Host resistance and immunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Host resistance and immunity - Essay Example A detrimental colonization of the pathogen in the host body results in an infection. Variables that determine the outcome of a host body encounter with a pathogen include the infectivity, pathogenicity, virulence, toxigenicity, resistance, and antigenicity of the pathogens (Qureshi, S. 1999). Pathogenicity of an infection involves a mechanism that leads to the initiation of signs and symptoms of the bacterial or viral infections. An environment that favours the growth of the agent in the host body and its ability to damage the host determines the resultant outcome of the association between disease causing agent and the host body. High pathogenicity levels increases the risk of acquiring an infection. Therefore, once an individual gets exposed to a disease, the pathogenicity of the disease causing agent determines the possibility of the infection. On the other hand, if the bacteria or parasite turns out to be non-pathogenic, the risks of getting infection are low (Qureshi, S. 1999). Virulence refers to the severity of an infection and therefore a highly virulent strain produces severe infections. High virulent strains utilize resources from the host body and leads to tissue damage in host bodies. This increases the possibility of an infection and may lead to death of the host. Virulent strains speed up their growth in order to obtain transmission to new hosts. These strains struggle to gain subsequent transmission before killing the former host. Therefore, once an individual gets exposed to a disease, the virulence of the disease determines the level of damage. To counter an infection, one need to consider immediate treatment before multiplication of a strain that may be detrimental to one or more individuals (Sansonetti, P 2010). Toxigenicity refers to the ability of the agent to produce a toxin, which forms the main disease-causing element in a virus or bacteria. There are two types of toxins produced by disease causing parasites. They

U choose Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

U choose - Research Paper Example Abstract expressionism is also known as Action Painting, Colour Filed Painting or Gestural Abstraction because the strokes of the painting brush revealed the artist’s process. The painting technique is the subject of art itself. According to Harold Rosenberg, Abstract Expression became an event and therefore, dubbed it â€Å"Action Painting† in 1952. Art historians however  review that his definition of art as Action painting leaves out the aspects of control and chance. Abstract Expression therefore  comes from three major sources: Kandinsky’s abstraction, chance according to Dadaist, and the Surrealist’s endorsement of Freudian theory, which embraces, sexuality, the relevance of dreams and the authenticity of ego, which abstract expressionism express through â€Å"action†. The term Abstract Expressionism was first coined in Germany, Europe in 1919 in the magazine â€Å"Der Stum† in regards to German expressionists. It was later adopted in the U.S in 1946 and was applied to the American art by critic Robert Coates. History Abstract Expressionism was spearheaded by a number of Artists in America (strongly influenced by European expatriates) who had grown up during the collapse of world order, influenced by World War II and the Cold War aftermath. The artists  saw the two art movement of 1930s called the  Social realism and Regionalism – failed to satisfy their desire for artistic growth. They were therefore, influenced by European refugees whose approach to art opened up new possibilities for artistic growth. The refuges included the German Expressionist George Grosz (1893-1959),   Arshile Gorky  the Armenian-born , who settled in the US in 1920, the Cubist Fernand Leger (1881-1955), the German-born Hans Hofmann who migrated to America in 1930, the Bauhaus abstract painter Josef Albers (1888-1976)the geometrical abstractionist Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) Dada artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), and the S urrealists Yves Tanguy (1900-55), Max Ernst (1891-1976), Andre Masson (1896-1987) and Andre Breton (1896-1966). The Surrealist artists were extremely influential with Jackson Pollock taking up their idea of unconscious automatic painting. The exiles’ significance in the development of American art was acknowledged by Jackson Pollock himself. â€Å"The fact that good European Moderns are now here is highly powerful for they bring with them an understanding of the problems of modern painting.† The Development of Abstract Expressionism The development of abstract expressionism was influenced by a few key figures and indigenous painters. Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917) was an early precursor of abstract expressionism. A key transitional figure between the years before the World War II and the years after was Stuart Davis who focused on the integrity of his pictorial structure. Stuart’s works were viewed as an American extension of Cubism. However, despite his close contact with Fernand Leger (A master of Cubism), Stuart’s works were brightly coloured, solid, clear and flat. Stuart’s works were of exceptional influence to the artists of the 1940s-1950s and consequently on Pop Art. In the same era, â€Å"Precisionists† also proved influential with their portrayal of contemporary America in a boldly coloured, hard-edged version of Cubism. However, the two most influential pioneers of Abstract Expressionism were Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) and Arshile Gorky (1905-1948), neither of whom was connected with the early European expressionist movement in Germany. Gorky’

Relationship of the government and the religion Essay

Relationship of the government and the religion - Essay Example Relationship of the government and the religion. In his writing in the Virginia statute for religious freedom, Jefferson made statement about the freedom of conscience and the Principe of separation between the state and the church. The Virginia religious freedom statue was rooted in Jefferson philosophy. The statute was passed by Virginia general assembly in January 1786. It is among the first amendment that sort to protect the freedom of religion. The first paragraph of the statute proclaimed freedom of thought. According to Jefferson, the nature God gives a man the freedom to choose his religious belief. Jefferson argues that since the God has given the man freedom of thought – to believe or not to believe- there should be no law that compels a man to follow any religion. Individuals are free to worship as they please with no discrimination. Jefferson wanted the assembly to enact that individuals should not be forced be to support any religious worship, or enforced, restrained in their bodies and/or goods or suffers due to their religious opinion or belief. Moreover, all individual are free to profess and by argument maintain their opinion on religious matter. Their opinion on matters of religion should not affect in any way their civil capacities. The two clauses seem to uphold the view of the Jefferson. The establishment clause prevents the state from influencing any religious opinion on its citizen. The free exercise clause, protects the citizens right to practice their religion as they please.

Cost of Poor Quality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cost of Poor Quality - Essay Example Theoretically there are two costs of quality related with the production and R&D. Firstly, the cost of the good quality and the cost of poor quality. The cost of poor quality affects the internal and external costs resulting from failing to meet the requirements whereas the cost of good quality affects the cost of investing in the prevention of non-performance to requirements and cost of appraising a product for conformance to the requirements. The costs related with the internal failure are the costs that are caused by non conformance to what the customer wants and these costs are found before the delivery of the product or service. This would off course lead to the customer dissatisfaction and demotivation of R&D staff. These internal costs will result in re-works, delays, re-designing etc. External failure costs are costs that are caused by deficiencies found after delivery of products and services to external customers, these costs will result into complaints, repairing and re-do ing services, warranty claims as well as losses due to sales reduction and which lead to customer dissatisfaction. By launching the product before the complete testing of the product, our company has made a tradeoff between generating sales and compromising on the quality. It was a gore mistake on the part of Mr. George Chadwick to start the production before the complete testing of the material for its fine-tuning. Backed by more of ambitions and less of reality, this decision has now seems to backfire as the company is facing strong quality costs. One of the important quality control tools is called Pareto Analysis.  

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Treatments Essay

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Treatments - Essay Example Ritalin, however, is not the most effective way to treat ADD and ADHD. This essay, then, will discuss what Ritalin is, what its side effects are, why it is still being used, and what alternatives parents have to medicating their children. According to www.ritalinsideeffects.net, Ritalin is a Schedule II substance also called methylphenidate. It is not tested in children under the age of six. "In 1998, 26,800 prescriptions were issued for Ritalin. Last year, that figure had grown to 461,000" (Sale, 2008). There is much evidence that many children who take it are simply being over-medicated, since the medication shows no signs of helping them. Some parents, however, don't know what else to do when ADD or ADHD affects their children The side effects of Ritalin are well documented. They include skin rash, fever, anorexia, nausea, increased or decreased blood pressure, chest pain, abdominal pain, irregular heart rhythm, weight loss, anemia, and difficulty sleeping (www.ritalinsideeffects.net, para. 2). Ritalin is also addictive, and easy to abuse (Rasminsky, 2008). Older students admitted that sometimes they take the prescriptions of other people, or more than they are prescribed, to "get loads done in a concentrated period of time" (Rasminsky, 2008). ... She said she only used once, but knows others who "can't stop after that first drug experience or that first A" (Rasminsky, 2008). Another admits, "You feel horrible coming down. All the reasons you're taking drugs are so amplified. It makes you depressed, so that's why you want to do more. It's a vicious cycle" (Rasminsky, 2008). Rasminsky is careful to point out that an electrocardiogram (EKG) is necessary when taking Ritalin because of the negative effect it has on the heart and the likelihood that sudden death could occur from cardiovascular death. Positive Effects There is no doubting that there might be some benefit in Ritalin for some child. A study was done of an 11-year-old boy. He'd been diagnosed with ADHD two years prior by his physician, but not given medication. During the study, he was given 20 mg of Ritalin on some mornings, but not on others. Every day he received a pill that looked exactly the same, so he had no way of know when he received the placebo and when he received the actual medicine. Someone administered the medicine other than the teachers or the observers, so the observations would not be biased. His behavior was monitored for the first four hours of the day. The study lasted three weeks. In the end, the findings showed that the student was much more focused, and well behaved on the days he received the 20 mg dosage of Ritalin (Smith et al.) This is no ace-in the-hole, however. This is one student. This student had an above average I.Q. There is no data to suggest how well Ritalin works on students of average intelligence. The student was only observed for 15 days and plenty of other studies show that Ritalin does seem to be effective in the beginning stages, but the faade quickly

Effecting communication and information Essay Example for Free

Effecting communication and information Essay Recruitment and Retention Process and Documentation WHSmith was established in 1792 by a man named Henry Walton Smith, and his wife Anna, but was established under the name H W Smith. After their deaths, the business was passed on to their two sons; Henry Edward, and William Henry Smith. The business was renamed to WHSmith as William was the older of the two and he was the more able businessman. WHSmith today, as one of the biggest retail groups in the UK, it is made up of two core businesses; high street retail, and travel retail. They have approximately 17,000 employees working in either of the 543 High Street stores or the 129 Travel stores in the UK. The manner in which a person is employed within WHSmith would obviously have to start with a job opening. This opening can be due to one of many reasons. For example: If a new store is opened or if someone has left his or her job. From there on, the steps taken would start off with WHSmiths Human Resources Department making a job specification, which consists of the job details. Here is an example of a job specification for an opening at WHSmith as an assistant manager: Job Specification Vacancy Role Title: Assistant Manager London (North/South/East/West) Role Level: Assistant Manager Region: London Location: London Salary: i 17,000 i 23,000 Details: You will be required to work six days a week. In your role as assistant manager, it will be your duty to assist the retail manager in his day-to-day work. This job is very demanding and you never know, it may be the just the job for you. In a position as assistant manager, you will be given two weeks paid holiday a year. Person Specification: Role: We are looking for a good team player, with proven retail management experience, good communication, a target driven approach plus the ambition and potential to succeed. The Assistant Manager is responsible for achieving store sales targets by leading, motivating and developing the store team to achieve sales targets and customer service standards and to support the Store Manager. The next step would be for them to produce a person specification, which outlines the type of person they are looking for (for example: qualifications, previous experience etc. ). WHSmith would then plan on advertising the job in a number of different places so as to attract attention towards the job opening. Advertisement is very costly and it would be in the best interests of WHSmith to get the job details and specifications absolutely spot on. Once all of this information has been gathered, it is then advertised in a number of places (i. e. the internet, job centre etc. ). WHSmith have recently started to recruit online with an Internet based job recruiting process. The next step involves people applying for that specific job by providing their relevant documents, which will then be analysed by WHSmiths Human Resources department. Applicants are then short-listed and a number of the applicants are selected. I have provided a WHSmith job application form with my assignment. The selected applicants will then be asked to provide references from two or more reliable sources. These would be from people like previous employers and former educational teachers. Those who are selected as people who seem like suitable candidates for the job will then be invited for a formal interview at a WHSmith. A senior member of staff would usually carry out this interview. The data that is derived from the interview is then analysed and compared to the prepared person specification. After a long, time-consuming process, and a lot of money being spent, the successful candidate is then offered the job. In the case of WHSmith and the job specification I have given, this candidate would have to have previous experience in a retail management position, and would basically be the person that they see as the best man/woman for the job. P2 Employability, Personal and Communication Skills Assistant Manager Role The Assistant Manager is responsible for achieving store sales targets by leading, motivating and developing the store team to achieve sales targets and customer service standards and to support the Store Manager. The job role is related to the Person Specification. Person Specification The person specification asks for someone with the following traits: We are looking for a good team player, with proven retail management experience, good communication, a target driven approach plus the ambition and potential to succeed. These skills are all placed on the person specification for a reason. The Personal Skills outlined here are: Â  Someone who is a team player An assistant manager will be required to work with the manager as part of a team. They also have to be a team leader, as outlined in the job role. Â  Someone with a target driven approach In a high position like this, it is necessary that an assistant manager knows how to tackle set targets and that they approach these targets whole-heartedly. Â  Someone with the ambition and potential to succeed If an assistant manager does not wish to progress, then they will not give the job their full attention. It is better that they want to, and are able to succeed so that they can have a positive impact on the business. It is also their job to motivate the store team and it would be hard to do so if he/she wasnt motivated him/herself. The Employability skills outlined here are: Â  Someone with proven retail management experience It is absolutely vital that someone who wants to work as an assistant manager, has some previous experience managing a store or people, and was good at doing so. The Communication skills outlined here are:Â  Someone with good communication It is essential that, as an assistant manager, you are able to communicate well. This is due to the fact that an assistant manager is required to communicate messages to both the manager, and the store team. P3 Electronic and Non-Electronic methods for communicating business information There are many different methods of communication. These can be divided into two different categories: Electronic (non-written), and Non-Electronic (written). Methods of communication that would come under Written Communication would be things like: Â  SMS (Text Message) Methods of communications that would come under Electronic Communication would be things along the lines of: Meetings Both Written Communication and Electronic Communication have their advantages. These advantages differ depending on the audience which is being addressed. The recipient is very important when it comes to the type of communication that is being used. Within The Organisation Within the organisation the methods of communication that I would use would be things like: Meetings In an organisation, it is inevitable that there will be meetings held. These are usually used to discuss improvement, the current status of the organisation, and to get staff to contribute their ideas. Customers These are the methods of communication that I would use to communicate with the customers: Publicity Materials To tell the truth, this is an obvious one really. The way to get customers is through publicity. If your organisation is a well known one, it is more likely to prosper. Â  Advertisements In my opinion, advertisements should be used by all major and even small organisations. These should outline things like services provided and special offers to attract more customers. Suppliers Here are some of the methods of communications I would use to communicate with suppliers of goods etc. : Â  Letters These are a great way of communicating and people have been using them for centuries. I would use letters to communicate with suppliers because it is not a long time consuming method of communicating. You just write what you need to say, put it in an envelope, post it, and the recipient gets it the next day! Easy Peasy! * Telephone This is one of the simplest, most direct ways of communicating with people today. Talking with suppliers on the telephone would mean that all of the business involving matters like deliveries, times, amounts, and other things can all be sorted out in a matter of minutes. P4 Sources of Information External Source. This information is external (outside of the business) information that I have taken from the BBC website. Here is the link, as evidence of information: http://newsvote. bbc. co. uk/1/shared/fds/hi/business/market_data/shares/3/23473/twelve_month. stm I have provided information on WHSmiths share prices. From this graph we can see the rise and fall in WHSmiths share price value in the year 2007. The current (exact) value of their shares on the 13th of December 2007 at 14:22 is i 324. 75. We can see that the peak of their share value this year was in March. The lowest point was in late November. Internal Source This information is internal (within the business) information that I have taken from WHSmiths Annual report. Here is the link, as evidence of information: http://www. whsmithplc. com/grp/WHSPLC-IR-AR07. pdf I have provided information on WHSmiths Profits for the years 2006 and 2007. From this information we can see the increase in profits and the percentage increase. Year 2006 2007 Increase in Profit Percentage Increase Profit i m (Before Tax) i 51 i 66 i 15 29. 41% We can see that their profit for the year 2006 was i 51million, the profit for the year 2007 was i 66million, the increase in profit was i 15million, and the percentage increase is 29. 41%. Here is a column graph showing the information. Secondary Source Secondary information is information that I will be using. This information is already in existence, but has been gathered by other people, and not myself. I will be using information from WHSmiths annual report. This information was gathered by WHSmith, within the corporation. Here is the link as evidence of information: http://www. whsmithplc.com/grp/WHSPLC-IR-AR07. pdf I have provided information on WHSmiths Carbon Emissions for the last five years. From this we can see the increases and decreases in Carbon Emissions. Year 2002/3 2003/4 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 Carbon Dioxide Emissions (kg) 0. 9 0. 76 0. 82 0. 79 0. 71 We can see that, in the period 2002/3, their Emissions were very high. In the period 2003/4, these Emissions are reduced significantly. In the period 2004/5, these Emissions are increased, and in 2005/6 they are again decreased. In the period 2006/7, these Emissions are decreased furthermore. We can see that WHSmith have successfully reduced their Carbon Emissions. P5 Presentation of information I have been asked to present the data aquired in three different methods. Here is the Share Price information presented in a line graph: Profit i million (before tax) I will be using a column graph and a line graph to present this information. Column Graph Line Graph Carbon Dioxide Emissions I will be using a column graph and a line graph to present this information. Column Graph Line Graph I will now be using a power point presentation to present all of this information.

Analysing Project Leadership Teams and Group Dynamics

Analysing Project Leadership Teams and Group Dynamics Introduction A research done in 1995 in the USA showed that 31% of software projects are cancelled before completion while for those which are not, the cost will be an average of 189 percent of the original estimates (Standish Group, 1995). Whittaker (1999) identified the key reasons for such failure as related to poor project planning, a weak business case, and a lack of top management involvement and support. In 2001, the Standish Group found that only 28 percent of IT projects were completed on time and on budget, and that these were on average 45 percent over original cost estimates and 63 percent over original time to completion estimates (Standish Group International, 2001). This report identified poor tools to monitor and control progress of projects as the main reasons for such failures hence recommending project managers to use good project management practices in order to establish the appropriate project methodology (Gowan Mathieu, 2005). Turner (2003) defined a project as an endeavour in which human, material and financial resources are organized in a novel way, to undertake a unique scope of work, of given specification, within constraints of cost and time, so as to achieve beneficial change defined by quantitative and qualitative objectives. Despite this definition containing three aspects: human, material and financial, the above reports show that the focus of understanding failures in software projects has been mainly directed towards the technical and financial barriers encountered during the project life cycle. Intangible human organisational factors such as leadership, organisation culture and team dynamics have been given meagre attention despite multiple researches showing the successful completion of any project in any organization is highly dependent on the human and behavioural factors. This paper will discuss the ways through which software teams are affected by leadership, organisation culture and team dynamics. The first part of the paper will discuss the literature around organisational culture and it can affect the outcomes of software projects. The second part of the paper will discuss the role of leadership and team dynamics in the context of software project management. Lastly, the paper will end with a conclusion and possible recommendations for software teams in the future. Organisation Culture and Software project management Organizational culture describes how things are done in a corporation (Claver et al, 2001). It encompasses a wide range of aspects of organisations life including assumptions, values and artefacts, beliefs, rituals, and ceremonies; language, symbols, stories, and ceremonies In sum, organisational culture is viewed as both what an organisation is and as what an organisation has (Mathew, 2007). According to Lok Crawford (2004), organisational culture can influence how people set personal and professional goals, perform tasks and administer resources to achieve them. Similarly, Schein (1990) describes organisational culture as being able to affect the way in which people consciously and subconsciously think, make decisions and act. Researchers on organisational cultures have also proposed different forms or types of cultures. For example, Wallach (1983) suggested that there are three main types of organisational cultures: bureaucratic, supportive and innovative. Handy (1993) Identified four types of organisation cultures: power culture, role culture, person culture and task culture. The ultimate point is that organisation culture determines the ways decisions are taken within organisations. For example according to Handys model, a power culture is one where decisions are taken by a restricted number of individuals usually located at the peak of the organisation structure. The decision is then transferred to the rest of the structure, thus signifying low participation from the remaining workforce. This bureaucratic approach to decision making reduces the level of input from other levels in the organisation. In modern organisations, where employees are viewed as critical success factors, it is therefore important to have a culture which encourages participation and involvement. The power culture is an example of how the organisation culture can be a barrier to employee participation. In the context of software projects, participation is a key success factor. Hence, the type of organisation culture will either enhance or prohibit the appropriate behaviours from the team members. According to Hansen and Wenerfelt (1989), the culture within an organisation affects the way in which employees perceive, feel and act. This in turn will affect their level of performance and commitment (Peters and Waterman, 1982). Echoing the same, Siehl and Martin (1990) found that organisation culture have a critical influence of productivity and quality. The software sector employs large numbers of people worldwide (Arthreye, 2005). As mentioned above, productivity and quality are greatly influenced by organisation culture (Siehl and Martin, 1990). Productivity and quality is important to the software sector. Therefore, the need to understand how organisation culture affects this sector is fundamental. Organisation culture lays down the guidelines for the acquisition of Information Technology as well as the guidelines for sharing of information through its Information Systems (Allard (1998); Brown and Starkey (1994); Katz and Townsend (2000)). Mathew (2007) identified a range of cultural processes that have a bearing on software organisations such as concern for employees and trust, knowledge management or organisational learning; empowerment; high performance work orientation and core values. The research by Mathew (2007) is evidence that software team members are highly influenced by the cultural processes in interplaying in the organisation they are working in. These processes will affect their commitment to the software project in terms of: firstly the amount of information they are likely to input to the project. Western organisations have purposely adopted collectivist processes so as to encourage sharing of information throughout teams. However, in others contexts, the individualistic and bureaucratic culture promotes information asymmetry. Information asymmetry occurs when one party possesses more information that the other party. Information asymmetry is a threat to the proper functioning of software teams as information is key to the success of so ftware projects. The above shows that the organisation culture determines the processes for sharing information which in turn directly affects the implementation of software projects. Secondly, the organisation culture also determines the degree of empowerment of the employees. A study by Badoo and Hall (2001) on Motivators of Software Process Improvement: an analysis of practitioners views showed that software project managers highly ranked empowerment as a motivator factor. They considered process ownership as important. Developers stated the same: Developers want grassroots input into processes. Project managers want autonomy so they can mould the processes around their present practices. Both developers and project managers want to feel they have the support of senior management. (Badoo Hall, 2001) Pitterman (2000) identified empowerment as crucial to the success of software projects. Empowerment is often defined as the act of giving people the opportunity to make workplace decisions by expanding their autonomy in decision making (Vogt, 1997). Empowerment however is influenced by the organisation culture. Other processes contained in the organisation culture which ultimately affect the implementation of software projects are: communication, reward schemes, feedback, decision making, organisation structure, autonomy, communication, top down commitment, shared best practice and bottom-up initiatives (Badoo Hall, 2001). The above points show how the culture of an organisation can either facilitate the functioning of software teams or act as a barrier. Rigid structures, poor reward schemes, lack of communication, poor feedback, lack of transparency, poor trust and commitment from the top and little bottom-up initiatives can render the project life cycle difficult, hence resulting into project cancellations and/or completion over estimated budgets. Leadership and Team Dynamics in Software Project Management. It is important to experience progress and well-being by both the team members and the team leader in software projects. Katzenbach (1998) stated that groups of people working together give rise to dynamics which have the effect either of enhancing group performance, or of impeding, even destroying, group efficiency. The group dynamics involve both the team members and the leader. According to Wang et al (2005) team performance derives from the ability of team members to successfully integrate their individual actions, to perform in complex and dynamic environments, to achieve coordination and cohesion and lastly effective team leadership. Team leadership styles can be classified into two types: Transactional and Transformational leadership (Thite, 2000). The transactional leadership style focuses on the contractual relationship between the leader and the subordinates. The relationship is limited to the simple exchange of expected performance in return for certain rewards. On the other hand, the transformational leader motivates followers to perform beyond their expectations, increases the followers sense of the importance and value of tasks, and stimulates members to look beyond their own interests and direct themselves to the interests of the team, organization or larger community (Mankenzie et al, 2001). Pinto (1986) identified effective leadership as a critical success factor for successful projects. Similarly Turner et al (1998) described successful projects as being led by individuals who possess not only technical and management knowledge, but also leadership skills that are internally compatible with the motiva tion of the project team. Although the goals of a project are achieved by the team, appropriate leadership styles such as relationships and task oriented styles can help attain the targets in time and within the allocated resources (Nauman et al, 2010). Leadership fosters empowerment (Malone, 1997) and as mentioned above the latter is an essential ingredient for successful projects. However, according to Eisenberger (2002), effective empowerment is based on the relationship of the team members with the leader. The challenge for the leaders in software projects is to find the balance in managing relationships as well as getting the work done. Another important feature of leadership is motivation. Leaders influence and motivate team members. Software projects are often found to lose momentum following difficulties arising within the Iron Triangle (costs, time and functionality). The task of the team leader is to restore momentum at different stages within the project life cycle. As mentioned by Kotler (1988), leadership means influencing others to take responsibility for identifying, developing, retaining, and motivating talented professionals on the team. On the other hand in his work, Thamhain (2004) concluded that project success is no longer the result of a few expert contributors and skilled project leaders. Rather, project success depends on effective multidisciplinary efforts, involving teams of people and support organizations interacting in a highly complex, intricate, and sometimes even chaotic way. The process requires experiential learning, trial and error, risk taking, as well as the cross-functional coordinat ion and integration of technical knowledge, information, and components. The work of Thamhain (2004) also concluded that Team performance is not random but there are certain criteria which lead to high team performance. These are firstly understanding the needs of team members and designing ways to satisfy these needs, secondly management should support team environment rather than try to control it, thirdly team development must be ongoing and finally team leaders should work with senior management to ensure effective team work. The agency theory (Eisenhardt, 1989) informs that monitoring through leadership reduces shirking which in turn leads to project success. Shirking is the process of evading work, responsibility or duty. In organisation theory, shirking takes place when the agent (employee) has self-interest contrasting with the interest of the principal (employer, team leader, manager). The team leader is responsible for monitoring the project and this involves watching, observing and checking closely or continuously. Mahaney and Lederer (2009) examined the importance of project monitoring in order to avoid the problem of shirking in teams and found that the project monitoring does not necessarily avoid shirking in projects but planning and meetings during monitoring can predict shirking. Although there is no single leadership style applicable to all project situations, it is important to understand the role of leadership in the success of projects. Software project managers need to exhibit leadership traits which will enable them to carry out their function effectively. Linberg (1999) stated that one of the classic mistakes in software development is undermined motivation. A study by Couger and Zawacki (1980) showed that firstly software professionals had substantially higher growth needs than any of the other job categories, secondly increased motivation would occur if the software developers growth needs matched the jobs motivating potential, and thirdly increased software developer job satisfaction was associated with effective supervisory feedback. In the case of software projects, supervisory feedback related to team leader feedback. Hence the need to understand the need of those involved in the project as well striving to find ways to satisfy those needs remain an important responsibility of the team leader. Team dynamics will also interplay with leadership skills to determine the outcomes of the software project. The failure of many large software projects is due to difficulties in managing team-based work (Faraj and Sproull, 2000). According to Hohmann (1997) the most effective software development teams are also the teams that contain a variety of different personality or temperament types. This is also confirmed by Amabile etal (1996) stating thatAmabile, T.M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J. and Herron, M., 1996. Assessing the work environment for creativity. Academy of Management Journal 39, pp. 1154-1184. Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (411): Team member diversity and mutual openness to ideas may operate on creativity by exposing individuals to a greater variety of unusual ideas; such exposure has been demonstrated to positively impact creative thinking. Overall team diversity creates the synergy required in software projects however in other cases team diversity may also be a cause of failure for example a software developer may prefer one method and will become de-motivated if a newer development method is used during the project. In his work on adapters and innovators, Kirton (1994) suggested that individuals with an adaptor style prefer stability of work activities whereas individuals with the innovator style prefer new and alternative work activities. Hence such two types of developers may not be able to find a common stable ground in the software project and in turn this might lead to low job satisfaction for either party. Linberg (1999) concluded that team dynamics does impact on software projects, Team members develop their own perceptions about project failure and success and this in turn affects their performance. According to the same study, team leaders have perceptions about project success and failure as well. Shea and Guzzo (1987) introduced the concept of group potency and defined it as the collective belief of a team that it can be effective: the shared belief of team members as a whole. Akgun et al (2007) investigated the relationship between group potency and software project outcome. The study revealed that project teams involve multi-mental models due to the different knowledge, expertise, background, and personalities in the organization. The collective belief of a teams capabilities and efficacy is critical for effective team and project management. Group potency was important for fast software development and lead to less costly development of software and to high performance teams. Hutchins (1991) stated that the cognitive properties of groups can differ from those of their participating members. Software teams are different from other teams existing in an organization. They are formed of knowledge workers who have specific individual expertise embodied into the practical activi ty-based competencies (Blackler, 1995). Moreover, software development teams have a relatively unique structure, wherein the division of labour among members are highly interdependent due to the way in which the finished product is produced; the nature of the software development process is such that the product cannot be seen in its progressive development and this has implications for both team members and team leaders. Ryan and OConnor (2009) found that tacit knowledge is shared through good quality social interaction in the team. Therefore it is important for software team leader or project managers to build team structures which foster the sharing of tacit knowledge. Another pertinent issue in team dynamics is that of conflict. March and Simon (1958) defined conflict simply as the breakdown of the standard mechanisms for decision making. According to Gobeli et al (1998), team or group conflicts can be detrimental to the success of the software projects. Group conflict is a result of poor leadership influence and lack of ability to manage dysfunctional behaviours within teams. However, in many cases, team conflicts emerge out of multiple reasons such as diversity of personalities working together and lack of communication. Group conflict in the context of software teams can lead to a slow down of the progress of the project, hence not satisfying one of the key parts of the Iron triangle, time. For this reason, it important for group conflicts to be managed carefully by team leaders in order to boost team morale and to achieve efficiency. Conclusion As discussed above, software teams are vulnerable to factors emerging from the organization culture, the type of leadership and the team dynamics prevailing in the organization. All three being people-related are rather sensitive and less prone to be easily changed. They have joined the list of critical success factors for software projects. For organizations to have a culture which is conducive to success, the latter needs to be flexible rather than rigid and imposed. As we move towards more open systems at work, it is therefore fundamental for the organization culture to fit into the business context. Changes have to take place from a cultural perspectives to produce the right platform for the success of software projects. Flexibility and openness in organization culture is favored. By the same token, the type of leadership has to be based on the situation and the climate within the software team. This in turn will lead to positive team dynamics and better performances of software projects. Overall it can be concluded that organization culture, the type of leadership and team dynamics can make a difference to a software project and its team. If managed properly, these would help organizations achieve competitive advantage in the market.