Commandants Research Paper

Cattle rustling is â€Å"the stealing of grazing cattle† [1]. The term originated from the United States, where pioneer farmers grazed cattle on huge ranches that were difficult to patrol. [2] In Uganda, cattle rustling is rampant in North-eastern part of the country (Karamoja region), a semi-arid land area. The region has dominant pastoral ethnic groups which include the Dodoth, Jie, Bakora, Matheniko and the Pian all of whom are referred to generally as Karamojong.Traditionally, cattle rustling within the pastoral communities was sanctioned and controlled by elders as a means of testing a person’s personal bravery and prowess. In the recent past however, there has emerged a new system of predatory exploitation of economic resources in the form of cattle rustling and banditry. This problem is manifesting itself in various forms and is becoming endemic in north-eastern Uganda.There has been a tendency by scholars to trivialize the issue of cattle rustling as a mere cult ural practice, yet over a period of time there have emerged new trends, tendencies and dynamics, leading to commercialization of the practice. The phenomenon of cattle rustling has caused a breakdown in social order, economic hardships and insecurity in North-eastern Uganda. 2. During post colonial period, different Ugandan governments have adopted anti-pastoral policies leading to loss of land vital for the survival of the Karamajong herds.Today, the menace of cattle rustling in this area has reached unprecedented proportions in nature and scale due to a number of factors including; government policies, socio-political and ecological limitations. The subsequent intervention by government saw to it that disarmament programs were the most viable solution to cease and remove all illegal gun usage by the Karamojong. To date however, all the disarmament programs initiated by government have not solved the problem. 3.This paper is written for the commandant Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College as a partial fulfilment for the award of a Pass Staff Course (psc). It seeks to analyse the problems of cattle rustling and banditry activities in Uganda, by examining the historical background of the pastoralists, causes and effects of cattle rustling, attempts by government to address it and finally proposes solutions deemed appropriate. The paper relied mainly on written materials, which included articles, books, reports and journals.The findings could not be comprehensively expressed within the limits of 4,000 words; consequently there was the constraint of space. AIM 4. The aim of this paper is to examine the problems of cattle rustling in Uganda with a view to recommending appropriate solution. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF KARAMOJA PASTORALISTS 5. Karamojong is a generic term that refers to a group of pastoralists from the Nilo-Hamite ethnic group living in North-eastern Uganda. The region is popularly known as Karamoja and their language is Akaramojong.The communit y comprises five ethnic groupings namely Dodoth, Jie, Bakora, Matheniko and the Pian totaling about 12% of Uganda’s population of 24. 7million. Their history and culture closely interlocks with that of their neighboring pastoralists, the Turkana in Northwestern Kenya. Cattle are crucial within this community not just for subsistence but also for the payment of bride price, which is the basis of establishing bond partnerships within the Karamojong community. [3] The history of the pastoralist organized raids and predatory expansion predate European colonialism of the nineteenth century.During pre-colonialism, pastoralists of the region had been accustomed to the independence and freedom of openly carrying firearms they had for many decades obtained from Arab slave traders and merchants from the East African coast. [4] Karamoja community had a thriving pastoral economy through trade in ironware and livestock with the Turkana of Kenya. They lived peacefully within the Rudolf Pro vince of Uganda where they shared natural resources through a system of social reciprocity, before the colonial delimitation sliced through their grazing areas. 6.The redrawing of boundaries by Britain in 1926 transferred Uganda’s Rudolf province to Kenya and created the present republics of Kenya and Uganda[5]. The colonialists wanted the pastoralists confined within the respective boundaries and to respect the invisible meridians that delineated the newly created states. Since ancient times however, pastoralism involved the protection of livestock from wild animals; later on protection against human thieves also became necessary. These considerations made it prudent for pastoralists to be armed, which was viewed as a threat by the colonial authority.On account of this, each pastoral ethnic community was ordered to surrender to the colonialists the guns they acquired in the mid 19th century. The pastoralists refused to surrender guns peacefully, forcing colonialists to condu ct a disarmament operation which was unsuccessful in that the pastoralists simply re-located to rugged mountainous terrain out of reach of the colonial patrols. 7. Nevertheless, Karamoja and Turkana regions were declared closed districts, where movement within and outside was restricted without a valid pass. 6] By the late nineteenth century the Karamojong adopted a settled form of pastoralism through which only animals are moved in search of pasture while the families settle permanently in given locations. Consequently, the restriction of movement limited free access to grazing land and water and further increased the social conflict among the pastoralists over the little available grazing area. The redrawing of boundaries and restrictions on movement affected the pastoralists whose mode of nomadism results from ecological demands necessitating mobility. 8.At the outbreak of the Second World War, Britain recruited the Karamojong into the army in recognition of their ethno-military culture and existing dexterity with firearms and knowledge of harsh physical terrain. Karamojong also served with distinction as soldiers for the Kings African Rifles (KAR) during military campaigns conducted in Africa and Asia. After political independence from Britain in 1962, the government of Uganda continued to exclude the Karamoja region from the socio-economic and political developments that were taking place in other areas of the country.The community lacked road communication and infrastructures that could generate local employment. Karamoja region therefore remained economically deprived hence failed to gravitate to the rhythm of statehood and instead strengthened their primordial identity. 9. In 1979, the Karamojong acquired large quantities of automatic rifles following the routing of President Idi Amin from Uganda by an alliance of Tanzanian People’s Defence Force and Ugandan exiles. One major source was the Moroto barracks which the fleeing soldiers abandoned in tact thus allowing the Karamojong to help themselves to unlimited quantity of small arms and ammunition. 7] Hence, the Karamojong strengthened their raiding capacity using the skills gained in the colonial wars and the modern automatic rifles looted from Moroto barracks to revitalize the tradition of dynastic raids and predatory expansion. The long time exclusion of the Karamojong from the socio-economic development by the government also accounts as a cause of the new form of banditry. CAUSES OF CATTLE RUSTLING IN UGANDA 10. Cattle rustling phenomenon has undergone fundamental transformation from a cultural practice of testing a person’s personal bravery and prowess to banditry and bloody warfare between various groups.Cattle raids within the pastoral communities often constitute a communal response to natural calamities, although it is a primitive survival strategy, on the overall, raiding has the impact of creating a desperate cycle of continuous raids as each group in the region sees it as a means for re-stocking. Thus the social dilemmas created by frequent natural disasters appear to be the major catalysts of the cattle-rustling phenomenon in the borderlands. Cattle rustling activities in Uganda is therefore, as a result of; ecological limitations, government policies, external political and economic factors. 8] 11. Ecological Limitations. The Karamoja area has an ecological feature of a semi-arid savannah, bush and mountains with varying rain pattern. In pre-colonial times, pastoral societies used migrations as a panacea[9] for droughts, but the impositions of boundaries and restrictions on movement destroyed this possibility, and were totally at variance with the understanding of boundaries by the pastoralists who responded to ecological demands. These measures greatly affected the grazing patterns by the pastoralists from their long time experience with ecological hardships.Ecological limitations further forced pastoralists to choose breeds whi ch may not necessarily be profitable in milk, blood, and meat yield but can endure extreme drought and survive long distances. The fixed boundaries as a result of government policies were drawn with little regard to seasonal variations and the need of the pastoral community for pasture. Consequently, massive deaths of cattle resulting from droughts and limited grazing area led to raids as one of the options for replenishing the depleted stocks. 12. Government Policies.As a result of colonial and post colonial government policies, the Karamajong lost a considerable portion of land through the redrawing of national boundaries of Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, gazetting of national parks and the establishment of Moroto barracks that left much of their grazing areas outside Uganda. They were also expelled from the newly created Game park of Kidepo, and protected forests. From then, the pastoral community developed a highly sophisticated approach to sharing scarce grazing land and water in an unstable ecological system.The adoption of a settled form of pastoralism through which only animals are moved in search of pasture and water while the families settle permanently in given locations entailed the development of hostilities among the various groups over grazing grounds and water spots. They often abandon their homes to temporary encampments in search of pasture, occasionally crossing to neighbouring districts including the border to Tukana land in North-western Kenya[10]. Consequently, the alienation of the Karamajong communities from the resources they once used set the stage for them to seek survival strategies through mobile pastoralism.The high rate of illiteracy and unemployment among the youth who view cattle rustling and banditry as the only way to livelihood is another factor contributing to the banditry activities in the region coupled with external political factors. 13. External Political Factors. External political factors have increased the instability of pastoralist groups inhabiting remote regions of Northeastern Uganda and Northwestern Kenya. In particular, political fragmentation and civil wars have had domino effect on the Karamojong and Turkana.They have played host or been caught up in armed conflicts between various factions and in the event lost livestock in big numbers. The pastoralists have from time to time had heavy clashes with the rebels who come to loot livestock. Specifically, the civil war in Southern Sudan between the government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) and the sporadic rebel movements of the Lords Resistance Movement (LRA) in Northeastern Uganda. The Uganda, Kenya and Sudan border region is so awash with small arms that one ethnic pastoral group will use guns for part payment of dowry when taking a bride from the other.Whereas cattle have a symbolic role in marriage and in the social-political and economic life of herders, their substitution with modern firearms indicates that arms bea ring has acquired a significant role in the spiritual and material culture of the pastoral community of Uganda. 14. Economic Factors. Another cause of cattle rustling which has become more entrenched in the last few decades is that of economic self-acquisition motives. Raids motivated by such tendencies do not occur as a response to ecological or natural calamities. Such raids occur at any time with the aim of acquiring animals for commercial purposes and individual gain.While the first category of raids hinges on communal interests and is monitored by the community through social norms, the latter is based entirely on private interests and controlled by armed kraal leaders. This has led to the emergence of cattle warlords. [11] Consequently, cattle rustling have emerged into a new system of predatory exploitation of economic resources in the form of banditry and raids intended to accumulate wealth resulting into adverse effects in the region. EFFECTS OF CATTLE RUSTLING 15. Traditio nally, cattle rustling were a cultural practice that was regarded as a kind of sports to test a person’s bravery among the astoralists and was sanctioned by elders. Today, however, new forms of banditry and cattle rustling have emerged, over which the elders have no control. In the last three decades, a number of pastoral societies have become militarized and increasingly rely on firearms. A few randomly selected incidents will illustrate the severity of the problem. In September 1997, fifty Bakora ethnic communities were killed in a 4 a. m. raid by Pokot cattle raiders numbering about one thousand. The Pokot were armed with AK 47 assault rifles and about stole 7,000 cattle.In March 1999, Pokot gunmen again attacked a Matheniko village killing 30 people before escaping with 2,000 heads of cattle. However, what was most disturbing was the fact that the rustlers burned food crops; gang raped women and set huts on fire. Later, an attack in February 2000 by the Ugandan Karamojong on Kenyan Pokot killed over hundred people and stole about 1,800 cattle and 5,000 sheep. Cosequently, cattle raiding in north-eastern Uganda have undergone fundamental changes in terms of nature and scale, effects of which can be viewed from the level of insecurity, socio-political and economic impacts in the region. 6. Socio – Political and Economic Impact. Cattle rustling have caused untold suffering in the Karamoja region which has led to loss of many human lives and displacement of various population and groups within Karamoja and its neighbouring districts. The twin phenomena of banditry and cattle rustling have become endemic in the region, affecting a big population of the area with kraal leaders having a field day in this environment of lawlessness. The idle and impoverished youths are easily manipulated by the kraal heads to join their private raiding armies to conduct raids. 12] Karamojong youth seems to be happy in enlisting into these banditry and cattle raiding armies, which they feel, is synonymous to defending societal interest against an enemy, the State. Because of the state of anarchy and lawlessness in the region, it is very difficult to implement any economic developmental projects; hence people live in abject poverty. Government officers, NGOs and the business community based in the area live in constant fear of the bandits.The social dilemmas created by frequent natural disasters such as drought also appear to be a major catalyst of the cattle-rustling phenomenon within the pastoral community. Subsequently, the often wanton destruction of life and property and the use of terror by the rustlers have in all its manifestations undermined the sense of value, dignity and harmony hence, a major source of insecurity and undevelopment in the region. 17. Insecurity. The new form of banditry activities in northeastern Uganda has resulted in the emergence of cattle warlords with armed militia to protect their interests.The violence, chaos an d insecurity have become the dominant feature in the region. Cattle warlordism is a new phenomenon which has emerged among the Karamojong since the 1980s, the warlords have created strong and heavily armed private armies which, apart from providing them local security, also go on cattle raids, near and far. Violence and warfare in the process of cattle raiding and looting of other property have created an environment of insecurity and tension in the region extending to neighbouring districts.State officials, especially security forces, involved in the disarmament operation are also perpetrating acts of violence and insecurity in the region, for example; in 1984, a joint disarmament exercise involving Ugandan military and Kenyan paramilitary police flopped when the soldiers involved in the program indiscriminately killed Karamojong and looted thousands of cattle. Since the post colonial period, the State has also been implicated in the confiscation of livestock recovered after raids. [13] The warlords have very many retainers whom they send on raids, while they maintain and supervise the raiding party.They have therefore; become the final authority on cattle relations, overriding the traditional powers of the elders. Consequently, the insecurity in the region is perpetuated by both State operatives involved in the disarmament operations and the warlords. GOVERNMENT ATEMPTS TO STOP CATTLE RUSTLING 18. Efforts to pacify Karamoja have been the concern of successesive regimes in the colonial times through to post colonial period. During the colonial time, Britain declared Karamoja a closed district where movement within and outside was restricted without a valid pass.In a bid to restrict transhumance, the policy had the impact of pauperizing the Karamoja community who previously had a thriving pastoral economy through trade in ironware and livestock with the Turkana of Kenya. After independence in 1962, Uganda perpetuated British policies which included gun control laws, but pastoralists across the borders to the North and East had access to modern firearms, which facilitated raids. During the 1980s at the height of cattle rustling, government initiated another attempt to disarm the Karamojong which efforts were forcefully repelled.In 1984, a joint disarmament exercise with the Kenya paramilitary police flopped when the military involved in the program indiscriminately killed Karamojong and stole cattle. [14] Consequently, the conduct of the military involved in the disarmament operation partly a caused the failure of the earlier disarmament attempts. 19. In 1986, a program to re-establish authority of the state in Karamoja region was initiated to control cattle rustling, and consolidate the security in the region. The state’s opinion was that, the pastoral communities were conservative, slow to adapt to change and in many respects actually against change.In view of that, several units of the army were deployed in Karamoja, unfortunate ly, the army itself became the source of insecurity in the region; use of force to disarm the Karamajong warriors meant declaring war against them, hence, the high handedness with which the army dealt with security issues alienated the pastoral communities even more. [15] Efforts by government to fight cattle rustling are laudable, but its strategy seem short-term and unlikely to succeed without fully grasping the significance of ethno-military identity of the Karamojong and their agro-pastoral neighbours, the Turkana of Kenya.Consequently, government have not achieved enduring peace in Karamoja region because of the inability to address the root causes of cattle rustling in the area and the factors that have led to failure of the previous disarmament and pacification attempts. SOLUTIONS DEEMED APPROPRIATE 20. Grass root planning approach involving all stake holders in the disarmament programmes and messages should be designed, with emphasis on assuaging the pastoralist’s per sonal fears about their security through deliberate confidence-building and provision of security.The surrender of guns should be preceded by intensive and extensive sensitisation programmes through meetings; media programmes, churches, NGOs, seminars and community based programmes. Kraal leaders should be the core of mobilization, sensitisation and concretisation programmes and efforts-targeting the youth. Properly planned, simultaneous and coordinated approach to disarmament programme should be initiated to involve all stake holders. 21. Simultaneous and Coordinated Disarmament.Government should plan and conduct a peaceful disarmament operation and closely monitor it through the establishment of disarmament committees at all levels. Adoption of standardised disarmament operational procedures and developing strategies aimed at eradicating trafficking in small arms. Appointing a regional disarmament committee composed of both the military and civic leaders in the region. Liaison Off icers should be appointed in the affected areas of Kenya and Uganda at regional and local levels to coordinate the disarmament operation.Government should undertake joint planning of disarmament operations between Kenya and Uganda and establish civil military coordination centre with appropriate humanitarian and civic action programmes. Government should conduct human rights training and sensitisation to the armed forces that will undertake forceful disarmament. There should be plans to improve on the existing social and physical structures and construction of new ones. 22. Social and Physical Infrastructure. Government should improve on the existing roads and drainage structures in the region and invest in water provision for livestock.Developing appropriate rain water harvesting technologies would make surface water run-off available for small-scale irrigated agriculture and watering livestock. Government should undertake improvement of the existing roads and construct new ones as prioritised for easy communication. It should construct more boreholes and collaborate with development partners in the region to undertake labour-based rehabilitation of existing valley dams and construct new ones. All these activities should be coupled with mass mobilization and sensitization of the local population ithin the pastoral community. 23. Mobilisation and Sensitization. There should be regular planning for community mobilisation, sensitisation and education campaigns which should target the whole community. Integration of traditional institutions of elders, kraal leaders, youth and women in the decision making regarding containment of insecurity and implementation of integrated disarmament activities should be first on the pacification agenda. Specifically, this should target the youth in the community who are vibrant in banditry activities.Mobilisation and sensitisation campaigns for voluntary disarmament and establishment of a system of co-ordination with the militar y at sub-county level through Liaison should be established. The kraal leaders should be encouraged to plan and execute grazing movements with local military commanders and emphasize the use of communal grazing grounds. There should be regular joint security meetings between Kenya and Uganda to coordinate civil military activities and identify arms markets with a view to total closure and arrest of those involved in order to establish law and order in the region. 4. Establishment of Law and Order. There is need for government to strengthen the capacity of the police to maintain law and order during and after disarmament operation. This could be achieved by the establishment of mobile courts to expedite trials of those persons found with illegal weapons and recruitment of the indigenous who qualify into the regular civil police force to serve in the region. Government should undertake further study on the traditional justice administration systems of the pastoralists to find best way s to integrate positive aspects in the modern system.Government should initiate methods of easy identification of cattle within the pastoral community. 25. Branding Animals. Government should enforce branding of livestock as a security measure to stem livestock thefts and for purposes of census and identity. Train livestock owners to maintain proper records regarding their herds, for example the colours of their cattle. Provide and improve services like veterinary for branding exercise in Karamoja region and the neighbouring. 26. Improved Services.Government should provide support for education in the region through the establishment of free government-aided boarding primary and secondary schools to effect attitude change against the gun, cow and cattle rustling, hence reduce recruitment of the youth into warrior-hood. Compulsory primary education for all children of school-going age should be introduced and civic education enhanced for adults. Peace and conflict resolution subjects should be incorporated as a unit in the curriculum at primary and secondary school levels.Government should support and intensify livestock disease control by undertaking mass vaccination of livestock against common diseases. It should enhance an appropriate agricultural extension service delivery system which takes into account the specific constraints in the area. Healthcare facilities and services should be extended to the region to reach all the communities and efforts put to strengthen and improve water and sanitation, rehabilitate dilapidated health facilities and services in the region. 27. Rewards/Recognition. There should be resettlement packages that benefit the community and the gun-owners surrendering guns.This could be in monetary and other items like iron sheets, ox-ploughs etc to change the livelihood of the pastoralists. Award of certificates and or medals for recognition would also be appropriate. CONCLUSION 28. The twin phenomena of banditry and cattle rustling in north-eastern Uganda have had adverse effects on the people of the region by creating an environment of violence and insecurity. Cattle rustling have undergone fundamental transformation from a cultural practice to a commercial venture organized and bankrolled by cattle warlords.There is therefore, a significant connection between environmental conflict and the insecurity created by cattle rustling and banditry in north-eastern-Uganda. The redrawing of national boundaries and restrictions on movement affected the pastoralists since their mode of nomadism results from ecological demands necessitating mobility. (Para 6, 7, and 11) 29. Cattle raiding have the impact of creating a desperate cycle of continuous raids as each group in the region sees it as a means for re-stocking.Raiding has been portrayed as a factor that is embedded in the pastoralists’ mentality and that can only be eradicated by the discontinuation of pastoralism, however, the social dilemmas created by freque nt natural disasters appear to be the major catalysts of the cattle-rustling phenomenon in the pastoralist community. State officials, especially security forces involved in the region are also perpetrating acts of violence and insecurity; they have been implicated in the confiscation of livestock recovered after raids.Cattle warlordism is a new phenomenon which has emerged among the Karamojong since the 1980s and is also responsible for the current violence and warfare. (Para 15 and 16). 30. Various attempts have been made by the Ugandan government to exercise a strong level of control over the pastoralists and to stop cattle rustling. The aim of which has been to pacify the pastoralists and to ensure peace and order in the region. The methods used has had several implications which has tended to present the pastoralists as unreliable people and prone to violence.Important decisions and policies affecting the mode of existence of the pastoralists should therefore not just be forced down their throats without their active involvement from the initial stages to the implementation process. Pastoralism cannot be simply dismissed; they have demonstrated economic and social acumen in the exploitation of their arid homelands, which are too arid for anything but nomadic. Government appear to have failed to achieve enduring peace in Karamoja because of the inability to address the root causes of cattle rustling in the area and the factors that have led to failure of the previous disarmament attempts. Para 17 and18). RECOMMENDATIONS 31. Government policy makers must take cognisance of the root causes of cattle rustling and identify how the ecologically related threat to peace can be contained, lessened or eradicated. Sustainable development requires grassroots support, and therefore important decisions and policies affecting the mode of existence of the pastoralists should not be simply imposed on them without their active participation from the beginning. 32.There is need for government to initiate people focused economic reforms to involve land tenure that could minimize resource conflicts and open up rural based agro-pastoral industries to improve livestock productivity to create local employment. 33. There is need for government to strengthen the capacity to maintain law and order in the region, most importantly disarmament should be calculated to win the hearts and minds. Services like compulsory education, health centres and hospitals, construction of roads, provision of clean water for human consumption and sinking of valley dams for livestock should be provided to the region.

Fairy Tale Analysis Essay

Fairytales are unique, not only as a form of literature, but as works of art which are fully comprehensible to the child as no other form of art is. † we were introduced several versions of Cinderella in â€Å"Damsels in Distress†. For generations, the Cinderella story had been one of the most popular fairytales around the world; there are countless modified versions of it. For this analysis, I chose â€Å"Cinderella† by Charles Perrault and â€Å"Ashputtle† by the Grimm Brothers and applying them to the ideas from the article, â€Å"The Struggle for Meaning†. The most familiar version of â€Å"Cinderella† in western society was the written by Charles Perrault in 1667, it was then later used by Disney for a children’s film production. The Grimm Bothers’ modified version of the story is mainly based on Perrault’s version with a little twist in it. In general, both of the stories share a similar story-line. A widower with his daughter (Cinderella or Ashputtle) was remarried to a â€Å"stuck-up† woman and her two daughters. The man’s daughter are Cinderella or Ashputtle, they were named by their stepsisters, and have been treated poorly by their stepsisters. It happened that the King of the kingdom had a son who was anxious to get married; so he gave a ball, and invited all the ladies in the kingdom to go to it. Cinderella (or Ashputtle) was invited, but her evil stepsisters forced her not to go. Cinderella (Or Ashputtle) made a wish to go to the ball, and magic happened, it clothed her in a beautiful dress, but it will only last until midnight. The Prince fell in love with her at the ball at first site, but Cinderella (Or Ashputtle) ran home, leaving only a glass shoe behind, because it was almost midnight. The prince ordered every woman in the kingdom to try it on, he knew he found the real Cinderella (or Ashputtle) when no other woman in the kingdom could fit the glass shoe but Cinderella (Or Ashputtle). The authors made the morals of Cinderella and Ashputtle very clear. The story of Cinderella had one simple moral, always be generous to people, Cinderella accepted her sisters’ apologies at the end of the story. Ashputtle had the same moral but told in a different way, Karma will always strike back; Ashputtle’s sisters’ eyes were pecked out for treating Ashputtle poorly. â€Å"Many parents believe that only conscious reality or pleasant and wish fulfilling images should be presented to the child- that he should be exposed only to the sunny side of things. But such one-sided fare nourishes the mind only in one-sided way, and real life is not all sunny. † In Bruno Bettelheim’s â€Å"The Struggle For Meaning†, Mr.Bettelheim talked about how fairy tales can be so effective at grasping children’s minds into the ideas and morals of the fairy tales. â€Å"A child needs to understand what is going on within his conscious self so that he can also cope with that which goes on in his unconscious. † Cinderella is a very â€Å"effective† story, just like children’s fantasy, the setting of the story is in a kingdom involved with kings and queens. The magic is a crucial part of the story of Cinderella; it turned the ordinary story into a fascinating fairytale. Most fairytales gives the reader a straightforward message to the moral. This way, it allows younger audiences to relate to the main character or the hero of the story to him or herself to understand the story, â€Å"The more simple and straightforward a good character, the easier for a child to identify the hero from the villain. † Ultimately, the message sent to the child from Cinderella is, â€Å"bad guys die, I don’t want to die, I want to be good. Another reason that fairytales are effective, â€Å"In fairytales, as in life, punishment or fear of it is only a limited deterrent to crime† â€Å"Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in the truth that is taught by life† (The Piccolomini,III,4. ) Fairytales portray realistic views of human nature and struggles while incorporating enchanting fictional themes and characters, after all it’s this fictious fantasy sparks the reader’s interest, as they may find some valuable meanings of life from the tale.

Performing Effective Project Monitoring and Risk Management Essay

Performing Effective Project Monitoring and Risk Management - Essay Example It provides the tools that are going to be and guidance on the way forward. For this mobile application design, one wants to create an application that enables the customers to locate a coffee shop nearest to them. Therefore, the application should function well and the software should be up to date. One  needs to have the appropriate budget and the best people working in the project. The mobile application software should synchronize well with the infrastructure (Gowell, 2012). The above is an example of how to detect the problems in mobile application project and what should be if detected. If there are defects, the problem should be reported back to the reporter and it should inform the customer that the issue being resolved. It should also tell the customer to check again later and if the problem persists, he or she should contact his or her mobile operator. It is all about the information and the operator should also know that the software is not working and inform the IT department of the  problem  so that it can be done within the shortest period. If there is a design  or software  error, then the IT manager and the team should find solutions to the problems and resolve them. The software may be defective  or even the hardware itself. All that matters are that the defect is and the application for finding the nearest coffee shop works well. A customer should not find a defect with the product and so it is the work  of the whole team to pr event this from occurring. Communication is crucial within and outside the business because without it the business would fall. For the marketing management team, information is very importance because it helps in advertising, marketing and selling of the company’s products and services. It also helps in developing a strategic vision, creation of brand awareness, expression of competitive advantage, attracting talent, fostering goodwill and also informing the investment

What has motivated the desire to pursue primary care practice Essay

What has motivated the desire to pursue primary care practice - Essay Example The researcher tells that his desire to be a practitioner in the medical or healthcare field began long ago. Having witnessed several people suffering to their death for lack of good healthcare during his days as a young person, the researcher developed the passion for learning how to save lives. Saving lives remains my main motivation in life and indeed in my pursuit of further education. While this is the case, the researcher is specifically motivated to pursue primary care practice by the fact that the prevention of diseases or health problems is far better and more desirable than their cure. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, primary care practice encompasses several activities including counseling, diagnosis and treatment of chronic and acute ailments, patient education, health maintenance, health promotion, and disease prevention. Being the first point of entry into the healthcare system for patients, it is imperative that the practice remains dedicated to ensuring that the patient as much as possible recovers without developing complications related to their initial ailments as noted by. While the researcher wishes to see too patients and the general public lead healthier lives, he is more biased toward getting them educated so that they possibly avoid getting sick and take necessary measures to avoid having their situations worsened as a result of negligence or lack of knowledge. Furthermore, the researcher is most supportive of the idea of preventing, diagnosing and treating illnesses early enough before the patient condition gets worse.

Huck Finn, Asher Lev and Emma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Huck Finn, Asher Lev and Emma - Essay Example But his religion, Hasidic Judaism, does not encourage art. His father a staunch follower believes that art is for the devil. The authors of these three novels use a number of literary elements and techniques to portray the growth of the protagonists. Of these the three elements of theme, characterisation and setting have helped the authors in their endeavour to show the progress in the lives of the protagonists. On reading these three novels we find that all the three protagonists are in search of self-awareness and go on a journey to seek it. In Huckleberry Finn, the hero, Huck, goes on a journey down the Mississippi River, with a slave named Jim. As he journeys Huck gets to learn a lot about life. He learns about slavery, trust, death and all these lessons help him to improve as a man and also helps him to mature as a man. He learns to listen to his conscience. "Conscience says to me What had poor Miss Watson done to you, that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? What did that poor old woman do to you, that you could treat her so mean... I got to feeling so mean and so miserable I most wished I was dead" (Twain, 1985, chap.16). Asher Lev, the hero of My name is Asher Lev, unlike Huck does not go on any journey in the literal sense. Asher through his paintings throws light on what has been happening to him in life. We get to see a journey of h is life through his art. Austens heroine, Emma Woodhouse too does not set out on a journey in the real sense. The story is all about the journey Emma makes to enter womanhood and how she matures psychologically after marriage.

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

Management - Essay Example The project designers are assigned to work for eight hours per week (web based system) work to each designer (Smith and Mark). After some time one designer (Smith) has taken causal leave of 3 days. On this occasion the project manager assigned extra work to the second designer (Mark). So Mark was doing work for 12 hours on web based system and also carrying other projects as well. This situation made him too busy and tired. On the return of Smith the same operational hours were maintained for the Mark. He requested the project manger but manager took no action. The main reason behind this situation was the effective relationships of the Smith to the project manager. This produced some ill feeling in Mark for the Smith and project manager. The conflict among the Mark and Smith has taken more critical conditions. Now the project design is started to effect. This conflict caused delay in the completion of the design work of web based system. The developer team is waiting to develop the system, but no effective results till now have achieved. The main cause behind this situation is the conflicts between designers. This project requires extensive coordination but at the work both designers exchange some harsh words with each other. In this situation both sides know the main reason of the conflict. Smith knew that he was the person behind the over-burden on the Mark. Smith has not admitted that he is doing wrong. In this scenario Mark was under pressure from the management and project manager. He tried to perform well but with his fellow designer he could not be able to coordinate. In this way the over design duration was delayed. After that project manager called the designers to show the progress about the system design. At the moment the project manager has charged the Mark for the delay in the system design, and Smith was not asked regarding the development delay, because of the good terms with project manager. The situation went more

Fashion Marketing and Advertising. Marks & Spencer Essay

Fashion Marketing and Advertising. Marks & Spencer - Essay Example The essay "Fashion Marketing and Advertising" examines the strategies of marketing in fashion. Limited Collection brand is the fashion-forward brand of M&S created last 2004. The new face of Limited Collection is aimed to attract the young generation of women below -35. According to M&S, â€Å"it is the latest contemporary cut straight from the catwalk and brings a whole new attitude to style.† Though M&S had established its name over years, Limited Collection brand being new to the industry will be open to possibilities of threats from the simplest to the most complicated one that should not be overlooked. Generally, M&S makes the use of certain management strategies to anticipate threats like competition in the current retail environment. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to systematically gathered data, record and analysis of information concerning Limited Collection brand in the external marketing environment. Without this marketing research it would be impossible to deal with the competitors by making use of different marketing strategies. A marketing and advertising plan about the Limited Collection brand will be given focus as well as the analysis on how M&S manage to undertake the competition in the current retail environment that would make the brand successful. The success of the business lies entirely to the customers. Once the companies have them, customer should be satisfied by meeting their needs and demands. M&S is doing the same way, to prioritize its 21 million weekly customers.

Transcending the insanity and illusions of the ego as a path to Research Paper

Transcending the insanity and illusions of the ego as a path to finding bliss - Research Paper Example From the psychological observation and analysis of changes in condition of Maria right from the time she started using drugs, it can be concluded that she is suffering from severe drug addiction and abuse. She started with small intake of alcohol and smoking small number of cigarettes per day, but due to addiction, she ended up consuming large amount of drugs resulting to substance abuse (Twerski, 32). The development issues of drug addiction and substance abuse also became clear when her health started deteriorating spontaneously thus resulting to consequential withdraw from the society. The fall in her grade and general performance in school are also sufficient testimonies to severe addiction and drug abuse that carried away her concentration in school. With reference to the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders, Maria conditions qualify meet criterions for substance abuse and substance dependence. To start with, substance abuse is usually evident when the victim fails to perform vital and critical roles and instead spends most of the time in using drug (Wurtzel, 33). Substance abuse also occurs when individual continues to use specific drug even at the time when the use posses physical dangers. Furthermore, substance abuse becomes inherent when the user maintains its use even at the time when problems connected to use continue to compound. All the discussed signs and manifestation of substance abuse are evident in Maria. Instead of allocating most of her time in doing school work, she uses the time in smoking marijuana, cigarette and drinking beer. She also continues to use the drugs despite of the physical dangers of the drugs on her health as witnessed by tremendous fall in her body weight. Furthermore, Maria pe rsists using the drugs even after falling victim of STI as evident by her contraction of genital herpes. Substance dependence on the other hand

Russias Foreign Policy with Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Russias Foreign Policy with Japan - Essay Example Tanaka (1993) offers the argument that Russia is an interesting example to be used in analyzing Japan's development of identity and concept of "self" because Russia does not fall into the category of Japan's "Orient" self, neither does it fall into the category of Japan's "West", both of which are generally the dominant "others" in relation to which Japan's foreign policy and national identity have been conditioned. As a result, Japan's relations with Russia conform to a unique pattern which has impacted upon both Japanese and Russian national character. As Hasegawa (2000) has pointed out, Russia has always been relatively unpopular in Japan, especially as compared to other countries such as China and the United States. Bukh (2007) has assessed the contributions made by Japan's popular novelists, such as Shiba Ryotaro who have dealt exhaustively with the subject of Japan's history and have been largely responsible for the development of the Japan-Russia discourse. Japan's national id entity has been defined as a positive entity mostly in relation to a negative "other", in this instance Russia. During the period after the IInd World War, Russia's increasing industrial strength moved it into a position of strength during the Cold War when the country rapidly evolved to a position of power. n view of the significant problems of poverty and devastation that Japan experienced after the IInd World War and the Pacific War, and Russia's comparatively more prosperous position, the effort to improve Japan's position of necessity resulted in Russia being placed in the position of the negative other. Once the Cold War was over and Japan's economic position began to improve in relation to Russia, the latter still served to define Japan's identity in relation to a negative "other" because during this period, Russia may have served as a negative "other" symbolizing the evils of communism which had been unsuccessful. Russia has become even more relevant in establishing Japan's national identity after the latter's economic recovery began to sustain itself. Since Japan was also on the periphery of international affairs, its adherence to western capitalistic philosophy and it's aligning itself with the United States provided it an opportunity to regain some status within the international community as a country aligned with Western international interests. From Russia's perspective, its policy towards Japan was initially driven by territorial interests when it annexed the northern territories. According to Pikes (1996/7), the foreign policy of any great power is linked to its economy. The root of Russian foreign policy originates in the Bolshevik revolution, wherein Russia was to be merely a springboard from which the Communist revolution and philosophy were to spread to all parts of the world, including the Communist countries. The expansionist policy associated with this belief was the partial cause of Russia's appropriation of the northern territories. Mo reover, Japan's rejection of Communist philosophies and adoption of the western philosophy has placed the two nations at opposite ends of the spectrum, despite both of them being peripheral nations as further detailed in this report.

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

Financial crisis - Essay Example Compared to the traditional savings deposit, this 3% is way higher which explains why a lot of depositors and investors put their money in WMPs. The reason why WMPs have higher interest yields is because they are tied up with riskier bank loans of intermediaries. WMPs are also not held in bank’s balance sheets which means that that there are no capital set aside for them during defaults. Shadow banking creates a vicious cycle because intermediaries or trust companies also loans out to a companies which in turn can also deposit back to a bank which will again transfer it to an intermediary. Such money will again be recycled except that a certain portion of it held through the mechanism of RRR or reserve requirement ration (which is really just liquidity ratio) which is portion of the loan that must be withheld from loaning out. This cycle is vicious because a $10 deposit can be loaned for $8 to another company which can again deposit it to a bank which will again loan it out for $6.4 where the same amount diminishes in the cycle. In the process, the investor is guaranteed a 3% return for the deposit. This kind of banking is not sustainable in the long run. Shadow banking in China is US equivalent of credit swap which is tied up to riskier loan. In China’s shadow banking, WMP’s are tied up intermediaries riskier loans which are not registered in company’s balance sheets and therefore not backed up by capital in case of default. In the US, credit swaps are credits lumped together with riskier loans such as subprime mortgage and then sold to another entity. The principle are the same except that US credit swap is riskier to China’s shadow banking which only guarantees a 3% return on WMPs credit swap contains subprime loans that are almost certain to default. This shows that both system is not sustainable in the long run because of the risk involved and the investments not guaranteed by capital for potential

Advantage and disadvantage of globalization Essay Example for Free

Advantage and disadvantage of globalization Essay Innovation ideas, which are suitable to adapt changeable customers’ preferences. With the development of technology, customers preferences are always updated due to global information transmit. Global Managers are capable to create more inventive products to keep and expand global markets. 2. Localization, which can avoid cultural conflict between local customers and global company, avoid future failure of investment of subsidiary of local company. Global managers must consider customizing products to comply with local national traits and policies. On-time follow-up, which is necessary to find and solve customers’ problems, renovate and meet their requirements, to update and improve the level of global marketing. Global managers are responsible for timely feedback to customizing products. Market segment, which is flexible for global manages to make differential marketing strategy for different products in different markets. Some products with lower price and higher frequency usage can be adapted standardization strategy, which some products with high price and lower frequency usage can be adapted customization strategy. High manufacturing costs. In order to adapt different customers preferences in different markets, global companies must put their products into different manufacturing process, or different testing system, or different package operation, etc. so that the products can be customized to sale in the global market. Unavoidable national barriers. Almost every country set national trade barriers or policies to protect local companies business. And some of countries have their own cultural and religious, own living habits, global companies are difficult to enter inside without any risks or discourages. Redundant market researches. Global companies have to contribute themselves into lots of market surveys and researches, because it can influence decisions among subsidiary market. However, without local questionnaires or face meeting, data collect and calculation, case study and comparison, etc. , global managers cannot finalize a new investment program carelessly.

Education Essay Essay Example for Free

Education Essay Essay Education? is? not? only? conditioning,? but? conditioning? for? the? future? and? conditioning? for? the? mind.? Somewhere? along? the? way? the? strive? to? learn? has? been? lost? on? education.? Its? hard? to? determine? where? this? all? went? wrong.? Like? many? in? the? past,? those? who? have? the? drive? to? learn,? earn? an? education.? Drive? and? determination? can? not? be? taught? in? a? classroom.? Some? of? the? most? important? subjects? that? should? be? taught? in? class,? are? not.? The? purpose? of? education? is? to? condition? youth? for? the? challenges? they? face? in? the? future. ? Students?  are? trained? not? educated.? I? have? never? had? to? overcome? a? language? barrier.? I? have? never? had? to? overcome? a? racial? barrier? either.? As? long? as? I? can? remember? learning? has? been? a? part? of? my? life.? Not? just? learning,? but? education.? The? struggles? Richard? Rodriguez? and? Fredrick? Douglass? went? through? do? not? apply? to? me.? Rodriguez? and? Douglass? were? both? lucky? enough? to? discover? education,? where? as? education? found? me.? Fredrick? Douglass? once? said,? â€Å"Without? struggle? there? is? no? progress. †? This? quote? really? sums? up? Douglass? and? his? message.? Douglass? went? through? his? fair? share? of? struggles? and? became? a? better? man? because? of? it.? If? what? I? face? now? in? my? life? is? a? struggle,? how? much? can? I? really? progress At? least? I’ll? always? have? education? to? take? advantage? of.? All? Americans? are? given? the? right? of? an? education.? Depending? on? the? person,? this? right? can? either? be? used? or? ignored.? A? large? part? in? why? so? many? immigrants? travel? to? the? US,? is? because? it? offers? free? public? education.? Because? of? taxes? no? child? has? to? pay? to? learn.? There? are? also? no? restrictions? on? who?  has? the? right? to? an? education? in? the? United? States.? Yet? education? is? not? appreciated? by? most? like? it? should.? Learning? is? a? power.? Not? a? power? that? all? people? have? but? the? ones? that? do? have? it? need? to? use? it,? completely? use? it.? Fredrick? Douglass? realized? how? powerful? the? ability? to? learn? could? be.? So? did? Maya? Angelou.? Neither? of? them? would? have? lived? the? lifes? they? did? without? the? power? of? learning.? To? make? mistakes? and? learn? from? them? so? they? don’t? recur.? Read.? Comprehend.? Write.? Read.? Comprehend.? Write.? And? repeat.? I? create?  sentences? so? I? can? reap? the? benefits.? Until? a? student? becomes? proficient? in? reading,? comprehending,? and? writing? that? student? won’t? be? successful? in? the? educational? system.? The? goal? isn’t? to? learn.? Education? used? to? be? about? learning.? Different? people? learn? in? different? ways.? Education? is? interesting? to? some? but? boring? to? others.? For? one? to? be? educated,? they? first? have? to? learn.? The? ability? to? learn? is? not? a? strength? all? people? are? born? with.? It? is? an? important? skill? most? people? develop? throughout? their? life.? Frederick? Douglass? was?  not? taught? as? a? child.? Douglass? did? not? go? to? school,? but? the? fact? that? he? is? educated? can? not? be? argued.? Based? off? that? fact? alone,? it? is? proven? that? one? does? not? need? to? be? schooled? to? be? educated.? Douglass? was? determined? to? learn.? He? was? steadfast? in? educating? himself? to? have? a? brighter? future.? Being? a? slave? in? the? 19th? century,? a? bright? future? does? not? exist.? Through? his? determination,? Douglass? shows? how? the? importance? of? an? education? is. Education? does? not? always? occur? in? the? classroom.? It? can? be? found? almost? anywhere.? Frederick? Douglass? mentions? in? his? narrative? Learning? to? Read? that? the? little? boys? who? taught? him? how? to? read? will? be? free? at? twenty? one? years? old? men,? whereas? Douglass? just? wishes? to? be? free? more? than? anything.? Learning? does? not? only? occur? in? the? classroom.? It? happens? in? many? everyday? experiences.? Sometimes? the? only? way? to? learn? something? is? to? do? it? personally.? Maya? Angelou? once? said:? â€Å"Words? mean? more? than? what? is? set? on? paper.? It? takes? the? human? voice? to? infuse? them? with? a? deeper? meaning. †? Just? because? a? student? reads? from? a? book? does? not? guarentee? they? will? receive? the? full? effect? of? the? writing.? Words? need? to? be? said,? plays? need? to? be? acted,? speeches? need? to? be? read.? Most? american? scholars? today? dredd? the? idea? of? reading.? High? schoolers? all? across? the? country? will? try? to? find? anyway? to? get? around? actually? having? to? read.? For? education? to? be? successful? in? teaching? a? student? a? lesson,? the? attitude? of? the? student? must? be? appropriate.? Students? who? don’t? want? to? learn? won’t,? it’s? really? that? simple.? Students? need? to? be? taught? how? to? learn.?

Business Essays Ryanair Airlines Transportation

Business Essays Ryanair Airlines Transportation Ryanair Airlines Transportation Ryan Air Case Study 1.0 Introduction Ryanair was set up by the Ryan family in 1985. The company went public in 1997 and the Ryan’s subsequently sold the bulk of their share to other shareholders. Ryanair traditionally developed organically, i.e. by growing its assets by itself. Every year, it opened new hubs in Europe, started flights from new airports, and added to its aircraft fleet. This model proved to be rather successful. By 2003, Ryanair was the most profitable and valuable airline in Europe ahead of Lufthansa and doubling its value over British Airways. However, as the market started to saturate and as the competition got tougher, the company decided to buy Buzz, another low-cost airline. It did so in 2003. Many said that Buzz was a financial disaster but acquiring it was strategically important for Ryanair that wanted to increase its market share and get Buzz’s airport slots and other facilities. 1.1 Ryan air’s objectives are: To open at least one new base in Europe each year for the next three or four years To grow at a rate of thirty percent (30%) for the next two years to just under twenty million passengers To maintain its position as Europe’s leading low fares airline To operate frequently point-to-point short haul flights, mainly out of regional and secondary airports 1.2 Mission and Vision The mission of Ryanair is to keep the lowest fares among all the other European airlines and to have a friendly and efficient service that satisfies the customer’s needs. The vision to the future of Ryanair is to keep going up and be Europe’s largest airline in the next six years. The heart of its strategy is based on providing a no-frills service with low fares designed to stimulate demand, particularly from budget conscious leisure and business travellers, who might otherwise have used alternatives forms of transportation, or who might not have travelled at all. 2.0 No-frill Ryan Air (refer to appendix A for more details) Over the last decade, European Aviation has moved from a highly regulated market, based on bilateral agreements between countries, towards an oligopolistic structure and finally to a highly monopolistic competitive single market. In this new situation the discretionary powers of the authorities have been curbed and airlines have enjoyed greater freedom to set fares, open new routes and determine what capacities to offer. This has eroded the dominance of the Flag Carriers like British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France, due to the upsurge of low cost airlines. In the United Kingdom however, the industry is still oligopolistic in nature, as there are many barriers to market contestability: Availability of desired take-off and landing slots at airports. The necessity of entering a new route on a large enough scale to achieve acceptable cost levels. The costs of leasing or buying new fleet of aircrafts. Securing contracts with ground-handling companies who may already have contracts with other airlines. Retaliatory behaviour by rivals. The necessity of applying for and securing an air operators’ licence from European Union. Overcoming existing customer loyalty achieved by companies who have exploited their advantage of being the first carrier. Direct intervention in the industry to control externalities e.g. aviation taxation. Ryanair a ‘no frills’ low cost airline was able to introduce pricing strategies that worked. Financial statements from 2002 – 2003 were compared; the results showed that Ryanair enjoyed after tax profit growth of fifty-nine percent (59%). This was possible through an aggressive pricing policy. 3.0 Internal and External Analysis In reference to the competitive structure of this newly formed low fares airline market in Europe and how it has developed during the 1990’s. 3.1 The Porters Five forces model shown in Appendix A, summaries these dynamics under the various influencing factors. The most influential of these are discussed. As entrants developed in this market, rivalry increased although no major head-to-head battles with the mainline global airlines occurred due to the ‘low fares’ market developing their own routes. Competition only existed from various new airlines catering for this growing sector, along with tailor made sub-divisions of the major airlines e.g. GO parent group British Airways. As the market became over crowded, however, the threat of entry was reduced, not only due to the large capital investment required. But the basic factors of congestion in the skies and the lack of take-off and landing slots at airports deterred potential new entrants. The suppliers of aircraft to the sector have relatively low power, second-hand aircraft entailed high maintenance low fuel efficiency costs and some new entrants required new aircraft to promote their new image. Although new aircraft suppliers also have low power due to the fierce competition within their manufacturing industry (Airbus, Boeing), the main force of supplier’s power comes from the price of aviation fuel which is directly related to the cost of oil, as individual companies within the airline sector they do not have the power to alter this. Customers have little power due to their large number and relatively small individual contribution to sales revenue, although this level of power will vary on the travel route in question depending on its level of competition. Porter (1998) highlighted potential risks that companies adopting any of the three generic strategies might face. For a strategy competing on costs, the main risks are when competitors are able to imitate the strategy itself, or technology changes. When the target segment becomes structurally unattractive, it also poses a risk to the company. This can happen when the demand for low fares disappears due to changing consumer taste. From the fact of the case study, Ryan air is a dominant player in the sector, and this risk is particular high at this stage. Ryan air ‘no-frill’ policy may have to change as they are actively expanding their flight route network and distance. It would be impossible for Ryan air not to provide meals on longer haul flights and as a result their cost focus strategy may become blurred. Ryan air continues to set prices lower than mist of their competitor. Bowman’s Strategic Clock may be a better tool for analysing the case study as it focuses on pricing (refer to appendix C). 3.2 Swot Analysis Opportunities for Ryanair There is still potential for more regional departures to satisfy business travel demand and the growth in short breaks. The Internet can provide a simpler route to the market for consumers and businesses. It makes searching for availability and the lowest fares easier and reduce distribution costs for airlines. There is potential for more direct bookings to reduce distribution costs. Increasing collaboration with alliance partners and code sharing partners can increase sales and reduce costs. This could lead to higher levels of cross-shareholdings and consolidation in the industry. There is also considerable potential for further development of low-fare services in Europe. Ryanair can use its reputation as a resource to expand into Internet cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s or car rental services. They can also cut down on the use of intermediataries who sell their tickets for them by getting to publicise through the Internet or airports 3.3 Threat for Ryan Air The threat of substitutes is however a main area of power, smaller geographical space and shorter distances between major agglomerations allow a greater competition from alternative transportation, notably the high-speed train. The main business challenge during the 1990’s for the ‘low fares’ airline sector was how to convince customers to take the plane instead. The threat of September 11 has proved traumatic for the mainstream European airlines. By contrast, in the no-frill airline sector, traffic calmed sharply, buoyed by strong sales promotions and heavy discounting. However, for Ryanair, the mainstream airlines’ losses were the budget airlines’ gains, strengthening their bargaining position with respect to aircraft procurement, airport deals and staff recruitment. 3.4 Strengths for Ryan Air (refer to Appendix B for more details) By looking at the strengths in appendix B, by the end of 2003, Ryanair’s route system had expanded from its primarily Irish-UK emphasis to serve 86 destinations on 133 routes across 16 countries. Ryanair’s no-frill services allowed it to priorities features important to its clientele, such as frequent departures, advance reservations, baggage handling, and consistent on-time services. Ryanair’s strength (appendix B) is that it offers travel insurances, car rental and connecting rail services, and commission on sales of other services such as hotel reservation. Ryanair website is acclaimed as being one of the most user-friendly and visited travel websites in Europe. (Refer to Exhibit 6 in the handbook for details on operating statistics for Ryanair) 3.5 Pestle Analysis: (refer to appendix A for more details) By looking at the Pestle Analysis, its suggests that Ryan air has to keep a lot of things in mind before taking any further step to increase it awareness. It has to make sure that it follows that law. Also, have to look at the people behaviour on spending the money and keep its price reasonable to attract its rival customers. 4.0 Financial Status: In 2003 Ryanair had delivered its 13th consecutive years of increased profitability. Its net margin had increased by 4% to 28%, surpassing its own long-term net profit margin target of 20%. The staff efficiency ratio had improved by 15% (see exhibit 1 in the handbook). The group’s market capitalisation had grown from  £392m in 1997 to  £4.7 by 1 July 2003, as its profitability was seen to be unique among airlines worldwide. In fiscal 2003, Ryanair had delivered extra ordinary growth in fleet, routes; traffic, revenues and profitability (refer to exhibit 1a, b and c in the handbook). Ryanair advertises its low fairs, primarily on its website, in newspapers, and on radio and television. In 1997, Ryanair was one of the first European airlines to cut its rate of commission to travel agents, from 9% to 7 and half percent. In 2002, Ryanair launched its website. This has had the effect of saving money on staff cost, agents’ commissions and computer reservation charges, while significantly contributing to growth. 5.0 Benchmarking: Comparing Ryanair to other airline companies is almost impossible, while the airline industry is blurring through competitive activity and industry convergence. Airlines offer nowadays a lot of extra services, for example, car rental, internet access in the plane et cetera. All those extra services don’t belong to the core product, the flight. Because of every airline company offering something else it makes it hard to compare Ryanair with them. Ryanair could compare itself to other low-budget airlines, despite the product Ryanair offers is very unique and Ryanair is one of the most profitable low-budget airline. 6.0 Resources Available resources Available resources can be grouped under the following four headings: Physical resources The nature of these resources, such as the age, condition, capability and location of each resource, will also determine the usefulness of the resource. Ryanair possesses everything that is needed to have the company operating in the airline industry. For example, an aircraft fleet (the average age was considerably higher than that of the fleets of Ryanair’s current or potential competitors), headquarter in Ireland, secondary airports to use for landing et cetera. Human resources Ryanair has several hundred employees who issued a statement asserting that they are happy to work for the company. Financial resources Ryanair has different shareholders: The Ryan family The employees Michael O’Leary An investment group led by David Bonderman Irish Air EU nationals Intellectual capital The intellectual capital is the intangible resources of an organisation and is often overlooked or undervalued. The intellectual capital of Ryanair consists for example of the knowledge that the individual employees have. They are all well trained, are able to use the customer databases and have good relationships with the customers. These resources are not tangible, but very important in this knowledge-based economy. 7.0 BUZZ – A Low Price Purchase: Ryanair protects and strengthen its position in the current EU Budget airline market through acquired BUZZ, and appointed two deputies, however, in the fierce competition; Ryanair should seek to some other new markets or new products. Enter the long-haul flight market with the existing cheap, no-frills flights or launch the business class in flight for the business travellers are both the good future directions for Ryanair, because these options are more or less relate to the current business which Ryanair is doing, it is easier for sharing the resources and controlling. Diversification into long-haul market with business class flights, seems not a wisdom choice for Ryanair, since choose to do something is not linking to Ryanair’s current business at all; it would make Ryanair into a very risky situation. 7.1 Robustness: (see appendix D) Rarity Michael O’Leary has a lot of experience and knowledge that can be seen as a unique resource for Ryanair. In 2004, the Financial Times named Michael O’Leary as one of 25 European ‘business stars’, who are expected to make a difference. Ideas can not be patented; they are in the public area. So advantage of Michael O’Leary will be short-lived and only if Ryanair is good at learning, adapting and moving to new bases of competition, Ryanair will be the long-term winner. Another rarity of Ryanair is the extremely low costs and low prices. This can be imitated by other airlines by introducing a new cost-cutting policy and by doing a lot of research. Complexity Entering the airline industry is very hard. Surviving in the airline industry as a low budget company maybe even harder, while Ryanair is so unique, innovative, with a very aggressive marketing policy, Ryanair is impossible to imitate. Culture Ryanair operates only in Europe, so the cultural differences are not so big, and does not give any problems. Casual ambiguity Other airline companies know that the basis of success for Ryanair is the cost-cutting policy. But how Ryanair manages this policy is unclear to them. It is hard to imitate. Ryanair is Europe’s first low-fares and no frills carrier, and it believes that it has made a sufficient gap over its competitors. But the question is can Ryanair maintain its objectives and strategies within the next 2-5years. 8.0 The detailed proposals recommended and previous objectives that can be enhanced. The Strategy that can help Ryan air to increase its competitiveness in the airline industry in short term and long term and the things that it can do to attract more customers. 8.1 Short-term strategy (refer to appendix C for more details about Ryan air strategic position) In short-term strategies, Ryanair must ensure that they are very competitive in terms of their low cost services. By keeping customers satisfied with the price of their tickets, thus reducing the complaints from flight changes and price changes, and ensuring that their day-to-day activities are constantly kept up-to-date with the constant use of the value chain analysis. 8.2 Medium-term Strategy In medium-term Ryanair face continuous competition, due to the fact that they are not number one in the low fare airlines market share even with the merger with BUZZ holding the largest low fares airline, BA and its seven alliances are number one. There should be some goals to under pin other competitors in a market penetration and new product development. Maybe by implementing own branded items into the market, as well as the subsidy’s, to maximise profits with the aid of research and development. Ryanair want to compete against BA. In which Ryanair is continuing its long-term goals of expansion, in order to compete with the larger companies. But they can only achieve this by undercutting BA, i.e. in sectors they fail to break even. 8.3 Additional Service for Customers: The use of secondary airports causes people to catch other modes of transport to reach the main city. Ryanair can take advantage, by offering an additional service to drop people at their locations. This can be done through contracting to a taxi service or a coach company. With a well-researched marketing strategy that can be used to attract the customers thereby boosting Ryanair’s passengers in unfilled seats and thus aiding in the reduction of complaints in short-term strategy. By having more people working on the help desks as the Internet has no middle man, thus no commission has to be paid to travel agencies. In terms of the Internet direct sale, it not only can reduce labour administration costs, but convenience for customers and save their time. In order to provide customers with an efficient and courteous service, it is inevitable that Ryanair have to improve their service. Generally such as the cargo services, well arrangement of booking tickets (in the internet and telephone) and while flights are being cancelled, they will give priority to resolve the situation. 8.4 Promotional Activity for Ryanair: Ryanair needs large amounts of aggressive promotion, to be noticed by the whole world in similarity to Easy Jets marketing tactic of a TV programme that was successful in making a profit and its name being remembered. In comparison, the name Ryanair is not that well known but a market research would be needed to verify this. Ryanair must achieve a new tactic to be known in the market but this may lead to a high risk factor, if they decided to focus on advertisements on TV with their special offers other than travel agencies using their airlines. Another option is the low risk factors by advertising on radio and billboards, then aiming the marketing strategy towards the targeted customers i.e. entrepreneurs and students 8.5 What Ryan air should in terms of its customer’s safety? In points of safety for their customers since the US attacks during September 11th and the recent attacks that took place in 2003, the planes must be kept and insured that they are safe to use otherwise there will be no customers. For example, if a budget air-line had an accident it can be argued that the low costs on ticket prices, cost peoples lives. This strategy will always need constant up-to-date measures in short-term and long-term, because anything can happen. 9.0 Conclusion The aim of this report was to carry out a strategy analysis of Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost no-frills airline. From this it became evident that the organisation operates in a complex environment with fast changing influences that affect its business both beneficially and unfavourably. It also enabled identification of some of the sources of Ryanair’s competitive advantage: core competencies, unique resources, key linkages and the superior cost performance compared to its closest competitor. However, it also became clear that the organisation still has a lot to learn from best practice. In general, Ryanair’s strategies match its task environment although it fails to address certain crucial issues. If these are not dealt with they could lead to future problems and reductions in profits. Reference: Cole, G. A. 1996, Management Theory and Practice, DP Publications, London Hornby, W., Gammie, B., Wall, S. 1997, Business Economics, Pearson Education Limited, England Kotler, P., Armstrong, G. 2001, Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall, New Jersey Sloman, J. 2000, Economics, Pearson Education Ltd, England. Wright, W. 1999, Marketing: Origins, Concepts, Environment, Business Press, London Gerry Johnson. Kevan Scholes, Richard Whittington. 2007, Exploring Corporate Strategy, 7th edition Appendix A Porters Five Forces related to Ryanair: The Threat of Entry High requirements for capital investment Some economies of scale High marketing costs Experience in operation needed, established airlines already have trained staff High congestion of main airports, difficulty of obtaining landing and take-off slots Advantage in brand recognition, first mover advantage Expectation of retaliation from traditional airlines in price cutting and marketing strategies such as British Airways, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines and BMI New EU ruling on overbooking can add to the increasing costs posed to airline companies The Threat of Substitutes Mainstream airlines are losing market share due to September 11 aftermath Substitution depends on the relative strengths of other airlines such as daily flights frequency, punctuality, price and certain destinations Availability of other transport alternatives such as charter airlines, car ferries, high-speed trains and cars. Substitution for land travelling is dependent on journey time distances, destinations, convenience, flexibility, and customer preferences Bargaining Power of Buyers Large population base in EU Switching cost is relevantly low as there is no high differentiation of services Internet booking allows customers to research relative costs between airliners easily; perfect knowledge Price is major factor in the choice of airlines apart from flight frequency and punctuality Services provided is similar among airlines Bargaining Power of Suppliers Concentrated and small number of aircraft manufacturers i.e. Boeing and Airbus Many budget airlines have been opting for standardized Boeing 737 aircraft will lead to Boeing having more power. The power of main airports is increasing due to air traffic in EU is mounting. Secondary airports are desperate for business from budget airlines. The price of aviation fuel is directly linked to the cost of oil, hence budget airlines like Ryanair is difficult to alter this. The more Ryanair expands the more power it will possess over its suppliers. Competitive Rivalry The European low cost airline industry is very competitive. Ryanair has fierce competition from Easy Jet, Virgin Express and Aer Lingus New competitors in the budget sector increase the buyer power. Mainstream airlines have more control over take-off and landing slots in main airports Mainstream airlines are trying to retaliate by decrease cost on domestic flights, introducing internet booking and set up low-fares subsidiaries Low switching costs and customer loyalty High costs of leaving market Pest Analysis: Political and Legal Regulations for the air travel industry are getting even more stringent. The European Union authorities demand that airlines operate in an open, transparent manner. Any state subsidies to airline companies are prohibited in order to make working conditions equal to anyone and to boost competition in the industry. There are also regulations in place for airlines not to exceed certain levels of noise and air pollution. All of the legislation and regulations make operating in the industry harder. Economic Europe is undergoing economic slowdown. People therefore spend less, in general, and tend to travel less, as a result. High oil prices inflate costs of fuel and impact margins negatively. At the same time, people are ready to travel for less and thus willing to opt for low-budget airlines. Business travel is on the surge. E.g., business travelers count for 40% of all Ryanair’s passengers. At the same time, overall traffic in the industry as well as profitability levels plummeted in the aftermath of 11 September and after the war in Iraq and the SARS. This had a devastating effect on the majority of airlines but also gave an impetus to the development of low-cost carriers. Social People’s mobility has been increasing during the last decades. People travel for leisure, business, and in search of new jobs. Personal disposable income of people is rising in Europe as well as the number of senior citizens who enjoy traveling. Traveling low-cost has become a norm. Technological Airlines set up websites through which they sell tickets and other ancillary products and services such as car rentals and travel insurances. This led to cost decreases and to greater reach to customers. Airlines now provide satellite TV and phone services on board as well as broadband Internet and thus enhance value to customers. Information systems allow airlines collect data about passengers, cost, prices as well as ensure better service when boarding and handling luggage. Environmental Companies now have to comply with strict environment protection regulations and laws. Should they breach them, they may be liable to enormous fines or court hearings. This can have a greater impact on low-cost carriers as they have more take-offs and landings due to higher frequency of flights, and therefore need to pay more environment related taxes. Appendix B Strengths and weaknesses of Ryanair Airline Strengths Ryanair first budget airline in Europe, market leader. Most developed route system with frequent departures on Dublin–London route. Pre-empting potential competitors on the same routes, unless they can offer better value than Ryanair through lower prices (which requires them to have lower costs or take the pain of losses) and/or extra services (but customers must consider these worth paying for). Pursuing clear strategy, efficient and effective low cost operator; activities fit together to create low cost  ® difficult to undercut Ryanair on cost, and therefore on price (but see weaknesses for some cost vulnerabilities). Low and reducing breakeven load factor, easily cleared, reduces financial risk. Similarly, average length of passenger haul is moving in the right direction, as is number of employees per aircraft  ® reducing cost per available seat mile ®good operating profit. In fact, in 2001 Ryanair was considered the most profitable airline in the world Low debt, relatively high p/e ratio makes it possible to raise finance for growth Leadership – testimony of awards for management. Michael O’Leary and Tony Ryan are determined competitors, turned Ryanair around very effectively Weaknesses In an inverse way, Ryanair’s weaknesses can be listed and assessed to see whether any of them create critical vulnerabilities that impair Ryanair’s positioning and viability. Cost structure – aircraft utilisation in question with lowest number of hours per day of any budget competitors; older aircraft entail higher fuel and maintenance costs; currency fluctuations make fuel costs unpredictable. Overly cost conscious? Could be irritating to passengers, e.g. withdrawing free ice with paid for drinks – especially when budget rivals are actually adding perks, and mainstream airlines are discounting. Capital structure – very vulnerable to financial markets sentiment and high expectations, so any profit disappointment could be disastrous for share price, which is especially important in absence of dividends. Also, majority free floating shares could result in over 50% ownership outside EU  ®loss of airline licence. Staff issues – EU legislation regarding compulsory trade unions, alongside history of industrial relations problems; question marks over staff commitment and loyalty. Outsourced services outside Ireland may mitigate against employee commitment and intense company knowledge necessary to create superior customer service. Ryanair penalized more than other airlines by loss of intra-EU duty-free because cabin staff remuneration dependent on it; Ryanair had to compensate staff. The Value Chain The value chain model was suggested by Michael Porter. He maintained that an organization can provide value to its customers in two major ways: by lowering costs in a particular operation or by enhancing perceived value-added through differentiation. A company can add value using both methods in its different operations. The value chain consists of primary activities and supporting activities. Primary activities include: a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Inbound logistics, i.e. suppliers, purchases, inventories, lead times; b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Operations, i.e. manufacturing or processing; waste and distribution management; inventory control; efficiency; location management; customer service; information systems; c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Outbound logistics: selling, delivering, transportation, distribution; d)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marketing and sales; e)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Service: customer satisfaction and retention, customer loyalty. Supporting activities entail: f)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Infrastructure: structure of the organization (centralized or decentralized etc); culture; managers’ involvement and support; vision; frequency of communication between managers and employees; g)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Human resources: motivation; respect of employees, which leads to happier staff and lower turn-around; h)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Technology development: Internet bookings, satellite communications, ERP information systems all lead to greater efficiency and lower costs; i)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Procurement: relationships with suppliers; storage. When bargaining power towards suppliers is high, then costs are low. A succes

Maine Lobster: Soft-shell versus Hard shell :: Essays Papers

Maine Lobster: Soft-shell versus Hard shell A lobster must shed its shell in order to grow. It takes about five to seven years for a lobster to become a legal size harvestable adult. Soft-shell is the term used for a newly molted lobster. A soft-shell lobster has a shell with room for growth. Soft-shell lobsters are not as full of meat because their new shell is larger than the muscle inside the body. The part not filled with its body’s muscle tissue is filled with water. Soft-shell lobsters may look big on the outside, but they have a much lower meat yield on the inside. Most adult lobsters molt from June to September depending upon location and water temperatures. Hard-shell lobster is a lobster with an old shell whose body has completely filled its shell. A hard-shell lobster is a fully meated lobster which is mainly caught during the winter and spring months of the fishing season. During these months, lobsters are at their peak health and condition, and the meat yields are at their highest. Why do consumers prefer soft-shell lobsters to hard-shell lobsters? Many consumers prefer soft-shell lobsters over hard-shell lobsters because of several reasons. According to some people, meat from soft-shell lobsters is more tender than from hard-shell ones. They contend that the meat is sweeter and juicier than the hard-shell lobsters. In addition, some people prefer soft-shell lobsters because they do not need any tools to crack them apart. Moreover, some people prefer soft-shell lobsters because they are less expensive than hard-shell ones. If you are looking for cheap and abundant soft-shell lobsters, then the summer months are good because the weather does not keep lobstermen from fishing them. Why do consumers prefer hard-shell lobsters to soft-shell lobsters? Many consumers prefer hard-shell lobsters over soft-shell lobsters because of several reasons. Hard-shell lobster contains fifty percent more meat than the same size soft-shell lobster. Hard-shell meat is firmer, while soft-shell meat is softer and tends to have more water. Furthermore, hard-shell lobsters ship better than soft-shell lobsters because they are less likely to crack en route. If you are looking for hard-shell lobsters, the winter months are ideal for this, but prices are higher because it is more trying for lobstermen to be out in the elements.

Defining Writing Style :: Writing Style Styles Essays

Defining Style In a search for the meaning of true style, I consulted two books on the subject. These texts differ on many levels, but most strikingly are their styles of presentation. Strunk and White, authors of The Elements of Style, lean more towards the rule-book approach, telling us what to do and when to do it without much explanation. John Williams, on the other hand, uses his book Style: Toward Clarity and Grace in almost a lecture form, filled with comparative examples of correct and incorrect ways to approach his stylistic suggestions. While the Strunk and White text is smaller and therefore seems to be the better read by default, its guidelines and helpful hints tend to be vague and often contradictory. Williams offers the reader a longer, but manageable, text full of detailed examples and prompts for the reader to test their understanding of his suggestions. When it comes to defining style, Strunk and White can give us no precise definition. They believe that "there is no satisfactory explanation of style, no infallible guide to good writing, no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly (S&W 66)." In addition to this statement, Strunk and White, give the beginning writer 21 rules that will help them find their style. If I already know these rules (which Strunk and White suggest I do) then they should already be embedded in my style. I shouldn’t need to read about them. In truth, I do. Even skilled professional writers need a refresher course on form every now and then. The Elements of Style offers just that, a quick reference guide for refining your style-not defining it. With a contrasting approach, Williams sets his definition of style as something that cannot be directly taught. Instead of giving us rules to follow, Williams presents devises used by graceful writers, what he calls "ingredients of a modestly elegant style (Williams 153)." As a beginning writer, I found Williams to be helpful. I was able to identify and understand where he was coming from. Several of his "ingredients" were elements that I already try to incorporate into my writing, but now I feel I can do so more seamlessly. One such element, the 4th ingredient in Williams style recipe, is the use of the metaphor.

plotlear King Lear Essays: Importance of the Parallel Plot in King Lea

Importance of the Parallel Plot in King Lear Literature can be expressed using many different techniques and styles of writing, some very effective and others not as much. One of the methods chosen by many is the use of so called "parallel" plots. "Parallel" plots, or sometimes referred to as minor, give the opportunity of experiencing a secondary storyline going along with the main plot that otherwise would be unmentioned. William Shakespeare shows excellent use of a parallel plot in his play "King Lear", but some question it's essentiality by asking: Is it really necessary? Does it help the story or does it degrade it? Is the Gloucester's plot really needed? Many argue that it is very important and others say it is completely useless. This essay will try to prove that the parallel plot used in "King Lear" is needed and it adds to overall value of the play. Like any other kind of literature "King Lear" contains many themes; one of which is the "parent-child relationship" conflict. Relationship problems are very common, not only in novels but also in everyday life. Lear starts the entire dilemma of hate and destruction by his foolish desire for flattery. He divides his kingdom between two of his daughters and the never ending crave for power and wealth begins. As we can assume from the play's title, Lear and his daughters are part of the main plot. The plot of Gloucester and his sons, is considered parallel. Gloucester is portrayed also with family problems. He experiences trouble with his two sons, Edgar and... ...noring it would be negligent. It is a very important part of "King Lear" and it serves a great purpose. If William Shakespeare ignored the plot in the first place, his point would not be passed through at the level it is passed on now. I am sure Shakespeare knew it very well that Gloucester's character and actions help to understand the play better and improve it. The answer to many who question the parallel plot and it's presence is simple. The plot is necessary and without it, the play would not reach the position at which it stands right now. William Shakespeare was aware that by including the so called parallel plot, he was increasing the value of his own work. Gloucester's plot is one of the essential parts of the entire play. Removal or ignorance of it will diminish the significance of the entire idea.

Comparing “Dolor” and “A Hardware Store as Proof of the Existence of God” Essay

Comparing â€Å"Dolor† and â€Å"A Hardware Store as Proof of the Existence of God† Happiness in life is seen through the little things we do and the small stuffs we usually took for granted like the little flower blossoming at the edge of a busy road, the pancake that our mother have lovingly cooked, and the sparingly blue sky in the morning. It is like a fire that keeps on burning with passion. Sadness, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. It is the feeling of desolation, of tragedy, and antagonism of life, quite like the stinging sensation we feel when holding a pure crystalline ice. This is how we could describe the stiff contrast of the poems â€Å"A Hardware Store as Proof of the Existence of God† and â€Å"Dolor. † They are two distinct poetical pieces, outstanding in their own accord, which shows a stark difference. Nancy Willard’s â€Å"A Hardware Store as Proof of the Existence of God,† took praise upon the thought that while many people doubt the existence of a God, a small hardware store could be the simple answer to such a difficult query. It has a light and jovial mood that sets that audience’s atmosphere into one that reflects simple pleasures. Even at the start of the poem, with its line â€Å"I praise the brightness of hammers pointing east†¦Ã¢â‚¬  it emphasizes on how little things could mean happiness and contentment. Theodore Roethke’s â€Å"Dolor,† on the other hand, signifies a state of loss and misery. Reading the poem, we will have this feeling of anxiety and loneliness that is trying to shroud us. The poem, in general, tackles the monotony of life and how as one copes with a routine schedule, he begins to be trapped, or rather, caged in a place where every bit of life is banished. â€Å"Dolor† made use of the free verse form. It is apparent by its free forming lines, not confined by rhythmical patterns or carefully numbered syllabication. Playing around the numbers between 10 and 16, the syllables of every line varied, indeed showing its concept idea with much liberty. This is quite in contrast to â€Å"A Hardware Store as Proof of the Existence of God† which, though not that perceptible, follows a somewhat more outlined form. Observing the first stanza, we would visibly notice the smooth pattern of 11-10-11-10-10. This is disturbed, however, by the following stanza, going out of the way with its 13-12-11-9-10 syllable count. The second stanza may have seemed to rule out of the poem, but the succeeding stanza retained a form near to its first, having syllable counts of 11-8-11-9-12-11, including the last line. These difference in poetic style used have given a wider gap between the two poems. Both are trying to convey a deep feeling within them yet they strike in very opposing manners. The angst that â€Å"Dolor† communicates vastly differs from the glee that â€Å"A Hardware Store as Proof of Existence of God† share. Reading between the lines, we would be able to comprehend better the more intimate idea that the two poems try to share. â€Å"Dolor,† written by Theodore Roethke, is gloomy and describes a setting depicted to be a workplace or an institution that demands a custom schedule; thus forging an empty and tedious life. However, if we would analyze deeper, we would understand that Roethke is trying to impart the life he had spent in Halcyon Sanitarium after he had a mental breakdown. On the other, Nancy Willard, a writer whose fondness for children have affected her writing, wrote with a simplistic approach; with plain words that aims straight for the heart. By doing so, she have shared directly that God, through a hardware store, have given us the delight of knowing that every bit of sadness and missing things in our life could be repaired and patched, and that there would always be a good future ahead of us. By and large, Willard’s â€Å"Hardware Store as Proof of the Existence of God† and Roethke’s â€Å"Dolor† are two poems of vast contrast. Every little detail each poem shows further support how much they differ. But even though the two are stiffly contrasting, both have shown great passion and emotion from their respective writers. Works Cited Willard, N. (1989). Water Walker. NewYork: Knopf Windle, R. (1994). The Poetry of Business Life: An Anthology. United States: Berrett Koehler Robson, W. W. (1984). The Definition of Literature and Other Essays: And Other Essays. New York: Cambridge University Press

The Organizational Implications of Robotics

Forecasts of how many zombis provide be usaged In 1990 I- the u-led States range amidst 75,000 and 150,000 (Hunt & Hunt, 1983). Little Is known, however, about how Individual employees match to the Introduction of zombies or about the trans determines essential In establishments to domiciliate robotics. Our question foc habits on deterrentsg the human side of roboticshow Individuals reply to robots, how and when brass instruments should be modify to support robotics, and what feelingual strategies atomic flesh 18 for the Implementation of robotics.The Robot set of America defines a robot as a programmable, multi working(a) manipulator inclinati geniusd to flow objects through shifting star programmed motions to fulfill a smorgasbord of tasks (Robot Institute of America, 1982). Two characteristics tell apart taboos from roughly tender(prenominal) forms of mechanisation multiplex task cap king and programmability. The robots intaked to the highest degree f requently in U. S. Factories today, in jobs that aim moving material, conjoin, drilling, or spray painting, argon called level To low gear-generation robots.Researchers are now in the process of obtaining taboos, known as level II or second-generation robots, with to a greater extent(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) sophisticated sensing and thinking capabilities. For example, a level II robot that is competent of identifying the location of parts of assorted shapes and sizes is shortly beeg developed. otherwise examples of level II robots include those that mine netherground scorch seams, detect gas leaks, or perform sophisticated Ispeciation tasks. Ares and Miller (1983) can a good description of the original and expected future capabilities of robotics. 2 11 this paper. E first develop a GElearn fabric for the do of robots Ialtitudes and We Ielectorate from our celestial sphere studies of the carrying outl of robotics as head as from other depicted object s tudies f the Impact of robotics our superior ordinary framework. The mannerology and results of our field studies are described in expectant detail In Argots, Goodman, a sr. Cascade (1983) a elderlyer Argots and Goodman (1984). We terminate the paper with suggestions for researchers who are analyzing the Implementation of robotics and with recommendations for managers who jut out to utilize robotics In their organizations.A General fabric The lend oneself of robotics whitethorn receive a pro give effect on the organization of work a. old on the harvest-homeiveness of tessellations. Robots typically require lee skills of two(prenominal) reduction and technological support forcefulness and require closer lalterations among available areas (Argots. Goodman, & Cascade, 1983). Robots whitethorn displace virtuallywhat(a) applied science Assessment, 1984). Robots may excessively enable organizations to be more flexible by transplant magnitude set-up distances asso ciated WI the product changeovers. Moreover, robots may enable organizations to achieve greater consistsLLC Il the quality of their products (Ares & Miller, 1983 Guest, 1984).In this section, we develop a general framework for anticipating these effects of robots on unmarrieds and organizations s fountainhead as for predict forking the conditions under which the enforce of robots depart advance organisational execution. Organizational Performance L l order to present our general framework, we first must discuss the creation of organlocationala surgical process. Organizations can be thought of as consisting of three canonic componentspeople, etclogy. And coordinate. 3 It is the compatibility amidst these three grassroots compseTTS of organTiogals that unsexdsees their PerformaCE (Alleviate, 1965 Emery & Trust, 1973).Organizational achievement is a interlacing variable with multiple dimensions (Goodman & Peninns, 1977 Katz & Kahn, 1978). Examples of performance criteria that are critical in the fabrication thole environment are productivity, product quality, retrace stick flexibility, absenteeism, turnover, and employee motivating and tumefy-beeleg. These criteria may diversify in importance over time and to antithetical constituencies. For example, sales and marketing departments may place a higher agio on manufacturing flexibility than other available areas beca practise of goods and services it enables the organization to adapt to customers call for in a timely fashion.Similarly, manufactureleg flexibility may be ore cardinal in early than in recently stages off products life cycle (Kaplan, 1983). Further, these performance crib terra are in all likelihood to be interrelate Ted, sometimes complex ways. For example, employee motivation may be positively associate to work unit productivity under conditions of un trustedlet that occur, for example, when a elevator car breaks down, while employee motivation may set about micro eff ect on the productivity of capital-Ilatencies firms under routee or programmed condo actions (CB. Goodman, 1979).Similarly, productivity, at least measurable I the short tune, may be negatively associated with manufactureleg flexibility. The complexity of the concept of organizational performance suggests that intelligence the impact and effects of lee technologies requires an admiration of the interrelationships among the elements of organizations. It in like manner suggests the deed for examIleg multiple performance criteria aold the trade-offs among them. Further research is guide to identify how the Idurationl of robots will put on the elements of an organization aold the conditions under which these elements may be 4 compatible. He few existsg memekcal studies of the of robots (Argots, Goodman, & Cascade, 983 Argots & Goodman, 1984 Office of engine room Assessment, 1984) and thee-ethical work on telephone circuit design, ogenerational SSTstructure, ogenerational effec tivesees, ad the entryway of change enable us to suggest what these effects ae liable(predicate) to be and when the use of boots is believably to ehaCE manufactureIg pee pay We want to emphasize that usg robots does not automatically imply certain bitsees for organizations but rather it is the interplay between characteristics of the technology, the demeanor in which it is Itraduced, the organizations structure, For example, some companies povoid little training of their robot operators and design the Jobs of operators such that they gull little autonomy and are very low-level on skilful support staff.Other commasees provide more traitins for their operators, design more autonomy into their Jobs, and expect them to be actively involved in patriotismg the functioning of the robots. Our sense is that the last mentioned approach to designins the operators Job results in more motivated operators and a speedier and drum sander implementtaxation than the boomer. The technology in for each one approach is the same. It is the supporting organizational arrangements that are disparate. thus, the use of robots does not determine certain consequences for organizations. Instead it is the relationship between characteristics of the robots, the people who operate and maintain the robots, and the organizational arrangements that support the robots that affect the putrescence of osanitations. Idividable Employees We owe turn to what is known about how the Iduration of O bots typically affects individual employees I organactions. The Iduration of robots normally changes the skills and Job activities of Idividable employees. In our study off arrange in the metal-working industry, the accounting entry of a robot that performed material handling activities caused a electrical switch in the robot operators Jobs from earlier manual to primarily mental activities (Argots, Goodman, & Cascade, 1983). The Office of Technology Assessment (TOT) musical themes a equal change with the gate of welding robots in the travel industry the intromission of the robots removed some of the physical demands from the Jobs of human operators (TOT, 1984).Thus, the introduction of robots in two studies had a positive effect on employees work environments the robots assumed some of the very physically demanding tasks otherwise performed by humans. At the same time, both studies found that the introduction of robots had certain negative effects on employees. Operators in our study account that they conveyd more underline and little sway after the robot reply introduced (Argots, Goodman, & Cascade, 1983). Similarly, the TOT report indicates that direct output signal employees felt little lock with the introduction of the welding robots, because their Jobs were now tied to an crowd line (TOT, 1984).Repair supervisors in the TOT report in addition experienced greater filtrate upon the execution of instrument of robots, apparently imputable to the pr essures of maintaining a complex and highly structured fruit organisation (TOT , 1984). Based on prior research, we expect that if the Itransduction of robots hold ups to employees experiencing less control over their work environment, thence they will be less satisfied, less motivated, and experience more stress upon the introduction of naked as a jaybird technologies (Blabber, 6 1964 Hack & Lawyer, 1971 Hickman & Lolled, 1975 Sutton & Kahn, in press). We to a fault expect that systems that are very complex or characterized by low reliability will be associated with change magnitude stress (Bright, 1958 TOT, 1984). The experience of multifariousness and feedback on the Job promotes employee well-betg (Hickman & Lolled, 1975).If the use of robotics affects the variety and feedback employees experience, then we expect corresponding changes in their enjoyment and motivation. Along these lines, the TOT report Idictates that mattenancy introduction of welding robots the mainte nance workers Jobs were characterized by greater variety and more challenge (TOT, 1984). The introduction of robotics typically changes the skill requirements of both takings and technical support personnel. As noted earlier, the use of robots usually shifts operators Jobs from manually-oriented to mentally-oriented activities. If these changes are compatible with employees skills and preferences, employees will feel more satisfied and less stress with the change.Strategies are suggested later in this chapter for maximizing the fit between employees and their Jobs and for shrewd the Jobs of employees, both direct and indirect, who must act with robots. The manner in which robots are utilize may besides affect employee answer to the change. Coco and Freshs (1948) classic study indicates that introducing change n a participative fashion increases the likelihood that employees will controvert positively to change. Other researchers have also stressed lodge as a happen upon var iable in determining the extent to which employees react positively to change (Cotter & Schlesinger, 1979 Deteriorate al. , 1983). speckle employees I the two organizations we studied did to participate at all in any decisions adjoin the Itransduction of the robots, employees at both organizations desire more that they actually had (Argots, Goodman, & Cascade, 1983 Argots & Goodman, 1984). The discrepancy between how some(prenominal) influence they actually had and how much they desired was especially pronounced at the second organization we studied, possibly because the organization was unionized and had a tradition of employee participation. While employees desired more influence, they acknowledged that the implementation of robotics is a complex activity requiring technical expertise that they generally do not possess. Hence, employees did not expect a great deal of influence in decisions regarding robotics.They did feel, however, that they had some expertise, especially conce rning work processes and cable cars in their department, and that they should be involved in socio related to their areas of expertise. other dimension of the implementation process is the method organizations use to communicate with employees about the introduction of robotics. Organizations may use a variety of conference mechanisms, including talks by the plant manager, meetings with first-line supervisors, and deductions. L our research, we examined how effective employees rated the various conference sources their organizations used to introduce robotics. Our results indicate that demonstrations of the operation of robots are dated by employees as closely effective or increasing their disposition of robots (Argots, Goodman. & Cascade, 1983).This result is corroborated by the finding that the demonstration had a greater impact on employees beliefs about and attitudes towards robotics than any other communication source the organization used (Argots & Goodman, 1985). 8 How employee motivation, satisfaction and stress affect the performance of firms using robotics remains an open question. acquire is a growing sense in the business literature that these human mental imagery solutions are critical too firms ability to compete that using robotics and other programmable automation in ways that enhance employee welfare leads to increased organizational efficiency (TOT, 1984). Consequently, it is important that we identify the conditions under which employee motivation, satisfaction, and stress affect the general performance of firms using robotics.A fire hypothesis developed from previous research is that these human resource variables affect the overall performance of work units when nonprogrammer situations occur, for example, a machine breakdown or the introduction of a new product (CB. Goodman, 1979). Under operation operate conditions, human motivation and attitudes ay have little effect on the performance f robotics systems. That is, human r esource variables may matter more when tech. eulogies are first creation implemented, when new products alee being introduced, To when unexpected problems arise than when systems are operating routinely. Organizational Structures In addition to touch individual employees, the introduction of robots may also change the basic structures of organizationscommunication at heart and between departments, decision-making responsibilities, role relationships and the like.In our study, we found that the introduction of a robot led to increased interactions teen end product and technical support personnel from engineering and maintenance. Studies of other technologies similar to robots, such as numerical control machines, report similar increases in interaction among business, engineering, and maintenance assorts (Williams & Williams, 1964 TOT, 1984). 9 The use of robotics also has the authority to chawleg racinesslisps between production aold marketsleg groups islace robots may comp ress the time it takes to change from one product to another. This potential could elabel organizations both to accommodate a more varied product mix aold to responseold more easy to customer demands.Although we have lot just now witnessed aAY empirical evidence of modified relationships between production and marketing due to the introduction of robots, these changes might occur as more robots are put on line and linked in integrated systems. There is some evidence that the use of advanced automation on the pulverisation floor may enable organizations to centre production scheduling decisions (TOT, 1984). This may tame the need for technical experts who schedule production as well as pull off scheduling tasks from supervisors Jobs. Similarly, intelligent robots that perform superintendence tasks may reduce the requirement for seventh cranial nerve quality control staff. Indeed the use of intelligent robots may lead to fewer hierarchical levels within organizations as well as too smaller number of direct production workers (Cherty, Dunked, Jordan, & Miller, 1984).This is because intelligent systems alee capable of performing many activities, both manual and mental, traditionally performed by supervisors and certain support staff as well as by direct production workers. There are already examples of organizations where the use of programmable automation has led to the elimination of one layer of supervisors Chem.., Sisley, Liker, Earthman, & Thomas, 1984). At the same time, the use of intelligent robots may require more individuals with expertise maintaining and programming robots. R Thus far, we have focused on describing how the use of robotics is likely to change these structural changes may be associated with improved manufacturing performance.As noted earlier, the use of 10 robotics typically Icreases the ItrepannedCE of activities performed by members of different running(a) groups. HeCE the use of robotics usually requires more interaction amo ng these functional areas. We have observed companies where the increased interactions went extremely smoothly, ad all groups were motivated to fall in in the implementation of the ewe technology. We have also observed companies where the increased interaction was characterized by hostility, impedeg the implementation. What differentiates these two situations? In their analysis of interdepartmental conflict in organizations, Walton and Dutton (1969) discuss the conditions under which interdenominational relationships are characterized by conflict.These conditions include a pay back structure that emphasizes the performance of separate roofs lopsided interdependence in which one group is more dependant on the other communication obstacles such as different locations or specialized languages and aggressive individuals. Applying these findings to the implementation of robotics provides insight in predicting when the increased interactions involve by the use of robotics are likely to be smooth and when they are likely to be confliction. If a companys reward structure emphasizes the putrescence of separate groups, we expect the introduction of robotics to be characterized by conflict. This might occur, for example, if production groups are threaded according to short efficiency figures while engineering groups are rewarded for the number of ewe equipment pieces they introduce. Asymmetric interdependence is also likely to contribute to conflict.This situation characterizes most introductions of new technology where, at least in certain stages of the implementation, production is more dependent on engineering for ironware and software then engineering is dependent on production. The effect of crooked needs on conflict is 11 moderated by the companys reward system. A reward system that emphasizes the performance of operate groups will only amplify the conflict potential of asymmetric interdependence. Instead, a reward system that has a more global and long-term orientation may foster cooperation and reduce the potential for conflict caused by asymmetric interdependence. When the functional groups that must interact to implement new technology are located in different areas or use different terminologies, conflict is likely to surround the process.Conversely, if the different groups are located near each other, sit in on each others meetings to understand each others goals and constraints, and use a common language, then we expect the interactions infallible by the introduction of robotics to be more graceful. Finally, the nature of people who play key roles in the introduction, such as the lead engineer, affects the level of conflict. When key positions are sedulous by . aggressive, authoritarian individuals concerned primarily with their own careers, the probability of conflict increases. The behavior of these individuals also will be affected, of course, by the companys reward sys tem. &other structural issue raised by the implement ation of robotics concerns the agreement between centralization and decentralization in a organization. Current