Launching Strategy Essay Example for Free

Launching Strategy Essay Purpose: Alpen Bank is facing potential growth opportunities in terms of launching a credit card to the Romanian market. The overall goal is to increase annual profit by â‚ ¬5 million within two years of launch. Selection of the right target audience, while applying the appropriate launching strategy is the direction of our focus. Our goal is to extend the Alpen Bank premium service to customers via a new product market. Predictions of economic growth in Romania, proves that the market is growing increasingly ripe for credit cards. Therefore, the issue is not whether or not Alpine Bank should launch a credit card in Romania. The concern of Alpine Bank should be when to launch said services in Romania. Current models, statistics, and research are conclusive; the time to invest in Romania is now. Position Statement: The recommendation standing and supported by enclosed financial statements are as follows: Launching a credit card in the Romanian market would meet the stated purpose by targeting the affluent and most affluent audience (Exhibit 1). The marketing approach will consist of direct sales in conjunction with branch cross selling (Exhibit 2). Also the use of magazine and television advertising strategies will enhance our position. This approach will add support for the recommendation of taking advantage of a primarily non-penetrated market. Reason: The opportunity to invest in the Romanian credit card market yields potential revenue growth, along with increasing the life time value of each customer, new and existing. With Romania entering the European Union, Alpen Bank has been prompted to re-visit its previous credit card approach in the emerging economy. Additionally, there has been an increase in luxury products and purchases, displaying increased consumer purchasing power, a potential indicator of an increased interest in credit card. Furthermore, Romania is in a transition period, with cards gaining favorability over cash payments. Alpen Bank hopes to build upon prior methods explored in Romania by competing banks in penetrating the credit card market. Decision Options (Exhibit 6): 1.Launch a credit card in Romania. 2.Do not launch a credit card in Romania. Decision Option 1 a.Add a new market: Alpen Bank can continue its successful venture in Romania by adding a credit card to its portfolio. This will foster a continuing growth in an increasingly affluent Romanian upper class. As purchasing power is determined by income level and accumulated wealth, the affluent class is more able than the middle class to make purchases on credit. b.Increase revenue: Current models and predictions indicate a strong opportunity to significantly increase the yearly revenue by investing in the credit card market. Calculations display how the venture will increase the life time value of each customer, ensuring future growth. (Exhibit 1) Decision Option 2 a.Focus on existing markets: Venturing into the credit card market could draw resources away from core Alpen Banking services already in effect for the Romanian market. b.Assure no potential risk: All investments come with inherent risks. By investing substantially into an exploratory market, Alpen Bank is running the risk of not meeting the expected outcome. The potential monetary risk could run into the millions of dollars, along with an incalculable risk to reputation. How to measure Decision Option 1 a.Establish a customer base with the affluent and most affluent: By building upon the currently excising clientele, along with attracting untapped segments of the prosperous Romanian upper class. By comparing the actual number of clients utilizing the Alpen Bank credit card with the models and predictions made pre-credit card launch. (Exhibit 4) b.Increasing revenue from the credit card launch: Expected revenue from the credit card enterprise is projected to be â‚ ¬6,698,391 within two years (Exhibit 2). By updating current calculation models with on-going information as the enterprise proceeds allows for ongoing monitoring of predicted return on investment. The lifetime value of customers will also be assessed on a yearly basis, predicting the value of loyal, long term users of credit cards. How to measure Decision Option 2 a.Projecting further growth without credit card. Venturing into the Romanian credit card market taps resources away from current banking business. Investments could also be put to use in other areas, such as higher frequency of branches opening or improving services currently offered. b.Customer awareness of the bank’s premium brand: By investing in already offered business services. Alpine Bank is committed to improving our superior line of service currently offered to the Romanian clientele. Critique of Decision Options 1 Per limitations of senior management, the investment into the Romanian credit card market must prove itself profitable within two years, yielding at least five million euro. Investing in developing a profitable line of credit cards comes with several risk factors. Predictions of profit could be erroneous, leading to a less than expected return on investments. This in turn could lead to revocable and irrevocable damage to reputation, potentially resulting in a net loss of customer over short and long term. Projections of the positive effects of Romania’s’ recent acceptance into the European Union could also be incorrect. By investing time and energy into a new business venture, current banking services could suffer from subconscious neglect by employees involved in both enterprises. Critique of Decision Option 2 A decision not to invest in the Romanian credit card market will be a hinder of growth. Currently, competing banks are investing and have invested in the growing credit card market. By delaying a venture, Alpen Bank is permitting competitors to gain establishment and credit market branding. Alpen Bank currently holds the potential necessary for a successful venture into the credit card market. By failing to employ said resources, Alpine Bank is neglecting talent and opportunity, which could lead to failure in expected profitability. Being accepted into European Union brings increasing prospect of higher return on investments in the credit card market. By choosing to stay out of the market, Alpine Bank is also forcing excising customers to other banks for credit card services. As experienced in other emerging markets in developing countries, credit card customers are less likely to switch from one credit card to another. Therefore, failing to introduce a line of credit cards now will make it increasingly difficult to attract customers when Alpen Bank eventually starts its credit card venture. Action plan: Goals: †¢Launch a credit card †¢Reach the affluent and most affluent †¢Launch marketing and adverting that appeals to our audience Action Steps: Short term †¢Marketing Plan: Release a Premium Marketing Plan that is focused, achievable, compelling, and simple. As evident by exhibit 1, the chosen target group is the affluent and most affluent segments of the Romanian population. By ensuring a proper understanding of the dynamic characterizing the targeted demographic, we are able to construct the appropriate marketing plan. This will instill the programs, tactics, incentives, and budgets necessary for a strong image and a consistent message reaching the targeted customers. †¢Marketing: Investing in direct sales and branch cross-selling holds the highest effective rate of potential customers reached. These two methods also have the lowest cost per customer. Combined they ensure the most effective tactic in recruiting customers to Alpen Bank’s credit card. (Exhibit 2) †¢Advertising: Magazine and television advertisements. Our advertising goal is to capture the attention of perspective applicants as well as converting prospects involved with other credit card venues. Establishing a clear message for the audience is essential in launching advertising Alpen Bank’s advertising campaign. â€Å"A premium clientele deserves a premium banking experience.† The launch of the campaign considers the sophisticated, vernacular culture of our Romanian clientele. The goal is to assure the same quality experience in our established bank while adding an innovative credit card product to allocate more options for our clientele. -Magazine advertisements could feature admired Romanian model Diana Dondoe, to highlight Alpen Bank’s image of being an upscale and exclusive provider of banking services. -Television advertisements could consist of 30 second runs of a Romanian couple being picked up by their driver and dropped off at the premier launch of the credit card. These are some alternatives in order to illustrate how the product could be marketed. †¢Launch of promotional events by the Alpen Bank’s public relations department. Evening events could be held at elegant local venues for charitable fundraising purposes. Long term †¢Continuing growth in the Romanian market, with special focus on the credit card market. †¢Attracting customers to Alpen Bank by focusing on its premium image and superior services. †¢Expansion in the credit card market, to have established a customer base of 200,000 customers five years following initial launch. †¢As the Romanian economy is growing, the percentage of population with a disposable income is increasing. Alpen Bank will focus on attracting new members of the affluent segment of the population. †¢Increase the lifetime value of each customer, by further expansion of the financial services offered. †¢Increase credit card utilization by informing clientele of benefits associated with credit card purchases, along with temporary potential incentives offered in order to change consumer habits. Risk and Countermeasures †¢The chosen target demographic of affluent and most affluent Romanians could prove itself too limited for effective penetration. However, as the Romanian economy is growing, the targeted demographic is also expected to expand in size. Therefore, even if the current market niche is too limited, it is expected to grow substantially over the next two to three years. †¢The expected profit of five million could not be achieved within the timeframe of two years. As limitations set by senior management calls for a substantial profit to be made within a relatively short amount of time, there is a risk of the time restraints not being met. Yet these restrictions add a clear vision, enabling a structured approach in order to meet the expected outcome within the set timeframe. Final recommendation and conclusion By venturing into the Romanian credit card market, Alpen Bank is capitalizing on a ripe product opportunity. Current predictions and models consistently indicate that by pursuing the recommended strategy, Alpen Bank will see profits grow by a minimum of â‚ ¬6.6 million over two years. Romania’s recent acceptance into the European Union, accompanied with an increase in purchasing power among the affluent fragment of the population will ensure a substantial return on investment. (Exhibit 4, 5)

Essay --

Asian Carp Essay Arron Kruse 11/28/13 Choosing a spot in the Illinois River to fish or motorboat has become a very difficult task of late. Choose incorrectly and one’s boat might all of a sudden be overtaken by hundreds of fish, several dozen pounds in weight and jumping several feet out of the water. These fish are silver carp, one of several types of Asian Carp now present in many Midwest waterways. Having already overtaken and disrupted the ecosystem and economies of many Midwest waterways, the recent evidence that Asian Carp have infiltrated the Great Lakes watershed poses even more serious implications if a method of stopping them is not found. The bottom feeding common-carp was introduced to the United States in the 1800’s by immigrants who were aghast at the lack of a fish that was so prized in Asia and Europe in America. They are now well-established, but being smaller bottom-feeders they don’t pose as much of a threat as Asian Carp. Asian Carp were imported to the United States in the Early 1970’s to enhance fishing and control algae in sewage treatment areas. They were originally supposed to be held in contained areas, but very soon they escaped the breeding ponds during floods. Since then they have spread outward in a variety of ways. The silver carps ability to jump has sped its rapid expansion because it was able to jump over barriers other fish couldn’t. Adult Asian Carp have no natural predators in the US and are prolific breeders, laying hundreds of thousands of eggs at a time allowing them to spread with almost no interruption. They have also made it through lock systems as boats pas sed through. Before the dangers of Asian Carp were fully understood fishermen would sometimes use baby Asian Carp as bait which fur... ...n just a few were to traverse the lakes. It is clear that Asian Carp have found a new home in the United States. They have been able to spread easily and without almost any barriers throughout the Mississippi watershed, they are swimming on the precipice of the Great Lakes watershed. As of now they appear to be being kept out, but only by the slimmest of barriers. If they were to break through there would be very little chance at stopping them from the damage they would inflict on the wildlife and people who need the lakes for their livelihood. It is no longer just a cause for scientists and environmentalists to take up, this is a cause that threatens everybody in the Mississippi and Great Lakes Watershed. If we don’t act now we may be too late, in fact we may already be too late. Ask not what your watershed can do for you, ask what you can do for your watershed.

Is man Good or Evil? Essay

Man is innately good, but has the ability to be evil. I believe that a majority of people do what they believe to be right. Whether they are correct or not is another matter. In order to be truly evil, I believe that one has to purposely, consciously, try to hurt others. Be it physically or mentally, a conscious effort to injure others is for no obvious benifit to the human race is evil. I also think that good and evil are on totally different planes than right and wrong. They do not go hand in hand. I believe this because good and evil in my mind are concrete, they do not change. Right and wrong, however, are more of an individual thing, which can not be confined to guidelines. As I said before, I believe that people try to do good most of the time. As in every rule, however, there is an exception. There are certain circumstances in life which can change the way a person acts. There is a definite duality within me. I am usually a good person. I open doors, push in chairs, listen to people, and help little kids. But, occasionally I catch myself thinking about how I could make someone feel bad. I automatically feel my face turn red, and that would be the end of the thought. But I think once in a while everyone thinks something like, ‘He would really be embarrassed if I told everyone about that time at camp. Plus I could get him back,’ or something like, ‘She doesn’t deserve that. What if they found out what she did last year.’ This is not exactly evil thoughts, but it can quite possibly lead to evil actions. Prejudice is another form of evil that produces alienation and war. I have certain prejudices that I carry and I am not very proud of them, though often my instinct about a person is right. My major prejudice is against people who cannot grasp new concepts at a relatively quick rate, or those who cannot understand quickly. Somebody put it best by saying, ‘Oh, you mean the stupid people.’ I truly do hate calling them that, because often what they don’t succeed at academically, they make it up through artistic talents, athletic, or mechanical talents. But the people I have no respect for are those w ho I know can think for themselves, and understand things, but choose not to. I sometimes have trouble understanding if a person just absolutely cannot get it. I have a couple of friends who are that way, and they just cannot figure out trig. or chemistry. I just get frustrated and want to yell, ‘Why don’t you get this? Why can’t you understand that the thirty-sixty triangle always has a 1-2- 3 ratio!?’ But I can’t because one, I would seem like a total jerk, which I probably would be, and two, they are my friends. Then there are those people who dress and act, and are in fact, ‘druggies’. This prejudice kind of ties in with the first one because if the person is intelligent, than I have absolutely no problem with them dressing etc. like they do. But if they are one of the people who think that the cranium is a type of juice, then I seriously get so stressed out that I want to grab them by their lapels and shake them to jump start the brain I know they have. How does this effect my life? I know that it puts a great amount of extra stress on me that I could definitely live with out. But it also really makes me fell bad that I feel this way. I think that I am pretty open minded when it comes to the types of prejudice that are usually discussed, such as racism and sexism. I also am not homophobic and usually do not discriminate on the basis of age. In fact, I am very much biased against the people that are such. However, I believe that my prejudices are not something which contribute to hate crimes, the deaths of minorities or the dreams of a young girl. I feel that my biases are very much benign. A Shaker saying is something which if all men lived by, the world would be a ahppy place. Mary Whitcher said,’Be slow to anger, slow to blame, and slow to plead thy cause. but swift to speak of any gain that gives thy friend applause.

Treating Metabolic Syndrome using a Mediterranean Diet and High Intensity Interval Exercise - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1633 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/02/15 Category Health Essay Level High school Tags: Diet Essay Did you like this example? With the constant demands of everyday life, people are finding it more difficult to obtain a healthy body weight (Richard et al. 2012). There seems to be a viscous cycle of being overweight, not having enough time to stick to an extensive exercise schedule, and not eating correctly which feeds back into being overweight. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Treating Metabolic Syndrome using a Mediterranean Diet and High Intensity Interval Exercise" essay for you Create order This lifestyle may lead to dysfunction and ultimately health problems like metabolic syndrome. Some people may even have genetic predisposures to metabolic syndrome in their DNA (Chrysohoou et al. 2004). Metabolic syndrome is a condition that is categorized by high rates of adiposity, heart problems, and high blood pressure (Dunn et al. 2014). In addition, those suffering from metabolic syndrome also experience pro-inflammatory levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) leading to an insulin resistance in the body (Pitsavos et al. 2007). IL-6 is an inflammatory marker that is characterized by chronic low-grade systemic inflammation which is linked to metabolic syndrome (Cullen et al. 2016). It is made primarily by lymphocytes and causes antibodies to take action. However, IL-6 is elevated during exercise and even during an illness, so it often believed that exercise can be dangerous because inflammation occurs. During an illness, the body is trying to fight off the bacteria; therefore, the immune cells create pro-inflammatory levels. Similarly, the body becomes inflamed during exercise; however, the more exercise that occurs, the more the body will get used to the inflammation which results in anti-inflammatory levels. This is beneficial because anti-inflammatory levels combat the occurrence of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Individuals with metabolic syndrome may find a regular exercise schedule, also termed â€Å"Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training†, to be unappealing, impossible, and ultimately not effective (Van Biljon et al. 2018). However, the research behind High Intensity Interval Exercise (HIIE) suggests this is a far more effective plan of action (Lahoz et al. 2018). HIIE involves high levels of activity performed in alternating short bursts and rest periods. One recent study concluded that over half of the eleven participants saw a reduction in capillary glycaemia, a heart health issue, after performing HIIE (Viana et al. 2018). Using this method, individuals with metabolic syndrome experienced weight loss, reduced blood pressure, and anti-inflammatory IL-6 levels (Cullen et al. 2016). Therefore, HIIE can help reduce metabolic syndrome from the exercise side of life, but what about the unhealthy eating side of the issue? There are many different diet trends and most are ineffective or yield only temporary results (Ajith et al. 2018). If someone is looking for reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome, the best diet to choose is the Mediterranean diet (Vitale et al. 2018). The Mediterranean diet is recommended in those with metabolic syndrome and even type 2 diabetes due to its high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3, and fiber (Estruch et al. 2016). There was a recent study conducted in Spain in which over 7,000 individuals who were at risk for cardiovascular disease adopted either a Mediterranean diet or a simple reduced-fat diet. The researchers concluded that those who adhered to the Mediterranean diet showed a much lower risk of heart disease than those who ate reduced-fat only (Spence et al. 2018). In summation, studies illustrated the roles IL-6 have on metabolic syndrome, as well as those that demonstrate how metabolic syndrome can be counteracted by Mediterranean dieting and HIIE, respectively. The purpose of this current study is to determine whether or not HIIE and a Mediterranean diet would decrease the risk of Metabolic Syndrome. It was hypothesized that IL-6 levels would be reduced following this alternative intervention for metabolic health. Approval for this study was granted by the University of New South Wales Research Ethics Committee and the University of La Verne released approval for the data to be used. Data was gathered from a study performed in New South Whales, Australia in 2014 by a team of researchers that categorized the effects of HIIE and Mediterranean dieting on numerous metabolic syndrome markers including IL-6 levels (Dunn et al. 2014). Thirty-four women between the ages of 18 and 25 volunteered to participate in the study. The participants were divided into two groups; a control group of 17 women who did not change their dietary or exercise habits, and an experimental group of 17 who adhered to a Mediterranean diet and HIIE for the duration of the study. Twenty-four hours prior to testing, all participants were instructed to refrain from consuming caffeine and performing any vigorous activity. They were also asked to fast 12 hours prior. The women kept a food diary for 3 days/week pre- and post- intervention to track their meals and Mediterranean eating. The dietary intake was analyzed using dietary analysis software (Foodworks, Australia). A Mediterranean diet score was used to provide information on a scale from 0 (least adherent) to 9 (most adherent). Their scores were based off median values calculated from mean scores. As for exercise training, supervised women were given a 5-minute warm-up and cool down and sprinted on a stationary bike for 8 seconds followed by a 12 second rest period known as LifeSprints. They repeated this for 20 minutes, 3 times a week, for 12 weeks at 80%-85% of each women’s peak heart rate. Baseline and post-test readings were taken for a variety of factors including body composition and blood pressure. The IL-6 levels of each participant were quantified using enzyme-linked assay kits (ELISA), which was determined by dual wavelength absorbance measurement. (Dunn et al. 2014). Finally, all data underwent statistical analysis using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Science for Windows software (SPSS, version 25). An independent t-test was completed to assess any significant differences between the two groups pre- and post-testing. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not HIIE and a Mediter ranean Diet would lower the risk of metabolic syndrome through a reduction in IL-6 levels. The hypothesis was that HIIE and a Mediterranean diet would in fact lower IL-6 levels, thus lowering the risk of metabolic syndrome. Thirty-four women volunteered to participate in this study. Demographics about the women are shown in Table 1. The experimental group of 17 women were given a diet to follow and a HIIE program to complete for 12 weeks, while the control group was asked to not change any of their diet or exercise habits. Both groups were tested pre- and post-intervention to determine the differences. An Independent T-test on SPSS was performed between the control and experimental group to assess their pre- and post-intervention IL-6 measurements for significance. For the experimental group, IL-6 levels decreased significantly by 32% [difference/pre IL-6=% change (Table 2)]. A two-tailed independent sample t-test showed there was a significant difference in pre- and post-tests between treatment and control group [t(34) = 2.61, p = 0.014], such that the treatment group showed greater improvement than the control group. Overall, the data collected from this experiment supports the notion that HIIE paired with a Mediterranean diet has a positive effect on IL-6 levels in the body. Between the control and experimental group, pre- and post-study, IL-6 measurements were statistically compared. For the experimental group, IL-6 levels decreased significantly by approximately 32%. However, the control group’s IL-6 levels only decreased by about 3% due to the fact that they were instructed to not change their diet and exercise habits. Collectively, the experimental group showed greater improvement than the control group for this study, supporting the hypothesis that HIIE paired with a Mediterranean diet has a positive effect on metabolic syndrome, specifical ly IL-6 levels in the body. Previous studies on HIIE have proven results for weight loss. Using this method, individuals with metabolic syndrome experienced weight loss, reduced blood pressure, and anti-inflammatory IL-6 levels (Cullen et al. 2016). In addition to HIIE, dietary improvements can also aid in the pursuit to reduce metabolic syndrome. Overall, the best dietary intervention is the Mediterranean diet (Vitale et al. 2018). The Mediterranean diet is recommended in those with metabolic syndrome and even type 2 diabetes due to its high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3, and fiber (Estruch et al. 2016). The limitations of this study include geographic and demographic specificities. The sample population for the study included only university women between 18 and 25 years of age living in New South Wales. Metabolic syndrome can be found in other countries such as the United States; however, this study cannot be fully related to America because the lifestyles may va ry to some degree that cannot be predicted with this data alone. Similarly, men can also experience metabolic syndrome as well as women, but that group is not included in this study either. To gain the full scope of knowledge regarding metabolic syndrome, similar research would have to be conducted at least in all developed countries. Various age groups would need to be observed and all genders would need to participate as well. Such a study would take many researchers years and much funding to gather the data alone. Therefore, while that is the best theoretical path to take, it is not ideal. Instead, the research might be expanded upon one or two more groups to get a better grasp of how well the treatment works. Perhaps additional information could be gathered on men of the same age or women of more varied ages.Extreme IL-6 levels in the body indicate an individual who may be suffering from metabolic syndrome (Cullen et al. 2016). During exercise, these levels are known to be reduced. The most efficient exercise method to reduce such levels was found to be HIIE training. Risks of metabolic syndrome can also be reduced through diet. The Mediterranean diet has showed to yield great results for this. When the two methods were utilized together in this study, it was found to be extremely beneficial. IL-6 levels decreased significantly by approximately 32% when compared to the control group. Overall, this study shows that both HIIE and Mediterranean diet should be used simultaneously in order for individuals to get the best results of lowered IL-6 and decreased risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

The Hypersexualization of Young Women and the Role Models...

Free will and the ability to choose for ourselves are some of the most important natures that make us human. As a society though, we have put limits and restraints on some people for arbitrary reasons, and try to override people’s free will, especially young women. In today’s society, young women are subjected to all kinds of prejudice and double standards. From having to face the ‘slut or prude’ paradox of sex, the rules of dressing and appearance, or how to act in public, the amount of scrutiny that they face is outrageous. These issues that they face creates a social dialogue that is constantly analyzing young women and how they act, enough that it slowly worked to become social knowledge that almost every women follows consciously and†¦show more content†¦Straight, young women in the United States have adopted a new wave of feminism, and have forced it into mainstream view where any race and any class can adopt it. This variation of the feminis t movement involves â€Å"fighting fire with fire,† and they have done this by adopting the hyper sexualization of their bodies, and reversing it onto the male figure through the over sexualization of the male body. Women have also taken a major virtue of feminism, which is the right of choice. Instead of shaming others for being celibate or for being sexually active, they accept each other and push to inspire others instead of forcing them into being submissive members of the knowledge. Although, the real question is what has caused this new wave to appear so quickly, and in a way that everyone almost has the exact views and behaviors? Again, if we look towards media and its ability to make social knowledge spread like wildfire. Actresses, Musicians, and Pop Culture Icons have also adopted this behavior and started a new social knowledge fire, and young women are mimicking them. However, I feel that one person is an original fire starter of these new wave of feminism, and th at is Ke$ha. Ke$ha’s behavior has always been under watchful eye ever since she came into spotlight, and everything she does promotes this new wave, be it good or bad. Ke$ha promotes the fighting back of sexual objectification byShow MoreRelatedThe Oversexualization And Objectification Of Women1528 Words   |  7 PagesThe Oversexualization and Objectification of Women On all platforms of media, women and even young girls are oversexualized; thus leading to men viewing women as no more than breasts, vaginas, legs, or any other body part they prefer. Even in current television shows, movies, comic books, and advertisements, women are still depicted as sexual objects, which can damage a woman’s confidence. The oversexualization of women s bodies can degrade a young woman’s confidence, and when girls try to boost

Manipulating The Supernatural William Shakespeare s...

Manipulating the Supernatural It is human nature to be drawn toward people that we can relate to. Because of this Shakespeare made his characters as relatable as possible to the audience members of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century and their views on life so he could generate more recognition for his plays. Throughout Shakespeare s plays, Othello and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he appeals to the audience by relating to their human nature. One of the major observations of human nature that Shakespeare likely made and incorporated into his plays is the human desire to be drawn toward the seemingly supernatural and unknown. In the first of the two plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello sets a stage consisting of two dimensions: a typical perception of late fifteenth century England and a supernatural fairy world that is capable of supervising the other. The ubiquity and punctuality of all of the fairy characters as well as the presence of their magical artif acts displays the extent of which there are supernatural aspects in play. Inversely in Othello, there is a large presence of manipulation while still suggesting some supernatural elements but not admitting the story to them. In both Othello and A Midsummer Night’s Dream Shakespeare suggests a connection between the conventional understanding of manipulation and the supernatural aspects of the play by displaying the parallel outcomes of each. During the turn of Shakespeare’s success around 1595, it was his

Project Management and Evaluation free essay sample

QTN†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"If Monitoring and Evaluation is to be useful to managers, donors, participants and citizens, then the work must be honest, objective and fair. Data must be collected accurately and reporting done truthfully†. Monitoring and evaluation serves as an essential tool for ensuring sound management within the lifetime of projects or policies. There are certain activities that must be done to put into consideration the cost, time, feasibility and useful means in relation to identifying the maximum amount of information needed to meet the need of monitoring and evaluation. In essence, there should be comprehensive information that cover the full range of the required inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts which should focus on the monitoring and evaluation purposes. Essentially the vitalness of monitoring and evaluation will be reflected upon the collection of data and information which are relevant, efficient, effective and sustainable, in relation to the aims and objectives which the stakeholders of the project or policy needed in accordance with their interest. We will write a custom essay sample on Project Management and Evaluation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For monitoring and evaluation to become valuable to managers, donors, participants and citizens, then the effort must, be straightforward, purposive and reasonable. It is the obligation of those involved in such activities of monitoring and evaluation to make sure that the data are collected accurately and that reporting is undertaken truthfully. The essay focus on discussing monitoring and evaluation work which constitutes honesty, objectivity, and fairness in relation to how useful it can be to managers, donors, participants and citizens. Also too, the collection of accurate data and undertaking truthful reporting which could be essentially important to undertake necessary adjustment within the lifetime of projects. Initially, it will base discussion on the usefulness of carrying out honest work of monitoring and evaluation and the significance it stresses, in relation to managers, donors, participants and the citizens. Moreover, it discusses the vitalness of undertaking the work which reflects the objectives. Furthermore, the usefulness of carrying out fair work, and finally, it focus on the essence of accurate data collection and undertaking truthful reporting on feedbacks of projects or policies. To start of with, monitoring and evaluation focus on searching for answers about development interventions that can be done at different times in the life cycle of the project, therefore any necessary requirements should be undertaken carefully. The work involves gathering, analysing, interpreting and reporting information on project performances. For instance, the work of monitoring and evaluation are important to such extent as providing the stakeholders with better means for learning from past experiences, improving service delivery, planning and allocating resources and demonstrating results as part of accountability to key stakeholders. Managers, donors, participants and citizens each perform certain distinctive roles and interests in which they emphasise on various perspectives in response to the work of monitoring and evaluation. The work of monitoring and evaluation can be essentially vital for managers who oversee implementation, donors and other decision makers who influence or decide the course of action related to the project. The citizens whose situations the project seeks to change and participants who implement actions of the project (Wobiro, A. 2002; p47). For monitoring and evaluation to be advantageous, then the work must be honest, objective and fair, and so there should be precise data collection and reporting to be carried out truthfully in such a way it will be significant to concerned audiences. The work of monitoring and evaluation should be honest to ensure honesty and integrity in having respect to the safekeeping, dignity and self-worth of respondents to surveys, the project participants, citizens and other stakeholders they interconnect with. Knowing that a lot may be at stake for a project, it is not surprising that some people may try to influence the way information is presented or the recommendations that are made. Wobiro, A. (2004:p79), argues that†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"While most of those carrying out the work of monitoring and evaluation would easily recognise bribe (and reject it), though it is not always easy to recognise more subtle forms of influence†. It is the responsibility of those who undertake the work of monitoring and evaluation to ensure that data on project performances are appropriately being collected and that the reporting is done truthfully to provide information to outside audience. For instance, different audience need different information on what concerns them in relation to the project performances, even when addressing the same issues. To paraphrase Kellogg Foundation (2002:p97), the distribution of honest information about the project to outside audiences can be vital as it does serve many purposes. The managers can indulge on improving the effective means on the functioning of related projects and organisation, providing an accounting purposes to donors and the regulatory bodies, convincing diverse audiences of the project’s importance, and generating further support for the projects being implemented. A monitoring and evaluation work that sits on someone’s shelf will not lead to develop project design and management. Therefore, carrying out honest monitoring and evaluation work can be effective as it does provide usable information that the project staff and other stakeholders can utilize directly to make decisions about the project. Moreover, for the work of monitoring and evaluation is to be proved useful to the responsible bodies, then it must reflect its objectives. Monitoring and evaluation that is to be usable must essentially being centred on the questions concerning the progress of the project under investigation, thus its objectives must be stated clearly as to reflect the information which the key stakeholders need to acquire. The performance based monitoring and evaluation concerns the assessment, as organized and objective as potential of intentional, enduring, or accomplished project. For example, the work is intended to define that whether the project still relevant to the problem, being considered efficient, effectively undertaken, impact, and sustainability of the project so as to incorporate lessons learned into the decision making process by the managers and other important decision makers. The work of monitoring and evaluation in essence provides worthwhile responses to managers, donors, participants and the citizens as it informs decisions on operations or activities that are related to ongoing or future project intervention. According to Rossi and Freeman, (1989:p45)†¦ â€Å"The work is for management and administrative purposes, to assess the appropriateness of program changes, to identify ways to improve the service delivery of interventions or to meet the accountability requirements for funding groups†. With the essence of the work being objectively undertaken, the project management and administration will have to, in their day to day conduct their undertakings as competently as possible. The managers and supervisors, who have reputations for wasting funds, improperly using staff resources, and in other ways being efficient, regularly endanger not only their own positions but the futures of their projects. The systematic response of objective work of monitoring and evaluation will serve as a influential tools that enables project managers to document the functioning efficiency of organisation, for easing the ways staff are employed, for requesting for the project support and, and for defending the performance of the project compared to those undertaken by the other organisations is the same social program sector. Similarly, project donors and the other stakeholders have need of evidence that what was paid for and considered necessary was actually undertaken concern over the lack of accountability of projects, particular public project continues to intensify . For instance, the objective work could be essentially vital to stakeholders as it can cater to empower corporate learning and contribute to the body of knowledge on what works, what does not and why, therefore there can be informed decisions on operations or strategy related to ongoing or future project intervention. The participants, with regards to the information needed, will be concerned with the impact or outcome of the project implementation to consider effective strategies to carry out the activities of monitoring and evaluation effectively and efficiently. The monitoring and evaluation work will pursue to measure project sound effects in relative to its specified goals, whether and to what degree the project’s inputs and services are improving the quality of people’s lives. It provides information on the changes in the behaviour and conditions of targeted communities and individuals (Rossi and Freeman, 1992; p26) by assessing the effectiveness of the project in attaining its originally stated intermediate and overall objectives. Though the project monitoring and evaluation undoubtedly aids the interests of the funders, project managers, staff, and the beneficiaries, all of whom benefit from a process that advances project actions, each of these groups might resist an impact evaluation out of concern that the result might be negative. For instance, the funders might have to admit to mistakes in judgment; project managers and staff might consider their jobs threatened; beneficiaries, if they are receiving food or other goods or services may fear their loss. Overpowering such resistance to monitoring and evaluation is not always possible, but experience suggests that resistance can be reduced if the stakeholders of a project are involved in planning for the evaluation and reviewing monitoring and evaluation data as they are being compiled. Furthermore, for the work of monitoring and evaluation to become useful, then it should be done fairly in its examination and recording of strengths and weakness of the project being monitored and evaluated, so that strengths can be built upon and problems addressed. Those involve in the monitoring and evaluation activities should make certain that the complete set of the findings along with relatable limitation are made accessible to the audience affected by the monitoring and evaluation, and any other expressed permissible privileges to receive the results. The managers to the project, donors, participants and the citizens need to have a fairly accomplished wealth of information, so that each of them essentially have the opportunity to articulate and present their needs, interests and expectations related to the project. For instance, the fair work of monitoring and evaluation aids the manager of projects to make sound management decisions to promote and made effective a more efficient allocation of resources and so, the participants can indulge in putting in place related corrective measures through implementation performance. As highlighted in the United Nation Population Fund (2001; p3), â€Å"The work gives the stakeholders a sense of ownership over monitoring and evaluation results, thus promoting their use to improve decision making, and so increases the understanding of stakeholders of their own project strategy and processes, what works, does not work and why. † The donors to the project needs accountability on the uses of funds they lend and likewise the population will expect the work to be fair as they are engaged with the growing interest that their situation seeks to change from benefits of the project outcomes. Finally, the collection of data to be carried out accurately and that reporting should be undertaken truthfully. The aim should be to identify the minimum amount of new information needed to meet the monitoring and evaluation needs. For all intents and purposes, the considerations of cost, time, feasibility and useful means must need to be very carefully selective in what was collected. The first consideration in any data collection process is to identify existing data and assess its quality. There may be existing monitoring and evaluation documentation or there may be data generated through existing reporting or budget control systems that can be adopted for the new monitoring and evaluation purposes. For example, if a project has to make regular accounting reports to the government or declare all purchases to a head office, this sort of data that you should first use. According to Wobiro, A. (2002; p32) â€Å"The collection of new data and the setting up of new monitoring and evaluation activities should only take place if existing processes cannot answer the questions that have been raised†. There is always existed a danger of creating masses of needless data that leads stakeholders to say â€Å"so what†. It is the occupations of those involve in monitoring and evaluation to ensure the data are collected accurately and reporting is done truthfully. Monitoring and evaluation activities usually engage mutually quantitative and qualitative data and most collection method involve some aspect of both. For example, you may decide to do a survey, a typical qualitative method to get people’s opinion about the outcome of a project. But to do this survey, you must make decisions about the outcome of how you choose those people and when you finish the survey you must analyse it to allow you to describe what the majority and minority opinions were. These actions require you to apply quantitative method of data collection. Additionally, the reporting on the work of monitoring and evaluation should be undertaken truthfully in ensuring to get the message across to the right people. The project managers, donors, participants and citizens will be eager enough that reporting have been undertaken truthfully, so that any necessary adjustments can be done through the implementation progress. Undertaking the finest monitoring and evaluation course of action can be done, but if you cannot put in order a well-constructed, well-presented and convincing report then all the work will be nothing. It is vitally necessary to disseminate and communicate the results to key stakeholders and other audiences as soon as possible and in forms that are easy to understand and use. As stated in the United Nation Population Fund (2001; p95) The results should be distributed to those with a direct interest in the project, particularly individuals with duty for building important decision about the project and to other potentially concerned people. Adding on to the dissemination of final report, it is useful to organise conventions, workshops and conversation groups with various stakeholders, using a variety of methods such as visual displays and sounded presentations to communicate results and to help users assimilate and interpret information. For example the monitoring and evaluation staff can prepare information on the most important findings and describe what effect they will have on the project implementation, development and expansion. Monitoring and evaluation must provide usable information. It must enable project directors, for example, to guide and shape their projects towards the greatest effectiveness. The most significant features of an effective evaluation is that it does make available usable information , information that project staff and other stakeholders can make use of directly to make decisions about the project. To conclude, the usefulness of monitoring and evaluation to the project managers, donors, participants and the citizens will be reflected upon the honest, objective, fair, accurate data collection and the truthful undertaking of reporting of information relevant to project. The work of monitoring and evaluation should be honest to ensure honesty and integrity in having respect to the safekeeping, dignity and self-worth of respondents to surveys, the project participants, citizens and other stakeholders they interconnect with. It should also to be undertaken objectively in essence that it provides worthwhile responses to managers, donors, participants and the citizens as it informs decisions on operations or activities that are related to ongoing or future project intervention. Moreover, the work of monitoring and evaluation must be carried out fairly in its examination and recording of strengths and weakness of the project being monitored and evaluated, so that strengths can be built upon and problems addressed. Those involve in the monitoring and evaluation activities should make certain that the complete set of the findings along with relatable limitation are made accessible to the audience affected by the monitoring and evaluation, and any other expressed permissible privileges to receive the results. And so, the collection of data to be carried out accurately and that reporting should be undertaken truthfully. The aim should be to identify the minimum amount of new information needed to meet the monitoring and evaluation needs. For all intents and purposes, the considerations of cost, time, feasibility and useful means must need to be very carefully selective in what was collected.