Augustus and how he changed the roman Empire Essay

Augustus and How He Changed The Roman Empire nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Two problems facing the late Roman Empire was the instability and non unification caused by inner family civil wars. Romes rapid expansion, after the Punic Wars, resulted in changes that permanently divided the state. Both Aristocrats and Plebeians wanted total control of Rome and tried to destroy each other. Civil war was the the only way to solve problems in politics. Consequently, the power of the military became strong. Control of Romes armies changed from the government to the generals because the soldiers began to listen to their generals rather than to the Government. On dismissal from military service, the soldiers had no farms to return to, and they†¦show more content†¦Also, Augustus recruited soldiers from the Roman provinces. These auxiliary troops were granted Roman citizenship upon completion of military service, and they became important agents of Romanization because the provinces now had a share in the defense of the Empire. In addit ion, Augustus raised a new military force, the 9,000-strong Praetorian Guard, to act as personal bodyguards of the Emperor and to specifically protect the city of Rome from all enemies, foreign or domestic. He also created a police force for the city, which then had a population of more than 1,000,000. This measure greatly reduced the crime rate and the frequency of public riots, both of which were constant problems. (2) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Another problem plaguing the late Roman Republic was the constant revolt of the provinces because of corruption and mismanagement. Under the early Republic, the appointed provincial governors served short terms. Many of these politically appointed governors were either inexperienced or incompetent, so corruption and mismanagement were common practices.(1) The greed of these governors was so intolerable that the population of one province forced the imperial tax collectors to drink molten gold. Augustus reformed the provincial administrative system by creating an imperial civil serviceShow MoreRelatedAugustus And The Creation Of The Roman Empire989 Words   |  4 Pagesand paid to follow Augustus by Augustus. Although some were Augustus own biographers, some are also opponents of Augustus and his entitlement and takeover of the Roman Republic/Empire. These sources are also the only real documented information about Augustus that have been found or retrieved , and unknown to be based on facts, or just opinion and conjecture, or promoted by Augustus himself. One of the sympathetic sources towards Augustus was, Suetonius, who thought Augustus was a great leaderRead MoreConnections Between U.S. Presidents and Roman Emperors1112 Words   |  5 Pagesleadership among the masses; a story of how they claimed their superior position. Are there connections though between leaders and their lives, positions, and their form of a kingdom? My goal is to find these connections between the United States’ current and former presidents, Barrack Obama and George W. Bush and two Roman emperors, Augustus and his great-grandson, Nero. After a 20-year period of transition from the republic and the assassination of Julius Caesar, Augustus returned to Rome forming an allianceRead MoreThe Rise Of The Roman Empire973 Words   |  4 Pagescan see how empires grew and became successful. Many empires were so successful because of their leaders and their philosophies. Empires often had good runs and would be running successful until a stronger and more powerful empire would bring them down. One empire that was known as the most advanced both socially and politically in the western civilization was the Roman Empire. At about 285 CE the empire was so greatly advanced that the Roman central government could no longer rule the empire on itsRead MoreThe Roman And Roman History1542 Words   |  7 PagesEmperor Augustus ruled over a period that is known as the Roman Peace (Pax Romana), from his reign in 27 B.C to his death in 14 A.D. In Virgil’s character Anchises (As seen above), Augustus is portrayed to have brought to fruition a golden age in Roman history. His ability to turn Rome from the ravages of civil war into a prosperous empire was accomplished through the harnessing of his exceptional administrative powers. Emphasis placed on religious reinvigoration and social reform helped forge aRead MoreSeptimius Severus Essay1596 Words   |  7 PagesThere are many Roman emperors and there are a few that people see as experiencing success. In a recent survey by worldaffairsboard.com Augustus, Marcus Aurelius and Trajan were voted as the best. Septimius Severus who was also a great emperor was not even on the list. There are many things that go into making a good emperor such as military strength, taxes and life of the people in Rome. Septimius Severus was a great emperor because he had many of these needed qualities. He had some admirable winsRead MoreRoman Empire History: The Battle of Teutoburg Forest 1690 Words   |  7 PagesI. Introduction The Battle of Teutoburg Forest was a critical battle in the history of the Roman Empire and in the formation of the German state. This battle took place during the reign of Augustus in 9 AD during the time of the Roman Empire expansion. The fall of the Romans in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest was the consequence of several mistakes and strategic blunders by the Roman general Varus and his superiors in Rome. This paper will outline these mistakes as well as the strategic advantagesRead MoreHow Roman Empire Different From The Roman Republic?1136 Words   |  5 PagesThorpe Mr. Berkowitz History 101 Exam #2 How Was The Roman Empire Different From The Roman Republic? Our modern idea about the words republic and imperial suggests that a republic is fair and upheld by a constitution or contract with its people; however, an imperial system is harsh, brutal and controlled by a tyrant. This perception of the words republic and empire does not necessarily pertain to ancient Rome. The differences between the Roman Empire and the Roman Republic reveal something much differentRead MoreThe Transformation Of The Roman State1858 Words   |  8 PagesRome was, and still is, the most powerful empire/state that has ever existed in the history of mankind, spanning for over a thousand years; however, what was most impressive about the Roman State was its ability to bounce back from devastating losses and problems within its government. When a state lasts for over a thousand years, its government will transform over time, taking many shapes and forms; however, when most civilizations face this transformation upon their government, they eventuallyRead MoreEssay about Comparison on Qin and Augustus Caesar1177 Words   |  5 Pages Comparing Augustus and Qin Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was crowned king in 246 BC during the Warring States era (475-221 BC). Two centuries later, Caesar Augustus founded the Roman Empire and became Rome’s first Emperor, ruling from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD. Both emperors ruled with distinct and individual morals in which they laid upon their society. Both rulers utilized military victories, new code laws, and established a sense of unity throughout the land. Each contribution to their stateRead MoreQin Shi Huangdi and Ausustus Caesar1191 Words   |  5 Pageswanted and tried to leave their personal touches on society. From Qin Shi Huangdi of China as far over to Augustus Caesar of Rome, they all wanted people to recognize, respect and remember them until long after their time. These two rulers in particular left their mark by erecting pillars of greatness and importance to history. Qin Shi Huangdi and Augustus Caesar made claims of events and how successful they were at what they accomplished in their time of power. Some of these are history and some

Movie Analysis Detropia Is A Documentary Directed By...

Detropia is a documentary directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady that explores the decline of Detroit, Michigan. The film is to raise awareness of the city that used to flourish but is now struggling to support its citizens with the downfall of its automobile industry. Detropia was made in 2012 and highlights important stories and viewpoints of citizens still living in Detroit who are filled with hope for its future. I chose to review Detropia because it really corresponds with what we have been discussing in Geography, such as urban geography and population growth. Urban geography is a subdiscipline of geography that deals with areas of the Earth’s surface that have a high concentration of buildings and architecture. The documentary Detropia goes into depth of why Detroit’s population is dissolving and what is being done about it. Detropia does not have any narrative from the filmmakers. There is never a point in the film where a narrator is reading a script or tal king. The entire documentary follows three people in Detroit who are involved in various situations around the city. The three people the documentary focuses on are Crystal Starr, a video blogger around Detroit, Tommy Stephens, the owner of a nightclub called the Raven Lounge, and George McGregor, the local president of the United Auto Workers. Throughout the film, these people share their own different voices and stories about what Detroit means to them. Chrystal Starr, a video blogger from Detroit, is

Critical Discussion of Crisis Management and BP Leadership Free Essays

string(24) " seen in recent memory\." Introduction Literature Review This section briefly discusses crisis management and leadership, the two key areas of literature that will help to examine Tony Hayward’s leadership during BP’s most recent organisational crisis. Crisis and Crisis Management There is no one definition of the term ‘crisis’ (Keown-McMullan, 1997), however a guiding definition is that a crisis is an event that impacts or has the potential to impact the entire organisation (Mitroff and Anagnos, 2000). A crisis can also be described as a major, unforeseen circumstance that can potentially jeopardise an organisation’s employees, customers, products, services, fiscal situation, or reputation (Callan, 2002, Augustine, 1995, Santana, 2003). We will write a custom essay sample on Critical Discussion of Crisis Management and BP Leadership or any similar topic only for you Order Now This definition is in line with the theory that a crisis is characterised by three elements: high threat, short decision time, and an element of surprise, indicating that each crisis contains an urgency that necessitates decisions and actions to be taken immediately by the people involved (Keown-McMullan, 1997, Reilly 1987). While the idea that a crisis as a negative state of affairs is still the most popular construal in the literature, the idea of a positive outcome from a crisis situation can also be found in some definitions and discussion (Keown-McMullan, 1997). For example, Fink (1986, p. 15) defines a crisis as: †¦an unstable time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending – either one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome or one with the distinct possibility of a highly desirable and extremely positive outcome. It is usually a 50-50 proposition, but you can improve the odds. This definition implies that, if managed effectively, a crisis can bring a desirable outcome. Indeed, it has been suggested that an organisation can experience a ‘successful’ crisis that actually leads to improved firm’s performance (Boin and ’t Hart, 2003). Such an outcome is possible because crisis â€Å"focuses attention on how tasks are managed and draws new patterns of cohesion, a successfully handled crisis can benefit an organisation† (David, 1990, p. 90). This therefore reinforces the fact that the effective management of crises is important. It should thus entail the execution of well-coordinated actions to limit any damage and preserve or rebuild confidence in the organisation under crisis. It is also important that crisis management should start before a crisis arises and may extend after the ‘actual crisis come to an end, such as after the oil has stopped gushing into the sea (Fink, 1986). Based on this, Santana (2003, p. 308) defin es crisis management as: †¦ an ongoing integrated and comprehensive effort that organisations effectively put into place in an attempt to first and foremost understand and prevent crisis, and to effectively manage those that occur, taking into account in each and every step of their planning and training activities, the interest of their stakeholders. There are number of elements within the external environment, shifting of which leads to the occurrence of a crisis. These elements include Political – legal, economic, social and technological forces and these constitutes a complex network within which organisations exist. Even though shifting of these elements do not occur often, organisations needs to consider these elements while drafting their strategy because of negative blow that would be brought about by shifting of these elements. The most common examples are when government across the world come up with a law that bans the sale of certain type of products. This would create substantial disruption in a firm’s operations which would constitute a crisis. This does not mean that every external threat faced by an organisation will constitute a crisis. For e.g., if a government passes a law which would require manufacturers of certain products to have 2 languages in a product pack, rather than having one that is us ed in the current pack, it cannot be considered as a crisis as it would not probably cause substantial disruption. Therefore, the term ‘crisis’ cannot be used for every external threat and in most of the cases, even though the organisations tend to be regularly exposed to number of actual and potential crisis situations, they fail to recognise its seriousness. The following examples illustrate this reality (Crandall et al, 2009). Political and legal forces Some of the political forces that contribute to a shift which has the potential to lead to a full blown crisis include relations between countries, outcome of meetings between government leaders, rules and regulations and decisions taken by individuals and teams at various levels of government. The legal forces that can contribute to the crisis include laws and legislations passed on by governments, the judgements made by judiciary in various cases involving government and an organisation etc (Crandall et al, 2009) (GOEL, 2009). Economic forces The economic forces contributing to the shift includes changes in the Gross domestic product and various indicators that show the economic health of a country. These include inflation, exchange rate and interest rates (Labrosse et al, 2009)/ Social forces The social factors contributing to the shift includes values within the society, the change in traditions and religious practices. The crisis from social factors will be disastrous when society / people lose trust in the company or are angry with a corporation. This can be explained by the recent banking and financial crisis. The main reason for the crisis is that people and society and organisations lost trust in each other. This made people withdraw huge sums of money from the banks, who were not in a position to fulfil the demand because the banks or organisations from which they were expecting money were not willing to provide them the cash. What made people angrier was that banks or other financial institutions were paying huge amount of bonuses to their employee while people outside these institutions were losing money. This opportunistic behaviour of bankers, stockbrokers, investment bankers etc lead to a situation where common man lost trust in the stock market, which is an i ndicator of the performance of top companies of a nation, and it plummeted down to record levels not seen in recent memory. You read "Critical Discussion of Crisis Management and BP Leadership" in category "Essay examples" The spiral effects lead to laying off of thousands of people which affected the economies of the countries across the world because as companies lay off workers, their spending capacity reduces. Once their spending capacity reduces, then they are not in a position to go to high street shops to buy products. When people are not going to high street shops to buy products, then these shops lay off people thereby affecting the local economy. Most of these people would be having a number of commitments like paying their mortgage, credit card debt, personal loans etc. When people are not in a position to pay off these debts, the financial institutions are not in a position to roll over money which hits the core of banking activity. Thus, this shift in one social factor called trust has lead to one of the most dreadful global crisis ever experienced by mankind in recent history. Even though, it’s been close to 2 years since the crisis, a vast majority of countries and organisations have not yet been able to recover fully from the impact (Crandall et al, 2009) (Jordan-Meier, 2011). Technological forces The technological factors which contribute to shift include major scientific innovations or improvements. These innovations or improvements can lead to either creation of new opportunity or threat to existing businesses. Technological innovations and improvements have the capability to destroy not only existing businesses but also entire industry as well. For example, personal computers were a fantastic technological innovation which gave rise to a entire new industry centred around computers which includes monitors, servers, operating systems etc. But the rise of the computer industry was followed by the slow demise of the type writing industry following the development of word processors and personal computers (Moore, 2005). In fact, just a couple of months back, world’s last remaining typewriting factory was closed by its owners Godrej and Boyce in Mumbai, India Over the period of last few decades, different frameworks for crisis have been developed by taking into account different stages of crisis. The frame work for a crisis is based on the analysis of the life cycle of the crisis and this is usually accounted for by three-stage approach and four-stage approach (Laws, 2006). The three-stage framework is the most basic approach to crisis and involves the following stages – PreCrisis, Crisis and Post Crisis. Different experts have suggested different formats for three-stage format. In the three-stage approach suggested by Smith (1990), Crisis of management constitutes the Pre Crisis stage; the crisis stage is called Operational Crisis and post crisis stage is called Crisis of Legitimation. In the Crisis of Management stage, a crisis can be easily triggered by a event due to the fact that organisation is not prepared to handle the crisis and actions of the leaders in the organisation does not inspire confidence in their teams. In the second stage, called the Operational Crisis stage, all the key leaders in the organisation put their heads together and try to develop quick fix solutions to get over the crisis. In the third stage called Crisis of Legitimation, the key stakeholders in the organisation including the ones who played a major role in Operat ional stage starts looking for scapegoats so as to shift blame and to appear legitimate and rightful in the eyes of public after the crisis (Andari, 2010) (Coombs, 2010). Another approach to three-stage framework is the one suggested by Richardson (1994). In this framework, the PreCrisis stage is called disaster phase and this phase focuses on neutralising all the threats that may cause a crisis. In Crisis stage is called Rescue stage and is focused on the occurrence of the crisis. The Post Crisis stage is called Demise stage which emphasis on restoring stakeholders confidence in the organisation following the occurrence of the crisis (Coombs, 2010). Another approach to crisis is a four – stage framework which adds an additional stage, to the three-stage framework, which focuses on the progression as it happens during the crisis. In one of four-stage framework suggested by Myers (1993), the first stage is a Operations stage, where the organisations puts in standard operating procedures and crisis management teams to act in response to the occurrence of the crisis. The second stage is the emergency response stage which focuses on the response that needs to be initiated in the first few hours following the occurrence of the crisis. The third stage is called Interim processing stage where stop gap arrangement and temporary procedures are put in place until the restoration of normal operations. The fourth stage is the restoration stage where the organisation comes back to normal operations (Coombs, 2010) (Crandall, 2009). Another approach to four-stage framework was put forward by Fink (1996). In the approach, the first stage is called Prodormal stage which is stage before a full blown crisis and shows all the red flags and warning signs that a crisis is imminent. If remedial measures are taken during the prodormal stage, then a crisis can be prevented. The second stage is called Acute crisis stage and this is stage where actual crisis is happening and normal operations are seriously disrupted. This is also the stage where outsiders of the organisations get to see and hear about the crisis on a regular basis. The third stage is called chronic crisis stage which is not as dramatic as acute crisis stage and the organisation is trying to clean the mess created during the acute crisis stage. The Resolution stage is the final stage where the organisation has just gotten over the crisis and is slowly coming back to the normal operations (Fink, 1996) Five stage frameworks is another approach to crisis and provide a more detailed approach than the three stage framework and four stage frameworks. It provides a more detailed understanding of different stages of the crisis (Perason Mitroff, 1993). In the five stage framework suggested by Pearson and Mitroff (1993), the following stages are included : Signal detection: These are warning or red flags which occur when an organisation is slowly moving towards a crisis. In most cases, these warning and red flags are raised by people on the ground or lower level or middle level management or those directly interacting with customers. Detecting these signals and accepting them as ones which may lead to crisis so as to try to look at ways to manage a crisis is a skill not found is many leaders. Developing a mindset and skills so to become adept at detecting these signals is what organisations needs to embrace (Perason Mitroff, 1993). Preparation / prevention – In this stage, organisation gets ready to attack the crisis by setting up crisis management teams and workings on different plans to tackle different crisis occurring in different forms. The approach towards a crisis management will be through a systematic manner and should be on going. The objective from which this step is approached is to ensure that any crisis that may occur gets nipped in the bud (Perason Mitroff, 1993). Containment / damage control – This stage focuses on actual management of the crisis and trying to contain it with as minimal damage as possible to the organisation and stakeholder (Perason Mitroff, 1993) (Mitroff, 1992). Recovery – This stage focuses on bringing the workings of the organisation to as normal a stage as possible. The recovery process passes through different sub stages. The short term recovery stage tends to bring the working on the organisation to a minimal acceptable level of service. The short term recovery is followed by long term recovery where the operational capabilities of the organisation reach pre crisis level. In some cases, long term recovery will be followed by another recovery process whereby the organisation tends to work at a higher level than that was observed during the precrisis stage. For example, if a fire at a production facility destroys a old machine which has the capability to produce ‘X’ number of products every hour, then a modern machine which has been installed following a crisis has the capability to produce ‘2X’ products thereby ensuring higher level of productivity when compared to the Pre Crisis period (Perason Mitroff, 1993) (Mitroff, 1992). Learning – This fifth stage, post the recovery stage, focuses on improvising operational problems so as to prevent the occurrence of future ones. The stages emphasises on reflecting on the crisis and documenting the lessons learnt rather than finding scapegoats and blaming other parties (Perason Mitroff, 1993). Particularly important during major crises such as the BP oil spill, which affects many different stakeholders, is crisis communication. Crisis communication, which involves communicating with a range of stakeholders, generally relates to the public relations element of crisis management, and is arguably the single most important aspect of the organisation’s response to the crisis. It therefore requires communication with internal stakeholders, including employees and shareholders, and external stakeholders, such as customers, the media, and the surrounding community, about what occurred and how the organisation is managing the crisis (Callan, 2002). Effective Leadership in Crisis Leadership is one of the most discussed topics in times of crisis because, to most people, the importance of leadership is clear since effective organisational leadership: †¦provides a sense of cohesiveness, personal development, and higher levels of satisfaction among those conducting the work; and it provides an overarching sense of direction and vision, an alignment with the environment, a healthy mechanism for innovation and creativity, and a resource for invigorating the organisational culture (Van Wart, 2003, p. 214). As with trying to define ‘crisis,’ there are also many definitions of ‘leadership’ (Stodgill, 1974). Some researchers present established definitions of leadership, for example Kotter (1999, p. 10) defines leadership as â€Å"[t]he development of a vision and strategies, the alignment of relevant people behind those strategies and the empowerment of individuals to make the vision happen, despite obstacles.† Alternatively, some researchers present more general definitions of leadership that may apply equally well to leadership in organisations as to leadership in other settings. Peter. G.Northouse in his book â€Å"Leadership: Theory and Management† (2007 explores four components that are central to leadership: (1) Leadership is a process. (2) Leadership involves influence. (3) Leadership occurs in a group context. (4) Leadership involves goal attainment. Based on these four components, Northouse coined a definition which states that â€Å"Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal†. (Northouse, 2007, p .3). The concept of leadership has evolved over a period of time which typically reflects the larger society as norms, attitudes, and understandings in the larger world have evolved and thereby changed (Richard Daft, 2005). Crisis leadership effectiveness depends largely on an organisation which is responsible for creating an environment for the leadership to operate. A highly experienced and competent manager will still struggle to successfully manage a crisis if there is no adequate support from his colleagues and if the groups are poorly structured and disorganised. Micheal Blyth in his book Business continuity management: Building an effective incident management plan mentions about the following organisational principles to support effective crisis leadership (Blyth, 2009). Clear responsibilities Demarking of clear responsibilities in organisation will ensure that gaps and shortfalls are avoided and duplication of efforts is prevented. Establishing clear responsibilities will also ensure that during the occurrence of crisis along with internal company politics are eliminated (Blyth, 2009) (Fearn-Banks, 2007). Training and education Every organisation should develop a team of leaders who have expertise in dealing with crisis situations and that companies should regularly train these leaders by keeping aside time and resources. These leaders should be regularly trained on managing crisis and utilisation of policies, systems, tools and protocols (Blyth, 2009) (Fearn-Banks, 2007). Practice and rehearsals Regular practice and rehearsals by the crisis management groups will ensure that any loopholes or shortfalls. Regular practice will not only increase the confidence of crisis management team but also help develop familiarity with the Crisis management plans (Blyth, 2009). Empowering Leadership An organisation should develop certain parameters within which crisis management leadership should be empowered and given the freedom to operate. This decentralization process will ensure that crisis at the local level can bring about effective management in times of crisis. Having a centralised leadership in terms of crisis management will significantly undercut the ability of leaders in the ground to successfully manage crisis (Fearn-Banks, 2010). Delegation An important aspect of crisis management structure and the one which is the core component of empowering leadership is to sensibly delegate responsibilities to the lowest level decision making abilities so as to put in place a structured and streamlined management system (Blyth, 2009). Authority lines During the crisis, middle level managers should be aware of the person to be contacted for requisite permissions so as to prevent a scenario where the people attempt to name a decision maker during the crisis event. To ensure that swift actions are taken during the crisis, clear authority lines and permissions should be granted to the crisis management team and people within the organisation must be made aware of the responsibilities of their colleagues in times of crisis (Blyth, 2009). Established systems and supporting mechanisms Effective response to a crisis can be generated by having established systems and support mechanisms in place. Establishing these strategies in place prior to the crisis will help crisis leaders in taking logically defined decisions which will develop confidence among their peers and sub ordinates (Devlin, 2006). Innovation and Flexibility The corners stones of effective crisis leadership are Innovation and flexibility as crisis tends to be unique every time thereby requiring tailored approach for achieving resolution (Blyth, 2009). Leveraging Companies and crisis management teams must be smart enough to leverage both outward and inward resources, capabilities, knowledge and also external resources so as to ensure that it does not lose out opportunities for effectively responding to the crisis (Blyth, 2009).. The leadership framework for crisis management involves drafting a crisis management policy, setting up of crisis management team, developing a communication strategy, establishing partnerships and ensuring preparedness of the crisis management team with regular practice and training sessions. Crisis management – a leadership challenge, 2011 Drafting the crisis management policy includes setting the tone for leadership commitment and mentioning the generic guidelines for action. This policy is based on an organisation’s values and philosophy (Crisis management – a leadership challenge, 2011). After drafting the policy, the next step is to establish a crisis management team. The crisis management team analyzes different scenarios leading to a crisis and plans for the scenarios. Also while establishing a management team, the roles and responsibilities of different members of team are established so as to vent ambiguity in times of crisis (Crisis management – a leadership challenge, 2011) (George, 2011). Following the setting up of a crisis management team, an effective communication strategy and infrastructure will ensure that there is going to be a consistent flow of information to all stakeholders at all time (Crisis management – a leadership challenge, 2011) (George, 2011).. The established crisis management team should go about setting up of partnership with external agencies / organisations so as to ensure availability of critical resources and timely help (Crisis management – a leadership challenge, 2011) (George, 2011). To ensure preparedness of the crisis management team and make sure that they are always on their toes, regular training programmes needs to be conducted and the capability of the crisis management to deal with crisis situation should be checked from time to time through mock drills (Crisis management – a leadership challenge, 2011) (George, 2011). Leadership is particularly important in crisis situations and Boin and ’t Hart (2003) argue that crisis and leadership are closely related phenomena. Since crisis situations are times of uncertainty, people inside and outside the organisation look to leaders to ‘do something’ and thus the visibility of top management, particularly the CEO, during a crisis assures the public that the crisis is being tackled at the highest levels (Halverson et al., 2004, Sadgrove, 2005). Top managers must also actively engage in long-term corrective and preventive actions to avoid being involved in crises time again (Augustine, 1995). Additionally, leaders need to understand the dynamics and psychology of a crisis if they are going to respond well because crisis events require the organisation to make considerable changes to its ‘standard operating procedures’ while still responding to the crisis (Borodzicz, 2000, Santana, 2003). This seems to be have been missing in th e case of BP, as the company has found itself in several crises situations over the past five years that have done major damage to its image and left it seemingly unable to respond well to new crises. In the latest oil spill, the leadership performance of BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward, was not well received. According to Boin and ’t Hart (2003, p. 544): When crisis leadership results in reduced stress and a return to normality, people herald their ‘true leaders’†¦ But when the crisis fails to dissipate and ‘normality’ does not return, leaders are obvious scapegoats. This view of leadership sits quite comfortably with the forms of organization that are common in business, the armed forces and government. Where the desire is to get something done, to achieve a narrow range of objectives in a short period of time, then it may make sense to think in this way. However, this has its dangers. Different leaders have different styles. A great deal of power remains in their hands and the opportunity for all to take responsibility and face larger questions is curtailed (George, 2011). The question to be investigated in this research is: What lessons can be learnt by Hayward performance as a leader during this crisisThe way in which this question can be answered is described in the next section. Methodologies Introduction This chapter focuses of the methodologies that have been used by the researcher during the course of this research. Research Methodology is the course taken by the researcher to find answers to research questions (Kumar, 2005). Middle level managers from BP were engaged in a semi structured interview which focused on their view of BP’s leadership in general and their opinion of how their leaders went about handling Deepwater Horizon Oil rig disaster in particular. The answers collected have been used to provide a simple overview of the factors contributing the crisis and then BP CEO Tony Hayward’s performance as a leader during the crisis Research Methodology The various paths or courses available to choosing data collection techniques and analysis procedures can be depicted by using research â€Å"onion† (Fig A). The centre of the onion gives an idea on the exact way of collecting the data to answer research questions and this centre is reached by peeling away important layers. The important layers that needs to be peeled away to reach the centre point i.e. data collection methods include research philosophy, research approach, Research strategies and Time horizons (Saunders, 2009). Figure A: The Research Onion (Saunders et al. 2009) Research Philosophy The development and nature of knowledge encompasses the term research philosophy. This development and nature of knowledge contains important assumptions on the way a researcher views the world which underpins a researcher’s choice of a research strategy and the methods chosen as part of the strategy. This philosophical commitment not only has a significant impact on what researcher does but also on how they understand things while investigating (Johnson, 2006). The three different research philosophies are Positivism, Interpretivism and Realism. Positivism involves development of knowledge based on observable social reality. The end product of research based on Positivism philosophy is law like generalisations similar to those produced by natural scientists. Intrepretivism involves development of knowledge based on the understanding of differences between humans in roles as social actors and the emphasis on their variables such as behaviour, mood and previous experience. Realism is the development of knowledge based on scientific approach and assumes the independent existence of objects from the human mind (Kothari, 2008) . The research philosophy adopted for this dissertation is Intrepretivism as the development of knowledge was through questioning and dialogue by which people shared their experience. This is because feelings and attitudes towards performance management as â€Å"social phenomena that have not external reality and cannot be measured and modified† (Saunders et al, 2006). Interpretavist stance provides scope for the researcher to use phenomological case studies of people and how they make sense of the world, using their opinions and experience of performance measures in the working environment. Postivisim was not preferred because conducting research among people involves taking into consideration various factors such as behaviour, mood etc which is advocated by interpretivism rather than objects such as trucks and computers as advocated by positivism, whereas emphasis is on working with observable social reality. On the flip side, the difficulty of taking interpretavist stance is that findings make not be generalisable. However, it may be that the types of people being interviewed, due to culture of a BP background, have similar thought processes and hence are generalisable with a BP context (Goddard, 2004). Research Approach Deductive research and inductive research are the research approaches which results in the achievement of new knowledge. Deductive research is more like a top down approach to research where objectives are established followed by defining of key definitions and assumptions. Then the researchers works through a logical structure, based on the key definitions and assumptions, to accomplish the objective. Inductive research is more like a bottom up approach to research where conclusion is drawn only from observations of specific situations (Panneerselvam, 2004). This research involved the development of theory only after analysis of collected data therefore approaching research through inductive approach. Deductive approach was not chosen as the approach required the development of theory and hypothesis and then testing of this hypothesis by designing a research strategy whereas this research was based on finding view of BP’s middle level managers on their leaders handling of Deepwater Horizon Oil rig disaster and the performance of then BP CEO Tony Hayward’s performance as a leader during the crisis, which was the outcome of data collected through semi structured interview. Using Saunders et al’s ( 2006) characteristics of inductive research, the following are reasoned. An understanding will be gained of the meanings humans attached to events through the meanings they attach to performance management, and there will be a close understanding of the research context through the investigation of reasons as to how best to operationalise performance measurements (Kumar, 2005) . The data to be collected will be qualitative, which suggests that the deductive approach is more natural. There may be the potential for collections of qualitative data as well that may lend itself to a deductive approach, but the number of people intended to be interviewed would not enable any generalizations to be made (Kumar, 2005) . The flexible approach of the inductive stance means that if findings lend themselves to a change of direction within the dissertation, this will be possible (Singh, 2009) . The researcher realizes that as part of the research process, ideas developed may translate into action research as they are suggested to the interviewees (Kumar, 2005). Research Strategy The analysis of the collected data so as to obtain information through systematic and orderly approach is called Research strategy. In management studies, the three important research strategies that are rooted in inductive approach and are commonly used include case study, grounded theory and Ethnography. A research strategy for a research is chosen based on certain criteria’s like research questions and objectives, availability of time and resources, existing knowledge level etc (Kumar, 2005). During this research, the researcher used a case study approach which Robson (1999, p. 146) defines as â€Å"a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context using multiple sources of evidence.† This was chosen because, in this research, â€Å"a ‘how’ or ‘why’ question is being asked about a contemporary set of events, over which the researcher has little or no control,†. The case study approach will not only entail in depth examination of single case but also engage many variables with collecting of information from multiple sources such as interviews with BP personals, archival data from BP’s files etc. This research strategy will be used as part of a qualitative methodology because qualitative research examines the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of human behaviour and so does the case study methodology (Yin, 2003). Other strategies such as grounded theory and ethnography which are rooted in inductive approach was considered but it did not fit the scope of this research because of the fact that they are time consuming (Kumar, 2005). Data Collection method Sampling The research objectives were concerned with understanding of BP’s middle managers view of BP’s leadership in general and their opinion of how their leaders went about handling Deepwater Horizon Oil rig disaster in particular and then BP CEO Tony Hayward’s performance as a leader during the crisis. Therefore, the sampling frame for this research included middle-level and senior level managers of BP. Only those managers who have in depth analysis related to the topic of interest were chosen. This method of sampling is called purposive sampling. Unlike random sampling in which every combination of respondents from the sampling frame has a known probability of occurring, purposive sampling is used in the research when the research selects those respondents that are most appropriate for the study (Robson, 1999). Purposive sample is powerful because it allows the researcher to choose respondents that have the most information for in-depth analysis related to the centra l issues being examined. The richest information is not likely to be available from the ‘typical’ case and so using purposive sampling will allow examine in detail the root causes of a given issue and its consequences. A close colleague of researcher who is on the staff of BP helped the researcher in short listing only those managers with access to in depth knowledge of the research topic and on the basis of the contact details provided by the provided by the researcher’s colleague, the researcher sent across email requesting for an appointment to the discuss the research topic and only those who expressed willingness to part of the research was interviewed (Jackson, 2008).  · Data Collection Data will be collected in face-to-face interviews with three middle level managers within BP over a period of one week. Thus till date collected is the primary data. The data will be collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Semi-structured interviews were chosen over alternative approaches, such as focus groups and surveys, as this method will allow researcher to guide the research and probe for deeper answers, elaborations, and examples to allow further explanation of specific topics and at the same time cover a wider scope if undiscovered issues should arise (Robson, 1999). Additionally, semi-structured interviews allow interviewees to tell the interviewer what they consider most significant (Marshall and Rossman, 1999). Semi-structured interviewing starts with more general questions or topics rather than the formulation of detailed questions ahead of time and so structured and unstructured questions will be outlined prior to the interviews based on the research questio n framework (Marshall and Rossman, 1999). In this research, relevant topics will have to be initially identified as well as the possible relationship between these topics and the issues. These managers are responsible for teams of professionals and would be able to provide insight into leadership issues in the organisation, allowing them to accurately articulate ‘rich’ descriptions of their experience of leadership at BP. Each interview is expected to last between 30 and 90 minutes and the interviews will be transcribed within one week of having conducting them to ensure that no additional material or observations were lost or forgotten (Marshall and Rossman, 1999). Following the collection of primary data, secondary data was collected so as to understand get a overall prespective of BP’s leadership and its response to deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. This data was obtained by analyzing various sources including internet and published guides (Jackson, 2008) .  · Data Analysis This research will use qualitative content analysis to interpret the data collected and further analysis will be carried out by triangulating these findings with the findings of the literature review and the questions and topics that this raised. Content analysis is often recommended for analysing semi-structured interviews because it allows the researcher to identify themes, concepts, and meanings and is a way of classifying content (Krippendorff, 2004). As there is existing (but incomplete) theory about crisis management, this research will use a directed approach to content analysis, which allows existing theoretical frameworks to be validated (and sometimes extended) (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005). In the directedapproach to content analysis, extant theory will be used to form codes that will be used in the initial analysis. Data that do not fit into these predetermined codes will be identified and later analysed to determine whether they represent a new category or a subset of a curr ent category. Data that cannot be coded will be identified and analysed later, as suggested by Hsieh and Shannon (2005), to determine if they represent a new category or a subcategory of an existing code. While this method has limitations, the accuracy of predetermined categories can be increased by using an audit trail and audit process (Krippendorff, 2004). By compiling a spreadsheet of literature topics and cross-referencing this to the interviews, it is hoped to be able to correlate findings that produce new insights into the implementation of performance measurement and enable a more effective method of doing so at BP and potentially, within other organisations. Data quality issues The drawback of doing a semi structured interview is the lack of standardisation in these interviews. But the researcher still went ahead with the current interview structure because of the fact that the topic of interest is complex and dynamic and using a semi structured interview approach will provide an opportunity for the interviewer to explore the topic in greater detail (McBurney, 2009). Therefore, in order to overcome these issues, careful planning was done which has been described below. Level of knowledge The effectiveness of interviewing particular manager and their level of knowledge in the deepwater horizon oil spill was obtained by researcher following a detailed discussion with a colleague, who was working in BP. The literature review provided enough level of knowledge with respect to the situational context (McBurney, 2009). Level of information given to the interviewee The interviewees were given relevant information with respect to the research including the topic of the research, the motive of conducting the research and goal to be accomplished by the end of the research (McBurney, 2009). Appropriateness of location The prior appointment was taken before meeting the managers. A meeting room within the BP offices was chosen as the location for the meeting. This was done so to ensure that there is minimal disturbance during the interview process (Louis Cohen, 2000). Appearance in the interview Even though BP is a highly successful and highly powered organization, its dress code is causal i.e. no suits. Therefore, the researchers appearance was also causal which not only went in sync with BP’s dress code but also went well with the semi structured approach to interview Louis Cohen, 2000).. Opening comment during the commencement of the interview To ensure that the discussion shapes in the right direction, the participants of the interview were given the brief on the motive of conducting the research and goal to be accomplished by the end of the research and following their consent, interview questions were put forward Louis Cohen, 2000).. Questioning approach The researcher made sure that the questions put forward for the interview were open ended questions. This was done so as to ensure that the researcher had the opportunity to explore the question in greater detail. Also, while discussing the questions, the researcher was careful not to use highly complex industry jargons whose meanings may vary with the interviewee. In scenarios where the use of jargons were essential, the researcher took care to ensure that both the researcher and the interviewee had the same understanding Louis Cohen, 2000).. Behaviour during the interview The researcher ensured that at all times there was appearance of enjoying the interview process as any appearance of boredom will not encourage the interviewee to give a good response. Also, for the answers given by the interviewee, the researcher made sure that a neutral response was projected so as to not to provide lead that may result in bias Louis Cohen, 2000). Demonstration of attentive listening skills In order to ensure that the interviewee gives as much information as possible, the researcher made sure that the thoughts were held back deliberately. Defending or arguing a particular point of view mentioned by the interviewee would not only result in diverting away from the topic but will also stop flow of thoughts (Jackson, 2008). Documentation of the data The information gleaned from the interviewee was recorded using audio recording equipment and also by taking down notes while the interview was in progress (Jackson, 2008). Generalisability As this research follows Intrepretivism, the development of knowledge was through questioning and dialogue by which people shared their experience. These sharing of knowledge are highly subjective and vary on the moods and behaviour of the people. Therefore, the concerns raised in the dissertation are organisation specific to B.P and may not be applicable to other organisations. But the problems associated with arriving at the right kind of Leadership and crisis management is universal and therefore this dissertation will be useful in other contexts (Jackson, 2008). Access and Ethical Considerations Access to the organisation is to be gained via a close colleague that is a currently on staff at BP. Complying with the ‘Qualitative Research and the Data Protection Act 1998,’ before every interview the researcher will give participants an informed consent form, explaining that the interview will be recorded and that they have the right to withdraw at anytime and withhold any information that they do not wish to share (Marshall and Rossman, 1999). The participants will then be required to sign a consent form before the interview commences. The researcher has read and understood the university’s ethics policies relating to the dissertation and is confident that the dissertation will be carried out by ensuring the following. All interviewees have the choice whether or not to participate in the research They were provided with the outline proposal for the research. The interviewees provided written consent prior to taking up the interview and were given the option of withdrawing from the inte How to cite Critical Discussion of Crisis Management and BP Leadership, Essay examples

Information Systems Business Professionals

Question: Discuss about the Information Systems for Business Professionals. Answer: Introduction The information system is the organized process of collection of the various process parameter related to the project. The process information is pivotal for maintaining a business and can both make and mar a system. Thus the information system helps in collection storage, communication, and organization of vital information about the system. So the information system helps in collection of the information filtration of the information based on the requirements, processing the information based on the need and finally creation and the distribution of the process data. In the case of the AIT, the several information about the students and the staffs, are the information of concern. Also, the company has branches in various cities thus making the system distributed, the IS which helps the various aspects of better data management should be installed at the facility of the company for sharing the data related to the company. A website should also be created to register the potential stu dents and a portal to access the available information for the staffs. This report aims to understand the various literature available regarding similar projects for the ease of implementation of the project successfully in the facility. For the successful implementation of the project and better insight into the problems and the solution annotated bibliography has been presented, which contains six references. The review has been divided into two paragraphs; the initial section contains the summary of the literature that has been selected and the second paragraphs relate the selected article with the problem at hand. It has been aptly presented in the book that many systems do not recognize the need of the information system in the organization. In the absence of the IT system the management of the tasks and the information becomes extremely difficult. According to the authors, the web presence creates a lot of impact on the business of an organization; the absence of a website reduces the confidence in the digital era and implies that the stakeholders are not serious about the consumers. Also, the absence of the information system at a facility makes the data prone to human errors which can affect the name and fame of the organization. Also, the absence of IS makes the data management difficult as the paper-based system cannot be accessed with the ease that is provided by the automated system. As has been stated in the case study the same problems are faced by AIT. The manual system at the facility has taken a toll on the managers of the organization. The task of maintaining the information about the students and the staffs at the various centers has taken a toll on the managers; also the absence of the web presence of the system has affected the business. So the issues that have to be tackled in order of the priority are: avoiding the duplication of the information, safety, and security of the data, sharing of data across the various facilities and a system for enrolling students over the internet. The authors of the paper discuss the modern trend of the society which has helped in increasing the knowledge of the society. The authors also present the need of the information system in the modern era which will not only help the tutors but will also enhance the learning of the students. So from the paper, we understand that the traditional system has various issues that can be effectively counteracted with the help of the information system. The IS in AIT facility will make the organization world class regarding the educational services provided to the students with the help of the online services. The requirements of AIT are similar; the company is mostly traditional and paid importance to the paper-based system. The implementation of the IS in the facility will not only help in better management of the information of the various process stakeholders but will also help in the creation of confidence in the system. The web presence of the organization will create a larger reception area which will help in the creation of better business for the company and will also be the base for improving the student experience through online material and the information system regarding the process. MIS or Management Information System, as has been described by the author is the computer-based system that offers various tools for effectively organizing the various aspects of the project. MIS is of great importance as it helps the managers take better information based on the tools like management, information, and the overall knowledge of the system. The decision making process comprises of the three phases, intelligence through the availability of the information, design through a better understanding of the system and finally the choice which is taken with the help of the available alternatives. So the MIS thus helps in better management of the resources of the organization which is well scattered in the geographical map. It can be seen from the case study that AIT is well scattered due to the presence of the chain in the various cities. The MIS will allow the data to be captured in the computer which can be shared easily with the help of internet. The best suggestion for the organization is implementing cloud based MIS which will allow the couple to check the real-time status of the system. With the help of the cloud based MIS the updates will be done on a single system which can be easily modified on a personal computer or even smartphones thus making the system extremely versatile. The redundancy of the MIS system is high which will allow incorporation of extra centers that will be open at various places thus making is a one-stop arrangement for every need of the business. Thus MIS will effectively reduce the complexity of data management. In this paper, the author has presented the various challenges that are faced by the librarian for the management of the information of the system, which has become widespread with the advent of the technology. Hence as a solution to the management of the distributed knowledge sources, author have suggested the use of the networking techniques like the internet, intranet, and extranet. The various networks that have been described here can be effectively used for easing the information transfer. In the previous section too the cloud services have been discussed for implementation of the centralized software which can be accessed with the help of internet. The student with the help of internet can access the data about AIT and register on the site, which wont need the physical presence of the student for the preliminary work. The staffs can easily access the information shared by the students with the help of internet and can update the system on the cloud, so it can be seen that the implementation of the networking technique will enhance the experience of both the students and the staffs of the organization and will help in better collaboration. The author states that the approaches that are adopted for effectively countering the changes in the system that might be encountered in future with the help of the present tools are known as the change management. So the change management deals with risk and the contingency analysis of the present system and planning the updates of the system based on the result of the analysis. Hence it is mandatory that the system analysis is done to ensure the longevity of the update. For making the most out of the system, the staffs of the organization should be well trained or the recruitment should be made accordingly. AIT is a small organization and has only three centers which can be easily managed with the application of the internet and computers. But it can be easily observed that the organization has just started the journey and has a long way to cover, which means that more centers will be opened at various sites which will be separated by greater distances. Keeping all the factors in mind the cloud services have already been suggested. So for the training of the staffs of the organization regarding the usage of the system, interactive sessions with the implementation team can be conducted which will help in reviewing the system and will ensure that the staffs of the organization are made well aware of the ways to handle the new system. The recent development in the area of the computing cloud services have resulted in a simplification of human life but have also introduced various threats to the people using the services. According to the authors, a lot of unchartered risks have been put in place due to the adoption of the information system and the cloud services. Hence the paper discusses two aspects of the information system which are the ethical issues and the security issues. The ethical issues are the primary one as an ethical person will never be a reason of security theft, although mistakes do create a lot of ruckus for the system. So AIT should create awareness among the employees of the organization. The ethical risks could be staffs could use the personal information of the students and commit identity fraud; the students might utilize their technical skills to exploit loopholes of the system. The security issues that may arise for the system are injection attacks, hacking, and use of other malicious process or tools against the organization. Hence it is highly suggested that the security of the system should be given the foremost priority and the implementation of the cloud should be done by high quality SLAs. References: Ward, J. and Peppard, J., 2016.The Strategic Management of Information Systems: Building a Digital Strategy. John Wiley Sons. 4th, edition. pp.2-25 Shanmugam, K.R., Srinivas, K. and Reddy, K.S., 2014, December. information and communication technology (ICT) in Education: Adcantages, DISADVANTAGES, Conveniences, and limitations. In national seminar. Aggarwal, P., 2016. The Importance of Management Information System (MIS) and Decision Support System (DSS) in Decision-Making Process.Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research,2(12). Sharma, R., 2015. knowledge Management in the digital ERA: A challenge for Libraians. Hayes, J., 2014.The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. Zissis, D. and Lekkas, D., 2012. Addressing cloud computing security issues.Future Generation Computer Systems,28(3), pp.583-592.