Do you feel that the problem was poor communication or ineffective communication

In a complex business environment, communication plays a pivotal role in building the organizational structure. It is the real essence of organization. In exchanging the ideas, implementing the reforms and thoughts poor communication or ineffective communication creates a hurdle and do exist among the individuals. Some facts related with poor or ineffective communication are defined alongwith appropriate examples.

Difference in organizational culture also creates a hurdle in a way of communicating the thoughts in an appropriate manner. Like difference in regional and international languages, change in accent etc (L. Erven, 2008). The real world example is the call centre agents, who suffer most of the time when they sold their products in the different segments and deal with different parts of the world. Because the lack of feedback is exist between the call centre agents and the customers due to the cultural customs, norms, etc.   
In our society the status symbol does exist and this problem is heading upwards in the organizational structure when the manager is on the executive post and heshe cannot transform hisher policies or the programs properly to the lower management the reason behind are the status or designation that creates a hurdle in an effective communication. Moreover, individual personal behavior is essential and an effective role in communication (L. Erven, 2008).  

If the distortion is exist between the sender and receiver due to any reason like technical jargon, social, racial, educational background, and ethnic etc background also creates a poor or ineffective communication (L. Erven, 2008).

Organizational culture and norms in which the employee is working also the prime element behind effective communication. Like ignoring the employees in a few some technical matters or issues, completely ignoring, embarrass every time when the employee is eager to share hisher ideas, inputs or thoughts etc. The factors of reluctance, refusal, etc also incorporate poor or ineffective communication (L. Erven, 2008).

Management Issues at Emirates Airlines

As the modern world keeps shrinking and no two persons are twenty four hours apart as distances have been reduced at least in terms of theory. Aviation technology too keeps on evolving and kept up with the hyper increasing competitiveness in air and travel industry to encourage more and more passengers to travel by air. In the middle of such close competition, all international airlines have been improving their performances and their image to tap more and more passengers to keep their fleet. In a survival of the fittest scenario, air transport industry has introduced a number of incentives to act as a catalyst to help the airlines and one. The idea behind the best Airlines Award which is annually exercised was thought to be improving the services of all airlines, just for the benefit and the comfort of the airline passengers. 

Emirates Airlines is of the best luxury airline in the world. With its roots in the Middle East, the area covered by Emirates in equivalent to any other international airline. Unlike many other airlines, Emirates Airlines is one of the very few airlines which barely felt the economic crisis and the airlines industry problems due to recession. This was basically due to advertising and promotion of Dubai as a tax-free travel and tourism industry where people from all around the world travel frequently.

Emirates recently has been prone to many accidents especially one in Melbourne, Australia. After the investigation, the problems identified were way too disastrous for Emirates. Fatigue was a major problem for pilots flying long distances, averaging 90 hours of flying time for every one month and reaching their maximum flying time sooner than average. While the limit of 100 flying hours in one month has been set by international flying standards, compared to Emirates 100 hours in 28 days, they usually averaged 60-70 hours. They would be working a lot harder than normal pilots. It was said all pilots were working incredibly hard as Emirates and have struggled through the global economic crisis even though all the flights schedules were completely disrupted by low traffic on the skies. It was deduced way before the accident that took place in Melbourne, that if there was going to be a fatigue-related accident by any pilot, it was going to be Emirates. This was the reason that Emirates decided to ground four other pilots as a result of fatal blunders in the past month made by pilots who complained of fatigue.

Emirates like many modern airlines ordered its pilots to take off at reduced thrust when possible to cut fuel costs, emissions and wear on the aircraft. The thrust or power settings are determined by factors such as aircraft weight, weather conditions, the surrounding terrain and runway length. According to an insider source in Emirate Airlines, airline was in a risky situation because it did not have any culture that could encourage people to say out their safety concerns which are outlined in the companys policy. The sources also mentioned that some Emirates pilots were badly fatigued, but people were afraid to speak out due to the reaction of the management.

Project Management Evolution

The evolution of project management as a key and essential component of the process of organization management has brought about a host of new issues which are all in need of consideration. Project management is very crucial to the operations of organizations because it determines the place where organizational policy and strategy is headed. Policy and strategy success is well measured by the success that results from the implementation of projects. Regardless of the specific area where a project is being undertaken  and there are many such areas  issues that come with the implementation have remained more or less similar, and often require a similar approach at analyzing them. Project management is also very critical in the determination of the social welfare of not only the organizations employees but also the people living in the vicinity where the given project is being undertaken (Gary  Larson 2008).

It is less unlikely that all projects are implemented within an organization or by an organization. Instead, certain projects have come to be undertaken by individuals, although this has become a rare occurrence. In discussing any issues of project management, then, it is usually a common practice to tie it  however remotely  to some organization and its overall management. In essence, organizational management and project management bear a very close semblance (Gary  Larson 2008). This paper discusses some of the many issues that have been seeking to be attended to as project management has been evolving. They include leading the process of project management effectively and a general overview of the practice of project management as drawn from its Body of Knowledge (BOK).

Leadership in Project Management 
Project management, just like organizational management, is greatly affected by the leadership. One of the most challenging aspects in the implementation of a given project is the role of leading or overseeing the project. The project manager is faced with some of the greatest challenges. The success or failure of the project will more often than not be determined solely by the actions of the leader or manager. This partly explains the current trend where organizations are investing heavily in project management (Longman  Mullins 2004). They understand that a good project manager is as good as a successful project, and getting one is worth the cost. Whenever projects fail to yield what was expected of them or when they are not implemented successfully, then the great losses that result are able to impact negatively on the undertakers of the project. A lot of resources, including human labor, money and time, are wasted whenever a project is not carried on to its conclusive end. Usually, a staling of a given project will result if the project manager overlooks some of the key aspects of project management (Longman  Mullins 2004).

The importance of having a good project manager also stems from the fact that such a manager points the way forward for the project, a way which all other people or participants in the project will follow The project manager is essentially the travelers compass without which there is no progress forward. Regardless of the direction that the project Manager leads the project  to success or to failure  it remains a requirement that all the other people follow hisher guidance. Reliability on the project manager is always a characteristic that every organization has to experience and learn to cope with (Longman  Mullins 2004). The project manager is like the captain of the project. Heshe holds the life of the project in hisher hands.

How to Manage Projects
Owing to the great responsibilities bestowed upon the project manager, it is very important for organizations to ensure that a good management plan is in place (Gary  Larson 2008). Finding a good project manager is not all there is about project management. Instead, it is about ensuring that the project as a whole is able to be implemented to its very end without any undue delays and unnecessary hitches. Project managers must be prepared to deliver what has been placed under their responsibility.

Qualities of a Good Project Manager
As all the other aspects of project management will depend on how well the project manager will be able to organize his work, the manager ought to exhibit certain characteristics and follow certain methodologies if the expectations of the stakeholders in the project on him are to be realized. The first attribute that a project manager ought to exhibit is an ability to be a good communicator (Longman  Mullins 2004). Communication is like the fuel that gets machines moving forward. Without a good communication link between the project manager and the people heshe is leading in the project then the project is at the risk of failure. However, good and enhanced communication among all the people involved goes a long way in improving the success chances for the project (Longman  Mullins 2004). The project manager must be able to communicate to the other people about the goals, performance, feedback, responsibilities, and the expectations. Openness on the part of the project manager is important because it is only thorough the project manager that the people will have any real link to the organization.

The project manager must have the capability to inspire a shared vision among the people (Longman  Mullins 2004). In order to do this, the leader must be able to have deep within himher a vision of where heshe expects the organization to get to upon completion of the project, and having an ability to articulate this vision. It is the visionary nature of the project manager that will get people to so much believe in him and his vision that they will feel to be an integral part of the project and consequently put into the project their all.

Heshe ought to have the capability to empower the people so that they too can experience this vision.
The project manager must be a team builder, capable of bringing together all the people involved in the project to work together in unity. He must strive to resolve any emerging conflicts and to deal with people in a very humanely manner (Longman  Mullins 2004). Conflicts are not to be viewed by the project manner as bad but as indicators that that they are moving somewhere. The project manager must have a capacity to handle emerging issue and to work under surging pressure. This is because projects will rarely be delivered as scheduled, and there are bound to be financial constraints. All these and many other factors are bound to bring about a lot of work-related pressure on the part of the project manager. However, heshe ought to be able to withstand all this if heshe expects the rest of the team to keep going and not give up. 

The project manager ought to be competent enough too. This might no necessarily mean that the leader must have great expertise and training in the given project area but that he ought to offer a leadership role that is able to have others following behind himher. Competence differs from expertise in that it can be learnt on the job while the latter is through training (Longman  Mullins 2004). Usually, a previously past record of success will be enough for a leader to be trusted by the stakeholders and to win the approval of the people (Longman  Mullins 2004). Lack of competence, on the other hand, will keep people in doubt regarding the leaders capability, and this will in one way or another cause unnecessary conflicts.

Outsourcing
As the world changes and with the change comes new ways of doing business, even project implementation is taking on a completely new shape. Globalization  the systematic integration of local and national economies and markets into one international market  is particularly noted for the way it has and continues to affect the way projects are implemented (Gary  Larson 2008). As nations and states open up their once tightly secured borders to allow foreign business operators and manpower into their territory to do business and trade without any undue restrictions, projects have become reviewed again with a view to understanding how best they can be dealt with. There is a consideration by project managers on how to increase the chances that the project will succeed, given the faith and trust that people and the organization have for himher (Kerzner  Saladis 2009).

In the considerations of how best to undertake the project are issues of the cost of implementing the project from the very start to the end. The total costs of implementing the project locally are then compared with those of outsourcing the work to other places (Kerzner  Saladis 2009). The tendency is to have the project undertaken optimally, and this has been done by comparing the costs of having an own team to do the work, or outsourcing. With the age of globalization, it is increasingly becoming cheaper for organization to outsource their project work. The outsourcing has often taken on two main approaches  outsourcing locally and offshoring (Gary  Larson 2008). The former is a case where the organization offers its projects to be undertaken locally by a different organization or consultant so that all the work needed to be done on the project is left for to the outsourced organization. This decision to outsource locally is usually taken after considering the benefits of outsourcing in relation to getting all the material and equipment needed for the project (Kerzner  Saladis 2009). This is especially true for projects that are being implemented on a very large scale and which the hosting firm might not be able to undertake because of lack of capacity.

The other alternative, outsourcing, is very common nowadays. Projects are moved across shores to other lands, usually where labor costs and the costs of other factors of production are comparatively cheaper (Kerzner  Saladis 2009). This is usually a decision that is hard to make, and indeed has only been made whenever the project implementers have been able to consult widely and to consider the pros and cons of doing this. Offshoring is no less important that outsourcing in fact both are critical to the entire process of project management as when approached well enough and carried effectively, they save a lot for the organization (Kerzner  Saladis 2009). Outsourcing is never in need of very strict or close supervising as offshoring.

Outsourcing often entail giving over the entire project to another separate entity to carry out, wherein all that is done is never a concern to the organization that is outsourcing the project work. Instead, the organization will only have to meet its part of the contractual agreement and then, after agreeing on a  specific time frame within which the project is to be completed, sitting back and waiting for the day the project will be finished and handed back. Sometimes, though, it is always a good practice to oversee and supervise the work on the project in order to avoid cases of poor project implementation. In offshoring, part of the management team might have to be relocated to personally oversee the work because quality is usually a major issue to consider while offshoring.

Social and Cultural Aspects of Project Management 
Project management can never be dissociated from sociocultural matters. The correlation between project management and cultural and sociological matters stems from the fact that most of the projects undertaken by organizations are either carried out within the communities or for the benefit of the community. In certain instances, a project is undertaken for the community and by the community. That notwithstanding, communities are always affected by any projects (Gary  Larson 2008). Therefore, it is critically important that sociological and cultural considerations are made before any project is implemented (Bucero 2002). Since the aim of the project is to benefit the people, whether those in the community or those within an organization, there is a need for project management programs to recognize these sociocultural aspects and address them appropriately.

Human Resources Management 
One of the most critical aspects in the implementation of projects is the management of the people resources of the organization, and especially those who are involved in the undertaking of the project. People are usually the main elements in any projects, and they need to be managed well if all is to go well with the project. Human resources management as part of project management is important because people are the most valuable assets of any organization. It is the people in an organization who will spell the doom or success of a project. People are usually inclined to react negatively or indifferently to change in the organization, and yet projects are typical change agents. It is therefore very important to have a way to deal with people (Andrew 2007).

Finally, people are responsible for direct participation in the project processes from start to finish. As such, they ought to be managed well so that they will in turn be in a position to do their tasks well enough (Gary  Larson 2008). Management of workers involved in a project is no less different from what is done in organizations. It essential involves ensuring that the people are given the kind of treatment that makes them feel that they indeed are important and are part of the organization and the project. Employees also need to be rewarded for their work in the project by either offering them with gifts or incentives like promotions or pay rises (Cowie 2003). It is only when employees work under tolerable and conducive conditions that they will have increased productivity.

Project Sponsorship
As project management has been evolving over time, another issue that has emerged is project sponsorship. This is usually the deliberate making of a decision by individuals or other organizations to offer one or more kinds of assistance to the project. Every project needs the support from people who might be well-wishers or owners of the project. Sponsors usually seek to promote a project so that its eventual success will be associated with their names. In the current world, every other project has a sponsor (David 2008). Although a relatively new issue, project sponsorship is a very important aspect in project management.

First of all, projects are usually in dire need of being cushioned from the risk of failure which comes mostly from mismanagement of or inadequate funding. Sponsors help mitigate this risk by offering the project financial as well as logistical support. Project sponsorship must be, however, sanctioned by the project managers and stakeholders in order to guard against misrepresentation, and the risk of the project being portrayed in the negative light (Gary  Larson 2008). For effective project sponsorship to be realized there is also a need of ensuring that the need that is there for change is well communicated to both the team that is involved and to the entire society that will be affected in different ways by the project. The sponsor selected must also be able to understand the business needs of the project (Kerzner 2009).

The project Office
The project office is also an emerging issue in project management that needs to be given a lot of attention. A project office is the unit that is established to basically offer the necessary support to the project managers and the project itself, and to ensure that there is improvement in the way everything is conducted from the start to the end of the project (Gary  Larson 2008). The project office is very important in project management because apart from ensuring the proper coordination and flow of every process being implemented under the project, it also serves as the means through which the management and support of the activities linked to the project are implemented (Meredith  Mantel 2010). Project offices are also links between the organizations senior management and the manager in charge of the specific project. Such offices also aid the movement forward of the organization in the area of project management so that it becomes matured in it. It ensures that in the future, all matters regarding the management of projects are handled with the highest level of expertise.

As very important components of project management, project offices are required to do all that is possible to remain relevant if they have to keep delivering what is expected of them. They must be in a position to seek for the right information on their own if this relevancy is to be attained and sustained. Project offices must also be capable of varying project measurements systems so as to be effective. Project offices can also consider having a system of rewarding people or giving them incentives. The usual culture of the organization will have to be changed in order to accommodate the changes to the project office.

Governing Project Management
This is essentially the provision of the relevant and necessary structures through which the objectives, policies, and other organizational matters are communicated. Governing is very important in project management because it is critical in helping organizations and their project managers to avoid some of the commonest pitfalls in project implementation. Such pitfalls include a failure to have clear ties with the relevant and most important strategies, the inability to have a proper engagement with the most senior managers, the failure to understand the industry and especially the roles played individuals in the managerial and other senior levels, and the lack of a proper forum and avenue to engage stakeholders in discussing matters critical to the organization (Pinto 2007). Governance of management is usually made effective by the ensuring that there is an application of governance principles that are intelligent as well as the seeking to have a delegation of responsibility and duty that is proportionate combined with the close monitoring of control systems within the organization.

Ethics in Project Management 
The management of projects will never be successful unless the ethical aspects of the project are carefully examined and dealt with or addressed conclusively. Ethics in project management entails the ensuring that there is a systematic approach in having the moral values and priorities, tastes and aspirations of all people addressed and respected (Gary  Larson 2008). Different people subscribe to different moral and ethical values but certain ethics, like those required in an organization, are universal. The process of project management must seek to uphold those ethical and moral values that are deemed appropriate in the process (Kerzner 2006).

Ethics are important in project management because they save organizations and project implementers lots of money that would have otherwise been lost through legal challenges and other lawsuits that are sure to come up whenever during the implementation of a project there is a deliberate disregard of the ethical aspects of the project. That aside, other probable costs that can result from acting unethically include loss of the repute of the organization undertaking the project, the development of feelings of dislike between the project implementers and those treated unethically, and the loss of mutual trust between the two.  There have been laid-down procedures on how to go about ensuring that there are good ethical practices during the undertaking of projects by organizations (Gary  Larson 2008).

First, people ought to be provided with the information they require in order to help them play a more significant role in the process of making decisions on the ethical matters relevant to project implementation (Gary  Larson 2008). The people must also be helped to understand the value of ethical behavior and practices, and to appreciate the value of its application. Another methodology that can help enforce ethical practices in organizations is to use employees as a kind of warning system who can raise the alarm whenever there are incidences of organizational show or display of unethical practices. Finally, peoples ability to become sensitive to moral and ethical matters ought to be increased so that all are aware of whatever behaviors are tantamount to acting unethically or immorally (Weiss 2006).

Project management has been evolving and with the evolution have emerged matters that are in need of being addressed. Some of them are discussed in this paper, including people, ethics, leadership, project office, project governance, project sponsorship, among others. All these and many more have great ramifications on the entire process of project management and ought to be addressed by organizations undertaking projects.

Benchmarking

The company that I have chosen to examine is Unilever. It was known as Lever Brothers earlier. It is the biggest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Company moreover, it is also crowned as one of the biggest MNCs functioning in the world. The company is operating in many countries around the world.
   
Unilever has strong brands that are trusted and used everywhere the company can be entitled as one of the most successful FMCG Company in the world. There is an estimate that around 150 million times a day, someone chooses, buys, or uses any product of the company, anywhere around the world. The company masters in the area of products that are related to Food, Personal care, and Home care. The company is also in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) that helps it to build the company and make it more successful around the world.

Mission Statement
The mission statement of the company is Vitality is at the heart of everything we do. Its in our brands, our people and our approach to business (Unilever, 2009). The mission statement of Unilever clearly shows that they take the responsibility of making peoples lives energetic, lively, and full of strength. They ensure the provision of proper nutrition, hygiene, and care in their brands that make people feel good, happier, look good, and make the most of their lives.

Products
As far as the products or goods of the company are concerned, they are in a wide range and consist of great varieties among them, and making sure that those products suit best to the customers that have different likes and preferences. The products of Unilever are classified in the table below, along with the explanation of some products.
Food BrandsPersonal Care BrandsHome Care BrandsHeartbrandSunsilkSurf ExcelSupremeClose UpRinBlue BandLuxComfortEnergileSlim-FastOmoKnorrAxeCifLiptonClearSunlightHellmanns AmoraDoveFloraPonds

Competitors  
Since this is an FMCG company, which operates in many countries around the world therefore, the needs of people cannot be fulfilled by just one company and its brands. There ought to be its competitors, and so they are. The competitors of Unilever in terms of organizations and products are mentioned in the chart below.

Competing CompaniesCompeting ProductsProcter  GamblePanteneNestleTampaxJohnson  JohnsonSafeguardReckitt BenckiserTideKraft FoodsOlayHenkelBraunMarsJohnsons lotionshampooCarefree

Position in the Market
The position Unilever in the market as compared to its competitors is quite firm and strong. There is a strong competition between Unilever and PG they fight hard to gain the major chunk of the market share. Whereas, other companies like Johnson  Johnson and Nestle are more into the health care and food products, respectively. They dont cover the huge variety of products and their variants.

Competitive Advantages 
The strategies or competitive advantages of Unilever include 1  The focus on social benefits through sustainable development, and providing better health, hygiene, and nutrition. 2  Developing new products time-by-time and ameliorating tried and tested brands by promoting them in a better way. 3  Focusing on productivity, performance, and quality. 4  Using of Cutting edge technology. 5  Innovating and renovating through strong and dynamic Research and Development.

Tomorrows Leaders

Tomorrows leaders, deals with the next generation of CEOs who, due to the changing economic circumstances, will face newer challenges which will require a different set of skills to handle. The article is based on interviews from five leading executive-in-residence, i.e. leading business practitioners who are working with different universities as instructors in order to bring the invaluable practical job experience into the classrooms.

The key change identified is the era of the specialist has come to an end. Previously companies required individuals who had specialized skills in a particular field such as marketing, finance or product development, with very little understanding of others aspects of the firm which are equally important. The new requirement is for dynamic individuals who are integrative thinker, capable of taking on new challenges. The reason for this change is the renewed focus on three legs of sustainabilityenvironment, society, and economics, three aspects which have to be focused simultaneously. To be successful in the future, tomorrows leaders will need a deep vein of creativity, sensitivity to cultural context, a commitment to sustainability, and a social conscience. Thats on top of a more familiar set of non-negotiableflexibility, adaptability, problem solving skills, a multidisciplinary outlook, and a global mindset.

These new requirements have redirected the focus on the educational institutions with the new breed of graduates who are the future leaders. Schools need to take the typical disciplinesfinance, marketing, human behavior, accountingand add integrated thinking and problem solving to create graduates with the right skills.

To help the students get accustomed to demands of the job market, universities have started to hire leading business professionals to help the students gain practical perspective before entering the market. The idea is to help the students realize the importance of passion, flexibility, the ability to take initiative, multi-skill set, networking skills, attitude and ethical clarity. The executive in resident such as Tony Kingsbury and Ellen Miller working at Haas School of Business at the University of California and Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business respectively identify that their presence in the classroom is paramount because they bring a new form of teaching which is not based on strict educational outlines but on hard earned experience. The students are directed that the need for education is not just to get the right job, it is to develop skills which are demanded widely by all employees vital skills which will help the students become model employee in any firm they join. The need for such students arises because the new economic environment is not just based on making profits. The future firms also have social responsibilities, global integration, cultural understanding and etc., which the future CEO, as the leader of the firm, has to be able to tackle. The changing customer demands also take into account the firm image, which is also based on how the firms reach out to their communities.

The current economic situation also points towards these changing demands. The financial turn down has forced the companies to look into themselves, searching for ways to be more efficient. This stress on efficiency has lead to greater focus on the human resource available at the firm, demanding more output from fewer employees. This challenge has in turn put greater pressure on the CEOs who, in constant search to deliver greater value to customers and stakeholders, has to identify new solutions. These new solutions require thinking out of the box, understanding various problems and delivering the result in increasingly limited time span, new demands which show that the current leaders who have been raised in the age of specialization will be unable to thrive, and hence only the new, dynamic and well rounded individuals will be able to lead and succeed in the future markets. 

When formulating organization strategy, managers have to put in mind the strategies used by their competitors. As observed by Haag (2006) whereas in a highly fragmented commodity industry, any move by single competitor is insignificant. Analysis of competition is very significant when it comes to industries that are concentrated. The analysis helps in strategic planning.

There are two primary activities involved in competitor analysis. These are getting information about competitors who are important and using the acquired information to foretell a competitors behaviour. Analysis of a competitor helps to understand the types of competitors to compete with intended actions and strategies of a competitor reactions of a competitor towards the actions of a firm and how the behaviour of a competitor can be modified to benefit a firm.

According to Blenkhorn (2005), informal knowledge about behaviour of competitors is not sufficient in analyzing competitors. Instead, there is need for systematic analysis of competitors by use of intelligence gathering to bring together a wide scope of information to enable in the formation of strategy decisions which are well informed.  

Literature review
The literature review is going to consist of analyses of previous studies that were done on competitor analysis specifically by use of primary and secondary academic sources. The main focus will be on competitor analysis along with important aspects affecting the analysis of competitors.

There is framework presented by Michael Porter which is used in analyzing competitors. The framework bases primarily on four key factors objectives of a competitor assumptions made by a competitor strategies laid by a competitor and the capabilities of a competitor (Blenkhorn, 2005).

The competitor is usually driven by objectives and assumptions, while the competitor uses capabilities and strategies to do his work. These four aspects are what constitute the competitor response profile. In the course of competitor analysis, one should consider vital competitors together with potential competitors for example the firms that are likely to join the industry. Extension of their present strategy or integrating them vertically is important.
    
What a competitor does and says are the two major sources to acquire information about the strategy of a competitor. The strategy of a competitor is revealed through yearly shareholder reports analysts interviews managerial statements and releases of the press (Blenkhorn, 2005).

Nonetheless, this strategy that is stated may differ from the actual activities that are carried out by the competitor. The direction of the cash flow is what shows the activities done by the competitor. These actions may include activity of hiring investments of capital campaigns of promotions strategic partnership and acquisitions and mergers.

According to a study carried out by Skyrme (1989), knowing objectives of a competitor assists in foretelling the reaction of the competitor to various competitive moves. For instance, a competitor who focuses financial goals that are short-termed might not be eager to use much money in giving response to a competitive attack. Instead, competitors of this nature might dwell much on commodities that hold positions that can easily be defended.

However, an organization that lacks profitability objectives that are short-termed might be eager to involve price competition that is destructive and does not benefit any of the firms.

Objectives of the competitor can be financial or otherwise. Some examples of these are growth rate shares of the market and leadership of technology. Every hierarchical plane of strategy may be associated with the set goals. These planes include unit of business, corporate and functional level.
The organizational structure of a competitor avails clues to which the role of an organization is lessened. For instance, those roles that report directly to the managing director are likely to be considered first compared to those that report to other administrators.

Other competitor factors that show the objectives are risk, incentives of management, tolerance, executives backgrounds, board of directors, composition contractual constraints and other corporate-level aims that may affect the competition. Meeting of the objective by the competitor may give a clear indication of the likelihood of changing his strategies.

Assuming that the managers of the competitors hold about their organization may assist in giving descriptions of the steps they are likely to take. For instance, if an organization came up with a new type of commodity in the past that failed, the executives of the organization may make an assumption that the market of the commodity is limited (Metayer, 1999).

Assumptions of this kind are never accurate at all times and opportunities might be presented if they are incorrect. For instance those firms which are entering the industry could come up with a commodity which is similar to the one that did not succeed without retribution because organizations which are incumbent may not take that as a serious threat. As an illustration of this, motorbikes which were manufactured by Honda Company found their way to the motorcycle market of the United States by using a small market because the motor bike manufacturers in the United States based on their past experiences to assume that small bikes had no market.

A competitor may base on a number of factors to come up with an assumption. These factors include believes concerning competitive positions a products past experience regional aspects trends of the industry and rules of thumb. Competitor analysis which is comprehensive may also consist of assumptions that are made among competitors (Haag, 2006).

According to the studies conducted by Blenkhorn (2005), a competitors response profile can be derived from analysis of their objectives, strategies, assumptions and capabilities. The profile can be used to reveal probable moves which a competitor might make. The profile comprises both probable defensive and offensive moves. Particular moves and their strength can be detected from the analysis.

Research Aims and Objectives
To find out how organizations and other firms carry out competition analysis in order to know the competitors strategies.

Research Methodologies
This research will use past studies on the subject to identify competitor analyses within organizations as well as firms. Secondary sources would be used and examined critically in order to identify the many assumptions made by various competitors and find out whether all the assumptions made are correct. In addition, the sources will recognize the dissimilarities between studies that were carried out in the past on competitor analysis and the research which is being conducted today.

Discussion
The present research entirely relies on the previous literature on studies concerning competitor analysis. The measures that are used directly asses the managers and directors competitiveness strategies. The present will add to the literature because minimal work has been done to evaluate specific strategies that are supposed to be laid by executives of organizations when dealing with competition. The results that were acquired from primary sources as well as secondary sources will be vital to realize major issues and tendency that may be observed.

From the findings, it can be concluded that knowledge of a competitors objectives and assumptions is very essential during competitors analysis. Organizations ad firms should assume that a commodity or product that failed in the past can totally fail to thrive in the present markets (Fuld, 1985).

CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION
The case study discusses a very important issue prevailing in these economically tough conditions. The United Arab Emirates, UAE, nowadays faces a very severe situation of poverty due to the rapid development in the region. The gap between the rich and poor is increasing rapidly which is mainly due to an overall poor socio-economic status.

Several ideologists have proposed ways in order to eradicate poverty and have proposed theories as how to eradicate and eliminate the increasing poverty line, especially among children, who should be exposed to a cleaner environment, and be educated, well fed and provided good facilities.

The poor class tend to over stay their visa tenure in search for greener pastures, and in turn, leave their children unattended (A.Krenawi 2004). This multi cultural and multi racial society faces a greater difficulty due to a vast communication gap and lack of access to basic facilities. Children in the poverty line, who are also exposed to severe malnutrition are vulnerable to a myriad of disease and viruses. They tend to develop a sense of inferiority and lose confidence in themselves. This is detrimental for the overall development of the progress of the UAE, as children have to be well trained and cherished for and be given the basic provisions for a healthier lifestyle.

OPINION
This is a very optimistic approach conducted by the ideologists mentioned in the article, especially that by Payne. Poverty prevails due to an overall socio-economic deteriorating condition that is further heightened by a bad family structure which should also be considered. Poverty often leads to high levels of frustration and aggression, and thus domestic violence is not uncommon in the UAE, which have a high level of child abuse cases (C. Lauber, 2006). Children should be encouraged and lured to attend the shelter homes provided by agencies. These agencies should be very well equipped and trainers should be fully aware as how to attend to these children who have been victims of criminal negligence and need to treated with utmost love and care. This is especially important in the UAE, as the children need to cross the language barriers and the cultural barriers.

I think the white collar childrens theme proposed by the Havens is logical and proposes a doable mode of action in the eradication of poverty, as children do tend to watch other kids and imitate them. Thus, they can develop their etiquettes and change their lifestyles accordingly.

ADVANTAGES
Payne has offered a realistic approach of dividing the society into three classes, lower, middle and upper. However, he needs to further look into the family structure and adopt a more realistic approach that family plays a vital role in eliminating poverty. Payne focuses on the individual child and proposes themes to groom the child and provide the necessities so that the child can himself be equipped to face the world appropriately and play his constructive role in the development of the nation. A positive approach adopted by the various agencies is the adoption to cross cultures and crossing the language barriers and becoming more accommodating to the needs of various social circles and respecting the criteria set by various ethnic groups. In this way the child develops a stronger sense of security and confidence and will be deeply involved in the shelter homes and tend to change them.

Public awareness campaigns launched tend to educate the masses on how to develop equality among the society and not to laugh and mock at the poor. This culture is important in the UAE, as now people tend to distribute their wealth and philanthropists have started shelter homes to help the under privileged (UAE business etiquettes).

DISADVANTAGES
Payne fails to include the family structure, which is severely lacking in his theme and ideology. He needs to feel the importance of the inclusion of fathers in a family structure and the important role they play in the development of his child. In the UAE, workers tend to give over-time duties and work in shifts rotation duties, by which their children tend to be ignored and resort to malpractices which in turn leads to a higher poverty level. Moreover, with the multi racial society prevalent in the UAE, children tend to look up to the economically advantaged westerners and tend to imitate them, and develop a stronger sense of complex and insecurity. Thus, the manner by which shelter homes try to eradicate poverty should be modified, and newer remedies should be proposed.

This is a very mind boggling issue, especially in the UAE with the numerous ethnic and cultural groups that play their vital roles in the society. Ideologies proposed to eradicate poverty and bridge the widening gap should be realistic and should be implemented in shelter homes. Children should be the prime focus of these agencies, as it will be a good investment to groom the younger generation, who can play their respective roles in the development and progress of the society. This is especially essential in the current economic crunch faced by the UAE.

Impact of a Vision Statement

Can vision statements create problems for the organization
A vision is an overall dream or goal of what an organization expects to be in the future. A vision statement explains what a business or an organization is and what it can be in the future. A vision statement also explains how an organization should act while faced with various challenging issues. A vision statement is a catalyst for growth that compels an organization to move in a certain direction in its endeavors to achieve its dreams and long term goals. It has the potential of both creating and solving the problems for an organization (Mark, n. d).
  
Generally, a vision statement is used in solving problems that may arise in the course of conducting business. As mentioned earlier, a vision states the steps a business can take or how a business should act while faced with various situations mostly unpleasant ones. Vision statements outline the responsibility of an organization towards various stakeholders and the society in general. Using the vision statement, an organizations duty to the various stakeholders can be assessed and necessary steps taken to ensure that the duties and responsibilities are fulfilled or met at all times. Johnson and Johnson Company for example used their vision statement in solving problems they encountered. On realizations that some of the companys Tylenol was contaminated, the company ordered immediate removal of the product from the market. Part of the vision statement is to ensure that doctors, hospitals, nurses, mothers and all other individuals using the companys products were protected. In this scenario, the vision clearly indicated what had to be done and prompted the company to take necessary precautions (Docstoc, 2009).
  
A vision statement can also create problems for a company especially when it is unclear or ambiguous. A vision imposes some kind of obligation to an entity and this may lead to liability especially in times of emergencies. It can be used against by stakeholders by the various stakeholders it vows to protect. This happened when Intel was experiencing problems pertaining to the Pentium chip. Unlike the Johnsons case, Intel failed to act according to its vision and this raised uproar in the country (Bowman, 2008).
  
While a vision is an effective tool for achieving goals and helping an organization cope with various situations, it can also be a source of a companys downfall. The latter only occurs when an entity fails to act according to the stipulation of its vision statement and this may lead to a decrease in goodwill from the public.

Human resource Management.

Examine to what extent these various components of HR support and contribute towards achieving the organisations strategy, mission and goals (vertical integration)

The context of human resources management is considred as well as accepted as a practice which include all management operations and delaings, such as activitiesa nd decision making process which affect the relationship fo the firm and the work force, known as the human resources. Humna resources are known to have various compotents which supports and contributed towards the achievement of the strategy, mission and goals of the company through vertical integration (Thornhill et al 2000). 

Accordingly, if the human resources are handled through vertical integration aprpoach, the polciies and practices of the human resource management can carry out the human aspects of the management positions that includes the screening, recruiting, training, motivating, rewarding and giving incentives as well as appraising of the work force (Dessler, 2, 2007). There is a higher level of achieving organizational objectives, strategy and mission if the core functions of the human resource function will remain verticall integrated whether the industry Vodafone will operate in the national boundary or in various places in the global market. In this regard, vodafone has been able to support and dovetail the entire organisational operation, in which their human resources approch moves in the same directction with the mission, vision and strategy of the company.

In this regard, the first compotent is complies with the distribution and use of human resources, which starts from the recruitment planning, employee and staff selection, training and development, evaluation of the performance, compensation evaluation to work relationships performance evaluation, compensation and work relations. In addition, this also includes the competent of identifying the most efficient employees that can contribute to the success of the industry in achieving its goals (Torbiorn, 1997).
  
In the vertical integration approach, it can be said that the human resource management practices has been defined as the practice of integrating the human resources to meet the corporate goals.  In this regard, the management deals with the areas that will properly and efficiently select the best employees.  Herein, management have noted that efficient human resource approach is one of the most significant facets of implementing successfully the organisation methods.   Through vertical integration approach the various components of HR functions unites and become a control process which are core to the attainment of the strategy, mission and vision of the industry.

In addition, vertical integration approach enables the human resource department to manage and handle efficient and competently the human resources to ensure that the management is doing their best in maintaining their competetiveness towards achieving their goal.  Vertically integrated companies like Vodafone are able to consider systematic human resource management approach which has the ability to support, harmonise and shape the company system.  Through this appoach, the management of the Vodafone are guided in various activities such as decision making for staffing needs such as hot to fill the needed positions within the employing, budget, orienting and training of the human resources as well as making sure that the staffs and other organisational team will perform their best to reach organisational goals (Mullins, 2004).

Human resource management also enables the company to manage employees to provide their basic needs for compensation, legal issues and good employe relationships within the organisational objectives. In this regard, Vodafones vertical integration business practices enables their human resources management to have a higher level support in reaching hteir goals. Fundamentally, Vodafones approach involves a ssytem which attracts, develops, motivates as well as retain employees who makes sure that efficient functions as well as reaching organisational goals are achieved.

Herein, Vodafone, has been able to learn to think more strategically and methodologically in considering the most valuable assets of the company and greater human resources.  Herein, vodafone has been able to build organisational integration which supports all activities from higher level management down to their employees for the satisfaction of their customers.  With the use of the human resource management approach in its vertically integrated business, Vodafone are able to provide the needs of their employees and motivate their staffs to seek more improvement as well as career development for the benefit of the company.

By and large, it can be said that with the support of the management and coordination from the higher management down to the lower management and employees, various components of the company are able to have a common goal of helping the industry achieve organisational objectives.

Do you feel that the problem was poor communication or ineffective communication

In a complex business environment, communication plays a pivotal role in building the organizational structure. It is the real essence of organization. In exchanging the ideas, implementing the reforms and thoughts poor communication or ineffective communication creates a hurdle and do exist among the individuals. Some facts related with poor or ineffective communication are defined alongwith appropriate examples. The facts are

Difference in organizational culture also creates a hurdle in a way of communicating the thoughts in an appropriate manner. Like difference in regional and international languages, change in accent etc (L. Erven, 2008). The real world example is the call centre agents, who suffer most of the time when they sold their products in the different segments and deal with different parts of the world. Because the lack of feedback is exist between the call centre agents and the customers due to the cultural customs, norms, etc.   

In our society the status symbol does exist and this problem is heading upwards in the organizational structure when the manager is on the executive post and heshe cannot transform hisher policies or the programs properly to the lower management the reason behind are the status or designation that creates a hurdle in an effective communication. Moreover, individual personal behavior is essential and an effective role in communication (L. Erven, 2008).  

If the distortion is exist between the sender and receiver due to any reason like technical jargon, social, racial, educational background, and ethnic etc background also creates a poor or ineffective communication (L. Erven, 2008).

Organizational culture and norms in which the employee is working also the prime element behind effective communication. Like ignoring the employees in a few some technical matters or issues, completely ignoring, embarrass every time when the employee is eager to share hisher ideas, inputs or thoughts etc. The factors of reluctance, refusal, etc also incorporate poor or ineffective communication (L. Erven, 2008).

Emirates Airlines

As the modern world keeps shrinking and no two persons are twenty four hours apart as distances have been reduced at least in terms of theory. Aviation technology too keeps on evolving and kept up with the hyper increasing competitiveness in air and travel industry to encourage more and more passengers to travel by air. In the middle of such close competition, all international airlines have been improving their performances and their image to tap more and more passengers to keep their fleet. In a survival of the fittest scenario, air transport industry has introduced a number of incentives to act as a catalyst to help the airlines and one. The idea behind the best Airlines Award which is annually exercised was thought to be improving the services of all airlines, just for the benefit and the comfort of the airline passengers. 

Emirates Airlines is of the best luxury airline in the world. With its roots in the Middle East, the area covered by Emirates in equivalent to any other international airline. Unlike many other airlines, Emirates Airlines is one of the very few airlines which barely felt the economic crisis and the airlines industry problems due to recession. This was basically due to advertising and promotion of Dubai as a tax-free travel and tourism industry where people from all around the world travel frequently.

Emirates recently has been prone to many accidents especially one in Melbourne, Australia. After the investigation, the problems identified were way too disastrous for Emirates. Fatigue was a major problem for pilots flying long distances, averaging 90 hours of flying time for every one month and reaching their maximum flying time sooner than average. While the limit of 100 flying hours in one month has been set by international flying standards, compared to Emirates 100 hours in 28 days, they usually averaged 60-70 hours. They would be working a lot harder than normal pilots. It was said all pilots were working incredibly hard as Emirates and have struggled through the global economic crisis even though all the flights schedules were completely disrupted by low traffic on the skies. It was deduced way before the accident that took place in Melbourne, that if there was going to be a fatigue-related accident by any pilot, it was going to be Emirates. This was the reason that Emirates decided to ground four other pilots as a result of fatal blunders in the past month made by pilots who complained of fatigue.

Emirates like many modern airlines ordered its pilots to take off at reduced thrust when possible to cut fuel costs, emissions and wear on the aircraft. The thrust or power settings are determined by factors such as aircraft weight, weather conditions, the surrounding terrain and runway length. According to an insider source in Emirate Airlines, airline was in a risky situation because it did not have any culture that could encourage people to say out their safety concerns which are outlined in the companys policy. The sources also mentioned that some Emirates pilots were badly fatigued, but people were afraid to speak out due to the reaction of the management.

The evolution of project management as a key and essential component of the process of organization management has brought about a host of new issues which are all in need of consideration. Project management is very crucial to the operations of organizations because it determines the place where organizational policy and strategy is headed. Policy and strategy success is well measured by the success that results from the implementation of projects. Regardless of the specific area where a project is being undertaken  and there are many such areas  issues that come with the implementation have remained more or less similar, and often require a similar approach at analyzing them. Project management is also very critical in the determination of the social welfare of not only the organizations employees but also the people living in the vicinity where the given project is being undertaken (Gary  Larson 2008).

It is less unlikely that all projects are implemented within an organization or by an organization. Instead, certain projects have come to be undertaken by individuals, although this has become a rare occurrence. In discussing any issues of project management, then, it is usually a common practice to tie it  however remotely  to some organization and its overall management. In essence, organizational management and project management bear a very close semblance (Gary  Larson 2008). This paper discusses some of the many issues that have been seeking to be attended to as project management has been evolving. They include leading the process of project management effectively and a general overview of the practice of project management as drawn from its Body of Knowledge (BOK).

Leadership in Project Management
Project management, just like organizational management, is greatly affected by the leadership. One of the most challenging aspects in the implementation of a given project is the role of leading or overseeing the project. The project manager is faced with some of the greatest challenges. The success or failure of the project will more often than not be determined solely by the actions of the leader or manager. This partly explains the current trend where organizations are investing heavily in project management (Longman  Mullins 2004). They understand that a good project manager is as good as a successful project, and getting one is worth the cost. Whenever projects fail to yield what was expected of them or when they are not implemented successfully, then the great losses that result are able to impact negatively on the undertakers of the project. A lot of resources, including human labor, money and time, are wasted whenever a project is not carried on to its conclusive end. Usually, a staling of a given project will result if the project manager overlooks some of the key aspects of project management (Longman  Mullins 2004).

The importance of having a good project manager also stems from the fact that such a manager points the way forward for the project, a way which all other people or participants in the project will follow The project manager is essentially the travelers compass without which there is no progress forward. Regardless of the direction that the project Manager leads the project  to success or to failure  it remains a requirement that all the other people follow hisher guidance. Reliability on the project manager is always a characteristic that every organization has to experience and learn to cope with (Longman  Mullins 2004). The project manager is like the captain of the project. Heshe holds the life of the project in hisher hands.
How to Manage Projects
  
Owing to the great responsibilities bestowed upon the project manager, it is very important for organizations to ensure that a good management plan is in place (Gary  Larson 2008). Finding a good project manager is not all there is about project management. Instead, it is about ensuring that the project as a whole is able to be implemented to its very end without any undue delays and unnecessary hitches. Project managers must be prepared to deliver what has been placed under their responsibility.

Qualities of a Good Project Manager
As all the other aspects of project management will depend on how well the project manager will be able to organize his work, the manager ought to exhibit certain characteristics and follow certain methodologies if the expectations of the stakeholders in the project on him are to be realized. The first attribute that a project manager ought to exhibit is an ability to be a good communicator (Longman  Mullins 2004). Communication is like the fuel that gets machines moving forward. Without a good communication link between the project manager and the people heshe is leading in the project then the project is at the risk of failure. However, good and enhanced communication among all the people involved goes a long way in improving the success chances for the project (Longman  Mullins 2004). The project manager must be able to communicate to the other people about the goals, performance, feedback, responsibilities, and the expectations. Openness on the part of the project manager is important because it is only thorough the project manager that the people will have any real link to the organization.

The project manager must have the capability to inspire a shared vision among the people (Longman  Mullins 2004). In order to do this, the leader must be able to have deep within himher a vision of where heshe expects the organization to get to upon completion of the project, and having an ability to articulate this vision. It is the visionary nature of the project manager that will get people to so much believe in him and his vision that they will feel to be an integral part of the project and consequently put into the project their all. Heshe ought to have the capability to empower the people so that they too can experience this vision.

The project manager must be a team builder, capable of bringing together all the people involved in the project to work together in unity. He must strive to resolve any emerging conflicts and to deal with people in a very humanely manner (Longman  Mullins 2004). Conflicts are not to be viewed by the project manner as bad but as indicators that that they are moving somewhere. The project manager must have a capacity to handle emerging issue and to work under surging pressure. This is because projects will rarely be delivered as scheduled, and there are bound to be financial constraints. All these and many other factors are bound to bring about a lot of work-related pressure on the part of the project manager. However, heshe ought to be able to withstand all this if heshe expects the rest of the team to keep going and not give up. 

The project manager ought to be competent enough too. This might no necessarily mean that the leader must have great expertise and training in the given project area but that he ought to offer a leadership role that is able to have others following behind himher. Competence differs from expertise in that it can be learnt on the job while the latter is through training (Longman  Mullins 2004). Usually, a previously past record of success will be enough for a leader to be trusted by the stakeholders and to win the approval of the people (Longman  Mullins 2004). Lack of competence, on the other hand, will keep people in doubt regarding the leaders capability, and this will in one way or another cause unnecessary conflicts.

Outsourcing  
As the world changes and with the change comes new ways of doing business, even project implementation is taking on a completely new shape. Globalization  the systematic integration of local and national economies and markets into one international market  is particularly noted for the way it has and continues to affect the way projects are implemented (Gary  Larson 2008). As nations and states open up their once tightly secured borders to allow foreign business operators and manpower into their territory to do business and trade without any undue restrictions, projects have become reviewed again with a view to understanding how best they can be dealt with. There is a consideration by project managers on how to increase the chances that the project will succeed, given the faith and trust that people and the organization have for himher (Kerzner  Saladis 2009).

In the considerations of how best to undertake the project are issues of the cost of implementing the project from the very start to the end. The total costs of implementing the project locally are then compared with those of outsourcing the work to other places (Kerzner  Saladis 2009). The tendency is to have the project undertaken optimally, and this has been done by comparing the costs of having an own team to do the work, or outsourcing. With the age of globalization, it is increasingly becoming cheaper for organization to outsource their project work. The outsourcing has often taken on two main approaches  outsourcing locally and offshoring (Gary  Larson 2008). The former is a case where the organization offers its projects to be undertaken locally by a different organization or consultant so that all the work needed to be done on the project is left for to the outsourced organization. This decision to outsource locally is usually taken after considering the benefits of outsourcing in relation to getting all the material and equipment needed for the project (Kerzner  Saladis 2009). This is especially true for projects that are being implemented on a very large scale and which the hosting firm might not be able to undertake because of lack of capacity.

The other alternative, outsourcing, is very common nowadays. Projects are moved across shores to other lands, usually where labor costs and the costs of other factors of production are comparatively cheaper (Kerzner  Saladis 2009). This is usually a decision that is hard to make, and indeed has only been made whenever the project implementers have been able to consult widely and to consider the pros and cons of doing this. Offshoring is no less important that outsourcing in fact both are critical to the entire process of project management as when approached well enough and carried effectively, they save a lot for the organization (Kerzner  Saladis 2009). Outsourcing is never in need of very strict or close supervising as offshoring.

Outsourcing often entail giving over the entire project to another separate entity to carry out, wherein all that is done is never a concern to the organization that is outsourcing the project work. Instead, the organization will only have to meet its part of the contractual agreement and then, after agreeing on a  specific time frame within which the project is to be completed, sitting back and waiting for the day the project will be finished and handed back. Sometimes, though, it is always a good practice to oversee and supervise the work on the project in order to avoid cases of poor project implementation. In offshoring, part of the management team might have to be relocated to personally oversee the work because quality is usually a major issue to consider while offshoring.

Social and Cultural Aspects of Project Management
Project management can never be dissociated from sociocultural matters. The correlation between project management and cultural and sociological matters stems from the fact that most of the projects undertaken by organizations are either carried out within the communities or for the benefit of the community. In certain instances, a project is undertaken for the community and by the community. That notwithstanding, communities are always affected by any projects (Gary  Larson 2008). Therefore, it is critically important that sociological and cultural considerations are made before any project is implemented (Bucero 2002). Since the aim of the project is to benefit the people, whether those in the community or those within an organization, there is a need for project management programs to recognize these sociocultural aspects and address them appropriately.

Human Resources Management  
One of the most critical aspects in the implementation of projects is the management of the people resources of the organization, and especially those who are involved in the undertaking of the project. People are usually the main elements in any projects, and they need to be managed well if all is to go well with the project. Human resources management as part of project management is important because people are the most valuable assets of any organization. It is the people in an organization who will spell the doom or success of a project. People are usually inclined to react negatively or indifferently to change in the organization, and yet projects are typical change agents. It is therefore very important to have a way to deal with people (Andrew 2007).

Finally, people are responsible for direct participation in the project processes from start to finish. As such, they ought to be managed well so that they will in turn be in a position to do their tasks well enough (Gary  Larson 2008). Management of workers involved in a project is no less different from what is done in organizations. It essential involves ensuring that the people are given the kind of treatment that makes them feel that they indeed are important and are part of the organization and the project. Employees also need to be rewarded for their work in the project by either offering them with gifts or incentives like promotions or pay rises (Cowie 2003). It is only when employees work under tolerable and conducive conditions that they will have increased productivity.

Project Sponsorship
As project management has been evolving over time, another issue that has emerged is project sponsorship. This is usually the deliberate making of a decision by individuals or other organizations to offer one or more kinds of assistance to the project. Every project needs the support from people who might be well-wishers or owners of the project. Sponsors usually seek to promote a project so that its eventual success will be associated with their names. In the current world, every other project has a sponsor (David 2008). Although a relatively new issue, project sponsorship is a very important aspect in project management.

First of all, projects are usually in dire need of being cushioned from the risk of failure which comes mostly from mismanagement of or inadequate funding. Sponsors help mitigate this risk by offering the project financial as well as logistical support. Project sponsorship must be, however, sanctioned by the project managers and stakeholders in order to guard against misrepresentation, and the risk of the project being portrayed in the negative light (Gary  Larson 2008). For effective project sponsorship to be realized there is also a need of ensuring that the need that is there for change is well communicated to both the team that is involved and to the entire society that will be affected in different ways by the project. The sponsor selected must also be able to understand the business needs of the project (Kerzner 2009).

The project Office 
The project office is also an emerging issue in project management that needs to be given a lot of attention. A project office is the unit that is established to basically offer the necessary support to the project managers and the project itself, and to ensure that there is improvement in the way everything is conducted from the start to the end of the project (Gary  Larson 2008). The project office is very important in project management because apart from ensuring the proper coordination and flow of every process being implemented under the project, it also serves as the means through which the management and support of the activities linked to the project are implemented (Meredith  Mantel 2010). Project offices are also links between the organizations senior management and the manager in charge of the specific project. Such offices also aid the movement forward of the organization in the area of project management so that it becomes matured in it. It ensures that in the future, all matters regarding the management of projects are handled with the highest level of expertise.

As very important components of project management, project offices are required to do all that is possible to remain relevant if they have to keep delivering what is expected of them. They must be in a position to seek for the right information on their own if this relevancy is to be attained and sustained. Project offices must also be capable of varying project measurements systems so as to be effective. Project offices can also consider having a system of rewarding people or giving them incentives. The usual culture of the organization will have to be changed in order to accommodate the changes to the project office.

Governing Project Management
This is essentially the provision of the relevant and necessary structures through which the objectives, policies, and other organizational matters are communicated. Governing is very important in project management because it is critical in helping organizations and their project managers to avoid some of the commonest pitfalls in project implementation. Such pitfalls include a failure to have clear ties with the relevant and most important strategies, the inability to have a proper engagement with the most senior managers, the failure to understand the industry and especially the roles played individuals in the managerial and other senior levels, and the lack of a proper forum and avenue to engage stakeholders in discussing matters critical to the organization (Pinto 2007). Governance of management is usually made effective by the ensuring that there is an application of governance principles that are intelligent as well as the seeking to have a delegation of responsibility and duty that is proportionate combined with the close monitoring of control systems within the organization.

Ethics in Project Management 
The management of projects will never be successful unless the ethical aspects of the project are carefully examined and dealt with or addressed conclusively. Ethics in project management entails the ensuring that there is a systematic approach in having the moral values and priorities, tastes and aspirations of all people addressed and respected (Gary  Larson 2008). Different people subscribe to different moral and ethical values but certain ethics, like those required in an organization, are universal. The process of project management must seek to uphold those ethical and moral values that are deemed appropriate in the process (Kerzner 2006).

Ethics are important in project management because they save organizations and project implementers lots of money that would have otherwise been lost through legal challenges and other lawsuits that are sure to come up whenever during the implementation of a project there is a deliberate disregard of the ethical aspects of the project. That aside, other probable costs that can result from acting unethically include loss of the repute of the organization undertaking the project, the development of feelings of dislike between the project implementers and those treated unethically, and the loss of mutual trust between the two.  There have been laid-down procedures on how to go about ensuring that there are good ethical practices during the undertaking of projects by organizations (Gary  Larson 2008).

First, people ought to be provided with the information they require in order to help them play a more significant role in the process of making decisions on the ethical matters relevant to project implementation (Gary  Larson 2008). The people must also be helped to understand the value of ethical behavior and practices, and to appreciate the value of its application. Another methodology that can help enforce ethical practices in organizations is to use employees as a kind of warning system who can raise the alarm whenever there are incidences of organizational show or display of unethical practices. Finally, peoples ability to become sensitive to moral and ethical matters ought to be increased so that all are aware of whatever behaviors are tantamount to acting unethically or immorally (Weiss 2006).
  
Project management has been evolving and with the evolution have emerged matters that are in need of being addressed. Some of them are discussed in this paper, including people, ethics, leadership, project office, project governance, project sponsorship, among others. All these and many more have great ramifications on the entire process of project management and ought to be addressed by organizations undertaking projects.

Global staffing strategies.

International mergers and acquisitions have become very common in the last one decade owing to the rising globalization and competition in the global markets. Companies seeking to grow and expand internationally are opting for mergers and acquisitions to enable them achieve this growth. Mergers and acquisitions occur when companies agree to combine their operations and resources so as to experience the benefits of economics of scale, to reduce costs, to increase efficiency and effectives or for growth purposes. A merger occurs when two or more companies integrate to form one bigger company. While most of the companies that have undertaken this strategy have realized synergy effects, this has been a challenging encounter for other companies (Aguilera and Dencker, 2004).

Staffing is one of the hardest tasks for managers after an acquisition especially because of different policies and practices of various companies. There are many challenges associated with identification and recruitment of right individuals with necessary talents especially in the global market arena (Schuler, Jackson and Luo, 2004). For global staffing, managers can employ various staffing strategies to ensure that they meet the necessary. The following is a comprehensive report of an overview of ABC Company as it plans to expand its business to the Chinese market.

This paper will evaluate look at the challenges facing ABC Company as it expands to Chinese markets including regulatory and cultural factors involved. The paper will also identify and explain the staffing strategies that the company will employ during the selection and recruitment processes for various posts within the company.

ABC Company
ABC Company is an international company based in United States. It specializes in manufacture of household goods such as fringes, oven, gas cookers, and electric cookers. It also produces other goods including cutleries and cooking pans. The company has recently successful managed to acquire DEF Company Chinese Company dealing with production of household and office goods including beds, mattresses, bed sheets and blankets, wardrobes, cabinets and office furniture including chairs and tables. This acquisition aims at making ABC Company a one stop shop for all household and office needs for our customers. This is a diversification strategy that would enable our customers have a wide variety of goods to choose from.

The manufacturing industry is one of the rapidly growing and competitive industries in both America and China. Many household and office ware manufactures have entered this industry especially in the global economy while talent and expertise still remains a high challenge for many organizations in this industry. This has led to high competition in the labor market and increasing the costs associated with recruitment and selection process. China is a technological based company and this is another challenge facing office and household companies in this country. Many Chinese citizens do not highly value career in office ware manufacture despite the fact that this country has the highest demand for office and household wares owing to its high population (Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center, n. d).

Successful management of mergers and acquisition or alliances is one of the hardest tasks for organization. As mentioned earlier, mergers bring together companies and integrate them leading to formation of one large company. The merging companies become equal partners in the management of the newly formed or resultant company after the merger. An acquisition occurs when one company fully acquires or purchases another company and the buyer has the right of determining how the newly formed merger is to be managed and combined. Individual companies have their own policies, practices and cultures that operate in them and that are totally different from those that operate in other companies. Mergers necessitate the coming together of all these internal factors of two companies and harmonizing them to form one organization. Cross border alliances or international mergers also carry with them different business cultures that require integration and harmonization. This makes management of mergers and acquisitions a difficult task not only for the management team but also for human resource managers or department (Schuler, Jackson and Luo, 2004).
HR challenges may arise as a result of this acquisition

China is one of the highly regulated countries as far as employment and labor issues are concerned. This has posed many challenges to ABC Company after the acquisition of DEF Company. The labor laws in operation in United States and those in China vary in a number of ways. One of the major challenges that the company has faced the company following the acquisition is the issue of managing diversity. Diversity management is one of the responsibilities and role being carried out by human resource managers today. As corporations goes global and human rights awareness increases, there has been a need to effectively manage diversity to increase the market share of an entity. Unlike in the past where diversity was not considered essential, this view has really changed with the realization that it has the potential of breaking down or building an organization. Human resource managers are today being charged with the role of managing the different diversities found in an organization. They are based on gender, raceethnicity, disability and age. All these aspects of diversity found in an organization are essential and if well managed may lead to increased productivity. Failure to effectively manage diversity is detrimental to any organization and this is a role being played by human resource department today (Aguilera and Dencker, 2004). Diversity management is expected to be a major challenge to human resource of ABC Company following the acquisition given that Chinese business culture and American business culture vary in many ways. Americans for example are straight forward preferring to give out their ideas during business meetings. Chinese on the other hand value unity and for this very reason, they are not as aggressive in defending their opinions and ideas and they often prefer to keep quite rather than argue over various issues. Also, Chinese people view direct eye contact as being rude contrary to Americans who highly regard eye contact interpreting it as a sign of concentration and interest. Differences in culture will be a major challenge to in managing the new ABC Company after the acquisition (Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center, n. d).

The successful acquisition of DEF Company by ABC Company will also necessitate increased use of information technology within the company. Information technology will be essential in linking up the company in United States and the one in China to ensure that there is continuous flow of information. This will tremendously change the roles and responsibilities of human resource in ABC Company and this is a major challenge. With increasing demand for effectiveness of the human resource, use of technology is paramount unlike in the past. Following the acquisition, human resource will have the responsibility of managing compliance in the company as well as managing data relating to workforce in both United States and China. Such increased roles will lead to the need for automation of human resource functions to improve efficiency. Increasing needs of management-employee communication will also lead to the institution of technology in ABC Company. As technology advances, human resource roles are becoming more complex and demanding and this expected to increase following the recent merger. The merger will necessitate the linking of operations in United States and those in China and this would not only be challenging to manage but it is bound to increase the cost of human resource management. Effective institution of information technology will lead to improved coordination of ABC branches in both United States and China facilitation exchange of information. This may help in instituting a culture of learning as well as improve innovation and creativity as employees will have a chance to participate and contribute to the management of the company via the information technology networks (Schuler, Jackson and Luo, 2004).

One of the most sought after resource is highly qualified human labor force. Organizations are today fighting to attract the most qualified employees so as to improve their productivity and competitiveness. This scenario brought about by increased globalization has made human resource management very vital in organizations. Organizations are today formulating strategies to enable them attract and retain highly qualified employees. As a result, human resource roles have tremendously changed and today organization are offering extensive training to their employees and payment packages. This is another challenge that ABC is bound to experience following the acquisition (Rees and Edwards, 2009). The company will be exposed to international competition especially in the labor market. Staffing is expected to be a major challenge for human resource. The acquisition may require some managers to be moved to China and this may stir rebellion and even resignation.

Differences in regulation and business practices are also expected to bring various challenges to human resource of ABC Company. For businesses to thrive and flourish in China, relationships are highly valued as a means of networking. Chinese business people believe in guanxi which can be interpreted to mean scratch my back and I will scratch yours (Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center, n. d). Guanxi may be in form of money and connections based on friendships with high ranking officials. While in America this may be termed as bribe or unfair business practices, this is considered fair and the normal way of doing business in China. Giving out money in return for business favors does not amount to bribery in China. This is bound to be a major challenge for human resource given the fact that giving any form of money in America in exchange for business networking or to earn employment considered illegal or a form of bribe. America has the EEOC or the equal employment opportunity commission that deals with cases of unfair employment or discrimination. In America, all individuals ought to be given equal employment chances regardless of their relationship with the human resource managers or other managers in an organization. In China, individuals with closer relationships with employers are bound to be given first priority. This is bound to be a major challenge for ABC following the acquisition.

Staffing Strategies for ABC Company
Globalization has become the normal way of doing business today. Most of the companies in unites states are expanding internationally as a means of achieving the much needed growth to enable them stand the global pressures today. China is one of the most viable destinations given the growing population that creates a ready market for various goods. However, with rising globalization, there has been a rise in staffing complications especially owning the cultural differences in China and in United States. Staffing is one of the most essential activities of human resources especially following (Scullion, 2006). Following the acquisition of    
DEF Company, ABC Company, there are various staffing needs that have arisen. Both internal and external staffing methods will be employed by the company in recruiting key employees as well as functional employees.

Internal recruitment
Internal recruitment strategy will be used in hiring various higher ranking officials in ABC Company following the acquisition. The acquisition of DEF Company by ABC Company will result in integration of operations so as to reduce costs and avoid duplication of work. Internal recruitment entails identifying potential expatriates from the foreign and domestic operations. The acquisition is expected to create various top positions in the company. To fill these positions, the company will hire from within the company. Internal recruitment would have quite a number of advantages to ABC Company including the recruitment teams have prior knowledge of the recruitees, their personalities, skills and expertise. Individuals recruited internally also have prior knowledge of the culture and operations of the company thus the adaptation time will be less.

This is essential in ensuring the continuity of operations even after the merger. To help in implementing this form of recruitment, the human resource of ABC Company will be aided by human resource managers of the acquired DEF Company. To ensure that the internal recruitment process is fair and free, all qualified individuals will be required to apply for the various post after which a thorough interview will be conducted. This will help the human resource team come up with the most competent individual to take up various posts. Employee to be recruited for managerial positions will be posted in both countries to aid the company during the integration process. Some experienced managers from China will be posted in United States and vice versa to enable the companys integration process be effective.

Various researches have already established that employees who are recruited from the already existing working force are able to adapt to the culture and practices of an organization and to take up their new positions without much difficulty (Schuler, Jackson and Luo, 2004). This is essential for ABC Company given the fact that the acquisition requires the company to make during its integration. Managers recruited from within will also be in a position to aid in integrating the cultures of ABC and DEF companies. Swapping managers between the two countries will also enable company to easily adapt to the cultural changes.

External recruitment strategies
External recruitment strategies are other forms of global staffing that the company will employ (Scullion, 2006). Under this strategy, various recruitment and selection processes will be employed in the endeavor to get qualified staff. One of the major methods of external recruitment will be headhunting. Following the acquisition, the company will be in need of highly qualified senior managers as well as specialists in various sectors. The company will use headhunter firms who offer integrated services around the world. The company will partner with headhunting agencies so as to get a wider geographical area for sourcing potential candidates. China has many headhunting agencies and the company will use its newly acquired status to in China to source for candidates with necessary skills in this areas.

Cross national advertising is another external recruitment method that ABC Company will use for staffing purposes. This will entail looking beyond the borders on United States and those of China. The business world has gone global and flexibility in the global economy has made it easier for cross border advertising and hiring. Skills and talents especially in the household and office ware industry have dramatically reduced as people prefer other careers especially those involving technology and communication (Scullion, 2006). This has made competition for qualified managers and employees to be high in this industry. To carry out cross national advertising, ABC Company will employ various strategies including advertising in airline magazines, placing adverts on airport lounges and work routes and placing posters in some specifically targeted areas. This will create awareness of various posts and encourage people to apply. For this purpose, the company will also use the services of international agencies to advertise and recruit individuals from various parts of the world.

Internet recruitment will also be employed by ABC Company to recruit international managers. The world today has gone global courtesy of technology and most potential employees are searching for jobs via the internet. This has become a major source of international recruitment for managers (Rees and Edwards, 2009). It is an effective tool for attracting qualified graduates, specialists as well as interim managers. Internet has the advantage of broadening the recruitment sources at relatively low costs and specificity. With internet, the company will be able to target specific potential employees with necessary intellect and capabilities. International graduate programs are also other staffing methods that ABC Company will employ in its staffing work.

Skills and abilities assessment
To successfully assess the skills and abilities of all potential employees, human resource department from the integrated ABC Company will meet to evaluate the various positions required to be filled following the acquisition. This will include all the vacant positions that may arise as a result of resignation following the acquisition and subsequent integration. All the posts identified will be thoroughly analyzed and assessed to determine the exact qualities, skills and abilities required to handle the job. To do this, human resource team will come up with a comprehensive job analysis aimed at identifying all the requirements of a job and the risk areas involved with the various posts. From the job analysis, the team will come up with a comprehensive and well elaborated job analysis identifying the various qualifications necessary for potential candidates. Since the elaboration cannot be done on advertisements especially for cross border advertising, interested people will be directed to the companys website for a detailed job description (Schuler, Jackson and Luo, 2004).

All applications forms whether online or via the companys mail box will be deliberated and the most suitable candidates contacted for interviews that will be conducted at various designated parts depending on applications. For candidates from other countries, interview will be conducted via the internet and selected candidates will be invited over for further interview and verification of certificates. All interviews will have three sections the written part whereby candidates will be required to fill forms dealing with personal information and specific skills and experience, a not structured interview whereby candidates will be subjected to a panel of interviewers and lastly a practical interview where candidates will be given tasks in groups to carry out. This will help to assess the qualities, skills, capabilities, behavior and attitudes of employees. Successful training will be selected to join the company (Farndale and Paauwe, 2007).

Training
All successful candidates will undergo a thorough training on various issues relating to management and operations of ABC Company. The training program will take three weeks whereby candidates will be enlightened on the various tasks they will be needed to undertake, the procedures and regulations of the company and above all the different cultures and business culture of China and United States. This will be given much attention given that conflicts may arise between the Chinese and American employees as a result of misunderstanding of various body language, cultures and business practices differences. The recruits together with other employees to be redeployed to China will be included in this training. A further one month on job training will be undertaken after the completion of the first three weeks. This will orient recruits on their jobs enabling them to adapt more quickly to the culture of the company.

Possible audit results. There are several possible audit results following the implementation of the acquisition. Cultural differences between China and United States are one of the most possible audit results that may necessitate organizational structure change. China and the US have different cultures that if not well handled, they may lead to crisis in the organization. China for example highly value close business relationships as a means of obtaining business success while hard work and transparency is highly advocated for in United States as a means of soliciting the good will and trust of the public.

Another possible audit result is that existence of differences in government policies and employment laws between China and United States. The EEOC of United States terms employment discrimination as illegal and subject to penalties. In China, it is common practice to give priority to individuals one is related to or has close family or business ties. This is not viewed as being illegal or a form of discrimination.
Women valuation in management is another difference that exists between China and United States and which may lead to conflicts in the company. In United States, women are regarded as equal partners in business and men have no problem with having women managers supervise them. Gender equality is highly valued and respected in United States and women hold high positions as long as they are qualified. In China, women are still lowly regarded with the business world being dominated by men. Women despite their qualification are viewed as being inferior to men hence they are not allowed to hold high offices in an organization.

Organizational structure reconstruction
Following the acquisition of DEF Company by ABC Company, the former company became part of the latter company and based on the above audit results, various reconstructions may be required in the organizational structure of ABC. Prior to the acquisition, ABC was operating in various states in America and had no differences as far as culture was concerned. However, expansion to china poses a major challenge on how to manage cultural differences. The company needs to establish a diversity management department as a subsidiary of human resource management. This department is to look at the various cultural differences as well as differences in business practices and to educate the employees on the same. This will reduce conflict and ensure that the company is harmonized. Several cultural and religious activities are observed in China unlike in United States. The diversity management team will be responsible for advising the management such issues. Operations will have to be stopped during the religious festivals and other nationally observed days.

ABC Company also needs to establish a legal department that will be responsible to look at various laws and regulations in operation between these two companies and advise the management on the right legal channels to use. this department will also be responsible for advising the management on the right business deals to make in both countries based on legal analysis and implications that may arise there of. The top management team also requires to be restructured to accommodate managers from China to the management of the company.