Classic Airlines and Marketing

Classic Airlines and Marketing MKT/571 – Marketing September 17, 2012 Classic Airlines and Marketing Classic Airlines, the fifth largest airline carrier, currently serves 240 cities with more than 2,300 daily flights. However, Classic Airlines has experienced over the past three years a decline in their frequent flier program Classic Rewards along with customer confidence declining as well and stock prices has decreased by 10% according to University of Phoenix, 2012. Marketing is assigned the task of revamping the customer loyalty program and increasing membership while operating under a 15% reduction in expenses across the company.The challenges that the marketing management is faced with include a downward turn of morale among the employees; retaining and recruiting of new members for Classic Rewards, and the lack of support from upper management. Marketing management is the process of â€Å"creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing custom er relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders† (Kotler & Keller, 2006, p. 6). Identifying Marketing ChallengesThe marketing management team has identified that the majority (60%) of its Reward membership are at the basic tier, 25% are on the Silver Rewards level, and only 15% are Gold Rewards members. Of these members 80% are business travelers with the remaining 20% leisure travelers. With this information, marketing instituted surveys to determine what the needs of the members are. The replies from the business traveler ranged from the dislike for connections and delays, the desire for quality service, and the idea that the frequent flier points are the result of the airline’s investment in the customer.Whereas, the leisure traveler is more interested in lower air fare and is more willing to have more connections if it will save the traveler money. Strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of Classic Airlines top thre e competitors—British Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and United Airlines—were completed by John Hartman, Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Based on the SWOT analysis, all three competitors have a strong and successful loyalty program. A common weakness between the three companies is the union at each airline.An opportunity recognized by the three companies is the customers’ needs are constantly changing and the airline industry is rebounding. Fuel and equipment along with competition are considered weaknesses by the three organizations. Gathering input from the Classic Rewards members was the responsibility of Renee Epson, Senior Vice President of Customer Service. Interviews of 500 Gold and Platinum Classic Rewards members revealed that advertising campaigns are failing in conveying an accurate and meaningful picture of the airline.In regard to the Classic reward program only 30% were either satisfied or very satisfied with the program and upgrades avail able. When asked if the members flew on other airlines, all categories excluding those who fly seven to 12 times a year responded that they flew other airlines more often than Classic Airlines. Only 8% have been Classic Rewards members for more than five years with the majority been members for one to three years. Strategic Planning The marketing management team has been performing strategic planning to implement a value chain.A value chain states Kotler and Keller, (2006), â€Å"identifies nine strategically relevant activities that create value and cost in a specific business† (p. 38). The team has identified opportunities, weaknesses, strengths, and threats for Classic Airlines’ competitors and through surveys and interviews for Classic Airlines. The identification of the concerns of the Rewards program members enables the marketing team to address these concerns and implement recommendations for improving the Classic Rewards program.This is part of the new offering realization program that enables Classic Airlines to develop and implement new high-quality products while remaining within the budget. Another part of the value chain is the identification of new markets to attract new customers. Classic Airlines needs to rebuild its customer relationship management process this in turn will improve relationships and understanding with both internal and external customers. ConclusionClassic Airlines marketing management is working on improving the organization’s rewards program while remaining within the budget that has a 15% decrease with the result of increasing the profits. A major challenge for the marketing management team is the lack of support from upper management. However, the team has begun the strategic planning of implementing a value chain method. The use of a SWOT analysis, surveys, and interviews of current customers has provided the team with an insight of the issues that must be addressed.Marketing is a process of deliverin g value to its customers while managing customers’ relationships and producing revenue and profit for the company and its stakeholders. References Kotler, P. , & Keller, K. (2006). Marketing Management (12th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall. University of Phoenix. (2012). Scenario: Classic Airlines. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, MKT571-Marketing website

Book Review Of “The Devil In The Shape Of A Woman: Witchcraft In Colonial New England”

The book, â€Å"The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England,† is a must read considering the huge amount of recent work on early witch lore that is being published. This book takes a critical look at the history in New England between 1620 and 1725 during the Puritan period. It is a feminist perspective and the insight into early New England society during a very troubling period in American history.It differs from many history books including our text on the standard accounts by showing that many of those persecuted were women who for many different types of reasons, threatened the male-dominant social order. The author goes into details with evidence that shows that persecuted and accused witches were usually older married women who had violated the religious or economic Puritan social hierarchy.Many of these women that were called witches were past their childbearing years and sometimes they were the recipients of inheritances, these women threaten ed the male-dominance social order that got resentment from their middle-aged accusers. Karlsen shows that the accused witches were women whose family lives were touched in many ways financially by claiming that most, â€Å"stood to inherit, did inherit or were denied their apparent right to inherit† larger portions than women of families with male heirs (Karlsen, p.101). This was definitely problematic for males of the time and caused problems in families and with relatives within the communities especially if these women were openly demanding or defending their rights. These inheritance conflicts are what Karlsen sees as symptomatic of the larger social and ideological problems, â€Å"for they expose the fear of independent women that lay at the heart of New England’s nightmare† (Karlsen, p. 213).There were also two really good points that give this book very good insight into what happened during that time period in New England. It was that they showed first an analysis of women’s culture in New England during those colonial times. Puritan women were to be good wives, good mothers and helpers to their mates. It showed the popular hatred and discrimination of women as a very common and accepted condition and tradition of that time. This was shown through thoughts and conduct of the settlers.This view shows just how complex relationships between Puritanism and traditional English popular culture really were. These kinds of attitudes when looked at as a whole, show how it was used to suppress the individualistic action among women, and that suppression could have taken the form of witchcraft accusation. The other point made that should be noted is that â€Å"the possessed and their ministers were engaged in a fierce negotiation, initiated by the possessed, about the legitimacy of female discontent, resentment and anger† (Karlsen, p.246). This kind of thought for this statement, I found rather weak, because it’s only so urce of the information came from one extremely well documented case but most was based on hearsay. Overall, I found the book to be very well documented with excellent sources. In my opinion the book was an excellent example on how modern theory can be applied in a useful way to show the character of Puritan thought, changes in the role of women through the ages, and the ultimate end of witchcraft persecution in New England.The description and analyses the author uses help to give the reader an understanding of witch lore and status women had in Early New England. It would be a good book for undergraduate study as well as the general reader of history. It induces the reader to see a different perspective of their views and what was commonly taught on the New England witch hunts. The textbook, â€Å"America Past and Present Volume I, 7th Ed. † By Robert A. Divine (et al. ), really only talked of the standard historical context of what took place during this turbulent time.Accu sations of witchcraft were not uncommon in seventeenth century New England. Puritans believed that many individuals would make a compact with the devil, but during the first decades of settlement, authorities executed only about fifteen alleged witches. Sometimes villagers simply left suspected witches alone. Karlsen would argue that the only women who would fight for their rights were accused and probably there weren’t very many women at that time that would stand up against the standards that were set for women or norms for women of that society.Witchcraft was believed to originate in a bargain between man or woman and the Devil by which they agreed to sell their soul to the Devil. The terror in Salem Village began in late 1691, when several young girls began behaving strangely such as crying out for no reason and falling to the ground twitching. When asked what the problem was, they replied that they were victims of witches that were living in the community. Even with the arrest of several women accused and prayer did not give relief to these girls.It was even reported that one of the accused confessed, no doubt after interrogation that was sometimes very brutal. The textbook notes that â€Å"No one knows exactly what sparked the terror in Salem Village† (Divine, p. 85). But with Karlsen book it helps in giving a possible reason. The text gave the reason to the end of this persecution to a group of Congregational ministers that urged leniency and restraint and something that was especially troubling to the clergymen was the court’s decision to accept dreams and visions in which the accused appeared as the devil’s agent.They worried those individuals that were being convicted on this type of testimony and they stated, â€Å"It were better than ten suspected witches should escape, than that one innocent person should be condemned† (Divine, p. 85). The colonial government accepted the minister’s advice and convened a n ew court, which promptly acquitted, pardoned, or released the remaining suspects. From this point, witchcraft ceased to be a capital offense. The book cites that the terror of the witchcraft scare was probably due to angry factions over the choice of a minister.Another possible reason suggested is that socio-economic conflict, the colony had recently experienced, and a lack of enlightenment contributed to the hysteria. This would follow closely to what Carol F. Karlsen expressed in her book. In my opinion, history textbooks tend to give us just one view, and usually the commonly accepted view of what took place historically. There is so much history to be analyzed and studied that textbooks can only include the fundamentals of all these events.It is up to the authors of books such as Carol F. Karlsen, to help give the true detective of history a broader look at how historical events shaped and created the society of then and today. If we don’t know where we came from, then ho w do we know where we should go? The book gave a very excellent twist to the sociological perspective to witchcraft in the New England Colonies and to me gave a more plausible reason as to just why these witch hunts might have happened.

Dream to be a doctor PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dream to be a doctor - PowerPoint Presentation Example My SAT’s prove my assertions. I received a 2210 on my SAT. On my SAT II I received a 760 in Chemistry, 750 in Biology, and 800 in Math II. My GPA was 4.0, with a top 10% ranking in my class. My unique qualifications are my three years experience working in medical institutions. I spent time at Cornell Medical School and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, I grew passionate about oncology. Interacting with the patients was very personally fulfilling. I have always been attracted to the learning about medicinal issues, but finally interacting with them made me more determined to become a medical doctor. I also have talents to balance out the stresses of medical school. One of my talents is playing the piano. Anytime I am stressed, I can lose myself in the music. After playing for a short time, I can refocus on my studies or any other problem in my

Answer the following Marketing Discussion Questions Assignment

Answer the following Marketing Discussion Questions - Assignment Example SWOT analysis is the third step which emphasizes on the internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). The fourth step, marketing goals and objectives are formulated that are formal statements of the desired and expected results from the marketing plan. The fifth component is the marketing strategy which entails selecting and analyzing target markets and developing and maintaining a suitable market program (product, distribution, promotion and product) to fulfil the needs of those target markets. Devising of the marketing strategy results in marketing implementation that describes how the marketing plan will be executed. The last stage of the marketing plan describes how the outcomes of the marketing plan are evaluated and controlled. Marketing plan is critical in marketing process because it allows the organizations to identify the right target market and fulfil their needs and wants through the most suitable marketing strategies (Ferre ll & Hartline, 2007, p. 42-45).

An empirical study on foreign language anxiety and its impact on Thesis

An empirical study on foreign language anxiety and its impact on students' language acquisition and classroom progress and achievement - Thesis Example The foundation year is a crucial phase between school and university level study which often determines the course of a student’s academic career. It is a time when study habits are formed, and choices are made about future subjects. There is considerable research on what factors help and what factors hinder students in second language acquisition. Early research looked at motivation and attitude (Gardner and Lambert, 1972) but since then several different approaches have been developed and the terminology used to describe this field does vary considerably. Young (1998) and Arnold (1999) approach the subject using the broad term â€Å"affect† to cover all kinds of emotional contributions that students bring to the classroom, while Horowitz (1997) uses the approach of â€Å"beliefs about language learning† which emphasizes the kind of concepts that students have in their minds about the business of learning a language. Horowitz (1988) demonstrated that what students believe about language learning influences how they learn, and most crucially also how well they learn. In an empirical study Horowitz et al. (1986) focus on the element of foreign language anxiety as â€Å"a conceptually distinct variable in foreign language learning† and note that this may be partly caused by teaching methods that encourage a defensive position (Horowitz et al. 1986, p. 125). Its effects can include the production of shorter written texts, more concrete utterances and fewer qualifications. Test anxiety is factor for some students, while others are even afraid to speak in class because they fear being negatively evaluated by their classmates or by the teacher. The work of these researchers on group of second language learners in Texas resulted in the development of the â€Å"Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale† (Horowitz et al., 1986, p. 129). This is a very useful tool designed to ascertain the sco pe and severity of foreign

Progressive Period Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Progressive Period - Research Paper Example The researcher states that during the progressive period several people stand steadily to find solutions of the problems, that were faced by America and these people were called as Progressive people. The progressive people worked to create awareness among the general public regarding different problems like alcohol abuse, child labour, food purity and government corruption etc. As a result of evolving public awareness then government had to pass several laws and acts to solve the problems of the people. The progressive movement was mainly aimed at eliminating corruption within the city government with the help of prohibition that worked for the destruction of political power of the local bosses that used to be based in saloons. The activists also worked for the promotion of women’s suffrage and eventually purer female vote was brought into the arena. During the progressive era efforts were also made to achieve high productivity and efficiency in different sectors by fostering modernization process. There were different scientific, economic, medical and engineering solutions invented during this era to support the performance of different sectors. The progressive movement was initiated at local level during the early stages, however soon it was expanded and spread to the national and state levels as well. It was also discussed how the progressive people had great support from the middle class and many lawyers, teachers; physicians became the supporters of the progressive movement. ... As a part of application of the scientific methods it was realized that the old fashioned ways of running the economics, industries and government are highly inefficient and waste the time and resources. To avoid this wastage the progressive movement worked for adaptation of different policies like banking laws that resulted in the creation of Federal Reserve System in 1914 (Leuchtenburg, p504). The progressive period activities proved them dedicatedly committed to bring reforms and changes within the country. They expect that the changes they sought could significantly improve the American society. Some of the major changes enacted during the progressive era include the income tax imposition with the Sixteenth Amendment, direct election of Senators through the Seventeenth Amendment Prohibition ad the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S constitution that was meant to enact women’s suffrage. The journalist played an important role during the progressive movement as they worked to m ake people aware and informed about the corruptions being committed at the government level. These journalists were called with the names of Muckrakers who worked for exposing the waste, corruption and scandals of the authorities and government officials. They use the medium of highly influential and popular national magazines like McClure Magazine, Brand Whitlock and George Creel and published the stories and facts to uncover the wrong deeds and corruption of the government at local and state level. There were several frauds and corruption cases uncovered in these magazines. The progressive movement was also led by the motive of modernization implementation within the society. The

Consider MOOCs and discuss whether they are a revolutionary Essay

Consider MOOCs and discuss whether they are a revolutionary breakthrough in education or simply a fad - Essay Example Traditional forms of learning like classroom settings and direct lecturing are slowly fading (Sharpe 27). In this context, we can say that advancement in technology remains the main attribute for these dynamics in the social aspect of education. On the other hand, the aspect of globalization also contributes towards witnessed shifts in education patterns. Students from various parts of the world are converging at the best learning institutions in search of knowledge (Sharpe 34). In this case, increase in student population necessitates changes in order to adjust service delivery programs. Presence of cut-edge technology facilitates the development of such desired service delivery systems. This essay appraises a developing program within the education sector in terms of its impacts and expected future trends and resourcefulness. In 2010, leading universities in Europe and America were striving to formulate new learning policies meant to address increasing influence of globalization. S takeholders wanted to restructure education models, especially within institutions of higher learning. This development largely focused on the role played by teachers in modern learning environments characterized by huge student-teacher population ratio (Adrie and Finegan 72). As a result, researchers from the University of Michigan and Stanford University conducted objective evaluation on existing teaching methods. Towards the end of their research articles, they postulated appropriate recommendations meant to deal with new developments in the education sector. As a result, the two research bodies termed massive open online courses, abbreviated as MOOCs as the most suitable educational program (Bowen 45). This program aimed at developing a method meant to address the need to change teachers’ roles in learning activities. In addition, MOOCs will serve as the best technique of dealing with an increase in student population. In actual practice, the University of Miami in 2012 f eatured as one university adopting a massive open online course program. Subsequently, MOOCs rolled into other parts of the world like Australia, where the nation’s university of South Wales adopted a course of computing using the MOOCs program. Currently, extrapolated research on education methods suggest that open online courses can literary feature as knocking down campus boundaries. According to one researcher, who is a professor of research at Stanford College, the scholar says that MOOCs will take over as new methods of delivering knowledge to students. Big breakthroughs happen when what is suddenly possible meets what is desperately necessary (Friedman 01). In order to appreciate the role played by MOOCs, we will evaluate its components in functioning and design. Creation of MOOCs seeks to address the increasing number of interested learners within academic environments. In this context, technical developments of MOOCs programs seek to facilitate timely and professiona l delivery of information to a large student population. MOOCs use internet connectivity in creating interaction platforms through collaboration groups or peer-reviews (Bowen 65). On the other hand, delivery of information integrated appropriate feedback mechanisms meant to assess the success of learning among the student population. In this case, MOOCs has a feedback provision, which involves automated online assessment through exams and quizzes. At the end of the assessment process, students’

Pls see the attachment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pls see the attachment - Essay Example Steve should have set up an agenda for his day and should have had a system to organize his paperwork. Before the meeting, Steve received a call on a rush job, which he had turned over to one of his production supervisors, Lucy Adams, and put out of his mind. He tried to reach her and discovered she was out of town and difficult to reach. He asked his secretary to leave her a message to call him. He should have told his secretary to ask Lucy about the job in case he was not in the office when she called. The rest of his day was one interruption after another—an appointment not listed, a priority job his boss had asked for that wasn’t done, being late for another meeting, missing calls from Lucy—and at 4:30, he decided to go home, wondering how he could ever get caught up. It is obvious Steve Arnold is a disaster waiting to happen. He is balancing on a tight rope, and any minute he’s apt to crash. He has several employees apparently capable of handling projects, but Steve has never created a preliminary schedule that would include early morning meetings with his staff to plan not only each day but also the time lines needed to complete projects by a reasonable deadline. It would also appear that his secretary, Ruth, either has not been given the option of helping Steve organize his own scheduled priorities and putting his papers in order or she is not dependable and probably should be replaced. Steve does not look ahead to determine how to prioritize his time. He also does not look at the overall picture to see how production schedules should interact. He needs to educate himself on these matters. Steve does not appear to have much personal interaction with any of his staff nor does he schedule his time properly. He will improve greatly as a leader if he sets a preliminary schedule for his day with connections to future projects and the reminders he needs to follow up. Once he does this, he will

Directional style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Directional style - Essay Example This turned away, for example, neorealism of the 40, where the world was shown as it was, without manipulation. In many films of Alfred Hitchcock we may notice something in common, which makes these movies together, making them look alike, to distinguish from the films of other directors and, thus, allow us to speak about the auteurs style of Hitchcock. Hitchcock Style manifested in the fact that in his motion pictures are often repeated certain plot motifs, method of presentation the audience, the technique of shooting, type of actors and so on. Some films of Hitchcock (especially early ones) are out of the general track - so they can be called unusual, in style, in contrast to the typical, "real" films of Hitchcock. From his first film Hitchcock had already demonstrated the ability to transfer all the details of the plot with the help of purely cinematic techniques. For example, in the film "The Tenant" is a scene in which the hostess points out that her new lodger nervously walks to his room on the second floor and it is suspicious. Hitchcock shoots the landlady, gazing somewhere upstairs. Then he shows us hanging on the ceiling chandelier, swinging from side to side. Then he inserts a frame in which the ceiling is made of glass and through it can be seen the pacing from one side to the tenant. With this ingenious receiving the viewer sees that is a heroine of the

Customer Acquisition Report Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Customer Acquisition Report Information - Essay Example Some of the main factors under this include product, place price, and promotion. Building a strong brand is vital since it has psychological effect on the customers. The perception of customers towards a particular product dictates the number of sales that one will make. Conducting a marketing research before the introduction of a given product becomes vital. It assists a businessperson in obtaining information about the attitudes of individuals towards a particular product. Through a marketing research, one is able to know the strategy with which to approach the market. The introduction of new products in the market faces a number of challenges. This is due to some internal and external factors, which determine the success or failure of businesses. If the employees for instance do not have skills that ensure proper communication with customers, this may lead to increased losses for the company. Customers are retained by the quality of services they receive from a company. It is impe rative to note that marketing also plays an important role in acquitision of customers. It is the process through which a business information the customers about the products. In the following discussion, the introduction of iPhone 5 and acquisition of customers will be dealt with. Brief history of Apple Inc., which produces iPhone Started in 1976, this multinational company is one of the most successful, dealing with the production of operating systems and communication gargets. With its headquarters in California, the company has been able to have about 14 subsidiary companies throughout the world (Duhigg 23). In addition to that, it operates more than 393 stores worldwide to facilitate the sale of its state of art products. Apart from the production of iPhones and operating systems, the company also produces computers, macs, and iPods and currently seeks to introduce smart TVs. The company has been able to create more employment opportunities to the society members. The statisti cs released in 2012 indicated that the company had 72,800 permanent employees and thousands of others under temporal contract (Duhigg 23). In the same year, the company had total revenue of about $156 billion (Duhigg 24). This was unprecedented and attributed to increased sales of products particularly the iPhone 5, which was introduced in the same year. It is estimated that about 27.4 million handsets of this product were sold in 2012 (Duhigg 24). This was much higher than that of the closest rival Samsung Galaxy S 111 introduced the same time. Despite the success of the Apple Inc. there are various challenges threatening the stability of this business. Competition has been a major concern for the company. Apart from Samsung Company, which has been a major rival in the production of smartphones, others include Nokia, Huawei, and Motorola companies. The goods of these companies are of lower price compared to that of the Apple Inc. Introduction of iPhone 5 in my location It is a stat e of art smart phone, which runs on Apple operating system. It is a main rival to other smart phones produced by other companies such as Samsung and Huawei. Unlike the previous generations of this product, iPhone 5 is not only lighter but also thinner making it more convenient and portable. This may explains the high number of sales in 2012. Despite this though, the sale of this phone is significantly lower in my location owing to the perception of

Evaluation of Bretton Woods Institution’s Influence on the Sovereign Decision Making Essay Example for Free

Evaluation of Bretton Woods Institution’s Influence on the Sovereign Decision Making Essay Truly our global economy works in complexity as various collaborations and interrelationships happens between countries around the globe. Because of the interaction of different economies, Bretton Woods Institutions were established to guide those developing countries towards the attainment of impressive economic growth through the assistance of developed countries. Two of the major organizations under the Bretton Wood Institutions would be the World Bank and International Monetary Fund which provides research and financial services to developing countries to boost the economic activity of developing countries. Despite of the said gains that World Bank and International Monetary Fund offers to developing countries, a lot of debates concerning the real effects of such â€Å"intermediation† of WB and IMF happening on various parts of the globe. In this regard, the main question that this paper will about to answer would be: what are the effects of Bretton Woods Institutions programs on the sovereignty of developing countries and would there be really benefits that can be derived by developing countries on such existence of international institutions in the long run? These are some of the questions that we will uncover by the end of this paper. One of the main programs of World Bank and IMF for the developing countries would be to lend funds that can be used for economic development such as building of various infrastructures like roads and bridge that are essential to attract more foreign investors (Fischer et al 2003: 4). Aside from this, both of the identified international institutions provides research assistance as to how to deal with various economic problems such as poverty, high inflation and unemployment rate as well as stabilizing financial sector of the economy. But the only problem with IMF and WB would be their policy-conditional lending wherein they demand reforms on various economic policies of developing countries like lower tariff rate for United States or higher tax discount on foreign investors from developed countries in exchange for funds. Therefore, to some extent, IMF and WB, influences the economic policies of developing countries by requiring the latter to comply first on IMF and WB’s policy reforms before granting those financial aids. Since it is the government that makes economic policies, sovereignty is now at stake every time developing countries borrow money to MF and WB since the government becomes powerless from the demands of IMF and WB, and just let these international institutions to change whatever economic policies that is currently being implemented. For the past two decades, IMF and WB have been able to influence every developing country around the globe. Lending money serves as the powerful tool of IMF and WB in successfully penetrating the sovereignty of a given developing country in exchange for funding. In the short run perspective, every one would agree that IMF and WB are of great help for developing countries. But in the long run, due to their interventions on economic policies of developing countries, there is a tendency that the policy-conditional lending of IMF and WB would not fit to the nature of economic activities a certain country has thereby will only cause instability in the next coming years. In this regard, it is already clear that the policy-condition lending of IMF and WB would only provide short lived benefits for the economy of developing countries since negative effects of the said intervention would offset all those benefits. It would be better if IMF and WB would minimize its interventions on economic policies of developing countries to give room for the latter to have sustainable economic development.

Analysing The Terrorism In Southeast Asia Tourism Essay

Analysing The Terrorism In Southeast Asia Tourism Essay Traveling has always been part of peoples lives for many centuries, in the olden days people used to travel for religious purposes, cultural, or just to explore the world out there. Frankly, tourism is defined as travelling from one place to another place or from one country to another whether it is for leisure purposes, business purposes, or other purposes. Tourism is considered as one of the fast and largest in growing, as well as industries of generating jobs around the world. Crisis and conflicts are parts of our daily lives as it always will and always have been, hence the importance of the countrys economic affected by terrorism events to a countrys tourism is undeniable, which will as well impacts the countrys political and social issues as well. For most developing countries around the world, tourism is a critical source that generates revenue and hence an important component that plays a major role in political, economical, and social development, a strong tie of relationshi p that assist in rewarding the country if there is positive condition exist on global economy. As Malaysia is one of the Southeast Asian countries, according to research the Malaysian Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen stated that even though the year of 2009 is a year that Malaysia had its hard times, but it seemed that it was a good year for Malaysian tourism industry, contribution of RM1bil per week to the economy of the country by the industry of the Tourism Malaysia in the year of 2009, providing as well as generating employment to more than a million Malaysians making Malaysia ranks the ninth most travelled destination around the world by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). However what if there is a negative condition exist in Southeast Asia region which will affect countries inside that region, for example such as terrorism events orccured in the country or neighboring countries. (www.news.malaysia.msn.com) Terrorism is defined as political violence-based crisis express a kind of chaos that aims physically to destroy people whom are unprotected, while claiming themselves that they have an ideological viewpoint, simply saying terrorists are political in their aims, and they usually threaten to use violence or resort to forceful acts, their actions are usually designed, for it is beyond the immediate target of their psychological reprecussions, they are normally governed by an organization from a chain of command, which that is why they were designated as terrorism from what they have done. Terrorism events are unpredictable as these events would take place at anytime and anywhere. The effects of terrorism to a countrys economy might be terrifying, this is due to the cause of high decrease in the number of tourists that has potential in generating resources to the country as well a decrease in tourism income that will endanger a collapse in the local travel and tourism industry which affe cts and brings interruption in the tourism sectoral activities. Other than that, this impact may also lead to deflation, mass unemployment from the area that had been terrorized and people working there have to make pause in their work or be unemployed unless there is another possible job vacancy for them , homelessness where civilians staying nearby the terrorized area where they call it home might be requested to transferred from that area to another safe shelter, crime might rise as well when they countrys security is unbalance and uncontrollable, business break down and other social and economic ills. One of the areas in Asia that is fast in becoming the hot spot of terrorism acts which is the region of Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia consist of 17 countries which includes Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. This is due to the very high incidence of growing and increasing piracy threat from terrorism around the area of Southeast Asia, where this is the regional area that attracts most prone on acts of piracy whereby accounting on all piracy attacks for around 50 percent worldwide. This terrorism events are aggravated by indigenous groups of terrorist in strong maritime traditions, and this terrorism acts and piracy has made Southeast Asia a concern in regional security. There are three terrorist groups that usually strikes Southeast Asia regions which has the proven capability and intentions to exercise maritime terrorism, which is The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Gerakan Aceh M erdeka (GAM), and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) is the best known in its terrorism acts because of its organizational structure, how they operate their strategy, membership and how they imply for maritime security in Southeast Asia. (Maritime Terrorism In Southeast Asia, Rommel C.Banlaoi 2005, pg:1) 1.2 Problem Statements The problem is about how will the acts terrorism affect most of the tourism industry in Southeast Asia. Tourism is the most sensitive sector in Southeast Asia as well as the whole world, and terrorism has rapidly increased its impact on tourism all over the world including Southeast Asia. Terrorist picks tourism as their target because tourism is one of the countrys resource generating relationship which leads to political, social, and economical issues. Tourism will be their easy target audience due to the fact that terrorist actions will do great damage to a country by damaging the economy of that particular country in Southeast Asia through tourism, whereby the multiplier effect from the terrorism acts are high. Other than that, it will diminishes a public image of Southeast Asia through tourism that tourist dare not travel into Southeast Asia knowing that countries in it was being aimed, or tourist will feel insecure even if they traveled into that particular country affecting th roughout their whole trip as they cannot enjoy but feeling worried about their safety, or might never visit to countries located in Southeast Asia anymore. People around the world might think twice before travelling to places in Southeast Asia and this is definitely a threat to the development of Southeast Asian tourism because tourism can only be thrive under peaceful conditions (Pizam and Mansfield, 1996 : 2) and its might cause a lot of good tourism opportunities to Southeast Asia. 1.3 Research Objectives 1. Analysing the terrorism in Southeast Asia. 2. Analysing how highly will terrorism affect tourism industry in Southeast Asia. 3. Create awareness about terrorism in Southeast Asia to tourist. 4. Recommendations and suggestions in reducing and fighting against terrorism in Southeast Asia. 1.4 Research Questions What are the popular groups of terrorist available in Southeast Asia. Which country in Southeast Asia that attract most to terrorism? What are the effects of terrorism to Southeast Asia tourism? What has been done to reduce terrorism in Southeast Asia? Who will benefit when terrorism is successfully reduced? 1.5 Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Framework 1.5.1 Conceptual Framework Terrorism In Southeast Asia Individual awareness and knowledge of Terrorism. The actions done by the government and organizations. The Effects of Terrorism to the Tourism Industry in Southeast Asia. 1.5.2 Theoretical Framework This research will mostly touch on the terrorism that is rapidly increasing its impact on the tourism industry of Southeast Asia and how it actually affects the tourism industry. Moreover, Terrorism events can take place anywhere and anytime, bringing its effect that involves mostly in the Political, Economical, and Social issues as well as its consequences around the regional area that was being attacked as well as their tourism industry. In the newspapers, we can see that terrorism acts happened all around the world and we can read all about it but not all can understand the real tragic that certain countries had been through handling, solving and preventing these terrorism acts from happening again, and people might get sloppy thinking that terrorism acts like these are just another day around the world and care less about it. This will allow possible terrorism to happen again as people do not take precautions and preventions. There are many actions taken by the government around the world to reduce possible terrorism events to happen again. If these terrorism acts are not properly prevented, it will be very dangerous to the potential victims and people living in their country, as their country might be in chaos as well as tourist travelling around the world. 1.6 Importance of Significance of study This is important because, Terrorism is increasing drastically around the world and research has shown that Southeast Asia is fast in becoming the worlds hot spot for terrorism activities. Ever since what happened on September 2001, America has put focus on terrorist organization and groups that is located in Southeast Asia, which according to research particularly to countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore as well as Thailand, and this is all because Southeast Asia is a potential base for their terrorism operations. Besides that, this research is targeted to acknowledge people around the world of how serious the importance of safety and security during a travel and how it will cause damage to countries in Southeast Asias economy, social, and political issues through tourism by targeting tourists. It is very important that people around the world trying to solve and reduce terrorist organization because if people around the world care less about that terrorism is just happening in certain areas of Southeast Asia and never do any precautions or preventions then terrorism acts are so much easier and frequent it will happen again and it will be very hard to bring them down when their organization is throughout the world. This is why actions like precautions and preventions needed to be done to reduce possibilities of terrorism from happening, because incidents like these can be prevented from happening and people doesnt need to die that way if prevention had been done. 1.7 Scope and limitations of the study This research is about the terrorism rates that is drastically increasing in Southeast Asia and it will affect the tourism industry. However, this research focuses more on terrorism than tourism. The time duration for this study is from 1995 to the year of 2009 whereby terrorism events happened. All the information used is the latest and current incidents. This research tries to cover as many angles and aspects of terrorism to create a better understanding for readers such as terrorism in Southeast Asia, terrorism effects to the tourism industry of Southeast Asia, and finally some suggestions. As terrorism events are very common in Southeast Asia, there is a lot of information regarding it. For the security and safety of the countries located in Southeast Asia and to tourist as well as they are the terrorists main aim and effects of terrorism attacks to the Southeast Asian tourism. In order to complete this research, the information can be acquired from internet, newspapers, journals, and books. Internet is the main source for the study as it provides the latest study on terrorism in Southeast Asian tourism. The internet provides all sorts of information regarding terrorism and tourism in Southeast Asia. These information are reliable as it is published by newspapers, professors and renowned researchers. Chapter 2 : Review of related literature 2.1 Terrorism in Southeast Asia Ever since the horrifying incident that happened on September 2001, Americans has put their eye on radical Islamist and terrorist organization which is active in Southeast Asia, which according to research, countries that normally has potential terrorist organization affiliated where Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, as well as Malaysia. The Americans had put their eye on these counties is all because Southeast Asia is a potential safe haven for terrorist organization and their operations as well. Other than that, the international terrorist organization Al Qaeda they was able to establish local Southeast Asian cells and penetrating the region, having trained Southeast Asian in their hideout camps which located in the country of Afghanistan, and cooperating as well as financing with indigenous radical Islamist groups and so far the southern Philippines and Indonesia has been fragile and easy to be penetrated by terrorist of Islamic groups. (Terrorism in Southeast Asia, by Bruce Vaughn, pg:1) Al Qaeda Al Sulbah which currently this terrorist organization was renamed as Al Qaeda Al Jihad, Al Qaeda is the twenty first century and current multinational group of terrorist consist of 3,000 to 4,000 loyal members that had extensive ties worldwide such as the group of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) located in Southeast Asia, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat located in North Africa, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) which is located in Central Asia. Most intelligents find it hard to understand the Al Qaeda, this is due to this terrorist organization works their domain in both as idealogically as well as operationally. Other than that, of all the groups and parties that Al Qaeda has established by influencing and infiltrating which is the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia located in Malaysia (KMM), the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) from the southern part of Philippines, the Jamaah Salafiyah located in the southern Thailand, as well as the Laskar Jundullah whi ch is located in Indonesia. Right after Al Qaeda penetrated into the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and made them associates, they divided their task of distributed areas and infrastructure, responsibilities, assigned personnel through interllectual and physical contact having Al Qaeda ideologues, operatives and trainers ideologically and physically strengthened dozens groups of Islamist terrorist, charities, political parties as well as specialized individuals in Southeast Asia regions, and they split them into territorial organizations which is named Mantiqis and it consist of four different Mantiqi, Mantiqi (M1) had their primary base located in Malaysia covering Malaysia territory, Southern Thailand as well as Singapore. Other than that, Mantiqi 2 (M2) is in charged of whole Indonesia except for Sulawesi and Kalimantan. However Mantiqi 3 (M3) is in charged of the Borneo regions which east Malaysias Sabah and Sarawak, Brunei, as well as Sulawesi and Kalimantan located in Indonesia and of cause the southern Philippine s too because they made their base in the camp of Abu Bakar which is located in Maguidanao in Philippines, and Mantiqi 4 (M4) is in charged of the country of Australia and Irian Jaya. As you can see, Al Qaeda has made Islamist networks around the Southeast Asian region from Australia to Southern Thailand. 2.2 Terrorism effects to the Tourism Industry in Southeast Asia There were explanations that why terrorist like Al Qaeda chose Southeast Asia as their operational base and target area, according to research this is because Southeast Asia are countries of convenience hence making the regional areas around a back office for their operations, and most of the countries like Thailand were transit hubs, Indonesia and Philippiness bordering controls are easy to be penetrated because Philippines didnt have any immigration computerized system in standby only until recently and Indonesian police force were corrupted enabling them to operate at ease, and Indonesia or Malaysia had lax visa requirements. For example, terrorist has made their choice to attack tourist such as bombing a tourist resort is because it obviously offered a relatively fragile target, and it will always includes large numbers of foreigners whose death will absolutely attrack the publicity by the cause of the terrorists. Tourists are better aims because they are able to generate greater publicity than only to locals whereby this sort of publicity is difficult to be suppressed and it enables terrorist in making various causes to be known and be feared worldwide. Take the island of Bali Indonesia for instance, that terrorism attacks have occured consecutively, first deadly attack was done by the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) which was affiliated to Al Qaeda on the massive bombing of Bali island which happened on 12th of October 2002 killing a large amount approximately 200 innocent people, mostly westerners, and police was able to indentify who was leading these suicide bombers which was two Malaysian fugitives, Azahari and Noordin. Azahari was killed during a raid, however Noordin was still on the run, during the raid police found a lot of vest-bombs, books, VCDs and a plan of bomb party for New Year and Christmas. The second attack happened on 1st of October 2005 which is also on Bali island on cafes along Kuta and Jimbaran Bay, however the second attack was lease damaging having 20 people died including 3 suicide bombers. These events were recorded by confessions of 3 suicide bombers before what happened on 1st of October 2005 and this were circulated worldwide throughout the media confessing there will be attacks again in the future. Bali had been relatively attracted to terrorist visions because if any local victims that was caught in the fire, it would most likely be Hindu instead of Muslims whereby as these events happens, it would show other religions that only being a Muslim will be safe from them. Right after what happened in 2005 Bali attack, local police found documents stated why terrorist choose Bali, whereas the answer would be, because this is the attack that will impact globally that everyone in the world gets the massage the attacks are for the United States and its allies when this attack is covered by media worldwide which turns out to be an accurate prediction from those terrorist since media can travel fast throughout the world right after Bali was attacked. Bali is renowned throughout the whole world, and its even more famous than Indonesia itself despite that it is just an island in Indon esia. This has made the government of Australia end up worried about their fellow citizens and issued several travel warnings as well as leading to declining in visitor arrivals. At first Indonesia thought their tourism industry was so strong that it would not be affected but at the very end because of combination of several travel warnings and televised confessions from the suicide bombers their population of tourist decreased drastically. Apart of knowing that Noordin was still out there, ongoing coverage of possible further terrorist attacks travel warnings and the hunt for terrorists from Australians and Asian media has caused fear upon people around the world and it is obvious that this frightens potential tourist away. In the year of 2005 right after the bombing incidents, hotel occupancy in Bali during the New Year and Christmas period drop below 40 percent as this should the busiest and fully occupied times of the year in Bali due to the awareness of global terrorist threat. Other than that, in year 2006 it was a huge downturn and occupancy dropped to 30 percent. In addition, at the same year on the 24th of November, the Bali-based and renowned airline Air Paradise International (API) was forced to terminate 350 of its employees and some were Australian employees, this happened to Garuda Indonesia as well whereby they reduce their flights between Japan and Bali from 22 to 16 per week and Australia and Bali from 32 to 25 per week because the highest drop of demand in passenger was Japan and Australia. This causes overall arrivals to Bali dropped more than 50 percent from approximately 4,500 a day to 2,000 a day right after the bombings in year 2005. These attacks might have impacted fear to westerners, however in this process it caused great damage not just to the Indonesian tourism industry, but to their economics issues, social issues, and political issues as well. In research, it had shown that Balis tourism sector on year 2005 is far worse than what happen ed on year 2002 tourism when deaths casualties in high difference that only 20 died in year 2005 and 200 died in 2002. It might be a possible explaination that, the first attack on 2002 has gathered investigators and support in restoring Balis image as a safe travel destination from international community by helping to speed up the investigation, however the second attack on 2005 has brought up a perception to the whole world that this terrorist attacks could be frequent and it is obviously dangerous to travel to Bali. This shows that terrorism acts are so influential throughout Southeast Asia and how it can destroy and make fear but even to a countrys economy by destroying a countrys tourism industry yet able to achieve their goal in passing the message to westerners. Since most of the frequent terrorist attacks are situated mostly in Southeast Asia. This causes a deep impact to tourism industries in Southeast Asia when people around the world knowing these events can be happen so frequently and knowing it is so dangerous travelling to Southeast Asia. 2.3 Suggestions and recommendations In order to reduce terrorism in Southeast Asia, countries which are in the regional area should form enough intel organization to fight against terrorism that is affecting tourism industry in Southeast Asia. For example, when people was acknowledged that terrorist attacks was somewhere near their country but not their country and they would care less about it knowing their own country is safe, but what if that happens to their country and its all the same, it is so much better to work together in fighting against terrorism together, it will be harder for terrorist organization to act when they were all pinned down. Eventually when there are no terrorist threats, the numbers of tourist will rise cause people feels safe and it will aid a lot in the countrys economy by raising the number of tourist into the country as tourists are potential money generators and to be able to have a flourished economy in a country, tourism industry plays a major roles in saving a countrys economy. Chapter 3 Research Methodology In order to proceed this topic, I have to find out suitable methods to collect data resources. I have chosen to use qualitative method, which can be defined as a method of research that is nonnumeric and by analyzing the research with subjective meanings and providing real perceptions onto the findings. It is much more reliant upon, that information and data can be acquired in books and can be defined easier by just reading and understanding it.

Recruitment And Selection Construction Business Commerce Essay

Recruitment And Selection Construction Business Commerce Essay Since the company is a construction business, there are two offices one is the on site office and the other one is the main office. The recruitment and selection process is majorly carried out for the main office. The different posts for which recruitment is carried out are for the different departments such as marketing, human resource, finance and functional departments. The company does not carry out recruitment process on a timely basis; it is conducted as and when an employee leaves the organization or when a new position is recognized in the organization. Recruitment and selection Recruitment is the premier major steps in the selection process in the Organizations. It has been explained as an activity directed to obtain appropriate human resources whose qualifications and skills match functions of the relevant posts in the Organization. Its importance cannot be over-emphasized and can also be best described as the heart of the organization. Recruitment and selection process starts when a vacancy becomes available in an organization. The major differences between recruitment and selection is highlighted below Recruitment Selection Is the process of searching the candidates for employment and inspiring them to apply for jobs in the organization It Involves the series of steps by which the candidates are screened for  choosing the most suitable persons for  vacant posts The basic purpose of recruitments is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organization, by attracting more and more employees to apply in the organization. The basic purpose of selection process is to choose the right candidate to fill the various positions in the organization Recruitment is a positive process i.e. encouraging more and more employees to apply . Selection is a negative process as it involves rejection of the unsuitable candidates. Recruitment is concerned with tapping the sources of human resources Selection is concerned with selecting the most suitable candidate through various interviews and tests There is no contract of recruitment established in recruitment Selection results in a contract of  service between the employer and the selected employee. Recruitment and selection is a 10-step process. These steps are illustrated in the following table Companys process The human resource department of the company carries out the following process for recruiting and selecting new employees. Every time an employee holding high post decides to leave the firm, the director of the company with the help of human resource department sits down to analyze the structure of the organization and studies whether any change is required. Change could be in the form of clubbing different job responsibilities or whether it is necessary to recruit a new employee. If there is a change in the structure, the employees are informed about it during the weekly meetings. If there is no change to be made to the structure then the recruitment and selection process is carried out Job analysis After the vacancy is confirmed, the HR department reviews the job description and job specification and makes the necessary changes if required. The job description contains items such as Job specification- lists the human qualifications necessary to do the job like- The employers of Empire construction search for the following skills in the employees Analytical Time management Planning Decision-making Problem solving Information seeking The selection process is then based on the job description and job specification. The HR head decides the weightage that each criterion will have in the selection of the employee Advertisement Advertisement is done to get suitable candidates aware about the vacant post. The company finds it necessary to be as transparent as possible while displaying the job advertisement. Some of the details mentioned in the job advertisement are All positions must be advertised for a minimum of five working days. The company recruits employees both internally and externally; this depends on the vacant post. For internal recruitment the vacant posts are advertised only internally, where the job details are posted on the notice board and the post is spoken about in the meetings. However internal recruitment in the company is limited since the workforce in the company is trivial. External advertisement The Company advertises the vacant post externally by using the newspaper. Also the company lets various job centers aware of the post. In the world of technology the company also uses various online websites such as naukri.com and monster.com to post about the job and get suitable candidates. Application process Following the advertisements the interested candidates are asked to fill up an application form, which is provided to them via email or can be collected from the main office. An example of the application form is attached below. Along with the application form the candidates are required to submit their CV. After all the applications are received the Hr department of the company screens applications and short-lists the suitable candidates. The short listed candidates are then asked to come for an interview; this information is passed to the suitable candidates using emails and phone calls. The rejected candidates are also sent a mail stating that they have been rejected for the job applied for. Interview The company head and the Hr manager together interview the short-listed candidates. Some of The basic interview questions they ask the candidates are listed below. Why do you want this job? What do you know about this company? What makes you think you will fit in this organization? What are your key strengths? What are your main weaknesses? The interview question that they ask are situational based and is largely dependent on the post applied for. One good example that the Hr head provided the author with was in relation to an interview for the sales head. The interviewee was handed with the brochure of the companys new project and was asked to point out reasons why the sales might or not take place with respect to that brochure. Once the interview is done, the HR team sits down together to verify the credentials. The right to work evidence, birth certificate, passport, visa and other such documents are taken into consideration during the interview process. Soon after the credentials are verified the process of ranking the applicants starts. The company carries out this process using the independent approach. Each member of the selection committee pens down their views and ranks the applicants on the basis of the criterion. After which the selection committee comes to a consensus where the applicant with the most merit is selected to fill the vacant position. In case of a conflict the general Manager of the firm will take the decision. Selection process is followed by then deciding the commencing salary of the employee. Salary is decided based on the experience, qualifications and also the post applied for. Applicants are considered suitable are ranked in order of preference. The task of completing reference checking of the applicants is handed over to rather the selection committee or the directors nominee. Reference checks are important to understand the ability of the applicant to carry out his duties of position in accordance with the criterion. Reference checking is not carried out for the applicants who were interviewed. In fact it is only done for the applicant who ranked the highest. If at all there is hardly any difference between two or more applicant then their reference can also be considered. If the selection committee decides to approach the referees that have not been nominated by the applicant, then they ought to take permission from the applicant before doing so. Retention process Effective employee retention is a systematic effort by employers to create and foster an environment that encourages current employees to remain employed by having policies and practices in place that address their diverse needs. Retaining existing staff saves the employers time and money of recruiting, selecting and training new employees. Empire constructions use several ways to retain their existing employees, Mr T.s Vig the Director of the company said that retention of the key employees is necessary for the project success. The company always has exit interviews for employees who decide to leave their jobs; these interviews have revealed some reasons why people leave the job. Such as Better salary package elsewhere More Benefits elsewhere Too much workload The various measures taken by the company in order to retain its employees are as the follows The company believes in having a very open communication system where no employee feels alienated and all employees feel like an important part of the organization. Making work not only about work, the company environment is very friendly. They celebrate all festivals with a lot of enthusiasm in the company, this brings all the employees closer as a group. Also the employees are allotted with special bonuses during some festivals for example during Diwali the employees are given half a months extra salary. Pay in order to retain the employees the company keeps upgrading the employees salary as time passes. Benefits- Empire constructions provides their workers with some benefits such asà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Paid vacationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Paid holiday à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sick leave, Fringe benefits are discussed in detail later. Pension- The employees of Empire constructions are given a pension when retiring; this motivates them to stay longer in the organization. Motivational strategies used by the company are to mainly make the more efficient and they also help in retaining them, as motivated employees are happy employees. This aspect is explained in the later part of the assignment 1.2 Apply legal, regulatory and ethical considerations to the selection process Ethics is a set of principles to be followed that suggest what is right and what is wrong. No discrimination on any basis is one of the laws which has to be followed but it also an ethical responsibility of the employers and the management. Being in a construction business ethics plays a vital role since the business utilizes manpower like none other. With having unskilled labor the company needs to follow ethical practices in order to not harm anyone. Regulatory Once the final negotiations are done the following formalities are essential to convert the candidate into an employee.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reference Checks  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pre employment medical tests  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Documentation: Educational certificates and previous organizational records   The above-mentioned regulations are for only the main office staff. Legal There are several laws the company will have to follow and are mandatory Minimum age- according to Article 8 of Part II of the Indian law system Minimum Age initially specified was 16 years but was raised to 18 years in 1989. According to this law all the employees if the company should be over the age of 18. Empire construction does not recruit anyone who is below the age of 18. One of the eligibility criteria that the company follows is that the age of the candidate should be over 18. According to Indian contract act of 1872 all the employees are made to sign a contract at the start of their work. Minimum wages- The Indian law system specifies a minimum wage and all the employees should be paid more than that. Empire constructions for the skilled and unskilled labor obey this law and pay the employees accordingly. This act is more applicable for the unskilled workers working at the construction sites. Being in the construction business Empire construction has to follow The Building Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 This act looks was enacted for safety, health and welfare measures of construction workers. The Act contains provision for http://business.gov.in/legal_aspects/laws_specificindustries.php Amongst the other mentioned laws the company also has an obligation to follow The Equal Remuneration Act, 1973(for woman) and The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959. 2 High performance teams are truly seen as winning teams that invest much time and effort exploring, shaping and agreeing on a purpose that belongs to them, both collectively and individually. They are characterized by a greater sense of commitment to their growth and success. Evaluate how to build winning teams. Assess the benefits of team working A team is any group of people organized to work together interdependently and cooperatively to meet the needs of their customers by accomplishing a purpose and goals. Susan Heathfield Empire construction utilizes project teams. In the company several people of different functional groups come together and work on a project, this has many benefits for the organization some of them are listed below. Efficiency- Teamwork leads to higher efficiency, which will evidently is beneficial for Empire constructions. Teamwork in Empire construction aids in getting the projects undertaken in the most efficient manner. Morale- working in teams helps employees have higher morale and feel more comfortable and well adjusted in the organization. Higher employee morale helps in their retention. Information Preservation- working in teams, all information about activities are shared, hence protecting the company from loss of important work when someone leaves the company. Sharing information can cut down on time spent learning valuable information a former employee understood well. Innovationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨- Brainstorming for ideas and pooling in resources makes innovation likely for the company. In Empire constructions the project team sit together and analyze projects and brainstorm ideas and this usually leads to innovative ideas. Reduced Waste- à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Team working reduces chances of duplication of efforts and streamline production. Unity- à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Working in teams fosters a sense of unity and this overall benefits the company by creating a work atmosphere enjoyed by the staff. Project teams are also vital for Empire construction since without it the success of projects would be challenging, each individual working independently on one common project would create a lot of chaos and duplication of work will be high. Demonstrate working in a team as a leader and member towards specific goals dealing with any conflict or difficult situation. Conflict is the perception of difference of interest among people (Thompson, 1998,p.4) Conflict management and problem solving skills are important for all leaders to possess. It is important to understand the reasons of conflicts . Most of the conflicts that happen in teams are due to the difference in ideas and the problems that arise are due to individuals but have an effect on the entire team. Stulberg (1987) identified traits common to all disagreements; He called them the Five-Ps of Conflict Management and these are shown below. Conflict management, source- Stulberg (1987) http://www.innovativeteambuilding.co.uk In empire construction for conflict management the team leader listens to all the people and then brainstorms and understands the conflict then comes up with a solution. The author would recommend the company to use Interest-Based Relational (IBR) Approach for conflict management. This approach respects individual differences and helps in people not becoming too embedded in a fix position. All the team members of the company would have to follow the following rules in using this approach. Make sure that good relationships are the first priority: During conflicts all the people involved should be courteous and calm, also should try to be constructive under pressure. Keep people and problems separate: During a conflict other personal issues should not be kept under consideration, this will help in dealing with real issues without damaging working relationships. Pay attention to the interests that are being presented: Listen carefully to the other person Listen first; talk second: To solve a problem effectively you have to understand where the other person is coming from before defending your own position. Set out the Facts: Before trying to argue or try to manage conflicts the leader should know all the facts about the conflict. Explore options together: Be open to the idea that a third position may exist, and that you can get to this idea jointly. Review the effectiveness of a team in achieving the goals. Effectiveness of teams refers to how efficient the team is while achieving their goals. For an effective team all employees should be more proactive and self-sufficient, hence employee empowerment can help improve team effectiveness. In empire constructions the effectiveness of team is vital to achieve the goals. Being a construction company they have deadlines to meet and their main goal is to complete projects within the time and budget and with good quality. To achieve their goals and targets Empire construction utilizes several ways to increase the effectiveness of project teams. The company sets clear goals in the start and these are clearly communicated to all the team members since to achieve the goals the goals and objectives should be clearly known by all the team members. The team leader to review the effectiveness of the team in achieving goals conducts regular project meetings. To have effective teams during the start of the project the project plan is created where all the team members are allotted with different responsibilities and roles. From the past trend of the company it can be seen that all their deadlines are mostly met and hence it can be said that the teams in Empire construction are efficient and effect The author feels that the company can make use of team building evaluation attached below to review the effectiveness of the teams. Team Building Evaluation Scale: 1= Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Agree, 4= Strongly Disagree http://www.janssensportsleadership.com/resources/free-championship-team-building-evaluation/ LEADERSHIP- Leadership means influencing people so that they will strive willingly towards the achievement of group goals A leader is a person who has the ability to get other people to do what they dont want to do and like it There are two types of leaders in every organization official leader and informal leader. An official leader is the one who has been established by the organization and has the right to delegate or give orders to co-workers in the firm. An unofficial leader is the one who has the natural ability to be a leader and has the ability to influence people. In empire constructions the Directors of the company are the official leaders. Since it is a construction company the roles are very distinguished. Responsibilities are not clubbed together and given to one employee it is widely distributed among the employees. There is an importance of a leader in every organization. In most cases, people will perform at about 60% of their potential with no leadership at all. Thus, an additional 40% can be realized if effective leadership is available There are several skills and attributes needed for leadership Skill/Attribute   Self-Awareness   An effective leader should be self-aware. Should know own strengths and weaknesses.   Self-Management   A leader should hold themselves responsible for every decision made   Relationship Building   An effective leader should be able to establish meaningful relationships.   Communication Skills   An effective leader should be able to engage in active listening and open dialogue while working in a group or team   Ethical Practices   A leader should have defined and established personal values   Team Development   An effective leader should actively contribute to the teams seasonal goals and objectives   Leading Change A leader should be able to implement changes for improvement and betterment of the organization.   Project and Program Effectiveness A leader should be able to organize, delegate, and evaluate the impact of a future project   Systems Thinking   A leader should possess critical thinking skills to understand and to deal with dissimilar environments. Motivate employees An effective leader should be able to motivate the employees to get work done from them. The table below highlights the skills and attributes needed for leadership. https://sites.google.com/site/karamartinsleadershipportfolio/home/11-skills-and-attributes Leadership in empire constructions The company has several leaders and they are primarily the directors of the company. All the three directors who are basically the leaders are self-aware and self managed. The leaders of the company are friendly with the staff and tend to inspire and motivate the staff. The directors take all the major decisions, which involve change, so it can be said that they lead change in the organization for the betterment. Difference between leadership and management Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing.- Warren Bennis. There are several differences between a leader and a manager. In empire construction the directors are the leaders whereas there are several managers such as project manager, marketing manager etc. Time- managers work for a particular time period of the day whereas being a leader is about being responsible 24 hours. Manager takes tactical decisions whereas a leader takes strategic decisions. The director being the leader takes strategic decisions such as which project to undertake and about future expansions, the tactical decisions such as how many brochures to print are taken by the managers. Roles and responsibilities-Leaders are responsible for a broader range of responsibilities that managers are. Mr. T.S Vig being the leader in empire constructions is responsible or the entire company whereas the managers in the company are responsible of only a certain tasks. Influence on others- Leaders inspire and motivate people, whereas managers being in authority instruct and order employees. Risk taking- managers follow predetermined rules and regulations of the company whereas a leader will challenge the status quo. In empire constructions the managers work on establishing tasks whereas the leader is rather radical in his thinking. Vision- A leader is a dealer in hope Napolean(1769-1821) A leader has a strong vision whereas managers lack that and abide by the company procedures. The table below highlights the skills and roles of managers and leaders. Management Leadership Do things right Do the right thing Doing whats right Knowing whats right Directing and controlling others Motivating and inspiring others Delegating tasks to subordinate Empowering followers Follow orders from senior executives Inspire others to follow a shared vision Conform to norms of the organization Create and foster a change culture Problem solvers Innovators Official position of responsibility within the organization Traits within people, irrespective of their rank Position Action Planning, directing, monitoring Strategic decision making Listened to by others Respected, appreciated, liked and trusted by others Achievement of objectives through compliance of others Achievement of objectives through acceptance and willingness of followers Analysis Decisiveness Learned skills Natural instincts Organization of staff Support and guidance for followers. Management and Empire construction At times the companies leaders play the role of managers for running the company effectively since it is a small business. This is not very desirable since leaders and managers portray different traits and strengths to meet the organizations objectives. However the company does have several managers responsible for varied tasks. Rajkumar Singh is the site manager for one of the projects and he manages the site office of that project. His job is to ensure that all the work at the project site is being conducted appropriately and meets the predetermined quality, time and budget. He being the manager instructs all the workers about the work to be done on the site. Leadership styles There are three unique leadership styles highlighted in the diagram below. Figure 11- leadership styles, Fieldwork- source of information; Paul hoang (2007).  business and management. australia: IBID press. 750 A specific leadership style cannot be determined for the organization because the style varies from leader to leader. Leadership style undertaken depends on the relationship between the leader and his sub-ordinates and also the leaders thinking about his subordinates. The organization makes use of situational leadership style, which means that the leaders and managers do not follow a particular approach towards leadership but make use of a mix of autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire leadership style. The owners of the firm who do not make decisions based on departments but make them considering the 360-degree approach adapt situational leadership. In the company Autocratic style is adapted when result or deadlines are supposed to be met in a short period of time. The marketing head adapts to this leadership style when it comes to putting up the advertisement hoardings and placing orders for standees. The staff is often seen de motivated because there is lack of input from their side. This de-motivation has been observed by the communication during the daily tea breaks when the employees get together to discuss general matters. The company undertakes democratic leadership style during various situations; in the meetings conducted the employees are consulted for problem solving and decision-making. This motivates them and makes them feel important for the organization. For small daily decisions such as how many more plain sheets for the printer should be ordered etc, laissez-faire leadership style is used within the organization. Leadership theories Contingency theory of leadership- this theory suggests that there is no one best way to manage or lead and organization since whats best in one situation is might not necessarily work in some other situation. The Fiedler Contingency Model states that there is no one best style of leadership. Instead, a leaders effectiveness is based on the situation. This is the result of two factors leadership style and situational favorableness (later called situational control) This theory applies to the chosen organization since the leadership style undertaken is situational based. Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory-This theory states that instead of using just one style, successful leaders should change their leadership styles based on the maturity of the people theyre leading and the details of the task. Using this theory, leaders should be able to place more or less emphasis on the task, and more or less emphasis on the relationships with the people theyre leading, depending on whats needed to get the job done successfully. According to Hersey and Blanchard, there are four main leadership styles based on the behavior of subordinates, these are illustrated below. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_44.htm The Hersey Blanchard model is applicable to the chosen organization since not only the leadership style varies with the situation but it also varies with the staff. In any given situation not all employees are instructed equally for example when a deadline is to be met a rather autocratic style is adapted by the leaders however it is fairly difficult for the leaders to direct each employee so some of them who have high skills and willingness may not be directed as much with leadership style for them being delegating and not telling. Motivation Motivation is the The general desire or willingness of someone to do something. For a firm to be successful it is important for the employees to be motivated. Motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation that the employees feel from within, self-motivated people. These people usually choose their interests and hobbies as their career. Extrinsic motivation is when employees need to be motivated through external factors like money or non-monetary ways. Managers in a firm can inspire their employees in different ways; money may not always be the key to the employees happiness. The managers of Empire construction use time and attention to motivate their employees. They motivate their employees financially and non-financially. It is important for the managers to understand which employee is motivated by which factor. The company makes this analysis during the interviews; Where the HR head takes the final interviews. The employees ask certain set of questions, which help the firm to understand which motivational factor is important to them. For eg- if they ask about the salary then money could be a criteria. Financial motivation- Salary- Salaries are payments made each month. The employees of Empire construction are paid monthly instead of yearly, this helps improve the cash flow of the company, and also it motivates the employees to work efficiently every month. Bonus- is when an extra or an unexpected increase in efficiency of the employee has contributed to the firm. This helps the company in two ways one that employee is motivated and second that it helps the company improve its overall performance. The chosen organization does make use of cash bonus to motivate the employees. Loyalty bonus is paid to the employees who have stayed with the company for a certain length of time. The company also gives the employees a Diwali bonus, which consists of a months salary. Pay rise- the salary of employees is increased with time in order to motivate them. Fringe benefits- All payments and benefits to an employee in addition to the salaries. Recommendations- If a customer comes through an

The Ethics of Gun Control Essay -- Constituton Bill Rights Right To Be

The Ethics of Gun Control The phrase "Gun Control" means different things to different people. One bumper sticker states that "Gun Control means hitting your target." However one defines gun control, the mere mention of it brings controversy. Opposing sides have for years fought over the laws that govern firearms. For the purposes of this paper "Gun Control" is defined as policies enacted by the government that limit the legal rights of gun owners to own, carry, or use firearms, with the intent of reducing gun crimes such as murder, armed robbery, aggravated rape, and the like. So defined, gun control understandably brings favorable responses from some, and angry objections from others. The gun control debate is generally publicized because of the efforts of the Pro-Gun Lobby or the Anti-Gun Lobby. The best known of the Pro-Gun Lobby is the NRA, headed by Charlton Heston and Wayne LaPierre. The Anti-Gun Lobby includes such organizations as Handgun Control, Inc., The Violence Policy Center, and the ACLU, and is commonly associated with such figures as Sarah Brady. It is doubtful that anyone would dispute that reducing violent crime is a good thing. Most pro-gun lobbyists will concede that guns are used in violent crimes, and that guns act as an enabler for criminals. It is impossible to deny that mass shootings could not be carried out without guns. This fact is generally the basis of the anti-gun movement. They argue that since guns are commonly used in the commission of crimes, and since guns are inherently dangerous because of their primary function (the primary function being the destruction of the target), that guns should therefore be outlawed. The pro-gun... ...der rate because Americans own so many guns." http://www.guntruths.com/myths/united_states_has_such_a_high_mu.htm. 28 July 1999. "Only the police are trained enough and responsible enough to carry guns". http://www.guntruths.com/myths/only_the_police_are_trained_enou.htm. 28 July 1999. "Proof Positive: Gun Control Increases Violent Crime". http://www.guntruths.com/resource/australia.htm. 28 July 1999 Reese, Charley. "American Citizens Have the Right to Bear Arms". http://www.guntruths.com/guest% 20correspondent/american_citizens_have_a_right.htm. 28 July 1999. Schultz, Daniel J. "It's Hard to Argue With the Founders". http://www.guntruths.com/schultz/it.htm. 28 July 1999. "This is America. The government is never going to turn into a tyranny." http://www.guntruths.com/myths/tyranny.htm. 28 July 1999.

an american story :: essays research papers

On November 25, 1986 at five minutes past noon, President Ronald Reagan marched into the White House briefing room to announce that Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North had been relieved of his duties on the National Security Council staff for supplying arms to the Iranians. By Stephan Perry It began in 1961 when Oliver North joined the Marine Corps, never knowing what he was in store for. Combat-decorated Marine, best selling author, founder of a small business, host of a nationally heard radio show, inventor with three U.S. patents and former candidate for the U.S. Senate, Oliver North is returning to newspapers with his hard-hitting column. â€Å"Ollie†, as he prefers to be called, was born in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and served 22 years as a U.S. Marine. His awards for service in combat are the silver star, the bronze star for valor and two purple hearts for the wounds he received in action. Assigned to the National Security Council staff in the Reagan administration, North was involved in planning the rescue of 804 students on the Island of Grenada and played a major role in the daring capture of the hijackers of the cruise ship Achille Lauro. After helping to plan the U.S. raid on Maummar Qaddaffis, terrorist based in Libya, he was targeted by Abu Nidal, the world’s deadliest assassin. North’s involvement in the Reagan administration’s support for the anti-communist freedom fighters in Nicaragua and the rescue of American hostages held in Beirut Lebanon, catapulted North into international prominence. North has lectured at Oxford and many other colleges and American universities. He is controversial and committed, but retains the charisma that shocked the world during the so-called Iran Contra hearings and in his 1994 campaign for U.S. Senate. North believes that â€Å"We can disagree without being disagreeable.† The Iran Contra affair is the name of the major United States foreign policy scandal in the 1980s. It involved two secret operations by the executive branch of the government. The operations were 1) the sale of military equipment to Iran and enemy of the U.S.; and 2) The provision of the military aid to Contra rebels in Nicaragua, which Congress had banned. The two operations were connected by the use of profits from the Iranian arms sales to aid the Contra rebels. After United States president Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, he claimed the Sandinistas had set up a communist dictatorship.

Psychological Trauma in Truman Capotes In Cold Blood :: In Cold Blood Essays

Brian Conniff's article, "Psychological Accidents: In Cold Blood and Ritual Sacrifice," explains how Truman Capote's nonfiction novel demonstrates the psychological trauma that the murderers and the townspeople of Holcomb face after the murders of the Clutter family. Conniff begins his article by stating that in the last twenty-five years imprisonment and execution has reached an all-time high level of obsession among the American public. Since this type of violence has been so normalized it is rarely properly understood (1). With this in mind, prison literature has continually suggested that "the most fortified barriers are not the physical walls and fences between the prison, and the outside world; the most fortified barriers are the psychological walls between the preoccupations of everyday life . . .and the conscious realization that punishment is the most self-destructive kind of national addiction" (Conniff 1). Conniff believes that these psychological walls are most confronted in and clearly seen in In Cold Blood. When Perry Smith, one of the murderers, confesses to the crime to Agent Alvin Dewey, Agent Dewey is surprisingly disappointed. Agent Dewey discovers that the truth is more disturbing than anything he would have ever imagined. Conniff writes, "The truth, Dewey discovers, is at once more ordinary and more disturbing than anything he has been able to imagine" (2). Smith and Hickock did not murder the Clutters for revenge and they didn't even know their victims. The crime was a virtually impersonal act and Agent Dewey does not want to believe this (2). At first Capote was not concerned with the capture and punishment of the criminals. Capote underestimated the community's need for retribution and its need to return to normalcy by enacting a violence of its own (2). Before the murders the community lived an unfearful life, no locked doors, no suspicion of one another. This "normalcy" could not be restored until the murderers were caught and punished (2). When the community began to lock its doors at night, it was trying to keep the invader from outside the community out (2). When the Hickock and Smith were finally caught the community categorized them as animals, this "allowed the community to deprive them of their humanity" (2). Conniff goes on to say, "a common normalcy ultimately depends upon the complete exclusion of outsiders, the exorcism of these mysterious animals is just as important as their discovery and capture" (3).

Wal-Mart Case

Wall-Mart Stores During the time of this case, there are multiple organizational capabilities that took place within the continuous growing Wall-Mart stores during 2003 as well as the years that led up to the time of this case. From the beginning of the store and the vision of Sam Walton, he used all of the different criteria for the BRIO framework. Near the beginning of the creation of Wall-Mart, Sam Walton, the founder of Wall- Mart, had many visions and a clear sense of direction he was working with.Some examples of organization he had that put him above the rest was his sense of worth for the employees by calling them associates, and allowing all employees to be able to reach him on his home phone number. This created a sense of a strong company culture within the Wall-Mart community due to the founder's efforts at communication. He worked on making connections with his employees. This shows a sense of multiple things within the BRIO framework including Value because it portrays a charisma and a personality to the customers by how the company is run and how it treats its employers.A huge part in making the firm valuable in the eyes of consumers includes their slogan, â€Å"everyday low prices†. This is attractive to all consumers because it is the lowest price but yet, comparable to some of Its competitors. Wall-Mart has guaranteed that it is the lowest price because weekly It checks out Its competitors as well such as Smart and Target. This is one of the biggest factors when it comes to Wall-Mart because people shop when it is not only super cheap, but super convenient as well.Being able to have a department store with everything you could need while eater on adding a grocery market section to Wall-Mart raised prices and the number of shoppers there alone. It is convenient because you can go Into one store for almost all of your needs at the lowest price. A resource that is rare that Wall-Mart has Is the way It started up with the distribution which included buying more merchandise directly from the manufacturers. Initially, the scale of operations was a bit modest. After Wall-Mart grew into Superstructures, this was an initial resource and capability that was rare to what other competitors had as well.It grew sales dramatically from what it had initially as mentioned above because of the high convenience and ability to buy all of your needs out In one store. Militantly the form and Idea of buying high-volume at a low merchandising cost, and buying in bulk was so rare in the market and one of its first of its kind. Compared to Smart and Target though, Smart almost failed when trying to keep its prices as low as Wall-Mart. This in fact, leads right up to the point of how costly to imitate Wall-Mart can be when looking at the BRIO framework.To be costly to imitate Wall-Mart used a bit of the other things competitors and others were doing, and Integrated these things Into what Wall-Mart was already it was discussed how Walton wou ld head to other competitors to investigate different options. He would do this for details as even as minuet as how many cars competitors parking lots could fill. There was also room to create the Superstructure as well as ‘Neighborhood Markets' which are smaller division stores around the suburban areas to create a smaller more relative size to the community.These are to seen with any of the competitors and thus must be harder to imitate since they don't have the resources. Another source that Wall-Mart has taken the advantage, due to being costly for competitors to imitate over with in the past years around this case, is the ability to extend their hours of operation to some 24 hour Wall-Marts. There are no other department, supermarket, or neighborhood stores that do this because of the cost of keeping the store open. This along with the expansion not only around the U. S. , but also the expansion globally has put Wall-Mart ahead of the rest.Organized to capture value is d isplayed in multiple different areas when it comes to Wall-Mart. One of them that continued to grow from when the company first started was its investments in information technology. Compared to when it would take months to compare the inventory-taking lags decreased from months, to weeks, to very close to actual time due to the IT transformation. It automatically linked the distribution centers to computers in the stores and suppliers. This helped utilized the firms' resources and capabilities by being able to maintain a better log of inventory.Other specifics that Wall-Mart does to maintain an organized way to capture value is to put to practice the SOOT analysis. This helps put into perspective what the company has, and perhaps things it could improve on, on a regular basis. One last thing that stuck out to me for this subject was a Balanced Scorecard which is huge within the managing community. For example, this is used often in management to balance financial results, set objec ts, measures, targets, and initiatives in terms of learning and growth, business process, and lastly, the customers.The last thing that Wall-Mart has done to have more availability to organize the capture value is by making goals, setting plans and executing these plans. Making goals, planning and organizing are all essential in a productive and efficient business as big as Wall-Mart in these days today. Through all of these different steps, Wall-Mart has been and will continue to improve in ways which every growing company should. However, BRIO is definitely something that will help keep the absolute and competitive advantage above all the other competitors and it has since its beginning around the sass's.