Travel, Tourism, Lodging, Food & Beverage, Content and Application Essay Example for Free

Travel, Tourism, Lodging, Food Beverage, Content and Application Essay Abstract In this very competitive world of business like in hotel and restaurant, it is not only about customer service is important but more importantly it is about safety and design of the hotel is very important.   Rehabilitation that not only gives security for its guest and even rehabilitation of guestrooms would give added enticement for guest to come to the hotel.   This is also the main aim of this paper, which is to provide the different factors that should be done in order to achieve effective rehabilitation and maintenance in the hotel. Introduction In this continuous effect if globalization, many businesses are not only continuous to rely heavily on research on how they can perform quality service and also on how they can effectively manage human resources in the organization.   But, for hotel and restaurant business, it is more than just superior quality service or satisfying its manpower that needs to the main priorities.   Since hotels and restaurants are there to entice guest, most especially foreign guests, their safety and comfort is another aspect of the business that cannot be compromised. Safety, not only with regards to terrorist attack but safety with regards to maintenance and rehabilitation of the building itself is the one that needs to be done.   For superior comfort and satisfaction among its guest, design is another aspect that guest would always feel to come back to the hotel and restaurant that has created more than just satisfaction for them, but it is more of total relaxation and peace whenever they visit and these are the main focus of this paper.   This paper also provides some relevant information that would really help hotels or restaurant to achieve these very important aspects of this type of business. Main Thesis Rehabilitation is truly one of the most important aspects of ensuring guest that safety is also a priority in every hotel business in order to achieve superior quality service.   This has also become a common practice and a shared responsibility of the housekeeping, maintenance, and engineering department of all hotels.   Housekeeping because with excellent housekeeping, it can help guest to be organized since the hotel is also organized, effective advice on where and when to use facilities and other hotel service will be observed.   Maintenance is also another aspect for this paper because it also a vital department for assuring quality in the hotel, this department does all the fixing that need to be perform in the hotel before it becomes worst if not attended properly. One excellent example for maintenance is electrical maintenance within the hotel, possible leak problems also.   These are just some of the problems that may arise if maintenance department will not be pro-actively anticipating these problems.   Lastly, engineering department within the hotel is also another team that will be vital for the success of rehabilitation; engineering team will be used to formulate a more of long-term plan for the hotel in order to achieve longer and stable security and assurance for safety within the hotel.   One good example here is when they implement control system for disaster and safety devices that will be used for emergency situations. III. Related Topics In the actual rehabilitation of the facilities in the hotel, there are many roles that need to be involved.   Not only roles or duties are involved but also additional cost is also involved. Facility Systems Facility systems are one of the major aspects of rehabilitation that is always a concern within the hotel.   It involves the following facilities: (1) safety and security, (2) water and wastewater, electrical, (3) heating, ventilating and air conditioning, (4) lighting, (5) laundry, (6) food service equipment, lastly, (7) building structure, finishes and site system.   These are the different facility system that has to be the main focus for rehabilitation and maintenance.   Starting from safety and security, alarm signals are just one of the most common facilities involved in security.   This sometimes creates peace of mind for most of the guest since it makes them feel that the hotel can always be ready for any disaster. This also directs guests to directions and paths for safety in case disaster happens, an example guide here is the fire exit and fire extinguishers, and these are just two common examples.   For water and wastewater systems, it involves how waster is properly managed within the hotel.   This is one of the most important facility systems within the hotel that can create big dissatisfaction among its guests, because waster can affect health and it can cause other problems like environment as well.   Waster control like proper garbage collection and disposal are just some of the common priorities in this area.   But, more importantly is water; water system should also be maintained at all times since it is the source for cleanliness within the hotel.    Maintaining it like always checking the water holes and reserves, most especially for disaster situation is importantly be monitored and checked round the clock.   The third is electrical system, this is no question that has to be maintained as well since most buildings like hotels, electrical related disasters are always the issue for fire in the buildings. Some of the common priorities in order to minimize if not totally eliminate this problem is that it needs to check the smoke and fire detectors, also includes here is the safety guidelines for safe electrical tips within the hotel.   Guest should always be well educated for every situation that would occur that relates to electrical issues within the hotel, because this not only would create problem for the guests but also for the owners most especially.   The fourth facility that needs to be well maintained and rehabilitated is lighting, lighting creates better ambiance for the hotel which creates a relaxing mood for the guests. Lighting focuses more on the design of the hotel rather than for security and safety of the guests.   For the fifth and sixth facility systems, laundry and food service equipment, starting with the laundry, these are very important for long stay guests, laundry services and facilities are essential most especially in terms of drying services for laundries. There are laundry services that have no driers available and this can create dissatisfaction for the guests.   The sixth facility services of food equipments, many facilities that falls in this category are common facilities within the hotel, food equipments are sometimes in common areas where these equipments must also be checked if it is enough for its guests, like for example doe micro wave ovens are enough for the guests. Or will there be any facility that would give guest the chance to cook in their own room in case they want it.   Lastly, is building structure, does the building is well maintained yearly, does the structure is string enough to sustain the number of floors with the total number of guest and what if the number exceeds this numbers. Or what if there will be disaster like earthquake, will the building can sustain that unexpected disaster, does the building has been checked regularly on how its structure can sustain disaster.   This is very important because it does not only create a worry-free for customers or guests but also a concern for business if in case the owners would really focus on not just satisfying their customers with their design but most of all safety of everyone. Facility Design The design for hotels establishments is also another priority for maintenance and rehabilitation.   Design is always a recipe for competition among hotels, it also one major aspect on how it can entice more guests depending on how relaxing and how inviting the design of interiors it maybe.   One of the major designs driven part of the hotel is the lobby or the guest rooms.   This is where quest considered as king and queen of the hotel.   This can create an environment of high respect for its guests.   Maintaining this part of the hotel is considered a mandatory action that needs to be done all the time.   From the superior design of lightings, interiors, furniture and even up to the uniform that is worn by hotel personnel are all part of the design that would attract more and more guests to visit the hotel. In the design priority within the hotel, there are three most common design factors that always need to prioritize in the hotel: lodging planning and design, food service planning and design, and lastly, other renovation design.   Lodging planning design is again part of this is the guest room, reception or lobby design area, where this section should always be well attractive to the guests.   Again, most of the time it is not only the design itself that is being focus here but part of it are also the people who are working within this special section of the hotel.   Usually, only the most charming, intelligent and articulate persons of the hotel works in this section, which not only to educate guests about the security, safety as well as how they can enjoy other facilities are explained.    Lodging planning design also involves the way the rooms are designed which primarily focus on how they can effectively welcome guests with the design and well presented gifts and service that guests can always feel respected.   For food planning design, this is more of how personalized service is given for guests, like the usual breakfast in bed or if the guests are in the buffet area, a design for presentation of food where the guests will be able to be given freedom of choosing what ever food he or she wants.   A design that would not always make the guest feel bored, even a smile from the waitress and a warm offering of additional coffee or with additional towel even before the end of meal are an important gestures that need to be carries out and will always be part of the design of the food planning of the hotel. For other renovation design, there are also other parts of the hotel that are usually in need of design improvements or maintenance.   This includes facade of the hotel or even the design of facilities of the hotels like swimming pools and saunas.   This could also add value to the service that the hotel provide from its guest, most especially if the hotel always tried its best to be more personalized as possible, that would give additional appreciation from the guests.   (Stipanuk, D, 2006, pp. 89-201). Involvement in Safety Organization through Training and Seminars It is also important for hotels to be able to really measure the success and achievement they have when it comes to safety or design is to be involved in known and respected organizations.   Like in the case of safety OSHA Us Department of Labor (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), this organization is one of the well respected institution when it comes to safety and health administration in all types of organization.   For hotels, it is important that they are well monitored and followed the best guidelines of this organization in order not only use the company investment effectively but also would give its owners most especially their customers the assurance that they are compliance to real safety and health procedures that are presented by such well respected institution like OSHA. As lone good example in this paper is where there was a recent partnership or alliance between the workers of the US Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Association and the US labor Department’s OSHA.   This alliance will promote safety and health trainings for hotels and hospitality workers of the Island.   This alliance will focus on three aspects: fire protection, hazard communication and the use of personal protective equipment.   This training not only gives the worker more confidence as to how they would react and act on certain situation pro-actively, most especially in situations that are unexpected. The training will also give the workers enough information on hoe they will identify the hazardous information that they might encounter on the job and how they can respond and act on it.   OSAH will also provide best practices and processes on the safety and health administration that can be applied in the hotel which is mandatory for all hotel businesses.   This was also considered a big investment not only for future business benefit but also knowledge gain for all the workers in the hotel business around the island.   With this initiative, the workers will be more confident in performing their jobs and also can increase quality service for its customers in the island.   (Fitzgerald, T, 2007). Infusing New Ideas In the side of design, there are both innovative and economical ideas that can be perform in the hotel business.   This also could help minimize or if effectively implemented could eliminate disaster in the hotels.   Like the infusion of better lighting systems and designs within the hotel.   One of the most well respected organization in the United States that focuses on inventing and finding new innovative ideas when it comes to lighting is the American Lighting Association.   These organizations are formed to assist home owners or hotel business owners on how they can design a lighting system that not only costly but also can provide an enticing design for guests.    Sometimes it is really important for hotel owners not only to seek designs that are presented by internal hotel experts but also can come from experts that are purely specialized into a specific subject, like in this case lightings.   The American lighting Association has a group of experts in lighting that are experienced with expertise in imagination.   They are tag to developed not economical design but also beautiful to the eyes. This is very essential in the success of the hotel because it does not only help the business in minimizing the cost but more importantly can be an option for design improvements and rehabilitation process in the hotel which is the main subject of this study.   (What does it mean when a store is a member of the American Lighting Association, n.d.). Conclusion In this study, it only shows that for hotel any hotel business, maintenance and rehabilitation is not just making sure that customer will be satisfied but also would help its owners and employees to know the right processes that needs to be perform in the hotel businesses.   Processes like in terms of facilities and design, facilities that would make the business performs based on the effective guidelines that is advised and mandated by respected organizations like the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.   This can help boost the business not only will favor the employees but most especially their customers as well, since they can always make sure that the service being rendered are in accordance with the policies. In this study, it also showed that design is not just for beautification that needs to be done in the hotel, but it can also create economical ideas that can also comes from not just from the internal experts of the hotel but also from reliable organizations like American Lighting Association, which not only provides expertise for beautification through lighting but also gives convenience for owners as well since cost will be less.   Trainings are also encourage to be perform of hotel businesses since there are some cases that learning the processes within is not enough, most especially as time goes on, new implementation needs to be followed in order to be sure that processes are still applicable. References Fitzgerald, T. New Alliances will Promote Safety and Health Training for Hotel and Hospitality Workers in the US Virgin Island’s Hotel Tourism Association Joins with the US Labor Department’s OSHA. US Department of Labor – Occupational Safety Health Administration. 20 February 2007, http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASESp_id=13781, Retrieved 13 July 2008. Stipanuk, D. (2006). Hospitality Facilities Management and Design 3e. US: Educational Institute of the American Hotel. What does it mean when a store is a member of the American Lighting Association. American Lighting Association. N.d, http://www.americanlightingassoc.com/home.php, Retrieved 13 July 2008.

The Problems with Bandwagon Patriotism Essay -- Politics Political Ess

The Problems with Bandwagon Patriotism I’ll admit it, I’m American. I’m an American and I admit, I enjoy it very thoroughly. I enjoy having the right to a free education, choice in who rules over me (who rules, who cares? pun intended), and the right to walk around the streets at three a.m. because I can. But I do not consider myself patriotic, in any way, sense or fashion. The astounding number of Americans nowadays who consider themselves patriotic can overwhelm the small few who were there for America before 9/11. But just what can we do about the bandwagon patriotism and its abuse on middle-eastern oriented Americans; it’s manipulation of American’s gullibility for cheap trinkets, and the backing of leaders in a war we don’t belong in. I believe it’s time to instill more peaceful tactics in our country today. It’s time to stop calling ourselves Americans and start calling ourselves humans. So far America has lost more soldiers in Iraq since the war end ed than we actually lost in the war itself and people of Middle Eastern decent have suffered more embarrassing attacks than most â€Å"average† Americans. Perhaps its time to reconsider the Patriot Act, because truth be told it’s not exactly what our true patriotic forefathers had in mind when they wrote that all men were created equal(despite the fact these men had slaves). Most Americans that watch CNN or FOXnews can tell you that exactly one month after the attacks on the twin towers, that Congress passes â€Å"The Patriot Acts†. But what most Americans can’t tell you is what exactly is inside of these acts. According to the actual document itself, the purpose of The Patriot Acts is: To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around... ...ic) descent she gave me perhaps one of the most memorable quotes I felt I could have used in my paper. I’m not sure of the legalities of this, or if I should have gotten a written paper, but she said if I wanted to I could use this quote of hers. We were sitting in Barnes and Nobles, and the topic of stealing came up and how ridiculously easy it would be to steal something. Upon hearing this she said, â€Å" It might be easy for you, but whenever I’m shopping somewhere I almost always feel the workers eyes on me, like I’m F(bleep)ing Osama Bin Laden’s daughter or something†. So what does this say about Bandwagon Patriotism? All it does is give Americans another reason to hate, gives scared Americans another scapegoat to point the finger at. So armed with my solutions I hope you will ask yourself, just when will we stop being Americans, and start being humans?

Orion Shield Project Case Essay

In this paper, The Orion Shield Project is critically analyzed to determine how effective the project manager, Mr. Gary Allison, is in operating as leader. Specifically, the paper focuses on what technical, ethical, legal, contractual, and other managerial issues plague the success of The Orion Shield Project. The paper attempts to analyze these issues by first introducing the reader to background about the project, and then moving into a deeper discussion of every one of the previously mentioned issues. Due to the individuals he works with and the differing situations he is placed, Mr. Allison must make difficult decisions at every corner. After examining the project, it is found that Mr. Allison can improve his responses to these issues by accounting for the complexities of dealing with technology, becoming more solid in his ethical stance, understanding law and contracts and how they relate to the project, and connecting better with his team. Introduction There are many nuances to project management which can negatively affect a manager or project. The Orion Shield Project exemplifies why proper management is integral to any successful project. The project is a venture that NASA is promoting in order to improve the structural capabilities of the Shuttle Launch Booster. The prime contractor that NASA is using for this project is the Space Technologies Institute (STI), who put out a request for proposal (RFP) for a subcontractor to help with this project. SEC won the bid to become the subcontractor on this project, and the Director of Engineering, Mr. Henry Larsen, appointed Mr. Gary Allison as the project manager (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). As The Orion Shield Project advances, many issues arise which forces Mr. Allison to make difficult decisions. In this paper, I will critically analyze the issues Mr. Allison faces while managing The Orion Shield Project. In critically examining the way The Orion Shield Project is handled, I wi ll touch on the technical,  ethical, legal, contractual, and other management issues faced by Mr. Allison and analyze both his positive and negative actions in an effort to gain a better understanding of how project management plays a role in the outcome of this project. Technical Issues The Orion Shield Project gives rise to many technical issues which Mr. Allison has to navigate as he manages the project. The technical issues that specifically alter the integrity of the project are incapable components and a poorly designed test matrix. Incapable components present issues all throughout the project, with the most glaring problems occurring in the beginning and end of the project. The original technical specification that STI listed in their RFP was that all components must be able to operate efficiently between temperature ranges of -65 degrees F to 145 degrees F (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). This was an issue for the SEC project because testing within the company shows that their current component design would not function above 130 degrees F, and that the requirements would not be able to be met without different materials (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). This creates an issue for a bevy of reasons, including throwing off the timeline, the amount of resource s used, and commitments to stakeholders. While performing final tests on the component as the project was coming to a close it was found that the product was again not up to the specifications requested in the RFP. The purpose of The Orion Shield Project was to get the Shuttle Launch Booster to support an age life of at least 9 years, and after testing it was found that the age life would most likely be less than 5 years. This is actually less than what the original component NASA was using lasted, which was 6 years (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). Both of these points in the project are technical issues Mr. Allison is responsible for overcoming as project manager of The Orion Shield Project. In addition to the aforementioned technical issues, Mr. Allison also deals with a test matrix in the technical volume of the proposal which will not produce acceptable results. The test matrix is â€Å"an effective way of recording the coverage of the scope delivered† (Boyde, 2012, p. 701). From  this matrix, you should be able to tell what has been implemented, what has yet to be implemented, and what was determined to be out of scope for the current milestone release (Boyde, 2012, p. 701). Realizing the importance of the test matrix, Mr. Allison echoes his concern to his Chief Project Engineer Ms. Paula Arnold, who warned him around changing the test matrix and scope of the work. This would in turn affect the cost of the project which is not viable due to the nature of the contract that SEC is working under. Instead of addressing this issue up front and trying to find a way to trim some work off downstream to keep the budget manageable, Mr. Allison pushes on for three more weeks until the test matrix and research results are ultimately deemed unacceptable. This puts Mr. Allison and his team in a deeper hole and extends their timeline, while also projecting a sense of disarray when meeting with their stakeholders. In analyzing this project, it seems that the technical issues Mr. Allison was faced with while managing The Orion Shield Project amounted to three major sources, technology interdependence, technology novelty, and external factors. Technology interdependence refers to requirement of different expertise to perfect a final product (Hussein, Pigagaite & Silva, 2014, p. 706). One of the difficult duties that comes with managing is understanding how different elements of a project interact with each other, and how to get the elements to work together in an efficient manner. If Mr. Al lison got better with technology interdependencies, he would have been able to establish a more effective test matrix. Technology novelty is one of the biggest culprits for the technical issues Mr. Allison faced in The Orion Shield Project. Technology novelty refers to the idea that â€Å"no matter how much planning you do beforehand, when you assemble a final product – or even a part of it – testing will always reveal problems† (Hussein, Pihahaite & Silva, 2014, p. 706). In production, you should always assume that something can, and will go wrong. In reading The Orion Shield Project case, its glares out that Mr. Allison does not have a contingency plan built it, and did not allow himself enough time to tinker with the project to get it right. This in turn led to a lot of sleepless, stressful nights and still an insufficient, unacceptable product and project. The final sources of technical issues which are found to be relevant to Mr. Allison’s management case are external factors. Factors such as pressure from Mr. Larsen to force SEC into The Orion Shield Project and pressure from Ms. Sarah Wilson, a representative from STI, to stick to the schedule SEC proposed, led to many of the poor technical decisions Mr. Allison makes. Mr. Larsen’s pressure on The Orion Shield Project leads to Mr. Allison making false promises and trying to cover his traces throughout the entire project. This in turn leads to a strained relationship with Ms. Wilson, who pushes Mr. Allison to take on more of an administrative role, instead of the research focused position he prefers. In the end, Mr. Allison could have mitigated all of the external issues by maintaining a strict ethical code in his actions, which delves into the ethical issues he faces in managing this project. Ethical Issues Out of all the issues presented in The Orion Shield Project, the ethical issues seem to be the most devastating to the success of the project. The specific moments in which ethical issues arise all seem to occur within some type of interaction with Mr. Larsen. The first and most important of which occurs when Mr. Allison raises concerns with Mr. Larsen about the specifications that STI put out for the components. Mr. Larsen’s response to this concern was to lie to STI and express in the proposal that SEC had the capabilities to make a component that would go above and beyond the specifications required. Specifically, Mr. Larsen advocated that Mr. Allison say that SEC had a component design that would operate at up to 155 degrees F in hopes of later cornering STI into accepting the actual specifications that the SEC component could handle. Deceiving a partner about what you can provide them just to earn a contract or project is unethical on many levels. In an article written by Dr. Thomas Mengel (2006), communication between project stakeholders and project management is found to be extremely important. The article goes further to say that â€Å"project managers need to comprehensively determine the impact of any decision to be made† (Mengel, 2006, p. 230). Mr. Allison did not think this situation with Mr. Larsen all the way through, and because of that not only did technical issues arise,  but an ethical one as well. An ethical issue which Mr. Allison also has to deal with is the testing of new materials without his knowledge. After Ms. Wilson met with Mr. Allison and displayed her angst with how the administrative side of the project was going, Mr. Allison focuses more of his time and effort with the administrative tasks. This gives Mr. Larsen time to move in and work with Ms. Arnold on a new material, using more STI money in the process when the contract and Ms. Wilson specifically state that SEC would bear all costs of additional research beyond the original scope of work (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). It is understandable that Mr. Larsen is Mr. Allison’s boss and he does not always need to tell him what he is doing, but with a venture as big as this and with Mr. Allison being the project manager and the one ultimately responsible for results, it seems ethical to discuss these major decisions. One way Mr. Allison could have addressed this issue could have occurred before agreeing to accept this position and project. While Mr. Larsen was originally describing the position to Mr. Allison, Mr. Allison could have requested to include ethic checks in decision making processes and to â€Å"define a joint process and mutually agreeable criteria for ethical decision making† (Mengel, 2006, p . 231). This would help Mr. Allison set parameters around his interactions with Mr. Larsen. He could then use these well-defined parameters as a basis to disagree with an action or even refuse an action Mr. Larsen proposes if unethical. In failing to do so, Mr. Allison allows these unethical procedures to ultimately fall on his shoulders. An ethical issue which falls directly on the shoulders of Mr. Allison occurs when he withholds information from upper management about the short age life of the component near the end of the project. The ethical dilemma is clear here and could have far reaching damages for both SEC and STI. Mr. Allison should have told upper management as soon as testing shows the shorter age life of the component. No matter how difficult it is, maintaining an ethical code is essential to the proper management of not only projects but organizations as well. Legal & Contractual Issues The Orion Shield Project exposes SEC to a variety of legal issues, some coming from managements own unethical actions and many more coming from  contractual complications. The initial legal issue that arises from The Orion Shield Project occurs when SEC responds to the RFP issued by STI. When Mr. Larsen requests for Mr. Allison to make the proposal reflect that SEC’s component can operate at up to 155 degrees F, when in actuality it cannot operate above 130 degrees F, SEC breaches the RFP contract. At first glance you may not think a RFP is legally binding, but according to legal precedent it is. In the 1981 case of R. (Ontario) V. Ron Engineering, it was found that RFP’s are part of a two part contract, and that they are the bidding portion of the contract. What this means is that once a proposal is presented in response to a RFP, both sides are now legally tied to the contract and must abide by the terms stipulated in that proposal (The Legal Implications,† 20 12). In providing false promises in their proposal, Mr. Allison and SEC open themselves up to sanctions and being sued. Mr. Allison and SEC also open themselves up for legal action when they breach the firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract they agreed to with STI. As defined by Charles Russell Jr. and Susan Moser (2009) in Firm-Fixed-Price Contracting: The time and Materials Requirements Dilemma, a FFP is â€Å"a completion contract,† which means that â€Å"profit or fee is earned by the delivery of end items† (p.46). FFP’s also carry fixed prices and leave little room for adjustments as the project moves along. The fixed price and the need to make adjustments as the project went along are what opened SEC up to legal action. Ms. Wilson from STI specifically mentioned that after the first test matrix failed and a new one was developed, all additional research and development would be at the expense of SEC. But, when Mr. Larsen and Ms. Arnold began developing the new material for the component they used STI funding for it. This again was a breach of contract, and by not addressing this is sue Mr. Allison left SEC vulnerable to being dropped from the contract and sued for the wrong use of project funding. One way Mr. Allison could have avoided this situation would be to push for a different type of contract from STI for The Orion Shield Project. In an article written by Frank Kendall (2013) on the uses of FFP contracts, the restricting nature of the contract is described in great detail. Kendall describes how FFP contracts tend to restrict flexibility as contractors  learn more â€Å"about what is feasible and affordable as well as what needs to be done to achieve a design that meets requirements during a product’s design and testing phases† (Kendall, 2013, p. 2). Mr. Allison experiences this dilemma all too much as he runs The Orion Shield Project. A FFP contract was the perfect contract for STI; FFP contracts offer the lowest risk to the buyer due to the fact that it is not subject to any cost adjustments resulting from contractors carrying out the project (Russell Jr. & Moser, 2009, p.47). Instead of agreeing to such a rigid contract when you know your component will need multiple tests to meet specifications, SEC and Mr. Allison should have instead pushed for a more flexible contract like a time-and-materials (T&M) contract. A time and materials contract can be used when the duration, extent of effort, and costs associated with a project are generally unknown up front (Russell Jr. & Moser, 2009, p. 47). This contract would be more beneficial to SEC and Mr. Allison specifically when he changes the test matrix, and has to find new materials and incur more costs to complete the project. In the end, Mr. Allison mishandles many issues which leave himself and SEC vulnerable to legal action, luckily no such action occurs. Other Management Issues Separate from the main issues discussed earlier in this paper, there are also other, more managerial issues. The two other management issues that are present in The Orion Shield Project are staffing concerns and employee motivation. Mr. Allison’s first dilemma while working The Orion Shield Project is finding the staff he wants to help him with the venture. He is not given top priority in picking his staff, which make it difficult to get the key people necessary to ensure a smoothly run project. Many managers do not want to give up their main people, but with the help of Mr. Larsen he finds an â€Å"adequate† staff to fill in (The Orion Shield Project, 2003). This puts Mr. Allison in a dilemma because he does not have the option of working with the people he feels most comfortable with. Being uncomfortable while leading a project can do nothing but have negative effects on results. This also leads to Mr. Allison putting the burden of doing most of the work on his self, instead of leveraging his team better. Since this is a situation most project managers will have to deal with on their first project, Mr.  Allison could have done a better job utilizing his staff to create more positive project results. As The Orion Shield Project progresses, many of the members of the project team lose motivation to work on the project. The lack of team motivation came from the teams dissipating trust in Mr. Allison and the plans they were told would be final. Also, a lack of communication leads to heightened tension between the team. As Dorothy Ann Brenner (2007) points out in a recent article, communication, no matter what the form, helps with team chemistry and â€Å"gives them a clearer idea of their roles and what is expected of them so they understand their goals, as well as the team’s overall goal for a successful project† (p.19). Mr. Allison’s lack of communication with his team leads to certain members feeling out of the loop and disappointed with the direction of the project. In order for the Orion Shield Project to have even had a chance of working effectively, Mr. Allison has to motivate his project team so they will give their best effort and work (Brenner, 2007, p . 16). Conclusion As The Orion Shield Project progressed from the initial proposal to the final testing, issues seemed to arise around every corner. Mr. Allison had to make serious decisions at every level of the project and unfortunately many of those decisions were the wrong ones. Mr. Allison made critical mistakes when faced with technical, ethical, legal, contractual, and other managerial issues. After analyzing The Orion Shield Project case, findings show that Mr. Allison could improve his responses to these issues by accounting for the complexities of dealing with technology, becoming more solid in his ethical stance, understanding law and contracts and how they relate to the project, and connecting better with his team. In conclusion, Mr. Allison did not perform well in his first opportunity to operate as project manager, but, with a few tweaks to his approach, he could excel if he ever wanted that opportunity again. References Boyde, J. (2012). A down-to-earth guide to SDLC project management: getting your system development life cycle project successfully accross the line using PMBOK– in an adaptive way. S.l.: CreateSpace Independent Pub. Platform]. Brenner, D. A. (2007). Achieving a succesful project by motivating the project team. Cost Engineering, 49(5), 16-20. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu Hussein, B. A., Pigagaite, G., & Silva, P. P. (2014). Identifying and dealing with complexities in new product and process development projects. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences , doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.078 Kendall, F. (2013). Use of fixed-price incentive firm (fpif) contracts in development and production. Defense AT&L, 42(2), Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu Legal Implications of Issuing RFP. (2012, January 1). Rss. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from https://www.winwithoutpitching.com/legal-implications-of-issuing-rfp Mengel, T. (2006). Project management ethics: Responsibility, values, and ethics in project environments. AMA Handbook of Project Management, 227-235. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1ba019be-81fb-4f39-8ccd-06cfe83e33b1@sessionmgr114&vid=5&hid=107 R. (Ont.) v. Ron Engineering, (1981) 1 S.C.R. 111. Retrieved from: http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2504/index.do Russell Jr., C. A., & Moser, S. J. (2009). Firm-fixed-price contracting: The time and materials requirement dilemma. Contract Management, 49(8), 44-49. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu The Orion Shield Project — HOME. (2003, January 1). The Orion Shield Project

Money Laundry History Origin Of The Term Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1373 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? We all hear and use the term money laundry, but where did that term originate from and when? It is said that, money laundry originated from Mafia ownership of Laundromats (self service laundry) in the United States. Mafia were earning a lot of money from extortion, prostitution, gambling and bootleg liquor, they needed to show a legitimate source for their money. Laundromats were used to cover these illicit earnings, because they are cash businesses and this was an undoubted advantage to people like Al Capone who purchased them. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Money Laundry History Origin Of The Term Finance Essay" essay for you Create order On the other hand, other say that the term originated because it perfectly describes what takes place illegal, or dirty, money is put through a cycle of transactions, or washed, so that it comes out the other end as legal, or clean, money. Money Laundry Beginnings There is no specific date of when money laundry began. However, the conviction of Al Capone in 1931 may have been the trigger that set the money laundry business in motion. Money laundering seems to have started after Meyer Lansky got affected by the conviction of Capone for something as obvious as tax evasion. He was determined that the same fate would not befall him and thats when he discovered the benefits of numbered Swiss Bank Accounts. The use of the Swiss facilities gave Lansky the means to incorporate one of the first real laundering techniques, the use of the loan-back concept, which meant that illegal money could now be disguised by loans provided by compliant foreign banks, which could be declared to the revenue if necessary, and a tax-deduction obtained into the bargain. Money Laundry as an Expression Money laundering as an expression is fairly recent. The word was first used in newspapers reporting the Watergate scandal in the United States in 1973. The first appearance of money laundering in a judicial or legal context was in 1982, in America in the case  US v $4,255,625.39. The term is now widely accepted and used throughout the world. ** The history of anti money laundry will be discussed later in the assignment What is Money Laundry and Anti- Money Laundry? The simplest yet most comprehensive definition of Money Laundering is the criminal practice of filtering ill-gotten gains or dirty money through a maze or series of transactions, so the funds are cleaned to look like proceeds from legal activities. Money laundering does not have to involve cash at every stage of the laundering process. In practice, criminals are trying to disguise the origins of money obtained through illegal activities so it looks like it was obtained from legal sources. Otherwise, they cant use the money because it would connect them to the criminal activity, and law-enforcement officials would seize it. Money laundering is a serious charge; in 2001 U.S. prosecutors obtained almost 900 money-laundering convictions with an average prison sentence of six years. The rise of global financial markets makes money laundering easier than ever, countries with bank-secrecy laws are directly connected to countries with bank-reporting laws, making it possible to anonym ously deposit dirty money in one country and then have it transferred to any other country for use. However, organized crime will always continue to innovate new ways to carry out their illegal transactions. Anti Money Laundry (AML) on the other hand is the fight against money laundry. It is used in financial  and  legal  industries to describe the legal controls that require  financial institutions  and other regulated entities to prevent or report  money laundering  activities. The guidelines of AML came into prominence globally after the  September 11, 2001 attacks  and the subsequent enactment of the  USA PATRIOT Act. Money Laundering Procedure As we have previously mentioned Money Laundering is not a single act, but is a 3 steps procedure. These steps can occur either simultaneously or one by one, and they are:- Taken from Money Laundering in the EU https://people.exeter.ac.uk Placement: The 1st stage in the washing cycle is merely the process of placing unlawful cash proceeds into traditional financial institutions. The process of placement can be carried out through many processes including: Currency Smuggling   This is the physical illegal movement of currency and monetary instruments out of a country. Structuring Deposits (Smurfing) Breaking up large amounts of money into smaller, less-suspicious amounts Bank Complicity   This is when a financial institution, such as banks, is owned or controlled by unscrupulous individuals suspected of conniving with drug dealers and other organized crime groups. Currency Exchanges   In a number of transitional economies the liberalization of foreign exchange markets provides room for currency movements and as such laundering schemes can benefit from such policies. Securities Brokers   Brokers can facilitate the process of money laundering through structuring large deposits of cash in a way that disguises the original source of the funds. Blending of Funds- Enables the funds from illicit activities to be obscured in legal transactions. Asset and Valuable Commodity Purchase Offshore Accounts ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Layering: The process of separating the proceeds of criminal activity from their origin through the use of layers of complex financial transactions, such as converting cash into travelers checks, money orders, wire transfers, letters of credit, stocks, bonds, or purchasing valuable assets, such as art or jewelry. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ Integration: The process of using an apparently legitimate transaction to disguise the illicit proceeds, allowing the laundered funds to be disbursed back to the criminal. Different types of financial transactions, such as sham loans or false import/export invoices, can be used. Banks role in anti-money laundering Government Cooperation Banks have a major role in fighting against money laundering as they are at forefront of these activities. Several measures have been taken to ensure that all banks cooperate with their government in their anti-money laundering efforts. In the USA for instance, The  Bank Secrecy Act 1970 (BSA)  basically eliminates all anonymous banking in the United States. It gives the Treasury Department the ability to force banks to keep records that make it easier to spot a laundering operation. This includes reporting all single transactions above $10,000 and multiple transactions totaling more than $10,000 to or from a single account in one day. A banker who consistently violates this rule can serve up to 10 years in prison. Similar measures include the  1986 Money Laundering Control Act  which makes money laundering a crime in itself instead of just an element of another crime, and the1994 Money Laundering Suppression Act  which orders banks to estab lish their own money-laundering task forces to weed out suspicious activity in their institutions. KYC Know your customer (KYC) is the due diligence and bank regulation that financial institutions and other regulated companies must perform to identify their clients and ascertain relevant information pertinent to doing financial business with them. Gathering as much relevant information as you can about your client in the present can prevent any incidents that might happen in the future. Also, banks must ensure that appropriate bank personnel are trained in all aspects of the regulatory requirements of the AML and anti-money laundering policies and procedures. FATFs 40 Recommendations The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has 33 member states and international organizations on its roster list as of 2005, has developed into the most prominent international organization for fighting against money laundering. The FATF issued the 40 Recommendations for banks (there are actually 49 now) that have become the anti-money-laundering standard. These recommendations include: Identify and do background checks on depositors. Report all suspicious activity. (For example, if a background check revealed that depositor A works in a steel factory, and he typically deposits $2,000 every two weeks, a series of 10 $9,000 deposits over the course of two weeks should raise a red flag.) Build an internal taskforce to identify laundering clues. By following these recommendations, banks and financial institutions can set-up guidelines to protect themselves from any money laundering threat. While increased worldwide efforts are making a small dent in the money-la undering industry, the problem is huge, and the money launderers are winning overall. Countries with bank-secrecy rules, which arguably have legitimate benefits to the honest depositor, make it extremely hard to track money once its transferred overseas. Still, the FATFs continues to work hard to aid and cooperate with banks in the effort against money laundering. However, only increased global awareness and cooperation can curb the success of the money-laundering industry.