Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Newspapers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Newspapers - Essay Example nic tragedy way back in 1912 and have shown how each of the three dailies The New York Times, Las Vegas Optic and Santa Fe New Mexican reported it in their 1912 third week of April publication. It was at midnight of the 14th of April 1912 that Titanic hit an iceberg and the rest was one of the worst and most tragic episodes recorded in history. The Titanic was considered to be the most ‘gigantic’ (The New York Times, p.1) luxury cruise-liners of the century that could never drown. But as fate would have it, Titanic went down taking along with it more than 1500 passengers including hundreds of women and children. It became the major news of the 1912s and dominated page 1 of almost all the dailies for weeks. Each of the newspaper houses hounded for more detailed news not only for making business but for delivering as much information as possible to the aggrieved families of the victims who were trying hard to know and connect to their relatives who were on board. The publication of The New York Times that came out on the 16th of April 1912 has provided a detailed account of the incident. The Headline ‘The Lost Titanic Being Towed out of Belfast Harbour’ with a picture of the luxury liner evokes a sense of irrevocable loss. The best part of The New York Times is that it adopts a style that suits the common man’s taste. The news is presented in conversational English that people can connect with. By focusing on every detail from the desperate attempts of the Captain, Captain Smith, to the helplessness of family and friends in trying to get in touch with their loved ones, it makes the tragedy all the more palpable to its readers. Every column informs about one or the other aspect of the accident that might help in understanding the death toll, the exact location and the condition of those who have been saved. It provides a list of those feared to be dead on the basis of the number of cabins and the passengers fitted in them. This bit of statistical data
Monday, October 28, 2019
Effects of Video Games on Children Essay Example for Free
Effects of Video Games on Children Essay Although video games can increase aggressive behavior, they can improve memory and logistical thinking, as well as teach perseverance. Over the course of the last few decades video games have been integrated into the lives of our children. Video games are very appealing to children of all ages, and even to some adults. There is a variety of video games out there, and they range from educational to very violent. Because of this diverse selection of video games, there is a wide range of positive and negative side effects that these games can have on children. Because a large percentage of our children’s time is spent playing video games, there has been a lot of research in recent years on the positive and negative effects these games have on them. â€Å"Among elementary and middle-school populations, girls play for an average of about 5. 5 hours/week and boys average 13 hours/week,†(Gentile, D. A. 2004). Teenagers also spend a time playing video games. According to Media Analysis Laboratory (1998),†Eighty percent of teens said they played at least occasionally and the average amount of time spent gaming for the sample was 5 hours per week†(para. 19). Video game play has become not only a leisurely pastime for children, but for families also. When parents are not involved in some of their game play the outcome can become a little scary. Children who play video games with their families have a more pro-social attitude compared to their counterparts who play alone. Children who are less social or somewhat anti-social tend to develop aggressive tendancies when spending long hours gaming alone especially when violent video games are involved. Video games have been shown to increase aggressive behavior in some children. Neubert, S. P. (2004) said, â€Å"Individuals high in hostility are more likely to become aggressive when exposed to violent video games. †â€Å"Games in which the only positive outcome is the violent demise of enemies reinforces anti-social behavior. Violent video games desensitize people to aggression,†(Neubert, S. P. , 2004). According to a study done by Douglas A. Gentile. References Media Analysis Laboratory (1998). Video game culture: Leisure and play preferences of B. C. teens. Retrieved from http://www. media-awareness. ca In-Text Citation 1. [Insert the paraphrased material] (Simon Fraser University, Burnaby B. C. , 1998). 2. The Media Analysis Laboratory (1998) website [Insert the paraphrased material]. 3. , [Insert the quotation]†(para. 19).
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Citizen Kane: Charles Foster Kane - Who Was He? :: essays research papers
Citizen Kane: Charles Foster Kane - Who Was He? The story of Citizen Kane drew many people to the theatres since they wanted to find out who this Kane fellow is or was. It is unarguably one of the best films ever produced. Orson Wells portrays Kane as mysterious person but also a sad person. The different accounts are shown throughout the movie through the reporter wanting to find out who or what Rosebud is. Rosebud was Kane's last dying words. The first person the reporter Jerry Thompson sees is the owner of Walter Parks Thatcher's estate and holdings. Thatcher is long dead and who? visits his library and is allowed to inspect the financier's memoirs in manuscript. Through Thatcher's words we see Kane as a boy playing with his sled on a snow-swept Colorado farm. Through his mother, the boy has just inherited a great fortune. Unable to settle his bill, a prospector who boarded with the Kanes left behind stock certificates that make Mrs. Kane the sole owner of one of the world's great silver mines. She then makes her son the ward of the bank that administers her estate, and Thatcher, whom the angry young Kane bashes with a sled, takes the boy East to be raised. The movie then shows Kane growing up, making life miserable for Thatcher. The mature Kane decides to take direct control of a small, struggling newspaper, and immediately begins using it to attack Thatcher and others among America's financial elite. This displays the mystery with Kane as he wants to expand on something small into something big, but we don't know what. The next account was given by Bernstein, Kane's devoted assistant. He explains the beginnings as a newspaper czar and his takeover of the New York Enquirer, in which he fired its editor, hired an expensive, top-notch staff, and enlisted his college friend Jedediah Leland as the drama critic. Kane is at first a crusader for the understanding, opening his first editorial with a "declaration of principles." He becomes a champion of the little person, hyping his circulation with juicy scandals, crime exposes, etc. In a surprise move Kane marries Emily Norton, the president's niece. For the first time here we see Kane starting a love story. However this wasn't to last and it paved the way for the second-love. The reporter then visits a half-drunk Susan Alexander in a nightclub. She recalls her meeting and eventual affair with the married Kane and their discovery by Leland, who is led to their love nest by Kane's political rival, "Big Jim" Gettys. Until that point, Kane is heavily favored to defeat Gettys in
Thursday, October 24, 2019
American Gun Laws
Gun laws in the United States of America need to be altered in order to make American society safer. The Second Amendment of the Constitution reads â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. †This means that from the point any American child is born they have the right to possess a gun and use it for their own safety. How can a child as young as the age of ten years old know the difference between using a gun for their safety and playing with a gun putting themselves into danger? One state in America called Virgin has its very own law that every person must possess a gun. The law in the United States approves of blind men or woman having the right to possess a gun. If you are mentally affected you are also eligible to possess a gun. How can this be legal? Semi- automatic and automatic guns can be legally purchased in most US states by anyone who doesn’t have a violent criminal record. What is a violent criminal record? The law itself is not worded correctly. Semi-automatic guns are weapons which perform all steps necessary preparing the weapon to fire again after one shot. Automatic guns are firearms which keep firing bullets until the trigger is released. Why should every day American citizens need these sorts of weapons to â€Å"protect themselves†? Ammunition for guns can be purchased at nearly every store around the United States including Kmart and even in a barbers shop. Not only are you able to buy ammunition for very powerful guns but you are also legally allowed to buy as many sets of ammunition as you desire. Seventeen cents is all you need to purchase one bullet in America. If Americans wanted fewer people dying from guns every year they would change the price and the fact that guns are so easy to access dramatically. If bullets were 7,000 dollars each they would be used more carefully. This would influence a massive change in people dying per year from â€Å"gun accidents†as Americans would become very cautious in using their ammunition wisely. In 1999 two boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School. They purchased their weapons legally from the local Kmart. They used semi-automatic guns, shot guns and even possessed 99 explosives and 4 knives. They shot 900 rounds of ammunitions killing a total of 12 students and one teacher and then themselves. The massacre started a debate over gun laws and the availability of firearms to high school students. It resulted in an increase emphasis on school security. Students in American schools now must go through metal detector before entering their daily lasses. Security also checks for any sharp metal such as nail clippers but they do not focusing on the fact that guns are a large cause of death. One child was suspended from his school because he was carrying around a stapler. Guns are still legally allowed in schools. 45% of US households have at least one gun. Around 59. 1 million adults in the United States own a gun. There is no law stating that you need to register your gun so it is impossible to know exactly who owns a gun and how many guns are being sold. 31,593 helpless lived were killed in 2011 by guns. This is a clear message. Guns are not doing any good. Therefore they should not be allowed. Guns should not be used to take others lives. They should be used in the military to protect the country not to kill. They should be used for people that like to go hunting. Semi-automatic and automatic guns are not used to kill a dear so why are they allowed to be sold to any civilised person in the United States? It is said that the availability of a gun makes it more likely that you will have feelings of anger or thoughts of suicide. 381 people have died from gun shooting in Germany, 255 in France, 165 in the UK, 59 in Japan and 39 in Australia. Why is it that approximately 100,000 American people die every year from guns? This is 300 people per day losing their lives because of guns. This is screaming out to Americans that they have to act now. Waiting another year is just losing 100,000 more lives. The news in America impacts greatly on the way society looks at their safety. The TV advertises violence sending a bad message across to any children in the United States. One hour before the Columbine shooting America bombed a school and a hospital in Iraq. This is not setting a good example. Changing the gun laws is a battle between freedoms and safety. It is a battle between freedom for the American people as they have lived their whole lives with the idea that they are safe as they have possession of guns. They have grown up with parents teaching them how to use a gun and in many cases this can lead to good and bad. It can be bad because a child might accidently use a gun for the wrong reasons or their parents have taught them the wrong way of using one. Putting themselves into danger and for good as some families might be smart enough to tell their children there are other ways of protection over guns. It is a battle between safety for all the reasons above. Guns have been seen to be used for nothing but bad in the past and this needs to change. 20 people in America are dying every single hour from a gun. This is not only telling us that they are not used for safety precautions but it is telling us that the American citizens are not very educated in their actions and the way they act. Most Americans might be very good at handling guns and not using them for the worse but to think that so many are dying from one machine and nothing is changing is not good at all. In Australia around about 65 people are killed by guns every year. In America around about 11,127 people are killed by guns every year. 40% of guns sold are not sold without a background check. This means that people with criminal records are easy accepted to own a gun when they are said not to be. The Law says that is you have a criminal record you are unable to possess a gun but many Americans are still easily getting one. This is a wakeup call. America should not be allowing possession of guns for the safety of their own country. Where there are more guns, there are more deaths. America has to start acting now before another 100,000 people are dead.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Developmental Psych Papere
The study of the psychological development in children has been an ongoing endeavor. Renowned theorist, Sigmund Freud developed a psychoanalytic stage of psychological development focusing on the psychosexual development of individuals. Erikson developed his own theory of development which spanned over one’s lifetime. Psychological development has stirred arguments in theory from biological theorists and environmental theorists as well.Despite the uncompromised viewpoints from psychological, biological, and environmental theorists, children continue to be born, grow, and become adults without a definitive explanation to their development. There exists the lingering question as to why some children grow and develop serious psychological disorders and learning dysfunctions when compared to other children who are devoid of any dysfunction.BackgroundAt first view, Adam is a rambunctious typical 8 year old boy. It is noticeable that his attention span is comprom ised as he is unable to remain focused on one activity for any given length of time. His parents, Jason and Alexis, explained that Adam was born via Caesarean section after forty-two prolonged hours of labor. A second child was born, a girl, later the following year. At the age of 2, his parents noticed that he seemed too eager and full of energy. After a trip to the pediatrician, they were assured that this was typical behavior for a 2 year old boy.Up to the age of 4, his parents became more distraught with their inability to control his behaviors. By this point, Adam was sleeping three hours per night, had gotten outside the family home by picking a lock with a butter knife, was physically abusing his younger sister, had broken his collar bone jumping off a Little Tyke car, re-broken the collar bone in the doctor’s office jumping off the exam table despite the doctor’s efforts to catch him, and his parents werePSYCHOLOGY                                                                                                                              3sleeping in shifts in order to keep up with his hyperactivity (personal communication, May 15, 2010). The family received reassurance from the pediatrician who indicated that it was a phase that Adam would soon outgrow. It is clear that both Jason and Alexis were debating whether or not Adam’s behavior was an individual difference or an abnormal behavior, but one could also suggest the possibility of the issues with Adam being related to a nature versus nurture conflict (Berryman, et al, 2002)AnalysisD iagnosisWhen Adam was 6, his parents contacted a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist after exhausting every other known resource and outlet, including school counselors and the family pediatrician. Adam was put through a series of developmental, biological, and psychological tests.  The psychiatrist met with the parents two-weeks following the testing phase. It was determined that Adam was suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Bipolar Disorder I. While Jason and Alexis admit that they were horrified by the diagnoses, they have stated that they were equally relieved to finally have a name for what was wrong with their son (personal communication, May 15, 2010).The Diagnostics and Statistics Manual for Mental Disorders, fourth edition, (DSM-IV-TR) defines ADHD as being a condition often present in children indicated by behaviors and mannerisms inconsistent with the child’s developmental age (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Specific symptoms include restlessness, driven mood, excessive talking, distractible, and an inability to remain focused. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) notes that learning disabilities are frequent with the diagnosis of ADHD (APA, 1994). The diagnosis of BipolarPSYCHOLOGY                                                                                                                              4Disorder I indicates that episodes of mania are or have existed in the patient. Bipolar Disorder is defined as severe mood swings associated with elated happiness, or mania, in contrast to extre me depression, or periods of sadness (APA, 1994).TreatmentTreating both of these conditions in a child requires consistency and encouragement from the family. From a pharmacological standpoint, these conditions are being treated with Clonodine and Depekote. Family and cognitive therapies have been incorporated into the family’s routine. Lab tests, blood work, are performed bi-weekly as the level of Depekote must be monitored so that it does not become toxic. In reference to Adam’s learning disability, he is enrolled in special education classes in a public elementary school. To date, Adam seems well adjusted and fully cooperative in taking his daily medications. Alexis indicated that his individual therapy has helped him to recognize periods where he has become too active, whereby Adam will indicate that he needs some alone time to calm down (personal communication, May 15, 2010).DiscussionThe prognosis for these types of conditions in children is uncertain. Years ago, a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder in a child was unheard of, and it would seem to be more congruent with a Conduct Disorder. Times are changing as is developmental psychology. The origin of these conditions is not definite. Alexis wonders if there was oxygen deprivation during labor which may have contributed to Adam’s disorders, but there is not a clear or concise medical opinion to assert this to fact (personal communication, May 15, 2010). There are still questions as to whether or not either of these conditions may be hereditary, despite the fact that neitherPSYCHOLOGY                                                                                                                              5Jason nor Alexis have any family members with either condition. With regard to the abnormal behavior exhibited by Adam; there exists a name for the psychological dysfunction. In relation to Adam as an individual, it is obvious that he does have specific differences than that of other children his own age. It is still a battle and argument to be had with regard to developmental psychologists and theorists.ConclusionJason and Alexis continue to live and function with the knowledge that their son has been diagnosed with two disorders requiring constant monitoring and care. In lieu of these conditions, they still manage to do things as any other family does. They have a family in which one child has special needs. For them, these needs have become the norm, even though society views these obstacles as an intrusion and inconveni ence. Developmental psychology is a study of the ways in which one goes from being a dependent infant to a self-sufficient adult. There are a variety of ways that each individual will accomplish such a task. There does not appear to be any one definition by which each person grows and develops thoughts, mental processes, or abilities. Each person simply grows by learning and adapting in order to survive. The field of developmental psychology has much work and research ahead of itself, but it has already made great strides with regard to how society has gotten where it is.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Essay on Real EstateEssay Writing Service
Essay on Real EstateEssay Writing Service Essay on Real Estate Essay on Real EstateThe term â€Å"real estate†is a commonly used term, which means â€Å"land and its improvements; mines, minerals and quarries under the land; air and water rights associated with land; and other rights and privileges related to land†(Karp et al., 2008, p. 38). In other words, reals estate involves all types of land attachments that have permanent nature. However, the meaning of the term â€Å"real estate†may vary, depending on the situation. For example, in jurisdiction, the term â€Å"real estate†means â€Å"real property†(Karp et al., 2008). Moreover, real estate may refer not only to property, but also to the rights and privileges relating to land. These rights are called real estate. In marketing, real estate market analysis is used to identify current problems in the field of real estate industry. Market analysis is conducted for all types of real estate.MarketingThe term â€Å"marketing†refers to different activities aimed at sales, including â€Å"merging, integrating and controlling supervision of all company’s or organization’s efforts that have a bearing on sales†(Reid Bojanic, 2009, p. 8). In other words, marketing involves buying activities, selling activities and the activities associated with transporting goods and services. Today marketing can be viewed as a system of different business-related activities, which help to distribute various goods and services to potential and present customers. Marketing philosophy reflects the profit concept. Special attention in marketing is placed on the role of a market price. Many experts consider that marketing has become an art that covers a wide range of activities (Reid Bojanic, 2009). The major function of marketing is enhancing consumer satisfaction. For example, improved distribution requires the proper marketing activities to increase consumer satisfaction.StrategyThe term â€Å"strategy†can be defin ed as â€Å"determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals†(Chandler, 2003, p. 13). In business, it is necessary to make decisions aimed at expanding activities and achieving the established goals. Marking strategy should be developed and implemented to effectively deal with customers, segments and target markets. The major goal of marketing strategy is not only to identify customer needs and demands, but also design an effective marking program that will help to find the proper ways to satisfy the needs and demands of potential customers (Chandler, 2003). The lack of well-developed strategy leads to poor performance because of improper actions to achieve the established goals. Organizations should recognize the importance of developing an effective strategy to achieve success on the competitive market.PoliciesThe term â€Å"policy†can be defined as a â€Å"set of directions, which are oriented toward a long-term purpose or to a particular problem†(Massow, 2009, p. 11). Policies refer to decisions, which influence the development and implementation of certain strategies. Policies play a crucial role in marketing development. Policies help to change the existing environment for a better one.  In marketing, policies are based on marketing principles that help to promote them. Pricing policies address price as the key element of marketing, which influences customer satisfaction, sales and profits (Massow, 2009). Pricing policies help to set the most flexible prices to achieve the established goals in sales. In other words, policies are developed to generate bigger profits addressing certain challenges.
Monday, October 21, 2019
Worse Than Slavery essays
Worse Than Slavery essays In Worse than Slavery, David Oshinsky tells a graphic story of the system adopted after the civil war in the south. He explains in detail how conflict labor was used as a form of replacement slavery against the blacks in Mississippi and throughout the south. Convict leasing and the system inside the Parchman farm were both ways in which white southerners used the criminal justice system to maintain power over newly free blacks. Blacks were easily convicted of crimes and sentenced to long terms with harsh punishments. White southerners relied on the criminal justice system in order to preserve the patterns of race relations and to create new patterns. One way in which they did this was to create black codes. The goal of these codes was to control the labor supply and to keep the higher position of whites in southern society. The codes listed certain crimes for the freed blacks only, such as mischief and cruel treatment of animals. The penalty for intermarriage was life imprisonment. Oshinsky explains to us that for blacks accused of any crime it was basically impossible to be acquitted of their charges. They could not afford lawyers and white word always prevailed over blacks. After the end of the Civil War, southerners were very disrupted by the newly freed slaves. White southerners did not want to accept these people as citizens in their towns and had long viewed criminal behavior as natural to the Negro (pg. 32). Stealing was the most common offense and it was moving past the plantations the slaves once inhabited. Blacks could not afford lawyers and had virtually no chance of winning their case inside a court. They were sentenced to long prison terms with heavy fines they were unable to pay. According to Oshinsky, many jails and penitentiaries in the South had been destroyed by the war and emancipation had placed strains on the prisons. There was no money to replace them or to house the flood of...
Sunday, October 20, 2019
19 of the Best Project Management Training Opportunities for Marketers
19 of the Best Project Management Training Opportunities for Marketers Like it or not†¦ Project management is a skill a lot of marketers need. From campaign planning to budgeting and tracking, marketing managers need to have acute project management skills to get their projects off the ground. Problem is, many marketing managers are so bogged down wrangling tasks and chasing down status updates that they have little or no time to do *real* work that moves the ball forward. Having a clear project management process is an important element for both your sanity AND your marketing ROI†¦ Why? You ask For starters, a clear project management process ensures everyone knows what they’re doing and when. So you’re not stuck herding cats all day. AND Having an organized process means your marketing campaigns are more likely to be successful. In fact, 86% of employees and managers cite ineffective communication as the main contributor to project failures. Better project management = better communication. Thing is†¦ Many marketing managers don’t have any formal project management training. Fear not, trusty marketers. This post breaks down (almost) every type of project management style and the best training opportunities to help you make sure your PM skills are up to snuff.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Religion and philosophy of Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Religion and philosophy of Asia - Essay Example The beliefs are known to create a significant link between the way in which politics form as well as the traditions and rituals that become a part of a specific country. The concept of building a social identity is one which is based on the belief system, which begins with the individual and familial concepts of what it means to belong to a specific culture.This is followed by the cultural identity that is accepted in the mainstream and which creates a specific response when different events occur. The belief system then begins to reflect how society should respond as well as what is expected with the main functions of the government, all which change the main functions of each region. The main belief system which began to change Asia was the growth of Buddhism that spread throughout China, Korea and other parts of Asia. The knowledge which was received about Buddhism created specific types of understanding and belief related to superhuman achievements and being able to overcome specific situations through the practice. This also dictated different laws. The trend which grew from this emerged with different intellectual groups as well as monks that began to practice the different belief systems and which developed into the political mainstream to offer guidance about overcoming and achieving different parts of life with the belief system in place. The beliefs of the culture could then be focused on the virtue and main application of laws that were a part of Buddhism and the political powers.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Career Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Career Making - Essay Example The organisation is based in London, United Kingdom (Web Focus 2008). The human resources units of Arcadia functions directly with line managers to assist in the management, development, training, and recruitment of people; it is HR’s duty to investigate and bring in the most productive development procedures and best practice in employee relations. The HR department also has several professionals who work all over the organisation, especially in the area of Employee Relations and Reward, Management Development and Graduate Resourcing (Web Focus 2008). The group possesses a firm external concentration to guarantee Arcadia is promoting itself as an empowering and motivating employer and keeping updated of the external market developments in human resources. I am interested to pursue an HR position in Arcadia, preferably an HR Officer, since my educational background and training, as well as my experience, in the field is quite extensive. I plan to develop my career in this area of Human Resource Management. 2. Self-Assessment, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) The following are my skills and abilities which are relevant to the position I am aspiring for (these are also shown in my CV): (1) excellent communication and interpersonal skills at all levels; (2) ability to interact effectively with people of all backgrounds with tact and diplomacy; (3) dedicated to providing the highest standards of customer service; (4) enthusiastic, highly motivated, reliable and trustworthy individual; (5) ability to work well under pressure and within strict deadlines; (6) independent and resourceful, a quick learner, able to adapt quickly and easily; (7) ability to lead, motivate and inspire others, a committed team player; (8) friendly, approachable, outgoing personality with a positive outlook; and (9) good attendance and punctuality; good ability to use initiative. In terms of knowledge, I think that four major areas of my competencies are relevant to the position I am applying for in Arcadia. First is the focus to succeed. Understanding the external and internal environment of the business regularly and developing techniques for innovative outcomes. Competencies involve: drive to succeed, innovative thinking, and customer idea. Second is organising to implement. Executing with teamwork, adaptability, and speed; competencies involve: certainty, teamwork, direct talk, and group leadership. Third is upholding momentum. Acquiring long-term outcomes that continue to develop; competencies involve personal commitment, training, developing organisational capacity. And lastly is dedication to the business. However, these four areas of competencies are not sufficient. I should also be knowledgeable of different topics such as marketing, stress management, strategic planning, and workplace conflict. 3. The Appropriateness of my KSA to Human Resource Management Position As a clothing store HR manager, hired by a retail company, I should have the experie nce or skill to buy products directly from a wholesale company or manufacturer, as well as to predict what will attract customers and the saleability of the apparels, on the basis of cost, style, and competition. I should also possess the ability to educate and motivate personnel as they also perform customer
Legalization of Coca Production In Bolivia Essay
Legalization of Coca Production In Bolivia - Essay Example Morales has made discrimination and oppression experienced by Bolivia's indigenous groups a top priority in his presidency (Brea). Since the early 1990s, the United States of America has put pressure on the Bolivian government to reduce the amount of coca leaves produced for refinement by the international drug trade. Cocaine is one of the many ingredients in the coca leaves. In 1995 the livelihood of one out of eight Bolivians was dependent on coca, with Bolivia the world's largest grower of coca after Peru and Columbia. Hugo Banzer, who was Bolivia's president at the time, developed a plan to eradicate the coca plant (Evo 9.3.3.1-2). Between 1997 and 2000, the production of coca fell from 45,800 hectares to 14,600 hectares. The eradication program has been funded by the United States with an average of $150 million a year (Evo 9.3.3). The focus on farmers rather than traffickers created worsening external economic conditions for peasants who had depended on coca production for their livelihood. Evo Morales began a campaign to oppose the eradication of the coca leaf crops. He was elected to the Bolivian Congress but was expelled in 2002 because of his association with anti-eradication factions. However, in 2005 he was supported by coca farmers and became president of Bolivia. His position was "zero cocaine and zero drug trafficking, but not zero coca or zero cocaleros (coca growers)" (Evo, 9.9.3.4). The Culture of Coca In determining whether Evo Morales should be encouraged or discouraged in his efforts to end the eradication of coca, the reasons for his efforts need a background in the use of the coca leaf itself. Coca has long played an important role in the culture of the Andeans, mainly as a chewable health supplement. The coca leaf contains many essential nutrients in addition to its well-known mood-altering substance, cocaine. It is rich in proteins and vitamins and grows in regions where other food sources are scarce. The energy boost from the cocaine in the leaf is very functional in areas where oxygen is scarce and extensive walking is necessary. Chewing coca leaves continues to be common in the high-altitude mountains of Bolivia (Coca 2.2; Oomen par. 11). It is further used as a spiritual substance by Andeans. It is the contention of the United States that the eradication of coca throughout the world is an important step in the effort to eradicate the production of cocaine and the illegal trafficking of cocaine. The policy of the international community-most often represented by the UN drug control agency, the United States Ambassador and to a lesser degree, the European Union representatives-has been more harmful in the Andean countries than in Europe, with violence, human rights violations and corruption. In Europe, the effort to close down the coca production is not so strictly advocated as in the United States. One representative of the European NGO Council on Drugs (ENCOD) offered awareness in 2003 of the effect of "fumigating 260,000 hectares of coca and opium to such an extent that farmers will be unable to grow anything in these fields for the next 15 to 20 years" (Oomen, par. 2). In the 1980s, the coca farmers in the Chapare (Bolivia) witnessed how US forces were organizing coca ine transportation instead of fighting coca cultivation. It was Oomen's concern that the
Thursday, October 17, 2019
APA citation Activity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
APA citation Activity - Assignment Example The citation requires surname of the author, followed by date, both within brackets. The works-cited page shall have full details of this particular source, starting with the surname of author. In case, there is no author then the title of the source publication must be mentioned in brackets. If there is no date available on the publication, then â€Å"nd†must me mentioned, along with the author surname, with a space after the coma. An example of such citation is given here. (In-Text Citations: The Basics, nd) â€Å"Current trends have shown an increase in volunteer work throughout the nation. According to the organization ‘Americas Promise’ (2011), current volunteering numbers are the highest they have been in 30 years. The Organization also claims that compared to the preceding generation, middle-aged Baby Boomers have been volunteering at higher rates than ever before. Survey from this organization revealed that the proportion of senior volunteers, aged 65 and over, has risen to 64 percent, since 1974. (Americas Promise, 2011)†â€Å"In order to achieve and maintain career success, potential employees must possess basic knowledge and applied skills for the workplace. According to The Conference Board (2010), half of surveyed employers say workforce readiness is also the responsibility of potential employees (para. 3). New entrants should not rely solely on what they have been taught in college, but rather try and learn on their own as well. In recent years, it has become apparent that most college graduates do not write at a proficient level. According to the Conference Board nine out of ten employers say writing is very important for four-year college graduates (Conference Board, 2010, para. 3).†â€Å"New entrants should not rely solely on what they have been taught in college, but rather try and learn on their own as well. In recent years, it has become
Leadership in organisations during post-recession period Essay
Leadership in organisations during post-recession period - Essay Example Furthermore, there are predictions that in the next 5 years the rapid economic growth of China would suffer a major setback, while some expect India and Brazil to face similar economic slowdown at the same time. Increased globalisation in finances and trade has led to increased integration, which in turn has acerbated specific economic conditions globally, creating greater challenges for business firms. The main challenges for organisations arising from the current economic crisis are: Achieving success in developing economies is not as easy as before and making profits from fast growing markets is increasingly turning more difficult as costs are increasing, there is greater competition, and even the fast developing economies are now slowing down owing to global recession (Ernst & Young, 2011); Divergent markets: Owing to globalisation, as the organisations enter markets having different business culture and environment and varying prospects they tend to face various challenges assoc iated with increasing functional and management complexities (Ernst & Young, 2011); More importance are being attached to dynamic policies, which are largely unpredictable, shows a sign increasing protectionism is creating serious challenges for the organisations. Business firms are also expressing increasing concerns over sharp increase in taxes as governments try to acquire greater revenues to make up for the public fund deficit (Ernst & Young, 2011); Talented people and specialised workers are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Organisations all over the world are finding it increasingly difficult to locate the right candidates and there is scarcity of good leaders and specialised workers (Ernst &... Leadership in organisations during post-recession period A few years back when large companies faced the prospect of losing their stronghold within the arena of domestic markets, they simply searched for fast developing economies in order to make higher profits. Currently, owing to widespread economic globalisation and the looming financial downturn, there is a significant slowdown in economic growth, rise in stiff competition, increase in operational and management complexities and a significant shortage of skilled/specialised workers within key markets, which is turning into a major challenge for various business organisations. Many of the experts have predicted a fresh economic downturn by the end of 2012 primarily initiated by debt defaults in Eurozone (Ernst & Young, 2011). Furthermore, there are predictions that in the next 5 years the rapid economic growth of China would suffer a major setback, while some expect India and Brazil to face similar economic slowdown at the same time. The challenges faced by the organisations during recession makes it necessary for one to take into consideration the various leadership and negotiation skills that are necessary to steer business firms through the difficult period and prepare them for an economic upturn. In this context, some experts have contended that favourable economic conditions create a management and operational environment that is lax in nature, which is tightened up during economic recessions.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
APA citation Activity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
APA citation Activity - Assignment Example The citation requires surname of the author, followed by date, both within brackets. The works-cited page shall have full details of this particular source, starting with the surname of author. In case, there is no author then the title of the source publication must be mentioned in brackets. If there is no date available on the publication, then â€Å"nd†must me mentioned, along with the author surname, with a space after the coma. An example of such citation is given here. (In-Text Citations: The Basics, nd) â€Å"Current trends have shown an increase in volunteer work throughout the nation. According to the organization ‘Americas Promise’ (2011), current volunteering numbers are the highest they have been in 30 years. The Organization also claims that compared to the preceding generation, middle-aged Baby Boomers have been volunteering at higher rates than ever before. Survey from this organization revealed that the proportion of senior volunteers, aged 65 and over, has risen to 64 percent, since 1974. (Americas Promise, 2011)†â€Å"In order to achieve and maintain career success, potential employees must possess basic knowledge and applied skills for the workplace. According to The Conference Board (2010), half of surveyed employers say workforce readiness is also the responsibility of potential employees (para. 3). New entrants should not rely solely on what they have been taught in college, but rather try and learn on their own as well. In recent years, it has become apparent that most college graduates do not write at a proficient level. According to the Conference Board nine out of ten employers say writing is very important for four-year college graduates (Conference Board, 2010, para. 3).†â€Å"New entrants should not rely solely on what they have been taught in college, but rather try and learn on their own as well. In recent years, it has become
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
U.S. Role Against Somalian Pirates Research Paper
U.S. Role Against Somalian Pirates - Research Paper Example Somalia’s eastern coastal areas and Gulf of Aden are the major areas in which Somali pirates base their operations. Multinational naval force including warships from America, Britain, India and Australia are currently patrolling in Somali coastal areas in order to avoid further mishaps. However, the threats from the pirates are increasing day by day even though UN Security Council and other countries did everything possible to counter the threats from the pirates. Being the sole super power in the world at present, America has definitely a major role to play in Somali pirate issue. It should be noted that America is currently conducting war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many people have the belief that Somali pirates definitely have some close connections with Islamic terrorists even though it is not proved yet. Under such circumstances, America should give more emphasize to the Somali pirate issue so that its counter terrorism efforts would be more meaningful. This paper analyses the role of America against Somali pirate issue. Warner pointed out that â€Å"Given Somalia’s proximity to one of the world’s main sea lines of communications through the Gulf of Aden, Somali fishermen, unrestrained by a functioning coast guard or navy, seized the opportunity to engage in maritime piracy starting in the 1990s†.... In fact, it is difficult for Somali government to establish law and order in the country when people are suffering a lot from poverty and unemployment. Terrorists know this fact very well and they can easily establish links with Somali pirates. In other words, America cannot stay away from the Somali piracy issue if they like to end war on terror successfully. Terrorists are now establishing their bases in Somali like poorly governed countries. America should realize this fact and respond properly to this issue. Operation Enduring Freedom, a military mission by the US and coalition partners in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, contained a naval component. As their mission was essentially a counter-terrorism mission, it initially had no intention to take action against pirates. The area of operations of Task Force 150 however included the area off the coast of Somalia (Fink & Galvin, 2009, p.382) Terrorism in any form cannot be justified even if it may have some credible reasons. For example, Somali pirates are looting or attacking the ships passing through its coastal lines because of poverty in their country. Same way, Islamic terrorists attack innocent people in order to save their belief or religion; as proclaimed by them. In any case, it should be noted that taking the life and property of another person is illegal and unethical. Terrorists and pirates cite many reasons to justify their activities. In short, Somali piracy should be dealt as a form of terrorism and United States should interfere more meaningfully in this issue. â€Å"Some nations act as part of an international organization, such as NATO and EU, and others act individually, such as China, Russia, India and Pakistan, while others take part in multinational coalition operations,
Monday, October 14, 2019
Global economic Essay Example for Free
Global economic Essay Executive summary The current essay demonstrates the scenario of Indian economic crisis in 2014. Causes and impact to India was talked in the first section; influence on other economy especially to Australia was analyzed and Stolper-Samuelson Theorem was applied in section 2; similar situations in history were mentioned in the third section. 1. Describe its causes economic or non-economic (2% for creativity). In 2014, many emerging economies are facing liquidity crisis, especially India. It was the aftermath of the US QE exit. The QE is the monetary policy applied by countries like US, UK, and some EU members, that to expand the money supply and leverage; it was an effective short-term fix to boost investment and economy growth, yet when it became too long, it caused negative influence in both domestic and the global economy. Indian economy is highly dependent on foreign capital inflows, and most of them are the cheap money brought from countries with QE policies. With vast investment, the India government spent a lot on infrastructures and manufacture plants that the government kept a deficit account these years. Deficits became problematic when investment capitals stopped. Economically, short of money directly make those on-going projects unfinished; quitting QE will appreciate foreign currencies like USD while make the India currency Rupee comparably depreciate; when Rupee is weaker, there will be inflation in domestic commodity price. Non- economically, delay or stagnation of projects along with weak Rupee drove a loss of confidence on India economy, bear stock and gold market caused the equity and houses prices dropped,. India is exposed under financial crisis bought by deep troubles at home and abroad: weak Rupee performance due to comparably strong dollar; market gloom due to foreign investment withdraws; domestic commodity price surge due to inflation caused by currency devaluation; GDP growth slowed and Indian government is facing questions on its creditability and huge deficit account. Below charts show the economic effects of how QE policies in the rest of the world affected India and caused financial crisis: First of all, when foreign currencies (like USD) tapered the investment injection to India (S0 to S1, q0 to q1), Rupee devaluated (as more Rupee need for 1 dollar, r0 to r1); as Rupee devaluated, price of imported goods increased, higher cost shift the aggregate supply leftwards and caused higher price level (P to P1) and lower real GDP (Y to Y1). 2. Describe its impact on world trade and commodity prices, and use the Stolper Samuelson theorem to predict the effect on income distribution in Australia. As mentioned above, stagnation of foreign investment and weak Rupee caused slower GDP growth and higher commodities prices. Devaluation of Rupee makes Indian government even harder to repay its deficits, which in turn affected all the economy activities globally. As one of the two superpowers in Asia, India has considerable economic influence over Australia. Indians are less rich compare with the rest of the world; therefore less Indians would come to Australia for study. Education market is negatively affected and there will be job losses or even closing down in education sector in Australia. As a net energy importer, India has large demand for Australian energy products, especially for coal (for coal is the main energy resource in India). Comparably strong Australian dollar makes Aussie products less favored by India, expect the mining products, for those are necessities. According to Stolper-Samuelson theorem, assuming full employment and free labor mobility, as the demand for mining products stay steady while demand for luxury products or other non-necessities slowdown, there will be different changes in mining and other sectors. For mining as a capital-intensive industry, selling price increase will increase capital and rent costs, but lower the real wage; on the other hand, labor sectors like agriculture and services industries, shrink foreign demand results price cuts, which wage level also decreases yet capital and rent costs rises. Below charts show how the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem applies on the interactions between capital/rent and wage costs. The green line represents the labor-intensive industry (marked as L, like agriculture) and the orange line represents the capital-intensive industry (marked as C, like mining); when there’s a price increase on capital-intensive products, the curve shifts rightwards (to C1), capital/rent cost increases (r to r1) while wage level decreases (w to w1); when there’s a price drop on labor-intensive products, the curve shifts leftwards (to L1), capital/rent cost increases (r to r1) while wage level decreases (w to w1); Moreover, weak economy in India may promote talent immigrations for skilled labor (e.g., from IT industry) moving to Australia. Economically, increased abroad labor supply would lower the wage level in Australia, which may cut costs of producing and make Australian goods and services more attractive to the rest of the world; Non-economically, gathering of professions will boost technology improvement, that would have Australian more competitive; on the other hand, a surplus of labor supply may cause social problems like unemployment and high government payment on unemployment insurance. 3. Document any historical crises that might be relevant for your answer (4%). The current India financial crisis is somewhat similar to many cases in the history. The 1929 Great Depression started after the â€Å"Black Tuesday†of stock market crash in 29 October; astonishing unemployment rate had got many people lost home and the depression lasted until 1933 (America’s Story). The Great Depression is very representative because it was caused by many typical indicators like subprime bubble burst, capital rupture, unbalanced industrial structure, and pessimistic over future economy (Bemanke James 1991). One thing different is that the Great Depression results commodity prices drop where the 2014 India crisis results inflations. The price level increases while GDP slowdown could be explained as India’s high dependency on foreign investment and the vulnerability of Rupee. Part 2 Executive summary Drug policy can change supply and demand curves. Penalizing supplying reduces equilibrium quantity and raises equilibrium price while penalizing users reduces both. It is found that different policies have their advantages and limitation. An example in Singapore indicates death penalty for suppling drags but some disagree regarding social perspective. There is an ongoing debate about drugs prohibition by government. Advocates believe prohibition can reduce drugs trafficking and use, so that lower crime, improving productivity and increasing people’s health. Opponents believe prohibition has only modest effects on trafficking and use while causing many problems such as numerous other negative side effects and increased crime and corruption. One issue in this debate is the effect of drugs prohibition on government budgets. Prohibition entails direct enforcement costs, and prohibition prevents taxation of drug production and sale. Understandably, thus, some politicians, commentators, interest groups, and citizens have embraced unconventional approaches to closing fiscal gaps, such as legalizing drugs. The enforcement costs would be negligible and governments could levy taxes on the production and sale of drug. Also, government expenditure would decline and gains in tax revenue. The figure analyses the market for drug if there were no government intervention. The equilibrium would be at point A, which price P1 and Q1. Total revenue of sellers and total spending by buyers would be the area of the rectangle P1*Q1. The other figure shows the effect of a government effort to restrict supply through any of several methods, including vigilant customs inspections, arrest and stiff penalties for drug dealer, or efforts to reduce drug traffic from producing countries like Thailand. The decrease in supply is represented by a leftward shift of the supply curve, establishing a new equilibrium at price P2 and quantity Q2. All this suggest that supply restrictions if they successfully reduce the equilibrium quantity of drug and will also raise its equilibrium price. Similarly, based on the inelastic demand for illegal drugs, has led many economists to advocate the controlled legalization of most currently illegal drugs. Others advocate a shift of emphasis in the war from decreasing supply to decreasing demand. Policies that might decrease the demand for illegal drugs and shift the demand curve leftward include stiffer penalties on drugs users. The figure shows a policy of reducing demand. As the demand curve shifts leftward, price falls from P1 to P3, and quantity demanded falls from Q1 to Q3. This would lead to total expenditure on drugs decrease and can contribute to a low crime rate by drug users and make the drug industry less attractive to potential dealers and producers. Opponents to the policy of full legalization Opponents believe that the legalization of drugs would increase use, lad to more experimentation by youth, and exacerbate the existing deleterious effects that drugs have on society (Smith, 2011). They are of the opinion that government subsidization of addicts would have crippling effects on the economy. They also feel that legalization would help to create a large black market for drugs. The point of view is that dealers will still be involved in crime and violence and those users will still need to support themselves by engaging in criminal activity, thus, it will result in even larger prison populations. Basically, they believe that the legalization of drugs would lead to increases, not reductions, in crime because there would be more addicts and because of the aforementioned black market (Wilson, 1990). Also, they believe the legalize drugs would have devastating effects on public health, the economy, quality of life, culture and society as a whole. Opponents to the policy of penalizing use There are some arguments that against the drugs uses. For example, the failure of prohibition to prevent consumption of illicit drugs shows that existing policies do not work. It would be preferable to use the money saved by ending prohibition to provide more drug rehabilitation centres and more drug education. More than this though, prohibition creates a powerful supply vacuum which can only be filled by criminals. The consequence of this is less safe drugs (from adulteration), violence and stronger organised crime elements. Moreover, by criminalising drug users, prohibition needlessly removes people from potential employment and use to society and possibly creates criminals out of people who wouldn’t otherwise be so inclined. Some illegal drugs are no more dangerous than the legal drugs of alcohol and tobacco. On the other hand, proponents of medical drugs such as marijuana argue that it can be a safe and effective treatment for the symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, pain, glaucoma, epilepsy, and other conditions. They cite dozens of peer-reviewed studies, prominent medical organizations, major government reports, and the use of marijuana as medicine throughout world history (Barton, 2007). Opponents to the policy of penalizing supply All criminal and civil penalties against production, distribution, sale, and possession would cease because the policy might impose drugs specific regulations and taxes if in a legalized drugs regime, as occurs now for alcohol and tobacco. This would affect government budgets such as government would save the resources currently devoted to arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating drugs producers and consumers (Holland, 2010). Also, government would collect tax revenue on the production and sale of legal drugs. The tax rates on drugs might be the same as those applied generally, or they might be higher, as with alcohol and tobacco. Miron (2005) indicates that drugs such as Marijuana legalization would reduce government expenditures by roughly $8 billion annually and would generate tax revenue of approximately $2.4 billion annually if drugs were taxed like all other goods. Opponents to the policy of penalizing both use and supply Criticisms of the current drug policy are varied and come from a wide variety of perspective. For example, current policy is not meeting its goals of reducing illegal drug use or its consequences. Demand for illegal drugs has not been reduced in vulnerable population or in the general population as evidenced by recent significant increases in illegal drug use among high school seniors (Inciardi, 1999). The high percentage of illegal drug use among arrestees indicates that current policy significantly contributes to criminal behaviour among drug users. This suggests that drug law simply criminalize a medical and public health problem and ask the legal system to deal with what it is, in fact, unable to affect a medical condition. Also, the drugs can be used in medicine to treat the various diseases that people have. Singapore, where is a Southeast Asian island city-state, is facing the rising of drug consumption and healthcare costs problems. The government of Singapore constitutes a range of severe polices to solve these marijuana problems. Acutely Singapore is close to the Golden Triangle opium production region, which is the 2nd largest opium production centre in the world, as well as a major transport hub. Hence it is a transshipment point for illicit drugs, as well as minor market given the relative affluence of society (TheRealSingapore, 2013). Therefore, the drug demand will always remain, as will drug trafficking, due to Singapore status as a transport hub. In fact, the social mechanisms are harmed by the drug due to the crime, also the individual health are damaged by the marijuana (TheRealSingapore, 2013). For the actual policy on marijuana in Singapore, according to international business time 2011, Singapore, like much of Southeast Asia, has very draconian laws, particularly with respect to drug trafficking. Sometime, the drug trafficking often leads to the death penalty. In my opinion, I disagree with the death penalty due to the drug trade refer to the opponents to the policy of penalizing supply above. In Singapore, it is the penalizing supply only. For example, any adult convicted of trafficking at least 15 grams of heroin, 30 grams of cocaine or 500 grams of cannabis, faces mandatory death penalty (international business time 2011). So far, estimates that at least 400 people have been executed in the island since 1991, mostly on drug-related convictions. Thus, Singapore has very small population about 5-million population; it has one of the world’s highest rates of executions per capita (international business time 2011). In addition, Singapore has defended its drug policies. In 2009, The UN Human Rights Council strongly disagrees that States should refrain from using the death penalty in relation to drug-related offenses. However, Singapore protects their drug policy that the death penalty has become major policy to deterring drug (international business time 2011). One of the reasons why someone refuses the analysis of economic to solve this problem is that the drug problem is not only the economic problem but also the social and health problems. Although using the economic analysis to deal with the drug problem that it can give the government maximum financial benefits, it will badly influence the health problem of people. Also the rate of social crime will increase due to the drug trade. According to Buddy (2013), the drug increase alertness and physical activity. Marijuana use causes short-term memory loss, decreases sperm and testosterone production in men, and may disrupt the menstrual cycle and cause miscarriage and stillbirth in women. To sum up, the drug trade brings the negative social and health problems more than the economic benefits.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Ryanair External Analysis
Ryanair External Analysis Ryanair is an airline company which is well known for its low cost airline service in Europe. Ryanair was founded in 1985 by Christy Ryan, Liam Lonergan and noted Irish businessman, Tony Ryan. It has its head office in Dublin Airport in Ireland. The company which was running in loss was restructured in 1991 by Michael OLeary with no-frills, low-cost service which yielded profits to the company. It operates more than two hundred and twenty Boeing 737-800 aircrafts from 40 bases all over Europe, which is the largest airline company that carries millions of passengers every year. Revenue where raised from $231million in 1998 to $843 million in 2003.It showed considerable profits from  £48 million to  £239 million over the due course. The company yielded revenues of  £ 2,713.8 million during the financial year which ended March 2008, which is an increase of 21.3% compared to year 2007.The other revenue provide to Ryanair where car hire, travel insurance, etc which account to 16% of the total revenue. So the major vision of the company is to be the leader in the low fare airlines in Europe. The objective of the Ryanair airline company is to be the number one company in terms of customer service. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS: In the environmental scanning process we are going to see the external analysis. The PESTEL is an macro environmental scanning tool. The PESTEL which is known as Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Leagal. Let us discuss the factors in detail. (P)olitical Factors: The major political factors that affect the Ryanair are the pressure which is caused from the trade unions especially Pilot trade unions. The act of terrorism is another major political factor which will affect the airline service with increased time delays for security services. The landing charges is another important factor which influences politically. Due to the high landing fee in Stansted, Ryanair has decided to move routes from the Stansted to Gatwick (which is providind lower landing charges). Also the EU which has abolished the sales of duty-free items also causes major impact. (E)conomic Factors: The major economic factor is the unstable conditions in the fuel prices which affects the airline companys growth. Ryanair estimated that fuel bill is set to increase  £732m (in the financial year 2008) to  £1.01bn which had affected the profits down to  £235m between 2008 and March 2009.Further the weakening of the Pound value(GBP) also influences a lot on the growth of Ryanair. The recession and increase in the inflation rates have also affected the growth. The taxation issues are a very important factor which affects the economic growth of the company. (S)ocial Factors: The major social factors is the increase in travelling lifestyles of the people which affects the business of Ryanair .There are a variety of people who will prefer different ways of travelling and comfort. The increasing population which will be focusing on the health and fitness safety measures provided. So this will make the company spend a lot on the security service. Further the ageing population needs more leg space and health safety measures implementations. (T)echnological Factors: The new bigger planes with good modern technologies are required for the huge passenger traffic. So this in turn affects the economy of the company. The other important factor is the internet. The online ticket booking has increased from the year 2001 which made the company invest more on the outsourcing of these operations. Further the new technology planes with less fuel consumption are very important focus to buy in the situation where the fuel prices are increasing. (E)nvironmental Factors: The most important environmental factor which affects the companys revenue growth is the carbon emission and green house issues. So this makes the company to upgrade its existing planes to less carbon emission and less noise producing new technology planes. Further the carbon emission schemes differ between countries which in turn increase the taxing policies, so this also affects the economy of the company. (L)egal Factors: These include the EU regulators and the regulations which in turn reflects in the companys growth. The health and safety measures are also one of the legal factors in which case the passengers might sue the company for any accidents occurred . Further the landing charges varies between the countries which causes the company to pay more for landing in some bases. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE: For the industrial analysis we use the Porters Five Forces. In this picture L-LOW M-MEDIUM H- HIGH Considering this porters five forces the bargaining power of customers and the suppliers will be low because the airfare is already low which is quite reasonable. The threat of the substitutes will be medium which might depend on the relative price and quality of the substitutes. The threat of new entrants and the competitive rivalry is very high. For example the major competitor for Ryanair is the EasyJet airline which offers low price airfare with good customer service. This is described as below Market Segmentation Positioning Of Ryanair: Ryanair targets the people belonging to the middle class. It offers best low airfare with attractive packages. Even Ryanair offered free carriage of skis and snowboards to passengers flying to the Alps on September 2009. This even made people more happy to choose Ryanair for their travel, whereas their rival British Airways stopped their passengers from carrying their skis Positioning Of Ryanair: 1. Premium 2. Premium/ Competitive 4. Competitive 5.Competitive/ Leader 1. Excellent 2. Excellent/ Average 4. Average/ Acceptable 5. Acceptable 1. Original 2. Original/ Customized 3. Customized 4. Customized /Basic 1. Restricted 3. Restricted/ Selective 4. Selective/ Universal 5. Universal 1. Prestigious 2. Prestigious/ Respected 4. Respected 5. Respected/ Functional 1.Comprehensive 2.Comprehensive/ Standard 3. Standard 4. Standard/ Minimal PRICE QUALITY FEATURES AVAILABILITY SUPPORT REPUTATION Resource Resources of Ryanair: The resources are known as the tangible and intangible assets that a firm uses to choose and then implement them in strategies. The capabilities are the skills that the firm uses in order to bring its resources to bear the ongoing things. The Resources of the Ryanair are Physical Resources Ryanair operates a fleet of 232 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Ryanair has 41 bases and more than 1100 routes across 26 countries, which is connecting 153 destinations. Even the company has ordered 82 new flights which will be delivered within 3 years of time. This shows the companys rapid growth and expansion. Financial Resources The major financial resource like the number of flights that the company yielded is from the low cost airfare. The financial resources of Ryanair is quite strong when compared with its rival Easyjet which is shown in the table below Human Resources Ryanair currently has a crew of around 7000 people and carries around millon more than 58 million people in the year 2008. Capabilities Of Ryanair: The capabilities of the Ryanair are the lowest airfares and the quickest turnaround time. Their innovative strategies on the cost reduction and the principle of No Frills are also an added advantage. They also focus on particular segment of market with some clear offers. They also have the large brand awareness. Ansoff Strategic Direction Matrix: The Igor Ansoff direction matrix helps the firms to decide on the possible ways to grow the business in the existing or new products , in the existing or new market. In this way we get four possible combinations. They are: Market Penetration Product Development Market Development Diversification These are describes in the picture below So by using the combinations from Ansoff , the Ryanair company seems to have successfully penetrated into the airline market by offering its customers with a very Low Airfare . Here the product which means the various services offered by Ryanair in the flight . The most significant one is the Low Airfare pricing offered to the passengers. Hence their market penetration is very strong and successful and also their product developed very well because of the low pricing of the air tickets. So naturally this made the company to become the largest low fare carriers across the Europe . This also influenced the development of the company in the airline market with the purchasing of many Boeing aircrafts with modern facilities. Further the company has expanded its routes to more than 1100 in more than 26 countries with 153 destinations. This is the major development in the airline market which attracted more customers. The company recorded the largest passenger carriers with 58 million pass engers travelling during the year 2008. This expansion made them to be more popular internationally which in fact required the divergence of employees and culture. So these have diversified the management and people they operate and made them to successfully unite them together. This is the major factor which made them to further penetrate and result in the product development to the existing and new markets. Hence the Ryanair here maintains B2C which yields them more profits. This also helps them to make a good customer relationship and also give them a reliable low priced air tickets. This makes the company Ryanair to be the leading Low airfare carriers among the European airline companies. Hence the low pricing strategy of Ryanair have targeted on the middle class people but with very basic services. Cost Reducing Strategy: The Ryanair follows the most effective strategies which is the cost reducing strategies. This cost reducing strategies helps the company to achieve the desired targets of low cost airfare. These are achieved by five major aspects. They are: Fleet Commonality Contracting the services to third parties The charges in airport and route policy Managing the staff and productivity costs Managing the marketing cost Fleet Commonality: The Ryanair has only the new Boeing 737 flight models which help the company in reducing the costs spent on maintenance such as obtaining the spare parts and also the training costs .This is the major advantage to the company to maintain single model of the air fleet which even increases the travel line security with new technology flights. Even these will help the company to save the fuel consumption and these flights are more fuel efficient and also maintain good safety. This also helps them in scheduling the fights and assembling the crew members. Contracting the services to third parties: The Ryanair has outsourced the services to third parties. They made deals with Hertz car rentals and hotels. So in this fast moving world people prefer to go for these good services along with their trips in order to save time and money. In this way they earn ancillary revenue of 16% of the profit. Further apart from the Dublin airport where they have their crew members to serve, the remaining airports they have contracted to the third parties to serve the ticket handling. In this way they also escape from the direct exposure of the potential disputes. The charges in airport and route policy: Since the Ryanair sells the tickets on its own, there is no activity of the agents required most often. So there is no necessity for the agent commission. So the company saves upto 15% on the agency commission. In order to reduce the airport landing fees, passenger landing fee, etc the company select the secondary and the regional airports which in turn increases the passenger throughput. Managing the staff and Productivity cost: The Ryanair follows the principle of paying the salary to their employees based on their performance. This is one of the best practices the modern companies are following these days to increase the work force performance and which in turn bring good revenue to the company. Hence they follow the modest salary policy. This in turn increases the productivity. Further most of the pilots are recruited when they are young pilots cadets which makes the company to train and make short term deals with them. Even the cabin crew should pay for their uniforms to be clean. Managing the marketing cost: The Ryanair in order to reduce the marketing costs it makes most of the marketing on its own without the travel agents. So it saves a lot in the agent commissions. Further the company spend a reasonable amount of money in advertising. The advertising tools used are like the newspapers, company website and also television. Porters Value Chain: The porters value chain is a chain with various activities for the company operating in a specific field. It has various varies Primary activities like the Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing sales, Service. The other part is the support Activities which consists of administration infrastructure, Human Resource Management, Technology part and the Procurement. These values are very important for the company to maintain its performance and get a good profit in turn. Here the very important value is the no frill service and which makes the company to offer a low cost airfare. The various value drivers and their costs are identified for each of the value activity. Hence here for the Ryanair airline company the following are the identified values using the Porters Value Chain. Porters Generic Strategies: Michael Porter categorised the three general strategies that are to be used by the business firms in order to achieve competitive advantage. Hence these three strategies are defined in two different dimensioned they are the competitive scope and the competitive strength. The various generic strategies that the Ryanair company has chosen are the cost leadership, differentiation, cost focus, differentiation focus. The cost leadership is the major strategies used by the Ryanair which still makes it to the leading airline companies in Europe. The Ryanair maintains the low cost policy which is an advantage for its good market existence. Further it has made the people to choose the option of low airfare even in the existing market competition. Differentiation here is that it made their customers to be more satisfied regarding the low pricing airfare. Hence there it still retained the long run customer satisfaction regarding the airfare cost. The cost focus is mainly targeted on the people choosing low airfare travels. So the company has chosen the no frill strategy which still makes it more profitable in the markets. Even it has very cheap advertising concept which even adds more advantage. The reduced turnaround time and the various corporate partnership offers are also the competitive advantages of the company. The outsourcing of services in various international airports is also helpful to main tain its low cost airfare. Further the Ryanair follows the In-house marketing which also helps it to focus on low cost airfares. Even the company focussed on the narrow customer segment which will be including the Irish and the UK passengers who cannot afford to fly in expensive airlines. So the major goal of the company Ryanair is to provide the people with no frill service and low cost airfare all time. So Ryanair is the only company which has not yet revealed its strategic position. It has tried to mix up the focus and cost leadership together. So finally in 1997 the cost leadership strategy was being chosen by the company. This made the company more successful in its campaign. Hence the cost leadership is the best chosen strategies which make the company to be the leading one in the European airline industries. Hence this is the major competitive advantage the company has pursued. Conclusion: Hence from the above analysis the Ryanair proved to be the low cost airline which is confident of competing with its competitors in pricing. It is recommended that it should increase its services in the web which will yield more revenue these days. The Ryanair will surely make its successful way in Flying people withlow cost airfare. Critical Reflection: From the above discussed strategies the Ryanair airline company has achieved its goal of low cost airfare through no frill services. But still there are some areas that the company still need to improve in the strategic aspect. So based on the analysis we strongly recommend Ryanair to consider the airline expansion which is specifically the atlantic routes which is having the worlds 60% of air travel. Hence if it is moving on to the new market with this low cost airfare with some added services , then it will yield more profits compared to the present level. Further I recommend the Ryanair company to focus more on the following fields to improve its performance and which also yield good revenue to the company. Merging and Acquisitions Better reforms in human resource management Improving the market planning strategies Additional third party services Merging and Acquisitions: The merging and the acquisitions has become one of the major corporate-level strategies in this new millennium. Since the Ryanair is continuing to grow , it should make mergers or acquisitions with the companies in other countries which will rapidly increase its revenue. Even this will improve its capabilities and will also acquire more competitive advantage. Better reforms in human resource management: Since from the moment Ryanair started following its low cost airfare, it has sacrificed all its basic services. The company Ryanair does not seem to be valuing its people. Even it charges for the people for using the toilets. This made the pilots to oppose against this rules. There is a belief that the competitive advantage is also dependent on the human resource of the company. So there should be proper reforms in the human resource management .In this technological world the human resources are the only resources which will be bringing the sustainable competitive advantage. Improving the market planning strategies: The Ryanair should provide good customer services which in turn will yield good revenue to the company. So it should offer good airfare packages and promotions to the customers. This is the best way of improving the Core competence and will maintain its levelling in the competitive advantage. Further the company should also work out in holding the important air routes which will increase the revenue of the company. Further the expansion strategies are more important among the competitors. Further the Ryanair can give good low cost airline packages according to the various passenger population from different countries. This will helps the company to maintain a stable competitive advantage. The company should also provide the onboard entertainment services, Internet services and satellite television services. In online it can also sell some products with its brand name which is a good advertising strategy and also it will generate revenue. It can also reduce the charges imposed on over weight and extra luggages. The advertising strategies also should be made as digital marketing because the usage of internet has increased and people are more interested in booking tickets through online. So this digital marketing should be more effectively carried out which would increase the revenue of the firm. Additional third party services: The Ryanair outsourced the services to the third parties. Even still there are complaints from the passenger for the catering services in the plane. The company doesnt offer food free of cost inside the flight for the passenger. So it can also consider these recommendations to serve the passenger with food at a minimum charge. This will place the company more stable position among the competitors. Further the company can out source this catering service to a third party which also help the company to offer good service to the passengers.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
The City of Tucson vs. Robert D. Kaplan :: Essays Papers
The City of Tucson vs. Robert D. Kaplan Robert D. Kaplan’s articles â€Å"Travels into America’s Future†present a description of Tucson, Arizona as it stood in 1998. His articles are based entirely on his personal experiences with the city and with it’s Mexican neighbors to the south, and while somewhat entertaining, contain vast oversights and discrepancies that make his outsider standing obvious to any native reader. The article begins with Kaplan’s trek northward from Mexico City and describes many of the sights he sees along the way. He describes dirt roads lined with trash, and cinder-block houses with corrugated roofs. Then he goes into great detail about the economic divisions between social classes and the booming America-bound drug industry that causes the division. Kaplan spends a great deal of time discussing the local historical significance of Coronado, Cortez and Compostela. He speaks of the hero worship the Mexican citizens display for these men in each city he visits, and then calls these men â€Å"crude zealots [who] massacred Indians, built Christian altars where they had smashed idols, and went mad at the sight of gold,†while he calls the white protestant settlers on America’s east coast â€Å"children of European Enlightenment.†While somewhat interesting [and slightly strange], this information seems to have little bearing on the rest of the article. If he understood what the significance of this information was, he failed to make the connection apparent to his audience. He does not discuss any historical figures with connection to the American Southwest and therefore any relevance is lost. It almost appears as though he was sidetracked for three or four paragraphs. When Kaplan enters the United States at the Nogales port of entry, what he calls the â€Å"Rusty Iron Curtain,†he speaks of a transformation in socioeconomic structure, which he basically summarizes by comparing to hotels. A Mexican one, only two years old where the doors don’t close properly and the walls are cracking, and an American one, which after more than a quarter century is still in â€Å"excellent condition, from the fresh paint to the latest-model fixtures.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Top 10 Risks of Offshore Outsourcing
Top 10 Risks of Offshore Outsourcing Summary: Offshore outsourcing is growing 20%-25% per annum, with little evidence of slowing. Indeed, while most enterprises experience initial resistance, most technical issues are readily resolved and geopolitical risk is deemed insignificant after careful evaluation. By Dean Davison | December 9, 2003  00:00 GMT (16:00 PST) Offshore outsourcing is growing 20%-25% per annum, with little evidence of slowing. Indeed, while most enterprises experience initial resistance, most technical issues are readily resolved and geopolitical risk is deemed insignificant after careful evaluation.Even the current political fervor about jobs being moved offshore via outsourcing is not impacting the demand or strategy of IT organizations. Offshore outsourcing will continue to grow as a â€Å"labor arbitrage†model until 2008/09. META Trend: During 2004/05, outsourcing will divide into commodity and transformational services. Infrastructure service s will mirror grid-computing structures and develop consumption-based pricing (a. k. a. , â€Å"utility services†). Through 2006/07, transformational services (e. g. application development maintenance and business process outsourcing) will segment along horizontal (function commonality) and vertical (specialized) business process/services outsourcing functions. Although vendors will attempt to bundle infrastructure with â€Å"value†services, clients will demand â€Å"line item†pricing by 2008/09. Through 2004/05, IT organizations will outsource discrete projects/functions offshore (e. g. , from application development projects to specific call center support). Growth will continue at 20%+.Offshore strategies by domestic vendors will shift business from large, integrated outsourcing contracts, but most IT organizations will still develop strategies that focus on pure-play offshore vendors. The top 10 risks of offshore outsourcing are as follows. 1. Cost-Reduct ion Expectations The biggest risk with offshore outsourcing has nothing to do with outsourcing – it involves the expectations the internal organization has about how much the savings from offshore will be. Unfortunately, many executives assume that labor arbitrage will yield savings comparable to person-to-person comparison (e. . , a full-time equivalent in India will cost 40% less) without regard for the hidden costs and differences in operating models. In reality, most IT organizations save 15%-25% during the first year; by the third year, cost savings often reach 35%-40% as companies â€Å"go up the learning curve†for offshore outsourcing and modify operations to align to an offshore model. 2. Data Security/Protection IT organizations evaluating any kind of outsourcing question whether vendors have sufficiently robust security practices and if vendors can meet the security requirements they have internally.While most IT organizations find offshore vendor security p ractices impressive (often exceeding internal practices), the risk of security breaks or intellectual property protection is inherently raised when working in international business. Privacy concerns must be completely addressed. Although these issues rarely pose major impediments to outsourcing, the requirements must be documented and the methods and integration with vendors defined. 3. Process Discipline (CMM) The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) becomes an important measure of a company’s readiness to adopt an offshore model.Offshore vendors require a standardized and repeatable model, which is why CMM Level 5 is a common characteristic. META Group observes that approximately 70% of IT organizations are at CMM Level 1 – creating a gap that is compensated for by additional vendor resources on-site (see Figure 1). Companies lacking internal process model maturity will undermine potential cost savings. 4. Loss of Business Knowledge Most IT organizations have business knowledge that resides within the developers of applications. In some cases, this expertise may be a proprietary or competitive advantage.Companies must carefully assess business knowledge and determine if moving it either outside the company or to an offshore location will compromise company practices. 5. Vendor Failure to Deliver A common oversight for IT organizations is a contingency plan – what happens if the vendor, all best intentions and contracts aside, simply fails to deliver. Although such failures are exceptions, they do occur, even with the superb quality methodologies of offshore vendors. When considering outsourcing, IT organizations should assess the implications of vendor failure (i. . , does failure have significant business performance implications? ). High risk or exposure might deter the organization from outsourcing, it might shift the outsourcing strategy (e. g. , from a single vendor to multiple vendors), or it might drive the company toward outsourci ng (if the vendor has specific skills to reduce risks). The results of risk analysis vary between companies; it is the process of risk analysis that is paramount. 6. Scope Creep There is no such thing as a fixed-price contract.All outsourcing contracts contain baselines and assumptions. If the actual work varies from estimates, the client will pay the difference. This simple fact has become a major obstacle for IT organizations that are surprised that the price was not â€Å"fixed†or that the vendor expects to be paid for incremental scope changes. Most projects change by 10%-15% during the development cycle. 7. Government Oversight/Regulation Utilities, financial services institutions, and healthcare organizations, among others, face various degrees of government oversight.These IT organizations must ensure that the offshore vendor is sensitive to industry-specific requirements and the vendor’s ability to: 1) comply with government regulations; and 2) provide suffici ent â€Å"transparency†showing that it does comply and is thus accountable during audits. The issue of transparency is becoming more significant as requirements such as the USA PATRIOT Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act place greater burdens of accountability on all American corporations. 8. Culture A representative example: although English is one official language in India, pronunciation and accents can vary tremendously.Many vendors put call center employees through accent training. In addition, cultural differences include religions, modes of dress, social activities, and even the way a question is answered. Most leading vendors have cultural education programs, but executives should not assume that cultural alignment will be insignificant or trivial. 9. Turnover of Key Personnel Rapid growth among outsourcing vendors has created a dynamic labor market, especially in Bangalore, India. Key personnel are usually in demand for new, high-profile projects, or even at risk of bein g recruited by other offshore vendors.While offshore vendors will often quote overall turnover statistics that appear relatively low, the more important statistic to manage is the turnover of key personnel on an account. Common turnover levels are in the 15%-20% range, and creating contractual terms around those levels is a reasonable request. Indeed, META Group has seen recent contracts that place a â€Å"liability†on the vendor for any personnel that must be replaced. The impact of high turnover has an indirect cost on the IT organization, which must increase time spend on knowledge transfer and training new individuals. 0. Knowledge Transfer The time and effort to transfer knowledge to the vendor is a cost rarely accounted for by IT organizations. Indeed, we observe that most IT organizations experience a 20% decline in productivity during the first year of an agreement, largely due to time spent transferring both technical and business knowledge to the vendor. Many offsh ore vendors are deploying video conferencing (avoiding travel) and classroom settings (creating one-to-many transfer) to improve the efficacy of knowledge transfer.In addition, employee turnover often places a burden on the IT organization to provide additional information for new team members. Business Impact: Offshore outsourcing can reduce IT expenditures by 15%-25% within the first year. Longer term, process improvements often make great impacts on both cost savings and the quality of IT services delivered. Bottom Line: As IT organizations consider the vast benefits and allure of offshore outsourcing, they must balance the risks and uncertainties with the potential for labor arbitrage.Strategic Decision Challenges Researchers have applied different perspectives to understand sourcing decision, the key among them being production and transaction cost economics (Ang & Straub, 1998), resource-based views (RBV), and resource-dependence views (Teng et al. , 1995). The Resource-Based View (RBV) argues that a firm’s competitive advantage depends heavily on its resources, as well as how these are used. Resources that are valuable and rare can lead to the creation of competitive advantage (Wade & Hulland, 2004).Competitive advantage can be sustained over longer time periods to the extent that the firm is able to protect against resource imitation, transfer, or substitution. The knowledge-based theory (KBV) of the firm considers knowledge as the most strategically significant resource of the firm. Its proponents argue that, because knowledge-based resources are usually difficult to imitate and socially complex, heterogeneous knowledge bases and capabilities among firms are the major determinants of sustained competitive advantage and superior corporate performance.There is certain level of paradox in outsourcing when viewed from RBV or KBV prisms. Proponents of outsourcing have often used RBV to justify outsourcing decisions. The lack of resources, or resourc e gaps, that a firm has can also be rectified by acquiring resources from outside the firm boundaries by souring arrangement (Teng et al. , 1995). Outsourcing has been considered as a part of the way that firms assemble knowledge from suppliers (Shi et al. , 2005). Thus, information systems (IS) outsourcing can be seen as a mechanism to integrate IS knowledge from IS vendors.Knowledge sharing by both, client and supplier sides, is considered to be a success factor in outsourcing (Lee, 2001). However, some researchers have raised concerns regarding the potential loss of internal know-how through IS outsourcing (Willcocks et al. , 2004) and the potential loss of intellectual property (Chen et al. ,2002; Evaristo et al. , 2005). Outsourcing involves the inherent risk of forgoing the development of the knowledge base of the firm. Hoecht and Trott (2006) argues that innovative capability of the firm is largely dependent on cumulative knowledge built up over many years of experience.Innov ative ability cannot be simply bought and sold. Earl (1996) argues that innovation needs slack resources, organic and fluid organizational processes, and experimental and entrepreneurial competences – all attributes that external sourcing does not guarantee. Aron (2005) describes these risks as the long-term intrinsic risks of atrophy. These risks are an inevitable byproduct of the process of outsourcing. Over time, if a company outsources an activity completely, it loses the core group of people who were familiar with it. They retire, they leave for employment where their skills are more alued, or they simply become less technically competent and out of date. Reliance on outsourcing is problematic, not only because key areas of expertise may be gradually lost to the outsourcing organization but also because outside providers may not have the desired leading edge expertise over the long-term (Earl, 1996) or may spread their expertise among many clients so that it degrades fro m core competency to mere industry standard. Hoecht & Trott (2006) remind senior managers of the harm that may be inflicted on the ability of the organization to survive in the long term if its core competencies are slowly eroded through outsourcing.A related issue is that of the strategic intent (DiRomualdo & Gurbaxani, 1998) behind the offshore outsourcing decision by organizations. Strategic intent in this context can range from an improvement in the IS unit of the organization (which generally provides the lowest degree of benefits), an improvement in the business processes of the overall organization, or a commercial intent to generate profits by developing core expertise in the domain of outsourced IT service (Kishore et al. , 2004–2005).The commercial intent is exemplified in the oft-cited case of American Airlines who established a new subsidiary to sell airline reservation related services commercially to other airlines and travel agents using Sabre, its airline rese rvation system, and to generate new revenues and profits from this line of business. Strategic intent behind outsourcing is an important challenge as it has been shown that stock market reacts favorably and rewards companies when they outsource with an intent of creating the maximum returns for the firm (Agrawal et al. 2006). On the vendor side, vendors can develop their expertise through building knowledge from experiences and holding the knowledge for competitive advantage. Szulanski (Szulanski, 1996) identifies lack of incentives, lack of confidence, turf protection, and the â€Å"not invented here†syndrome as motivational factors potentially influencing knowledge transfer in outsourcing arrangements.This two-sided nature of knowledge transfer is expected to create asymmetric information leading to outsourcing failures. From a client’s view several challenges then arise including deciding what is the right proportion of IT function insourced or outsourced, and what IT application should be outsourced or kept within for strategic reasons.
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