Project Management and Community Members Essay

TopCoder has a very unique and different model with respect to the traditional companies. As a senior manager, I would need to build following capabilities: Firstly, build manpower to oversee a community of over 200,000 members and direct the process of competition based software development. The emphasis would be on not managing individuals but managing the process of participation, fostering community participation and community growth. Secondly, focus on building a critical mass of talent and coding capacity to run many competitions and produce solutions for clients at the same time. This would require attracting new members into the community through more challenges and contents, doing online advertising and member development days. Thirdly, build norms by maintaining the highest standards of contest integrity, transparency and quality. Strictly monitor competitions and maintain consistency of procedures. Fourthly, provide the right governance. Involve the views of the community members as well in the decision making process and treat them as driver along with establishing a fair peer review scoring system. Fifthly, do the right resource allocation. Allocate community resources and control contest participation across the number of contests. This is because unlike traditional firms, Topcoder cannot assign specific people to a task or project. Focus would be on to set the prize amount, duration and timing of contest and the number of competitors. Sixthly, work towards retaining community members and encourage future contest participation. Supply community members with consistent work stream and prize money. Dedicate significant resources to facilitate forum discussions and encourage members to engage in the community. On the demand side, as a manager, I would need to guide clients through the contest-based software development process, provide suggestions for contest prize amounts, gather feedback between contests and provide project status updates to clients. In case of technical problem, get the problem fixed through the appropriate community members. Manage client expectations and serve as a board for client concerns. Additionally, educate the clients on how to use the TopCoder platform to manage the contest-based software development process themselves.

Information Privacy and Electronic Privacy Essay

Information Privacy and Electronic Privacy - Essay Example This type of privacy is however not limited to information stored in computer systems alone but in other electronic devices as well such as fax machines, mobile phones, telephones and even in emails. It pertains to any information that is transmitted or stored electronically in a digital manner. This paper is going to focus on differentiating the two kinds of privacy mentioned above. Even though they seem interrelated, they have their own differences including differences in legislative acts governing them as well as their sources and the potential privacy breaches as well as what measures can be taken to ensure the information remains private unless it is absolutely necessary for third parties to have such information (Eyob, 2009). Information privacy concerns information that is stored in records. This means that it covers only the information that the owner has provided about himself or herself depending on where it was needed for example in hospitals it is the medical records or in financial institutions it is the financial records about transactions among others. However, when it comes to electronic privacy, it is concerned with not only the stored personal information but the information in transit as well. This therefore means information one has just sent to another and even the recipient has yet to receive it but it is intercepted mid-way. Information privacy is mostly breached by individuals and private institutions seeking information that can be sold in industrial espionage or to taint the name of an individual. People seeking this kind of information therefore hire hackers and spies to go through the physical and electronic records in storage containing the information they need about the individual. In electronic privacy, the information is mainly sought by the government and law enforcement institutions in order to incriminate an individual. This is the reason they tap into conversations over the phone as well as

Developmental Changes in Preschool Children Essay - 3

Developmental Changes in Preschool Children - Essay Example Emotional development is the process of learning to recognize and express one’s feelings as well as learning to establish one’s identity and individuality. Social development is the process of learning to interact with others and to express one self to them. Both emotional development and social skills are essential as they prepare the child for school and adult life. These ensure that a child is able to pay attention to an adult figure (authority), ensure an easy transition from one activity to another as well as the ability to cooperate with other children. From the ages 1 to 3, children learn new things through observation and imitation. They acquire skills in sharing, showing affection etc from parents and/or primary caregiver. Through these experiences, they learn how to interact with others outside the home. The play has an important role in child development. Social-emotional skills gained by playing with others and their parents give them the self-confidence needed to build loving and supportive relationships throughout their lives. At about 1 year of age, children generally start to exhibit rebellious behavior, negativism (doing the opposite of what they are told), they express feelings of happiness and sadness, calmness and stability and inner peace. They are self-centered but begin to learn that some desires may never be met. They become increasingly frustrated because of their inability to perform certain tasks that they see older siblings and adults performing with ease of feeding themselves or writing hence the incidents of temper tantrums. As a child approaches age 2, there is generally an improvement in their speech and motor skills, which relieves some of their frustrations. They are able to respond to others talking and also follow simple instructions. They are increasingly able to express themselves through speech and seek approval from their peers and parents. There are fewer emotional outbursts.  

Oscar Wilde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Oscar Wilde - Essay Example He was an exceptional student not only in studies, but also in literature writing, delivering intellectual speeches etc. He has started his literature career by writing and publishing certain poems. â€Å"His poem Ravenna won the 1878 Newdigate Prize. Soon after leaving university his first volume of poetry, Patience, was published† (Spartacus Educational). During his studies, Oscar Wild contributed heavily to the development of philosophy of aestheticism. Moreover, he spent lot of time in exploring the principles of Roman Catholicism and later became a strong believer in it. After university studies, Oscar Wild went to London and spent majority of his remaining life period there. Oscar Wild has written his first and last novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, in 1890. Majority of his literature works were poetries. Oscar Wild was a controversial person as far as his sexual life was concerned. Even though a married person with two children publicly, Oscar Wild was a homosexual in his private life. Throughout his life, he kept secret sexual relations with young males. He was an opportunist in his sexual life. He had an affair with a young, snobbish aristocrat named Lord Alfred Douglas. Douglas father, the Marquess of Queensberry did not approve of his sons relationship with the distinguished writer, and when he accused Wilde of sodomy, Wilde tried to sue the Marquess in court, but his case dropped to the ground when his homosexuality was exposed, which was then outlawed in England. Wilde was sentenced to two years hard labour in prison (Biography of Oscar Wilde) Oscar Wild was an emotional and sensitive person. Jail term caused severe emotional problems to him and he started to dislike London and Britain, even though he had written some poems during his jail term. Immediately the release in 1897, he left Britain and spent remaining period of life in France. However, the mental agony

Branding Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Branding - Assignment Example Brand positioning is aimed at allocating products and services in certain communicative channels in order to meet the needs of customers. Brand positioning is crucial to any organization because it is able to implement the organization’s objectives, goals, and missions. The purpose of branding and positioning is to give the consumers a clear image of the organization and its products. This also helps an organization maintain its competitive advantage. There are many products in the market that are can be used for the same purpose, branding and positioning make a product unique to the customers which in turn helps customers differentiate one product from that of its competitors’. A good example is seen in the case of toothpastes. Toothpaste brands have increased significantly over the years. The supermarkets are now filled with many brands, each with its own benefits (Segrave, Pg. 28). Colgate, which is toothpaste that has been around for many years and still has a big market share around the world, maintains its market share through branding. Colgate is known for its ability of whiten the teeth, freshen the breath, and strengthen the enamel on the teeth. The company also takes advantage of the red color on its product packages during its TV advertisement. There is more of the red color like the packaging of the toothpaste. The company believes that the color inspires impulse buying because the color causes excitement. The white and red combination in its packaging is eye catching and appealing to the eyes of consumers. This also remains in the minds of the consumer, forming a way of differentiating the products from other toothpastes. This also shows the principles of branding and positioning which is differentiating one product from another. An effective branding gives consumers a perception that there is no other service, product, or company than the brand’s company. Branding helps organization to differentiate their products from those of its

Asthma Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Asthma - Assignment Example They include; inhaled corticosteroids, leukotriene modifiers, long-acting beta agonists (LABAs), theophylline and a combination of inhalers that contain both corticosteroid and a LABA. Inhaled corticosteroids include: Fluticasone, Budesonide, Mometasone, Beclomethasone, Ciclesonide (Naff and Clay 2010). Inhaled corticosteroids have a few side effects which include; one may experience a thrush when taking higher doses and on rare occasions hoarseness may occur. One should regularly rinse the mouth, gargle after using the asthma inhaler and use a spacer device with metered dose inhaler. The intended treatment outcomes include; reduced frequency of asthma attacks, reduced use of beta-agonist bronchodilators, and improvement of lung functions, reduction of emergency hospital visits and hospitalizations (Krauss 2003). A peak flow meter gauges how air moves out of one’s lungs. Measuring one’s peak flow is an important part in managing asthmatic symptoms as well as an asthma attack. The reading from this device helps the patient to detect changes which may be signs of worsening asthma. Thus one is alerted of the tightening of airways days or hours before the onset of asthma symptoms or attacks (Krauss

DQ Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

DQ - Assignment Example In this case, the implementation of such decisions is usually very difficult and sometimes, they do not come to be. To be able to survive in such organizations, one needs to work closely with the managers and follow their day to day instructions in accomplishing their tasks (Banutu & Shandra, 20007). This way, it will be easy for employees to learn and know what the new implementations are according to the new decision made. The main leadership of an organization should be responsible for driving change in the organization. According to Diab (2014), organizations can fail due to various reasons such as lack of enough preparation, inadequate resources, ill-conception and others (Diab, 2014). However, the main hindrance to organizational change, he says, is the behavior of leaders. Leaders can fail in the effective management of change as well as showing worse behavior that are not change friendly. When those leading change agree with the change and become ready to embrace it, it I very easy for the change to be implemented in the organization. However, the style of leadership can also create a barrier in the way the organization will receive the change. Leaders can create a culture in an organization that totally cannot tolerate change (Ford, 2005). At the same time, they can decide to involve the employees in change management by letting them know the part they need to play to hasten the implementation process. When they decide not to support the change, their style of leadership will be act to create a barrier for the change not to take course. Diab, S. M. (2014). The impact of leadership styles on selection the areas of organizational change (an empirical study on the jordanian pharmaceutical companies). International Journal of Business and Management, 9(8),