Two Works Of Art Essay Example for Free

Two Works Of Art Essay Italy experienced a massive art boom in the early fifteenth century, or as Italians themselves call it â€Å"Quattrocento†. This especially concerns the art of painting, deeply affected by changes, inspired by approaching Renaissance. It is hard to say, that paintings of that time belonged to pure Renaissance, however, their style already could not be attributed to earlier Gothic. The transition period generated a number of painters and entire painting schools each of them with it’s own original manner. This paper is to compare and examine the similarities and differences between the paintings of Gentile da Fabriano (1370-1427), as representative of late Gothic iconographic painting and Paolo Ucello (1397-1475), whose paintings more likely include Renaissance trends. Fabriano’s â€Å"Coronation of the Virgin† (1420) and Ucello’s â€Å"Madonna and Child† (1470) shall be taken as examples. Both paintings can be found in the The J. Paul Getty Trust museum, Los Angeles, California. The theme of coronation of Virgin Mary by her Son Jesus as Queen of Heaven was quite popular in the medieval painting. Almost all the artists of the time, including Michele Giambono Lorenzo Monaco and later Raphael and Velasques   have once tried to depict this event[1]. Fabriano himself turned to it for a few times. The â€Å"Coronation† being described here belongs to one of his late paintings and should not be confused with the most famous â€Å"Coronation of the Virgin and Saints†, painted in 1400. The style of the â€Å"Coronation of the Virgin†, painted by tempera and gold leaf on panel may be called both Gothic and Renaissance. It can be noticed, that Fabriano has been strongly influenced by the Byzantine style, which has been accepted in Southern Europe for many centuries[2], and made artist’s paintings in a way similar to Orthodox icons of Byzantium and Russia. The main characteristics of such combined style, often called International Gothics, are the strict situation of figures and groups, flat plain background and absence of perspective, special set of brightly contrasting colors, including usually yellow, golden, red and blue, as well as vivid symbolism of each object, being depicted. Especially the Italian Gothic, which arose in during the second quarter of the fourteenth century, is characterized by balanced forms and a grave mannerism. Figures are painted against monochrome or gold backgrounds in a formula that barely hints at a third dimension, but never shows it.   Nevertheless, this style appeared to be much more realistic, than the one of earlier centuries. This panel of Christ crowning his mother, Mary, originally formed the front of a two-sided processional standard carried in religious ceremonies in Gentiles native town of Fabriano. In this shimmering image, Gentile makes effective use of the complex patterning and wealth of surface ornamentation that is characteristic of the International Gothic style and that recalls the rich fabrics woven in Florence. â€Å"Madonna and child†, painted by Paolo Ucello 50 years later by tempera on panel demonstrates a breakaway from international Gothic and turning to Renaissance. Ucello belongs to painters, who first started experimenting with one of the basic elements of new art style – linear prospective. This even caused the famous Italian expert of arts Vazari to call Ucello â€Å"an eccentric† and add, that he has been â€Å"intoxicated† by prospective. At the picture we can see the green meadows, yellow fields and blue skies, spreading up to horizon behind Virgin’s back. In contrast to Byzantium and Gothic art, which is almost always â€Å"frozen out of time and space†, now it is possible to identify the place, time of year and often even time of day, which brings an element of action and development to the painting, although prospective   still remains more an element of decoration. The new style is also characterized by increased volume of figures, and a depth of emotion which suggests human feeling instead of static and passive icons[3]. The medieval tradition of using religious subjects is now combined   with classical ideals of the human figure and an increased interest in depicting nature. In contrast to International Gothic, the colors become more varied and not so dramatic, with more overtones being used. â€Å"Coronation of the Virgin† belongs to one of the few surviving Fabriano’s masterpieces, since most of his early paintings and frescos have been destroyed[4]. Gentiles most famous surviving works were made during a short but influential stay in Florence in the 1420s, where he probably encountered the austere realism of his younger contemporary Masaccio. This golden picture is almost entirely taken up by the symmetrical figures of the seated Christ on the right, placing a bejeweled golden crown on the inclined head of the Virgin Mary, who sits on the left, her hands crossed over her chest. Above them, centered in the rays of a golden sunburst, hovers a white dove with grey-tipped wings and bearing a halo. Standing below and beside the figures, three miniature angels are aligned in two vertical rows. The Christ is wearing a medieval-style tunic of gold gathered at the waist by a narrow golden sash. The garment is embroidered with five-pointed golden stars, surrounded by stars of blue, and encircled by red stars. Falling from his shoulders as he raises his arms is a rich burgundy gown bordered in patterned gold, bearing vines with golden leaves and five-petaled golden flowers with hearts of blue. The Virgins gown, which she holds close to her, has tightly-clustered seven-petaled floral pinwheels of gold over a background of royal blue. Behind the two figures, from their shoulders down, flows a patterned dark green tapestry reminiscent of Christs robe with its five-pointed snowflakes of red and gold. The figures and the background, absent of depth, are laid virtually flat against each another. Standing in the lower corners on either side, the angels, partially obscuring each other in descending columns, look upward toward the figures of Mary and Christ, their lips open in song, their hands holding an unfurled white parchment ribbon with musical notes and Latin words that wind in and out of view. The hands and faces of the principal figures are painted realistically in a greyish pink, making their skin ashen, and their placid, almost expressionless features, look otherworldly, in great contrast to the richly-tooled golden crown, the embossed halos, and opulent, embellished fabrics. Presiding over all this, Christs uplifted hands, in the moment between setting the crown and blessing the Virgin Mary, are set against a broad sheet of pure gold that rises behind the figures until it vanishes under a gilded arch of carved leaves supported by spiral columnsan ornately-carved wooden frame through which we view the coronation. To create a sumptuous surface resembling tapestry, Gentile da Fabriano used extensive tooling, decorative patterning, gold leaf, and rich pigments. Considerable features of International Gothic Style can be noticed on the painting, including complex patterning, elaborate materials, and long flowing lines of the robes of the Madonna and Christ[5]. At the time the gold-encrusted panel functioned as a processional standard held aloft in parades that honored the Virgin Mary and originally depicted The Stigmatization of Saint Francis on the reverse. The centre of the composition is formed by the hands of Saviour, raised to bless his Mother and put a crown on her head, which contrasts to the painting of Ucello, where centre is formed by faces of Mary and Christ. The two pictures represent different approaches towards position of head and eyes of the figures. The Gothic style pays almost no attention to eye contact of the depicted person with a spectator, and the eyes of the Saints are always in a way divert. In Fabriano’s case the Virgin is looking down, vailing before her Son, while Jesus is looking directly at Mary. In contrast, the painting by Ucello brings in a brilliant example of fresh Renaissance relationship between the figure and the spectator. His Mary and Child are looking closely at the spectator and it seems, that they are trying to see that what is behind his outlook and spot his soul. Both paintings are deeply symbolic. The most recognizable Fabriano’s symbol is, definitely, the white dove over Madonna’s head, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, descending upon her. The red color of the gown, falling down from Christ’s shoulders, is a symbol of His Oblation to the humanity and it’s green backing, noticeable on top, is to point on the Resurrection. Finally, the golden color of Jesus tunic is to prove him as the Heavenly King. The clothes of the Virgin are depicted golden and blue, symbolizing   divinity, combined with purity and faith. The nimbuses of both figures are almost invisible in the golden light, streaming through heaven. The symbolism of Ucello’s â€Å"Madonna† is not so sophisticated as Gothic one. The divine Child is depicted, holding his mother’s clothes with his fingers, which is to hint the connection between them. The nimbuses of both figures differ, since the nimbus of Christ includes a cross – a traditional element of earlier iconographic schemes. This cross is red, once again symbolizing Christ’s Oblation[6]. In the years which passed between the creation of these two paintings, the ideas of humanism changed the attitude to human’s body. Fabriano covered the corpses of both figures with reach adorable dresses, leaving no space to any bodily features. In contrast, Ucello’s Madonna and Child displays a type of hushed beauty lost with the advent of the High Renaissance style in Italy. Her face and the body of the child are still pallid and far from Raphael’s vision, however, the Maid is depicted as a beautiful woman with golden hair, appearing from under her modest mantle. While Fabriano used medieval monochromic background, Ucello is one of the first artists, who used landscape to underline prospective in three well-rounded dimensions. Painting now becomes a window on the physical world rather than merely the spiritual one. In an effort to open up the scene, the artist from Paolo Uccellos workshop placed a landscape behind the Virgin and Christ. Instead of trying to show depth, however, the countryside simply forms a pattern of almost abstract trees and zigzags. The resulting design has a flatness and regularity that subtly enlivens the picture and complements the elusive three-dimensionality of the figure group.   Summarizing the overstated one can say that the two discussed may be found both similar and difficult. They are noticeable examples of corresponding painting styles – namely International Gothic and Early Renaissance. Being connected by the religious topic and symbolic filling, they differ in attitude between the characters and the spectator, the special position of figures and attempt to use a prospective in the later work, as well as use of more pigments and tones. It should be pointed, that Ucello’s   perspective studies were to influence the Renaissance art treatises of artists such as Piero della Francesca, Leonardo da Vinci, and Albrecht Dà ¼rer[7]. Due to the changed attitude and eye contact, Jesus and Madonna by Ucello seem to be much closer to us and more human, than Jesus and Madonna by Fabriano, which embodies the ideals of upcoming era of Renaissance. REFERENCES Bernhard Berenson., The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance. 2nd New York: G. P. Putnams Sons, 1909 Germain Bazin., Italian Painting in the XIVth and XVth Centuries. New York: French and European Publications, 1938 Michael Levey., A Concise History of Painting: From Giotto to Cezanne. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1962 Linda Murray, Peter Murray., The Art of the Renaissance. New York: Praeger, 1963 Frank Jewett Mather Jr., A History of Italian Painting. New York: Henry Holt, 1923 [1] Bernhard Berenson., The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance. 2nd ed. New York: G. P. Putnams Sons, 1909, at p. 131 [2] Germain Bazin., Italian Painting in the XIVth and XVth Centuries. New York: French and European Publications, 1938, at p. 26 [3] Bernhard Berenson., supra note, at p. 133 [4] Michael Levey., A Concise History of Painting: From Giotto to Cezanne. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1962 at p. 44 [5] Linda Murray, Peter Murray., The Art of the Renaissance. New York: Praeger, 1963, at p. 257 [6] Germain Bazin., supra note at p. 29 [7] Frank Jewett Mather Jr., A History of Italian Painting. New York: Henry Holt, 1923, at p. 144

STA Travel Case Study Essay Example for Free

STA Travel Case Study Essay History/Situation: STA Travel is a subsidiary of a privately held company, Diethelm Keller Holding LTD, marketing as the worlds largest student travel organization helping students travel in over 90 countries. Historically, STA utilized retail travel agencies located near or on college campuses; however the Internet has introduced new online competitors. The internet is predicted to account for more bookings than offline alternatives. In response to STA’s global customer base, STA delegated the responsibility to the local level while using an integrated information system to provide global support and solutions. STA’s philosophy is â€Å"local as possible, global as necessary†. STA launched a business strategy, One Company, to align business operations with customer needs across the world. In support of this global standardization emerged BLUEe, a unified sales and booking system supporting every STA point of purchase backed by a single network, infrastructure, finance and reporting system. STA’s North American division developed STATRAVEL193.COM, an interactive website with video reports from STA customers about travel destinations. They also were the first to explore the Second Life (SL) marketing tool. STA’s Global Webmaster, Craig Hepburn, also welcomed the SL idea however he knew it would be a tough sell to marketing departments in other countries. STA had a two prong approach to utilize SL. One was to hold a movie making competition among SL residents which would highlight their virtual worlds. STA could then use the best of the videos to provide the services to the SL world as they do in the real world. The second element evolved into creating a separate orientation landing where new comers would be provided basic orientation information and then STA would lead them to exciting places in SL providing another opportunity to provide the services currently provided in the real world. Matt Nixon, Director of E-Commerce, STA Travels North America Division, needed to decide if STA should investment in SL. What is second life? SL is a virtual marketing tool which would provide STA a marketing presence in a computer-simulated virtual world. From the SL website, players can download client software for the game. Players are given a virtual self, an avatar, and a â€Å"second life†. There is a process for new players to get setu p with their avatar, name, account info, avatar accessories, orientation, and avatar skills before choosing to transport to  the mainland to begin their second lives. Players can purchase a premier membership status which provides players an opportunity to setup a business and participate in an economy exchanging US$1MM daily. Opportunities: There was strong evidence of network effect in SL. By early 2007, there were over 3 million â€Å"residents† registered on SL, of which 700,000 had visited SL in the previous 60 days and 12,000-18,000 were typically on line at any given time. Also, real life (RL) businesses, brands and not-for-profit organizations began to explore their own second lives. STA has an opportunity to be one of the first to market in the virtual world travel category. In doing so, they can begin to form partnerships with other RL businesses. As more businesses residents join, STA can continue to grow their partnerships and advertising within SL. Problems: SL is new technology and history shows that technology has a short life cycle. There is risk that SL will not continue to grow long enough for STA to cash in on this signif icant investment. SL could also have a negative impact on STA’s brand image if potential customers begin to identify STA with a virtual business and not a real life business that can provide real world travel services. STA’s real world revenue will be a key metric in measuring the impact of SL. Although, STA’s SL approach simulates the services they offer in the real world; I think it will be difficult for residents to make the connection from STA’s virtual world services to the real world services. Also, college students’ schedules are packed full with studies, work and socializing therefore majority will not have time to maintain a virtual second life. Finally, the current retail travel agencies will likely resist the SL marketing tool because the success of SL represents lost commissions for the retail agencies. What type of individuals make up the Second Life community? What do you believe will be the evolution of Second Life and other Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) in the near future? The primary users in SL are gamers and tech savvy individuals who spend a lot of time in at the computer. Those that prefer virtual reality often don’t have a desire to travel the world for several reasons; they don’t like flying, leaving home, they can’t afford it, or their schedule doesn’t allow enough time. I don’t believe the current SL users will seek out STA’s real world services. I also don’t believe there is an opportunity for STA to gain share through SL because those who enjoy traveling in real  life prefer to experience it in person not virtually. These two demographics are independent; therefore the virtual players cannot provide a read on travel trends for the real life traveler. I also don’t expect SL to continue long enough for STA to make any gains in market share. How do you propose that STA Travel should go about establishing a presence in Second Life? How can the firm spawn the traffic needed for generating revenues? I struggle to find any basis for STA to move forward with establishing a presence in SL which will appeal to their target audience and generate revenues. I believe there is a missing link between the virtual reality and the real world services. I also think STAs target audience will remain a minority in the SL virtual reality user community. Evaluate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of this initiative. What would you propose to the executive team if you were Matt? Why? The SL actual costs not provided in this case, however the total cost of ownership must include the following: lease, setup, development, training of STA employees, maintenance, end of life, migration, integration with software programs, security, testing, data backup storage, insurance, marketing expense, global staffing to maintain site 24/7. I believe the cumulative cost of these categories will exceed the benefit because. How would you evaluate the value of Second Life to STA? At this time, I’d do not recommend moving forward on the basis that I do not find any value in SL. STAs target college audience is a minority in the SL user community. I evaluate the value of SL based on the projected increased revenue, profitability, market share and the risks or opportunities. The risks noted previously outweigh any potential advantage SL may provide. Class Material Online community- SL is a virtual reality community brought together by a common interest of wanting to escape reality. Pay for service- SL primary revenue model; they charge a membership to users who want to upgrade and participate in the SL economy which exchanges US$1MM daily. Disintermediation- Historically STA utilized retail travel agencies, however the Internet introduced new online competitors. Market efficiency- STA online competition provides lower costs researching trips. Rather than physically going to the retail travel agent, consumers can search for pricing and availability online. Two-way conversations- STA North America  has an interactive travel blog where customers can post videos of their travel experiences. Recommendation: I do not recommend SL because the risks exceed any gains that may exist. Also, there is not a link between the virtual and real world. I recommend that STA explore other online marketing opportunities.

An Improvement in Project Leadership Skills

An Improvement in Project Leadership Skills 1.0 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Though project managers have placed client needs and demands at a priority, client expectations, and the increase in global competition, as well as the enormous impact projects have on firms, have led to a further increasing demand for the use of more effective leadership skills that can assist project managers in project team leadership (Zimmerer and Yasin, 1998). Project management involves project monitoring and supervision that is global in nature, involving projects with team members from diverse professional backgrounds, cultures, languages, and nations. Again, project management does not just involve the management of people, but also time and material resources (Veal 2004). This calls for vital strategic planning, and the management of resources for effective project management delivery. The complexities in present day projects require not just management abilities, but also an improvement in project leadership skills and competencies (Zimmerer and Yasin, 1998). 1.2 ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT Leadership, according to Jago (1982), is the application of non-coercive influence in directing the activities of individual members of an organised group in an effort to achieving the groups objectives. Leadership in this context is considered in relation to some qualities and characteristics of those who successfully implement such influences. In the context of project management, leadership can be seen as a process undertaken by an organisation in taking responsibility of team members who work with the project manager toward the achievement of project aims (Cleland, 1995). A project managers leadership skills and competencies have become necessary in harnessing the activities of the entire project stakeholders; as a result, this has led to conception of his leadership skills as an important aspect of project control (Barber and Warns, 2005). This is particularly important given the fact that though the project manager uses skilled manpower, material resources, as well as other app ropriate methods when embarking on projects, some projects do run overtime, over budget, or suffer failure in the achievement of the particular project goal (Barber and Warns, 2005). Using appropriate leadership skills, a project manager is able to forestall such eventualities where and when possible, and redirect the efforts of the team members toward attaining the desired project objectives. His ability to lead human resources associated with the project shows the leadership excellence as regards defining the project scope, time, cost management, quality and communication (Cleland, 1995). For this reason, therefore, a project manager continuously needs to develop appropriate leadership skills; competencies and styles needed down the different stages of the projects lifecycle. It implies that for a successful project delivery, the project manager needs to demonstrate not just an appropriate technical knowhow, but also a show of effective administrative and leadership skills (Burke, 2007). The question then arises as to what the skills and competencies are, that are considered essential for present day competent project managers (Ingason and Jonasson, 2009), in the delivery of projects. In the past, technical competence was taken to be the required skill that a project manager should possess in order to lead projects to success (Zimmerer and Yasin, 1998). But in contemporary times, team building, motivation (Jacques et al, 2008), vision, management, and communication (Barber and Warn, 2005), have all been identified as being part of the necessary skills and competencies a project manager needs to cultivate for effective delivery of projects. While the issue of project leadership has been the subject of so many research endeavours (Cleland, 1995, Washbush and Clements, 1999; Prabhakar, 2005; Jacques et al, 2008) a relatively fewer other researchers have focused on the leadership skills and competencies appropriate for a project managers use in leading the project team members, and the impact they have in the management of projects (Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2005; Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Majority of research endeavours in this area have considered the idea that a project managers application of leadership skills in projects lead to the successful delivery of projects and this has prompted the assessment of the factors that matter in his ability to utilise available human and material resources, and also lead and manage the project team, and other stakeholders. Other research works (Turner and Muller, 2005; Pinto and Trailer, 1998), however, recognise the importance of a project managers leadership skills when managing p rojects, but do not explicitly link these skills and competencies that characterise a project manager, as necessary for successful management of the project. This, therefore, forms the bulk of the debate that academic scholars in this area have preoccupied themselves. A key area of this debate concerns the fact that some relevant literature materials (Crawford, 2007; Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008) that attached great importance to the leadership skills and competencies of a project manager have further identified a project manager as a success factor for projects. The view of these project management pundits is that project success can be a possible result of the application of the attributes of a project manager during project management. This is achieved with the project managers communication, technical and motivational skills, and a host of other skills and competencies that allow him successful lead the project team members toward the achievement of the project goal. On an opposite vein, a few other project management scholars did not view a project manager as a success factor for projects (Pinto and Slevin, 1998; Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2005). This group of project management scholars observe that the use of appropriate tools and techniques is what counts in the realization of project success. This presents an implication which denotes that the leadership skills of a project manager make no additional impact in project performance. A particular literature endeavour that has significantly dealt with the issue of the present study is the work of Turner and Mà ¼ller (2005). Though their findings suggest that the literature does not view a project manager and his leadership competencies as a success factor for projects, they, however, recommended that for this argument to be resolved, the question of a project managers leadership skills and competencies, and the question of possible impact in the achievement of successful project management should be measured. As a result of this recommendation, this research investigates the views expressed in other project management literature, on the impact leadership skills and competencies of a project manager have in the management of projects. To this end, there would be an investiga tion into what constituted project management success factors in the project management history, especially during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. This effort is realised by conducting some in-depth interviews and exploring some relevant literature at these periods to identify their arguments on what constituted project success factors, and to ascertain the place of a project manager and his or her leadership skills and competencies in project management history. 1.3 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of this research is to determine if a project managers leadership skills and competencies can act as a catalyst in bringing about successful project performance. In this context, therefore, this research tries to determine whether the application of effective leadership skills and competencies can impact on the management of projects towards the achievement of a quality and successful project performance. This will involve implementing the recommendation of the research of Turner and Muller (2005) by evaluating what constitutes project success factors to ascertain if a project manager is considered as a project management success factor, using the project management literature works and semi-structured interview. Also, contributing to the existing body of knowledge on the impact of a project managers leadership skills and competencies in project management, the objectives, as derived from the aim of this research are: To determine the leadership skills and competencies available for a project managers use in the management of projects. To critically examine the impact of the application of a project managers leadership skills and competencies in project delivery. To determine if a project manager is a project management success factor. 1.4 RESEARCH STRUCTURE This research begins with a critical review of some recent debates in the project management literature on arguments relating to leadership styles, skills and competencies appropriate for a project manager in chapter 2. It goes further to review the ideas of project management pundits on the impact these leadership skills and competencies have while managing projects. It also investigates the contribution of leadership to project managers especially as more and more project management scholars lay emphasis on project managers developing leadership skills for a better management of projects. Chapter 3 presents the research design and the methodology used in the anchorage of this dissertation for the achievement of its aim and objectives encapsulated in a six layer research onion model presented in figure 4. This chapter begins by presenting interpretivism and induction as the philosophy and approach that engulfs this research. This chapter further highlights the use of qualitative research method and how qualitative content analysis is used in the process of data collection and analysis of the data that came mainly from the literature sources towards the development of a grounded theory for this research. To reduce the limitation that could arise from the use of literature sources alone, semi-structured interviews were used in complementing the data collected from the literature works. The time horizon and the ethical consideration in relation to data collection and analysis is equally presented in this chapter. The analysis of the data gathered is presented in chapter 4, using the methods discussed above towards the development of the grounded theory, in achieving the aim of this research. The findings of this research are presented in chapter 5, and are related to the previous findings found in the project management literature as discussed in the review of the literature in chapter two. Lastly, the limitations of this study and a recommendation for further research are also presented in this chapter. Finally, a summary of the research is presented in chapter six and this research concludes by offering some opportunities further research can anchor on. CHAPTER II 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter examines some key academic interests in the role of the project managers leadership skills and competencies for the achievement of successful project management. Reviewing the relevant body of literature on this topic, will be necessary; as it will offer an insight into relevant concerns of the research and provide the required background in addressing the research questions identified earlier on. Among the themes academic pundits in this area have shown interest in are identified in figure 1, they are: leadership styles, the project manager and project success, the project managers leadership competences and the impact of leadership in project management. This chapter critically examines these areas of interest in a wider context, and their impact in achieving successful project management. 2.1 LITERATURE SCOPE It must be noted that the study of effective leadership skills is necessary for quality project management and efficiency (Strang, 2005). A plethora of literature materials exist on the importance of leadership in the successful management of projects, but for the purpose of this study, this research will concentrate on literature sources that have direct bearing on the subject matter of the research, which are identified in figure 1. The review of the literature would encompass leadership styles as a core area in project success. It will explore leadership approaches particularly transformational leadership style used by project managers in the process of managing the human aspects of projects, namely, the project team members, and stakeholders. The concept of ‘success in project management and the project managers contributions toward the achievement of success will also be critically assessed. On the other hand, literature on the project manager and his leadership competencies will be reviewed to ascertain the viability of his leadership competencies toward increasing the chances for successful project delivery. Lastly, the body of literature on the impact of leadership in project management will consider the contribution of leadership in managing projects, by making a comparison of leadership and management in leading the project team. 2.2 LEADERSHIP STYLES The question of what makes a good leader has been an age long problem. Among prominent authors that have commented on this issue include, Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes and Lock (Collinson, 1998). Turner and Mà ¼ller (2005) identified six main leadership theories that have been singled out as the main leadership schools over seventy years ago. These schools are: The trait school The behaviour or style school The contingency school The emotional intelligent school, and The competency school Transformational leadership school This research will be focusing mainly on transformational leadership due to the emphasis project management literature places on it in leading project members. This research will examine the impact of transformational leadership in project management. 2.2.1 Transformational leadership in project management: The literature has associated transformational leadership with those leaders that create â€Å"a shared vision of the future and a relationship between leaders and followers based on far more than just the simple exchange of rewards for compliance† (Keegan and Hartog, 2004:609). What distinguishes transformational leaders is their ability in articulating some attractive vision of the future (Hartog and Verburg, 1997). Transformational leaders exhibit self-confidence and charisma which can and do attract subordinate to those identified vision or mission (Keegan and Hartlog, 2004). Northouse (1997) indicates that transformational leadership transforms and changes individuals. He added that this sort of leadership is open to the needs of the followers. Transformational leadership has been contrasted with transactional leadership (Leban and Zulauf, 2004) which focuses on the physical and security needs of its followers (Lams ila and Ogunlana, 2008). Most commentators have agreed that transactional leadership is based on the model that there is exchange process between leaders and followers, with leaders providing reward for the subordinates compliance (Northouse, 1997; Strang, 2005: Sadler, 2003 and Jogulu and Wood, 2006). While the followers are motivated by the effect the transformational leaders have on them in terms of making them aware of the values and outcome of their goals, transactional leaders on the other hand, utilises reward in motivating their subordinate. Keegan and Hartog (2004) recently noted that leading commentators have â€Å"begun to suggest that transformational leadership may be of particular interest in the project based-context† (p. 610). These commentators continue to emphasis increasing importance of motivational and emotional features of project managers as well as the importance of project managers to instil faith and commitment to their organization as part of their role (Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2003). Research have shown that project managers are considered to be leading people from different profession and diverse culture, therefore the use of transformational leadership becomes necessary due to its emphasis on vision, inspirational and motivational role of leaders (Cleland and Ireland, 2002; Keegan and Hartog, 2004). While leading such talented professionals therefore, the emphasis has drifted from control and compliance to dedication, identification and loyalty, which are characteristic of transformational lead ership (Keegan and Hartog, 2004). The literature has identified the importance of transformational leadership in project management (Yammarino and Bass, 1990; Leban and Zulauf, 2004; Barber and Warn, 2005). This importance is identified in the continuous need for project managers to be forward thinking, constantly anticipating where things may likely go wrong in project, so that steps can be placed in anticipation towards resolving them where possible and recovery measure put in place should they not be preventable (Lewis, 2001). Similarly, Barber and Warn (2005) have identified idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation as components of transformational leadership, which enable them â€Å"to explain the big picture, anticipate events and even prevent problems† (p. 1032). In figure 2, Prabhakars (2005) research suggests that transformational leaders who inspire and motivate their followers to face the challenges of their work appeared to achieve project success. This is achieved through the relationship transformational leaders build with their subordinates using an interactive communication that forms a bond between them. Figure 2: Relationship between leadership variables and project success after Prabhakar (2005). In line with the finding of Prabhakar (2005) Leban and Zulauf (2004) suggest that â€Å"transformational project manager behaviour has a positive impact on actual project performance† (p. 561). Furthermore, they stated that transformational project management is achieved through the use of project managers who are result focused through inspiration and motivation. However, the finding of Strang (2005) shows that although the application of transformational leadership while leading project team have a tendency of fostering leader-follower relationship strong transformational leadership however, is not always required in producing effective organizational outcomes. Equally, it has been observed that while transformational leadership in project context leads to stakeholders satisfaction, the finding of Strang (2005) suggest that it does not on the other hand guarantee organizational performance. From the foregoing, it has been suggested that transformational leadership has an important influence by reshaping the way people think, which is considered an aspect of project leadership skills (Partington, 2003). 2.3 PROJECT SUCCESS AND THE PROJECT MANAGER Research has it that in the field of project management, among the few topics that are frequently discussed but rarely agreed upon is what constitutes success in project (Pinto and Slevin, 1988a). Given the fact that â€Å"the search for factors that lead to better project performance and success spans many years of research† (Dov et al, 2006:36). Table 1, presents the findings of Jugdev and Mà ¼ller (2005) which identified four periods in the history of project management and the perceptions of the factors that possibly led to achieving successful project management. Period 1: Project implementation and Handover (1960s-1980s). At this stage, simple metric such as time, cost and specifications were the yardsticks used in measuring project success because they were understood to be easy for organizational use. â€Å"Project managers focused on getting a project done, making sure it worked, and getting out the way† (Judgev and Mà ¼ller, 2005:23). Studies at this time focused on scheduling as the criteria for project success or failure, while others relied on budget and performance as the success factor (Pinto and Slevin, 1988b) and client satisfaction (Shenhar et al, 1997).The emphasis at this stage was on the effectiveness of the measures and the technical system than the behaviours of the individual members of the project (Judgev and Mà ¼ller, 2005). Period 2: CSF Lists (1980s -1990s). According Judgev and Mà ¼ller (2005) this stage was preoccupied with developing some critical success factors (CSF) lists. Cooke-Davies (2002) saw critical success factors as those â€Å"inputs to the management system that lead directly or indirectly to the success of the project or business (p.185). At this stage, the literature focused on the satisfaction of the stakeholders as what guarantees project success. At the completion of the project what matters was not job completion rather the satisfaction criterion which was â€Å"are we happy† (Judgev and Mà ¼ller, 2005). End users impacts are felt as the yardstick for success which contradicts with the period 1. Among the CSFs as the literature identified were effective communications, clear objective, scope and the use of project plan as living documents (Clarke, 1999). Judgev and Mà ¼ller (2005) further identified change management, organizational effectiveness and the alignment betwe en project management and strategic management as all part of CSFs. Period 3: CSF Frameworks (1990s -2000s). At this period, the literature questioned the concept that project success is based on stakeholders-dependent and linking success with the internal and recipient organization (Kerzner, 1987: Lester, 1998). Morris and Hough (1987) developed new framework dealing on the preconditions of project success in four categories which are: Project functionality: Does such project meet up with the financial and technical requirement. Project management: Did such project meet up with the stipulated budget, schedule and specification. Contractors commercial performance: Did the project contractors benefit in a commercial way. Project termination: Peradventure a project is cancelled, was such cancellation done reasonably and effectively. Cleland and Ireland (2002) approached the issue of project success from two points of view, first, project success should be measured in view of meeting the performance objectives (cost, time and scope), and secondly it could be measured using the impact of such project on the strategic mission of the firm. Period 4: strategic project management (21st century). At this period, project success has been linked to many factors than just one common mission like organizational benefit, product success and team development (Atkinson, 1999 and Baccarini, 1999). Equally CSFs at this period incorporated â€Å"senior management commitment to provide the vision, strategy and sponsorship† (Judgev and Mà ¼ller, 2005:28) and such success factor relate to the organization including the external environment. Judgev and Mà ¼ller (2005) indicates that most recent literature have identified four necessary but not sufficient criteria for success that need to be in place for projects to be successfully managed, which are: Success criteria need to be agreed on with the project stakeholders before embarking on project. There should be a collaborative working relationship with the project sponsor and the project manager and they should view the project as partners. There is need to empower the project manager with some sort of flexibility as to be able to deal with unforeseen circumstances, and the project sponsor should give directives on the best way of achieving project success. The project sponsor needs to show an interest in the performance of the project. Subsequent research by Turner and Mà ¼ller (2005) suggests that during 1980s, the literature grew rapidly; with different authors listing what they thought constituted project success. Surprisingly, though the literature of this time emphasised that the project manager should be competent enough to get things done well, their finding suggests that: â€Å"rarely does the literature on project success factors specifically or overtly mention project manager and his or her leadership style and competence. Perhaps the project manager does not contribute to project success. Perhaps there is something about the nature of projects and the project teams that means that their success is not dependent on the leadership style and competence of the manager† (Turner and Mà ¼ller, (2005:57). This very remark suggests that the impact of the project managers leadership style possibly do not necessarily lead to project success. Andersen et al (1987) identified some pitfalls that may hinder project success and increase project failure. These pitfalls include the method that is used to plan, organize and control projects. Baker et al (1988) saw project success as achieving the projects technical specification or mission while earning a high valued satisfaction from the client, the end user and the project team as well. They equally advocated planning as against perceiving leadership as a key factor while maximizing potential project success. Table 2 presents ten project management success factors by Pinto and Slevin (1988b) in determining what constitutes project success factors. Though this table plays down the skills and competencies of a project as a success factor for projects however Pinto and Slevin (1988b) noted that a project will be a failure should some project mana gement characteristics like human skills, project managers administration and influencing skills not be present in the project. In the 2000s, the interest on project success changed. As against the notion that the literature was silent about the impact of the project manager toward project success (Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2005), researchers like Prabhakar (2005) and Keegan and Hartog (2004) identified effective project manager leadership as an importance success factor on projects. In Table 3, Kendra and Taplin (2004) classified project success into four categories which are micro-social, macro-social, micro-technical and macro-technical categories of which they identified behaviour, leadership and personal attributes of the project manager as a success factor under micro-social. Other studies (Lim and Mohamed, 1999, and DeCottiis and Dyer, 1979) stressed the importance of customers satisfaction and their welfare towards success measurement. In fact, Atkinson (1999) notes that any measurement criteria that assesses projects in terms of time and budget constrain without meeting up with client satisfaction will be misleading and incomplete. Tishler et al (1997) observes that customer satisfaction is supreme in assessing project success. Given the importance of the aims and objectives of any project, it was surprised that the periods identified in the findings of Jugder and Mà ¼ller (2005) did not include them as an aspect of project success. This is particularly necessary as a project that runs over budget and over time may still be considered successful if the project achieved its target. In other words, a project may meet the iron triangle success criteria of time, budget and quality, but if the aims and objectives are not achieved, such a project may be considered a failure. 2.4 THE PROJECT MANAGERS LEADERSHIP COMPETENCE AND PROJECT SUCCESS The study of Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) examines the impact project managers leadership competence have in achieving project success. They considered leadership as a combination of personal characteristics with those areas of competence. With this understanding, leadership can be conceived as the combination of skills and knowledge with personal characteristics that make a leader. Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) observe that project leadership is part of a project managers competencies. In their mind â€Å"there is a recognition that an effective project manager possesses a combination of personal characteristics such as flexibility and competencies such as problem solving† (p. 59). Similarly, Crawford (2007:14) defined competence as â€Å"encompassing knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours that contributes to effective performance of a task or job role†. Turner and Mà ¼ller (2005) added that competence includes personal characteristics, knowledge and skills. A P roject managers competence therefore can be perceived as the combination of knowledge and skills and core personality characteristics that necessitate superior results (Crawford, 2007). Rees et al (1996) noted that effective project managers appear to be averagely intelligent and possess problem solving skill than non-effective project managers. Dulewics and Higgs (2003) identified four leadership performances which include cognitive, behavioural, emotional and motivational competencies. They went further to suggest that managerial performance is defined by three competencies which are intellectual (IQ) managerial skill (MQ) and Emotional (EQ) competencies. Again, they developed a leadership competence model with fifteen leadership competences in Table 4. These fifteen leadership dimensions were classified under three major leadership competencies of IQ, MQ and EQ. On their part Mà ¼ller and Turner (2007) found out that the ability to lead and technical knowledge are important aspects of project manager competence which are necessarily displayed based on the nature of a particular project. Geoghegan and Dulewiczs, (2008) findings suggests that there is a significant relationship between a project managers leadership competence and project success. Their research suggest that project managers who possess high problem solving acumen are better suited for the empowerment and development of their colleagues, while project managers who are high in managing resources will be effective in budgeting. Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) also indicated that managerial competence contributes most significantly towards successful projects, by influencing project team. Other research (Crawford, 2001: Crawford, 2007) have equally linked project managers leadership competencies to project success and has gone further to identify a project manager as a success fact or for projects. Under micro-social dimensions of project success, Kendra and Taplin (2004) identified project managers competence and skills as a success factor. Although as succinctly enunciated in reviewed literature, the project manager possesses some competencies which are a sine qua non for successful project delivery, there does not seem to be a clear cut consensus on what these competencies are, as different researchers have identified different competencies that make project leaders. Furthermore, most researchers could not come to terms with the study of Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) that there is any relation between a project managers competence and project success. The view of these researchers is that the use of right techniques and tools assures the achievement of successful projects (Crawford, 2007). This implies that project managers with their technical knowledge and emotional intelligent make no contribution towards the success of projects so far as the right tools are deployed in managing projects (Crawford, 2007). This is in line with some believes about project management as presented by Mà ¼ller and Turner (2007c) which are: the project managers competence with his leadership style is not a success factor on projects; secondly, any project manager is capable of managing any project. Similarly, going through the literature, Mà ¼ller and Turner (2007c:3) further stated that â€Å"the project success literature studiously ignores the project manager, and his or her competence or leadership style as a potential success factor on projects†. Furthermore, Anderson et al (1987) saw the importance of personal characteristics of a project manager like his An Improvement in Project Leadership Skills An Improvement in Project Leadership Skills 1.0 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Though project managers have placed client needs and demands at a priority, client expectations, and the increase in global competition, as well as the enormous impact projects have on firms, have led to a further increasing demand for the use of more effective leadership skills that can assist project managers in project team leadership (Zimmerer and Yasin, 1998). Project management involves project monitoring and supervision that is global in nature, involving projects with team members from diverse professional backgrounds, cultures, languages, and nations. Again, project management does not just involve the management of people, but also time and material resources (Veal 2004). This calls for vital strategic planning, and the management of resources for effective project management delivery. The complexities in present day projects require not just management abilities, but also an improvement in project leadership skills and competencies (Zimmerer and Yasin, 1998). 1.2 ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT Leadership, according to Jago (1982), is the application of non-coercive influence in directing the activities of individual members of an organised group in an effort to achieving the groups objectives. Leadership in this context is considered in relation to some qualities and characteristics of those who successfully implement such influences. In the context of project management, leadership can be seen as a process undertaken by an organisation in taking responsibility of team members who work with the project manager toward the achievement of project aims (Cleland, 1995). A project managers leadership skills and competencies have become necessary in harnessing the activities of the entire project stakeholders; as a result, this has led to conception of his leadership skills as an important aspect of project control (Barber and Warns, 2005). This is particularly important given the fact that though the project manager uses skilled manpower, material resources, as well as other app ropriate methods when embarking on projects, some projects do run overtime, over budget, or suffer failure in the achievement of the particular project goal (Barber and Warns, 2005). Using appropriate leadership skills, a project manager is able to forestall such eventualities where and when possible, and redirect the efforts of the team members toward attaining the desired project objectives. His ability to lead human resources associated with the project shows the leadership excellence as regards defining the project scope, time, cost management, quality and communication (Cleland, 1995). For this reason, therefore, a project manager continuously needs to develop appropriate leadership skills; competencies and styles needed down the different stages of the projects lifecycle. It implies that for a successful project delivery, the project manager needs to demonstrate not just an appropriate technical knowhow, but also a show of effective administrative and leadership skills (Burke, 2007). The question then arises as to what the skills and competencies are, that are considered essential for present day competent project managers (Ingason and Jonasson, 2009), in the delivery of projects. In the past, technical competence was taken to be the required skill that a project manager should possess in order to lead projects to success (Zimmerer and Yasin, 1998). But in contemporary times, team building, motivation (Jacques et al, 2008), vision, management, and communication (Barber and Warn, 2005), have all been identified as being part of the necessary skills and competencies a project manager needs to cultivate for effective delivery of projects. While the issue of project leadership has been the subject of so many research endeavours (Cleland, 1995, Washbush and Clements, 1999; Prabhakar, 2005; Jacques et al, 2008) a relatively fewer other researchers have focused on the leadership skills and competencies appropriate for a project managers use in leading the project team members, and the impact they have in the management of projects (Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2005; Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Majority of research endeavours in this area have considered the idea that a project managers application of leadership skills in projects lead to the successful delivery of projects and this has prompted the assessment of the factors that matter in his ability to utilise available human and material resources, and also lead and manage the project team, and other stakeholders. Other research works (Turner and Muller, 2005; Pinto and Trailer, 1998), however, recognise the importance of a project managers leadership skills when managing p rojects, but do not explicitly link these skills and competencies that characterise a project manager, as necessary for successful management of the project. This, therefore, forms the bulk of the debate that academic scholars in this area have preoccupied themselves. A key area of this debate concerns the fact that some relevant literature materials (Crawford, 2007; Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008) that attached great importance to the leadership skills and competencies of a project manager have further identified a project manager as a success factor for projects. The view of these project management pundits is that project success can be a possible result of the application of the attributes of a project manager during project management. This is achieved with the project managers communication, technical and motivational skills, and a host of other skills and competencies that allow him successful lead the project team members toward the achievement of the project goal. On an opposite vein, a few other project management scholars did not view a project manager as a success factor for projects (Pinto and Slevin, 1998; Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2005). This group of project management scholars observe that the use of appropriate tools and techniques is what counts in the realization of project success. This presents an implication which denotes that the leadership skills of a project manager make no additional impact in project performance. A particular literature endeavour that has significantly dealt with the issue of the present study is the work of Turner and Mà ¼ller (2005). Though their findings suggest that the literature does not view a project manager and his leadership competencies as a success factor for projects, they, however, recommended that for this argument to be resolved, the question of a project managers leadership skills and competencies, and the question of possible impact in the achievement of successful project management should be measured. As a result of this recommendation, this research investigates the views expressed in other project management literature, on the impact leadership skills and competencies of a project manager have in the management of projects. To this end, there would be an investiga tion into what constituted project management success factors in the project management history, especially during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. This effort is realised by conducting some in-depth interviews and exploring some relevant literature at these periods to identify their arguments on what constituted project success factors, and to ascertain the place of a project manager and his or her leadership skills and competencies in project management history. 1.3 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of this research is to determine if a project managers leadership skills and competencies can act as a catalyst in bringing about successful project performance. In this context, therefore, this research tries to determine whether the application of effective leadership skills and competencies can impact on the management of projects towards the achievement of a quality and successful project performance. This will involve implementing the recommendation of the research of Turner and Muller (2005) by evaluating what constitutes project success factors to ascertain if a project manager is considered as a project management success factor, using the project management literature works and semi-structured interview. Also, contributing to the existing body of knowledge on the impact of a project managers leadership skills and competencies in project management, the objectives, as derived from the aim of this research are: To determine the leadership skills and competencies available for a project managers use in the management of projects. To critically examine the impact of the application of a project managers leadership skills and competencies in project delivery. To determine if a project manager is a project management success factor. 1.4 RESEARCH STRUCTURE This research begins with a critical review of some recent debates in the project management literature on arguments relating to leadership styles, skills and competencies appropriate for a project manager in chapter 2. It goes further to review the ideas of project management pundits on the impact these leadership skills and competencies have while managing projects. It also investigates the contribution of leadership to project managers especially as more and more project management scholars lay emphasis on project managers developing leadership skills for a better management of projects. Chapter 3 presents the research design and the methodology used in the anchorage of this dissertation for the achievement of its aim and objectives encapsulated in a six layer research onion model presented in figure 4. This chapter begins by presenting interpretivism and induction as the philosophy and approach that engulfs this research. This chapter further highlights the use of qualitative research method and how qualitative content analysis is used in the process of data collection and analysis of the data that came mainly from the literature sources towards the development of a grounded theory for this research. To reduce the limitation that could arise from the use of literature sources alone, semi-structured interviews were used in complementing the data collected from the literature works. The time horizon and the ethical consideration in relation to data collection and analysis is equally presented in this chapter. The analysis of the data gathered is presented in chapter 4, using the methods discussed above towards the development of the grounded theory, in achieving the aim of this research. The findings of this research are presented in chapter 5, and are related to the previous findings found in the project management literature as discussed in the review of the literature in chapter two. Lastly, the limitations of this study and a recommendation for further research are also presented in this chapter. Finally, a summary of the research is presented in chapter six and this research concludes by offering some opportunities further research can anchor on. CHAPTER II 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter examines some key academic interests in the role of the project managers leadership skills and competencies for the achievement of successful project management. Reviewing the relevant body of literature on this topic, will be necessary; as it will offer an insight into relevant concerns of the research and provide the required background in addressing the research questions identified earlier on. Among the themes academic pundits in this area have shown interest in are identified in figure 1, they are: leadership styles, the project manager and project success, the project managers leadership competences and the impact of leadership in project management. This chapter critically examines these areas of interest in a wider context, and their impact in achieving successful project management. 2.1 LITERATURE SCOPE It must be noted that the study of effective leadership skills is necessary for quality project management and efficiency (Strang, 2005). A plethora of literature materials exist on the importance of leadership in the successful management of projects, but for the purpose of this study, this research will concentrate on literature sources that have direct bearing on the subject matter of the research, which are identified in figure 1. The review of the literature would encompass leadership styles as a core area in project success. It will explore leadership approaches particularly transformational leadership style used by project managers in the process of managing the human aspects of projects, namely, the project team members, and stakeholders. The concept of ‘success in project management and the project managers contributions toward the achievement of success will also be critically assessed. On the other hand, literature on the project manager and his leadership competencies will be reviewed to ascertain the viability of his leadership competencies toward increasing the chances for successful project delivery. Lastly, the body of literature on the impact of leadership in project management will consider the contribution of leadership in managing projects, by making a comparison of leadership and management in leading the project team. 2.2 LEADERSHIP STYLES The question of what makes a good leader has been an age long problem. Among prominent authors that have commented on this issue include, Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes and Lock (Collinson, 1998). Turner and Mà ¼ller (2005) identified six main leadership theories that have been singled out as the main leadership schools over seventy years ago. These schools are: The trait school The behaviour or style school The contingency school The emotional intelligent school, and The competency school Transformational leadership school This research will be focusing mainly on transformational leadership due to the emphasis project management literature places on it in leading project members. This research will examine the impact of transformational leadership in project management. 2.2.1 Transformational leadership in project management: The literature has associated transformational leadership with those leaders that create â€Å"a shared vision of the future and a relationship between leaders and followers based on far more than just the simple exchange of rewards for compliance† (Keegan and Hartog, 2004:609). What distinguishes transformational leaders is their ability in articulating some attractive vision of the future (Hartog and Verburg, 1997). Transformational leaders exhibit self-confidence and charisma which can and do attract subordinate to those identified vision or mission (Keegan and Hartlog, 2004). Northouse (1997) indicates that transformational leadership transforms and changes individuals. He added that this sort of leadership is open to the needs of the followers. Transformational leadership has been contrasted with transactional leadership (Leban and Zulauf, 2004) which focuses on the physical and security needs of its followers (Lams ila and Ogunlana, 2008). Most commentators have agreed that transactional leadership is based on the model that there is exchange process between leaders and followers, with leaders providing reward for the subordinates compliance (Northouse, 1997; Strang, 2005: Sadler, 2003 and Jogulu and Wood, 2006). While the followers are motivated by the effect the transformational leaders have on them in terms of making them aware of the values and outcome of their goals, transactional leaders on the other hand, utilises reward in motivating their subordinate. Keegan and Hartog (2004) recently noted that leading commentators have â€Å"begun to suggest that transformational leadership may be of particular interest in the project based-context† (p. 610). These commentators continue to emphasis increasing importance of motivational and emotional features of project managers as well as the importance of project managers to instil faith and commitment to their organization as part of their role (Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2003). Research have shown that project managers are considered to be leading people from different profession and diverse culture, therefore the use of transformational leadership becomes necessary due to its emphasis on vision, inspirational and motivational role of leaders (Cleland and Ireland, 2002; Keegan and Hartog, 2004). While leading such talented professionals therefore, the emphasis has drifted from control and compliance to dedication, identification and loyalty, which are characteristic of transformational lead ership (Keegan and Hartog, 2004). The literature has identified the importance of transformational leadership in project management (Yammarino and Bass, 1990; Leban and Zulauf, 2004; Barber and Warn, 2005). This importance is identified in the continuous need for project managers to be forward thinking, constantly anticipating where things may likely go wrong in project, so that steps can be placed in anticipation towards resolving them where possible and recovery measure put in place should they not be preventable (Lewis, 2001). Similarly, Barber and Warn (2005) have identified idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation as components of transformational leadership, which enable them â€Å"to explain the big picture, anticipate events and even prevent problems† (p. 1032). In figure 2, Prabhakars (2005) research suggests that transformational leaders who inspire and motivate their followers to face the challenges of their work appeared to achieve project success. This is achieved through the relationship transformational leaders build with their subordinates using an interactive communication that forms a bond between them. Figure 2: Relationship between leadership variables and project success after Prabhakar (2005). In line with the finding of Prabhakar (2005) Leban and Zulauf (2004) suggest that â€Å"transformational project manager behaviour has a positive impact on actual project performance† (p. 561). Furthermore, they stated that transformational project management is achieved through the use of project managers who are result focused through inspiration and motivation. However, the finding of Strang (2005) shows that although the application of transformational leadership while leading project team have a tendency of fostering leader-follower relationship strong transformational leadership however, is not always required in producing effective organizational outcomes. Equally, it has been observed that while transformational leadership in project context leads to stakeholders satisfaction, the finding of Strang (2005) suggest that it does not on the other hand guarantee organizational performance. From the foregoing, it has been suggested that transformational leadership has an important influence by reshaping the way people think, which is considered an aspect of project leadership skills (Partington, 2003). 2.3 PROJECT SUCCESS AND THE PROJECT MANAGER Research has it that in the field of project management, among the few topics that are frequently discussed but rarely agreed upon is what constitutes success in project (Pinto and Slevin, 1988a). Given the fact that â€Å"the search for factors that lead to better project performance and success spans many years of research† (Dov et al, 2006:36). Table 1, presents the findings of Jugdev and Mà ¼ller (2005) which identified four periods in the history of project management and the perceptions of the factors that possibly led to achieving successful project management. Period 1: Project implementation and Handover (1960s-1980s). At this stage, simple metric such as time, cost and specifications were the yardsticks used in measuring project success because they were understood to be easy for organizational use. â€Å"Project managers focused on getting a project done, making sure it worked, and getting out the way† (Judgev and Mà ¼ller, 2005:23). Studies at this time focused on scheduling as the criteria for project success or failure, while others relied on budget and performance as the success factor (Pinto and Slevin, 1988b) and client satisfaction (Shenhar et al, 1997).The emphasis at this stage was on the effectiveness of the measures and the technical system than the behaviours of the individual members of the project (Judgev and Mà ¼ller, 2005). Period 2: CSF Lists (1980s -1990s). According Judgev and Mà ¼ller (2005) this stage was preoccupied with developing some critical success factors (CSF) lists. Cooke-Davies (2002) saw critical success factors as those â€Å"inputs to the management system that lead directly or indirectly to the success of the project or business (p.185). At this stage, the literature focused on the satisfaction of the stakeholders as what guarantees project success. At the completion of the project what matters was not job completion rather the satisfaction criterion which was â€Å"are we happy† (Judgev and Mà ¼ller, 2005). End users impacts are felt as the yardstick for success which contradicts with the period 1. Among the CSFs as the literature identified were effective communications, clear objective, scope and the use of project plan as living documents (Clarke, 1999). Judgev and Mà ¼ller (2005) further identified change management, organizational effectiveness and the alignment betwe en project management and strategic management as all part of CSFs. Period 3: CSF Frameworks (1990s -2000s). At this period, the literature questioned the concept that project success is based on stakeholders-dependent and linking success with the internal and recipient organization (Kerzner, 1987: Lester, 1998). Morris and Hough (1987) developed new framework dealing on the preconditions of project success in four categories which are: Project functionality: Does such project meet up with the financial and technical requirement. Project management: Did such project meet up with the stipulated budget, schedule and specification. Contractors commercial performance: Did the project contractors benefit in a commercial way. Project termination: Peradventure a project is cancelled, was such cancellation done reasonably and effectively. Cleland and Ireland (2002) approached the issue of project success from two points of view, first, project success should be measured in view of meeting the performance objectives (cost, time and scope), and secondly it could be measured using the impact of such project on the strategic mission of the firm. Period 4: strategic project management (21st century). At this period, project success has been linked to many factors than just one common mission like organizational benefit, product success and team development (Atkinson, 1999 and Baccarini, 1999). Equally CSFs at this period incorporated â€Å"senior management commitment to provide the vision, strategy and sponsorship† (Judgev and Mà ¼ller, 2005:28) and such success factor relate to the organization including the external environment. Judgev and Mà ¼ller (2005) indicates that most recent literature have identified four necessary but not sufficient criteria for success that need to be in place for projects to be successfully managed, which are: Success criteria need to be agreed on with the project stakeholders before embarking on project. There should be a collaborative working relationship with the project sponsor and the project manager and they should view the project as partners. There is need to empower the project manager with some sort of flexibility as to be able to deal with unforeseen circumstances, and the project sponsor should give directives on the best way of achieving project success. The project sponsor needs to show an interest in the performance of the project. Subsequent research by Turner and Mà ¼ller (2005) suggests that during 1980s, the literature grew rapidly; with different authors listing what they thought constituted project success. Surprisingly, though the literature of this time emphasised that the project manager should be competent enough to get things done well, their finding suggests that: â€Å"rarely does the literature on project success factors specifically or overtly mention project manager and his or her leadership style and competence. Perhaps the project manager does not contribute to project success. Perhaps there is something about the nature of projects and the project teams that means that their success is not dependent on the leadership style and competence of the manager† (Turner and Mà ¼ller, (2005:57). This very remark suggests that the impact of the project managers leadership style possibly do not necessarily lead to project success. Andersen et al (1987) identified some pitfalls that may hinder project success and increase project failure. These pitfalls include the method that is used to plan, organize and control projects. Baker et al (1988) saw project success as achieving the projects technical specification or mission while earning a high valued satisfaction from the client, the end user and the project team as well. They equally advocated planning as against perceiving leadership as a key factor while maximizing potential project success. Table 2 presents ten project management success factors by Pinto and Slevin (1988b) in determining what constitutes project success factors. Though this table plays down the skills and competencies of a project as a success factor for projects however Pinto and Slevin (1988b) noted that a project will be a failure should some project mana gement characteristics like human skills, project managers administration and influencing skills not be present in the project. In the 2000s, the interest on project success changed. As against the notion that the literature was silent about the impact of the project manager toward project success (Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2005), researchers like Prabhakar (2005) and Keegan and Hartog (2004) identified effective project manager leadership as an importance success factor on projects. In Table 3, Kendra and Taplin (2004) classified project success into four categories which are micro-social, macro-social, micro-technical and macro-technical categories of which they identified behaviour, leadership and personal attributes of the project manager as a success factor under micro-social. Other studies (Lim and Mohamed, 1999, and DeCottiis and Dyer, 1979) stressed the importance of customers satisfaction and their welfare towards success measurement. In fact, Atkinson (1999) notes that any measurement criteria that assesses projects in terms of time and budget constrain without meeting up with client satisfaction will be misleading and incomplete. Tishler et al (1997) observes that customer satisfaction is supreme in assessing project success. Given the importance of the aims and objectives of any project, it was surprised that the periods identified in the findings of Jugder and Mà ¼ller (2005) did not include them as an aspect of project success. This is particularly necessary as a project that runs over budget and over time may still be considered successful if the project achieved its target. In other words, a project may meet the iron triangle success criteria of time, budget and quality, but if the aims and objectives are not achieved, such a project may be considered a failure. 2.4 THE PROJECT MANAGERS LEADERSHIP COMPETENCE AND PROJECT SUCCESS The study of Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) examines the impact project managers leadership competence have in achieving project success. They considered leadership as a combination of personal characteristics with those areas of competence. With this understanding, leadership can be conceived as the combination of skills and knowledge with personal characteristics that make a leader. Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) observe that project leadership is part of a project managers competencies. In their mind â€Å"there is a recognition that an effective project manager possesses a combination of personal characteristics such as flexibility and competencies such as problem solving† (p. 59). Similarly, Crawford (2007:14) defined competence as â€Å"encompassing knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours that contributes to effective performance of a task or job role†. Turner and Mà ¼ller (2005) added that competence includes personal characteristics, knowledge and skills. A P roject managers competence therefore can be perceived as the combination of knowledge and skills and core personality characteristics that necessitate superior results (Crawford, 2007). Rees et al (1996) noted that effective project managers appear to be averagely intelligent and possess problem solving skill than non-effective project managers. Dulewics and Higgs (2003) identified four leadership performances which include cognitive, behavioural, emotional and motivational competencies. They went further to suggest that managerial performance is defined by three competencies which are intellectual (IQ) managerial skill (MQ) and Emotional (EQ) competencies. Again, they developed a leadership competence model with fifteen leadership competences in Table 4. These fifteen leadership dimensions were classified under three major leadership competencies of IQ, MQ and EQ. On their part Mà ¼ller and Turner (2007) found out that the ability to lead and technical knowledge are important aspects of project manager competence which are necessarily displayed based on the nature of a particular project. Geoghegan and Dulewiczs, (2008) findings suggests that there is a significant relationship between a project managers leadership competence and project success. Their research suggest that project managers who possess high problem solving acumen are better suited for the empowerment and development of their colleagues, while project managers who are high in managing resources will be effective in budgeting. Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) also indicated that managerial competence contributes most significantly towards successful projects, by influencing project team. Other research (Crawford, 2001: Crawford, 2007) have equally linked project managers leadership competencies to project success and has gone further to identify a project manager as a success fact or for projects. Under micro-social dimensions of project success, Kendra and Taplin (2004) identified project managers competence and skills as a success factor. Although as succinctly enunciated in reviewed literature, the project manager possesses some competencies which are a sine qua non for successful project delivery, there does not seem to be a clear cut consensus on what these competencies are, as different researchers have identified different competencies that make project leaders. Furthermore, most researchers could not come to terms with the study of Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) that there is any relation between a project managers competence and project success. The view of these researchers is that the use of right techniques and tools assures the achievement of successful projects (Crawford, 2007). This implies that project managers with their technical knowledge and emotional intelligent make no contribution towards the success of projects so far as the right tools are deployed in managing projects (Crawford, 2007). This is in line with some believes about project management as presented by Mà ¼ller and Turner (2007c) which are: the project managers competence with his leadership style is not a success factor on projects; secondly, any project manager is capable of managing any project. Similarly, going through the literature, Mà ¼ller and Turner (2007c:3) further stated that â€Å"the project success literature studiously ignores the project manager, and his or her competence or leadership style as a potential success factor on projects†. Furthermore, Anderson et al (1987) saw the importance of personal characteristics of a project manager like his

Léon Theremins Contributions to Music and Society Essay -- Biography

To start, Là ©on Theremin, originally known as, Lev Sergeyevich Termen, was a very influential Russian inventor throughout human history. He is most popular for his invention of the Theremin, one of the very first electronic musical instruments ever made. In addition, Là ©on Theremin is the inventor of a plethora of other inventions, some including the burglar alarm, the Great Seal bug, and the Terpsitone. There are innumerable interesting things that can be said about this innovative person. Without him, society wouldn’t experience, or enjoy the things we have, the same. This research will discuss Là ©on Theremin’s biography, his contributions to music, and his countless inventions that benefited, and improved society on a global scale. First, Là ©on Theremin, originally born with the name, Lev Sergeivitch Termen, was born on the year, 1896, in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was of German and French ancestry and had a sibling by the name of Helena. When he became seven years old, he took an interest in electricity. By the age of thirteen, Theremin began to observe and test high frequency circuits. Later on, within his years in high school, he was able to present to an audience optical effects using electricity, and by the age of seventeen, he had his own laboratory to continue his electrical experiments. It was very clear that the young, Là ©on Theremin, had a brilliant mind. As he grew older, he was â€Å"educated as a physicist and musician,† (Là ©on Theremin) and later began to develop what is known today as the theremin. After the creation of this notable instrument, the theremin, he â€Å"demonstrated his theremin to the Soviet revolutionary leader, Lenin,† in 1922. From there, he was sent on a to ur, which included â€Å"sell-out concerts,† (Là ©on... ...ame. Many of the things he created were considered unthinkable at his point of time in society and because of his ability to dramatically alter how we think of, or use the world, Là ©on Theremin, will be remembered in history, forever. Works Cited Wierzbicki, James. "Weird Vibrations: How The Theremin Gave Musical Voice To Hollywood’S Extraterrestrial â€Å"Others†." Journal Of Popular Film And Television 30.3 (2002): 125-135. OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 29 May 2012. WILLIAM, GRIMES. "Leon Theremin, Musical Inventor, Is Dead at 97." New York Times, The (NY) 09 Nov. 1993: 10. NewsBank - Archives. Web. 29 May 2012. "Leon Theremin." Hutchinson's Biography Database (2011): 1. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 30 May 2012. "Clara Rockmore (1911-1998)." Computer Music Journal 22.4 (1998): 14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 May 2012.

Macbeth: Witches Influence on Macbeths Decisions :: Free Macbeth Essays

Macbeth: Witches Influence on Macbeth's Decisions In the Shakespearean play, "Macbeth," the witches influence on how Macbeth made his decisions played a crucial part in contributing to his eventual destruction. The witches were trying to create chaos by prophesying to Macbeth in order to get him to act. They planted the seed of evil in Macbeth's head that grew to dominate his mind. But it was Macbeth who made the choices that determined his fate. He was not forced to kill Duncan nor any of his other victims. But after he murdered Duncan, Macbeth lost his sanity. The witches were easily able to control his mind. They made him believe that he was invincible, and then he willingly continued to fight when he knew that it would mean his doom. Macbeth's downfall was planned by the weird sisters, but it was Macbeth's own free will that lead him to it. The three witches called the weird sisters are the root of the problem that is the subject for this story. The weird sisters are creators of chaos by nature. They associate with evil spirits and obey them, and they are followers of the evil goddess, Hecate. In the play the witches, with their spells, plan the downfall of Macbeth. They cannot directly harm him themselves, so they tell Macbeth predictions for his possible future, in order to make him act on them. The witches tell Macbeth that he will become the thane of Cawdor and then king of Scotland. They poison his mind with these prophesies, making him greedy and bringing out the evil qualities in his soul. When the first of the promises is proven authentic, Macbeth then considers the idea of murdering Duncan for the first time. This is his first step on the journey to his demise, as the witches had planned. The three witches' plan succeeded, they had aroused the greed in Macbeth, allowing him to make the most important choice of the play - to kill Duncan. Macbeth does not easily make this decision. In fact, at first he decides against it, but, with the knowledge that he could be king, he could not help himself from considering it. After constant persuasion from Lady Macbeth, she and Macbeth finally made their decision. Lady Macbeth would load Duncan's attendants with liquor, and then, on Lady Macbeth's signal, Macbeth would creep into Duncan's chamber and slay him with his servant's weapons. This act surges Macbeth forward on the direct path to his destruction. Afterwards, when Duncan is discovered dead, Macbeth kills again when he murders the servants who were

Metabolic Control Analysis(MCA) Essay -- Science Biochemistry

Introduction: In 1970s, a new method called (Metabolic Control Analysis) for analysing the distribution control of the flows and medium concentrations in the metabolic path between different enzymes that form the corridor, was developed by Henrik Kacser and other scientists. Since then, attention was paid to more research in this method and its applications, and developing analytical and educational tools (Wildermuth, 2000). In the flowing literature review, some examples of the significance of Metabolic Control Analysis, pros and cons will be discussed. Literature review: At first glance, engineering a metabolic system with aim of raising metabolite's yield or flux during a metabolic pathway system, could be done through the method of identifying and controlling, which called rate-limiting-steps. Rate-limiting steps is a certain steps in the paths that exercising the most control over the whole system. Though the good features of this method, the majority of experiments that were tried using that method to increase the pathway fluxes ended up with failure (Walker and Raply, 2009). In fact, the control of the system as a whole is distributed across the system’s components much more than esteemed. This area of distributed is a part of sensitivity analysis, which offered lots of applications for many engineering specializations and for economics as well. According to (Walker and Raply, 2009 ; Gunawardena, 2002), metabolic control analysis (MCA), was developed in 1973 in Edinburgh, by Henrik Kacser and Jim Burns, and, autonomously in Berlin in1974, by Reinhart Heinrich and Tom Rapaport through application of the general concept of sensitivity analysis, to provide a precise quantitative basis to determ... ... control and regulation. However, it is a good point to start for improving access to a deeper understanding better than what can be given by qualitative of conventional biochemistry. Works Cited Fell, D. (1997). Understanding the Control of Metabolism. London: Portland Press. Walker, J., & Raply, R. (2009). Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry. Wildermuth, M. C. (2000). Minireview Metabolic control analysis: biological applications and insights. Genome Biology, 1(6). Retrieved May 1, 2011, from http://genomebiology.com/2000/1/6/reviews/1031 Gunawardena, J. (n.d.). Notes on Metabolic Control Analysis. Papers and Presentations from the Virtual Cell Program. Home of the Virtual Cell Program, Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School. Retrieved January 9, 2011, from http://vcp.med.harvard.edu/papers.htm

Powder †Story Analysis Essay

Powder is a straightforward story about an adolescent boy and his father on a ski trip. It is a first person story; written from the boy’s point of view who is also a central character in this story. The parents are separated or divorced; the father has promised to have the boy back to his mother in time for Christmas Eve dinner. But the father tarries, deciding to get in a few more runs, and by the time they set off, the mountain road they must take is closed and guarded by a state trooper. Eventually the trooper leaves his post and the father decides to risk the snow-covered road. In this story, everything seems to point to disaster. The narrator (an older version of the boy) consistently conveys a sense of worry, at first only that he will be late for Christmas Eve dinner (which has added importance because the father wants to win back the favor of his wife and is screwing this up), but later we fret about their physical well-being. The father sternly warns the boy against such foolhardy behavior. Disaster looms. Yet the boy, who is so tightly wired that he numbers his clothes hangers, is finally able to relax, to trust his father, to accept his fate and enjoy the journey. â€Å"If you haven’t driven fresh powder,† he says at the end, â€Å"you haven’t driven. † Really helps to wrap up this short story nicely. This story captures the two characters as images very well as we are drawn into their lives by the author (character as presented by the author). For example — â€Å"Criminy. This will have to be a fast one. † Expressed by the father give the reader, a sense of urgency and you can visualize this character on the slope with the proper expression. Then the line â€Å"My father in his forty-eighth year, rumpled, kind, bankrupt of honor, flushed with certainty. He was a great driver. † As expressed by the POV Character kind of brings it all together. The characters were alive from the beginning of this story and it was due to the really good characterization that was done by this author.