Saturday, May 23, 2020

Problems of Population Census in Africa and Problems with...

PROBLEMS OF POPULATION CENSUS IN AFRICA AND PROBLEMS WITH THE USE OF VITAL RECORDS IN NIGERIA. PROBLEMS OF POPULATION CENSUS IN AFRICA One important area where data collection is essential is human population, its data collection procedures is usually by direct enumeration carried out for every individual the territory at approximately the same time is known as the POPULATION CENSUS. More explicitly it can be defined as a complete process of collection, reception, assessments, analysis publication and distribution of demographic, economic and social data, which relates at a given moment in time to all the residents of a country or of a well-defined partial geographic area, as reflected in the population and†¦show more content†¦By virtue of that, the data they collect might not be correct which gives an in- accurate statistical data when the results of the census is concluded. The 2006 census in Nigeria recorded a huge number of inexperienced work persons who had no previous knowledge of collecting data before that time. Influences cannot be ruled out mostly in developing countries where the due process agenda is just being proper gated. The stages that have to be passed through are in most cases being skipped or area that area to be paid much emphasises are being streamlined if it will not be of political interest to the people in power. Also there is cases of incompetent official being employed due to their political influences and no experience forehand which would later jeopardise the exercise. Due to a considerable level of backwardness still being experienced in Africa as a continent there are still some loop areas that affect the hitch free process of population census and that the availability of an up to date base maps. Some African countries still fi d it hard to produce an update map of the various regions and areas in their state which gives the workers a [problem when they get to their enumeration area and it still cannot tally with the area indicated on the base map given to them . only few countries in Africa has been able to overcome this problems, Egypt has passed that level has it has been able to perform successively a 10yearsShow MoreRelatedImplication of Oil and Gas Investment in Ghana15418 Words   |  62 Pagesimportance of oil and gas investment as the main subject of this project work. The background and history of this project are followed by the subject, providing an introduction to the main theme of this work. The problems for discussion are further presented in order to illustrate the main problems of this study. 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Monday, May 18, 2020

Information Technology TAM - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 19 Words: 5738 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category IT Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Factors Influencing Technology Adoption: A Review Abstract The growth of e-commerce has provided an opportunity to understand why people participate in e-commerce activities and adopt information technology. Researchers from various disciplines have analyzed the reasons from different perspectives supported by theories such as; diffusion of innovation, theory of reasoned action, and theory of planned behavior. Various models have been designed and validated to explain the factors responsible for technology adoption of e-commerce. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Information Technology TAM" essay for you Create order The purpose of this study is to review the literature on technology adoption and to critique a number of key models that are frequently applied by researchers in their efforts to examine the factors that predict the adoption of technologies. This paper shows the importance of social factors and characteristics of adopters that affect their behavior to adopt technology. This paper explores research possibilities beyond the central theme of technology adoption literature that focuses on attributes of innovation. 1. Introduction: Computers and information technologies have widespread presence in todays organizations and have considerably expanded in scope and application. Since the 1980s about 50 percent of all new capital investment in organizations has been in information technology (Westland and Clark, 2000). In order for that investment to improve productivity these technologies must be accepted and used by employees in organizations. As a result, understanding the factors th at influence or inhibit technology adoption has received considerable attention from researcherstransforming it into one of the mature research areas of contemporary information systems (IS) literature (Hu et al. 1999) and resulting in the development of a number of theoretical models with roots in sociology, psychology, and information systems (e.g. Davis et al. 1989; Taylor and Todd 1995; Venkatesh and Davis 2000). The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of the literature in this area and to outline a number of key factors that emerge as important considerations for technology adoption researchers interested in examining the construct. 2. Technology adoption: A review of the literature 2. a. Diffusion of Innovation To understand the factors responsible for technology adoption, it is important to examine the factors that influence adoption of an innovation. Rogers (1995) explains that adoption of innovation is a time consuming process and the rate at which d iffusion of innovation takes place becomes significant for individuals or organizations that are concerned with adoption of innovation. Rogers defines diffusion as â€Å"the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a society† (Rogers 1995, p.5). He defines innovation as an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption (Rogers, 1995, p.11). It has been suggested (Prescott 1995) that diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) provides a â€Å"rewarding base for expanding our understanding of IT adoption, implementation, and infusion† (p.19). His diffusion of innovation theory focuses on the adoption of innovation from a sociological perspective and has been successfully applied in the Information Systems (IS) context to explain the adoption of innovations (Moore and Benbasat, 1991; Tornatzky and Klein, 1982). In this theory the factors that affect the rate of adoption of innovation are relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability; explained as follows: Relative advantage: â€Å"the degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supercedes† (Rogers 1995, p.15). Rogers (1995) suggests that greater the perceived relative advantage of an innovation, the more rapid its rate of adoption. Compatibility: â€Å"the degree to which an innovation is perceived as being consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and needs of potential adopters† (Rogers 1995, p.15). Tornatzky and Klein (1982) found that innovation was more likely to be adopted when it was found to be compatible with potential adopters job responsibilities and the value system (Ndubinsi and Sinti, 2006). Complexity: â€Å"the degree to which an innovation is perceived as difficult to understand and use† (Rogers 1995, p.16). He suggests that new ideas that are simpler to understand are adopted rapidly than the ones that require the adopter to develop new skills and understanding. Cheung et al. (2000) found that complexity could negatively influence the adoption of Internet. Lederer et al. (2000) considered complexity, as a construct, exactly opposite to the ease of use construct, which has been found to directly impact the adoption of Internet. Trialability: â€Å"the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis† (Rogers 1995, p.16). It measures the extent to which potential adopters perceive an opportunity to experiment with the innovation prior to committing to its usage (Agarwal and Prasad, 1998). Tan and Teo (2000) suggested that trialability helps minimizing unknown fears and customers (in banking context) realize that the mistakes could be rectified. Observability: â€Å"the degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to the others† (Rogers 1995, p.16). According to Agarwal and Prasad (1998), the characteristics of observability, identified by Rogers was segregated by Moore and Benbasat (1991) as: result demonstrability- the tangibility of the results of using an innovation (p.203) and visibility- the extent to which innovation is visible to the potential adopter, in the context of adoption of innovation. Tornatzky and Klein (1982) assert that relative advantage, compatibility and complexity are the three most relevant constructs for the adoption of innovation. Other researchers such asMoore and Benbasat (1991) have successfully extended the model and added image, result demonstrability, visibility and ease of use. The five elements of Rogers DOI theory have considerable domination in the innovation diffusion studies and have been successfully adapted to study the diffusion of technological innovation (Tung and Reick 2005). 2. b. Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) To understand the factors influencing adoption and acceptance of technology, information systems research has taken a wider perspective to study the factors affecting adopters behavior to adopt the technology. Fishbein and Ajzenss (1975) theory of reasoned action (TRA) provides a firm theoretical foundation for the stream of information systems research with an objective to predict behavior of individuals to adopt a par ticular technology. TRA is concerned with determinants of consciously intended behaviors (Malhotra and Galletta (1999) and has influenced conceptualization of models predicting IT acceptance (e.g. Technology Acceptance Model -TAM). Drawn from social psychology, TRA states that beliefs influence attitude, which lead to intentions, and finally to behaviors. TRA introduced two core independent construct: attitude toward behavior and subjective norm, which are tied to behavioral and normative beliefs. Attitude toward a behavior is defined as an individuals positive and negative feelings (evaluative affect) about performing the target behavior (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, p. 216). Subjective Norm is defined as the persons perception that most people who are important to him think he should or should not perform the behavior in question (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, p.302). According to TRA, individuals attitude toward behavior is determined by their most important beliefs and consequences of performing specific behavior. Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) demonstrated through their theory that behavior is best predicted by intentions, and intentions are jointly determined by the persons attitude and subjective norm concerning the behavior (p.216). TRA has been successfully modeled for empirical support in predicting behavior and tested in various disciplines such as marketing and sociology (Agarwal and Prasad 1998). A meta-analysis of 87 empirical studies strongly supports the predictive power of this model (Sheppard, Hartwick and Warshaw, 1988). Expanding on the research in domains of marketing and sociology, TRA has been empirically tested and supported, in context of acceptance of information technology (Taylor and Todd, 1995a; Davis, Bagozzi and Warshaw 1989). Agarwal and Prasad (1999) observed that TRA makes an implicit and assumption that the intended behavior is under volitional control of individuals. According to Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), volitional control is achi eved when a person is able to express his/her will, measured in the form of intention to perform the given action. In the context of IT adoption, TRA fails to predict the behavior of individuals with low volitional control in mandatory and non-mandatory situation. An example of behavior related to mandatory IT usage may imply behavior concerning use of new e-mail software mandated by the management of an organization. TRA provides an opportunity of expansion of its theoretical structure to incorporate beliefs affecting varying degree of volitional control of an individual. 2. c. Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) To address the shortcomings of the TRA model, Ajzen (1985) expanded on the theoretical framework of TRA and proposed the theory of planned behavior (TPB).TPB modifies TRA by including the construct perceived behavioral control (PBC) to address situations in which individuals lack substantive control over a specific behavior (Ajzen 1991). As the TPB is a modification of TRA, the determinants attitude and subjective norm are defined in TPB, just the way they were defined in TRA. The TPB suggests that behavior can be explained by behavioral intention, which is influenced by attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. Perceived Behavioral Control (cf. Venkatesh et al. 2003) is â€Å"the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior† (Ajzen 1991, p.188) and in context of IS research, â€Å"perceptions of internal and external constraints on behavior† (Taylor and Todd 1995b, p.149). The extent to which an individual perceives to have necessary resources to perform the behavior is measured by perceived importance of that resource to successful performance of the behavior (Agarwal and Prasad 1999). An example in the usage of an IT such as Internet might be beliefs related to the extent to which an individual perceives to have access to high speed Internet connection measured by beliefs related to perceived importan ce of high speed connection to use Internet (Agarwal and Prasad 1998). Rawstorne et al. (1998) mentions the need to include PBC in models that try to identify the determinants of mandated usage of Information Systems and implied that the mandated usage is a type of non-volitional behavior. However, it is a different type of non-volitional control as discussed by Ajzen, (1985: 1991), when he described the influence of internal and external factors on volitional control. Rawstorne et al. (1998) note that the major difference between the Ajzens (1985) volitional control and the volitional control associated with mandatory behavior is that, the absence of volitional control, in the former category, hinders a persons will to perform the behavior; whereas, in the latter category, mandatory use of technology hinders a persons will not to perform the behavior. Their study also highlighted the subtle but remarkable distinction that becomes important because, Ajzen (1991) added the variabl e PBC to TRA, to take into account the non-volitional behavior, which measures the extent to which an individual feels control over performing the behavior, rather than not performing the behavior. Despite the distinction that has raised doubts over the usefulness of TPB for explaining and predicting mandated IS usage, there is lack of empirical support in favor of the argument presented in their study. In an attempt to generalize the impact of belief structures on behavior, in a variety of research settings, Taylor and Todd (1995) proposed decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB) that provides a greater insight into the factors influencing IT usage by decomposing the attitudinal, normative and control beliefs that are generalizable across situations and not specialized to each context (Fu, Farn, and Chao 2005) Owing to its ability to predict behavior in context specific situation, the theory of planned behavior has received broad support in empirical studies of social psycho logy (Ajzen 1991; Ajzen and Madden 1986; Taylor and Todd 1995), marketing (Chiou 1998), and information technology (Fusilier and Durlabhji 2005; Pavlou and Fygenson 2006). 2. d. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) To study the factors affecting the acceptance of information technology in organizations and the usage behavior of individuals adopting the information technology, Davis (1989) proposed Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). In the field of information systems, this model has been used to predict and explain user acceptance of various information technologies. According to Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw (1989), the goal of TAM is to provide an explanation of the determinants of computer acceptance that in general is capable of explaining user behavior across broad range of end-user computing technologies and user populations, while at the same time being both parsimonious and theoretically justified (p.985). TAM is an adaptation Figure1. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) ( source Davis 1996, p.20) of the Theory of Reasoned Action and was designed to â€Å"understand the causal chain linking external variables to its user acceptance and actual use in a work place. External variables such as objective system characteristics, training, computer self-efficacy, user involvement in design, and the nature of implementation process are theorized to influence behavioral intention to use, and ultimately usage, indirectly via their influence on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use† (Davis 1996, p. 20). In an attempt to answer the question as to why perceived ease of use operates through perceived usefulness (Figure 1), Davis (1993) suggested that perceived usefulness construct may reflect considerations of â€Å"benefits† and the â€Å"costs† of using the target system. Although the subjective norm construct should take into account social influence, the authors of TAM observed that conceptualization of social norm based on T RA has theoretical and psychometric problems (Malhotra and Galletta, 1999). The final TAM model excluded the social norm construct, as Davis et al. (1989) observed the difficulty in distinguishing the cause of usage behavior: whether by influence of referents on an individuals intent or by individuals own attitude (Malhotra and Galletta, 1999). However, in an attempt to predict the usage behavior, in case of mandatory settings, TAM was extended to include the subjective norm as an additional predictor of intention to use (Venkatesh and Davis 2000; Venkatesh et al. 2003). According to Robey (1996), TAMs theoretical contribution has helped researchers understand information systems usage and acceptance behaviors. As noted by Malhotra and Galletta (1999) the TAM model has emerged as one of the most influential models in the stream of research in IS acceptance and usage. Table 1 in Appendix provides a list of numerous TAM studies that have been undertaken since 1989. Davis (1989) on examination of the email system and a file editor application, found that PEOU and PU were significantly correlated to self-reported use of both the systems. However, in a follow-up study of 40 MBA students, the results showed that only PU determined their intention to use the system (Gefen and Straub 2000). TAM has been since applied widely across various contexts and cultures [for a detailed list of forty five TAM studies from 1989-2000, see Gefen and Straub (2000)]. In a majority of studies examining the nature and relationship of PU and PEOU to behavioral intention, PU has been found consistently to have a direct impact on the behavioral intention to use (Mathieson 1991; Adams et al. 1992; Hendrickson et al. 1993; Straub et al. 1995; Gefen and Straub 1997; Karahanna and Straub 1999; Gefen 2000). In contrast, few studies have found that PEOU directly affected the behavioral intention to use along with PU (Moore and Benbasat 1991; Thompson et al. 1991; Venkatesh and Davis 1994; C hin and Gopal 1995; Venkatesh 1999). Gefen and Straub (2000) pointed out the inconsistency of PEOU in relation to its correlation with usage behavior. The explanation for the inconsistency was related to the intrinsic and extrinsic aspect of tasks related with Information Technology (IT). The findings of this study suggest that it is the type of task that seems to determine whether PEOU directly affects use-intention. Expanding on the original TAM studies, Davis et al. (1992) suggested that user intention to adopt a new IT is affected by extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. According to the motivation theory of McGuire (1974) consumers are motivated by extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. Extrinsic motivations refers to the drive to perform a behavior to achieve specific goals or rewards, while intrinsic motivations refer to the perceptions of pleasure and satisfaction derived from performing the behavior itself (Deci and Ryan 1985; Vallerand 1997). The characterization of utili tarian (extrinsic) and hedonic (intrinsic) motivations, is well supported in previous retail literature (Childers et al. 2001). Consumers are motivated by utilitarian aspects of shopping, achieving their shopping tasks with a minimum of efforts (Babin et al. 1994). They are also motivated by hedonic aspects of shopping that relates to fun and playfulness rather than task completion (Hirschman and Holbrook 1982). According to Davis et al. (1992) extrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity because it is perceived to be instrumental in achieving valued outcomes that are distinct from the activity itself (p.1112). Also in this study, intrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity for no apparent reinforcement other than the process of performing the activity per se (p.1112). This study suggests that PEOU would affect IT adoption indirectly through its effect on PU, as the easier the system is to use, the more useful it can be (Venkatesh and Davis 200 0). The impact of other external variables employed to study their influence on behavioral intention is fully mediated by these beliefs of PU and PEOU (Davis et al. 1989). In TAM, extrinsic motivation is clearly captured by the PU construct (Davis et al. 1989:1992; Venkatesh and Davis, (2000) as it refers to time saving and shopping effectiveness (Childers et al. 2001). However, most TAM researchers have argued that PEOU, which refers to the process of leading to an outcome (Childers et al. 2001) does not fully capture the intrinsic motivations (Davis et al. 1992; Monsuwe et al. 2004; Pavlou 2003). Further research in TAM studies have included the perceived enjoyment construct to capture the pleasure and satisfaction derived by performing a behavior and its effect on use-intention. The popularity of TAM is attributed to the most important belief constructs PU and PEOU, making it parsimonious in comparison to other models that have been tested and examined in other domains of IT r esearch. Another advantage of this model is the flexibility with which it has been adapted to examine the social, psychological and cultural factors that influence the usage behavior of information technologies. From the list of TAM related studies in Table 1 in Appendix, it is evident in numerous replications, adaptations, and extensions of TAM model; PU and PEOU are central to the research purpose of these studies. However, in a comparative study of TAM with TPB, Mathieson (1991) observed that TAM is easy to use but TPB provides a richer understanding of factors influencing individuals behavior towards IT. In another comparative study of TAM, TPB and DTPB, Taylor and Todd (1995) observed that DTPB provided increased explanatory power for intentions as compared to TAM and TPB. Despite TAMs prediction abilities in comparison to other models, researchers in IT have taken the advantage of its parsimonious nature and successfully adapted it to achieve empirical results. 2 .d. (i). A pplication of TAM Several researchers have used TAM to examine the factors influencing web technology adoption by consumers (Chen et al. 2003; Childers et al. 2001; Gefen, Karahanna and Straub 2003; Gefen and Straub 2000; Lederer et al. 2000). Childers et al. (2001) investigated the effects of PEOU, PU and enjoyment in utilitarian (grocery shopping) and hedonic (gift giving) context and found that PEOU and PU as the utilitarian aspect of online shopping, were equally important as enjoyment, a hedonic aspect of online shopping. Lederer et al. (2000) found that PU and PEOU predicted web use for work related tasks. Teo et al. (1999) also found that perceived enjoyment was an important antecedent. Lee et al. (2000) applied TAM for the study of consumer web adoption and included perceived risk to predict individual purchasing behavior on line. They showed that perceived transaction risk negatively affects PU and purchase behavior and perceived product performance risk only negatively impacts purchase behavior. However, they acknowledged the limitation of their model as lacking important factors like demographic and type of product measures. Research studies that examine additional belief constructs such as perceived risks, perceived enjoyment, perceived access barriers, perceived behavioral control, perceived innovativeness (see Table 1 in Appendix) along with the generic belief constructs of PU and PEOU; enhances our understanding of their relative importance in influencing the IT acceptance behavior. Among the models that have been extended, TAM is the most influential model that has wider acceptability because of empirical support it has received from research pertaining IT adoption literature. 2. d. (ii). Extension of TAM Most TAM related studies focus on the psychological, social and technological factors that influence the individual usage behavior. Very few studies have attempted to broaden the scope of inquiry beyond these factors and explore t he influence of demographics on IT usage behavior. Porter and Donthu (2006) have attempted to explain the role of demographics in acceptance of Internet, in American context. In their study, they considered an extended TAM model, with an additional construct of perceived access barriers, along with the fundamental constructs: PU and PEOU, mediating the influence of external demographic variables on attitude towards Internet use, finally influencing the actual Internet usage. The rate of growth in acceptance of Internet use was found to be conveniently increasing, among the individuals who are older, less educated, belonging to minority and with low income. Contrastingly, the Internet usage rate of these demographic groups was lower than that of general population (Lenhart et al. 2003). In this study they tried to explain the differential rates of Internet usage based on external demographic variables of age, education, income and race. Taking into account that cost to access Interne t could explain the demographic based differences (Hoffman et al. 2000), they tried to analyze the argument that cost might not be the only causal factor (Lenhart et al. 2003). In the previous research, access barrier, such as cost was considered as an external variable, influencing the use of personal technology (Hoffman et al. 2000; Venkatesh and Brown 2001). In this study, perceived access barrier has been included in the model as a belief variable, influencing attitude towards Internet use. Perceived access barriers, in the context of Internet usage was conceptualized as a belief that Internet is expensive to use and difficult to access. Their findings suggested that perceived access barriers had significantly negative effect on attitude. In context of Internet usage, this belief can significantly influence consumer attitudes, thereby affecting consumers representing diverse segments of the population. Though, the Internet usage has been operationalized in this study as †Å"personal use†, the type of personal use, such as: communication, entertainment, information seeking, socializing, purchasing needs to be investigated to understand the influence of demographic group on Internet usage behavior. Several online shopping studies have investigated the importance of utilitarian and hedonic shopping orientation of consumers by including perceived enjoyment in the TAM model (e.g. Childers et al. 2001; Teo et al. 1999). Lee, Fiore and Kim (2005) have broadened their research to investigate the impact of Image Interactivity Technology (IIT) of a web site on the attitude towards using the technology, based on the extension of TAM model with perceived enjoyment as a significant construct along with PU and PEOU. â€Å"Image Interactivity has been described as interactivity from the web site features that enable creation and manipulation of product or environment images to simulate (or surpass) actual experience with the product or environment† (cf. Lee, Fiore and Kim 2005, pp.622; Fiore and Jin, 2003). This study has attempted to identify factors influencing consumers attitude using the TAM model. The basic conceptualization of this research emerges from Li, Daugherty and Bioccas (2002) suggestion to investigate the impact of utilitarian and hedonic shopping orientations on information processing styles during IIT usage. Web site interactivity has been recognized as significant in luring the consumer to visit the site, purchase, be satisfied and revisit the site (Gehrke and Turban, 1999; Li et al. 2002; Mathwick 2002). In the context of examining, web site interactivity for simple technologies, empirical research has shown to have positive effects on consumers attitudes (Klein 2003; Schlosser 2003). According to Li et al. (2002) IITs are the most visited features of some online stores and suggested that IIT enhances enjoyment from interacting with the virtual products. This study attempts to measure the impact of IIT b y extending the basic TAM model by including the belief construct perceived enjoyment. Davis et al. 1992, proposed the concept of perceived enjoyment, along with PU and PEOU, as a significant determinant of attitude toward adoption of a technology. Perceived enjoyment is defined as â€Å"the extent to which the activity of using the computer is perceived to be enjoyable in its own right, apart from any performance consequences that may be anticipated† (Davis et al. 1992, pp. 1113). Enjoyment has been studied extensively, and it has positive effects on consumer attitude toward buying intentions (Jarvenpaa and Todd 1997; Mathwick 2002). Heijden and Verhagen (2004) found that enjoyment and trustworthiness significantly affect attitude towards an online store. Koufaris (2002) found that enjoyment influences intentions to return. Moon and Kim (2001) found that perceived playfulness affected attitude and behavior towards use of worldwide web. In this study: PU, PEOU and perceived e njoyment are modeled to moderate the influence of shopping orientation, utilitarian and hedonic, along with level of IIT, on the attitude towards online retailer and positively affecting behavioral intention toward the online retailer. The results of this study show that utilitarian shopping orientations have a significant effect on PU and PEOU, whereas hedonic shopping orientation had a significant effect on perceived enjoyment related to IIT. Besides, the web site with higher level of IIT was perceived as more useful, easy to use and enjoyable than the website with the lower level of IIT. Few TAM related studies have considered social influence on individuals IT usage behavior (Hassanein and Head 2004; Malhotra and Galletta 1999; Segrest et al. 1998). In an innovative approach to examine the social influence in an organizational setting, Schepers, Wetzels and Du Ruyter (2005) applied TAM model to analyze the influence of leadership styles on acceptance of technology. Their stud y has considered extending the TAM model to include two distinctive styles of leadership: transformational and transactional. These leadership styles were conceptualized by Burns (1978) and extended the notion of these styles in an organizational setting (Bass 1985). Transformational style of leadership is characterized by charisma, individual consideration, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation. According to Judge and Piccolo (2004), charisma is defined as a degree to which the leader admirable behavior allow followers to identify with the leader or the amount of faith, respect , and inspiration, a leader instills in followers (Bass, 1985). Individual consideration refers to the ability to consider subordinates individually, delegating projects to stimulate people, create learning experiences, and paying attention to personal needs of these followers. Intellectual stimulation refers to the act of encouraging ways of thinking, reasoning before acting, and enabling s ubordinates to analyze problems from different perspectives (Avolio and Bass, 1988). Inspirational motivation refers to empowering and inspiring followers to pursue challenging goals and a mission (Bass, 1985). Transactional leadership is characterized by contingent reward and management-by-exception. Contingent reward refers to leaders ability to reward his subordinates when they act in accordance to contracts, rules, objectives, or expend necessary efforts on certain tasks (Howell and Avolio, 1993). According to Venkatesh (1999), training, education and technical support can affect an individuals ability to accept the use of a technology. Based on this premise and the empirical results produced by the studies of (Frambach and Scillewaert 2002), this study also attempts to study the influence of ‘organizational facilitators on the actual technology usage. Organizational facilitators refer to the concrete actions implemented by the leader in an organization corresponding to the conditions and events that create a positive environment for technology adoption. Training, education and technical support can be regarded as the organizational facilitator elements (Frambach and Scillewaert 2002). Consistent with previous research (Venkatesh et al. 2002), the organizational facilitator elements displayed a strong influence on individuals perceived ease of use of technology. This study suggests training and general end-user support is of importance in enhancing technology acceptance. Besides, this study highlights that relationship between transformational leadership and perceived usefulness is significant as 34 percent of variance in perceived usefulness is explained. The influence of transactional style of leadership was found to be non-significant for acceptance of technology. 2 .d. (iii). Criticism of TAM Gefen and Straub (2000) noticed that most TAM studies, including the study by Davis, have not found a direct influence of PEOU on IT adoption. Davi s (1989) suggested that ease of use operates through usefulness (p. 332), asserted by various research (Adams et al.1992; Chau 1996; Gefen and Straub 1997; Karahanna and Straub 1999; Keil et al. 1995). Based on their findings, Keil et al. (1995) has questioned the overall importance of PEOU in IT adoption. However, according to Gefen and Straub (2000) the role of PEOU in TAM remains controversial as some studies show that PEOU does affect IT use (Moore and Benbasat 1991; Thompson et al. 1991; Venkatesh and Davis 1994). Broekhuizen (2006) has pointed out a few shortcomings of TAM in his research aimed at examining the determinants of online purchasing. Some of the arguments presented in his study are mentioned as follows: TAM is designed to explain the use of technology. It does not relate the technology in question to the competing alternatives which consumers choose. TAM deals with Internet in isolation of the off-line channel. Though PU refers to relative advantage of using Internet, TAM fails to explain the trade-offs consumers have to make for time savings and shopping effectiveness. TAM implicitly assumes that e-tailers do not differ in their performance as focus is on perceptions of using the technology itself. Perceived usefulness does not distinguish between improving outcome quality and/or saving time and effort. Though TAMs key variables in the online context have been extensively studied, little is relatively known about what constitutes PU, PEOU and enjoyment. Baron, Patterson and Harris (2006) state that key TAM construct definitions are inadequate for technology based services, where consumers have co-created the value of the service. Their findings are based on the research that contributes to the understanding of consumer technology-based service (text messaging using mobile phones) usage. Their study suggests (p.112) inadequacy of acceptance of technology where technology is embedded in consumer community practice inadequacies in measurement of PU and PEOU, where consumers devise coping strategy to deal with technology paradoxes evidence of subtle differences of social influence and perceived behavioral control Several researchers have highlighted the shortcomings of TAM model. As TAM studies are evolving, there are enormous opportunities to adapt TAM with the unexplored factors (independent variables) that influence the adoption intention/usage of technology. 2. e. Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model Researchers in Information Systems (IS) are confronted with choice of different models that explain user acceptance of new technology, which is described as the one of the most mature areas of research in the IS literature (Hu et al. 1999). In an attempt to progress toward a unified view of user acceptance, Venkatesh et al (2003) conducted a study to review eight theoretical models and synthesize their findings to propose a Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. Venkatesh et al. (2003) empirically compared the eight ‘individual acceptance models, namely: 1) Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA); 2) Technology Acceptance model (TA M); 3) Motivational model (MM); 4) Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB); 5) Combined TAM and TPB (C-TAM-TPB); 6) Model of PC Utilization (MPCU); 7) Model based on Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT); 8) Model based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). In an attempt to predict the usage behavior as a dependent variable, the comprehensive analysis of all the eight models resulted in four constructs that appeared to have a significant role as direct determinants of user acceptance and usage behavior, namely: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions In this study, data from four organizations was used over a six-month period with three points of measurement. The eight models explained a variance between 17 percent and 53 percent. The UTAUT model when tested against the original data, explained a variance of 69 percent and significantly excelled in its performance over the eight individual models. The UTAUT model also explains the moderat ing effect of demographics on the intention to use the technology. Though it has provided encouraging results in different organizational settings, it has not been tried for organizations that provide e-services to consumers. As the objective, scope and functioning of e-service providers varies with different organizations, researching the usefulness of the UTAUT model could provide a greater understanding of adoption of e-services by consumers. A relatively new field of research is emerging to study adoption of e-government services provided by the government to its citizen (G2C). Most studies examining the adoption of e-government services have used extension of TAM model to study barriers of adoption (Gilbert and Balestrini 2004), apathy to adoption (Schaupp and Carter 2005), citizen trust and adoption (Carter and Belanger 2004; Horst, Kuttschreuter and Gutteling 2007; Warkentine, Gefen, Pavlou and Rose 2002). These studies have been country specific and the UTAUT model has not b een tested so far for the study of e-government services adoption. The constructs of synthesized UTAUT model can provide insight into the factors that influence the intention to use e-government services. As the G2C e-government has a large consumer base for its services, the moderating role of demographics in the UTAUT model can provide a better understanding of the perceptions important to demographic groups that may influence their adoption behavior. 3. Conclusion The core beliefs of TAM model are perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use that influence the intention toward using IT that affects usage behavior. However, lack of clarity exists in defining the nature of relationship that exists between these beliefs in relation to one another and the way they influence the intention to use the technology. Most studies conclude that PEOU operates through PU and has no direct influence on IT adoption. Though Gefen and Straub (2000) maintain that nature of task (intrinsic o r extrinsic) explains the varying effects of PEOU on technology adoption, there is lack of empirical research that investigates the significance of PEOUs influence on intention to use, in context of technologies that serve the information-seeking tasks and behavior. The results could be encouraging in explaining the adoption of technologies, with varying tasks related to information utility across different cultures. One of the major constructs of TRA and TPB models, subjective norm, was initially dropped from the TAM model following problems related to psychometric properties. It has been included in TAM 2 and various extension models to capture the social influence on the intention to adopt IT. The social factors responsible for adoption of technology has been successfully accounted in various models (TRA, TAM, TPB, DOI and PC utilization) representing different theoretical background. However, their significance has been reiterated by inclusion of a construct, social influence in the UTAUT model. There is enormous potential to research the impact of social influence on adoption of technology, in a cultural context, where usage is relatively new behavior of adoption. The overall contribution of this paper is to analyze the theories that provide groundwork for research in technology acceptance. It also analyzes the models that have been successfully developed to test the acceptance of technology by individuals. It analyzes the arguments presented in the technology adoption literature to provide a better understanding of the evolving nature of the various models that examine factors of adoption. This study concludes by addressing the necessity of UTAUT model for (G2C) e-government adoption by citizens and stresses that the merits of the result can be analyzed for future research in e-government adoption, across different nations and cultures.

Monday, May 11, 2020

Youth and the First Amendment Essay example - 1162 Words

Youth and the First Amendment Many freedom of speech and expression issues that receive media attention have to do with the adult population and what they feel their rights are. What many fail to recognize is the fact that the youth today are also dealing with freedom of speech and expression issues in their own lives. The freedom of speech and expression issues that young people deal with are just as important and are handled in the same manner as any other freedom of speech issue. Three articles from The Associated Press deal with freedom of speech and expression of middle and high school aged young people. These articles shed light on what types of First Amendment issues the youth today are dealing with. In one article†¦show more content†¦If the material handed out was not related to school activities or it’s curriculum then the students broke clearly stated school rules. Based on my knowledge of first amendment law I believe the courts will rule in favor of the school. The reason I belie ve this is because you cannot just allow students to hand out whatever they wish because of the First Amendment. While what they handed out in this instance was mostly harmless, and it was not reported that other students had a problem with it, other things may not receive the same reaction. If students are allowed to hand out whatever they wish, some students could take to far, to a harmful level. This ruling also needs to set a good example since many times judges look at previous cases in order to rule on their current case. While the first article did not deal with an issue that could be potentially harmful, or risk the safety of the students, the next two articles deal with free speech and school safety. The first article discusses whether or not students should be allowed to wear clothing, or accessories with confederate symbols. These middle school students do not think that it should be a problem to wear this type of clothing. They are exercising their freedom of speec h in wearing these confederate articles. Wearing confederate clothing is the way these students wish to express themselves. It is a freedom ofShow MoreRelatedThe Family Smoking Prevention And Tobacco Control Act1135 Words   |  5 PagesThe Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (â€Å"Act†) signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2009 does not violate the First Amendment in regards to tobacco product advertisements. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting theRead MoreEssay on Weeding Out Amendment 64642 Words   |  3 PagesColorado voters do not realize how easy they have made it for children to obtain marijuana. When Amendment 64 was passed, an already troublesome condition escalated to a more dangerous level for our youth. School officials are â€Å"reporting an increase in marijuana-related incidents in middle and high schools† (Nancy Lofholm). Sadly, parents smoke openly, in front of their children. Now that they can legally obtain one ounce of marijuana, they do not see the need to keep the drugs out of sight. OnceRead MoreCensorship Is A Controversial Topic Essay1399 Words   |  6 Pagesthe subject matter being around c hildren and the youth. It has sparked attention from many government and public individuals that have demanded a probation on certain age groups. The official start on the entire blockade of certain age groups has started with the MPAA† Motion Picture Association of America† in wanting to prohibit certain age groups from viewing certain movies, yet there has always been ways around the rating system for the youths. Today, Censorship is a controversial topic thatRead MoreThe Court Case Of Powell Vs. Alabama During The 1930s806 Words   |  4 PagesDuring the time period, this case revealed the brutal treatment towards African Americans more than any other event. The case began on March 25, 1931, when a group of young white and African American youths were traveling on a train to find a job. A physical encounter broke out between them and the white youths were thrown out of the train. Then they reported the incident to a stationmaster, who stopped the train. The police a rrived to gather the nine African Americans and brought them to jail. Nine youngRead MoreYCJA841 Words   |  4 Pagesto aspects from Goldson and Muncie’s (2006) article on â€Å"a youth justice with integrity† (pp. 99-102), the essay will argue that section 38 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) should incorporate a risk-needs responsivity model (RNR) to the sentencing structure. 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Part A Although public safety is both a legitimate and justifiable concern, the proposed changes to the purposes clause would go against the primary purpose of the juvenile justice system, rehabilitation and treatment as opposed to punishment. During the 19th century, the American legal system tended to treat juveniles who violated the criminal law much as it didRead MoreShould Violent Video Games Be Ban? Essay617 Words   |  3 Pageshave occurred is much like putting the blame on food for the cause of obesity. Violent video games should not be ban because violent video games improve your skills, there is less violence, and banning violent video games is against the fourteenth amendment. Violent video games strengthens and coordinate visual skills. There have been studies shown that gamers are improving their skills. Researchers from the University of Rochester found, a person who frequently play video games have better visualRead MoreFirst Amendment and Right to Privacy1586 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿The First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and the first right guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, declares that there will be no law made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (First Amendment, n.d.). An individuals right to privacy is not guaranteed in the United States ConstitutionRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency Prevention Act Of 19741576 Words   |  7 Pagesjuvenile training programs. This semester has really changed the way that I look at juvenile d elinquents. Three historical milestones that I felt had the biggest impact on the current practices in the juvenile justice system within the U.S. were first the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968. This act was designed to encourage states to develop plans and programs that would work on a community level to discourage juvenile delinquency. After receiving funding and approval from

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Essay on The Many Types of Jazz Music - 2786 Words

When it comes to music, most people dont say they like it. People say they like heavy metal, pop, rhythm and blues, or any other type of music, since they have their own preference to what type of music they like, not just enjoying the broad area of music. One of those types of music which many enjoy is jazz. Actually right now jazz is really popular in Europe, and is rising in its popularity in the USA through its many forms. Jazz does have many forms, so many that some people wouldnt consider just saying they like jazz, they would say they enjoyed bebop, ragtime, blues, or other types of jazz. Jazz has survived longer than many types of music, and it has always influenced the ways people involved in jazz compose or perform. It has†¦show more content†¦Many people influenced jazz along its development, and it was usually a performer or composer. This includes Buddy Bolden, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. There are even more jazz greats who have contributed to jazz. The form of music we know as jazz has existed ever since the late 19th century, and is still alive. It consisted of many different eras, each one with one or two different styles of jazz. Each era also had many good performers and composers which made a certain era stand out. Through the late 19th century to about the early 1920s the form of jazz we know as New Orleans Jazz, which included Dixieland jazz and ragtime. The 20s and 30s developed the Swing Era, which made many performers famous through the first recordings. The 40s and the postwar decades led to bebop, also called bop for short. Bebops performers also changed the way jazz was looked at. The 50s through the 70s created a few types of jazz which were very loose and had no limits, but could be critized. The 80s and to the present developed a type of jazz which was more calm and smooth than other types of jazz. The present has brought back all the forms of jazz, and now is experimenting with the many different instruments fr om the orchestra, including the french horn, bassoon, or violin. There are so many styles in jazz that jazz could not be definedShow MoreRelatedBlues and Jazz Influence Paper1698 Words   |  7 Pages The Influence of 1920 Blues and Jazz on Modern Music Mark Carter The Influence of 1920 Blues and Jazz on Modern Music This paper is will try to show how the music that started with singing of old songs by the slaves to influences the music that the world listens to today. Shaping the music of Rock and Roll, Country and Western, and Easy Listening that influences every aspect of society’s everyday life are Blues and Jazz. In an interview many years ago on television, heard by thisRead MoreControversial Movements In Music Essay1494 Words   |  6 Pagesof traditional jazz whose impression is that music should stay traditional. On the other hand, Herbie Hancock believes the opposite. For music to grow or become anything, the artist must experiment and try new things. Herbie Hancocks theories allow for the movement of jazz music from the traditional to a more progressive new form. He believes what makes history is what music reflects on. Music has made an impact on all levels in history. The early days of jazz provided many styles which highlightedRead MoreMusic During The 1920 S1609 Words   |  7 PagesMusic in the 1920’s The Jazz Age was a cultural movement that took place in America during the 1920 s (also known as the Roaring Twenties) from which both jazz music and dance emerged. This movement matched with both the equally phenomenal introduction of mainstream radio and the conclusion of World War I. 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Gatsby Closing Lines Free Essays

â€Å"‘Can’t repeat the past? ’ [Gatsby] cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can! ’â€Å" In so much as two lines the novel was born with one of its main themes – the vast obsession with the past and the failure to accept that it is, contrary to what Gatsby says, impossible to recreate. As the novel concludes, Nick reflects, â€Å"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. We will write a custom essay sample on Gatsby Closing Lines or any similar topic only for you Order Now † In some instances, â€Å"beating against the current† is considered a positive quality; an optimistic life-force that compels us all to battle our fate with sheer will. However, Nick seems to note that this battle is lost long before it is fought, that fatalism is a better way to live. All things considered, the significance and importance of our past ultimately defines our dreams of the future, yet we are inherently tied to the past and cannot transform our dreams to reality. Gatsby’s fatal flaw was his profound refusal at accepting the past and undoubtedly, his profound refusal at accepting who he is. From the get go Gatsby acquired an intense hatred for poverty – after attending St. Olaf’s College for two weeks he dropped out because he could not deal with the janitorial job that he was paying his tuition with. Following his falling in love with Daisy, his motivation to become wealthy increased, and after Daisy’s marriage to Tom his motivation only multiplied from there. So began his dedication to winning Daisy back, the beginning of beating against the current he should have simply let carry him. Gatsby completely disregards the fact that despite the past they had together, Daisy has lived a completely different life than when they first met. He is stuck in this cynical past where him and Daisy never parted, a non-existing reality in which she never stopped loving him. He attributes this fantasy to the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, with his mansion across the lake it had always been just out of grasp, merely something to admire and dream of from afar. At the end of Chapter 7, Gatsby keeps watch outside of Daisy’s home to make sure Tom does not harm her. Little does he know, the two are inside reconciling their differences over dinner. Gatsby has made it across the lake to Daisy’s porch, to the green light, but unbeknownst to him his dream has dissipated forever. The morning following Gatsby’s gardener states that he plans to empty the pool due to the fact that summer has ended. Not having used the pool the whole summer, Gatsby asks him to wait a day as he still wants to use it. As Nick returns to Gatsby’s mansion later, he discovers him floating dead in his pool. Gatsby’s hopeless grasp on the hope that he can make Daisy love him the way she used to parallels his wanting to use the pool even though summer has already passed. Ultimately, his death is a result of his extensive refusal to accept what he cannot control – the passing of time. Nick states, â€Å"He talked a lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something†¦ that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Following his loss of Daisy, it is almost as if Gatsby has lost a grasp on who he is as well. The new identity he created, this â€Å"Jay Gatsby† millionaire, was all created for the sole reason of winning Daisy over. Without Daisy now, what purpose was there to Jay Gatsby’s life? Instead of moving on like one is supposed to, he became dependent on reliving a part of his life where he felt he had reason, he became dependent on this green light. Nick’s closing line conveys the human condition of unreasonably struggling against our predicament, hoping and believing we can control our destiny even as experiences tell us we should not. How to cite Gatsby Closing Lines, Papers

Managerial Creativity and Innovation Management †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Managerial Creativity and Innovation Management. Answer: Introduction: The aim of the paper is to delve into the expanding areas of project management, which is undergoing huge evolution due to changes in science and dynamic market conditions. The assignment takes Federal Water and Electricity Association of the United Arab Emirates as the crux of the study. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section studies the newly evolving concepts of project management like agile concept, value driven projects and managing projects for innovation. The author has reviewed each of these new project management techniques based on several advantages and disadvantages to the companies. The section also delves into the competencies and qualities the project managers of today are expected to have in order to match up to the demands of the current market. The second part delves into FEWA, its operations, projects and organisational structure. The third section studies the difficulties of modern project management ending with recommendations. New emerging topics of project management: The field of project management has undergone drastic evolution with new areas like agile concept, value driven projects, new emerging competences and increasing complexity within projects. These new areas have also caused changes in the roles of project managers which demand new competencies. Agile concept is a modern approach of dividing and large complex projects into sections called iterations. The companies today handle complex projects to satisfy the diverse demands of their clients. The project managers lead the project team and take the responsibility of dividing the projects into divisions using a group of software called agile software. The project management functions under the agile concept divides the production activities into three components namely, product owner, scrum master and the project team. The product owner supervises the production from business perspective while the scrum master helps the different sub teams to collaborate to achieve the target (Landry McDaniel, 2015). The team under the supervision of these two people and the team members take up different responsibilities of achieving the targets. The project manager assumes the role of scrum in the modern project management and leads the team towards achievement of the target. A review of the agile system of project management reveals several advantages and disadvantages. The first advantage of agile concept is that the task is divided into portions which makes it relatively less complex. This results in more efficient executions of the project strategies. Secondly, the production is controlled by software; hence it is accurate and free from human error. Thirdly, here the project managers have very deep knowledge of both the business and the technical aspect of the project. This enables him to exercise more efficient control over the project (Schwalbe, 2015). The agile system of project management has several disadvantages as well. First, it is very expensive and requires heavy initial investment from the business organisations, which use or plan to use it. This show, that agile can only be used by multinational companies, which are financially very strong. The second weakness of the agile system is due to excess dependence on software, the project managers or scrums have limited knowledge about cots, personnel and risk management. This impedes efficient decision-making actions by the project managers. Thus, it can be reviewed from the above discussion, though agile facilitates automatic control of projects, it is expensive and often results in project managers becoming over dependent on technology and losing their competencies like risk and personnel management. Value driven projects: The value driven projects refer to the modern development in project management which demands the project managers to complete the projects to the needs of clients or customers. This completion of projects according to the demands of consumers are perceived as value creation. The project managers today have to adopt total quality management approach and ensure value to the customers in terms of money, time specified by the customers and quality demanded by the customers (Schwalbe, 2015). A review of modern approach of value driven projects reveals several advantages, which make the process significant to project managers of today. First, the value approach driven requires the project managers to produce according to the needs of the customers. As a result value driven approach more revenue for the companies compared to the traditional project management approach. Moreover, in order to ensure high quality, the project managers have to allocate the resources available in the most efficient ways. This results in efficient usage of resources and minimises wastage. In order words, value driven concepts lead to sustainability. Third, when the projects are executed as per the requirements of the clients, it earns more revenue. There are certain disadvantages of value driven concepts of project management as well. The value driven concept like any other modern project management concept is heavily dependent on technology. Thus, the multinational can invest in the technology to align the demands of the customers with production to maintain high quality. The second shortcoming of this approach is that project managers often become heavily dependent on technology which impedes their decision making power (Jeston Nelis, 2014). Managing projects for innovation: The project managers today require to be innovative in order to manage their production strategies with the market conditions. The project managers and the apex management of companies have realised that the traditional practices like production as per norms of the company without consideration of the clients requirements and making one product for all the markets are no longer suitable for the present competitive scenario. This has led to the project managers of different companies carry out open innovation to discover new methods of managing projects more efficiently. The project managers today partner with overseas firms like laboratories in order to bring about more innovative products which are able to meet the new demands of the consumers. A review of managing projects for innovation shows that entering into partnership to manage projects for innovation is more feasible for the multinational companies because it requires huge capital investment. This disadvantage of managing pr oject for innovation prevents the smaller firms with limited resources from adopting the method (Kerzner, 2015). A review of the method of managing projects for innovation reveals that though managing projects for innovation is expensive and may largely restricted to large corporations, it has multiple positive aspects. First, managing projects for innovation lead to companies carrying out projects to meet the customer demands. This means that the companies executing those projects earn huge revenue. Secondly, the firms innovative projects leads to the manufacture of products which are more useful to the consumer needs, thus giving the firms more market penetration. This innovation allows firms to collaborate with each other to improve their existing projects and to introduce more market oriented products or products. This analysis points out the third advantage of managing projects for innovation, which is, the companies can share their resources and diversify their losses. This in turn augments the competitive of both the participating firms (Verzuh., 2015). Project initiation context refers to the steps, which leads to initiation of projects. The project initiation context comprises of planning, analysis, design and implementation. The company carrying out the project carries out feasibility tests to find out whether the project would be feasible, profitable and sustainable. Ziadat, Kirkham and Gardiner (2017) state that project management have become extremely complex in order to cope with the fast changing demands of the market. the consumers today demand more advanced, economical and high quality products. The project managers managing the manufacturing projects in the companies have to integrate their production methods with this changing needs of the customers. The project management methods as discussed are heavily dependent on technology and collaboration between multiple business concerns and laboratories. This according to Marle and Vidal (2016), has made the production methods and project management extremely complex. New emerging competences and roles for project managers: The growing competition and the need to manage projects strategically has led to the project managers develop new competencies and roles. The project managers were traditionally mere employees managing the production activities of companies (Serrador Pinto, 2015).Serrador and Turner (2015) point out that project managers are not mere employees. The companies today regard them as business partners of strategic importance. The project managers in order to cope with the ever-changing world have developed new skills like communication, strong knowledge of advanced technology, team management and negotiation. These newly emerging competencies help them to lead their project teams towards attainment of higher productivity (Lenfle, Le Masson Weil, 2016). The core business activities of Federal Electricity and Water Authorities is to carry out duties entrusted on it by the Ministry of Electricity and Water. The main business activities of it are to provide electricity to the people living in the Northern Emirates. The body uses balancing between cost of production and distribution prices. It also conducts consumption behaviour and creates awareness among the public regarding using water and electricity sustainably. The current project management strategies of FEWA revolve around achievement of sustainable existence in the Emirates by using water and electricity sustainably. The bodys current project management strategy also consists of controlling demand and supply of electrify and water in the country. FEWA also manages desalinated water in excellent and sustainable manner. The body also aims to rationalise the use of water and reduce wastage of resources. FEWA also supervises administrative services with high quality standard, efficiency and transparency. It also encourages innovation in terms of corporate environment (fewa.gov.ae, 2017). Chairperson, Ministry of Energy, leads the organisational structure of FEWA. He supervises the Vice Chairperson and the directors. The other departments like finance and marketing work under the supervision of the directors. This has a strong influence on the management practices and project management. The chairperson of the Ministry of Energy leads FEWA, which ensures that the electrical bidy works under total control of the government. This project management system also leads to trust and customer preferences get priority. The current organisational project management practices of FEWA come under direct control of the government. The strong leadership of the government in the project management practices ensures high standard of services to the customers. The government also encourages innovation and sustainability in electricity and water supply. This ensures that the body conducts operations and manages its projects in the most efficient ways. Difficulties associated with the current project management practices: The current project management practices have become very diffcult and challenges . The following are the main difficulties and challenges project management practices encounter: The project managers while continuing projects to produce goods have to face threats from the strong market competition. This strong market competition forces the companies manufacturing and marketing products spend a high amount towards caring of innovation on regular basis. Moreover, innovation and experimentation in certain sectors like energy is every expensive. These innovations often do not guarantee high returns, thus causing losses to the organisations. Today most of the manufacturing companies enter into collaboration with laboratories all over the world to carry out open innovation. This increases their cost of operations by manifold. The stiff market competition demands the companies like FEWA to offer more innovative and customer friendly products. The companies as a result do not restrict themselves to their core products. They extend their product lines to serve more diverse needs of customers. Thus, this extreme competition makes companies like FEWA launch projects, which satisfy these core and additional product strategies. For example, FEWA provides electricity and water, which requires huge investment from the company. This makes the management of the projects extremely complex and difficult. This puts extreme pressure on the project manager and the project team. They require investing huge amount in technology to support their core product, electricity and water and their allied products, online payment of bills. This increases the cost of operation of projects and put hug pressure on the existing resources. The project managers of multinational corporations like FEWA require having expertise in various a reas like business execution, marketing and production technology of both electricity and water. These diverse needs put intense pressure on the project managers of FEWA and his team. Recommendations: The discussion shows that modern project management has enabled project managers to handle bigger projects. The project managers today are not mere managers of projects but business partners who ensure that the companies produce goods according to the requirements of the customers. They, in other words align the projects towards business generation. Technology has enabled better handling of projects using software driven systems value-driven and agile. However, the discussion also reveals that project management has become very expensive and complex. The job of the project managers have become more challenging which has led them to develop new qualities and skills to cope up with the situation. The following recommendations in the light of the above discussion aim to help in improving project management practices and activities in the organisations: The business organisations should invest in sustainable project management techniques and procedure. The clients today are increasing stressing on sustainability and environment friendly products and services. Hence, the project managers should stress on acquiring raw materials for the projects from suppliers supplying with eco-friendly goods. The increasing complexity of the projects in companies like FEWA requires the project managers to outsource the less important portions of the projects to sub contractors or smaller firms. The project managers in the principle company handling the project should ensure that these small firms use the same method of project execution and parameters. The discussion indicates that projects have become extremely expensive and complex. The project managers can deal with the exceeding cost of project execution by two ways. First, they can acquire supply chains both with the country of operation and overseas. They as a result would be able to choose from a large number of suppliers supplying a particular material. They can buy the materials for the projects from the suppliers, which satisfy the quality parameters of the company and offer the materials at economic rates. Secondly, they can acquire materials available locally from local suppliers. This method would enable them to save expenditure they incur on exporting and importing raw materials. Thus, these two methods can save expenditure to continue with and execute the projects. The project managers should emphasis on reduction of wastage and recycling of the resources to minimise expenditure. For example, the wastewater can be recycled and reused in the projects. Thus, the companies can save the expenditure they incur after acquiring water from outside and paying taxes for the same. The project should mandate installing and using of recycling as a compulsory of their project management practices. The companies can allocate the amount saved towards other important functions like marketing. Thus, recycling of wastes can help the companies in lowering the project costs and making them more profitable. References: Jeston, J., Nelis, J. (2014).Business process management. Routledge. Kerzner, H. (2013).Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Landry, J. P., McDaniel, R. (2015). Agile Preparation Within a Traditional Project Management Course. InProceedings of the EDSIG Conference(p. n3429). Lenfle, S., Le Masson, P., Weil, B. (2016). When project management meets design theory: revisiting the Manhattan and Polaris projects to characterize radical innovationand its managerial implications.Creativity and Innovation Management,25(3), 378-395. Marle, F., Vidal, L. A. (2016). Assessing Complexity of Projects. InManaging Complex, High Risk Projects(pp. 75-118). Springer London. S.A.L. (2017).Federal Electricity Water Authority.Fewa.gov.ae. Retrieved 1 November 2017, from https://www.fewa.gov.ae/en/Pages/default.aspx Schwalbe, K. (2015).Information technology project management. Cengage Learning. Serrador, P., Pinto, J. K. (2015). Does Agile work?A quantitative analysis of agile project success.International Journal of Project Management,33(5), 1040-1051. Serrador, P., Turner, R. (2015). The relationship between project success and project efficiency.Project Management Journal,46(1), 30-39. Verzuh, E. (2015).The fast forward MBA in project management. John Wiley Sons. Ziadat, W., Kirkham, R., Gardiner, P. (2017, June). On the Edge of Chaos: Complexity Offering Value Expectations on OG Projects. InSPE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Annual Technical Symposium and Exhibition. Society of Petroleum Engineers.