Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Essay

1. Visit the websites of companies like Wal-Mart, Dell and Home Depot, and see if you can find discussions of their supply chain management activities. List information you can find on purchasing/supplier issues, logistics, information systems, quality and customer service. Purchasing/supplier issues: Wal-Mart always emphasized the need to reduce its purchasing costs and offer the best price to its customers. The company procured goods directly from manufacturers, bypassing all intermediaries. Wal-Mart was a tough negotiator on prices and finalized a purchase deal only when it was fully confident that the products being bought were not available elsewhere at a lower price. Wal-Mart spent a significant amount of time meeting vendors and understanding their cost structure. By making the process transparent, the retailer could be certain that the manufacturers were doing their best to cut down costs. Once satisfied, Wal-Mart believed in establishing a long-term relationship with the vendor. In its attempt to drive hard bargains, Wal-Mart did not even spare big manufacturers like Procter & Gamble. However, the company, generally, preferred local and regional vendors and suppliers. Logistics: An important feature of Wal-Mart’s logistics infrastructure was its fast and responsive transportation system. Wal-Mart maintained a strict vigil over its drivers by keeping a record of their activities through the â€Å"Private Fleet Driver Handbook†. The purpose of the book was to educate the drivers with regard to the code of conduct. Non-compliance to the hand book would result in the termination of the driver. To make its distribution process more efficient, Wal-Mart also made use of a logistics technique known as ‘cross docking’. In this system, the finished goods were directly supplied to the customers. The system reduced the handling and storage of finished goods, virtually eliminating the role of the distribution centers and stores. Information Systems: Wal-Mart invested heavily in IT and communications systems to effectively track sales and merchandise inventories in stores across the country. With the rapid expansion of Wal-Mart stores in the US, it was essential to have a good communication system. Wal-Mart set up its own satellite communication system in 1983. They were able to reduce unproductive inventory by allowing stores to manage their own stocks, reducing pack sizes across many product categories, and timely price markdowns. Instead of cutting inventory across the board, Wal-Mart made full use of its IT capabilities to make more inventories available in the case of items that customers wanted most, while reducing the overall inventory levels. The order management and store replenishment of goods were entirely executed with the help of computers through the Point-of –Sales (POS) system. Through this system it was possible to monitor and track the sales and merchandise stock levels on the store shelves. Quality and Customer Service: When Sam Walton started Wal-Mart in 1962, he felt that each Wal-Mart needed to reflect the vision of the community and the values of each customer. This way of doing business became the Wal-Mart organizational culture. Organizational culture is what a company values and this value reflects on how companies conduct their business. According to Time magazine’s website, Sam Walton believed that if you work toward excellence and show passion with your work, you will gain a loyal customer base. Wal-Mart trains employees on how to problem solve and develops each employee to focus on pleasing the customer. The slogan of â€Å"satisfaction guaranteed† is something that Wal-Mart says it takes seriously. Wal-Mart says it trains employees to ask customers if they need assistance or tutorials on how a particular product functions. Another function of Wal-Mart customer strategies is having greeters at the door of every store. Wal-Mart management feel that if customers are greeted by a friendly face, this enhances their shopping experience. Wal-Mart says it spends time and money on its employees to ensure that the philosophy of Sam Walton is instilled into each new employee. According to the Wal-Mart website, Wal-Mart trains its employees on excellent customer skills. Wal-Mart believes that if customers gets what they want at a good price, this will keep them coming back to the store. 2. Search on the term supply chain management. How many hits did you get? Describe five of the websites found in your search. How many hits?- only 247,000,000 5 of the websites–What is Supply Chain Management? Describing what supply chain management is. — The hot new M.B.A.: Supply-Chain Management. Goes into how universities have recently introduced undergraduate majors for supply chain management. — Council of Supply Chain management Professionals: Homepage. They provide education, research, connections for supply chain management. — Module 1: What is Supply Chain Management? It’s a YouTube video introducing viewers to the field of SCM. — Supply Chain Management Certificate. Describes what SCM is and offers advanced professional supply chain management certificate. 3. Go to www.agrichain–centre.com (or a similar website found when searching on New Zealand supply chain management), and discuss the current state of supply chain (or value chain) management in New Zealand. – I went to the site I didn’t see anything on the current state of supply mgmt.. 4. Search for the term bullwhip effect and write a paper on the impacts of the bullwhip effect and the companies profiled in the papers you find. IMPACTS OF THE BULLWHIP EFFECT From the case study, in the early 1990s, P&G faced a problem of extreme demands variation for its Pamper diapers. Although the purchase rate somehow remain steady at the customer end, it has been found that the variation of order rates amplify up the supply chain, from the retailer level to the distributor level. This phenomenon is called bullwhip effect, and the distorted information from one end of a supply chain to the other can lead to tremendous inefficiencies, such as excessive inventory investment, poor customer service, lost revenues, misguided capacity plans, inactive transportation, and missed production schedules. What happens when a supply chain is plagued with a bullwhip effect that distorts its demand information as it is transmitted up the chain? In the past, without being able to see the sales of its products at the distribution channel stage, HP had to rely on the sales orders from the resellers to make product forecasts, plan capacity, control inventory, and schedule production. Big variations in demand were a major problem for HP’s management. The common symptoms of such variations could be excessive inventory, poor product forecasts, insufficient or excessive capacities, poor customer service due to unavailable products or long backlogs, uncertain production planning (i.e., excessive revisions), and high costs for corrections, such as for expedited shipments and overtime. HP’s product division was a victim of order swings that were exaggerated by the resellers relative to their sales; it, in turn, created additional exaggerations of order swings to suppliers. P&G still need to be careful when use the information sharing, because it is only an initial step to reduce the bullwhip effect within a supply chain, if use it from other stages continuously will lead to other problems. For instance, the POS data for a cosmetics store of P&G is not useful for suppliers of Pamper diapers. Moreover, if P&G cannot ensure its short order lead time, information sharing could be redundant because its supply chain is not capable of capitalizing on that information. Coordination in the supply chain is the next primary technique. Besides the Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) which P&G has already applied, the Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) could also be used to moderate the bullwhip effect, as well as to reduce cost. Finally, the generous return policies that manufacturers offer retailers aggravate gaming. Without a penalty, retailers will continue to exaggerate their needs and cancel orders. Not surprisingly, some computer manufacturers are beginning to enforce more stringent cancellation policies. The bullwhip effect results from rational decision making by members in the supply chain. Companies can effectively counteract the effect by thoroughly understanding its underlying causes. Industry leaders like Procter & Gamble are implementing innovative strategies that pose new challenges: integrating new information systems, defining new organizational relationships, and implementing new incentive and measurement systems. The choice for companies is clear: either let the bullwhip effect paralyze you or find a way to conquer it. 5. Search on the term supply chain Management software applications, and write a paper about how companies use these to improve their financial performance. Software Application Improve Supply Chain Management Financial Performance Supply chain management software is possibly the most fractured group of software applications on the planet. Some vendors have assembled many different chunks of software together under a single roof, but no one has a complete package that is right for every company. For example, most companies need to track demand, supply, manufacturing status, logistics (i.e. where things are in the supply chain), and distribution. They also need to share data with supply chain partners at an ever increasing rate. While products from large ERP (enterprise resource planning) vendors like SAP’s Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO) can perform many or all of these tasks, because each industry’s supply chain has a unique set of challenges, many companies decide to go with targeted best of breed products instead, even if some integration is an inevitable consequence. It’s worth mentioning that the old adage about systems only being as good as the information that they contain applies doubly to SCM. If the information entered into a demand forecasting application is not accurate, then you will get an inaccurate forecast. Similarly, if employees bypass the supply chain systems and try to manage things manually (using the fax machine or spreadsheets), then even the most expensive systems will provide an incomplete picture of what is happening in a company’s supply chain. Effective supply chain management boosts profitability by systematically reducing the overall costs associated with goods and services. Using SCM Software could increase the return on your investment by using the same principles that are used in big software companies abilities; increase quality, speed production, and reduce costs, and extending them to your supply network. You collaborate with your suppliers in real time, improving the relationships and the overall management of your supply chain. SCM software manages the entire process, from requisitioning to purchase order creation, receiving, invoice payment, and the tracking of supplier performance. It supports high-volume repetitive deliveries with supplier schedules specifying date and hour of delivery. Long term plans can be shared with suppliers allowing them to order raw materials, plan production, and arrange deliveries based on accurate, reliable data. SCM software helps to avoid the costly fines and penalties associated with defaults on regulatory compliance by maintaining the global knowledge necessary to fulfill cross-border transactions within governmental and customs regulations. Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the operations of the supply chain as efficiently as possible. Supply chain management goes into improving the way a company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service and deliver it to customers. Using supply chain management software and tools can bring greater speed and accuracy to the way a company do business thereby saving you time and money. 6. Search on green supply chains, and write a paper regarding the global regulatory status of environmental legislation and how it is impacting supply chain management. Impact of Environmental Legislation on Supply Chain Management One of many challenges in environmental management is compliance with new environmental regulations. For instance, the EU recently requested all electrical and electronic products being exported to the region to follow the restrictions of hazardous substances (RoHS) directives in order to reduce certain substances used in products. Another regulation, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), aims at promoting reuse, recycling, and other forms of recovery in order to reduce the waste. Those regulations presented unprecedented challenges to international supply chains. Failing to comply with the regulations could result in loss of sales and reputation. For instance, in 2001, over one million SONY Play Stations were rejected by Dutch customs for containing environmentally hazardous substances. From the perspective of supply chain management, environmental regulations impose immediate pressure on manufacturing firms from different countries along a supply chain to work together to ensure the elimination of any hazardous substances. As component suppliers revamp their products, contract manufacturers retool their manufacturing lines, and OEMs redesign many of their products. There is an unprecedented level of change in international supply chains because of this new wave of environmental movements. In the case of regulation compliance, many small manufacturers from developing countries lack the necessary experience and resources to respond to new environmental requirements imposed by downstream partners from developed countries. As developed countries move toward higher value-adding products and services, developing countries would assume a larger share of manufacturing functions in the global supply chain, thereby shouldering greater environ- mental burden. Whether supplier resistance will stymie progress toward green supply chain management is critical to compliance with environmental regulations. Currently, the practices of, and barriers to various supply chain parties to cope with environmental regulations are not fully understood. It is possible that the trend of globalization and the enforcement of regulations have increased the impact of â€Å"industry† on green manufacturing practices. More studies should be conducted to re-examine the effects of the cultural and industry factors. Effort is made to ensure the quality of this case study. For example, the study selected theoretically useful cases, used multiple investigators and respondents, conducted reliability and validity tests, collected multiple sources of evidence, and systematically searched for cross-case patterns. There are still some potential shortcomings regarding the generalization of the findings. For instance, the findings confirm the value of green partnerships but not the specific involvement of individual supply chain parties. African Journal of Business Management Vol. 5(26), pp. 10601-10614, 28 October, 2011 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBM DOI: 10.5897/AJBM11.518 ISSN 1993-8233  ©2011 Academic Journals Lee, Hau L., V. Padmanabhan, and Seungjin Whang. â€Å"The Bullwhip Effect In Supply Chains1.† Sloan management review 38.3 (1997): 93-102. i[ii] J. D. Sterman, â€Å"Modeling managerial behavior: misperceptions of feedback in a dynamic decision making experiment,† Management Science, vol. 35, pp. 321–339, 1989. ii[iii] Lee, H.L., V. Padmanabhan, and S. Whang. â€Å"Comments on ‘Information Distortion in a Supply Chain: The Bullwhip Effect,’† Management Science, 50(12), 1887-1893, 2004. iii[iv] Wilck, Joseph H. â€Å"Managing the Bullwhip Effect.† Unpublished Ph. D. Dual Degree, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, College of Engineering (available at< http://www. engr. psu. edu/symposium2006/papers/Session% 203D% 20-% 20Modeling% 20and% 20Engineering% 20Applications/Wilck. pdf>, accessed July 2009) (2006). iv[v] Gilbert, K. â€Å"An ARIMA Supply Chain Model,† Management Science, 51(2), 305-310, 2005. v[vi] Chopra, S. and P. Meindl. Supply Chain Management. Second Edition, Prentice Hall, 478-504, 2004. vi[vii] [4] Dejonckheere, J., S.M. Disney, M.R. Lambrecht, and D.R. Towill. â€Å"Measuring and Avoiding the Bullwhip Effect: A Control Theoretic Approach,† European Journal of Operational Research, 147, 567-590, 2003. vii[viii] Chen, Frank, et al. â€Å"Quantifying the bullwhip effect in a simple supply chain: The impact of forecasting, lead times, and information.† Management science 46.3 (2000): 436-443. 1. This initiative was engineered by Kurt Salmon Associates but propelled by executives from a group of innovative companies like Procter & Gamble and Campbell Soup Company. See: Kurt Salmon Associates, â€Å"ECR: Enhancing Consumer Value in the Grocery Industry (Washington, D.C.: report, January 1993); and F.A. Crawford, â€Å"ECR: A Mandate for Food Manufacturers?† Food Processing, volume 55, February 1994, pp. 34–42. 2. J.A. Cooke, â€Å"The $30 Billion Promise,† Traffic Management, volume 32, December 1993, pp. 57–59. 3. J. Sterman, â€Å"Modeling Managerial Behavior: Misperception of Feedback in a Dynamic Decision-Making Experiment,† Management Science, volume 35, number 3, 1989, pp. 321–339. 4. Sterman (1989); and P. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (New York: Doubleday/Currency, 1990). 5. For a theoretical treatment of this subject, see: H.L. Lee, P. Padmanabhan, and S. Whang, â€Å"Information Distortion in a Supply Chain: The Bullwhip Effect,† Management Science, 1997, forthcoming. 6. M. Millstein, â€Å"P&G to Restructure Logistics and Pricing,† Supermarket News, 27 June 1994, pp. 1, 49. 7. V. Carroll, H.L. Lee, and A.G. Rao, â€Å"Implications of Salesforce Productivity, Heterogeneity and Demotivation: A Navy Recruiter Case Study,† Management Science, volume 32, number 11, 1986, pp. 1371–1388. 8. Salmon (1993). 9. P. Sellers, â€Å"The Dumbest Marketing Ploy,† Fortune, volume 126, 5 October 1992, pp. 88–93. 10. P. Kotler, Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997). 11. R.D. Buzzell, J.A. Quelch, and W.J. Salmon, â€Å"The Costly Bargain of Trade Promotion,† Harvard Business Review, volume 68, March–April 1990, pp. 141–148. 12. Sellers (1992). 13. Ibid. 14. Lee et al. (1997). 15. L. Lode, â€Å"The Role of Inventory in Delivery Time Competition,† Management Science, volume 38, number 2, 1992, pp. 182–197. 16. Personal communication with Hewlett-Packard. 17. K. Kelly, â€Å"Burned by Busy Signals: Why Motorola Ramped up Production Way Past Demand,† Business Week, 6 March 1995, p. 36. 18. Rory J. O’Connor, â€Å"Rumor Bolsters IBM Shares,† San Jose Mercury News, 8 October 1994, p. 9D. 19. M. Reid, â€Å"Change at the Check-Out,† The Economist, volume 334, 4 March 1995, pp. 3–18. 20. A. Clark and H. Scarf, â€Å"Optimal Policies for a Multi-Echelon Inventory Problem,† Management Science, volume 6, number 4, 1960, pp. 465–490. 21. E.K. Clemons and M. Row, â€Å"McKesson Drug Company — A Strategic Information System,† Journal of Management Information Systems, volume 5, Summer 1988, pp. 36–50. 22. Millstein (1994). 23. T. Smart, â€Å"Jack Welch’s Cyber-Czar,† Business Week, 5 August 1996, pp. 82–83. 24. G. Stern, â€Å"Retailers of P&G to Get New Plan on Bills, Shipment,† Wall Street Journal, 22 June 1994. 25. Reid (1995). 26. H.L. Richardson, â€Å"How Much Should You Outsource?,† Transportation and Distribution, volume 35, September 1994, pp. 61–62. 27. Z. Schiller, â€Å"Ed Artzt’s Elbow Grease Has P&G Shining,† Business Week, 10 October 1994, pp. 84–86. 28. R. Mathews, â€Å"CRP Moves Towards Reality,† Progressive Grocer, volume 73, July 1994, pp. 43–44.

Manage Operational Plan Essay

1.List some of the details outlined in an operational plan. An operational plan, also known as an action plan, is derived from an organisation’s strategic plan. It is a more concrete, detailed document that outlines how the strategic plans of an organisation will be achieved in practice. It includes projects to be undertaken, actions, resource policies, responsibilities and timeframes. It outlines the actions teams/individuals within an organisation will take to achieve its objectives and also outlines any major projects within the relative time period. An operational plan will contain details of: †¢Organisational structure †¢Short- or medium-term business strategies †¢Major projects †¢Available resources (including human and physical resources, also financial) †¢Performance targets †¢Responsibilities for actions †¢Timeframes for projects, goals and evaluations †¢Contingency measures 2.Broad consultation with other members of the organisation, from team members to senior management, is a good way to contribute to the success of operational planning. When, in the planning cycle, should it be carried out? What outcomes would you be looking to achieve from this process? Consultation is a key element in the development of an operational plan and it is imperative in ensuring the details of the plan, the resource allocations and the timelines set are realistic, relevant and achievable. Consultation should be an ongoing process, right from the beginning and throughout the entirety of the operational plan. Consultation can be achieved in many ways, both formally, using such tools as information sessions, meetings, workshops, focus groups, one-on-one interviews, feedback mechanisms or communication mechanisms; or informally, by relying on personal relationships and informal conversations with other stakeholders. Use of these techniques should be scheduled to occur before the operational plan is put to action, but they should not stop there. As planning progresses, it is important to consult with stakeholders to seek further  input and, for those that have major contributions, to gather feedback. As plans come to fruition and projects commence, it is important to constantly seek feedback and input, in order to monitor, evaluate and refine the planning processes and the actions undertaken. The next important step of the consultation process, once feedback has been gathered, is to use the information effectively and communicate this back to the relevant stakeholders. When stakeholders see the positive flow-on effects of feedback they have offered, it makes them more likely to offer quality contributions the next time they are asked. This creates an open and flowing cycle of communication and feedback throughout the entire planning process, which leads to a highly monitored plan, formed through consultation with relevant stakeholders. This regular feedback enables the organisation and those managing the operational planning, to evaluate and refine the planning procedure. 3.Why do budgets need frequent reviews and adjustments? Who is responsible for ensuring that budgets and other financial documents are accurate? When creating financial reports, what sources of information need to be analysed? Budgets are the mechanisms through which organisations can monitor their financial health. Budgets are essentially plans for the organisation’s money and resources. They should be monitored regularly to assess the organisation’s progress against agreed targets and to flag any potential issues. Individual areas should update and report internally on a regular basis (i.e. monthly), which, in turn, would lead to reports being delivered to senior management every quarter. These reports can be used to update the budget forecast and contain information about the current state of accounts (i.e. spendings vs earnings). It is important to frequently review and adjust budgets to take into account changing circumstances, such as, project delays, project blowouts, changes to staffing levels and changes in the currency exchange rates. These adjustments are necessary to reflect actual circumstances that apply to specific projects, work units, the organisation as a whole and the broader economic and financial climate. Within an organisation, there is generally a senior management group or committee responsible for ensuring the financial statements present a full and accurate position of the organisation’s financial situation and that any  variants from budget are fully explained. When creating financial reports, depending on the level of detail the organisation requires, the following sources may need to be analysed: †¢Budgets †¢Budget forecast reports †¢Reports of actual financial performance †¢Budget principle reports †¢Revenue reports †¢Expense and output reports †¢Balance sheet reports †¢Asset and cash management reports †¢Investment/derivative reports †¢Liability reports 4.Resources can mean many things when you are preparing an operational plan. What kinds of ‘resources’ might you have to plan for? There are many resources that require planning for an operational plan. These can include: †¢Goods and services †¢Human resources (i.e. staff, consultants, contractors) †¢Physical resources (i.e. equipment, property, machinery, facilities) †¢Financial resources (i.e. budget allocations, money) †¢Stock requirements and requisitions A process of research and consultation needs to be carried out to adequately allocate resources. A detailed planning ‘diary’ can be a useful resource for helping individuals who are responsible for planning and to carry out their duties in a timely and comprehensive fashion. 5.Today, more and more businesses understand that being successful is about more than just economic performance, but that it is also about their environmental and social performance. They are aware that increasing use of the Earth’s natural resources places a strain on the planet. Responsible businesses are, therefore, making every effort to ensure that they use resources efficiently. What does the term resource efficiency refer to? Identify five things an organisation could do to reduce the amount of paper  and energy used and wasted. Resource efficiency refers to maximising the supply of money, materials, staff, and other assets that can be drawn on by a person or organization in order to function effectively, with minimum wasted effort or expense. Five ways an organisation could reduce the amount of paper and energy used and wasted could include: 1.Improving purchasing Cleaner production starts with cleaner procurement. Buying recycled materials can reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. Give preference to products that are designed for long life, are reusable or recyclable, and are made and packaged with minimum material. 2.Improving storage Only store what you need. Good inventory management can save money. Keep all storage areas uncluttered, clean and clearly labeled. Avoid keeping empty containers, unless they have a specific use. Establish clearly signed, segregated areas for appropriate storage of all equipment, materials and wastes. 3.Conserving energy Using less costs less. If you reduce your energy consumption you can save money and reduce greenhouse gases caused by burning fossil fuels. Turn off all lights and equipment when they do not need to be operating. Use energy efficient office equipment and power saving functions where they will be most effective. Use the most efficient lights — triphosphor tubes are cheaper to run than fluorescent lights. 4.Conserving water Fix dripping taps and leaking pipes — a dripping tap wastes more than $100 a year. Install water saving accessories around your business, contact your local water authority for ideas. 5.Reducing waste Segregated waste can often be recycled and may be a valuable product for another business. The three R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Quantify the waste you produce. Waste is the difference between the materials you pay for and the materials your customer pays for. Examine each process step to determine where wastes are produced and to devise measures for waste prevention or reduction. Many wastes occur because of process inefficiency. Devise ways of reducing your waste with your employees and suppliers so they  too can share in the savings, for example rewards for employees and suppliers who reduce waste. Reuse drums and containers where possible. Ask suppliers to exchange empties. Identify ways of reusing materials in the process at different stages.

Comparing The Powerful Images of the Tyger and the War photographer Essay

William Blake and Carol Ann Duffy both utilize powerful imagery to describe the â€Å"War Photographer† and â€Å"The Tyger†, making similar statements about them. In addition, both poems use vivid imagery associated with the theme of religion and war. The use of imagery by both poets emphasizes the parallelism between the â€Å"The Tyger† and the â€Å"War Photographer† as it suggests that both these characters prey on death. For example, William Blake describes the Tyger to have a â€Å"fearful symmetry† and â€Å"fire† in its eyes. The words â€Å"fearful† and â€Å"fire†, create a semantic field of ferocity and danger associated with the Tyger. Furthermore, this highlights the savage and formidable side of the Tyger, making the predatory nature of such an animal prominent. The use of the word â€Å"symmetry â€Å" not only indicates the Tiger’s symmetrical appearance but also, on a deeper level may imply the ordered and mechanical manner in which it kills its prey. This is because the fact that its appearance remains symmetrical suggests how emotionless and insensitive it is when using the death of other animals to fuel its own ruthless mind and body. Although the â€Å"War Photographer† isn’t portrayed to this extent of barbarity, the fact that he uses death and suffering as a source of income is certainly similar to the Tyger’s situation. This is exemplified when Carol Ann Duffy says that the War Photographer â€Å"stares impassively at where he earns a living.† The use of the adverb â€Å"impassively† conjures up images showing how the War Photographer is so unemotional and machinelike in the way he takes pictures of the death and suffering of War just to â€Å"earn a living.† Therefore, in this way, the mental images formed in reader’s mind from each poem illustrate that the War Photographer is synonymous with the Tyger as they both cold-heartedly use the medium of death to improve their own lives. However, on other hand, the dichotomy of both the Tyger and the War Photographer is also made clear with the use of imagery. For example, William Blake also depicts the Tyger to be â€Å"burning bright.† This emphasizes the magnificence of the Tyger in a much more â€Å"bright† and positive manner, juxtaposing its deadly and dangerous side. The use of bilabial plosives in the ‘b’ sounds in â€Å"burning† and â€Å"bright† creates an explosive and energetic sound, creating images of an animated and vibrant animal, contrasting to the alternative dull and spiritless perception of the Tyger. Moreover, the depiction that the Tyger is a thing of beauty rather than terror is accentuated when the Tyger, which is â€Å"burning bright†, comes from â€Å"the forests of the night.† This paints a picture of the Tyger being something good coming out of evil as the words â€Å"forest† and â€Å"night† have connotations of something dark and sinister, contrasting to the magnificence of the Tyger’s brightness. William Blake also goes on to ask the question â€Å"Did he who made the Lamb make thee?† This is referring to God as the Lamb is depicted as the ‘Lamb of God’. This question reinforces the idea that there must be something good coming out of this seemingly deadly creature if God is its creator. The reason for this is that God is often pictured an omnipotent, benevolent figure and the fact that he created the â€Å"Lamb†, a symbol of complete innocence and purity, reinforces this. Therefore if he created the Tyger, there must be a positive outcome to its invention. Perhaps Blake is conveying the image to the reader that the valuable purpose of the Tyger is to create a natural order of balance in the world. Although on the surface its predatory nature seems only to have negative impacts, it is required to ensure the survival of not only its own species but also to prevent the overpopulation of prey species like the Lamb. This imagery implies that the Tyger needs to prey on animals such as the lamb in order to keep balance in the world, and to allow the circle of life to happen, a concept that is reinforced by the cyclic structure of the poem. Similarly, in War Photographer Carol Ann Duffy mentions how the War photographer â€Å"sought approval without words to do what someone must.† This adds a sense of morality to his job and the purpose of it, just like the creation of Tyger benefits the world in a much larger sense; he doesn’t do it just to earn money. This produces a contrasting image on the War Photographer as it suggests he is doing something right and â€Å"what someone must† as making people aware of the death and suffering in the world, is a step closer to resolving this problem of war. Furthermore, powerful imagery used by both C. A. Duffy and William Blake, emphasizes the duality of the Tyger and War Photographer. On the surface, both the Tyger and the War photographer seem to be emotionless and insensitive in the way they prey on death but the larger, meaningful purpose of each character is also portrayed. Powerful imagery is also presented in both poems via the theme of religion. For example, in War Photographer, strong religious imagery is created with use of the Bible quote â€Å"All flesh is grass.† This implies that all life is as temporary as grass and just like grass life will shine for its season but then wither, fade and die. Alternatively the â€Å"flesh† could be a metaphor for death, suggesting that death in war is as common and in huge numbers as blades of grass. Nevertheless, both these interpretations highlight the ephemeral nature of life in war. Perhaps Carol Ann Duffy uses the fact that quote stems from the Bible to almost blame Christianity or religion for allowing or creating War, which makes life so fragile and transient. Furthermore, maybe, C. A. Duffy conveys these religious images to the reader, to highlight the doubt she has in the supposed altruism of God for creating war. William Blake uses religious imagery similarly in the Tyger. â€Å"What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?† This questions the nerve of the â€Å"immortal† God to create such a â€Å"fearful†, dangerous creature. Perhaps Blake uses the terror of Tyger to represent the suffering and death in the world and in this way, he creates striking images to question whether God is truly beneficent. This image of an uncompassionate God is reinforced when God is questioned to have â€Å"dread hand† and â€Å"dread feet† for creating this creature. The use of the adjective of â€Å"dread† to describe God produces powerful images that oppose the assumed kindness of God, implying that this all-powerful figure may also harbour malicious intent. Perhaps Blake is alluding to the fearful Jehovah like image from the Old Testament, questioning whether in fact he is a benevolent figure for creating the death and suffering that the Tyger embodies. Therefore, the religious imagery in both the War Photographer and the Tyger question whether God’s good will for creating suffering in the world emphasized through the creation of the Tyger and War. An apparent difference in the portrayal of images between the 2 poems is that the War Photographer is closely related to humanity, whereas The Tyger focuses on images beyond human. In War photographer, C.A. Duffy emphasizes the effect of War on humans such as the â€Å"War Photographer† and the †readers† of his pictures. For example the War photographer’s hand is described to â€Å"tremble† when he is forming the pictures of â€Å"agonies.† The words â€Å"agonies† and â€Å"tremble† paint a vivid image of the hardships of his job and the amount of fear he has when witnessing the horrors of war. Therefore, the plight of the War Photographer evokes the base instincts of empathy from the reader. Carol Ann Duffy also goes on to mention, â€Å"The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears† when seeing the â€Å"agonies† in the pictures that the War Photographer takes. The use of the verb â€Å"prick† to depict how the readers weep when seeing theses pictures, illustrates how superficial and apathetic this response is, the photos just â€Å"prick† the surface of their â€Å"eyeballs†, it is not heart-felt or deep. Perhaps this displays that these readers forge even this feeble gesture of respect, as they have to go the extent of pricking their eyeballs to make themselves cry, as it does not come naturally. This is to â€Å"prick† is quite an abrasive or forceful verb may imply that they are forcing themselves to artificially show that they care, when truly â€Å"they do not care.† This gives the impression that the readers suffer from compassion fatigue, they are desensitized by the sheer number of horrific photos of War that are presented to them and subconsciously, they realise this lack of compassion but they do not want to display it. In this way C.A Duffy, brings this insensitivity that masked by artificial a cts of kindness of the viewers (of pictures of War), to the forefront of the reader’s mind. Furthermore this imagery is quite because it questions whether the reader (of this poem) deep inside, have this same indifference to the pictures of War, many readers would relate to the way they are often dismissive of these images (like the readers in the poem), making them almost feel guilty. However the visualization in the Tyger creates very different effects on the reader. The lexical patterning of the words â€Å"immortal†, â€Å"distant†, †wings† and â€Å"heaven† creates a strong impression that the only 2 figures in this poem (The Tyger and its creator) are superhuman and celestial, creating a very mystical tone to the poem. This is reinforced with auditory imagery through the incessant trochaic metre of the poem and the repetition of the word Tyger, very much chant or hymn like, re-iterating the supernatural theme to the poem as hymns are sung to emphasise the magnificence of God. Therefore, this leaves the reader is awe and amazement of the power of these 2 figures that belong to a world much beyond the one of a human. Thus, the imagery in the Tyger and the War photographer also has very different effects on the reader, one leaving you with emotions of empathy and guilt and the other with a sense of wonder. In conclusion, Carol Ann Duffy and William Blake both present powerful images of the figures of the War Photographer and the Tyger that make them very alike.

Write two paragraphs, each about 150 words, which present an extended Essay - 1

Write two paragraphs, each about 150 words, which present an extended definition of Jim Crow 1.0 and Jim Crow 2.0. AKA The New Jim Crow - Essay Example Under these laws, the public places or the public assets of the United States were segregated between the African Americans and the White Americans. These laws were created to promote equal treatment of the African Americans, but the public assets that were allowed to be accessed by the African Americans were quite inferior to the ones that were allocated to the White Americans. Jim Crow 2.0 is the word used to refer to a book called New Jim Crow that was authored by Michelle Alexander during the period of 2010. The book is called Jim Crow 2.0 in order to differentiate from the Jim Crow laws of 1890s which are referred to as Jim Crow 1.0. The book called Jim Crow 2.0 was authored with the purpose of informing the society that things have not changed in the American society and the African Americans are still treated almost the same way they were treated under the Jim Crow Laws. The book proposes that institutional discrimination still exists in the American society but it has taken a much subtle form. The book argues that previously laws were created to explicitly discriminate against the African Americans. Now there are no such laws, but the practices of these institutions is still the same. For example: the African American members of the American society are quite commonly labeled as criminals and due to this they have access to inferior quality of housi ng, employment opportunities and other opportunities as compared to the White Americans of the society (Cflj.org

This is the Trade Law Exercise Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

This is the Trade Law Exercise - Term Paper Example The WTO law that Newland first has to look into is based on the definition of unfair and what is considered as problematic to the company. Unfair trade is based on cartel agreements, price fixing and the abuse of a dominant position in the market. There are also specific rules that are based on dumping which Newland will need to look into. The dumping and subsidization that Newland is currently practicing doesn’t show that they are violating provisions of the WTO law and are practicing in compliance with what is expected in these terms. However, the problems with others in Richland lead to questionable actions that can be taken against Newland. Changing the operations then becomes necessary to keep offering products within Richland. Dumping and Newland Dumping is defined as bringing a product into another country at a lower value and price of the product. WTO doesn’t prohibit the practice of dumping in an organization; however, the problems with dumping becoming harmful to the domestic affairs to the community cause the WTO standards to change to ensure consistency and that specific regulation measures are taken. From this viewpoint, Newland isn’t breaking any laws, specifically in terms of dumping. They offer specific prices at a lower value to Richmond; however, this isn’t one that is considered illegal according to WTO practices. The problem that is arising is based on the domestic harm that is occurring. Richmond is now having difficulties with suppliers of the domestic product, which is causing the main conflict and has led to a loss of income and many businesses have lost their practice to Newland. The loss of business shows that there needs to be a different provision specifically for Richland because of the crisis with domestic products. While Newland technically isn’t breaking any laws with the anti-dumping measures, there are specific ways in which Richland can form against the large amount of profit that Newland is taking. The first way is through Article VI of GATT 1994. This states that if a specific company or individual files a grievance against the company, then it can be referred to in court. These specific actions against dumping may move into civil or criminal proceedings and penalty. However, since there are no other regulations with anti-dumping measures in the WTO law, this is dependent on a case by case basis. The only determinant is if the law suit is filed correctly and with the right type of grievances. However, under this same agreement, price undertakings and provisional measures are not the responsibility of WTO. The individual case that has to be created against Newland has to take calculations and measure to prove that dumping is being done, specifica lly in terms of price and the amount of products that are being sold. The calculation first implies that dumping is occurring, which compares the price to price value of Newland and other furniture manufacturers. Newland is known for carrying cheap furniture; however, the production isn’t inclusive of being outside of the price zone of other furniture zones and can’t be calculated. For Newland to be subjected to anti-dumping duties there would need to be proof that the furniture is below the regulation level for selling the furniture under priced. Determining whether the sale is in the ordinary course of

Drug Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Drug Education - Essay Example The authorities are dealing with a higher number of arrests related to drugs. More over, records indicate that drug use is one of the major causes of death recently, being associated with directly causing death as well as deaths that are related to drugs. It was also established that the rising crime levels are associated with drugs (Cleaver et al 1999 p. 87). Data from the Home Office and the police supported this study (Blackman 2004 pp. 148-149). It is understood that even young women who initially were not in the drug consuming bracket as well as cultural minorities and young people in the rural areas are increasingly getting recruited in drug use (Shipp et al 2005 p. 261). . This essay is a critical evaluation of the drug use policies that are significant in preventing drug use. Several models and methods of drug use have been discussed as well as their role in promoting drug use prevention. Due to the widespread presence of drug use in the society, governments embarked on formulation of policies aimed at facilitating drug education that can help in changing this social condition. The policies are aimed at preventing non-drug users from beginning, especially in schools. This is because it was established that the potential age for beginners is school age (Melrose et al 2007 p. 67). Primary prevention is therefore focused on prevention through drug education in schools. The approaches to drug education have mainly been sociological and cultural perspectives. One of the approaches is to establish other activities that can satisfy the user in place of drugs. These are mainly useful for the drug users who do it for recreation or relaxation purposes. This is a diversionary-alternatives means of enhancing a reduction in drug use (Blackman 2004 p. 153). Education focused on a particular situation in regard to drug use is also significant in helping the drug users to stop consu ming them. Peer education has also played a significant role in ensuring

Case response Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Response - Case Study Example Southwest’s growth strategy has always been to stay away from big cities characterized by delays in airports and instead concentrate on secondary options, which basically are less crowded. Such an approach as this has worked for the airline in the past allowing it to swiftly turn around its aircrafts in addition to flying more routes while at the same time staying realistically on time. Nevertheless, regardless of what looks like a cannot-lose situation, the airline could also be taking a huge gamble in LaGuardia; although a pretty secure one. Southwest is an airline that is known for its reliability on timely service, not only for its customers but also behind the scenes. The delay issues experienced in New York cannot just be underestimated-every one of the big 3 regional airports is frequently among the poorest performers especially in terms of punctuality-and will pose a great challenge for Southwest to surmount. Thus for Southwest to turn around the situation, and sustain its fast-turnaround approach of operation, it has its work already cut out. Whitney Eichinger-Southwest’s spokesperson has been on the record pointing out that the airline has proved critics wrong and succeeded in Philadelphia where everyone thought Southwest would run into difficulties (Heskett & Sasser Jr, 2013). Nevertheless, a move to LaGuardia is an exceptional opportunity that will not only open a huge population of business travelers but also the 8 million New Yorkers-some of whom may forego a ride to Long Island simply to snag low fares offered by the airline. This would especially be a catch if Southwest flies to Chicago and possibly Florida. The Airline’s fans in New York will especially be extremely happy since they will say goodbye to long and boring drives out the expansive Expressway of Long Island. In addition, Southwest will have access to a wide pool of weekday customers flying to such cities as Dallas, Toronto and Chicago. The airline will also increase its

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 8

Management - Essay Example Examples of liabilities include debts repayable, deferred revenue and current-year loan and note payments (Sveiby, 2007). Liabilities = Assets – Capital Shareholders’ funds Shareholders’ funds are a gauge of the shareholders' entire interest in the business represented by the sum of share capital and reserves (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2002). Shareholders' funds are the balance sheet value of the shareholders' interest in a company. Capital = Assets – Liabilities In order for a business to be economically health, the company’s total assets should be more than its total liabilities. Current assets such as cash, receivables, and securities should be able to cover liabilities. If a company‘s assets significantly exceed its current liabilities, the company may not be putting its wealth to the most excellent use. Definition of intellectual property and forms of legal protection available to intellectual property. Intellectual property laws are laws set by countries with inventive home based industries to promote innovation by regulating the replication of inventions, identifying symbols, and creative expressions (Draft, 2002). These laws include patent rights; trademarks; copyrights and trade secrets. Patent rights protect inventions or patent (Management notes). Patent rights guarantee the originator, a unique right to avoid others from creating, using, and selling the inventor’s patented contraption for a predetermined span of time especially 20 years in return for the confession of the invention’s information to the civic under the stipulations of the social contract. Another form of intellectual property is copyrights; the right of owning written work like a book, document, a patch of code or software application (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2002). This property is protected by a set of rights granted by the law of jurisdiction to the author of the original work and according to the World Intellectual Property organizat ion rights protected by copyright include; the owner’s right to permit or prohibit, duplicate, allotment, public presentation, transformation, broadcasting, and version (Draft, 2002). More over, trademark is a word, symbol, device, or name used to designate the foundation of the goods and to differentiate them from other goods in the market (Management notes). Trademarks are exclusive to exact brand, product, or individual and consequently need to be secluded in the concern of preserving a product’s identity (Patents and data protection). In other words, trademarks refer to a distinctive indicator used by either individuals or organizations to identify itself to customers or consumers (Patents and data protection). Essentially, it enables the indication, that, the products or services originate from exceptional entity and designated for a particular market. In case of any infringement on the trademark, the owner may initiate legal proceedings to prevent unauthorized us e of the trademark. Advantages of a Gantt chart It helps in the planning of a project. One can see at a glance the project tasks and time schedules (Clark, 2002). A Gantt chart is suitable for small projects that fit on a single sheet. Gantt chart exhibits dependencies amid tasks using focussed

Tourism Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tourism Industry - Essay Example Tourism offers avenues and resources for the authorities to politically socialize local residents and foreign tourists through a process of "branding" (Morgan et al. 2004). Such exercises reify particular identities for locals to imagine themselves and their identities (Ooi et al. 2004). Tourism becomes a vehicle for destinations to selectively market their crafts, their own philosophies, and their cultural identities. Routing and zoning provides a framework for reorganizing space. Tourism transforms the cultural and historical life of communities. State authorities may package and redefine customs and cultures, and reframe relationships between cultural groups in society through tourism (Wood 1984). The relationships between state and civil society are always open and responsive. Tourist consumption of local politics is often implicit, rather than explicit. Tourists, despite their relatively short trips, are subjected to many of the same conditions as local inhabitants. Countries perceived as unstable and unsafe do not receive many tourists. Their governments are often portrayed as being out of control, corrupt, or incompetent. When countries draw tourists, it implies that the tourists trust the host environment and system enough to come. Thus, tourists indirectly give a vote of confidence to the political regimes in the places they choose to visit. Howie (2003) points out there is rarely a single owner or manager of a destination, hence, there is less chance of a coherent set of goals and objectives. Poon (1993) states that today's tourists are more experienced travellers and therefore demanding, more informed of his or her rights and less passive in the quest of things to do than the tourist of a previous generation. Tourism success requires the cooperation of various agencies. Public authorities, local government, land control authorities, cultural management agencies, civil groups, and others have to cooperate to develop the industry. How the various agencies and political institutions within a country organize themselves to promote, plan, and develop itself as a tourist destination affects the speed, scope, and effectiveness in realizing its tourism development plan (Pearce 1997). Each agency has its own interests and agendas. Official tourism promotion authorities must take on a leadership role in the industry, and harness cooperation amongst various agencies through coercion and persuasion (Ooi 2004) Leiper (1990) noted that a 'system' can be defined as a set of elements or parts that are connected to each other by at least one distinguishing principle. In this case, tourism is the distinguishing principle which connects the different components in the system around a common theme. Main body How historical perspective in UK change from 1969-2002. The Development of the British Tourism Act of 1969Manufacturing was still Britain's main source of income when the 1969 Tourism Act was created. The development of tourism act was the first statutory legislation in the country specifically concerned with tourism. The primary reason for the introduction of the act

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

Essays - Essay Example A "hit" occurs when the new information presents a match with the data already entered into the database. Maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IAFIS is the acronym for The Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. It is the biggest biometric database in the world. It is used by all jurisdictions which is a tremendous help in identifying suspects at crime scenes. In addition to fingerprints is also houses a criminal history database. The IAFIS provides "automated fingerprint search capabilities, latent searching capability, electronic image storage, and electronic exchange of fingerprints and responses, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year". (United States Department of Justice-Federal Bureau of Investigation) CODIS is the acronym for the Combined DNA Index System. It is responsible for exchanging and comparing DNA evidence in violent crime scene investigations by and between crime labs within the United States and several international law enforcement agencies. A. Step One - Planning and Direction. The intelligence/analytical process begins and must be run from identifying the main focus of the intelligence. It is responsible for delivering the final product to the law enforcement unit that is requesting it.

How Can You Become an Authentic Leader and Be Successful Essay

How Can You Become an Authentic Leader and Be Successful - Essay Example Authentic leadership focuses on whether leadership is genuine; indeed, â€Å"from an intrapersonal perspective, authentic leadership incorporates the leader’s self knowledge, self regulation, and self conceptâ€Å"(Northouse, 2009, p.206). Therefore, authentic leaders lead from conviction, as they base their actions on their values; they are also original and do not imitate other individuals, and their leadership is genuine as well. Northouse (2009, p.207) adds that, from a developmental approach, authentic leaders can be viewed as nurtured, whereby, authenticity develops in form of a behavior pattern in an individual over a life time. In addition, there are five dimensions involved in authentic leadership: values, purpose, self-discipline, and heart, inclusive of several characteristics - behavior, compassion, consistency, passion, and connectedness. Authentic leaders have a sense of purpose, such that, they are aware of where they are going, since they are inspired by thei r goals (Northouse, 2009, p.212). They are also passionate about their job and have self-discipline, which assists them in achieving their goals, as it acts as a source of determination and accountability. Such leaders are compassionate, and are sensitive towards other’s feelings, having a will to assist them. ... Benefits of authentic leadership According to Avolio et al (2005, p.802), due to the many crisis facing modern organizations, unique leaders are required in order to restore hope, optimism, resiliency, and confidence. Authentic leaders are capable of enhancing motivation, commitment, and satisfaction in their organizations. Building enduring organizations is not an easy task. Therefore, authentic leaders assist in building sustainable organizations, and they are capable of motivating their employees and maintaining a long-term value for the shareholders. Another benefit of authentic leaders is that they walk their talk; such leaders say what they mean, and therefore, they are ethically sound in their organizations. Due to their compassionate natures, they develop a special relationship with their followers based on mutual respect, trust, and support. These leaders are able to attain the best from their followers, since the subordinates are influenced by such leaders. In challenging t imes, they continue operating with humility, which inspires their juniors (The Cognitive Fitness Consultancy, 2009, p.4). Needless to say, the chances of continuous growth as an authentic leader are high, as individuals are capable of adjusting to the changing conditions. Authentic leadership fosters honesty and trust within the organization, and such leaders appreciate differences in opinions, leading to innovation enhancement. Bryman (2011, p.355) adds that authentic leadership mainly benefits the followers, who are said to increase their efforts in organizational activities, leading to better work performance. The followers also improve on their attitudes and mindset, such that, there is increased level of trust because of change in leadership. In addition, followers attain greater

Jackie Chan Vs Harold Lloyd Essay Example for Free

Jackie Chan Vs Harold Lloyd Essay Originality or the issue of authenticity is a paragon of any discussion. Arguing who or what is original is tantamount to debating which came first whether the egg or the chicken and which came first, language or notion. Several critics are bombarded with the originality factor in evaluating a piece; be it literary, performing arts, scientific discovery, etc. The talk about the first to do this and that should be set a side as far as criticism is concern because there is no such thing as original. If there is this one original thing in the realm of concepts and tangible things, it could be traced on the immediate before and/or after of Earth’s primordial soup status. Taking the writing techniques of the modern time as an example, it started long time ago when the ancient people vandalized in caves and stones. The markings in the caves and stones that are evident up to the present evolved to writings in the leaves and other minute things that are easily carried. Generations passed by and the people learned to devise the scrolls and parchment to better preserve the writings that contained the manuscripts of what happened in their time. At present, with the help of the fast developing technology, and with the desire of the people to carry things and information to the next generations in a handy manner, writings can now be saved in electronic gadgets. Thus, the emerging technological advancement that caters to the preservation of writing in the present time has no right to argue with their precedent on originality, so as the other way around. People should understand that absolute authenticity can never be achieved since every new product that comes into the market is an innovation of an old product. This issue is also the same as the idolatry issue. It is improper to claim oneself as an origin of many things that are like him or her in one way or another. Movie actors and actresses for example copied their styles and techniques from the elders in their industry. However, these â€Å"elders† cannot deny the fact that their strategies and styles were adaptations of those older than them, example: people from the realm of theater. Yes, the adaptation of movie actors from theater actors is possible because the later people emerged in the entertainment industry earlier. But this theater people could not be considered the point of origin of acting as performing arts, note that prior to the development of theater, rhetoric in the form of public speaking was practiced by Phaedrus and many others during the ancient times. And the chain backed track on and on and on. Idolizing other people should not be taken negatively. In the first place, people idolize other people because of the inspiration that ones get from its idol. For a healthy society that evolves progressively through time, idolatry is normal. In fact it should be acknowledged and encouraged because it ignites innovativeness in the part of those who idolize; since they are inspired to reach what their idols got and even more that what their idol got. This is supported by Bob Ong, a Filipino writer—author of ABNKKBSNPLAK, Bakit Baliktad Magbasa ang mga Pinoy, Paboritong Libro ni Hudas, Almat ng Gubat, and Stainless Longanisa. In one part of his latest book, Stainless Longanisa, he said that idolizing helps people progress. He confessed that he is never ashamed of claming Robert Fulghum as his idol in writing because Robert figuratively pushes him to go further, reaches Robert, and even surpass Robert. A very fine example of this talk is Jackie Chan and Harold Lloyd. If we are to examine Jackie Chan’s comedy style, it is apparently influenced by Harold Lloyd. However, we have to put into our consciousness that the authenticity is out of the talk. In comparing and contrasting the two actors, the aim should be: to distinguish the specific effects or influence of Harold to Jackie and to differentiate their style if there is any identified difference. The comparison of the two can only be limited to the identification of their commonalities and difference and their style’s effects to the viewers because it is impossible to evaluate who is better between the two of them. First, they do not belong to the same generation. It would be unfair to Harold because during his time, movie and television technology is not that advanced compared to the time of Jackie. And second, the two have different set of audience so it would be a joke if we are to contest them based on a specific period of time e. g. Harold’s time or Jackie’s time. The evaluation of their appeal to their audience should be evaluated contextually. Harold’s evaluation should be based on his period and Jackie in Jackie’s period. One commonality of the two is that they both do stunts. Both Jackie and Harold hanged on helicopters, buildings, and busses. Jackies willingness to do his own stunts, originally the trademark feature of his movies, has gave him various injuries. Even though he is not scared of doing stunts, he admitted that he is Scared of needles and hates retaking shots. Because of the know-how on martial arts and stunts, Jackie personaly do these parts in his movies. While this claim was not scrutinized, he fells previledged on doing the most of them, including other character’s stunts if their faces will not be focused on the camera. In effects, his fondness build up an lengthy list of injuries. This is the reason why he is insurance companies all over the world do not risk of accepting any of his insurance applpications. While filming Armour of God He in 1985, death was near him. He fractured his skull when accidantally fell from a tree in an exhibition scene. In Jackie’s autobiographical sketch, he mentioned he originally created his screen persona in pattern to Bruce Lee with a mixed comedic style from many screen performers before him like Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. By looking into the comedy style of Jackie Chan, Harold Lloyd’s influence could be traced. In looking into the contributions and achievements of Lloyd in the American comedy film industry, the silent film era should be looked into. The era developed when Buster Keaton accomplished in his project with Arbuckle at the Talmadge Studios in New York City, where Arbuckle signed a contract to Joseph M. Schenck. Schenck provided him his own production unit, The Keaton Studio. He filmed several two-reel comedies which including Cops (1922), One Week (1920), The Playhouse (1921), and The Electric House (1922). He graduated to pantomime, full-length features after the success of these shorts. These films elevated Keaton making him one of the most popular comedians in the globe. At the time, he was speculatively the third most well known comedian in America behind Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin. Harold Lloyd as one of the most famous and in demand comedians made nearly 200 comedy films, both sound and silent, from 1914 to1947. The film Glasses Character made him known as an innovative, success-seeking go-getter who was perfectly in timing with 1920s era America. His films subsequently featured thrill sequences of chasing scenes and daredevil physical features, which marked in the showbiz industry up to the present. One of his images that awed the people was that when he was hanging from the hands of a ticking clock that in Safety Last (1923), which was one of the most enduring scene in all of silver screen. Lloyd actually performed many of these dangerous stunts withut a double, despite having extremely injured in an accident when a prop bomb was blown up that resulted in the loss of his his right hand’s index finger and thumb. To measure the effectiveness of the two in their respective audiences, a contextual analysis was made. In this part, their educational background in relation to their profession and the recognitions that the received were considered. Both Chan and Lloyd have the sufficient background in their field of specialization, comedy.

Design And Build Procurement Route Changes Construction Essay

Design And Build Procurement Route Changes Construction Essay The design and build procurement route changes the traditional sequence of work. It answers the Employers wishes for a single-point of responsibility in an alleged attempt to reduce risks and overall costs. It is now commonly used in many countries and forms of contracts are widely available. Design-Build is sometimes compared to the master builder approach, one of the oldest forms of construction procedure. Comparing design-build to the traditional method of procurement, the authors of Design-Build Contracting Handbook noted that: from a historical perspective the so-called traditional approach is actually a very recent concept, only being in use approximately 150 years. In contrast, the design-build concept also known as the master builder concept as been reported as being in use for over four millennia. (Songer,1996). The disadvantage of the traditional procurement method had been identified in many reports. According to Lathem Report (1994), it stated that the traditional method has the problem of adversarial and inefficient way of doing things and separation of the roles and responsibility of team members. According to the Construction Industry Review Committee Report (2001) stated that a high degree of fragmentation with an adversarial culture and a contractual and confrontational culture would be developed. The alternative procurement method would be sought for solving those problems. Describing Design and Build as a viable alternative method, Songer and Molenaar (1996) concluded that there are a number of advantages associated with Design and Build such as: cost savings, improved constructability, time savings and claim reduction. From the Employers perspective, the single point of responsibility is the most attractive benefit derived from the DB procurement approach (Chan 2000). With the support of case studies and quantitative data, Hale et al. (2009) pointed out the Design and Build is superior to the traditional procurement system hence recommended to use Design and Build approach in both public and private sectors. Levy (2006, p.197) even suggested that the design-build delivery system appears to be a perfect vehicle by which to pursue sustainable or green building construction. According to Chan and Chan (2004), the completion time as it relates to speed of a project depended on the procurement method adopted for the project. They attributed the slow delay observed in one of the projects to be due to the use of the traditional procurement method. However, they recognize the possibility of other factors playing a role that it was noted as the project who has suffered delays; obtained better results in terms of cost compared those obtained through the method of design and build method The increasing the complexity of the project, the Employer would be hesitated to how to reduce the time for design and the time for construction. The Employer was willing to seek for the alternative method to reduce the time of the design stage and the construction time and improve the performance of the projects. There are many alternative procurement methods have been developed in recent years such as Novated Design and Build and Enhanced Design and Build. The traditional procurement method is not the only choice for the Employer. Design and build is now one of the most frequently used procurement routes in construction and it is a radical departure from the traditional design-bid-build method. The use of design and build is on the increase with many Employers perceiving it as providing better value for money and giving rise to less disputes than other procurement methods. As per the surveys of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors,2004 , new procurement trends can be identified which may be associated with the boom period in construction in the early part of the decade and it clearly shows that the Design and construction has become the single dominant method since the previous survey in 1995, it was the traditional methodUnder a design and build contract the contractor assumes primary responsibility for the design of the development, in addition to its traditional role to supply work and materials. The contractor engages the design consultants, or more usually, has the appointments of the design Consultan ts novated to him. 2.1 THE DEFINITION OF THE DESIGN AND BUILD PROCUREMENT METHOD Design and build is and arrangement in which a building contractor enters into a contract with you to design and construct your new building. It is the simplest approach, as one firm is responsible for producing the building you want rather than this responsibility being divided amongst several firms, as is the case with every other approach. (Sarah Peace and John Bennett, How to use a design build approach for a construction project, CLOB, P2) Masterman(1992) state that the term Design and Build has almost been unanimously interpreted and defined as being an arrangement where one contracting organization takes sole responsibility, normally on a lump sum fixed price basis, for the bespoke design and build of a Employers project. This contains three main elements: the responsibility for design and build, contractors reimbursement is generally by means of a fixed price lump sum and the project is designed and built specifically to meet the Employers needs. According to David Chappell (1997), Design and Build contracts place responsibility for both design and erection in the hands of the contractor one point of responsibility for everything. In this system contractor will carry out two functions: design and construct. In other definition, design and build is an arrangement where one organization design and build to the firm order for the Employer to a single financial transaction. The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB-1983) defines Design and Build as the process where the Employer deals directly with the contractor for the complete building and it is the contractor who is not only responsible for but also coordinates the separate design and build process, including engagement of the design team who are, therefore contractually linked with the contractor and not the Employer. The diagram below shows the contractual relationship in the design and builds procurement method. Client Design Build Contractor In-house designers or external consultants Specialist Contractors Source: Sarah Peace and John Bennett, How to use a design build approach for a construction project, CLOB, P2 In practice, Design and Build procurement is generally structured in one of two ways; The Employers employ a dedicated Design and Build organization with its own in house design team. The Employers engage a general building contractor who employs external design consultant members of the contractors team for the duration of the project. 2.2 STRENGTHS OF DESIGN AND BUILD PROCUREMENT SYSTEM As the Design and Build defined, it is therefore important to reveal the strength or advantages of Design and Build as procurement system. One of the prominent feature of Design and Build is to provide a single point responsibility. This is achieved by allocating all design responsibility and liability to the contractor alone. The owner may have more design options to choose from the respective design builders who enter the tender. Owner will tend to have variation of design ideas together with the expected cost that was proposed based on his requirements. Unlike traditional approach which only appoint a single unit of design team to come out with the design ideas, Design and Build will produce much more different design ideas from the design builder who enter the tender (P. Chan et al.,1997). The owners administrative burdens may be reduced because the procurement of design and build services is consolidated into a single selection process. After award of the Design and Build contract, the owner will not be required to spend time and effort coordinating and arbitrating between separated design and build contracts. While the process does require the owner to provide prudent oversight of the design and build process, this responsibility is considerable less time consuming and exposes the owner to far fewer risks than the traditional approach (P. Chan et al.. 1997; Dennis Turner, 1986). Figure 2.0: (A): Single point responsibility D B Contract ,(B): Fragmented responsibility traditional contract (Source: Bennett and Grice, 1992) In addition to the single point responsibility, cost and completion time is firm in the Design and Build procurement method. This means the Employer knows his total financial commitment in the initial stage of the project, provided he does not introduce any changes throughout the project. The Design and Build entity is responsible for quality, budget, schedule, and performance of the completed facility. With the single point of contact, Employers can concentrate on definition of needs and timely decision-making rather than on coordination between designer and contractor. Besides, the Design and Build entity has total responsibility for the finished product and cannot shift design errors of construction defects to another party. Therefore, it will likely to end up with the expected or higher quality of end product. Unlike Design and Build approach, traditional approach contracts rely on restrictive wording, adversarial audit and inspection requirements and the legal system to attain project quality (Jeffrey L. Beard et al., 2001). Cost has always become the key considerations affecting adoption of Design and Build procurement method. Whilst project time is relatively easy to interpret and potential savings clearly identified, project cost is more ambiguous and therefore difficult to evaluate. A prominent consideration for the Employer, in any procurement form, is that final cost does not exceed the project budget. In this respect, Design and Build certainly presents a better chance of the Employer obtaining his completed building within budget. Jerry Adanison (2001), explained that several financial considerations make Design and Build desirable. Private sector have implement Design and Build for financial reasons. Completing a project quickly can save Owners used to finance projects. On the question of cost, real cost savings can also be made in Design and Build. According to Mastermann (1992), when using this system, the initial an final costs are lower than when using other methods of procurement because of diminished design costs, the integration of the design and build elements and in built build ability of the detailed design. Cost savings may also result in timesaving. The overall effects is reduction in the Employers financing charges, lesser effect of inflation and faster building operation, which, in a commercial context, produces an earlier return on the capital, invested, (Frank 1998). 2.3 FACTORS CONSIDERED IN PROCUREMENT METHOD SELECTION CRITERIA Requirements of the Employer The successful of the procurement method should fulfill the requirements of the employer. The objective of the Employer should be identified. Employer would require the best design for their project and meet his requirement stated in the Employers requirement. Time should be as fast as possible for the construction period. The cost of the building should be as lower as to satisfy his requirement. The Employer would prefer to minimize the contractual risk to avoid the unnecessary trouble. Time As time is money, the duration of construction period of the project is very important. Time at large, the time spending on the planning, construction and development would affect the economic scale of the Employer. The Employer would seek for the shorter construction period to earn for the greatest profit. The time- related cost item such as the cost of site office, human resources would increase as the duration of the construction period become longer. The early release the building, the greater profit for the Employer. Quality The quality of the workmanship and the quality of material is one of the main concerns for the Employer in general. The quality of the building should meet the requirement stated in the specification of the contract. Cost The development cost, the construction cost and the operation cost are the concern of the Employer. They totally affect the profit of the Employers. The construction cost is the cost for the building construction such as material cost, plant cost, labour cost. The operation cost is the running cost for the building such as maintenance cost, management cost. The development cost is the land cost, construction cost and other all expenditure which has paid for the development. Communication One of the major reason for choosing design and build arrangement is to benefit from the good communication that can occur between the design team and the construction team (Gould, 2003). Many of the large design and build companies specialize in particular areas and have developed a smooth flow between the design and build phases of the project. This collaboration allows the project to be easily fast-tracked, cutting down on overall schedule for the project. Direct contact between the Employer and the contractor as provided a Design and Build system lines of communication and enables the contractor to adapt more promptly to the Employers needs. Integration and encouraged inherently within the system (Griffith, 1989). The Employer and contractor will communicate closely during the process of the project. Communication between them will start at the beginning stage of the project. Therefore, in design and build it provides the Employer and contractor an opportunity to interact more often and more directly than traditional contract. In general, this arrangement allows easier incorporation of changes due to scope or foreseen conditions since their coordination occurs within the same contractual entity. The Employer is less heavily involved and sits outside the direct day to day communication between designer and constructor. This keeps owner staffing to a minimum and puts the full responsibility for good communication and problem solving. Risks The Design and Build contract transfer more risks to the contractor than any other construction contract. Among a variety of risks, a contractor usually takes on many speculative risks. Risks that can vary in incidence between the parties as they wish. Speculative risks can be within or out with the control of a contractor (Turner 1990). However, the suitability of a project to the Design and build approach must be carefully undertaken by ensuring that the contractor is able, willing and has relevant experiences to control the risk satisfactorily, otherwise they may pass these back to the Employer (Hogg Morledge, 1995) Figure 2.0: Risk allocation for each type of procurement system (Hogg Morledge, 1995) 2.4 THE FACTOR AFFECTING THE SUCCESS OF THE DESIGN AND BUILD 2.4.1 THE PROJECT CHARACTERISTIC Large and complex projects take longer construction durations. It is difficult to use the design and build procurement in such projects. Because it is unfair for the contractor to take risk on the material inflation on the lump sum fixed price contract. Therefore, the size and the complexity of the project should be considered. 2.4.2 THE CONTRACTOR SELECTION According to Sarah Peace and John Bennett, it is very important for the selection of the contactor to process the design and build project. From the figure shown that the design and build project in increasing because of the government is willing to use Design and Build procurement method. As the adopting design and build procurement method by the Government, there is the system for selection of the Contractor as per the Procurement Guide Lines The selecting the Contractor is not only concern the tender price, but also the quality Time, Contractors financial status, potential contractor with good reputation, manpower good record for the previous project as per the pre-qualification marking scheme of National procurement guide lines. Therefore, the contractor who meets the Employers requirement for time and quality at the best price would be selected. 2.4.3 THE EMPLOYERS REQUIREMENT The Employer should fully state their requirement, idea and specification of the workmanship in the Employers requirement. The more detail of the Employers requirement is, the fewer disputes will be occurred in the later stage. The design of the building and the standard of the building is according to the Employers requirement. The Employer should understand what he needs in the building and the idea should be fully explained in the Employers requirement. The proposal responded from the Contractor should be carefully checked by the Employers representative. Once the Employer accepts the proposal from the Contractor, the contract will be formed between them. The design of the building and the construction method will not be changed which stated in the contractors proposal. The changes by the Employer would cause the great amount of the variation. Therefore, the accepted proposal should be fully understand by the Employer which is suitable to his ideas. According to Ashley et al. (1987) identified 4 factors contributing to project success and grouped them into five areas including (1) management, organization and communication; (2) scope and planning; (3) controls; (4) environmental, economic, political and social; and 5) technical. The implications of the Employer should develop a thorough project plan in which the scope of work is clearly defined, and the contractor should understand and commit to the achievement of project objectives. The contractors capability and experience in managing Design and Build project is critical to project success and project team members commitment toward the project goals is also important. Songer and Molenaar (1997) identified 15 characteristics of successful Design and Build. They found that the top five important project characteristics were well-defined scope, shared understanding of scope, owner construction sophistication, adequate owner staffing, and establish budget. Although the Design and Build projects are expected to deliver the project faster and cheaper as compared to the traditional bid and build projects, not all the Design and Build projects can really accomplished it. Many empirical studies have been conducted to examine the impact of various project success factors such as the study of factors for a successful public sector Design and Build projects by Songer and Molenaar (1997), study on architects and builders views on Design and Build procurement method in Hong Kong by Mo and Ng (1997) and many others (Albert P.C. Chan et al., 2001). Accordingly Chan et al., (2001) has developed a series factors contributing to the success of Design and Build projects. These factors are the duties, responsibilities and capabilities of different project participants including end-users, contractor, architect and design consultants in Design and Build projects. CONCLUSION The intention of this chapter is to present an overview of the literature published on the subject of selecting the procurement method from the current construction industry; The objective of the Employer in terms of time, cost, quality and risk would be found out also. And the factor that may determine the successful of the procurement method would be identified. They are the project characteristic, the contractor selection and the employers requirement. In general, it can be summarized that Design and Build provides single point responsibility for the whole design and build. Contractors, who are responsible for the implementation of the project, have power to control all over the projects. This nonetheless does not deter the involvement of the Employer. The Employers need and requirements are always been taken into consideration, which this consequently presents uniqueness of the system. In conclusion, it is essential that whoever really want to procure Design and Build method need a thorough understanding of the types and characteristics of that kind of procurement. Therefore, benefits of Design and Build can be exploited. Many studies also showed that the characteristic of Design and Build that make Design and Build different from other procurement system in offering single point responsibility, fixed time and money, communication, allocation of risks and others. Getting success in Design and Build projects enables an assurance of getting the project completed at the right time and within allocated budget. The Design and Build procurement system has better time performance and cost benefits, which are essentially what the end-users are concerned about. This research can be a key to assessing the performance level of Design and Build projects, and the project participants can learn about the important factors for setting up an effective management system to turn Design and Build projects with excellent performance.

Ryanair: PESTEL and Porters Five Analysis

Ryanair: PESTEL and Porters Five Analysis 1.0 Introduction Ryanair is an Ireland based airline company and it involved in commercial aviation business since 1986, operating scheduled passenger airlines, serving short haul and point to point routes primarily between Ireland, Britain and Europe. It is the pioneers of low fare airline in Europe and even until now Ryanair is the only airline that offers cheapest air fare to passengers travel around Europe. Micheal OLeary is the CEO of Ryanair, holds 4.6% stake of the company, His dynamic low fare strategies along with the evolution of Ryanair have had led to burst of many budget airlines and some of them had been bought by Ryaniar around Europe, simply because of their inability to compete with Ryanair. European aviation industry is wider, but squeezed with many incumbents that are operating both short haul and long haul routes. As European short haul airline market segment is price sensitive, Ryanair handles no frills strategy and charges lowest price from its customers. In order to obtain bett er margin in the low fare demanding market Ryanair held in a position of cost leader and fundamental low fare strategy supports for rapid growth of its business. The strategic capabilities underpinned by its unique resources and core competences are the preliminary constituents for Ryanair to be a cost leader and offer low fares. This will be explained in detail under below topics about the feasibility of various strategic circumstances. 2.0 External Analysis: The analysis of Macro-environment explores core cause of factor; assess the nature of effects and immediacy. PESTEL analysis has been undertaken to evaluate the external environment of Ryanair. 2.1 PESTEL Analysis: (P)olitical/(L)egal factors: Preferential Treatment of home base airlines in some countries, at the same time they prevent thriving foreign companies and inflict them in more operational cost. Increased terrorists activities have prompted airline industry to tighten security measures and alleged terrorist plots will adversely affect flight turn-around time. Detrimental mental effects are also possible due to any terrorists plots targeted on Ryanair. The rapidly changing government rules and regulations are an inevitable legal factor for Ryanair. This will be discussed in detail under suppliers bargaining power. (E)conomic factors: The instability in fuel price cause major problem for airline industry. If they do not hedge, the fuel price hike is inevitable and they need to find cost savings in other spheres of business when the fuel price is soared. Ryanair was especially more vulnerable to fuel price rises in the past. For example: In the last quarter of 2008, when the fuel price was in its hike, Ryanair reported losses of $130 million dollar and it blamed a 71% increase in the price paid for fuel during the quarter due to the abnormal surge of fuel price of more than $ 1,100 a ton (K, Capel. Airline. The Telegraph, Feb 2 2009.). (E)nvironmental factors: As the world is heading towards more and more greener, all governments taking appropriate measures to control greenhouse gases from carbon emission which would lead to catastrophic human and economic consequences. Ryanair has network virtually in all European countries, so it is more vulnerable to all EU environmental rules and regulations. The mounting pressure on EU laws to tax aviation fuel and anticipated charges on environmental pollution by airlines would have direct impact to Ryanair. (T)echnological factors: Technological factors such as internet, innovative developments in telecommunications such as video conferencing, instant messaging, web conferencing etc. will mean less need for travel, especially on scenarios such as business meetings. 3.0 Industry environment: 3.1 Segmentation and positioning: Ryanair is positioned in the lowest fare segment and has least customer experience among other budget airlines in the European market. The market segment for its rivalries is broader with larger geographical area including operations to main airports, whereas Ryanairs networks are limited only to low cost secondary airports with smaller geographical area. Ryanair predominantly focuses on only people who are desperate for low fare and it has no separate segment for people who want luxury service or business class. Despite, Ryanairs continuous traffic growth, shows that the people wanting low fare in European market are tremendous and European market is for the low fare short-haul carriers. Perhaps, high air fare carriers neither cope up nor sustain against low fare carriers. The competitive position is deeply elaborated in section 3.2. 3.2 Porters five forces: Industry environment analysis figures out the foreseeing competitive pressure in European aviation and the profitability of the industry likely to be in future. It explores the magnitude impact of Threat of substitutes, Threat of Entrants, Rivalries in European market, bargaining power of supplier and bargaining power of customers. Rivalries: The high rivalry impacts for Ryanair are from Easy Jet, Air Lingus, Lufthansa, Iberia, SAS, Airfrance, KLM and Air Lingus. Few airlines (Easy Jet, Air lingus and Lufthansa) the first three of them are roughly more or less equal in size to Ryanair and some of their performances are even better in terms of customer service. This is considered as a significant threat to Ryanair. Despite, among all short-haul carriers Ryanair is the cost leader with having highest market share in the European market. Although Ryanair has firmly improving its competitive advantage, the core strategy of the company is to maintain the operational cost as minimum and offer low fare to customers, which is virtually same among its rivalries, but the outstanding scenario is Ryanair constantly creates new paths to bring down the operational cost . Threat of New Entrants: The short haul no frill airline market is a highly profitable business in Europe so far, while long haul market in Europe is experiencing huge losses like Air Lingus long haul airlines. So, the business scope in the short-haul market may attract new entrants. Although, European airline industry is de-regulated and open for both national and international companies, Airline business is not something like setting up a dot.com with minimum capital in anticipated profit. Hefty capital investment is required to acquire route, fleet, set up flight maintenance centre, building infrastructure etc in order to establish an operation. Industry knowledge and time associated with entry are significant for companies that want to start short haul airline business in Europe from other industries such as tourism and Rail way etc, but for airline companies from some other market like Asia, South America, North America and Australia can trace out the European market in some extent and such huge investm ents also may be affordable for them. Threat of substitutes: The threat of substitute is possible threat for Ryanairs traffic growth as passengers tendency to switch to other means of transport such as buses, trains and cruise. This kind of threat has medium effect over Ryanair, despite, the ubiquity of other means of transport to travel across European countries. Particularly rapid growth of railway network is considered to be a most influential substitute for short haul air travel across Europe. Congestion in airports and difficulties (such as boarding, airport journey) involved in air travel could cause passengers more likely to choose railway. Some government like U.K is substantially funding for the expansion of high-speed rail networks to and from Europe, especially to curb short haul carriers through heavier taxation due to the pressure arising from the environmental groups to cut down carbon emission by domestic aviation. The government intervention to establish better rail links in other countries such as France, Germany and the Nethe rlands is more vulnerable to Ryanairs routes in those countries (Dan Milmo 2009. The Guardian. 5th Aug). Bargaining power of supplier: Aircraft Supplier: In aviation Boeing and Airbus plays duopoly in manufacturing passenger aircrafts. Boeing is the main aircraft supplier for Ryanair, since its establishment. In terms of supplier bargaining power, Ryanair holds significant scale of power over Boeing, as it can easily switch to Airbus anytime in-case of high price charged by Boeing. The recent Micheal O Learys announcement of negotiation with Air Lingus evidenced the high bargaining power over its Aircraft supplier (Sarah Arnott., 2008. Ryanair looks to order 400 aircraft in plans for massive expansion. The Independent, 8th Aug.). Airports: The enforcement of new rules and regulations by airport authorities are inevitable, eventually they have more control on their bases with both short haul and long carriers airlines operating in any government airports. Ryanair has been either strongly protesting or recklessly withdrawing and switching its routes to alternative airports, at bases wherever it is experiencing significant problems. For example: Recently Manchester Airports Group refused to bring down its prices, which resulted Ryanair to pull nine out of its ten Manchester routes(Sarah Arnott., 2009. Price dispute sees Ryanair cut nearly all Manchester flights. The Independent, 18th Aug.). So, Ryanair can switch its destinations easily in case of its bargain does not take lead. Ryanair holds substantial power in the other spheres of suppliers such as staff recruitment agency, food providers and ancillary product suppliers etc due to substantial availability of those kind of suppliers in the market. Bargaining power of customer: European market is almost saturated with many airline companies including premium services to economy classes. Bargaining power of customers is high as low budget airline a commodity today and presence of more substitutes in European market. Ryanair had shrunken the bargaining leverage to its bottom with no other airlines could possibly offer such low fares, as the result that Ryanair is having extra-ordinary performance in traffic growth consistently year by year, but this growth is uncertain if Ryanair pushes its fare up. More people travelling on Ryanair, because they like the fare and can easily afford it. 3.3 Value Networks and Business Partners: It is necessary to analyse value creating areas in Ryanairs Industry value chain, which consolidates it competitive advantage by delivering those precious values to customers. According to porter, 1985, Value chain of any organization comprises of two activities, primary and secondary activities. Primary activities are directly concerned with delivery of service and that includes inbound logistics, operation, outbound logistics, marketing, sales and services. The support activities include administrative infrastructure management, human resource management, technology and procurement. Inbound logistics: Stock control of Food, beverages and Ancillary sale items: Although, Ryanair is a no frills airline, it is making huge profit through the sales of food, beverages and Ancillary items. Ryanair manages strong relationship with various foods and beverages suppliers, in-order to receive quality standard goods and on time delivery, which adds value throughout its value chain. Route selection and airport base: Ryanair only selects low cost route with the anticipation of traffic growth. Ryanair has strong relationship with various airport authorities around Europe, thus they provide subsidies in exchange for high traffic and low fares. Jet fuel: This is the most significant input that Ryanair has to scrutinize, as jet fuel contributes around half of the operating cost. Well hedged contracts will minimise cost, so recent hedging arrangements adds value to get control of fuel cost in some extent. Aircrafts and Maintenance: Deployment of single type aircraft Boeing 737-800. Operation: Ryanairs operational activities includes passenger check-In, loading ancillary and catering items in the flights, baggage check-In, Hospitality, In-flight services and daily flight operations. Contemporary online check-in system reduces cost associated with staff and avoids passenger queues in airports, thus it provides convenient journey for passengers. This adds value by enabling quick turnover of flights and prompt minimum waiting time of flights at airports. Additionally, Ryanair has contractors at certain airports for ticketing, passengers and aircraft handling (Includes loading various goods into aircraft) as well as for engine repairs and heavy maintenance at competitive rates. (Ryanair, 2004. Annual Report 2008-2009. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2009/Annual_report_2009_web.pdf. [Accessed 10 Jan, 2010) This third party contracts are more cost-efficient than Ryanair perform these activities itself. Productivity-based incentives, this includes sales bonuses for on-board sale of products by flight attendance to increase ancillary revenue through reward mechanism and pilots are remunerated based on number of hours or sectors flown, which c uts unnecessary staff cost. Ryanair facilitate the usage of onboard mobile and electronic device for its passengers in order to add value for customers. Marketing, Sales, Services and Outbound Logistics: Ryanair advertise its seasonal fares and other company related commercial advertisements on its fleet with zero advertisement costs. Furthermore special ticket offers are being advertised on its website to promote sales. In order to curb substantial operational cost and tackle high number of booking, Ryanair has introduced new Online Reservation System in addition to the host system. The system new has been provided and maintained by an outside contractor, Navaitire. (Ryanair, 2004. Annual Report 2008-2009. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2009/Annual_report_2009_web.pdf. [Accessed 5, Jan, 2010) It adds value for passengers by increasing system speed and avoid Ryanair is being on exposure to the risk of resolving system failure issues. There is no sales agent commission adds value on passengers fare and it adds value in terms of the distribution cost aggregate nearly to zero and convenient journey for passengers. Online baggage claiming system for baggage l ost passengers, which adds value to passengers as it is an easy way to claim their bags. 4.0 Resources and Capabilities: 4.1 Resources: Resources allocation and capabilities development are the source to gain competitive advantage for a company, while the market and environment establish constraints and pressures. Resources of Ryanair are basically what it holds as productive assets and can be differentiated into three different forms, tangible, intangible and human resources. Capabilities are what it can achieve by exploiting opportunities in the external environment and efficient deployment of its unique resources that exist within the company to achieve competitive advantage. Tangible Resource: Ryanair had 181 aircrafts in operation as of March, 21, 2009, among which 109 aircrafts were funded by The Export and Import Bank, 43 aircrafts were in operating lease, 20 of the aircraft in the fleet were treated as financially leased by Japanese operating leases with call options, 6 of the aircraft in the fleet were encumbered with commercial debt financing and three remaining aircrafts are entirely owned by Ryanair without any finance related encumbrances. Ryanair also owns and operates six Boeing 737-800 flight simulators for the purpose of pilot training. All the above are long-lived assets virtually all of them were aircraft totalled to 3.6 billion Euros. [Ryanair, 2004. Annual Report 2008-2009. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2009/Annual_report_2009_web.pdf. [Accessed 4 Jan 2009]. Even though many aircraft are encumbrances, ownership accompanied with the bank loan gives greater independency and financially the cost involved in leasing arrangements i s higher than being owner of aircraft. In addition to aircraft, administration offices in Dublin and East Midlands Airport, simulator and training centres are entirely owned by Ryanair. It also has leasehold property in eight airports for the purpose of flight maintenance and an office building in Dublin Airport Business Park. The recent investment of 702 million Euros for the purchase of property, plant and equipment in 2008 is remarkable. [Ryanair, 2004. Annual Report 2008-2009. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2009/Annual_report_2009_web.pdf. [Accessed 4 Jan 2009]. Ryanair serves over 1000 routes across Europe and Morocco from 40 airport bases, which is considered to be high in numbers compare to its rivalries. (http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2010/q3_2010_doc.pdf, accessed on: 15th Jan 2010). Airport bases served by Ryanair are ultimately considered as strategic assets due to its low cost. Financial Resources: The huge cash reserves held in the company of over 2.5 billion Euros will allow having abundant cash flow for its operation. Cash pile would financially leverage to take strategic decision in future expansion of business. Ryanair holds 93.15 million Euros worth of available-for-sale financial assets, which are not considered as an investment in an associate company due to insufficient power of Ryanair to influence over the investee. And also, Ryanair is the biggest investor on its rivalry Aer Lingus with the acquired stake of 29.8% of Aer Linguss share capital through private acquisition with the total aggregate cost of 407.2 million Euros. Ryanairs long term debt totalled to 2398.40 million as of 2009 annual report, which is an increase of 131.9 million from 2008 annual report. The latest debt increase is primarily due to financing of new aircraft, which will be delivered within two years as per the schedule. [Ryanair, 2004. Annual Report 2008-2009. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2009/Annual_report_2009_web.pdf. [Accessed 4 Jan 2009]. Intangible resources: Ryanairs climbing traffic growth and established brand name are most consolidated and valuable intangible assets for the company that embedded in its relentlessly flowing low fare strategies to make huge profit. In terms of operational prospective, minimum aircraft age of 3.77 years average age of all its Boeing 737-800s is a unique intangible asset and no aircraft is more than 9 years old. The company also holds considerable intangible asset of landing rights that flows future benefit into the company. Human Resources: There are 6616 staffs working at Ryanair as of March 2009, this includes 1041 additional experienced pilots contracted from employment agencies to satisfy short term pilot requirements. The employees figure is constantly increasing year by year due to rapid expansion of the company. Ryanairs top management comprises of eight boards of directors, all of them are having more than 7 years of experience with the company and their remuneration including different share options scheme are available and based on experience, as well as their job position. David Bonderman, Chairman of the Board and Director, who has served more than 13 years with the company. CEO and Director of Ryanair, Micheal OLeary is the most valuable human resources in the company and he has been successfully leading the company for nearly two decades, as CEO since 1994. (Ryanair, 2004. Annual Report 2008-2009. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2009/Annual_report_2009_web.pdf. [Accessed 20 Jan, 2010]). 4.2 Capabilities: In this section, we will discuss about the special knowledge and a skill possessed by Ryanair in order to gain competitive advantage and the key success factors that positioned the company as cost leader. The companys innovative pioneer strategies to keep the operating cost low and its ability to carrying passengers at lowest fare demand are the special capabilities it posses. Apart from these, the table below contains Ryanairs last three years operational data up to March 2009, which will demonstrate the operational capabilities during that period. The average yield per revenue passenger mile and average yield per available seat miles are decreased in 2009 due to the intense competition and further reduction of average booked passenger fare by approximately 4 Euros compare to the previous years. Yield management is crucial for airlines as the gross profit of the company mainly depends on it, so achieving better yield would perhaps maximise Ryanairs profit. The fares of Ryanair need to be continuously monitored in a way that would create demand, at the same time that would maximise companys profit. Ryanair has only little control over the fuel fluctuations like many other airlines, so increase in fuel cost is an unavoidable increase in operating expenses. The remarkable factor is the recent fuel hedging arrangements increased Ryanairs power to some extent to influence those cost aroused due to high fuel price. The next factor is cost per available seat miles, which is operating cost by available seat miles. This is one of the mo st success factors that gain competitive advantage for Ryanair, as it always being low compared to all other short haul airlines in Europe. In the table above, the increase in the operating cost in 2009 is mainly due to the rise in fuel cost. The low fare strategy is embedded in the companys capability and it is most valuable for the company by creating demand for its service. The constantly increasing load factors year by year, while the average booked passenger fare is decreasing indicates that the unique capability of Ryanair to make the traffic grow and how well it filling its seats through creating demand by stretching its fare to lowest possible. So the increased load factor is mainly due to decrease in the fares. One of the main mottos of companys CEO, Micheal OLearys is to maximise profit through selling ancillary products. Ryanair is the highest ancillary revenue making airline in Europe, which add extra profit for the company. Motivating cabin crews through commissions to sell ancillary product, consistently increasing and introducing various ancillary products and having many commission based related business are the main source for ancillary revenue. The number of airport served and average flight utilisation hours are some other measurable capabilities of Ryanair. The best service to the passengers in terms of punctuality of its flights and less baggage missing scenarios are in Top Priorities and it makes competitive advantage for Ryanair in its operation. In fact it has the policy of publishing its customer service statistics every month to show the leads from its competitors. The table below shows that the Ryanairs capability in terms of punctuality, Bags handling and journey completions among its few rivalries. 4.3 Strength and intellectual assets: All routes are point to point rather than transitional. Although it is easy to establish point to point routes for a short haul carrier, it enhances convenient journey to the passengers. Ryanair has entered into fuel hedging arrangements followed by the huge losses on 2008. The unprecedented hedging arrangements will provide substantial protection against fluctuations in fuel prices, generally through forwarding contracts covering certain periods in the future. Ancillary services including non-flight scheduled such as Car hire, Hotels, Travel Insurance, in-flight sales, rail and bus ground transport services in its business model adds extra revenue for the company. Ryanair has direct sales channels; the only way to book ticket nowadays is via the website or via Ryanair direct call centre. It helps to take out sale agents commission and special offers would directly reach the customers without any discrepancies. Ryanair has been deploying Boeing 737-800s, same fleet community in all its routes. The company can save training cost as all staffs are only be trained for one type of aircraft and also saves on maintenance supplies and labour as only one type of parts and skills needed. High seat density of 189 seats per aircraft accommodates more passengers (compare to its older version Boeing 737-200A, which had only 130 seats per aircraft) and it tends to extra revenue for the company. The use of Secondary Airport with frequent transport medium to populated cities for the purpose to keep its airport charges low and for high turnaround times. The well known scattered strategy of no frills such as, free food, drink, and lounges etc 4.5 Weakness: Even though its fares are far cheaper than any other airlines in Europe, it is being severely criticised by many people for its extravagant hidden charges. The basic reason for this criticism is advertising fares without the disclosure of most basic inevitable charges such as, taxes, online check-In or airport check-In charge(which is outrageously costlier than the online check-In), card surcharge other than master card (only possible way to pay as the booking can feasibly done through either website or call centre), administration fee etc Ryanairs deliberate controversial advertisements and statements by its CEO such as charging one pound to use the toilets in flight, are practically generate additional free publicity for the airline, but significantly it depletes brand reputation and it often perceived as bad impression among peoples mind. The poor customer service by its staffs employed and disgrace treatment of passengers by its CEO, Micheal O Leary and the company are misleading companys reputation for not even providing the basic services and rudeness involved in customer query replies are the weakness that embedded in its system. According to the comments analysed from 280 websites, Ryanair came bottom of the ranking with minus 40 points. Poor customer service and extra cost the airline charge for check-in bags are the major complaints. [Lisa Minot, 2008. Sun Air News: Ryanair suffer Over Service. The Sun, 2nd Aug.] The company is heavily addicted for traffic growth and rivalry led in European short haul market. Because of that growth, Ryanair is not able to identify the reputation and loyalty in its brand among passengers. 5.0 Strategic situation: Perhaps, I have mentioned about 2.5 billion cash reserves in its financial resources. It has announced plans of start paying dividend from its cash pile to their shareholder from 2013. (Sarah Arnott, 2010. Ryanair to pay dividend from 2013. The independent, 8th Jan). Instead of paying dividend out of its cash reserves or by using companys profit, it should decide to deploy its cash reserves in its on-holding strategy towards long haul routes. The company will get significant future growth by launching long-haul transatlantic routes. According to CEO, Micheal O Learys statement, if Ryanair introduces long haul routes from Europe to six US destinations, two segments of seat will be offered, one lowest unprecedented economic class and ever high fare business class with extravagant services. This rational strategy will generate huge profit by luring middle economic-class passengers; perhaps transatlantic passengers will want something cheaper in their tickets. The cheapest fare no frill for economic class passengers with onboard sale of everything from breakfast to dinner, beverage to entertainment would create substantial ancillary revenue. In spite the airline destinations must be in populated area or rich cities such as Chicago Midway Airport, Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport etc to fill up business class seats, Otherwise there is no logic in adding business class seats in long haul routes. Alternatively, it can choose rural destinations in US, but the business class passengers firmly transited to populated cities without any delay and inconveniency by having alliance with US luxury short haul carriers. Although, I have mentioned Ryanairs 29.8% stake over Aer Lingus, its first bid in 2006 to acquire entire share capital of Aer Lingus was firstly blocked by European commission on competition grounds and the second bid in 2007 was also failed after the Irish Government (25% stack holder on Aer Lingus) said Ryanair undervalued the company, while the offer totalled  £701 million. So, Ryanair is not yet planned to make any further bid in recent future, rather it aims to boost its cash reserves. [Pilita, C, Vincent, B, 2010. Third Ryanair bid for Aer Lingus unlikely. Financial Times, 7th Jan.] Perhaps, the acquired stakes consolidate its financial position over Aer Lingus for convenient takeover in the future, in case of any failure or the acceptance of further bid by Aer Lingus. In consideration to Ryanairs future growth in the existing market and anticipated transatlantic expansion, it has to press hard for a horizontal integration over Aer Lingus by raising the offer price from its last bid of  £701 million. The acquisition of Aer Lingus is more likely to see tremendous expansion in European market by acquiring market share and implementing low cost operating strategy over it rivalry. In a situation when a competitor disappears in the market, the competition gets ease for some instance. The acquisition also allow Ryanair to get easy access into the transatlantic routes, as Aer Lingus already operating flights to some major airports in the United States such as, Houston (HOU), Houston (IAH), Indianapolis (IND), Columbus (CMH) and San Francisco (SNF) etc 6.0 Strategic Choice: Identification: The first choice what I suggest is Ryanair can expand its market through Related Diversification by the launch of new international routes from Europe to Selected Asian countries, such as India, Malaysia and Singapore. Ryanair will be able to grow its traffic by selecting core destinations such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Chennai and New Delhi in India, Kualalampur in Malayasia and Singapore. In the other end, Ryanair would be able to cover travellers and tourists from all European countries by setting up transit hubs in selected airports in Europe such as Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan, Glasgow and Dublin (So, flights from the new market will land in those transit hubs and then passengers can reach their end destination by Ryanairs local network flights through transit from these airport) travelling to our selected destinations in Asia, as it already has firm and established operation in Europe. The above selected strategic choice would be demonstrated under Ansoff Strategic Direction Matrix Market/product choices. According to Ansoff Matrix (developed by Igor Ansoff, 1957) the above selected business is launching of new service in new market, so it will be categorized under Diversification. Although, Ryanair has an on-holding plan of introducing transatlantic routes, but not yet lunged, the new strategic choice is to flourish market share in developing nations. The assumed service in those markets is clearly business to consumer type of activity, as Ryanair directly engaged in carrying passengers or providing service directly to the customers. Ryanairs main targeting customer segment in the above three countries are tourists and passengers who are looking for low fares, as well as high fare over luxury service. The differentiations in fares with price premium for passengers perceive it as on luxury segment and without price premium for passengers perceive cost benefit under low fare segment. All the three countries are developing nations with low income, middle class and rich people. Among them, people who afford to travel to Europe are