Stock Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Stock Market - Essay Example Disclosure is called for to be simultaneously carried out to all investors and therefore, nobody should profit from usage of such information before it reaches the public domain. Information cannot be said to be price-sensitive if it’s not factual or specific. Examples may include: Financial information about profits and losses, figures of sales of a company, take over bids information, big buys or disposals of shares by large shareholders, among others. The rules governing the London stock exchange stipulate that any price-sensitive information should this be made publicly available in the reasonable time so as to have a similar influence on the investors’ decision. (Graeme Pietersz, 2009) This is going to be a study related to price-sensitive information and its set out to answer, comprehensively, the question, â€Å"How has price-sensitive information evolved and how has it influenced the stock markets in U.K and U.S?† Use of price-sensitive information was legal, but before 1980. It could be applied by employees and people with close connections to a company. This resulted to insider trading because there was asymmetric information usage. Banning of insider dealings is seen as a later issue. Until 1980, insider trading was not a criminal offence. (Chadwick et al, 2002 p152) People convicted for breaking the insider trading rule are required under IDA 1985, to be sentenced for up to six months imprisonment of be fined an amount not more than the statutory maximum or in other cases both. If convicted under the crown court the person may be sentenced for up to seven years or affine that’s not limited or in other cases both. Since the 1985’s IDA Act, however, the record of enforcement is dismal. Conviction rate is said to be at low levels where about 50% have been convicted on this rules breaking. Low levels of conviction have been blamed to the so strictly set

Statment of purpuse for MBA school Personal Statement

Statment of purpuse for MBA school - Personal Statement Example The MBA prepares a student in the field by motivating one to use and develop analytical decision-makings which are very useful for employers because such preparation demand less assistance from other employees. Creative skills are also developed while one analyses a situation and develop solutions to the problem posed and the ingenuity of how it is resolved can measure an individual’s ability to look into strategies that are commendable. Consequently, the person is now trained to be self-reliant and would not always need other people’s attention to himself rather could be trusted to be able to complete a task without much assistance. As the title of the course suggests, entrepreneurship is one of the paths that one is developed, being given information that would be virtually important to this endeavor, not to mention being updated with the latest business trends. Effective communication, presentation and negotiation skills are also deemed important in the current compe titive business world and the MBA prepares a student to such through intensive training not only in theory but especially through immersion to the tasks and business people through ‘on the job’ training programs.

Paper2 1500 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper2 1500 - Essay Example s concerning the depths of both crises, with close attention to ways in which stock prices, GDP, employment, manufacturing production and overall economic policy reacted in both cases. Before making the comparison between the Great Depression and the financial crisis of 2008, it is prudent to perform and analysis of the pivotal differences in the nature of the capitalist system now and in 1929. It is noteworthy that the rise of neo-liberal capitalism in the 1970s, and the post-war shift to Keynesian economics that followed it precipitated the era of capitalist development. This was fundamentally different from the previous economic regimes, including the period after the Great Depression. Several arguments have been made regarding the main causes of the recent global financial crisis, and even though it may be hard to discern the exact causality. There are a number of factors that remain clear. Firstly, in a similar manner to the Great Depression before it, before the onset of the financial crisis, the world economy experienced a boom period with a rapid growth rate between 2001 and 2007. The rate of growth during this period was higher than any other period in the preceding thirty years (Wade, 2008). In this regard, most analysts concur that the financial crisis was initiated by the collapse of the subprime mortgage bubble in the United States. However, this fact was not the primary cause of the crisis. Secondly, even though the emerging financial crisis first appeared in early 2007. It was not until the year 2008 when major banks such as the Lehman Brothers began going to the wall, and financial assets started crashing that the full extent of the crisis became appa rent. As a result, credit flows dried up, and the global financial situation became dire with each passing day. One clear example of this situation is the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States. For instance, there was $130 billion of subprime lending in the country in the year 2000, but this

Statment of purpuse for MBA school Personal Statement

Statment of purpuse for MBA school - Personal Statement Example The MBA prepares a student in the field by motivating one to use and develop analytical decision-makings which are very useful for employers because such preparation demand less assistance from other employees. Creative skills are also developed while one analyses a situation and develop solutions to the problem posed and the ingenuity of how it is resolved can measure an individual’s ability to look into strategies that are commendable. Consequently, the person is now trained to be self-reliant and would not always need other people’s attention to himself rather could be trusted to be able to complete a task without much assistance. As the title of the course suggests, entrepreneurship is one of the paths that one is developed, being given information that would be virtually important to this endeavor, not to mention being updated with the latest business trends. Effective communication, presentation and negotiation skills are also deemed important in the current compe titive business world and the MBA prepares a student to such through intensive training not only in theory but especially through immersion to the tasks and business people through ‘on the job’ training programs.

Aviation, Aerospace or Airport Industry Essay Example for Free

Aviation, Aerospace or Airport Industry Essay In order to assess aviation, aerospace or airport industry practice to the field of Marketing I have chosen to focus on the aviation industry and the marketing practices they have adopted in order to deal compete effectively in the current recessional environment.   This document focuses on the 4 P’s of Marketing (Kotler, 2008) and discusses how airlines have altered their approach to Product, Price, Place and Promotion in order to continue to successfully compete and respond to the changing needs of their customer base.    One company in particular, Southwest Airlines, will be explored in more detail with the marketing practices forming the basis for further exploration of the key themes. The Aviation Industry The events of September the 11th coupled with a growing economic recession have created an extremely challenging environment for the airline industry.   Forecasts produced by the Civil Aviation Authority indicate that the situation may not improve for quite some time with passenger traffic not expected to fully recover in the next five years (Figure 1). Figure One:   Actual and Forecast Traffic (m) 2007-2012 Fiscal Year No. Passengers Domestic (US) No. Passengers International (US) No. Passengers Total (US) 2007 577.8 53.6 631.4 2008 (F) 590.4 54.2 644.7 2009 (F) 610.9 54.9 665.8 2010 (F) 639.8 56.4 696.3 2011 (F) 626.7 56.7 683.4 2012 (F) 576.8 50.8 627.6 In order to deal with this airlines are significantly altering their marketing practices and methods of distribution in order to operate more efficiently and competitively.   Major changes have been observed over the past couple of years with some of these constituting complete overhauls of the traditional operation of the industry.   Southwest Airlines is an airline which has strongly positioned itself on â€Å"being different† through all elements of its service and product. At its core is its mission, which specifies that the airline is dedicated to â€Å"the highest quality of customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit†.   At first glance the concept of â€Å"high quality† and â€Å"low cost† appear to contradict one another.   However, Southwest airlines maintain that this is not the case and they have not compromised on quality or safety.   Awards such as â€Å"Triple Crown† which is awarded for low customer complaints, flight timeliness and baggage turnaround times, indicates that this may indeed be true. In order to better understand the key industry trends and how airlines have attempted to use these to their advantage, it is worth considering the marketing mixes of aviation companies such as Southwest Airlines and assessing how these have been altered in order to attract and retain a diminishing customer base. Marketing Practices Product The product element of the marketing mix concerns offering the right product to the right target market.   The products on offer through the airline industry have changed significantly over the past twenty-five years. Flying, which at one point was exclusively for the wealthy, has become more accessible and today there are a large numbers of airlines that cater for even larger numbers of customers.   In order to compete in this environment airlines have invested significant amounts of money in distinguishing their products and services from their competitors. For Southwest Airlines, this has entailed differentiating their product through redesigning the service their provide to customers.   Although, on the surface, their â€Å"no frills† concept appears very simple, delivering it in a way that doesn’t negatively impact customer experience is somewhat of an art.   In order to successfully implement this business model Southwest airlines have invested significant amounts of money in understanding their customer needs and motivations and used this as the basis for their value proposition. Through researching their customer base they have been able to identify which services were not valued above price by the customer and have eradicated them, thus lowering their operating costs and passing these savings directly onto the customer.   In addition to that, the involvement and support of their staff is paramount.   This is achieved through the company culture, a family orientated set up which promotes teamwork and values employee’s opinions and suggestions for improvement.   Southwest Airlines have recognized that employee participation and support is critical to the achievement of their aspirations and have successfully build a team of 29,000 with the lowest turnover rate in the industry. Price Since the deregulation of the airline industry in 1978, the airline industry has become highly price sensitive and many customers will generally purchase from the most competitively priced airline, viewing separate company’s offerings as perfect substitutes.   In order to maximize the profit from each flight, many airlines operate a variable pricing approach that is based on the needs of individual customers.   This approach attempts to identify and separate those customers who are concerned about price from those who are willing to pay more in order to attain a seat on the flight. As well as partitioning flights into first, business and economy classes, airlines attempt to maximize their revenue by offering a mixture of full price and discounted tickets within these segments.   Using detailed information related to market trends, forecasts and seasonal variations the major airlines implement inventory management approaches that help to define the demand and subsequent price for each seat on the flight. More than 90 percent of the tickets sold by U.S. airlines are now discounted (Costello 2001) and in the last twenty years flight prices have dropped by approximately 75% (Miller, 2007). According to a renowned marketing strategist, David Aaker (2001), one of the ways in which companies can successfully compete in a price sensitive marketplace is to offer higher value to their customers.   This view is supported by many theorists, many of whom believe that the industry is currently â€Å"giving away† flights (Marketing Week, 2003, p.35).   This view however, is challenged by the success of low cost airlines such as Southwest (US), JetBlue and Ryanair (UK) who have redefined their value propositions by stripping down their services in order to offer rock bottom prices. In order to competitively price their offering Southwest Airlines focused on streamlining their operations.   The idea behind this was simple, by lowering their costs, Southwest could offer reduced prices to their customer base.   This was achieved by removing services that were not valued in the eyes of the customer, such as physical ticketing, amenity kits, onboard snacks and seat reservations.   The customers get what they pay for and pay for what they want. Place Airlines predominantly operate through two distribution systems; the ticket and the flight. The Ticket Historically ticket sales were conducted through travel agents and brokers who liaised with the customer on an airline’s behalf.   However, in recent years the growth in popularity of the internet as a medium through which flights can be booked has led to increased levels of direct relationships between the airline and the customer base during the ticketing stage.   Through interfacing directly with the customer many airlines have reduced their distribution costs by as much as 10% (Miller 2004) and have subsequently been better placed to compete on a price basis in the marketplace. The Flight Marketing practices relating to the flight itself have also seen changes in recent years.  Ã‚   Historically, the flight represented a direct relationship between the customer and the airline but the increasing trend towards inter-airline alliances such as Star (United Airlines, Virgin, BMI, Thai etc.) Oneworld (American Airlines, British Airways, Quantas etc.) and SkyTeam (Delta Air Lines, Air France, and AeroMexico) has transformed the distribution channel from direct to indirect with airlines placing trust in their competitors to service the customers appropriately. Although this may be perceived as a risky approach, the benefits gained from such agreements are of significance.   Through forming partnerships airlines can gain additional routes, marketing power and global presence.   Southwest Airlines have gone one step further in the design of their place strategy.  Ã‚   Through focussing of the short-haul domestic market in the US they have ensured that the average duration of their flights is less than one hour.   This increases their probability of meeting desired time schedules and subsequently directly improves customer satisfaction. Promotion One of the most popular marketing tools within the airline industry is the frequent flyer program.   Airlines reward loyal customers by giving them extras such as upgrades, additional luggage allowance, priority booking and access to business lounges.   Such programs are clearly very popular with approximately 25% of Americas belonging to at least one loyalty program. (Costello, 2001, p.B9). The customer experience itself represents another key area in which aviation companies strive to successfully promote their offerings.   Areas of the operation such as baggage turnaround, timeliness of flights and numbers of customer complaints are measured through Key Performance Indicators and communicated openly to customers and employees. The understanding here is that high service quality will lead to happier customers, higher sales and higher profits. (Czaplewski, Ferguson, Milliman, 2001, p.14-17). Southwest Airline’s latest promotional program is Ding, a real time notification system that informs their customers of the latest offers and developments.   The messages communicated to customers are carefully targeted and segmented and utilize SMS and email systems to deliver the communication directly to the right customer. Conclusion In order to be successful in the current market, airlines need to develop a deep understanding of their customer base.   Through understanding their customer’s motivations, hot buttons and unmet needs (Aaker, 2001) they can develop marketing practices which allow them to compete in this demanding environment. The market is seeing significant changes as companies develop different approaches to increasing their sales or lowering their costs and a carefully designed and implemented marketing mix is critical to success in this environment. References Czaplewski, A.; Ferguson, J.; Milliman, J. Southwest Airlines: How Internal Marketing Pilots. Success, Marketing Management,   2001, p. 14-17 Costello, J. (2001, November 6). Gounded: Airlines Attempt to Win Back Former Frequent Flyers International Civil Aviation Authority, Airline Traffic Forecasts and Financial Trends — 2006 to 2008, I, January 2007. Miller, W. (2004, August 16). Airlines take to the internet. Industry Week, 248(15),   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   130-133. Retrieved March 23, 2008 from ProQuest database. Newsweek. (2003, September 18). Good times in the skies. p. 58. AAker, D, 6th Ed, 2001, Strategic Market Management Kotler et al, 13th Ed, 2008, Marketing Management www.Southwest airlines.com

Project Time Management Of Burj Khalifa Economics Essay

Project Time Management Of Burj Khalifa Economics Essay Burj Khalifa, a single place where tourism, hospitality, professionalism and leisure come together. Home to more than 1000 residences, Burj Khalifa accommodates a hotel, an observation deck, a restaurant, fitness and recreation club and also 37 floors of corporate offices. It brings in a concept of a vertical city with all the luxurious amenities made available on the top of the world. For the tourists and visitors coming to see this marvel, it is a long and a memorable journey of a lifetime (www.burjkhalifa.ae). Burj in Arabic means Tower and Khalifa stands for the name of the President of the UAE and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, his highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al- Nahyan. The initial name given to this tower was Burj Dubai but was changed to Burj Khalifa in the honour of the President for bailing out $10 billion during Dubais financial crisis. The completion of this tower has broken numerous world records. At over 828 meters (2716.5 feet) and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa ho lds the following records: Tallest Building in the world Tallest free standing structure in the world Highest number of stories in the world Highest occupied floor in the world Highest outdoor observation deck in the world Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world Tallest service elevator in the world (www.burjkhalifa.ae) Fig 4.2 and 4.3 showing Burj Khalifa from different angles and shades of natural day light. Emaar Properties have developed this project of Burj Khalifa. Skidmore, Owings and Merril (SOM) have designed this beautiful structure and Samsung Engineering and Construction along with BeSix and Arabtec gave out the final product by constructing this tower. Turner Construction of the United States of America was responsible for the project management of this whole undertaking. This project estimated a cost of $1.5 billion for completion. At the staggering height of 2717 feet (easily more than two Empire State Buildings), this shimmering, spiralling mixed- use tower inevitably raises the question: When is big too big? (Kamin, 2010 p.78). The design of this building has been adapted from the Islamic architecture and has been inspired from a regional desert flower, the Hymenocallis. Adrian Smith was the sculptor for this design heading this project on behalf of SOM. Constructing the Burj Khalifa required more than 22 million man hours from about 12,000 professionals and skilled workers, and more than 60 consultants and contracting companies from around the world (Skidmore, Owings Merrill, 2011 p.23). In a true sense this project was a global venture to showcase the feat of ultimate engineering and the technological advancement which the human beings have achieved through dedication and hard work all these years. Burj Khalifa was truly an international collaboration between more than 30 on- site- contracting companies from nations around the world. At the peak of construction, over 12,000 workers and contractors were on site every day, representing more than 100 nationalities (www.burjkhalifa.ae). Project time Management of Burj Khalifa: There is no doubt that the time management of this project might have been one of the most challenging tasks that the team must have faced during its construction. The size and scope of this project was on such a large scale that some problems were inevitable, irrespective of any measures taken. First we shall have a look at the construction timeline which will be analysed further. Also we will discuss the problems that the project management team had to go through and how well they were able to deal with it controlling the schedule of this project with minimum delays. Fig 4.3 Burj Khalifa Construction Timeline: January 2004 Excavation started February 2004 Piling started March 2005 Superstructure started June 2006 Level 50 reached January 2007 Level 100 reached March 2007 Level 110 reached April 2007 Level 120 reached May 2007 Level 130 reached July 2007 Level 141 reached worlds tallest building September 2007 Level 150 reached worlds tallest free standing structure April 2008 Level 160 reached worlds tallest man-made structure January 2009 Completion of Spire Burj Khalifa tops out September 2009 Exterior cladding completed January 2010 Official launch ceremony Source: www.burjkhalifa.ae The total time taken for the construction of this building was 2,192 days with the average height built per day was 37 centimetres or 1 feet and 2.88 inches (www.theatlanticcities.com). If we carefully interpret the construction timeline as shown in figure 4.3, we can understand that the work was speeding up when the project started. There was a steady growth during 2005-06 till level 50 was reached. Since then it took a long time to construct another 50 levels as the building was rising higher and the crew might be dealing with challenges arising due to it. From January 07 to July 07 the construction again picked up some speed as they were nearly building 10 floors every month. This was remarkable as the construction was reaching the heights where any construction worker might not have gotten. The construction was again slowed down in September 07 when level 150 was reached. After that it took 7 months to complete the top most floor of the building. The average height built per day might look small but considering the construction at 838 meters above ground is an achievement. Let us now move on to the actual problems faced by the project management while erecting the worlds highest structure. Issues affecting the Project Time Management of Burj Khalifa: Listed below are some of the complications that had an adverse effect on the Project Time Management of Burj Khalifa. Emaar properties had plans to throw open this building in December 2008. Chairman of the Emaar Group Mohammed Alabbar announced the delay of about nine months scheduling the opening ceremony in August or September 2009 (www.arabianbusiness.com, 2008). However the opening was further delayed and this mega structure was finally released on 4th of January 2010. The project took 5 years and 4 months for completion. There were several problems during the course of construction of this building which lead to a delay of more than a year in delivering the project. Some of them were Pumping the concrete: According to the officials pumping the concrete to the record height of 828 meters was the toughest part of constructing this tower. Two of the worlds largest pumps manufactured by Putzmeister, were used to supply concrete for the construction of this building. These pumps unified with 150 mm pipeline could supply a massive 350 bars of concrete pressure. Above level 127 of the tower, a modified mix of concrete was used to account for changing pressure requirements due to height (Skidmore, Owings Merrill, 2011). In addition to that the climatic condition of Dubai was also a factor that delayed the construction process. Work at Burj Dubai is carried out in three shifts. Due to high day time temperatures up to 50 ° Celsius the concrete works are usually carried out during the slightly cooler night time hours(www.pmw.co.in, 2007). The effects of Dubais fluctuating seasonal temperatures made it a challenge to properly pump, pour and set concrete (Skidmore, Owings Merrill, 2011). This could cause considerable delays as no concrete work was carried out during the day time. Fig. 4.4 showing the massive pipelines of the concrete pump and Fig 4.5 showing the councrete pouring process. Fig 4.4 Fig 4.5 Source: www.pmw.co.in Labour Strikes: Workers constructing the Burj Khalifa went twice on strike during the whole span of its construction. In March 2006, 2500 workers rioted at the Burj Khalifa site, demanding a raise in their pay (www.migrant-rights.org, 2010). The labourers complained of being paid as low as $4 per day and were asked to work 12 hours a day and for 6 days a week. Riots broke out and the workers vandalized various offices, cars, construction several machineries and equipment. Construction of what is expected to be the worlds tallest building was halted after 2500 workers in Dubai rioted over pay and conditions, causing damage estimated to  £ 500,000 (www.guardian.co.uk, 2006). The protest was also sympathised by the workers at the construction site of Dubais New International Airport laying aside their tools. The second protest was held in November of 2007. This protest was for their demands of pay rise as well as to provide better living conditions for the workers. The latrines are so filthy we canno t use them, we are so disgusted. The roads are full of garbage and waterlogged. Living and moving around is a great problem, an occupant reported (www.migrant-rights.org, 2010). At both the instances the government threatened the workers to return back to work or face the consequences of mass deportations. This lead to unrest and the labourers were not satisfied which directly or indirectly have affected the construction. Yet the sources claimed that this protest had no effect on the construction of Burj Khalifa. This can be considered as one of the biggest issue which might have contributed to the delays in the construction. Fig 4.6 showing the riots in 2006 and Fig 4.7 where labourers are on strike in 2007 Source: www.bbc.co.uk Dubai Economic Crisis: In the year 2009, Dubai saw a downturn in its ever booming economy. People lost massive amounts of money as they saw the economy and the glittering real estate market go down. No doubt it was a tough situation for everyone. But it was even tougher for the building projects going on at that time. One of them was the all famous and glamorous dream project of Burj Khalifa. Half of the UAEs construction projects, totalling $582bn ( £400bn), either have been put on hold or cancelled, leaving a trail of half-built towers on the outskirts of the city stretching into the desert(www.guardian.co.uk, 2009). Not just in the case of investors and developers, the credit crunch had affected the construction workers lives too. As the projects were postponed or delayed, the workers were sacked leaving them no choice but to return back to their countries. Many of these workers were from South Asia belonging to countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc. Burj Khalifa was one of the mo st expensive projects in the history of the UAE. Undoubtedly it had a lot to do with this financial crisis. The worlds tallest building, the Burj Dubai, officially opens its doors, leaving a colossal reminder of the hubris that brought the emirate crashing in November (www.guardian.co.uk, 2010). Analysis: The project of constructing Burj Khalifa was awarded to a team of experienced construction companies. The principal developer of this project Emaar Properties is a very popular Joint Stock Company developing projects all across the world in countries like United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, China, Canada, etc. and also some joint ventures in North America, Europe, Pan-Asia, North Africa and the Middle East (www.emaar.com). Giving shape to many projects in UAE, Emaar has a major contribution in Dubais Infrastructure development. It has developed much of downtown Dubai. Construction of the world biggest mall (Dubai Mall) and the worlds tallest tower (Burj Khalifa) is associated with this company. The company is led by its president Mohamed Ali Alabbar who was also in-charge of the decision making process of the Burj Khalifa. The company follows a decentralised structure of its organisation resulting to which the decisions were made customer oriented a nd quicker. The authority was delegated to the managers of each department which made it easier to save time. This project was directly under the supervision of the ruler of Dubai, his highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum and had a lot of expectations of the people across the world. Turner Constructions was responsible for the project management of the Burj Khalifa. This company is also a renowned name in the industry based in the United States of America. This organisation was constantly monitoring the progress of this project to ensure practice of good standards of project management to deliver efficient and satisfactory project outcome. Skidmore, Owing and Merrill were designing and Samsung Engineering and Construction and BeSix were constructing the project. Arabtec was involved in supplying man power to this project. The assignment was in the hands of well-known experienced professionals as they strived to achieve a dream to build the highest building in the world. In spite of having a team of best people at work, there were some problems which were hard to prevent. Some of the issues related to the delay in the construction of this project are discussed above. Unfortunately it was found that all these problems were unavoidable. The time consumption of pumping the concrete high above the ground was very much anticipated and accounted for. But in the end it took a bit more time than it was expected to finish. The fluctuating temperatures in Dubai made it much more difficult for the workers to finish the task. The problems of Labour Strikes and the Economy prices came as a surprise to the initial planning of this project. But indeed the matter was way much serious than what was just reported. There have been speculations of workers dying during the construction of this building but the whole issue was suppressed and there have been no confirmed reports for the same. In a country like UAE, which is a kingdom ruled by the kings, there is very much little of what is known as democracy. Human Rights Watch reported numerous exploitations that construction workers suffer in the UAE, including unpaid or very low wages, many years of monetary obligations to the recruitment agencies for fees, seizing of employees passport and dangerous working conditions that result in apparently high mortality rates and injuries (www.migrant-rights.org, 2010). As a result of these conditions, strikes and protests were obvious. Formation of Labour unions is also prohibited in UAE but the labour ministry promised to set a minimum wage rate on the basis of which the strikes were withdrawn and work resumed. Fig 4.8 Dangerous Work being done at the Burj Khalifa Source: www.gulfnews.com The construction was getting back to normal and shortly after couple of years of this incident, Dubai experienced major financial crisis. Once again the smooth going construction was affected and delayed the project in return. The consolidated efforts of the companies involved tried their level best to continue the work and not let the schedule be affected but it was not possible until the President of UAE and the ruler of Abu Dhabi helped them bail out the indebt city of Dubai. The whole process of constructing this tower was complex and painstaking. But Emaar properties and all other companies did a very good job in the end to complete this unique project in mere less than five and a half years time and setting many world records. Undoubtedly it was a great effort from each and every individual involved which made it possible to fulfil this dream and deliver a marvel of its kind. Fig 4.9 a picture of some of the team members involved in the construction of this project put up in the building as an appreciation for their contribution. Source: Self 4.2 Delhi Metro: Delhi, a capital city of a country ranked second in the worlds total population. Along with its population, the country is also going through a lot of economic, social, political and technological developments. Various plans and projects are been chalked out for the future to meet the needs of the ever growing population of this country and compete with other nations of the world to provide exquisite facilities. Work is in progress in few metropolitan cities which have been undergoing through a pressure of urbanisation. Delhi is one of them. According to the census of 2011, Delhi has a registered population of 16.7 million people and a growth rate of 20.96% as compared to the previous decade (www.cencus2011.co.in). With a remarkable growth in population and with limited space to accommodate, it is necessary to provide an equally capable infrastructure system which can ease the problems of its citizens. These infrastructure developments include convenient transportation facilities. Fig4.10 displaying phase I and II of Delhi Metro Project National Capital Territory of Delhi covers an area of 1486 square kilometres and is a Union Territory with all powers of State Government (www.delhimetrorail.com). The city limits are extending to fit in the size of population. It necessitates a robust transit system to transfer people from one place to another.The need to travel is a consequent need i.e. people do not travel just for the sake of it but do so only when the necessity to transfer exists. The necessity to move is dictated by peoples requirements like work, study, leisure, medical, etc. In the background of inadequate urban capacity, global warming, increasing salaries and resulting motorization, it is commonly agreed among urban planners and city building professionals that safe and efficient public transport is the best way for the future to make cities more sustainable. With these intentions in mind, the Delhi Metro was foreseen in the city of New Delhi and started its operations in 2002. Fig. 4.11 Representation of the Traffic Congestion in Delhi (Source: www.ndtv.com) Fig. 4.12 Funny but true, a crowded bus in Delhi (Source: www.ibnlive.com) The original planning for a rail based transport system in Delhi started in 1970s when the government projected that a similar system would be required for mass public transportation in the future. Since then government appointed various committees to study the scope of development of mass rapid transport system (MRTS). At that time Delhi was perhaps the only city in the world, with such a huge size of its population depended on the over-crowded and insufficient bus services as the only public transport alternative. This situation has led to the proliferation of personalised vehicles, so much so that Delhi has more registered vehicles than total number of vehicles in Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai put together (www.delhigovt.nic.in). Similar to the present situation in Mumbai, Delhi was also tackling with problems like traffic congestion, environmental pollution, rising number of road accidents, fuel wastage, etc. Kolkata introduced a Metro railway system in the 1980s but the project e xceeded its budget and completion schedule, seriously undermining the confidence of the Government and the people in Metro systems (Sreedharan, 2008 p.57). During that period when the countrys development was sluggish, it was a gamble to once again trust a system that had failed miserably in the last attempt. Calcutta (now renamed to Kolkata) was a 17 kilometre long metro line which took 22 years for completion and the budget was overrun 14 times than what was initially planned (Sreedharan, 2008 p.3). It was a tough decision to make especially when the available technology was inadequate and the time was running out. In such circumstances, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation was established in the year 1995 which was a joint venture of Government of India and Government of Delhi. Soon after its formation, the team began planning for one of the biggest projects in India. They had a tough task ahead. The DMRC received majority of its funding from Japan Bank for International Co-operation. Th e rest of the funds were raised by the State Government of Delhi and the Central Government of India. Fig 4.13 DMRCs Profile Picture (Source: www.dmrc.com) One name that is prominently associated with DMRC and Delhi Metro is Dr. Elattuvalapil Sreedharan. Famous for his contribution as a CMD of Konkan Railway project along the western coast of India, this 760 kilometre long railway line joins three states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka through criss-crossing rivers, plunging valleys and mountains that soar in to the clouds (www.konkanrailway.com). This challenging project marked the beginning of infrastructure development in India from 1990 onwards. Dr. E. Sreedharan took over as a Managing Director of DMRC in 1997. DMRC is responsible to develop and maintain Metros in Delhi. The Delhi Metro Project is designed to cover 400 kilometres across the city in four phases by the year 2021 (Sreedharan, 2008). The time plan of the project is as follows: Fig. 4.14 Table showing the project outline of Delhi Metro Phase Initiation Date Length covered (in kms) Expected End Date Actual End Date Status Phase I 1998 65 2008 2006 Fully Operational Phase II 2007 128 2012 2011 Fully Operational Phase III 2011 112 2015 On-going Phase IV 108 2021 Queued Source: adapted from DMRC website and Sreedharan, 2008 The table itself is enough to tell a tale of successful project management and an impeccable feat of construction carried out by the entire team of DMRC. Dr. Sreedharan shot to fame overnight, being the first Indian to carry out such a difficult task with ease. Various Management Institutes and professionals wanted to know the secrets of his flawless management techniques which enabled him to deliver the project proficiently. Certainly this journey would not have been easy, but Dr. Sreedharan has set up a model of an efficient mass rapid transit system and at the age of 72 years and is wanted by every transportation authority board. The Delhi Metro Project instigated similar metro railway projects in different metropolitan cities across the country. His time and cost management skills grab everyones attention. Further in the study we shall focus on time management aspects and try to analyse two main questions: What were the problems in getting this project done on time? What did he do that no one else could? Issues that could have affected Project Time Management of Delhi Metro: The Delhi Metro project was efficiently delivered on time. We look in to some of the problems which the project management team had to overcome to give out the best results. The below mentioned problems are commonly seen in Mumbai Metro Project too. There are not many differences in context of factors as both are government projects undertaken by the authorities to build an advanced commuting system. The only difference is that of the organisations building it and their management skills and structures. This single difference makes them stand apart. Following are some of the problems which the Project Management team at DMRC had to go through during the course of construction of Delhi Metro: Technology: During the early years of 1990s, India had just begun taking steps towards technological advancements. After its economic reforms in 1991, India adopted three main policies of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation. In effect of these policies, trade regime and the regulatory framework was liberalised. Some of the industries were privatised and the country also hailed foreign investment in its economy (Sarvanakumar Kim, 2012). India has been an agro-based country and during these economic reforms there was not much technological advancement happening. India had to import all the technical know-how needed for the Metro Project. In such circumstances, building such a big project was a huge risk. All credit to Dr. Sreedharan and his team for acquiring quality engineers and building such a magnificent project. The engineering team brought in many new technologies to this project like better telecommunication, automatic fare collection, advanced signalling, etc. Initially the ma terials were imported from foreign countries as per requirement but are now assembled in the country itself and have encouraged many local vendors to absorb these new technologies. A showcase of the latest in railway technology, the Delhi Metro trains run on ballast less tracks on the elevated viaduct and the underground corridor, thus minimising the need of tract maintenance and also reducing the running dimensions on the structure (Sreedharan, 2008 p.59). Moreover, these tracks have proven to be safer and provide a smooth ride to its commuters. Tunnelling: This procedure was necessary to construct the underground passage of the Delhi Metro. Tunnelling below the historic old Delhi area posed a major challenge, as the buildings there have weak foundations. It was therefore, decided to construct a tunnel at a depth of more than 20 meters (Sreedharan, 2008 p.58). With the available technology it was a big challenge to build a tunnel this deep. Vehicle and Pedestrian traffic also posed as an obstacle in the tunnelling process. It was also a risk factor for the management team as mishaps could easily occur at a place with an extensive public access. There were also difficulties in tunnelling at some sections because of hard rock. For this purpose the project had obtained special cutter heads for their tunnel boring machines (Sreedharan, 2008). The team put in tremendous efforts to resolve the oncoming problems by finding and implementing solutions without any delays. Fig. 4.15 4.16 Pictures of Tunnelling for Delhi Metro Source: www.hindu.com Substandard quality of work/ materials: This is one of the most shocking revelations of the Delhi Metro Project. Poor quality of work, no regulations for standards of safety and substandard material used to build one of the finest projects which is going to be useful in the future for at least a century. What is more shocking is that these were not just one or two incidents which happened unfortunately. These are series of accidents which were taking place one after the other in recent past. Following table shows the accidents in detail: Fig. 4.17 List of Incidents occurred at the construction site of Delhi Metro Date Incident No. of people killed/ injured 28.08.2007 A crane driver died as a concrete block fell on him due to technical failure 1 killed 21.01.2008 A construction worker died while carrying out burrowing work 1 killed 18.07.2008 A malfunctioning crane dropped 4 tonne iron beam on a passing car 2 injured 19.10.2008 An under construction flyover collapsed due to mechanical failure 2 killed and 30 injured 12.07.2009 Portion of under construction bridge collapsed as its launching girder lost balance while being erected 6 killed and 15 injured 13.07.2009 Three cranes toppled while lifting the entangled launcher under the debris of the collapsed bridge 4 injured (Source: Mid-day, 2009 The Times of India, 2009) After all these mishaps which killed 10 people in all and injured around 50, the chief project manager and managing director of DMRC, Dr. Sreedharan sent his resignation from the post which shuddered all the concerned authorities related to this project. He said, I take full moral responsibility for the accident. As head of the organisation, I have to take the responsibility (www.ndtv.com, 2009). The investigation revealed that the accident occurred on 12th of July 2009 was a design flaw in the pillar holding the structure (www.indianexpress.com, 2009). The honourable chief minister of Delhi, Mrs. Sheila Dixit inspected the site after the accident and immediately rejected Dr. E. Sreedharans resignation. She said We respect his sentiments. But we also know that the Delhi Metro and the country need him. Not only has he done good work for Delhi but also for the country (www.ndtv.com, 2009). Following this incident there has not been any other such incidents which exhibit the influence a nd power Dr. Sreedharan has on his team of members involved in the project. Mumbai is nothing different in comparison with Delhi in context of quality of work carried out. In fact the organisation, MMRDA carrying out the work on Mumbai Metro was not wise enough to learn from the mistakes of Delhi Metro. Recently, a 50 feet long concrete slab collapsed from the Metro Railways under construction fly over. This incident killed 1 person and injured 16 more (The Times of India, 2012). This cannot be considered a mistake as it was a matter of sheer negligence by the authorities. Such incidents not only cost financial losses but also result in loss of valuable time. Considering the importance of time management factor it is necessary to deploy personnel to ensure that all the safety standards are maintained at the construction site so as to prevent mishaps happening and also save a lot of time. Moving ahead we analyse the decision making of Dr. Sreedharan and its impact it had on the construction of Delhi Metro. Fig. 4.18 4.19 showing the disaster of 12th of July. Source: www.indianexpress.com Fig 4.20 toppled cranes amongst the tangled debris was the scene on 13th of July Source: www.zeenews.india.com Analysis: Every major project has to through a series of difficulties. No one has a plan of how to deal with them. Because no one knows what kind of problem they might be dealing with. But an effective project manager has the capability of solving the problems with ease and importantly, he delivers the project within its scope. Delhi Metro too had to go through numerous obstacles in each phase of its construction. Some of them are mentioned above. But it was for the project management team who took up the initiative to keep the project within its planned time and cost. In the case of Delhi Metro, it was not just a single factor that led to a certain problem. There were events which summed up to become a bigger problem. For example tunnelling was not a big issue as many transport systems these days use this method. But adding to the outdated technology present in the country it became difficult to get the process done. Similarly the amount of population in Delhi is so much in excess that restri cting public access was not possible. Therefore it became even more difficult to excavate during tunnelling and also maintain safety which resulted into many unfortunate mishaps. Undoubtedly this was the first massive project of its kind in India. Therefore this can provide a lot of valuable learning both positive and negative, to the project managers of the future. Fig. 4.21 The Metro Man of India in action. Source: www.ibnlive.in.com By the end of Phase I of this project Dr. Sreedharan was an idol and inspirational leader to many management professionals and students. Everyone wanted to know what his secret behind his flawless management techniques was. He discusses the corporate values of Delhi Metro during one of his speeches at a management institute to the aspiring management professionals. Punctuality, Integrity, Transpar

The American Dream According to John Steinbeck Essays -- Of Mice And Me

John Steinbeck, author of many classic American novels, greatly influenced modern American literature. Steinbeck often referred to the Salinas Valley of California in his writing. He often referred to the settlers and the adversities they had faced during the migration to the Salinas Valley area. With novels such as Of Mice And Men and The Grapes Of Wrath, Steinbeck explained the harsh reality of the severe hardships the settlers faced to accomplish the American Dream. These novels share many similarities in regard to their themes. To understand Steinbeck’s work, we must first understand Steinbeck.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. His father was a treasurer for the county. Steinbeck’s mother was a school teacher. His mother taught him to appreciate books. Steinbeck attended high school locally. During his summers, he worked on ranches and farms to earn money. After high school, he studied marine biology at Stanford University. By the late 1920's, he moved back to California without an academic degree. Steinbeck had never planned to work in the field of his major. He had always known he would be a writer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1929, now living in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Steinbeck was given an advance from a publisher to write a book. The publisher gave him $250. This book, called Cup Of Gold, failed to make a profit. Steinbeck did not get discouraged. By 1935, he released a novel called Tortilla Flat. This ... The American Dream According to John Steinbeck Essays -- Of Mice And Me John Steinbeck, author of many classic American novels, greatly influenced modern American literature. Steinbeck often referred to the Salinas Valley of California in his writing. He often referred to the settlers and the adversities they had faced during the migration to the Salinas Valley area. With novels such as Of Mice And Men and The Grapes Of Wrath, Steinbeck explained the harsh reality of the severe hardships the settlers faced to accomplish the American Dream. These novels share many similarities in regard to their themes. To understand Steinbeck’s work, we must first understand Steinbeck.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. His father was a treasurer for the county. Steinbeck’s mother was a school teacher. His mother taught him to appreciate books. Steinbeck attended high school locally. During his summers, he worked on ranches and farms to earn money. After high school, he studied marine biology at Stanford University. By the late 1920's, he moved back to California without an academic degree. Steinbeck had never planned to work in the field of his major. He had always known he would be a writer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1929, now living in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Steinbeck was given an advance from a publisher to write a book. The publisher gave him $250. This book, called Cup Of Gold, failed to make a profit. Steinbeck did not get discouraged. By 1935, he released a novel called Tortilla Flat. This ...