...strategic plan process and explaining why it is needed for a company to achieve long term goals and objectives. This paper will also discuss the strategic management process of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Company. Four Phases According to (Wheelen & Hunger, 2008).) “strategic management is a set of managerial decisions and actions that determines the long-run performance of a corporation.” A manager will go thru the four phases of the strategic management process so that he/she is able to perform the job duties so that the company can stay competitive with other companies. Phase one is basic financial planning. This involves assignments, projects, and tasks that are based on small analysis. When managers are asked to propose the following year’s budget they take planning seriously, even though most of the information comes from within the company. Phase two is forecast-based planning. The planning should take at least three to five years to finish. Mangers will attempt a five year plan because annual budgets become useless for the long-term planning .Environmental and internal information is gathered by managers. In this phase managers start to compete for higher shares of funds by having continuous meetings to decide proposals and substantiate assumptions. Phase three is externally oriented (strategic) planning. This phase involves top management taking control of the planning process. They do this by initiating strategic planning. In addition to...
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...medical research. I, for one, feel that Humans should explore deep space, because there are huge benefits for exploring deep space. There are of course obstacles in the way of the benefits of deep space so, what is the price tag on a deep space flight? Is what will be gained be worth the price that tax payers spend? Cost is only part of the problem; NASA has not launched a rocket since the Saturn V rockets used to take astronauts to the moon. And has been seen in recent days, the space shuttles are an old technology and have been retired. Another daunting question is the moral implications of sending people into deep space since they have no idea what effects having a human child in space would have on the child itself nor what effects zero G would have on an expecting mother. How will NASA be able to get exploration vehicles into space? What is needed is a solution to these problems. They need to figure out a way to make space exploration to become affordable. They will need to figure out a way to not only bring in money but also how to make space missions affordable. There may be several ways that this can be accomplished. Also, NASA will need to start out small, perhaps by starting out with a moon colony to begin with and then move on to other planets such as Mars. I feel that deep space travel could be affordable partially through means of privatization. Private companies are already starting to experiment with the idea of selling tourist flights to space. The space tourism...
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...agencies obligated over $135 billion in fiscal year 2010 for services--80 percent of total civilian spending on contracts. Services acquisitions have suffered from inadequate planning, which puts budget, schedule, and quality at risk. For this assignment, review GAO Report titled, “Acquisition Planning: Opportunities to Build Strong Foundations for Better Services Contracts,” GAO-11-672, August 9, 2011, located at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11672.pdf. Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you: 1.Compare and contrast how the listed agencies, such as the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), have carried out acquisition planning. The Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have set requirements for acquisition planning to balance any oversights with time and administrative burden. These agencies require written acquisition plans that are closely aligned with the elements defined by the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR). The establish guidelines state that cost estimates and requirements documents must be prepared during the acquisition planning. The guidelines for DHS and NASA include considerations of lessons from the experiences of previous contracts as part of the acquisition planning. Additionally, these agencies have set different requirements for who must review and...
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...The extent to which new, or complex, technologies impacted upon the project. The Channel Tunnel project would have been built two centuries ago if it was technically feasible. In 1802, the idea of a road tunnel was suggested to Napoleon during a brief peace between France and England. French engineer Albert Mathieu Favier gave Napoleon details of a scheme involving two tunnels, one which would be candle-lit for horse-drawn carriages and the second acting as a sort of drain to take away water seeping into it (Anderson & Roskrow 1994). However the scheme existed only on paper due to the absence of appropriate tunneling techniques. Digging a tunnel under ground is not a novel technology; however, the geology is, especially under the sea. Engineers had to check and hoped to find that a suitable rock for tunneling stretched in an unbroken bed across the channel. Building a tunnel doesn’t require innovative technology, otherwise the government would not approve the project go ahead. However, the actual construction of a 50 km-long Channel Tunnel up to 50 meters below the sea tested the ingenuity and skills of the top minds in the European and American construction industry (Anderson & Roskrow 1994). There were 11 specialized boring machines have been used in total on both, the British and the French sides, to work their way through the chalk marl stratum, which is between the gray chalk and glauconitic layer. The ground condition on the UK side had caused problem. The machine...
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...ASSIGNMENT-6 1. What are “rich Internet applications” and why are they important today? There has been a tremendous amount of attention on getting "back to the desktop" with technologies like Apollo and Windows Presentation Foundation that enable some very rich, design-friendly experiences outside the browser. But there is still a very large contingent out there that thinks the browser will be the best way to deliver applications. But if that is the case, then we have to have a model that enables the browser to actually do that. Trying to build real applications using JavaScript that requires a tedious development cycle and a lot of per-browser workarounds just isn't going to cut it. From Ted's point of view, that is what makes the idea of open source Flash so compelling (and important). We get all the richness and robustness of Flash, but in a platform that anyone can contribute to and help grow. 2. How can Appcelerator speed up the application development process? The birth of brilliant modern technology that can handle numerous applications on devices like Iphones, net books or Blackberries has created a sea of endless opportunities. Countless of application can and are being built right now all over the world. This is a long and hefty process and developers need a helping hand. That is where Appcelerator comes in. This a successful start-up from California which helps developers to efficientize their activity by cutting development time in half, driving down development...
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...9-603-062 REV. OCTOBER 29, 2002 DOROTHY LEONARD DAVID KIRON Managing Knowledge and Learning at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Downsizing at NASA over the last decade through attrition and buyouts has resulted in an imbalance in NASA’s skill mix.1 — The President’s Management Agenda, Fiscal Year 2002 By the end of this decade, many of the most experienced scientists and engineers at NASA and JPL are going to retire. If we don’t have systems in place to retain more of what they know, our institution is going to suffer. — Jeanne Holm, Chief Knowledge Architect for NASA In the spring of 2002, Jeanne Holm, Chief Knowledge Architect for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was giving a tour of JPL. Stopping at a viewing stage above JPL’s mission control center, Holm explained the growing need for knowledge management at NASA: Almost 40% of JPL’s science and engineering workforce is currently eligible for retirement. In just four years, half of NASA’s entire workforce will be eligible. Many of these people are the most experienced project managers—the people who worked on Apollo (the mission to the Moon) and built the first space shuttle. Yet, we have few programs designed to bring their wisdom into our institutional memory. In the past 10 years, the budgets on our missions have been radically reduced, missions have multiplied ten-fold, and our scientists and engineers have been pushed...
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...retain the leadership of United State of America in international space technologies. However, by gaining great reputation through leading the technologies in the world, the budget should spend in a more suitable way for economic or technical growth. Although there are certainly good arguments to send manned flight to Mars, I believe that there are more benefits sending unmanned probes to explore the planet than spending a huge amount of money in sending the manned flight over there. The supporters argue that by sending manned flight to Mars, we gain a chance to understand the Earth better due to the similarity between Mars and Earth. Hence we can figure out ways to protect the environment on Earth by exploring the condition on Mars. But the unmanned probes in this century are advance enough to pursue accomplishment in exploring different planets such as discovering the evidence of water on Mars. There are plenty more unmanned missions which are more potential can be launched to advance our knowledge. The trip of manned flight to Mars may reduce many more budgets for the other space exploration which are more valuable as compared to the manned Mars trip. Rather than being a leader of the technologies, there are more important aspects to spend the money instead of investing a large part of the budgets in this costly and...
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...by former PayPal entrepreneur and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk. SpaceX was founded with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, both of which were designed from conception to eventually become reusable. SpaceX also developed the Dragon spacecraft, which are flown into orbit by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, initially transporting cargo and later planned to carry humans to the International Space Station and other destinations.[1] By 2012, SpaceX had over 40 launches on its manifest representing about $4 billion in contract revenue—with many of those contracts already making progress payments to SpaceX—with both commercial and government (NASA/DOD) customers. As of December 2013, SpaceX has a total of 50 future launches under contract, two-thirds of them are for commercial customers. SpaceX's low launch prices, especially for communication satellites flying to geostationary orbit, have resulted in market pressure on its competitors to lower their own prices. In recent years, the communications satellites launch market has been dominated by "Europe's Arianespace, which flies the Ariane 5, and International Launch Services (ILS), which markets Russia's Proton vehicle." Depending on a number of factors, mostly the size and weight of payload, the cost of a single launch ranges from $100 million to $260...
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...28.1 Key Terms Mandate-A set of wishes expressed to a candidate by the voters New Frontier-President Kennedy’s proposals to improve the economy, help the poor, and advance the space program Warren Commission-Commission, headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy The Election of 1960 -Kennedy was a Massachusetts Democrat who had served in the House of Representatives and Senate -He faced problems such as his young age and religious status (he was a Roman Catholic and no Catholic had ever been President) -Kennedy promised to get American moving again because the GNP had been growing slowly recently and the economy had suffered several recessions -Kennedy won the election by a close margin, entering the office without a strong mandate, or a set of wishes expresses to a candidate by his or her voters -Without a mandate, Kennedy would have difficulty pushing his ideas through Congress -The new administration was “buoyant, energetic, and full of optimism” and earned the nickname “Camelot” after a legendary British King Arthur, who dreamed to make a country where “might makes right.” Kennedy’s Domestic Programs -Kennedy stated that the nation was at the end of a “New Frontier.” -The name was also used to describe Kennedy’s proposals to improve the economy, give aid to the poor, and breathe new life into the space program The Economy -In 1962, the U.S. Steel Company wanted to raise the price of steel by $6 a ton...
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...Introduction “Construction Project Management is the overall planning, coordination, and control of a project from start to finish in order to deliver a function or a product that meets the client requirement within the allocated budget” (International Construction Project Management, 2003). In today’s world, construction management is becoming more complex and bigger in size (Favie & Maas, 2008). The emerging complexity in the construction industry has led to the need of an effective project control methods to deliver project on time and within budget specially that the construction industry is known as a highly dynamic industry were each project is unique and has its own characteristic. Nevertheless, the construction industry is known as...
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...have a full understanding of the three constraints facing a project: time, cost, and scope. Gary was told upon promotion that most trained managers care most about time and cost. He assumed that his main focus should be on the scope. In actuality, all three constraints must be adhered to. The contract was poorly timed-managed, causing his team to work overtime while he failed to properly juggle his assigned duties. Cost overruns also took place due to poor planning, and it threatened the profitability of the project. Gary failed in identifying and implementing each process group of project management: initiating; planning; executing; monitoring and controlling. He initiated the project by intentionally placing false information on the proposal that resulted in a misappropriate amount of time and funds to be...
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...IN-HOUSE HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT When Johnson Space Center’s Matt Lemke showed up for work as the project manager of the Space-to-Space Communications System at the tail end of 1994, he discovered that the project he had inherited was not the one he expected. On his second day on the job, Lemke, an experienced avionic engineer but newly assigned project manager, attended a kickoff meeting with Litton Industries, who had recently been selected as the project’s prime contractor. Lemke had read the contract beforehand and understood the terms of the agreement. He planned to hand the Litton team a set of engineering drawings that had been developed before his arrival so they could get started. After handshakes and introductions, he turned to his NASA colleague who had supported the contract agreement with Litton just weeks before, and asked her for the drawings. Her response stunned Lemke: “What drawings?” A First-of-Its-Kind Radio System The Space-to-Space Communications System (SSCS) is a sophisticated two-way data communication system designed to provide voice and telemetry among three on-orbit systems: the Space Shuttle orbiter, the International Space Station (ISS), and the Extra Vehicular Activity Mobility Unit (EMU). (An EMU is a space suit worn by an astronaut during a space walk, or Extravehicular Activity.) SSCS is designed to allow simultaneous communication among up to five users. The system comprises three product lines: space suit radios (SSER), the Shuttle orbiter radio...
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...In 2007, the International Panel on Climate Change released a report citing undisputable evidence of increasing average air and ocean temperatures. The varied and catastrophic outcomes that are forecasted from these increasing temperatures including rising sea levels, increasing frequency of major storms, and the potential acollapses of ecosystems. In 2009, the American Clean Energy and Security Act was proposed in the House of Representatives. The act adopted a cap-and-trade system similar to the plan used by the EU. However, the Federal government has been essential to providing funding for billions of dollars worth of climate change research. According to a 2010 Congressional Budget Office report, the majority of that funding comes through the Department of Energy and...
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...handle an external aggression of any sophistry. Scope of Work The work will involve drawing a source selection plan, and then implementing it (Western Power Distribution - Statement of Works, 2016). The Source Selection Evaluation Body will evaluate all the proposals of the prospective offerors and they submit them to the Source Selection Authority for selecting the most appropriate offeror. Location of Work The work will be done in the procurement office of the US Department of Air Force. Where need is, the SSEB will contact any prospective offeror from whom they want further clarification of information. Period of Performance The process must be completed within one month. The soliciting team will work for thirty-six hours per week. Deliverables Schedule The preparation of a source selection plan will take 20 hours. Another 20 hours are allocated to receiving the proposals. The amount of time assigned to evaluating the proposals is 80 hours. The rest of the 44 hours are assigned to the compilation of the evaluation report and selection of the winner. Applicable Standards The standards applied to the format of the proposals, and the information to be included are those articulated in the Request for Proposals (RFP) document. Acceptable Criteria The aircraft that will be accepted by the soliciting team are those that have met all the requirements listed in the source selection plan. Special Requirements The most preferred offeror must have a very impressive profile...
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...Determine where each agency lies in the administrative structure of the federal government. Identify it as an executive department or an independent agency. The purpose of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is to protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. According to EPA website, Born in the wake of elevated concern about environmental pollution, EPA was established on December 2, 1970 to consolidate in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. This agency, US Environment Protection Agency is run by its Administrator. The current Administrator is Lisa P. Jackson. The President appoints an administrator for U.S. Environment Protection Agency and Congress can approve or decline the person. The US Environmental Protection Agency is an independent agency. The agency has approximately 17,000 full-time employees and engages many more people on a contractual basis. The purpose of U.S. Army of Corps of Engineer is to provide vital public engineering services in peace and war to strengthen the nation's security, energize the economy, and reduce risks from disasters. According to US Army of Corp Engineers website, the history of United States Army Corps of Engineers can be traced back to June 16, 1775, when the Continental Congress organized an army with a chief engineer and two assistants. Colonel Richard Gridley...
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