References 6.1 Introduction Scheduling is about deciding the time that each task will take to do and the sequence in which the tasks will be carried out. There are a number of approaches to estimating the time and effort (and, therefore, cost) required to complete a project. Some estimates may be based on past experience but, because each project is essentially unique, this alone may not be sufficient. A clearer picture can be obtained by measuring each task in terms of the content of the work, the effort required to ca 4 Identifying deliverables The project brief will identify the goals of the project and may express some of these as key objectives. At an early stage of planning you will need to identify all of the project objectives and the deliverables that are implied or required from each objective. Each objective will identify a clear outcome. The outcome is the deliverable. In some cases, the outcome will be some sort of change achieved and in other cases it will be the production of something new. In either case, the pro 1 The planning phase Once the project brief has been agreed by the project sponsors and approved by the main stakeholders, you can move into the detailed planning phase. The project plan can become a working tool that helps to keep the project team focused on the project's tasks and activities and points them towards completion. It enables managers to keep track of resources, time and progress towards achieving objectives. All projects are different and the planning for each will be different. The difficult Acknowledgements Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce materia 4 models and methodologies offered One of the more visible parts of the service many consultants offer is the model or models on which they base their work. When consulting, activity always needs to be related to the local situation. The consultant will normally start by trying to understand the client perspective, but then seek to expand that perspective, using theory and experience from elsewhere. So you will probably need information on the theoretical models used by any consultants you are considering. In addition to 1 Characteristics of service provision Choosing a service provider tends to be far more difficult than choosing a supplier of goods. While there may be tangible components in the service an HR consultant offers, what HR consultants provide is largely intangible. As a starting point the following activity asks you to consider the issues likely to be involved in the initial decision to use a consultant. Conclusion This free course provided an introduction to studying Business & Management. It took you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance and helped to improve your confidence as an independent learner. 2.3 Capital markets In so far as better corporate governance has the objective of enhancing shareholder control, it should follow that companies with better corporate governance will attract investors and will reduce their cost of capital. A global investor opinion survey carried out by McKinsey & Company (2002) gives some evidence that good governance is linked to investment decisions. The survey found that: investors state that they still put corporate governance on a p 2.2 Recent governance failures As we have discussed before, the creation of corporate regulation is often linked to perceived failures of corporations and their management to behave in the way society expect them to. Corporate governance is not an exception to this trend, and, as with accounting, different countries may well experience difficulties at different times. For example, the development of British codes of best practice, which began with the Cadbury Committee, can be related to governance scandals such as Polly P 1.2 Conclusion The annual financial reports commonly contain a statement on corporate governance, so it is useful to have an awareness of what this involves. This has important implications for interpreting the financial statements: a company with a weak system of corporate governance will provide greater opportunities for the manipulation of financial statements, with adverse consequences for users. Acknowledgements Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence Course image: eri References Conclusion This free course provided an introduction to studying Business & Management. It took you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance and helped to improve your confidence as an independent learner. 2 The ‘business sense’ of an ethical approach Sternberg (1995: 125) argues that treating employees ethically is not an optional extra but an essential ingredient in maximising long-term value: Treating employees ethically simply means treating them with ordinary decency and distributive justice. The ethical business rewards contributions to the business objective, and is honest and fair to its staff; it avoids lying, cheating and stealing, coercion, physical v 1.2 The relationship between stakeholders and the organisation Public and voluntary sector organisations do not have the same shareholder obligations as those in the private sector. However, as the distinction between public and private sector organisations becomes blurred, there are concerns that the ethical role of public service organisations – defined as acting in the public interest through a public service ethos – is being undermined. As public service and non-profit organisations are increasingly expected to achieve targets and become more ‘ 1.1 The concept of 'social capital' Fukuyama (1995) examines the importance of civil society defined through institutions including businesses, churches, universities, and schools and uses the concept of ‘social capital’ to describe how people work together for common purposes in organisations. Fukuyama argues that shared values lead to trust, which is crucial for society and the economy to function. He quotes from the distinguished economist Kenneth Arrow with approval: References Learning outcomes After studying this course, you should be able to: explain the relationship between strategy and the ethical dimension of organisational purposes. 3.1 Codes of conduct One of the principles of the European Union Emissions Trading System discussed by Schultz and Williamson (2005) is that an organisation accepts responsibility for the performance of their suppliers. In an age where multinational corporations are able to reduce the production costs of their goods and services by offshoring it to whoever can meet the specification at the lowest cost, what responsibility do they have for the conditions under which production actually occurs? One of the fir