It depends on which topic you choose Research Paper

It depends on which topic you choose - Research Paper Example This paper evaluates knowledge intensive firms and workers in the Southern Company (SO) which is a public utility company focusing on production, wholesaling, and retailing electricity in the Southeastern area of the United States (Ruiz, Benefield, Horton, Nielens, & Akins, 2012). For more than a century, the Southern Company employees have been learning from their predecessors resulting in a workforce characterized by the accumulation of relevant knowledge for use in facilitating a long lasting commitment to the communities and customers they serve. With its investment in Knowledge base management, Southern Co used an IT Aids Post-Katrina Recovery system that enabled to prepare for hurricane Katrina even before the 2005 storm struck. With this knowledge, the recovery from Hurricane Katrina was possible within 12 days unlike 28 days (McKeller, 2013). According to McKellar (2013), Southern Company is one of the companies with notable modification of groundbreaking solutions characterized by innovation and agility to serve the company’s customers and their communities.Today, Southern Company deploys unparalleled and comprehensive program in Asset Lifecycle Information Management (ALIM) that includes Engineering Information management (EIM) and a smooth asset document and data handover to promote maintenance and operations (Weitzman, 2015). In addition, SO has a great program through which it manages documents such a program to store drawing content and updating it with present conditions. In order to improve its document ma nagement, SO has invested in including asset references to drawings through investment in strong and productive relationships among people, technology, and process. This way, it will become possible for technology to support documented processes through clear standards and procedures that can be executed by actual persons (Kavas,

The Menace of Students in Covenant University Essay Example for Free

The Menace of Students in Covenant University Essay The menace of indecent behavior among students of Covenant University. The Holy book says â€Å"it is the little, little foxes that spoil the vine†. The little foxes of indecent behavior are gradually eaten deep into the vine of Covenant University and spoiling her vine which is the students. To examine this topic a clear understanding of what indecent behavior is vital. Indecent behavior is a state of continuously going against moral standards that exist in the human societal setting. Moral standards only exist where humans live as animals are not obligated to moral standards. The menace of indecent behavior is eating deep into the Student body of Covenant University. This act of nuisance has become rampant among some of the students of the institution. Statistics have shown that 80 percent of expulsion cases Covenant University are linked or connected to immoral behavior. Examples of these behaviors are smoking, drinking, watching of pornographic movies, stealing overt sexual behavior, continuous possession of circular music despite warning, overt sexual behavior, possession of hard drugs etc. The negative effects of these indecent behaviors among the students cannot be over-emphasized. They include poor health conditions, addictions, bad habits etc. there have been various measures taken in the past to curb these acts. The measures include regular checking of hostels by members of staff, running medical test on students etc. but these measure has since declined and these students have returned to their old ways , and discovered new methods of committing their atrocities. However despite all these management body can also double-up measure to counter attack these behaviors. These methods include positioning of secret cameras in various points of the school. These locations include the classrooms, rooms, chapel, lecture theatres, cafeteria etc as these will go a long way in exposing these acts with little efforts, Also medical test on students should be reinforced to test for drugs, regular checking of halls at unexpected periods should be carried out to take the students by surprise. One may want to ask, what the management stand has been on these long standing issues. The management has frowned at these acts, meting out disciplinary actions to students found committing them. However the management body has also had its flaws in this. Most times when students are punished, asked to go on expulsion or suspension, the school grants them prerogative of mercy. They return back to school, committing more acts than they had done earlier before they were administered punishments. However the latest developments have shown that the school management body has â€Å"awakened from her slumber† as recent development has shown that prerogative of mercy shall no longer be granted to any erring student. These statements were gathered in last search of the Dean of students Affairs, Pastor Abiodun Adebiyi, in Lydia halls of resident. During the search a lot of contrabands which included Phones, contraceptives, drugs etc. There the Dean mentioned that all the students who were found with the contrabands will not be spared as punishments will be meted out appropriately and no prerogative would avail for them. Also there also being a constant monitoring of secluded hide-outs in the premises, and security men who aid the students to commit atrocities are monitored closely. However despite these measured taken there is still a high rate of indecency in the student body. This is on the increase on a daily basis. The after math of this is the fact that good and timid ones end of being influenced by the bad ones, for the fear of inferiority complex and the â€Å"wanna be syndrome†. This is unhealthy for the growth of the school as the aim of establishing the school will be defeated. Because instead of raising worthy leaders, who will transform the world, corrupt leaders who will compound the system will be produced from the system. In addition, it is also important that we understand that the future we seek as a people only lies with our youths. And for that to be achieved, attention must be directed towards the students, encouraging them to stop indecency whether visible or disguised. Having looked at indecent behavior, let us examine what the general effects of indecency can result in to. Basically these can be seen from 3 perspectives. The family, this is the smallest unit, though with the largest effect. Most times when this has eaten deep into the students, they go home and manifest them in their families, influencing their younger ones, in addition to that when they themselves become parents , they are unable to caution their children on their indecent behaviors , and advice them to behave properly. Another aspect is the school. On the side of the institution there will be misplaced priorities, as the vision of the school of standing out as a Mission University will become a mare dream, with morals becoming misplaced. Academics will be handled nonchalantly, the drive for success will reduced, as the student will give more time to gratifying their habits and indecent desires than craving for success. The last view point is the health perspective. As a result of consumption of all these hard drugs, e. g. cigarettes, and alcohols, there will be a high rate of liver problems, breathing problems which will not enable them perform maximally. Having looked at the definition of indecent behavior, few examples, where it is practiced, measures that have been taken about it in the past, how it can be reduced, and the effects. It is clear that it is a delicate area of the institution where the management has to look into and make necessary corrections, as this will boost maximum productivity amongst its students. In conclusion more drastic steps should be employed to ensure that the canker of indecency does not eat deep and destroy the existing structure therefore â€Å" all hands must be on deck† to correct this while we still have a chance. After this is done, a change is occur undeniable proofs to show for it. â€Å"As they say a stitch in time saves nine†.

Ryanairs Strategic Management Practices

Ryanairs Strategic Management Practices Introduction The aim of this assignment is to explore Ryanairs strategic management practices through the theory of core competencies developed by Prahalad and Hamel (1990). Ryanair operates in the low cost carriers (LCC) industry and experienced success since the launch of its operations. Ryanairs successful strategic management position is reflected in the optimisation of its internal processes offering value to customers whilst eliminating waste. By developing a set of core competencies, Ryanair has been able to develop a strong market position while transporting millions of customers every year. The first part of the essay provides a brief overview of the company and the industry in which it operates. This section outlines the key competing forces and argues for the companys cost leadership approach towards its strategy. The second section outlines the core competence theory developed by Prahalad and Hamel (1990). This section briefly summarises the theory and its assumptions. The third section discusses the application of the strategic theory to Ryanair. This section argues that Ryanairs core competencies concern not only the efficient utilisation of its tangible resources (e.g. aircraft, contract on destinations with airports), but also intangible resources (e.g. market share, reputation, customer loyalty). Brief overview of Ryanair Ryanair gained its reputation as a low cost carrier (LCC) throughout Europe by following the SouthWest business model (Strategic Direction, 2006) (see Appendix 1 for a comparison between the two models). This model included the delivery of a no- frill service whilst offering a point-to-point service and short haul routes to secondary and regional airports. By competing on cost, Ryanair was able to offer cheap tickets to a range of European destinations with the result of changing how customers perceived their travelling experience. Ryanair was able to offer competitive prices by reducing operational costs through the utilisation of its aircrafts. In particular, by avoiding a hub-and-spoke service, creating short haul journeys, scrapping the traditional system of ticket production and seat reservation and in-flight meals, the company was able to increase the number of journeys whilst reducing costs. Moreover, the use of secondary and regional airports offer less handling costs, fewer terminal delays, and greater airport access. According to Datamonitor (2010) as of June, 2009, the company offers over 1,200 scheduled short-haul flights per day serving 145 locations throughout Europe and Morocco, with an operating fleet of 196 aircrafts. The company operates through approximately 845 routes (p.6). The scale of the companys operations indicates its positive reception by consumers seeking to reduce travelling costs whilst increasing the frequency of trips to European destinations. Current trends in the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Market 3.1 A different approach to airplane transportation Malighetti, et al (2010) argue that the growth behind the LCC market is underpinned by the consumers increasing interest in using airplanes not as a luxurious mode of transportation but as an opportunity for travelling to new destinations at a minimum cost. According to Huttinger (2006) many countries perceived the airlines as a state institution and their reason for existence as a fulfilment of public needs (p.229). The same idea is also expressed by Pitt and Brown (2001) who argue that the development of a differentiated strategy allowed the LCC firms to create a new niche. Dobruszkes (2009) argues that efforts towards deregulating the industry by the EU allowed airline firms to introduce changes in their way of operation. Lack of regulation meant fewer restrictions as to how the airlines needed to design and perform their operations (e.g. ticketing system, destinations, etc) (Dobruszkes, 2009) According to Strategic Direction (2007a, 2007b, 2007c) the emerging opportunities developing from deregulation were followed by the SouthWest business model in the USA. This model was not only copied but also extended by companies like Ryanair and Easy Jet in Europe (Barrett, 2004). As Figure 1 illustrates, a steady increase in the number of passengers carried between LCC firms can be noted. For example, whereas Virgin Atlantic achieved 28.9% growth, in contrast, Ryanair achieved 171.9% for the number of passengers carried. The difference in volume is evidence of the consumers growth and changing travel needs. Figure 1 Scheduled passengers carried, 2002-06 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 % change m m m m m 2002-06 easyJet 11.4 20.3 24.3 29.6 33.7 +195.6 Ryanair 14.9 21.3 26.6 33.7 40.5 +171.8 Flybe 2.6 3.2 5.5 +111.5 bmibaby 0.7 2.8 3.3 3.6 4.1 +583.3 Monarch na na 2 2.6 3.2 na Virgin Atlantic 3.8 3.8 4.3 4.5 4.9 +28.9 BMI 7.5 9.4 10.5 10.5 10.5 +40 BA (est) 40 38 36.1 35.7 35.6 -11 Source: Company data/CAA UK airline statistics/Mintel A key trend in the LCC market has not only been the consumers attention on cost but also opportunity for travelling to new destinations within Europe (Malighetti, et. al. 2010). As Pitfield (2008) argues, following the recent economic credit crunch the new business model favoured the LCC. Cost became a differentiating factor in the way consumers made their purchasing choices on travel (Pitfield, 2008). Moreover, from Figure 2 it can be noted that the competition between the LCC remains fierce. Ryanair and Easy Jet are the largest competitors in Europe sharing the greatest volume of passengers travelling. According to Gillen and Lall (2004) such growth is attributed to a) the number of destinations already served by the airliners, b) the reputation on cost and c) the development of a strategy that allows them to utilise resources whilst minimising waste. Efficiency remains a key attribute to the development of competitive advantage in this market. This is because excessive costs contr ibute to the firms cost structure. This means that for a LCC firm to remain competitive such company needs to sustain its levels of efficiency whilst improving the value chain with which the service is delivered. Figure 2: Passengers carried in 2006 Source: Mintel/Company data (2007) 3.2 Ryanairs cost leadership strategy According to Porter (1980, 1985) there are three types of strategies companies can adopt in an industry. These are a) cost leadership, b) differentiation strategy, and c) focus strategy. A cost leadership remains effective depending on the volume of customers served. Such strategy focuses on achieving economies of scale by maximising its profit margins through the maximised over volume of sales. In contrast, a differentiation strategy is based on the specific attributes of a service and/or product that competitors are not able to offer (Porter, 1987). The distinctive features that are unique to such service/product differentiate the companys competitive power (Porter, 1996). A focus strategy concerns a firms concentration on a particular segment in the market (e.g. consumers, product, health-related products) with the result of creating new barriers of entry for other competitors to enter (Porter, 1987). Such barriers are created because of the tacit knowledge (e.g. methods of produc tion) that is needed in order to develop the product and/or service. Ryanair is adopting a cost leadership approach to strategy. As Figure 4 shows, when comparing the companys prices against competitors and for the same destinations the cost difference remains considerable. Mintel (2007) notes that the company aims to turn flights around within 25 minutes and routes are consistently the shortest of all the Low Cost Carriers (LCCs). Wood (2004) and Boru (2006) argue that even though this cost leadership strategy has proven effective, nevertheless, it has been difficult for Ryanair to maintain it without influencing the quality of service offered to customers. In particular, Boru (2006) argues that Ryanairs hard approach on cost has resulted in a hostile behaviour towards customers. Ryanairs couldnt-care-less approach to customer care also applies to refunds and baggage. Not only are refunds never paid out, even if a passengers travel plans are disrupted by the death of a grandparent, but the bereaved customer is told to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ for having the temerity to ask (Boru, 2006, p.50). Datamonitor also reports various lawsuits, claims, and legal proceedings, arising in the ordinary course of its business. Some of these legal proceedings and claims seek damages, fines, or penalties in substantial amounts or remediation of environmental contamination (p.7). The implication of this argument is that even though cons umers continue to fly with Ryanair, they nevertheless remain weary of its behaviour to their changing travelling needs. Figure 4: Comparative fare levels (same booking date and approximate departure times Source: OHiggins in Johnson G, Scholes, K, Whittington, R. (2008, p.839) Mintel (2007) argues that in order for Ryanair to increase its revenues, it tends to engage in making incremental increases on costs that remain hidden to consumers. For example, consumers are being charged to pay for advance boarding to seat reservations, sports equipment to extra baggage and others. OHiggins (2008) mentions for example that a disabled man won a landmark case against Ryanair after it charged him  £18 for a wheelchair he needed at Stansted Airport to get from the check-in desk to the aircraft. The passenger was awarded  £1,336 in compensation from Ryanair, as the UK based Disability Commission said it may launch a class action against the airline on behalf of 35 other passengers (p.834). Such hidden costs generated a negative image for the companys low cost reputation. Donne (2004) and Groom (2004) argue that customers dislike extra charges and seek to withdraw their loyalty for carriers that are not committed to their quality of service on the grounds of reducing costs. Figure 5: Customer complaints Source: in Johnson G, Scholes, K, Whittington, R. (2008, p.842) The implication of this argument is that Ryanairs successful strategy remains contingent to the changing trends in the environment. As Figure 3 illustrates, the process of strategy formulation and evolution goes through a cycle where application needs to conform to the changing conditions of the environment. This means that Ryanair needs to develop a different approach to its cost leadership strategy by introducing modifications to its model. This can be done by placing greater importance on the customers perceptions of satisfaction rather than just promoting the selling of low cost tickets. Figure 3 Aspects of Strategy formulation and evolution Source: Chaharbaghi and Willis (1998:1022) Core Competencies Theory According to Johnson et al (2008) Chaharbaghi and Willis (1998) the study of strategic management is concerned with understanding how an organisation can realise its corporate goals through the manipulation of its tangible and intangible resources. According to Ansof (1984) strategic management can be defined as a systematic approach to a major and increasingly important responsibility of general management: to position and relate the firm to its environment in a way which will assure its continued success and make it secure from surprises. (p. xv) According to Raduan, et al. (2009) strategic management can be seen as a combination of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation (p.406) According to Mintzberg et al (1998) there are two principle schools of thought that influenced the discourse on strategic management over time. These are characterised as the a) design school and the b) emergent school. The design school argues for the importance of careful planning. Lidtka (2000) for example argues that the orchestration of processes can lead to the achievement over the intended strategic corporate outcomes. The emergent school was influenced by the work of Mintzberg (1979, 1983) and argues for the managements inability to manage uncertainty in the course of realising its corporate goals. Mintzberg (1983) argues that the role of strategic management is to adjust a firms intentions according to the shifting conditions of the environment. Such conditions cannot be known a priori but only realised at the time of their development (Mintzberg, et al (1998). Cunah and Cunah (2006) also support this idea by arguing that firms developed their strategic positions by an emerg ent process resulting from managers and employees improvisations in response to the realities of the market (p.839). In the discourse between the two schools, Prahalad and Hamel (1990) developed the theory of core competencies. This theory argues for a firms ability to develop specific competencies which are intertwined with the employees tacit knowledge and expertise. Core competencies remain context-specific and are not easily transferable because of the specificity of the employees knowledge and skills that help maintain it. According to Grà ¶ÃƒÅ¸ler (2007) core competencies represent a firms capabilities created by the complex interaction of its resources combined with implicit or explicit knowledge about the effective combination of these resources (p.252). According to Prahalad and Hamel (1994) the implication of this argument is that the innovative capability of a firm remains closely located in its awareness of the employees skills and their continuing development. Hence, the process of fostering core competencies comprises the development of qualities which concern the advancement of products/services which are intertwined with a set of skills which are people-specific (Hamel, 1996). As Figure 4 illustrates, performance remains an outcome of the interaction between capabilities and resources. Such a process is dynamic and not static, which means that the firm is in a continuing process of identifying and strengthening its core competencies over time (Goold, 1996). Figure 4 Relationship between resources, capabilities and performance Performance Capabilities Resources Source: Adapted from Grà ¶ÃƒÅ¸ler (2007, p.253) Having outlined the theory of core competencies the following section will discuss its application on Ryanair. Assessing Ryanairs strategy through its core competencies 5.1 Waste minimisation and improvement making According to Lawton (1999) and Done (2004) Ryanairs core competencies are identified in its ability to discover and remove operations that do not add value to customers. Prices can be reduced when unnecessary processes are eradicated and/or improved. Pietfeld (2008) argues how the increase in efficiency is an activity that needs to move beyond the process of careful planning. Gillen and Lall (2004) argue that Ryanair has instilled an improvement-making strategy that resides in its corporate culture. This means, that employees can take real-time initiatives which are then evaluated and implemented by the management on the organisation as a whole (Leavy, 2003). Lawton (1999) argues that the management of the organisation remains unable to detect deficiencies as employees are the ones who have immediate contact with customers. Hence, the process of introducing quality improvements requires the necessary organisational structure to allow initiative-taking by employees whilst these are also supported by the management layer. According to OSullivan and Gunningle (2009) the literature on initiative-taking by employees remains subject to criticism. This is because employees can indicate areas of improvement but such suggestions may not be readily applicable. However, a core competency developed by Ryanair is the development of an organisational structure where the corporate culture allows them to take initiatives which are then institutionalised. The management is responsible for the development of the necessary regulations, policies and procedures that can accommodate initiatives (Barrett, 2004). The implication of this activity is that the firm is able to swiftly respond to the customers changing needs with little delay. This core competency remains difficult to copy by competitors because it resides within their existing work ethic and cultural values of employees that has matured over time. A criticism that is expressed against Ryanair, and in contrast to its effort to increase levels of efficiency, concerns the absence of unions that may exercise resistance to the managements growing demands. By increasing the array of responsibilities, employees are required to achieve performance targets, OSullivan and Gunningale (2009) argue that Ryanair has created excessive demands on employees that are not accounted for in their salary. 5.2 Utilisation of Resources A second core competence concerns Ryanairs ability to maximise the volume of customers travelling whilst increasing the number of routes offered. Barrett (2004) argues that the shorter turnaround times permit more journeys per day per plane which, coupled with the higher seat density of Ryanair planes, generate lower seat mile costs (p.92). Delays result to high maintenance costs in servicing aircrafts (Barrett, 2004). Such costs, in turn, can result in reducing the number of destinations offered in the first place. Gillen and Lall (2004) argue that a faster turn improves utilization of all factors of production such as aircraft, gates, ground equipment and labour (p.44). Ryanairs core competency concerns its capacity to maximise the utilisation of its aircrafts whilst also maximising the number of routes offered. However, such utilisation requires the management of the employees contribution for knowing how resources need to be managed. The exercise of knowledge and training remain task-specific. Employees understand how their contribution, at one segment in the business, can have a wider contribution on the companys performance as a whole. Ryanair demonstrates synergy in managing array of operations that include a) the management of its network routes, b) the punctuality with which aircrafts turnaround, and c) the employees capability to manage an increase in volume of passengers. Such understanding is embedded onto the employees. As Prahalad and Hamel (1990) argue, a competency remains difficult to replicate by competitors because it is context-specific, and subject to the tacit knowledge and skills produced in the first place. Ryanairs ability to utilise its resources whilst maintaining a cost leadership strategy results from the combination between the employees knowledge and the utilisation of its resources. Figure 5 illustrates the companys efforts to increase levels of efficiency between 2002 and 2003. A complementary dimension to the utilisation of resources is the creation of new destinations. Datamonitor (2010) argues that in January 2010, the company introduced 25 new routes to/from Alicante, Barcelona Reus, Barcelona Girona, Bratislava, Bristol, Cork, East Midlands, London Stansted, Milan Bergamo, and Pescara. In the following month, the company announced opening three new routes from Edinburgh to Faro, Marrakech, and Paris. It also launched six new routes to the Greek holiday destinations of Kos, Rhodes and Volos (p.6). The creation of new routes is subject to the companys core competencies for sustaining its cost-leadership strategy whilst expanding the destinations offered. This means that by attracting a larger volume of passengers travelling, Ryanair achieves economies of scales that help maximise its profit margins. By achieving a high seat-filling-capacity Ryanair can sustain its standard maintenance costs whilst improving on revenues. Moreover, such strategy can create barriers of entry to competitors (Dobruszkes, 2009). By gaining entry to the new network routes, other airline companies (e.g. Easy Jet, Air Lingus, etc) have greater difficulty in competing for the same destinations. Figure 5: Ryanair operating statistics between 2002 and 2003 Source: OHiggins in Johnson, et al. (2008, p.846). Conclusion The aim of this essay has been to explore Ryannairs strategic management practices. By making use of the theory of core competencies as developed by Prahalad and Hamel (1990) this essay argued for the companys cost-leadership strategy that is sustained through its efforts to minimise waste and improve efficiency. Even though Ryanairs business model has proved successful, at the same time, there is growing criticism regarding the evidence indicating the company undermining the quality of its customer service. Even though consumers continue to use Ryanair for its efficient service and low cost prices the company is struggling to avoid the mounting criticism concerning the introduction of hidden costs and lack of adequate customer service (Wood, 2004, Boru, 2006). This essay argued that the companys core competencies concentrate on improving levels of efficiency at the operational level. There are two areas in which this occurs. The first is by developing an organisational culture where employees are encouraged to take initiatives in order to reduce operations that do not add value to customers (OHiggins, 2009). The second area concerns Ryanairs ability to maximise the utilisation of resources whilst expanding on the number of destinations offered (Dobruszkes, 2009). According to Prahalad and Hamel (1990) it can be argued that Ryanairs business model remains difficult to copy by competitors because the synergies created are subject to the employees knowledge and experience. Such knowledge remains contextual and task specific.Such core competence is difficult to transfer by merely migrating the methods and tools used. However, this essay also argued that perceptions of value need to be reconsidered by Ryanair. This is because value is not only subject to the low cost prices offered but also to the quality of customer service which includes the companys attitude towards responding to complaints and avoiding the misrepresentation of information as well as hidden cost s. References Ansoff, H.I. (1984) Implanting Strategic Management. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall. Barrett, D. S. (2004) The sustainability of the Ryanair model, International Journal of Transport Management Vol.2, pp. 89-98 Boru, B. (2006) Ryanair: the Cu ´ Chulainn of civil aviation, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol.14, pp.45-55 Chaharbaghi, K. and Willis, R. (1998) Strategy: the missing link between continuous revolution and constant evolution, International Journal of Operations Production Management, Vol.18, No.9/10, pp.1017-1027 Cunha, M.P.E. and Cunha J. V. Da (2006) Towards a Complexity Theory of Strategy, Management Decision, Vol.44, No.7, pp.839-850 Datamonitor (2010) Ryanair Holdings plc. Company Profile. London: Datamonitor Dobruszkes, F. (2009) New Europe, new low-cost air services, Journal of Transport Geography, Vol.17, pp.423-432 Done, K. (2004) Ryanair talks of disaster, but the low-cost revolution flies on, Financial Times, 7/8 February 2004. Gillen, D. and Lall, A. (2004) Competitive advantage of low-cost carriers: some implications for airports, Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 10 pp. 41-50 Goold, M. 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Lampel, J. (1998) Strategy Safari. New York, NY: The Free Press OHiggins, E. (2009) Ryanair in Johnson G, Scholes, K, Whittington, R. (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy. London: Prentice Hall, pp.833-852 OSullivan, M and Gunnigle, P. (2009) Bearing all the Hallmarks of Oppression. Union avoidance in Europes Largest Low-cost Airline, Labour Studies Journal, Pitfield, E. D. (2008) Some insights into competition between low-cost airlines, Research in Transportation Economics, Vol. 24, pp. 5-14 Pitt, R. M. and Brown, W. A. (2001) Developing a strategic direction for airports to enable the provision of services to both network and low-fare carriers, Facilities, Vol.19, No.1/2, pp.52-60 Porter, M. E. (1980) Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. New York: Free Press Porter, M. E. (1985) Competitive advantage. New York: The Free Press. Porter, M. E. (1987) From competitive advantage to corporate strategy. Harvard Business Review. 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Strategic Direction Vol.22, No.6, pp.18-21 Strategic Direction (2007a) Industrious times at British Airways and Ryanair. Winning the battle for the skies, Strategic Direction, Vol.20, No.4, pp.4-6 Strategic Direction (2007b) Employees come first at high-flying Soughtwest Airlines. Model contrasts with Ryanair approach to low-cost aviation. Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol.15, No.4, pp.5-7 Strategic Direction (2007c) Flight or flight. Ryanair, Southwest Airlines and post-merger US Airways and America West, Strategic Direction, Vol.23, No.1, npp.12-15 Wood, E. G. (2004) Who pays for wheelchairs?, Institute of Economic Affairs, pp. 60-61 Appendixes

The Dynamics of U.S. “Indian Policy”: 1830-Today :: Essays Papers

The Dynamics of U.S. â€Å"Indian Policy†: 1830-Today U.S. Indian Policy after 1830 is characterized by the strengthening of governmental paternalism primarily demonstrated by U.S. ideals of expansion and prosperity, and is only checked within the explosive political era of the American Indian movement. As a national ideology that still endures in some states to this day, paternalism assumes that native peoples are uncivilized, backward, and in need of foreign leadership and guidance. Often termed ‘cultural imperialism’, this system is inherent to promoting the economic development of a nation state despite the rights and existence of native peoples. As several paternalistic acts of the late 1800s demonstrate, the U.S. government actively sought to destroy traditional Indian values and life styles in favor of more ‘competent’, European systems of society and economic development. However, in the last 50 years, radical Indian opposition and growing political awareness has transformed U.S. Indian Policy a more eq uitable relationship between veritable governments. Today, U.S. Indian policy must account for Indian rights and sovereignty over their own lands, and maintains a growing record of Indian victories in the struggle for justice and racial equality. The purported ideology of the Removal period, as championed by Jackson and his contemporaries, was the salvation of Indian culture and lifestyle. Indeed, under the approval of the newly formed Bureau of Indian Affairs, aptly subservient to the U.S. Dept. of War, removal was advocated for the recovery of Indian heritage in the face of white culture and demands. Yet the Removal period was not the end all be all of U.S. dominance over Indian land and culture. Rather, this tearful time was merely a government tool used to further break up traditional tribal bonds and sow discord between families through co-optation and favoritism to half-whites. This underlying national intention was revealed in the 1840s period of expansion following the Removals of the 1830s. In subsequent decades, U.S. Indian relations were a product of governmental needs for stability and peace, in the midst of war and organization of this new country. Western expansion saw the conquest of the Sioux in the â€Å"fev er† for California and Oregon, and more guns and cattle poured into the west. With the Election of Polk in 1844 and his victory in the Spanish American War of 1848, the South West became US land. While the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 established more territory for Indian life and preservation, and more land was granted both in Kansas and Nebraska, U.

Psy 1010

Psy 110, portions chap 5, 6 & 7M. Dwyer Fall 2009/ Exam #3 Chapter 5 1. What are the four kinds of reinforcers mentioned in your book? Define them and be prepared to give an example of each. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS INFORCE A STIMULI NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT IS TO REMOVE A STIMULI POSITIVE PUNISHMENT IS WHEN A TARGITED BEHAVIOUR IS REMOVED BY PRESENTING A STIMULAS shouting at the dog NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT IS WHEN TARGET BEHAVIOUR BY REMOVING A STIMULAS toy removal 2. What are the four schedules of partial reinforcement we discussed? Which produces the highest rate of responding and the most resistance to extinction and why?FIXED INTERVAL reward every 5 mins FIXED RATIO reward every 5 responses VARIABLE INTERVAL an avg. every 3 mins and varied VARIABLE RATIO an avg. every 5 behaviours 3. What is the significance of latent learning and observational learning? How did discovery of these two important types of learning change our definition of psychology? OBERVATIONAL LEARNING learning by l ooking at others by observing LETENT LEARNING learning that is not directly observable 4. Define conditioned taste aversion, instinctual drift, subliminal learning, discovery learning, direct instruction, learning styles.TASTE AVERSION it is when we recognize a taste and in the future we try to avoid it due to its effect to us INSTINCTUAL DRIFT is the tendency of an organism to revert to instinctive behaviors that can interfere with the conditioned response SUBLIMINAL LEARNING sub means below and luminal light it is the theory that states that a person can learn even with little information which if is continuously repeated DISCOVERY LEARNING is when we learn after experiencing something for our self DIRECT INSTRUCTION learning through given instruction e. g. ectures not experiments LERNING STYLE it the type of style that best fits a individual Chapter 6 5. When we have a memory of an event it is a reconstruction of the event. Explain what that means. What information goes into our reconstructions of the past? Previous info Trace memories of the event Past experiences Context of the person asking the question 6. What are the functions, span(capacity), and duration of each of the three types of memory processes? Sensory memory Short term memory Long term memory 7. What happens in sensory store? What does it mean when we say that these processes are preattentive?PREATTENTIVE –SO FAST WE DON’T KNOW WE ARE DOING IT IMAGE IS CREATEDLD WE SCAN IMAGE AND PICK UP INFORMATION THAT WE WANT FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS 8. The three types of processes that go on in short term memory (working memory) are.. I listed them .. beginning with the match-mismatch identification of incoming information, maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal—be able to give a number of examples of the latter†¦ GATHER INFO REHERCE INFO REHERCE IT TILL IT IS STORED IN LONG TERM MEMORY 9. What are proactive and retroactive interference? Be able to give examples.RETRO ACTIVE ability to recall something that you have learned in the past after lerning something new PROACTIVE ability to learn second lesson after learning the both lessons 10. Be able to name and give examples of all the different types of long term memory. SEMANTIC OUR KNOWLOGE ABOUT FACTS FO THE WORLD EPISODIC RECOLLECTION OF EVENTS OF OUR LIVES EXPLICIT MEMORIES WE RECALL INTENTIONALLY AND WHICH WE HAVE CONSTANT AWARENESS IMPLICIT MEMORIES FOR HOW WE DO THINGS PROCEDURAL ABILITY TO IDENTIFY A STIMULAS MORE EASILY OR QUICKLY AFTER WE ENCOUNTER SIMILAR STIMULI 11.Define encoding, storage and retrieval. ENCODING IS THE PROCESS OF GETTING INFORMATION INTO OUR MEMORY BANKS STORING IS THE PROCES OF KEEPING INFORMATION IN OUR MEMORY REVIVAL IS THE REACTIVATION OR RECONSTRUCTION OF EVENTS FROM OUR MEMORY STORAGE 12. What are the different forms of retrieval? Be able to identify one of each in the items on your test.. RECALL – IF U TRULY LEARN IT RECOGNITION- MULTI CHOICE SKETCHY INDERSTAN DING 13. What are the three ways in which the concept of â€Å"specificity of cues† apply to memory retrieval. RELEARN -REAQUIRING KNOWLOGE THAT WE PRVIOUSLYLEARNED BUT FORGOTTEN OVER TIME RECALL-GENERATING PREVIOUSLY GENERATED INFORMATION RECOGNISATION- SELECTIONG INFO FROM ARRY OF INFO THAT WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY LEARNED 14. What do we mean by levels of processing? MARE DEEP REPETITION PROCESS MARE BRAIN MARE 15. What are semantic networks, lexicons, and schemas? (define them). 16. Name five study tips that would improve student test performance. 20 MIN BREAK LONG TERM NO CRAMMING SAME STATE SIT IN SAM SEAT 17. How do we distinguish between false memories or true memories? MORE REHERSAL CONSIDER THE PROBE DISTINCT BW BIAS Chapter 7: 18. What is language?Define it and be able to discuss its basic components. PATTERN OF SIGNALS GENERATIVE AND IS COMPLECATED SYMBOLS WORDS GESTURES RULE BOUND ENCODING AND DECODING IT IS ARBITUARY 19. What are the early stages of language developmen t? The early stages comprise of babbling in children where they utter parts of words which they cannot pronounce but as the early stages pass gradually the child starts to utter words in a more meaning full pattern and the later on in life they interpret words give them meanings this type of behavior is coved in behaviorism where learning is done by observing. 0. Define phonemes, morphemes, babbling, syntax (Of surface and prescriptive grammar, which of these two is taught to us by our elementary and high school teachers? ) Phonemes is the smallest unit of sound Morphemes are composed of phonemes and a number of them to create meaning Babbling is the experimentation of noise making by the child trying to speak making vovel sound 21. Familiarize yourself with and be able to critiques the four theories of language development covered in your book.

Free Essays on Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal Deception Lippard, V. P. (winter 1988). â€Å"Ask Me No Questions, Ill Tell You No Lies†. Western Journal of communication, 52, 91-103. â€Å"Ask Me no More Questions I’ll tell you no Lies† written by Paula V. Lippard. This a research article about her study on interpersonal deception. Interpersonal Deception is a study of how people lie or deceive others while they are communicating. Lippard takes the findings of three authors before her. She brings them together and adds new research fulfilling its need for further information. In Lippards study, she will take voluntary college students and have them record every act of deception. They will be record every act over a three week period. Lippard used a past article write by Carl Camden, Michael T. Motley, and Ann Wilson in 1984. Lippard used some of the articles information before doing her study.(Camden, 1984) Camden states that lies are the most common form of duplicity used by man. Camden used the term white lies for social exaggerations or harmless deceptions and black lies for more serious trust breaking deceptions. In the study, they used 130 subjects recording the subjects natural conversations. Camden looked and studied the variety in answers during the conversations. In his conclusion, he found how frequent people actually lie. People lie in order to help cope with certain social contexts, sex, power, relationships ect. They feel that a white lie can be a better alternative to their misfortunes.(Camden, 1984) Another article lippard used was written by Dale Hample in 1980. He said that lies seem to be regarded as pollutants of communication, rather than as phenomena of intrinsic interest.(Hample 1980) Dale Hample’s research deals mostly with finding out when a lie occurs not so much understanding the lie. He used three tests in his research an open-minded questionnaire, tape recorded interviews, and a large social survey. Hamples s... Free Essays on Interpersonal Communication Free Essays on Interpersonal Communication Interpersonal Deception Lippard, V. P. (winter 1988). â€Å"Ask Me No Questions, Ill Tell You No Lies†. Western Journal of communication, 52, 91-103. â€Å"Ask Me no More Questions I’ll tell you no Lies† written by Paula V. Lippard. This a research article about her study on interpersonal deception. Interpersonal Deception is a study of how people lie or deceive others while they are communicating. Lippard takes the findings of three authors before her. She brings them together and adds new research fulfilling its need for further information. In Lippards study, she will take voluntary college students and have them record every act of deception. They will be record every act over a three week period. Lippard used a past article write by Carl Camden, Michael T. Motley, and Ann Wilson in 1984. Lippard used some of the articles information before doing her study.(Camden, 1984) Camden states that lies are the most common form of duplicity used by man. Camden used the term white lies for social exaggerations or harmless deceptions and black lies for more serious trust breaking deceptions. In the study, they used 130 subjects recording the subjects natural conversations. Camden looked and studied the variety in answers during the conversations. In his conclusion, he found how frequent people actually lie. People lie in order to help cope with certain social contexts, sex, power, relationships ect. They feel that a white lie can be a better alternative to their misfortunes.(Camden, 1984) Another article lippard used was written by Dale Hample in 1980. He said that lies seem to be regarded as pollutants of communication, rather than as phenomena of intrinsic interest.(Hample 1980) Dale Hample’s research deals mostly with finding out when a lie occurs not so much understanding the lie. He used three tests in his research an open-minded questionnaire, tape recorded interviews, and a large social survey. Hamples s...