Sample Dissertations

Ethical Decision Making In Business

Ethical Decision Making In Business – The daily running of a business entails various ethical issues and considerations. Every business organization must understand different business ethics and ethical approaches to make rational decisions in diverse situations. This paper explores business ethics and values by considering three scenarios where ethical dilemmas exist, with the situations calling for ethical decision making.

In the first instance, the manager is forced to fire 500 employees to save the business, which employs over 100,000 people, from bankruptcy. The manager employs the five ethical approaches, which include utilitarian, rights, common good, fairness and justice, and virtue approach. In the NHS case study, the institute must decide whether to approve beta interferon drug based on its proved clinical efficacy only or to consider its cost effectiveness since the drug costs up to £10,000 per patient per year.

Finally, BDL Company has a policy of not hiring people over 50 years old as it considers young people to be more productive since ageing is known to diminish a person’s cognitive functioning, especially in speed. However, this policy is challenge by the provisions of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits employers from practicing age-related discrimination. The three scenarios exhibit challenging ethical dilemmas that require a careful application of ethical approaches and theories.

Ethical Decision Making Considerations and Values

There are various ethical considerations and values that impact the daily running of a business. As a result, it is important for organizations to understand different business ethics and ethical approaches to make rational decisions in diverse situations.

For instance, the manager in the first case below is required to fire 500 employees to save the business that employs over 100,000 people from bankruptcy. In the process, the management has to consider such issues as acting for the common good, which means firing the few to save the majority while still observing their rights to truth, justice, and fairness.

In the NHS case study, the body must decide whether to approve beta interferon drug based on its proved clinical efficacy only or to consider its cost effectiveness since the drug costs up to £10,000 per patient per year. Finally, BDL Company does not hire people over 50 years old since ageing has been shown to significantly reduce performance in cognitive tasks. However, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits employers from practicing age-related discrimination, which makes the firm appear to be acting against the law.

Firing Some Employees to Save Company from Bankruptcy

The manager’s actions can be explained using the five approaches to ethical decision making, which are utilitarian, rights, fairness and justice, common good, and virtue approaches. To begin with, the utilitarian approach requires that an ethical action should be the one that promotes the greatest good and least harm to the affected parties (Velasquez et al.).

In the scenario under analysis, firing the 500 employees to save the company can be seen as ethical since the collapse of the firm would harm over 100,000 employees, the business owners, the suppliers, and other stakeholders.

Additionally, the manager applies the rights approach in dealing with the fired workers. The approach states that people have the right to truth, privacy, not to be harmed, and self determination among others (Velasquez et al.). By informing them on time and writing them recommendation letters, the manager ensures that the rights of the employees are respected.

The fairness and justice approach might be challenging to determine in this situation since the criteria used to decide the employees to fire is not explained, thus making it hard to determine whether discrimination or favoritism are used. However, the common good approach is evident since retrenching the 500 helps save the firm and the many people depending on its survival.

The principle dictates that ethical actions are those that promote the welfare of everyone, and the manager not only safeguard the interests of the organization but also of the fired employees (Velasquez et al.).

Finally, the manager applies the virtue approach in his dealing with the retrenched staff. Virtue model demands that one acts according to certain ideals, such as compassion, love, honesty, fairness, and integrity among others (Velasquez et al.). The manager not only explains apologetically the reasons for the firing, but he also writes recommendation letters to the affected workers to assist them in finding new jobs.

These approaches have contributed differently to the organization’s overall benefits. For instance, the utilitarian approach has a considerably high impact on the firm’s survival since it directly supports the downsizing of the labor force. Secondly, the common good approach considers the actions that most benefit the larger community and, thus, supports the firing of some to save the majority from negative effects of a collapsed firm.

Moreover, the rights approach benefits both the organization and the dismissed employees. Whereas the workers have the right as humans to be treated as ends and not means, the company also retains its right as an entity to either hire or fire depending on prevailing situations. However, fairness and justice approach seems to be more beneficial to the employees; if the company acted fairly in choosing the workers to discharge, the main effects would be on the employees by shielding them from unfair dismissal.

Similarly, virtue approach seems to be applied by the manager to safeguard the interests of the employees more than those of the company. Nevertheless, even the approaches that seem to benefit the workers more than the firm are still significant for the organization, By making the former feel contented with the decision, the company avoids negative outcomes such as lawsuits.

Clinical and Cost Effectiveness in New Drug Approval

In reference to the case study, the NHS approval of a new drug should be based on both its clinical and cost effectiveness. For instance, whereas the new multiple sclerosis drug – beta interferon – has demonstrated effectiveness in alleviating the effects of the disease, it is significantly costly at £10,000 per person per year (Fisher and Lovell 64).

Cohen and Reynolds define cost effectiveness as the value of a new medication in regard to the increased health benefits it brings in comparison to the increase in cost (2119). The purpose of cost effective analysis is to promote rational decision making for both the clinicians and policymakers. Without this practice, any new drug that proves to be effective in causing the intended outcome would be approved even if its cost were far too high when balanced against the supposed benefits.

Therefore, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is right in prioritizing cost effectiveness and the creation of an economic model that will enable the relevant parties to understand the costs and benefits of the medication (Fisher and Lovell 64). Although the need to have the treatment is so crucial for the MS patients, it is equally important for the relevant agencies to make the analysis to understand fully how much the drug will benefit them clinically and the costs involved.

The cost effectiveness criterion for approving the new drug focuses on consequentialism approach to ethical decision making. Consequentialist or teleological ethics are based on the assumption that the consequences of an action determine whether it is good or bad (Fisher and Lovell 124). Therefore, decisions that lead to good outcomes are to be considered ethical.

In the case study, approving the new drug for free availability on the NHS without considering its cost effectiveness would have some considerable consequences. If the drug’s high cost is not proportional to the benefits to the patients, the users would run the risk of paying so heavily for less significant clinical benefits. The chief executive of NICE emphasizes the critical importance of evidence-based guidance in regard to the medicine’s cost effectiveness and considers delay in approving it to be in the best interest of MS patients (Fisher and Lovell 65).

In doing so, the institute appears to be considering the consequences of the final decision to the patients of MS who must bear the high costs of the new drug. Therefore, the use of cost effectiveness as a criterion by the NHS for the approval of new drugs is based on the consequentialist approach.

The delay by the NHS to give its final decision concerning the approval of beta interferon demonstrates an issue of ethical decision making. The ethical issue arises from the consideration that the drug has been shown to be effective in controlling the symptoms of MS, but it is also so costly, thus raising the question of cost effectiveness (Fisher and Lovell 64).

The institute must determine the best cause of action given that the patients have the right to access the medicine, while the organization is mandated with the responsibility of ensuring the users get the best deal when benefits are weighted against costs. In fact, the appraisal committee had initially indicated that the drug would require a considerable reduction in price to attain cost effectiveness (Fisher and Lovell 65).

Since the institute promised to make transparent the process of creating its economic model with the results being made public for scrutiny and comment from the interested parties, it could be assumed to be acting with the best interest to the patients under consideration. Therefore, the delay by the NHS in giving a final verdict is based on the need to make the most ethical decision.

Excluding Those above 50 Years Old from Employment

BDL’s policy of excluding those above 50 years old from employment may be taken to be discriminative. In fact, the U.S. has the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) that was signed into law in 1967 and prohibits employers from showing favoritism on the basis of age (Neumark 1).

Whereas the act had initially set the limit at 65 years, thereby prohibiting age-related discrimination for people between 40 and 65 years of age, the limit was eventually removed (Neumark 1). Therefore, in the U.S., no employer is supposed to base their decision concerning a job applicant on the basis of their actual or assumed age since mandatory employment was eliminated for all ages.

***Ethical Decision Making In Business MBA***

In the UK, the majority of citizens also view age-related decisions by employers as discrimination, with the concept of ageism emerging as a common term (Loretto et al. 281- 282). Most employees and job seekers view ageism as equal to any other form of favoritism and express their desire to have legislative protection introduced in the law to curb the practice among employers.

Although the concept of age discrimination took long to enter scientific and popular discourse in the UK, increased lobbying could make it to be cemented in law, thus prohibiting employers from practicing ageism in their workplaces. In the 1990s, Britain experienced rising concerns over age discrimination due to an increase in early exit from the labor market for older workers (Lorettto 280). Nevertheless, the UK showed considerable reluctance in formulating laws to protect workers and potential employees from ageism.

However, BDL Company may defend their policy using the rights approach. As an entity, the firm has a right to decide how it runs its business, including hiring and firing. Although this approach appears to be focused on individual’s rights to self-determination and respect for their choices, the owners of BDL may consider themselves as individuals constituting a single entity that has the right to determine who is fit to work for them in line with their mission, vision, and objectives (Velasquez et al.).

Moreover, the firm could argue that their policy is for the good of the business since past studies have established that age affects various cognitive functions, especially speed processing. According to Murman, normal aging leads to significant reduction in performance on various cognitive tasks that require a person to process and transform information quickly (111). These functions include working memory and process speed among others. Since BDL is a shoe making company, most workers must be involved in tasks requiring considering cognitive functioning, which older people might lack.

Eckert et al. affirm the effects of age on cognition, with their findings on brain changes indicating that “a frontal pattern of gray matter and white matter variation were uniquely related to age-related declines in processing speed…” (1). Therefore, it is evident that people above 50 years may not be as productive as young adults, which might explain BDL’s decision not to hire them.

Conclusion

To sum up, there are various ethical considerations and values that impact the daily running of a business. An entity must be conversant with various business ethics and ethical approaches to deal with various situations and make rational decisions. For instance, in the case of the company that needs to fire 500 employees to save the business from bankruptcy, the management has to consider such issues as acting for the common good, which means firing the few to save the majority while still observing their rights to truth, justice, and fairness.

Similarly, ethical issues arise where NHS must decide whether to approval beta interferon based on its proved clinical efficacy only or to consider its cost effectiveness as well. In the end, the institute considers the lack of cost effectiveness as a major factor.

Finally, BDL Company has to contend with the issue of hiring people over 50 years old, considering that ADEA prohibits employers from practicing age-related discrimination, while science has established that ageing reduces performance in cognitive functions significantly. Although the firm’s policy may be seen as discriminatory, it has the right to run its operations to its best interests.

Works Cited

Cohen, David J, and Matthew R. Reynolds. “Interpreting the Results of Cost-Effectiveness Studies.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 52, no. 25, 2008, pp. 2119-26.

Eckert, Mark A., et al. ‘Age-Related Changes in Processing Speed: Unique Contributions of Cerebellar and Prefrontal Cortex.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 4, Art. 10, 2010, pp. 1-14.

Fisher, Colin, and Alan Lovell. Business Ethics and Values: Individual, Corporate and International Perspectives. 2nd ed., Pearson Education Limited, 2006.

Loretto, Wendy, et al. “Ageism and Employment: Controversies, Ambiguities and Younger People’s Perceptions.” Ageing and Society, vol. 20, 2000, pp. 279-302.

Murman, Daniel L. “The Impact of Age on Cognition.” Seminars in Hearing, vol. 36, no. 3, 2015, pp. 111-21.

Neumark, David. “The Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Challenge of Population Aging.” NBER Working Paper Series 14317, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2008.

Velasquez, Manuel, et al. “Thinking Ethically.” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

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Statistics Project – Comparing Two Populations

Statistics Project – One of the most powerful platforms in existence today is social media. The use of social media is one of the primary things that distract us as human beings, and it may have a greater influence on our thoughts and the way we go about our lives daily than we realize.

By determining the average number of hours per day that males and females spend using social media, this study aims to assess the extent to which social media impacts men and women. The number of hours people spend on social media is broken out for you in this research.

You can tell from the responses that people gave how many spend more than ten hours daily on social media. To test the hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the mean values of time spent on social media by men and women, online surveys and questions were posed to several colleagues in our college who are active on social media.

After categorizing respondents according to whether they were male or female, we next asked them a series of questions based on the average number of hours per day that they spent using various forms of social media platforms.

The data was also obtained by interviewing our colleagues in college after class. A two-sample t-test was used to examine the results of the responses. c since the p-value is less than the Alpha value.

This indicates that the null hypothesis is false and that women spend more time on social media than men do on average throughout the day. Based on this, we do not accept the null hypothesis, and there is adequate evidence to attest that this is the case.

The Question

How many hours in a day do male and female people spend on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Is it true that women spend more time than men do on social media?

The data that was collected by sampling 40 men and 40 women says that the mean average of hours spent by males is μ= 7.125.

The significance level used is 0.05 (Alpha value)

Sampling

The sample deployed is convenience sampling because the data I obtained came from my colleagues in college. In other words, the sample comprises people who are easily accessible to the researcher. I could only collect some of the data I needed from school, so I decided to post the questionnaires online for my social media friends to fill the gaps.

I questioned a total of forty males and forty females, which gives me a sample size (n) of forty for both of the populations I was interested in. “How many hours a day would you say that you spend on social media?” was the question I posed to my friends on various social media platforms.

After I had collected some of my data, I started to inquire further by asking, “Which social networking app would you say you use the most?” This is a question I wanted to ask since I believed it would make the meaning more interesting. It would be more intriguing.

Surprisingly, the majority of the people surveyed, both male and female, claimed that Whatsapp is where they spend most of their time online. Except for the remaining subjects that I questioned my colleagues in school because they were a bit older, half of them said Instagram and Whatsapp and the other half couldn’t give an exact answer because they said that they spend the same amount of time on all of the social media that they have.

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Significance Test

H0: μ1 = μ2

H1: μ1 > μ2

μ1 is the mean number of hours men spend a day on social media

μ2 is the mean number of hours women spend on social media

Hypothesis 1: The study’s hypothesis is the difference in hours taken by men and women on social media platforms.

Ho denotes the null hypothesis

The letter H1 denotes the alternative hypothesis.

Ho: There is no difference between the mean values of males and females.

H1: There is a difference between the mean values of males and females.

Hypothesis 2: The difference between the hours spent on social media by men and women

Ho: Females spend fewer hours on social media than men.

H1: Females spend three more hours on social media than men.

Hypothesis Assumptions

If the alternative hypothesis, H1, is correct, we can deduce that women spend more of their waking hours on social media than males. Assuming that the alternative hypothesis is correct, we may deduce from the data that the mean and average values are extremely different.

P – Value

A statistical test will produce a p-value, a probability that informs you how likely it is that you found a particular data set, given that the null hypothesis is correct. This probability is determined by the test results (Pagano et al., 2022).

The P value for the study is 0.00837, which is less than the alpha value (0.05); therefore, we reject the null hypothesis. We conclude that the alternative hypothesis is correct.

Significance Test Conclusion

Because the P-value is lower than the significance level, we have concluded that the null hypothesis should be rejected. We conclude that there is a significant level even though we reject the hypothesis known as the null hypothesis, which states that there is no difference between the means.

Sampling Method Strengths

The sampling method used in this case was an effective one. By combining convenience sampling and online surveys, I could reach a large sample size of 80 people, both male and female. This allowed for the results to be more reliable and valid.

Moreover, by asking specific questions regarding the use of social media, I was able to obtain more detailed data and draw more meaningful conclusions. Overall, this sampling method provided the necessary data to analyze and draw conclusions.

Weaknesses

The sampling method used in this case also had some weaknesses. The main weaknesses of this method are the lack of randomization and the lack of representative sampling. It could not access a representative sample of the population by relying mainly on convenience sampling and online surveys.

Furthermore, the lack of randomization meant that it could not be certain that the sample accurately represented the whole population. Additionally, it could not obtain data from certain groups, such as the elderly, which could have provided additional insight into the use of social media. Therefore, the sample used in this case needed to be more representative.

What Could Be Done Differently?

If I were to do the study again, I could use a more comprehensive sampling method. Instead of relying mainly on convenience sampling and online surveys, I could use a combination of different sampling methods, such as stratified sampling and random sampling.

This would allow us to obtain a more representative sample of the population and ensure that the sample accurately represents the whole population. Additionally, I could use a larger sample size to increase the reliability and validity of the results. Furthermore, I could use a different set of questions or survey methods to gain a deeper understanding of the use of social media.

Overall, a more comprehensive sampling method would allow me to obtain more accurate and detailed data, ultimately leading to more meaningful conclusions.

Extraneous Variables, Which Became an Issue

One extraneous variable I had yet to anticipate was the age of the subjects. As I relied mainly on convenience sampling and online surveys, I needed help accessing a representative sample of the whole population. This is because certain age groups, such as the elderly, were not included in the sample due to the lack of access.

Additionally, certain age groups may use social media differently from other groups, which could lead to inaccurate results. Furthermore, the lack of randomization meant that certain age groups may have been over- or under-represented in the sample, which could have impacted the results.

How To Resolve

If I were to do the project over, I would use a combination of different sampling methods to obtain a more representative sample of the population. Specifically, I would use a combination of stratified and random sampling to ensure that the sample accurately represents the whole population.

Additionally, I would use a larger sample size to increase the reliability and validity of the results. Furthermore, I would also use a different set of questions or survey methods to obtain a deeper understanding of the use of social media. Overall, using a more comprehensive sampling method would obtain more accurate and detailed data, ultimately leading to more meaningful conclusions.

Extrapolation

I am comfortable extrapolating my results to the population of young adults aged 18-25 years old. This is because this was the age group that was mostly represented in my sample. Additionally, this age group is most likely to be the main social media users, as they are more likely to be tech-savvy and use social media more frequently than other age groups.

Moreover, this age group is also the most likely to be impacted by the use of social media, as they are in the process of establishing their identities and are more likely to be influenced by the content they see online. Therefore, I am comfortable extrapolating my results to this population.

Conclusion

This study found that males and females use social media differently. Women spend more time on social media than males, the research found. This means women are more influenced by social media and internet information. The study emphasized employing a broad sampling approach to get accurate results.

By combining sampling methods, a more representative population sample can be obtained, leading to more valid results. This study sheds light on social media use and its impact on individuals.

This study reveals gender variations in social media use. It shows the need for a comprehensive sampling approach and that males and females use social media differently. This study’s conclusions can be utilized better to understand social media’s effects on individuals and target messages and content to different groups.

References

Pagano, M., Gauvreau, K., & Mattie, H. (2022). Principles of bio-statistics. CRC Press.

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Resource Management in Projects

Resource Management in Projects MBA – Resources include all the necessities that are utilized in the execution of a project. They include from equipment, place, people, and money among other resources. A wide range of resources must be assigned to each project management activity for it to be actualized.

Before assigning resources to any project, it is crucial to ensure that they are available. Resource availability ranges from information associated with which resources are required for during project execution, to when and how they are available.

However, due to various reasons such as occurrence of unplanned risks, resources often fall short, which tends to considerably delay the delivery of the project (Sepasgozar, Razkenari & Barati, 2015). As a result, project managers find themselves under pressure to deliver their project as planned.

Although resources are constrained, one’s ability to control and manage them to successfully address the project’s needs is not; therefore, it is essential to integrate various interventions to address or minimize avoidable causes of resource shortage in project management when planning and scheduling project execution.

Causes of Lack of Adequate Project Resources

One of the main steps that is considered after noticing that the assigned resources are not adequate for project execution is identifying the context. Resources can range from personnel to material and the condition that resulted in the stretch of the resources to a breaking point. Several reasons are behind resource shortages including new technology, unforeseen events, poor planning and emergence of high-priority projects.

Resource Management in Projects and New Technology

In recent times, technology has become a backbone of many sectors and organizational aspects including project management. Due to the ever-changing technological trends, a mismatch in technology that was planned to be used and the technology that is eventually used in project execution can have far-reaching consequences in the execution budget (Sepasgozar, Razkenari & Barati, 2015).

The case is so because the project manager can be working on software programs that are advanced than they can support or there is lack of adequate skills to work on that technology. As a result, it creates a personnel shortage.

For example, big data has been one of the most influential technologies in most industries, with companies taking advantage of the numerous data available to them in various formats to assess and predict the future consumer behaviors and marketing decisions.

However, the integration of big data as a project will require a team that is competent in developing, analyzing and using the architecture and an organization that has integrated the necessary architecture. Therefore, lack of such skills or the necessary infrastructure means that the project will be significantly delayed due to lack of adequate resources.

Unforeseen Events

In project planning, the team prepares a risk assessment and analysis plan that helps in identifying and establishing a mitigation plan for potential uncertainties. However, there are various risks that cannot be planned for such as people getting sick, taking unplanned off, death or even other non-human factors that can suddenly impair the supply of resources (Kerzner, 2019).

These unplanned risks cause resource shortages either directly or indirectly. For instance, a chief project engineer can fall ill in the middle of the project, which makes his services unavailable and the project team may lack his or her expertise to execute the project as planned, thus causing a sudden personnel shortage because hiring another engineer may also be a difficult task due to their numbers in the labor market.

Therefore, such an incident causes a direct impact on the resource supply. In an indirect case, the occurrence of floods in an area where building materials were being sourced can trigger supply shortages because the construction material may be temporarily unavailable until when the floods are over or an alternative source is found. That being the case, it can significantly delay the completion of a project as planned.

Poor Planning and Resource Management in Projects

One of the most essential tools that are utilized in project implementation is the plan. The plan entails all the steps and resources that will be required during the implementation phase. Planning involves estimation of resources and task lists that will be utilized and is often used to calculate cost estimates.

When planning is done poorly, it results in wrong estimations, which further leads to resource constraints. (Kim, Chang & Castro-Lacouture, 2020) For instance, if the plan estimates a budget of about $1 million to implement a certain project like constructing a camp, then the actual budget after sourcing the raw materials is $900,000 then it means that the financial resources were poorly planned for since they will not be enough to complete the project unless it is extended.

Emergence of Higher Priority Projects

Organizations often run multiple projects at a time, with each having its own priority levels. When one projects with a higher priority is launched, more attention and resources are allocated to that particular project to ensure that it is completed within the estimated time frame.

As a result, some of the resources may be pulled from one project to another, thus limiting or the available resources. As a result, resource shortage is triggered, which ends up extending the project implementation time.

Addressing Resource Shortage in Project Management

Since shortage of resources is bound to occur at any time of project implementation, it is important for project manager to be aware of what steps or processes that he or she should take to enhance resource management in projects.

One of the key steps to take after encountering resource shortage is identifying the situation behind it and its implications on the project (Kerzner, 2019). By doing so it helps the project manager to determine why it occurred and figure out its impact on the overall project implementation.

Without such knowledge, a project manager cannot resolve the resource shortage challenge since they are not in a position to identify the root cause of the problem.

The second step is leveraging the change regulation board. While resource shortage is an issue that is perceived as a problem that a project manager alone can address, it is not. Involving the change regulation board can be helpful as they can help by providing multiple options available to resolve the issue.

Their recommendations can result in optimization adoption of an option that optimizes resource usage. Besides, if the options available cannot address the demand for additional resources, then they can opt to allocate them and allow the project manager to re-baseline his or her project.

Recommendations to Address the Resource Shortage Problem

There are various strategies that one can adopt to address minimize resource problem. Some of them include monitoring the resources and creating a well-analyzed resource plan.

Monitoring Resources Being Used in the Project

One of the most recommendable strategies to managing resources is monitoring them throughout the entire project. With the advanced technology, there are various approaches that can be used to track resources such as the use of tracking software.

These software programs are embedded with several functionalities such as tracking resource availability, managing workload allocation, viewing project schedules, and monitoring resource productivity. That being the case, one can effectively track project resources in real-time, thus pushing everyone working in the as accountable as possible while minimizing wastage.

Creating a Well-Analyzed Resource Plan

Developing a thoroughly analyzed resource plan enables one to capture all the necessary details and resources required in project implementation. To begin with one can, create a thoroughly evaluated list of the resources needed, the quantity of each resource, and scheduling them to meet the desired deadline (Mavi & Standing, 2018).

Adhering to that list is defined as the schedule since one is required to figure out the duration of each resource and it effect on the schedule. There are various strategies in which the resource plan can be optimized to ensure that it does not vary significantly with the actual resources used.

One of the options is seeking for expert judgement, whereby an expert who has previously done similar projects is consulted. Consulting such personnel can help in developing a realistic resource plan since they have an actual experience about the project (Watt, 2014).

Secondly, project managers should conduct an alternative analysis because it ensures that only the optimal option is selected, which will less likely cause resource constraints. The third strategy that can be adopted to enhance the resource plan’s efficiency is by researching on published speculated data. Project managers should research on books, periodicals, journals, and articles about similar projects as it may help in getting crucial data about similar projects.

Conducting a bottom-up estimation can be an effective approach to integrating an effective resource plan. The case is so because it enables complex activities that are difficult to plan for to broken down and simplified into several manageable pieces.

Resources are then assigned on each piece and then combined together to get the entire estimated resource project plan. Lastly, incorporating a reserve analysis can be a beneficial strategy to addressing deadline pressure caused by any factor outlined. The case is so because project managers add an additional time to the planned schedule, which helps them account for any extra risk that may occur along the way.

Conclusion

There are various causes of lack of adequate resource including but not limited to poor planning, new technology, unforeseen events, and emergence of high-priority projects. These factors limit resource availability in various ways discussed therein.

When a resource shortage is identified, there are two steps that the project manager should consider in order to excellently address the issue. One of them is identifying the situations that triggered the shortage and assessing its impact.

Secondly, they should consider involving the control board as they can help with ideas that when deployed can address the issue. Lastly, the recommended solutions to the resource problem include developing an informed resource plan and monitoring those resources as the project is being implemented. With these tips, a project manager can execute his or her project while addressing the resource problem issue, thus driving project success.

Keywords: Strategic Planning, Risk Management, Stakeholder Collaboration, Scrum and Agile Methodologies, Change Management, Data Analysis, Project Lifecycle, Process Improvement, Workflow Optimization, Training & Mentoring, Strategic Planning, Risk Management, Stakeholder Collaboration

References

Kerzner, H. (2015). Project management 2.0: leveraging tools, distributed collaboration, and metrics for project success. John Wiley & Sons.

Kerzner, H. (2019). Using the project management maturity model: strategic planning for project management. John Wiley & Sons.

Kim, S., Chang, S., & Castro-Lacouture, D. (2020). Dynamic modeling for analyzing impacts of skilled labor shortage on construction project management. Journal of Management in Engineering, 36(1), 04019035.

Mavi, R. K., & Standing, C. (2018). Critical success factors of sustainable project management in construction: A fuzzy DEMATEL-ANP approach. Journal of cleaner production, 194, 751-765.

Sepasgozar, S. M., Razkenari, M. A., & Barati, K. (2015). The importance of new technology for delay mitigation in construction projects. American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 3(1), 15-20.

Watt, A. (2014, August 14). 11. Resource Planning – Project Management. Pressbooks.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on College Students

The Impact of COVID-19 on College Students – Understanding the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in a global society is critical as it founds preparation for potential health crises. The pandemic resulted in a critical death rate internationally, which has had detrimental effects on relatives’ psychological well-being (Coughenour et al., 2020).

Second, with the infection rates requiring expensive treatment facilities and resources, destabilization of the global public health sector was apparent. Furthermore, the pandemic altered nations’ economies by distorting employment, ultimately inducing people to low living standards, resulting in trauma and depression (World Health Organization, 2021). Such impacts are practical and evident in society at large, including college students.

Researchers have documented the social, economic, and psychological implications of COVID-19 in society. According to Chriscaden (2020), the pandemic increased poverty rates, raising the number of undernourished people by 132 million individuals.

Such statistics imply that the population suffering poverty-induced mental instability significantly increased with the pandemic. With over 1.8 million deaths globally by the end of 2020 for only countries that can quantify the cases effectively, the social and psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are inarguable (World Health Organization, 2021).

Overall, whether social, economic, or mental implications of the pandemic, the apparent harmful implications in the global community, at all ages, races, ethnic groups, and other social classes.

Specifically, college students should understand how the pandemic affected their social, economic, and psychological welfare to relate effectively and understand how their situations matched the practical health crisis implications. Such research offers the fundamental data and information to spur awareness and attention on the need to focus on college students when health crises occur.

According to World Health Organization (2021), the impacts of the pandemic on the global education system have had a deleterious implication on learners. Therefore, as nations focus on restoring the vulnerable population’s well-being, college students should not be excluded.

College students significantly suffered the pinche of the COVID-19 pandemic considering the social, economic, and political elements surrounding the health crisis. When the World Health Organization (WHO) pronounced the pandemic as a global health crisis, national governments had to take stringent measures to curb the infection spread, including barring physical and interactive classes in colleges.

Such a move distorted the higher learning bussing culture and proximity, inducing learners to critical psychological challenges. College students who were on internships lost their livelihoods, predisposing them to hard financial situations.

The death of relatives and friends due to the critical nature of the COVID-19 infections also pushed college students to hard life situations characterized by psychological and mental instability.

Therefore, although society might not focus on the college students significantly, they form a key group of individuals who suffered the pinches of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Literature Review

Researchers have exploratively studied the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students. With the practical effects of the pandemic on human health, including the substantial death rate, and the stay-at-home order in the United States (US), scholars have concluded significant implications in different research journals. Coughenour et al. (2020) and Lee et al. (2021) are among the key researchers exploring the pandemic’s implications on US college students.

Coughenour et al. (2020) explore the correlation between the stay-at-home order, learners’ involvement in physical activity at home, and psychological welfare. Their findings highlight that the pandemic had substantive negative effects on college students’ physical activities and psychological well-being.

Such inference implies that the indoor stay at home reduced the students’ involvement in physical exercises, which integrated with such other factors as the deaths of relatives and friends to contribute to stress and depression.

Also, the journal article concludes that non-American college students suffered more than American learners during the pandemic. Such inference implies that parents, guardians, the government, and the education fraternity should significantly focus on the students of color when health crises occur.

Impact of COVID-19 and Psychological implications

Lee et al. (2021) explores the social and psychological implications of the pandemic on US college students. The authors conclude that the pandemic significantly distorted the college students’ psychological welfare by minimizing physical interactions.

With the barn of physical classes and the indoor lifestyle, students had unreliable social interactions that augmented stress and depression. Ideally, the pandemic distorted the learners’ social life, inducing them to psychological instability. Also, the journal article highlights no significant social differences in the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such inferences oppose the common expectation that such groups like the LGBTQ+ and non-white students suffered many more challenges than the American students.

While the two research articles focus on different elements regarding the impacts of the pandemic on US college students, social versus psychological, they both posit critical alteration of mental welfare. For Coughenour et al. (2020), failure to engage substantially in physical activities during the pandemic and other social and economic conditions alter the students’ mental welfare.

***The Impact of COVID-19 on College Students***

Similarly, Lee et al. (2021) denote that the socioeconomic implications of the pandemic played a critical role in triggering depression and stress among college students. Both articles present practical arguments because inadequate engagement in physical activity, unreliable social interactions, loss of family members, and financial strains, to mention a few factors, would disrupt mental well-being.

Therefore, both articles reinforce damaging factual implications of COVID-pandemic on college students, recommending future comprehensive research to explore the subjects. However, the articles differ in defining the social variation of the pandemic implications on various social groups, including the blacks and the LGBTQ+ community.

Although Coughenour et al. (2020) infer significant differences of implications relating to sexual orientation, Lee et al. (2021) findings indicate no significant differences in any social group. Although the opposing inferences from both research works might be confusing, the differences in focus might have caused the diverse conclusions.

Notably, the often-societal discriminated groups, including the LGBTQ+ community and the blacks, might have perceived the indoor stay as an opportunity to evade stigmatization, hence evading outdoor physical engagements. Contrary, Lee et al. (2021) emphasize that the presence of strong organizations and groups supporting the minority groups provided reliable support during the pandemic, minimizing psychological breakdown among member college students. Therefore, the evident differences between the two articles are due to focus, which is normal in research studies.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the COVID-19 pandemic is a fundamental health crisis, and its implications affect every member of society, including college students. Coughenour et al. (2020) and Lee et al. (2021) prove that the epidemic had deleterious impacts on college students’ welfare.

With alteration on learners’ social, economic, and psychological welfare, destabilization of individuals’ welfare was apparent. Such a fact requires the education sector and the global public health system to prepare adequately for future health crises and consider college students’ mental well-being as a key aspect. Researchers are also stakeholders as they will help offer objective findings, which are vital in initiating evidence-based strategies.

Further research should encompass the potential sustainable solutions to safeguard college students’ mental well-being during such health crises. Notably, after learning the practical existence of a social problem, the next step must be seeking a solution. The key lesson from the available research is that the community must find effective strategies to respond to future pandemics.

The need for an effectively coordinated integrative global health sector to handle future health crises in groups, including college learners, is inarguable. Therefore, besides the vital implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ psychological and mental welfare, education and community stakeholders can prepare adequately to counter future destabilization.

References

Chriscaden, K. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on people’s livelihoods, their health, and our food systems.

Coughenour, C., Gakh, M., Pharr, J. R., Bungum, T., & Jalene, S. (2020). Changes in depression and physical activity among college students on a diverse campus after a COVID-19 stay-at-home order.

Lee, J., Solomon, M., Stead, T., Kwon, B., & Ganti, L. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of US college students. BMC

World Health Organization. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on global health goals.

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Understanding Performance Management

Explain formal and informal performance management evaluation in the workplace

Performance Management – A mentor’s role is to guarantee that informal evaluations are conducted regularly in the course of their work relationship and that their employees’ progress can be tracked in real-time. This form of evaluation can be accomplished through job-related conversations, a casual get-together over coffee, or an on-site inspection of a particular piece of work. Employees can benefit from less formal assessments by gaining as much information as possible without causing delays or mistakes.

This increases their chances of changing their behaviour (Aboalshamat et al., 2020). It is possible to avoid such surprises since informal feeds to employees are noted in the official assessment. Formal assessments should never take the place of informal ones, even if the latter is more convenient.

As part of a worker’s yearly performance assessment, this is commonly used for more official discussions between a manager and an employee. Maintaining a fresh annual evaluation is a priority for me as a line manager. This form of evaluation focuses on the employee’s accomplishments as well as their efforts to correct any flaws they may have.

In performance management, explain the job of the first-line manager

It is the first-line manager’s responsibility to make sure that his team accomplishes its goals. A first-line manager is responsible for providing consistent direction to the members of his staff to ensure that his team performs properly and that its members comprehend both their individual and collective goals, as well as how they contribute to the advancement of the business.

When they see their employees succeed, they may promote their feedback and help guide their development (Phillips et al., 2016). As a new employee, you may support them by saying “up to date” to help them feel more confident in their role, or you can give them input or assign them tasks to help them rise to a specific position. As a manager, I believe that performance is just as important, whether it’s a simple “thank you” or a more formal thank you.

Identifying the fundamental reason for a team member’s noncompliance with requirements is critical. Everyone who is straining to deliver resources and equipment should report to you as their first-line manager.

Identify ways to ensure fair and objective formal assessment

To determine remuneration, incentive, promotion, and transfer choices, an assessment of employee performance is necessary. As a result, it has a profound effect on staff morale and motivation (Yu et al., 2020). But when it comes to making judgments on employee transfers, salary, advancement, and recognition, supervisors must use extreme caution. Employee morale suffers when they see their efforts and contributions go unnoticed. The approaches listed below allow managers to conduct performance reviews that are both fair and objective.

Fair Progress System

It is the primary objective of doing an employee evaluation to enhance the performance of the employee and to provide assistance to them. Identifying and correcting implementation hurdles is a joint responsibility of both management and staff ( Bozer et al., 2021). If employees aren’t included in the decision-making process, it might be unreasonable to expect them to return to high levels of performance.

Fair Performance Review

For the assessors to grasp the aims of performance evaluation, the organisation must train them. They should be aware of how the performance review system operates, be able to provide constructive comments and maintain a focus on capabilities and behaviour as opposed to personalities (Yu et al., 2020). When it comes to evaluating their performance, employees should be given the freedom to do so at will.

Fair Report

Even before conducting interviews, managers may reflect on what they’ve seen of their staff in the real world (Bozer et al., 2021). Because a superficial assessment of an employee’s performance cannot provide sufficient and correct information, the management should spend more time observing and recording data to get a more complete picture.

Fair Assessment

Each employee’s job description and how their performance is being evaluated should be clearly stated in an evaluation assessment. Employees and employers benefit from open communication when this type of information is shared.

Explain how to set SMART objectives for a team member

Goals that are measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound are referred to as SMART. An organization’s key success statistics, such as earnings, or the accomplishment of a specific objective are all examples of typical metrics (Jones, 2016).

Good public health practice involves solid objectives to assess improvement in the direction of reaching goals and results. Various programmes and services are supported by awards that involve planning, executing, and achieving goals to guarantee success for future funding. Organizations strive to set meaningful goals that effectively evaluate improvement in the direction of a goal.

The aim must be explicit and not vague or nonspecific, e.g., safety
To determine whether a project is a success, you must first determine whether it can be measured, e.g., patient care
It must be possible to fulfil a goal with the money that is available, e.g., efficiency
The goal or target specified is related to the organization’s objectives and will have an impact on the business, e.g., accuracy
A date is required to compute the mission’s duration, e.g., learning and development

Explain how to set performance standards for a team member

Managers must keep tabs on and establish expectations for their workers’ performance to help them grow professionally. Both managers and team members should be involved in defining and setting performance criteria to guarantee that everyone is on the same page and ready to commit. There is a greater sense of accountability and incentive when employees have a say in determining their performance criteria.

Evaluation

It is of the utmost importance to analyse and revise the job requirements with the workforce and to discuss the kinds of objectives employees should set for themselves. The benchmark must be measurable so that managers can monitor and compare the performance of their employees over time. Comparing performance amongst employees in the same role is made easier when they are measured using metrics.

Past Data

Before setting new performance objectives, it is critical to undertake a thorough analysis of all available historical data on existing goals.

Keeping track of your progress

Make sure everyone knows what they’re expected to accomplish and how they can help the team achieve it. By the end of the month, for example, the salesman must raise sales by 15%.

Frequent Meetings and Open Debate

Regular meetings to discuss and execute new performance requirements should be held on a monthly or every six-week cycle, as appropriate. The end-of-month meeting at Milltech, for example, is used to discuss issues and areas that require development. Regular meetings allow team members to share their thoughts and suggestions for enhancing their work performance.

***Performance Management HRM Project***

Explain how to measure performance against agreed standards

Continual Examination

Many businesses choose to conduct performance evaluations regularly rather than once every few months or once a year. As a result, regular feedback aids in the early detection of issues and the implementation of corrective measures before they worsen.

Checklist

With the use of a checklist, it is simple to track employee performance and identify those employees who are under-performing and may require more support. In addition, it aids in identifying people who require further education and training to perform at a higher level.

Self-Evaluation

To get the greatest results, you should ask your staff to do a self-assessment. Employees who are held accountable for their work may be more concerned about it than the team’s leaders. With the use of this exam, team leaders may help their employees better understand how well they’re performing.

360 Feedback

Using the system, employees from all departments and levels of the organisation may provide input on their ideas, thoughts, comments, and assessments of their performance. When using 360- degree feedback, you may assess input from a wide range of sources, allowing you to see both good and negative trends as well as areas in need of improvement.

Visual Ratings

When it comes to evaluating employee performance, the typical graphical scale employs the digits 1-10. Decision-making and comprehending certain activities can be placed on a scale of one to ten.

Explain the importance of feedback to improve performance

Achieve the expected results and obtain timely feedback from your team members by clearly defining their roles and responsibilities. You’ll gain more self-confidence and feel better about your work if you conduct daily evaluations. It would be a wonderful learning experience for the team member to take advice on failures and faults so that they may reflect on whatever went down and what they can do to avoid making the same mistake again ( Yu et al., 2020).

You must communicate clearly and succinctly with anyone who isn’t meeting the basic criteria of success to be conscious of the necessity for change, and it’s also an excellent beginning point for an open debate about productivity and what the group member can do to improve performance with the support of the manager.

Describe how to give effective feedback during performance management reviews

As a manager, I prefer to use the CORBS feedback approach when I must give an employee feedback.

Make a concise and unambiguous description of the situation or actions
If you’re referring to someone else, use terms and vocabulary like “I feel,” “I believe,” or “you are” instead of “you.”
The default behaviour is to deliver the information to the case in the simplest form imaginable so that it will be remembered
In place of having things go in one direction alone, it is healthy to incorporate both negative and positive feedback
At its most fundamental, the feedback should be concentrated on the enforcement
When confronted with negative feedback in the structured framework, I turn to the BEEF model for support
How a person acts or behaves is known as their comportment
A single illustration of a problem or activity is referred to as an example
The impact is either the impact that something has on someone else or the consequence of something happening
You can have everything you desire in the future, starting right now

Identify potential areas of under-performance in the workplace

Since under-performance may be so costly and detrimental, any organisation should consider addressing the issue. Under-performance can be caused by a variety of factors, including the following:

Lack Of Space For Growth

It’s not uncommon to have employees that don’t care about their performance and are content to show in, do their thing, and go home. Others, on the other hand, are aware of the company’s potential for growth. The lack of room for advancement can have a detrimental influence on an employee’s overall performance. Consequently.

Motivation

There are several common workplace issues, such as employee dissatisfaction, that contribute to under-performance.

Inspiration

It’s impossible to expect good performance from personnel if they aren’t enthused about what they do. Having inspiring executives in the firm, for example, can lead to more motivated employees, which can have a favourable effect on productivity.

A Lack Of Praise And Acknowledgement

When employees feel valued and recognised via the use of incentives, they are more productive. They may, for example, decide to leave and seek employment with another satisfying organisation.

Inadequate Leadership and Effective Performance Management

Disengaged and disorganised managers are less expected to provide a positive work environment, which in turn has a negative influence on team performance and productivity.

Determine the root reasons for performance management shortfalls

An essential part of training is A member of staff who may not be equipped to do their tasks due to a lack of relevant experience or competence. Adding a new task or having a new employee who is unable to learn how to do this work might be to blame.

An example of an impetus is someone on the team who is qualified yet unable to do their duties. Lack of rapport with the supervisor, disinterest in routine tasks, or an unwillingness to complete them is all possible explanations (Bozer et al., 2021). A problem with capacity occurs when a person in our team is doing everything they can and knows to do to finish their task, yet it is still not enough.

This may be the result of problems at work or home, both of which hurt the individual’s performance at work. A systematic problem, such as several teams that don’t operate properly. It’s possible that sharing information or providing services can cause you some headaches.

Describe actions to restore performance management to acceptable levels

To get the results back on track, you need to identify and address the error with your teammate. You should gather evidence to support your claims of under-performance. Recommendation: Copies of previous assessments, ideas, and proposals to enhance performance have also been suggested (Crocker et al., 2016).

A meeting with your team member is necessary once the data has been collected so that you may explain your findings and present the proof you’ve gathered. Try to interact with the member of the team and listen to what they have to say because they are already familiar with the problem and have ideas about how it may be improved. It is possible to work out a plan of action with your supervisor and your team member after this initial discussion (Green et al., 2020).

Retraining on a new task, mentorship and supervision from managers, or a reduction in the workload of team members are all options. Team members who fail to follow and finish this approach, such as through disciplinary measures that might lead to their dismissal, must be fully informed of the consequences.

References

Aboalshamat, K., Al-Zaidi, D., Jawa, D., Al-Harbi, H., Alharbi, R. and Al-Otaibi, S., 2020. The effect of life coaching on psychological distress among dental students: interventional study. BMC psychology, 8(1), pp.1-8.

Arena, D., Perini, S., Taisch, M. and Kiritsis, D., 2018. The Training Data Evaluation Tool: Towards a unified ontology-based solution for industrial training evaluation. Procedia Manufacturing, 23, pp.219-224.

Bozer, G. and Jones, R.J., 2018. Understanding the factors that determine workplace coaching effectiveness: A systematic literature review. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 27(3), pp.342-361.

Bozer, G. and Jones, R.J., 2021. Introduction to the special issue on advances in the psychology of workplace coaching. Applied Psychology, 70(2), pp.411-419.

Crocker, J., Shields, K.F., Venkataramanan, V., Saywell, D. and Bartram, J., 2016. Building capacity for water, sanitation, and hygiene programming: Training evaluation theory applied to CLTS management training in Kenya. Social Science & Medicine, 166, pp.66-76.

Green, S., Grant, A.M. and Rynsaardt, J., 2020. Evidence‐based life coaching for senior high school students: Building hardiness and hope. Coaching Researched: A Coaching Psychology Reader, pp.257-268.

Jones, R., 2016. The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance management outcomes; scale development; theoretical model of individual differences and longitudinal study (Doctoral dissertation, Aston University).

Jones, R.J., Woods, S.A. and Guillaume, Y.R., 2016. The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta‐analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), pp.249-277.

Phillips, J.J. and Phillips, P.P., 2016. Handbook of training evaluation and measurement methods. Routledge.

Yu, N., Collins, C.G., Cavanagh, M., White, K. and Fairbrother, G., 2020. Positive coaching with front-line managers: enhancing their effectiveness and understanding why. Coaching Researched: A Coaching Psychology Reader, pp.269-283.

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