Saturday, August 31, 2019

Burn Case Study

Mr. Davis is a 56-year-old man who was involved in a fire in his home. He was smoking a cigarette and fell asleep, dropping the cigarette and igniting the bed linens. He sustained full thickness burns over the upper half of his trunk and neck (anterior and posterior) and the posterior aspects of both upper arms. He also sustained superficial partial-thickness burns to his face and hands. He arrived at your burn unit 5 hours after injury. Labs were drawn. A foley catheter and NG tube were inserted in the ER. Assessment findings: Height is 72 inches, weight is 185 lbs.You auscultate wheezes in the patient’s lungs and he has a productive cough of a small amount of carbon-tinged sputum. Mr. Davis rates his pain at a â€Å"9† on a scale of 0-10. He denies pain at the chest, neck, back, and upper arms. Urine output has totaled 150 ml since the foley was inserted 2 hours ago. His foley is draining burgundy-colored urine. Mr. Davis is experiencing nausea, has faint bowel sounds , and his abdomen is distended. A nasogastric tube was inserted to low intermittent suction and is draining dark yellow-green liquid.His extremities are edematous making the pulses difficult to palpate. His blood pressure is 96/50, pulse 114 beats per minute, respirations are 24, and temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The greatest initial threat to a patient with a major burn is hypovolemic shock. Using the above assessment: 1. Do you think Mr. Davis is experiencing hypovolemic shock? If so, what data supports this? (2 points) Yes, Mr. Davis is most likely experiencing hypovolemic shock, due to low blood pressure, increased heart rate, as well as an increase in respiratory rate.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Collaborative Fund-Raising Activit Essay

The Phoenix Homeless Agency (PHA) needs to increase funding to continue funding job counseling to qualifying recipients. While they regularly access traditional contracts and grants, the economy has increased the need for services immensely and required them to look for other sources. The Executive Director and Board of Directors have begun their search by using the internet, other agencies, and community networking. They have decided that there are three options that would yield revenue while also keeping costs under control so that they have money left over for their program; appealing to local government officials, contacting local businesses for donations, and holding a strong public donation campaign. First, by contacting local government officials the agency may access information about funding that is available to community agencies that are not related to federal or state traditional grants and contracts. These may include United Way, connections to people who may wish to donate, grants from large out-of the area businesses and foundations, or city donations to help people find work. They may also employ grant writers who may be able to help organization understand the locating and writing process to achieve better results. Second, local businesses are often feeling the pinch of the economy as hard as individuals. They understand that people need help and will donate products to be sold in exchange for tax donation credit. These donations could either be sold or used within the program; either raising money by their sale or saving the program money, respectively. Ultimately, the people they help may become their future employees and/or consumers; people remember who helped them when they were in dire straights. Auctions, in-kind trade of services, and door-to-door product sales may raise money which can be helpful in the continuation of the program with very little if any cost. Lastly, the option to run a strong donation drive within the community may be quite successful. This agency has been helping the local people for many years and many will wish to see it continue its work. At a time when support may be needed the most, communities tend to rally behind local agencies rather than donate to larger, more nationally-based organizations because they can see the way their money is being spent. Asking people for money is never a pleasant or easy task, but when the option is ceasing to exist, it must be done. Appealing to individuals helps pull the community together and provides much needed assistance to agencies.

Gold on Trees

Have you ever said â€Å"I wish money could grow on trees? † Well that could actually be true! Geoscientist Melvyn Lintern was the author of â€Å"Gold Particles Found in Leaves of Eucalyptus Trees. † This article was published in Science News magazine on October 23, 2013 and retrieved online at http://www. sci-news. com, on January 16, 2014. Melvyn Lintern from CSIRO (Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization) Earth Science and Resource Engineering explored the gold particles in leaves of the eucalyptus trees in Australia.The article was written to let people know that leaves or soil underneath these trees could show gold that was buried underground. The gold discovered was up to 60 million years old. Geoscientists used the Maia detector to explore the soil. The Maia detector is an imaging system, which uses an x-ray microprobe, (a device used to stimulate radiation by a material in order to determine chemical or elemental composition). The Maia detecto r is similar to an x-ray machine. It allows you to see through leaves and determine their chemical or mineral composition.This is where the gold particles were found. The article also explained how the Eucalyptus tree acted like a hydraulic pump, (related to a liquid moving in a confined space under pressure), because its roots extend deep in the ground and draw up water containing the gold. Since gold can be toxic to the tree, it doesn’t stay in one spot; it moves to the leaves and branches where it can be released or shed to the ground. Article Analysis This is a new topic because before the Maia detector, the gold in the leaves was invisible and there was no way of detecting it, so this is a brand new discovery.The author of the Sci-News. com article did a good job explaining the information in a way that everyone could read and understand. Dr. Lintern said that, â€Å"Leaves could be used in combination with other tools as a more cost effective and environmentally friend ly exploration technique. † He also pointed out that, â€Å"Eucalpytus trees are so common that this technique could be widely applied across Australia and could also be used to find other metals such as zinc and copper. † Dr. Melvyn Lintern was the lead writer of this article and his quotes were chosen because they talk.About four important things: 1. How leaves can be used with other tools for exploring with the Maia detector; 2. The Maia detector makes this type of exploration friendly to the environment; 3. It is cost effective, and 4. The same technique could also be used to find other metals. This information is important to the environment because now it has been proven that you can get samples without destroying the land by drilling many holes and it also makes exploration if minerals quicker and less expensive.Unfortunately no one will grow rich looking for gold in leaves, since the gold found is about the size of a nano-nugget, which is a billionth in diameter and in this case, only 1/5 the diameter of a piece of human hair, (which is very, very tiny). This was a very interesting article to read. This discovery is so important to our economy and environment. It will help mining companies figure out where they can find more gold and other minerals just by examining plants and leaves. And most importantly, geoscientists have figured out a way to get these samples without unnecessary drilling which will help protect our environment.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court Research Paper

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court - Research Paper Example This realization led to the Congress coming up with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, an Act, which would give the government an oversight of surveillance against foreigners (Chiarella & Newton, 1997). The Congress established the FISA Court in 1978 as a special court authorizing the Chief Justice to assign seven judges who would be responsible for reviewing any applications concerning investigations on foreign power agents or foreign powers who seemed to pose a threat towards national security. The judges would be drawn from various judicial circuits and a judge was allowed to serve for a seven-year non-renewable term. After the enacting of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (92 Stat. 1783), the government had realized the need to have mechanisms of obtaining judicial warrants before it started to gather any intelligence information involving foreign power’s agents or foreign powers based in the United States (Chiarella & Newton, 1997). Senator Teddy Kennedy introduced the bill to the house on 18 May 1977 and nine other senators supported him. These were James O. Eastland, Storm Thurmond, Gaylord Nelson, John L. McClellan, Charles Mathias, Daniel Inouye, Walter Huddleston, Jake Garn, and Birch Bayh. These resulted from questions about the legality of intelligence activities, which were being carried out in the country. Frank Church and Sam Ervin led two separate committees that wanted to establish the need of legalizing all activities of gathering foreign intelligence information. It had been reported that President Richard Nixon was using federal security agents to spy on activists and political groups and this violated the US constitutions’ Fourth Amendment. FISA was signed into law by the then president Jimmy Carter (Chiarella & Newton, 1997). The Act was created for the purpose of supervising the way the government used its surveillance facilities to spy on foreigners but at  the same time, protect the secrecy of the intelligence agents.  

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Critically assess the significance of Understanding (Human Resources Essay

Critically assess the significance of Understanding (Human Resources Management) HRM from a gendered or Diversity perspective - Essay Example he United Kingdom and the United States, one of the most common diversity issues is perceived to be racial inequality with both countries being seen to have long histories of systematic discrimination against some of their ethnic minorities and blacks; against this background it can be found that it is important for managers and other human resource personnel to understand human resource management from gendered or diversity perspectives to ensure success in the modern day business environment. Diverse workplaces generally tend to comprise of a wide multitude of understandings, values, beliefs and different ways of viewing unique information and viewing the world. The current rapid rate of globalization and internationalization has been noted as significantly enhancing workforce diversities across the world. Nowadays, human resource management is having to develop innovative and effective methods to be used in handling the increasingly multicultural, cross-cultural and gender sensitive workforces that are common in not only western economies but also in different corporations around the world. This importance of workplace diversity has catapulted it to becoming one of the most popular hot button issues in the corporate, educational, legal and political arenas. According to Shen et al. (2009), attitudes from human resource researchers and corporate towards the modern day diverse workplace environment has largely been mixed. Since the early 1990s human resource management has grown to now be perceived as being among the most popular management concepts as is evidenced by the large scale proliferation of different texts that happen to bear the title, as well as by the large number of management and university training course that have been developed so as to address the subject. However, despite all the gains that have been made in this particular field of management, diversity and gender equality issues are still commonly found to be quite absent from human

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Management Information Systems IP Four Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Management Information Systems IP Four - Essay Example The third is the Piloting the Valero with real-time management case study in which the Valero, a Texas-based oil refinery needed a system that could be able to display real-time data about issues concerning the plant. Virtual reality is a three-dimensional space, which is a computer generated interactive space. Virtual reality immerses its users in the virtual world while the augmented reality keeps in touch with the real world. Augmented reality uses any of the three major display techniques to be able to achieve the blend of reality mixed with real-life images and graphic effects. The display techniques are hand held displays, head mounted displays that provide the virtual environment and shut out the real world, and spatial displays that mount graphical information on physical surfaces. It has been used to improve marketing in the sense that it helps involve the customers and is able to communicate to the customers in an interesting and interactive way with relevance to them. In 2009, Esquire magazine was able to use this in their advertising where they added several stickers, which had designs that had this ability. When held up to a web camera, it started interactive video segments featuring the issue’s cover, Robert Downey Jr. (Ovide, 2009). In image guided surgery, a CT scan and MRI provides the necessary data that is superimposed on the patient in the operating room. In real estate, this has been employed to help the user find information they need on the go, since smart phones have GPS, cameras and internet. Therefore, one can just point their phone on a building and the value of the building per square meter and a small photo accompanied by a live image project from the phone’s camera, hence provide real estate information on the go (Macintosh, 2010). The U.S stock markets on May 6, 2010 experienced a sudden and quick plunge at 2:42 PM, which

Monday, August 26, 2019

Testing in American Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Testing in American Schools - Essay Example Yet, America's education system is in the luxurious position of being able to have it both ways. While we are in the process of overhauling our system, we should institute a set of well-rounded requirements that take their rightful place next to testing. Supporters of testing as the primary measurement of a student's progress state that testing is the most efficient way to measure the student's strengths and weaknesses. Rod Paige, former Secretary of Education, reported that mandatory testing under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act has resulted in improved student performance and a narrowing of the gap between minorities and whites (2). Mandated testing has held schools responsible for their performance and has resulted in greater accountability within the system (Paige, 1). By pointing out the weaknesses through testing, America can improve, "...accountability and teacher quality, thereby improving the quality, inclusivity, fairness and justice of American education" (Paige 2). Opponents of the NCLB act state that testing is an unreliable and one-dimensional picture of a student's total educational accomplishments.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

What major problems did European States face in the fourteenth century Essay

What major problems did European States face in the fourteenth century - Essay Example The population of Europe had reduced by a half by the time the 15th Century set in as compared to the mid 1300s. The problem of this Black Death plague affected Europe in that there was shortage of labor since smaller portions of land were under cultivation. Due to the shortage of labor the serfs got a vantage position when it came to bargaining their wages since they were in high demand. In reaction to this, the governments tried to control the wages by fixing them. However, this was all in vain since the predicament of labor shortage continued to persist. Serfs would simply offer their services to the landlords who would be ready to pay higher wages as opposed to those who stuck to the system set by the government. Numerous peasants called for the society’s restructuring and there was the demanding of a bit of democracy as well as the stoppage of aristocratic privileges and rights. After the dismissal of these demands for a better lifestyle by the nobility there was a great loss as regards the commoners. There was fiasco everywhere in Europe and thus the Rebellion in France and England in years 1358 and 1381 respectively were just a shadow of the real deal. All the rebellions were not a success. The separation of the manor approach to agriculture started as a result of the rebellions, though. The land rent system took over and the subsequent period after that had the peasant’s freedom recognized. The system is still there in the day-to-day Europe. However, the demand by the peasants to own their land resulted to a lot of migration to other areas like Australia, Russia, Americas and Africa. Land was never adequate and thus sharing it among sons would lead to decisions that were not economically feasible. High wage levels led to a rise in inflation levels and for survival purposes the small commercial and manufacturing classes made an attempt to maintain the position that

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Budget Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Budget Planning - Assignment Example It is thus important that organizations compare the work completed with its objectives rather than merely analyze budgets on calendar basis. For instance, one may spend 90% of the allocated resources in doing a shoddy work or completing only 80% of the stipulated work, notwithstanding that the spent amount may fall within the projected calendar period. One could also run under budget on calendar basis. That is, the same proportions of the budget and work may be covered as expected while running under budget on calendar basis due to delays and breaks. The implication here is that there could have been slips in work schedule. While under budget implies that one performs below the planned budget, over budgets means that the planned budget has been surpassed. Proper planning and implementation of budget would thus lead one to as close to the budget as possible (Barr & McClellan, 2011). Excessive under budget could therefore suggest a situation in which one did not spend enough in specifi c areas to grow and protect business or establish a project. On the other hand, constant over budget performance could suggest that one is in danger of running out of resources and business. It is thus vital that work is done as planned to avoid both under and over budget both of which have their negative effects and implications on task implementation and completion (Article Library,

Friday, August 23, 2019

Catherine the Great in Russian History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Catherine the Great in Russian History - Essay Example Peter the Great (1682 – 1725) was fascinated by Western Europe and its advancements in the late 1600s so he took steps to modernize Russia and set up economic programs, a strong armed forces and a centralized administration. However, due to hostilities with his son, Peter the Great failed to designate a successor. This led to a power vacuum after his death. In 1762, Peter III became Tsar but he was weak and incompetent so he was overthrown and murdered. His wife, Catherine, a German Princess from Pomerania took over affairs of the Kingdom when Peter III passed on. Catherine ruled till 1796. This paper looks at the plans of Catherine the Great and the major areas she changed in Russia as well as an evaluation of her contribution to Russia's Westernization and modernization. Plans of Catherine the Great The plans of Catherine the Great can be seen in some inherent elements of her lifestyle and the principles she embraced as a ruler. â€Å"Catherine showed more originality than any previous ruler of Russia and than most rulers at the time in Europe† (Madariage 206). This means that there are some elements in her actions that showed her intentions to improve her country. First of all, her background as a Western European showed that she had a tendency to tilt Russia towards a modernized nation that was on the same level as her German homeland. Thus, it comes as no surprise that she had several inclinations that were similar to Peter the Great who also had a connection to Western Europe. Secondly, there is evidence that Catherine had strong connections to the Enlightenment that was going on in Western Europe during her reign. Gillespie writes that â€Å"Although she was quite young, Catherine was deeply invested in acquiring knowledge and became intellectually and politically astute, mainly through reading and writing,† (285). This shows that from the onset, she had a vision of changing her kingdom to match up with other Western European nations . A further evidence is given by Viault who states that Catherine â€Å"corresponded actively with Voltaire and other prominent eighteenth-century thinkers† (130). This indicates that Catherine was open to new ideas and was ready to link up the country with the other changes that were going on around her kingdom. From these pointers, it is logical to infer that Catherine the Great had a plan and an intention of Westernizing Russia when she took power. However, the realities on the ground made it quite difficult for her to attain her plans. Implementation of her Plans In order to Westernize Russia, Catherine believed that there was the need to change and modify the educational system of the country. One of the earliest things that Catherine did was to put in place an educational system that was designed to develop individuals intellectually and morally with the end of equipping them with knowledge and skills that would support a sense of civic responsibility and allegiance to the state (Riasonovsky 12). This is because there was a sharp contrast between Russia and Western Europe. And this contrast lied in the fact that the vast majority of Russians were serfs who were forced to remain loyal to the nobles who ruled them. Thus, to promote a sense of national unity and national pride as Russians, she put in place an educational system that promoted national integration as well as independent thinking in order to prepare the people for a Westernized model of nationhood. With the educational system in place, Catherine set off to nurture a system of governance that was similar to the Western nations. Catherine went on to issue the Instructions which was a set of laws that were meant to recognize and respect the rights of

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Marketing Events Plan for Ocean Spray Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Events Plan for Ocean Spray - Essay Example However, it will take the management team various processes to come up with an effective marketing event strategy. From market and situational analysis, to planning, execution and even up to event evaluation, the marketing communications team has to pay attention to every detail, be conscious of market and competitor trends to be able to position the improved category accordingly. Taste of Christmas in one of the channels that management is tapping to assist them into achieving their business and corporate objectives. Ocean Spray’s participation in this popular event is seen as a milestone and a major stepping stone towards further market advantage. II. INTRODUCTION Ocean Spray’s monumental re-launch of its cranberry sauce line is all set to happen this December. Having completed its Product Development in the third quarter of this year, and its complete production this November, the company is ready to introduce to the market its improved product line – the all new Wholeberry and Smooth Cranberry Sauce in the new Orbitâ„ ¢ Easy open lid. Part of its Marketing Communications Plan is a massive and country wide re launch implementation that will encompass both above the line and below the line marketing efforts. Kicking off with the tri-media ad placements simultaneously released in December 1, the Marketing Communications team will stage a series of exhibits and events sponsorships the whole of December, in time for the holidays. The aim is to sustain the tri media ad placements and continue building up market interest in this product innovation. The biggest anticipated event is Ocean Spray’s participation in the Taste of Christmas London Exhibition, an annual event showcasing the city’s best culinary offerings. With the target market captured in a perfect setting, where food sampling often leads to repeat product purchase and loyalty, Ocean Spray’s management is optimistic on catching up on their year-end targets dur ing and after this three-day event. This Marketing and Events plan seeks to outline the company’s event objectives by providing an analysis of the previous marketing and sales for this particular product line. It further aims to illustrate the execution plan through a discussion of the processes entailed to possibly reach the given objectives. III. ANALYSIS The plan to participate in the city’s biggest annual food festival is in synchrony with the company’s 5-year marketing and business objectives, which is to push Ocean Spray’s Wholeberry and Smooth Cranberry Sauce as the leading product in the UK under its category. The Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce was introduced in the UK in the 70s and has since become a popular brand, often associated with roast Turkey. The company welcomed the 90s with the vision of further market international expansion, therefore exerting more marketing efforts overseas, including the UK (Ocean Spray 2011). For over a decade now, i t has become the leading cranberry sauce brand, ahead of the locally produced Schwartz Cranberry Sauce (Schwartz 2011) and other imported cranberry sauce brands, Canada’s Port Cranberry and Australia’s Wood’s Cranberry Sauce. Distributed by Ocean Spray International Services (UK) Ltd., it estimates annual sales of $ 3,199, 473 (Ocean Spray International Services UK Ltd 2011). However, in 2010, there was a noteworthy decline in company sales in the UK,

Promoting Health Internationally Essay Example for Free

Promoting Health Internationally Essay Developing countries are beset with health crises to a greater extent than their more developed counterparts. The lack of resources and the presence of numerous demanding needs causes the insufficient allocation of such resources for the addressing of health issues. In other countries, there is simply no technology to produce the necessary cures for the bigger diseases besetting their populations. Whereas in more developed countries with greater storehouse of resources there is a greater capacity to address health problems, particularly with a more developed technological platform to work from. Not only this, but developing countries have a marked decline in addressing sanitation concerns thus making for environments more prone to diseases caused by bacteria, worms, and viruses.1 With more hygienic living conditions, this is not the observed case in developing countries. Thus, a combination of non-hygienic conditions and low access to healthcare creates atmospheres for developing nations making them more prone to experiencing severe health problems. The first concern regarding health problems in developing countries is the possibility of a disease to develop which is easily transmittable from person to person. The fear of infectious diseases, particularly the fear of such diseases causing a pandemic, has had significant impact on the manner in which the global community addresses global health problems. International agencies have come up with surveillance systems to enable member countries to report incidents of infectious diseases and to better equip non-affected nations against contamination.2 The mechanism of report requires member nations to define the nature and extent of infection of the disease. This is not particularly attractive to infected nations as the reporting of diseases would adversely affect the economy of the said country. With a fear of infection, foreign investors would lower their rates of importation. This would serve to lower the economic growth of the said country. Not only this, but tourists would be fearful of visiting said foreign country and income from such investments would also decline. The stigma against the affected country would translate to a decline in the status of their economy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is in this regard that health issues of individual nations affect the global view on health. The slightest change in the ability of individual countries to provide basic resources or to contribute to the global economy would affect all other countries as a result of global interconnectedness. 3 The dependence of nations, one to the other, cannot sustain the devolution of production of goods in any one nation. Apart from moral responsibilities, this is the weightiest argument to a global perspective on health promotion. The global market favors the ensuring of wealthier nations that less affluent nations will be able to participate fully in the global trade of goods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is not considered in this model are non-infectious diseases plaguing the developing countries around the globe. There is little incentive for global agencies to address such problems since there is no showing that the same would affect citizens of foreign nations. Although the argument for providing aid for the same due to global trade considerations still stands, there is little to no initiative from private drug companies. The primary aim of such companies being profit, they are not drawn by the clamor for lower prices required in developing countries. Thus, the trend remains for drug companies to produce drugs and cures that will answer the needs of developed countries whom they can charge higher prices for the products and services they offer. Diseases plaguing impoverished nations such as malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis and the like are given little attention although they may present greater threats than hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. This is an unfortunate as developed nations should take it upon themselves to promote health in developing nations as well. The international community would benefit to a greater extent with the improvement of all component nations. The nations in the international community should not only consider giving aid to developing nations when the diseases may spread into their own localities but even so when the diseases may be contained domestically. The interest then should not be for global regulation of domestic plagues but it should be for international interest in holistic global health.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although drug companies refuse to focus on answering the needs of the major diseases in impoverished nations this is not to say that no organized action is being undertaken for the same. Certainly there are individuals and groups who recognize the importance of promoting health on a global scale. The World Health Organization, for example has collaborated with large pharmaceutical companies in order to bring drugs for the cure of prevalent diseases into levels of access for developing nations.4 The proposed plan is to decrease drug prices for developing nations, if the free delivery of the same is not probable, by increasing prices in affluent countries. Such a scheme would permit the subsidization of drugs by developed countries. There would thus be an equitable division of required resources in order to gain access of available cures in the market. There has also been an observed trend in scientific laboratories. Scientists capable of performing research investigating cures for diseases of poverty have shown greater inclination for the same. Funding may be an issue in the matter however, more and more charities are focusing on the aim of global health and even domestic governments are supporting the bid for finding cures for large health issues. Not only this, but movements have been made to have pharmaceutical companies share the process of production if the matter of marketing drugs at a no-profit price is not possible. Local governments or corporations could then work on producing their own drugs using the process and information shared by foreign corporations. These matters are currently being pushed by advocates worldwide. However, the international community still has much ground to cover. The problem of international health is still a major issue receiving small priority in the global scale. The problem of politicking and bureaucracy hinders advances that could be made in this field. Thus, in order to more aptly answer the problem, local policies should first be reshaped and made to realize the importance of health in the governmental platform. Furthermore, local governments should not limit themselves to addressing only their own separate needs. Garrett aptly captures the issue: Tactically, all aspects of prevention and treatment should be part of an integrated effort, drawing from countries’ finite pools of health talent to tackle all monsters at once, rather than dueling separately with individual dragons. 5 Given limited resources, in the international sense as well as in the domestic, the pooling of these same resources is the best solution to the problem of both global and local health. The vision of individual nations should be enhanced to not only address their own problems but they should start to realize the relevance in investing in a global perspective in answering health issues. Certainly, with a view of the same, advances will be made not only for short term goals of fending off singular diseases in certain nations but more so the long term goal of eradicating debilitating diseases that could potentially reappear in similar conditions or in evolved forms. The answer then is to prepare internationally for the problem of global health as the strengthening of individual platforms in individual nations will address the root issue of recurring conditions. This will serve not only to strengthen the global health system but even other sectors of concern such as trade and global relations as more and more countries invest in programs reflecting amity and gratuity. BIBILIOGRAPHY Check, Erika,â€Å"Quest for the Cure,† Foreign Policy, (2006): 28-36. Garrett, Laurie, â€Å"The Challenge of Global Health,† Foreign Affairs 86(1), (2007): 14-38. Naim, Moises and Brundtland, Gro Harlem, â€Å"The FP Interview: The Global War for Public Health,† Foreign Policy 128, (2002): 24-36. Osterholm, Michael T., â€Å"Unprepared for a Pandemic,† Foreign Affairs 86(2), (2007): 47-57. Zacher, Mark W., â€Å"Global Epidemiological Surveillance,† in Inge Kaw, Isabelle Grunberg, and Marc A. Stern, â€Å"Global Public Goods: International Cooperation in the 21st Century (eds.),† (1999), NY: UNAP.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Evaluating Human Resource Planning At Shandrani Hotel

Evaluating Human Resource Planning At Shandrani Hotel For any business to perform well, it must acquire and optimize the deployment of people with talent. Identifying the right talent to fill particular positions and roles is critical to an organizations effective functioning. All, too often, though, businesses fail to devote sufficient attention to this issue. Organizations and jobs will never be the same eternally. Changes are based on the global economy, on changing technology, on our changing work force, on cultural and demographic changes, and on the changing nature of work itself. We need to learn new skills and develop new abilities, to respond to these changes in our lives, our careers, and our organizations. HR planning is a decision making process that combines three important activities which are: identifying and acquiring the right number of people with the proper skills, motivating them to achieve high performance and creating interactive links between business objectives and people planning activities. The purpose of this assignment is to document on the human resource planning at Shandrani Hotel as HR planning is based on the belief that people are an organizations most important strategic resource. We will try to show how far theory can be put into practice as it is difficult to predict the future and also the policies and strategies within the organization can shift suddenly from one priority to the other. Moreover there is lack of evidence that Human Resource Planning really works as there has been little research evidence of increased use or of its success. To assess future requirement of new staff both in terms of numbers and of levels of skills and competences, formulating and implementing plans to meet those requirements through proper recruitment and training. Due to huge competition and globalisation around the world, managers have, to train and develop their employees to make them more efficient in the workplace. Human resource planning refers to the process of employing the right person for the right job. In all industry, organisation have now realised the importance of human resource planning, and all organisation may have different approach to HRP, however, this assignment lays focus in one particular sector, that is the tourism sector. Tourism sector which is labour intensive compared to other industries, for instance, sugar industry which is machine intensive. Therefore the application of human resource planning shall differ and be applied according to the need of the organisation. Chapter 1 gives an idea about what is the position of tourism in Mauritius, we can therefore deduce from past figures that tourism industry is growing, thus very profitable for Mauritian economy Chapter 2 defines the Human Resource planning since its year of introduction to its actual use in the market. We have compiled the views of various theorists on HRP. Chapter 3 shows the procedures followed to gather information for the assignment, with particular reference to Shandrani Resort and Spa. Chapter 4 gives an overview about Beachcomber group and presents Shandrani Resorts and Spa. Chapter 5 will focus on the process of Human Resource Planning at Shandrani Resort and Spa. CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF TOURISM SECTOR IN MAURITIUS The tourism sector, besides facing cut-throat competition knew an excellent performance for the first semester of 2010. Figures from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of Mauritius has revealed that tourists arrivals for the period January-June 2010, has attained its 439,150 compared to 413,504 in the corresponding year of 2009, thus representing an increase of 6.2%. The tourism industry is of such paramount importance for the Mauritian economy, that the figures indicating the importance for the Mauritian economy towards GDP is expected to rise from 26.5% (MUR 77.8bn) to 32.4% (MUR216.4bn) in 2010. The credits of the massive increases go to a combination of factors, such as aggressive advertising campaigns abroad, the opening up of air access to the country coupled with the increased capacity of airlines already serving the route and the greater consensus amongst all the industry stakeholders. At the end of June 2010, there were 104 registered hotels in Mauritius, with a total room capacity of 11,362 and 23,168 bed places. For the first semester of 2010, the room occupancy rate for all hotels averaged to 64% compared to 59% in the corresponding semester of 2009 while the bed occupancy rate was 56% against 52%. Data from Bank of Mauritius indicates that gross tourism receipts for the first semester of 2010 were MUR 19,869m that is an increase of 8.5% compared to MUR18.249m for the same period of 2009. Based on data available on tourist arrivals for the first six months of the year 2010 and information gathered from various stakeholders, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) forecast of receiving nearly 1 million tourists this year, representing 5% year on year. According to Bank of Mauritius, tourism receipts for this year will be around MUR 935 millions, representing an increase of 6.3% over last year figures. Moreover, in order to tap the hospitality industry in Mauritius, major Indian hotel chains are aggressively setting up hotels in the country. According to Vijaye Haulder, Deputy Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), about 5 major hospitality chains in India are in talks with the Mauritian government for getting land to build hotels. All these hotels are expected to add about 1500 rooms in the next three-four years. The Sagar Hotel Group which is already running two luxury hotels in Mauritius is planning another hotel spread over 20 acres in the country. The tourism industry is a colossal pillar for the Mauritian economy because we have a lot to give, sell and share with the world. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introducing HRP Organizations are presently operating in a rapidly changing and competitive environment. Managers have to optimize the use of the available employees in order to be competitive. HRP therefore attempts to reconcile organisations needs for resources with available supply of labour. HRP therefore results in matching people to the job, that is, the right people doing the right thing. HRP needs to be adjusted from time to time because the goals and objectives of an organization are not stable due to various uncertainties. 2.1 Defining HRP Walker (1980) defines it as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a management process of analyzing an organisations human resource needs under changing conditions and developing the activities necessary to satisfy these needs. Similarly, Vetter (1967), Burrack and Mathys (1985) define it as a process aimed at assisting management to determine how the organization should move from its current staffing position to its desired position. Nel et al (2008:216) maintains that HR planning ensures that a predetermined amount of employees with appropriate skills, knowledge and abilities are available at a specified time in the future à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Hr planning therefore systematically identifies what is needed to be able to guarantee their availability. As defined by Bulla and Scott (1994), it is the process for ensuring that the human resource requirements of an organization are identified and plans are made for satisfying those requirements. From the definitions of Human Resource planning proposed by the various researchers and practitioners, it is possible to attempt to define what HRP is in todays circumstances. It is in our terms a management process designed to translate strategic objectives into targeted quantitative and qualitative skill requirements, to identify the human resource strategies and objectives necessary to fulfill these requirements over both the shorter and the longer terms, As Quinn Mills indicates, human resource planning is a decision-making process that combines three important activities: 1) Identifying and acquiring the right number of people with the proper skills, 2) Motivating them to achieve high performance, and 3) Creating interactive links between business objectives and people-planning activities. However, it must be recognized that although the notion of human resource planning is well established in the HRM vocabulary it does not seem to be established as a key HR activity. As Rothwell (1995) suggests: Apart from isolated examples, there has been little research evidence of increased use or of its success. She explains the gap between theory and practice as arising from: The impact of change and the difficulty of predicting the future the need for planning may be the inverse proportion of its feasibility; The shifting kaleidoscope of policy priorities and strategies within organizations; The distrust displayed by many managers of theory or planning- they often prefer pragmatic adaptation to conceptualization; The lack of evidence that human resource planning really works.and to provide necessary feedback mechanism to assess progress. Overall the purpose of the planning is to invoke an institutional learning process and to generate information which can be utilized to support management decision-making in all staffing areas. 2.2 The process of Human Resource Planning (HRP) Organizations engage in the process of HRP to identify HR needs and the ways of meeting those needs. Business strategic plan; Defining future activity levels and initiatives demanding new skills. Resourcing strategy; Contributes to the formulation and implementation of business strategies. It refers to planning in order to achieve competitive advantage by developing intellectual capital employing more people than rivals; these people will have a wider and deeper range of skills and behave in ways that maximize their contribution-The organisation attracts such people by being an employer of choice. Scenario planning; assessing in broad terms where the organisation is going in its environment and the implications for human resource requirement. Scenario planning has been fairly described as a formal process but it can also be regarded as an informal approach to thinking about the future in broad terms, based upon an analysis of likely changes in the external and internal environment.(Armstrong 2001) The next stage in the process involves predicting how the need for and the availability of Human resource is likely to change in the future. Demand forecasting; estimating the future quantity and quality of people required. The ideal basis of the forecast is an annual budget and longer term business plan, translated into activity levels for each function and department or decisions on downsizing. Various demand forecasting methods are available and they will be analyzed below: managerial or expert judgment This is the most common method and it simply requires management to sit down and estimate the human resources necessary to achieve corporate goals. ratio-trend analysis It is carried out by identifying past trends, using statistical and mathematical techniques and project these into the future to determine requirements. work-study techniques This is effective when individual components of jobs can be measured. This job is broken down into discrete tasks, measure the time taken to complete each component and calculating the amount of labour required. modeling Mathematical modeling techniques using computers help to prepare demand forecast. Supply forecasting; measuring the number of people likely to be available from within and outside the organization having allowed for absenteeism, internal movements, and promotions among others. The forecast will be based on: 1) An analysis of the existing human resources in terms of skills, occupations 2) Forecast losses to existing resources through attrition/labour wastage. 3) Forecast changes to existing resources through internal promotions 4) Effects of changing condition of work and absenteeism 5) Source of supply from within the organization 6) Source of supply from outside the organization in national and local labour market Analysing internal human resources The review of current resources needs to cut organizational and occupational boundaries to provide inventories of skills and potential. It may be important 1) To know how many people with potential promotion exist and where they can be found 2) To know how many people have special skills and abilities in the organization 3) To identify the problems that may arise from retirement In fact the above can help to ensure that the organization is making the most efficient use of its existing resources and can help to identify any potential problem areas. Analysing external supply External supply of potential employees needs to be indentifies- some factors which can have important impacts on the supply of manpower at local and national market are: Population densities within reach of company The attractiveness of the company as a place to work in The effect of changing educational patterns, students staying longer in schools Analysing demand and supply forecasts The demand and supply forecast can then be analyzed to determine whether there are any deficits or surpluses in human resource. This provides the basis for recruitment, retention and if unavoidable, downsizing plans. It refers to the analysis of the number of people leaving the organisation. It provides data for use in supply forecasting, so that calculations can be made on the number of people lost who may have to be replaced. Moreover, an analysis of the number of leavers and the reasons behind their leaving the company will indicate whether actions are needed to improve retention rates. The most common method of measuring labour turnover is expressed as follows: Number of leavers in a specific period x 100 Average number of employees during same period This measure is used most effectively on a comparative basis and frequently provides the basis for internal and external benchmarking. Investigations into reasons for turnover are undertaken via exit interviews and leaver questionnaires or even through attitude surveys. Reasons for leaving are: More pay Better career prospects More security Poor relationships with manager or team leader Bullying, harassment Labour turnover can be very costly since it represents an opportunity cost of time spent by HR and Line Manager in recruitment, loss arising from reduce input from new starters until they are fully-trained, direct costs of introducing induction course. Work-environment analysis It refers to the analysis of the environment in which the people work in terms of scope it provides for them to use and develop their skills and achieve satisfaction. Operational effectiveness analysis Analysing productivity, the utilisation of people and the scope for increasing flexibility to respond to new and changing demand. Human Resource Plans The HR plans are derived from the resourcing strategy and takes into account data from a combination of scenario planning, demand and supply and forecasting and labour turnover analysis. Again there is a lack of certainty and predictability. The plans often have to be short term and flexible because of the difficulty of making firm predictions about HR requirement in times of rapid change. (Armstrong 2001: 375) Plans need to be prepared in the areas of resourcing, flexibility, retention, downsizing and productivity Resource planning This is primarily concerned with preparing plans for finding people from within the organisation, recruiting externally and attracting high quality candidates as the employer choice Internal resourcing is the first step to analyse the availability of suitable people from within the organisation, by referring t assessments of potential and a skill database- decisions can be made to promote, redeploy and provide extra training to eligible staffs. The recruitment plan would include the number and type of employees required to make up any deficits and when they are needed. The likely sources of recruits are colleges, advertising. Plan for trapping alternative sources such as part timers How recruitment programme will be conducted Employer of choice plan Recruitment plans should include plan for attracting good candidates by ensuring that the organization will become an employer of choice. Initiatives to become an employer of choice might include Providing opportunities for development and career progression Addressing work life balance issue Better remuneration packages Retention Plan Man Fred De Vries (cited in Williams 2000:28) stated that todays high performers are like frogs in a wheelbarrow: they can jump anytime Various organizations recognize this and are turning their attention to key staff. Retention measures can include the following: Pay and benefit competitive rates of pay, flexible benefits Recruitment and selection set appropriate standards, match people to posts, provide an accurate picture of the job Training and development good induction processes, provision of development opportunities to meet the needs of the individual and the organizations. Job design, provision of interesting work as much autonomy and ream working as possible. Management ensures that managers and supervisors have the skills to manage efficiently. Flexibility Plan Planning for increased flexibility in the use of Human Resource to enable the organization to make the best of its people and adapt swiftly to changing circumstances. Armstrong suggests that the aim of the flexibility plan should be to Provide for greater operational flexibility Improve the utilization of employees skills and capabilities Reduce employment costs Help to achieve downsizing smoothly and avoid the need for compulsory redundancies Increase productivity Thus strategies like job sharing, home working, tele working, subcontracting and employing part time workers should be implemented. Productivity Plan It sets out programmes for improving productivity and reducing employment costs in such areas as: Improving methods, systems and processes Mechanization, automation and computerization The use of financial and non financial incentives Downsizing plan The downsizing plan is implemented as last resort if all else fails It may be necessary to deal with unacceptable employment costs/surplus number of employees by downsizing. The downsizing plan should be based on timing of reductions and the process itself. The plan should set out the following: The number of people who have to go and when and where this need to take place A forecast of the likely numbers who will be volunteer to leave Arrangement for informing and consulting with employees and their trade unions 2.3 Aims of HRP Planning of human resource is extremely important as it enables the optimum use of the most valuable asset of an organization in the attainment of its objectives and goals. To find gaps and devise solutions. As we say, nobody plans to fail; they just fail to plan. To attract and retain the number of people with the appropriate skills, expertise and competencies To anticipate the problems of potential surplus and deficits of people To develop a well trained and flexible workforce, thus contributing to the organizations ability to adapt to an uncertain and changing environment To reduce dependence on external recruitment when key skills are in short supply by formulating retention as well as employee development strategies. 2.4 Factors affecting HRP Employment HRP is affected by the employment situation in the country i.e. in countries where there is greater unemployment; there may be more pressure on the company, from government to appoint more people. Similarly some company may force shortage of skilled labour and they may have to appoint people from other countries. Technical changes in the society Technology changes at a very fast speed and new people having the required knowledge are required for the company. In some cases, company may retain existing employees and teach them the new technology and in some cases, the company has to remove existing people and appoint new. Organizational changes Changes take place within the organization from time to time i.e. the company diversify into new products or close down business in some areas etc. in such cases the HRP process i.e. appointing or removing people will change according to situation. Demographic changes Demographic changes refer to things referring to age, population, composition of work force etc. A number of people retire every year. A new batch of graduates with specialization turns out every year. This can change the appointment or the removal in the company. Shortage of skill due to labour turnover Industries having high labour turnover rate, the HRP will change constantly i.e. many new appointments will take place. This also affects the way HRP is implemented. Multicultural workforce Workers from different countries travel to other countries in search of job. When a company plans its HRP it needs to take into account this factor also. Pressure groups Company has to keep in mind certain pleasure. Groups like human rights activist, woman activist, media etc. as they are very capable for creating problems for the company, when issues concerning these groups arise, appointment or 2.5 Human resource activities Human Resource (HR) planning is imperative to an organizations success. It serves as an analysis of the current and future needs of the organization. This process helps guide an organization in several areas, such as staffing, development, training, and benefits and compensation designs. Staffing Staff, or personnel, planning is one of the most common activities conducted by HR departments, according to an article on AllBusiness.com. It typically is comprised of using the current staff size and design to predict staffing levels for the upcoming year. HR departments may utilize a companys strategic plan as a resource for information. For example, if an organization intends to launch a new interactive website in the following year, the HR department will budget for additional staff to build and maintain the website. Training and Development HR departments create training and employee development plans as well. This type of planning must be conducted in advance of the companys needs in order to prepare for them, both from financial and resource perspectives. Training for new employees and product rollouts may be included. Teaching current employees new skills is considered an aspect of development. Organizations benefit from having streamlined and consistent training programs Career Development Career development is imperative in order to prepare an organization for upcoming retirements, as well as to retain long-term employees. Companies need to have a strategic plan on how they intend to replace their management with qualified leaders. This means that current employees should have career road maps and plans that incorporate both short-term and long-term goals. For example, if an organization is grooming a top, young salesperson for the management track in five years, training should begin now. This may include time management courses, classes on how to coach others and a mentor program. Downsizings When companies foresee an upcoming need to downsize, its in their best interest to have their HR departments plan for it in advance to ensure that the process is smooth and orderly, and complies with all legal requirements. This type of planning also may prevent loss of knowledge and resources. Some companies begin the downsizing process by eliminating non-essential personnel. Others lay off administrative staff, but keep money-generating positions. Organizations may be hit by lawsuits and high unemployment costs if downsizing is not strategically planned. 2.6 Advantages and disadvantages of HRP HRP, in both its traditional and more contemporary forms, can be perceived to have a number of distinct advantages. Firstly, it is argued that planning can help to reduce uncertainty as long as plans are adaptable. Although unpredictable events do occur, the majority of organizational change does not happen overnight so the planning process can provide an element of control, even if it is relatively short term. Taylor (2002 : 73-74) suggests that in the HR field there is potentially more scope for change and adaptation in six months than there is in relation to capital investment in new plant and machinery. Thus he argues that many of the assumptions about the difficulties of planning generally are less relevant to HR. Other advantages relate to the contribution of planning to organizational performance, for ex, the planning process can make a significant contribution to the integration of HR policies and practices with each other and with the business strategy, i.e. horizontal and vertical integration. Marchington and Wilkinson (2002: 280) suggest that HR plans can be developed to fit with strategic goals or they can contribute to the development of the business strategy, but conclude that either way, HRP is perceived as a major facilitator of competitive advantage. Another way that HRP can contribute is by helping to build flexibility into the organization, either through the use of more flexible forms of work or through identification of the skills and qualities required in employees. IRS (2002c) report that a number of organizations have predicted that jobs are likely to change radically over the next few years and so are using selection techniques to assess core values rather than job-specific skills. 2.7 Difficulties in implementing HRP Planners face significant barriers while formulating a Human Resource Planning. The major ones are the following: People question the importance of making human resource practices future oriented and the role assigned to the practitioners in formulation of the organisational strategies. Their argument is simple- there are people when needed offer attractive package of benefits to quit when you find them in surplus. HR practitioners are perceived as experts in handling personnel matter, but are not experts in managing business. The personnel plan conceived and formulated by the HR practitioners when enmeshed with organisational plan, might make the overall strategic plan itself defective. HR information often is incompatible with the information used in strategy formulation. Strategic planning efforts have long been oriented towards financial forecasting often to the exclusion of other types of information. Conflicting may exist between short-term and long-term HR needs. For example, there arises a conflict between the pressure of getting work done on time and the long term needs, such as preparing people assuming greater responsibilities. Many mangers are of the belief that HR needs can be met immediately because skills are available on the market as long as wages and salaries are competitive. These managers fail to recognise that by resorting to hiring or promoting depending on short term needs alone, long term issues are neglected. There is conflict between quantitative and qualitative approach to HRP. Some people view HRP as a number game designed to track flow of people across the departments. These people are strictly quantitative approach to planning. Others take a qualitative approach and focus on individual employee concerns such as promotability and career development. Best results are accrued if there is a balance between the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Non involvement of operating managers renders HRP ineffective. HRP is not strictly an HR department function. Successful planning needs a coordinated effort on the part of operating managers and HR personnel. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY This chapter examines the methodology used to carry out the research survey so as to collect data for the topic under consideration that is the process of Human Resource Planning with particular reference to Shandrani Resorts and Spa, member of the Beachcomber Hotels. It involves the examination of the whole research process from beginning to end. 3.1 Problem definition A problem well defined is half-solved.Kotter. Human resource planning is assumed to consist of 4 clear steps: 1)forecasting future needs, 2)analyzing the availability and supply of labour, 3)drawing up plans to meet supply to demand, 4) monitoring the implementation of the plan. The main issue of this assignment is to analyse the process of human resource planning and the focus of the research is on the hotel industry. 3.2 Research objectives The survey was most specifically carried out at Shandrani Resort and Spa and its objective is To assess future people requirements both in terms of numbers and level of skills and competences, formulating and implementing plans to meet those requirements in terms of recruitment and training. 3.3 Research design For the purpose of this assignment, the most appropriate strategies used were exploratory and descriptive as the research is analysing the process of HRP. On a first instance, an exploratory research was made to reach a better understanding of the research of the research problem. It took the form of an in-depth interview with professionals working at Shandrani, and for the Beachcomber hotels as well. The in-depth interview took the form of a question list with open-ended questions. 3.4 Data collection methods Secondary data Secondary data were collected from books, journals, articles, and appropriate websites. Information about the hotel has been collected from Shandrani Resorts and Spa documents, namely the Beachcomber group manual and Shandranis Livret Daccueil. Primary data An interview was carried out with top management to gather primary data. A questionnaire was therefore designed for this purpose. (See Appendix) Other primary researches Interview with the Director of Shandrani . Face to face interview with Director of Human Resource. Interview with Director of Beachcomber Training Academy for 3 hours. Interview with the Quality assurance manager. Int

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The EasyJet Business Model and its Market Survival

The EasyJet Business Model and its Market Survival 1.0 – Title 2.0 – Introduction 3.0 – Research 3.1 – Aims 3.2 – Objectives 4.0 – Literature review 4.1 Airline Industry 4.1.1 Deregulation of the Airline Industry in the US and in Europe: 4.1.2 Persian Gulf War and Recession 4.1.3 World Trade Centre Disaster 4.2 – Budget Airline Industry 4.3 – History of Easy Jet 4.4 – Globalization and Technology 4.5 – Marketing – Alliance 4.6 – No Frills 4.6.1 – Inputs 4.6.2 – Product Design 4.6.3 – Process Design 4.7 – Competition 4.8 – Business Model 4.8.1 – Internet 4.8.2 – Customer Purchase Experience 4.8.3 – World Wide Web (WWW) Strategy 4.8.4 The Philosophy 4.9 – Future 4.9.1 – Low passenger comfort 4.9.2 – Questionable security standards 4.9.3 – Uncertain tragedy, consequences and expansion in the future 5.0 – Methodology 5.1 – Secondary data 5.2 – Choice of research method 5.3 – Methodology 6.0 – Conclusions 7.0 – Bibliography Easy Jet and the Airline Industry The subsequent part of the paper is organised as follows. Section 3 discusses the aims, objectives and selection process of the research. Section 4 discuses the relevant literature that has been reviewed in the preparation of this paper. It will describe the airline industry and EasyJet’s strategy and business model. Section 5 outlines the methods adopted and the spirit of the methodology underlying the analysis of the findings. Section 6 constitutes the conclusion that is drawn from the research of this paper. Section 7 is the bibliography and references used in the writing of this paper. This paper makes a case for establishing a large – scale business organisation to exploit a promising business opportunity in terms of providing education/career counselling for Indian students seeking professional advancement through overseas undergraduate/post graduate education. The choice of the above thesis has been determined primarily out of my own experiences as an undergraduate student in the United States and later as a post – graduate in the United Kingdom. The principal motivation for the paper however transcends personal considerations and owes much to the emergence of social forces released by globalisation in developing countries such as India. 1.1 Globalization and Overseas Education The Indian economy has been, for most of the period, following the attainment of Independence in the late forties, structured on a Mixed Economy model[1] that accorded economic primacy to the state. The spirit of central planning dictated the allocation of resources in what was essentially a closed and autarkic economy that considered international trade to be of little relevance. All this changed in the early nineties on account of the realisation that the centrist model of development was becoming increasingly irrelevant and incapable of providing the economic growth necessary to sustain a standard of living that matched those of other countries in the world. The collapse of the Soviet Union[2] had much to do with this new awareness since central planning in India had been particularly influenced by the Soviet model. In particular the Second Five Year Plan (1956 – 1961)[3] which placed heavy emphasis on state owned heavy industries and which played such a large part in shaping the Indian economy for nearly forty years was structured by the economist P.C. Mahalonobis who believed that the Soviet model contained the most promise to help India secure rapid economic growth. However, even after four decades of development based on central planning, India had not made much progress, except for achieving what came to be called the â€Å"Hindu rate of gro 3.1 – Aims The aims of the research are to identify the airline industry and the EasyJet Business model and how does it survive in the market. 3.2 – Objectives The objectives of the research is to analyze the case study and answer the proposed research question by analyzing the airline market, EasyJet’s business model, the future of the low cost carriers and the changing trends in the airline industry that could affect the business of these no frill airlines. 4.1 Airline Industry The beginning of the aviation industry was by Wright brothers who launched their first successful flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Airline was not used as an option in early years because of fear of travel but today it is used as a fastest mode of transportation. Since the 1980 RKP (Revenue Passenger Kilometers) was the way the growth of the airline industry is measured. This RKP is larger than the real world growth GDP. As we refer to the case in Exhibit 1 we can see the growth of the airline industry has faced many ups and downs since the 1980’s. This changing trend in the airline industry has been because of a variety of reasons such as uncontrollable environmental factors, terrorism, globalization, technology, etc. The airline companies in the earlier years worked on a very huge profit or loss margin. If the number of passengers increases it brings in enormous profit to the airline and in the opposite case can bring huge losses. The airline industry also works on an extremely high fixed cost and therefore as the demand in the airline decreases the company faces huge losses. Also it should be taken into consideration that it takes 1 – 2 years to build a plane and therefore increasing capacity immediately because of higher dem and can be taxing for the company. The airline industry came into much use only during the 90’s because the cost of production went down and therefore was more affordable by customers although yet expensive. Then there was no looking back for the airline industry as it was a multi billion market and therefore competition increased drastically. Because of globalisation and other factors the demand for business and tourist travel increased at a more than double rate. The increase standard of living and changing trend of visiting places around the world also increased this need. Increase in the travel was also caused because of competition of other private airlines besides the government airlines forcing competition and there after reducing prices even further. The uncontrollable factors effect the airline industry directly or in directly. Some of the factors because of which the airline industry suffered are: 4.1.1 Deregulation of the Airline Industry in the US and in Europe: In many countries in the earlier years the government would control certain strategic sectors and airline industry was one of them. The airline industry was deregulated in the 1978 in the USA and about 15 years later in Europe. This deregulation bought privatization and therefore there was tremendous increase in competition. In no time it changed from an oligopolistic industry to a perfect competition. Europe was earlier run by the government whereby they controlled the entire system like where the airlines would fly, changes in price and the time they would fly. But after the European economy deregulated the airline industry competition increased even in Europe. The deregulation of the EU in 1992 and very minimal trade barriers as per the WTO has increased travel worldwide. This has also given the different airlines an opportunity to expand their network and apply better marketing to survive in this perfect competition. One of the things that have changed the way airline industry is operating in 2000 is the introduction of the â€Å"no frills low cost† carriers. After deregulation as competition increased more than 75% of the companies left the market as they could not cope up with the high market share. When the deregulation took place in the USA a new airline called SouthWest airline was introduced that cut its prices by 70% therefore being ahead of the competition and capturing more and more market share. In Europe following the SouthWest model Ryanair and EasyJet came into existence. Even besides deregulation the government yet controlled the time slots, landing rights and other privileges awarded by them. Government was also responsible in supporting the airline industry by building new infrastructure. Therefore even though deregulation took place there was a big political and governmental influence on the industry. 4.1.2 Persian Gulf War and Recession The airline industry even though deregulated had suffered losses until it recovered in the 1988, but it was followed by recession in 1989 and the gulf war in 1990 / 1991. The gulf war and the recession which was elongated for four long years hit the industry with a loss of US $22 million. Besides the industry being affected badly there was also decrease in the amount of customers flying as they were scared. Also the high oil prices during the Gulf War increased the fixed cost of the airline which in turn increased prices drastically. Airlines became profitable only after 1995 as many cost reductions had taken place to satisfy customer needs. 4.1.3 World Trade Centre Disaster As we can see in Exhibit II of the case study we can see that the airline industry was profitable from 1995 up till 2000 and then faced a deep dip in profits when the September 11th disaster took place. After effects of the September 11th made a few airline companies file bankruptcy as they suffered huge looses because of the high cost of production. The September 11th disaster increased security as they hired more personnel and security applications, increase in the waiting time for passengers and also made air transport very less attractive. Therefore airlines had to develop a cycle of trust for their customers as they were adopting alternative methods of conducting business like video conferencing and shared corporate jet. The substitution of flying increased business in video conferencing by 30% and also it lost 10% of its business and first class customers. SARS and Iraq war decreased earnings even further. All these above external factors directly or in directly affected the ai rline industry that changed the way business was operated in the 21st century. The introduction of the budget airline industry is explained below: 4.2 – Budget Airline Industry A Budget Airline is a low cost airline which does not issue tickets, no connections, quick checking, only one class of tickets and sell directly to the customer. Budget airline industry was introduced in 1971 by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher named SouthWest airline which followed the ticket less and no frill strategy. Many years later another airline was introduced following the SouthWest model called RyanAir. It also focused on no frill model and focused on functionality. Just a little later Easy Jet was introduced which was a no frill, and web based booking airline reducing cost drastically. Airlines like British Airways, Air France, Delta etc., earlier would charge a full price if a customer booked ticket in advance and then sold it for a cheaper price as the date comes closer. But airlines like Easy Jet applied a completely different pricing model that is cheaper tickets sold in advance and price increases as the date gets closer. Therefore this pricing model was later applied by many carriers for better profits. 4.3 – History of Easy Jet The easy jet was introduced by the son of the Greek shipping magnate, Stelios Haji-Ioannou who based it on the SouthWest Model that was introduced in the USA in 1995. The easy jet concept is based their pricing model that reduces the air fare for passengers in short haul flights so that they can fly frequently. The traditional model was that the airlines were sceptical with lowering prices as it would affect the revenue but easy jet has completely proven them wrong as it is increasing its market share at a fast pace since its existence. Easy jet today has more than 75 routes in 36 European airports. The seats are sole by telephone reservation or online eliminating the middle men that are the travel agents. After one year of its launch it designed a website that became a very important part of the business. Easy jet is a member of the UK airline group that consist of seven other companies and easy jet is responsible to run the traffic control. Easy jet has invested millions of dollars to develop safe and reliable air traffic to increase and maintain capacity on air and ground for long term future growth. In 2001 easy jet did a fantastic job by selling 75% of its seats online and therefore has been regarded as Europe’s second largest airline in UK. This arose the need for expansion and therefore it acquired British Airway’s subsidy Go. This acquisition made it the biggest low cost travel company in the world even ahead of its rival Ryan air. The airline also signed a deal in 2002 to purchase 120 Airbus to achieve its goal for growth. EasyJet also followed the model of single fleet aircraft which makes it easier for maintenance, operating cost and training. But after its acquisition with Go the company faced a lot of additional administrative cost making it difficult for them to lower the prices. 4.4 – Globalization and Technology According to Cogburn (www.unesco.org) â€Å"globalization is about the monumental structural changes occurring in the process of production and distribution in the global economy†. According to him â€Å"global companies can break apart business functions and spread them across the globe†. As a result of these processes â€Å"developing countries are facing tidal wave of changes, opportunity and challenges†. Globalization has made the world a smaller place to live. It has also increased competition worldwide and therefore customers want the best quality at a cheaper rate. Because of globalization and customer demand the airline industry has also changed the way it operates with â€Å"no frills† strategy. â€Å"The internet will change how people live, play and learn. The industrial revolution brought together people with machines in factories, and the internet revolution will bring together people with knowledge and information in virtual companiesit will promote globalisation at an incredible pace. But instead of happening over 100 years like the industrial revolution, it will happen over seven years†. [Micklethwait John and Wooldridge Adrian (2000), p 36] Companies also adopt to different global strategies like mergers and acquisitions instead of forming a completely new company. This helps the company to increase its customer base but it is also very important for the two companies to integrate themselves so that the core business and strategy is not destroyed. As in the case of EasyJet, it only operated one kind of aircraft for lower overhead and maintenance cost. But when it acquired GO it had different kinds of aircrafts that therefore it was very difficult to keep the price lower. Therefore it is important to follow different global strategies but extensive research needs to be done by forecasting the after affects. 4.5 – Marketing – Alliance The airline industry has developed from its nascent days when the Wright brothers invented the first airplane. Today it is a large and complex industry spanning the entire globe. Major considerations in the industry today are the global capacity surplus and yield management to boost profits and achieve break even points. The paper suggests that European airline industry follows four major business models, rather the business is divided into four categories of players – 1) National Flag Carriers, 2) No Frills Airlines, 3) Regional / Niche players and 4) Charter airlines The National Flag Carriers are the major world airlines that cover a wide range of destinations and distances from long haul intercontinental flights to short distances. Distinct features of the major carriers are high service standards, common quality, frequent flyer programs and code-sharing. During the 80’s the major airlines of the world followed a â€Å"hub and spoke† formula to expand services – whereby they would operate from a single airport as its hub and fly to multiple destinations. British Airways was the 1st to develop the London Heathrow airport as its hub. The benefits of the hub and spoke model can be seen from the significant tie-ups and partnerships major airlines have formed. This has given the flyers a large selection of flights and connections to virtually every corner of the world. It has also resulted in better yield managements so that airlines can operate higher load factors. The paper states that airlines currently need 70% load factor for their Jumbo aircraft flying long distances and new aircraft to be launched will reduce that to 58% making airlines more profitable. A study done on the revenue generated by the major world airlines indicate a large portion coming from business travellers. After the global economic downturn in 2001, the airlines have seen double digit drop in business travel which has resulted in significant loss of revenue and profitability. The shift has been primarily due to the availability of cheaper alternatives and cost cuts in industries across the globe. As a result the market capitalization of the national carriers has fallen between 36% and 56% over a span of 2 years from 2001 to 2003. 4.6 – No Frills The No frills model is different from the traditional method of operation. The no frill airlines work on a minimum standard of service, low prices and short flights. The key to their core business is the low cost pricing strategy. Pricing is mainly controlled in the three areas that is: 4.6.1 – Inputs Low cost in inputs is achieved by low cost of labour, similar airplanes for lower maintenance and operation, reduction in airport fees as it would not fly at the big airports, lower wages and better utilization of staff for example two shifts instead for three, and usually take older flights that have a lower investment. 4.6.2 – Product Design The product design is point to point arrangement with use of secondary airports. This saves cost and helps improve on time performance as the secondary airports are cheaper and less crowded as compared to the busy ones. Point to point arrangements also reduces connection passengers. All seats in a no frill airline are coach and has lesser space. They also do not have any lounges, catering and no bag transfers between flights. This helps them to save cost and improve their performance. 4.6.3 – Process Design The process design offers simplified boarding, disembarking and aircraft service. This helps the airline to save turn around time and therefore can make multiple trips. There are no agents and booking is usually done over the internet which reduces the sales cost and therefore can provide the customer with additional discounts. Therefore as we can see that the inputs, product design and process design reduces the cost by 59% as show in exhibit VI. The table divided the three by reasons of cost reduction by different percentage and it can be seen that each contribute to lower cost for the company drastically. 4.7 – Competition As we know that the no frills strategy has changed the way business is operating in the airline industry. Therefore many major players are fighting to be profitable. Every player is changing its strategy and experimenting in the new market. Lufthansa has reduced capacity and increased its pricing by 4.5%. This is a new strategy adopted by them as they are reducing the amount of aircraft that is operating. They are also cutting wages for workers as well as the remuneration. However other airlines like BA and KLM started new subsidy to compete with the no frill carriers like EasyJet and Ryanair. Both BA and KLM required high investment when their core business was suffering and both of them sold of their operations finally to concentrate on their core business and strategies. Lufthansa who were reluctant to start their own low cost carrier finally invested into Eurowings. They also started a number of flights to Germany called the Germanwings. It was noticed that these major players were investing in many low cost routes by increasing their capacity to capture more market share. They also wanted to keep prices lower to take away the market share from other modes of transportation. British Airways and Lufthansa worked on a strategy that provided lower cost than any of its other competitors and these tickets purchased did not need to be booked in advance and was not a restricted ticket. They followed this strategy as it would have been very useful to the customer and in turn would be profitable to them. 4.8 – Business Model Easy Jet’s business model is related to its pricing. It has a built in advantage as it reduces the overhead and administrative cost as it uses an eccentric approach. Easy jet makes every effort to lower all unnecessary costs as they do not deal with travel agents. Customer have to order their ticket either online or over the telephone where additional discounts are given to satisfy customers. The easy jet success is linked to the internet model used by the company to sell tickets. This is a very cost effective and reliable model as globalization and technology comes into existence. 4.8.1 – Internet Easy jet’s ticket sales are mainly through the internet. Almost 75% of its sales is through the online website. Earlier customers were a little sceptical to use credit cards and make payment online but in today’s high tech world it has boosted the sales of the company drastically. The customer places the order over the internet which gives them a wide variety of choices and dates and fares available on each flight. The fares offered by Easy jet are lower than the competition and therefore preferred by the customer. Usually majority of the airlines work on a return trip basis, but Easy jet follows a one way strategy giving customers the choice of flying one way, round trip or multi leg trip giving them the best and cheapest options available as per date and time that is preferred by the customer. Flights that are booked through the web are priced much lower than the telephone giving the customer as advantage by the airline reducing its over head cost. 4.8.2 – Customer Purchase Experience The website of the company is designed as a process that allows the passenger to exit at any time if he changes his mind. The website does not need the passenger to insert details every time he or she needs to view the time and date for a particular flight. The website also has a login system whereby it stores the name, address and all other related personal details so that the customer does not have to take the trouble to re-enter information every time he or she wants to purchase a ticket. Therefore it registers user names and password so that the entire process if fast and not time consuming. As we know a lot of airline companies as you to fill personal details before they give you the price, date, and time of a particular flight. This can get the customer really frustrated as sometimes they only want to check the price to compare it to what the other airlines offer. This ease of use facilities of the website offered to the customer and the low prices available as compared to any other competitor makes it a memorable experience for the customer who wants to return back to easy jet at any other time he or she wants to make a purchase. This website and pricing model has developed a positive brand image for the company by which it retains customer loyalty and increases its customer base. 4.8.3 – World Wide Web (WWW) Strategy The web strategy applied by easy jet has been so successful that more than 75% of their sales are through the internet. Therefore the company is trying to phase out of the telephone reservation to reduce cost even further and will be one of the only airline that would sell airline tickets only through the internet. Their marketing strategy to phase out of this telephone reservations has started by not listing its telephone number on any marketing and advertising material but just noting its website for further business. Their main reason to phase out of this is because this web approach has been very successful so far and therefore they are confident that it will do well in the future as technology advances and the use of computer is increased and known to all. 4.8.4 The Philosophy Easy jet has been constantly doing new things to develop and increase business. it follows the differentiation and first in the market strategy to build its customer base. It has completely changed the operation of the airline industry as many people are aware and buy from easy jet because of the low price of the ticket as well as easy availability for one way, multi leg and round trip tickets. Besides cost cutting and efficiency provided they believe in satisfying their customers a 100% as the word of mouth strategy has been proved successful in any business. Therefore these low cost methods of advertising and marketing have made it possible for them to sell tickets at a lower cost compared to all other airlines available in the market. The business model used by easy jet has allowed it to achieve growth in the mature airline industry by applying differentiation strategy in this highly competitive world. It has put a positive perception in the mind of the customer and operating very efficiently and economically as it depends more on the functionality of the airline rather than the frills offered to the customers. The strategy used by easy jet is bold and modern and can be risky for them as they decided to make sales only through the internet. The company applies sound principles while exploring the market by doing extensive research and therefore is ready to take a few risks as it believes that changes in the company is required for future profits and growth. 4.9 – Future The future of the no frills low cost carrier’s looks bright as more and more customers are wanting to spend less on travel as they have many options available. As we know that no business model today is perfect so therefore there are a few flaws to this model also as the low comfort of passengers to travel in an aircraft with food and enough leg space, security provided by these aircrafts is questionable and also the uncertainties and external factors of the future can effect the airline industry as it has done over the past. 4.9.1 – Low passenger comfort The model applied by low cost carriers is very simple as it follows a no frill strategy. But it is questionable that this model may be too simple for travellers who want to keep their status and also business people whose travelling expense is paid by the company expense. Therefore they would not mind paying a premium price for their comfort and status. Also majority of these low cost carriers may cancel or reschedule a flight without prior notice and a business traveller going for some important work would not be able to afford missing and important meeting or order. Also it has to be taken into consideration that low cost carriers like EasyJet fly to secondary airports as they cannot afford the busy airports. Therefore this may not be acceptable to everyone as the secondary airport may be a little far away from the city and therefore other modes of transportation will need to be taken for them to reach their destination. Low cost carriers also work on the policy of no cancellation or advanced booking cheaper price but this may not be useful in times of emergency when the customer would end up paying the same price for a normal fare ticket by a major airline and a low cost airline. Therefore the future will determine the changing trend in the airline industr

Monday, August 19, 2019

Colgate Palmolive :: essays research papers fc

Colgate Palmolive With a continuous expansion in it's product line, Colgate-Palmolive is taking on the look of one of the most stable stocks on the exchange. Colgate has a wide variety of products sold around the globe including, Colgate Toothpastes, Speed Stick Deodorants, Ajax Surface Cleaner, and Hill's Science Diet foods for house pets. Colgate was founded in 1806 in New York City on Dutch Street by William Colgate as a starch, soap and candle business. Colgate produced soaps and perfumes or the next 67 years and then in 1873, they introduced their first toothpastes, which were aromatic toothpastes. Then 13 years later, they introduced the first dental creme packaged in collapsible tubes similar to those used today. After 104 years of being in business on Dutch Street, the largest tenancy on record in New York City the entire Colgate organization moved to Jersey City. In 1928 Colgate made its greatest merger of all time with the Palmolive-Peet Company and in 1953 took on its present name of Colgate-Palmolive. By 1967 Colgate-Palmolive was on a roll with sales passing the 1 billion dollar mark. In the years after, Colgate began acquiring major companies and expanding its product line with the purchases of Hill's Pet Products in 1976, the Mennen Company in 1992 and in 1993 acquired the liquid soap brands of S.C. Johnson. Before the purchase of Mennen Co. in 1992, Colgate Palmolive had no major presence in the deodorant industry. With the purchase of Mennen Co. they held 16% of the deodorant market but had to compete with Proctor and Gamble, who held 26% of the market with products such as Sure, Secret and Old Spice. After the purchase of Mennen Co., which was easily purchased without resist for $670 million in cash, Colgate-Palmolive held 16% of the deodorant market with their Speed Stick and Lady Speed Stick deodorants, which are now the leading in world wide sales of deodorants. They also now own products under the Baby Magic name such Skin Bracer and Baby Magic Foot. Powder. In 1976 , Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hills Pet Products Inc. Since the foundation of this company in 1948, they have committed themselves to the health and welfare of dogs and cats. Today, Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. is one of the leading pet food manufactures and is revolutionizing the pet food industry with its Prescription Diet products used by veterinarians to manage such conditions as obesity, heart disease, kidney disease and many others. Hill's Pet Products also manufacture Hill's Science Diet food. Hill's Pet Products has not always been a success. When it was founded in Colgate Palmolive :: essays research papers fc Colgate Palmolive With a continuous expansion in it's product line, Colgate-Palmolive is taking on the look of one of the most stable stocks on the exchange. Colgate has a wide variety of products sold around the globe including, Colgate Toothpastes, Speed Stick Deodorants, Ajax Surface Cleaner, and Hill's Science Diet foods for house pets. Colgate was founded in 1806 in New York City on Dutch Street by William Colgate as a starch, soap and candle business. Colgate produced soaps and perfumes or the next 67 years and then in 1873, they introduced their first toothpastes, which were aromatic toothpastes. Then 13 years later, they introduced the first dental creme packaged in collapsible tubes similar to those used today. After 104 years of being in business on Dutch Street, the largest tenancy on record in New York City the entire Colgate organization moved to Jersey City. In 1928 Colgate made its greatest merger of all time with the Palmolive-Peet Company and in 1953 took on its present name of Colgate-Palmolive. By 1967 Colgate-Palmolive was on a roll with sales passing the 1 billion dollar mark. In the years after, Colgate began acquiring major companies and expanding its product line with the purchases of Hill's Pet Products in 1976, the Mennen Company in 1992 and in 1993 acquired the liquid soap brands of S.C. Johnson. Before the purchase of Mennen Co. in 1992, Colgate Palmolive had no major presence in the deodorant industry. With the purchase of Mennen Co. they held 16% of the deodorant market but had to compete with Proctor and Gamble, who held 26% of the market with products such as Sure, Secret and Old Spice. After the purchase of Mennen Co., which was easily purchased without resist for $670 million in cash, Colgate-Palmolive held 16% of the deodorant market with their Speed Stick and Lady Speed Stick deodorants, which are now the leading in world wide sales of deodorants. They also now own products under the Baby Magic name such Skin Bracer and Baby Magic Foot. Powder. In 1976 , Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hills Pet Products Inc. Since the foundation of this company in 1948, they have committed themselves to the health and welfare of dogs and cats. Today, Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. is one of the leading pet food manufactures and is revolutionizing the pet food industry with its Prescription Diet products used by veterinarians to manage such conditions as obesity, heart disease, kidney disease and many others. Hill's Pet Products also manufacture Hill's Science Diet food. Hill's Pet Products has not always been a success. When it was founded in

Sunday, August 18, 2019

heroarms Henry’s Personal Code in A Farewell to Arms :: Farewell Arms Essays

Henry’s Personal Code in A Farewell to Arms    A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway is a story of Love, war and one Man’s pursuit of finding his own personal code in order to make a separate peace. Fredrick Henry is an American who serves as a lieutenant in the Italian army to a group of ambulance drivers. Hemingway portrays Frederick as a lost man searching for order and value in his life. Catherine Barkley is an English volunteer nurse who serves in Italy. She is considered very experienced when it comes to love and loss since she has already been   confronted with the death of a loved one when her fiancà © was killed earlier in the war. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War. The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the love story. The war affects the emotions and values of each character. The love between Catherine and Frederick must outlast long separations, life-threatening wartime situations, and the uncertainty of each other's whereabouts or condition. This novel is a beautif ul love story of two people who need each other in a period of upheaval. At the start of the novel, Frederick is given a vacation to leave the war for a period of time in order to relax. He befriends a priest because he admires the fact that the priest lives his life by a set of values that give him an orderly lifestyle. He is told by the priest to go to Abruzzi, there in the mountains he can relax and forget about the worries of war. But Fredrick is hardheaded and listens to his friends and decides to go to Naples, there he   drinks and travels from one house of prostitution to another and yet he is   discontent because his life is very unsettled. This vacation was his free ticket out of the war but Fredrick does not realize nor understand how bad this war is. He decides to return due to his pride and patriotism. A close friend of Fredrick, Rinaldi is also a Lt. In the army. Together they share stories and interests. Rinaldi is a strong man, one who understands what war is about. Through numerous attempts of lessons given to Fredrick, he still doesn’t understand. Rinaldi constantly calls Fredrick â€Å"baby† which is an accurate description of him. He is still a child and is not aware of the true meaning of war, love and life.