A Beginners Guide to Identifying Trees in Winter

A Beginner's Guide to Identifying Trees in Winter Identifying a dormant tree is not nearly as complicated as it might seem at first glance. Winter tree identification will demand some dedication to applying the necessary practice to improve the skill of identifying trees without leaves. But if you follow my instructions and use your powers of observation you will find a pleasurable and beneficial way to enhance your skills as a naturalist- even in the dead of winter. Learning to identify a tree without leaves can immediately make your growing season trees easier to name. Using Botanical Markers and Tree Characteristics for Winter Tree Identification Dont be fooled into thinking that a twig key is the only answer when identifying a dormant tree. Your overall observation skills and sizing up a tree will be invaluable even as the twig key is tucked away in your warm library. A trees crown can give you valuable clues to finding a trees botanical name by unique crown shape, fruit and/or their leftover containers, persistent leaves, live twigs and growth habit. Get to know a trees characteristics or markers. Examining a Tree Twig for Winter Tree Identification To use a tree twig key means learning a twigs botanical parts. A key can help you identify a tree to the specific species by asking two questions where you can affirm one and eliminate the other. This is called a dichotomous key. Become familiar with a tree twigs characteristics. Using Alternate and Opposite Tree Leaf and Twig Arrangement for Winter Tree Identification Most tree twig keys start with the arrangement of leaf, limb, and buds. Determining opposite and alternate arrangements is the primary first separation of the most common tree species. You can eliminate major blocks of trees just by observing its leaf and twig arrangement. Identifying a dormant tree can be a visual challenge. Visit the  gallery of winter photos that illustrate many subtle botanical clues exhibited by dormant trees. Naturalist Josh Sayers has developed his Portrait of the Earth photo resource for identifying trees in winter. It may help to use this and other resources as you learn about trees and their dormant parts.

Free Essays on Pilots And Bipolar Disorder

Don’t Fly or Deal With the Consequences Mental disorders are becoming a more recognized ailment in society today. Psychological stressors and genetic backgrounds are two of the main factors triggering these disorders. It is estimated that more than 17 million Americans meet the criteria for mental disorders. This means that there are undoubtedly a small percentage of these Americans that, at one time in their life, will apply for an aviation medical certificate. This is where the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gets involved. According to FAA regulations a medical examiner is required to deny certification to individuals who show signs of certain mental disorders. Bipolar disorder is one of these disorders in which denial of an aviation medical certificate will be sought. Bipolar disorder is a one of several types of mood disorders, but has different characteristics that set it apart from the rest. Also called manic-depression, it is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. It is distinguished by behavior that fluctuates from extreme highs to serious lows interspersed with periods of normal mood. Typically everyone does go through normal ups and downs. However, symptoms of bipolar disorder are more severe, resulting in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance and even suicide. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood and continues throughout life. Symptoms of this devastating disorder include decreased need for sleep, talkativeness, racing thoughts, distractibility, psychomotor agitation, irritability, diminished interest, loss of pleasure in most activities, feelings of inappropriateness and even suicidal thoughts. These symptoms can have a severe impact on pilots in both their social life and on the job. It has been found that bipolar disorder is not a result of just one particular cause but rather a combinat... Free Essays on Pilots And Bipolar Disorder Free Essays on Pilots And Bipolar Disorder Don’t Fly or Deal With the Consequences Mental disorders are becoming a more recognized ailment in society today. Psychological stressors and genetic backgrounds are two of the main factors triggering these disorders. It is estimated that more than 17 million Americans meet the criteria for mental disorders. This means that there are undoubtedly a small percentage of these Americans that, at one time in their life, will apply for an aviation medical certificate. This is where the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gets involved. According to FAA regulations a medical examiner is required to deny certification to individuals who show signs of certain mental disorders. Bipolar disorder is one of these disorders in which denial of an aviation medical certificate will be sought. Bipolar disorder is a one of several types of mood disorders, but has different characteristics that set it apart from the rest. Also called manic-depression, it is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. It is distinguished by behavior that fluctuates from extreme highs to serious lows interspersed with periods of normal mood. Typically everyone does go through normal ups and downs. However, symptoms of bipolar disorder are more severe, resulting in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance and even suicide. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood and continues throughout life. Symptoms of this devastating disorder include decreased need for sleep, talkativeness, racing thoughts, distractibility, psychomotor agitation, irritability, diminished interest, loss of pleasure in most activities, feelings of inappropriateness and even suicidal thoughts. These symptoms can have a severe impact on pilots in both their social life and on the job. It has been found that bipolar disorder is not a result of just one particular cause but rather a combinat...

Finance & Growth Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Finance & Growth Strategies - Essay Example The risk can be greatly reduced by holding diverse security portfolios of various industrial sectors. Good performance of other companies in the portfolio would negate the effect of bad performance of some of the companies. Since the risk is diversifiable investors would not be able to demand a premium on investment due to the unsystematic risk. Systematic, non-diversifiable, market or relevant risk is inherent in the market due to macro and economic factors such as interest and exchange rates, recession, inflation, consumer demand, oil prices, taxation and bear market (market where prices decline). This risk cannot be diversified as the above mentioned factors influence the stock market and subsequently the market index. Investors who want high returns on investments should select assets with higher systematic risks while investors who want to eliminate risks should invest in risk-free assets such as government bonds. However, investors generally prefer higher rate of returns on investments in Public listed companies (PLC) rather than risk free assets to compensate for undertaking systematic risks. Systematic risks are considered relevant as they can’t be successfully diversified. According to Anon, â€Å"Only the systematic risk is relevant for assessing the rate of return required by shareholders – efficient markets do not offer a reward for bearing specific risk† (2007a, p. 6.20). Though diversification is not a guarantee against loss it is a prudent strategy to achieve long term financial objectives. 1. b. According to the CAPM, Beta or financial elasticity and correlated relative volatility is a measure of systematic risk. Systematic risk earns a risk premium and Beta is a calculated coefficient that indicates the amount of risk contributed by a security to the market portfolio. Beta, is determined by taking into consideration both dividend and capital appreciation. Beta is â€Å"†¦a measure of the responsiveness of the expected return on

Jeddah city Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jeddah city - Research Paper Example Perhaps it is the Red Sea that really defines Jeddah. Due to its location, the primary source of income for the city is the trade done on the port. Products from the sea are exported while products from foreign countries are imported through the port. Jeddah’s tourism is also made rich because of the Red Sea. There are various beaches that attract tourists from around the world. Aside from picnicking, people may also enjoy fishing from the Red Sea. The best place to go would be Jeddah Corniche although there are still other sites you can go fishing. Other water sports are also available like swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving. The best time to visit the city when you want to experience the beauty of the beaches is from October until May. The temperature during these months makes it ideal for tourists to have maximum enjoyment. When you visit the city, you will notice that there are people of different races and religions. Of course the large part of the population is Muslim but there are also other religions practiced in the city. However, only Muslims are allowed to build their place of worship and publicly profess their faith. Practice of other religions are demanded to be done in private so, just a note for those who strongly profess a religion other than Islam, precautions must be taken not to offend a people who highly value their religion. Although there are restrictions for other religions to be publicly expressed, the aim of the government is not to demand people to be converted to Islam but its desire is for our religion to be respected as others would want Muslims to respect them. This is an integral part of the Jeddah, therefore, as any other tourism place, it is requested that the religious demands should be considered with respect. This is a part of Jeddah’s culture or to make it more accurate, this is Jeddah’s culture. Jeddah is not just a

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

Humanities - Essay Example is new style of music changed the traditional pattern and rhythmic harmony of the Romanticism period, by creating music that lacked either patter or rhythmic harmony. The major transformation in music as characterized by atonal music was a shift towards the artists glorifying art itself, as opposed to praising the beauty of people and creations as was previously the trend with the Romanticism music. A major example of the composers of the atonal music is Arnold Schoenberg, whose music applied no particular rhythmic or pattern harmony, such that it was easily categorized as noise by the average music listener (Northern.edu, n.p.). Thus, Arnold Schoenberg’s atonal music took the form of noise, and the meaning was simply that music does not have to praise anyone or anything in particular, but a combination of different sounds themselves can comprise music. In the artistic field, the transformation from the earlier patterns of meaningful art was realized in the 20th century, where the painters and artists completely changed the course of art, sculptures and paintings as communicating objects, to the creation of non-communicating pieces of art. For example, Cubism art movement that developed in the 20th century would just combine multiple perspective and objects within a single piece of art, such that the overall outcome of a painting would be numerous objects that are clamped together in no defined pattern. One of the major and recognized artist of the Cubism movement was Pablo Picasso, whose art majorly combined numerous objects, perspectives and even time different times (Northern.edu, n.p.). The relationship between form and art in the Pablo Picasso’s artwork was simply multiple object form with the meaning that art does not specifically have to address one particular theme, but it can simply be combination of different times , perspectives and objectives. Further, Abstract Expressionism is another artistic development of the 20th century, which was a major

Air France SWOT Analysis and Organisational Culture

Air France SWOT Analysis and Organisational Culture Air France-KLM is an international airline company and a member of the Skyteam airline partnership. The company was formed on May 2004, following the merger of Air Frances and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), thus creating the worlds largest airline group by earnings and second largest worldwide cargo operator in terms of revenue-tonne kilometers. The company operates under two major networks hubs, Paris-CDG and Amsterdam-Schiphol. The Companys three main businesses are passenger transportation, cargo operations, engineering and maintenance. The company counts more than one hundred thousands employees all over the world. Passenger transports being the major business of the company with more than three hundred destinations worldwide. The majority of the employees are based in France and the Netherlands. Both Air France and KLM continue to operate flights under their distinct brand names as subsidiaries of Air France-KLM. LIST OF ACCRONYMS AF Air France NWA Northwest Airline CSR Corporate Social Response MRO Maintenance Repair and Overall CDG Charles de Gaulle IT Information Technology E M Engineering and Maintenance GDP Domestic Growth Product HR Human Resource CHAPTER 1 Introduction AIR FRANCE KLM AIR FRANCE KLM is the combination of two big airlines such as Air France and KLM. Since their merger in 2004, KLM works closely with Air France within the AIR FRANCE KLM holding company. In terms of financial turnover, AIR FRANCE KLM is the worlds largest airline partnership; it also transports the most passengers and is the worlds second-largest cargo transporter. Air France and KLM carry  more than 71 million passengers per year. They operate more than  594 aircraft enabling them to fly to  236 destinations worldwide with 2,500 daily flights. The two airlines world networks can be combined, forming a vast network organized around the two major hubs of Amsterdam-Schiphol and Paris-CDG. The head offices are located at Amstelveen and Paris. Alitalia AIR FRANCE KLM and Alitalia agreed to strengthen their partnership in January 2009 by AIR FRANCE KLM taking a minority stake in Alitalia. The agreement gave AIR FRANCE KLM greater access to the Italian market. SkyTeam Alliance SkyTeam is a global airline alliance which includes AirEuropa, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines,  , Delta Air Lines, Aeroflot, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air (including Northwest Airlines), CSA Czech Airlines, Tarom and Vietnam Airlines, Aeromà ©xico. Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance. Income Over the fiscal year 2009-2010 the turnover of Air France-KLM was 20.9 billion euros. Together, the two airlines have over 107.000 employees. For more information on AIRFRANCE KLM Finance, please  go to www.airfranceklm-finance.com. Shares The Air France-KLM shares are listed in Amsterdam, Paris and New York. Aim Air France-KLM comprises a holding company which controls two airlines, Air France and KLM, each of which retains its own separate identity and brands. The group is the worlds largest air transport group in terms of revenue, second largest in terms of air traffic (in passenger-km) and cargo (ton freight-km), and third largest in terms of maintenance revenue. Both airlines run their own operations from their respective hubs Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol. Passengers Passenger transport is the largest of the groups three core businesses, generating around 80% of its revenues (as of 31 March 2008), with 74.8 million passengers carried. Cargo Cargo was the first fully-integrated commercial activity at Air France-KLM in 2005. Client companies now have a single point of entry, and a full, simplified offering with flights departing from both hubs and benefiting from both networks. Air France-KLM Cargo ranks first worldwide among air freight carriers (excluding integrators). Maintenance The combination of Air France Industries and KLM Engineering Maintenance allows the group to offer a comprehensive range of aircraft maintenance and overhaul services with complementary areas of specialization. Maintaining the two fleets accounts for two-thirds of the groups maintenance operations, further supplemented by maintenance repair and overall (MRO) operations for 150 third-party airlines. Mission and Vision The mission of Air France KLM is to provide its customers a high quality service adaptable to their changing needs. The overall vision is to become the worlds biggest and leading airline company. Company Background Air France Air France founded on 7 October 1933. The background of the company has been striking by a number of milestones, including investing the acquired capital of UTA in early January 1990 and the combination with Air Inter in 1997. Air France and Delta Air Lines joined forces with Aeromà ©xico and Korean Air to launch the Sky Team alliance in June 2000. Air Frances main hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle is Europes number one in terms of connecting opportunities. KLM Meanwhile KLM was first founded on 7 October 1919 being the oldest airline still operating under its original name. The recently background has been marked by the formation of a joint venture with Northwest Airlines (NWA) in 1989 and its achievement of the investment of Kenya Airways in 1996. KLM has Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as its home base. Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have become the largest European airline group Since May 2004 but each airline has retained its individual identity, trade name and brand which mean three businesses, two airlines, and one group SWOT Analysis of Air France Mullins (2007) explained that, in order to evaluate the nature of the business environment and its strategic capability an organization may undertake a SWOT analysis focuses on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing the organization. (S)TRENGTHS Strengths are those positive aspects or distinctive attributes or competencies which provide a significant market advantage or upon which the organization can build. Against a backdrop of increased Liberalization which serves to intensify competition, the profitable growth strategy plays to the groups strengths, the following are the air France KLM group strengths. A modern fleet the groups chief asset Guaranteeing energy and economic efficiency and greater safety levels, the groups aircraft fleet is its chief asset when it comes to meeting the challenges of sustainable development. The dual Roissy Schiphol hub and a balanced network The Air France and KLM route networks complement each other extremely well. The dual hub concept is central to group strategy and is designed to make the most of this. The benefit of dual brand strategy Air France and KLM took an original approach to the merger, choosing to retain the two brands while developing a unified strategy. Air France and KLM each enjoy strong brand identities and are extremely complementary. Enhanced competitiveness thanks to cost control To maintain its competitiveness, the group launched Challenge 10,designed to save 1.4 billion euros by 2009-10, through a 3% cut in unit costs. The plan is four-pronged: Process optimization and productivity gains; Fleet modernization, which will generate fuel and maintenance cost savings; Purchasing, and optimizing group synergies; External distribution costs. The development of high growth areas The groups ambition is to seize growth opportunities in countries driving global economic growth, mainly Brazil, Russia, India and China. In the years ahead, the Air France-KLM group plans to grow by 4.7% per year in terms of available seat-km on its long-haul network. (W)EAKNESSES Weaknesses are those negative aspects or deficiencies in the present competencies or resources of the organization, or its image or reputation, which limit its effectiveness and needed to be corrected to minimize their effect. International economic instability Faced with soaring oil prices, international economic instability, and signs of waning demand, air transport has entered a period of great uncertainty. Our Group can count on its strategic assets, the quality of its fuel hedging and its resolute policy of cost control to meet this challenging period of turbulence and low visibility (O)PPORTUNITIES Opportunities are favorable conditions and usually arise from the nature of changes in the external environment. The organization needs to be sensitive to the problems of business strategy and responsive to changes. Sustained demands In an increasingly global society, the demand for mobility is also increasing. Air transport is a key factor in a countrys economy. Over the last 20 years, air transport has grown twice as quickly as gross domestic product (GDP). In 2008, the rapid development of emerging countries is stimulating growth in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. This will compensate for the slowdown in the US economy. As for the future, IATA forecasts an increase in global capacity of around 5% per year by 2011. A key contribution to the economy Air transport carries over 2 billion passengers annually. Tons of cargo shipped by air each year represent 35% of the total value of export trade in manufactured goods. By connecting people, businesses and goods around the world, air transport makes an essential contribution to global economic activity. Both directly and as a promoter of growth in other industries. (T)HREATS Threats are the converse of opportunities and refer to unfavorable situations that arise from external developments likely to endanger the operations and effectiveness of the organization. Air France KLM like any other organizations is faced with a number of threats, these includes Increased pressure Growth in European low-cost carriers has been strong for some years and Middle Eastern carriers are planning considerable expansion: Gulf carriers plan 20% seat growth per year for the next three years. This represents stiff competition for European airlines on traffic between Europe and Asia or Australia. Development limited by infrastructures Europe is experiencing air traffic congestion, leading to significant delays, increased costs and CO2 emissions. This is partly a result of the fragmentation of airspace and of the air traffic control process. There is considerable room for improvement. For 10 million flights a year, it is estimated that the actual route flown is 5% longer than ideal. For some routes, such as Amsterdam-Zà ¼rich, it is even 20%. The annual cost of fragmented European skies is estimated at 3.4 billion euros. A sector subject to heavier taxation Air transport is subject to strict regulation, mainly regarding security, safety and infrastructure. The sector is also subject to high charges, among them airport or navigation charges, plus dedicated fees to finance security. Moreover, air transport is the only means of transport to finance soundproofing measures, as it does in numerous European countries. Climate change awareness General awareness of the reality of climate change continued to increase in 2007. This was coupled with local environmental constraints that have always affected air transport activities. Air transport accounts for between 2 and 3% of all man-made CO2 emissions. In Europe, its relative contribution will increase due to growth in traffic and the expected reduction of emissions in other industries. In the past 40 years, the sector has made considerable progress, reducing CO2 emissions per passenger by more than 70%. Summary In spite of its merger Air France KLM is still operating under its identity and brand name with their home bases located at Amsterdam airport Schiphol for KLM and Paris-Charles de Gaulle for Air France. The main core duties of the airline are to transport passengers, cargo and engineering and maintenance. As any other organization Air France KLM has the opportunities to grow much bigger and become the first largest airline company in the world. One group, two airlines, three businesses. Organisational structure The pattern of relationship between various positions in the organization and among members of the organization is referred as structure. Organization is essentially a group of people with a common objective or goal to archive. The structure can either be formal i.e. documented or informal i.e. unofficial. Mullins (2007) defined, Organization Structure as the division of work among members of the organization, and the co ordination of their activities so they are directed towards the goals and objectives of the organization. It is the relationships among positions in the organization and among members of the organization. It makes possible the application of process of management and creates a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organization can be planned, organized, directed, and controlled. It defines tasks and responsibilities, work role and relationships, and channels of communication. Essentially there are various types of organizational structures depending on the nature of organization, such as centralized, complex, stratified and formalized structures. An effective structure is the one that coordinates various parts of the organization and different work areas. Meanwhile the structure of the organization can either be tall i.e. with a long hierarchical chain of command where the freedom and responsibility of the subordinates is restricted or flat i.e. with a short chain of command, there is more effective between management and workers but employees may have more than one manager. However both of two structures above are highly affected by the number of employees who reports direct to a certain manager that is Span of Control. Hellriegel et al (1998) explained, that span of control refers to the number of employees reporting directly to one manager. When the span of control is broad, relatively few levels exists between the top and bottom of the organization. C onversely when the span of control is narrow, more levels are required for the same number of employees. Although there is no correct number of subordinates that a manager can supervise effectively, the competencies of both the manager and employees, the similarity of tasks being supervised and the extent of rules and operating standards all influence a managers span of control. Organisational culture According to Hellriegel et al (1998), the organization itself has an invisible quality a certain style, a character, a way of doing things that may be more powerful than the dictates of any one person or any formal system. Armstrong M (2006) defined, organizational culture as the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that may not have circulated but shape the ways in which people behave and get things done. Values refer to what is believed to be important about how people and organizations behave; norms are the unwritten rules of behavior. To understand the soul of the organization requires that we travel below the charts, rule books, machines, and buildings into the underground world of corporate cultures. Indeed there are several ways in which organizational cultures are formed, maintained and changed. Meanwhile there is a very possible relationship between organizational culture and performance, the relationship between organizational culture and ethical b ehavior, the challenge of managing a culturally diverse work force and finally how organizations socialize individuals to their particular cultures. There are several types of organization cultures, these includes labels of baseball team, club, academy and fortress. Organizational culture represents a complex pattern of beliefs, expectations, ideas, values, attitudes and behaviors shared by the members of an organization. More specifically, organizational culture includes routine behaviors, norms, and dominant values held by organization. Essentially the issue of cultural differences and cultural compatibility in mergers between Air France and KLM has gained much attention among the two companies. Since the two companies operate under its brand name and culture, the effects of cultural clashes on the result of a merger and their employees are numerous. Cultural differences may result to poor or low productive behaviour among the employees, such as low level of commitment, trust and cooperation between the groups of employees from the two merging companies. Loss of productivity caused by luck of trust and cooperation is particularly frequent in case of top managers. This is because cultural clash is strongest when the contact between the opposing cultures is greatest; and executives is the people involved in the merger from its beginning till its end. This is a very bad sign for companies, since motivation and commitment of the top managers has a major influence on the motivation of other subordinates. Cultural differe nces mainly influence employees of the merging companies, but perceived cultural distance may also influence potential foreign investors and shareholders who may want to avoid direct ownership because of high information costs and the difficulty in transferring management techniques and values. Organization cultural aspects may be beautiful both for the investors, who find the business models of the foreign partner a considerable advantage and for the managers who expect more opportunities for themselves by working for the partner firm, which they perceive to be high prestige worldwide leader firm and which corporate culture better addresses their expectations. In this situation managers are willing to adopt new culture. Whether cultural differences hinder or facilitate the integration process, their meaning is undeniable. Only some of them notice the complexity of the international mergers where not only two different organisational cultures come together, but organisational cultur es which are deeply nested in national cultures. Common cultural differences embrace differences in communication styles, planning and decision making practices, negotiation strategies, and management or leadership styles. All of them are shaped by both national and organisational cultures, considering the role managers play in the merger and post-merger integration process, it is at the top management level that national cultural differences play the most important role in the life of merging organisations. That is why Air France KLM before making any decisions and signing any contracts should conduct an in depth cultural audit of the future partner. It is important to realise that cultural distance and cultural differences do not necessarily have to mean troubles. Cultures do not have to be the same; it is sufficient if they are complementary. Consequently, the major advantage of such a cultural due diligence is that it raises awareness of issues that should be managed during the integration process. Leadership and management As Hellriegel et al (1998), defines leadership as the process whereby a person influences others to achieve a goal, i.e. is a process of creating a vision for others and having the power to translate the vision into reality. The ways in which leaders attempt to influence others depend in part of the power available to them and in part on their competencies. Leaders draw on five sources of power to influence the actions of others: legitimate, reward, coercive, referent and expert. Vision, empowerment, meaning through communication and self understanding are the competencies that help leaders become more effective. Mullins (2007) defined; management is active, not theoretical. It is about changing behavior and making things happen. It is about developing people, working with them, reaching objectives and achieving results. Indeed, all the research into how managers spend their time reveals that they are creatures of the moment, perpetually immersed in the nitty gritty of making things happen. Teamworking and Mentoring As defined by Katzenbach and Smith (1993) cited in Armstrong M (2006), A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. For example, after KLM and Air France merged, management decided to create teams of people from both companies to exchange information about particular topics. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢The most valuable part is the intangible part, teaming up the guy from IT with the CRM guy from marketing, with the network planning guy, who normally dont speak together. Resourcing and Training According to Bratton Gold (2007), human resource planning is the process of systematically forecasting the future demand and supply for employees and the deployment of their skills within the strategic objectives of the organisation. Armstrong M (2006) said, people resourcing is concerned with ensuring that the organization obtains and retains the human capital it needs and employs them productively. It is also about those aspects of employment practice that are concerned with welcoming people to the organization and if there is no alternative, releasing them. It is a key part of human resource management. Mullins (2007) explained that, one of the major areas of human resource management function of particular relevance to the effective management and use of people is training and development. Few would argue against the importance of training as a major influence on the success of the organization. Staffs are crucial, but very expensive resource. In order to sustain economic and ef fective performance it is important to optimize the contribution of employees to the aims and goals of the organization. The purpose of training is to improve knowledge and skills and to change attitudes. It is one of the most important potential motivators which can lead to many possible benefits for both individuals and organization. Since the combination of Air France KLM, each company has kept its own set of policies, especially for Human Resources issues, while developing new common policies in some other areas. Air France-KLM rates as the sector leader on human resources issues and actively addresses all of the challenges relevant to its business Overall, Air France KLMs performance on human resources issues remains stable compared to the last rating. Alongside the environment of the recent merger, severe competition and tough boundaries, the major labour relations issues for the company are to develop employability and staff mobility, essentially through training and proactive social exchange of ideas. Other critical issues for the company entail promoting non discrimination, diversity, and equal opportunities, and safeguarding health and safety in the workplace. Communication skills Cook et al (1997) describes that, communication begins when one person sends a message to another with the intent of evoking a response. The effective communication occurs when the receiver interprets the message exactly as the sender intended. Effective communication is essential for the functioning of any organization. Managers need to transmit orders, and polices, build cooperation and team spirit, and identify problems and their solutions. Performance and Motivation Armstrong M (2006) defined; a motive is a reason for doing something. Motivation is concerned with the factors that influence people to behave in certain ways. All organizations are concerned with what should be done to achieve sustained high levels of performance through people. Giving close attention to the individuals can best be motivated through such means as incentives, rewards, leadership and importantly, the work they do and the organization context within which they carry out that work. Essentially motivation can take place in two ways; such as people can motivate themselves (intrinsic motivation) by seeking, finding and carrying out work that satisfies their needs and secondly people can be motivated by management (extrinsic motivation) through such methods as pay, praise, promotion and punishments such as disciplinary action. In terms of career management, AF-KLM has put increased emphasis on developing careers for older employees. Extensive means are put in place to deal with health and safety issues, although key performance indicators are not disclosed on a group-wide basis, but separately for Air France and KLM. Air France KLM is one of the few companies who show transparency on how to deal with atypical working hours. Air France-KLM has an above average performance compared to its sector peers on Business Behaviour issues. The Group scores very well on its product safety and security commitments and has thorough commitments and implementation measures on responsible contractual agreements, making its management of client issues among the best in the sector. The Groups performance in terms of passenger satisfaction has been stable over the past three years. Air France-KLMs approach to suppliers issues (embedded in its Procurement Charter for Sustainable Development) and anticompetitive practices is similarly comprehensive, although AF-KLM faced a minor allegation related to anti-competitive employment legislation. Overall, the Groups performance improved slightly compared to last rating, and remains far above the sector average. Management systems Earlier this year, Air France-KLM introduced a new combined executive management structure on a functional basis, replacing the separate management structures in Air France and KLM. In place of the Strategic Management Committee, which had supervised the development of Air France and KLM over 2004.2007, the business is being managed from 2007 through an Executive Committee whose members has a group level responsibility and can come from either Air France or KLM while retaining their responsibilities at a company level. Management of change Hellriegel et al (1998) explained, many sectors of the economy, organizations must have the capacity to adapt quickly and effectively in order to survive. To a certain extent all organizations exist in a changing environment and are themselves constantly changing. Increasingly organizations that emphasize bureaucratic or mechanistic system are ineffective. Organizations with rigid hierarchies, high degrees of functional specialization, narrow and limited job descriptions, inflexible rules and procedures, and impersonal management cant respond adequately to demands for change. Organizations need designs that are flexible and adaptive. They also need systems that both require and allow greater commitment and use of talent on the part of employees and managers. Organisational change can be difficult and costly. Despite the challenges, many organizations successfully make needed changes. Adaptive, flexible organizations have a competitive advantage over rigid ones. Thus managing change has become a central focus of effective organization worldwide. There are so many pressures for change, these includes global market, the spread of information technology and computer networks and changes in the nature of the workforce employed by organizations. Thereby, we conclude for the organization to exist there must be innovation process to constantly integrate with the new technologies worldwide. Air France KLM has managed to cop with those technological changes at various aspects so as to comply with customer needs, these includes the revolution of electronic ground services. Air France KLM satisfied the demand autonomy and transparency expressed by passengers. The company is extending the use of the current technologies, i.e. mainstreaming electronic ticketing, extending check in at self service kiosk. The spread of e service offers the company genuine opportunities to reduce the cost and improve quality of service and customer satisfaction. Combination of internet or self service check in is a key e service component replacing the paper ticket with the electronic ticket. This reduces the stress generated by loosing or forgetting ones airline ticket. Meanwhile the service is only accessible at the time of booking either on web, t elephone or at ticket office. As a part of change management the Air France KLM maintain development policy by cutting down on paper use. The self service kiosks can be used by customers without internet access to check in at a self service. Conclusion and Recommendations Air France-KLM is pursuing a strategy of customer-focused profitable growth, based on ongoing cost focus and the synergy between the two airlines. A prerequisite for profitable growth is operating on a level playing field. The complementarity of Air France and KLM in their three businesses (passenger, cargo and maintenance) is a source of significant synergies

Women in Tibet Essay -- Birth Abortion Rights Inferiority Papers

Women in Tibet Although Buddhism embraces compassion as the means to end suffering, the Chinese occupation of 1949 used force and torture to manipulate the Tibetan people, despite the country’s strong pacifist beliefs. Chinese troops aimed to imprison anyone who demonstrates support for the Dalai Lama and often looked for excuses to make public mockeries of these people. In order to implement this idea of genocide in Tibetan culture, China used the practice of ethnic cleansing, or eliminating the Tibetan race; therefore, women were highly stigmatized because of their role in bearing children. Treating the victims as insects, the Chinese forced sterilizations and abortions upon the Tibetan women to ensure their extermination. Continuing to ignore all regulations to treat women as equal to men and to practice safe methods of birth control, China still sterilizes Tibetan women today, leaving them not only with the scar of their surgery, but also a lifetime imprint of the pain and suffering that the Tibetan people have endured for over fifty years. Although so much time has passed since Chinese troops first occupied Tibet, people around the world are starting to realize the horror of this situation as organizations have begun to take action against this dehumanization of Tibetans so that the suffering of these people can finally be eased. Throughout history, women have been viewed as inferior to their male counterparts; however, although Tibet claims to issue women equal rights, the gender gap vastly surpasses the differences seen in America. Even today, Western and Tibetan women are not officially recognized by the Tibetan government in exile, even though the Dalai Lama recently advocated the full ordination of women (Young, ... ...omen of the Himalayas: a journey of the heart, mind and spirit. Colorado Woman News, 13(5), 28. Ma, N. (1999). Tibetan women endangered. America, 180(1), 8-10. Nelson, S. (1999). Buddhist nuns delight crowd. Women’s View from Ethnic and Minority Press, 12(3), 12. Pinto, S. (1999). Pregnancy and childbirth in Tibetan culture. In K.L. Tsomo (Ed.), Buddhist Women Across Cultures: Realizations (pp. 159-168). New York: State University of New York Press. (1994). Tibetan women denied their reproductive rights. Women Envision, 9, 12. (1995). We are using the Beijing process†¦to make our voices heard. The Tribune, 53, 8. (1996). The world is still watching. Herizons, 10(3), 13. Young, S. (2000). Women changing Tibet, activism changing women. In E.B. Findly (Ed.), Women’s Buddhism, Buddhism’s women (pp. 229-242). Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publication.

Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 3

All Poppy could think of was the pretty bald girl inthe gift shop. Cancer. â€Å"But-but they can do something about it, can'tthey?† she said, and even to her own ears her voice sounded very young. â€Å"I mean-if they had to, theycould take my pancreasout†¦.† â€Å"Oh, sweetheart, of course. â€Å"Poppy's mother took Poppy in her arms. â€Å"I promise you; if there's some thing wrong, we'll do anything and everything to fix it. I'd go to the ends of the earth to make you well. You knowthat. And at this point we aren't even sure that there issomething wrong. Dr. Franklin said that it's extremely rare for teenagers to get a tumor in the pancreas. Extremely rare. So let's not worry about things until we have to.† Poppy felt herself relax; the pit was covered again. But somewhere near her core she still felt cold. â€Å"I haveto call James.† Her mother nodded. â€Å"Just make it quick.† Poppy kept her fingers crossed as she dialedJames's apartment. Please be there, please be there, she thought. And for once, he was. He answered laconically, but as soon as he heard her voice, he said, â€Å"What's wrong?† â€Å"Nothing-well, everything. Maybe.† Poppy heardherself give a wild sort of laugh. It wasn't exactly alaugh. â€Å"What happened?† James said sharply. â€Å"Did youhave a fight with Cliff?† â€Å"No. Cliff's at the office. And I'm going into thehospital.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"They think I might have cancer.† It was a tremendous relief to say it, a sort of emo tional release. Poppy laughed again. Silence on the other end of the line. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"I'm here,† James said. Then he said, â€Å"I'm coming over.† â€Å"No, there's no point. I've got to leave in a minute.† She waited for him to say that he'd come and see her in the hospital, but he didn't. â€Å"James, would you do something for me? Wouldyou find out whatever you can about cancer in the pancreas? Just in case.† â€Å"Is that what they think you have?† â€Å"They don't know for sure. They're giving me some tests. I just hope they don't have to use any needles.† Another laugh, but inside she was reeling. She wished James would say something comforting.†I'll see what I can find on the Net.† His voice was unemotional, almost expressionless. â€Å"And then you can tell me later-they'll probablylet you call me at the hospital.† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"Okay, I have to go. My mom's waitin†Ã¢â‚¬ Take care of yourself.† Poppy hung up, feeling empty. Her mother wasstanding in the doorway.†Come on, Poppet. Let's go.† James sat very still, looking at the phone withoutseeing it. She was scared, and he couldn't help her. He'dnever been very good at inspirational small talk. It wasn't, he thought grimly, in his nature. To give comfort you had to have a comfortableview of the world. And James had seen too much of the world to have any illusions. He could deal with cold facts, though. Pushingaside a pile of assorted clutter, he turned on his lap top and dialed up the Internet. Within minutes he was using Gopher to search theNational Cancer Institute's CancerNet. The first file he found was listed as â€Å"Pancreatic cancer-Patient.†He scanned it. Stuff about what the pancreas did,stages of thedisease, treatments.Nothingtoo gruesome. Thenhewentinto â€Å"PancreaticcancerPhysician–a file meant for doctors. The first lineheld him paralyzed. Cancer of the exocrine pancreas is rarely curable. His eyes skimmed down the lines. Overall survival rate †¦ metastasis †¦ poor response to chemotherapy, ra diation therapy and surgery †¦ pain †¦ Pain. Poppy was brave, but facing constant painwould crush anyone. Especially when the outlook for the future was so bleak. He looked at the top of the article again. Overallsurvival rate less than three percent. If the cancer had spread, less than one percent. There must be more information. James wentsearching again and came up with several articles from newspapers and medical journals. They wereeven worse than the NCI file. The overwhelming majority of patients will die, and dieswiftly, experts say†¦. Pancreatic cancer is usually inoperable, rapid, and debilitatingly painful†¦. The averagesurvival if the cancer has spread can be three weeks tothree months†¦. Three weeks to three months. James stared at the laptop's screen. His chest andthroat felt tight; his vision was blurry. He tried to control it, telling himself that nothing was certain yet. Poppy was being tested, that didn't mean she had cancer. But the words rang hollow in his mind. He had known for some time that something was wrong with Poppy. Something was-disturbed-inside her.He'd sensed that the rhythms of her body wereslightly off; he could tell she was losing sleep. Andthe pain-he always knew when the pain was there.He just hadn't realized how serious it was. Poppy knows, too, he thought. Deep down, she knows that something very bad is going on, or she wouldn't have asked me to find this out. But whatdoes she expect me to do, walk in and tell her she's going to die in a few months? And am I supposed to stand around and watch it? His lips pulled back from his teeth slightly. Not anice smile, more of a savage grimace. He'd seen a lot of death in seventeen years. He knew the stages ofdying, knew the difference between the moment breathing stopped and the moment the brain turnedoff; knew the unmistakable ghostlike pallor of a freshcorpse. The way the eyeballs flattened out about five minutes after expiration. Now, that was a detail most people weren't familiar with. Five minutes after you die, your eyes go flat and filmy gray. And then your body starts to shrink. You actually get smaller. Poppy was so small already. He'd always been afraid of hurting her. She lookedso fragile, and he could hurt somebody much stronger if he wasn't careful. That was one reason hekept a certain distance between them. One reason. Not the main one. The other was something he couldn't put intowords, not even to himself. It brought him right up to the edge of the forbidden. To face rules that had been ingrained in him since birth. None of the Night People could fall in love with ahuman. The sentence for breaking the law was death. It didn't matter. He knew what he hadto do now.Where he had to go. Cold and precise, James loggedoff the Net. Hestood, picked up his sunglasses, slid them into place. Went out into the merciless June sunlight, slamminghis apartment door behind him. Poppy looked around the hospital room unhappily.There was nothing so awful about it, except that it was too cold, but †¦it was a hospital. That was thetruth behind thepretty pink-and-blue curtains and the dosed-circuit TV and the dinner menu decoratedwith cartoon characters. It was a place you didn't come unless you were Pretty Darn Sick. Oh, come on, she told herself. Cheerup a little.What happened to the power of Poppytive thinking? Where's Poppyanna when you need her? Where'sMary Poppy-ins? God, I'm even making myself gag, she thought. But she found herselfsmilingfaintly, with selfdeprecating humor if nothing else. And the nurses were nice here, and the bed wasextremely cool.Ithad a remote control on theside that bent it intoevery imaginable position. Her mother came in while shewas playing with it. â€Å"I got hold of Cliff; he'll be herelater. Meanwhile,I think you'd better change so you're ready for the tests.† Poppy looked at the blue-and-white striped seersucker hospital robe and felt a painful spasm that seemed to reach from her stomach to her back. And something in the deepest part of her said Please, not yet. I'll never be ready. James pulled his Integra into a parking space on Ferry Street near Stoneham. It wasn't a nice part of town. Tourists visiting Los Angeles avoided this area. The building was sagging and decrepit. Severalstores were vacant, with cardboard taped over broken windows. Graffiti covered the peeling paint on thecinder-block walls. Even the smog seemed to hang thicker here. Theair itself seemed yellow and cloying. Like a poisonous miasma, it darkened the brightest day and made everything look unreal and ominous. James walked around to the back of the building.There, among the freight entrances of the stores in front, was one door unmarked by graffiti. The signabove it had no words. Just a picture of a blackflower. A black iris. James knocked. The door opened two inches, anda skinny kid in a wrinkled T-shirt peered out with beady eyes. â€Å"It's me, Ulf,† James said, resisting the temptationto kick the door in. Werewolves, he thought. Why do they have to be so territorial? World. I don't want to break any laws. I just wanther well.† The slanted blue eyes were searching his face. â€Å"Areyou sure you haven't broken the laws already?† And when James looked determined not to understand this, she added in a lowered voice, â€Å"Are you sure you're not in love with her?† James made himself meet the probing gaze directly. He spoke softly and dangerously. â€Å"Don't say that unless you want a fight.† Gisele looked away. She played with her ring. Thecandle flame dwindled and died. â€Å"James, I've known you for a long time,† she saidwithout looking up. â€Å"I don't want to get you in trouble. I believe you when you say you haven't brokenany laws–but I think we'd both better forget this conversation. Just walk out now and I'll pretend itnever happened.† â€Å"And the spell?† â€Å"There's no such thing. And if there was, Iwouldn't help you. Just go.† James went.There was one other possibility that he couldthink of. He drove to Brentwood, to an area thatwas as different from the last as a diamond is fromcoal. He parked in a covered carport by a quaint adobe building with a fountain. Red and purplebougainvillaea climbed up the walls to the Spanishtile on the roof. Walking through an archway into a courtyard, hecame to an office with gold letters on the door. Jasper R. Rasmussen, Ph.D. His father was a psychologist. Before he could reach for the handle, the dooropened and a woman came out. She was like mostof his father's clients, forty-something, obviously rich, wearing a designer jogging suit and high-heeled sandals. She looked a little dazed and dreamy, and therewere two small, rapidly healing puncture wounds on her neck. James went into the office. There was a waitingroom, but no receptionist. Strains of Mozart came from the inner office. James knocked on the door. â€Å"Dad?† The door opened to reveal a handsome man withdark hair. He was wearing a perfectly tailored gray suit and a shirt with French cuffs. He had an aura of power and purpose. But not of warmth. He said, â€Å"What is it, James?† in the same voice he used for his clients: thoughtful, deliberate, confident. â€Å"Do you have a minute?† His father glanced at his Rolex. â€Å"As a matter offact, my next patient won't be here for half an hour.† â€Å"There's something I need to talk about.† His father looked at him keenly, then gestured to an overstuffed chair. James eased into it, but found himself pulling forward to sit on the edge. â€Å"What's on your mind?† James searched for the right words. Everything depended on whether he could make his father under stand. But what were the right words? At last hesettled for bluntness. â€Å"It's Poppy. She's been sick for a while, and nowthey think she has cancer.† Dr. Rasmussen looked surprised. â€Å"I'm sorry to hearthat.† But there was no sorrow in his voice. â€Å"And it's a bad cancer. It's incredibly painful andjust about one hundred percent incurable.† â€Å"That's a pity.† Again there was nothing but mildsurprise in his father's voice. And suddenly James knew where that came from. It wasn't surprise thatPoppy was sick; it was surprise that James had made a trip just to tell him this. â€Å"Dad, if she's got this cancer, she's dying. Doesn'tthat mean anything to you?† Dr. Rasmussen steepled his fingers and stared intothe ruddy gloss of his mahoganydesk. He spoke slowly and steadily. â€Å"James, we've been through this before. You know that your mother and I are worried about you getting too dose to Poppy. Too . . . attached †¦to her.† James felt a surge of cold rage. â€Å"Like I got tooattached to Miss Emma?† His father didn't blink. â€Å"Something like that.† James fought the pictures that wanted to form inhis mind. He couldn't think about Miss Emma now; he needed to be detached. That was the only way to convince his father. â€Å"Dad, what I'm trying to say is that I've knownPoppy just about all my life. She's useful to me.† â€Å"How? Not in the obvious way. You've never fedon her, have you?† James swallowed, feeling nauseated. Feed onPoppy? Use her like that? Even the thought of it made him sick. â€Å"Dad, she's my friend,† he said, abandoning anypretense of objectivity. â€Å"I can't just watch her suffer. I can't. I have to do something about it.† His father's face cleared. â€Å"I see.† James felt dizzy with astonished relief. â€Å"Youunderstand?† â€Å"James, at times one can't help a certain feeling of . . .compassion for humans. In general, I wouldn't encourage it-but you have known Poppya long while. You feel pity for her suffering. If youwant to make that suffering shorter, then, yes, Iunderstand.† The relief crashed down around James. He stared at his father for a few seconds, then said softly, â€Å"Mercy killing? I thought the Elders had put a banon deaths in this area.† â€Å"Just be reasonably discreet about it. As long as itseems to be natural, we'll all look the other way. There won't be any reason to call in the Elders.† There was a metallic taste in James's mouth. Hestood and laughed shortly. â€Å"Thanks, Dad. You've really helped a lot.† His father didn't seem to hear the sarcasm. â€Å"Gladto do it, James. By the way, how are things at the apartments?† â€Å"Fine,† James said emptily. â€Å"And at school?† â€Å"School's over, Dad,† James said, and let himselfout. In the courtyard he leaned against an adobe walland stared at the splashing water of the fountain. He was out of options. Out of hope. The laws ofthe Night World said so. If Poppy had the disease, she would die from it.

Komodo Dragon Facts

Komodo Dragon Facts The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest lizard on the face of the Earth today. An ancient species of reptile, it first appeared on the planet more than 100 million years ago- though it was not known to Western science until 1912. Prior to that time, it was known in the West only through rumors of dragon-like lizard living in the Lesser Sunda Islands of the Pacific. Fast Facts: Komodo Dragon Scientific Name: Varanus komodoensisCommon Name(s): Komodo dragon, Komodo monitorBasic Animal Group:  ReptileSize:  6 to 10 feet  Weight: 150–360 poundsLifespan: Up to 30 years  Diet:  CarnivoreHabitat:  Specific Indonesian islandsConservation  Status:  Vulnerable   Description Full-grown Komodo dragons typically grow to six to 10 feet and can weigh 150 pounds- though individual specimens can be as heavy as 350 pounds. They are dull brown, dark grey, or reddish in color, while juveniles are green with yellow and black stripes. Komodo dragons are massive and powerful-looking with bowed legs and muscular tails. Their heads are long and flat, and their snouts are rounded. Their scaly skin is usually a combination of sand-color and gray, providing good camouflage. When in motion, they roll back and forth; at the same time, their yellow tongues flick in and out of their mouths. Jamie Lamb - elusive-images.co.uk/Getty Images Habitat and Distribution Komodo dragons have the smallest home range of any large predator: They live on certain small Indonesian islands of the Lesser Sunda group, including Rintja, Padar, Gila Motang, and Flores, and Komodo, in habitats ranging from beaches to forests to ridge tops. Diet and Behavior Komodo  dragons will eat almost any kind of meat, including both live animals and carrion. Smaller, younger dragons eat small lizards, snakes, and birds, while adults prefer monkeys, goats, and deer. They are also cannibalistic. These lizards are the apex predators of their Indonesian island ecosystems; they occasionally capture live prey by hiding in vegetation and ambushing their victims, although they usually prefer to scavenge already-dead animals. (In fact, the giant size of the Komodo dragon can be explained by its island ecosystem: Like the  long-extinct Dodo Bird, this lizard has no natural predators.) Komodo dragons have good vision and adequate hearing, but rely mostly on their acute sense of smell to detect potential prey; these lizards are also equipped with long, yellow, deeply-forked tongues and sharp serrated teeth, and their rounded snouts, strong limbs, and muscular tails also come in handy when targeting their dinner (Not to mention when dealing with others of their own kind: When Komodo dragons encounter one another in the wild, the dominant individual, usually the largest male, prevails.) Hungry Komodo dragons have been known to run at speeds topping 10 miles per hour, at least for short stretches, making them some of the fastest lizards on the planet. Mi. Sha/Getty Images Reproduction and Offspring The Komodo dragon mating season spans the months of July and August. In September, the females dig egg chambers, in which they lay clutches of up to 30 eggs. The mom-to-be covers her eggs with leaves and then lies over the nest to warm the eggs until they hatch, which requires an unusually long gestation period of seven or eight months. The newborn hatchlings are vulnerable to predation by birds, mammals, and even adult Komodo dragons; for this reason the young scamper up into trees, where an arboreal lifestyle provides them refuge from their natural enemies until they are large enough to defend themselves. Conservation Status Komodo dragons are listed as Vulnerable.  According to the San Diego Zoos website: One study estimated the population of Komodo dragons within Komodo National Park to be 2,405. Another study estimated between 3,000 and 3,100 individuals. On the much larger island of Flores, which is outside the National Park, the number of dragons has been estimated from 300 to 500 animals. While the population is more or less stable, Komodo habitat is continuing to shrink due to increasing human encroachment. Komodo Dragon Venom There has been some controversy about the presence of venom, or the lack of it, in the Komodo dragons saliva. In 2005, researchers in Australia suggested that Komodo dragons (and other monitor lizards) have mildly venomous bites, which can result in swelling, shooting pains, and disruption of blood clotting, at least in human victims; however, this theory has yet to be widely accepted. Theres also the possibility that the saliva of Komodo dragons transmits harmful bacteria, which would breed on the rotting bits of flesh wedged between this reptiles teeth. This wouldnt make the Komodo dragon anything special, though; for decades there has been speculation about the septic bites inflicted by meat-eating dinosaurs! Sources â€Å"Komodo Dragon.†Ã‚  National Geographic, 24 Sept. 2018, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/k/komodo-dragon/.â€Å"Komodo Dragon.†Ã‚  San Diego Zoo Global Animals and Plants, animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/komodo-dragon.â€Å"Komodo Dragon.†Ã‚  Smithsonians National Zoo, 9 July 2018, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/komodo-dragon.

A Swot Analysis Of American Airlines Tourism Essays

A Swot Analysis Of American Airlines Tourism Essays A Swot Analysis Of American Airlines Tourism Essay A Swot Analysis Of American Airlines Tourism Essay Introduction: American Airlines was the U.S. s largest bearer in 1992. It had a fleet of 622 jet aircraft, winging 2,450 flights daily to 182 locations. It besides had advanced engineering and plans. They were the first to present a computerized air hose reserve system called Sabre, Super Saver menus and frequent- flyer plans. Despite these inventions, American Airlines and the air hose industry as a whole was still non runing as profitably or supplying client satisfaction the manner it should in 1992. There were two chief grounds. First, the air hose industry was enduring from the economic downswings in 1990 and 1991. In 1991 entirely, the industry s cumulative losingss were $ 1.87 billion, which exceeded the entire sum of net incomes the industry had of all time earned throughout its 60-year history. American Airlines itself reported losingss of $ 77 million in 1990 and $ 165 million in 1991. In footings of client s flight, the dollar volume of pleasance travel grew merely 8 % in the 1989-91 pe riod compared to 19 % for 1987-89. The comparable figures for concern travel were a 9 % addition for 1989-91 in contrast to 28 % growing experiences in 1987-89. April 9th, 1992 American Airlines announced that their outputs were excessively low and they were traveling to convey value back to air travel through a new pricing scheme termed, Value Pricing . SWOT Analysis: Strengths Market leader: American Airlines is the largest U.S. air hose in 1992 with a 19.15 market portion in 2001. Strong Invention Technology: American Airlines created the first and largest Computer Reservation Service, SABRE, which was a valuable resource for output direction and excess net incomes. It was such an effectual technological invention that in 1992, 92 % of domestic reserves were made through Computer Reservation Systems in the United States. Marketing Promotions: American Airlines were the first to make a frequent flyer plan aimed to increase trade name trueness with concern clients in 1981. Distribution: The usage of hubs meant replacing non-stop flights with a set of linking flights, and this benefited both bearers and consumers. Airlines could function more locations with fewer planes. American Airlines benefited by holding six hubs in 1992, two of which are ranked as the largest airdromes in America: Chicago and Dallas. Market Growth: Between 1981 and 1991, rider volume grew by about 80 % , the equivalent of a compound one-year growing rate of 6 % . There are still chance spreads to farther addition demand. Strong Brand Image: A study that generated the evaluations of domestic air hoses on service quality, American Airlines had the joint highest satisfaction index of 76. This implies that American Airlines has a stronger image of high quality service, comparative to rivals. Problems: There are high hazards of holds and inward flight holds of even a few will necessarily detain linking flights and so impact big parts of the web thenceforth. Enormous dealing costs from the utmost complexness of capacity planning, crew roistering, flight programming, land handling and menu constructions. High hazard of lost connexions and lost baggage with linking flights Opportunity Increase the demand for air travel through making more clients and increasing the frequence of travel per client: There is already a turning per centum of Americans is utilizing air travel. In 1991, 76 % of American Adults reported that they had flown at some clip in their lives and 32 % had flown in the past twelvemonth. The addition in American air travel can be seen in the tabular array below: Percentage of American grownups who have: 1981 1989 1990 1991 of all time flown? 65 % 78 % 74 % 76 % flown in the last 12 months 24 % 34 % 31 % 32 % The tabular array implies that American s are progressively accommodating to air travel and this means that their is an chance for American Airline s to go on their enlargement. Price favoritism theoretical accounts: Price favoritism theoretical accounts provide an chance for American Airlines to capture the two chief client sections, concern and pleasance travellers in the most profitable manner. Using monetary value favoritism theoretical accounts provides an increasing chance. Percentage of American Adults going on: 1989 1990 1999 2001 Business 52 51 42 41 Pleasure 47 49 53 57 This provides an chance for American Airlines because the two sections have different demand fluctuations and purchasing features and if American Airlines can capture both markets through different pricing menus so it will increase their output per client, smooth out overall demand fluctuations and achieve net income maximization. The differences can be distinguished by demand and purchasing values. Buying differences: Business travellers are more loyal to one peculiar air hose because they have the ability to construct up frequent flyer stat mis. They are less pricing sensitive due to being more clip sensitive. On the other manus, leisure travellers are less loyal, more monetary value sensitive and more flexible in footings of clip, day of the month etc. On-line Reservations: Like low cost air hoses and follow on-line reserves, which mean less demand for travel agents, no paper tickets and convenient engagement. American Airlines presently merely serves 80 finishs worldwide, compared to 182 locations in the U.S. mainland and Hawaii. Therefore, there is a strong chance to concentrate on increasing long draw, international flights as opposed to short draw flights. Menaces: After the deregulating of the air hose, industry competition intensified as national and regional air hoses grew or merged and became fixated on net income maximization. American Airlines major domestic rivals are United Airlines and Delta Airlines as they both operate with similar range and service to American. American Airlines chief competition from regional air hoses includes US Air, America West, Southwest, TWA, Northwest and Continental. US Air serves chiefly eastern and southwesterly markets. American West and Southwest are price reduction bearers functioning the Southwest and California countries. TWA that offered chiefly coast-to-coast service, Northwest that served the Northern grade of the U.S. and Continental that served the southern grade. Furthermore, amalgamations meant that the combined market portion of the four largest air hoses rose from 54.2 % in 1982 to 64.8 % in 1987. Growth of low cost air hoses: Low cost air hoses are spread outing quickly. Southwest in peculiar is successfully advancing its deal menus, low cost and no-frills attack to service and are the 7th largest U.S. bearer, though merely runing in 15 provinces for local, and short draw markets. The low cost air hoses are able to bear down highly low price reduction monetary values because: Distribution costs are reduced utilizing direct merchandising through the cyberspace or call centres and holding no tickets Pricing cleavage merely occurs on two variables: the day of the month of engagement and the effectual demand of that specific flight so there are less complex menus and less limitations imposed to increase client satisfaction The operating outgo rider and their operating border are besides significantly higher. American Airlines does non hold the ability to vie straight through fiting such low monetary values because they could neer accomplish such low costs, nor does the trade name image of American Airlines compliment this scheme. Airline Industry is vulnerable to monetary value wars: Industries that have excess capacity, high fixed costs, and low distinction and are monetary value rubber bands are the most vulnerable to monetary value wars. High Fixed costs and excess capacity are profit-damaging combinations because it means that air hoses must hold high outputs through output direction in order to keep profitableness, which is really complex. Low Differentiation means clients see air hose travel as a commodity- like concern. In general, they merely want to acquire from one metropolis to another in the shortest sum of clip, at a convenient clip that fits their agenda, and at a sensible monetary value. High Price Elasticity: Due to the combination of the above, air hose travel is typically monetary value elastic. Therefore, air hose companies are going more inclined to take down monetary values in order to excite demand. Sensitive to economic downswings due to high fixed costs construction, for illustration in 1991 the industry s cumulative losingss were $ 2.67 billion The dominant distribution channel is the travel agent. Therefore, the cooperation of travel agents with the Airline is necessary. Airlines get the agents cooperation through giving them committees from ticket gross revenues. Key Issues Develop a pricing scheme that will increase the demand of air travel and the long term profitableness of the air hose industry. Identify and measure options by sing rivals reactions, client impact on output, costs and long term profitableness. 1. Value Pricing The chief aim of this pricing scheme was to supply simplicity, equity, and value for air travel, compared to the bing system with a battalion of of all time altering menus and price reductions. Value Pricing: Segmented Pricing: On any given flight, there would be merely four different menus: First Class, Regular Coach, Discount Coach ( booked seven yearss in progress ) and Discount Coach ( booked 21 yearss in progress ) . Each menu had different limitations and offerings. E.g. , Discount manager involved Saturday dark stay over, advanced purchases ( 21 yearss ) , non refundable but they could be re-issued for another flight and priced 49 % below the regular manager menus. New menus will be 38 % below the degrees of comparable bing menus and will be the same for everyone, intending no demand for particular trades. Ad: American Airlines would pass $ 20 million on media clip and infinite over two hebdomads. They anticipated that gross would increase to boot by $ 300-350 million yearly and be nest eggs of $ 25 million per twelvemonth. Professionals  · Business travellers will profit from value pricing . The advantages for concern travellers is that, they no longer necessitate to worry about inflexible limitations attached to cut down menus, coercing them to pay higher monetary values. Now they can acquire the advantage of being able to book at short notice but guaranting that they will still have the same 38 % off full Coach with no limitations with any clip menus. Furthermore, if they can book in progress they can pay even less. Reduced Costss: American Airlines forecasts cost nest eggs of $ 25 million per twelvemonth through the decrease in the figure of menus offered, as it will cut down its CRS from 500,000 to merely 70,000. Second, as all flights will be priced based on the distance of the flight way, so the variable costs really find the monetary values, in theory supplying higher gross. Cons Price snap: Air travel has rather high monetary value snap as a reappraisal found that the bulk of estimations were between the scope of -.8 and -.2, with the snap for concern travel by and large being less than integrity, while that for pleasance travel typically transcending integrity. Therefore, leisure travel demand changes with alterations in monetary value more than concern travel because of a monetary value alteration. American Airlines, the monetary value sensitive clients will be extremely dissatisfied by the new value pricing and they will be encouraged to exchange to low cost air hoses. American Airlines will no longer profit from the concern travellers that were typically monetary value insensitive but clip sensitive and so prepared to pay the higher costs. This will hold incremental affects on output and profitableness as the high fixed costs of air hoses antecedently depended upon concern travellers to purchase higher priced tickets. Rivals Chemical reactions: For air travel demand, which in bend creates the deficiency of client trade name trueness to air hoses, a 38 % decrease in American Airline monetary values in theory would do clients to exchange to American Airlines. However, American Airlines has failed to see rivals reactions in their value pricing . Lower their monetary values to fit American Airline monetary values to vouch the consumer the lowest menu without perpetrating to a lower monetary value but finally maintaining their clients and directing the message to American Airlines that they should increase their monetary values. In bend, this will cut down the profitableness of the Airline industry, as air hoses will necessitate to maintain take downing monetary values in order to stay competitory, taking to a lessening in net income borders and economic growing. Competitor s reactions will finally forestall American Airlines from making their forecasted gross for 1992. Promotion jobs: The travel agents are less likely to advance this reduced menu platform and the CEO merely plans a erstwhile $ 20 million advertisement attempt. High Fixed Costs of Airlines: American Airlines has a high cost construction and as a consequence, they rely on high-yield and high traffic. Therefore, it is non executable and it will be black for them to take down costs in the long term without cut downing their fixed costs. They expect market portion to increase by an extra one-half of 1 % of the entire U.S. market. They believe that in the 2nd one-fourth of 1992, grosss could diminish by $ 100 million, but that grosss will increase by $ 300- A ; lb ; 350 million for the full twelvemonth. They assume that the demand for air travel as a method of transit will increase by 3-4 % with the new pricing construction. American Airline s output and gross premises are flawed because the value pricing is presuming that all present factors in the industry will stay the same but in world rivals will fit monetary values and travel agents will non be so concerted. Break Even alterations: American Airlines would necessitate to increase their gross revenues dramatically in order to interrupt even, which will be really hard. Regular Coach 1990 1992 1992 Path: New York- Chicago Old New New ( including $ 20m advertisement ) Selling Monetary value $ 854 $ 500 $ 500 Entire Revenue ( presume sell 1000 ) $ 854000 $ 500000 500000 % Variable Cost as a per centum of the sum costs 3.60 % 3.60 % 3.60 % Variable Costss per individual $ 40 $ 40 $ 40 Entire Variable Costss $ 40000 $ 40000 $ 40000 Unit Contribution= selling price- variable cost $ 814 $ 460 $ 460 Fixed Costss as a per centum of the sum costs 96.40 % 96.40 % 96.4 % + A ; lb ; 20m Fixed Costss ( 96.4/3.6=26.77740000= 1071111.111 ) 1071111.111 1071111.111 21071111.11 Break Even= fixed cost/ unit part 1315.861316 $ 2328.502415 45806.76328 Break Even gross revenues alteration 1012.641099 44490.90196 Break Even Point % gross revenues alteration 176 % 3481 % Professionals Product Differentiation will be valued: On long draw flights added frills are valued because riders are on the plane for longer so they will necessitate more services in order to experience comfy. There are a scope of services and merchandises that American Airlines has the chance to offer clients to distinguish their menu prices.. Reduce the hazard of a monetary value war. Through concentrating on long draw flights and keeping low but profitable monetary values, rivals will be less likely to cut down their costs because American Airlines is the market leader and every rival wants to hold net income maximization. Furthermore, it will increase the long-run profitableness of the industry as demand and profitableness will increase. Increase client trade name trueness: American Airlines are distinguishing their merchandises from rivals and if these differences are valued so clients will be encouraged to be loyal to American Airlines, as they will have the excess benefits from the merchandises on top of their frequent flyer plan. Opportunity spread in the market: Expanding into new markets will increase their client base and market portion as long haul flights e.g. 15-18 hr will go more and more popular through increasing international concern communications. It is impossible for American Airlines to fit the taking low cost air hose menus while at the same clip runing at a net income due to their higher cost per place stat mi. The current trade name is image of a high quality service air hose. Simplifies pricing without the demand to monetary value excessively low and curbs demand, so clients will be willing to pay more and besides they will better maximise flight capacity through controling demand and so they will non endure from chance costs found in value pricing . Cons Increasing the figure of services will increase their variable costs per client. Fixed costs will lift dramatically from initial enlargement. Hazard of International Business Problems: As American Airlines expand they must guarantee that they maintain good communicating or else their costs could increase Foreign markets will convey more challenges when confronting new rivals Currency differences American Airlines does non respond to the turning figure of low cost air hoses by fiting their low monetary values so they will spread out further, increase their market portion within America with monetary value sensitive clients and decrease American Airlines competitory advantage. This could cut down the profitableness of the U.S. air travel industry in the long term. Require heavy investing, support, planning and advertisement in order to implement and pass on the difference of services between flight menus to clients and acquire clients to value these differences. Recommendation: Recommended that Value Pricing be adjusted and combined with alternate three, to concentrate on long draw flights and segmented pricing through service distinction as despite Value Pricing being a really advanced pricing scheme it has many defects. The value pricing must be embedded in a broader and consistent selling scheme. The value pricing purpose to simplify menus through offering four menu constructions should be implemented as this will cut down CRS costs and increase client apprehension of menu monetary values. However, the limitations imposed should be reduced on the price reduction menus, otherwise clients will travel to low cost air hoses. Alternatively, it is recommended that fencings be built between the different menus to forestall clients from exchanging from higher menus to price reduction menus through service distinction, non merely the transit and a few fringy limitations. Furthermore, American Airlines should concentrate on long draw flights as opposed to short-medium draw flights within America because it is within these flights that service distinction is extremely valued. In add-on, if American Airlines can spread out into more markets it will increase their market portion and long-run profitableness. This will besides forestall the eroding of profitableness in the air hose industr y because it will forestall a monetary value war.

Legislative Process in Arizona Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legislative Process in Arizona - Essay Example The first step is proposing the bill to legislation. If there are no objections on the bill, it will be sent to the appropriate committee. If there are objections on the bill, it's put on the Calendar and postponed to another date. The bill will also become available to the public on the next Congressional Record (Elllars). The days before committee meetings tend to generate greater public attention on the bill, resulting in an increase of lobbyist and interest groups. During this time period, bills will be subjected to the amendment process. (Gnant, 1999). If the bill makes it through the committee meaning, the process is still nowhere near complete. The Rules Committee must also approve that the bill is constitutional. All senators will come to discuss open bills during the caucus, but there is no formal voting. The Committee of the Whole can then decide to pass it on to be approved by the president (Gnant, 1999). There are so many processes to passing a bill into a law. It is because of these processes that make Arizona legislature so unique. From the time that a bill to proposed to become a law, public opinion can have great effects on the outcome. The legislation in Arizona give much more political power to the average individual. To exercise this power, citizens should be informed of current initiatives or legislative bills that are being considered. Anyone can access these bills through the Arizona Legislative website. One bill that is currently in process is SB 1108, which states, "The primary purpose of public education is the inculcation of the values of American citizenship." (Forde, 2008.) This bill would put restrictions on race-based organizations in public schools. Personally, I disagree with this bill and believe that it infringes on our right to express who we are. I believe that banning these types of organizations is a way to force students to assimilate. The idea of multiculturalism is dead in the United States as it is. This bill further illustrates our ethnocentricism, or "displaying the emotional attitude that regards one's own group or culture as superior and is contemptuous of other groups and cultures." (Jain, 1990). Banning race-based organizations would strengthen the belief that American culture should ride over anyone else's culture. Believing that an immigrant can and should completely throw out their old customs and culture is obviously ignorant and ethnocentric, but banning minorities from organizing with people they share an ethnic identity with is almost just as ignorant. For many students, the idea of assimilation is a challenging factor that plagues them for years. Having these types of organizations can help them to be more comfortable in American culture while also developing bonds with people they identify with. To ban r ace-based organizations is to force assimilation, and the law should not be passed. Clearly, the political process is a significant role in all our lives, whether we choose to participate or not. Luckily for the people of Arizona, the voice of the public can be heard far more clearly than many states. No matter where you live, however, you have the responsibility to stand up for what you believe in and take advantage of our democracy.

Feminist Legal Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Feminist Legal Theory - Essay Example The paper will examine the portions that constitute these two aspects and what makes them interconnected. In other words, an examination of how legal feminism as a concept affects feminist legal research will be done. Feminist legal scholars argue for a renewed dimension of research. They claim that gender recognitions had not been made in the past and that there is a need for adoption of a different phenomenon known as emancipator research. In other words, they are claiming that legal work needs to reflect the challenges affected by both sexes rather than merely focusing on the needs and perspectives of a universal experience. Radical legal feminists argue that men's experiences have always been treated as neutral or universal while female experiences are regarded as private or even negative. Consequently, these groups of legal feminists claim that there should be a radical transformation in law by accepting and changing power roles in the profession.1 Feminist research in law has been treated as something that lacks objectivity by opponents to this phenomenon. However, legal feminist researchers claim that objectivity is in fact a term coined by non feminists in an attempt to hide women's own subjectivity in law. Consequently, these proponents argue that research should not be treated as devoid off subjects. Instead, there should be an emphasis on the experiences and the actual challenges that subjects undergo in their everyday lives. Additionally, the latter adherents also claim that the utilisation of models during the research process is another way of forgetting the subject and thus renders such researches invalid. Distinctive features about feminist approaches to the study of law and how it compares to other approaches in the course Feminist legal theory is founded upon the premise that the law has been central in depicting historical subordination of women. There are two ways in which feminist legal theory can be treated the first is with regard to jurisprudence in which the law can be perceived as something that has been oppressive to the female gender. The second aspect is with regard to the transformation of society's perception of women through the law or through a reworking of the law. 2 This approach to the study of law is different from other arenas owing to the fact that it challenges the way the rights based approach to law or the liberal values in law are dealt with. The latter approach is synonymous with the liberal equality model of law. Here, greater emphasis is given to the issue of genuine rights accorded to the different genders rather than some of the conventional rights that have been accorded in the past to women. Through this school of thought, it is possible to see that there are certain links between injustice and gender. Feminist approach to law has also been instrumental in understanding that there are real differences between the genders and that these differences need not be obscured by the law. Instead, feminists assert that these differences should be brought to the table. The latter school of thought is held by sexual difference model adherents. However, the latter model is not synonymous to other feminists who claim that in order to ensure historic preclusion by the law is completely eradicated, then there must be treatment of both sexes as equal. These proponents hold that when the differences betwe