The Decline of the English and Humanities Departments of Universities Research Paper

The Decline of the English and Humanities Departments of Universities - Research Paper Example Regardless of this reduced interest in Humanities, it is important to note that Scientists and Economists alike rely on languages and Humanities in their researches, analyses and presentations (Howard 24). The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of such a decline and the proposal of possible solutions to reverse the situation. Different policymakers and educators have become more and more responsive of the significance of understanding the learning practices of other countries. This is done on the basis to evaluate the comparative standing of their education results as a sign of international financial competitiveness. In any given society or nation, education forms a point of reference from where economic development is achieved and the improvement of the living standards. Howard (34) notes that the great loss and disappearance of great works, the consistent devaluation of humanities against the sciences and the sluggish speed of humanities as compared to that of hi-tech nologies are all factors for the reduced interest in humanities. With this also comes the fact that parents and students alike desire a profitable return for their big investments in high education. Thus, more and more students turn to Science subjects and Economics. It is worth contemplating that English and humanities departments should be made in such a way that learners are assured of getting job once they leave their colleges. This will be the only way through which the decline of such subjects will be minimized in the end. As Chace (35) suggests, the major cause for this has been the failure of the English and Humanities’ departments on themselves to champion the material they teach. For instance, English departments have shifted their focus from once popular books and literature to arbitrary studies, such as identity, popular culture, sexuality and abstruse theory. The result is that the books, which ought to be studied independently, have become a secondary rather tha n a primary source, being used only to give information about these studies. The impact of this is that the departments â€Å"have distanced themselves from young people interested in good books† (Chace 36). This explains the reduction in enrollment into Humanities over the past few decades, whereby, even with an increased capacity of student enrollment into universities, there has been a significant reduction of the students enrolled in these departments. Besides, while English departments are responsible for teaching composition in the Universities- a central activity in higher education- its instructors are among the lowest paid, sometimes being considered as a liability rather than an asset (Chace 40). This has formed a point of reference from where many of the instructors have been forced to seek well paying jobs, in so doing resulting to the decline of certain departments. The fact that many higher education institutions have had to close their humanities and foreign la nguages departments so as to cut ion cost is in itself a daunting and frightening fact to the absolute future of humanities. Similarly, several studies show that the faculty jobs for humanities are diminishing while that of social sciences is increasing. For instance, one such study by Stanford University in 2006 shows that between 1915 and 1955, the faculty

Global Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Human Resource Management - Essay Example The manner in which an organization will use its resources to achieve competitive advantage in the larger environment is defined by strategies. Formulation of strategies and process of management analyzes opportunities and threats in business and resource breaches. Existing values and philosophy of management will also be analyzed. The success of an organization depends on how strategies are formulated and pursued. These strategies should take advantage of the prospects outside, minimize the effect of threats from outside and capitalize on strengths from inside the organization. An organization that has intentions to expand its operations into the international markets should base on the accurate competence. Right competence is necessary so that the organization is relevant in the international markets. An organization should also understand the target markets priorities together with the challenges involved into the environments of the international markets. In response, the organiz ation should develop strategies that would make it a decipherable player in the international stage. This paper sought to locate to locate the staffing strategies and supporting aspects in internalization of organizations in the automobile industry, using the BMW group as a case study. To sum up, the data analyzed identified various staffing strategies that organizations employ to ensure successful process of internalization. The strategies are market dominance position strategy, business models strategy, mode of entry strategy and opportunism on government policies. Organizations are about people and not strategy, structures or systems. Organizations adapt their human resource management practices for successful strategies execution so as to survive and grow in the international markets. International human resource field has been a focus of all business organizations and its

Organizational Culture of Public and Private Sector Banks

Organizational Culture of Public and Private Sector Banks In the past 25 years, the concept of organizational culture has gained wide acceptance as a way to understand human systems. From an open-sytems perspective, each aspect of organizational culture can be seen as an important environmental condition affecting the system and its subsystems. The examination of organizational culture is also a valuable analytical tool in its own right. This way of looking at organizations borrows heavily from anthropology and sociology and uses many of the same terms to define the building blocks of culture. Edgar Schein, one of the most prominent theorists of organizational culture, gave the following very general definition: The culture of a group can now be defined as: A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. (Schein 373-374) The pattern of shared values, beliefs and assumptions considered to be the appropriate way to think and act within an organization. Culture is shared Culture helps members solve problems Culture is taught to newcomers Culture strongly influences behavior Layers of Culture 1.1 Elements of culture G. Johnson described a cultural web, identifying a number of elements that can be used to describe or influence Organizational Culture: The Paradigm: What the organization is about; what it does; its mission; its values. Control Systems: The processes in place to monitor what is going on. Role cultures would have vast rulebooks. There would be more reliance on individualism in a power culture. Organizational Structures: Reporting lines, hierarchies, and the way that work flows through the business. Power Structures: Who makes the decisions, how widely spread is power, and on what is power based? Symbols: These include organizational logos and designs, but also extend to symbols of power such as parking spaces and executive washrooms. Rituals and Routines: Management meetings, board reports and so on may become more habitual than necessary. Stories and Myths: build up about people and events, and convey a message about what is valued within the organization. These elements may overlap. Power structures may depend on control systems, which may exploit the very rituals that generate stories which may not be true. 1.2 Dimensions of Organizational Culture Innovation and risk-taking The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks. Attention to detail The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. Outcome orientation The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on technique and process. People orientation The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. 1.3 Keeping a Culture Alive To keep the culture alive of an organization following are to be considered:- Selection Identify and hire individuals who will fit in with the culture Top Management Senior executives establish and communicate the norms of the organization Socialization 1.4. Profiles of the bank Introduction to ICICI ICICI was formed in 1955 at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry. ICICI Bank (BSE: ICICI) (formerly Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) is Indias largest private sector bank by market capitalization and second largest overall in terms of assets. Its industry basically includes banking, insurance capital alliance. It has about  a network of 1,668 branches and about 4,883 ATMs in India and presence in 18 countries as well as some 24 million customers (at the end of July 2007). The Bank is expanding in overseas markets and has the largest international balance sheet among Indian banks. ICICI Bank now has wholly-owned subsidiaries, branches and representatives offices in 18 countries, including an offshore unit in Mumbai. ICICI Bank is also the largest issuer of credit cards in India. It is the most valuable bank in India in terms of market capitalization. ICICI Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialized subsidiaries and affiliates in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management. The principal objective was to create a development financial institution for providing medium-term and long-term project financing to Indian businesses. ICICI was the first one to introduce the concept of branding in the Indian banking industry. ICICI Bank is one of the Big Four Banks of India with State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank. Introduction to HDFC Hdfc bank is one of the popular private sector banks. It was established in 1994.the full name of hdfc bank is Housing Development Finance Corporation. It was the first bank to receive an approval from RBI for setting up bank in private sector. This bank was incorporated with the name HDFC bank ltd. and the registered head office of hdfc bank is in Mumbai. At present the bank is having total no. of 1412 branches and over 3275 ATMs across India MAJOR POINTS In 2002 HDFC bank witnessed and its merger with times bank limited .with this both HDFC and times bank become the first two private banks in new generation private sector banks. In 2008 RBI approved merger of Centurian bank of Punjab with HDFC bank. With this merger the total deposit reached RS 1,22,000 Crore. While advances were RS 89,000 crore and balance sheet size was RS 1,63,000 crore. All the branches of the bank are online connected with the other ensuring speedy funds transfer for the customers. The bank is Continuously using up to date technology along with market position to build maximum market share. CAPITAL STRUCTURE HDFC banks total authorized capital is RS 550 crore at present from this the paid up amount is 424.6 crore. HDFC group holds 19.4%. The bank has about 5, 70,000 share holders. Its share find a listing on the stock exchange (Mumbai and national stock exchange).hdfc banks American depository shares are listed on the New York stock exchange (NYSE). Introduction to SBI SBI, the state bank of India is a public sector bank. It was founded in 1806 in Kolkata as Bank of Calcutta. Its headquarters are situated in Corporate Centre, Madam Cama  Road, Mumbai  400 021 India. It includes the banking, insurance and capital market industry. The roots of the State Bank of India rest in the first decade of 19th century, when the  Bank of Calcutta, later renamed the  Bank of Bengal, was established on 2 June 1806. The Bank of Bengal and two other Presidency banks, namely, the  Bank of Bombay  (incorporated on 15 April 1840) and the  Bank of Madras  (incorporated on 1 July 1843). All three Presidency banks were incorporated as  joint stock companies, and were the result of the  royal charters. These three banks received the exclusive right to issue paper currency in 1861 with the Paper Currency Act, a right they retained until the formation of the Reserve Bank of India. The Presidency banks amalgamated on 27 January 1921, and the reorganized banking entity took as its name  Imperial Bank of India. The Imperial Bank of India continued to remain a joint stock company. The roots of the State Bank of India rest in the first decade of 19th century, when the  Bank of Calcutta, later renamed the  Bank of Bengal, was established on 2 June 1806. The Bank of Bengal and two other Presidency banks, namely, the  Bank of Bombay  (incorporated on 15 April 1840) and the  Bank of Madras  (incorporated on 1 July 1843). All three Presidency banks were incorporated as  joint stock companies, and were the result of the  royal charters. These three banks received the exclusive right to issue paper currency in 1861 with the Paper Currency Act, a right they retained until the formation of the  Reserve Bank of India. The Presidency banks amalgamated on 27 January 1921, and the reorganized banking entity took as its name  Imperial Bank of India. The Imperial Bank of India continued to remain a joint stock company. Pursuant to the provisions of the State Bank of India Act (1955), the  Reserve Bank of India, which is  IndiaHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_BankHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Banks central bank, acquired a controlling interest in the Imperial Bank of India. On 30 April 1955 the Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India. The  Govt. of India  recently acquired the Reserve Bank of Indias stake in SBI so as to remove any conflict of interest because the RBI is the countrys banking regulatory authority. In 1959 the Government passed the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, enabling the State Bank of India to take over eight former State-associated banks as its subsidiaries. On  Sept 13, 2008,  State Bank of Saurashtra, one of its Associate Banks, merged with State Bank of India. State Bank of India is one of the  Big Four Banks  of India with  ICICI Bank,  Axis HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_BankBank  and  HDFC Bank. Introduction to Punjab national bank The Punjab National Bank or PNB is one of the well known commercial and banking institutions India .it is the second largest government owned commercial bank in the country and offers financial services in public sector. Around 37 million customers are served by the bank on an average basis. The customized facilities and services make it a trusted name in the domain of banking. Growth of pnb Punjab National Bank was registered under the Indian Companies Act on 19 May in the year 1894 and its first office was set up at Anarkali Bazaar in Lahore. Since then, the bank has become a great name in the field of banking and is very much preferred by the customers for the wide range of its services. Today, the bank has around 4,904 branches. Due to its facilities and services of high standards, Punjab National Bank has also been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards. Punjab National Bank offers financial solutions and services in an array of sectors. All these services that are offered keep pace with the changing market trends in order to fulfill the needs and preferences of the customers. Some of the well known sectors on which the main functions of the bank are based are: Personal Banking Corporate Banking Agriculture finance services Industrial finance services Trade financial services International banking services 2. RATIONALE OF STUDY In the past few decades, the concept of organizational culture has gained wide acceptance as a way to understand human systems. From an open-systems perspective, each aspect of organizational culture can be seen as an important environmental condition affecting the system and its subsystems. The examination of organizational culture is also a valuable analytical tool in its own right. This study tries to find out the variations that prevail in public sector banks with that of private sector banks with respect of the dimensions, artifacts and power structure etc. this study also tries to find out the relationship between organization culture and motivational level of the employees. 3. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 3.1 Schein [1998] We can aslo charactertise culture as consisting of three levels. The most visible level is behavior and atrifacts.this is the obserable level of culture and consist of behavior patterns and outward manifestations of culture: perquistes provided to executives, dress code, level of technology utilized and the physical layout of the work spaces. All may be physical indcators of culture, but different to interpret. Artifacts and behavior may also tell us what a group is doing, but not why. 3.2 Koen [2009] While both the strategic management and the network literature recognize the importance of inter-firm relationships for explaining competitive advantage, the question why firms differ in their ability to benefit from these relationships is rarely addressed. This study aims to begin to fill this gap in the literature and argue that organizational culture is an important factor influencing the relationship skills of a firm, defined as a firms ability to manage its ties with other firms, whether these are customers, suppliers, or service providers. The researcher assume relationship skills to be especially relevant for the formation and maintenance of close and durable transaction ties. The researcher tested the model on a dataset of 127 Dutch inter-firm relations and find general support. Specifically, researcher find that firms with organizational cultures characterized by an orientation towards stability and predictability, a positive orientation towards innovation, and not character ized by a strong focus on immediate results, score high on relationship skills. Relationship skills, in turn, are found to have a positive influence on the outcomes of inter-firm relationships in terms of learning, achieving innovations and gaining new contacts, but not in terms of immediate (financial) results. 3.3 Indian Association of Computational Mechanism conflict types and role of organization culture (2004) The potential positive or negative consequence of relationship conflict versus task conflict for group members and organizations continues to be a controversial topic. Whereas a certain amount of agreement exists on the negative consequences of relationship conflict, the evidence for task conflict is not as conclusive. This has led some authors (De Dreu Weingart, 2003a,b) to propose a contingence perspective. This article continues this approach and analyzes the influence of types of conflict on group members satisfaction and wellbeing, considering the moderating role that organizational culture plays in this relationship. Two types of service organization have been studied; private organizations with a high goal oriented culture, and public organizations with a low goal oriented culture. Results show that a) relationship conflict decreases both public and private workers job satisfaction and affective wellbeing; b) task conflicts decrease private organization workers satisfaction a nd affective wellbeing, while this dysfunctional effect is absent in public organizations; c) goal orientation moderates the effect of task conflict in private organizations; and d) support orientation moderates the effect of task conflict in public organizations. 3.4 Berrio Organizational Culture Assessment Using the Competing Values Framework The contemporary definition of organizational culture (OC) includes what is valued, the dominant leadership style, the language and symbols, the procedures and routines, and the definitions of success that characterizes an organization. OC represents the values, underlying assumptions, expectations, collective memories, and definitions present in an organization (Schein, 1992; Cameron Quinn, 1999). Cameron and Quinn (1999) have developed an organizational culture framework built upon a theoretical model called the Competing Values Framework. This framework refers to whether an organization has a predominant internal or external focus and whether it strives for flexibility and individuality or stability and control. The framework is also based on six organizational culture dimensions and four dominant culture types (i.e., clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy). In addition the framework authors generated an Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) which is used to identif y the organizational culture profile based on the core values, assumptions, interpretations, and approaches that characterize organizations (Cameron Quinn, 1999). The central issue associated with organizational culture is its linkage with organizational performance. Connections between OC and performance have been established. An increasing body of evidence supports a linkage between an organizations culture and its business performance. In the business arena, evidence has confirmed that companies which put emphasis in key managerial components, such as customers, stakeholders and employees, and leadership, outperform those that do not have these cultural characteristics (Kotter Heskett,1992; Wagner Spencer, 1996). The competing values framework can be used in constructing an organizational culture profile. Through the use of the OCAI, an organizational culture profile can be drawn by establishing the organizations dominant culture type characteristics. In this respect the overa ll culture profile of an organization can be identified as: Clan: an organization that concentrates on internal maintenance with flexibility, concern for people, and sensitivity for customers. Hierarchy: an organization that focuses on internal maintenance with a need for stability and control. Adhocracy: an organization that concentrates on external positioning with a high degree of flexibility and individuality. Market: an organization that focuses on external maintenance with a need for stability and control. The culture of Ohio State University Extension plays an important role in the way Extension personnel plan, implement, and evaluate educational programs. OSU Extension is perceived by its personnel to be an institution devoted to satisfying the needs and wants of its clients through programs that are clearly defined, sensible to public needs, constantly monitored for success, and pro-actively implemented. 3.5 KAVANAGH ASHKANASY Impact of Leadership and Change Management Strategy on Organizational Culture in Case of Merger This study reports a longitudinal study that examined mergers between three large multi-site public-sector organizations. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis are used to examine the effect of leadership and change management strategies on acceptance of cultural change by individuals. Findings indicate that in many cases the change that occurs as a result of a merger is imposed on the leaders themselves, and it is often the pace of change that inhibits the successful re-engineering of the culture. In this respect, the success or otherwise of any merger hinges on individual perceptions about the manner in which the process is handled and the direction in which the culture is moved. Communication and a transparent change process are important, as this will often determine not only how a leader will be regarded, but who will be regarded as a leader. Leaders need to be competent and trained in the process of transforming organizations to ensure that individuals within th e organization accept the changes prompted by a merger. 3.6 Westerns survey of Organizational culture (2003) In December 2003, Westerns Academic and Administrative Leaders and Managers received the results of Westerns survey of organizational culture, completed in July 2003. Staff academic and administrative leaders from 33 different groupings had an opportunity to respond to survey questions regarding What is expected, from a person in your role, to fit in and meet expectations here. A report for Western as a whole was compiled, and the leaders of the 33 groups were invited to requisition confidential sub-group reports for their own areas.The initiative was undertaken on behalf of the University by Human Resources to provide a) information for focussing leader, staff, and organizational development initiatives, and b) baseline data for evaluating the outcomes of these initiatives over the next 3 years. The survey will be repeated in 2007.   Research on organizational culture conducted by the survey company used (Human Synergistics) shows that performance feedback systems and leadership p ractice exert the greatest influence on culture. Culture, in turn, can be correlated with levels of role clarity, role consistency, employee satisfaction, and commitment to customer service. Western has committed resources to enhance leadership practice, support campus-wide staff development, improve work systems, and more closely integrate academic and administrative leadership, so that all work is clearly aligned with Westerns academic mission.   Ã‚   In an effort to enhance positive aspects of Westerns culture and to decrease negative aspects, leaders can now draw on research regarding the levers for change for influencing organizational culture. Areas to improve include: communication processes, work design, the performance feedback system, and the participative dimension of the operational planning process. 3.7 McMurray- Organizational Climate and Organizational Culture (2003) This multi-method study explored the relationship between organizational climate and organizational culture in a newly emerging university. Organizational climate was explored through the distribution of a survey to 145 academic staff. An 88% response rate yielded 128 responses. To uncover the organizational culture, semi-structured interviews were, conducted with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Deputy Principal, 7 Deans, and 15 Centre Heads from the various faculties. The study uncovered the ways in which organizational culture evolves and becomes intertwined with organizational climate. The data yielded new insights as to the ways in which organizational climate and culture intersect. This has particular relevance at the sub-unit level where climate features are most positive in those faculties whose subcultures are congruent with the leadership culture, and are least positive in faculty subcultures that are incongruent with the leadership. 3.8 Purang- HRD Climate in Public and private organizations Most researchers agree that a congenial HRD climate is extremely important for the ultimate achevement of the business goals. It is a phenemenon experienced by the employees and often reffered to by expressions like environment, atmosphere and so on. Climate at the individual level is a summary perception of the organizations work environment that is descriptivr rather than evaluative in nature. Another approach to the climate is the cultural approach, which proposes that the climate arises from the intersubjectivety of the members as they interact within a context established by an organizations culture. In the indian context type of organization influences the culture prevalent in the organization. Since climate is an outcome of culture this study compares the HRD climate perceptions of public and private organizations. The study compares the perception of middle level managers from different organizations and gives the conclusion that in government organizatons there is need to im prove HRD climate. 3.9 Srimannarayana HRD climate in Dubai Bank Based on the resonses of 212 employees working in a local bank in dubai, the study attempts to assess the HRD climate in a bank through a questionaire containing 38 items. The area of difference were identified in this study among the various categories of HRD climate. An attempt was made to find out the difference in the perception of HRD climate among the employees, based on position, nationality, gender and age and gives the conclusion that personal power bases had a strong direct effect on job satisfaction.both position and personal power are positevely related to job satisfaction. 3.10 Sengupta- Gender, work and organization culture Organizations work in social milieu and therefore the socio cultural factors greatly affect the organizational culture. The social role perception seemed to have a bearing on the structural role of men and women in the organization. The study aimed to examine the impact of social role on organization culture and managerial work behavior. The study concluded that managerial behavior is culturally influnced and women managers are percieved as equally competent as male managers. SCOPE OF THE STUDY 4.1 Universe/Population of the study The universe or the population of the study is confined to the four organizations viz, State bank of India, icici bank, hdfc bank and pnb 4.2 Category of respondents The respondents will be selected from the different levels of the management as per the need of the study. The respondents will be selected using the stratified random sampling. 4.3 Region of the study The study will be confined to the region of jalandhar city only, the reason for this confinement to jalandhar only is due to time and cost constraints. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 5.1 Objectives Of the Study To study and describe the prevailing organization culture of Private and Public sector banks in terms of :- Artifacts Beliefs, Values and Assumptions Dimentions of Organizational Culture Relationship between organization culture and structure Relationship between organization culture and power structure. To study the effect of promotion policies and subsequent employees turnover rate : the comparison of the two orgaizations. To study the impact of organization culture on employees motivation level of two organizations. 5.2 Sample Size and Design Sampling is an essential technique in the field of research, Probably no concept is as fundamental to conduct research and interpretation of its results as is sampling. In survey kind of studies, the population under investigation is quite large, making it practically impossible for researcher to research every member of the population. The conclusions will be drawn and generalizations will be made on the basis of examination of some part of the whole population and this is termed as sampling. The population of study will consist of total number of employees working in the four banks. In this study the sample will selected from the head office of all four banks in jalandhar named as state bank of india, Punjab national bank, hdfc and icici. For this purpose the whole the population will be divided into 5 categories i.e. M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5. 5.3 Method of Data Collection The feedback forms will be used for the purpose of data collection. The feedback will be directly given to the respondents. The instructions will be clearly given on the feedback forms to facilitate easy and accurate responses but in order to avoid biasness in the responses; the purpose of the study will not disclosed. The respondents will be assured that the record would be kept confidential. if they faced any difficulty in understanding any item the meaning will be readily explained without biasing their responses in case of direct filling of questionnaire. These feedback forms will be given to whole of the sample and the feedback will be analyzed as after. 5.4 Instrument to be Used The study will be conducted using pre-structured questionnaire. To facilitate answering, the questions will be developed in simple words, to convey the real and full meaning. The questionnaire will be also pre-tested to see whether the respondents would face any difficulty in understanding and answering the questions. The questionnaire will be divided into two parts. The first part of the questionnaire will aim at getting basic information relating to the respondents socio-economic background such as age, education, marital status, occupation, monthly income etc. and in the second part of the study the detailed information for the motivation level and impact of other cultural variables among employees. 5.5 Statistical Analysis and Tools The data, after collection will be processed and analyzed, comparisons and analysis will be made. Thus, in the process of analysis, relationships or differences supporting or conflicting with original or new hypothesis will be subjected to statistical tests of significance to determine with what validity data can be said to indicate any conclusion 5.6 Proposed Plan Introduction Research Methodology Introduction to the company Data presentation Analysis Conclusion Bibliography 5.6 Limitations of the study The study do not take all the issues relating to the organization culture due to time constraint, but an attempt is made to cover all the important issues in the study. There may be some bias in the responses which cannot be ruled out. i.e. some of the feedbacks may not be given with honesty.

Theatre Royal in Winchester production of 1984 :: Drama

Theatre Royal in Winchester production of '1984' 1984 Evaluation =============== On the 19th November 2002 myself, and a group of year eleven students went to the Theatre Royal in Winchester to watch a play named '1984'. The plays main theme was about a society being treated unfairly and not being able to have rights or individuality. It showed people being extremely restricted on what they could do both physically and mentally. Watching it, it made me feel fortunate to have the rights I have and that I am not constrained on what I can do. The director wanted you when watching, to feel uncomfortable and distressed as you were watching one individual being tortured. The more torture shown, the more privileged I felt to possess the rights I do have. A variety of techniques were used to enforce the powerful message this play presented. At the beginning, a group of soldiers pointed at the audience and shouted 'Die Die' continuously, which made you feel threatened and also at the same time involved within the play. The set was quite basic yet effective. All the scenes featured two large wooden walls, which were moved for different scenes. These walls were used as a technique to change scene. When a new scene was started the walls would be spun round to illustrate a new scene, which was very effective. Throughout the play short videos were shown for a variety of reasons. These included: emphasizing a point within the play, to give new information to the audience or to add to the dramatic effect of a particular scene. Various lighting techniques were used including a spotlight. A spotlight makes you focus on one particular part of the stage where usually a scene is being acted. A spotlight can add tension and increased dramatic effect to a scene, for example when soliloquies are used. An additional lighting method used was to flash bright lights at the audience to illustrate a scene change. This was very effective as afterwards a new scene was taking place. As well as lighting techniques, the props used were very successful in making the scene more exciting and attention grabbing. One prop used was a counterfeit electric chair. In this scene the main character was being tortured using the electric chair. The smoke and sounds the chair was making made the scene even more dramatic and made you sympathise with him even more. The main characters included a man named Winston, and a woman called Julia who has already had already a couple of illegal love affairs. Both characters were deprived of their rights and wanted the same thing, freedom.

Julius Caesar Editorial

On the day of March 15th, Rome lost an important civilian whose name was Julius Caesar. A group of conspirators lead by Cassius and Brutus planned Caesar’s killing for the good of Rome. They lead him into the capitol while Caesar was completely oblivious to what was going on. The men were discussing if Caesar would bring back Publius Cimber when Caesar became king. Caesar refused since his decisions weren’t easy to sway. This and all the hate they had build before drew the men to stab Caesar to death. The first being Casca and lastly Brutus while Caesar said the famous word â€Å"Et tu, Brute?† before dying.The conspirators then bathed their arms in Caesar’s blood and ran through the streets of Rome celebrating their victory. But was this act victorious? Some people would disagree with the conspirators; they believe Caesar was a good and loyal man to Rome and that they failed him by killing him. They believe someone who was that great could not be forgotte n easily or could have become the person the conspirators said he would. Which is why after his death there was a scandal in the streets. We can see this when plebeian said after Antony spoke greatly of Caesar â€Å"Marked ye his words?He would not take the crown. Therefore ’tis certain he was not ambitious. † Others believed that this ambition was dangerous; it would drive Caesar into a bad ruler, which was not in the interest of Rome. Therefore Brutus was better for the crown since he saved them from Caesar. Brutus said â€Å"not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. † Which people truly believed and hail Brutus for doing such honorable thing â€Å"Caesar’s better parts. Shall be crowned in Brutus! † What do I think? I believe Caesar’s death was unjust! No men should be penalized for something he will do.No one really this if these assumptions would have come true. So why pay the price when you have done something wrong? Ca esar possessed more good things about himself than bad, and Rome should focus on the facts of the good things he has done instead of the possibility of â€Å"too much ambition†. I believe Brutus and the conspirators say that what they did was honorable and for the good of everyone when really it was to satisfy themselves. Caesar never offended one of them personally; they kept feeding themselves on negatives ideas of Caesar that drove them to his assassination.Caesar was a good man and even if he had many flaws he is human, and all humans have a right to live! Especially, all humans have a chance to live if they have not done anything wrong. Antony shared these ideas when he said â€Å"Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept. Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man†¦I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition? Caesar shou ld not have died like that and should have had a chance to prove them wrong.

Develop marketing strategies Essay

The assessment task is due on the date specified by your assessor. Any variations to this arrangement must be approved in writing by your assessor. Submit this document with any required evidence attached. See specifications below for details. Performance objective In this assessment task you are required to review and evaluate marketing opportunities for an organisation and develop marketing activities that reflect the strategic directions of the organisation. Assessment description For the organisation outlined in the case study provided, identify two marketing opportunities and evaluate each opportunity for risks, strengths, weaknesses and alignment with organisational objectives. After you have reviewed the opportunities, select the best fitting opportunity for the organisation and develop marketing strategies, approaches and activities to take advantage of the opportunity. Procedure You are required to submit a report that addresses all of the elements listed in the procedure. The report should be structured using the headings below. Organisational overview 1. Develop an organisational overview that: a. outlines the strategic direction and organisational objectives b. outlines the current size, capabilities and resources of the organisation, including any notable strengths and weaknesses c. identifies any gaps between the objectives, and the current capabilities and resources. Opportunities 1. Identify two marketing opportunities that meet the objectives and evaluate the risks and benefits of each opportunity. 2. Recommend the opportunity that best addresses organisational objectives and: a. develop a marketing mix strategy that fits within the capabilities and resources of the organisation b. describe how your strategies align with the strategic direction of the organisation, and give justifications for your selection c. detail a marketing performance review strategy using an appropriate tool (competitive analysis, life cycle model, value chain analysis, etc.) to review the performance of the organisation against marketing objectives d. include the metrics to be used in measuring marketing performance. Tactics 1. Detail the tactics necessary to implement the strategy you have outlined, including: a. scheduling of activities to enact the strategy b. costing c. accountabilities and responsibilities d. a plan for coordinating and monitoring scheduled activities including KPIs. 2. Outline any legal and ethical requirements that impact on the selected tactics. 3. Describe how the tactics fit within identified organisational resources and capabilities. Specifications This assessment can be completed in your own time, as you work through the related topics in either the Student Workbook, or under the guidance of your assessor. The assessment is due for completion at the completion of Section 2 of the Student Workbook unless another submission time/method is suggested by your assessor. Check with your assessor whether it is appropriate to use a computer for the submission of the report (electronic), or if the assessor requires a hardcopy (printed) version. You must provide: a report containing documents that support all of the instructions outlined in t he procedure above. Your assessor will be looking for whether you have: identified a suitable marketing opportunity conducted research to assess and analyse the market prepared a report outlining your marketing strategies to best take advantage of the identified market opportunities organised your report under the headings suggested in the procedure. Adjustment for distance-based learners: No variation of the task is required. A follow-up interview may be required (at the discretion of the assessor). Documentation can be submitted electronically or posted in the mail. Case study Houzit is a chain of homewares stores in Sydney that specialise in bathroom fittings, bedroom fittings, mirrors and decorative items. They currently have 15 stores spread across the greater Sydney area, with all stores being managed and coordinated from their head office in Milton. You have recently been appointed as the marketing manager and must now review the organisation and devise marketing strategies that will move Houzit towards its strategic goals. The CEO has also asked you to consider some marketing opportunities that may assist Houzit in reaching its goals, and provide him with brief summary evaluating two alternatives, including the benefits and risks associated with each option, and making a recommendation for the opportunity most likely to produce results. You have gleaned the following information about Houzit: Houzit is close to entering its fifth year of operation; offering a wide range of home-ware items on easy-to-manage payment terms and supplies a three year guarantee on every item sold. The typical target customers have the following characteristics: sophisticated people who are house proud shoppers who will drive to an easy-to-access store customers who require payment plans to spread their commitment over an extended period renovators and new home builders 20–50 year olds. Houzit recognises the following trends and focuses its efforts on them. Quality – Preference for high quality items is increasing as customers are learning to appreciate differences in quality. Unique items – Customers want homewares that stand out from mass-produced, low quality items. Selection – People are demanding a larger selection of choices, they are no longer accepting a limited selection of homewares. The typical Houzit store has the following characteristics: Location – A commercial, suburban neighbourhood, or urban retail district. Design – Bright and functional. Size – 1,000–1,500 m2. Employees – 15–20 full time, plus several casuals Types of transactions – 60% cash, 40% on long-term repayment plan. Sales break-ups between the existing Sydney stores reveal: 30% bathroom fittings 35% bedroom furnishings 20% mirrors and decorative items 15% lighting fixtures (recent addition). A new customer’s first purchase is generally of mirrors and decorative items and this gives us the opportunity to sign them up to our loyalty program. In a brief discussion with the CEO, you asked about the changes taking place in legislation that could impact on Houzit’s operation. The CEO explained: ‘There is a big push by governments on the issue of sustainability. This focuses mostly on environmental issues of waste management and energy conservation. Houzit stores have been deliberately designed in the past to be bright and comfortable places to shop. This means a significant cost in electricity usage to run the lights and the air-conditioners. With the new regulations we are going to have to find ways to still provide customers with what they want without the high electricity usage.’ Strategic plan (extract) Vision Houzit will be a national retail brand, catering to the needs of home makers with a range of unique, high quality homewares made accessible to all through our easy to manage payment plan. Mission By 2020, Houzit will have a significant retail presence in homewares in every Australian capital city, starting with 15 stores in the greater Sydney area and growing to 100 Australia wide. Objectives 1. Increase sales from $15million per year to $20million per year in the next three years. 2. Increase our loyalty customers list from 10,000 to 15,000. 3. Establish brand recognition in Sydney so that at least 1 in 3 people recognise our brand in a random survey taken in 18 months time. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Excellent staff who are highly skilled and knowledgeable about homewares. Great retail space that is bright, functional and efficient for a commercial urban district. High customer loyalty among repeat customers. Assortment of offerings that exceed competitors’ offerings in quality, range and accessibility. Weaknesses: A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness due to the lack of critical mass and store cover. The struggle to continually fund the growing long-term repayment plans taken out by our customers. Opportunities: A growing market in a high growth area with a significant percentage of the target market still not aware of Houzit’s offer. Increasing sales opportunities outside of our target area – greater Sydney. Threats: Competition from local independent retailers can drive down prices, as owner operators have lover overhead costs than our staff-run stores. Competition from national chains moving into the Sydney market. A slump in the economy reducing customer’s disposable income spent on homewares.

Working for the Youth Essays

Working for the Youth Essays Working for the Youth Essay Working for the Youth Essay Establishing a social group to help the out-of-school-youth is one way to help the youth attain their dreams and be productive members of the society. While this would take a lot of effort and determination from volunteer groups, doing this would bring about some changes in the lives of the beneficiaries and their families. In this paper, we elaborate on the ten considerations posted by Author in establishing and facilitating a group. We apply each consideration to the establishing or a group committed to serve the out-of-school-youth. Working for the Youth Establishing a community group to help out-of-school youth will be one great contribution to the improvement of our nation. However, establishing a group is not an easy task. One needs relevant knowledge, skills, and determination to ensure the success of the group. Author (year) offers ten considerations every group should take when establishing and facilitating a group. Taking a look at these could help a lot to make the group carry out its tasks properly. First, Author suggests anticipating the positives and negatives of working together as a group. In establishing a group for out-of-school youth, the group should anticipate that not all the members have the same motive for joining, and not all are equally committed. Ideally, the members should have a common passion (World Vision Canada Web site, 2008). But since this is not possible, the members should be prepared for negative consequences to come about. For instance, the founder of the group may simply want to help the youth, while others want to serve their own purpose. In the case of establishing a group for the out-of-school youth, some could expect to benefit from the activities by having the right to do referrals of their relatives and friends. Also, some could think of using the group to earn societal influence and power especially when they are running for elections. To avoid this, the group should clarify with the member the purpose for joining, and make sure each understand s the goals of the group. In addition, the group members cannot expect the leader to be all-knowing and always be available. Leaders have other activities to attend to aside from the concerns of the group. Therefore, it will help if members could share in the responsibilities as they may be assigned. The positive things that the group can expect is the fulfillment each one can feel when they are able to accomplish their goals. If the group works hard, they could expect to help out-of-school youth by making them finish schooling and work at the same time. Next, the group should consider undergoing different phases or cycles. Author claims that just like the life cycle, each group will go through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age, and retirement. The out-of-school youth group to be established will initially go through difficulties of finding members, encouraging the youth to take part, finding resources to finance the activities, and making the youth achieve their goals. When it is already fully established, it will need to sustain support to its members by finding additional resources and recruits. Later on, it might also need to add services or people. In each stage, assessing performance against the goals is needed to document the difficulties and success in each cycle. The third consideration is to keep focused on the goals. Each member needs to know why the group for out-of-school youth is founded. As a social and recreational group, its main goal is to respond to the needs of the out-of-school youth to obtain education and guidance. Secondary to it are the desire to keep them away from drugs by providing recreational activities, and helping them earn a living. The fourth consideration is to identify activities of the group. These activities include maintenance activities and program activities. The first includes the work of the staff, such as setting up the place of work, collaborating, finding sponsors, making a newsletter or other forms of communication. Program activities are those from which the out-of-school youth would benefit. These may include educating them and designing programs to sustain their interest in the group. It is important to ensure they have the basic necessities in life, and make them feel accepted and loved. Being out-of-school, some of them may already be working at a young age. Therefore, aside from food, shelter and clothing, some may need time to play and express themselves through art. In this consideration, it might help to provide art classes and games where they would enjoy and find other means of self-fulfillment. The fifth consideration is to identify who may take part in the group. Definitely, there should be a leader to hold the group and guide it towards its goals. In the group to be created, there should be at least five members of the staff to initialize the planning and design stage. Being the beneficiaries, the out-of-school youth also play a key part. As such, there should be a target from the start of who will receive the benefits. Coordinating with community officials will help identify the youth needing intervention, and the support group willing to help in the project. The fifth consideration is the structure by which the group will accomplish its goals. Without a planned structure, achieving the goals of the group will be unclear. As such, the group should set the structure during the first phase, in order to identify roles and responsibilities of the key persons.   Structures can be easily defined according to the purpose they serve. In the group to be created, two structures are very clear: one is the education structure, and the other is the recreational structure. Those with relevant skills in education should be assigned in the first structure, while those who have experience holding recreational activities for the youth should be assigned of the second. This way, the goal of providing education and guidance to the beneficiaries will be sustained. The sixth consideration concerns the leader of the group. Importantly, the role of the designated leader should be identified. Doing this would also determine the kind of leadership role the group needs. In the group for out-of-school youth, the task-centered leader is needed to attain success. The leader of the group should have pertinent knowledge and skills to identify the needs of the group, gain resources, designate roles accordingly, arrive at the best communication system, and maximize participation from all stakeholders. Although the leader may be very knowledgeable and skilled, the help of the members should be equally valued. As such, the leader must maintain rapport with the members and two shall support each other in every undertaking. Finding a good working environment is the next consideration. As the group focuses on out-of-school youth, the meeting place or office should be near the dwelling of the beneficiaries. It should be free from any obstructions, and must provide room for recreational activities in the future. In addition, it should be free from hazards as taking care of the youth involves other safety requirements not found in adult environments. The way the leader would communicate with the members is also another important consideration. Open line communication is ideal for every social and recreational group. Importantly, the leader should serve as the model to the members in setting up an ideal environment where people can express their ideas and feelings in relation to the affairs of the group. To do this, the leader should employ ways to make each member express oneself. For example, in meetings, the members should be given a chance to raise their suggestions. This way, not all decisions would come from the leader but from the members as well. Moreover, in assessing the performance of the group, appreciation should be give to the relevant person, making all feel the importance of hard work and productivity. Mehra (2006) points out that the leader’s external communication skill is also necessary. This means that aside from communicating internally, the leader should also establish communication from outside networks especially those that can help in the organization. Freeman (2005) confirms the advantage of establishing social networks not just of the leader but also the members. Furthermore, members of the group should support each other verbally and nonverbally. Since the group to be created composes of two apparent structures, the members of each should have bonding with their group as well as with the others. The structures should not be a way to divide the members, instead it should serve as opportunity for support and appreciation. The assessment part where the group considers how well they perform is the last but not the least in Author’s suggestions. Assessment can sometimes create factions or conflicts in groups. To avoid this, respect should be exercised, especially in verbal language. The author points out that members should carefully construct statements when addressing others. For example, instead of saying, â€Å"You ignored me† one can say, â€Å"I felt ignored.† Notice that the change in the initial word from â€Å"you† to â€Å"I† could make a big difference. With these considerations come hard work and fun. In every situation, the group to be established should always make it a point to enjoy what they are doing so the work does not seem like work but a way to have fun. ASSIGNMENT 2 One of the groups that I joined was a religious group where I had a chance to teach people in the streets. The group did not actually intend to teach the Bible. Instead, we had basic math, language, art, and science. I was assigned of teaching language to kids in the street. I gained a lot from this experience and until now I still value the learning that I had. Just like any group, our group went through four stages as Tuckman (year) suggests. First, I saw it â€Å"forming.† During this stage, the leader of the group went about recruiting people who can commit some of their time during the weekends to teach street folks. Everyone joined in the planning where we had some â€Å"storming† or ideas. We tried to identify what needs to be taught in the subjects mentioned. The leader set up meetings for us to express our ideas and together come up with a standard. Each one was heard, regardless of the time we joined the team. During â€Å"norming† stage, we got more acquainted with each other. By this time we were very already very comfortable to express ourselves, and confide in each other. Also, the people we were already well acquainted with us, and they expected us to come at a certain time in the designated area. Next stage was the â€Å"performing† stage. When everything has been planned accordingly, we were ready - schedule, materials, target students, etc., we were prepared to teach. We bought our materials and taught the street people the basic lessons that we designed. For my part, I taught the people some words, then gave them exercises on sentence construction, then guided them to write a paragraph to express themselves. The people were very happy for what we did for them. One of the men even expressed that they benefited a lot from the activities. Also, the efforts we made allowed them to express themselves. As for us, we learned important insights about life in the streets, and the problem of lack of education. During assessments, we were happy to report our accomplishments, and recognized each other’s hard work and patience.† The lessons I learned from the organization I joined are truly valuable. However, just like some groups, ours reached its â€Å"adjourning.† As the members of group got married and later had kids to take care of, we soon had to give up the community service but we vowed to still be of service to those we will meet in the future.

Struthiomimus - Facts and Figures

Struthiomimus - Facts and Figures Name: Struthiomimus (Greek for ostrich mimic); pronounced STROO-thee-oh-MIME-us Habitat: Plains of western North America Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 10 feet long and 300 pounds Diet: Plants and meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Ostrich-like posture; long tail and hind legs About Struthiomimus A close relative of Ornithomimus, which it closely resembled, Struthiomimus (ostrich mimic) galloped across the plains of western North America during the late Cretaceous period. This ornithomimid (bird mimic) dinosaur was distinguished from its more famous cousin by its slightly longer arms and stronger fingers, but because of the position of its thumbs it couldnt grasp food quite as easily. Like other ornithomimids, Struthiomimus likely pursued an opportunistic diet, feeding on plants, small animals, insects, fish or even carrion (when a kill was left unattended by other, larger theropods). This dinosaur may have been capable of short sprints of 50 miles per hour, but had a less taxing cruising speed in the 30 to 40 mph range.

Adolf Hitler Essays (2045 words) - Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Fhrer

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler did not live a very long life, but during his time he caused such a great deal of death and destruction that his actions still have an effect on the world nearly 50 years later. People ask what could've happen to this small sickly boy during his childhood that would've led him do such horrible things? For Adolf it might have been society, rejection from his father, failure as an artist or was he born to hate? Adolf was born in Braunau, Austria in 1889. His father, Alois was a minor customs official, and his mother was a peasant girl. Adolf attended elementary school for four years and entered secondary school at the age of eleven. Adolf's dreams of becoming an artist did not match the government official job his father wanted him to have. These fights over what he wanted to be, lead Adolf to lose interest in getting good grades and dropped out at the age of sixteen. When his father died Adolf roamed the streets of Linz dreaming of his future as an artist. He attended a great deal of operas and loved the musical work by Robert Wagner. At 18, Hitler tried to enter the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna but was rejected twice. His failure put a great deal of frustration on him. He saw himself as an artist who was rejected by "stupid" teachers. Adolf later moved to Vienna to find a way to make a living. Hitler would rather do odd jobs such as shoveling snow, or beating rugs instead of getting a regular job. Since he had no set income he was forced to move into the ghettos and became somewhat of a bum. He finally got a job painting postcards and advertisements. He had little money still, and spent most his time reading and thinking about what he read. While Hitler was in Vienna, he learned things which he later used to destroy the world. He learned that the finest thing for man to do was to conquer foreign countries, and that peace is a bad thing because it makes man weak. He was also convinced that Germans are the master race, even though he himself was Austrian. Hitler also took part in political ideas which were later used in Germany. He believed a political party must know how to use terror. He also discovered the value of appearance in politics. He thought only a man who could attract masses of people by his eloquence could succeed in politics. Hitler later became the greatest public speaker in Europe. In Vienna Hitler also learned of his hatred for Jews. "Wherever I went I began to see Jews, and the more I saw, the more sharply they became distinguished in my eyes from the rest of humanity. I grew sick to the stomach, I began to hate them. I became anti-Semitic."(1) In the spring of 1913 Hitler left for Munich, Germany at the age of 24. He left Vienna to get away from the mixture of races and to escape the military that he had to serve in with Jews. The First World War in 1914 was Hitler's chance to let go of his frustrating childhood. Hitler proved to be a brave soldier and was wounded twice and decorated twice for bravery with the Iron Cross. Hitler, like many other Germans didn't believe they were defeated by Great Britain and the U.S. in 1918. They thought they had been stabbed in the back by the Jewish slackers. After the war Hitler found himself unemployed once again and began looking for a place in politics because he felt he could do something for the country. Shortly after Hitler returned to the army and was assigned to spy on political parties which the generals thought were communist, socialist, or pacifists. Hitler was ordered to investigate a small political group called the German Worker's party. The next day he received an invitation to join the group. He decided after two days of questioning himself that he should join. After enrolling, Hitler later made it the largest political party in Germany, and became known as the Nazi Party. In 1921, the two years after he joined the party, he

Decisions in Paradise III Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Decisions in Paradise III - Essay Example With newspaper or Third Estate being a key part of optimal democracy, the people and importantly responsible government could welcome it. Factors affecting the decision As discussed in the case scenario, there are certain internal as well as external environmental factors, which could impede CBTL’s plan of launching the new business. When one focuses on the external factor, the main problem is the destructive and inconsistent weather pattern in Kava. Kava being in the â€Å"danger zone† of many natural disasters including earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, etc, any business initiative of CBTL in Kava has to face its repercussions. These natural phenomenons have the power to completely destroy the newspaper office and its network, if the intensity is greater or even closer to the newspaper infrastructure. Although, CBTL can technologically safeguard its infrastructure and network, it cannot be fully trusted, until it effectively faces and survives a disaster. Th at is, there will be skepticism regarding how CBTL can protect its infrastructure, creating doubts even among the upper management and stakeholders of the CBTL. This could lead to blocking of finances for the project, thereby making the newspaper plan unsuccessful. In addition, the upper management could raise skepticism about the reconstruction costs, which may be incurred on the CBTL, if the technological safeguarding does not work out well and the infrastructure gets destroyed. So, the solution mainly focuses on building a strong and disaster proof infrastructure for the newspaper office and its network, even building at a safer location. Resources and actions required Natural phenomenon could wreck CBTL’s business plans and could even diminish any chances of it developing a hold in Kava. Thus, all the natural and even man-made factors, which could destroy or even impede the newspaper plan has to be solved through certain measures. As part of these plans, the newspaper off ice including its network has to be located in a safe and secured location within the islands. Although, most of Kava is disaster prone, locations with minimal threat level can be selected after good study of the geography and importantly after analyzing previous incidences of natural disasters. After finding a safe location, CBTL can put all its technological resources to build a stronger and effective infrastructure, which will be able to withstand most of the natural phenomenon. To further make its investment in the infrastructure foolproof, CBTL can go for insurance cover. With the insurance scheme, CBTL can be financially protected in the case of disasters, and could do the reconstruction with that option. In addition, to further strengthen its business and also to fulfill CSR, CBTL can recruit local people for jobs in the newspaper office. Qualified and equipped employees can provide good employment option for CTBL. Ethical aspects A lack of business ethics on the part of orga nizations and corporate leaders can contribute sizably to the demise of the organization (Adadevoh, n. d). When CTBL carries out various steps to solve the threats to its newspaper plan, it could also lead to some ethical issues. As mentioned above, as part of CSR and also to tap good talent, CTBL can recruit local people for its newspaper operations. However, with HIV having incidence rate in Kava and with the targeted population of youth being the main sufferers, there may be ethical dilemmas on

Profile of President Ronald Reagan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Profile of President Ronald Reagan - Essay Example During his term as a president, it was commonly known among the staff of white house that he gave effort in reading fan mails and in his own writing sends letters to them. Before Reagan run for the office, he was the president of the Screen Actors Guild. He became involved over the issue of communism in the film industry. His political views shifted from liberal to conservative (www.whitehouse.gov). His skills helped him gain popularity among people and this is evident when he toured the country as a television host, carrying the idealism of conservatism and becoming its spokesman. As a result, he was elected Governor of California and was re-elected in 1970. Reagan became the Republican President in 1980 and he chose former Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George Bush as his running mate. While announcing his run for the presidency, he was able to communicate clearly his vision by saying, â€Å"At the heart of our message should be five simple familiar words. No big economic theories. No sermons on political philosophy. Just five short words: family, work, neighborhood, freedom, peace†. He won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President Jimmy Carter. Reagan took office on January 20, 1981. Only 69 days later, he was shot by a would-be assassin. But before he allowed to be brought to the hospital, he delivered his one-hour speech. And while on the hospital bed before being brought to the operation room, he remarked to the hospital staff, â€Å"Please assure me that you are all Republicans†. He was able to recover quickly and returned to duty. His wit and grace during the dangerous incident cause his popularity to soar. The president was able to deal with Congress and obtained legislation that stimulated economic growth, control inflation, increased employment and strengthen national defense.   In short, he was able to improve the economy of U.S.A. He cut taxes and government expenditures.  

You are to write and deliver a speech on 'my future Essay

You are to write and deliver a speech on 'my future - Essay Example Through language different signs have different meaning. These signs include; spoken language or signed language. The different components of language include; syntax which is the order and hierarchy of utterances that are meaningful; morphology, which are the smallest possible semantic units that are composed of phonemes; semantics which is the meaning related to a word, phonetic and phonology which are sound and gestures that are constructions of a language. Language helps to promote literacy level, mostly when raising children. A child’s journey towards literacy involves the following; learning how speak, read, write, draw, understand, listen and watch. This helps to develop a child’s skills (Chomsky, 2006, p. 152). There are three strategies used in literacy development. The first being child-oriented strategies, which encourage children to initiate and engage in everyday interactions so that educators can respond to their ways and encourage them to engage in the interactions. The second is the interaction-promoting strategies that encourage comprehensive individual and group conversations between adults and children. The third is language-modeling strategies that expand the child’s oral language skills and facilities development of abstract language. Language promotes communication. Communication skills are very important to children without language, it is difficult to know what they want and need and what is important to them. Languages helps in expressing their ideas, hypotheses, emotions, desires, and all things that need expressions (Chomsky, 2006, p. 141). Communication activities provide opportunities for learners to use language with one another and with people in the community. Language promotes cultural identity. The language brought about by the wants of people who are at a particular location over a specified period of

THE SCOPE OF AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT IS A THIRD PARTY BOUND BY IT Dissertation - 1

THE SCOPE OF AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT IS A THIRD PARTY BOUND BY IT - Dissertation Example heir businesses are built. Where there are contracts, however, there is must exist a system of enforcement that the parties may rely upon in the event a dispute on the interpretation of contractual obligations arises. The general Model Law on Arbitration enacted under the auspices of UNCITRAL is supposed to provide such a framework, although much is left to the national law for it to be made operative and mandatory upon the parties. There are many issues regarding the implementation of these tenets which, because of the wide scope of international public law and the conflict of laws, provides many sources of controversy. This research study provides a comprehensive scan of the major issues, and a survey of relevant cases from the jurisprudence of the different countries involved mostly in these international commercial disputes sought to be enforced by arbitration. While the study does not promise to be exhaustive from the sheer volume of material on the study, it shall seek to provi de as much background on the salient issues that surround arbitration. The method of research relied upon is qualitative legal research, which shall rely on case law as much as a survey of the relevant codal provisions in multilateral treaties and the UNCITRAL Model Law, as well as the New York Convention governing international arbitration. Chapter two: SCOPE OF ARBITRATION AGREEMENT There are many legal implications in determining the scope of an arbitration agreement. It has the nature of a special type of contract pertaining to a particular purpose, the nature of which springs from a principal contract. By case law definition, however, it is not a auxiliary contract in the sense that its validity may be determined by a separate tribunal and in a separate hearing from that of the principal contract in which the agreement may be contained. A question on the validity of the principal contract does not suspend the effectivity of the arbitration agreement. Furthermore, there are many instances when third parties non-signatories to the original contract may be included in an action based on the arbitration agreement. Arbitration clauses are often drafted in haste, and at times by persons not thoroughly familiar with the technicalities thereof. In the interest of putting into effect as far as possible the will of the parties, observers of ICC arbitration have come to distinguish certain indispensable elements without which the arbitration agreement may not be given effect. There are several essential elements of the arbitration agreement: 1 (1) The arbitration agreement must be concluded between two or more parties who are determined or determinable. In

DSS Implementation and Evaluation Research Paper

DSS Implementation and Evaluation - Research Paper Example One of such industries is the healthcare industry whose sensitive interaction with human life dictates focus on quality ahead of profitability (Malhotra, 1989). It is imperative therefore that the effective DSS in such industries include some of the most important healthcare issues on the system blueprint to assist in tackling both quality and profitability in a single agenda. Patients’ needs are important in the system as human resource needs encompassed under the DSS. Some of the problems that will be targeted in the designed DSS will include various departmental issues that need management input in different respects such as; Initial stages of the building process of a customized DSS will involve the internalization of the organization needs and outline in the basic structure. This will include determining the needs of the organizational decision making process and integrate them in the structural component of the DSS. The organizational and management structural designs will be dissected for integration in the DSS structural design to make it compatible with the computer based system. Various management areas that require focus and input through the decision making highlight will be pointed out and roles attached for enhancement through DSS (Dahm and Wadensten, 2008). Functional units of the entire organization will also be pointed out for easier monitoring via the computer system. Using this functional and structural integration, it will be easy for the DSS to pick up various decisions making needs and prompt the management to act on a number of options that the system has. This will be the case for patient care processes, employees monitoring and welfare needs as well as the facility control and management decision making inputs. Connecting all the decision making needs to a central detection system will facilitate the building phase to be completed. Testing the workability of the DSS will include various phases of

International Perspectives In Organisations Literature review - 1

International Perspectives In Organisations - Literature review Example The next sections of the discussion will emphasize on the constraints of different global cultures in the theoretical approach of management. The study will further illustrate the cross-cultural differences and its impact in management and leadership. The last section of the critical analysis will elaborate the effect of business downsizing on the organisational behaviour and sustainability. The argument of this article is based on the responsibilities of international corporations and organisations on the global population. In this argument Arnold (2012), has elaborated and defended the views that are supporting and promoting the role of transnational corporations and business entities as the agent of justice for the base of economic pyramid. This argument has explained the role of corporations in the reduction of global poverty and inequality. The author has also discussed two separate perspectives of normative legitimacy that support the role of corporations and other business entity as the agents to promote global justice (Arnold 2012). The first perspective focuses on the normative legitimacy of different international institutions which are responsible for governing various international trade regulations and business activities. Though this domain of normative legitimacy has accrued huge attention of political and legal scholars, the author of the article has pac ifically focused on the second perspective which evaluates the legitimacy of corporations in regards to its activities within global societies. This argument has detailed the importance of ethical and moral legitimacy of corporations in regards to their global activities (Buchanan and Keohane, 2006). According to the view of Palazzo and Scherer, (2006) moral and ethical legitimacy of organisations is not dependent on the legal and political norms but it is influenced by the deliberative communication process. During the explanation of the

DSS Implementation and Evaluation Research Paper

DSS Implementation and Evaluation - Research Paper Example One of such industries is the healthcare industry whose sensitive interaction with human life dictates focus on quality ahead of profitability (Malhotra, 1989). It is imperative therefore that the effective DSS in such industries include some of the most important healthcare issues on the system blueprint to assist in tackling both quality and profitability in a single agenda. Patients’ needs are important in the system as human resource needs encompassed under the DSS. Some of the problems that will be targeted in the designed DSS will include various departmental issues that need management input in different respects such as; Initial stages of the building process of a customized DSS will involve the internalization of the organization needs and outline in the basic structure. This will include determining the needs of the organizational decision making process and integrate them in the structural component of the DSS. The organizational and management structural designs will be dissected for integration in the DSS structural design to make it compatible with the computer based system. Various management areas that require focus and input through the decision making highlight will be pointed out and roles attached for enhancement through DSS (Dahm and Wadensten, 2008). Functional units of the entire organization will also be pointed out for easier monitoring via the computer system. Using this functional and structural integration, it will be easy for the DSS to pick up various decisions making needs and prompt the management to act on a number of options that the system has. This will be the case for patient care processes, employees monitoring and welfare needs as well as the facility control and management decision making inputs. Connecting all the decision making needs to a central detection system will facilitate the building phase to be completed. Testing the workability of the DSS will include various phases of

African American in 19th Century Essay Example for Free

African American in 19th Century Essay The Civil war after effects; set the scene for what would become a long road of discovery, hardship, violence, and freedom however, during this process of transition the American people went through emotional as well economical changes which added additional stress to an already stressed nation where many groups became fearful and were subjected to racism which crossed over the boundary of liberty and Justice for all. Equality had become an endangered liberty guaranteed by a country build upon democracy, regrettably the African American people were not the only ones to suffer many vast groups faced hard days in America at the turn of the century several violent attacks were specifically carried out on the African American men and women even though, the civil war brought a lot of changes it produced little or no results for African American men; however, it did bring harsher persecution all over the country, whereas mass numbers of black men were lynched in the lower southern states in a show of defiance. The Emancipation Act did nothing for the white man but still provided less for the African black man who were still unable to vote in addition to having descent jobs with adequate pay many were forced back to the farm as sharecroppers despite the set backs they percervered through the racial remarks and slanders. Black men and women were segragated from the start and separate waiting rooms bathrooms and dinning facilities openly poject the sentiments of the American people of the era,within the State of Mississippi; In Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896), The Supreme Court reinforced that Blacks and Whites should be separate, but equal. The statement SEPERATE but EQUAL! thosewords only produced Segregation on a bias legal system of fairness and equality in which a country struggling already became the fuel on a fire already burning and would later divided the country in later years sparking new violence and refocused hatred. More over the Men and women of that time were forced to swear on separate bibles, they couldnt vote in the election in the country in which they were guaranteed equal rights because they were under disfranchisement, and the racism was developing more and more is some southern locations, for an example many southern states legislated that if your grandfather had cast a ballot then you are allowed to vote and this law supported that nearly all southern white mean were permitted to vote and excluded all African Americans in most situations men whose grandparents had most likely been slaves never voted. Booker T. Washingtons submitted a lot for the African Americans in turn of the century, after his famous speech in Atlanta 1895 (Atlanta Compromise) in about one year the African Americans got more rights, they began to use separated but equal facilities, it was stupid to say the least but it provided a line of truths temporarily and unfourantely included racist ideas inside but it was better than it had been before. Booker T. Washingtons met the American president Theodore Roosevelt at the white house in 1901 and that was a good step towards get the African American and their rights another great pioneer of that time was Du Boise who supported the right for equality and the strive to have equal opportunities within society however Booker T. Washingtons did a lot more for the African American rights, Washington became the Founder of the Niagara movement in 1905. In 1909 the Niagara movement efforts led to foundation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which now is the enforcing representation of the African American whereas Booker T. Washingtons inspiration became a door way to freedom and allowed the African American man to have a voice in society. Finally, if I was African American living at that time, I will say that Booker T. Washingtons and Du Bois were the best representatives of the African Americans all over the country, and Booker T. Washingtons started the movement of the African Americans civil rights, while Du Bois came later to continue and support his efforts, they were great team and deserve the respect.

EasyJet strategy: SWOT and PESTEL analysis

EasyJet strategy: SWOT and PESTEL analysis This report will provide a detailed analysis of EasyJet’s current corporate appraisal or SWOT analysis. This will identify its strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This will help the companies decision makers understand where the organisation is now. A PESTEL analysis of the industry will examine the local, national and global influences of political, economic, social and technological factors to understand opportunities and threats well. This will provide an evaluation of the external business environment in which the company operates. This analysis will highlight the fundamental changes that the airline industry is undergoing, especially; in defence to the turbulent environment it faces from exogenous forces (terrorism, oil prices, SARS etc) and endogenous forces. Next we will use Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the industry and the increasing threat of other low-cost carriers (Ryanair, bmi baby etc) and also threats from the flag carriers (British Airways, Air France, KLM, Lufthansa etc). This will show how its critically important for EasyJet that strategic alliance, size and technological innovation have on its profitability. Overall the analysis will highlight the inherent threats and weaknesses suffered throughout the industry, and also the importance of innovation to maintain low cost advantage, alliances and size to success. Finally the report will examine the extent to which EasyJet’s current ‘no frills’ strategy is the appropriate strategic fit to its organisation both in terms of resource capability and business environment. An Internal and corporate analysis in terms of strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) will assist in gaining an understanding of where EasyJet is currently in terms of strengths and where improvement is required within the business and what outside environmental threats it may face as well as what new opportunities are available to the company in the short and medium term. We will start by looking at strengths: EasyJet serves diverse ranges of European routes with principle activities in both Leisure and business markets, offering 60 key European routes. Its current cash flow position is also strong, with cash flow from operating activities increased by 61 percent between the six months ended 31st March 2003 to six months ended 31 March 2004. The business has also enjoyed an increase turnover and trading profits resulting in continuous substantial growth in underlying profitability over the last 7 years (see table 1). This has resulted in a strong Balance Sheet – the companies’ net assets reaching the record level of  £724 million (aided by retained profit mainly). EasyJet is also Europe’s leading low-cost airline having completed a merger deal with Go to create Europe’s number one low-cost airline. Brand Awareness is another strength that is attributable to the company – In November 1999, selected as a business super brand by the Super Brand Council, recognising EasyJet as an outstanding brand name. The company’s Online booking facility in October 1999 aided Internet sales to pass the one million mark. This has lead to EasyJet customers enjoying ‘ Ticketless travel’ – this reduces the cost of issuing, distribution, processing and reconciling tickets. EasyJet also enjoys internal strengths in its operations in terms of efficient use of airports – by reducing turnarounds to 30 minutes and below, EasyJet can achieve extra rotations on the high frequency routes. EasyJet appears to have internal strengths in terms of brand awareness, cash flows, and operational efficiencies. But what are the internal weaknesses suffered by EasyJet? The primary weakness is the perception of low quality – low cost can also be seen as low quality service than that offered by the established national airline i.e. British Airways. Also, suffers weakness in the area of hospitality in terms of on board offer of ‘Free Lunch’, the eliminating of free catering on board may result in loss of potential customers. The existing competition also have strong brand image globally, EasyJet is recognised nationally and within the European markets, however, national airlines like British Airways is recognised worldwide and has stronger brand awareness. EasyJet also operates a flat management structure, which may lack a formal discipline that is needed as the organisation grows. The idea of remote working can also result in co-ordination and control weaknesses. It is difficult to co-ordinate the individual employee because in principle they operate independently of each other. It’s also hard to monitor the performance of each individual. So having considered the internal strengths and opportunities above, what are the potential opportunities available to EasyJet and what are the threats faced by EasyJet both from within the Airline industry and as a result of the world economy itself. Weaknesses identified earlier could also offer potential opportunities in terms of development of brand awareness globally. The EasyJet brand is established in the European market, but brand awareness is required outside the continent. There are potential opportunities in terms of new routes and expansion of services offered, EasyJet has already launched a number of new European routes, how about expansion into the Asian Pacific? Undertaking market shift to globalisation expanding outside the European market will be key to continuous enhancement of business performance. Follow on from market expansion will also create opportunities for new facilities or services ‘Free Lunch’ – offer on board catering facilities to compete with mainstream airlines. The increase growth of world tourism will offer opportunities in terms of undertaking joint venture with local/foreign travel companies; hence, Going places and Thomas Cooke are already providing such services to growing number of holidaymakers each year. Finally, opportunities may also exist in the area of innovation and alliances, how about a joint venture scheme with Ryanair to maintain and enforce the low cost competitive advantage. Figure1: EasyJet SWOT Analysis Having considered the possible future opportunities what are the potential threats that EasyJet needs to bear in mind? Firstly, threats in terms of new existing competition. Ryanair continues to lower costs, which enables it to persist lowering fares aggressively. Also, mainstream airlines are now lowering fares to engage in price competition. Another major industry wide threat is the volatility in price of fuel Oil price record high of $53 a barrel. this was the headline in the business pages of all the newspapers last November. EasyJet also faces potential threats in terms of unprecedented tragic events like September 11th. Potential threats in terms of changing social trends like holidays outside Europe (many now want to experience the eastern cultures and travel to holiday destinations like China and Japan) and also travelling via the EuroStar to Paris etc. Potential threats of economic recession, since air travel is effectively a commodity product, it is recession prawn. And, finally threats of any takeover bids from national airlines. Figure 2: Five Forces Model ACCA Paper 3.5 (2001) Porter explains that there are five forces inherent in a market, which will jointly determine the intensity of competition and profitability of EasyJet and the airline industry. The first is the threat posed by new entrants, as with the European deregulation of commercial aviation and the emergent of low cost carriers. The second is the threats from substitutes, rail travel v air travel, the growing demand in Eurostar and cruses. The third force is the threats from the bargaining power of buyers, is this strong for both EasyJet and the entire airline industry with a large number of alternative suppliers, hence, the aggressive pricing strategy. This results in a very strong competitive rivalry in the industry. This is intensified as a result of little or no differentiation in the service offered. Finally the threats from the suppliers bargaining power, this is very strong in the airline industry for two reasons, one is highly skilled labour can command a very favourable terms and seco nd is the price of oil. All of those (political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental) factors will to some extent apply to the airline industry. POLITICAL – Following the European deregulation of commercial aviation, a fleet of low cost carriers are reshaping the local airline landscape. Ryanair uncompromisingly fought its way into the market with an aggressive pricing strategy. ECONOMIC the travel industry is vary recession prawn and also very sensitive to changes in oil prices. Since the events of September 11th the airline industry suffered heavily, stocks plummeted and ticket prices are at all time lows. The world economy is however, now on the up post September 11th. Consumers are optimistic and the travel and tourism industry are now booming again. SOCIAL – changes in consumer taste and lifestyle represent both opportunities and threats for the industry. Opportunities in terms of worldwide destinations are now popular with holidaymakers and also the growing trend in international business ventures, e.g. major banks and insurance companies’ relocation call centres in Asia. The threats are in terms of alternative holidays Disneyland Paris via Eurostar (Euro tunnel) and PO cruise. TECHNICAL – Changes in retailing methods as such ticket sales via the Internet is now a common place in air travel, passengers receive an email containing their travel details and booking reference when they book online. Paperless operation, the management and administration of the company are undertaken on IT systems, which are accessed through secure servers; provide flexibility in the running of the airline. The development of the next generation aircraft will also lead to technological opportunities in term of fuel efficiencies. LEGAL – The European deregulation of the commercial aviation provided both major strategic threats and opportunities, the national mainstream airlines faced severe price competition from discount carriers. Threats are also in terms of legislative environmental laws regarding pollution and use of more environmentally friendly fuel, which are at premium prices. ENVIRONMENTAL – The energy sources used, namely oil has vast ecological/environmental implications. The threats are in terms of fines and rise in cost of raw materials. A ‘no frills’ strategy is often associated with low cost airline companies like EasyJet. This form of strategy combines a low price, low perceived service benefits (no free lunch) and a focus on a price-sensitive highly competitive market segment. This strategy is focused on keeping costs down and EasyJet’s policy of ‘no free lunch’ and efficient use of airports by limiting turnaround to 30 minutes. Back in 1995 when EasyJet was lunched it was tipped by most to fail with its ‘no frills’ strategy. However, by year 2000 it has not only managed to survive but also increased its market shares and assets of aircrafts to 74 and servicing 105 routes and carrying over 20 million passengers a year. So the strategy has been very successful for EasyJet and appears to have been the correct strategic decision. Beneath the surface of EasyJet’s cosmetic cost savings of not offering free in-flight refreshments or different first, business and economy classes, was a philosophy of cost saving that permeated through the entire organisation. The 2002/03 annual report reconfirmed this business model of the airline: Dense point-to-point network to allow linking of major airports with large catchments areas with high level of frequency, as this will be attractive to business and leisure travellers. A strong and visible brand to create a high level of awareness with consumers. Supported by innovative and effective advertising. Dynamic fares with a simple structure and also ensuring that it are the cheapest fare on the route. Therefore, demand led with proprietary yield management system. 100 per cent direct selling of fares; over 90 per cent of sales are online. This eliminates the need to any commissions to external sales agency. Highly utilised fleet of aircrafts that are large, modern, efficient and relatively environmentally friendly. This results in high levels of asset utilisation and reduced unit costs. Finally, the key to sustaining high levels of growth is the scalability of the operations. This also reduces the marginal cost of incremental growth; increasing scale brings valuable economies (Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R., (2005). Another price-based strategy is the hybrid strategy this seeks to achieve an element of differentiation and a price lower than that of competitors. Implementing this strategy successfully depends on EasyJet’s ability to deliver enhanced benefits to customers over its competitors together with low prices. However, if EasyJet could significantly differentiate its service over its competitors then it could obtain higher prices. Therefore, the low cost strategy is the ideal strategic fit to its environment. Combining perceived low price with perceived added value can be a highly successful strategy but one that requires innovative thinking. EasyJet’s competitive advantages via low prices are sustained in a number of ways. EasyJet in its pursuing of low-price strategies may be prepared to accept the reduced margin either because it can sell more fares than competitors. EasyJet may be prepared and has to a large extend engaged in price war with competitors via its lower cost structure (economies of scales due to its larger operations) and also has the financial resource capability to fund short to medium-term losses with the aim of driving out competitors in the longer terms. A prime example of this was the subsequent takeover of Go by EasyJet. Price wars are becoming more prevalent as traveller use the Internet to compare prices and ‘shop around’. EasyJet has cost advantages through company specific capabilities, which drive down costs throughout the value chain. Porter comments on cost leadership as ‘the low-cost producer in its industry†¦ must find and exploit all sources of cost advantage’ (Porter M.E (1980)). We will consider the value chain for EasyJet in more detail later in our discussion. Cost advantages might be achieved because of EasyJet’s efficient use of airports. This will require a mindset where innovation (in cost reduction) is regarded as essential to survival. EasyJet is an international example, The introduction of Airbus A319 aircraft, combined with the retirement of ‘old generation’ Boeing 737 aircraft, will result in a two-type ‘new technology’ fleet, which will commonality and lessen complexity and deliver high level of asset utilisation and reduce unit costs. Finally, EasyJet has sustained its price-based advantage by focusing on market segments where low fares are critical and valued by customers. EasyJet’s first generic strategy is to achieve an overall cost leadership in the low cost airline industry. Therefore, it is vital for EasyJet to have a thorough comprehension of their costs and cost drivers. EasyJet is forever trying to attain a cost level that is low relative to its competitors. EasyJet cost efficiency is achieved in a variety of way as shown in the following diagram: The success of low-fare (cost) strategy is primarily dependent on the maintenance of a low cost base. This is critical for EasyJet having analysed the competitive rivalry position in the industry. With Ryanair maintaining high margins despite reducing yields through strict cost management. Lower costs are the only competitive advantage in the short-haul economy sector as air travel is effectively a commodity product. It is also anticipated that Ryanair will continue to lower costs, which will allow it to continue to engage in a price war, by lowering fares aggressively. Managing for value involves managing both value activities and cost drivers. This involves EasyJet retaining funds from operations; hence, a healthy Balance sheet in terms of retained profits. Significant investment in assets and managing financing costs. Funding strategies developments is clearly important in that the nature of funding must be appropriate and compliments the low cost strategy of EasyJet, by ensuring that interest costs are low. Strategies are largely determined by the extent to which they deliver best value to both customers in terms of being competitiveness in the marketplace (leading low cost airline) and also to provide value to shareholders. EasyJet’s no frills strategy does not only mean a cut in Cabin crew and â€Å"denial of food†, but also allows for a faster pre-flight preparation, thereby reducing the time grounded as well maintaining fare. As funding from operations are clearly a major contributor to value creation. In the long term, this is concerned with the extent to which the organisation is operating profitably. Table below provides an analysis of EasyJet’s sales revenue and profitability ratio since 1998. Investments in assets are also key consideration in value creation in that consideration of the extent to which assets and working capital are being utilised. EasyJet appears to have developed competences in supporting much higher levels of business from the same asset base than other rival airlines. This affects value creation as follows: The cost of capital investment The management of the element of working capital Table 1: Sales and Trading Profit of EasyJet Most theories argue that strategic success and improved wealth generation stem from two strategies. The first is to reduce the ‘bottom line’ costs of operation (low cost strategy) and the second is to increase the value of the organisation and its reputation to customers, so that they will demand more or pay more for what they receive (differentiation strategy) (ACCA Paper 3.5 (2001)). Porter through the use of the value chain illustrates how resources should be utilised to enhance least-cost production or differentiation strategies (the generic strategies suggested by Porter). The value chain analysis will show the total value added by the airline industry and EasyJet. All airline companies within the industry will have similar value chain, which will include activities such as obtaining fuel, designing fare structures, airport facilities, developing co-operative agreements, and providing customer service. Value chain analysis can provide important insights into what ma nagement need to focus on strategically. In terms of analysis, EasyJet’s distribution activities are important in terms of e-commerce, as EasyJet like to consider itself as the ‘webs favourite airline’. Standardisation in its activities as an airline leads to both economies of scale and a simpler product, which is cheaper and easier to distribute. The price of EasyJet’s tickets various as a function of the number of seats remaining, the time until the flight, and historical trends. This is done in order to maximise the yield from a flight, as many of the costs associated with running a flight are fixed relative to the number of passenger on board. Yield management is a form of risk management and therefore, adds value. The sales process is efficient, as EasyJet sells directly to customers, instead of using external sales teams. It has been streamlines by using e-commerce, firstly by telesales and now through the Internet. Marketing and sales will involve making customers aware of EasyJet’s services are price information and also selling. This will involve retention of best salespeople supported by HR management, engineering support in terms of maintenance of the web page supported by technology development to ensure that web site has the latest prices and route and flight information. This needs to be updated constantly as this will be a live system. EasyJet manages its sales process extremely efficiently, its sells its tickets directly. Previously it used telesales and now sales are through e-commerce web site. As Internet transactions have a lower cost associated with it EasyJet encourages its customers to book on-line by offering them a discount for on-line ticket reservations. Savings made from e-commerce is another source of value creation. In terms of competitive advantage, the internet offers overall cost leaders new abilities to reduce costs in primary activities such as marketing (i.e. e-commerce) and support activities such as fir infrastructure (e.g. quick order processing). EasyJet through its use of an overall cost leadership strategy can use internet-based technologies to reduce value chain costs in a variety of ways: On-line bidding and order processing to eliminate the need for sales calls and decrease sales force expense. Another benefit of Internet technology is lower transaction costs at multiple levels in value chain activities. Such lower costs benefit EasyJet initially as innovation is rewarded. However the sustainability of competitive advantages may be problematic: as rivals copy successful strategies, EasyJet will loose its initial advantages. And finally, service, activities that ensure that customers enjoy their flight by providing friendly on board service and assisting traveller with any special needs requirements. In terms of support activities, EasyJet takes advantage of technological developments in order to reduce costs. EasyJet also have a reputation for paying low wages in line with its low cost strategy. Procurement and firm infrastructure as a support activity does not add much extra value. In terms of strategy, many factors are outside the control of the company, such as use of high quality components and low defect rates for its aircrafts. This analysis outlines for EasyJet’s management how individual activities may be altered to reduce costs of operation or improve the value offered to customers. Those changes will ensure that EasyJet sustains its current market share and position and also increase margin. EasyJet may be especially good at outbound logistics lined to its marketing and sales operations and supported by its technology development. It is possibly not as good in terms of operations and its inbound logistics. This will assist management to decide as to what EasyJet should be concentrating on and what requires de-emphasising or even outsourcing. EasyJet’s overall cost leadership strategy uses low costs at each point in the value chain to lower costs. The customers of EasyJet have been using the Internet for making bookings. In addition to that, EasyJet has been offering no in-flight meals, no in flight movies. Also, only one type of aircraft is used, in order to minimise maintenance costs. The concept of the value chain is particularly useful in understanding an organisation’s strategic capability since its concentrates on value activities and the linkages between activities rather ran just resources. Therefore, capability is strongly related to the way that resources are used and controlled. The linkages with the value chains of channels and customers which are the essence of EasyJet’s capability and which can protect its market leadership and maintain cost leadership competitive advantage from competitors. This section we will investigate EasyJet’s resources as a means of assessing the organisation’s strategic capability. Analysis of financial resources in order to understand the strategic capability of EasyJet will need examination of financial capability and performance. Table 1 shows that EasyJet’s sales has increase year on year since 1998, with profit and gross margins also experiencing a positive trends. The company has also grown in terms of its acquisitions of GO and also increase in purchases of its own aircrafts. EasyJet also has a strong cash flow position primarily from its policy to retain profits and reinvest it back to the business. A Balanced scorecard approach is need to effectively conclude a balanced perspective on EasyJet’s resource capability in order to ensure that the low cost strategy is supported and is Cohabitation: The end of Marriage Cohabitation: The end of Marriage Introduction The following essay is aimed at discovering whether cohabitation has literally displaced marriage. It will focus on the processes of cohabiting as well as marriage, briefly touching on their historical backgrounds as well as the trends for each of the processes in different countries. Immediately after the war, marriage became practically universal phenomena but apparently, its popularity has declined towards the end of the twentieth century. Bumpass and Lu (2000) and Teachman, Tedrow and Crowder (2000) explain that patterns of family formation and also dissolution are changing in the United States. She clearly cites an increase in divorce, cohabitation and non marital children which clearly shows a shift from traditional marriage. According to Murphy and Young, (1999), marriage has been in steady decline since the early 70s in the United Kingdom. A McRae (1999) point out that marriage in 1995, which was 322,000, is thought to be the lowest on record since 1926. As the marriage rate dropped, so did the remarriage rate resulting in a steady rise of cohabiting. (Morgan 2000) Cohabiting according to Marshall (1998) refers to an arrangement whereby couples who are not legally married live together as husband and wife. In view of the above definition, the term, not legally married brings in another dimension as to the authenticity of cohabitation. This leads to the idea of common law marriage. There seems to be a huge misconception of the idea of common law marriage, with some authorities and according to Fairbain, (2009) there is no specific legal status for what many refer to as common law marriage. She also points out that many cohabiting couples are unaware of this fact. On the other hand, marriage, as defined by Horton and Hunt defined marriage as the approved social pattern whereby two or more persons establish a family. Majumdar takes it further by defining marriage as a socially sanctioned union of male and female or as a secondary institution devised by society to sanction the union and mating of male and female for purposesof establishing a househ old, entering into sex relations, procreating and providing care for the offspring There appears to be a clear distinction between marriage and cohabiting, judging from the definitions above which helps me conclude that they are not one and the same thing. The question which I will attempt to answer is whether on is displacing or replacing the other. Shaw and Haskey, (1999) seem to concur with the idea of a clear dichotomy as they point out that there has been a major trend towards a decline in marriage and a rise in cohabitation. Hasky, (1999) also points out that marriages popularity rose throughout the 1950s and the 1960s but notes that towards the end of the century, it fell, giving rise to cohabitation. It appears there was a shift in family formation from the traditional marriage to cohabitation. To further support the prevalence of cohabitation, Bramlett and Mosher, (2002) confirm that the increase of cohabitation is well documented showing that the majority of newly weds have cohabited before their first marriage. Levidon (1990) also argued that consensual unions, (cohabitation) appeared to constitute a new type of union. However, he mentions that the process was transitory, which points to the fact that marriage still was seen to be the end goal. A major development however was that there was more recognition of informal unions and as a social institution. (Haskey 1999)Kiernan, and Estaugh (1993), came up with the idea of nubile cohabitation which involved young people living together either as a prel ude to or as an alternative to marriage. This was further elaborated on by Bumpass, Sweet and Cherlin (2001); Smock, Huang, Bergstrom and Manning (2005) who cited one of the key reasons why cohabitation was on the rise, as a way of testing out a relationship and determine compatibility. Research however found out that there is a positive correlation between cohabitation and marital dissolution. (DeMaris and Rao 1992, Teachman and Polonko 1990 and Schoen 1992 cited in Smock (2000). They also found out that the link between cohabitation and marriage failure is complex, with other factors like, race, sexual history and ethnicity playing a significant influence. (Phillips and Sweeney 2005). According to Casper and Sayer (2000) and Brown and Booth (1996), cohabiters, are distinguished by factors like plans to marry It is noted that most of the cohabiters eventually plan to marry but not all cohabiters enter into cohabitation with marriage plans. (Manning and Smock 2005). In this way, cohabiters treated their cohabiting as an initial stage of the marriage process which clarifies that they did not see it as an alternative to marriage and likewise, those without marriage plans also viewed cohabitation as part of courtship or single hood. According to Brown (2004), cohabiters with marriage plans view cohabitation as a semi marriage and as a matter of fact, they share the same relationship quality as the married couples. Another factor that needs to be looked at is the individuals cohabitation history which researchers say in very significant. It was proven that women who cohabited only once with the same partner, being intimate, had the same relationship stability as those w ho never cohabited, (Teachman 2003). On the contrary, young adults who had multiple cohabiting partners are likely to encounter marital instability, (Teachman and Polonko 1990), (DeMaris and McDonald 1993). It is worth pointing out though that they concede that individuals who had multiple cohabitation before marriage could possibly have enough experience to enable them to make better marriage choices. Duncan et al (2005) states that cohabitation is often equated with do it yourselfand is no longer restricted to particular social groups. In line with this notion, Manning, Smock and Majumdar (2004) and Phillips and Sweeney (2005) maintain that race, and ethnic differences in cohabitation are likely to have an impact on cohabitation. It was noted that cohabitation had a negative effect on Whites marital stability but none on Blacks. This is likely so because of the view each ethnic group has on cohabiting. It was further observed that amongst cohabiting couples, Blacks had weaker marriage plans than Whites. (Manning and Smock 2002) Brown (2000) also argued that Blacks were less likely to go through to the actual marriage even with marriage plans. Between 1986 and 1990, there was a dramatic rise in cohabitation in Britain. 29% of unmarried females under 60 were cohabiting in 2001 and 2002. This was a three fold increase. As cohabitation rose, children being born to cohabiting couples were estimated to be over 25% by the beginning of the twenty first century. The fall decline of and delay in marriages, have all given rise to the phenomenon of cohabitation. Marriage does not stand out as the only means of commitment for life since some couples choose to cohabit, citing reasons like less commitment and the ease of opting out if things do not work well. (Kieman 2004). According to Duncan et al (2005) the shift from marriage to cohabitation suggests that individuals have found an option which meets their personal needs and has less or no hassles in terminating. Having looked at the history and trends of the two processes, marriage and cohabitation, this paper will focus on the individualisation theory. According to Beck, (1992) and Giddens (1992), we have entered a late modern era of de-traditionalisation and individualisation. Financial stability, education and provision through the welfare state tend to give individuals the latitude to move away from traditional customs. According to Lewis (2001), the pursuit of self fulfilment and individual happiness and freedom has brought up changes on the view of family. While the traditional institutions are still valued, there is less emphasis on marriage vows or private commitments and more emphasis on self projects. The project of self, places an emphasis on individual self-fulfilment and personal development, comes to replace relational, social aims. (Duncan and Smith 2006) The prevalence, historically, of economic and legal inequality, and the belief of there being accepted patterns of behaviou r is now getting weaker. (Lewis, 2001, p3) According to Lewis (2001), individualisation is thought to be a formulation of freedom of choice and personal preferences which competes with social structural traditions. However, in the eyes of the traditionalists, this may be viewed as a counter cultural revolution Beck (1992( suggests that social structures of gender, class, family and religion are gradually weakening due to individuals becoming more reflexive in making own choices, resulting in the creation of their own biographies. As a result, relationships now focus on individual fulfilment and consensual love, with sexual and emotional equality, substituting formal unions which have been historically prescribed within set gender roles. (Bauman, 2003, Duncan and Smith 2006). With reference to Majumdars definition of marriage, there is particular mention of it being a union of male and female or as a secondary institution devised by society to sanction the union and mating of male and female for purposesof establishing a household, entering into sex relations, procreating and providing care for the offspring. However, with reference to individualisation, the prescript nature of the marriage institution is challenged resulting in sexuality being largely freed from institutional, normative and patriarchal control as well as from reproduction. (Duncan and Smith 2006). This notion has led to the acceptance and rise of same sex relationships as confirmed by The Civil Partnership Act 2004 which was passed and came into effect in December 2005 created civil partnerships which gave same-sex couples who entered into them the same rights and responsibilities of marriage. From a feminist perspective, Lewis (2001) would argue that historically, marriage has reinforced the limiting of the self development of women. Marriage was seen as a restrictive union and could dictate emotions, feelings and behaviour. Cohabitation, from a different perspective could then be argued to be a form of liberation for women. (Morgan 2000). Marriage was viewed as being restrictive and confining, thereby limiting independence and autonomy. Morgan argues that marriage is an unencumbered life without binding commitments. This then presents the idea of cohabitation as a viable alternative which affords people choice to determine their own conditions for the establishment and dissolution of a relationship, Morgan (2000). The emergence of this contemporary family has been viewed positively and negatively. According to Giddens, (1992) and Weeks, (2001), the greater diversity of lifestyles and the opening up of choice leads to democracy in personal relations, and liberation from oppressive institutions. On the contrary, the work of Zygmunt Bauman (2003) and Francis Fukuyama (1999), stresses that the breakdown of traditional ties leads to a disintegration of families and the moralities once maintained by them; this demoralisation leads to individual alienation and social breakdown. Maslow (1954) maintains that people who engage in self actualisation were concurrently individualistic and altruistic. In order to meet their needs, individuals moving towards self actualisation, became higher selves and according to Maslow, this is healthy selfishness (p.156). In this process, the healthy self focuses more on the self Kilpatrick (1975) According to the pioneers of the individualisation theory, Becks and Gersheim (2002), society has shifted away from traditional structures where, people no longer have pre-given life worlds and life trajectories. (Heath, et al 2007). Generally, individuals are no longer expected by society to follow a set family pattern. According to Beck, (1992) this notion has altered the previous accepted family structures resulting in the dissolution of the social foundations of the nuclear family as more emphasis is placed on the family of choice Fukuyama (1999) argues that the institution of marriage has previously been viewed as the bedrock of society but due to the emergence of the family change and freedom of choice, traditional ties have weakened and as a result, there has been family degeneration. Gender roles have also shifted since from the categorization of men as breadwinners and women as house makers. The major change appears to be women emancipation advocated for by the womens moveme nts and this has altered societal and demographic values. Active participation by women on the labour market has significantly changed the notion of a family unit by bringing in more choice and autonomy women did not have in the past. The Legal Position of Cohabitation in Britain Heterosexual cohabitation has been socially and universally accepted as an alternative to marriage in the UK for over two decades but very little has been finalised as regards legal rights of the cohabitants is debatable. (Duncan et al 2001) The issue with cohabiting is that while it can be registered as a Civil marriage, it does not attract the same legal rights and privileges of a marriage. Traditionally, marriage has been regarded as Bauman, Z (2003) Liquid Love: on the Frailty of Human Bonds. Oxford, Polity. Beck, U. (1992) Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity, London, Sage. Bumpass, L., Lu, H. (2000). Trends in cohabitation and implications for childrens family contexts in the United States. Population Studies, 54, 29-41. Duncan, S. and Smith, D. (2002) Geographies of family formations: spatial differences and gender cultures in Britain Transactions Institute of British Geographers, 27, 4, 471-493. Fukuyama, F. (1999) The Great Disruption: Human nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order, New York, Free Press. Giddens, A. (1992) The Transformation of Intimacy: Sexuality, Love and Eroticism in Modern Societies. Cambridge, Polity Press. Horton, P. B. and Hunt, C.L. (1984) Sociology. 6th ed. Singapore: McGraw Hill Book Companies Kiernan, K. and Estaugh, V. (1993) Cohabitation Extra-marital Childbearing and Social Policy,Joseph Rowntree Foundation/Family Policy Studies Centre. Lewis, J. (2001) The End of Marriage? Individualism and Intimate Relationships, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Marshall, G, (1998) A Dictionary of Sociology cited on http://www.encyclopedia.com Accessed 20/11/2009. Weeks, J. (2001) Same Sex Intimacies: Families of Choice and Other Life Experiments. London, Routledge. Teachman, J. Tedrow, L and Crowder. K. 2000. The Changing Demography of Americas Families. Journal of Marriage and the Family 62:1234-1246.