Sustainability In Julius Berger Nig Plc Construction Essay

Sustainability In Julius Berger Nig Plc Construction Essay Civil engineering has played a vital role in human development. It has also enhanced the quality of live of people today, through the provision of basic water supply, pollution control, transportation, industrial/commercial, urban infrastructure. Each of these engineering work has made life more comfortable, convenient, accessible, healthy and longer not only for the local population (Nigerians), but for all. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering ( 2007a). A Nigerian civil engineering company, which was a subsidiary of Bilfinger Berger AG, called Julius Berger Nigeria Limited was incorporated in 1970. The company became listed in the Nigerian stock exchange as Julius Berger Nigeria PLc, to carry out complex and diverse engineering projects in Nigeria. One of which is the Eko bridge constructed in 1965. Others include Buildings, offices, residential facilities, functional buildings, sports/recreational facilities, construction of roads, bridges, railways, airports, dams and water supply, plants and factories. Julius- Berger( 2010). The company has modernised much of the transportation infrastructure in Nigeria since 1970 and is responsible for the design and construction of the new Nigerian capital at Abuja. ide-Jetro ( 2010). It must be emphasised that the same infrastructure developed in the country, and the economies and standard of living these enormous facilities support, is contributing to environmental degradation due to the size and scale of its effects on the environment. There are clear and unambiguous signs that show that the human population is now impacting negatively to the global environment, thus threatening our life support systems .The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (2007b). SUSTAINABILITY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT (JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC) In defining sustainability from the perspective of Julius Berger Nigeria PLc. it is pertinent to understand that it is not as easy as the text book definition of sustainability which lays emphasis on the future. A sustainable society is defined to be aware of the needs of future generations and is farseeing enough. New Civil Engineering (2010a). However, according to them, in the real world most societies are not run that way. This is because politicians are more interested in how a project performs during their tenure in office than the whole life cycle of the project. This is the reason why projects fail to be sustainable. The only reason why a newly constructed bridge collapsed in India just before the commencement of the 2010 commonwealth games, or why the water system stopped working and needs urgent maintenance. According to New Civil Engineering (2010b) that cited a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers 2 (ASCE), twenty seven percent of six hundred thousand bridg es in the US are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. This is the case also in Nigeria. Where there are so many unsustainable projects. Nigerian cities are witnessing high rates of environmental deterioration and are rated among urban areas with the lowest livibility index in the world Adedeji and Eziyi ( 2010a).The fact is that these old systems are subjected to the end of their life time and there are some responsibilities about the maintenance of these infrastructures. New Civil Engineering (2010c). The obvious problem is that government still insists on taking the old fashioned path, of assigning absolutely unsustainable projects for the mere fact that they are less pricey options. Sustainable development should be one that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. The Bruntland Report (WCED) (1987). This is the general definition of the concept. The harsh reality is that Nigerian cities are hug ely under developed and unsustainable. This is inspire of the fact that Julius Berger Nigeria Plc is the biggest construction company in the country. Majority of the problem can be traced to a number of factors. These include the colonial antecedent of most Nigerian cities (Ogbazi, 1992 ; Ikya, 1993) the high rate of urbanization, bad psychological orientation of urban residents on the environment as well as poor environmental management practices (Meale, 1991; Agukoronye, 2004). Sustainability is improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems IUCN; WWF and UNEP (1991). These generally accepted definitions are recognised also at Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, where management and in fact all the stakeholders are aware of the new concepts on sustainability which according to The Canadian Society for civil engineering ( 2007c)includes the newly emergent issues of climate change, peak oil, sustainable transportation, environmental restoration, ecosystem disruption, ethics and equity and infrastructural operations and maintenance, as it concerns the construction industry. However in practice, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has not done so much to implement sustainability. For sustainability to be implemented in the Nigerian built environment, there has to be four distinguished management levels of which the environmental sustainability of the built environment can be influenced. These are the environmental cooperatio n routines, environmental technology policies, environmental regulations and incentives. Bossink, (ed) (2010). Sustainability at Julius Berger should simply consider the whole life cycle assessment (LSA) of the alternatives when building a project. New Civil Engineering (2010d). In other words the company should first consider the whole life cycle of the product before construction starts. This will have the least effect on the environment and biodiversity as well as the capitals that have been eluded earlier. Practically according to New Civil Engineering (2010e), this entails a detailed study of the stages of making, using and disposing of the product before choosing on an option. The stages of the product which starts from extraction of the raw materials needed for the project to the design of the project, the formulation, specification, processing, manufacturing, assembly, construction, packaging, use, maintenance, refurbishment, reusing, recycling and finally disposal. What obtains at Julius Berger today is that after the project has been critically analysed and studied to ascertain the cost, in terms of its profitability and affordability. The company would then decide on the source of capital for the project. Then after wards the project is assigned to workers for construction. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc concept of sustainability is improving the quality of projects for future generations of Nigerians. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN NIGERIA AND THE ROLE JULIUS BERGER SHOULD PLAY IN NIGERIA (On Sustainability) The Nigerian environmental problem has been identified to have serious adverse socio economic and ecological implications .These are traceable to factors like high rate of urbanization, poor environmental management etc (Rashid, 1982; NEST, 1991; World Bank, 1992; Anih, 2004). This means that Julius Berger Nigeria Plc is faced with an enormous problem caused by a rapidly growing population. According to Adedeji and Eziyi (2010b), rural urban migration remains one of the major contributors to the ever increasing urban population growth in Nigeria. Also in Nigeria, Mba et al (eds) (2004) identified several other types of environmental problems which were classified as ecological, poaching, loss of habitat, increasing desertification and soil erosion. These were further subdivided into pollution, deforestation, global warming and slum development. The coastal regions currently experiencing widespread contamination from petroleum exploration, gas flaring and oil spillage. In this regar d, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc should realise that infrastructural development can no longer be done in a microcosm on a project level a more holistic inclusion of the complex interactions of human society and the environment upon which it depends, is needed. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (2007d). JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC AND SUSTAINABILITY Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, should instil the concept of sustainability which is a concept that includes the triple bottom line and a life cycle assessment into the planning, design and operation of civil infrastructure, and in this way promote the development of new technologies and management practices for the use of energy, non renewable resources, and the production of waste materials The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (2007e). There are several sustainable development issues that affect Civil Engineering practices that should be understood and implemented by Julius Berger, Nigeria Plc to mitigate their ecological impact. These include climate change. The potential impact of climate change upon the built environment (civil infrastructure) changes in extreme hydrological and meteorological events, and there should be a growing effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as adaptation requirements. Already the effect of climate change can be felt in Nigeria Where environmental problems due to oil exploration has inflicted tremendous damage on the ecosystem, health and livelihood of the people of the region Adedeji and Eziyi, (2010c). According to the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (2007f) Julius Berger Nigeria Plc should adopt best practices for eco-efficiency, such as increased energy/water efficiency, the minimization of waste and resource consumption and the employment of clean technologies. Also stated by them, there should be the use of performance based standards and guidelines identifying the outcome required as opposed to a prescriptive path that must be followed to enable designers to achieve improved results. There is also depleting oil and natural gas reserves which have severe consequences (Peak oil). The society and indeed Julius Berger Nigeria Plc must meet certain societal priorities and implement policies: these include energy conservation and efficiency, developing alternative renewable sources and strategies to reduce waste. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc should also endorse Green Construction construction that achieves the beneficial objectives of engineering work with the lowest possible consumption of raw materials and energy, both during and after construction. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (2007g). In this regard every decision taken should aim to minimise environmental burdens of climate change, resource depletion, energy depletion, the loss of biodiversity, and human health, genetically modified products and modified environmental vectors. On the issue of sustainable transportation, Julius Berger should introduce the use of pedestrian amenities, mass transit, and energy conservation in transportation systems. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (2007h). Effort should also be made by the company to sensitise government about the need for environmental restoration. This entails reconstruction of natural features, and fish habitat in rivers and streams, the control of sediment runoff and the removal of dams and tidal barriers. There should also be cleanup and/or redevelopment of contaminated sites. According to (Adedeji and Eziyi, (2010d). A typical example of this can be seen in the issue of end of gas flaring and oil spillages in the Niger Delta region. An area of equal importance to the populace which can eventually bring to an end the restiveness of the youth especially at the Niger delta area is transparency and equity in the provision of basic human services to disadvantaged people, contributing to poverty alleviation, human health and public welfare. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc can contribute to this by implementing its corporate responsibility to communities. However, so far corporate social responsibility does not play an important role in Nigeria, and has not been the subject of a wider public discussion. Bertelsmann. (2009). Application of sustainable energy sources to develop linearly distributed social infrastructure is a key enabling factor that will stimulate grass root economic development, stem the prevailing state of crime, access sufficient quantities of clean water, maintain acceptable standards of food and goods production, sanitation and health of the citizens of Nigeria Udoma and Arciszewski (2010).Infrastructure operations and maintenance is also vital to guarantee an optimal use of the infrastructure. RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES Sustainable risks /opportunities identification: sustainable risks identified at Julius Berger Nigeria Plc include: Cost related risks: Tight project schedule, design variations, variations by the client, unsuitable construction programme planning, occurrence of dispute, price inflation of construction materials, excessive approval procedures in administrative government departments, incomplete approval and other documents, incomplete or inaccurate cost estimate and inadequate programme schedule. Time related risks: Tight project schedule, design variations, excessive approval procedures in administrative government departments, variations by the client, incomplete approval and other documents, unsuitable construction programme planning, inadequate programme scheduling, bureaucracy of government, high performance or quality expectation, variations of construction programmes Quality related risks: Tight project schedule, inadequate programme scheduling, unsuitable construction programme planning, incomplete or inaccurate cost estimate, low management competency of subcontractors, high performance or quality expectations, variations of construction programmes, unavailability of sufficient amount of skilled labour, design variations and the lack of coordination between project participants. Environment related risks: Tight project schedule, variations of construction programmes, unavailability of sufficient professionals and managers, excessive approval procedures in administrative government departments, variations by the client, inadequate or insufficient site information(soil test and survey report), low management competency of subcontractors, high performance or quality expectations, inadequate programme scheduling and serious noise pollution caused by construction Safety related risks: Tight project schedule, low management competency of subcontractors, unsuitable construction programme planning, variations of construction programmes, general safety accident occurrence ,high performance or quality expectations, design variations, lack of coordination between projects participants, excessive approval procedures in administrative government departments, unavailability of sufficient amount of skilled labour and unavailability of sufficient professionals and managers. Sustainable Risks and Opportunities , Adopted from: Zou, P. et al (2010): identifying key risks in construction projects: Life cycle and stake holder perspective. SUSTAINABILITY RISKS OF JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC The identifiable risks of Julius Berge Nigeria Plc are socioeconomic factors which include environmental protection, public safety regulations, economic instability, and exchange rate fluctuations. Other risks are organisational relationships which deal with contractual relations, attitudes of participants, and communication. There are also technological problems experienced by the company. These include design assumptions, site condition, construction procedures, and construction occupational safety. Civil Engineering Blog (2010a) Environmental Protection contributes to our companys uncertainty. This stems from the companys inability to know what will be required and the time it will take to get approval from the environmental agency of Nigeria. Requirements associated with continued re evaluation of problems and the lack of definitive criteria which are practical have also resulted in added cost. Civil Engineering Blog (2010b). According to them, economic conditions have added to the uncertainty that our company experiences. High inflation and high interest rates, the deregulation of financial institutions have created problems associated with the financing of construction. The stakeholders of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc (share holders and management) are interested in achieving some financial break through that will help lower the cost of projects and eliminate lengthy delays. The risks related to organisational relationships also affect the company. Strained relationship sometimes occurs between the various organisations involved in the design/construction process. According to Civil Engineering Blog (2010c), when problems occur discussions often centre on responsibilities rather than project needs at a time when the focus should be on solving the problem. The risks associated with technological advancement also affect Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. Some new technologies pose problems to designers and constructors. Many design assumptions which have served the professions well in the past may become obsolete in dealing in dealing with new types of facilities which may have greater complexity or scale or both. Civil Engineering Blog ( 2010d). SUSTAINABILITY OPPORTUNITIES OF JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC Sustainability opportunities of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc include the follows: Investment in human capital, investment in new technologies, corporate social responsibility and carbon footprint. AUDIT TO IDENTIFY AN ACTIVITY (CONSTRUCTION OF A STORM WATER PROJECT) THAT ADHERES PARTIALLY TO THE PRINCIPLE OF SUSTAINABILITY. In conducting the audit, the following steps were taken: Identify every activity on construction Identify the actual activities that are not sustainable Identify the number of activities that are Partially sustainable Identify the number of completely sustainable activities; check if construction was based on best practices for eco efficiency. Identify the environmental impact of activities during construction Calculate the current cost of the sustainable construction Julius Berger Nigeria Plc construction activities cannot be considered as Green Construction which was defined as construction that achieves the beneficial objectives of engineering work with the lowest possible consumption of raw materials and energy, both during and after construction. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering ( 2007h). An audit conducted to identify whether the companys storm water project adheres only partially or completely to the principles of sustainability revealed that the companys decisions on construction work were partially aimed at minimizing environmental burdens under five global consequences: resource depletion, energy depletion, climate change, biodiversity, and human health. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (2007i). Best practices for eco-efficiency, such as increased energy/water efficiency, the minimization of waste and resource consumption, the employment of clean technologies were not employed. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineeri ng (2007j). SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT TOOL Sustainability management tools that can be used to develop a sustainable solution to the storm water project include an EIA, ISO 14001 and GRI. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): There are two assessment processes introduced under 2006 EIA regulations. These include; Basic Assessment: This involves a simpler and faster process of which the public participation process and development of the basic assessment report take place before the submission of an application. Jones (2010). ISO 14001: The international organization for standardization 14001 was published in 1996. It is the most well known and widely used specification standard on environmental management systems. Starkey and Welford (eds) (2005). ISO 14001 are also a series of voluntary, auditable standards that are designed to provide a reasonable assurance of the accuracy of the performance claims of companies. Weybrecht (2010a). GRI: The Global Reporting Initiative (GTI) is for disclosure on economic, environmental, and social performance. This is as commonplace and comparable as financial reporting, and as important as a companys success. Weybrecht (2010b). AN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTED IN THE AUDIT Promote the wise use of non renewable resources, waste minimization and recycling in engineering activities and the development of alternatives to the use of non renewable resources; Select materials and systems with low embodied energy and easy reuse; Promote the principles of conservation and energy efficiency; Rigorously examine the basic functions and purposes behind a project to recognise options and alternatives that will increase sustainability; Identify appropriate technology for sustainable development, recognizing that may mean low-tech solutions; Choose a built form and orientation that contribute to environmental economies and future adaptability, flexibility of use and reuse; Select construction methods that minimize the effects of construction and demolition in terms of land take, waste and pollution; Aim to reduce natural, accidental and wilful hazards; Consider individual and cumulative social, economic and environmental impacts (the Triple Bottom line) including long-term and indirect impacts; and Adopt practices, policies and design goals that focus on efficiency, conservation of materials and energy, and waste minimization. Adopted from: The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (2007k). For construction activities at Julius Berger Nigeria Plc to be sustainable, the company should simply consider the whole life cycle assessment (LSA) of the alternatives when building a project. New Civil Engineering (2010f). In other words the company should first consider the whole life cycle of the project before construction starts. This will have the least effect on the environment and biodiversity. According to New Civil Engineering (2010g), this includes a detailed study of the stages of making, using and disposing of the product before choosing on an option. The stages of the project which starts from extraction of the raw materials needed for the project to the design of the project, the formulation, specification, processing, manufacturing, assembly, construction, packaging, use, maintenance, refurbishment, reusing, recycling and finally disposal. What obtains at Julius Berger is an analysis of the project to ascertain the cost, (profitability and affordability) and the best possible approach to undertake the project. However, even where every care is taken to reduce natural, accidental and wilful hazards, with emphasis on social, economic and environmental impacts, the project is undertaken using the normal unsustainable approach the company has adopted successfully over the years. CONCLUSION: It is obvious that human societies have in the past decade or so taken a path which is clearly unsustainable. In Nigeria for instance there have been a whole lot of unsustainable activities by oil exploration and producing companies. This coupled with years of unsustainable construction and urban planning, poor environmental practices by the citizens, poor regulatory practices and a lack of compliance by multinational companies, has led to environmental problems like, oil spillages, gas flaring, erosion, soil and water contamination, acid rain etc in the oil rich country. Sustainability therefore has become an inevitable way forward in the face of a looming environmental catastrophe. As the years go by, fewer resources than we are now relying on in Nigeria will have to support the nearly over 150 million Nigerians that require food, water, clothing, shelter, electricity and other modern amenities of life. A growth in the population of Nigeria will put a further strain on available resources. This is where sustainability in the built environment becomes very necessary. A construction company like Julius Berger Nigeria plc can use this opportunity and offer sustainable civil engineering solutions to the environmental problems that Nigeria faces today. The opportunities or benefit of sustainable construction will have on the society is, cleaner environment, resource efficiency, compliance and effective risk management etc.

Airtread Case Writeup Essay

1. Ms. Zhang wanted to keep things simple by assuming a stock purchase using the maximum amount of leverage available to conduct the merger, and she assumed that the acquisition debt could consist of a single tranche amortizing monthly over 10 years, but with bullet payment to bring AirThread’s leverage ratios in line with those of the industry. So from 2008 to 2012, the D/E ratio of AirThread would change continuously until the bullet payment is paid, so we expect to use APV valutation method from 2008 to 2012, since it is more efficient to adjust the PV of FCF than to figure out the annual WACC. From 2013, the D/E ratio of AirThread would be in line with the industry, indicating the company will rebalance its D/E ratio, so we expect to use WACC method from then on to value AirThread. 2. Before we calculate the discount rate, we need to make the following assumptions: a. Since Ms. Zhang wanted to keep things simple by assuming a stock purchase using the maximum amount of leverage available and a debt to value ratio not exceeding 50%, so we calculate the initial D/E=100% which is the maximum leverage for AirThread under this scenario. b. AirThread neither rebalanced its capital structure during 2008 and 2012, nor did it keep its debt at a fixed level. It repays its debt monthly. However, the amount of debt repaid before the end of 2012 is small compared with the total amount of debt and the total bullet payment. So when we calculate debt cost of capital from 2008 to 2012, we assume that the debt maintains at a fixed amount till the end of 2012 and the periodic payments will not have effect on the debt cost of capital. In order to use APV method to value the company from 2008 to 2012, we need to figure out the unlevered cost of asset-R(U) and cost of debt at initialization-R(D08-12) to discount the FCF back to 2007. According to Rubinstein & Ross the interest rate of the bond should be 5.5% at the initial leverage, so RD08-12=5.5%. And we expect to use the market multiples to estimate RU. We can calculate Beta(D08-12) at the initial leverage by using CAPM model. So Beta(D08-12)=1.25%/5%=0.25, at D/E=100%. However, when the capital structure of AirThread is in line with the industry, the D/E ratio is approximately 40.1%, which is less than 100%, indicating less risk in debt after 2012 when the company was in line with the industry leverage. So we assume that AirThread’s debt beta after 2012-Beta(D12-)=0.125, also we can get equity beta-Beta(E12-)=1.00 from the market multiples. Since the D/E=40.1% in market multiples, we can get Beta(U)= 0.125*40.1%/(1+40.1%)+1*1/(1+40.1%)=0.75, R(U)=(5.5%-1.25%)+0.75*5%=8%. Finally we can use R(U) to discount the FCF and use R(D08-12) to discount the interest tax shield. A detail list of inputs can be found in Sheet1. In terms of the terminal value, the discount rate=WACC-G. G is the growth rate in perpetuity, which cannot exceed the long term growth rate of US economy. The WACC is the weighted cost of capital when AirThreat keeps rebalancing the capital structure in line with the industry, the assumptions are very different from what we have made when calculating the discount rate from 2008 to 2012. So we cannot use the same discount rate to value the terminal value. 3. Compute the unlevered free cash flow and the interest tax shields from 2008 to 2012 based on estimates provided in Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 6. Based on the data provided by the case we can calculate estimated FCF which can be found in Sheet2. In calculating the ITS, we think only the interest payment can be used to calculate the ITS instead of the total payment each year. The calculation of ITS can be found in Sheet3. Free Cash Flow = EBITÃâ€"(1-tax rate) + Depreciation & Amortization – change in Net Working Capital – Capital Expenditure EBIT = Revenue – Operating Expense – COGS – SG&A – Depreciation & Amortization Among the inputs listed above, only changes in Net Working Capital is not projected with explicit figures, and assumptions concerning net working capital accounts and important related notes are listed in Sheet4.Based on our above sheets can calculation, we can arrive at the results. (in million dollar) | 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| 2012| Free Cash Flow| 227.07| 347.38| 319.73| 326.04| 322.24| Interest Tax Shield| 80| 73| 66| 59| 56| 4. A company’s long-term growth rate is a function of return on capital and reinvestment rate, and should not exceed long-term macro economy growth rate. The return on capital represents the investment return and the reinvestment rate represents the proportional amount of capital reinvested to fulfill future growth of the company. So a better to estimate the long term growth rate is to return on capital multiplied by reinvestment rate. So, g=return on capitalÃâ€"reinvestment rate. A detailed disaggregation of this function can be fond in Function 1 in appendix. We need the long term growth rate of AirThread when its capital structure is in line with the industry and reflect the most recent performance after the merger event. So it is better to estimate the long term growth rate by using the 2012 year end projected financial statements. As we have computed the Δ NWC in Q3 and got other necessary inputs from the exhibits in case material, the only unknown data is the Total Assets of 2012. To project this number in 2012, we need to use the formula of Asset Turnover ratio. Asset Turnover ratio = Total revenue/ Total asset The total revenue of 2012, combining the Service Revenue and Equipment Revenue of 2012 in Exhibit 1, should be 6806.50. Then we compute the average growth rate of the Asset Turnover Ratio based on Table 2 and use the result to estimate the Asset Turnover Ratio of 2012, which is 1.58. Now we can estimate the total asset of 2012 with the Asset Turnover Ratio of 1.58. Total asset= 6806.50/ 1.58≈4311.1(in million). With the total asset of 2012, we can calculate the long-term growth rate=2.61%. The inputs and detailed result is list in Sheet5. Based on the 30-year GDP data of U.S (Dec.1976-Dec 2007), average nominal GDP growth rate is 7.3%, average real GDP growth rate is 3.3%, and inflation growth rate is 0.9%, so projected Future Growth Rate of AirThread should be between 0.9% and 7.3%, which support our estimate result of 2.61%. 5. A company’s total assets can be expressed as the sum of operating assets and interest tax shield assets. Under the assumptions that from 2008 to 2012 the total debt is fixed and in perpetuity the company keeps rebalancing the leverage ratio to be in line with the industry, we should use unlevered discount rate (Ru) to discount the FCF back to 2007. Terminal Value of FCF in perpetuity is estimated with the long-term growth rate calculated in Q4 and unlevered discount rate calculated in Q3: Terminal Value at 2012=FCF2012Ãâ€"(1+g)Ru=322.24Ãâ€"(1+2.61%)8%-2.61%=6,134.52 (million dollar) Value of operating assets=15FCFt(1+Ru)t+Terminal Value(1+Ru)5=5,176.58 (million dollar)

Importance of Command Essay

The chain of command is an important structure in the military. First it allows problem to be handled at the lowest level possible in the command. If a military personnel has a problem he would go to his NCO first before going to their SCNOs or Commander; this way he isn’t stepping on people’s feet and everyone is aware of the situation so they can get it fixed. You also have to think of it in a war situation. If there was no chain of command then everyone would think they are in charge. If an NCO tells a private to go do this, then the private knows to just go do it. If there was no chain of command then the private would probably try and tell the NCO off and then he will probably end up getting shot by the enemy. You work your way through the chain of command by rank and experience. This is why no one is going to question an order coming from someone higher ranking with more experience. As well as if the person believes that their situation needs to be addressed and executes the wrong decision then what more can that person do? Everyone learns through their mistakes and no one is perfect in this world, but with a bad situation comes with bad judgment and lack of decision making. In the civilian world they also use Chain of Command as well for example, most organizations have an established chain of command that is essential for effective management, accountability, and a strong means of operation. Whether it’s because individuals now have higher expectations or perhaps it is simply out of force of habit, many of us want to go right to the top with our complaints. In terms of fairness and efficiency, this is not appropriate for their athlete programs as it creates the necessity for an established chain of command. As a leader, you must start by educating everyone on the significance of your chain of command. You can do this in a variety of ways to give the person in need of dire help ready for anything. We initially cover the chain of command in boot camp when a recruit needs to use the head or needs to go to medical for any apparent reason. Because of the strong support from our Chain of Command and our efforts to educate and communicate and have high expectations, most new military personnel observe the neglect as if no one cares for them. For this they need to be supportive to them and give them that security that everything is getting handled as fast as they can, as a result this will significantly decrease the number of complaints and any further problems that may occur or rise. In any situation the NCOs will tell the lower rank have you mentioned this to anyone or how long has this problem been going on. In any form of situation regardless if they brought it up or not, the chain of command needs to be properly used in order for the personnel not to get in any trouble. Back to summarizing boot camp; while the recruits were in the depot they aren’t used to being yelled at or being bossed around like if they weren’t anything but as the days went on they grew accustomed to the new procedures that they were doing. Whatever the reason they needed to talk to the Drill Instructor, they went and knocked at the hatch of their doors and said the correct phrase and correct greeting of the day. After being heard they would ask the Drill Instructor if they could use the head or go to medical or go to dental or if they have any financial issues back home or had to go the bank or post office for any reason. It not only starts while you’re in boot camp but as being back home when you were still a civilian. When you need something you were still using your chain of command with your parents, depending which one was more soft or tough on you that’s the person you would go talk to about whatever you needed or wanted. For example, if you needed gas money or a ride to the movies you would ask your parents, could have been your mother you ask because she could be the soft one that would allow you to go or give you money of any kind. As a result not only do we use chain of command in the military but we used it back home and never realized it until you enlist in the military and experience it yourself. Leadership, accountability, efficiency, morale, and a sense of order all depend upon your chain of command. Why it is important to follow proper instruction procedures in the military is for many reasons. As military personnel, it is our responsibility to not only follow instruction/orders, but to execute the command. Not following orders can result into consequences not only for the personnel whom committed not following instructions, but also it can put others at risk too. Like your NCO in charge of you, to your Team Leader, to your Platoon Sergeant, to your 1st Sergeant, to your Company Commander, to your Brigade Commander, and so on. Not only can your NCO in charge of you, your Team Leader, your Platoon Sergeant, your 1st Sergeant, your Company Commander, and your Brigade Commander could all get into trouble for your actions of not following direct instructions/orders. But some may lose rank in the process including the personnel whom didn’t follow the specific instructions/orders giving by a personnel higher rank than those individual personnel. Also when you are down range deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, and other combat places we have our units fighting the war at, not only can a personnel lose rank but in fact not following directions/orders you could get a personnel fighting alongside of you in the war killed in combat but you as well. Try to explain to a spouse, or a mother and father, better yet the personnel kids that the reason why your parent, father or mother isn’t coming home to see you is because you failed to follow proper instructions/ orders giving to you and that is why your parent father or mother isn’t coming home to you. Not only is it important to follow instructions/orders, but you as the military personnel could lose rank. The purpose of the Chain of Command is to install structure, discipline and respect into newer enlisted military personnel. Each branch has its own secretary that assigns forces under their jurisdictions to unify and specific commanders they perform missions and report back to their chain of command. The chain of command starts with the Commander-in-Chief (the U. S. President) and works its way down to the lowest ranking private in the Army, Navy or Marine Corps. Within the military, the chain of command is a method for leading and communicating. In addition to being a chain of command within the officer ranks, one of the main purposes of the chain of command is to be the back bone of the NCO support channel. The discipline and order that the every branch maintains is what makes their branch the strongest in the world. From the moment you raise your hand and join the military you do as you are instructed at any time to complete any mission during the time allotted, once completed whoever at the time has to report back to the Chain of Command. The chain of command is extremely important. The importance of the chain of command is that it provides stability inside the work place for when incidents come about that need to be dealt with it sets up the structure for which you report all good and bad thing accidents, mistakes, tardiness, and anything that can allow the mission of the day to be slowed down. All incidents in essence are intended to be dealt with on the lowest level before it is brought up to highest personnel as well as other reason’s such as it helps build leadership, responsibility and common knowledge of how to run a stable work place. Such as the leadership aspect it helps people who are or would not normally be able to take control of situations and control how things are ran they can take control and help whoever it is with the problem When it works well. When it doesn’t work right, leadership is ineffective and some personnel end up doing other people’s jobs for them.

Essay on Toni Morrisons Beloved - How We Define Ourselves

How We Define Ourselves in Beloved The idea of how we define ourselves is a topic that has much force in the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. Two of the characters in the novel have strongly opposite ideas of defining their own â€Å"selves†. Baby Suggs displays a very healthy sense of self, completely based on only who she is as a person, and not relying on any other person to assist her in her definition. She is an independent person and loves her own â€Å"self† greatly. Sethe, on the other hand, has an unhealthy sense of self because who she is is strongly dependent on her interactions and relationships with her children. The above is excerpt is provided to indicate the focus of the essay. The complete essay begins below:†¦show more content†¦In addition, they too have been growing and learning in their own environment with different family members’ influences. Each of our own influences, in turn, influences others. From there, we again take in and learn what we can so we can make our own decisions on how to define our â€Å"selves†. Later, society influences our thoughts on who we are as people and our relation to the world as a whole. There is a constant norm that people try to assimilate to or diverge from. Society presents its own ideas of who we should be as people, and it is then our own job to take that information and do what we will with it to make our own definition for ourselves of who we are. Two things can happen when we are required to base our definition of â€Å"self† on others. One can take others’ ways of living and thinking, process them, a nd formulate his or her own definition, independent of anyone else. Or, one can use the relationships he or she has with other people on which to base their own definition of self, thus making him or her dependent on those other people. As young people, we learn and take in all we can through the world, our experiences, and relationships with other people. From there, we grow and establish our own identities, our own â€Å"selves†, in response to those interactions with others. This definition is continually growing and progressing as we evolve as people, interacting with different people in different environments andShow MoreRelated Toni Morrisons Beloved: Not a Story to be Passed On Essay example5432 Words   |  22 PagesToni Morrisons Beloved: Not a Story to be Passed On Beloved, Toni Morrisons Nobel Prize winning novel, is a masterfully written book in which the characters must deal with a past that perpetually haunts them.   This haunting, in the form of a twenty year old ghost named Beloved, not only stalks them in the spirit, but also in the flesh.   Beloved, both in story and in character hides the truth in simple ways and convinces those involved that the past never leaves, it only becomes part of whoRead More Remembering the Disremembered Essay4818 Words   |  20 Pagesfor, she cannot be lost because no one is looking for her, and even if they were, how can they call her if they dont know her name? Although she has claim, she is not claimed. In the place where long grass opens, the girl who waited to be loved and cry shame erupts into her separate parts, to make it easy for the chewing laughter to swallow her all away. It was not a story to pass on. - Toni Morrison, Beloved To write history means giving dates their physiognomy. - Walter Benjamin