unit one booklet t4

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PROJECT IDENTIFICATIONPART I: IDENTIFICATION

1. What is a project?A project is a proposal prepared for yourself, for someone else, for a wholecommunity or even for a country. It involves making plans for the future and

describing them to others or to the community as a whole. At the start there isnothing certain about a project except perhaps the desire or determination toundertake it. Thus it is the attempt to define this which has led us to make thevarious suggestions in this publication.Identifying a project involves recognizing a need in a certain place and for a givengroup of people. A proper understanding of the target group is very important.2. Checking out the contextProper research is the prime necessity for any project. If this is not takensufficiently seriously, the project proposed is often ill-adapted to the situation it isdesigned to. The result of this can be failure even though a large amount of moneymay have been invested.

Here we are going to concentrate on the initial steps necessary to identify andproperly understand the environment of the project in order to avoid these pitfalls.Thus the study of the context of a project is like laying the foundations of a house :the firmer they are, the more solid and durable the house.3. Researching the projectThe aim of this research is better to understand the field of operation of the projectand the people for whom the project is designed. The detailed planning of theproject then needs to be done in an intelligent way, which means not disruptinglocal traditions, customs and structures. In instances where the need has beenclearly identified by the local population. It is nevertheless necessary to try out thebasic idea as a pilot scheme involving only a sample of the population. This willtest the relevance of the ideas which need to be developed in the process ofputting the project together.The length of time spent on research depends on the amount of time neededgetting to know the context of the project plus the time taken to do the necessarydetailed planning. Bearing in mind the fact that the context and the needs areconstantly changing, time must be allowed to ensure that the proposals are free ofmisunderstandings and hasty judgments and that the project still corresponds tothe real needs of the people and has not been drawn up in a way that causes thepeople for whom it was conceived not to be interested in it.The work done during this first phase should give precise information on localneeds, customs and traditions, and on the political, social, cultural and economiccontext. This information is essential and needs to be systematically studiedthroughout the period of identification and planning.NOTE : The initiators of the project should not forget that it may need also tointerest a funding organization. It is advisable therefore to try to relate as far aspossible the interests of the people with the criteria of the organizations from whichfunding is sought.

TECHNICAL ENGLISH IVTECHNICAL ENGLISH IV

UNIT ONEUNIT ONEHOW TO PRESENT A PROJECTHOW TO PRESENT A PROJECT


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PART TWO :PREPARATION AND WORKING OUT OF THE PROJECT DOCUMENT

Main criteria used by United Nations agencies.In Part One, we have seen that to identify a project is not enough simply to have agood idea. It is vital that the idea corresponds realistically to the needs of the localpopulation. Once this is clear, it must be certain that the project fits into the social,economic, cultural and political context and has a good chance of being carriedthrough (in terms of finance, organization, manpower and availability of equipmentand materials).When this task has been completed, the project organizer will than try to link theinformation obtained with the original idea of the project. This may meanreformulating his or her ideas before defining the project strategy. After this comesthe process of preparing and working out the project document.The conception and preparation of a project document that will be submitted to anational or international funding organization should follow certain guidelineswithout which it would have no hope of being considered. The initiator of theproject should realize that this document is his first real introduction to the potentialfounders and forms the basis on which future agreements will be made.Care must be taken with the presentation and content of the document it mustrespond to whatever questions the funding organization might ask before decidingwhether to accept the project or not. It is also particularly important that thedocument is drawn up in a precise fashion, presenting clearly and concisely in alogical order the details of the project and its proposed development.Composition of the project document

A project document can be drawn up in the following sections:11. General Introduction

0 a. Context and justification1 b. Population targeted2 c. Institutional framework

12. Methods and strategies1a. Development objective / overall aim2b. Immediate objective/s3c. Proposed strategy4d. Products5e. Activities planned6f. Work plan

23. Available resources; Aid requested; Budget1a. Available resources2b. Aid requested3c. Budget

34. Follow up, Report; Evaluation1a. Follow up2b. Report3c. Evaluation

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UNIT ONEUNIT ONEBUSINESS ADMINISTRATIONBUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


MARKETING STRATEGYMARKETING STRATEGY


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HOW TO PRESENT A PROJECT

Composition of the Title PageThe following should be featured clearly on this page :1- the title of the project2- the project number (if you have submitted more than one project)3- the field of activity4- the location (city, region, country)5- the tentative starting date and duration6- the name(s) of organization(s) carrying out the project7- the name(s) of the funding organization(s)

8- the name(s) of the organizations associated with the project9- an estimate of the total budget1- the total amount of funding sought (indicate the currency)2- the name of the organization submitting the project (or the name and title of the

person authorized to do so)3- the date of submission.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1. Context of the projectThis sub-section should explain in a few lines the project's context and the

environment in which it will be carried out. The information given should explain :1- the origin of the project (considering the social, economic, cultural, political,

historical and geographical conditions)2- the problem which the project seeks to solve, or the main objective of the project3- the position of the organization proposing the project and of the local authorities

regarding this problem or situation4- what previous steps have been taken and what has been their effect.

EXAMPLE : A context presented by a CCIVS member organization for a project inBangladesh.With a population of about one billion, south Asian Countries are mostly

economically underdeveloped. About 50% of these people live below the povertyline and the same percentage of them are illiterate. There is a wide gap betweenoverall development needs and available resources. There are many socialworkers and volunteers in these countries who are interested in local , national andinternational development. However, appropriate training is not available sincethere are no adequate training facilities in the region. Due to these circumstances,BWCA believes that such a huge population of illiterate and economicallydisadvantaged people should be provided with a training centre to promote their

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education, cultural and socio-economic development.

BWCA proposes to begin training program's in the area to fill these needs. Withfunding from UNESCO, trainers can be provided, volunteers will have the meansto participate, and training courses can be developed0 - high quality work without the needing to make an immediate profit.

Example 2: Starting a Pilot Agricultural Centre for youth in Zaire.1A. Introduction :

The goal of this project is to help disadvantaged youth to participate in socialand economic activities, to fight against the drift from rural areas which strips theland of its vital forces.

In the region of Bas-Zaire where the land is fertile and which could becomethe granary of Kinshasa, the present output is scarcely enough to feed itsinhabitants.

To change this situation, young people need to be encouraged to stay in therural areas. The Regional Council for Social Protection and Family Planning wantsto establish at Nkondo Malembe an experimental agricultural centre for youth.

The activities of this centre would include orientation of young people as wellas agricultural production.

B. Description of the context of the project :

Nkondo Malembe is a village which is a part of the Luima community in theSongololo zone, the former training and production centre of JMPR (the youthmovement of the ruling party). It is a relatively hot region with clay soil. Rainfallvaries from 1200 to 1700 ml per year. It has two seasons: dry and rainy.

0 Target communityMost projects are for the benefit of a certain defined population. A project

planner should therefore try concisely to determine who would benefit from theproject. This means taking into account certain criteria such as the composition ofthe target community and its origin; the geographical area targeted; their mainactivity (e.g. farming), age distribution and educational level.

This sub-section should also indicate :1- to what extent the targeted population supports the idea of the project; to what

extent they are mobilized; and which sections of the population are seen as apriority.

(In the example in Zaire given above, it is evident that the population targeted isthe peasants from the southern part of the country and the criteria used to

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determine this were thegeographical region and the mainactivity of the population).

The potential waste of human resources through early childbirth, drug abuse casesresulting in psychiatric cases and other social vices among the youth makes itimperative that actions are taken by NGO's and communities to curb theseunfortunate phenomena. These conditions tend negatively to affect the physicaland intellectual development of the adolescents into adulthood; thus a vicious cycleof deprivation is created if this precarious situation is not addressed.Example 2 :A target population in a CCIVS project in Bolivia.

Another major benefit of this project is women. In each community the vast majorityof teachers are women. With the supply of the double-school desks their job ineducating young children will be much easier. Easier by enabling the studentsmore incentive to learn in comfortable but will boost the morale of the students,teachers and communities alike. Previously teachers employed in rural Boliviawere reluctant to finish their term. They cited poor equipment as major factor. WithVEA's cooperation, most are willing to stay and finish their terms. The desks builtby VEA can also be used by the local mothers' club and their daughters.

1The institutional frameworkThe sub-section should give a clear outline of how the project is expected toevolve, without going into minor details.

You should include the following :

1- where the project is taking place2- staffing (national or international personnel, volunteers, consultants etc.)

3- the sources of the funds and materials for the project4- the funding organizations5- the organizations carrying out the project; other associated organizations6- the co-ordination ties between these organizations7- the body or person in charge of the project.

Example : The proposed seminar to train social workers to work in the X regionwill take place at X from April 1 May 30, 1993. It will be organized by the training

staff of the Association for the Children of Region X with technical help from aconsultant from UNICEF. UNICEF and UNESCO will be providing the fares for the120 social workers. The Association for the Children of Region X will pay for food,lodging and logistical aspects of the training programmed. The Ministry of Youthand Sports will be presiding over this training seminar and has given a grant to thenational association.

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Procedure to follow when submitting a project(simplified version) :

11. Identification :- idea for a project or identification of a need or a problem.

2. Checking out the context :- analysis of the economic, social cultural and political environment- survey of the needs and the problems- consultation with the targeted population- collection of information from organizations or people involved in the same area

of work- consultation with the local or national authorities- choice of development objectives- immediate objectives.13. Feasibility Study :

- funding, equipment and materials, human and organizational resources.4. Project design :1- analysis of the information obtained from research2- definition of the proposed working methods3- choice of the products and activities that need to be developed4- study of the means necessary to carry out this project

5- planning the project6- attention paid to the criteria for drawing up a project document.25. Submission of the project :

- presentation of the project to international and regional organizations,development banks, NGO's, other associations, foundations and privatecompanies- project proposals should be sent directly to financing organization or submittedthrough a coordinating body such as CCIVS.

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PREPARATION OF A PROJECTVOCABULARY

PROPOUSAL A document that tells vendors and service providers whattype of service or products a company is attempting topurchase.

UNDERTAKE To make oneself responsible for; take over as a charge

ATTEMP To make an effort to do, get, have, etc.; try; endeavor

RESEARCH Careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in somefield of knowledge, undertaken to discover or establish factsor principles

PRIME first in importance or value; principal; main

ENVIRONMENT all the conditions, circumstances, and influences surrounding, and

affecting the development of, an organism or group of organisms

FOUNDATIONS the base on which something rests; specif., the supporting part of

a wall, house, etc., usually of masonry, concrete, etc., and at least

partially underground

AIM to direct (one's efforts)

DISRUPT to disturb or interrupt the orderly course of (a social affair,

meeting, etc.)

SCHEME an outline or diagram showing different parts or elements of an

object or system

POPULATION STATISTICS the total set of items, persons, etc. from which asample is taken

PHASE any of the recurrent stages of variation in the illumination and

apparent shape of a moon or a planet

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SUBMIT

to present or refer to others for

decision, consideration, etc.

GUIDELINES a standard or principle by which to make a judgment ordetermine a policy or course of action

POPULATION

TARGET

the total set of items, persons, etc. from which a sample istaken and to whom the investigation is directed.

FRAMEWORK the basic structure, arrangement, or system

STRATEGY a plan or action based on this

BUDGET a plan or schedule adjusting expenses during a certain period to

the estimated or fixed income for that period

the amount of money needed or allotted for a specific use

FOLLOW UP designating or of anything that follows something else as areview, addition, etc.

REPORT to give a formal statement or official account of; announce formally

(the results of an investigation, etc.)

EVALUATIONthe process of evaluating something or an instance of this

FUNDING

SOUGHT

Initial investments in a start-up, provided by a venture capitalist or

private equity investor.

Refinancing debt before maturity, typically referred to as

refunding.

SUBMISSION the act of submitting something to another for decision,

consideration, etc.

SURVEY a detailed study or inspection, as by gathering information through

observations, questionnaires, etc. and analyzing it

FEASIBILITY Possibility to carry on with the project

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WORKSHEET

In groups according to your

career, fill in the following format. Present a project.

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BUSINESSADMINISTRATION

In business, administration consists of the performance or management ofbusiness operations and thus the making or implementing of major decisions.

Administration can be defined as the universal process of organizing people and

resources efficiently so as to direct activities toward common goals and objectives.

Administrative functions

Administrators, broadly speaking, engage in a common set of functions to meet theorganization's goals. These "functions" of the administrator were described byHenri Fayol.

Planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and who

should do it. It maps the path from where the organization is to where it wants tobe. The planning function involves establishing goals and arranging them in logicalorder. Administrators engage in both short-range and long-range planning.

Organizing involves identifying responsibilities to be performed, groupingresponsibilities into departments or divisions, and specifying organizationalrelationships. The purpose is to achieve coordinated effort among all the elementsin the organization. Organizing must take into account delegation of authority andresponsibility and span of control within supervisory units.

Staffing means filling job positions with the right people at the right time. It involves

determining staffing needs, writing job descriptions, recruiting and screeningpeople to fill the positions.

Directing is leading people in a manner that achieves the goals of the organization.

This involves proper allocation of resources and providing an effective supportsystem. Directing requires exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability tomotivate people. One of the crucial issues in directing is to find the correct balancebetween emphasis on staff needs and emphasis on economic production.

Controlling is the function that evaluates quality in all areas and detects potential or

actual deviations from the organization's plan. This ensures high-qualityperformance and satisfactory results while maintaining an orderly and problem-freeenvironment. Controlling includes information management, measurement ofperformance, and institution of corrective actions.

Budgeting, exempted from the list above, incorporates most of the administrative

functions, beginning with the implementation of a budget plan through theapplication of budget controls.

Management in business and human organization activity, in simple terms meansthe act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Managementcomprises planning, organizing, resourcing, leading or directing, and controlling anorganization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose ofaccomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation

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of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and naturalresources.

To accomplish in a successful way the management function two kind of skillsmust be fulfilled:1. Human skills2. Financial skills

In human skills can be mentioned: the ability to communicate, leadership, conflictmanagement, decision taking etc.In Financial skills: the management tools, benchmarking, outsourcing, six sigmaand more.

EXERCISEAccording to the managerial skills for a good

administrator, write an ideal manager profile.

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LEADERSHIP

The word leadership can refer to:1. Those entities that perform one or more acts of leading.2. The ability to affect human behavior so as to accomplish a mission.

3. Influencing a group of people to move towards its goal setting or goal achievement.

Types of leadership styles

The bureaucratic leader (Weber, 1905) is very structured and follows theprocedures as they have been established. This type of leadership has no space toexplore new ways to solve problems and is usually slow paced to ensureadherence to the ladders stated by the company. Leaders ensure that all the stepshave been followed prior to sending it to the next level of authority. Universities,

hospitals, banks and government usually require this type of leader in theirorganizations to ensure quality, increase security and decrease corruption.Leaders that try to speed up the process will experience frustration and anxiety.The charismatic leader (Weber, 1905) leads by infusing energy and eagernessinto their team members. This type of leader has to be committed to theorganization for the long run. If the success of the division or project is attributed tothe leader and not the team, charismatic leaders may become a risk for thecompany by deciding to resign for advanced opportunities. It takes the companytime and hard work to gain the employees' confidence back with other type ofleadership after they have committed themselves to the magnetism of acharismatic leader.

The autocratic leader(Lewin, Lippitt, & White, 1939) is given the power to makedecisions alone, having total authority. This leadership style is good for employeesthat need close supervision to perform certain tasks. Creative employees and teamplayers resent this type of leadership, since they are unable to enhance processesor decision making, resulting in job dissatisfaction.The democratic leader(Lewin, Lippitt, & White, 1939) listens to the team's ideasand studies them, but will make the final decision. Team players contribute to thefinal decision thus increasing employee satisfaction and ownership, feeling theirinput was considered when the final decision was taken. When changes arises,this type of leadership helps the team assimilate the changes better and morerapidly than other styles, knowing they were consulted and contributed to the

decision making process, minimizing resistance and intolerance. A shortcoming ofthis leadership style is that it has difficulty when decisions are needed in a shortperiod of time or at the moment.The laissez-faire ("let do") leader (Lewin, Lippitt, & White, 1939) gives nocontinuous feedback or supervision because the employees are highlyexperienced and need little supervision to obtain the expected outcome. On the

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other hand, this type of style is alsoassociated with leaders that dont

lead at all, failing in supervising team members, resulting in lack of control andhigher costs, bad service or failure to meet deadlines.

The people-oriented leader(Fiedler, 1967) is the one that, in order to comply witheffectiveness and efficiency, supports, trains and develops his personnel,increasing job satisfaction and genuine interest to do a good job.The task-oriented leader(Fiedler, 1967) focus on the job, and concentrate on thespecific tasks assigned to each employee to reach goal accomplishment. Thisleadership style suffers the same motivation issues as autocratic leadership,showing no involvement in the teams needs. It requires close supervision andcontrol to achieve expected results.The servant leader(Greenleaf, 1977) facilitates goal accomplishment by giving itsteam members what they need in order to be productive. This leader is aninstrument employees use to reach the goal rather than an commanding voice thatmoves to change. This leadership style, in a manner similar to democraticleadership, tends to achieve the results in a slower time frame than other styles,although employee engagement is higher.The transaction leader(Burns, 1978) is given power to perform certain tasks andreward or punish for the teams performance. It gives the opportunity to themanager to lead the group and the group agrees to follow his lead to accomplish apredetermined goal in exchange for something else. Power is given to the leader toevaluate, correct and train subordinates when productivity is not up to the desiredlevel and reward effectiveness when expected outcome is reached.The transformation leader (Burns, 1978) motivates its team to be effective andefficient. Communication is the base for goal achievement focusing the group inthe final desired outcome or goal attainment. This leader is highly visible and useschain of command to get the job done. Transformational leaders focus on the bigpicture, needing to be surrounded by people who take care of the details. Theleader is always looking for ideas that move the organization to reach thecompanys vision.

The environment leader ( Carmazzi, 2005) is the one who nurtures group ororganizational environment to affect the emotional and psychological perception ofan individuals place in that group or organization. An understanding andapplication of group psychology and dynamics is essential for this style to beeffective. The leader uses organizational culture to inspire individuals and developleaders at all levels. This leadership style relies on creating an education matrixwhere groups interactively learn the fundamental psychology of group dynamicsand culture from each other. The leader uses this psychology, and complementarylanguage, to influence direction through the members of the inspired group to dowhat is required for the benefit of all.

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"Leadership is the energetic

process of getting people fully and willingly committed to a new and sustainable

course of action, to meet commonly agreed objectives whilst having commonly held

values"

EXERCISE

At the laboratory ask students to access the link to

identify the level of leadership they have.

http://www.queendom.com/queendom_tests/transfer

After taking the test, ask them to:

1. Write an analysis of their result2. Identify their strengths and weaknesses

3. Identify what aspects they should improve

4. Identify what aspects

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COMMUNICATION

Communication is the process of transferring information from a sender to areceiver with the use of a medium in which the communicated information isunderstood by both sender and receiver. It is a process that allows organisms toexchange information by several methods. Communication requires that all partiesunderstand a common language that is exchanged; there are auditory means, suchas speaking, singing and sometimes tone of voice, and nonverbal, physical means,such as body language, sign language, paralanguage, touch, eye contact, or theuse of writing. Communication is defined as a process by which we assign andconvey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding. This processrequires a vast repertoire of skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing,

listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. Use of theseprocesses is developmental and transfers to all areas of life: home, school,community, work, and beyond. It is through communication that collaboration andcooperation occur. Communication is the articulation of sending a message,through different media whether it be verbal or nonverbal, so long as a beingtransmits a thought provoking idea, gesture, action, etc.Communication happens at many levels (even for one single action), in manydifferent ways, and for most beings, as well as certain machines. Several, if not all,fields of study dedicate a portion of attention to communication, so when speakingabout communication it is very important to be sure about what aspects ofcommunication one is speaking about. Definitions of communication range widely,

some recognizing that animals can communicate with each other as well as humanbeings, and some are more narrow, only including human beings within theparameters of human symbolic interaction.Nonetheless, communication is usually described along a few major dimensions:Content (what type of things are communicated), source, emisor, sender orencoder (by whom), form (in which form), channel (through which medium),destination, receiver, target or decoder (to whom), and the purpose or pragmaticaspect. Between parties, communication includes acts that confer knowledge andexperiences, give advice and commands, and ask questions. These acts may takemany forms, in one of the various manners of communication. The form dependson the abilities of the group communicating. Together, communication content and

form make messages that are sent towards a destination. The target can beoneself, another person or being, another entity (such as a corporation or group ofbeings).

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Communication can be seen as processes of information transmission governedby three levels of semiotic rules:

1. Syntactic (formal properties of signs and symbols),2. pragmatic (concerned with the relations between signs/expressions and their

users) and

3. semantic (study of relationships between signs and symbols and what theyrepresent).

Therefore, communication is social interaction where at least two interactingagents share a common set of signs and a common set of semiotic rules. Thiscommonly held rule in some sense ignores autocommunication, includingintrapersonal communication via diaries or self-talk.

In a simple model, information or content (e.g. a message in natural language) issent in some form (as spoken language) from an emisor/ sender/ encoder to adestination/ receiver/ decoder. In a slightly more complex form a sender and areceiver are linked reciprocally. A particular instance of communication is called aspeech act. In the presence of "communication noise" on the transmission channel(air, in this case), reception and decoding of content may be faulty, and thus thespeech act may not achieve the desired effect. One problem with this encode-transmit-receive-decode model is that the processes of encoding and decodingimply that the sender and receiver each possess something that functions as acode book, and that these two code books are, at the very least, similar if notidentical. Although something like code books is implied by the model, they arenowhere represented in the model, which creates many conceptual difficulties.Theories of coregulation describe communication as a creative and dynamiccontinuous process, rather than a discrete exchange of information.

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Language

A language is a syntactically organized system of signals, such as voice sounds,

intonations or pitch, gestures or written symbols which communicate thoughts orfeelings. If a language is about communicating with signals, voice, sounds,gestures, or written symbols, can animal communications be considered as alanguage? Animals do not have a written form of a language, but use a languageto communicate with each another. In that sense, an animal communication can beconsidered as a separated language.

Dialogue

A dialogue is a reciprocal conversation between two or more entities. Theetymological origins of the word (in Greek (di,through) + (logos,word,speech) concepts like flowing-through meaning) do not necessarily convey

the way in which people have come to use the word, with some confusion betweenthe prefix -(di-,through) and the prefix - (di-, two) leading to the assumptionthat a dialogue is necessarily between only two parties.

Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication is the process of communicating through sending andreceiving wordless messages. Such messages can be communicated throughgesture, body language or posture; facial expression and eye contact, objectcommunication such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture, or symbols andinfographics. Speech may also contain nonverbal elements known asparalanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as

prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. Likewise, written textshave nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words,or the use of emoticons. A portmanteau of the English words emotion (or emote)and icon, an emoticon is a symbol or combination of symbols used to conveyemotional content in written or message form.

EXERCISE

At the laboratory access the link to identify the level of leadership you have.

http://www.queendom.com/queendom_tests/transfer

After taking the test, ask them to:

1. Write an analysis of their result2. Identify their strengths and weaknesses

3. Identify what aspects they should improve

4. Identify what aspects

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CONFLICT MANAGEMENTConflict management refers to the long-term management of intractable conflicts.

It is the label for the variety of ways by which people handle grievances standingup for what they consider to be right and against what they consider to be wrong.Those ways include such diverse phenomena as gossip, ridicule, lynching,terrorism, warfare, feuding, genocide, law, mediation, and avoidance. Which formsof conflict management will be used in any given situation can be somewhatpredicted and explained by the social structure or social geometry of thecase.Conflict management is often considered to be distinct from conflict resolution. Thelatter refers to resolving the dispute to the approval of one or both parties, whereasthe former concerns an ongoing process that may never have a resolution. Neitheris it considered the same as conflict transformation, which seeks to reframe the

positions of the conflict parties.

Types of Managerial Actions that Cause Workplace Conflicts

1. Poor communications

a. Employees experience continuing surprises, they aren't informed of new

decisions, programs, etc.

b. Employees don't understand reasons for decisions, they aren't involved in

decision-making.

c. As a result, employees trust the "rumor mill" more than management.

2. The alignment or the amount of resources is insufficient. There is:a. Disagreement about "who does what".b. Stress from working with inadequate resources.3. "Personal chemistry", including conflicting values or actions among managersand employees, for example:a. Strong personal natures don't match.b. We often don't like in others what we don't like in ourselves.4. Leadership problems, including inconsistent, missing, too-strong or uninformedleadership (at any level in the organization), evidenced by:a. Avoiding conflict, "passing the buck" with little follow-through on decisions.b. Employees see the same continued issues in the workplace.

c. Supervisors don't understand the jobs of their subordinates

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Ways People Deal With Conflict

There is no one best way to deal with conflict. It depends on the current situation. Here are

the major ways that people use to deal with conflict.

1. Avoid it. Pretend it is not there or ignore it.

a. Use it when it simply is not worth the effort to argue. Usually this approach tends

to worsen the conflict over time.

2. Accommodate it. Give in to others, sometimes to the extent that youcompromise yourself.a. Use this approach very sparingly and infrequently, for example, in situationswhen you know that you will have another more useful approach in the very

near future. Usually this approach tends to worsen the conflict over time, andcauses conflicts within yourself.3. Competing. Work to get your way, rather than clarifying and addressing theissue. Competitors love accommodators.a. Use when you have a very strong conviction about your position.4. Compromising. Mutual give-and-take.a. Use when the goal is to get past the issue and move on.5. Collaborating. Focus on working together.a. Use when the goal is to meet as many current needs as possible by usingmutualresources. This approach sometimes raises new mutual needs.b. Use when the goal is to cultivate ownership and commitment.

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EXERCISE

Role play the solution of a conflict first following these steps, then not followingthem. Analyze the result.

Step1

Decide whether you want to confront the person who is bothering you. It is usually better to air

grievances in the open than to let them fester.

Step2

Speak to the other person calmly, politely and rationally. Focus on the situation and facts, avoiding

gossip and personal attacks.

Step3

Be careful not to express hostility in your posture, facial expression or tone. Be assertive without

being aggressive.

Step4

Listen to the other person carefully: What is she trying to say? Be sure you understand her position.

Step5

Express interest in what the other person is saying. You can acknowledge her ideas without

necessarily agreeing or submitting. Saying, "I understand that you feel this way. Here's how I feel..."

acknowledges both positions.

Step6

Communicate clearly what you want, offering positive suggestions and recommendations. Be willing

to be flexible.

Step7

Speak to your supervisor if a problem with a difficult co-worker seriously threatens your work, but

avoid whining.

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Business Administration

Vocabulary

1. AcquisitionThe acquiring of supplies or services by the federal government with appropriatedfunds through purchase or lease.

2. AffiliatesBusiness concerns, organizations, or individuals that control each other or that arecontrolled by a third party. Control may include shared management or ownership;common use of facilities, equipment, and employees; or family interest.

3. Best and Final OfferFor negotiated procurements, a contractor's final offer following the conclusion of

discussions.

4. Certificate of Competency

A certificate issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA) stating that the

holder is "responsible" (in terms of capability, competency, capacity, credit,

integrity, perseverance, and tenacity) for the purpose of receiving and performing a

specific government contract.

5. Certified 8(a) Firm

A firm owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged

individuals and eligible to receive federal contracts under the Small Business

Administrations 8(a) Business Development Program.

6. ContractA mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller to furnish supplies orservices (including construction) and the buyer to pay for them.

7. ContractingPurchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise obtaining supplies or services fromnonfederal sources. Contracting includes the description of supplies and servicesrequired, the selection and solicitation of sources, the preparation and award ofcontracts, and all phases of contract administration. It does not include grants orcooperative agreements.

8. Contractor Team Arrangement

An arrangement in which (a) two or more companies form a partnership or jointventure to act as potential prime contractor; or (b) an agreement by a potential

prime contractor with one or more other companies to have them act as its

subcontractors under a specified government contract or acquisition program.

9. Electronic Data Interchangestandardized electronic versions of common business documents.

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10.Emerging Small Business

A small business concern whose size is no greater than 50 percent of the

numerical size standard applicable to the Standard Industrial Classification code

assigned to a contracting opportunity.

11.EquityAn accounting term used to describe the net investment of owners or stockholdersin a business. Under the accounting equation, equity also represents the result ofassets less liabilities.

12.Fair and Reasonable Price

A price that is fair to both parties, considering the agreed-upon conditions,

promised quality, and timeliness of contract performance. "Fair and reasonable"

price is subject to statutory and regulatory limitations.

13.Full and Open CompetitionWith respect to a contract action, "full and open" competition means that all

responsible sources are permitted to compete.

14.Intermediary Organization

Organizations that play a fundamental role in encouraging, promoting, and

facilitating business-to-business linkages and mentor-protg partnerships. These

can include both nonprofit and for-profit organizations: chambers of commerce;

trade associations; local, civic, and community groups; state and local

governments; academic institutions; and private corporations.

15.Joint VentureIn the SBA Mentor-Protg Program, an agreement between a certified firm and amentor firm to perform a specific federal contract.

16.MentorA business, usually large, or other organization that has created a specializedprogram to advance strategic relationships with small businesses.

17.NegotiationContracting through the use of either competitive or other-than competitiveproposals and discussions. Any contract awarded without using sealed biddingprocedures is a negotiated contract.

18.One-Stop Capital Shops

OSCSs are the SBAs contribution to the Empowerment Zones/Enterprise

Communities Program, an interagency initiative that provides resources to

economically distressed communities. The shops provide a full range of SBA

lending and technical assistance programs.

19.PartneringA mutually beneficial business-to-business relationship based on trust andcommitment and that enhances the capabilities of both parties.

20.Prime ContractA contract awarded directly by the Federal government.

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21.ProtgA firm in a developmental stage that aspires to increasing its capabilities through amutually beneficial business-to-business relationship.

22.Request for Proposal (RFP)A document outlining a government agencys requirements and the criteria for the

evaluation of offers.

23.Small BusinessA business smaller than a given size as measured by its employment, businessreceipts, or business assets.

24.Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)SBDCs offer a broad spectrum of business information and guidance as well asassistance in preparing loan applications.

25.Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code

A code representing a category within the Standard Industrial ClassificationSystem administered by the Statistical Policy Division of the U.S. Office of

Management and Budget. The system was established to classify all industries in

the US economy. A two-digit code designates each major industry group, which is

coupled with a second two-digit code representing subcategories.

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DEFINITIONS

DEFINITION: BENCHMARKING

1. Improving by learning from others i.e. - benchmarking is simple aboutmaking comparisons with other organizations and then learning the lessonsthat those comparisons throw up

2. Benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, servicesand practices against the toughest competitors of those companiesrecognized as industry leaders. Operational processes must becomparative or analogous if the highest degree of knowledge transfer

between benchmarking partners is to be achieved.APPLICATION

The underlying reason for benchmarking is to learn how to improve your business

processes and thereby increases your competitiveness. Although benchmarking

is a measurement process and does generate comparative performance

measures, it also is an operational process involving continuous learning and

adaptation which enables you to improve your organizations competitive position.

In practice benchmarking usually encompasses:

Regularly comparing aspects of performance (functions or processes) with

others

Identifying gaps in performance

Developing performance improvements to close the gaps thus identified

Implementing the improvements

Monitoring processes

Reviewing the benefits

TYPES OF BENCHMARKING

Generic . e.g. comparisons in a general sense- using terms such as customer,

strategic or operational

Functional e.g. Finance, sales or HR efficiency (e.g. RF staff to total

employees)

Process- e.g. Insurance claims or delivery of bulk commodities.

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Global- e.g. across the world

Cost focusing on cost dynamics

Performance looking at revenue or growth

KEY ISSUES:

Key issues for organizations beginning benchmarking efforts:

Top management commitment and participation are necessary

Sufficient time must be allowed for the project as it takes time

An able, well-trained team is critical (if not outside help, consultants)

It is heavy on resources, people, travel, research, consultants, and other factors

Process rigor is an absolute sine qua non for success you cannot graze thesurface

Quantitative data is often difficult and time consuming to obtain

DEFINITION: OUTSOURCING

1. It is a transfer of control. Delegate one or more process to a specializesupplier to reach a high efficiency. With the outsourcing, companies can

look at other necessities to fulfill their mission.

REASONS FOR OUTSOURCING

Cost savings. The lowering of the overall cost of the service to the business.

This will involve reducing the scope, defining quality levels, re-pricing, re-negotiation, const re-structuring.

Cost restructuring. Operating leverage is a measure that compares fixed costs

to variable costs.

Improve quality. Achieve a step change in quality through contracting out the

service with a new Service Level Agreement. Knowledge. Access to intellectual property and wider experienced and

knowledge.

Contract. Services will be provided to a legally binding contract with financial

penalties and legal redress.

Operational expertise. Access to operational best practice

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Staffing issues. Access to a

larger talent pool and asustainable source of skills.

Capacity management

Catalyst for change. The outsourcer becomes a Change agent in the process.

Reduce time to market.

Risk management. Partner with an outsourcer who is better able to provide the

mitigation.

Time zone. A sequential task can be done during normal day shift in different

time zones- to make it available 24x7.

Customer pressure. When customers are not happy with the performance of

certain elements of the business.

PROCESS OF OUTSOURCING

1. Deciding to outsource: Identify what is to be outsource2. Supplier proposals: Have a list with the suppliers and their proposals.3. Supplier competition: Look for the best supplier4. Negotiation: Is the agreement between the company and the supplier.5. Transition: Process for the staff transfer and the take- on of the service6. Transformation: Is the implement of the new service.7. Termination or renewal: Is the decision between terminate of renew the

contract.

RISKS FO THE OUTSOURCING

Negotiate with a wrong contract

Inadequate supplier

Increase the dependence in external entities

There is no control on the suppliers staff

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DEFINITION: ALLIEANCE STRATEGIC

An alliance is defined as a relationship between two or more firms, or individuals,

involving the sharing of complimentary disciplines, technology, products, services,

organizational structures, marketing, and financial resources. It is a formal

relationship formed between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon

goals or to meet a critical business need while remaining independent

organizations.

Partners may provide the strategic alliance with resources such as products,

distribution channels, manufacturing capability, project funding, capital equipment,

knowledge, expertise, or intellectual property.

The alliance is cooperation or collaboration which aims for a synergy where each

partner hopes that the benefits from the alliance will be greater than those from

individual efforts. It often involves technology transfer (access to knowledge and

expertise), economic specialization, shared expenses and share risk.

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE FORMATION PROCESS

Strategy Development: It involves studying the alliances feasibility, objectives

and rationale, focusing on the major issues and challenges and development ofresource strategies for production, technology, and people.

Partner Assessment: It involves analyzing a potential partners strengths and

weaknesses, creating strategies for accommodating all partners managementstyles, preparing appropriate partner selection criteria, understanding a partnersmotives for joining the alliance and addressing resource capability gaps thatmay exist.

Contract Negotiation: Contract negotiations involves determining whether all

parties have realistic objectives, forming high caliber negotiating teams, defining

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each partner`s contributions andrewards as well as protect anyproprietary information,

addressing termination clauses, penalties for poor performance, and highlightingthe degree to which arbitration procedures are clearly stated and understood

Alliance Operation: It involves addressing senior managements commitment,

finding the caliber of resources devoted to the alliance, linking of budgets andresources with strategic priorities, measuring and rewarding allianceperformance, and assessing the performance and results of the alliance.

Alliance Termination: It involves winding down the alliance, for instance when

its objectives have been met or cannot be met, or when a partner adjustspriorities or re-allocated resources elsewhere.

TYPES OF ALLIANCES

Funding

Joint Venture

Merger, acquisition

Products, Services

Cooperative

DEFINITION: SIX SIGMA

Six Sigma is a set of practices originally developed by Motorola to systematically

improve processes by eliminating defects. A defect is defined as nonconformity of

a product or service to its specifications.

Six Sigma asserts the following:

Continuous efforts to reduce variation in process outputs is key to business

success

Manufacturing and business processes can be measured, analyzed, improved

and controlled

Succeeding at achieving sustained quality improvement requires commitment

from the entire organization, particularly from top-level management.

In particular, processes that operate with six sigma quality produce at defect levels

below 3.4 defects per (one) million opportunities (DPMO). Six Sigmas implicit goal

is to improve all processes to tat level of quality or better.

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unit one booklet t4

Documents