Evaluation of Apple Incs decision about launched product Apple Pay, Essay

Evaluation of Apple Incs decision about launched product Apple Pay, based on your analysis of the external environment (PEST factors and competition) and of the market - Essay Example However, companies such as Apple are helping to make that dream turn into reality. The growth in mobile commerce is seen to be quick with more of smart phone users. The current paper aims to analyze the mobile payments industry of the U.S emphasising upon its trends, growth rates, environmental factors and competition aspects. Apple Pay is a mobile payments solutions product developed by Apple Inc. The system allows the users of iPhone 5, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 plus, iPad mini3, iPad Air 2 and Apple Watch to make direct payments. The service was launched on October 20, 2014 in the U.S. The system currently exists only in the U.S, with the company’s plans of expanding the same into other nations in the near future (Apple Inc., 2014). The contactless payment system enables users to pay for different types of purchases in a safe and a highly secure manner. The solutions payment systems are a part of the electronic payments industry. The purpose of service providers in this industry is to develop an easy method of transacting business and transferring money without having to carry or use cards every time a purchase in made. Users can store their banking information in their mobiles in a secure way and can use the same whenever purchases are made. When consumers store their debit or credit card information in their iPhones, Apple generates a unique encrypted code called the device account numbers. These codes get saved within the mobile chip and is never accessed or stored in the Apple servers. Whenever any transaction is made, these device account numbers along with transaction specific security code is used. In this manner the actual debit or credit card information is not used by Apple for transmitting the payment (Heggestuen, J., 2014). The mobile payments and online payment solutions industry is seen to have grown rapidly in the last few years in the U.S. The industry is seen to be in its booming phase with new types of

The value of the US dollar Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The value of the US dollar - Assignment Example The value of the U.S dollar to rise or fall depends on how many dollars are printed by the state treasury department. The more money they print out, the less its worth. Also, the dollar’s value rises based on the demands in relation to other currencies (Goldberg & Tille, 2008). The U.S dollar demand is mostly from the people who buy U.S. exported goods. Government issues bonds, tourists, people who purchase real estates and the U.S corporations bonds and stocks. The Federal Reserve and the central bank supply the dollar. When we buy goods from Germany, the demand for the euro rises (Goldberg & Tille, 2008). This is because when they receive cash we have less money. Floating exchange rate arises when the state allows the exchange rates to affirm by market forces and no attempts to power the exchange rate. The Falling of the U.S dollar makes travelling expenses to rise. People will need to spend more dollars to purchase foreign currency. A cheap dollar will lead to cheap exports abroad, and imports will become more

Self Confidence Thinking

Self Confidence Thinking Self-confidence is the belief in your own ability when doing anything, by viewing yourself positively and realistically about yourself and your environment. (Densky 2006) In addition, you also need to believe that you have the ability to succeed. (Kent 2007) Self-confidence is also when you feel certain about yourself, your actions, decisions and opinions, and self-reliance. (Hawkins, Swannell Weston 1998, pg141) Yet, self-confidence is a very useful and powerful tool for everyone to achieve goals and fulfill wishes. Everywhere you go and everything you do, self-confidence is needed for your accomplishment of what you did. For all these while, many people think that they know what and how self-confidence is, but why some of them could not succeed in what they did. This is because they do not fully understand what self-confidence really is and know the proper and effective ways to improve it. Actually, improving self-confidence is very much depending on ones own self. Moreover, the ways to improve self-confidence are easy as long as you have a strong will to follow and never give up. Hence, self-confidence can be improved through inner of yourself by thinking positively, believing in yourself, setting realistic goals and learning. Upon understanding what self-confidence is, it is encompasses to know how a self-confident person is. A self-confident person is an optimistic, loving, independent, assertive, eager, self-respect and self-control person, and believe and know well about own abilities. (Mitchell 2007) Physically, a self-confident person looks confident with positive body language and good posture. That are, standing, sitting and walking with straight back, grasping hands in front or back of body, walking with wide steps, firm handshakes, making eye contact and smiling are signs of self-confidence. (2 Know Myself 2007)(Raudsepp 2007) Your viewers will see you confidence and they will have trust in you as you are telling them that â€Å"I can do it†. When you talk, walk, think behave and feel, self-confidence is shown. (USA Swimming 2004) In contrast, a lack of self-confidence person is a pessimist, passivity, distrust, perfectionist, sensitive to criticism and failure, inferior, isolated, self-doubt and depressed. (Mitchell 2007) Lack of self-confidence person always put on a sad, worry or confuse look, slump or bend shoulder when sitting and walking, and folding arms, sometimes with crossing legs. (2 Know Myself 2007) These positions labeled you as uncomfortable, unfriendly, annoying and not interesting which caused people around feel the same as you too. Your family members, friends and people around you will unlikely to approach you as you are telling them â€Å"Do not come near me†, â€Å"I can not help you† or â€Å"I can not do it†. Hence, you should not blame them for ignoring you. The first and main way to improve your self-confidence is thinking positively. Thinking positively is being happy, healthy with optimism and powerful with hopes. (Lopper 2007) You have to be positive even though you are feeling negative. This is because thinking negatively is very much affecting your self-confident. You may have Ps with you when you want to do something, that is, positive because if you always think about negative things, it is sure that you will fail. (USA Swimming 2004) However, this does not mean that you are ignoring the negative events but you accept them, look for the best in the events, and obtain ways to turn them into positive. There, you will see opportunity and hopes to restart again. (Lopper 2007) Moreover, for an example, you have lost in a competition. No doubt, you were feeling depressed, disappointed, angry, embarrassed, regretful and hopeless, or even worst, want to die. Initially, calm down yourself and recall some happy or past successes in your life included during the competition and success that you desired. When you are recalling, of course, the sad moments of the competition will make you more depressed and emotional. Then, you will keep on asking yourself, â€Å"Why am I so stupid?†, â€Å"I should have done that† or â€Å"Why did I do that?† as these are negative questions that make you feeling negative. Now, you look for way and opportunity by telling yourself, â€Å"Yes, I can restart. I shall prepare for the coming next competition. I will try harder this time.† Hence, you will feel relief and happy and able to stand up again. Some events such as competition have second round but some events seem like no hope such as lost of family member. However, no matter how, there is always hope and you should forget the past and face the future happily. This is because your family member wants you to continue your life happily. Firstly, you need to think positively by accepting and loving yourself. If you treat, judge or criticize yourself too cruel, you are lowering down your self-confidence. You should accept, be thankful upon what you have and feel proud of yourself, as there is meaning and value beneath it. Then, you should love yourself by taking care of your health, relaxing, awarding yourself when you have done well and advising yourself if you failed. Hence, you are feeling happy, good and positive with yourself. That is, you have your self-esteem and self-confidence. The most common negative view about oneself is the physical look, that are, not beautiful, not charming, fat body, too short, small eyes or flat nose. You must not compare yourself with others because it is a bad habit where you will forget what is good about you as you comparing you poor criteria with others will put yourself at the weak end. As a result, you will lose your self-confidence. (2 Know Myself 2007) Refer to Dr Sandra Scott, you must not chase after unattainable ideals but feel comfortable with the shape you are. (BBC UK 2007) According to Dr. Joe Rubino, accepting and being grateful of what you have, you can eliminate the feeling of incompleteness and dissatisfaction and peace your inner self towards confidence. Secondly, you also need to think positively about the predicted outcomes. People who are lack of self-confidence are tending to predict the negative outcome before they start doing anything although the reality is not that bad. (Mitchell 2007) You must focus on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. For instance, you want to take part in the competition. Before the competition started, because of certain obstacles such as difficulty or feeling threaten by competitors, you predicted that you are not going to win the competition. The reality will not be worst as if you think if you have tried. There are some people claimed that by thinking positively, they even worst, that is, they failed and by thinking negatively can be more successful than thinking positively. These are explainable because they are too focusing on thinking instead of concentrating on what they were doing and they are some people who can use negative thinking to stimulus and challenge themselves. For example usi ng self-talk, â€Å"I am scare to lose† or â€Å"You have to do it or you will regret†. Actually, thinking is your mental preparation before you start to do something. (USA Swimming 2004) Before you start your ‘engine, thinking is the fuel to the ‘engine; hence, you have the power to work for your goal as mental preparation provides you with confidence. As soon as you start, you must concentrate on making your goal alive. Furthermore, you can generate positive thinking by listen and witness positive materials. (Zaak OConan 2005) You can see and model others successes can enhance self-confidence. (USA Swimming 2004) You can read from books and articles about success people, watch their performances and identify their hard work. That would be your idol. From them, you are not ask to intimate them but be motivated and inspired by them. Hence, you can improve your self-confidence. The second way to improve your self-confidence is believing in yourself. That is, you need to think that you have the good in yourself. Hence, you figure out your abilities, strengths, intelligence, achievements or special skills through your interest. (Raudsepp 2007) The lack of ability does not necessary mean that you are lack of self-confidence. (Densky 2006) Therefore, you must believe and discover that you have something more special and powerful than others do, as every human is different. (The National Womens Health Information Center (NWHIC), US 2007) There is no one will always be the best. If you believe that â€Å"I can† and not â€Å"I can not†. If you believe â€Å"I am losing†, â€Å"I can not do this† or â€Å"I am out†, then you are really out as it is sure that you will not succeed. You must believe that you can be the best of you too. As you believe in yourself, hence, you must know yourself by discovering who you are on your own as no one can understand more than you do. This is mean that you are being independent in improving your self-confidence. You are on your own and not controlled and influenced by other person on what you do and unwilling to be under others obligation. (Hawkins, Swannell Weston 1998, pg346) You can be yourself and do what you want to do without having to wait for others approval. (Rybakov 2007) You do not have follow what others say or do, or let others create you, but you refer and create it in yourself with your own way. You do not have to be someone else although you admire to be that person. You can not force yourself or forced by others to make you become a person. You can be about something of your own. You can discover yourself by involving in community events, clubs and society in school or college or meaningful activities such charity or help someone. (Roker 2004) You will feel à ¢â‚¬Ëœcontained, useful and have hopes to live. You also realize that your life is meaningful. As you believe in yourself, you must be assertive as you are sure about your judgments and you have you own opinions and thought. Therefore, you must be able to voice out your opinions to others. You should not let anyone treat you like a doll, taking and playing you around. If you know that you are fooling by others and you are very angry, you should not keep and cry inside of you because you scare to let them know your real feeling. As you being assertive, you are able to express your feelings and desires non-aggressively to let other knows. (2 Know Myself 2007) You assert in what you want and do not want, you do not hide yourself in the behind, you step up to pursue your desire. In addition, there most common expression that most people are afraid of is saying â€Å"No†. If you are sure that you could not do, tell them â€Å"No, sorry, I cannot do it†. Another way to improve your self-confidence is setting realistic goals. Realistic goals must be achievable, neither too high nor low. The goals must meet your expectation and demand. Before that, you should understand your ability and create a reasonable standard for yourself. You cannot be good in everything. Too high standards or expectations will gradually weaken ones confidence and have self-doubt. In contrast, too low standards may cause one to be over-confident as he or she will of course feel so easy to reach his or her goals which make he or she think that â€Å"I am the best.† (Stevens 2005) It is no good for you to be perfectionist who likes to set impracticable goals or high standard that hard to achieve for himself or herself and ends up self-confidence being degraded. (2 Know Myself 2007) A perfectionist will say â€Å"I want everyone to love me†, â€Å"I can not make any mistake† or â€Å"I want to be perfect†. (2 Know Myself) You should know that no one is perfect in this world. People will lose their confidence if their goals are not achieved. Hence, you can try to follow on your abilities, strengths, decisions and express yourself as confidence comes from you when you being the best of you and not being others. (Coan 2005) In fact, make good use of your talents and abilities, set your own achievable goals and concentrate in whatever you do. (Wix 2003) As you know what you can do best, you choose to become the â€Å"master† of your strengths by mastering the art of focusing your power in the most worthy rather than being perfectionist. From noth ing, you increase your strengths which your self-confidence is improving too. (Swindell 2007) Again, another way to improve self-confidence is learning. In order to have self-confidence, you must be willing to learn from experience and new things and keep on learning. Self-confidence does not come immediately as you have to learn. You will not always be the same that is why you need to enhance yourself. Self-confidence is fragile, hence, you learn to maintain it. This can be illustrated by knife which you need to sharpen it sometimes so that you can cut better and easily. For example, you have learned and practice to dance, hence, you can dance gracefully. Then, you stop and dance again after sometimes. You will not dance as graceful as last time but if you willing to learn and practice again, you will dance well again and if you keep on practicing, you even become better and better. When you learn well, you have understood what you do and you do not feel doubt or fear to do it as you have the confidence to do it already. Although you have learn well a skill, you must not stop instead you practice to maintain and develop it. You need to learn forever. Specifically, you learn from experiences such mistakes, failures, criticisms and successes. Failure always makes ones feel lack of self-confidence. Failure will cause ones to feel. A self-confidence person learns more by making a lot of mistakes and failures. He or she does not scare of failure instead accept the failure and identify the reason of your failing. Failure is able to develop you and help you to explore the outer world. You are failing when you give up.(Rybakov 2007) As you make more mistake, you have learn more by trying again and becoming better with confidence then you will get what you dream for. (Rybakov 2007) When your family members or friends criticize you, you do not have to feel disappointed. You evaluate the critics, identify whether the critics are true. If it is true, accept and learn from it, and change it. If it is not, you can show them their mistakes of criticizing you. You also must be innovative, that is, willing to learn new things such as new skills and knowledge. People who are self-confident will not scare to try new things instead like new challenges. As the world is changing rapidly, many things are changing too especially results of great invention and development of science and technology. Hence, we also should go with the trend and change to adapt to the new environment. As every new things or events come, our self-confidence will be lower because we do not know how to deal with them. Therefore, you should learn to handle them by developing yourself with new skills. In addition, you must be able to take risk as challenge, regardless big or small and the results, the process improves your self-confidence. (Zaak O Conan 2005) For instance, consider you do not know how to ride a bicycle and you want to ride the bicycle. You need to learn to balance your body when riding the bicycle. Of course, when you learn to balance, you will fell for num ber of times before you can ride the bicycle well. Here, you must not scare to fell, scare of pain as you take them as challenges. Self-confidence is the inner self-management towards reality and positive of oneself and the world. People who are self-confidence have positive thinking, understand whom and how they are, trust in themselves, achievable goals, personality and strong will for development. We can maintain and build up our self-confidence by having favourable perceptions about ourselves and everything around us, conviction on your judgment and evaluation, hold on own self-concept, appropriate and real missions of life, and non-stop studying about life to increase standard of yourself. Self-confidence gives your power to live meaningfully. Self-confidence drives you to your dreams of successes. Although, self-confidence does not guarantee success, but, at least you have try to pursue what you wish for, and therefore, there is no regret at the end of your life. Therefore, close your eyes, think who you are and what do you want in your life, fill up your confidence and go after your dreams as time goes by fast and will not stop for you. On the other hand, you must know how to balance your confidence as do not have too much self-confidence, that is, overconfidence which may lead to failure too. It is improving and repairing your self-confidence, and not boost it up high. Reference Hawkins, J.M., Weston, J Swannell, JC 1998, The Oxford Study Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Penerbit Fajar Bakti Sdn Bhd, Shah Alam. Stevens, TM 1998, Self-Confidence: Our Expectation of Success, You Can Choose To Be Happy, Wheeler-Sutton Publishing Co. Chapter 6: Self-Confidence, United Stated Swimming. Retrieved: November 16, 2007, from http://usaswimming.org Coan, G 2005, Become More Self-Confident Retrieved: October 24, 2007, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Become-More-Self-Confidenceid=10267 Densky, A.B. 2006, Self-Confidence, What Is It And How Do I Get It? Neuro-Vision. Retrieved: October 27, 2007, from http://www.neuro-vision.us/Article/Self-Confidence-What-Is-It.html Improving confidence, BBC Relationship, The British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved: November 16, 2007, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/relationships/improving_your_confidence/ Kent, M 2007, The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science Medicine: Sports Science Medicine Information About Self-Confidence, The Oxford University Press. Retrieved: November 8, 2007, from http://www.answer.com.topic/sefl-confidence Lopper, J 2007, How to Think Positively: Break the bad habit of negative thinking. Retrieved: November 16, 2007, from http://changing-personal-habits.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_think_positively Mitchell, S 2007, Counseling Services: Suicide Prevention Training (QPR): Self-Confidence, State University of New York at Buffalo. Retrieved: October 24, 2007, from http://ub-counseling.buffalo.edu/self-con.shtml Raudsepp, E 2004 Strong Self-Esteem Can Help You Advance, The Wall Street Journal: Executive Career, CareerJournal.com, Dow Jones Company, Inc. Retrieved: November 17, 2007, from http://www.careerjournal.com/myc/climbing/20040810-raudsepp.html The National Womens Health Information Center (NHWHIC), U.S. 2007. Retrieved: October 28, 2007, from http://www.girlshealth.gov/mind/selfconfidence.low.htm Rybakov, E 2007, Self-esteem guide: Improve Your Self-Confidence Through Mistakes And Failure. Retrieved: November 18, 2007, from http://www.self-esteem-guide.com/ImproveYourSelf-Confidence.html Roker, MM 2004 Ten Empowering Tips For Your Teen. Retrieved: October 24, 2007, from http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/parenting_insights/110824 Rubino, J, n.d. Definition: Building Self-Confidence. Retrieved: November 8, 2007, from http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Definition_Building_Self-Confidence.html Self-Confidence: Building Self-confidence, 2 Know Myself 2007. Retrieved: October 27, 2007, from http//www.2knowmyself.com/self_confidence/Building_self_confidence Signs of Self-Confidence, 2 Know Myself 2007. Retrieved: October 27, 2007, from http//www.2knowmyself.com/self_confidence/Building_self_confidence Swindell, G 2007, The Voice of Change: Developing Your Self-Confidence. Retrieved: November 17, 2007, from http://www.geneswindell.com/articles.htm Wix, DG 2003, How To Build Your Self-Confidence After a Layoff. Retrieved: November 8, 2007, from http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/article.php?artID=616 Zaak OConan, 2005, Boost Your Confidence: How to Succeed At Being Yourself. Retrieved: November 16, 2007, from ReedFloren.com

Chile :: essays research papers

Chile In this project we are going to summarize the main points concerning the history of CHILE , its independance, and bring the country to present day CHILE. We are also going to mention some important facts about CHILE"S economy. I. COLONIZATION PERIOD CHILE is a country located in the wester coast of South America, on the Pacific Ocean. It is known for the famous Andes Mountain Range that covers all of Peru and part of Chile CHILE was first discovered in 1520 by a Portuguese navigator named Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed under the flag of Spain. It was not until 1536 that CHILE was explored by a Spaniard named Diego de Almagro. Almagro was an associate of Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of Peru. In 1540 a conquistador named Pedro de Valdivia made a second expedition into CHILE He arrived in CHILE in 1541 and claimed the land under the crown of Spain. He founded the city of Santiago in February of that year, and appointed a Cabildo (Council) of Conquistadores to control local affairs. II. COLONIAL RULE In December of 1553, Valdivia set out for the fort of Concepcion to avenge the death of three soldiers, after word had reached him that the Indians had murdered them. He did not know the Indians had an ambush prepared for him. Valdivia was captured and executed, his entire army was also killed. The Spaniards eventually dominated CHILE During this period CHILE was a Captaincy General of Spain and supposedly governed from Peru, where Spain had a more important government because Peru was rich in Inca gold. In reality, because CHILE was farther away geographically, local affairs were controlled by a governor who commanded the army and each town had its own Cabildo (Council). CHILE had plenty of wars. The Indians refused to stay quiet. Until the mid 1700"s, these wars against the Indians were payed for by Peru, which provided money to CHILE to maintain CHILE"S government in Santiago and an army on the frontier. CHILE was poor and dependent on its richer neighbor for wealth and security. III. INDEPENDENCE One of the most important reasons for CHILE"S independence as well as other Latin American countries, was the emergence of a class of CRIOLLOS (Creoles). Creoles were American born Spaniards, who were different from the Iberians. They developed a desire for a self-government. The Criollos, then, began and supported a movement in order to gain independence from Spain. The Criollos had a lot of influence in the merchant class as well as in the upper class of CHILE. They resented Spain's trading system. For tax reasons, all trade with Spain had

Anti-Competitive Behavior: The Case Of Allcare Ipa

Free Trade Commission (FTC). The main role of FTC, created in 1914, is outlined in its website â€Å"Federal Trade Commission† (http://www. ftc. gov/ftc/about. shtm) which states that â€Å"It is the only federal agency with both consumer protection and competition jurisdiction in broad sectors of the economy†. As such, it â€Å"pursues vigorous and effective law enforcement, advances consumers’ interests†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The FTC was originally created to prevent unfair methods of competition in commerce, but through the years, its role has widened to cover consumer protection in broad terms.It must be noted that FTC’s Bureau of Competition promotes and protects vigorous competition by seeking out and challenging â€Å"anticompetitive conduct in the marketplace†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦promotes competition in industries where consumer impact is high, such as health care†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ((http://www. ftc. gov/ftc/about. shtm). The very nature of health care, a very basic need, explains why practices in this field is a major concern for FTC.AllCare IPA is comprised of independent physicians that have joined together to provide a comprehensive network of multiple specialties, developed specifically for the patient’s health plan. (http://www. allcareipa. com/faqs/default. aspx). Its main office is found in Modesto, California. â€Å"Since its formation, AllCare and its physicians have contracted with Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) to provide fee-for service care. In PPO arrangements, the payer compensates the physicians for services provided under agreed-upon fee schedules.Such arrangements may or may not entail financial risk-sharing or clinical integration. † ((â€Å"FTC Settles Price-Fixing Charges Against Two Separate Doctors' Groups†). In February 2009, FTC found AllCare IPA guilty of price-fixing and violated anticompetitive laws by â€Å"orchestrating and carrying out agreements among their memb ers to refuse, and threaten to refuse, to deal with insurance providers, unless they raised the fees paid to the groups’ doctors†.FTC ruled that AllCare’s conduct in setting fees for payers and refusing to deal with payers constitutes illegal price-fixing, and violates federal law. In addition, the FTC contends AllCare engaged in any activity that might justify collective agreements on the prices its members would accept for their services. The groups’ physicians did not share financial risk in providing medical services, did not collaborate in any program to monitor and modify clinical practice patterns or otherwise integrate the delivery of their services.According to the FTC, between 2005 and 2006, AllCare acted to restrain competition on fee-for-service contracts by facilitating, entering into, and implementing agreements to fix the prices and other contract terms with PPO payers; to engage in collective negotiations over the terms and conditions of de aling with such payers; and to have members refrain from negotiating with such payers on terms other than those approved by the group. †. (â€Å"FTC Settles Price-Fixing Charges Against Two Separate Doctors' Groups†). Penalties against AllCare.AllCare has been barred to enter into similar agreements because according to FTC’s Acting Director of the Bureau of Competition David Wales, â€Å"when health care providers decide to purse personal gain through unlawful price-fixing, consumers are often forces to either pay higher prices or forgo vital treatments they can no longer afford†. (â€Å"FTC Settles Price-Fixing Charges Against Two Separate Doctors' Groups†). The Commission’s proposed consent orders are designed to eliminate the illegal anticompetitive conduct alleged in the complaints.They would prohibit AllCare from entering into or facilitating agreements between or among physicians: 1) to negotiate on behalf of any physician with any pay er; 2) to refuse to deal, or threaten to refuse to deal, with any payer; 3) to designate the terms, conditions, or requirements upon which any physician deals, or is willing to deal, with any payer, including, but not limited to price terms; 4) not to deal individually with any payer, or not to deal with any payer through any arrangement other than one involving AllCare, respectively.The order prohibits AllCare from exchanging information among physicians concerning whether, or on what terms, to contract with a payer and from encouraging, suggesting, advising, pressuring, inducing, or attempting to induce anyone into any actions otherwise prohibited by the order. I believe that there must always be balance in any decision that affects two opposing parties, in this case the doctors and their patients.While FTC must protect the welfare of the consumers and must do so vigorously and vigilantly, it must also take into account the needs of the doctors to protect themselves and their live lihoods against threats from the same persons who come to them for treatment. Already, many doctors are discouraged to practice their profession for fear of lawsuits, such as medical malpractice, and the tremendous cost implications these lawsuits bring. I agree that physicians practice must be subject to regulation as it is prone to abuse.However, while medical care is a very basic commodity and patients, as consumers, have every right to be protected against unjust and unlawful practices in the health care industry, so do Doctors have rights to protect themselves and their livelihoods. I personally believe that that FTC ruling was too biased in favor of the consumers/patients. But of course, this is America, and the customer is always king. Works Cited â€Å"AllCare IPA: Frequently Asked Questions†. 2005.6 August 2009. (http://www. allcareipa. com/faqs/default. aspx) Copy of the FTC Decision on AllCare. February 2009. August 6, 2009. (http://www. crowell. com/pdf/ManagedCar e/Independent-Practice-Associates-Medical-Group. pdf) â€Å"Free Trade Commission†. Free Trade Commission. 6 August 2009. (http://www. ftc. gov/ftc/about. shtm) â€Å"FTC Settles Price-Fixing Charges Against Two Separate Doctors' Groups†. 24 December 2008. 6 August 2009. (http://www. ftc. gov/ftc/about. shtm)

Living as a Christian disciple Essay

Explain how living as a Christian disciple may influence the lives of Christians today. Christianity is an entire way of life. It’s not only a part of your life it is your whole life. It is a sense of being with God. It is not a one way system, but in fact a two way bond. Being a disciple of God gives you a sense of who you are. You have the position of being part of God’s children as well as being a child of your parents. This is an incomparable feeling. A Christian is a person who lives their life daily for God. By praying on a regular basis, reacting positively not negatively with people and being an optimistic person rather than a pessimistic one. Christianity focuses a lot on how people treat others. Christianity believes everyone is equal. Nobody is better than someone else, even if they are richer. A disciple believes Christ is with you at all times. To become a Christian you must try and be the best you can be. An example of this would be the story about the Pharisee and the tax collector, having the best humanity. To develop into a Christian you need to know the principles. You need to live your life a certain way. That means you might have to sacrifice a few things but in the long run you will be rewarded. Again you must know how to deal with people. ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind,’ and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Luke 10 vs. 27) A person needs to be willing to give up luxuries in order to gain better things. For instance a Christian must give 10% of their total income to either a church or a charity. But the more essential factor is time. Time is more precious than rubies. Time must be taken out of your day to think about God or even the elderly lady next door who lives all alone. Your attitude towards people is very important. Being a Christian affects what career you wish to pursue. Certain professions are considered unethical and therefore are not allowed. A job such as working in an abortion clinic, you are taking away a life which has a right to live, which is unjust. Another job which gives people grief is a traffic warden. A Christian has an important role to play in the family and in the home. There must be peaceful negotiation and they must always remember that children usually learn from the examples of their parents. So as a parent you must do good things and not bad. You must know how to function in a family. To be a dedicated Christian you are required to visit the church on a regular basis and to pray daily. At church Christians have communion, usually once a week. This is red wine and bread which s also called the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the ceremony in which Christ’s last meal with his disciples is celebrated with bread and wine, the bread symbolizes Jesus’ body and the wine Jesus’ blood. Although some Christians do not believe in going to church for example, Quakers and the Salvation Army. Quakers are Christians who do not have set services or have no ceremonies and do not do repeated rituals. The Salvation Army consider that you should be careful and make sure that ceremonies do not become more important than the meaning of the belief or faith. Also the Salvation Army do not drink any alcohol as when they first started the group alcohol was a serious problem, therefore they are not allowed to have communion as it involves wine. There are many noble Christians who have acted as excellent role models, in the past and in the present day. Some of these famous Christian disciples are Oscar Romero, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu and many more. I am going to tell you about Desmond Tutu. Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 on the 7th October. He lived in South Africa, a society where coloured people were considered as outcasts, a racist system of apartheid. They had to learn from an early age that their needs were considered less important than the needs of white people. They were not allowed to mix with the white people. For example black children could not go to the same school as a white child and at all times black people had to carry their passbooks to show who they were and if they had a right to be where they were, they also were not allowed to go into cafes or go to beaches and parks. In the street white police officers would look them up and down as if they were criminals. It was hard for children to grow up watching parents and role models being humiliated in this way. Desmond Tutu went to an all black school. He worked willing and was therefore intelligent. He was a kind and gentle boy. At the age of 14 Desmond got Tb. He was put in hospital for 2 years. An English priest called Father Trevor Huddleston visited him every week. Trevor Huddleston had been trying to make the lives of the black people better. He believed apartheid was evil and very unchristian. He opened hostels and nurseries for homeless people o stay in at night. He also defended black people when they were challenged by the police. A life long friendship blossomed between Desmond and Trevor. During his stay in hospital Desmond became more thoughtful and reflective. He had a strong commitment towards Christianity and a spiritual approach to life. Desmond was influenced by humility, gentleness, selflessness from spiritual people like Trevor. After leaving school Desmond decided train as a teacher. He worked as a teacher for a few years but he couldn’t stand there and watch his people suffer. He wanted to do something about it. So he left teaching and became a priest. In 1961 Desmond was ordained as a priest. He was given his own parish church and a proper house in an area of slum housing. It was rewarding work, a satisfying job with people who loved him having him as their priest. In 1962 he was offered to go to London to study for a second degree in theology. When he got there he couldn’t believe that he was allowed to walk freely and not have to check for signs where they were not allowed. He wasn’t searched by police; he didn’t have to carry a passbook around with him. He loved it. After 3 years when he returned to South Africa, he found it difficult being a second class citizen again. From the understanding of the Bible he saw that Christianity stresses that all people are equal and that God wants people to be free. As a Christian he felt it was his responsibility to help black people become equal with white people. Two years later Desmond took a job in England. In 1975 he was given the post of Dean in Johannesburg. If he accepted it then this meant he would have to move back to South Africa. This post had always been held by white men so he wanted to make a change and accepted the post. The cathedral had a racially mixed congregation and clergy. Desmond bought in changes to the worship including shaking hands, hugging and kissing your neighbour on the cheek which made many fell more comfortable. In 1978 wealthier black people were starting to be allowed into a few public places but the community as a whole were kept as second class citizens. In one of Desmond’s speeches he dramatically promised to burn his Bible on the day that he was proved wrong about apartheid being an evil. Another thing Desmond said in one of his speeches was, â€Å"At home in South Africa I have sometimes said in big meetings where you have black and white together, ‘look at your hands-different colours representing different people. You are the rainbow people of God.’ And you remember the rainbow in the Bible is the sign of peace. The rainbow is the sign of prosperity. We want peace, prosperity and justice and we can have it when all the people of God, the rainbow people of God, work together.† In 1984 he was awarded in the Nobel Peace Prize in America. Soon the whole world came to see Desmond as a symbol for the fight against apartheid. In 1986 he was further promoted to Archbishop of Cape Town, the first black man to hold this post. In 1989 F.W De Klerk became president. The ban on ANC and PAC was lifted symbolising freedom for all black South Africans after so many years of suffering. In 1993 exclusive white rule finally ended. The result of the first democratic election was that in 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first black South African president. By 1996 there was a new constitution aimed at creating a full racial equality and harmony. The hardest challenge facing bereaved families was not only to forgive those whom had caused their suffering, but to make sure that forgiveness was complete and unconditional as with Christian love. This would mean the new South Africa could grow from strong roots, unaffected by blame and bitterness. I think Desmond Tutu was a good Christian disciple as he helped the black people of South Africa. He bought equality in South Africa which is what God says. He is helping others and spreading the good word of God. He is determined and will not give up when things get tough. Another example of a good Christian disciple is a man called Oscar Romero. He was born in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador in 1917. He was a Catholic man. He thought the best way to help people would be to serve God as a priest. He frequently visited prisoners in Gaol and he worked with alcoholics He promoted the activities of ‘Alcohol Anonymous.’ He set up charities to provide aid for the poor and the hungry. Oscar was a respected man. He spoke for the poor, opposed the government, opposed military and opposed rich families who influenced the politicians behind the scene. He was a determined Christian disciple. Romero’s aim in life was too help the poor and hungry and the only way he could help them was by making sure the church get a say in politics. He started at a seminary in San Miguel, in 1930. A few months later he was sent to Rome to complete his theological studies. In 1942 he is ordained as a priest. In 1943 he returns to El Salvador having witnessed early years of the Second World War, in Europe. From 1944 he worked as a parish priest but a few months later he was called by the bishop to work as the secretary of the diocese, a post which he held for twenty-three years. During this time most of his pastoral work focused on the cathedral parish. Between 1962 and 1965 Romero was a largely important priest in the diocese. He was in charge of the local seminary and editor of the diocesan newspaper. In 1967 he was appointed as sanctuary, ‘General of the National Bishops’ Conference,’ and he moves to San Salvador. Then in 1968 he takes up an additional role for the, ‘Central American Bishops’ Secretariat.’ In 1968 the council of Medellin is held in Colombia. In 1970 Romero is made auxiliary assistant bishop in San Salvador. He becomes increasingly aware of the plight of the oppressed and the poor but resists th e notion that the church should be too involved in politics. In 1974 Romero is made bishop of San Salvador. In 1977 he is made Archbishop of San Salvador. It was dangerous to be a Christian in El Salvador. To speak the Gospel message of God’s love for the poor and suffering of the world was to risk persecution. This was a statement the government could not ignore. A person could not claim to be a Christian if he or she ignored the violence against so many in the country or if they ignored the bombings, the illegal detentions, the torture and the callous murders of men, women and children. These murders were seen as a direct attack on the church itself. It was an assault which the Church could not ignore. This is when Romero decided on his course of action. His thinking on religion and politics develops. He sees an increasing need for the church to have a voice in politics and becomes an outspoken critic of injustice and oppression. On the 24th March 1980 Oscar Romero is assassinated. On the 30th March 1980 the, ‘Palm Sunday Massacre,’ took place. He had the most powerful and influential voice of the Church and he was the spokesperson for the oppressed. Romero believed that the Gospels did not see a division between religion and everyday life. In a world of fear and terror, Romero’s preaching of the Gospel message of love and justice was a source of hope for the people. One of the famous things Romero said was, ‘May Christ’s sacrifice give us the courage to offer our own bodies for justice and peace.’ His last sermon, on the Sunday before his death, was very significant. In it Romero made a special request to those with belief in God and those of Christian faith. It was a sermon which many believe cost him his life. In the sermon Romero said, ‘Nobody has to fulfil an immoral law. Now it is time that you recover your consciences and that you first obey your conscience rather than an order to sin. We want the Government to understand seriously that reforms are worth nothing if they are stained with so much blood. I beg, I ask, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression.’ A week after the preaching these words Oscar Romero was assassinated. In the days before the funeral crowds of people flooded into the city. Visitors arrived from all over the world. Not only the Church leaders but also important politicians from many countries were present. Romero had become a respected political as well as religious leader. Nuns and priests were gathered in a very public hunger strike. In protest at the killing of Romero, they were refusing to eat. This showed how great a person he was. There were as many as a hundred thousand people packed in every available space outside the cathedral, waiting for the funeral service. The solemn funeral service began in a dignified manner. During the sermon everyone listened intently to the words of remembrance for Oscar Romero. During his life Romero tried to put such ideals into practice. His religious belief was always a practical matter and his great desire was to see people work together for a better world. Romero shared, with all who would listen a vision of justice in an injustice world. His life and martyrdom are remembered by millions. In a troubled world Romero remains as a sign of hope. Those who killed him may have thought that they would be silencing a powerful voice against injustice in El Salvador. They may have killed the man but the message of justice for all still lives today.

Governmental Control of Overpopulation essays

Governmental Control of Overpopulation essays Nowadays, the world's population is about 6 billion and is increasing rapidly. Soon, there will not be enough resources for the residences. As a result, overpopulated countries such as China have implemented some policies against overpopulation. One of the most violent rules is to force people to limit their number of children. In my opinion, using power to limit the number of children a family can have is not a good solution for controlling overpopulation. The first and most important reason is that limiting people to have a specified number of children has many problems. One of the most important problems is female infanticide which is against human rights. In fact, many people prefer male children over females because of cultural traditions which regard males stronger and better able to help and support parents. Recently, modern technology, such as ultrasound, helps people to know the sex of the baby before birth and abortion may occur if it is a girl. As a result, this policy drives many families to kill or abandon their baby girls. Another important problem with this policy is that boys will outnumber girls very soon. For example, statistics show that the sex ratio in China, with one child policy, is 117 boys to 100 girls; however, the international sex ratio is 106 boys to 100 girls which is very different. Consequently, it is estimated that by 2020 about 33 million men will be unable to find a wife which leads to a variety of s ocial problems. (Grant, 1998) Another reason is that there are various methods that can be used to control overpopulation which is better options and governments can use them instead of using power. One of the most effective methods is to educate people. Research shows that rural families, which have a lower level of education, are more populated than families in big cities. It also shows that parents with a low standard of education do not know about the methods of birth control. According to WHO st...

Sexual Violence against Women Essay Example

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Free sample - Business-Technology Alignment. translation missing

Business-Technology Alignment. Business-Technology AlignmentBusiness-technology alignment is a renowned issue that continues to plague various businesses. Often, the disconnection results into some disastrous results. However, despite the severity of the issue among various corporations, Tom Uva seems not to be threatened by the issue. He states that business-technology alignment is not rocket science. Uva has gone ahead and created a framework that allows IT staffers to focus on strategic business priorities. Uva and his staffers are driven by the motto â€Å"There is Nowhere to Hide† â€Å"You deliver or You do Not.† In the article â€Å"Absolute Alignment: How One CIO Remains in Lock-Step with the Business,† Uva reviews various issues that are related to business-technology alignment. Initially, he emphasizes on the importance of assembling as teams in a corporation to discuss various issues affecting the corporation, lay strategic plans for the organization, and review progress. Uva’s team meets weekly to discuss the status of all the projects that have an IT component. The meeting comprises of various heads from the CIO’s five groups that make the Sensis Corporate Technology Solutions (CTS) (Wailgum 1). These groups include Business Solutions that is concerned with applications and data management; network operations team; client services, which is responsible for dealing with all the IT issues of the Sensis user community; information security; and the Run as Business that is responsible for such issues as vendor management, the IT group’s financial management, and training programs. The weekly meetings update the staffers on their next activities; they ensure that each staff is focused on the set priorities. Thus, meetings should not be activities that are undertaken annually and forgotten; they should be actively managed. Uva’ meetings emphasize on the significance of constant meetings as teams and heads of teams for the success of IT organizations (Wailgum 1). The teams undertake various priorities. In a single month, a team’s priorities may range from five to ten priorities. Additionally, priorities differ in terms of size and complexity; often, priorities can be an entire IT project or a constituent of the larger IT project. The teams’ first concern is on how to prioritize their priorities from what has not been done to what has been done. Though Uva’s meetings are similar to all the other status update meetings that are held within any other CIO’s office; the meetings have their own distinctive characteristics. The meetings are more effective, defined, and strategic compared to other CIO meetings. This arises because all the parties present in the meetings understand that the Sensis Group and all CTS partners have signed off all their priorities and are committed to the success of these priorities. Additionally, they understand that all the Sensis employees review their successes or failures on a monthly basi s, and their remuneration is tied to the performance of the entire CTS portfolio. These factors are critical in promoting boosting morale and commitment of the IT alignment staffers to achieve the priorities of the company. Business and IT leaders are required to establish an IT operating plan that is based on the company’s goals and long-term strategies (Wailgum 2). The strategic plan can then be broken down into yearly, quarterly, and monthly IT priorities. These priorities can then be tracked and monitored objectively since they are visible along the company’s lines of business. Sensis has adopted this approach. Uva comments that the approach is not as complicated as perceived. However, it is an effective approach for mending conventional business-IT disconnects. The approach is based on transparency and truthfulness, responsibility and rigor, and pacing and prioritization. The present manifestation of Uva’s project and priorities approach does not have any formal name. The approach has progressed over the years to its present form. There was a significant external expert input in the development of the approach; former CIO’s contributed greatly to the creation and development of the approach (Wailgum 2). It involves blending of sound project management strategies and the reality in IT. Uva’s greatest influence is E.P. Rogers, The Mony Group CIO. Rogers interconnected daily activities to the tactical operations, and the strategic obligations. The company’s strategic annual plan is connected to the IT deliverables per month (Wailgum 3). He uses governance, project management, and alignment to carry out his business operations. The company has a Four-Leveled Plan with different variations and one plan complies with the other. The Three-Year Sensis Strategy- This is strategic plan that spans on 3-4 years. For instance, Application of Consolidation Plan. This involves identification, modification, or elimination of applications.   The executive annually revisits this strategy (Wailgum 3). Twelve-Month Operating Plan- This consolidation plan is broken into smaller annual targets. For instance, Review five applications. Annually, this target will be reviewed whether the objective was met. Quarterly Targets- The annual operating plan is broken down into quarters and targets are set in every quarter. Monthly Priorities- These are generated from the Quarterly Targets. For instance, in the first month of Quarter 1, the specifications for the evaluation criteria. This helps the shops to deal with the IT capacity (Wailgum 3).   Every employee has a copy of the strategic and operating plan that is updated to meet the demand of clients. If they have a client that will order their products in 2012, they change their operations and strategy to meet that plan so that they can be able to meet with the demand. At the same time, the Chief People Officer, and SVP at Sensis, Peggy Dudarchik, looks into the CTS department to know which business projects need resources. All priorities are reviewed, and for Uva, 99 percent done equals undone. Monthly progress is published and is made available to every employee in the company. This implies that everyone easily accesses information about the performance of every team. This enables all the employees to see if they met the set objectives during that period. The other business executives can see the meaning and implications of the IT system. Uva has the ability to say no to last minute projects. This helps him to avoid exerting too much pressure on the capacity of his organization. Vice President of Operations at Sensis, Greg Farnham, says that, he understands when his request is processed (Wailgum 4). He knows the capacity of manufacturing, demands of the IT employers, how the resources are allocated, and above all the priorities of the organization (Wailgum 4). Such situations can be solved through reprioritizing the demands of every project. Uva uses strategic operations, limited IT resources, and prioritization of projects to meet organizational transparency. This transparency is reflected by the accountability in this organization. Three-quarters of the salary of employees is tied to their monthly performance (Wailgum 4). The success of the IT department is measured with a ratio. The number of completed projects is divided by the total number of projects that every team was assigned for that month. At the beginning of every year, Uva and his leadership team set three grades of IT performance: Grade 1- Threshold or a basic passing grade Grade 2- Target or a performance that is rated as above average Grade 3- Above Target that denotes excellent work In the 2010 fiscal year, the results of Q1, Q2, Q3, were 81, 86 and 91. This shows a marked improvement in performance. The overall score of the CTS team stood at 90.4 %. In conclusion, Uva has geared his business towards success using the Four-Leveled Plan, prioritizing, IT transparency, and commitment. He spends a third of his time on operational issues, and the rest on strategic issues (Wailgum 4). Work Cited Wailgum, Thomas. Absolute Alignment: How one CIO Remains in Lock-Step with the Business. CIO.Com. 2010. Web. 18 Nov 2010.

Critically review an assessment process of your choice and determine Essay

Critically review an assessment process of your choice and determine whether or not it is fit for purpose - Essay Example .................................................. 5 b.1 Question ............................................................ 7 b.2 Fill-in-the-Blank Questions ................................ 8 c. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Short Answer Question Technique in terms of assessing the Students’ Knowledge in Nursing and Medical Education ................. 10 c.1 Advantages ........................................................ 10 c.2 Disadvantages ................................................... 11 d. Comparison between Short Answer Questions and the Different Educational Assessment Techniques used in Nursing and Medicine Courses ......................................... 12 d.1 Multiple Choice Exams vs. Short Answer Questions .................................... 12 d.2 Essay Exam vs. Short Answer Questions ........... 13 e. Strategic Ways on How Assessment Using Short Answer Questions can be Measured ............................................. 14 III. Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................. 17 Appendix I – Summary of Cognitive, Affective, and Psycomotor Domain . 18 References ............................................................................................. 19 – 22 Chapter I – Introduction Educators are highly accountable for the quality of education they provide to the students (Oermann and Gaberson, 2009, p. 3). In measuring the learning outcome of the students, educators should carefully select the most appropriate and effective assessment technique to improve the teaching and learning process between the educators and the students. Based on the assessment results, educators will have a basis on how they can modify the course curriculum for nursing- and medicine-related subjects (Oermann and Gaberson, 2009, p. 4). For several years, I teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), advanced life support (ALS), immunizations and vaccinations, and nurse prescribing in one of the local universities in UK. With regards to unfair student evaluation, educators should be aware that each type of assessment method has its limitations in terms of assessing the students’ overall learning outcome (McDonald, 2002, pp. 4 – 5). As part of teaching nursing- and medicine-related subjects, this study will briefly discuss the importance of educational assessment. After going through the different educational assessment techniques used in nursing and medicine courses, ways on how assessment can be measured will be tackled in details followed by determining whether or not the use of short answer questions is a suitable method to assess or examine the learning outcome of nursing and medical students. Aside from describing short answer questions and the assessment process of short answer questions from an objective point-of-view, the advantages and disadvantages of using short answer question technique in terms of assessing the students’ knowledge i n nursing and medical education will be identified, analyzed and interpreted based on the past and current research studies that were conducted on this matter. Based on the secondary research findings, the final stage of this study will conclude whether the use of short answer questions is considered an effective tool in measuring the students’ knowledge. Chapter II – Literature Review Importance of Educational Assessment Educational assessment or diagnostic testing aims at gathering information concerning the learning outcomes of the students. In line with this, educational asses

Summarize the article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Summarize the article - Essay Example Learning context is set on the terms of the importance of L1 and L2 within the learning context. This later on affects the functional roles and area of use put for L1 and L2. L2 language is compared across four different language-learning contexts that represent four separate positions on the second language (SL)-foreign language (FL) context range. Findings show that learners most close to the second language end of the range outperform the learners in the three other contexts on most aspects of L2 proficiency investigated. Studies of L2 learning in a wide range of contexts make an important contribution to the understanding of the complexity and richness of the SLA phenomenon. Identifying and understanding the impact of contextual discrepancy on the L2 learning process depends on the quality of the measurement practices used. According to Norris and Ortega (2009), measure practices in SLA research should capture the fully integrated ecology of complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) development in specific contexts over time. This helps us understand why and how language develops within them or does not develop within them. There are other factors that promote various types of learning and outcomes not only the context. Factors like the quality of experiences, efforts invested to use the L2 that makes one learning context superior to the other in relation to the L2 development and the nature of the input and output conditions. An instruction has a strong effect and influences the rate of outcome of the L2 acquisition. The main assumption in this study is that the natural/second language/study abroad contexts offer more favorable opportunities for L2 learning which results in higher L2 proficiency and more favorable socio-psychological disposition than foreign language. The trend from this research is that natural second language contexts are more likely to improve oral fluency, lexical

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 128

Discussion - Essay Example She describes it as the management for uncertainties. She denotes that Agile embraces change by determining the requirements of a project and implementing them throughout the project thereby making it easy to accommodate any changes. The other difference, according to Erin, is that the Agile approach promotes the implementation of user stories in which common risks are mitigated and return on investment realized. According to Erin, the Agile approach drives the scope while the Iron Triangle of Waterfall fixes it. In this case, the Iron Triangle determines the scope of a project before estimating the effort needed to make the project a reality. Finally, the time required and budget needed for the implementation of the project are derived from these estimates (Erin). An Agile project, on the contrary, begins with a high-level build-up of features and allows for the selection of specific user stories needed for implementation throughout the project. In this case, the project scope is defined in the entire project hence the feeling that it changes in the entire process. After a clear analysis of Erin’s lecture, it is important to note that the Agile approach can be used in the personal projects. When used, cases of project inflexibility and uncertainties can be

Nature, perception, reflection and conservation Essay

Nature, perception, reflection and conservation - Essay Example Similarly, Susan Sontag has used imagery throughout his writing to describe the war and its effect. However, the themes of these writers differ as one focuses on nature and the other talks of photography. In his ‘Windstorm in the forest’, John Muir tries to a great extent to personify the nature and the things of nature that are nonhuman. The nonhuman characters such as wind and trees in the forest have been gives both human and superhuman characters. This allows the writer to express his view of beauty and strength of the forest. The whole essay has not mentioned God but a supernatural power is seen to control all these events. The author describes this as nature. The nature in this essay is therefore, given a supernatural power to be in control of the forest. Comparison of nature with human acts is applied by the author. The use of metaphors is used where the wind is allowed by the author in his writing to go to every tree and finger the flowers and the leaves. The storms and their effects are also personified as gardeners. The forest is worked upon and therefore, seen as the patient. Trees in this essay have full human character such as arms, they talk, and swing. Thi s form of writing makes the essay lively and flowing. Susan Sontag focuses on how war photography expresses the effect of military violence. Her description of the photographs of Civil War in New York creates a lot of imagery in her essay. There is a good explanation of how the cameras and videos transform sensibility and vision. She argues that the camera man allows the photos viewer to see only what he or she wants them to see. Casual snapshot expresses a metaphysical aggression against people. Instead of photographs to provide knowledge, they provide what she referred to a semblance of knowledge. Those people who have never experienced war have the wrong knowledge about it from the war photographers (Berry 76). The aim of Sontag in her essay is to give statement

Write information about Jacob's Pillow, the dance festival and school Essay

Write information about Jacob's Pillow, the dance festival and school in Becket, Massachusetts - Essay Example Every year multitudes from across the United States and around the world come to experience the festival in Berkshires of Western Massachusetts with more than 50 dance companies and 200 free talks, performance, and events. The school at Jacob’s Pillow is among the most prestigious dance professional training centers in the United States. At Jacob’s Pillow School, trainees are allowed to explore the rare extensive Pillow dance archives. The School also allows trainees to take part in various community programs designed to engage and educate dance audiences of all ages. In summary, the mission of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance is to support dance creation, education, presentation and preservation: and to deepen and engage the public support and appreciation for dance. It presents the world premieres, master and emerging artists, United States debuts, and collaborations with visual artists, composers, and writers consist of over 160 presented performances every festival year. The development and new forms of art work are supported through commissions. The School at Jacob’s Pillow offer training through eminent faculty that produces both great dancers and great artists. The Pillow is also a National Historic Landmark with an extensive and rare dance archives entailing materials from 1894 through to now. The Pillow engages the student, artists, scholars and the general public in experiencing the dance through more than 200 free talks and performance, tours, rehearsals, and interaction with scholars, artists, composers, filmmakers, and

Evolution Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Evolution - Term Paper Example This is unlike many treatments of evolution where readers are often confused as a result of being conflated with different definitions of the term. The decision to divide â€Å"Darwinism† into six components makes the understanding of various concepts easy (Coyne, 2009). It is indeed true that, over time, allele rate of recurrence change in an inhabitants. It is also true that different organisms have occupied the earth at different times. The critical role of natural selection is in this is also an undisputed fact. Common ancestry is received positively by a majority within the scientific field (Coyne, 2009). My reflection on common descent is that while it is a defensible position, it is not as much supported as it is made out. Consequently, the points of concern in this chapter, in my view, include the extent to which gradualism is true and the sufficiency of natural selection. The second chapter of the book is ‘written in the rocks.’ It uses fossil evidence to justify common descent. It is indeed true that fossil records show a tendency where simpler organisms precede more complex ones. This is also exactly what one would anticipate as a result of a common origin (Coyne, 2009). A feature that would be absent in Darwin’s theory, but would be the noticeable pattern of morphological difference preceding diversity (Coyne, 2009). In my view, an interesting aspect of the fossil record is that, unlike Darwin’s theory, it ranks the higher taxonomic categories first and, consequently makes them appear first in the taxonomic ranking. There are three main evolutionary transition trends specified by the fossil record i.e. fish to amphibians evolution, reptiles to birds and whales to terrestrial mammals evolution (Coyne, 2009). Accordingly, there are three important insights that emerge from the fossil record. Firstly is that the fossil spells out the evolution process (Coyne, 2009). The records within rocks provide a great deal of

Write information about Jacob's Pillow, the dance festival and school Essay

Write information about Jacob's Pillow, the dance festival and school in Becket, Massachusetts - Essay Example Every year multitudes from across the United States and around the world come to experience the festival in Berkshires of Western Massachusetts with more than 50 dance companies and 200 free talks, performance, and events. The school at Jacob’s Pillow is among the most prestigious dance professional training centers in the United States. At Jacob’s Pillow School, trainees are allowed to explore the rare extensive Pillow dance archives. The School also allows trainees to take part in various community programs designed to engage and educate dance audiences of all ages. In summary, the mission of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance is to support dance creation, education, presentation and preservation: and to deepen and engage the public support and appreciation for dance. It presents the world premieres, master and emerging artists, United States debuts, and collaborations with visual artists, composers, and writers consist of over 160 presented performances every festival year. The development and new forms of art work are supported through commissions. The School at Jacob’s Pillow offer training through eminent faculty that produces both great dancers and great artists. The Pillow is also a National Historic Landmark with an extensive and rare dance archives entailing materials from 1894 through to now. The Pillow engages the student, artists, scholars and the general public in experiencing the dance through more than 200 free talks and performance, tours, rehearsals, and interaction with scholars, artists, composers, filmmakers, and

The Progressive Movement Essay Example for Free

The Progressive Movement Essay Some forms of progressive movement are progressivism which embraces the widespread of many sided efforts to build a better society; scientific investigation the studies by the federal government of immigration; child labor; economic practices and social research by privately funded foundation; academic expertise to have the skills and knowledge about the problems America was facing during the 1900; pragmatism which judged ideas by their consequences; and muckraker journalists who exposed the underside of American life. During this time there were no agreed upon agenda’s nor were there any unifying organizations. Both the Republican and Democratic parties had progressive elements which caused each group to interact with different social groups with different views. This period was the beginning of the analysis of human activity which offered solutions to waste, inefficiency in municipal government, schools, hospitals and homes. Scientific management thought Frederick W. Taylor, could solve the problems of the United States social ills that arise from our acts of ill-directed, or inefficient. Scientific management was an American invention which made America feels like a part of the transatlantic world. Also, the social politics overseas was much more advanced than the United States which made the Americans feel like we have fallen behind. America was no longer the leader in teaching how democracy worked but was learning about democracy from other countries. The main objective was to resist ways of thinking that discouraged purposeful action. Social Darwinists beliefs that society developed according to fixed and unchanging laws was wrong. William James, Harvard philosopher said it is foolish to speak of the â€Å"laws of history† like it is inevitable, which science only has to discover and which anyone can then  foretell and observe, but do nothing to alter or avert. Progressives prided themselves on being tough minded, and on being experts on making things happen. But they were not indifferent to the moral grounds for reform. Progressives were considered to be unabashed idealists. Progressive leaders characteristically grew up in homes imbued with evangelical piety. Many went through a religious crisis, ultimately settling on a career in social work, education, or politics where religious striving might be translated into secular action. Some of the players in there reforms were Jane Adams taken up settlement-house work believing by uplifting the poor, she would herself be uplifted: she would experience â€Å"the joy of finding Christ† by acting â€Å"in fellowship† with the needy. Lincoln Steffen article is credited with starting a trend about writing about â€Å"the shame of the cities† – the corrupt ties between business and political machines. Ida Tarbell attached the Standard Oil monopoly, and David Graham Phillips told how money controlled the Senate William Hard exposed industrial accidents in â€Å"Making Steel and Killing Men† (1907) and child labor in â€Å"De Kid Wot Works at Night† (1908). Hardly a sordid corner of American life escaped the scrutiny of these tireless reporters. Theodore Roosevelt, among many thought they went too far. However the muckrakers became attached to the journalists who exposed the underside of American life. There efforts were in fact health giving. More than any other group, the muckrakers called the people to arms. Women progressives shouldered the burden of humanitarian work in American cities. They were the foot soldiers for charity organizations, visiting needy families, assessing their problems, and referring them to relief agencies. Josephine Shaw Lowell of New York City concluded giving assistance to the poor was not enough. She felt it was better to save them before they go under, than to spend your life fishing them out of afterward. The welfare state, insofar as it arrived in America in these years, was what women progressives had made of it: they erected a â€Å"maternalist† welfare system. During the progressive years, scores of settlement houses sprang up in the ghetto of the nation’s cities, serving as community centers and spark plugs for neighborhood reform. Jane Addams led battles for garbage removal, playgrounds, better street lighting, and police protection. The main goals of the Progressive reforms were: 1) To change other people by having them adopt the Progressive vision of middle class behavior and thought. This particularly applied to issues of recreation and leisure, the status of the family, sexual orientation and behavior. Protecting Social Welfare. 2) Toe end class conflict between the â€Å"have’s† (the privileged class) and â€Å"the have less, â€Å"(or have not). Fostering Efficiency. 3) To effect a measure of control over big business. Moral Improvement. Another movement was segregate society into groups, based on occupation (labor, management, etc.) race, sex (laws protecting women insured secondary status in employment), and immigration status. Segregation of the races was seen by Progressives as a method of stabilizing race relationship. Economic Reform. The major players in these reforms were Cleveland, McKinley, T. Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge all of them were presidents of this era. Their foreign and domestic policies shaped their world and whose policies continue to impact our world. It is amazing how some of the things are still incorporated in our society today. I think the movements were genuine concern for social problems. As a matter of fact because of the some of the progressive movement some people are still reaping the benefits of their labor today. However, I do feel like some of the people that are benefiting from some of the reforms have caused themselves to be control by trying to live off of the system rather than using it as a stepping stone to do better for themselves. References Henertta, James A Brody, David (2010). America A Concise History. Boston NewYork: Bedford/ St. Martin’s

Competition in the Construction Industry: Laing O’Rourke

Competition in the Construction Industry: Laing O’Rourke Select one construction firm and explain the nature of competition in its specific market sector and discuss how it may be advised to secure contracts for future work. Laing O’Rourke is the United Kingdom’s largest privately owned construction firm; it operates internationally across a variety of different sectors within the construction industry. Formerly known as R. O’Rourke Son until its takeover of Laing Construction in 2001, Laing O’Rourke is one of the leading construction firms in the UK. The firm has a strong standing in sectors including, building, transport, power, water and utilities, mining, oil and gas. (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). This firm operates heavily in the private sector, with investments from large scale hotel operators, for example the Atlantis hotel, The Palm, Dubai; to football stadium developments, such as the recent expansion of the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. (Prior, 2014). Laing O’Rourke also engages in a substantial amount of work in the public sector, (Laing O’Rourke, 2014) however over recent years the borders between the private sector and public sector have been blurred to a point where often only a specification is given by the public sector client and the financing, design, build and maintenance is taken on by the private sector firm (Myers, 2013). This method’s popularity has soared over the last 20 years mainly due to the dwindling amount of capital readily available to the public sector and also to the public sectors keenness to utilise as much of the firm’s specialist expertise and experience. This method of public sector and private sector partnership (Myers, 2013) is known as a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and is often used for projects such as schools, infrastructure, and hospitals. All types of developments which Laing O’Rourke has recently undertaken. The contracts run for roughly 25 – 30 ye ars (Myers, 2013) and so capitalises on the strengths of both sectors; the specifications and requirements coming from the public sector client, and the development and maintenance aspects being handled by the private sector firm. Because the private sector firm has had to invest its own assets into the PFI project, the public sector client pays an annual charge to the private sector firm or can allow the firm to retain any profits made from the operation (Myers, 2013). This method legally ties the contractor to the project and thus greatly increases the likelihood of the firm delivering a high quality product. As they are responsible for the maintenance and running costs, (Myers, 2013) it is in the firms best interests to create a product which will not require a great deal of additional financial input to maintain. Laing O’Rourke operates across most aspects of what Myers (2013) considers to be the broad definition of the construction industry. This ranges from suppliers of basic materials to the providers of services such as transportation and demolition (Myers, 2013). Laing O’Rourke as a whole are capable of operating across such an expanse of sectors in the construction industry through the use of subsidiary companies. These are firms or departments which Laing O’Rourke has either created within the firm itself or purchased and brought under the Laing O’Rourke umbrella and allows for an entire construction project to be completed using only one large contractor, themselves, instead of having to hire in sub-contractors and other professionals. This has a number of advantages as it means that from day one there can be excellent communication between everyone involved and consistency with aspects such as quality, pricing, budget and time management (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). Most small firms specialise in a certain aspect of construction, such as building or civil engineering (Ive Gruneberg, 2000) but not usually a multitude of aspects. Laing O’Rourke is a major firm which owns different subsidiary companies within s ub-industries which are of particularly good use to the parent company. The firm currently owns a total of 17 subsidiaries (FAME, 2014). An example of this practise would be that if Laing O’Rourke were to purchase or develop a steel fabrication firm and bring it under its control then all the steel work could be sourced from that arm of the company and sent to site at internal reduced costs instead of paying a higher price for an independent firm to provide the resources. This allows for a substantial reduction in overall cost and lead time during the construction process and would no doubt have the potential to have a positive environmental effect. Laing O’Rourke have taken this practise a step further and have delved into the mining industry. They are responsible for some construction materials from their initial removal from the ground all the way up to their installation on site. Laing O’Rourke have been mining materials such as coal, iron ore, zinc, bauxite, alumina, diamond, and copper for over 40 years in Australia (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). Since Laing O’Rourke acquired Crown House Technologies and Barclay Mowlem in 2004 and 2006 respectively (Laing O’Rourke, 2014), they have completed some of the most recognisable and both culturally and economically significant building projects in the world. The firm was responsible for the construction works for the half a billion pound regeneration project known as Liverpool One, in Liverpool in 2008 to mark the city’s celebration as the European capital of culture. The project has been hailed as a great success, improved the local economy and transformed the image of the city almost in its entirety. (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). The size and range of Laing O’Rourke’s operations position the firm in a sector of the market which can be described as an oligopoly. Cooke (1996) wrote that â€Å"Oligopolistic industries are characterised by a small number of firms accounting for a large proportion (or all) of total output.† Laing O’Rourke is one of a relatively small number of firms that is responsible for a very large proportion of all construction work. This raises an interesting point as the industry is in fact dominated by a large number of small firms (Cooke, 1996). This is mainly due to the construction industry being location specific. The resources and materials for a project may all come from static factories, but the actual construction activity itself must always take place on the site itself, such is the nature of construction (Cooke, 1996). This is even the case where an entire building may be produced using prefabricated components, the actual coming together of the parts will happen on site. This is where a firm like Laing O’Rourke will utilise the smaller, more location specific firms to aid in their efforts. These smaller firms operate in an area of the market which could be described more as monopolistic competition, even bordering on perfect competition in places. Cooke (1996) describes monopolistic competition as: â€Å"Monopolistic competition exists when a large number of firms are operating in a particular market but, unlike perfect competition, each producer offers the customer a slightly differentiated product†¦ or when firms offering a similar product are located in different geographical areas† This oligopolistic competition at the top end of the construction industry has meant that the top 50 construction firms in the UK, sometimes even the top 10, are usually the same familiar names, granted they regularly overtake one another year to year as the market can often be volatile and firms can easily lose out financially if a project has not gone well. This was touched on earlier where most of the construction work carried out on a whole is actually by a small amount of large firms. Construction can be a very lucrative business even on a small scale. Therefore the amount of money passing through the accounts of a firm the size of Laing O’Rourke is phenomenal. This section will look into some aspects of the firm’s accounts, which are readily available to the public as the firm is a limited company. Parker (1999) states that all company balance sheets are built up from three main categories; assets, liabilities and shareholders’ funds. â€Å"Assets can be defined as rights or other access to future economic benefits controlled by a company as a result of past transactions or other events.† Current assets are assets which are to not be put back into the firm. This includes mainly cash, debtors and stocks (Parker, 1999). In contrast, fixed assets are assets which are to be used in the continued operations and growth of the firm. The total assets can be found by combining the fixed and current assets. The net assets can be found by subtracting the current liabilities from the total assets. Table 1. below shows the total assets and net assets for the years 2012 and 2013. Table 1. Balance Sheet – Laing O’Rourke 2013 2012 Total Assets  £255,100,000 +  £929,700,000 =  £1,184,800,000  £250,300,000 +  £970,000,000 =  £1,220,300,000 Net Assets  £1,184,800,000  £865,400,000 =  £319,400,000  £1,220,300,000  £914,400,000 =  £305,900,000 Source: FAME, 2014 It can be seen that the total assets have dropped from 2012 to 2013, however the fixed assets actually grew by  £4.7 million and the current assets dropped by  £40.3 million. This shows that more money was allocated to be put back into the company in 2013 than it was in 2012. The net assets show a growth of nearly  £15 million. Below; Table 2 shows similar look into another large construction firm Carillion. Table 2. Balance Sheet – Carillion 2013 2012 Total Assets  £1,952,900,000 +  £1,683,200,000 =  £3,636,100,000  £2,026,500,000 +  £1,834,800,000 =  £3,861,300,000 Net Assets  £3,636,100,000  £1,661,600,000 =  £1,974,500,000  £3,861,300,000  £1,688,400,000 =  £2,172,900,000 Source: FAME, 2014 This data shows a drop in fixed assets of about  £73 million and also a drop of about  £150 million current assets from 2012 to 2013, which shows that fewer assets were allocated in both sectors, so it is possible that the firm did not perform as well in 2013 as 2012. The net assets also show a drop over the time period. This is in contrast to Laing O’Rourke, who actually increased its overall assets. This does not mean though that Carillion have less assets than Laing O’Rourke, on the contrary, Carillion, even though the firm did not increase its assets over the year, do however still have about 6 times the amount of Laing O’Rourke. Gross profit can be found by deducting the turnover from the cost of sales. Profit margin ratio can be found by dividing the net profit before tax by the turnover and multiplying the answer by 100. Return on capital employed can be found by dividing the profit before tax by the capital employed and multiplying the answer by 100, as is shown in the table (3) below. Table 3. Profit and loss account Laing O’Rourke 2013 2012 Turnover  £1,640,100,000  £1,622,400,000 Cost of sales  £1,473,000,000  £1,448,700,000 Gross Profit  £1,640,100,000  £1,473,000,000 =  £167,100,000  £1,622,400,000  £1,448,700,000 =  £173,700,000 Net profit before tax  £21,500,000  £27,400,000 Profit Margin 1.31 1.69 Return on capital employed 6.73 8.96 Source: FAME, 2014 Table 4. Profit and loss account Carillion 2013 2012 Turnover  £3,332,600,000  £3,666,200,000 Cost of sales  £2,984,600,000  £3,279,400,000 Gross Profit  £3,332,600,000  £2,984,600,000 =  £348,000,000  £3,666,200,000  £3,279,400,000 =  £386,800,000 Net profit before tax  £110,600,000  £179,500,000 Profit Margin 3.32 4.90 Return on capital employed 5.60 8.26 Source: FAME, 2014 These figures clearly show us that in both firms the gross profit figures have fallen. Also the profit margin and return on capital gained has fallen in both cases. Both firms did however make a profit over both years and the figures show that Carillion’s profit margins and return on capital gained are significantly higher than those of Laing O’Rourke. Current ratio can be found by dividing the current assets by the current liabilities. Acid test ratio can be found by subtracting stock from the current assets and dividing the answer by the current liabilities. Also the efficiency ratio can be found by dividing turnover by the current assets. Table 5. Solvency efficiency – Laing O’Rourke 2013 2012 Current Assets  £929,700,000  £970,700,000 Current liabilities  £865,400,000  £914,400,000 Current ratio 1.07 1.06 Acid test ratio 0.92 0.87 Efficiency ratio 1.76 1.97 Source: FAME, 2014 Table 6. Solvency efficiency Carillion 2013 2012 Current Assets  £1,683,200,000  £1,834,800,000 Current liabilities  £3,636,100,000  £3,861,300,000 Current ratio 1.01 1.09 Acid test ratio 0.98 1.05 Efficiency ratio 1.98 2.00 Source: FAME, 2014 These figures show that both Laing O’Rourke and Carillion’s current ratio and acid test ratios are hovering around the 1:1 mark, but both firms display a reasonably high efficiency ratio. Laing O’Rourke are at the forefront of the construction industry with new ideas and methods with regards to reducing their impact on the environment. Their current methods include cutting carbon, eliminating waste, sourcing responsibly, and implementing a stringent environment policy that should see their impact on the environment be reduced significantly. Their greatest priority though is to eliminate all accidents through their ‘Mission Zero’ policy. This policy aims to eliminate all accidents resulting in the loss of one or more shifts by 2015 and to eliminate all accidents of any severity by 2020 (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). These efforts should go a long way to improving their performance along with eliminating the bad practices often associated with the industry. To provide success in the future the firm could aim to eliminate waste from their productions entirely and endeavour to not just become carbon neutral, but to become a ‘carbon negative’ firm that will actually help reverse the effects that the industry has on the environment. Also a continued development and implementation of Building Information Management (BIM) into their projects of all sizes up and down their supply line would further increase their effectiveness and efficiency as a firm (www.bim.construction.com, 2014). References BIM Construction (2014) Building Information Management. Available from: http://www.bim.construction.com/ [Accessed 22 April 2014] Cooke, A.J. (1996)Economics and Construction. Basingstoke: Macmillan. FAME Database Ive, G.J. and Gruneberg, S.L. (2000)The Economics of the Modern Construction Sector. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Laing O’Rourke (2014) Environment. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/responsibility/environment.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) Health and Safety. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/responsibility/health-and-safety.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) Our History. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/who-we-are/our-history.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) Our Sectors. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/our-work/our-sectors/mining-and-natural-resources.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) Our Work. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/our-work.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) What We Do. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/what-we-do.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Myers, D. (2013)Construction Economics: A New Approach[online]. 3rd ed. London: Routledge. [Accessed 22 April 2014]. Parker, R.H. (1999)Understanding Company Financial Statements. 5th ed. London: Penguin. Prior, G. (2014) Laing O’Rourke wins Man City stadium expansion. Available from: http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2014/03/31/laing-orourke-wins-man-city-stadium-expansion/ [Accessed 22 April 2014] Word Count 2002 Business Economics Management for Construction (UBIL6Y-20-1) Page 1 of 9 Competitive Advantage: Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair Competitive Advantage: Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair This report analyses how organisations can be strategically guided towards success. The report uses the strategic frameworks; the cultural web, the VRIO framework, the value chain and the the three levels of culture to identify how organisations achieve competitive advantage. Virgin Atlantic and Ryanairs strategies are then subject to scrutiny under these frameworks to identify, in reality, how this is achieved. Competitive Advantage and Distinctive Resources; The purpose of strategy is competitive advantage. Competitive advantage emerges when an organisation enforces a strategy that creates value that is not being achieved by its competitors (Henry, 2008). The advantage becomes sustainable when competitors cannot mirror the value creation of the strategy. A distinctive resource of an organisation can be defined as a resource that cannot be imitated by other organisations (Henry 2008). Strategic Planning; Vision, Values Mission A distinct characteristic of a successful organisation is clarity over what is to be achieved. A clear purpose can enthuse employees, managers and senior managers due to the similar values they may share (Scott Jaff, 1993). A vision is the desired state the organisation aspires to accomplish, values are the core principles of an organisation and the mission gives reason to why an organisation exists (Kaplan et al, 2008). They need to be clear and concise and easily understood by all levels of the firm. Carpenter and Porras (1996) emphasised why clarity of vision and mission hold importance they suggested employees who have a better understanding of the mission and vision are able to have a greater awareness of the organisations strategy and how it is implemented. Secondly an explanation is given to staff of how strategy helps achieve the vision and mission of the organisation. Finally they offer guidance to strategy development as they guide the strategy which guides the organisation. Values create the foundations of an organisation; what the company promotes within their working culture can greatly influence decisions on every level thus a companys strategy for the future will be formed around these core concepts and beliefs. They allow the formation of the organisations purpose; the fundamental reason for existence. Case Example: Ryanair Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair are successful airline companies who achieve competitive advantage in different ways. Ryanair is a concentrated low cost airline who offers a no frills service to customers. The strategy of Ryanair is to be a cost leader. The purpose of Ryanair is therefore to provide a cheap, no frills flight service that is profitable. Vision, Value and mission of Ryanair Vision To offer low fares that generate increased passenger traffic while maintaining a continuous focus on cost-containment and operating efficiencies. Values Cost efficient = low fares low costs. Mission To firmly establish itself as Europes leading low-fares scheduled passenger airline through continued improvements and expanded offerings of its low-fares service. Source: http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/Strategy.pdf (2013). Ryanair measures its success through profit. Ryanair recorded a jump in profits towards the end of 2012 which indicates that Ryanair is achieving its purpose (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20202579). Virgin Atlantic is a leisure airline who is able to diversify into unusual leisure routes and serve different demographic locations to Ryanair. The overall purpose of Virgin Atlantic is therefore to grow a profitable airline that focusses on business and leisure markets and the quality of service offered whilst empowering staff. Vision, Value and Mission of Virgin Atlantic Vision The success of our three year strategy requires us to build on these foundations by focussing on the business and leisure markets and driving efficiency and effectiveness. Values Caring, honest, value, fun, innovation. Mission To grow a profitable airline where people love to fly and people love to work. Source: Virgin Atlantic (2013) Virgin Atlantic measures it success through feedback from both staff and customers through effective feedback systems including 360 degree feedback. The feedback received is often positive and shows Virgin Atlantic is achieving its purpose of providing an airline where people love to fly and staff love to work (Virgin Atlantic, 2013). The above examples demonstrate how vision, values and mission statement underlie the purpose of an organisation and how combining the three together form the foundation of strategy. Ryanair The first organisation to be looked at is Ryanair and how it achieves its cost leader status by looking at its culture in terms of the three levels of culture framework and by applying the value chain to analyse how they integrate the flow of activities to achieve competitive advantage Culture and its connection to strategy Schein (1988) defined organisational culture as a pattern of basic assumptions a given group has created by learning to handle problems of internal integration and external adaptation. Culture is created through the actions of upper level management in relation to what they take precedence to, what they focus on and what behaviours they punish or reward. Hall (1993) suggested culture can be viewed as an intangible resource that can be classified as an asset or competency contributing to an organisations sustainable competitive advantage as culture can hinder a strategy or make a strategy excel. Scheins (1988): three levels of culture Hatch (1993) described the model as a conceptual framework for intervening with and analysing internal organisational culture. Schein (1988) described culture as three levels categorised into: Artifacts Espoused Values Basic Underlying Assumptions. They show how deeply values and beliefs are embedded into an organisation. The model shows the degree to which culture is visible to an organisation and brings about an understanding of the way business process are carried out and what can be done to assist change in an organisation. It is used to diagnose cultural characteristics of an organisation which can then be used to develop or maintain Strategy and the strategic advantage that ensues. The table below summarises each level of culture; Three Levels of Culture Artifacts The most observable level of culture and can include business process, aesthetics of the organisation or organisational structures for example. All are visible indicators of culture but are difficult to interpret. Espoused Values They underlie behaviour and can, to some extent, determine behaviour. They are not directly observable and can include strategies, goals objectives or philosophies for example. Basic Underlying assumptions These assumptions are unconscious and often stem from values until they are taken for granted and transfer to the unconscious. Source: Williams (2012). Ryanair; Three levels of Culture The culture of Ryanair is cost efficiency which is reflected in their values, vision and mission where they create their main competitive advantage of being a low cost, frill free airline. Using the framework a diagnosis can be made of the culture of Ryanair and how this creates competitive advantage. Artifacts No complementary services are offered at Ryanair; this reflects cost efficient culture as instead they sell secondary services on flight. Head office staff supply own pens and are not allowed to charge their phones at work in the office, reflective of low cost culture. Employees pay for their own training and uniforms. Ryanair use subsidiaries to make fares cheaper, they are obtained from using local airports so the savings can be passed onto customers. Espoused Values The policies enforced by Ryanairs senior management, e.g. the policy of having to buy own uniform/ stationary equipment, reflects cost efficient nature. Basic Underlying assumptions Embedded guidelines in Ryanair; staff employees deliver a cost efficient service to passengers and they know that they are getting a frills free flight where the expectation of other airlines is to receive complimentary services. Source: Ryanair (2013). The three levels of culture demonstrate how the strategy of cost leadership is built into the culture of Ryanair culture so it becomes an unconscious process from staff and an expectation of customers. The Value Chain The value chain was first characterised by Porter (1985) and is a chain of activities that group together the main value adding activities of an organisation and can be used as a strategic planning tool. Porter (2007) described an organisation as a compilation of individually distinct, interrelated, economic activities which include both primary and secondary activities. The value chain serves as a guide for identifying the key activities within an organisation which make up the value chain that have the potential to create a sustainable competitive advantage. The competitive advantage emerges from the ability of the organisation to perform identified activities in the value chain in a superior way to competitors. Source: Williams (2013). The value chain is divided into primary activities and secondary activities which need to linked together strategically across the organisation so resources can be optimised and coordinated in a way to sustain competitive advantage. Primary activities are activities classified as products or marketing related activities. Support activities assist the primary activities and include infrastructure, human resource management, procurement and technological development. Value Chain of Ryanair The Value chain of Ryanair is a demonstration of how they integrate both primary and support activities together to create competitive advantage; Support Activities which add value to Ryanair; Support Activity:  Infrastructure Description:  Ryanairs Head Offices are minimal Support Activity:  Human resource Management Description:  Management control, limited training, Low number of staff Support Activity:  Technology development Description:  Internet booking system, Low tech marketing, Internet sales, Integration of systems Support Activity:  Procurement Description:  Outsourcing, low costs alliances The support activities defined show how they can accommodate the primary activities in a way that is cost effective. For example, Ryanairs point of sale is internet based, cutting out the middle person so flight bookings go directly to Ryanair themselves. Primary Activities which add value; Primary Activity:  Inbound logistics Description:  Quality training, Low cost suppliers, Airport agreements Primary Activity:  Operations Description:  No added frills (low cost.) Primary Activity:  Outbound logistics Description:  Fast turnaround times of aircraft, reliable service Primary Activity:  Marketing Sales Description:  Low cost promotions, Free publicity, Internet sales, controversial Primary Activity:  Services Description:  Limited resources and very basic Throughout the value chain, each activity is based around cost efficiency. Money is saved through; Providing a basic service to customers Using the internet as a point of sale which incurs lower costs as less human capital is needed Instilling a cost efficient mind set in staff through managing staff in a cost efficient manner by lowering overheads on training, uniform and fancy offices Ensuring there technology and logistics are built around time efficiency ensuring maximum usage of craft and ensuring services they offer are reliable. Source; Ryanair (2013). Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic has a reputation of quality, whether it is quality in terms of service, treatment of staff or the design of the actual aircraft. The cultural web will be used to identify how culture contributes to competitive advantage of Virgin Atlantic and how its resources are distinctive to those of its competitors. Cultural Web Strategy Corporate culture and reputation are significant, intangible resources of an organisation that can create sustainable competitive advantage. The cultural web is a diagnostic tool that looks at the internal environment of an organisation aligning strategy with culture Johnson (2000). Seel (2000) describes the cultural web as six interrelated elements centred round the paradigm (the organisations core belief) which constitutes as the work environment. The paradigm is structured on collective experiences and informs what people in the organisation do and has influence over how change should be responded to. Stories, symbols, power structures, organisational structures, control system and ritual routines are the six elements that make up the web and are the focus of strategic change. Each of the elements must be examined in order to gain understanding of an organisations culture (Johnson, 1992). Organisational culture needs to inspire innovation meaning that although culture needs to be embedded in an organisation it needs to also be flexible in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Cultural web of Virgin Atlantic The paradigm of Virgin Atlantic is reflected in their mission statement; to grow a profitable airline where people love to work and people love to fly. The core belief of Virgin is delivering quality experience. Stories; Most stories involve Richard Branson (the founder of the virgin brand) and often relate to his personality or management style and portray him as an anti-corporate, innovative hero. Rituals; Virgin Atlantics headquarters are spacious, have a relaxed atmosphere and when staff reach training milestones they and their families are invited to an event which is often attended by Branson himself. Power Structures; Most decisions and visions are controlled by a driven, close knit group of senior executives Organisational structures; Small, focussed teams that work to maintain a small company mentality inside a big company. Control; Financial and performance results are displayed for everyone to see encouraging and empowering staff to take responsibility for their performance. Symbols; Branding is smart and slick and conveys the good reputation that the brand Virgin has. Source: Virgin Atlantic (2013) The cultural web shows how the six elements interact with each other creating the core belief of quality and innovation. The VRIO framework Barney (1997) described strategic resources as; valuable, rare, inimitable and organisable. The VRIO framework is a tool an organisation can use to examine its internal environment and views organisations as bundles of resources. If these resources are correctly used then an organisation can gain competitive advantage over competitors depending on the four characteristics identified by Barney (1997) and determines whether the advantage is temporary or sustainable. Oriordian (2006) described four questions that need to be asked when identifying an organisations resources and capabilities; How valuable is the resource? How rare is the resource? Can the resource be imitated? Is the resource organised in an efficient manner? If the answer is yes to the above questions then the resource offers a competitive advantage over competitors. When analysing an organisations resources one of the following answers occur (Barney 1997); If an organisations resource is not valuable then the firm can expect to be at competitive disadvantage If the resource is valuable but not rare competitive parity is reached If the resource is valuable but not rare a competitive advantage is reached but it may only be temporary. If a firms resources are rare, valuable but not costly to imitate then temporary competitive advantage results. If the resources of an organisation are valuable rare and costly then a sustained competitive advantage will result if the resources are organised properly. VRIO framework of Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic has a number of resources that help sustain its competitive advantage over competitors. Its brand and reputation are indisputably its strongest resource whereas its customer service, geographic location (in terms of flight destinations) and human resources are a competitive advantage now, but have the risk of being imitated in the future. The VRIO framework for Virgin Atlantic shows that competitive advantage is gained from there resources that are valuable, rare, inimitable and organised. The brand name Virgin and the ability the name has to raise capital due to Virgins reputation are the resources that ensure sustainable competitive advantage is achieved. Technology, the location of where flights are available to and from and the organisational structure of Virgin are all resources that can create competitive advantage but have the possibility of being imitated by competitors which means the advantage may only be temporary. Conclusion; By exploring the strategies of both Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair it is clear that different strategic routes can be taken to achieve competitive advantage. Both organisations use their resources effectively to achieve their purpose. Competitive advantage is about creating and sustaining superior performance (Porter, 1998). Looking to the future Airline companies will be have to face rising fuel costs and an increasing demographic of consumers who have less disposable income. This could propose challenges to both organisations. Ryanair focus on cost efficiency, however, if fuel prices were to rise substantially they would have to consider ways in which they can continue to deliver there no frills flight service at competitively low price. With regards to Virgin Atlantic they would have to cater to the consumer with less disposable income by considering how they could improve the efficiency of its processes and activities to appeal to this audience. There is no right way of forming a st rategy as not one applies to every organisation. The most effective strategies are those that meet the needs of the organisation at hand.