Work Group Performance And Satisfaction At Utp Management Essay

Work pigeonholing Performance And Satisfaction At Utp Management EssayFor the purposes of completing on my propound about operate on base, cognitive process and rapture, I was selecting my causeplace as a organization requirement to evaluate.My workplace is UTP. Base on references from www.utp.edu.my, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) was established on January 10, 1997. UTP offers a wide range of engineering and technology programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate directs complemented with a strong focus on Research and Development.Due to assess of performance and satisfaction of a work root word, I was selecting one of the UTPs de intermitment which is IT Mul snipdia Services Dept. or ITMS. Under ITMS dept, it has sub division called Information Technology and Facilities Operation, named as ITFO. Furthermore, ITFO has 3 work crowds which consist of Inventory Management, Deployment Production and IT help desk Training. These free radicals ar classified as Formal Groups and characterized as occupation Groups. on the whole the said themes attendant interdependence from to each one another(prenominal)wise as illustrated in insert 1.1.Figure 1.1 ITFO Work Group source UTP ITMS Dept.1.1 Explanation of work base, performance and satisfactionestablish on reference from Wikipedia.com, the definition of work free radical is a conference of people working together toward a common goal, also known as aworking free radical. Another definition of work group is a group which consists of two or more individual that moves primarily to share instruction and to make decision to help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility.Work group subscribe no need or opportunity to engage in collective work that requires joint effort. So their performance is merely the summation of each group members individual contri plainlyion. There is no imperative synergy that would create an overall level of performance that is greater than sum of the input. (Robbins, 2004)With regard to Group Behaviour Model which I will rarify later in this report, can troika members of a group towards developing outcomeive groups where it can improve performance and satisfaction of its members and ensure success of the organisation. impelling groups are groups that have originative ideas, accomplish their labors and can adaptto each changes. Group members will be more problematical with the group and goals of the organisation. As a manager, he or she need to see and assess the strategies required to develop effective groups in an organisation. Elements that need extra attention are those involving people, organisation and the appoint task/s. A extravagantly degree of understanding between the group attracter and his/her members also has a positive effect on the performance and satisfaction of group members.2.0 Five Components of GBM being practices from selected companyFigure 2.1 Group Behaviour Model. Source Robbins, S.P.(2 003)Group Behavior Model or GBM as illustrated on move into 2.1 are the main components which are influencing to the performance and satisfaction levels of groups. I will explain each components of GBM where the company being practices.2.1 An external condition is imposed on groupEvery work groups is influence by external conditions imposed by outside it. This external conditions take on organizations overall strategy, the structure of authority, formal regulations, resources, employees endurance process, performance appraisal and reward system, culture and workplace condition.organisational Strategy, typically, overall strategy of theorganizationis usually determinedby top management. Theyhave developedthe organizational goalsand how to achievethesegoals.For example,theycandirect theorganizationto reduce costs, improvequality, etc. Thesestrategiescanaffect thepower ofthe variousworking groups, particularly indeterminingthe resourcesneededtocarry out from them.For example, termin ation of contract to IT maintenance vendor and UTPs employees need to take over. This actionwill affect thework groupwhich willincreasetheiranxietyand further potential toimprovetheinternalconflict.The organization has the authority structures that define who reports to whom,who make decisions, and the types of decisions can be made by individuals or groups. This structure determines where a working group placed in a hierarchical organization, the formal leader of a group, and as well as formal affinitys between the groups.Organization established rules, procedures, policies, job descriptions and other forms formal regulations to quantityize the style of workers. The more rules formally applied to all workers, the more conformable and predictable behavior from them.Meanwhile, organizations resource much(prenominal) as money, time, materials, and other equipment have a major impact on group behavior. Some organizations have a lot of resources on which the employee obtained mode rn tools and equipment, sufficient and high quality. Organization with limited resources will affected of group activities.For employee selection process, A member of a work group is also a member of the organisation because the group is a part of the organisation. Accordingly, the criteria employed by the organisation for employee selection purposes will also be used to decide who becomes part of a group.Another variable that can affect all employees is the performance appraisal and reward system. The company provided specific, gainsay and doable goals. Reward will be granted to both(prenominal) individual and groups for their achievement. Since groups are part of a bigger organisation, the behaviour of group members are also influenced by the manner in which organizations appraise a accepted task that has been achieved and the kind of behavior that is rewarded.Each organization has their own culture in which it has defined standard behavior is acceptable and not acceptable to the employee. After a few months joining the organization, most employees will begin to understand the cultural practice in the organization. Group members are also part of the organization must follow dominant cultural practices of the organization although they have their own subculture. Subculture refers to a culture that certain only adopted by certain groups within the organization.Finally, work group behaviour is also influenced by the workplace condition where condition of the workplace as provided by the organisation. Physical layout of employees work space, the location of equipment, etc are provided with amicable work environment. All these can simultaneously be obstructions and opportunities for the interaction of work groups.2.2 Resources for Group MembersFigure 2.2 General resources available to group membersThe potential level of achievement of the group is dependent on the resources carried by each member of the group. In this section, we will discover at two source s generally highly significant, the ability of self and soulality characteristics.Personal Capability means the knowledge, skills and abilities that exist in an individual. A large part of the groups performance can be predicted by assessing the knowledge and skills that exist in each of its members. It is true, even though a group of get togetherers who are moderate, but because the dress hat coach, team spirit is high, they can finally beat a group of players much better. But this does not always happen. Evidence shows that there is a positive correlation between good interpersonal skills and group achievement. This refers to the management and resolution of conflict, co exertion in problem solving and communion skills. According to the ITFO group members, the manager has been selecting each member following their skill and capability.Manystudiesabout personality traits have shows thatthere isaclearrelationship between the characteristics personalityand attitudeandbehavior oft he group.The propertieshave apositive relationshipwith our culturealsoshoweda positive relationshipwith productivity, morale andclosenessorsolidaritygroups.These featuresalsoinclude featuressuch as easily hang out,take initiative,openness, andflexibility.On the other hand,negative featuressuch asauthoritarianism, dominant, andnotaccording tocustom (unconventionality)showeda negative relationshipwith productivity, moraleand the closeness ofthe group.Thesepersonality traitsaffectthe performance of thegroupby the waypeople interactwithothermembers ofthegroup.2.3 Group StructureThe working group has a structure that could form the behavior of group members. It also enables the majority of individual behavior and group performance groups described and predicted. The structure of the group include formal leadership, roles, norms, group status, group size, composition and the degree of closeness of the group. (Please refer Appendix for the main Group Structure and function of ITMS dept.)(a ) Formal Leadership some(prenominal) all work groups have a formal leader. ITMS dept has managers, supervisors, project leader and head of a particular committee such as ITFO. Leaders play an important role in the success of a group.(b) RolesEach member of a work group has his/her own role to play with a stack of expected behavior patterns accompanying his/her position and responsibilities within the group. It shew that, each person of ITFO have more than one role to play at any given time within his/her different groups. Beside of ITFO task, the members from level 2 and 1 (figure 1.1) have their main job such as computer lab administration.(c) NormsAll groups have established norms. These norms, which strongly influence work behavior was defined as acceptable standards of behavior. An effective work group will establish norms on quality, punctuality, absenteeism, safety, honesty in giving ideas and others.(d) Group StatusStatus is a socially defined position or rank given to gro ups or group members by others. Awarding of status can influence the behavior of groups. ITFO practicing the title hold of the workgroups leaders are depending of staff straddle such as grade ST3 in level 2 and ST2 and ST1 at level 1 (figure 1.1).(e) Group SizeSmaller groups are more productive than larger ones. On the other hand, larger groups deal better with problem solving since more ideas are put forth. ITFO is a small group that consists of 3 to 6 members of each workgroups.(f) Group CompositionMost group of ITMS and ITFO have their skill and knowledge. When the group consistsof various personalities gender, age, education level and experiences, the greater the chances are for that group to accomplish its task successfully. nonuniform groups are more effective compared with homogeneous ones because they possess more abilities, skills, and information as a result of having members from a variety of backgrounds.However, it is also worth noting that both heterogeneous and homo geneous groups have their own strengths and weaknesses.(g) CohesivenessITFO workgroups are differ in their level of cohesiveness, which is the degree of members being attracted to each other and are make to stay in the group. For instance, some work groups are cohesive because the members have spent a great deal of time together, the groups small size facilitates high interaction or the group has experienced external threats, which has resulted in its members becoming very close. Cohesiveness is important since it has proven to be positive towards the productivity of a group.2.4 Group ProcessesFigure 2.3 General resources available to group membersWhen the working group in which each member contributions are not clear, there is a magnetic inclination for individuals to reduce effort. In other words, social loafing describes the loss of certain processes as a result the group. However, the processes also can produce results positive such as the group could produce output exceeds in put used. Heterogeneous group are potential to generate various creative alternatives. Figure 2.3 and 2.4 illustrated the resource of group members and effects of group process.Figure 2.4 Effects of group processes. Source Adapted from Robbins (2003).2.5 Group TaskTasks can be classified as either easy or complex. A standard task or routine is usually simple. A complex task is usually unusual as not in the norm and is seldom carried out. With simple or routine, group members simply need to follow the standard procedure in performing the task without the need to dispute the alternatives. Similarly, group members need to interact more often if the degree of task dependency is high. Group performance relies on effective communication and minimum level of conflict among members.3.0 Evaluation of the 5 components of GBM in UTP organizationAll evaluation findings are based on personal interview and observation from the members of the ITFO work group (figure 1.1). The evaluations resulte d were obtained without difficulties because selected company is my workplace and I am one of the members of ITFO work group. These are the evaluations findings based on the GBM model3.1 An external condition is imposed on group.a) organizational Strategy Overall strategy of theorganizationis usuallydetermined by top management. Theyhavedevelopedthe organizational goalsandhowto achievethese goals.For example,UTP has reduced costs of operation instead of hired outsource to organized convocation ceremony by build a certain group to handle it. ITFO group is formed to support such event directly.b) Authority structures Is defined who reports to whom, who make decisions, and the types of decisions are clearly stated to groups members. This structure was clean-cut to ITFO to follow hierarchical organization (figure 1.1), the formal leader of a group, and as well as formal relationships between the groups. UTP has established standard rules, procedures, policies, job descriptions and o ther forms.c) Formal Regulations UTP has employee regulation and personal conduct which is cleared to all employees. Its help to the company to determine group behaviour.d) Organizations Resource It found that, money is the major concern need to pay attention. such as when group request budget which is required from the task like purchase high end computer to accelerate particular job, it always take longer time to approve. Thus, activities of the group will effect.e) Employee Selection Process ITFO has selected member to enter the group is within UTPs staff and recommended by ITMS managers.f) Performance Appraisal and Reward System. The UTP management provides specific, challenging and achievable goals such as, become Research University in 2013 and also practiced cleared mention about Performance Appraisal and Reward System. Behavior of group members is influence by the manner in which organizations appraise a certain task that has been achieved and the kind of behavior that i s rewarded.g) Culture. The ITFO followed the UTP standard culture which has no obstacle to be effective work group. All members are Muslim and also most of UTP Top management. Thus, culture is same among them.h) Workplace Condition UTP has provided better and amicable employees work environment. The opportunity for the interaction for the all work groups is excellence.3.2 Resources for Group Membersa) Personal Capability- According to the ITFO group members, the manager has been selecting each member following their skill and capability. For example, group of IT helpdesk and Training (figure 1.1) is consist of capable members who are able to develop System Helpdesk and maintain. They have strong programming language.b) Personality Traits ITFO manager and supervisor which are support level and level 3 (figure 1.1) has determined each members from level 2 and 1 are based on personality trait. For example of some members which have lack of communication skill are not really suitabl e in Deployment and Production which is required good communication skill to interact outside from the groups.3.3 Group Structure(a) Formal Leadership ITFO Leaders play an important role in the success of a group.(b) Roles Each member of a work group has their own role to play with a set of expected behavior patterns accompanying their position and responsibilities within the group. It found that, each person of ITFO have more than one role to play at any given time within their different groups. Beside of ITFO task, the members from level 2 and 1 (figure 1.1) have their main job such as computer lab administration. From the evaluation made, the level acceptance and satisfaction of tasks are moderate.(c) Norms In terms of quality, punctuality, absenteeism, safety, honesty in giving ideas and others, it was found the situations of all characteristic is fare, which means there are no big issue arise in the group.(d) Group Size It found that, the ITFO group size is acceptable to th e tasks requirement.(e) Group Composition All group members of ITMS and ITFO have their skill and knowledge. It consists of various personalities gender, age, education level and experiences. Heterogeneous groups such ITFO IT Helpdesk and Deployment groups are more effective compared with homogeneous such as Inventory Management sub group because they possess more abilities, skills, and information as a result of having members from a variety of backgrounds. However, each group members have their own strengths and weaknesses.(f) Cohesiveness It found that, cohesiveness among ITFO is excellence because they interact well each other and the tasks given which is interrelated flows effectively. For example, the IT Helpdesk assigned task such as troubleshoot customer (lecturer) computer problem to the Deployment Production group. The result found they are easily interacts each other without conflict.3.4 Group ProcessesITFO work group has formed base on decision made from Support Leve l and Level 3 in figure 1.1. The main objective is to accelerate and give better IT Media services to UTP organisation. Based on the result since a year ITFO been established, effectiveness of the work group is still being monitored by ITMS manager. Support level has claimed that, there is positive movement in terms of efficiency of task given. For example, Deployment Production group (figure 1.1) has given task on migration of new computer laboratory instead of the custodian of the laboratory do their own migration which is consumed longer time and more effort.3.5 Group TaskResult from the findings, it found, with a simple or routine task, group members did well in term of follow the standard procedure in performing the task without the need to discuss the alternatives such as, how to log user problem in the Helpdesk system or how to install MS Office to the user computer. Similarly, group members have interact more often if the degree of task dependency is high. For example, ava ilable version of software like MATLAB cant be installed to the new OS computer. Thus, ITFO work group (inventory management and Deployment group) need to work together to find alternative and decision have to be made. Group performance of ITFO is having effective communication and minimum level of conflict among members.4.0 Workgroups Performance and SatisfactionBased on the Group Behavior Model which I was elaborated above, can lead members of a group towards developing effective groups where it can improve performance and satisfaction of its members and ensure success of the organisation.From the findings, ITFO it closely to be an effective group due to the creative ideas among members, accomplish their tasks and can adapt to any changes such as IT revolution. As a IT manager on Support level in figure 1.1, he was able to see and assess the strategies required to develop effective groups in an organization. For example, he encourages the workgroups member to attend suitable train ing to particular area of their expertise such as inventory management system to the inventory management workgroup.Nevertheless, the level 3 (figure 1.1) need extra attention in cohesiveness affaire to their subordinate group which resulted less cohesiveness. Then, a degree of understanding between the group leader and his/her members is moderate. For example, biasness occurred and favorable practices. If the situation can be spurn, positive effect on the performance and satisfaction of group members will increase.5.0 Conclusion and Recommendation to improve performance and satisfactionFrom the findings, it concluded that, better GBM approaches from selected company can lead members of a group towards developing effective groups where it can improve performance and satisfaction of its members and ensure success of the organization. External condition imposed on the group such as better performance appraisal and reward system is the most concerned into effectiveness of the work g roup performance and satisfaction.These are the 3 recommendations on how to improve performance satisfaction from the selected companya) The performance appraisal and reward system from the company can be said stated clearly, but the result at the end is not the same of what members group has expected. Thus, misjudge about performance evaluation of the particular group must be eliminate and required accuracy.b) Cohesiveness of superior and support level 3 (figure 1.1) to their subordinate group members must be strength. According to Robbins (2004) Cohesiveness is importance because it has been found to be related to the groups productivity. To strengthen cohesiveness, the leader must frequently meet groups member such as conduct meeting twice a month, or involved external activity such as team building and sport event.c) From the findings, group task of each work group is claimed to be bias from certain member. For example, Deployment Production work group perceived that their ta sk load is heavy compared to Inventory Management. Thus, leader must clearly state about task sequestration and be balanced to each work groups member due to workgroup productivity and job satisfaction.Total number of words 3387ReferencesDr. Faizuniah Pangil, Dr. Fais Ahmad, Dr. Ooi Yeng Keat, Hanisah A. Razak, NaslinaZakaria, Zulufli Aziz, Ruhana Busu, Assoc Prof Dr. Husna Johari (2010). BBGO4103 Organisational Behaviour. (2nd Edition). Meteor Doc. Sdn. Bhd. Selangor Darul Ehsan.Robbins, Stephen P (2003). Organizational Behavior (10th ed.). Pearson Educational,Incorporated.Schermerhorn, J.R., Hunt, J. G., Osborn, R. N. (2003). Organizational Behavior(8th ed.). USA Wiley, John Sons, Incorporated.Collela, A., Hitt, M., Miller, C. (2006). Organisational behaviour A strategicapproach. USA John Wiley Sons, Inc.Whai is workgroup. (n.d). Retrieved March 3, 2011, fromhttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workgroup

Barriers to Dutch Infrastructural Project Planning

Barriers to Dutch Infrastructural Project intendInter exerciseive be after of Dutch infrastructural contriveA shimmy- exposition of Mainport Schiphol and the A12 national free counsellingInteractive Planning of Sustainability1. unveilingSince the beginning of the 90s, the put onation of parvenu infrastructural projects in The Nether destroys became increasingly hassleatic. Related environmental smformer(a)s had a lot of societal attention. The Dutch Ministry of Transport, earth kit and caboodle and Water Management, amenable for maintaining a high quality of mobility in the Netherlands, identified three major(ip) problems with earlier attempts to solve the infrastructural problems little social borrowing for new projects, procedures for realizing new projects withalk too long, and the proposed solutions were non re every last(predicate)y original and ofttimes to a greater extent of the same. For declaration these problems, this Ministry of Transport, mankind Works and Water Management proposed a change from top-down conclusiveness qualification to a to a greater extent open and synergetic random variable of insurance policy making for cookery, developing, and implementing new infrastructure (Enthoven and de Rooij, 1996). With interactive policy making, the main goal is to have more creative and effective pictures, by involving exclusively guessholders like citizens, (local and/or national) governments and experts.For this paper, 2 cases ar selected, related to a Dutch infrastructure issue and dealt with on an interactive way Mainport Schiphol near Amsterdam and the A12 national pictureway near The Hague. The first wiz is selected because of its elaborated comment in Susskind et al. (1999), its high point of complexity and the incident the outcomes were f jobly irrefutable, the second atomic number 53 is selected excessively because of its suitable description in Glasbergen en Driessen (2005), hardly if with a more stra ight-forward problem definition and its positive outcomes. Discussing these both Dutch cases, we entrust counselling on cardinal particular issues, related to interactive proviso and often controverted in literature musician selection, berth and rise to power, Roles of facilitators, and practise of k right awayledge. Although more critical issues bunghole be defined, like Roles op participants, Modes of evaluation and intent of outcomes by policy makers, only these quartet-spot atomic number 18 chosen because of the fact that these ar terminately discussed in the selected case-descriptions and these seemed to be crucial for the success of these cases.Chapter 2 provide discuss to each one critical issue shortly. Chapter 3 bequeath discuss the two cases in the light of the four different critical issues, and chapter 4 bequeath introduce a conclusion.To structure this look into the following research chief is theorizeHow do the four critical issues (Participan t selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of association) contri howevere to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The Netherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)?2. Critical IssuesThis chapter will elaborate a bit more nigh what is actu altogethery meant with the four different critical issues Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of cognition.2.1 Participant selectionThe caput of which parties to involve is answered by a set of four considerations that should be taken into account when selecting the participants (De Bruijn et al., 2002). Firstly, parties with impede big billetman in the closing-making are meaning(a). Involving these parties in the sue whitethorn keep them from utilize their blocking power in ways that are unforeseen. Secondly, parties with productive power should be part of the dress on. These parties will actu whollyy have to implement the decisions that are taken, and can influence the decision making with their control over the productive resources. Thirdly, parties that have an interest in the decision-making should be considered. These are parties that do not have substantial power in the decision making make (like blocking power or resources), save stock-still are confronted with the outcomes of the conference mathematical operation and therefore can provide important incourseation and moral considerations. Fin in in ally, this moral aspect of decision-making can by a nisuser to invite certain parties to trades union the operation. Moral and ethical considerations can be important to embody the voice of those who are affected by the potential decision, but are not invited to the assist for different reasons (De Bruin, 2002).2.2 Power and admission priceOne of the key goals of interactive policy making is that it should reduce the influence of dominant elites and modify the less powerful radicals to give input. Those parties or actors, who do not have access to variantal decision-making buttes or who cannot exert enough influence by the way of discussion and dialog are more likely to initiate legal proceedings. customarys ability to participate in decisions can be assessed gibe to three elements (as defined at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992) access to information, access to the decision-making butt against, and access to remediation or change decision. These three elements will shortly be explained below.Access to information can be seen as the first foundation of access and also one of the virtually passive forms of access seen from the perspective of the public. With access to information is meant the ability the public has to easily get access to forms of germane(predicate) information in which they are directly or indirectly involved, such as environmental jounce assessments, reports from industries roughly their emissions etc. But o ne also can think approximately getting informed about potential relevant activities, which possibly can affect the publics environment.Access to the decision-making workes wants to give the public a more active role. Once this form of access is attained, one can even speak of a certain form of power. One must not focus on only the luck to provide input on specialized subjects, but also the ability to influence more general decisions, such as the making of new laws or national policies.Access to redress or change a certain decision is also related to a form of power, since the ability to change a certain decision gives a citizen the power to influence the decision-making process. This form of access can be translated into making judicial or administrative remedies accessible to the public, when officials disclose to do their work in a proper manner (Mock et al., 2003).2.3 Roles of facilitatorsThe roles that a facilitator can play in base decision processes constitute of consist ent packages of specific projections within the group process combined with a more general attitude towards the group members and the process. In literature, three major roles of a facilitator are usually distinguished a role as process architect or process manager, a mediating role and a convening role.As a process architect, the facilitator lays down the backbone of the group process. The process should be structured in such a way that all relevant insights from the participants will play a role in the process. Four hollow principles for designing a group process can be discriminated openness, protection of core honor, speed and substance (De Bruijn et al., 2002). These four core elements of process design should be included and safeguarded in any process design in mold to remunerate all the participants. The facilitator focuses on the process so that group members can focus on the substance and can suggest different ways of discussing problems, ensuring that all group memb ers can freely express there comments and are free of any abuses of power or personal attack (Susskind et al., 1999).Especially in environmental issues, the interests, values and problem perceptions of different parties whitethorn often be far apart form each other. With such abundant-mouthed contrasts of interest within the group, a facilitator often is faced with disputes and conflicts within the group process, that are hard to solve with mere changes in the structure of the process. In such case, the role of the facilitator can be very closely related with a mediating role in which the facilitator is mediating between parties, even to establish a general structure of the process. In addition, an outdoor(a) mediator can be asked to solve the conflicts. An external mediator is a neutral person that specializes in solving disputes between different participants in the group process, often using a variety of negotiation techniques and (psychological) methods of reframing problems and solutions (Acland, 1995).In a convening role, the facilitator has a say in which parties should be involved in the group process, and at what roles they will have. The convening role of a facilitator is sometimes not far apart from the role that a facilitator has as a process designer.Proper management of a group decisions process all the way has a very import influence on the effectiveness of that process. The facilitator can influence that process to quit a large extent. The consensus of all group members on the concluding decision depends for a large part on the level of agreement within the group with the approach that facilitators takes in structuring and managing the process.2.4 Role of acquaintance experience is a crucial ingredient of interactive cooking. However, the significance of the use of acquaintance depends on ones ken. Over the years, the view on the role of knowledge has changed. The rational actor model has gradually been replaced by adaptive decision a nd learning strategies interacting with the environment. in front, planning would be perceived as proceeding in an not bad(p) and linear fashion (Friend Hickling, 2005). Today some authors advance that knowledge is a offspring of collective social processes. This implies that knowledge is a social construct, rather than an accusative entity. In the new approach, linear progression of the process is seen as unrealistic. Instead, the uniqueness, ambiguity and unpredictability of real world processes are emphasized. With the credit rating that planning is an interactive and communicative process, the notion of the interrelationship between expert and experiential knowledge has find more and more crucial. Interactive planning is now seen as organized rituals where deliberating participants get wind to one another, search for new options and learn to lift new ways of going on together (Khakee et al., 2000).3. Case descriptionFor a complete description of each of the two cases, see appendix 1 and 2. This section will only discuss the previously mentioned four critical issues related to interactive policy making (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge), related to the experiences of these two cases.3.1 Mainport SchipholSchiphol airdrome is situated in a exceedingly urbanized area, and deals with national, Continental and world-wide air traffic. Although its heraldic bearing is causing many stress on its environmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to lead, so it can act as a hub for Continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake on national level an sparing one (because an hypertrophied Schiphol would incr simmpleness economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol will cause an increase of nuisances of noise, pollution, and safety). These two opposite interests caused a stalemate to occur since the 1950s. In the 1980s, one of the government authorities took the initiative to change the common way of working and activated the policy network, to address the issues (Driessen, 1999).3.1.1 Participant selectionThe most important actor in this case was the Dutch Government, who do the prefigured decision to expand the airport into an international hub. All other participants had to find their win-win outcomes within this context of maturemental growth. From the beginning, non-homogeneous government organisations have been involved in the development of Schiphol Airport. The main players are three ministries. The ministry of Transport and Public Works is by far the most important actor, responsible for the economic development of the airport as intumesce as the abatement of noise nuisance. Second, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment is also involved, responsible for physical planning in The Netherlands and implementing policies regarding the rest of the environmental effects of the activities of the airline industries, namely air pollution, stench and hazard. Finally, the Ministry of economical personal matters plays and important role, pursuing gain economic development in the region of Schiphol (Driessen, 1999).Lower tiers of governments involved were the province of North Holland, responsible for environmental policy and planning for the region, and the municipalities surrounding the airport, both eud contractoniaing (by change magnitude employment and tax-incomes) and enduring the aggravation (caused by noise, stench, air pollution, and other activities that degrade the environment) of having the airport close by. The municipality of Haarlemmermeer is a special case, because this municipality is accepted to create a land use plan for the airfield. Additionally, two enterprises play a crucial role NV Luchthaven Schiphol (operating the airport and completely state have) and KLM (the major Dutch carrier and partly owned by the state) (Driessen, 1999).Because the Ministry of Transport and Public Works occupied a pivotal position, being both responsible for the economic development of Schiphol and the abatement of noise nuisance, it was concord that noise regulation would be regulated by the Aviation Act, which was under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works. Nevertheless, little actions were made to reduce noise nuisance, because all participants believed that technical solutions would solve all noise-problems in the near future. Because no agreement could be made between these participants on how lots the airport should be allowed to grow, or how to tackle the environmental problems, the Dutch government asked the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment to make an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. In the following process, a project group and a counselling deputation were establ ished. The guidance committee was composed out of all above-mentioned parties, while the project group contained all interest groups. Any troupe with interest in the case could centre the project group (Driessen, 1999). base on the case-description and related to the four considerations describe in section 2.1, it must be concluded that parties with blocking and productive power were impregnablely involved in the interactive planning process, by joining the command committee. Other parties with interest were also involved, by joining the project group, but their influence was relatively small. If parties were involved, found on moral considerations, does not become clear from this case-description.3.1.2 Power and accessThe three different Governmental agencies (the ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs) with jurisdictional authority over airport expansion, had accepted the mandat e for airport expansion, but each with more at stake than achieving this outcome. Interagency rivalry and power contend a critical part in the positions the ministries adopted and the coalitions they build during negotiations. The creation of a project group composed of all interest groups and of a steering committee of essential power brokers gave much power to the steering committee alone. From the case description, it does not become clear that the members of the steering committee, who were eventually excluded from the decision-making, were those who could not benefit in a win-win situation, or were simply not powerful enough to block or advance progress. Nevertheless, the exclusion of interests cannot pass off to a win-win solution and has encountered difficulties construct consensus and achieving compliance (Driessen, 1999).Based on the case-description and related to the three elements described in section 2.2, it must be concluded that Access to information does not form an obstacle. Perhaps the overload on information and the opposed and contradicting information gave bigger problems. The public was presumptuousness some access to the decision-making process when they joint the project group, by commenting the ideas of the steering committee. However, the steering committee made all last-place decisions, so there was certainly no access to redress or change a decision.3.1.3 Roles of facilitatorAfter the develop deadlock between the initially participants, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was made primary responsible for the task of making an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. The fact that this ministry had a strong affiliation with environmental issues raised initial perplexity among the other governmental bodies. They wondered whether this ministry would be able to take a neutral position in the ensuing discussions. However, their initial prudence soon gave way to a realistic attitude, and actively joined the process (Driessen, 1999).The Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment designed an organizational example for the discussion whereby the organise approach would be given a concrete form by activating the policy network. With this, the ministry acquired a dual function in the project, because it was the convenor, chair and facilitator of the planning process, and had to secure the input of environmental interest in the decision-making (Driessen, 1999).In the initial stage, the strategy of the project leaders of the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was to bring the various parties closer together by conducting investigations and exchanging information, assuming that this might contribute to a better understanding and more appreciation for each different standpoint. The was no lead for a professional facilitator, because all information was being collected, analyzed, and dissem inated in an orderly way, although a professional facilitator could have helped structuring the problem. At the end of this stage, the project leaders conjecture a plan, which could not be released because of the rain of criticism it caused (Driessen, 1999).Because of this setback, the project leaders pertinacious to recruit a professional facilitator, with the task not to increase the egress of information, but to let parties desire to digest what they had and to arrive at a decision. From the case-description, it does not become clear if this facilitator had staff support and whether he/she had analytical, problem solving skills. The approach taken by the facilitator was aimed at bringing the main bottlenecks to the fore, in order to reach agreements at least on key points. The approach was characterized by the creation of a strong interaction between the project group and the steering committee. The later reviewed the issues that the project group had pared down in size, and either authorise the solutions offered by the project group or send them back to the project group for reconsideration (Driessen, 1999).After this process, the facilitator presented the choices made by the project group and the steering committee to the public. The central aim of this was, to gain social and political legitimacy the plan was opened up to the public discussion and the reactions were taken into account in the final version. Unfortunately, the public was scarce informed about the process preceding the plan and therefore it was generally received with great suspicion. Adding to this, the public discussion did not proceeded in a interconnected fashion, but each government resorted to its own method of public discussion. At the same time of these public hearings, the facilitator had to focus on the steering committee, because each party could take criticism of the plan as a lever to reopen discussion on subjects already discussed. At the end, the facilitator wrote the final text of the plan, shaping the final agreements also including the difficult topics of a reduction of noise nuisance and hazard (Driessen, 1999).From this description of the facilitator, it becomes clear that the facilitator had both the role of process architect, and mediator. The facilitator designed the entire framework of decision-making and mediated when problems occurred. If the facilitator also had a convening role is unclear. Which stakeholders could join the steering committee was already decided before the facilitator got involved. How actually the project group was formed, be unclear from this case-description.3.1.4 Role of knowledgeEspecially in issues related to airfield, experts disagree on numerous crucial uncertainties. This makes the role of knowledge both important but not of the same tenor. Research plays a key role in these controversies. This relates to research on, for instance, the need to build a new airport or expand the existing one, it may concern th e most desirable infrastructure in and close to the airport, it may deal with the profitability of operation, it may investigate the economic impact of the airport, or it may consider possible negative effects on the environment. However, this research must never be judged as prey and will everlastingly play a role in the conflict of interest, expressed in this case, in the frequency of requested second opinions (Driessen, 1999).In the case of noise nuisance, it took long time to be acknowledged as a problem and to find a way of calculating the level of distress. In the mid-1960s, a system was developed to measure noise nuisance, but no agreement could be made on how it should be applied. For instance, there was discussion about how to determine the threshold value for maximum admissible noise nuisance. Furthermore, options differ on setting a specific norm for night flights. The disagreement revolves around the degree to which departing and arriving airplanes disturb the stay o f nearby residents, and whether such disruption is detrimental to public health. There was also uncertainty about, the rate air traffic would increase, and the degree to which technical developments in astronautics could help reduce noise levels by changing the aircrafts design (Driessen, 1999).Therefore, as also stated in section 2.4, knowledge is very important in decision-making processes, but as these processes get more interaction with a broad scale of actors, knowledge becomes more a result of collective social processes and loses its objective entity. From this case-description, it does not become explicitly clear if the decisions were based on knowledge provided by experts or that it was formed in an interactive learning process. Implicitly, one could state that the agreement on noise nuisances could only have been established, when such interactive knowledge development occurred.3.2 A12 national expresswayThe ease of accessibility of The Hague depends to a large extent on t he A12 national expressway. Its final 30 km stretch is marked by many access and upshot ramps, and the intensity of traffic in this area has increased dramatically in recent decades. This is partly thanks to the enormous increase in the volume of vehicular traffic, and partly to the proliferation of new urban development locations around The Hague. Much of the traffic is destination traffic which enters the city in the morning and leaves at night. As a result of the higher volumes, over-crowding became a big problem (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).3.2.1 Participant selectionThe planning agency initially saw itself as the owner of the problem at stake and formulated a classical solution of road widening. This approach failed because of public resistance and of a budget problem at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Because of this, the ministry stepped back, which un-deliberately created opportunities for other parties to take initiative. The government aut horities of The Hague took the initiative to develop a new architecture for interaction among the different stakeholders. They organized a public dialog and a series of workshops involving local politicians and cloistered businesses from the region, resulting in a new definition of the problem, focussing on the underutilization of existing capacity. The role of the planning agency changed from orchestrator of the infrastructure project to a partner in the wider regional consultation on issues of mobility and livability. They also made subsidies available to the business community, enabling them to work out individual, sometimes innovative, mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).Before concluding the analysis of participant selection in this case, the fact that there were no objections to the planes made by this interactive planning-process is believably the best evidence that all relevant stakeholders were included in the process. Nevertheless, from the case-description an d related to the four considerations described in section 2.1, it does not become clear how all relevant stakeholders were defined, if all parties with blocking and productive power were added to the process, or if parties with moral and ethical considerations were included.3.2.2 Power and accessThis case can bee described as a restricted interactive process, because it was think to promote the cooperation of public authorities with the private sector. Civic organizations and individual citizens were unplowed informed through a public relations center. The governmental authorities of The Hague decided which stakeholders were included in the process. Despite this fact, no opposition to this project did arise (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).The access to information was well looked after, in the form of the public relations center. They kept civic organizations and individual citizens informed about the plans and progress. More power was not given to the public in this case.3.2.3 Rol es of facilitatorIn order to link the government agencies (where the plans were developed), and the business community, a godfather was appointed. This honour was given to the director of the public transport company in the region, and he served as a meet between the project and the private sector. He kept all relevant firms informed about the development of the project and called these firms to task with respect to their responsibilities for the regions accessibility, by reminding them that they might be lagging behind other firms in the development of their mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).From the case-description, it must be concluded that the government authorities of The Hague acted as a convener, initially selecting the different stakeholders. Facilitating the process and mediating in conflicts were partly done by the godfather and partly by the government authorities of The Hague. The precise division of responsibilities does not become clear from the case-des cription.3.2.4 Role of knowledgeAccording to this case-description, it was the government agencies of The Hague who decided what knowledge was used in the decision process. The only organization consulted for information was the planning agency, also participating in the planning process (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).Although knowledge is crucial in interactive planning (see section 2.4), the role of knowledge in this case is not very big. This probably has two reasons. One is the relative simple problem at stake (congestion) and secondly the fact that all parties agreed on the bailiwick of the relevant knowledge. Nevertheless, the fact that only one party provided the relevant knowledge could potentially have caused major problems afterwards.4. ConclusionThis research started with the question How do the four critical issues (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge) contribute to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The N etherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)? How each metre added to the success of the case is described at the end of each subsection in chapter 3. Overall, it can be concluded that the success of interactive planning depends on the care each criterion is taken care of. If one of these criteria is neglected, it will be reflected in the outcomes. If, for example, participants are forgotten, power is not distributed evenly, facilitators are not adequate, or knowledge is not as objective as possible, the process will take much longer time and the change of good end-results and thus consensus will diminish. Both cases make clear that solutions were impossible to reach in the traditional way of policy making and that interactive policy making contributed to good end results. Nevertheless, in future corresponding processes, more attention should be given to the four discussed critical issues, and probably to the seven mentioned in the introduction. Only than, the rat e of success of these kind of processes will increase.ReferencesAcland, A.F. 1995. resolving power Disputes without going to Court. London, Century argument Books.Bruijn, H. de, E. ten Heuvelhof and R.J. in t Veld. 2002. Process management Why Project Management Fails in Complex decision making Processes. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers.Driessen, P. 1999. Activating a Policy Network The Case of Mainport Schiphol. in Susskind et al., 1999, The Consensus Building Handbook A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement.Enthoven, G.M.W. and A. de Rooij. 1996. InfraLab Impuls voor open planvorming en creativiteit.Bestuurskunde, Vol. 5, Issue 8, p. 1-8.Friend, J. and A. Hickling. 2004. Planning under Pressure, The Strategic Choice Approach. Oxford, Buttorworth/Heinemann.Glasbergen, P. and P.J. Driessen. 2005. Interactive planning of infrastructure the changing role of Dutch project management. Environment and Planning C Government and Policy, Vol. 23, p. 263-277.Khakee A., A. Barban ente and D. Borri. 2000. Expert and experimental knowledge in planning. TheJournal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 51, No. 7, p. 776-788.Mock, G.A., W. Vanasselt, and E. Petkova. 2003. Rights and reality Monitoring the publics right to participate. international Journal of Occupational and environmental Health, Vol. 9, p. 4-13.Suzzkind, L.S., S. McKearan and J. Thomas-Larmer. 1999. The Consensus Building Handbook A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement. London, SAGE Publications.Appendix 1 Case sheet Mainport Schiphol(Driessen, 1999)1. sicInitiative several governmental ministriesTime period 1980-presentLevel of used policy process regional/nationalPhase in policy process in process2. accentThis case is about plans to expand Amsterdams Schiphol Airport and the disputes related to it. Schiphol Airport is situated in a highly urbanized area, and deals with national, continental and intercontinental air traffic. Although its presence is causing many stress on its env ironmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to expand, so it can act as a hub for continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake on national level an economic one (because an enlarged Schiphol Airport would increase economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol Airport will causBarriers to Dutch Infrastructural Project PlanningBarriers to Dutch Infrastructural Project PlanningInteractive planning of Dutch infrastructural projectA case-description of Mainport Schiphol and the A12 national expresswayInteractive Planning of Sustainability1. IntroductionSince the beginning of the 90s, the implementation of new infrastructural projects in The Netherlands became increasingly problematic. Related environmental issues had a lot of societal attention. The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, responsible for maintaining a high quality of mobility in the Nethe rlands, identified three major problems with earlier attempts to solve the infrastructural problems little social acceptance for new projects, procedures for realizing new projects took too long, and the proposed solutions were not really original and often more of the same. For solving these problems, this Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management proposed a change from top-down decision making to a more open and interactive form of policy making for planning, developing, and implementing new infrastructure (Enthoven and de Rooij, 1996). With interactive policy making, the main goal is to make more creative and effective plans, by involving all stakeholders like citizens, (local and/or national) governments and experts.For this paper, 2 cases are selected, related to a Dutch infrastructure issue and dealt with on an interactive way Mainport Schiphol near Amsterdam and the A12 national expressway near The Hague. The first one is selected because of its elaborated desc ription in Susskind et al. (1999), its high degree of complexness and the fact the outcomes were fairly positive, the second one is selected also because of its suitable description in Glasbergen en Driessen (2005), but with a more straight-forward problem definition and its positive outcomes. Discussing these two Dutch cases, we will focus on four critical issues, related to interactive planning and often discussed in literature Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge. Although more critical issues can be defined, like Roles op participants, Modes of evaluation and Use of outcomes by policy makers, only these four are chosen because of the fact that these are clearly discussed in the selected case-descriptions and these seemed to be crucial for the success of these cases.Chapter 2 will discuss each critical issue shortly. Chapter 3 will discuss the two cases in the light of the four different critical issues, and chapter 4 will give a co nclusion.To structure this research the following research question is formulatedHow do the four critical issues (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge) contribute to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The Netherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)?2. Critical IssuesThis chapter will elaborate a bit more about what is actually meant with the four different critical issues Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge.2.1 Participant selectionThe question of which parties to involve is answered by a set of four considerations that should be taken into account when selecting the participants (De Bruijn et al., 2002). Firstly, parties with blocking power in the decision-making are important. Involving these parties in the process may keep them from using their blocking power in ways that are unforeseen. Secondly, parties with productive power should be part of the p rocess. These parties will actually have to implement the decisions that are taken, and can influence the decision making with their control over the productive resources. Thirdly, parties that have an interest in the decision-making should be considered. These are parties that do not have substantial power in the decision making process (like blocking power or resources), but nevertheless are confronted with the outcomes of the group process and therefore can provide important information and moral considerations. Finally, this moral aspect of decision-making can by a reason to invite certain parties to join the process. Moral and ethical considerations can be important to embody the voice of those who are affected by the potential decision, but are not invited to the process for different reasons (De Bruin, 2002).2.2 Power and accessOne of the key goals of interactive policy making is that it should reduce the influence of dominant elites and enable the less powerful groups to giv e input. Those parties or actors, who do not have access to formal decision-making processes or who cannot exert enough influence by the way of discussion and negotiation are more likely to initiate legal proceedings. Publics ability to participate in decisions can be assessed according to three elements (as defined at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992) access to information, access to the decision-making process, and access to redress or change decision. These three elements will shortly be explained below.Access to information can be seen as the first foundation of access and also one of the most passive forms of access seen from the perspective of the public. With access to information is meant the ability the public has to easily get access to forms of relevant information in which they are directly or indirectly involved, such as environmental impact assessments, reports from industries about their emissions etc. But one also can think about getting informed about potential relevant activities, which possibly can affect the publics environment.Access to the decision-making processes wants to give the public a more active role. Once this form of access is attained, one can even speak of a certain form of power. One must not focus on only the opportunity to provide input on specific subjects, but also the ability to influence more general decisions, such as the making of new laws or national policies.Access to redress or change a certain decision is also related to a form of power, since the ability to change a certain decision gives a citizen the power to influence the decision-making process. This form of access can be translated into making judicial or administrative remedies accessible to the public, when officials fail to do their work in a proper manner (Mock et al., 2003).2.3 Roles of facilitatorsThe roles that a facilitator can play in group decision processes constitute of consistent packages of specific tasks within the group process combined with a more general attitude towards the group members and the process. In literature, three major roles of a facilitator are commonly distinguished a role as process architect or process manager, a mediating role and a convening role.As a process architect, the facilitator lays down the backbone of the group process. The process should be structured in such a way that all relevant insights from the participants will play a role in the process. Four core principles for designing a group process can be discriminated openness, protection of core values, speed and substance (De Bruijn et al., 2002). These four core elements of process design should be included and safeguarded in any process design in order to satisfy all the participants. The facilitator focuses on the process so that group members can focus on the substance and can suggest different ways of discussing problems, ensuring that all group members can freely express there co mments and are free of any abuses of power or personal attack (Susskind et al., 1999).Especially in environmental issues, the interests, values and problem perceptions of different parties may often be far apart form each other. With such large contrasts of interest within the group, a facilitator often is faced with disputes and conflicts within the group process, that are hard to solve with mere changes in the structure of the process. In such case, the role of the facilitator can be very closely related with a mediating role in which the facilitator is mediating between parties, even to establish a general structure of the process. In addition, an external mediator can be asked to solve the conflicts. An external mediator is a neutral person that specializes in solving disputes between different participants in the group process, often using a variety of negotiation techniques and (psychological) methods of reframing problems and solutions (Acland, 1995).In a convening role, the facilitator has a say in which parties should be involved in the group process, and at what roles they will have. The convening role of a facilitator is sometimes not far apart from the role that a facilitator has as a process designer.Proper management of a group decisions process clearly has a very import influence on the effectiveness of that process. The facilitator can influence that process to quit a large extent. The consensus of all group members on the final decision depends for a large part on the level of agreement within the group with the approach that facilitators takes in structuring and managing the process.2.4 Role of knowledgeKnowledge is a crucial ingredient of interactive planning. However, the significance of the use of knowledge depends on ones view. Over the years, the view on the role of knowledge has changed. The rational actor model has gradually been replaced by adaptive decision and learning strategies interacting with the environment. Before, planning wo uld be perceived as proceeding in an orderly and linear fashion (Friend Hickling, 2005). Today some authors state that knowledge is a result of collective social processes. This implies that knowledge is a social construct, rather than an objective entity. In the new approach, linear progression of the process is seen as unrealistic. Instead, the uniqueness, ambiguity and unpredictability of real world processes are emphasized. With the recognition that planning is an interactive and communicative process, the notion of the interrelationship between expert and experiential knowledge has become more and more crucial. Interactive planning is now seen as organized rituals where deliberating participants listen to one another, search for new options and learn to find new ways of going on together (Khakee et al., 2000).3. Case descriptionFor a complete description of each of the two cases, see appendix 1 and 2. This section will only discuss the previously mentioned four critical issues related to interactive policy making (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge), related to the experiences of these two cases.3.1 Mainport SchipholSchiphol Airport is situated in a highly urbanized area, and deals with national, continental and intercontinental air traffic. Although its presence is causing many stress on its environmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to expand, so it can act as a hub for continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake on national level an economic one (because an enlarged Schiphol would increase economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol will cause an increase of nuisances of noise, pollution, and safety). These two opposite interests caused a stalemate to occur since the 1950s. In the 1980s, one of the government authorities took the initiative to change the common way of working and activa ted the policy network, to address the issues (Driessen, 1999).3.1.1 Participant selectionThe most important actor in this case was the Dutch Government, who made the prefigured decision to expand the airport into an international hub. All other participants had to find their win-win outcomes within this context of developmental growth. From the beginning, various government organisations have been involved in the development of Schiphol Airport. The main players are three ministries. The ministry of Transport and Public Works is by far the most important actor, responsible for the economic development of the airport as well as the abatement of noise nuisance. Second, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment is also involved, responsible for physical planning in The Netherlands and implementing policies regarding the rest of the environmental effects of the activities of the airline industries, namely air pollution, stench and hazard. Finally, the Ministry of Econo mic Affairs plays and important role, pursuing further economic development in the region of Schiphol (Driessen, 1999).Lower tiers of governments involved were the province of North Holland, responsible for environmental policy and planning for the region, and the municipalities surrounding the airport, both benefiting (by increased employment and tax-incomes) and enduring the aggravation (caused by noise, stench, air pollution, and other activities that degrade the environment) of having the airport close by. The municipality of Haarlemmermeer is a special case, because this municipality is authorized to create a land use plan for the airfield. Additionally, two enterprises play a crucial role NV Luchthaven Schiphol (operating the airport and completely state owned) and KLM (the major Dutch carrier and partly owned by the state) (Driessen, 1999).Because the Ministry of Transport and Public Works occupied a pivotal position, being both responsible for the economic development of Sch iphol and the abatement of noise nuisance, it was agreed that noise regulation would be regulated by the Aviation Act, which was under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works. Nevertheless, little actions were made to reduce noise nuisance, because all participants believed that technical solutions would solve all noise-problems in the near future. Because no agreement could be made between these participants on how much the airport should be allowed to grow, or how to tackle the environmental problems, the Dutch government asked the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment to make an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. In the following process, a project group and a steering committee were established. The steering committee was composed out of all above-mentioned parties, while the project group contained all interest groups. Any party with interest in the case could join the project group (Driessen, 1999).Based on the case-description and related to the four considerations described in section 2.1, it must be concluded that parties with blocking and productive power were strongly involved in the interactive planning process, by joining the steering committee. Other parties with interest were also involved, by joining the project group, but their influence was relatively small. If parties were involved, based on moral considerations, does not become clear from this case-description.3.1.2 Power and accessThe three different Governmental agencies (the ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs) with jurisdictional authority over airport expansion, had accepted the mandate for airport expansion, but each with more at stake than achieving this outcome. Interagency rivalry and power played a critical part in the positions the ministries adopted and the coal itions they build during negotiations. The creation of a project group composed of all interest groups and of a steering committee of essential power brokers gave much power to the steering committee alone. From the case description, it does not become clear that the members of the steering committee, who were eventually excluded from the decision-making, were those who could not benefit in a win-win situation, or were simply not powerful enough to block or advance progress. Nevertheless, the exclusion of interests cannot lead to a win-win solution and has encountered difficulties building consensus and achieving compliance (Driessen, 1999).Based on the case-description and related to the three elements described in section 2.2, it must be concluded that Access to information does not form an obstacle. Perhaps the overload on information and the opposed and contradicting information gave bigger problems. The public was given some access to the decision-making process when they joint the project group, by commenting the ideas of the steering committee. However, the steering committee made all final decisions, so there was certainly no access to redress or change a decision.3.1.3 Roles of facilitatorAfter the developed deadlock between the initially participants, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was made primary responsible for the task of making an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. The fact that this ministry had a strong affiliation with environmental issues raised initial suspicion among the other governmental bodies. They wondered whether this ministry would be able to take a neutral position in the ensuing discussions. However, their initial wariness soon gave way to a realistic attitude, and actively joined the process (Driessen, 1999).The Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment designed an organizational framework for the discussion wher eby the coordinated approach would be given a concrete form by activating the policy network. With this, the ministry acquired a dual function in the project, because it was the convenor, chair and facilitator of the planning process, and had to secure the input of environmental interest in the decision-making (Driessen, 1999).In the initial stage, the strategy of the project leaders of the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was to bring the various parties closer together by conducting investigations and exchanging information, assuming that this might contribute to a better understanding and more appreciation for each different standpoint. The was no need for a professional facilitator, because all information was being collected, analyzed, and disseminated in an orderly way, although a professional facilitator could have helped structuring the problem. At the end of this stage, the project leaders formulated a plan, which could not be released because of the r ain of criticism it caused (Driessen, 1999).Because of this setback, the project leaders decided to recruit a professional facilitator, with the task not to increase the supply of information, but to let parties sought to digest what they had and to arrive at a decision. From the case-description, it does not become clear if this facilitator had staff support and whether he/she had analytical, problem solving skills. The approach taken by the facilitator was aimed at bringing the main bottlenecks to the fore, in order to reach agreements at least on key points. The approach was characterized by the creation of a strong interaction between the project group and the steering committee. The later reviewed the issues that the project group had pared down in size, and either approved the solutions offered by the project group or send them back to the project group for reconsideration (Driessen, 1999).After this process, the facilitator presented the choices made by the project group and the steering committee to the public. The central aim of this was, to gain social and political legitimacy the plan was opened up to the public discussion and the reactions were taken into account in the final version. Unfortunately, the public was hardly informed about the process preceding the plan and therefore it was generally received with great suspicion. Adding to this, the public discussion did not proceeded in a coordinated fashion, but each government resorted to its own method of public discussion. At the same time of these public hearings, the facilitator had to focus on the steering committee, because each party could take criticism of the plan as a lever to reopen discussion on subjects already discussed. At the end, the facilitator wrote the final text of the plan, shaping the final agreements also including the difficult topics of a reduction of noise nuisance and hazard (Driessen, 1999).From this description of the facilitator, it becomes clear that the facilitator had both the role of process architect, and mediator. The facilitator designed the entire framework of decision-making and mediated when problems occurred. If the facilitator also had a convening role is unclear. Which stakeholders could join the steering committee was already decided before the facilitator got involved. How actually the project group was formed, stays unclear from this case-description.3.1.4 Role of knowledgeEspecially in issues related to airfield, experts disagree on numerous crucial uncertainties. This makes the role of knowledge both important but not of the same tenor. Research plays a key role in these controversies. This relates to research on, for instance, the need to build a new airport or expand the existing one, it may concern the most desirable infrastructure in and around the airport, it may deal with the profitability of operation, it may investigate the economic impact of the airport, or it may consider possible negative effects on the environment. However, this research must never be judged as objective and will always play a role in the conflict of interest, expressed in this case, in the frequency of requested second opinions (Driessen, 1999).In the case of noise nuisance, it took long time to be acknowledged as a problem and to find a way of calculating the level of distress. In the mid-1960s, a system was developed to measure noise nuisance, but no agreement could be made on how it should be applied. For instance, there was discussion about how to determine the threshold value for maximum admissible noise nuisance. Furthermore, options differ on setting a specific norm for night flights. The disagreement revolves around the degree to which departing and arriving airplanes disturb the sleep of nearby residents, and whether such disruption is detrimental to public health. There was also uncertainty about, the rate air traffic would increase, and the degree to which technical developments in aeronautics could help reduce noi se levels by changing the aircrafts design (Driessen, 1999).Therefore, as also stated in section 2.4, knowledge is very important in decision-making processes, but as these processes get more interaction with a broad scale of actors, knowledge becomes more a result of collective social processes and loses its objective entity. From this case-description, it does not become explicitly clear if the decisions were based on knowledge provided by experts or that it was formed in an interactive learning process. Implicitly, one could state that the agreement on noise nuisances could only have been established, when such interactive knowledge development occurred.3.2 A12 national expresswayThe ease of accessibility of The Hague depends to a large extent on the A12 national expressway. Its final 30 km stretch is marked by many access and exit ramps, and the intensity of traffic in this area has increased dramatically in recent decades. This is partly thanks to the enormous increase in the v olume of vehicular traffic, and partly to the proliferation of new urban development locations around The Hague. Much of the traffic is destination traffic which enters the city in the morning and leaves at night. As a result of the higher volumes, congestion became a big problem (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).3.2.1 Participant selectionThe planning agency initially saw itself as the owner of the problem at stake and formulated a classical solution of road widening. This approach failed because of public resistance and of a budget problem at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Because of this, the ministry stepped back, which un-deliberately created opportunities for other parties to take initiative. The government authorities of The Hague took the initiative to develop a new architecture for interaction among the different stakeholders. They organized a public dialog and a series of workshops involving local politicians and private businesses from the reg ion, resulting in a new definition of the problem, focussing on the underutilization of existing capacity. The role of the planning agency changed from orchestrator of the infrastructure project to a partner in the wider regional consultation on issues of mobility and livability. They also made subsidies available to the business community, enabling them to work out individual, sometimes innovative, mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).Before concluding the analysis of participant selection in this case, the fact that there were no objections to the planes made by this interactive planning-process is probably the best evidence that all relevant stakeholders were included in the process. Nevertheless, from the case-description and related to the four considerations described in section 2.1, it does not become clear how all relevant stakeholders were defined, if all parties with blocking and productive power were added to the process, or if parties with moral and ethical con siderations were included.3.2.2 Power and accessThis case can bee described as a restricted interactive process, because it was intended to promote the cooperation of public authorities with the private sector. Civic organizations and individual citizens were kept informed through a public relations center. The governmental authorities of The Hague decided which stakeholders were included in the process. Despite this fact, no opposition to this project did arise (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).The access to information was well looked after, in the form of the public relations center. They kept civic organizations and individual citizens informed about the plans and progress. More power was not given to the public in this case.3.2.3 Roles of facilitatorIn order to link the government agencies (where the plans were developed), and the business community, a godfather was appointed. This honour was given to the director of the public transport company in the region, and he served as a contact between the project and the private sector. He kept all relevant firms informed about the development of the project and called these firms to task with respect to their responsibilities for the regions accessibility, by reminding them that they might be lagging behind other firms in the development of their mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).From the case-description, it must be concluded that the government authorities of The Hague acted as a convener, initially selecting the different stakeholders. Facilitating the process and mediating in conflicts were partly done by the godfather and partly by the government authorities of The Hague. The precise division of responsibilities does not become clear from the case-description.3.2.4 Role of knowledgeAccording to this case-description, it was the government agencies of The Hague who decided what knowledge was used in the decision process. The only organization consulted for information was the planning agency, als o participating in the planning process (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005).Although knowledge is crucial in interactive planning (see section 2.4), the role of knowledge in this case is not very big. This probably has two reasons. One is the relative simple problem at stake (congestion) and secondly the fact that all parties agreed on the content of the relevant knowledge. Nevertheless, the fact that only one party provided the relevant knowledge could potentially have caused major problems afterwards.4. ConclusionThis research started with the question How do the four critical issues (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge) contribute to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The Netherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)? How each criterion added to the success of the case is described at the end of each subsection in chapter 3. Overall, it can be concluded that the success of interactive planning depends o n the care each criterion is taken care of. If one of these criteria is neglected, it will be reflected in the outcomes. If, for example, participants are forgotten, power is not distributed evenly, facilitators are not adequate, or knowledge is not as objective as possible, the process will take much longer time and the change of good end-results and thus consensus will diminish. Both cases make clear that solutions were impossible to reach in the traditional way of policy making and that interactive policy making contributed to good end results. Nevertheless, in future comparable processes, more attention should be given to the four discussed critical issues, and probably to the seven mentioned in the introduction. Only than, the rate of success of these kind of processes will increase.ReferencesAcland, A.F. 1995. Resolving Disputes without going to Court. London, Century Business Books.Bruijn, H. de, E. ten Heuvelhof and R.J. in t Veld. 2002. Process management Why Project Manage ment Fails in Complex decision making Processes. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers.Driessen, P. 1999. Activating a Policy Network The Case of Mainport Schiphol. in Susskind et al., 1999, The Consensus Building Handbook A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement.Enthoven, G.M.W. and A. de Rooij. 1996. InfraLab Impuls voor open planvorming en creativiteit.Bestuurskunde, Vol. 5, Issue 8, p. 1-8.Friend, J. and A. Hickling. 2004. Planning Under Pressure, The Strategic Choice Approach. Oxford, Buttorworth/Heinemann.Glasbergen, P. and P.J. Driessen. 2005. Interactive planning of infrastructure the changing role of Dutch project management. Environment and Planning C Government and Policy, Vol. 23, p. 263-277.Khakee A., A. Barbanente and D. Borri. 2000. Expert and experimental knowledge in planning. TheJournal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 51, No. 7, p. 776-788.Mock, G.A., W. Vanasselt, and E. Petkova. 2003. Rights and reality Monitoring the publics right to participate. In ternational Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, Vol. 9, p. 4-13.Suzzkind, L.S., S. McKearan and J. Thomas-Larmer. 1999. The Consensus Building Handbook A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement. London, SAGE Publications.Appendix 1 Case sheet Mainport Schiphol(Driessen, 1999)1. PositionInitiative several governmental ministriesTime period 1980-presentLevel of used policy process regional/nationalPhase in policy process in process2. BackgroundThis case is about plans to expand Amsterdams Schiphol Airport and the disputes related to it. Schiphol Airport is situated in a highly urbanized area, and deals with national, continental and intercontinental air traffic. Although its presence is causing many stress on its environmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to expand, so it can act as a hub for continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake on national level an economic one (because an enlarged Schiphol Airport would increase economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol Airport will caus

Central Michigan University Leadership Competency Model Education Essay

primordial Michigan University Leadership Competency Model Education EssayLeadership qualities, whether natural or nurtured, are distinctive edges that assortediate individual. Every individual possesses certain drawship possible but vary in the degree of actualization. Thus, to be a non bad(predicate) loss leader, the increment of leadership should be a continuous process that has to be constantly measured, reviewed and marched at to ensure that the priority of action is beneficial in the desire term. In this report, I give measure my leadership potential and develop a leadership development plan by evaluating my current traits in comparing to the leadership development model chosen, and seek feedback from a personal mentor. With greater self-awareness and wider perspective, I will outline phase of action needed to attain greater opportunities and future career growth.Central Michigan University Leadership Competency ModelAfter reviewing the three leadership development models, I consume chosen Central Michigan University (CMU) Leadership Competency Model. The five dimensions of leadership competencies Self Management, Leading Others, Task Management, Innovation and Social Responsibility which I acknowledge particularly serviceable as it essentially focuses on the general concept of core competences kindred psychological attributes, attitudes and pieceagement skills which I relate to best in term of for call on, interpersonal relationship and personal attainment. Also, it disregard the type of capriole industry unlike National Health Service Leadership Framework that is oriented towards improving health care services. I believe that CMU model will further develop my insight on my leadership potential, as well(p) as enhancing my interrelationship with others in work or personal situations by understanding the dynamics of human behaviour. My plan will be prioritised on the certain core competencies from the CMU model that I find myself lack ing or critical for my development.Current Assessment of Strengths and WeaknessesBefore working on the development plan, I had to conduct an evaluation on my current strengths and weaknesses as a leader in relate to the CMU model. In order to assist the evaluation process, I have explored assessment tools like Jung, Mbti and Keirsey personality type indicator. However, I find the assessment to be generally generic and partly inaccurate. So instead I approached two of my belt up social contacts to give an opinion from their perspectives. From the discussion, I found most of the comments to be more than accurate with my have got self-assessment. One of my strength is the ability to remain goal orientated where it has allowed me to work through defective phases to reach my objective, though sometimes it leads to disappointment when I did not meet my expectation. Also, I have learnt to be self-reliance where I discount work well without the need of constant guidance. Being independ ent has nurtured my other abilities like problem solving and decision making skills.However, being independent may seem like a personal strength, but it can be a weakness as a leader. As being used to work independently in situations, I find myself lacking in communication with others when working in a team. It becomes a natural tendency for me to work alone in my own comfort zone, so sometimes in that respect might be difficulty for me to express my mind and vision. Also, I lack in the aspect of self- assurance in even though I did my research or put in the effort in my work. Communication and sureness are the two most principal(prenominal) aspects that I find the need to work on most in my plan to establish a firm foundation as a potential leader. As I believe that with repairment on the two aspects, it would boost other self-management and leadership skills as well.Leadership theoriesIn the various leadership theories, there are two concepts that I am able to relate to in my leadership development plan. Firstly, it is the skill approach where I believe that leadership qualities can be nurtured to develop a good leader. Also, I looking that the servant leadership theory is essential as it revolve around the interest of a community and ethical dimension.Unlike the traits theory, skill approach depends on ones capabilities to develop leadership qualities. Northouse (2009) believes that anyone can become a leader if effort were put in to nurture the skills in grand aspects. As stated in Katzs three-skill approach, she mentioned that technical, human and conceptual skills can be developed. The approach considers one as an effective leader when the three of leadership skills are acquired and used to accomplish a goal. concord to Katzs management skill diagram, technical, human and conceptual skills are required at different level depending on the management level. However, human skill is maintained to be important at all levels. Human skill is referred a s the ability to work with people where leadership is focused on building relationship, motivating others and working together as a team. Where I feel is important as a potential leader, thus it is the focus of my leadership development plan.In my opinion, leadership is far from just the interest of an individual but the well-being of others as well. According to Pedersen (2011), Norman Vincent Peale mentioned that the man who lives for himself is a failure the man who lives for others has achieved true success. Being an independent person, I find that the servant leadership theory would assist in my plan to understand the importance of the growth as a leader on with the growth of others through communicating, listening and building interrelationship. The idea of servant leadership that was developed by Greenleaf has greatly influenced and supported todays successful leaders. A successful leader is someone who places other people like peers or customers as the top priority. Unlike the traditional leadership paradigm, leadership is formed in a hierarchy structure where leaders manage by authority and fear. The modern servant leadership theory is based on five important aspects trust, respect, mutual understanding, shared experience and common goal (Maxwell, 2003). Cohen (2000) feels that leadership is not about the view level. Servant leadership theory is not influenced by the power or authority, but the willingness to help the commitment to build the growth of a community as a whole. In the servant leadership theory, a good leader is a student as well, where there are constant learning along with their peers through feedback and empowerment.In relation to my leadership framework, I would like to mend on my interrelationship skills with others. I see myself as easy going and agreeable, so far with a barrier of being introvert. So my key aspects to foster leadership relationship are based on building high level of confidence and self-esteem, and to trust a nd communicate. For a change, the servant leadership theory made me realize that I might find greater success as a leader if I were to able to break the barrier of interaction and commit to excel with others.Leadership knowledge PlanMy aim for the future is to be an entrepreneur in the service industry, providing a complete set of services for pets which include facilities like day care, grooming, training and veterinary clinic. In order to work towards my aim, I have to improve on my leadership qualities in the process. My goal-orientated personality has allowed me to focus on my aim. I have been constantly doing research and acquiring experience in the playing field like working in pet day care centre, pet grooming centre, veterinary hospital and clinic. Through the experience, I realise that nature of the job requires interaction with people from different countries. For example, many good groomers and veterinary nurses come from other countries like Taiwan or Philippines. Henc e, I find it important to improve on my people skills in the process of working towards my goal.I have set a list of priorities to work on the development of my leadership capabilities within the next 2 years. Firstly I will focus on my communication skill, as a potential leader I feel that it is important to be able to interact well with people and the ability to express my views and thoughts. Hence, in the timeframe, I want to step out of my comfort zone and improve on my interpersonal skill. Secondly, I need to work on my self-confidence. I feel that it is one of the most vital attributes for a leader to project a positive vibe by feeling confident in what they do. Therefore, in the process of working towards my goal, I need to work on my insecurities and start accept in myself. In order to build on my self-confidence, I feel that I should work on some personal qualities like being more initiative and optimistic as well.FeedbackFor the purpose of the leadership development plan , I decided to seek feedback from my supervisor in my workplace as I feel that she is a good role model as a leader. From her perspective, she agreed on my self-assessment of my strengths and weaknesses as the focus to improve on. She feels that my weaknesses of lacking in communication and self-confidence are barriers in the industry I wanted to work in. She advised that I should focus on my self-confidence level first as she believes that with higher level of self-confidence it will boost my communication skills as well. Also, she feels that I should always be self-aware of my progress. She recommended that I should discuss about my progression with my close friends regularly so as to determine if my leadership development plan is effective. From her feedback, I feel that I should focus more on building up my self-confidence first. I will also incorporate her advice to gain more self-awareness in the process to ensure that there is improvement in my leadership qualities.Developmen t ActivitiesIn order to work on the priorities I have set on to develop my leadership skill, I have listed out some activities that will assist in my progression. Firstly, in the development of my self-confidence, I should begin with simple action like thinking for positive about myself even in shun situation. I should work hard on being more optimistic by creating daily affirmation. I will speak up more and be more assured about my ideas, and if I do well I will reward myself, but if I dont, I should just accept it and not dwell on it. With progression in my self-confidence, I believe that my communication skill will improve as well. I should not be cowardly of making mistakes or expressing myself. I will work on this aspect starting from my peers, I will make an effort to contribute and express my idea in group discussion and participate more.Meanwhile I should continue toDescribe how you will evaluate whether or not you have reached the level of development set out in your plan 5Plan EvaluationCohen, W. A. (2000). The New Art of the Leader Leading with Integrity and Honor. Paramus,NJ Prentice Hall.http//books.google.com.sg/books?id=2F0qz6HlPR4Cpg=PA19dq=The+man+who+lives+for+himself+is+a+failure+the+man+who+lives+for+others+has+achieved+true+successhl=ensa=Xei=pZFAUZLKA8zRrQer44C4Agved=0CCwQ6AEwAAv=onepageq=The%20man%20who%20lives%20for%20himself%20is%20a%20failure%3B%20the%20man%20who%20lives%20for%20others%20has%20achieved%20true%20successf=falseMaxwell, J. C. (2003b). Relationships 101 What Every Leader Needs to Know. NashvilleThomas Nelson.Leadership, Theory and Practiceby Peter G. Northouse. Chapter 3, Skills Approach. Sage Publications, ISBN 0-7619-2566-Xhttp//www.sagepub.com/upm-data/45968_Chapter_3.pdfSkills of an Effective Administrator, by R. L. Katz, 1955, Harvard Business Review, 33(1), pp. 33-42.

Effects of Technology :: Computers Society

Effects of engineering scienceThe technology which surrounds almost everyone in the novel society, affects both work and leisure activities. engine room contains breeding that many would rather it did not have. It influences minds in good and bad shipway, and it wholeows lot to share information which they would differently not be able to attain. Even if a person does not own a computer or have credit cards, there is information on a computer somewhere about everyone. The technology which is just now beginning to be manipulated and harnessed is affecting the minds of small children and adolescents in ways that could be harmful. It is affecting our immediate future. It also gives an different form of communication and exchange of information which was not available before, information that is both good and bad. Technology is one of the principal driving forces of the future it is transforming our lives and shaping our future at rates unprecedented in history, with profound imp lications which we cant even begin to see or understand. Many different elements affect how satisfied we are with our lives. The impact of technology on these elements can change how safe, healthy and happy people feel. Throughout history, people have looked for better ways to meet their needs and to satisfy their expectations. Technology has improved the way people feed, clothe and shelter themselves. Technology has also changed different aspects of everyday life, such as health care, education, job satisfaction, and leisure time activities. People have used technology since they first chipped stone blades to improve their hunting. nonetheless some people call the current age the Technological Age because of societys dependence on technology. For the first time in human history, almost all the goods and services people use depend on technology. The products of technology are available to almost everyone in society. The economy of a country influences how the people of the county live. Technology is often considered the key to a nations economic growth. Most economists would say that it is one of the factors in economic growth, but they would probably disagree about its importance. Many economists judge that if technology sparks growth in one sector of the economy in the form of increased productivity, growth will also occur in other sectors of the economy. Jobs may be lost in one industry, such as agriculture but new jobs may emerge in other sectors of the economy.