Industry Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Industry Practice - Essay Example This form of leadership has been successful in some organizations though it has also failed in others. It allows quick decision making and therefore less time is wasted on decisions. It requires a leader who is knowledgeable and experienced otherwise wrong decisions might be made (Goethals, Sorenson & Burns, 2004). Autocratic leadership style is more applicable where control is required. These are situations where the margin of error is either very small or is not there at all. In such a situation, decentralized decision making is likely to cause organizational failure. It therefore becomes necessary for experienced leaders to make decisions so as to avoid or minimize the chances of any error (Daft & Lane, 2008). This form of leadership is very applicable and is actually used in rigid organizations. These are organizations whose rules are rigid and do not easily adjust their policies as situations changes. In addition, autocratic leadership can also be used where the conditions are thought to be dangerous or are likely to cause harm to people. Among the organizations where the leadership is used include; military manufacturing organizations or in a construction (Daft & Lane, 2008). The theory is useful at the workplace in situations where quick decisions have to be made. In such situations, there is no much time to consult. Decentralized decision making is time consuming and therefore cannot be applicable in urgent situations. Therefore, the leaders take the initiative to make such decision to save time. This is important because if time is wasted in urgent situations, the overall goal achievement of the organization maybe affected (Gitman & McDaniel, 2009). The leadership style is also useful where strict deadlines are required. There are some activities which have to be completed within a specified time. According to Douglas McGregor in one of his theories, (Theory X) people generally dislike work. Therefore, they

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 75

Assignment - Essay Example Whereas the quality of life is represented in a uniform fashion throughout much of the province of Ontario, only immediate regions around Winnipeg experience or exhibit a relatively high quality of life. This is further interesting as geographic analysis of these two provinces indicate that there is a relative level of comparison in terms of the overall education level represented between these two provinces. Another noted geographical difference between these two provinces has to do with the fact that Manitoba exhibits a very high percentage of foreign born individuals; as compared to Ontario which represents an extraordinarily low percentage. Likewise, higher population density in Manitoba and much lower density in Ontario could effectively be skewing some of the results that have thus far been reported and illustrated. Additionally, it was also noted that there were many more retired individuals living within Manitoba; especially within areas in which a higher quality of life was denoted. Obviously, seeking to determine whether this is a causal factor for whether or not quality of life is impacted upon by the overall representation of a more age advanced demographic is an exercise in futility. Yet, perhaps the most useful of metrics that was analyzed is in terms of the overall representation of primary industries within both Manitoba and Ontario. From the information provided, it was clear that Manitoba had a much less diverse economic base as compared to the province of Ontario. In much the same way that economic "Dutch disease" impacts upon the overall growth and survival of a particular region, the more diversified labor force and opportunities that exist within Ontario likely contribute to the overall higher level of quality of life and other metrics associated that have been discussed at length within this particular analysis. As Ontario is able to represent

The Hotel Industry In Britain

The Hotel Industry In Britain According to the British laws a hotel is a place where a benefited traveler can receive food and shelter provided he is in a position to for it and is in a fit condition to receive. Hotels have a very long history, but not as we know today, way back in the 6th century BC when the first inn in and around the city of London began to develop. The first catered to travelers and provided them with a mere roof to stay under. This condition of the inns prevailed for a long time, until the industrial revolution in England, which brought about new ideas and progress in the business at inn keeping. The invention of the steam engine made traveling even more prominent. Which had to more and more people traveling not only for business but also for leisure reasons. This lead to the actual development of the hotel industry as we know it today. Hotel today not only cater to the basic needs of the guest like food and shelter provide much more than that, like personalized services etc. Hotels today are a Home away from home. Hotel can be classified into different categories or classes, based on their operational criteria. For example the type of accommodation they provide, location of the property, type of services provided, facilities given and the clientele they cater to can help categories hotels today. The market segmentation is economy hotel, mid market hotel, suite hotels, first class hotel, deluxe hotel, casino hotels, resort hotel and resident hotel. Source:http://www.scribd.com/doc/6170286/Introduction-to-the-Hotel-Industry Hospitality industry offers a variety of service including food service and accommodation and has different organizations. One of the most common sectors of hospitality industries is hotel and followed by restaurants. Hotel and restaurants have commonalities but differs in many ways they serve and the quality service that they offer. The organisational sturcture of a hotel Two main divisions in any hotel. The first is operational which contains the following departments : Food and Beverage division Accommodation House keeping Security Functional division contains the following hR Mgt Markeying Finance A/c Dicuss each departments roles Scale and scope of hospitality: Firstly, there are four basic types of the hotel ownership such as the franchise, privately owned and operated, leased and managed, on the other hand restaurant can be franchised and privately owned only. The franchise operation is privately owned but the owner pays for the franchise fee and followed by the royalty which is paid monthly and according to the contract same as the restaurants. The privately owned and operated hotel has company partnership which that may have investors or others with a financial interest in the hotel, however, in the restaurant industry it has one sole or partner ownership who run the business. Leased hotels are owned by individual or company but only lease the establishment. And lastly, the managed hotel is privately owned but has an agreement with another hotel brand to run the hotel operations. Source:http://www.ehow.com/about_5598328_types-hotel-ownership.html#ixzzOfDhyE1W Assessment of hospitality related orgs: ( judgement, evaluate) According to People 1st State of the Nation Report 2009, it is roughly 31% of high turnover in terms of labor in the industry and the employers are spending GBP 414 million on recruiting and improving new staff in 2008/09. Secondly, in diversity perspective in terms of products and services such as food, drinks, accommodation, conferences and banqueting, leisure facilities, levels of services and customer service varies on what kind of hotel and restaurant are. This means the target that they are targeting differs the quality that they are offering. For instance, in 5-star hotel you will see that the food and service are quite posh and branded, the facilities are expensive which exceeds on your expectations, thus, you are delighted of the food and service they offer compared to the 2-star hotel which is much cheaper. These are the things that we are considering regarding the factors that makes it diverse in service . Another thing is the culture of a certain country that they offer different meals and different kinds of meat according to the norms that they are believing in like the Halal food in Muslim country which the people do not eat pork. It is bizarre to give them this meat (pork) because it cre ates chaos and conflict to you when you set up a business in Muslim country. The organizational side of the hotel and restaurant can be divided into operational and functional. The operational is more on food preparation, food and services, accommodation service and front of house services while the functional is more on human resources, finance, marketing, research and development, security and maintenance. In operational point of view in the hotel are much sophisticate and posh and meticulous than the restaurant perspective. The hotel offers international food much more compared to restaurant which is much limited. Hotels caters all according to customers need. In terms of employees such as the waiter and receptionist, the hotel are hiring much more people and mostly who have a degree with personality and experience while the restaurant need few employees regardless of a degree , personality and experience to a certain degree. In functional, the hotel have human resources and high security and maintenance primarily because it is much bigger company and enor mous responsibility and caters different nationality with regard the employee and customers. The following are the organisations which are related to these industries: I want to do this! Whats This? People 1st is the sector skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism. They are working to transform skills in the sector, particularly in the areas of management and leadership, customer service and craft skills. They are committed to ensuring that public funds support the industry to develop only those qualifications and programmes that meet the needs of employers. The British Hospitality Association has been representing the hotel, restaurant and catering industry for 100 years. The Association exists to ensure that the views of the British hospitality industry are represented in a forceful, coherent and co-ordinated way to government and policy makers in the UK and internationally, in order that its members businesses can flourish. The Institute is delighted to release a new suite of five online learning modules which are freely available to all. The modules are tailored to meet the needs of hospitality and tourism students and professionals. They also support learning for our own Hospitality Management Qualifications. These organizations helps everyone what are the current trend and development in hospitality industry. It keeps us update and be aware about the opportunities in the market. Moreover, it enhances our knowledge and we have questions we can check it out anytime we want to. On top of that, it helps the hospitality industry what are the things they need to improve which quite fruitful to all. Task 2 The hotel and restaurants have commonalities in terms of functional and operational side of hospitality management but they have differences in other things. The hotel functional side are the human resources, finance, marketing, research and development, security and maintenance where the restaurant varies whether the restaurants are fast food chain, fine dining restaurants or vending machine. In fast food chain like McDonalds has human resources, finance, marketing ,research and development, security and maintenance however fine dining restaurants do have but others do not have. In operational points of view in the hotel and restaurants like food preparation , food and beverage services, accommodation services and front of house services have same legislative law regarding the health and safety ,environmental law and other laws. The way they do quality service differs in the way they deal the customers and their target market as the hotel restaurants are more meticulous and customer oriented than the restaurants in the market. Hotels have star rating according to their quality and status and much more posh compared to restaurants. The hotels now offers more careers than the restaurants from a wide variety of jobs to choose from. They can apply in management, event organisation, restaurant and bar work as well as operational roles which includes the finance, human resources and marketing. On the other hand, careers in restaurants include management and chef work which is the most difficult to look for purely because of lacking the required skills and experience but in the larger restaurants opportunities for business managers, finance managers and operational staff are existing. In conferences and meetings and events are massive business that mostly involves in the hotel which accounts of 60% according to the British Hospitality Association Centres trends and statistic 2008. Many occupations in the hospitality industries are offering full time, part time and casual and from agency. The full time has 40 hours a week normally but can exceed depending on the availability of the employee whilst in part time offers 20 hours only. The casual are just on call employees but have a limited benefits compared to full time and part time job. On the other hand, if they run out of members of staff they might call from agency to cover up for those who make an absent or those situations that needs more staff . Part-time job are mostly students and they are hired according to their availability especially in the hotel and fast food chain restaurant. The part-time job salary is roughly 5.82 and the full time is much higher depending on how much longer they are in the company. It varies from person to person and it depends on the size of the company and the amount of the responsibility involved and sometimes , packages can include profit-related. Restaurants employ more th an 526,000 full time and part time staff accounting 82% in the UK. In the hotel the full time are approximately 72% in terms of employability. In the UK there are over 46,000 hotels and guest houses and the hotel industry remains a vital role in the economy having an annual turnover of roughly 40,000 pounds according to trends and statistics in 2008 British Hospitality Association. In terms of salaries, the trainee hotel manager earns from 12,000 pounds to 19,000 and the more experience hotel manager gets 16,000 to 22,000 while the restaurant manager salary range from 16,000 to 20,000 pounds. As far as structure is concerned, hotels and restaurants are different in many ways such as the hierarchy ,teams, organisations structures number of employees , career progression , staff characteristic , flexibility and interpersonal skills. The hotels have general manager that look the company as a whole or have a big picture of it. It is break down into department where they are specific on their task like restaurant manager has a responsibility to manage the people working in the restaurant such as the waiter, receptionist and the back of the hotel like the chef. On the other hand, the restaurant is much simple to operate and few people are working here so the restaurant manager are much more relax and specific on what they are doing in the said establishment. The progression of career in the hotel is much better than the restaurant for the reason that if you are working in the hotel it is much easier for you to be hired in higher position in the restaurant since you have the bac kground working in the hotel. In addition, hotel staff can still have the options to apply in the other hotels and restaurants such as the supervisor after being a waiter before. This is what we call career advancement after having intensive training and qualification given by the hotel apart from the experienced gained in the hotel. Since working in the hotel has diverse nationality , the personal growth and confidence become an asset and as time goes it develops which makes you a flexible type of person, thus, having a good interpersonal skills which the employer is looking for. Having said that, the hotel is still has plenty of advantages than the restaurant, although restaurant has pros in many things. But of course, it depends on the person as well if how determined and persevered he is in achieving his goals and be promoted in the company. Qualifications in the hotel and restaurant industries can be apprenticeships, national vocational qualification(NVQ), vocationally related qualification(VRQ) and degree as well. The apprenticeships are nationally designed for young people in age bracket of 16-24 which has two levels like the apprenticeship and the advanced apprenticeships and consist of an NVQ and three key skills such as the application of number, communication and IT. The NVQ is developed by National Occupational Standards which focus on job responsibilities within the scope of the industry which is complied in a portfolio evidence. The vocationally related qualification (VRQ) sometimes called as technical course of study usually 1-5 days. These qualification have levels from level 1-3 , A Level 2 NVQ is equivalent to 5 GCSEs grade A to C, and A Level 3 NVQ is equivalent to 2 A Levels.

The State of Despair in American Beauty Essay -- American Beauty Films

The State of Despair in American Beauty In life, everyone must make choices. Choices give an individual the freedom to decide upon the path to which they will follow. Since it’s beginnings, the film making industry has focused on showing the direct relationship between the choices that people make and the resulting consequences they must face. In the movie American Beauty, the character of Lester Burnham must make many important choices that could either lead to his ultimate happiness, or draw him further into his despair. In the movie American Beauty, it is evident that Lester Burnham is in a state of despair. Lester’s dull and monotonous voice introduces the audience to his daily routine of life. When Lester declares plain and simply, â€Å"This is my neighborhood, this is my street, this is my life,† he exposes the lifelessness and unhappiness to which he has become accustomed. The hopeless tone that Lester has set continues when he cynically comments, â€Å"jerking off in the shower will be the high point of my day.† He realizes his family life is no better when he becomes aware that both his disdainful wife and his troubled daughter consider him â€Å"a gigantic loser.† It is easy to recognize and understand Lester’s disheartenment through analysis and symbolic car scene. In this scene, Lester sits slouched down in the back seat with a look of emptiness while his daughter Jane sits up front, next to his wife Caroline who is driving the car. The symbolism is shown through Carolyn driving the car, as she drives the family (especially Lester). She has evolved into the decision-maker, and leader of the Burnham family. Sitting in the backseat, Lester avoids further conflict with his wife, leading him to become an even unhappier and more desperate person. It is understandable why Lester feels like a sedated visitor in his own life. It is also easy to empathize with Lester when he states that he feels â€Å"in many ways already dead.† For Lester, his life at work is nothing better than his life at home. After fourteen years on the job, Lester is asked by an efficiency expert at work to write a memo justifying his position. This requires making the first of several choices, which will ultimately affect his future happiness. Should he justify his job and continue to provide for his family or choose freedom and a new life? To answer this question the audience must examine... ....† This is the first time in the movie in which it is apparent that he wants to know his own family and is just working out how to go about doing it. But it also allows Lester to be happy, happy for Jane to experience the â€Å"best thing he once had† a true loving relationship with Carolyn. Lester finds himself not sad that he is now missing that loving relationship, but happy that he got the chance to experience it at one point. By the end of the movie, Lester actually seems sincerely happy in his thoughts, in his mind and in his life. This is the happiness that he has been searching for all along. The discovery of happiness and the extinction of despair are two of the greatest feats known to humans. Everyone chooses which of the two will ultimately rule their life, but sometimes life itself can get in the way. Lester Burnham is a man with limits, a man without the freedom to know himself, but with the ability to overcome these boundaries. Throughout this movie Lester is taken down a path to which hedonism is the roadblock and morality is the hidden passage. For some the choice will never be able to be made, but to Lester, life was much too beautiful to ignore the possibilities.

Principles on which vicarious liability is based Essay

The doctrine of vicarious liability is based on principles which can be summed up in the following two maxims : (a) Qui facit per alium facit per se :- The maxim means, ‘he who acts through another is deemed in deemed in law as doing it himself’. The master’s responsibility for the servant’s act had also its origins in this principle. The reasoning is that a person who puts another in his place to do a class of acts in his absence, necessarily leaves to determine, according to the circumstances that arise, when an act of that class is to be done and trust him for the manner in which it is done; consequently he is answerable for the wrong of the person so entrusted either in the manner of doing such an act, or in doing such an act under circumstances in which it ought not to have been done ; provided what is done is not done from any caprice of the servant but in the course of the employment. (b) Respondeat superior :- Another maxim usually referred to in this connection is respondeat superior, i.e., the superior must be responsible or let the principal be liable. In such cases not only he who obeys but also he who commands becomes equally liable. This rule has its origin in the legal presumption that all acts done by the servant in and about his master’s business are done by his master’s express or implied authority and are, in truth, the act of the master. The master is answerable for every such wrong of the servant as is committed in the course of his service, though no express command or privity is proved. Similarly, a principal and agent are jointly and severally liable as joint wrong-doers for any tort authorised by the former and committed by the latter. (c) Modern view :- In recent times, however, the doctrine of vicarious liability is justified on the principle other than that embodied in the above-mentioned maxims. It is now believed that the underlying idea of this doctrine is that of expediency and public policy. Salmond has rightly remarked in this connection that â€Å"there is one idea which is found in the judgements from the time of Sir John Holt to that of Lord Goddard, namely, public policy.† The view of Lord Pearce can be quoted here with approval, which he expressed in Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd v. Shatwell â€Å"The doctrine of vicarious liability has not grown from any very clear, logical or legal principle but from social convenience and rough justice. The master having (presumably for his own benefit) employed the servants, and being (presumably) better able to make good any damage which may occasionally result from the arrangement, is answerable to the world at large for all torts committed by his servant within the scope of it.† In the words of Winfield, this may not satisfy the jurist or the logician, but it probably represents the prevailing stage of legal opinion on the matter and though the future may bring further extensions of vicarious liability, it is inconceivable that a serious proposal for its abolition will be made so long as the law of tort as we know it remains alive.1 View as multi-pages

Eriko

Kristin Mueller Contemp. Jap. Lit. and Film 2/20/13 Eriko's enterance In the book Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, there is a scene in which Mikage first meets Eriko. The scene, on page 11, is a small insight into the work of Banana Yoshimoto. â€Å"Just then, with the scratch of a key in the door, an incredibly beautiful woman came running in, all out of breath†¦ ‘How do you do,' she said in a slightly husky voice, still panting, with a smile. ‘I'm Yuichi's mother. My name is Eriko. ‘ This was his mother? Dumbfounded, I couldn't take my eyes off her.Hair that rustled like silk to her shoulders; the deep sparkle of her long, narrow eyes; well-formed lips, a nose with a high, straight bridge– the whole of her gave off a marvelous light that seemed to vibrate with life force. She didn't look human. † Here we see a small example of â€Å"magical realism†. This is the writing style where most of the writing is about a very realistic, but there is a small part of the supernatural that takes part. In Kitchen, the supernatural part of the world that Mikage lives in is the light. There are many references to light that radiates off of people or objects.Before Mikage is even close with Eriko she can still see the light that radiates off of Eriko. This light represents the miraculous forces that are in life. Though Mikage, and later Yuichi, can't see them due to the loss of their loved ones, the light shows them the things that are important. Another aspect of this scene is Eriko's extraordinary beauty. Unlike Mikage or Eriko's wife, Eriko is not plain. She is flashy and showy even to the point of appearing inhuman. Her beauty is what captivates people, including Mikage. Sadly her beauty also leads to her death.This inhuman appearance brings everybody closer to her, whether intentional or not. Although it helps when it comes to including Mikage into her family, it also isolates Eriko from the outside world. These things were all wh at drew Mikage to Eriko as well as the family she formed with her, Eriko and Yuichi. This first meeting with Eriko was the moment when Mikage could no longer protest living with them and met the next light she would live her life for. Because of Eriko, Mikage was able to live continue her life and move forward after her grandmother's death.

A case study of a dying monopoly The WritePass Journal

A case study of a dying monopoly Abstract A case study of a dying monopoly ). To this end, there is mandatory Russian stipulations that force Gazprom to share their pipline with other providers,   in an attempt to provide a balanced and inclusive business format. Studies suggest that this practice of resource sharing is heavily dominated by the Gazprom Company denying many legitimate requests (Kupchinsky 2013).   This argument highlights the difficulty internal competition has faced in the Gazprom monopoly. The unrestricted use of resources allowed Gazprom to leverage their initial state sanctioned domination of the regional oil industry into a full-fledged monopoly following the transition to the Russian state (Kupchinsky 2013). The Kremlin disputes the existence of a monopoly and it is common for the government to make use of Gazprom as a weapon of sorts (Macey 2013). This fact has spawned the modern opposition to any benefit to the company. The combination of political leverage, infrastructure control and raw power has allowed the company to monopoli ze the Russian Market (Tsygankova 2012). The continued operation of this monopoly has been a benefit as a stabilizing force in Russian development (Macey 2013).   Others argue that this single power has inhibited true development and has instead crippled the entire regional industry (Kupchinsky 2013). 3. Modern Environment Tucker (2013) argues that the emergence of unconventional energy sources is weakening the hold that Gazprom has had over their traditional consumers.   This view illustrates the move away from the few energy mega suppliers, towards a more regionally sufficient international world. Others cite the lack of adaptability in the decline of Gazprom’s market presence (Krauthamer, Caloianu, Tsintsadze and Boissevain 2012). This speaks more to the out dated mode of management and innovation as factors for the weakness perceived in the modern Gazprom establishment.   Areas such as Shale Gas are increasing the capacity of countries including China and the United States to offset the power of the Russian company (Cohen 2012).   The increase in alternatives hastens the break up in the Gazprom monopoly in a very real manner. Others give Gazprom the opportunity to avail themselves of emerging technology to extend their current position in the market (Krauthamer et al 2012). Competition both at home and abroad are another factor that is causing Gazprom to be perceived as weak (Locatelli 2013). The basic competitive nature of the Russian economy has emerged as regional competitors appear, taking critical consumer resources away from Gazprom. However, others cite the political needs of the government to encourage innovation, as the primary reason behind Gazproms decline (Ibid).   An example of the regional issues is illustrated in the fact that rival Russian gas producers have begun to actively take market share away from Gazprom (Lunden, Fjaertoft, Overland and Prachakova 2013). Unheard of less than a decade ago, this action from within Russia is a symptom of the decay of the Gazprom model. International issues are credited with further weakening the company assets in the form of antitrust suits brought by the European Commission (Kupchinsky 2013). With active legal ramifications, the day to day business has been adversely impacted, making the necessary adaptations to the international market hard to maintain. A conclusion of guilt in the antitrust case would bring about a serious change to the entire European Union’s competitive marketplace, further fracturing the Gazprom monopoly (Sartori 2012). Swinn (2013) argues that the primary attacks on the Gazprom monopoly are due to the recognition of alternatives to producing profit in the energy sector. The need to increase the amount of revenue in the region is said to require a recalibration of former institutions.   Others cite politics as the element that is considered a primary component of the dissolution of Gazprom (Shadrina and Bradshaw 2013).   In a   further blow to the once iron clad Gazprom monopoly the Russian government has reached out to other nations in order to enhance energy cooperation which in turn is aimed at improving and reducing cost. Alongside these external political concerns, still others argue that it is the current trend of institutional reform inside of Russia that is Gazprom’s largest antagonist (Belyi 2103).   In every case, it the consensus that change and transition is needed in order to meet the requirements of the next generation. 4. Future Implications The overall position of perceived deterioration within the Gazprom model is evident from the emerging pattern of regulatory, consumer, market and regional competition (Adam and Alexander 2013).   Many separate issues confront the company, with a majority of the evidence seeking the fundamental dissolution of the Gazprom entity. There is no single factor that can be credited with weakening the company to the state that it is currently (Anni 2013). It is the combination of multiple factors that range from internal regional concerns, to widespread technological advances that are serving to outdate their current business model. 5. Conclusion Mega energy concerns are swiftly becoming icons of a past age. Gazprom, once a state run entity turned international powerhouse has been impacted by the evolution of technology and lack of internal adaptation. Despite their well-developed supply chain, both upstream and downstream, the inability to adapt to the needs of the modern market are allowing competitors to close the distance between them. Factors that include new forms of energy that Gazprom is unprepared to dominate, to political change, to emerging internal and external competitors that are actively undermining their market share have eroded the perceived invulnerable monopoly once held by the company. In the end, as with all things, the market is calling for a transition to a more efficient business model in order to sustain operations.   As Gazprom is demonstrating, the decline of mega monopolies allows competitors the potential to guide the next generation of Russian energy. 4. References Belyi, A. 2013. Institutional trends in Russia’s oil and gas sectors.  The Journal of World Energy Law \ Business, 6 (3), pp. 163178. Bos, M. 2012. GAZPROM: RUSSIA’S NATIONALIZED POLITICAL WEAPON AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION. Cardais, S., Silady, A. and Er. 2013. Around the Bloc: EU Goes After Gazprom, Bailout Looms Amid Slovenian Political Row.  Transitions Online, (10/08). Cohen, A. 2012. The Rise of Shale Gas and LNG and its Impact on Europe and Russia. 7 p. 2012. Krauthamer, K., Caloianu, I., Tsintsadze, N. and Boissevain, J. 2012. Around the Bloc: Ukraine Opposition Flexes Muscles, Putin Unveils Friendly Human Rights Council.  Transitions Online, (11/20). Kupchinsky, R. 2013. Russia: Gazprom A troubled Giant.  Radio Free Europe, 11 (1), pp. 1-3. Locatelli, C. 2013. The Russian gas industry: challenges to theGazprom model. Lunden, L., Fjaertoft, D., Overl and Prachakova, A. 2013. Gazprom vs. other Russian gas producers: The evolution of the Russian gas sector.  Energy Policy, 61 pp. 663670. R\Oe, A. 2013. European Commission\ s Antitrust Investigation against Gazprom-Implications for the Energy Security of Russia and the European Union. Sartori, N. 2013. The European Commission vs. Gazprom: An Issue of Fair Competition or a Foreign Policy Quarrel?. Shadrina, E. and Bradshaw, M. 2013. Russias energy governance transitions and implications for enhanced cooperation with China, Japan, and South Korea.  Post-Soviet Affairs, (ahead-of-print), pp. 139. Swinn, E. 2013. POLITICS OR PROFITS? GAZPROM, THE KREMLIN, AND RUSSIAN ENERGY POLICY. Tsygankova, M. 2012. An evaluation of alternative scenarios for the Gazprom monopoly of Russian gas exports.  Energy Economics, 34 (1), pp. 153161. Tucker, A. 2012. The New Power Map.  Foreign Affairs, 19. Zhavoronkov, S. 2013. The Political and Economic Results of February 2013.  Journal of Russian Economic Developments, (3), pp. 58.

History of Hong Kongs Martial Arts Action Films Essays

History of Hong Kongs Martial Arts Action Films Essays History of Hong Kongs Martial Arts Action Films Paper History of Hong Kongs Martial Arts Action Films Paper Films from Hong Kong consist of many different genres however they are best known for their martial arts action films. The history of this genre is rocky with much confrontation growing into what is now so wildly accepted that Hollywood has grown a large appetite for Kung Fu action films. Starting back in 1924 in Shanghai, Tan Sri Runme Shaw began a film company known as Unique Film Productions where they produced many silent films. Silent films being both the first movies presented in Malaya and the most practical for they could be understood by many dialect groups in Singapore at that time, making these silent films an instant success with the masses (Shaw. com). With hopes of expanding the market, Shaw decided to move his business to Hong Kong to produce quality Chinese movies in 1959. This Shaw organization quickly gained the name Shaw Brothers as they began to dominate the film industry in Hong Kong. Similar to Hollywood at that time, the Shaw Brothers ran the studio on what is known as the star system and mass production. Top Chinese investors were eager to pour money into the company allowing the brothers to develop extensive studio facilities for post production including a colour laboratory to ensure consistent quality control (shaw. com). There was no match to the Shaw brothers flourishing business, quickly becoming the largest privately owned studio in the world. Until the Shaw Brothers a typical Hong Kong budget was around $800 HK dollars or less, while the Shaws films were extreme with budgets up to $50,000. By the 1970s their studios established itself as the best known and most successful movie producer in Hong Kong, producing over 40 films a year the output terms even rivaled with major Hollywood Studios. Raymond Chow, a top executive with Shaw Brothers decided he wished to explore his own options and left Shaw Studios and with Leonard Ho formed the company Golden Harvest Studios. Golden Harvest took chances on independent producers and crew. Chow knew it would take something really big to make the film world take notice and he was willing to try out new talent for a change (page 165). Golden Harvest studios didnt have to wait that long for success, in 1971 an already popular US Born Chinese cult figure was causing a buzz in the TV series circuit. Chow picked up on him quickly. This man was quickly signed to Golden Harvest which later introduced us to him as Little Dragon, or better known today as Bruce Lee. This was the break Golden Harvest needed, not to mention the action film genre. Bruce Lees first movie The Big Boss showed China a different type of hero, harder, faster, a more exciting kind of martial arts fighting (Yang, 145). At this time all other martial arts action films (which would have been mainly produced by the Shaw Brothers) were stiff combat of swordsmen films. The formula for these action flicks were growing old on the audiences and Lees films appeared to be excitingly different. The Big Boss was reflective of chinas street dealings. Bruce as the hero was not of the stereotypical martial arts hero, which would be a noble, stoic man in search for honourable revenge, Lees character was a street fighter, a juvenile delinquent who was a character the audience could relate to even with his deadly skillzzzzz. This breakthrough performance took Golden Harvest from an independent company to a contender against the infamous Shaw Brothers. Bruce lee had turned the Hong Kong movie Industry into Havoc, every independent film company searched for a Bruce Lee equivalent. The Shaw Brothers were almost a monopoly with the biggest actors, biggest directors, not to mention spending the most money on each film. But with Bruce Lee on the scene the giant had stumbled when they had lost Lee to Golden Harvest. His films had set the standard that everyone else wanted to follow in Kung Fu films. Jackie Chan, a fan and coworker to Bruce Lee in his early days believed Bruces movies are like seeds that never had the chance to sprout (Yang page 99). Lees last film Enter the Dragon was the first co-production between American and Hong Kong film studios. The film proved to be an international Hit, famous for its stunning martial art action sequences. When Lee tragically passed away at the age of 32 on July 20th, 1973 the Hong Kong action cinema was faced with a staleness that grew overwhelming. Bruce Lee died, People were not watching action films anymore, and they were turning to melodramas, romances, comedies, anything that did not appear to be a mockery of Bruce Lees genius. His death not only hurt Golden Harvest but the martial arts action industry as a whole. With Martial arts movies being less popular this meant most people in this field were out of work, especially stuntmen such as the now famous Jackie Chan. These stuntmen almost all shared a similar background in Chinese Opera, which is much different than Westernized Opera that we may be used too. It was here they would learn how to sing, fight and perform acrobatics. Many had no other qualifications for jobs besides stunts in action films, and work was becoming extremely scarce. With the major kung fu studios trying to find a replacement for Bruce Lee, everyone was forgetting the option of reinventing the martial arts movie. Jackie Chan wanted desperately to bring humor and humanity to a genre that seemed to have lost its sense of both (Yang pg 220). With several failed attempts Chan was giving the opportunity to have more creative freedom with the movie Half a Loaf of Kung Fu, which was the first real attempt of a martial arts parody movie. Chans producer who thought it was a flop put it in the vault with hopes never to release it. Jackie Chan was giving another chance, this time he incorporated a new style of Kung fu which he had invented called Cats Claw kung fu, involving him leaping around making meowing noises. Although not a real kung fu style, the acrobatics and tumbling that were incorporated looked amazing on camera, the fight was considered to be just as exciting as Bruce Lees battles yet completely unique in look, feel and tone (Yang pg 221). When Seasonal Films (an off branch that had started from Shaw Brother Films) had finished the production, they realized that the finished film was different from any kung fu movie ever made. The film was Snake in Eagles Shadow which turned out to be a blockbuster hit, during its time it had become the biggest film in the history of Hong Kong, bigger than any of Bruce Lees films. His next film proved himself not to be a fluke; Drunken Master had been an even bigger hit than Shake in Eagles Shadow. In Drunken Master his team of stuntmen had created a whole new set of kung fu styles, called Eight Drunken Gods martial arts, and based on the drunken style kung fu that Wong Fei Hung was supposed to have practiced as his secret weapon. With these martial arts techniques they added wild acrobatics, street brawling, slapstick antics, comic mime, and even real drama (Yang pg 222). Actors such as Jackie Chan were not getting remotely comparable wages to Hollywood. Even after Chans success he was still receiving according to his strict contract $3,000(HK currency) when he was being offered 2. 7 Million dollars to sign with the now international production company Golden Harvest. Due to the Shaw Brothers control over the entertainment industry, there was the creation of Triads a group of Hong Kong gangsters who have been a part of the Hong Kong performing arts since the turn of the Century. Since many early film stars come from the opera, there was always a tie between the triads and the movies. The biggest fault can be laid at the feet of the Shaw Brothers, which basically controlled the movie industry until the rise of Golden Harvest. Shaw Brothers with their domination were able to pay slave like wages to its employees, even the major stars of China, got almost nothing to compensate. To survive, several actors and stuntmen turned to the triads, acting as small time muscle men to get money they werent getting as actors (Yang, 184). Jackie Chan found himself to be one of the many actors who were threatened by this mob into accepting an unacceptable contract with his past employer who was jealous of Chans success. These situations caused much of the Hong Kong talent to move to Hollywood where they would receive less threats, more money and world wide recognition. Hong Kong has been the second largest exporter of movies to North America, Europe and Pacific Rim countries in recent years with more than 200 films mostly action genre being churned out by a place with a population less than the size of New York City (alkdfjalkdjflaksjdf). With major Hong Kong talent moving to the United States, Chinas ticket sales have dropped from 45 million which once stood in 1989, down to 25 million as of last year, a downward trend which has been said to show no sign of slowing. Directors such as John Woo and Woo Ping who had made themselves famous while working in China, have become Hollywoods secret choreography and action scene weapons. In 1978, Woo Ping changed the direction of Kung Fu films in Hong Kong when he directed Jackie Chans Snake in the Eagles Shadow followed by Drunken Master films that are said to have saved Martial Arts action films. While John Woo left Hong Kong for Hollywood around seven years ago believing the industry slump is a result of hand over fears. John Woo is known now internationally for his stunning choreography in action scenes. Now a days not only the talent is expanding internationally but so is Studios such as Golden Harvest group, the studio that launched the careers of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and John Woo and began the Kung Fu style of the 1970s cinema is now leaving Hong Kong. They are in the process of finding a new site that may take it outside of Hong Kong. The Government of China has been trying to prevent the deterioration of this industry by grants to local film industry, up to 100 million Hong Kong dollars. What once was the worlds third largest film producer, behind the United States and India has now been cut to one third of its previous level because of the Asian Financial crisis. With the decline in quality films thanks to the departure of Hong Kong film makers and stars you have to wonder if China will be able to reestablish itself again in such a money absorbed industry.

You Need to Check Out These 20 Top Christian Colleges

You Need to Check Out These 20 Top Christian Colleges SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’re a religious Christian, you may want to consider attending a Christian college. Your quality of life could be better at a school where a majority of the students and faculty members share your values and beliefs. Additionally, Christian colleges often incorporate their Christianity into their missions and curricula. In this article, I’ll provide you with a ranking list of the 20 best Christian colleges in the United States. Furthermore, I’ll offer you possible benefits and disadvantages of attending a top Christian college and explain how to research and find Christian colleges that could be a good fit for you. What Is a Christian College? Christian colleges are private colleges that identify as having a Christian affiliation. Keep in mind that some colleges were founded as Christian colleges but now consider themselves nonsectarian or independent. Also, some people separate Catholic colleges from colleges of other Christian denominations. In my rankings of the best Christian colleges, I considered Catholic colleges and colleges of all other Christian denominations. Most Christian colleges integrate Christianity into the classroom, extracurricular activities, and the campus environment, but they do so to varying degrees. While Christian colleges tend to have religious-themed programs and majors, most Christian colleges also offer traditional and secular classes and majors. Furthermore, many Christian colleges have a substantial number of non-Christian students. What Makes a Christian College Great? For the purposes of this article, the criteria that make a Christian college great are the same as those that make any college great.A great college should provide you with a good quality of life, a challenging yet supportive academic environment, and ample future opportunities. For my rankings, I disregarded how Christianity is infused into the campus life or education at the college. I didn't think the role of Christianity at the school affected the quality of the college, but it's important to note that many of these colleges vary significantly in the role Christianity plays on campus and in the classroom. If you're interested in attending a Christian college, you should consider the role Christianity plays at the college. Are you going to have to take classes about Christianity? Does the school have a strict code of conduct that coincides with its Christian values? What is the school’s church affiliation? Are the majority of students practicing Christians? You should go to the school that best fits your needs and preferences. The TopChristian Colleges To calculate my rankings of the best Christian colleges, I averaged the US News and Forbes rankings for each school. Arguably, US News and Forbes have the most reputable college ranking lists. Collectively, they factor academic reputation, graduation rate, freshman retention rate, selectivity, average alumni salary, and a host of other factors into their rankings. Because US News separates schools into different categories, I used the National University ranking or National Liberal Arts College ranking for each school. I didn't consider good Christian colleges like Villanova and Santa Clarathat US News classifies as Regional Universities or Colleges because they're only ranked against schools in their regions in the US News rankings. They don't have a US News national ranking. Keep in mind that a few of these colleges are only loosely affiliated with Christianity. For example, Davidson College and Kenyon College have official church affiliations, but both campuses offer more secular environments and have more students of different faiths than some of the other colleges on this list. On the other hand, Notre Dame, BYU, Wheaton (IL), and Pepperdine have some of the most religious students in the country. Without further ado, here's my list of the top 20 Christian colleges. I put the liberal arts colleges in bold. School US News Ranking Forbes Ranking Average Ranking Acceptance Rate 1. University of Notre Dame 18 13 15.5 22% 2. Davidson College 9 31 20 26% 3. Georgetown University 21 23 22 17% 4. Boston College 30 37 33.5 32% 5. Kenyon College 25 48 36.5 38% 6. College of the Holy Cross 32 55 43.5 33% 7. Macalester College 23 67 45 34% 8. Emory University 21 79 50 26% 9. Trinity College (CT) 43 81 62 34% 10. Sewanee: The University of the South 48 84 66 60% 11. Centre College 45 89 67 69% 12. Wheaton College (IL) 57 86 71.5 69% 13. Rhodes College 51 98 74.5 58% 14. St. Olaf College 51 106 78.5 59% 15. Furman University 51 110 80.5 64% 16. Southern Methodist University 61 108 84.5 51% 17. Brigham Young University 66 104 85 49% 18. Pepperdine University 52 128 90 37% 19. Wheaton College (MA) 67 171 119 67% 20. Marquette University 86 157 121.5 57% How Should You Use This List? If you want to go to a well-regarded Christian college, you should research the colleges on this list that interest you to determine if they’re schools you should apply to or attend. There are many factors to help determine if a college is a good fit for you including location, selectivity, support services, and the majors offered. Look at the school’s website, and use guidebooks, college finders, search websites, and other ranking lists to help you in the college selection process. If possible, consult with teachers, counselors, parents, current students, and alumni. What Are the Benefits of Going to a Christian College? Generally, public or nonsectarian colleges have a significant representation of secular and liberal students. At the more liberal colleges, you may find some hostility toward organized religion. However, if you're Christian and attend a Christian college, you're unlikely to find as much animosity toward Christianity, and you'll be able to share your faith with a greater percentage of your fellow students and professors. Additionally, if you're a religious Christian, a Christian college may be more likely to reflect your values and beliefs. At many Christian colleges, Christianity informs the views and mission professed by the college. You may feel more comfortable at a place that emphasizesyour ideals. Furthermore, Christian colleges tend to offer more opportunities to study and engage in Christianity. Christian colleges usually have more classes and majors focused on learning about Christianity. At Abilene Christian University in Texas, there is a separate College of Biblical Studies. If you want to explore your Christian faith more deeply, there may be no better place to do so than at a Christian college. Why Should You Consider a Secular College? Even if you're a religious Christian, you may benefit from attending a secular college. Ideally, you should learn from your peers and professors in college, and you may solidify or alter your views by being exposed to diverse opinions and religious beliefs. A secular college can offer you a more heterogeneous environment. Additionally, almost all secular colleges still have Christian student groups and offer religious services for Christian students. If it's important to you to actively participate in Christianity while you're in college, you can research the student organizations and religious life on a college's website. Most likely, you'll find numerous opportunities to engage with other Christian students and practice your faith, regardless of whether you attend a Christian or secular college. In general, Christian colleges are more strict and conservative than secular colleges. If you're Christian but more liberal or less willing to abide by the stricter rules at a Christian college, then you may be happier attending a secular school. Finally, Christian colleges are all private colleges. If you want to take advantage of the opportunities available at larger public universities, you should consider a secular college. If you're worried that you may not qualify for need-based financial aid, but you're concerned about college costs and minimizing your debt after you graduate, public state universities can be a good option because they tend to have lower tuition rates, especially for in-state residents. You may be able to save money by going to a secular school. What Should You Do if You Want to Find or Research Other Christian Colleges? Remember that rankings are somewhat subjective, and even though the schools on the above list may be the most well-regarded Christian schools, it's most important to find the college that's the best fit for you. If you want to find other Christian colleges that didn't make the list, you can use a couple of the better college finders to assist you. On Big Future, you can search for schools using many different search categories, including religious affiliation. Big Future provides extensive information, like application deadlines, average GPA and SAT scores, and the majors offered for each school. On College View, you can search for Christian colleges, or you can search for schools based on their specific church affiliation. Additionally, there are over 20 other search categories to help narrow your college search. Finally, you can research members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. There are 180 total members. You can search members by location or denominational affiliation. If you click on a result, you'll be sent to the college's website. What's Next? If you're getting ready to apply to college, check out this post about everything you need to know about the college essay. Also, you'll want to learn about the important application deadlines you can't miss. Lastly, find out how to write about extracurricular activities on your college applications. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Free Trade Agreement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Free Trade Agreement - Essay Example It brings prosperity. However it may be a disadvantage for protected industries which are at a comparative disadvantage (Anderson, 22, 1997). Governments worldwide are considering setting up free trade areas which they believe will open markets and improve the standard of living of their people. However there has been some opposition for the establishment of free trade areas also. Some people say that it would be disastrous for the trade and stability of smaller countries (Daniells, 54, 2005). Free Trade areas open up markets and eliminate tariffs. However this would be disastrous for small countries since their industries and agricultural products would not be able to compete with the corporate goods of powerful countries. Foreign agricultural imports would destroy a small country's agriculture. The country would be dependant on imports to survive and feed its population. Small countries have been reluctant to join free trade areas because of concerns that their small industrial bases would be unable to compete with corporations of powerful and industrialized countries (Anderson, 22, 1997). According to economists free trade areas have short impacts on member states as they adjust their production and consumption according to falling trade barriers. They also initialize improved specialization of resources and create more opportunities for exchange within the region (Frumkin, 71, 2000).This allows consumers to benefit from lower prices. Production is also increased due to reallocation of resources according to the comparative advantage. Free trade areas also cause transitional costs as companies begin to reallocate their activities which can cause short term unemployment (Esser, 65, 1999). Free Trade areas also cause long term impact on economic growth as economies grow in scale and scope (McInnis, 61, 1995). Competition increases between companies. There is also an increase in technology and investment. Companies expand their activities in the greater market. It also causes innovation and efficiency in companies. A free trade area also causes greater dependence of economies. This can cause some vulnerability and instability in a trading partner. But the trading partner also benefits from multiple links with the better performing trading partner (Esser, 65, 1999). There are other difficulties in the establishment of free trade areas. Countries with different political, legal, social and economic systems will have difficulty if trade and investment are opened between them (Walford, 51, 2005). This also can create larger transition costs. Free trade area however helps to remove barriers which prevent trade between nations, hinder production and breed corruption. A free trade area can help in reducing corruption in developing countries. They also help in promoting trade and investment. They can also help in developing the infrastructure of poor countries (Webb, 54, 2005). China has been pushing for the establishment of a free trade area in Asia and the world despite being a developing country (Ackroyd, 34, 1997). It has participated in numerous talks and negotiations. China currently has an agreement with ASEAN. It is also negotiating with Australia and New Zealand for the establishment of a FTA. Further talks have been conducted with Japan and South Korea. These three

The importance of addressing corrections to a group of students Essay

The importance of addressing corrections to a group of students quickly and in a matter-of-fact fashion - Essay Example One of the main features of the good pedagogical procedures is giving feedback to the students. The teacher has to create an environment conducive to offering feedback. The class should be interactive and the teacher should encourage questioning from students. Good pedagogical measures deals in correcting the faults of the students. When faced with a big class the teacher can employ different tactics to deal in correctional methods. One of the most effective ways is to do daily reviews. This requires solving problems by recollecting the teachings of the previous class. The problems, if any, regarding the previous lessons are solved. Another effective way is providing homework lessons. Through the homework lessons, the problems regarding understanding can be solved. Class participation from the students can solve the problems regarding the lessons. The main motive for feedback strategies is to make the students understand the lesson and correct the deficiencies if any. (Teaching functions, n.d. pp 3-4) Reteaching: Reteaching is the process of teaching the lesson repetatively. The process is applied when the students do not get the essence of the lesson and there is room for improvement. With the help of the process the teachers can assure that, the student understands the lesson well. Improvement of instruction: Students may not be comfortable with the mode of instruction and this could hamper the understanding. Therefore, it is the duty of the teachers to understand the problem and employ techniques to improve the mode of instruction. Co-operative learning: Co-operation among the class is very important for the correctional measures of the students. The students should be divided in groups and activities relating to the lesson should be encouraged. Working in groups can help the students to overcome deficiencies in a particular area. (Miller, 11th February, 2009) Whole class

Program Evaluation Design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Program Evaluation Design - Assignment Example onvert it’s mission and vision into reality by increasing the awareness about pancreatic cancer, concentrating on advanced research, obtaining sustained support from government, supporting the patients with pancreatic cancers and their families. The organization propagates the feel that everyone should fight and end pancreatic cancer. This program evaluation design follows a descriptive study design. According to an article Project Star (2006), descriptive study design enables to find out whether the chosen program is operating as planned, it provides feedback about the program implementation and progress, find out whether the program is producing the desired output, find out whether the goals and objectives have been achieved. Hence this report intends to adopt descriptive evaluation design to evaluate the community outreach program of the chosen non profit organization. The stakeholders responsible for the success of this organization are the volunteers, healthcare professionals, researchers, survivors and donors. By their active involvement, these people are creating a difference in the community of pancreatic cancer. According to the official website of this organization, â€Å"the majority of cancer research is paid for by the federal government and that †¦ U.S. Senators and Representatives get to decide how much is spent each year† (www.pancan.org). The major corporate stakeholders are Z Gallerie, Tempur Pedic and Hockey. Apart from these there are 75 other affiliates who assist in the initiatives of the organization and it’s community outreach program. The organization also undertakes efforts to increase federal research funding through advocacy efforts in National Cancer Institute and in Washington. The community outreach program has been the most active program of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network organization. According to an article in the official website, â€Å"The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network started as a small volunteer effort to

FAMILY HISTORY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

FAMILY HISTORY - Essay Example In a well-documented case of Hawkins versus Town of Shaw, the town was alleged to have contributed towards racial discrimination, particularly against the African Americans. The main argument was led by the grounds regarding municipal services in African American dominated neighborhoods (Ellington and Jones, 1971). On average, African Americans households had low access to water sewers as compared to their White town-dwellers. Also, African Americans were deliberately settled in areas with low water pressure which reduced the volume of water for their usage. As the case progressed in court, the city showed signs of unrest as African Americans endeavored to acquire equal municipal services as opposed to their current inferior water system. Tensions in the town heightened later that year. The Hawkins versus Town of Shaw had already brought the small town into the limelight. Only a year later, my great-great-great grandfather and grandmother – named Willie and Hattie Sanders – moved out from the town travelling a distance of more than 650 miles to make it to Chicago. They sought to find peace in a larger city like Chicago and their move was mainly motivated by an attempt to escape from the trouble spot. Chicago being a comparatively larger city was relatively peaceful and provided greater job opportunities for my ancestors. They ultimately found a job, bought a home, and settled in the city to allow their coming generations to thrive in the city. Since then the family has settled quite well in Chicago that out family identifies with the city though it also remembers where it came from. I am often told by my uncle that diabetes runs in our family. My great grandfather and grandfather died of diabetes and a few years ago my uncle was diagnosed with diabetes. All of them had Type II diabetes which is characterized by a hereditary factor. The fact that my uncle has also been diagnosed with diabetes, even though he is in his mid-30s, points towards the genetic

Competitive Strategy in Lighthouse Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Competitive Strategy in Lighthouse - Article Example The analyses highlighted that the hybrid competitive strategy was the most appropriate strategy to follow, and recommendations were made to work closely with other key players in the industry if it was to become a dominant force. Lighthouse is a mobile phone marketing company that seeks to address the needs of advertisers seeking to increase their response rates in the ever more lucrative yet increasingly more competitive task of customer acquisition and retention. Lighthouse will enable subscribers in the region to access government services, maps, directions, tourist attractions and tips, restaurants, museums, entertainment events, news and stock prices from their wireless devices. This enables the local population and tourists alike to utilize technology to enhance the service needs. This technology is also particularly beneficial to the local population, as ownership of devices such as personal computers is low but that of mobile devices is high. This means that the services which the internet offers to other parts of the world are not easily accessible or widely available in the UAE. By providing this service on a mobile device, Lighthouse is making the internet available in the first instance, and it i s removing the need to go to a fixed location to access this information. Lighthouse's target market is primarily based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which is considered to have a customer base of 10-15% of the 4.5 million local mobile users. In addition to this, the UAE is a popular tourist destination with approximately 7 million tourists annually, who represent a potential market, especially for tourist related services (Business Plan - appendix I). Therefore the objectives of Lighthouse are to build a platform that enables better response rates to their marketing campaigns, to create a management system and secure funding to expand the business. It is clear that Lighthouse intend to be a dominant force in the market, but in order to do this, it is necessary to conduct a full environmental analysis, so as to determine their options for growth and expansion. External Analysis of Lighthouse An analysis of the external environment helps an organization to understand the environment they currently operate in and how it can change (Johnson and Scholes 1993). An understanding of the environment enables an organization to develop strategies that will ensure their survival within the market place. For instance, Lighthouse is going to clearly take advantage of the tourist numbers; however they also need to consider current external factors that will contribute to the reduction of tourist numbers and subscribers. Likewise, Lighthouse is also capitalizing on the low distribution of personal computers for internet access, another factor which could change in the near future. An analysis of the external environmental is known as a PESTLE analysis and this involves analyzing the political, economic and competitive, social and cultural, technological, legal and environmental/institutional factors that affect an organization (Johnson and Scho

Are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions Essay

Are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions Theory of Knowledge - Essay Example 2006). The fact about reason and emotion being the same, there have been various questions involving the nature of the two concepts, one pertinent being "are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions" Only a meticulously analyzed study and discussion of the question may find an exact answer to this. Therefore, the most focal thrust of this discussion has been the question in the backdrop of the issues of abortion and ethnic cleansing. Abortion which is "the removal of a fetus from the body of its host (a pregnant woman) which typically results in the death of the fetus" (What is abortion 2004) and ethnic cleansing, "the attempt to create ethnically homogeneous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups," (Ethnic Cleansing. 2008) are the most obvious present issues which magnetize our rational and emotional deliberation of the issues in arriving at moral decisions. Consequently, in this discussion, we try to find out the magnitude of both the philosophical concepts in our moral decisions. "Everything human is part emotion and part reason All domains of knowledge lie somewhere between these two end points; with music being the end of the line at emotion and mathematics being at the end of the line at reason" (Human Essence is Pattern! 2006). A comprehensive analysis of the issues of abortion and ethnic cleansing clarifies why emotion gives you musical effect and reason mathematical. On the one hand, these issues are to be looked at and comprehended on the basis of emotion so as to side with the suffering, the affected, and the neglected. It is necessary to see things in this direction so that the moral considerations are given due attention. When we discuss the consequences of abortion and ethnic cleansing, we need to identify the moral factors that make the people miserable and victimized. In this sense, emotion has a wider relevance and scope in moral issues concerning humanity. As the Bhagavad Gita establishes, it "has the advantage of being open to all, the weak and the lowly, the illiterate and the scholar. It is seen to be as efficacious as any other method and is sometimes said to be stronger than the others, since it is its own fruition, while other methods are means to some other ends" (Diploma Program, Theory of knowledge Guide. 2008). However, on the other hand, moral decisions cannot always be arrived at by considering emotion alone as it would be a thoughtful activity. The basic characteristic of human beings, as may be by far identified, is that they are rational beings and therefore we need to use our reason as well as emotion in taking moral conclusions. "David Hume wrote that reason is a "slave to the emotions." But new research suggests that in our moral decision-making, reason and emotion duke it out within the mind" (Shea 2006). For a better understanding of the concepts, let us consider the issues of abortion and ethnic clearance and analyze the role of emotion and reason in arriving at the right moral conclusions. First we will examine the role of emotion and reason in making a moral decision on the significant and often discussed issue of abortion. Abortion is a topic of common discussions and most

Competitive Strategy in Lighthouse Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Competitive Strategy in Lighthouse - Article Example The analyses highlighted that the hybrid competitive strategy was the most appropriate strategy to follow, and recommendations were made to work closely with other key players in the industry if it was to become a dominant force. Lighthouse is a mobile phone marketing company that seeks to address the needs of advertisers seeking to increase their response rates in the ever more lucrative yet increasingly more competitive task of customer acquisition and retention. Lighthouse will enable subscribers in the region to access government services, maps, directions, tourist attractions and tips, restaurants, museums, entertainment events, news and stock prices from their wireless devices. This enables the local population and tourists alike to utilize technology to enhance the service needs. This technology is also particularly beneficial to the local population, as ownership of devices such as personal computers is low but that of mobile devices is high. This means that the services which the internet offers to other parts of the world are not easily accessible or widely available in the UAE. By providing this service on a mobile device, Lighthouse is making the internet available in the first instance, and it i s removing the need to go to a fixed location to access this information. Lighthouse's target market is primarily based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which is considered to have a customer base of 10-15% of the 4.5 million local mobile users. In addition to this, the UAE is a popular tourist destination with approximately 7 million tourists annually, who represent a potential market, especially for tourist related services (Business Plan - appendix I). Therefore the objectives of Lighthouse are to build a platform that enables better response rates to their marketing campaigns, to create a management system and secure funding to expand the business. It is clear that Lighthouse intend to be a dominant force in the market, but in order to do this, it is necessary to conduct a full environmental analysis, so as to determine their options for growth and expansion. External Analysis of Lighthouse An analysis of the external environment helps an organization to understand the environment they currently operate in and how it can change (Johnson and Scholes 1993). An understanding of the environment enables an organization to develop strategies that will ensure their survival within the market place. For instance, Lighthouse is going to clearly take advantage of the tourist numbers; however they also need to consider current external factors that will contribute to the reduction of tourist numbers and subscribers. Likewise, Lighthouse is also capitalizing on the low distribution of personal computers for internet access, another factor which could change in the near future. An analysis of the external environmental is known as a PESTLE analysis and this involves analyzing the political, economic and competitive, social and cultural, technological, legal and environmental/institutional factors that affect an organization (Johnson and Scho

Two Gentlemen of Verona and Why Is Sylvia Essay Example for Free

Two Gentlemen of Verona and Why Is Sylvia Essay Both poems are written by William Shakespeare. They originate from two different sources. One is part of a play, Two Gentlemen of Verona. The other is a poem found in a bundle with various other poems written by Shakespeare. The poems have the same theme, as love and infatuation are the main topics. Their purpose is to portray a person in such a way that the reader can visualize the topic and enter into the writer’s experience. The song ‘Why is Sylvia’ is organized into three five-line stanzas. Each of the stanzas uses the rhyme scheme of ABABA within. While you might, at a glance, note the ‘-ings’ in all five lines of the third stanza. The A lines are a simple ‘-ing’, while the B lines are ‘-elling’ endings. ‘Sonnet 130’ is not divided into stanzas, but still uses the rhyme scheme of ABAB. Although, not entirely throughout the poem. The last two sentences rhyme and therefore do not follow the rhyme scheme. ‘Sonnet 130’ is written in the first person. This is quite logical, because the writer describes his own lover. In this way, you get to know his personal feelings from his own perspective. ‘Who is Sylvia’ is not written in the first person. It is written in the third person. The writer discusses the characteristics of Sylvia. He constantly uses the words ‘she’ or ‘Sylvia’. The tone set in the poem, which is admiring and weighing, is created to let the reader wonder about all the characteristics of Sylvia. Shakespeare has a positive view on Sylvia, but still he has a doubtful edge. ‘Sonnet 130’ starts with an unexpected tone. He emphasizes all her imperfections. Although, he ends his poem with a comment showing he loves her despite everything. ‘Who is Sylvia’ was written during the Renaissance. The writing during the Renaissance had typical influences of the author’s personal life. Therefore, we could conclude that ‘Who is Sylvia’ could be based on his own experiences. In most poems with a theme including love has references to the perfection of his or her loved one. In ‘Sonnet 130’, these references to such objects of perfection are indeed present, but they are there to illustrate that his lover is not as beautiful. In every line he makes a comparison, mostly by using metaphors, of his lover to something seen perfect in his eyes. â€Å"Coral is far more red than her lips red†, â€Å"If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head† and â€Å"And in some perfumes is there more delight than in the breath that from my mistress reeks†. He says that her lips are not red enough and that even coral is a brighter red than her lips. If hairs would be wires, hers would be black and not golden. Furthermore, he tells us that her breath is not as pleasant as he would have hoped for. These are all examples of his comparisons involving his mistress. In the first line, he uses a simile in his comparison, â€Å"My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun†. They are not very pleasing and so not following the classic Italian sonnet structure used by Petrach. Shakespeare ends his sonnet by proclaiming his love for his mistress despite all of her ‘defaults’. This is when he embraces the theme in Petrarch’s sonnets, which is total and consuming love. Shakespeare uses a new structure in ‘Sonnet 130’, through which the straightforward theme of his lover’s simplicity is portrayed in three quatrains and neatly concluded in the final couplet. Shakespeare is using many techniques available, including the strict rules of the sonnet structure itself. His sonnet consists out of fourteen lines printed as a whole. However, by using the rhyme scheme (ABABCDCDEFEFGG) his sonnet consists out of three quatrains and one distich. The last two lines give the conclusion of the sonnet.

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Delta Airlines Tourism Essay

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Delta Airlines Tourism Essay Since the establishment of Delta Airlines in 1928, it has played a pivotal role in what the aviation industry is today. Delta airlines can be considered without a doubt one airline that has stayed in business through ups and downs throughout its near 90 years and continues to thrive in the commercial airline industry. Even though Delta Airlines has faced many obstacles throughout its history, Delta Airlines has had many success and triumphs. It is one of the major airlines that have accomplished many things that other airlines has not. One of the major points to Delta Airlines success is its ability to serve more than 170 million passengers a year as stated on Delta Airlines website. Strengths Of Delta Airlines Delta Airlines is constructed around many of its strengths such as currently being the largest airline in the world today as stated on the index of Delta airlines Website, but many of its strengths revolve around it being able to fly to 567 worldwide destinations in over 100 different countries. One of the strong points of Delta Airlines being the worlds largest carrier today is having 10 major hubs in all the major cities in the United States. Some cities include New York, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Detroit, as well as major cities in different countries such as Amsterdam, and Tokyo. This is one of the major stepping stones for a U.S. based airline company as it is able to expand to different continents around the globe. Another strength of Delta Airlines lies in its current fleet of aircrafts that currently consist of 449 airplanes majority of which are Boeing 757-200 series. Other aircrafts at Delta Airlines consist of Boeing 737, 767, 777, MD88 and MD90. Another advantage of using Delta Airlines is that throughout the companys history, to date there has only been one fatal accident back in 1996 as statistics show on the planecrashinfo.com website. Compared to other airlines history of fatal accidents Delta Airlines rates number 1 due to the fact there has been only one fatal accident and it has over 16 million flights a year. Being number 1 in passenger customer service alone is just another part that helps to make Delta Airlines what it is today. Passenger service, a clean history of flying, and flying to over 6 different continents around the globe leads to Delta Airlines having one of the highest gross revenue in the airline industry. The company recorded revenues of $19,154 million during the financial year ended December 2007, an increase of 9.3% over 2006 as stated on the companies and markets / delta airlines website. Delta Airlines is one of the only main carriers that expected a drop in profits for the year 2008 yet it was able to still have a higher revenue than other carriers in 2008. Delta Airlines has also come up with many innovative business moves that has helped it to become one of the most dominating in the airline industry today. Delta Airlines came up with their own private airline within the company on April 15th 2003. Song Airlines was a low cost airline for the lower and middle class people and its main creation was to compete directly with Jetblue Airways. Not only has Song Airlines been a smart move for Delta Airlines but one of the most historic move in the airline industry has been the merger of Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines. The merger came about as a way to prevent the growth of airline competition in the industry and also to battle cost of fuel prices. In 2008 after both airlines merged together, Delta Airlines would have an increased fleet of 800 aircrafts, and 75,000 more employees as stated by the LATIMES.Com website. Last but not least is Delta Airlines being a part of the Skyteam Alliance. Delta Airlines has an anti-trust immunity an d what that mean is it can sharing marketing, pricing and its network with other airline companies within the Skyteam Alliance. Delta Airlines has a variety of competitive advantages at its arsenal compared to its competitors. Another distinct advantage for Delta Airlines is the scheduling, pricing, and departure as well as arrival times. For example on CheapoAir.com website, a round trip to Toronto, Canada would cost $331.88 with Lan Airlines, $307 with American airlines, and Delta Airlines would cost $228.28. Like all carriers, Delta Airlines offers many different flights to many different countries throughout the world, but what gives Delta Airlines another distinct advantage over competition is majority of the time when Delta Airlines is forming its schedule it will either try to depart 15 minutes earlier, or arrive at its destination 15 minutes earlier over its competitors. There are many significant advantages within Delta Airlines today and some that are a strong point within Delta itself are many long-term advantages over its competition. Delta Airlines has started to offer wi-fi service for in-flight passengers as well as on-board shopping as well as Delta on Demand and other features in the economy class flight, for first class passengers it offers the same as economy class but more comfy pillows, and blankets, free cocktails, and on the more pricey business-elite class its offers flat bed seats as provided on the Delta Airlines website. Another long-term advantage of Delta Airlines is its worldwide route system which Delta is codeshared with many airlines in North America such as Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines, Alaska Airlines for flights from Seattle to Alaska, Aero- Mexico for trans-border services as well and domestic Mexico services, and Air Jamaica for service for flights between Jamaica and the U.S. Delta Airlines codeshare partners worldwide include Air-France for flights to Paris, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Alitalia Airlines for service to Europe via Italy, Air-Japan for service via Transpacific such as Japan, and China, Avianca airlines for Colombia domestic services and Czech Airlines for service from Prague to Eastern Europe. Incorporating the BCG Matrix, Delta Airlines has many so-called Stars within its company for example its Worldwide Route System, Pricing, and its current fleet of over 449 different aircrafts, but there are also many other Stars within Delta Airlines such as it has partial ownership in both Orbitz and Worldspan websites when purchasing tickets online and Delta also offers a 3-5% discount for purchasing tickets online and 2% discount for check-in using self service kiosks. Compare to other airlines Delta airlines is best airlines and also, Delta gives better packages and other requirements. Delta Air Lines, Inc. is the third largest air carrier in the United States and the largest U.S. carrier serving Europe. Its route network serves 317 destinations in 55 countries. Its domestic network operates around a hub system at airports in Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York, and Salt Lake City. The Delta Shuttle serves business travelers flying between New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C. (and other continental airlines. The company has a strong network infrastructure enables it to gain access to key market as well as enhance the quality of its delivery services. However even though delta airlines may seem to many as the dominant airline, there are many flaws within Delta Airlines itself. Some of these flaws are very minor while some affect Delta Airlines drastically. It is safe to say that no airline is without flaws and some of these flaws include high maintenance cost. Some examples of opportunities to Delta Airlines include internal as well as external factors. The rising fuel price could have a direct impact in the companys margins. Though almost all carriers are expected to post negative earnings in 2009, however it is the most successful low cost carrier in the U.S. has maintained continued profitability for the last 30 years even during periods of industry downturns mainly due to its strong fuel hedging strategies. Low-cost airlines are expected to get a higher share of revenue in the future, which will see structural changes in the industry and consolidation as a result of competitive pressures. I think anyone will agree that wherever you are entertainment matters. Think about ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦consider the number of movies youve seen, the countless hours of television youve watched, the thousands of songs youve downloaded and the video games youve played. (Maria. F. 2008). The world would be a seriously boring place without entertainment. Im not sure how many of you have had a chance to fly on one of our aircraft equipped with the Delta on Demand digital entertainment system, but if you have then you know what a huge difference it makes to have a ton of stuff to watch on your own personal screen. Weve got satellite TV, movies, HBO, 2,500 MP3s and games all on demand (Babb, C.2007). Some International flight have long been cash cows according to the BCG Matrix, but some have become burdens to be unloaded as quickly as possibly as business travelers cut back, taking with them the high-end fares that subsidize tourist-friendly discounts. In Delta Airline industry the passenger traffic in largest Asian carrier by revenue, have been battered by a drop in passenger traffic because of the global economic crisis. Almost other airlines have played an immense feat, juggling both the legacy and low-cost carrier segment with unwavering commitment in going through the test of times during the last seven years and especially through 2008. The year 2007 was a year of regaining profitability for the airline industry after the uphill struggle of cutting off redundant infrastructure and going through various mergers and acquisitions and recovering from the post 9/11 downturn in volume of passenger air traffic. The exponential surge in fuel price and present volatility in financial sectors have significantly affected the aerospace industry as a whole. (Zack E). Delta Airline corp. will be able to rationalize and offer efficient services with gradual freedom to operate in open skies if governments look to deregulation as a way to pro mote the industry as a whole. The previous drop of 50 percent in airline share prices might just reach their initial levels, post all the merger and infrastructure cutbacks by early 2009. Delta airline prices of air tickets globally will have come down to initial levels by end of 2008. On a positive note, the Asia Pacific players will not face any loss for 2009 and might even be left with few cents in the pocket. The market will still see reasonable growth in Low Cost Carrier passenger traffic within Asia Pacific and even in the long haul segment. Delta Airlines 6 Despite the worst economic recession in our lifetime, the fundamental strength of Deltas business allowed us to deliver breakeven results this quarter, excluding fuel hedge losses and special items. These results would not be possible without the hard work of all Delta employees they are running a great airline while executing a seamless integration in the midst of this very difficult economic environment. We remain focused on making disciplined decisions about capacity, costs and capital, achieving merger synergies and finding new sources of revenue. Delta airlines reported that a $794 million first-quarter net loss, or $0.96 per diluted share. Delta cited slower demand for travel brought on by the current recession as reason for the loss. On the cargo side of the business, cargo revenue declined 44 percent or $146 million during the first quarter. Again reasons for the decrease were attributed to the current global recession, decline in fuel surcharge revenue, and decreased demand for air cargo services. Delta travelers have lately been complaining more often about frequent-flier programs, namely the lack of award seats on desirable flights, escalating fees for ostensibly free tickets and quicker expiration dates for miles. Airlines counter that they are giving away more awards than ever, despite generally fuller planes, and that most programs allow members to book any open seat on any flight, albeit in exchange for more. We at Delta and as an industry cannot continue to have customers earn a significantly greater number of miles year after year without providing customers some flexibility in ways to use those miles, Airlines are also offering more ways for members to use their miles, like bidding for things like Broadway tickets at online auctions, trading miles for merchandise or using a combination of cash and Miles for air travel. (Susan S, 2008) While most carriers have customarily been tight-lipped about how much they earn from these programs, more details are starting to emerge. United reported revenue of $800 million last year from selling miles, while Qantas earned $218 million in the last half of 2007 from mileage sales to third parties. (Susan S, 2008) These are some very important aspects to keep in mind when you look at the strong points in Delta Airlines as well as the weak points in Delta airlines, but then again there are many other factors that affect Delta Airlines. One example is threats, such as competition, and the main aspect of supply and demand. Delta Airlines 7 One threat Delta Airlines faces vs. US Airways on-time departure performance. US Airways has an average of 95% on time departures vs. a 93% from Delta. At arrival performances both are at the same percentage, 94%. US Airways does not exceed Deltas workforce (employees) however, they have close to 32,151 total employees. US Airways only serves 25 countries and 196 destinations, 41 international and 155 domestic. Their fleet is the closest they get to ours (Delta), they possess 600+ aircraft. Delta surpasses US Airways daily flights by almost 5 times, they only have 3,043 daily flights. Delta has superior advantage over US Airways, Delta was established on 1924, US Airways was established 1939. Delta traces its roots back to 1924, when Huff Daland Dusters was founded as the worlds first aerial crop dusting organization (Delta, 2009). We have several airline accidents, through our history. These accidents have resulted in fatal accidents. Is a threat, because whenever a customer looks a t our flying history that may incline them to look for another airline. One remarkable accident happened on August 2nd 1985, flight departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida bound Los Angeles Intl airport, the aircraft crashed with only 27 survivors out of the 163 people on board (Leo Beber, 2009 ). The factor for this accident as per NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) was microburst induced wind shear. One of the ethical threats against US Airways is airline quality and passenger satisfaction. Delta is on the number 10th place and US Airways is on 8th (Airline Quality Rankings, 2008). This means that Delta Airlines is not keeping up with the on-time performance, customer service, baggage handling and/or bumping people around due to overbooking. For this year (2009), Delta airlines only rose its customer service by 6.7 percent, while US Airways rose a 9.3 percent. That is not so good news for Delta airlines, we need to improve our customer service, may be a way of doing so would be giving our Delta representatives weekly training, in order to rise our customer service satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is vital to the administration because if customers are not well satisfied, we will lose customers and that would make a big impact in our economic status. A major exterior factor that every single airline faces today is terrorism. One of Deltas biggest threats are bomb and highjack threats. This gives Delta Airlines, a disadvantage and bad reputation, Why and how it that? Well, most passengers or for the most part, the public does not know or may think that every airline has its own security. Therefore customers may think our security system is incompatible and unreliable. Truth is, no airline has its own security, airports Delta Airlines 8 Offer and provide the security system for the whole entire airport. But people may fail to see that or in other cases even get scared on flying with Delta Airlines just because of the terrorist threats Delta has faced throughout its history. For example; the latest threat was on a flight making its final decent into LAX, Airport in Los Angeles, January 09. Individual was yelling out he had a bomb. Passengers actually tackled the individual immediately without hesitation. At the end guy never really had a bomb, just to show you bomb threat or highjack threats are out of ones hand. The Port Authority of NY NJ has TSA personnel at La Guardia, JFK and Newark. TSA do screening on luggage, metal detectors for individuals, etc. checkpoints are operated by Transportation Security Administration, the checkpoints are there to make sure that terrorists cant bring anything aboard the plane that would enable them to take it over or destroy it (TSA, Travel Assistannt-2009) Terrorist threat is a f actor that no one has power on stopping it. Only thing we are able on doing is providing with the latest and sophisticated equipment to detect any hazardous threats that put the airport, aircraft and of course passengers life in jeopardy. Predatory pricing is one of the most competitive threats between airlines and other businesses. There is no specific price rate, due to seasonal flights, due to competitions. Airlines must keep their prices as close as possible to each others. In some cases new airlines may go out of business real quick if senior airlines decide to lower their prices just to keep the customers. When this senior airlines decide to lower their prices than average, one fact is that they losing money just trying to keep customers. Seasonal flights are a very competitive battle between airlines trying to catch as many customers as possible by giving great deal at cheaper prices as possible and as profitable as well. Seasonal flights can also stress an airlines structure due to competition. The Big Six airlines United, US Airways, American, Northwest, Continental and Delta have divided the country into local fiefdoms centered around fortress hubs (Leah Platt, 2001) Advertising the airline is a very important thing all airlines must do. From personal opinion, I always see T.V. advertising commercials of Delta Airlines. This is a factor some airlines fail to realize. Delta airlines is very well known thanks to its advertising on TV, radio and internet. Few airlines that are a threat to us just for the fact that they advertise as much as we do (Delta) are Continental, Jet Blue, American Airlines. Those are the most advertised on television. For some reason US airways doesnt advertise as much. This is a threat as well, because if an airline wants customers, it needs to put it out where the public sees it. Other airlines copying over a successful structured airline is a threat. For Delta Airlines 9 instance, if Delta decides to advertise on TV, radio, internet, newspapers, magazines, put lower prices, offer great deals and the rest of the airlines decides to do the same. That puts us in a spot where we have to improve our current structure. Every day, in newspapers across the country, airlines advertise flights at attractive and competitive prices. Every day, in newspapers across the country, airlines advertise flights at attractive and competitive prices (Public Interest Advocacy Centre, 2003). Overall, an airline biggest threat is the rising of fuel prices. Delta as well as other airlines, add a surcharge to the base price of the route its been flown. In some cases airlines struggle to set a price on a route due to the up and down of the fuel prices. Luckily, as of now (2009) fuel is not as high as previous times. It affects the customers when fuel prices are sky high, because an airline must raise its prices in order to keep the profits. Several airlines offer the same route and one has lower price tickets, like Southwest and Delta. Both Southwest and Delta charge $148 for L.A to Salt Lake route. But US Airways, which like Southwest, is a lower-cost airline, has less invested in the L.A. to Salt Lake route; for this airline, the route is a simple connecting flight, so it doesnt mind tacking on a $50 surcharge to its $148 base price à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Southwest, true to its lower-cost carrier status, doesnt have a fuel surcharge. Delta often adds a fuel surcharge, but knowing that Los Angeles to Salt Lake is a very competitive nonstop Southwest route, the legacy carrier eschews the surcharge in this instance, to stay competitive (Rick Seaney, 2008) Last but not least, no company is without its weakness. Delta Airlines has established its dominance in the aviation industry as one of the best airlines in the world today, but being the best doesnt necessarily mean Delta Airlines doesnt have its own drawbacks. This report examines Delta Air Lines Weaknesses, Inc.s key business structure and operations, history and products, and it provides summary analysis of key revenue lines and strategy. Use this report to understand the internal and external factors that affect Delta Air Lines, Inc.s performance in achieving its business goals. After eighty years of success history , On September 14 2005, Delta files for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Northwest Airlines files for bankruptcy on the same day.After the bankruptcy, Delta spent millions to rebuild morale, flying in many of its 47,000 employees for a series of events that were equal parts team-building and tent revival. And Delta convinced creditors to cede 15% ownership to employees. They saw the importance Delta Airlines 10 of having the pilots and employees on board to unlocking the synergies of the deal, says Delta CEO Richard H. Anderson, a board member at the time who got the top job in August 2007. It was equally important for the employees to know that we followed through on everything we promised. Delta Air Lines plunged into bankruptcy in September 2005, marking the culmination of more than a decade of management missteps made largely out of hubris. The Southeastern airline allowed itself to go through many of the stages of decline outlined in Jim Collins new book. Its sense of infallibility helped foster an undisciplined pursuit of practically every new jumbo jet that aircraft manufacturers rolled out, forcing it to fly large planes even on one-hour routes. Add to that a distinct denial of the increasingly grim realities of the airline business, exemplified by the errors made earlier this decade by then-Chief Executive Leo F. Mullin. He launched the trendy Song discount airline, which fizzled amid high costs and stiff competition from JetBlue Airways. Worse, Mullin negotiated a 2001 labor deal that paid top pilots a record-shattering $300,000 a year. Management always had to have the biggest and the best, recalls a former exec. It was the Delta way. That strategy helped the Atlanta-based carrier rack up billions in losses, pushing it into bankruptcy. And management was so slow to accept its humbling fate that one bankruptcy judge told executives: I have not heard anything that I will say remotely impressed me that you have the money, the talent, or the thought that you could successfully reorganize in this case. Admits President Ed H. Bastian: There were periods when Delta could have been just 24 hours from disappearing. If the pilots had walked out, Im not sure we could have pulled through. Delta Airlines 12 Deltas people issues are best exemplified by a specific person, Leo Mullin, named CEO in 1997. A highly-publicized executive compensation scandal marred the trust between management and the rank and file. Delta filed for bankruptcy less than 18 months after he abruptly retired. Certain actions by Delta have not endeared the company to its employees. Massive layoffs in 2004 continued through 2005 and 2006 and have led to messy court actions. Employees and pilots have picketed airports. Recently the bankruptcy court terminated their pilot defined benefit plan. Delta also had a highly-publicized conflict with an employee develop into a court action when they fired flight attendant Ellen Simonetti (aka Queen of the Sky) who had become a well-known blogger. Delta has spent a lot of valuable time and resources in answer to low-cost fare competitors in the U.S. such as JetBlue and Southwest. Like a large 18-wheel truck trying to follow a motorcycle around town, this has been an awkward waste of energy. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Delta Express was started in 1996. Delta Express was not successful for two reasons. First, the fares were not as low as JetBlue or Southwest, and secondly, there was a perception problem since this was a deviation from Deltas image. Delta President Fred Reid We really found out that customers want to see something distinctive. We still found that people had this edge of skepticism about it that (Delta Express) was just part of Delta. . . . This is truly different. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Song followed in 2003. The business model was that it was cheaper to use larger planes if they were full. 757s are cheaper to operate than small planes if all the seats are filled.They upgraded the seats to leather and encouraged the staff to be friendlier. Passengers had a better experience on Song (the low-cost carrier) than on Deltas main operation. Delta Airlines 12 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Delta Shuttle was started in 1991 with the purchase of used Pan Am aircraft and continues today. The Delta Shuttles fly only between limited east-coast city pairs. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Delta Connections is a current subsidiary. Flights are flown by SkyWest, based out of St. George, Utah using Delta Connections branded Canada Regional Jets. Their website shows only airplanes in Delta Connections livery. These planes dont allow full-sized carry-on luggage; anything bigger than a laptop computer needs to be checked through the regular baggage claim or checked planeside. None of these attempts at a low-fare subsidiary have been entirely successful, and have detracted from rather than contributed to Deltas overall success as an airline. Presenting these multiple faces is confusing to the flying public.These repeated attempts to enter the low-fare market detract a significant amount of focus and resources from what Delta does best. In This Bird Wont Fly, The Travel Insider blog (in 2002 and updated in May 2006) calls this a Futile Act of Self-Cannibalism, indicating that the low-cost options have actually been competing against the main Delta service; and may have made its shortcomings more apparent. The most important part of the progress and survival of an airlines customer service Is listening to opinions and complaints from the customers, the airline can reinforce the weak spots. then reviews a inappropriate customer service ends up the image of the airline publicly. Some Complaints From Passengers Of Delta Airlines Sharlyn of Atlanta, GA July 30, 2009, I had a 4 1/2 hour flight from ATL to SFO on a 767 aircraft. I called the flight attendant using the help button on the computer screen to inform her that my overhead light would not come on. The flight attendant told me she would rebut my computer so I could use the overhead light and once she did, the light still did not come on. I told her I needed to use the overhead light to read business materials, etc. for a meeting and throughout the entire flight leaving at 21:15 pm (EST) to 23:30 pm (PST), I could not read over my business materials. The flight was not full, yet the flight attendant did not move me to another seat so I could read. I had eye surgery for a retina problem and had to strain my eyes in the dark, because the flight attendant refused to move me. This is very unacceptable considering that I have been a Delta Skymiles member since 1995. Lindsay of Los Angeles, CA July 20, 2009, We arrived an hour before our flight, checked-in using the self service kiosk, paid for an additional bag, and got in line to drop it off. The line was long and personnel continued to take those who were late and cut them in front of us. I told the stewardess that we ourselves might need to get to the front of the line and were likely later than those she was allowing to cut in front of us. She refused to listen to me and kept me in line. When we arrived at the counter the woman did not want to let us check our bag because it was less than 30min. before the flight. We asked to speak to her supervisor. She moved as slowly as possible and it took another 10min for her to actually take our bag which she finally had to do because we had already paid. When we got to the gate the plane was still there but they would not let us on as the gate had closed. I dont understand how they could hold us in line, and allow other people to cut in front of us because they may miss their flight, not do the same for us, and then not take responsibility when we missed our flight because of this. Usha of Finksburg, MD July 15, 2009, my husband, daughter and I went to Seoul in June 19th and scheduled to return to Baltimore on June 27th, so my daughter can fly to Chicago on 28th. But when we arrived at Atlanta arougn6:40, the flight stood on runway for about 2 hours because of gate issues. We all missed our flight and delta do not have another flight until next morning at 9:00, so my daughter missed her scheduled flight to Chicago and we have to pay full fare for the after noon flight ( which was about 250. They gave us a hotel which was so crappy, it stunk. Nathan of Hof Hacarmel, CA July 10, 2009, I must congratulate Delta airlines for being the first paperless fleet Ive had the discomfort of flying with. My flight DL87 leaving Tel Aviv, July 2, 2009, had reached a bit more than the halfway point when the hand towels, tissues and TOILET PAPER (!) all ran out in all four toilets. I walked to the rear of the plane and informed the service crew of the problem. They were woken out of the obvious stupor: Thank you sir for informing us. On of the lovely marched over the to toilette area with a hand full of paper towels, and, I assume, inserted them into the correct receptacle. The hygienic for a population of some 250 men, women and children was despicable and at best reprehensible. We have decided never again to fly Delta. Less than four years after it was left on life support, Delta is now the picture of health. Thanks to a management overhaul, a rigorous shift towards more profitable international routes, aggres