Indonesia Essay -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Indonesia declared independence in 1945 the country’s leader, Sukarno, faced the extremely difficult task of creating a unified state out of Indonesia’s numerous ethnic groups. Also ever since its independence Indonesia’s rulers had to suppress uprisings of muslim groups because it threatened the country’s secular ideology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The attempts by Indonesia’s leaders to maintain unity and the ways in which the military suppressed separatist movements fueled many of the economic, social, and political problems the nation is facing today. After the tsunami, many of the issues surrounding the nationalist issue resurfaced and might change the nature of the conflict between supporters of Indonesian unity and those seeking independence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rebels in Aceh claim that the region was illegally annexed by Indonesia at the time of independence, and a separatist movement has been active there since 1976. During the regime of Suharto the military was given absolute power, and the continuous military presence in the region was marked by brutality towards the Acehnese and mistreatment of suspected rebels. Therefore many Acehnese feel a deep sense of distrust towards Indonesia. Since 2003 Aceh has been under Indonesian military rule and the area was closed off to foreigners as an attempt to isolate the area and crush the separatist movement. Indonesia allowed virtually no foreign presence in Aceh. Many believe that the isolation of the area was an attempt by the government t...

American Beauty by Sam Mendes Essay -- Film Movies

American Beauty by Sam Mendes This essay has problems with formating ï » ¿Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In American Beauty, 1999, directed by Sam Mendes, we are confronted with the permeating images that have consumed mainstream American life. Mendes exploits these images as constructions that we created around ourselves as a means of hiding our true selves. Mendes is able to implicate us in the construction and make us active viewers by exploiting our voyeuristic nature. In American Beauty Mendes uses the voyeuristic tendencies of the spectator to acknowledge the permeating constructed images. Mendes, through the use of narration, the mise en scene and cinematic techniques implicates the spectator in to using their voyeuristic tendencies to deconstruct the images in order to reveal the true image. From the start of the film the construction of images is evident.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Beauty begins with the obvious constructed shot, shown through the use of a video camera, of a young teenage girl. The narration reveals that she wants her father dead. The image portrayed around her is constructed as an evil, unaffectionate youth. The next scene is of a high angle shot, with a voice-over narration. The voice-over goes to explain that this is Lester Burnham’s speaking and he is already dead and the following is a construction of the relevant events. This scene holds relevance for two reasons. First it constructs an image that the young teenager in the previous scene is the killer. And as we will learn by the end of the film this image is not all that it appeared to be. This is a reoccurring theme throughout the film, that these are constructed images, and to notice that there is more to the story then what appears on the surface. The high angle spanning shot of Lester’s street also holds significance for the spectator. This opening shot is quite similar to that of Alfred Hitchcock’s opening scene in Psycho. The similar t hemes is the spectators being the voyeurs. In each we are looking into the private sphere of the character. However, in American Beauty our voyeuristic nature is not shameful. The narration that accompanies the scene is allowing our voyeuristic desires to enter into the private lives without guilt or shame. Mendes as does Lester asks the spectator to be the voyeur. As well the sign on Lester’s cubicle wall is not a coincidence. Mendes is again soliciting t... ...ng against the jumbled blinds of the sliding door. The perfect symmetrical image within the mise en scene is erased in order to represent the failing images in Carolyn’s life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In American Beauty, Mendes constructs his images in order to ask the spectator to deconstruct, by looking closer. This film represents the darkness that we have allowed to seep into American culture. We have allowed ourselves to be overly concerned with the way we want to be or told we should be represented. There are too many cases of the individuals soul being lost behind a maze of faulty images. Mendes begs the spectator almost in desperation to try to see the beauty that this world has to offer. However, he is not pessimistic in his conclusions. Like the flower the film is named after we can still bloom late and the appreciation for the beauty will last for eternity. Yet to reach a point to appreciate the beauty we must strip away the complex layers which we have surrounded ourselves with. This is Mendes point, the need to deconstruct the permeating ideologies within our culture. ï » ¿ Bibliography American Beauty. Dir. Sam Mendes. Dreamworks /Warner Brothers, 1999.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

California Budget

California Budget Crisis Rozlyn Brown Comm/215 BSDC0TEBB5 Michele Watson ? Poor money management of the State of California has caused people to suffer. The global recession has caused California and many other states to plummet. In the Los Angeles Times California deficit is said to be $25. 4 billion according to the states chief analyst. The state of California has taken drastic measure to fix this problem. Fixing the problem includes layoffs of 4,500 state/government employees, furlough, minimum wage, and cutting of many state funded programs.Fifty days into this fiscal year, there still not a budget signed and in place. At this time they are not able to come up with an agreement. This has been a very difficult time for all Californians. California needs to balance the budget correctly. The answer to fixing the budget is not hurting the agencies that have help the state rather than hurt them. On December19, 2008 the Department of Personnel Administration was ordered to start layof fs for civil service employees. That would take effect January 1, 2009 through June 1, 2009.They were also ordered to implement a furlough program. A furlough is unpaid time off given to government employees for the purpose of reducing the state’s budget. Arnold Schwarzenegger adopted a furlough program that would affect 200,000 civil service employees starting February 2009. This program would make all state employees work two days a month free. When the results were still the same the two days a month quickly went to three days. The three days became effective July 1, 2009 that would continue until June 30, 2009.Those three days caused a 14% pay cut for employees. That caused a problem within itself. Everyone suffered due to the furloughs. Homes, cars, businesses, were lost. The state believes that furloughs would help save the state a great deal of money. According to the IVN furloughs has been costing the state $465 million in lost tax revenue. The state has reported to h ave saved three billion dollars due to the furlough program. State employees dispute the states claims. This rogram has caused government operations to close the second, third, and fourth, Friday of each month to save money beginning August 10, 2010. Everyone is not affected by this program. California Highway Patrol, California Department of Fire, and Forestry Protection, Franchise Tax Board, Board of Equalization, Employment Development Department, state Insurance Fund, California Housing Finance, and California Earthquake Authority are departments that are exempt from the furlough program. Bargaining units 12, 16, 18, and 19 have all came to agreements with proposal that have been made.Those not exempt or in bargaining unit that are pending contract the state controller stated he would have to reduce civil service employees’ wages to federal minimum wage which, is $7. 25 per hour. As a state employee working at Patton State Hospital as a Psychiatric Technician, I am part o f bargaining unit 18. Bargaining unit 18 is one of the few units pending the government contract proposal. Although the proposal is in place the government still has the authority and still continuing with the furlough program.To this day state employees have been furloughed a total of 46 days. In a 24 hour facility it is impossible to take any furlough days off. Due to that reason alone a number of unions have sued to have the furlough program stopped. The Supreme Court has upheld governor Schwarzenegger’s furlough program to stay in place. Legislation are pushing the unions to accept the contract proposal that member would accept contributions more of their salaries toward pension benefits and to take a day of unpaid personal leave a month which, will equal a 10% pay cut.Fifty days into this fiscal year the State Controller John Chang stated he would issue IOU’s if the budget is not signed soon. At this time money state workers are suffering due to the governmentâ₠¬â„¢s poor money management. California will not be on track until the people managing the money figures out a way to manage the money properly.References Los Angeles Times, November 10, 2010 Retrieved from www. latimes. com Christopher A. Guzman, IVN, February 16, 2010 Retrieved from www. caivn. org Wake County Budget Finance, Retrieved from www. wakegov. com/economy/glossary

Finding Neverland Essay

The movie Finding Neverland is about the writer J. M. Barrie and his journey of writing plays about imagination and happiness. Barrie has a close relationship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, and her sons, who give Barrie the idea of the well-known play Peter Pan. J. M. Barrie attends the reception of his latest play, ‘Little Mary’ and from this reception he meets Sylvia, who is a widow now. Barrie enjoys spending time with Sylvia and her four sons, and through this proves to be a great playmate and father-figure for the boys. Sylvia’s mother, Emma du Maurier does not like the amount of time Barrie spends with her family. Emma wants to take control of her daughter and grandsons, since Sylvia is becoming very weak from an unidentified illness. As Sylvia becomes more and more ill, she is unable to attend Barrie’s new play production. However, Barrie arranges a mini-version of his new play to be presented at her home. Finding Neverland can be interpreted using the archetypal literary criticism, as it does centre on the idea of the unconscious mind and its ability to hold and create universal symbols and patterns to which all humans can relate to. The archetypal hero character of this movie is playwright J. M. Barrie. Barrie, in the beginning of the movie, does not have any ideas of creating a new play. However, when he meets Sylvia’s four sons; George, Michael, Jack, and Peter, through their imagination, Barrie gets ideas. The imagination starts, when Barrie meets the Llewelyn family at London’s Kensington Gardens, while walking his St. Bernard dog. Ever since that day, Barrie has been spending a lot of time with Sylvia and her sons, creating imaginary worlds of pirates, castles and cowboys. For Barrie to create these imaginary worlds for the children, they cheer up and enjoy the time, since they do not have a father anymore. Apart from all this fun and enjoyment, there is a femme fatale character who is Emma du Maurier, the mother of Sylvia. Emma does not want Sylvia and her sons to be spending so much time with Barrie, because she thinks that he is corrupting their minds. By this, Emma tries to manipulate Sylvia into stopping the amount of time she and her sons spend with Barrie, and more time with the family. However, through all this manipulation and control from the mother, Sylvia and Barrie can be seen as two star-crossed lover, since they both love and care for each other in a close relationship. In Finding Neverland, the archetypal situation is for Barrie to create a new play. Barrie has a quest to complete, which is to get ideas about the next play he should write. For Barrie to meet Sylvia’s four sons, he got his whole idea of writing his next play, from these four boys imagination. Barrie’s has now reached his task, and that is to create a play using the imagination of kids and put it on stage to show to the public. Along with the quest Barrie has to undertake, there is an archetypal symbol of light and dark. The symbol of light in this movie, are the four boys and Sylvia. Without them, Barrie would be in a loss of ideas, since he gets the idea for his new play from his experience with the Llewelyn family. The symbol of darkness in this movie is the mother of Sylvia, Emma du Maurier. Emma, talks behind Barrie’s back and tries to tell Sylvia things about Barrie that are not true. Besides all the back talk, Barrie still is persistent in completing his task and showing the public his new play. Through further analysis of the movie Finding Neverland, Northrop Frye’s Four Story Model can be used to analyze this movie. The movie Finding Neverland can be analyzed as a romance story, since there is a world of innocence. In this world of innocence, the four boys are the ones who joyfully imagine with Barrie all the wonderful stories of pirates and kings and fulfill the desire for order and meaning. The hero, Barrie has an adversary who is Emma, the mother of Sylvia. She tries and stops Sylvia and her sons from playing with Barrie. The theme of this movie, makes use of visions and revelations, by the fact that Barrie gets the visions of his new play from all the imagination that the four kids show. Through these imaginations, Barrie shows a progress toward fulfillment in creating his new play. The basic plot, is Barrie goes on a perilous journey, a struggle follows in which he proves himself in the doing the task. When Barrie completes the quest of creating the new play, which is known as Peter Pan, there is triumph and exaltation of the hero Barrie. The basic imagery seen in this film, are trees and animals that come to life and assist Barrie in completing his quest, from all the imagination and creativity the four kids show to Barrie. To conclude, Barrie has accomplished his main goal, through all the creativity and imagination that was offered with the help of Sylvia’s four sons. Finding Neverland is a story that really emphasizes the importance of imagination and how it can really help someone in times of tragedy and loss. Humans need that creativity to imagine things in another world and use it for the benefit for oneself and other, just as Barrie did for Sylvia and her family.

Non traditional threat to US Essay

In my opinion the most pertinent Non-traditional threat to the US is the economy. It is the single most important, globalized, and un-accounted for problem in the US. The current problem is so bad that the US economy is days away from a (partial) default. This would be the first default since possibly the 1700’s at the founding of the nation. The problem with this is the US green back is the reserve currency of the world (all or most investments are made in US dollars). If the US defaults it will cause a ripple effect that will make the 2008 global financial crisis look small in comparison to the lobal catastrophe that will occur. The reason most investments are in US dollars is because dollars have historically been the most stable currency in the modern age. The US defaulting on its debts has both internal and external effects. The total of US government debt is over $ 16. 9 trillion. (US Debt Clock) Of that debt, $ 4. 8 trillion is owned by governmental agencies. This includes agencies such as the social security (holds over $2. 5 trillion dollars). Of the public debt, foreign investors own $5. 7 trillion. Keep in mind this is Just the actual government debt; effects of a default would be uch bigger. The US reached its debt ceiling in 2012. The US constitution – 14th Amendment, Section 4 – directly forbids the government from defaulting on its debt. Thus to cope with the debt ceiling being reached the government has been taking extraordinary measures in order to pay their debts (for instance suspending investments on individual pension funds). When these measures are exhausted, the government will not bring on a global economic collapse as they default on all their bonds. They will Just be forced to balance the economy – to match their spending with their collected revenue. This is a very different issue (still with its problems) to a full default. What is important is that a full default is likely to not happen. The brinksmanship between the rogue Republicans and the government would only threaten a ‘technical’ default on the shortest-dated US government bonds, because their shorter lives mean their maturity date is nearer than the rest of the government’s ‘safe’ assets. The problem here, as ever, is not whether the federal government is able to repay the principle from these bonds, but the short-term methods used to make these repayments. The US treasury would still be seen as a ‘safe investment’, albeit in more economically uncertain times, and thus bonds would probably rise in price – believe it or not, the US government 10-year bond decreased in price after news that the media reported a default was unlikely. Though we are quick to forget, there have been 17 government shutdowns between 1976-1996 and the debt ceiling is raised almost every year – a full default never happens. This brinksmanship is historically common, and it is the media and politicians that fuel the political fire by indicating that this is the year where it will default.

Position paper †Accreditation Essay

Hello, This assignment is for a subject called: Quality Management for Health Services Assignment 2: Position paper – Accreditation Weighting: 20% Length: 1000 words â€Å"Accreditation programs for health services or facilities are not useful.† Discuss this statement with reference to specific accreditation programs. In your response substantiate your claims with reference to literature. The assignment will be marked using the following criteria: 1. Style, organization and presentation 10% [2 marks] 2. Demonstrated understanding of principles and frameworks of accreditation 30% [6 marks] 3. Description of strengths and/or weaknesses of accreditation programs 30% [6 marks] 4. Identification of opportunities for improvements in accreditation programs 30% [6 marks].   Introduction – Accreditation is a process of certifying and approving that the services or products produced by a certain organization meet with certain standards in quality.   In Australia, one of the organizations that provide accreditation for hospitals and other healthcare organizations is the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS). The main objective of this organization is to improve the quality of healthcare in Australian hospitals. ACHS is an independent organization that works for non-profit purposes and conducts reviews of the performance, quality assessments, etc, during the accreditation process. It was formed in the year 1974, and several other organizations such as the Australian Medical Council, the Australian Healthcare Association, and the medical colleges association have approved accreditation by the ACHS. For determining the standards in the level of healthcare, a committee formed containing representatives from various sectors of the population including the general public, government, hospitals, etc. The Council members vote for the Board of Directors. In the year 1996, the ACHS had launched a unique quality program titled Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program (EQuIP), the main aim of which was to deliver customer-oriented healthcare services to the people. A systematic external peer review process was set in place to closely monitor the program. The ACHS has about an 800-organization subscription and also acts as a consultancy to several other organizations throughout the world (ACHS, 2007). Body – Accreditation is a means of issuing trust. Any consumer who requires healthcare services desires those healthcare services to be of good quality and ensuring safety. It can be understood that in healthcare there are certain amount of risks, which can only be reduced to a certain extent. Accreditation is one of the means by which these risks can be reduced and quality care can be ensured. The patients should identify means by which these risks can be reduced.   Through accreditation, the entire process of providing medical care is well documented, besides being fool proof.   This would ensure that a process would be setup that would be based on strong evidences, ensuring better patient management.   Accreditation is often determined by the healthcare and the accreditation organization in strong technical terms that have to be fulfilled (ACHS, 2007). In the year 2006, the Australian Commission that maintained safety and quality in the healthcare sector felt accreditation standards needed to be improved.   They also felt that an independent review process was needed to raise the level of adherence to quality standards in healthcare organizations in Australia.   The organization felt that accreditation is a process to publicly recognize the achievements and adherence of the healthcare organizations national standards. Accreditation should be made available to all public and private sector organizations, and at different levels including community-based, private-health setups and tertiary healthcare organizations.   The accreditation organization should function independent of the organizations that it would be accrediting.   This would ensure that the performance and the standards that are present in the organization are given no bias by the accrediting organization (ACHS, 2007). Benefits of the accreditation system: – Greater involvement of the public and the healthcare organizations The clinicians who are responsible for providing quality care can be involved. Improves the community confidence levels in the healthcare system Better risk management in patient care Better compliance with the laws (reduction in medical malpractice cases) Patient safety standards are improved Education of the staff members towards developing good practices Provision of professional advice and guidance Staff education and training Developing strong mission statements, values and objectives for the organization The human resource processes can be effectively handled Compliance with the standards imposed by the regulatory bodies Better management of insurance claims and those of third parties Reduction in the insurance costs Better handling of the organization and the management Better flow of information Better decision-making processes Co-ordination can be improved Building a proper evaluation system Developing areas in which priority and attention is required (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2007 & JCAHO, 2007) Disadvantages would also be applicable, including: – Huge costs of accreditation which is finally passed on to the patient Emphasis on resources such as human, support systems, etc. The standards have to be continually updated, changing the area of concentration Accreditation would concentrate on improving structure rather than services Greater attention on increasing collaboration and partnership It may be difficult to streamline the processes Accreditation may not have an effect over the outcomes There may be huge emphasis on competition present in the market Need to subscribe to accreditation by more than one organization (PHF, 1997) In the year 2007, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care gave an alternate model for accreditation of healthcare organizations.   Consultation with the stakeholders helped to identify the deficiencies in the current system and to develop a better one.   The idea was to apply this new alternative accreditation system across all the sectors of healthcare in a phased manner. Characteristics of this new accreditation system: – Implementing certain reforms Bringing about certain standards in the Australian healthcare system The system was to be developed in association with the stakeholders Improve the quality standards Improve the compliance levels with the rules in the healthcare organization Ensure evidence-based practices Improve the monitoring system Support mutual recognition Improve the participation levels Improve the assessments levels, methods and surveys Obligations to be imposed so that the organization adheres to the standards (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2007). Conclusion – It can be said that the entire process of accreditation needs to be setup in such a way that emphasis is given only in improving the patient care and satisfaction. All the meaningless process and structures that do not have an effect over improving the patient care should be removed.   The accreditation organization should ensure that such a system of accreditation is practically applicable by various types of healthcare organizations.   Not much emphasis should be given on costs.   Even organizations that are providing cost-effective care and are meeting with reasonable standards should be provided accreditation.   Accreditation should also be a voluntary system and not a compulsory one.   Different levels of accreditation should also be provided (PHF, 1997).    References: Australian Council for Healthcare Standards (2007). â€Å"About US.† [Online], Available: http://www.achs.org.au/whatwedo/, [Accessed: 2008, March 17]. Australian Council for Healthcare Standards (2007). â€Å"Mission, vision and values.† [Online], Available: http://www.achs.org.au/missionvisionvalues/, [Accessed: 2008, March 17]. Australian Council for Healthcare Standards (2007). â€Å"What accreditation means.† [Online], Available: http://www.achs.org.au/whataccredmeans/, [Accessed: 2008, March 17]. Australian Council for Healthcare Standards (2007). â€Å"ACHS Position Statements.† [Online], Available: http://www.achs.org.au/positionstatements/, [Accessed: 2008, March 17]. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare (2007). â€Å"UPDATE: Review of National Safety and Quality Accreditation Standards November 2007.† [Online], Available: http://www.safetyandquality.org/internet/safety/publishing.nsf/Content/accreditation, [Accessed: 2008, March 17]. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare (2007). â€Å"Draft: An Alternatvie Model for Safety and Qualtiy Accreditation.† Barnes, A.M. (2001). â€Å"Healthcare Law: Desk Reference.† Ali-Aba. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=KS5xke6-DEgC&dq=accreditation+advantages+healthcare&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 JCAHO (2007). â€Å"Benefits of Joint Commission Accreditation.† [Online], Available: http://www.jointcommission.org/HTBAC/benefits_accreditation.htm, [Accessed: 2008, March 17]. JCAHO (2007). â€Å"PSP Fact Sheet.† [Online], Available: http://www.jcipatientsafety.org/fpdf/ICPS/PSP%20Fact%20Sheet%20with%20New%20Logo.doc, [Accessed: 2008, March 17]. Public Health Foundation (1998). â€Å"Accreditation: A Study of Issues and Characteristics Applicable to Public Health.† [Online], Available: http://www.phf.org/Reports/Accreditation1/final_report.htm, [Accessed: 2008, March 17].                        

An overview of scrum methodology

An overview of scrum methodology Software development organizations have become more interested in agile methodologies, whose focus is client collaboration, individual value, and adaptation to change. Scrum is a framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value. Scrum makes clear the relative efficacy of your product management and development practices so that you can improve. The Scrum framework consists of Scrum Teams and their associated roles, events, artifacts, and rules. Each component within the framework serves a specific purpose and is essential to Scrum’s success and usage. What is the scrum? Scrum is a framework for managing work with an emphasis on software development. It is designed for teams of three to nine developers who break their work into actions that can be completed within time-boxed iterations, called sprints (typically two-weeks) and track progress and re-plan in 15-minute stand-up meetings called daily scrums. Approaches to coordinating the work of multiple scrum teams in larger organizations include Large-Scale Scrum, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) and Scrum of Scrums, among others. Scrum values:- Scrum is a feedback-driven empirical approach which is, like all empirical process control, underpinned by the three pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation. All work within the Scrum framework should be visible to those responsible for the outcome: the process, the workflow, progress, etc. In order to make these things visible, scrum teams need to frequently inspect the product being developed and how well the team is working. With frequent inspection, the team can spot when their work deviates outside of acceptable limits and adapt their process or the product under development.[18] These three pillars require trust and openness in the team, which the following five values of Scrum enable:[14] Commitment: Team members individually commit to achieving their team goals, each and every sprint. Courage: Team members know they have the courage to work through conflict and challenges together so that they can do the right thing. Focus: Team members focus exclusively on their team goals and the sprint backlog; there should be no work done other than through their backlog. Openness: Team members and their stakeholders agree to be transparent about their work and any challenges they face. Respect: Team members respect each other to be technically capable and to work with good intent. Scrum roles:- The three roles defined in scrum are the ScrumMaster,the product owner, and the Team (which consists of Team members). The people who fulfill these roles work together closely, on a daily basis, to ensure the smooth flow of information and the quick resolution of issues. ScrumMaster The ScrumMaster (sometimes written â€Å"Scrum Master,† although the official term has no space after â€Å"Scrum†) is the keeper of the process. The ScrumMaster is responsible for making the process run smoothly, for removing obstacles that impact productivity, and for organizing and facilitating the critical meetings. The ScrumMasters responsibilities include Removing the barriers between the Development Team and the Product Owner so that the Product Owner directly drives development. Teach the Product Owner how to maximize return on investment (ROI), and meet his/her objectives through Scrum. Improve the lives of the development Team by facilitating creativity and empowerment. Improve the productivity of the development Team in any way possible. Improve the engineering practices and tools so that each increment of functionality is potentially shippable. Keep information about the Team’s progress up to date and visible to all parties. In practical terms, the ScrumMaster needs to understand Scrum well enough to train and mentor the other roles and educate and assist other stakeholders who are involved in the process. The ScrumMaster should maintain a constant awareness of the status of the project (its progress to date) relative to the expected progress, investigate and facilitate resolution of any roadblocks that hold back progress, and generally be flexible enough to identify and deal with any issues that arise, in any way that is required. The ScrumMaster must protect the Team from disturbance from other people by acting as the interface between the two. The ScrumMaster does not assign tasks to Team members, a task assignment is a Team responsibility. The ScrumMaster’s general approach towards the Team is to encourage and facilitate their decision-making and problem-solving capabilities so that they can work with increasing efficiency and the decreasing need for supervision. The goal is to have a team tha t is not only empowered to make important decisions but does so well and routinely. Product Owner The Product Owner is the keeper of the requirements. The Product Owner provides the â€Å"single source of truth† for the Team regarding requirements and their planned order of implementation. In practice, the Product Owner is the interface between the business, the customers, and their product related needs on one side, and the Team on the other. The Product Owner buffers the Team from the feature and bug-fix requests that come from many sources and is the single point of contact for all questions about product requirements. Product Owner works closely with the team to define the user-facing and technical requirements, to document the requirements as needed, and to determine the order of their implementation. Product Owner maintains the Product Backlog (which is the repository for all of this information), keeping it up to date and at the level of detail and quality, the Team requires. The Product Owner also sets the schedule for releasing completed work to customers and make s the final call as to whether implementations have the features and quality required for release. Team The Team is a self-organizing and cross-functional group of people who do the hands-on work of developing and testing the product. Since the Team is responsible for producing the product, it must also have the authority to make decisions about how to perform the work. The Team is therefore self-organizing: Team members decide how to break work into tasks, and how to allocate tasks to individuals, throughout the Sprint. The Team size should be kept in the range from five to nine people, if possible. (A larger number make communication difficult, while a smaller number leads to low productivity and fragility.) Note: A very similar term, â€Å"Scrum Team,† refers to the Team plus the ScrumMaster and Product Owner. Scrum pros:- Scrum can help teams complete project deliverables quickly and efficiently: Scrum ensures effective use of time and money Large projects are divided into easily manageable sprints Developments are coded and tested during the sprint review Works well for fast-moving development projects The team gets clear visibility through scrum meetings Scrum, being agile, adopts feedback from customers and stakeholders Short sprints enable changes based on feedback a lot more easily The individual effort of each team member is visible during daily scrum meetings Scrum cons:-Nothing is perfect, and the Scrum methodology is no exception. In some cases, Scrum is combined with other project management techniques that can help resolve some of these drawbacks: Scrum often leads to scope creep, due to the lack of a definite end-date The chances of project failure are high if individuals arent very committed or cooperative Adopting the Scrum framework in large teams is challenging The framework can be successful only with experienced team members Daily meetings sometimes frustrate team members If any team member leaves in the middle of a project, it can have a huge negative impact on the project Quality is hard to implement until the team goes through the aggressive testing process Scrum process:- Needless to say, proper planning and smart decision making can help you get past these disadvantages with the Scrum methodology. For example, in larger teams, each member needs to have defined roles and responsibilities with definite goals, so that there is no compromise on quality and no excuse for failure. This will keep the team focused to project goals. Plus, the ScrumMaster needs to guide the team effectively to avoid pitfalls and ensure 100% project success.