Text of the Intervention made by Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Shri Prakash Javadekar during Major Economies Forum meeting at New York on 22nd September, 2014

Text of the Intervention made by Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Shri Prakash Javadekar during Major Economies Forum meeting at New York on 22nd September, 2014

Madame Chair and Excellency’s

We had very fruitful discussions yesterday and would like to carry it forward from there.

Differentiation IN INDC

·        We must remember that the new agreement including the INDCs is evolving under the convention – the basic principles and provisions of the convention will apply to all aspects of the INDCs.

·        To be consistent with the Convention, ‘contributions’ have to be understood in a differentiated manner that distinguishes between Annex I and Annex II parties commitments and non-Annex I actions: Annex I Parties should have “nationally determined” economy-wide mitigation commitments. Annex II parties should continue to have commitments to provide the finance and technology support to developing countries. Therefore, Annex II parties should make their domestic preparations, in particular on their commitments on finance and technology support to developing countries in addition to their commitments on emission reductions.

·        The “national determination” of “contributions” must strengthen the existing commitments under the Convention for Annex I Parties and reflect the diversity of national conditions and circumstances for non-Annex I Parties.

·        It needs to be highlighted that the concept of “nationally determined” as applied to mitigation has to be guided by the Convention principle of developed countries taking the lead and in a comparable manner, consistent with science demand.

Therefore, Annex I Parties should increase their pre-2020 ambitions first, with a view to setting the ambitious starting point and reference level for determining their post-2020 contributions.

·        Non-Annex I parties INDCs will be “nationally determined” and their ambition levels will depend on the extent of the finance, technology and capacity building support by Annex II Parties. For non-Annex I Parties, “national determined” contributions with respect to adaptation, mitigation, finance, technology support, capacity building, and sustainable development, would reflect the diversity of their respective national development conditions and circumstances. It should also take into account the fact that their main priority is socio-economic development and poverty eradication, as recognized in the Convention.

·        In this context, the implementation by Annex II developed country Parties of their respective commitments relating to finance and technology transfer under Article 4 of the Convention will be an essential pre-requisites and foundation for enhancing the actions and contributions of developing country Parties to avoid or reduce their emissions and to adapt to climate change even as they pursue goals of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

PM Narendra Modi speech from ISRO on successful insertion of ‘Mangalyaan’ into the Martian orbit 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwHBMR8C6B0

 PM witnesses historic successful insertion of Mars Orbiter Mission into Martian orbit
PM: All Indians are proud of our space scientists. Let us all celebrate their success today.
PM: Success of the space programme is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated the space scientists for successfully inserting the Mars Orbiter Mission into Martian orbit. The Prime Minister was addressing scientists after witnessing the insertion procedure at ISRO in Bangalore. The Prime Minister said history has been created by the Indian scientists reaching Mars in the first attempt. He said India is the first to have succeeded in the very first attempt.

The Prime Minister said that Indian scientists, through their hard work and dedication, have stretched the boundaries of human enterprise and imagination. He described the Mars Orbiter Mission as an indigenous pan-Indian effort, stretching from Bangalore to Bhubaneswar, and Faridabad to Rajkot.

Praising the scientists, Shri Narendra Modi said, the hunger of exploration and the thrill of discovery are not for the faint hearted. He remarked that he had chosen to be present at ISRO today, unmindful of success or failure of the mission. He exhorted scientists to set even more challenging targets for themselves, and said he had confidence that they would be able to achieve even those targets. You have "made a habit of achieving the impossible," the Prime Minister said. He said Modern India must continue playing its role of Jagadguru Bharat.

Shri Narendra Modi said the success of the space programme is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation. A successful space programme generates applications across multiple domains, he added. He said the efforts of India's space scientists are deepening our governance, strengthening our economy and improving our lives. Noting that the whole nation celebrates when the cricket team wins a tournament, the Prime Minister described the success of the Mars Orbiter Mission as a thousand times greater, and said all Indians must celebrate the success of our space scientists today. Let India celebrate the achievements of its scientists. Let students in every school and college applaud their efforts, he added.

The Governor of Karnataka, Shri Vajubhai Vala, the Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri Siddaramaiah, and Union Ministers Shri Ananth Kumar and Shri Sadanand Gowda were present on the occasion.

 

Governments, Business, Civil Society and Indigenous Leaders Pledge to End Loss of Forests

Governments, Business, Civil Society and Indigenous Leaders Pledge to End Loss of Forests

sep 23, 2014

sep 23, 2014

The declaration is a remarkable step forward towards reducing the CO2 emissions resulting from deforestation in forests like the Mau forest in Kenya (pictured above)

- See more at: http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2796&ArticleID=10993&l=en#sthash.veWJr5sR.dpuf

The declaration is a remarkable step forward towards reducing the CO2 emissions resulting from deforestation in forests like the Mau forest in Kenya (pictured above)
New York, 23 September 2014 - An innovative public-private partnership of multinationals, governments, civil society and indigenous peoples today pledged to cut the loss of forests in half by 2020 and end it a decade later in 2030 - a move that will eliminate the emission of between 4.5 and 8.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year. That is equivalent to removing the carbon emissions produced by the one billion cars that are currently on the world's roads.

Further Resources

    UN Climate Summit 2014
    The New York Declaration and Supporting Materials
    Climate Summit 2014: Declaration on Forests (video)

At today's Climate Summit, the New York Declaration on Forests was endorsed by countries in the developed and developing world - including the United States, the
EU
, and a large number of tropical forest countries - as well as by multinationals from the food, paper, finance and other industries, civil society organizations and indigenous peoples from Peru to Nepal. For the first time, 155 of these global leaders agreed on a date to end deforestation, and the need for large-scale economic incentives for countries that reduce the loss of their forests. Deforestation is a frequently overlooked source of carbon dioxide emissions and a significant contributor to climate change, as trees, which store carbon, instead release it when they are burned during slash-and-burn land clearing of forests.

The Declaration, which was driven by a group of countries and companies with input from civil society and indigenous peoples, aims to change politics going into next year's Paris climate talks and accelerate action by companies to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. The Declaration also calls for the restoration of over 350 million hectares of forests and croplands, an area greater than the size of India, which would bring significant climate benefits and take pressure off primary forests. It builds on announcements made at the Climate Summit and over the past months.

"I asked for countries and companies to bring bold pledges, and here they are," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "The New York Declaration aims to reduce more climate pollution each year than the United States emits annually, and it doesn't stop there. Forests are not only a critical part of the climate solution - the actions agreed today will reduce poverty, enhance food security, improve the rule of law, secure the rights of indigenous peoples and benefit communities around the world."

"Today's declaration is a remarkable step forward towards reducing the CO2 emissions resulting from deforestation - the second leading contributor of carbon emissions worldwide. Cutting forest loss by half by 2020 and ending it by 2030 may appear a mammoth undertaking. But the commitments pledged by such a diverse and influential group of actors reflect the determination required to make this a reality. With the total yearly forest loss averaging 13 million hectares, addressing deforestation will also require the development of meaningful incentives to encourage countries to incorporate forest conservation and rehabilitation in their
national
development planning. Resource efficiency, natural capital investment, financial policies and the equitable distribution of benefits need all to be part of a holistic approach enabling countries - through schemes such as REDD+ - pursue a more sustainable pathway to development through the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of forests." said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme.

"The New York Declaration sends an unmistakable signal going into Paris 2015," said Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway. "Science tells us we won't limit global warming to two degrees without massive efforts on forests. Today, forward-thinking leaders in government, business and civil society together have begun the push to enact policies, change practices and put in place appropriate incentives to end deforestation."

"This is a serious commitment for a serious challenge," said Heru Prasetyo, head of Indonesia's REDD+ Agency. "With the strong partnership of key actors from governments, industry, indigenous and local communities as well as the international community I am confident we can achieve this ground-breaking vision."

The Declaration's endorsement comes as the forest sector is transformed by new policies and shifting demand from consumer goods companies and consumers, stronger land rights for indigenous peoples and greater advocacy by civil society. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is down 75 per cent since 2004, and in the past nine months alone 60 per cent of the world's highly carbon-intensive palm oil trade has come under commitments to go deforestation-free.

"Our planet is losing forests at a rate of eight football fields every ten seconds," said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). "Today we've seen important commitments from companies, governments, civil society and indigenous peoples to halt this trend. Now it is time for urgent collaboration to see these commitments realized on the ground."

"The last few months have seen a welcome race to the top," said Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, a consumer products company. "Consumers have sent companies a clear signal that they do not want their purchasing habits to drive deforestation and companies are responding. Better still, companies are committing to working in partnership with suppliers, governments and NGOs to strengthen forest governance and economic incentives. It can be done and this Declaration signals a real intention to accelerate action."

"Forests are not solely economic resources, but are the center of spiritual life and cultural integration for indigenous peoples," said Abdon Nababan, Secretary General of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of Indonesia's Archipelago (AMAN). "The New York Declaration is a long-awaited show of political will by all countries to support indigenous peoples as we fight to defend our forests."

To support the New York Declaration, several specific commitments to action were announced today, including:

    Three of the world's largest palm oil companies - Wilmar, Golden Agri-Resources and Cargill, all of which recently announced deforestation-free sourcing policies and who jointly make up more than half of global palm oil trade - committed to work together on implementation, and joined the Indonesian Business Council in asking incoming Indonesian President Joko Widodo to support their efforts through legislation and policies.

    Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom announced they would push for large-scale economic incentives as part of the Paris climate talks in 2015, and in the next couple of years pledged to enter into up to 20 new programs to pay countries for reduced deforestation rates, if credible programs were put forward. The three countries also pledge to consider funding additional, credible programs thereafter, if REDD+ countries deliver the results. A global coalition of indigenous peoples spanning Asia, Africa, Central America and the Amazon Basin pledged to protect the more than 400 million hectares of tropical forests under their management. This represents the storage of over 70 gigatons of carbon dioxide.

    Peru and Liberia presented groundbreaking new forest policies, that see Peru getting up to US $300 million in funding from Norway and additional support from Germany, and Liberia receiving up to US $150 million from Norway, depending on results. Norway also announced support in the amount of US $100 million for indigenous peoples, as part of Norway's total pledge of $3 billion for climate and forest purposes in the years through 2020.

    26 governors from provinces covering a quarter of tropical forests pledged to do more than their fair share on climate change - to cut deforestation by 80 percent - if developed countries create new economic incentives.

    DRC, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Uganda and several other countries are set to make national pledges to restore over 30 million hectares of degraded lands, more than doubling the 20 million hectares already pledged to date under the Bonn Challenge.

    >li>The Consumer Goods Forum, a coalition of 400 companies with combined sales over US $3 trillion, called on governments to pass a legally binding climate deal in Paris next year that includes large-scale payments to countries that reduce deforestation.

    Several of Europe's largest countries committed to develop new public procurement policies to sustainably source forest-intensive commodities like palm oil, soy, beef and timber. This is expected to have a significant market impact by leveraging the buying power of some of the world's largest economies.

These announcements form part of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for action to keep global temperature increases to less than two degrees Celsius by reducing emissions, moving money, pricing pollution, strengthening resilience and mobilizing new coalitions. Forests is one of eight areas identified as critical in the fight against climate change.

Editor's Note:

To view The New York Declaration and supporting materials online here

For more information, please contact:

Shereen Zorba, Head of News and Media, UNEP +254 788 526000, Shereen.Zorba@unep.org

James Sniffen, Programme Officer, UNEP New York, +1-212-963-8094, sniffenj@un.org

Tim Christophersen, UNEP Senior Programme Officer, Forests and Climate Change, +254 723 284 204, tim.christophersen@unep.org 

New York Declaration on Forests

Forests are essential to our future. More than 1.6 billion people depend on them for food, water, fuel, medicines, traditional cultures and livelihoods. Forests also support up to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity and play a vital role in safeguarding the climate by naturally sequestering carbon. Yet, each year an average of 13 million hectares of forest disappear, often with devastating impacts on communities and indigenous peoples. The conversion of forests for the production of commodities-such as soy, palm oil, beef and paper-accounts for roughly half of global deforestation. Infrastructure, urban expansion, energy, mining and fuel wood collection also contribute in varying degrees.

We share the vision of slowing, halting, and reversing global forest loss while simultaneously enhancing food security for all. Reducing emissions from deforestation and increasing forest restoration will be extremely important in limiting global warming to 2°C. Forests represent one of the largest, most cost-effective climate solutions available today. Action to conserve, sustainably manage and restore forests can contribute to economic growth, poverty alleviation, rule of law, food security, climate resilience and biodiversity conservation. It can help secure respect for the rights of forest dependent indigenous peoples, while promoting their participation and that of local communities in decision-making.

With our varying mandates, capabilities, and circumstances, collectively we commit to doing our part to achieve the following outcomes in partnership, including by ensuring that strong, large-scale economic incentives are in place commensurate with the size of the challenge:

    At least halve the rate of loss of natural forests globally by 2020 and strive to end natural forest loss by 2030.

    Support and help meet the private-sector goal of eliminating deforestation from the production of agricultural commodities such as palm oil, soy, paper and beef products by no later than 2020, recognizing that many companies have even more ambitious targets.

    Significantly reduce deforestation derived from other economic sectors by 2020.

    Support alternatives to deforestation driven by basic needs (such as subsistence farming and reliance on fuel wood for energy) in ways that alleviate poverty and promote sustainable and equitable development.

    Restore 150 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands by 2020 and significantly increase the rate of global restoration thereafter, which would restore at least an additional 200 million hectares by 2030.

    Include ambitious, quantitative forest conservation and restoration targets for 2030 in the post-2015 global development framework, as part of new international sustainable development goals.

    Agree in 2015 to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation as part of a post-2020 global climate agreement, in accordance with internationally agreed rules and consistent with the goal of not exceeding 2°C warming.

    Provide support for the development and implementation of strategies to reduce forest emissions.

    Reward countries and jurisdictions that, by taking action, reduce forest emissions-particularly through public policies to scale-up payments for verified emission reductions and private-sector sourcing of commodities.

    Strengthen forest governance, transparency and the rule of law, while also empowering communities and recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples, especially those pertaining to their lands and resources.

Achieving these outcomes could reduce emissions by 4.5-¬‐8.8 billion tons per year by 2030. By working in partnership, we can achieve these goals and chart a new course toward conserving, restoring, and managing healthy forests for the benefit of all. We invite others to join us in committing to a world where people and forests grow together.
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Relationship between BOD, COD, TOC and ThOD

Relationship between BOD, COD, TO and ThOD

 For a completely biodegradable wastewater such as glucose, approximately ten percent of the original organics remain as non-biodegradable cellular residues after biological oxidation. Hence, the cellular residues are not measured by the BOD test. Therefore:

BODu = 0.9ThOD  —1

where BODu = ultimate BOD

            ThOD = theoretical oxygen demand For domestic sewage and some biodegradable industrial wastes, the relationship between BOD5 and BODu is:

BOD5 = 0.77BODu  —2

where BOD5 = 5 day BOD
            BODu = ultimate BOD
For most wastewaters:

ThOD = COD —3

where ThOD = theoretical oxygen demand

COD = chemical oxygen demand since the COD test oxidizes all organics except for those which are totally resistant to dichromate oxidation.

Stoichiometrically, the COD/TOC ratio should be approximately the molecular ratio of oxygen to carbon:

COD/TOC =32/12= 2.66 —4

The ratio will actually range from zero, when organic material is resistant to dichromate oxidation, to as much as 6.0 when inorganic reducing agents are present.
For raw domestic sewage and some biodegradable industrial wastes, the following ratio of BOD5/TOC occurs:

BOD5/TOC =32/12(0.90)(0.77) = 1.85 —5

where BOD5 = 5 day BOD
TOC = Total Organic Carbon

0.90 = BOD5/BODu as per —1
0.77 = BODu/ThOD as per —2
              As a wastewater is oxidized through a wastewater treatment plant, the BOD5/TOC ratio will drop. A treatment plant effluent may have a BOD5 /TOC ratio of as low as 0.5 since the effluent wastewater is so much less biodegradable. (It has already been largely degraded).

              The BOD5 to COD ratio for domestic waste and certain biodegradable industrial wastes can be computed as follows:

BOD5 = 0.7 COD —6

where BOD5 = 5 day BOD
              COD = chemical oxygen demand
                 0.7 = 1.85 /2.66

               1.85 = BOD5/TOC as per –5                2.66 = COD/TOC as per   –4
                 This ratio can also vary widely depending on the state of biodegradation of the wastewater. The author has found this ratio as low as 0.1 after several days of oxidation. If the BOD of a biodegradable wastewater equals zero, the wastewater will be completely biodegraded. There is some controversy about whether this ever occurs. Many authors will say that the Non-biodegradable Residue (NBDR) is as high as 0.10 as explained in the first paragraph of this section. The author has found that in activated sludge systems with hydraulic detention times in the range of 14 days, there is no accumulation of volatile suspended solids, which indicates that all organics are ultimately degraded under certain anoxic conditions.

Posted by T.P.Sivanandan on November 12th, 2009 

Organic Strength of Wastewater As a point of clarification it should be noted that all municipal wastewater treatment plants use five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) as a measure of the organic concentration into, and through, the wastewater plant. The BOD5 test measures the oxygen taken up by wastewater during the biological oxidation of the soluble organic matter in the wastewater. But the BOD5 test is a highly unreliable means of determining the amount of organic matter present in water. The test measures only the approximate amount of oxygen that will be required (absorbed or consumed) by a wastewater when it is exposed to air or oxygen for an extended period of time. Toxic substances in the wastewater inhibit or even prevent bacterial growth and, therefore, oxidation of the organic matter. When this happens, the test result is lower than the actual amount of organic matter present would suggest. The BOD5 test is limited in some applications such as industrial wastewaters, which often contain heavy metal ions, cyanides, and other substances toxic to microorganisms. When microorganisms become poisoned by toxic substances, they are unable to oxidize waste, in which case the BOD5 test becomes an ineffective measure of organic pollution.

Most industrial wastewater treatment plants use chemical oxygen demand (COD) or total organic carbon (TOC) rather than the BOD5 test. Due to the length of time required to complete the BOD5 test (five days), BOD results provide historical data only and do not facilitate rapid water quality assessment for optimal process control. The highly variable chemical composition and strength of industrial wastewater requires a much more rapid method for measuring the organic concentration, hence the use of the two hour COD test or the 30 minute TOC analysis. Municipal wastewater plants operate with much greater consistency (less variation) in the strength of the influent organic loading which allows the municipality to wait five days to determine the organic concentration entering the plant. The TOC test can take several minutes to several hours to complete, and information obtained from a TOC analysis is less useful than information obtained from the BOD5 or the COD analysis. The TOC test does not differentiate between compounds with the same number of carbon atoms in different stages of oxidation and will thus produce different oxygen demand results. Because BOD5 and COD tests directly measure the amount of oxygen required to stabilize a waste sample, results reflect the original oxidation state of the chemical pollutants. The relationship between BOD5, COD, and TOC is shown in Figure 1.

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Figure 1: BOD, COD, and TOC Relationship

COD test results can also be used to estimate the BOD5 results for a given sample. An empirical relationship exists between BOD5, COD, and TOC. However, the specific relationship must be established for each sample location in a plant. That is, the relationship between the BOD5, COD, and TOC from a given sample location is site-specific. Once the correlation has been established, the COD test is useful for monitoring and process control. Without BOD5 data correlated to COD data, the ratios in Table 1 can be used to estimate (roughly approximate, really) the relationship between COD, BOD5, and/or TOC. Use the table with caution though. These ratio values are only a guide and may vary significantly from what is actually taking place at your wastewater plant. To see examples of how well these ratios correlate with specific sample data, click here.

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Table 1: Ratio of BOD to COD to TOC

The ratio comparisons shown in Table 2 are particularly insightful. Starting with a theoretical total oxygen demand, determined stoichiometrically, of 850 mg/L, we can see that the 5-day BOD test only estimates 32.9% of the total oxygen demand, far from (much lower than) the potential oxygen demand actually occurring in the bioreactor. The COD, measured using the potassium dichromate method, does a much better job of estimating the oxygen demand, at 600 mg/L or 70.6% of the theoretical total oxygen demand, but the COD test still does not capture the total oxygen demand in the bioreactor. Keep in mind, the most accurate method for determining the “true” or actual oxygen demand in the bioreactor at any point in time, is through the use of oxygen uptake rate testing, a simple 15-minute test.

				Table 2: Ratio Comparison of BOD to COD to TOC

Vision for a Healthy Ocean Ocean Conservancy works to keep the ocean healthy, to keep us healthy

International Coastal Cleanup 2014 Trash Free Seas Report: By the Numbers

International Coastal Cleanup

2014 Trash Free Seas Report: By the Numbers

A collection of infographics from our 2014 report

Sembmarine Kakinada, India – One-Stop Integrated Marine Facility

Sembmarine Kakinada, a joint venture between Sembawang Shipyard Pte Ltd and Kakinada Seaports Limited, is an integrated marine and offshore facility strategically located in the East Coast of India, catering to offshore drilling units and merchant vessels trading or operating in the waters off Indian Coast, one of the world’s key oil and gas exploration areas. SKL is operating within the vicinity of Kakinada Seaports and will be developed in 3 phases to offer shipowners and offshore operators, a one-stop integrated offshore

service

facility by 2012, including the repairs and servicing of offshore vessels and ships, newbuildings, riser/equipment repairs and modules fabrication.

Strategic Location SKL is strategically situated between Visakhapatnam and Chennai Ports, a dynamic gateway on the Indian Coast
Aerial View of Sembmarine Kakinada facilities
Key Facts of Sembmarine Kakinada Management Team and Workforce  Strong management team and skilled labour from Sembawang Shipyard, Singapore  ISO 9001 : 2008 & OHSAS 18001:2007 certified Operations Round-the-clock operations Facilities Floating Dock (190 m x 32.3 m, 6.0 m maximum draft) with 13,500 ton lifting capacity (operational by August 2012) Deep and sheltered water depths up to 12.5 m 635 x 25 meter repair pier with 2 x 50 tons luffing cranes 2 x 250 tons crawlers 150 ton heavy transporter, 3-6 ton forklifts, 14-21 meter cherry pickers and 15 – 25 tons mobile cranes Riser repair & re-certification shop Tubular repair & drill stem components manufacturing shop Mechanical engineering workshop Electrical engineering workshop Riser blasting & painting shop Steel workshop with CNC cutting machine, plate rolling machine plate forming machine and profile bending machine Enclosed blasting & painting chamber with dust containment system Multi-purpose workshop Outfitting & piping workshops Fabrication workshops with jibs and A frame supports Ship, Offshore Repair & Conversion Facilities Up to 20,000 dwt newbuilding facilities Development Plans 3-phase development programme over 5 years One-stop integrated offshore service facilities by 2012

Sembmarine Kakinada Floating Dock (200 m x 32.2 m)	Fabrication Workshop
OSV Repair Jetty	SKL NRW Pier with OSV Jetty
Riser repairs in workshop	Tail shaft removal in dock

Regular & Hassle-free logistics support from Kakinada Seaports Round-the-clock operations Channel depth of 12.5 m Spacious & secured warehouses and storage facilities Efficient cargo evacuation with rail/ road linkage Cargo weighment by 2 x 80 tons Electronic Weigh Bridges EDI connected in-house custom clearance support  Contacts Mr M K Lee, General Manager – mklee.skl@sembkakinada.com Mr CG Neo, Executive Director - choongee.neo@sembmarine.com Mr Roy Varghese, Sales Manager - roy.varghese@sembmarine.com

Problem Solving and Decision Making

Problem Solving and Decision Making

Much of what managers and supervisors do is solve problems and make decisions. New managers and supervisors, in particular, often solve problems and decisions by reacting to them. They are "under the gun", stressed and very short for time. Consequently, when they encounter a new problem or decision they must make, they react with a decision that seemed to work before. It's easy with this approach to get stuck in a circle of solving the same problem over and over again. Therefore, as a new manager or supervisor, get used to an organized approach to problem solving and decision making. Not all problems can be solved and decisions made by the following, rather rational approach. However, the following basic guidelines will get you started. Don't be intimidated by the length of the list of guidelines. After you've practiced them a few times, they'll become second nature to you -- enough that you can deepen and enrich them to suit your own needs and nature.
(Note that it might be more your nature to view a "problem" as an "opportunity". Therefore, you might substitute "opportunity" for "problem" in the following guidelines.)

1. Define the problem

This is often where people struggle. They react to what they think the problem is. Instead, seek to understand more about why you think there's a problem.

Defining the problem: (with input from yourself and others)

Ask yourself and others, the following questions:
a. What can you see that causes you to think there's a problem?
b. Where is it happening?
c. How is it happening?
d. When is it happening?
e. With whom is it happening? (HINT: Don't jump to "Who is causing the problem?" When we're stressed, blaming is often one of our first reactions. To be an effective manager, you need to address issues more than people.)
f. Why is it happening?
g. Write down a five-sentence description of the problem in terms of "The following should be happening, but isn't ..." or "The following is happening and should be: ..." As much as possible, be specific in your description, including what is happening, where, how, with whom and why. (It may be helpful at this point to use a variety of research methods. See .

Defining complex problems:

a. If the problem still seems overwhelming, break it down by repeating steps a-f until you have descriptions of several related problems.

Verifying your understanding of the problems:

a. It helps a great deal to verify your problem analysis for conferring with a peer or someone else.

Prioritize the problems:

a. If you discover that you are looking at several related problems, then prioritize which ones you should address first.
b. Note the difference between "important" and "urgent" problems. Often, what we consider to be important problems to consider are really just urgent problems. Important problems deserve more attention. For example, if you're continually answering "urgent" phone calls, then you've probably got a more "important" problem and that's to design a system that screens and prioritizes your phone calls.

Understand your role in the problem:

a. Your role in the problem can greatly influence how you perceive the role of others. For example, if you're very stressed out, it'll probably look like others are, too, or, you may resort too quickly to blaming and reprimanding others. Or, you are feel very guilty about your role in the problem, you may ignore the accountabilities of others.

2. Look at potential causes for the problem

a. It's amazing how much you don't know about what you don't know. Therefore, in this phase, it's critical to get input from other people who notice the problem and who are effected by it.
b. It's often useful to collect input from other individuals one at a time (at least at first). Otherwise, people tend to be inhibited about offering their impressions of the real causes of problems.
c. Write down what your opinions and what you've heard from others.
d. Regarding what you think might be performance problems associated with an employee, it's often useful to seek advice from a peer or your supervisor in order to verify your impression of the problem.
e.Write down a description of the cause of the problem and in terms of what is happening, where, when, how, with whom and why.

3. Identify alternatives for approaches to resolve the problem

a. At this point, it's useful to keep others involved (unless you're facing a personal and/or employee performance problem). Brainstorm for solutions to the problem. Very simply put, brainstorming is collecting as many ideas as possible, then screening them to find the best idea. It's critical when collecting the ideas to not pass any judgment on the ideas -- just write them down as you hear them. (A wonderful set of skills used to identify the underlying cause of issues is Systems Thinking.)

4. Select an approach to resolve the problem

When selecting the best approach, consider:
a. Which approach is the most likely to solve the problem for the long term?
b. Which approach is the most realistic to accomplish for now? Do you have the resources? Are they affordable? Do you have enough time to implement the approach?
c. What is the extent of risk associated with each alternative?
(The nature of this step, in particular, in the problem solving process is why problem solving and decision making are highly integrated.)

5. Plan the implementation of the best alternative (this is your action plan)

a. Carefully consider "What will the situation look like when the problem is solved?"
b. What steps should be taken to implement the best alternative to solving the problem? What systems or processes should be changed in your organization, for example, a new policy or procedure? Don't resort to solutions where someone is "just going to try harder".
c. How will you know if the steps are being followed or not? (these are your indicators of the success of your plan)
d. What resources will you need in terms of people, money and facilities?
e. How much time will you need to implement the solution? Write a schedule that includes the start and stop times, and when you expect to see certain indicators of success.
f. Who will primarily be responsible for ensuring implementation of the plan?
g. Write down the answers to the above questions and consider this as your action plan.
h. Communicate the plan to those who will involved in implementing it and, at least, to your immediate supervisor.
(An important aspect of this step in the problem-solving process is continually observation and feedback.)

6. Monitor implementation of the plan

Monitor the indicators of success:
a. Are you seeing what you would expect from the indicators?
b. Will the plan be done according to schedule?
c. If the plan is not being followed as expected, then consider: Was the plan realistic? Are there sufficient resources to accomplish the plan on schedule? Should more priority be placed on various aspects of the plan? Should the plan be changed?

7. Verify if the problem has been resolved or not

One of the best ways to verify if a problem has been solved or not is to resume normal operations in the organization. Still, you should consider:
a. What changes should be made to avoid this type of problem in the future? Consider changes to policies and procedures, training, etc.
b. Lastly, consider "What did you learn from this problem solving?" Consider new knowledge, understanding and/or skills.
c. Consider writing a brief memo that highlights the success of the problem solving effort, and what you learned as a result. Share it with your supervisor, peers and subordinates.
For additional and advanced information, see:

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UNDERSTANDING STRATEGIC PLANNING

UNDERSTANDING STRATEGIC PLANNING

Introduction -- What is Strategic Planning?

There Are Various Different Views and Models -- and the Process You Use Depends

Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going to get there and how it'll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business plan is usually on a particular product, service or program.
There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the organization's leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organization's environment, size of the organization, expertise of planners, etc. For example, there are a variety of strategic planning models, including goals-based, issues-based, organic, scenario (some would assert that scenario planning is more of a technique than model), etc.
1) Goals-based planning is probably the most common and starts with focus on the organization's mission (and vision and/or values), goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and action planning (who will do what and by when).
2) Issues-based strategic planning often starts by examining issues facing the organization, strategies to address those issues and action plans.
3) Organic strategic planning might start by articulating the organization's vision and values, and then action plans to achieve the vision while adhering to those values. Some planners prefer a particular approach to planning, eg, appreciative inquiry.
Some plans are scoped to one year, many to three years, and some to five to ten years into the future. Some plans include only top-level information and no action plans. Some plans are five to eight pages long, while others can be considerably longer.
Quite often, an organization's strategic planners already know much of what will go into a strategic plan (this is true for business planning, too). However, development of the strategic plan greatly helps to clarify the organization's plans and ensure that key leaders are all "on the same script". Far more important than the strategic plan document, is the strategic planning process itself.
Also, in addition to the size of the organization, differences in how organizations carry out the planning activities are more of a matter of the nature of the participants in the organization -- than its for-profit/nonprofit status. For example, detail-oriented people may prefer a linear, top-down, general-to-specific approach to planning. On the other hand, rather artistic and highly reflective people may favor of a highly divergent and "organic" approach to planning.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

This method aims to identify and closely align organizational goals and subordinate objectives throughout the organization. Ideally, employees get strong input to identify their own goals and objectives. It includes extensive, ongoing tracking and feedback in the processes to reach objectives. Similar to continuous improvement, many organizations already implement some version of MBO, but probably not to the extent that experts in MBO would recognize as MBO in the organizations.
All About Strategic Planning

Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going to get there and how it'll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business plan is usually on a particular product, service or program. There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the organization's leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organization's environment, size of the organization and expertise of planners. If you need more help,
see our strategic planning services.

    Want to learn how to facilitate strategic planning?  ConsultantsDevelopmentInstitute.org
    Most of the information in this topic was adapted from the book Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation. Most of the information in that book applies to for-profits, as well.

Sections of This Topic Include
Understanding Strategic Planning

Introduction -- What is Strategic Planning?
- - - Some Basic Descriptions of Strategic Planning -- and a Comparison to Business Planning
- - - Some Different Models of Strategic Planning
- - - For-Profit Versus Nonprofit Strategic Planning
Benefits of Strategic Planning
When Should Strategic Planning Be Done?
Various Overviews of Strategic Planning Process
- - - Samples of Plans
Boards and Strategic Planning
Conducting Strategic Planning

Preparation for Strategic Planning
- - - Guidelines to Keep Perspective During Planning
- - - Useful Skills to Have When Planning
- - - Need Consultant or Facilitator to Help You With Planning?
- - - Who Should Be Involved in Planning?
- - - How Many Planning Meetings Will We Need?
Always First Do "Plan for a Plan"
Strategic Analyses
- - - Taking Wide Look Around the Outside of Organization (Opportunities and Threats)
- - - Looking Around Inside the Organization (Strengths and Weaknesses)
Setting Strategic Direction
- - - Strategizing (identifying goals and methods to achieve them)
- - - - - - Understanding Strategy and Strategic Thinking
- - - - - - Do a SWOT Analysis of Results of Looking Outside and Inside the Organization?
- - - - - - Other Guidelines to Identify Strategic Goals and Methods/Strategies to Achieve Goals
- - - - - - - - - Consider Your Business Model (For-Profit and Nonprofit)
- - - - - - - - - Evaluate Your Strategies
- - - Developing/Updating Mission Statement (the purpose of the organization)
- - - Developing/Updating Vision Statement (depiction of future state of organization and customers)
- - - Developing/Updating Values Statement (overall priorities in how organization operates)
Action Planning (Objectives, Responsibilities and Deadlines)
Writing and Communicating the Plan
Implementing, Monitoring, Evaluating and Deviating from the Plan -- and Managing Change
- - - How Do We Ensure Implementation of Our New Plan?
- - - Monitoring Implementation, Evaluating Implementation -- and Deviating from Plan, If Necessary
- - - Changing the Plan as Necessary During Implementation
- - - Guidelines to Manage Organizational Change While Implementing the Plan

Guidelines to Ensure Successful Planning and Implementation

Guidelines to Ensure Successful Planning and Implementation

A common failure in many kinds of planning is that the plan is never really implemented. Instead, all focus is on writing a plan document. Too often, the plan sits collecting dust on a shelf. Therefore, most of the following guidelines help to ensure that the planning process is carried out completely and is implemented completely -- or, deviations from the intended plan are recognized and managed accordingly.

Involve the Right People in the Planning Process

Going back to the reference to systems, it's critical that all parts of the system continue to exchange feedback in order to function effectively. This is true no matter what type of system. When planning, get input from everyone who will responsible to carry out parts of the plan, along with representative from groups who will be effected by the plan. Of course, people also should be involved in they will be responsible to review and authorize the plan.

Write Down the Planning Information and Communicate it Widely

New managers, in particular, often forget that others don't know what these managers know. Even if managers do communicate their intentions and plans verbally, chances are great that others won't completely hear or understand what the manager wants done. Also, as plans change, it's extremely difficult to remember who is supposed to be doing what and according to which version of the plan. Key stakeholders (employees, management, board members, funders, investor, customers, clients, etc.) may request copies of various types of plans. Therefore, it's critical to write plans down and communicate them widely. For more guidelines in this regard, see

Goals and Objectives Should Be SMARTER

SMARTER is an acronym, that is, a word composed by joining letters from different words in a phrase or set of words. In this case, a SMARTER goal or objective is:

Specific:

For example, it's difficult to know what someone should be doing if they are to pursue the goal to "work harder". It's easier to recognize "Write a paper".

Measurable:

It's difficult to know what the scope of "Writing a paper" really is. It's easier to appreciate that effort if the goal is "Write a 30-page paper".

Acceptable:

If I'm to take responsibility for pursuit of a goal, the goal should be acceptable to me. For example, I'm not likely to follow the directions of someone telling me to write a 30-page paper when I also have to five other papers to write. However, if you involve me in setting the goal so I can change my other commitments or modify the goal, I'm much more likely to accept pursuit of the goal as well.

Realistic:

Even if I do accept responsibility to pursue a goal that is specific and measurable, the goal won't be useful to me or others if, for example, the goal is to "Write a 30-page paper in the next 10 seconds".

Time frame:

It may mean more to others if I commit to a realistic goal to "Write a 30-page paper in one week". However, it'll mean more to others (particularly if they are planning to help me or guide me to reach the goal) if I specify that I will write one page a day for 30 days, rather than including the possibility that I will write all 30 pages in last day of the 30-day period.

Extending:

The goal should stretch the performer's capabilities. For example, I might be more interested in writing a 30-page paper if the topic of the paper or the way that I write it will extend my capabilities.

Rewarding:

I'm more inclined to write the paper if the paper will contribute to an effort in such a way that I might be rewarded for my effort.

How to Do to Planning

How to Do to Planning

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation and Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation.

One of the most common sets of activities in the management is planning. Very simply put, planning is setting the direction for something -- some system -- and then guiding the system to follow the direction. There are many kinds of planning in organizations. Common to these many kinds of planning are various phases of planning and guidelines for carrying them out as effectively as possible. Information in this document can be referenced as a basis from which to carry out various kinds of planning, ranging from highly complex to simple and basic. (The library topic Planning describes a wide variety of plans.) To help make the following information applicable to as many situations as possible, the scope of the following planning information is to the "system", which is fully explained below. The following process should be customized by planners to the meet the needs and nature of the planners and their organizations.
Sections of This Topic Include
Context of Planning
Putting Planning in its Larger Context (Working Backwards Through Any "System")
Quick Look at Some Basic Terms in Planning
Typical Overall Phases in Planning
Basic Overview of Typical Phases in Planning
Guidelines for Successful Planning and Implementation
Involve the Right People in the Planning Process
Write Down the Planning Information and Communicate it Widely
Goals and Objectives Should Be SMARTER
Build in Accountability (Regularly Review Who's Doing What and By When?)
Note Deviations from the Plan and Replan Accordingly
Evaluate the Planning Process and the Plan
Realize that the Recurring Planning Process is at Least as Important as the Plan Document
Ensure the Nature of the Process is Compatible to the Nature of Planners
A Critical -- But Frequently Missing Step -- Acknowledgement and Celebration of Results
The Secret to Ensuring Follow-Through

What is "Management"? What Do Managers Do?

What is "Management"? What Do Managers Do?

What is "Management"?

Traditional Interpretation

There are a variety of views about this term. Traditionally, the term "management" refers to the set of activities, and often the group of people, involved in four general functions, including planning, organizing, leading and coordinating activities. (Note that the four functions recur throughout the organization and are highly integrated.)

Another Interpretation

Some writers, teachers and practitioners assert that the above view is rather outmoded and that management needs to focus more on leadership skills, e.g., establishing vision and goals, communicating the vision and goals, and guiding others to accomplish them. They also assert that leadership must be more facilitative, participative and empowering in how visions and goals are established and carried out. Some people assert that this really isn't a change in the management functions, rather it's re-emphasizing certain aspects of management.

What Do Managers Do?

Both of the above interpretations acknowledge the major functions of planning, organizing, leading and coordinating activities -- they put different emphasis and suggest different natures of activities in the following four major functions. They still agree that what managers do is the following:

1. Planning

including identifying goals, objectives, methods, resources needed to carry out methods, responsibilities and dates for completion of tasks. Examples of planning are strategic planning, business planning, project planning, staffing planning, advertising and promotions planning, etc.

2. Organizing resources

to achieve the goals in an optimum fashion. Examples are organizing new departments, human resources, office and file systems, re-organizing businesses, etc.

3. Leading

Including to set direction for the organization, groups and individuals and also influence people to follow that direction. Examples are establishing strategic direction (vision, values, mission and / or goals) and championing methods of organizational performance management to pursue that direction.

4. Controlling, or Coordinating

This occurs with the organization's systems, processes and structures to effectively and efficiently reach goals and objectives. This includes ongoing collection of feedback, and monitoring and adjustment of systems, processes and structures accordingly. Examples include use of financial controls, policies and procedures, performance management processes, measures to avoid risks etc.
Another common view is that "management" is getting things done through others. Yet another view, quite apart from the traditional view, asserts that the job of management is to support employee's efforts to be fully productive members of the organizations and citizens of the community.
To most employees, the term "management" probably means the group of people (executives and other managers) who are primarily responsible for making decisions in the organization. In a nonprofit, the term "management" might refer to all or any of the activities of the board, executive director and/or program directors.

Selecting a Solvent

Selecting a Solvent

If the solvent is not specified, you will need to test a variety of solvents to determine what will work best for the solute you are trying to recrystallize. This testing can be accomplished by putting a small amount of your solute (about the size of a pea) into three small test tubes. In each test tube, place 0.5 mL of each potential solvent. Use a stirring rod to agitate the solute or "flick" the bottom of the test tube with one finger while holding the top with the other hand. If the solute dissolves at room temperature with stirring, the solvent should be discarded as a potential recrystallization solvent. If the sample does not dissolve at room temperature, place the test tube in a hot water bath and stir the contents. If the solute partially dissolves add more solvent and continue stirring. If the solute dissolves completely, remove it from heat and place it in an ice-water bath. If crystals do not form, try to scratch the inside of the test tube with a stirring rod. If crystals form, you have found an appropriate recrystallization solvent; if no crystals form, keep looking for the right match between solvent and solute.
If no solvent can be found, perhaps you will need to use a mixed solvent. If two solvents in which the solute has different solubility characteristics are mixed, sometimes an appropriate solvent can be found. For instance, if your solute is insoluble in water but soluble in ethanol at room temperature, a mixture of the two solvents may produce an appropriate solvent in which the solute is insoluble at room temperature but very soluble at a significantly higher temperature. To find the proper proportion of water to ethanol in this example, first, completely dissolve your solute in ethanol at room temperature. Then, begin to add water until the solution becomes cloudy (this is because all of the solute is no longer held in solution). Add just enough ethanol to make your solution clear and begin your recrystallization procedure.

Commonly Used Solvents

Solvent	B.P.	Dielectric Constant*	Safety Concerns
Water	100	78.4	None
Ethanol	78	24.5	Flammable; irritating to the eyes, respiratory system, and skin
Acetone	56	20.6	Flammable; Irritating to the eyes; Vapors may cause drowsiness or dizziness
Tetrahydrofuran	66	7.58	Flammable; Harmful if swallowed; Irritating to the eyes, skin, and respiratory system
Ethyl acetate	78	6.02	Flammable; Irritating to the eyes; Vapors may cause drowsiness or dizziness
Cyclohexane	81	1.89	Flammable; May damage lungs if swallowed; Vapors may cause drowsiness or dizziness

*The dielectric constant is a measure of the solvent's ability to separate ions. In general, ionic compounds are more soluble in solvents with high dielectric constants.