Ramifications of working abroad (Hong Kong). What can you do to make Research Paper

Ramifications of working abroad (Hong Kong). What can you do to make it worthwhile - Research Paper Example Leaving one’s own country and relocating to another place and calling it as the new and adopted homeland is indeed a Herculean task because it involves renewed networking possibilities and the eventual myth of getting failed and then coming back to the earlier home nonetheless. It is indeed something that poses as a risk if seen within the correct settings and my case has been no different. When I contemplate the kind of risks that I am about to undertake, I think of both the positives and negatives and then I weigh them to find out which pan is heavier of the two. I have always believed in taking risks throughout my life but it is the calculated risk that I am always banking upon rather than shooting in the dark which does not bring down any success for any one. If I move to Hong Kong, I would have to forego all my personal and professional ties that have been built with the passage of time within the United States (Whalen, 2011). This would mean that my journey will start fr om scratch as far as Hong Kong is concerned. It shall be a new home for me and hence a totally new and revitalizing experience. ... One has to look after so many aspects that it seems like a very arduous task in entirety. Moving ahead, I need to compare each and everything with what I am getting in the United States. This puts me in a direct comparison with what I shall receive within Hong Kong and how I will muster up enough confidence to get myself and my family to the new country and start life afresh. It would mean that I compare each and everything in a very one on one basis, and find out where I am going wrong and what positives and negatives remain for me in the long run scheme of things. There is just so much for me to fathom that I feel I might be lost somewhere in the middle. I need to consider the salary issues which will keep coming every month as far as my job domains are concerned (Sibeck, 2011). Also the fact that I need to find a space for myself and my family is one of the most difficult tasks that I have to undertake at this point in time. It will tell me exactly where I stand as far as making t his relocation decision towards Hong Kong. In essence all my comparisons would be done with the United States because this is the country that will bid farewell to. I shall consider the case of transportation within Hong Kong and how much is it of a hassle to move from one place to another. I will study the amount of traffic there is within Hong Kong and what I would need to do to move from one suburb to another. These are some of the salient aspects that I shall be comparing on a persistent basis between where I am living currently (United States) and where I intend shifting to (Hong Kong). If only I am able to find all these answers within the

Discussion board reply Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Discussion board reply - Assignment Example Hence, if the applicant is eligible and fulfills all the vital criteria of recruitment of the job, he or she should get the job, irrespective of class, race, culture or nationality. Another important issue raised is the role of advertising in recruitment. Indeed, advertisement promotes inclusion as people coming from diverse background become aware of the job opportunities and they have the option to apply for the advertised jobs. Moreover, internet has become a powerful medium of communication that greatly facilitates direct interaction between people or between the organization and the people. Thus online applications for recruitment not only saves time and money but it also helps recruitment managers to vet the applications and gives opportunities to job seekers to apply for the job online. The recruitment officers can then whet the applicants as per the job specifications and call only those who fulfill the basic job criteria. Thus, open advertisement for job should be favored against target recruitment and provide people from different background with equal opportunities to apply for the

Performing arts project film and drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performing arts project film and drama - Essay Example By referring instead to a French Film, such as Jeunet's Amelie, we can eliminate this bias. This approach presumes that essentially, Shakespeare's play, though technically English, feels as though it were written in a language other than our own. Shakespearean scholars probably don't find this to be a problem, but since we want to examine the elements of spectatorship rather than differences in language here, it is best that we eliminate the analysis of language all together. That said, Amelie is a good choice for contrast to theatre because of its reliance on both cinematic structure and theatricality to convey the message of the film. Moreover, the brilliant use of cinematography in the film provides an inherent contrast to theatre. In addition, since both Amelie and Much Ado About Nothing can be considered romantic comedies as it were, we analyze the experiences of a particular genre, rather than comparing apples and oranges. The most obvious and visible difference between the experiences incurred in theatre and cinema is that between static and alternating perspectives. That is to say, that when we watch a play, the action of the play remains directly in front of us at all times. It's possible that different things may be occurring on different parts of the stage, but the perspective of the audience spectator never shifts. When we watch a film, our perspective as a spectator is constantly shifting. In Amelie, it is interesting that we almost always share the perspective of the title character, Amelie herself , except for when the director decides that he wants to offer his audience more information than he offers his heroine. This aspect provides opportunities for both cinema and theatre to maximize the performance's relationship with the audience. For theatre, the director can choose to have a scene in the background or on a separate part of the stage from the primary action which the audience may or may not be required to see to enhance their understanding of the play. In Much Ado About Nothing, when two characters are downstage carrying on a conversation, this does not mean that the rest of the actors on stage stand still. Rather, action continues upstage and to the right and left of the primary action, as though it were all occurring in real time. For films, the capability of the camera offers new and exciting ways to tell the story. At different parts in the film, we view the world through different perspectives, such as the "Glass Man's" telescope, or Amelie's window. By providing these different perspectives for the spectator, the director is often able to make his audience feel like a voyeur upon the lives of the characters in the film. The shifting perspectives not only offer us new and important pieces of information, but present a visually dynamic piece of film. We enjoy watching specifically because of the bright colors and beautiful scenery that changes throughout the film; this would not be possible in theatre, as we are only ever offered one view from our seats in the auditorium. Similarly, film allows the audience to witness expressions of emotions on the faces of the characters. Again, due to the capabilities of camera angles and camera work, we have a front row seat, so to speak, to the emotions that the characters are feeling, whether it be surprise, anguish

The Piper Alpha Disaster Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Piper Alpha Disaster - Assignment Example 2). In the late 1980s, several maintenance projects were being undertaken, including the changing of the GCM. During this time, the platform was still in operation. On July 6, 1988, a catastrophic fire engulfed the platform, destroying it completely and killing 167 people. On the fateful day of July 6, 1988, one of the workers performing routine maintenance on the platform removed a valve from one of the condensate pumps, pump A. The pump was used to regulate pressure in the event of excessive pressure. In an attempt to seal the open valve, the worker used a round metal plate. The plate was left in place after the shift change that evening, and a permit stating that the pump was not ready for use was left by the worker. At around 9.45 p.m., the gas compression system was blocked by ice and gas molecules. As a result, the other pump, pump B, failed. The workers on shift that night failed to see the permit saying pump A was not ready for use, and activated it (NASA, 2013, p. 3). According to an article in the Energy Library (2009), the nightshift workers did not see the permit stating that the pump was missing a safety valve. Gas leaked through the metal plate and ignited. Although firewalls were in place, the pressure from the burning gas was large eno ugh to cause them to crumble. Although the incoming gas and oil lines were closed, the fire spread through the damaged firewalls. The workers on duty that night evacuated the control room, and the firefighting systems in the control room were in manual mode (Barsa & Dana, 2011 p. 43). This made it impossible for the disaster to be managed. The workers were unable to get to the lifeboat stations due to the intense flames (Allen, 2008 p. 5). Moments later, one of the gas lines burst, injecting close to 30 tons of gas every second to Piper Alpha. The platform ignited. In addition, one of the rescue vessels exploded due to the high temperatures, killing

Representation of Racism in Gone With the Wind Essay

Representation of Racism in Gone With the Wind - Essay Example It is from media that we learn how to dress, talk and act appropriately. The impact media has on our lives is so enormous that it is necessary to learn to understand the message it’s trying to portray, the right way. Media is also a means of integrating cultural values in us. It increases a person’s power with respect to the culture and gives him an upper hand in his culture (Douglas Kellner). Cultural studies have given a lot to the criticism of media and to increase knowledge about it. The University of Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies has built up a number of ways to carry out critical experiments to analyze, interpret and criticize cultural pieces. After a series of struggles, the center of focus of Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies is class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and nationality as represented by cultural media. They study the effect of media and how different groups interpret the media differently and what was the cause of the difference in their interpretations. Cultural studies have made it easier to analyze and inspect the whole culture without having prejudices beforehand regarding some other cultural medium. Studies being conducted about Hollywood movies of mid 20th century show how they are more political rather than cultural (Douglas Kellner). A dumb blonde is one of the many common stereotypes. A blonde is by default assumed to be dumb, yet wildly attractive with a great body and she gets special treatment from men everywhere. This stereotype is highly offensive yet still holds true in almost all scenarios. The act of stereotyping is not a new one neither is the accusation of it being offensive and nor is the defensive blow that it is what the truth is. But the question is why is stereotyping an object of protest even though it is not completely false and why is it different from other simplifications and classifications (Judith Andre). Stereotyping refers to the firmness and the ina bility to change of an object (such as metallic plates, from which the word ‘stereotyping’ originates) being used metaphorically. Concerning modern era, the stereotype is taken to mean an easy oversimplified assumption, which a certain group falls under without any change. Psychologists use this term to define an unyielding personality trait in a person. Stereotyping does not take into account proofs that negate the stereotyping. Stereotypes are made because of the human mind’s resistance in face of change. Color-blind racism was the type of racism which prevailed after the civil war. Colorblind racism is making one look like he’s not racist yet his action says otherwise and having doubts about the blacks anyhow. This type of racism is based on a number of factors. After the civil war, whites had stopped discriminating the blacks directly and with their words, but they strategically used deep meaning words to express their views to discriminate the blacks. Media also helped in projecting colorblind racism and there were some other small factors as well (Eduardo Bonilla-Silva). In the modern times, when whites talk about black with respect to their race, their words are marked with doubt. T

The Good Soldier Essay Example for Free

The Good Soldier Essay Impressionism in Literature arrived through art/paintings. In art you reveal the maximum through minimum of strokes. Similarly literary greatness lies in brevity. For example, read this sentence: â€Å"You may cross the moon, beat the stars; but probe you must the mystery of my eve’s smile! † So much has been said to belittle the achievements of the science. It is not to condemn the science, but to make one aware about its limitations and the supremacy of nature. The themes are selectively and beautifully used and deep meaning is conveyed through appropriate expressions. Let us put it this way—impressionism is painting not with the strokes of the brush but with the flow of the pen. You take minimum of words from the vocabulary and give the maximum. This style of writing is for characters, actions and scenes depicted from an objective point of view of reality. It is the test for the skill of the writer. The impressionistic style of writer takes the minimum from the dictionary (vocabulary) and gives the maximum. Experience of the writer in interpreting the various types of situations, complex, vague, transitory, permanent and subjective impressions counts much. He feels from within and the writes about them. For example, a scene can be interpreted through color or short, crisp, to the point sentences. Rapidly changing scenes, quick developments, varying scenes appropriate to the occasion, form part of impressionism. The most unexpected yet true to the subject matter, in relation to time and situation –such is the nature of impressionism. One can not read the works of such authors in a hurry. One needs to carefully examine and enjoy it sentence by sentence, sometimes word by word. Mostly, the first reading will not suffice; a second reading of such books is not an exception, but the rule. The Good Soldier†¦. The narrator in the book, John Dowell is no ordinary man. He has the spontaneous as well as cultivated ability to establish instant rapport with the characters and with the readers. He can neither be hated nor loved by the readers, and he may get as many jeers and cheers depending upon the situation. He knows how to waste, gain and the value time. He arrives and departs and ‘works’ in the book according to a time schedule known to him only. He is not a reader-puller character, but he knows how to win the confidence of the pulled reader. He is generally the know-all, knows the strengths and weaknesses of each character. He is like the stage manager in the drama, produce-director and the script writer all molded into one. He verbally sets the scenes and the time of action with matchless oratorical skill. He introduces in style, the characters and situations and sometimes indicates the morals and the convictions for which they stand and their part in the progress of the story. Once the character is introduced, he provides continuity which holds together short scenes, dialogues, and sudden and abrupt shift in the locale. With a few verbal strokes he completes his job and paves way for the interaction of the actual characters of the story. This is the type of impressionism seen in this book of Maddox, expressed through various characters. The book was first published in 1915. The century-old developments need to be noted. Lot many changes can be seen in the impressionism of the era to which the book belongs, and the impressionism adopted and followed by such writers today. The century old soldier is not the soldier of the day, as for his mental make-up and social disposition. The story has the beginning that makes you curious about what is in store for the reader as the story progresses. The beginning is dramatic. â€Å"This is the saddest story I have ever read. † The plot of the story is weaved around two couples: Edward Ashburnham and his able wife Leonora and the Americans John and Florence Dowell. The two pairs have a ‘wonderful’ level of friendship; they have spent several summers together, before World War I in Germany. Their apparently happy marriages are not that happy. Dents and fissures are seen in their relationships. So, this is the story of age-old marital conflict between the two-Him and Her! John thinks that he is too smart and polished for the talkative Florence, the one without elegance. Edward is a compulsive lady-killer-thanks to his dashing personality and his extreme sentimentalism. He compares Leonora’s charm with the one or more than one he is interested in, and they always score over Leonora. John gets the reporting of the love escapades through Leonora, after the death of the lovers. John feels extremely sorry for his lack of knowledge about human relationships and his carelessness. He turns somewhat cynical as for his lethargy in such a serious and sensitive matter. He is amazed about his carelessness. At this turn of events of the story, the narrator Dowell excels again. He gets a lovely opportunity to talk on the private lives of others. There is no guarantee that whatever he tells is truth and correct. He succeeds in kindling the curiosity of the reader. If one does the quick stock-taking of the story of this book, it is difficult to say whether it is a comedy, tragedy, the comedy of a tragedy or tragedy of a comedy or it is just satire. He condemns and eulogizes the same character, without giving any valid reasons. The private lives of the characters are divulged in regular intervals, but that is done without any offence, any grudge, without the motive of retribution and in a matter of fact of style. .Impressionism is not about creating stereo-type characters, but special, unpredictable ones. It is no ordinary mind-play. Catch and analyze the emotions threadbare. This art is difficult. Maddox has succeeded in creating a painted picture on the curtain of the minds of the reader, without actually painting, without using colors, but with the exquisite strokes of appropriate words and phrases. Notwithstanding the episodes related to sex and adultery, The Good Soldier is a book that preaches morals. The important theme of the book is the difference between reality and appearance. The difference between the actual world and the imaginary, good world! A reference was made earlier that we need to keep an important aspect in mind that it is an antic story—one hundred years old. Lots of differences exist between the values then and now. The society then did not speak about betrayal, adultery and moral confusion with ease. Now these are kindergarten stuffs. The writer of impressionism has got to be a student of psychology with capacity to peep into the minds of the characters. He doesn’t do the description of the reality, but captures the impressions thus derived. The writer is witness to the actions; he does not participate in actions or meditate between the characters. He just tries to get the impressions derived from them, penetrating their minds and piercing the hearts. Such writing is difficult to comprehend and digest. Conclusion: Considering all the above aspects The Good Soldier by Maddox, could be described as ‘impressionable’ and the significance of the novel is that its contents provide both sense of universal and spiritual. Religion and spirituality were the indivisible parts of the life of people in the nineteenth century. The novel fits into the observations of E. M Forster. He â€Å"dismisses the method of examining the novel as a historical development, in preference to an image of all novelists throughout history writing simultaneously, side by side. He first establishes that, if nothing else, a novel is a story that takes place over a period of time. He stresses the importance of character, maintaining that both ‘‘flat’’ and ‘‘round’’ characters may be included in the successful novel. He regards the necessity of plot, which creates the effect of suspense, as a problem by which character is frequently sacrificed in the service of providing an ending to the novel. Fantasy and prophecy, which provide a sense of the ‘‘universal,’’ or spiritual, Forster regards as central aspects of the great novel. † (Aspects†¦. ) It appears this observation by Fosters, is especially addressed to â€Å"The Good Soldier. † References Cited: Article: Aspects of the Summary and Study Guide- Novel www. enotes. com/aspects-novel/ 16k Cached – Retrieved on December 6, 2007.

Value Management Strategy Evaluation

Value Management Strategy Evaluation During the value management module students have been introduced to different skills, tools, techniques and principles needed to conduct a systematic VM strategy. Students were asked to work in groups to suggest proper tools and techniques to undertake and design a full VM strategy for the Old Cross Community fitness Center project case study. Therefore, the main purpose of the essay is to critically evaluate and assess group three teams value management strategy. The discussion and evaluation of the VM strategy proposed by the group team will be supported by various literatures and researches. The essay starts with introduction to the value management concept and background and follows with brief description of the project brief and its key stakeholders. It then discusses the value opportunity point where the VM study can take place in the project. The full VM process including tools, techniques, duration, attendees and output in each phase of VM study will be will explored and discussed in detail. 2. Value management definition and background: The following paragraphs introduce the concept of the value and the value management. 2.1 The concept of value: In the context of value management, the value can be expressed as the relationship between satisfaction of need and the resources used to realize this satisfaction (EN 1325-1). SAVE INTERNATIONAL (2007) define value as a fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged. Value can be viewed in different ways by different parties in different situations. Grater value can be achieved if the fewer amount of resources are used which resulted in higher satisfaction. 2.2 Value management: Value Management is a style of management which is used to motivate people and develop skills and innovation to increase overall performance of the organization. it is about enhancing value not cutting cost (OGC,2007). Value Management is a method for maximizing value for money which is the best combination of whole life cost and quality to meet the clients requirements and objectives. According to Dallas (2006), the application of VM approaches on average accomplish cost savings opportunities of 5-45%, with improvements in overall performance. Connaughton and Green (1996) highlighted that using value management will help the client to achieve value for money for their projects by making sure that: (i) project main objectives evidently discussed in details, (ii) the need for the project is clearly verified, (iii) the design is obtained from the decided framework of the project main objectives and goals. Other benefits of value management include a better understanding of the business needs, improved team working, increased innovation in design, and the reduction of unnecessary cost (OGC, 2007). (VM history in US UK- more outside references-) 3. Old Cross Community fitness Center project 3.1 Project summary and brief The Chief Executive of Newtown Council highlighted that the old cross district had been classified by a recent medical report as one of the least healthy area within England. To overcome this problem, a working party was formed consisting of members from three authorities namely the local area health, Leisure and Recreation, and Social Work and they decided to build fitness center which fit the whole community. The main project mission is to improve the health and fitness of the Old Cross district by providing adequate leisure facilities. The proposed fitness center comprise of summing pool, sport hall, general purpose hall, indoor tennis center, dance studio, health suit, staff accommodation and car park. The total cost of the project is estimated to be  £14.3 million, and the available for capital spend which is been granted from the awarding bodies is  £ 9.1million. It is clear that the project encounters some serious funding problems. The money required for the project is mor e than what is available. Therefore, a systematic value management study will be implemented in order to keep the project back on track. This will help the clients to achieve value for money for their project (OGC, 2007). 3.2 The project main stakeholders Stakeholders are those individuals and groups who are involved or have interest in its activities and outcomes. Before staring any project, it is important to clearly identify the client and the stakeholders requirement (Dallas, 2006). It is essential that the stakeholder represented by senior individuals who have the authority and can make decision on their behalf and who will contribute in aggressively in the workshop (Connaughton and Green, 1996). Male et al. (2007) outlined that Value management as a management style focuses on value system evolution and resolution within projects and this can be done by bringing the right team of stakeholders together at the right time. The group agreed that identifying the key stakeholders is very crucial issues for the success of the project. According to Baguley (2005), bringing the key stakeholders together in workshops will make best use of their contribution, increase the benefits of group dynamics and makes sure the most cost efficient use is made of members time. The key stakeholders identified by the group are the funding bodies, client representatives including the Chief Executive, Director of leisure and Recreation, Director of Housing and the technical team. However, the group didnt suggest any classification for the mentioned stakeholders. They all can be considers as a primary stakeholders since they have the authority and the power to influence the projects. According to Moodely (2002), the primary stakeholders on any project are those parties that have direct influence, or influenced by, the project. In other hand, examples of some secondary stakeholders which havent been mentioned by the group may include the local communities, and the local football and tennis club users. Although these parties may not involve directly in the project, they can still exercise a great deal of influence (Moodely, 2002). 4. Value management intervention points. The benchmarking research study done by Male, et al. (1998b) has identified six value opportunity points throughout the project life cycle were value management studies can be useful. These value opportunities can be taken at single or multiple intervention points throughout the project cycle. The six value management opportunity points are strategic briefing study, project briefing study, Chartte, concept design workshop, detail design workshop, and operations workshop (Kelly, Male and Graham, 2004). Figure 1 shows the six value management opportunity points. There was a large debate between groups members in determining value management intervention points. The group agreed that the client think that they are in the stage between design and construction in the project life cycle. This supported by the Director of leisure and Recreation statement when he mentioned in the interview that they should be one the site getting the project build. Also, the group agreed that the current project brief and concept design is not clear and the client should be taken back to the strategic brief stage to bring them forward. Therefore, the group believed that the project is in the stage between pre-concept and concept design. This indicates that there is a value management gap between where the clients think they are in the project life cycle and where the group thinks they are. To overcome this gap, the group decided to conduct value management study at point (C) the Charette to allow review the strategic brief and improve the concept design. In this particular project and according to the benchmarking research, the appropriate intervention points could be either at point (3) or point (C). According to Male et al. (1998b), the purpose of the concept design workshop is to review the initial plans, specification and cost plan. It is clear that this type of study-at point 3- concentrate mainly in technical aspects of the project without discussing the strategic and project brief. The interview with project Architect highlighted the problem of the lack of the clear project brief. Also, the Chief Executive of Newtown Council mentioned that there is shortage of money to fund the project. With these issues in mind, undertaking the VM study at point (3) is not a proper choice where in other hand; point (C) offers some valid solutions since it allows reviewing the strategic brief which will result in a clear project brief, better concept design and full understanding with client value system. In the Charette workshop all of the phase of strategic brief and project brief are combined into one workshop. Kelly et al. (2004) noted that the Charette study is usually the first study on the project and it is commonly undertaking after the client has taken the decision to build, completed project brief and selected the design team. According to the case study, no such value study had been done before for this project. Therefore, the group made the right decision to undertake the VM study at the point C, the Charette. 5. Value management process: Value Management may be described as a structured, analytical process for developing innovative, holistic solutions to complex problems (TAM 2004). It makes use of a controlled decision-making process to make sure that the complete scope of the value management study is covered in the greatest likely sequence (Venkataraman and Pinto, 2008). Norton and McElligott (1995); Dallas (2006) highlighted that the systematic procedure adapted during a value management study, include three phases which are the pre-study, workshop, and post-study activates. The group agreed to use the generic value management process which was adopted by Male et al. (1998a). The group chose this approach for many reasons. This process and framework is understood by most of the professionals and the client in the construction industry especially in the UK. Also, the authors of this process have adopted it after revision of over than 200 studies conducted with clients, design teams and contractors under range of different procurement route. Consequently, the process uses structured, team-oriented to evaluate and generate solution to the problems. The main components of the generic value management process and the workshop are shown in Figure (2). The generic value management processes consist of three phases which include the orientation and diagnosis phase followed by the work shop and implementation phases. The group proposed that whole VM study will take eight weeks (see section 5.4 ). 5.1 Orientation and Diagnosis phase The Orientation and Diagnosis phase starts by gathering the most important information which allows the value management team to determine the main strategic objectives of the project by identifying the stakeholders objectives and needs to deliver the project in most effective way Also, in this phase the value management teams prepare them self for the study by preparing and understanding the related information, such as project specifications, cost data, and project constraints (Shen and Liu, 2003). The information that is collected, evaluated, and consolidated in this stage, forms the foundation for all following analysis (TAM 2004). The agenda for the workshop and the attendance will be determinate at this phase (Younker, 2003). Male and Kelly (2004) describes this phase as very crucial. It is the only opportunity for the value manger to fully understand all aspects of the projects such as the key stakeholders, the participants, and the value problem. For addition, Orientation meetings allow every one involved in the project to fully understand the issues, barriers and constraints which the project faces as well as allowing those how have to give decision to give and receive information (Kelly and Male, 1993). The desired outcome of this stage is an obvious understanding of the clients needs which have to be addressed, and what the strategic priorities are (SAVE INTERNATIONAL 2007). The group discussed this phase in details and decided that more information is needed to prepare for the VM study. This information includes project documents, organization structure, client requirements, conduction more interviews. According to Norton and McElligott (1995), the most concern at this stage that all parties which related to the study are well coordinated and there is sufficient information for reviewing during the study. Also, the group agreed that this process will highlight some important issues such as value management challenges and problems as well as identifying of where the project is in its life cycle. It is clear that the group did not assign time to each individual activity in this phase. Also the group didnt mention the name of main stakeholders who should be interviewed and the reason for their choices. In the following paragraphs critical analysis will be conducted to the four main activities of the orientation and diagnosis phases which are the interview, site tour, document analysis and duration. 5.1.1 Gathering information and document analysis: The group underlined that more information is need in this phase before conducting the VM study. This will help the value manger and VM team to have better understanding about issues around the project (Ellis et al., 2005). Shen and Chung (2000) noted that lack of information is the most often encountered difficulty in VM studies. According to Norton and McElligott (1995) typical information such as the project brief, drawings and specifications should be gathered from the design team and the client. Some other extra documents stated by Male et al. (1998a) include clients business case issues and previous reports including VM workshop reports. It essential that value manger should make good relations with the source of information to ensure their support in various stages of volume management study. Once this information is gathered, it can be circulated to value management team to review them before conducting the next stage of the study. 5.1.2 The interview Male et al. (1998a) highlighted that by conduction interviews with main stakeholder, the facilitator or the value manger will be able to take general idea about the strategic and technical issues which surrounded the project. Understating these issues will help the facilitator to identify the mismatches and as well as selecting of appropriate tools and techniques to be used during the workshop. Building commitment to the VM study is other benefit of conducting interviews with key stakeholders and top management (Woller, 2005). It is very important that interviewees must be sure what all what they say and their discussions stay confidential (Male and Kelly, 2004). Male et al. (1998a) recommended the facilitator to use the check list techniques when conducting interview with key stakeholders. The checklist addresses some key issues surrounding the project. This may include issues around project environment community, organization, project duration, people skills, and stakeholder analysis and project constraints. The group emphasised that more interviews should be conducted. This is due to two reasons: unclear brief and different stakeholders interests and agenda. The group did mention the people that should be interviewed by the facilitator. Apart from the people already interview in the case study, some of the key stakeholders should be interviewed to understand their needs and requirements. These key stakeholders may include representative of: (i) NHS Drug and Addiction Committee, (ii) Local Area Health authority, (iii) Local Football clubs, (iv) Fitness Specialist, (v) Police Community Constable. After conduction these interviews, the value manger will be able to understand the value system of the client and well be more prepared for the work shop phase. 5.1.3 Site visit The group did consider that site visit is important for the VM study. However, in this project, the site visit seems to be very important. According to Norton and McElligott (1995) , site visits at earlier stage of the study can help the value management team to understand some aspects of the project such access, topography and site density more easily, hence it help them in understanding the physical context of the project. If the site visit can not be done for any reason, the site photographs should be provided. 5.1.4 Other techniques More helpful techniques such as questionnaire could be conducted in this phase. However, in this project, the time is very critical issue. There is a possibility that the awarding bodies could withdrawal the money for the project if the construction got late. Therefore, the value manger could stick to previous techniques in order to save time. 5.1.5 Who should attend the workshop The group decided that eleven members should attend the work shop. These participants include representatives of the key funding bodies, a member of Newtown Council- the Chief Executive, architect, cost consultant, and mechanical and electrical engineer. Multidisciplinary composition of can be considered as one of the most important prerequisite for the VM team structure (Kelly and Male 1993; DellIsola, 1997) The team number looks acceptable since Male et al. (1998a) stated that the number of participants is generally between five to fifteen. If the number is more than that, it is advisable to divide the team to smaller sub team. For addition, the quality and the structure of the VM team and are very important for the success of the value management study a (Baguley, 2005). One of the key reasons why the group has chosen these people is that these people can have great impact of the success of the project. According to Shen and Liu (2003), team members should include all applicable disciplines and key stakeholders in order to cover the project issues under the study. Therefore, Representatives from each funding bodies play important role in funding the project and thus their attendance are very curial. The power of the chief executive to take decisions will influence the effectiveness of the workshop. With reference to Woller (2005), top management support is one of element of success of the VA study. For addition, architect, cost consultant, mechanical and electrical engineer have valuable technical background of the project which is not available to other team members. They can help in sparking new useful proposals by using their experience and knowledge in reviewing the brief, the concept design, specifications and other aspects of the project. Some of the stakeholders were excluded from the work shop attendance. The reason for this is that the value management team becomes relatively difficult to control (Norton and McElligott , 1995). For example, inviting Dr Jamie Macdonald to participate in the workshop event will have limited benefit. However, he can be interviewed in the pre- study phase. In other hand, Keith Bonnet should be invited to participate in the workshop since. He supported the project by managing a funding package and by introducing new ideas. Thus, he will helpful in the brainstorming session and creativity phase during the actual workshop. According to Shen and Liu (2003), it is better to have VM members who are open-minded and who have a positive attitude toward new ideas with strong desire to be innovative. 5.1.6 Total duration of the Orientation and Diagnosis phases The total duration of these phase decided by the group range from 15 days to 20 days and with two weeks separating this phase from the workshop phase. Bolton (2005) highlighted that a period of two weeks should separate the pre-work shop requirement and the actual workshop. The group did mention the duration for each activity such as information gathering, document analysis, interviews and other activates. This phage could be divided in two sub stages: information gathering stage and evaluation stage. The first stage will take 10-15 days and will include the interview with the key stakeholder, document analysis and the site visit. The next stage is the evaluation stage which will take from 5 to 10 days. The facilitator will identify and confirm the workshop attendees and prepare the full agenda for the actual workshop phase in this phase (Cook, 2005). 5.2 Workshop phases The workshop phase is considered as the most important phase in the value management process. This phase should be properly planned and executed otherwise it will be expensive and time consuming. It emphasises the need to accomplish a time commitment from the VM team for the full workshop process. The Workshop process benefit from the chance to discover the over lapping areas of knowledge between the various disciplines (TAM 2004), as shown in the Figure 3. To enhance the success of the workshop, an isolated environment should be provided for the participants (Male et al. 1998a). The workshop can be hold in off-sit meeting room, and if not be possible a conference room at hotel can suitable solution (Norton and McElligott, 1995). Throughout this phase the agenda which was already prepared in the orientation and diagnosis phases would be discussed in details by the VM team. The group discussed these agenda and proposed two days workshop which will be conducted in a hotel. According to Hunter and Kelly (2007), in UK, it is normal to have one day workshop. Lenzer (2001) highlighted that there is an increasing pressure to conduct a workshop with shorter duration. Therefore, the two days proposed by the group seems to be reasonable. In other hand, However, it would be better if the group give accurate time for each single activity during constructing the agenda for the workshop. The agenda proposed by the team, he role of the facilitator, and the workshop process will be discussed in the next sections. Table (1) shows the duration of activities for the two days workshop proposed by the group. Day one from: 9.00am 12 pm Activities Introduction on roles and responsibilities Issue Analysis T/C/Q Client value matrix Project driver Strategic timeline LUNCH 1 pm to 4 pm Strategic function Needs and wants VM and VE separated two teams for brainstorm: Team1: Functional space analysis and User flow analysis and Team2: Element component function Close and dinner Day two From: 9 am -12 am Information review 2ndand 3rdsort LUNCH 1 pm to 5 pm Review development plan Prepare action plan Report sing off Table1: two days workshop activities proposed by the group. 5.2.1 Workshop facilitator According to Kaufman (2000), the main role of facilitator is to educate the team on the guiding principles, tools, techniques and methods of value management before and throughout the process of facilitating the project team. The facilitator involved before the project starts to determine the disciplines required on the team and the team size. For addition, skilled and experience facilitator is important for the successful of the workshop. The facilitator should have some skills which include setting the workshop agenda, mangling the workshop process, and producing the VM report (Baguley, 2005). The group decided that one facilitator would be used for the value management study. However, it will be more beneficial for the client if dual facilitators are used to. According to Dallas (2006), two facilitators are recommended option since they can help each other during the study and they can work for longer days, thus the clients can be sure that they will get value for money. Nunamaker et al. (1997), highlighted that many things can go wrong with teamwork, therefore, the group decision-making process may suffer from many difficulties and become unproductive. Thus, with dual facilitators this problem can be eliminated. The climate of the VM study and the workshop will not be collaborative. Many funding bodies and other stakeholder have different agenda and interests. With this issue in mind, the gap in funding the project is strong reason to assume adversarial climate of the workshop. More money is needed to cover this gap. This make the VM study much difficult since and a major surgery is needed to keep the project in truck. For those reasons, it is very important that a representative from each funding bodies attend the workshop phase. Consequently, two facilitators are needed to mange the VM study especially when the workshop becomes more intense due to large attendees especially during discussion of the function analysis which is the core of the workshop (Dallas, 2006). 5.2.2 The workshop agenda and process As stated before, the group decides that the total duration of the workshop is two days which are shown in details in table (1). According to Male et al. (1998a), the Charette type workshop may take from two to three days to fill the mind of the team with knowledge and then go through the process to generate solutions. Therefore, with two days schedule, some activities should be given more time and some techniques should be introduced or canceled. Table (2) and Table (3) show in details the authors proposed schedule for the first and second day of the workshop. The group divided the workshop process into four main stages. The first day of the workshop will include the first two phases which are information and creativity (back to basic) stages. The other two phases which are evaluation and development and action planning stages will be included in the second day. This framework is used by many researchers (Clancy and Dennis, 2004 ; Kelly et al., 2004). However, the techniques and tools adopted by the group during the above phases should be changed or re-shifted to allow sufficient time for some activities. For example, in the first day, it would be better to discus the project drivers as a part of issue analysis then starting TCQ analysis since the project drivers technique precedes TCQ analysis (Male et al. 1998a) Also, it would be better to extend the time for the first day up to 18:00 to give sufficient time to discus and construct the strategic function diagram and associated actives. In the second day, the group proposed to take the full mooring period to evaluate the new proposals and ideas. It would be better if the VM team starting developing the ideas after the tea break. First day of the workshop as proposed by the author At the first day of the workshop, the facilitator begins with introducing the agenda to the VM team. This will be followed by discussing issues analysis, identifying the client value system, then closing with applying function analysis. Below is the schedule for the first day of the workshop proposed by the author followed by discussion of the main agenda. 5.2.2.1 The information gathering stage. The group suggested to use some of the following activities in this stage during the mooring session .However, the author has re-shifted some major activities. Presentations and team building. Being the initial stage of the workshop, participants of the workshop introduce themselves and their knowledge and responsibilities to the VM team. According to Norton and McElligott (1995), it is good idea if the representatives of the client give brief introduction to the main objective of the VM study and show their commitment to the whole process The facilitator then will introduce the agenda and the main principles for all members of the VM study to bring them to the same level of knowledge of the key project issues (Baguley, 2005). Issues analysis and priorities. At this activity the facilitator will ask the VM members about all the issues which have great impact on the project. These issues will then ranked and prioritize by the VM team according to their degree of impact. According to Kelly et al. (2004) issues that can be addressed in this stage are those issues related to: funding, politics, project location, project parameters and constrains, community, time, and environment impact. (iii) Client value system. The group emphasised that client value system should be clearly identified and understood by VM members. The clients should give clear view about their value system. The clients value system consists of a number of interrelating parts which are derived from the client strategic management process. It is important that the representatives of the client speak at this activity where other members keep silent and listen (Kelley, et al., 2004) Time/Cost/ Quality analysis By forcing the client to consider the three issues of time, cost and quality in the VM study, project priorities can be established. This simple visual technique can lead to many different opinions. Once the triangle of Time/Cost/Quality constructed, procurement strategies and option can be reviewed (Male et al., 1998a). At this stage and before going for lunch, all critical issued and critical success factors should have been identified. Also client value system should be clearly determined and agreed with client representatives and VM members are conscious of its implication and consequences (Male and Kelly, 2004). 5.2.2.2 Back to basic stage (creativity and generating ideas) Function analysis is the methodical process of identifying functions and their related costs, and based on established criteria for the product or service, the need of those functions are evaluated. It can be considered as the core process of the VM study (Spaulding, 2005). When applying function analysis, the value management team will ask the question of why it is that the item exists rather than what it is than being reviewed (Norton and McElligott, 1995; Connaughton and Green 1996). As group mentioned, three techniques of function analysis will be applied. The first one is Function Analysis System Technique (FAST) which will be used directly after the lunch. For the other two techniques the VM team will be divided into two separate teams. The first team will apply the space analysis and second team will apply the element component analysis. FAST (Function Analysis System Technique) The group decided to establish the project FAST diagram since it is the core of the VM process. The duration of this activity is one hour. FAST is defined as a system which display functions in a rational sequence, prioritise them and test the dependency (Kaufman, 2003), Constructing the project FAST diagram begins with randomly brainstorming functions to generates ideas. This then followed by prioritizing the important functions. Once the dependency between function are established, project FAST diagram can be constructed (Male et al., 2004). Consensus is the main out put of the multi-disciplined team involved in a FAST exercise. To perform the next activates, the VM team will be divided into two teams. The first facilitator will be responsible for the functional space analysis activity. The attendees in this workshop include the key funding bodies and the Chief Executive. The second team will perform the element component analysis and will be facilitated by the second facilitator. The attendees of this activity include beside the facilitator the architect, cost consultant, and mechanical and electrical engineer The functional space analysis In this stage the VM team investigate that all space within the project or the building should performs a function, otherwise the space will be a waste of money and has no value. It essential