a user. A similar process exists in the real world in the form of presenting an ID card or other identification documents. Access Management ensures that the identified entities have the capability to perform only the tasks they are permitted to perform. The process of authorization allows to verify what access an entity is entitled to. In order to avoid data security compromising, cloud environments determine the levels of authorization for different entities.

The common authentication mechanisms in a cloud system include log-on credentials, multifactor authentication, third party authentication, simple text passwords, 3D password objects, graphical passwords, biometric authentication, and digital device authentication (Indu et al. 576). In order to enhance the security check, some cloud service providers (CSPs) use physical security mechanisms, for instance, access cards or biometrics denying unauthorized access through authentication. In addition, Identity and Access Management may include some digital mechanisms, ensuring security in cloud environments. In Federated Identity Management, cloud services are authenticated by using the organizations identity provider. Federated identity management ensures the trust between a web-based application and the identity provider by exchanging Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certified public keys (Indu et al. 578). Thus, IAM systems provide a high level of cloud security by a number of secure authentification mechanisms.

The second IAM operational area concerns authentication management, ensuring that credentials are managed securely by means of access control policies or access right delegations. Cloud service providers create special policies to control access in the IAM system for guaranteeing that only valid users are able to access the protected resources and services. Therefore, CSPs are to provide three essential characteristics, which are Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) (Indu et al. 579). Due to GRC, it is possible to synchronize sensitive information and the activities across governance, compliance for improving the efficiency, and effective report activities in organizations. After successful authentication, authorization management determines whether the authenticated entity is allowed to perform any function within a given application. The last operational area of identity and access management is compliance management. This ensures that an organizations resources are secure and accessed only according to the policies and regulations.

To sum up, IAM systems are essential in providing security in the cloud environment through elaborated mechanisms of authentication and authorization management. These mechanisms may include physical methods or digital methods, for instance, Public Key Infrastructure. Thus, privacy is regarded as a vital issue in the cloud environment protection and can be attained through Identity and Access Management, which ensures a highest level of data security at the moment.

Work Cited

Indu, I, et al. Identity and Access Management in Cloud Environment: Mechanisms and Challenges. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal, vol. 21, no.4, 2018, pp. 574-588.

Introduction

Project management is a field that involves planning, organizing, and resource management with the purpose of excellent accomplishment of stated project goals and objectives.

A project refers to a temporary undertaking that has an agreed timeframe and aims at producing a product or service that is unique in its characteristic and that it will beneficial to the end users. This aspect of timeframe in project differs from processes and operations which exhibit permanent and semi-permanent aspects and tend to replicate products or services. A project incorporates the constraints and risks with respect to cost, schedule or the outcome of performance (Management Library, 2009).

Body

Every project must pass through a series of project development stages. Hence project development process will exhibit the same major development phases regardless of the method used.

The initiation stage

This stage involves determining the nature and extent of the development. The initial stage is very important and needs to be performed keenly for it defines whether the project will be able to meet the needs of the business. The knowledge of business environment is vital for it acts as a crucial project control and therefore needs to be incorporated into the project. It is in this stage where anomalies are detected and corrective measures are undertaken. The initiation stage needs to have a blue print that contains the following parameters; assessment and quantification of the business needs, review of the operations, model design of the way the final product will operate, equipments required and contracts requirements, a budget that analyses the cost and benefits of the project, analysis of the stakeholders which include the end users and the support personnel and finally the project charter which exposes the costs, tasks of support personnel, deliverables and a schedule (Management Library, 2009).

Planning and design stage

It is in this stage where the system is designed and involves coming up with a model of the final product. It is the task of the testers and end users to test the model. Controls in this stage need to be set up to ensure the intended product would posses the specifications of the project charter. This stage ensures that the product design is acceptable by the project sponsor, end user and exhibits business requirements, the product design functions as is supposed to, can be produced within the stated quality standards, time and available resources.

Executing stage

This stage involves processes that are used to complete the work as stated in the management plan in order to facilitate the accomplishment of the requirements of the project. Execution stage entails coordinating human and other resources and also integrating and performing of the project activities as per the project management blue print. Thus the deliverables are the outputs from the performed processes as stated in the project management master plan (Chatfield, 2003).

Monitoring and controlling stage

This stage involves processes performed that tend to oversee the execution of the project such that arising obstacles can be pin pointed earlier and corrective measures implemented to control project execution. Monitoring and control stage ensures the performance of the project is checked and evaluated as the project advances so as to reduce variances from the project management plan. Hence monitoring and controlling phase has the task of measuring project activities, monitoring the variables of the project, identifying actions to correct the risks and issues and to prevent factors that might interfere with accepted changes.

Closing stage

This is the final phase of the project development cycle and it thus formalizes ending and acceptance of the project. It in this stage where the administrative personnel do have the task filing and documenting of the activities and challenges faced during project development. This phase is twofold; project closure which finalizes all activities thus formally closing the project and contract closure which is important for it marks the completion and settlement of the contract that applies to the project (Chatfield, 2003).

Conclusion

Organizations need to incorporate project management for it is able to detect the dangers and problems ahead for it involves the process of planning, organizing and controlling of activities so as to ensure that the projects are accomplished successfully despite the risks involved. The process often begins prior to resource commitment and goes on until the project is completed. It is the task of the project manger of the organization to ensure that the final result satisfies the project sponsor or purchaser and it was able to be completed within the specified time without committing extra resources not included in the budget (Management Library, 2009).

Organizations must exercise planning and control of all activities and resources to be involved in a project. The project manager must understand how various human resource operate and to appreciate their unique skills and talents, their methods of working, problems and their weaknesses and this needs very wide general experience. Therefore project management is more of general management; hence organizations need to have it for smooth operations and to ensure that resources are utilized efficiently (Chatfield, 2003).

Resources are scarce and therefore organizations are faced with constraints and if not well planned and organized may lead to their collapse. Hence organizations need to have project management to evaluate and oversee the implementation of their projects.

Donors are not ready to commit their money to organizations which lack project management department hence its necessity for it contains master plan of how the project is to be carried out up to its completion stage plus the estimates of the costs involved and this earns an organization confidence from the donors through accessing more funds.

References

Management library, project management, 2009. Web.

Chatfield, Carl (2003).A short course in project management. Web.

US department of veteran affairs (2005): project management guide. Web.

Introduction

Help Desk is a system that helps an organization to clear customer queries related to a specific product that they had bought or wished to buy. Whether it is a simple household item or a supercomputer, customers will have several queries or doubts regarding the product they intend to purchase. Customers may be skeptical not only about a companys products but its services as well. Help Desk is an organized system where customers can put forward their queries regarding products or services offered by a company.

Customer Care has become an indispensable part of the modern corporate scenario and an efficient Help Desk is regarded as the minimum criteria of a good customer care system. The success of a business is closely related to its customer care system. If the query of a customer is not answered properly, it could result in a major dip in ones business. An effective customer care system should incorporate an organized Help Desk that works around the clock.

Besides customer service, a Help Desk offers a whole horde of advantages or benefits such as offering assistance to employees in a firm/organization, answering queries of students and teachers in a university, helping delegates in a seminar, guiding visitors to an exhibition, travelers in railway stations, airports and so on. The function of help Desks varies in different firms. However, the most common kind of help desk is the first level Help Desk agents who attend to customer queries, find a plausible solution for such issues or otherwise classify it and pass it on to its respective second-level agents and so on.

Help Lines are generally provided to a customer through various easy and convenient communication methods such as telephone, number email ID, etc.

Help Desks and Softwares

Cutting-edge developments in the field of Information technology have triggered a revolution in the corporate world. Entrepreneurs, investors, and businessmen are constantly devising new strategies and methodologies by which they can incorporate Information technology in business so that they can reap maximum profit. Undoubtedly, technological advancement has become an integral part of the business sector. Customer support is not an exception. Using software in the Help Desk system can be beneficial in numerous ways. Quite often, it has been found that customers post the same type of queries. Such Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be efficiently dealt with by using advanced software. While software generally deals with recurrent problems, technical persons can deal effectively with sophisticated problems, thus saving time and money. Technology offers myriad options to choose from. But making the right choice is a truly challenging job.

Nowadays, several easy-to-use and navigable Help Desk software are available, which an organization can use for its business purposes. The customer must choose the help desk software depending on its functionalities and his/her requirements. Help Desk Software packages include features to log and track incidents. They include applications to store, edit and recall content and known information about internal clients, external clients, information system staff, information resources and vendors. A Helpdesk package that contains links to detailed information about hardware, software, networks and services enables support staff to respond to many common questions regarding product features, limitations, new versions, configuration constraints, known bugs, product unavailability and related information. A knowledge base used as a support tool contains information about common problems and their solutions. The smart part of a knowledge base is a set of search tools to help locate past problem situations that are similar to a current problem. Expert systems(sequences of IF-THEN Rules),neural networks(automated learning system),case-based reasoning(pattern-matching strategies) and natural language processing(the ability to formulate questions in English) may be incorporated to help support staff quickly locate the specific information in a knowledge base that they need to solve a problem. (Help desk technology and tools, 2009, p.214).

Characteristics of an effective and ineffective Help Desk

Help Desk is the first place a customer may approach to resolve his queries regarding a product/service. Therefore, it would be right to say that it is the Help Desk Agents who leave the first impression about the organization for the customers. Help Desk Agents must be well-behaved, disciplined, and should take extremely good care of the customers. Patience is, perhaps, the prime virtue expected from a help desk agent. An impatient agent could be considered as a misfit for the job. The help desk agent may come across different kinds of queries regarding a product/service and even certain clarifications from the customers part which he/she may occasionally find trivial. But as always, the customer is the king. The most important goal to be achieved in any successful business is the satisfaction and appreciation of customers.

Customers approach the Help Desk only when they have a critical problem with the product they have purchased or the service they have acquired. Help desk agents should be knowledgeable and well-aware of the products of the company, the probable problems that can arise in a product/service, and the solutions to resolve it. If he is not well versed with the product line of the company, he will not be able to serve the customer promptly. Customers should not be forced to wait too long to get answers to their queries. If the Help Desk Software is being used for business purposes, agents should know all the details regarding its various functionalities and use it appropriately to solve customer problems. Adequate training should be given to help desk agents from time to time to update their knowledge and skills.

Pros and Cons of outsourcing Help Desk Operations

Outsourcing Help Desk Operations generally means that you are saving money on setting up a Help desk of your own and you are free from the hassles of attending to customer queries. However, one of the biggest disadvantages of outsourcing help desk operations is that you are passing your highly confidential and discreet product-related information to an outsider, thus leading to a critical security problem.

There are some potential benefits of outsourcing:

• Near-term cost reduction
• Long-term cost reduction
• Better IS expertise
• Improved business focus
• Improved flexibility

There are some potential risks of outsourcing:

• Loss of management control
• Cost escalation
• Reduced responsiveness
• Reduced flexibility
• Loss of in-house expertise (Lenz, 1996, p.34).

Personal experience

I had to ring up my banks Help Desk to intimate the loss of my Credit Card. The loss intimation was recorded and my Credit Card was blocked immediately. However, unfortunately, the help desk agent was eager to educate me on the banks new auto-debit facility of telephone bills. Enough I was not in a position to enjoy such a marketing proposition. This gave me a bad impression of the bank and therefore, I procured a Credit Card from another bank. Thus, an untimely attitude from one of their help desk agents made them lose a client.

Conclusion

Customer care and the Help Desk have become an inevitable part of the modern business scenario. High-end software can be used to develop an efficient Help Desk management system. If technology is used productively, it can help in the smoother and better functioning of the Help Desk. This would, in turn, help the business organization to optimally utilize its various resources i.e. employees, time, and money very effectively, thus resulting in a profitable equation.

Reference List

Help desk technology and tools. (2009). Cengage Learning, p.214. Web.

Lenz, M. (1996). The complete help desk guide. A Flatiron Publishing, p.34. Web.

Each generation tends to develop new technical means and improve the system of accounting, processing, transmission, and storage of data. Since the middle of the XIX century, the mass use of satellite communications, computer technology, and computer networks has begun. The modern world is impossible without TMT technologies that erase state borders and the distance between people. They make mobile and video communication available and allow people to solve many tasks in the field of management, education, and commerce. Every person encounters them on a daily basis, making phone calls, checking email, or buying goods in online stores. There is a continuous development of new TMT technologies that permeate all spheres of human activity and radically change their character.

The process of integration of TMT and television systems is one of the promising directions for the further development of the information environment of society. The novelty of recent digital technologies lies in the fact that they allow the viewer to significantly compact the broadcast channels. With their help, a large number of frequencies can be released, which can be used both for TMT purposes and for the purposes of other industries. The benefit for viewers from the transition to digital broadcasting is the multi-programming of broadcasting and the improvement of image quality. To date, the TV screen itself is becoming more and more multifunctional. Its functioning as a TV, video phone, and computer display are well-known and used in most households.

One of the most important features of digital data transmission technology is its ability to increase the available distributivity. It is this aspect of recent technologies that could most affect TMT over the course of time. In the future, it will be possible to offer the viewer a whole range of services at the same time, such as differently designed general channels, thematic channels, niche channels, etc. The key aspects of the information society will be the freedom of choice of the viewer and the new content of multimedia. With the help of new visual means, the ways of producing TV programs will change, enriching their genres and creating new synthetic forms. Ultimately, this will significantly transform the aesthetic features of television, both in the field of information and in the field of art.

From the point of view of biblical theology, scientific and technological progress should serve to transform a person and develop in line with spiritual and moral progress. The works of scientific and technological progress themselves are neutral, but the human spirit finds them either evil or good use. On the pages of the Bible, examples of technical thought, embodied not only as evil, bringing suffering and death, can be seen (KJV Holy Bible, 2022). Technological innovations can also act as an image of service to God and evidence of His special favor for man. Scientific and technological progress can and should serve the knowledge of God, revealing opportunities for the study of the created world with the aim of glorifying the Creator.

As a result of the increasing speed of technology, the global transportation community has been optimized by the creation of transportation systems rather than using old transportation management systems. Means of communication, management, and control can now be integrated into vehicles and infrastructure facilities. Management and decision-making capabilities based on real-time information are available not only to transportation operators but also to all transportation users. The task is solved by building an integrated system, goods  transportation infrastructure  vehicles (Yu, 2020). It is carried out with the maximum use of the latest information and control technologies; such advanced systems are called intelligent.

Given the speed of technology development, the TMT computer should be considered not only as a means of learning but also as one of the most important elements of the educational process. Various means of communication are used to facilitate and improve the learning process and increase the level of training of students. Among them are a computer, websites, digital educational resources, interactive models, email, etc. TMT is the most important component of all activities of a modern college teacher (Wang & Fu, 2021). The use of technologies contributes to the optimization and integration of educational and extracurricular activities. Complementing a wide range of pedagogical technologies, TMT helps to solve the issues of the formation of general communicative competence  the conditions for the successful socialization of graduates.

The development of communication technologies and means of telecommunications creates the basis for the implementation of scientific and educational programs at a qualitatively new level. The creation of global broadband telecommunications environments and the development of technologies for their use makes it possible to research and implement models of an unconcentrated educational environment. Modern information and communication technologies are significantly changing all social relations. Due to remote communication technologies, global trade management is more effective. In the information society, distances are being reduced; globalization is taking place, and unprecedented opportunities for the development of different countries are being created. Not only the secular but also the biblical worldview confirms that new technologies create new opportunities for self-realization and knowledge acquisition.

References

KJV Holy Bible (2022). New York, NY: Christian Art Publishers.

Wang, L., & Fu, S. (2021). Container multimodal cooperative transportation management information system based on artificial intelligence technology. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2(2), 25-45.

Yu, S. A. (2020). Application of computer information technology in college physical education using fuzzy evaluation theory. Computational Intelligence, 37(3), 1181-1198.

The first phase of the project management life cycle, project initiation, entails beginning a new project. In the initiation phase, a business opportunity is identified, a solution is developed, a project is established, and a project team is selected (Niederman et al., 2018). This stages objective is to assess the projects viability as decisions are made regarding who will carry out the project and which parties will participate. Team formation is critical in the initiation phase as it determines the success or failure of the project. The projects needs should be proportional to the teams skills; thus, employing people with adequate expertise is vital.

The staff is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the rescue group. The executive director is the face of the organization and acts as the spokesperson. The executive director ensures the team operates according to its mission and thus should be knowledgeable about business and media relations. The records manager should be detail-oriented as he is responsible for updating the groups websites profiles and images, each animals current location, and medical history (The Humane Society of the United States, n.d.). The financial coordinator monitors the organizations finances, including incoming contributions and outgoing expenses. The corporate relations coordinator contacts businesses like pet stores and other service providers to negotiate food prices, veterinary care, and transportation to reduce costs for your rescue.

The facility director develops guidelines to care for the animals and guarantee their welfare, including training and supervising volunteers. The position is ideal for people with experience in community outreach, prior animal care experience, and knowledge of shelter cleaning procedures. The person in question must be a people person as they will represent the company at events and solve challenges frequently encountered in the rescue shelters. The foster coordinator clearly outlines for potential foster caregivers what the group will provide and what the caregiver is accountable for when taking care of animals (The Humane Society of the United States, n.d.). This position requires someone with a lot of patience and strong interpersonal skills. A medical coordinator helps schedule veterinarian appointments and liaises between the rescue group and local veterinarians.

Staff and volunteers are essential to the rescue organizations development. It is crucial to have a structured program for recruiting and retaining volunteers by offering them assistance, guidance, and training to help reduce turnover. It is prudent to list the physical, mental and emotional requirements to help staff and volunteers prepare for their tasks. Communication is crucial for a volunteer program to be effective. A minimum time commitment requirement would ensure consistency for all parties and allow volunteers to withdraw if the experience is unsuitable. An orientation and training session should be held before permitting volunteers to perform their tasks. The orientation should give participants a general overview of the organization, information and elements that will aid in their decision-making. The training session should cover all pertinent regulations, guidelines, and instructions. It is advisable to distribute volunteer manuals that list everything you covered during orientation and training to help volunteers and create consistency within the organization.

The project team should be formed two weeks before the event to ensure adequate preparations. The executive director can hold a public meeting to explain the events goals. Each team will have a coordinator who communicates to team members about the task and reports to the management. The team leader can inform members regarding the date, time, and place they can meet for a community campaign to draw support. The person then reports what they were able to gather from the campaign. All the work groups can meet quarterly to bond and give reports, but they mainly cooperate within their work groups. In addition, virtual meetings will be included with the help of a single computerized mailing list database that keeps track of staff and volunteers addresses.

Each team member is crucial as all employees and volunteers work towards a shared mission, a mission to improve animal welfare. There is a need for staff to consider themselves as a representative of the shelter instead of working to the exclusion of the shared organizational mission. Mutual respect and understanding among the employees help staff feel more integral to all organizational processes and decrease the likelihood of boredom (Dasí et al., 2020). Each team member represents a department crucial to improving creativity and interdepartmental interactions in the animal shelter.

Two strategies to manage stakeholders expectations include being flexible and revitalized. The executive director should ensure stakeholders appreciate that multiple views can co-exist in animal welfare. The team should provide continuous re-evaluation regarding the stakeholders expectations by helping them understand the contentious nature of animal rescue, which may be contrary to their perspectives. The executive director will facilitate interactions between the stakeholders to ensure all parties offer constructive solutions to the adjusted expectations (Fernandes et al., 2019). This will entail rekindling enthusiasm for the animal welfare goals instead of offering hostile expectations demands. Stakeholders can be informed of project progress through project status reports released bi-weekly. It informs the stakeholders of what has been done, what needs to be done, and what issues exist. The copies should be easily accessible to all stakeholders.

References

Dasí, À., Pedersen, T., Barakat, L. L., & Alves, T. R. (2020). Teams and project performance: an ability, motivation, and opportunity approach. Project Management Journal, 52(1), 7589. Web.

Fernandes, J., Blache, D., Maloney, S. K., Martin, G. B., Venus, B., Walker, F. R., Head, B., & Tilbrook, A. (2019). Addressing animal welfare through collaborative stakeholder networks. Agriculture, 9(6), 132. Web.

Niederman, F., Müller, B., & March, S. T. (2018). Using process theory for accumulating project management knowledge: A seven-category model. Project Management Journal, 49(1), 624. Web.

The Humane Society of the United States. (n.d.). Rescue group best practices: Forming your team. HumanePro. Web.

Introduction

Trust between stakeholders is a paramount issue in business. Lack of integrity and honesty between organization partners may result in adverse relationships, which will further undermine performance outcomes. de Oliveira and Rabechini in their article called Stakeholder management influence on trust in a project: A quantitative study discuss stakeholder management (SM) variables and their relation to trust and project management (PM) overall (131). This article review assignment will allow for a deeper understanding of the topic through the analysis of key findings, methodology, drawbacks, and other aspects.

Article Review

The main goal of the authors was to explore the topic of stakeholder management and obtain data on its influence on the trust between project executives and related parties. The issue was set in a broad scholarly context, where researchers identified the need for such studies as applied data on SM and its practical interrelation with PM. The ground for the study was also set due to the uncovered barriers, which in essence are temporal and singular nature of projects, which undermine the formation of trust and bonds between stakeholders. Indeed, if a project is a one-time occasion, then efforts in SM may be a waste of resources, while more resources could be allocated to urgent issues. Thus, there seems to be an agreement in scientific circles about the relevance of such studies. From the literature review, the authors elaborate their main research question which is as follows, What is the influence of stakeholder management on trust in project environments? (de Oliveira and Rabechini 132). Due to the nature of the research question, the study appears to be exploratory.

The authors also aimed to test several hypotheses. The first core proposition is that Prescriptive order SM exhibits a positive influence on relational order SM. Naturally, as identified by other scholars, these two SM types are interrelated which produce consistent results (de Oliveira and Rabechini 133). The other core hypothesis is that relational SM influences competence to the ust among project stakeholders. This hypothesis is drawn from theory and in general, it seems logical as other authors agree about its positive effects, which are, nonetheless mostly theoretical.

Methodology

The study utilizes quantitative design as evident from the name of the article, as well as the number of participants and research question. The sample consists of 130 professionals who are in either way engage in projects in national and international organizations in Brazil (de Oliveira and Rabechini 139). The sample was tested on sufficiency, which speaks to the strength of data collection design. The data was obtained through a questionnaire that was elaborated into modules measuring relational and prescriptive SM constructs and three types of trust including intuitive, integrity, and competence. The above-named concepts also became the key variables. The data was analyzed statistically through the partial path of least squares (de Oliveira and Rabechini 140). In this case, the authors indicated the need for proving several hypotheses united under a theory, which warrants the use of such an analysis approach. The overall quality of statistical analysis results was tested through Cronbachs alpha.

Results

As demonstrated in the article, all hypotheses were confirmed, and statistically meaningful correlations were registered among all tested variables. The researchers note that the strongest link was identified between both SM and intuitive trust ((de Oliveira and Rabechini 141). This testifies to the validity of theoretical research mentioned by authors for which they now found proof. Yet, the generalizability of this proof may raise concern. Members of international corporations that generally uphold multiculturalism indeed participated in the study. However, most of the company representatives were of Brazilian origin which sets a nation-specific attribute to the findings.

Nonetheless, such results present value for further research and analysis. Especially, as the authors find, the obtained data proves the necessity for upholding positive communication during the whole project lifetime. This result seems to raise no concerns as the statement is pretty logical and may be called universal. The respondents were registered to value caring for the interests of stakeholders, which corresponds to the hypotheses. As this is also a logical outcome, there appears to be no bias. However, the sample demonstrated the dominance of project providers (83% of the total participants) rather than recipients (de Oliveira and Rabechini 139). Thus, this statement might be held for the active parties of the PM process, while clients may have other opinions, which was not registered as statistically significant. Despite that fact, the considerations for managers who are the main benefactors of the SM process are the key concern, and the article addresses it.

Implications

The core implication of the result is that SM is highly important for trust between project participants. Yet as no distinctions were made between large and small-length projects and their representations were not captured there might be a bias in that assumption. Thus, in short-lived, one-time projects, there might not be room for trust-building or elaborate SM. In this regard, the article seems to demonstrate a lack of valuable academic insight. Nonetheless, it presents a reliably tested statistically significant data for national studies of SM. Further studies could concentrate on substantiating the results of this study with larger longitudinal and multinational research projects. Overall, the article established a strong link between several project management variables that benefits both theory and practice.

Conclusion

Despite certain methodological drawbacks revealed, the study under analysis reveals strong evidence of a positive relationship between trust and stakeholder management. The evident strength of the article is in its data analysis and statistical methods which allowed uncovering reliable quantitative proof for theoretical findings. While for project managers the information obtained could be significant, the rest of the stakeholders may find little results of importance as their views were underrepresented in the sample. Also, there is no apparent correlation between short projects and long ones, which do not let to distinguish the validity of results. Overall, the project broadens horizons and contains valuable insights into PM.

Work Cited

de Oliveira, Francisco Gilberto, and Roque Rabechini Jr. Stakeholder Management Influence on Trust in a Project: A Quantitative Study. International Journal of Project Management, vol. 37, no. 1, Jan. 2019, pp. 13144.

Alexander Telfair was an American planter who lived before the Civil War, and the end of slavery. He owned Thorn Island cotton plantation in Savannah, Georgia, and left many papers now collected by the Georgia Historical Society, such as receipts, letters, deeds that show how the land was ruled. Thorn Island is the example of a Southern plantation with the slavery labor used as the primary workforce. Alexander Telfairs document Plantation Rules reveals how the jobs were managed, the rules of life on a plantation, and the way work was divided between men and women.

Labor management was the most significant piece that needs to be organized for the successful work of a plantation. The production had to be strictly listed, as well as the working force had to have the optimal usage to get the necessary number of planting done. Plantation Rules included the critical principles of labor management, such as the time of planting, the ways of producing cotton, and corn seeding. The planter also decided on how to sort the product, when and where to transfer it, and how to utilize it on the plantation. However, the essential part of the written rules to follow was the instructions for the slaves lives.

Most of the plantation rules were related to the slaves as they played a significant role in the production process. The life of a slave was strictly scheduled and regulated to provide the maximum level of productivity with the given workforce. It affected the way slaves saw freedom and historical events that followed. Foner states that many former slaves insisted that through their unpaid labor, they had acquired a right to the land (569). A slave had no life choices: for example, food was strictly shared between all of the slaves, depending on their age and job. Most of the slaves spent the whole day working in the fields. Besides, even the free time of their life is controlled by the rules, Telfair states: no night meeting and preaching to be allowed on the place, except on Saturday night & Sunday morn (127). Such regulation was the key strategy to manage people effectively and made labor the only thing a slave could care about.

Moreover, men and women did different kinds of work, as the document shows womens labor was nursing and babysitting. Telfair in the Plantation Rules specifies that Elsey is allowed to act as a midwife, to black and white in the neighborhood, who send for her (127). Women were more effective as health care workers than the field ones and having them as nurses, cookers, and babysitters helped in organizing a better life for slaves. Although these jobs provided a bit of freedom for women, they often were taken away from their husbands and children by the landlords or the other slaves to care. Even families could be easily separated for the sake of workforce effectiveness.

Plantation Rules is the document that shows how a planter had to consider every detail while managing to let it successfully the necessary volume of product. At the time of Telfairs life, the labor of slaves was the crucial factor that made everything work so that the slaves lives needed to be strictly organized. Then, after the end of slavery, the working process of plantations discovered challenges. Planters tried to keep a labor system close to slavery, while former slaves demanded economic autonomy and access to lands; it led to the prolonged conflicts on many Southern plantations (Foner 571). Slavery significantly affected American history and culture, and Plantation Rules is an example of how poorly the slaves were treated. People should never forget this historical episode, not let such labor appear ever again, and be as tolerant of each other as possible.

Works Cited

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. W. W. Norton, 2017.

Phillips, Ulrich B. Plantation and Frontier, 1649-1863. Cosimo, Inc., 2013.

A famous example of a black swan in project management is Levi Strausss $5 million SAP implementation effort that led to a $200 million loss for the company. According to Flyvbjerg and Budzier (2011), the switchover led to declines in orders, and the company had to close distribution centers in the United States, which resulted in massive losses. In IT projects, black swans are relatively common since the IT infrastructure is deeply integrated into companies operations.

Certain risk management steps could have been taken by Levi Strauss to discover the scenario and prevent the situation. Firstly, the company should have assessed the impact of the switchover on its operations and orders before starting the implementation (Hajikazemi et al., 2016). This would have helped to identify the scenario. Secondly, Levi Strauss should have used risk strategies to mitigate the effect of the switchover by instituting alternative order channels or changing project timing to lose fewer orders (Hajikazemi et al., 2016). Finally, the company could have monitored the costs continue to discover the scenario early on and stop the switchover or alter the implementation plan for reduced impact (Hajikazemi et al., 2016). These steps would have allowed the company to discover, prevent, and mitigate the scenario.

In terms of recovery actions, the most important step that the company should have taken was stopping the implementation early on when the first impacts became apparent. After that, the company would have been able to review the plan and implement the new infrastructure differently, with fewer service interruptions. In this way, it would have been able to avoid the tremendous losses that came with the project.

References

Flyvbjerg, B., & Budzier, A. (2011). Why your IT project might be riskier than you think. Harvard Business Review. Web.

Hajikazemi, S., Ekambaram, A., Andersen, B., & Zidane, Y. J. (2016). The black swan: Knowing the unknown in projects. Procedia  Social and Behavioral Sciences, 226, 184-192.

The main purpose of case management is to promote the well-being of the client through communication, education, consultancy, and empowerment. It is important to recognize, however, that unlike similar services, quality interviewing aims at facilitating self-sufficiency in the client and reduces dependence on external sources. Thus, the ultimate goal of a professional interviewer and social worker is to ensure the ability of the customer to cope with both current and possibly reoccurring future issues and difficulties using the information obtained during the interview without seeking external help on a regular basis. Therefore, quality interviewing presents an opportunity for creating social change by empowering individuals and thus improving community health.

The most evident examples of services contributing to social change are those aimed at adults with intellectual disabilities. It was consistently proven by the studies that these individuals exhibit greater reliance on supporting community members and therefore need stronger assistance in decision-making (Block, Wheeland, & Rosenberg, 2014). Specifically, many of these individuals experience difficulties associated with employment on multiple levels. These difficulties range from the process of applying for a position to communicate with management as well as co-workers to interact with clients. It is also clear that with the exception of severe cases of intellectual disability, constant supervision and assistance is not only hard to execute but can be detrimental to the clients mental health. Interviewing, on the other hand, allows for the lasting positive effect since it contributes to the formation of properties characteristic of a sustainable, highly sociable person. A study by Block et al. (2014) examined an initiative organized by Rocky Mountain Human Services involving employees with intellectual disabilities and concluded that the innovative case management model resulted in multiple benefits for the employer. It is important to note that aside from the initial direct benefit several long-term effects were observed, including the solicited and unsolicited contribution from the involved community, which can be interpreted as an indicator of successful social integration (Block et al. 2014).

Residential and community services play an equally important role in facilitating social change. A study by BeadleBrown et al. (2014) provides evidence of social benefits originating from the introduction of practice leadership in case study practices of professional interviewers. While the results were relatively uneven, the average improvement among people with intellectual disabilities was observed in the long run (BeadleBrown et al., 2014). It should be pointed out that while the study was unable to determine the exact relationship between a specific practice and an observed positive social effect, it was equally attributable to the quality of case management in general and therefore qualifies as a valid example.

Finally, quality interviewing can create social change by promoting desirable behavior among adults. For instance, quality interviewing can result in the formation of healthy dietary habits among adults, as was demonstrated in the study by Schneider, Wong-Anuchit, Stallings, and Krieger (2016). The improvements in vegetable and fruit consumption indicated by the researchers can be considered a valuable and cost-effective contribution to community health and, therefore, a social change agent.

Case management is traditionally perceived as an intervention-based practice aimed at resolving specific issues. However, as was evidenced in the paper, it can be used to create and sustain social change. Therefore, it is recommended to implement case management practices in managerial practices and integrate them into existing organizational frameworks to seek long-term social benefits and sustain a healthy climate.

References

BeadleBrown, J., Mansell, J., Ashman, B., Ockenden, J., Iles, R., & Whelton, B. (2014). Practice leadership and active support in residential services for people with intellectual disabilities: An exploratory study. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 58(9), 838-850.

Block, S. R., Wheeland, L., & Rosenberg, S. (2014). Improving human service effectiveness through the deconstruction of case management: A case study on the emergence of a team-based model of service coordination. Human Services Organizations Management, Leadership & Governance, 38(1), 16-28.

Schneider, J. K., Wong-Anuchit, C., Stallings, D., & Krieger, M. M. (2016). Motivational interviewing and fruit/vegetable consumption in older adults. Clinical Nursing Research, 4(1), 1-16.

A Project Management Process Groups

Most project management technologies involve a variety of processes through which projects are performed. There are five groups of project management-related processes; these are initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing process groups. Each group comprises several separate processes; often, it is needed to update or add information on a particular stage. Project management is a continuous process, requiring appropriate changes to the work done previously and plans in line with this projects goals.

Project Integration Management

All five groups intersect this knowledge area; the initiating process group involves managing the processes demanded to launch a new project or a new project stage. Its deliverable is creating a completed project charter (Project Management Institute [PMI], 2017). The project charter should introduce a business case for the project and a detailed overview of its scope of work, expected results, and purposes (Masciadra, 2017). The outcome of the planning process group work is developing a project management plan (PMI, 2017). The executing process group deliverables are directing and managing project work, managing project knowledge (PMI, 2017). Concerning monitoring and controlling process group, it watches project work, performing integrated change control (PMI, 2017). The closing process group is responsible for completing all project management process groups activities to close a project or phase formally.

Project Scope Management

Project scope management includes actions guaranteeing the identification and inclusion of activities necessary to create the project product and its successful completion. The planning process group involves the project scope knowledge area to plan scope management, collect requirements, define the scope, and create WBS (PMI, 2017). The product content description describes the project limits, including explicitly showing the projects unachievable results and unperformed work to meet stakeholder expectations. Monitoring and controlling process group deliverables in terms of project scope management are validating and controlling the scope (PMI, 2017). During the scope validation and checking processes, the formal acceptance of a project or stages product and deliverables occurs based on the documents describing the results (Heldman, 2018). This allows stakeholders to check the presented outcomes.

Project Schedule Management

The project schedule management helps the planning process group define and sequence activities, estimate activity duration, plan and develop schedules (PMI, 2017). The latter is used to analyze the projects actual state during the execution of monitoring and control processes. The monitoring and controlling process groups primary goal is to diminish risks by recognizing deviations of project work from the schedule and timely implementation of measures to prevent them (PMI, 2017). A deliverable is schedule control that can be performed through information on the work performance, for example, in graphical form or indicators according to the earned value method, forecasts for the schedules accomplishment (Heldman, 2018). Changes to the project management plan and project documents may also be requested.

Project Cost Management

Project cost management and schedule management are one of the most critical tasks in project management. The planning process group deliverables include planning and estimating costs, determining the budget (PMI, 2017). The cost management plan describes the tools and methods for planning a projects cost and monitoring its implementation. According to PMI (2017), monitoring and controlling process group work are the control costs. It monitors the project status to modernize the amount and manage changes to the expense baseline (PMI, 2017). This helps to identify project differences from the baseline appropriate. It is also essential to implement measures to correct and prevent deviation from exceeding the budget risks.

Project Quality Management

Project quality management is used by planning process group, executing process group, and monitoring and controlling process group. The deliverable of the planning process group is plan quality management (PMI, 2017). The quality management plan outlines approaches to meeting these requirements, mainly how the specified quality level will be ensured (Heldman, 2018). The executing process group manages quality, checking the use and adherence to the relevant quality assurance and measurement standards (PMI, 2017). Consequently, additional changes to the project management plan can be required. Modification requests may expect action to correct processes, prevent risks, or correct existing defects (Heldman, 2018). The monitoring and controlling process group control quality, referring to monitoring and documenting operations results to assess performance and make recommendations for necessary changes.

Project Resource Management

The human resources of the project are an essential factor in its success. The project resource knowledge areas deliverables of the planning process group are planning and estimating activity resources (PMI, 2017). Three interrelated processes are carried out within the executing process group: acquiring human resources, developing a team, and its management (PMI, 2017). The deliverable of monitoring and controlling the process group is control resources (PMI, 2017). Project team management results might be change requests, updates to the human resource management plan, problem-solving, providing input to evaluate performance, and adding lessons learned to the organizations database.

Project Communications Management

Project communications management involves the work of planning, executing, monitoring and controlling process groups. The planning process group performs planning communications, describing all the processes concerned in providing information to the project stakeholders (PMI, 2017). The executing process group manages communications, operating all procedures from project information creation to its archiving (PMI, 2017). The information should be structured, guaranteed to be communicated to the stakeholder and perceived. Due to monitoring and controlling process groups, information about the projects works execution can be generated (PMI, 2017). This group requests for changes to the project management plan, notably the communications management plan, can also be executed, project documents are updated.

Project Risk Management

The planning process groups main tasks are identifying risks, performing a qualitative and quantitative risk examination, and planning risk management and responses. It integrates all the activities to reduce or eliminate uncertainty on achieving project goals (Heldman, 2018). The executing process group implements risk responses according to the risk register developed at the project planning stage (PMI, 2017). Activities should be performed following identified risks and the signs of their occurrence (Heldman, 2018). In the process of risk control, the monitoring and controlling process group monitor the emergence of previously identified risks to launch the planned anti-risk measures if they are realized.

Project Procurement Management

Project procurement management is especially important if the project involves a large number of suppliers. Regarding the planning process group, project procurement management is useful as it includes identifying specific vendors for the project product details (PMI, 2017). As a result of the executing process groups activity, suppliers of the required product are selected, resource calendars are formed to execute the agreement, and possible requests for changes and updates of documents and the project management plan (Heldman, 2018). The monitoring and controlling process group through controlling procurements ensure all stakeholders meet the supply agreements procurement requirements and conditions (Heldman, 2018). The project team needs to understand that errors and defects in this process can lead to serious legal consequences.

Project Stakeholder Management

Project stakeholder management is intersected by the initiating process group, executing process group, monitoring and controlling process group. The initiating process group identifies stakeholders, especially their intended contribution to the project, and preferences regarding frequency and communication (Masciadra, 2017). Planning Process Group introduces a plan that describes approaches to effectively engaging stakeholders (PMI, 2017). Managing stakeholder engagement performed by the executing process group is interacting with stakeholders to satisfy their needs or expectations, facilitating appropriate involvement (PMI, 2017). As a result of the monitor stakeholder engagement, information is generated on the performance of the projects work, including, for example, data on approved changes (PMI, 2017). Project stakeholder management aims to decrease risks by actively involving and working with participants during project execution.

Summary

To sum up, all processes are iterative; the most frequently repeated are the planning, execution, and monitoring and control process groups. Besides, the outputs from one process group become information to another. In project management, it is necessary to ensure the relationship between all knowledge areas and groups. The project administration methodology identifies five groups of management processes to ensure this relationship. Due to the clear interaction of these operations elements, any projects management is guaranteed, regardless of its subject area.

References

Heldman, K. (2018). PMP: Project management professional exam study guide. John Wiley & Sons.

Masciadra, E. (2017). Traditional project management. In M. Handzic & A. Bassi (Eds.), Knowledge and project management (pp. 3-23). Springer.

Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.