Balance in the administration of justice

The term justice refers to canal provision of rights to every citizen in a given century. This concerns equal distribution and proper allocation of good things like wealth, and power. For a country to have justice in practice, people should be governed by laws which are well defined in a constitution. Such laws assures citizens freedom in all their activities for instance, one can have a freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom of movement among others. Through justice, one should have a right of access of any requirement like medical care, job opportunities, education and also settlement.At the same time, a country should ensure retributive of justice which mainly deals with rights response to law violators. This is facilitated by penalties administered to wrong doing. The major issues concerning legal environment in which justice and security administration operates includes natural laws which involves the system of results which naturally deserves from any action or choice. For every action taking place, there must be an equal opposite reaction which makes administration of justice to be universal and absolute concept.Authority in command is another environment in which justice operates. The country formulates rules and regulations which governs the people. Whatever is not allowed in the rules is termed as injustice. The state than has the mandate to administer the rules to the people concerned through its authority to command. Justice should also operate under mutual agreement of everyone concerned. For this case, the formulation of laws in a country should not favor any group. The biasness leads to unequal administration of justice which in turn can lead to imbalance in the state.The issue of fairness should be considered where by each person should have equal right to the whole system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. The least advantaged should have fare equality of opportunity to social and economic ineq ualities. Right history plays a major role especially in ownership of property. Each individual should be entitled to having the right kind of history be it from just acquisition especially by working or unowned things or just transfer, from sale or free gift but not from unlawful means like grabbing and stealing.Retributivism is another issue concerning legal environment which justice operates. It involves dealing with justice violators. For instance when one is denies his/her right, that should be reported to authority for necessary steps to be taken. Wrong doing should be balanced/made good which is achieved through punishment administration. Justice administration should portray a high independency in investigation of truth. For instance, during judgments, the lawyers and magistrates should not be bias but drill on truth of the matter to know the reality of a phenomenon.Joint terrorism task force is another area where justice and security administration operates which is a small cell of highly trained, locally based argent for law enforcement in monitoring and investigating terrorists. Obscenity prosecution task force is another field of justice and security operation which deals with protection of American’s families and children through being involved in their nation’s obscenity laws.Assistance to victims of crime, prisoners and ex-offenders and also women from domestic violence is guaranteed by organization of faith based and community initiatives task force in US through provision of funding opportunities within the federal government. Violence in schools has been prevented by the department of justice and department of education through provision of guide to help schools and communities to educate each other on safeguarding their children. Drug abuse is another issue which has affected the communities’ development.This has been prevented through mobilization of citizens, use of policing strategies and to school children, through u se of after school recreation program. Voting is another area, where justice and security should be exercised. Every citizen is allowed by the law to freely choose the leader he/she requires without any influence. Justice also prohibits interference with access to reproductive health clinics or places of religions worship. Such should be accessible to every citizen. The changes in technology and mass communication has posed a positive effect administration of justice and security.Such includes establishment of the police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 A century ago before introduction by the police and criminal evidence, police used to interview suspects generally through transcription of questions and answers from memory. This led to recommendation of gradual introduction of audio recording of police interrogation in police stations which facilitated subordinate legislation to be drafted in such away to leave the rules regulating the police in the exercise of their investigative po wers, including interview recording with suspects.Advancement in technology has also led to public awareness of the laid down regulations through use of medias, law books and magazines. This enables the citizens to learn about the new rules and adhere to them appropriately. Technology and mass communication has led to revolution in telecommunications technology since 1978. If changed from making of calls on a wire and almost all transoceanic communications in radio communications to today’s technology which has reversed, as mot long-haul communications are on wire and local calls often travel by air.Other wholly new methods are also in place today like use of cell phones and e-mail which were not popular in 1970s. These new developments in technology play a vital role in restoring of security in different parts of world because information is acquired immediately after. Use of detection methods has contributed highly in maintenance of justice and security. This is acquired th rough use of well trained groups like intelligence groups who can be able to acquire a certain information before the disaster occurs.Change in technology and mass communication on the other hand can have negative effects in justice and security in that, for instance in times of world wide crisis, direct conveyance of first hand information can lead to incitation into other parts, hence lead to more damages. Technology also enables violators to use advanced destructive methods like bombings as for the case in US 1987 bombing Technological change also enabled citizens to know about the democracy. This automatically ruled out the traditional dictatorship leaderships and opened people’s mind to learn about their rights.The issues involved with individual rights versus the needs of the justice system should be balanced to maintain order and public safety. This has been achieved through regulating rules which are not bias to certain group of citizens. For instance, the right of sp eech should be available to every citizen. This enables everyone to express his/her self everywhere in the country. Every citizen is also entitled to a freedom of religion. A government should not decide on where and who people should worship but this should be based according to their faith.Assemble is another individual right whereby citizens should congregate anywhere and address their issues. The laws formulated by the government should abide to such rights for maintenance of order and security. Every citizen should be entitled to right of press in order to express his/her issues to others. The laws should not forbid this right because not unless one expresses himself, the shortcomings in the citizens cannot be known to the government. Voting is another issue whereby an individual should decide wisely on who to elect.In case of any malpractice, this can result to disagreement among the citizens hence lead to civil war in the country. Education opportunities should be available t o every citizen in the country. This should be achieved through provision of similar education system of the same quality to all students irrespective of poor or rich families. Health facility is another issue which should be available to every citizen. In order to balance this issue with the justice system, the government should have well stipulated laws allowing free acquisition of medical care to the aged and the children.Employment opportunity is another issue which should be available to every citizen. The provision of this aspect should be justified according to ones qualification. The government should ensure this through setting rules to guide the concerned bodies of employment distribution. Disabled citizens should be treated like any other individual. The government should ensure they are given the first priority in issues like employment opportunities. Equal protection should be available to every citizen.Such protection should be under the law which ensures security to c itizens either from assaults or injury by fellow citizens. This represents the right to live surveillance free and not to be identified as a suspect or to live suspiciously. The issue making decision about ones choice should be available to every citizen. For instance one should decide on marriage and reproduction which should be guarded by law and order. There should be provision of justice in issues of inheritance. This should occur after death of ones mate whereby his/her wealth should be inherited by the one who is left back.The issue of privacy should be observed as an individual right to every citizen. The law should ensure people’s security in their persons, honses and effects, against unreasonable searches. Another issue includes trial by jury. When one has been arrested, he should be proved guilty through trial. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused should enjoy the right to a speed and public trial and be notified. About the nature of cause of accusation; to be confronted with the witness against him to have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor and look for help for his defense.Cruel or unusual punishment is another issue which should be justified by the law to ensure public safety and order. Once an individual has been arrested the issue of demanding excessive bail should not be practiced. Such an individual should be judged and if proved guilty, required punishment should be undertaken without imposing excessive fines or inflicting cruel and unusual punishments which in turn can lead to total harm to the victim. The issue of right to own and enjoy property has been an important aspect of human right.The law should justify that no individual should be deprived of either life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public usage and yet there is no compensation from the government. Such property include land, among others. References: Washburne G,(1923). Imperial control of the Administration of justice in the thirteen American colonies,1984-1776. New York. Brussels P, (12/9/2002). Finding the Balance. Cittation from internet. http://www. crisisgroup. org/

Criminal Justice System in Hong Kong Essay

Abstract The fairness of the criminal justice system in Hong Kong is affected by different factors. Social disposition and public outlook of the person in trial is one of the greatest factors. The â€Å"personality† of the person in trial and the number of vital government â€Å"connections† that he or she has also affects the fairness of the justice system. Generally speaking, the justice system in Hong Kong is considered â€Å"fair†. This is true to almost all citizens not until a person in trial possesses a lot of connections, holds a great deal of fortune, and is a critical part in socio-political relations in Hong Kong or in the outside countries. Different factors range from social, political and other aspects. For an important job involving decision-making, we know that people involved in this aspect have to make important, significant and intricate decisions in every part of their work. Today, it is very surprising to realize that a lot of judges/adjudicators have written only a fraction of amount telling the moment of decision. This also includes the thought process that they undergo each time they decide about a given subject. There are numerous reasons to think about and reflect about this on-going silence. One of the most important reasons is that the declaratory theory of judicial decision-making persuaded decision-makers to further believe that their personal role in the decision making is put to a minimal percent. The decision-makers role in interpreting our very own Constitution will simply be a factor which declares about differentiated purposes. Correspondingly, in discovering many differentiated and widespread laws to administer a case, the decision-maker is simply carrying out a straightforward application of logical reasoning. The outcome of this process is not a creation of the judge. The creation of the decision came and grew out before the time the judge even thought about the person in trial. The thought of stereotyping judges as to merely being a purpose driven person or a propaganda administrator is not good. Somewhere in the middle of that range will most likely produce judges which will slowly show a fair degree of consistency. As we know, we can always suggest that each case is different form the other and it is always dependent upon its own unique facts. These facts and truths will be found in the language and structure of the article and file that the decision-makers scrutinize. Because of this, we can always deny and renounce any type of attitudinal philosophy. We, as rational human beings, can always seek to discern and determine diverse and differentiated styles and approaches. This of course greatly depends on whether the act in question concerns criminal violations, tax evasions, compensation benefits or otherwise. In the process of analyzing different views about statutory construction, I have a great deal of certainty that there must always be an explanation at a higher level of reasoning. Reasoning, decision-making, and implementation of statutory laws in Hong Kong are considered â€Å"fair† enough. The main structure of the criminal justice system in Hong Kong and the fairness of their decisions are affected by the following factors. First, political connections – even a good judge will have difficulty in denying this factor. Political connections range from having a wide array of known people and having the full support of all the persons/groups. Second, social disposition – a judge will most likely consider the social disposition of a defendant once he/she is in trial. If the conviction or the release of the said person will largely affect different sectors in the country especially the economic sector then most likely the decision of the judge will be a little bit in favor to the defendant. Third, money – yes, money. Having a lot of money in Hong Kong changes everything. We, of course, are not assuming the fact that all judges in Hong Kong could be bought by money. Money plays an important role in the fairness of the justice system of Hong Kong by providing a possible â€Å"loophole† in the decision making. This idea need not to be discussed a lot because we all know that in today’s businesses and transactions, money is power.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the issue of having a â€Å"fair† justice system in Hong Kong, I do believe that they can still be considered fair. This is because of the various external influences that they receive. But of course, the factors affecting the decision of the jury or judge are still very much alive and pose a great amount of threat to the equality and fairness of the trial.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Factors that affect the fairness of the justice system in Hong Kong are not confined to the topics that I have mentioned. These factors start from the individual himself and go beyond the usual factors like money, social disposition and government connections. Certain strategies put up by the defensive side will not be confined to just manipulating the decision but also the key persons involved in the whole proceedings. Hong Kong is a place of organized crime groups and rich people. I will leave all of these to your own imagination on how creative and clever these criminals and rich people might be in escaping possible â€Å"guilty† declarations. References Forrester, R. B (1986). Law and the Loopholes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   New Jersey. Aurora Publishing.

LLI Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LLI - Research Paper Example One of my major strengths lies on my ability to innovate. Innovation is a very important skill that an individual must have. This is because an innovative person will have the capability to come up with products and services which can satisfy the needs and requirements of a customer. From the score card, I was able to gather a score of more than number 6 (NCHL, 2010). From the performance evaluation matrix, this indicates that I am competent and very capable when it comes to issues dealing with innovation. My other strength lies on my capability to gather information concerning the various health care needs of customers. Research skills are a very important element that a health care individual must possess. This is because information collected can help an individual to make good decisions that are of benefit to himself, the customer and the organization that he or she works for (Jarvis, 2004). From the performance evaluation matrix, my information gathering skills lies on an average of 7.8 (NCHL, 2010). This proves that ability to gather information is one of my major strengths. A skill that goes hand in hand with information gathering is ability to collaborate with other stakeholders in the health and medical field (Jarvis, 2004). Through collaboration, I am able to acquire knowledge that was not within my possession. I can also use this type of knowledge to advance my career, and improve on the quality of services that I give to my customers. From the lifelong evaluation score card, I managed to garner a score of between numbers 7 to 9 (NCHL, 2010). This score card denotes that I have excellent collaborative skills, and it is one of my strengths. It is within my belief that collaboration does not only entail gathering information, but also sharing of resources for purposes of achieving a common good. In as much as I have these stronger points, I also have numerous weaknesses. I am unable to

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

Family history - Essay Example Through agriculture, my parents have managed to educate us to the highest levels of education despite the struggles that come with such a business. However, my parents are hopeful that we will get good jobs so as we do not end up like them though my youngest sister has shown great interest in agriculture especially on cash crops. My granddad has played a crucial role in our family. He always says that regardless of all the odds in life, one must endeavor to succeed. Even at his age, he has sought to open his own business that has all sorts of merchandise. The returns are indeed appealing and any person would envy his work. As the siblings in the family, we are more challenged by the day to strive to do more especially when we see our grandfather wake up so early to start his days at his business. This business has also boosted the little income that we get from agriculture. Life is looking up for us and we expect brighter days ahead. Religion also plays a role in the success of our family. My parents are always keen to ensure that we follow the expected norms of the society through inculcating the good deeds in our religion. This has played a major role in ensuring that we are admirable by all in the society and are also the envy of many. For my case, the virtues taught by my parents especially of honesty and hard work have enabled me survive in the tough times of today’s society. I have succeeded in my education, and though I do not have a job yet, I am sure I will get one and give it full effort and dedication. My family is also fond of giving especially to the poor and the homeless. After every three months, it is compulsory that we visit the unfortunate in the society. One would question why we do such activities yet we do not have enough, but my parents do not take any excuse for not helping others. I find this reasonable as if our situation is not very comfortable with farming as our chief source of livelihood, then for the ones without a job is

Literature Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature review Example 80). For example, a 24/7 customer support service is available to customers in case of online businesses which is not there usually in case of traditional businesses. If we talk about online clothing sale business, we can say that it is a wonderful approach towards such business as it provides benefits for both customers and the company in terms of increased convenience for customers and increased customer base for the company. E-retailing actually started in 1997 by Dell computers. Today, there are a large number of companies that are doing their businesses online, such as, The Outnet, E-bay, and Amazon. The Outnet is one of the most successful UK clothing e-retailers. The company operates its business online and offers a wide range of luxury clothing products, such as, bags, shoes, clothes, and other garments to the customers. To ensure efficient working of business processes, the company has implemented an efficient management information system that keeps the business information up-to-date. The information system makes use of information technology tools for the processing of information and generation of reports (Earl 1996). As Oz (2009, p.9) states, â€Å"Information is the lifeblood of any organization†. ... Almost every company having online presence needs to manage the details of business processes and other information in the database in order to carry out the business processes effectively. According to Stahl (2008, p. 1), management information systems promote efficiency and effective control of business processes. The Outnet would have been a failure without the implementation of information system because it is a customer-oriented company and needs to be efficient in managing the information about customers’ orders and payments. Therefore, information management is one of the basic needs of an online retailer company in order to succeed in today’s competitive environment. If we talk about the benefits of online shopping for customers, we can say that customers find it very easy and convenient to do online shopping as it saves them a lot of time, energy, and money in terms of reduced traveling costs. Similarly, in today’s busy world, customers do not have much time to go to stores physically and spend a lot of time to select and purchase clothes. They prefer to do online shopping because they can do it from anywhere and any time. They do not have to dedicate some part of their time for shopping; rather they can do it while doing other personal or professional life activities. For example, people can do online shopping within the break they usually get in office hours. Similarly, a woman can check out latest clothing fashions on the websites of online companies while doing household activities. Moreover, they can also easily search many other alternatives to choose the best bag, a pair of shoes, or any other clothing product. A

Answers of qustion the Business process management (BPM) Essay

Answers of qustion the Business process management (BPM) - Essay Example The Support activities in an organization that increases the added value of the product are; Organizational Infrastructure, Human Resource management, Technology development and Procurement. The primary activities of the value chain are inbound logistics, Operations, Outbound logistics, Marketing and sales and Services. Theses nine operations of the value chain play an important role in making the product more valuable in terms of utility and the profit. The Primary Activities – Inbound logistics: This process consists of receiving, storing of raw materials, and distribution of the raw materials to the various operations of production. This involves the inventory maintenance, transportation scheduling and return of the defective parts back to the suppliers. Operations: This process includes the various activities that transform the raw materials or unfinished products into final products. This area involves processing the raw materials through machines, equipment maintenance, testing of machines and other methods to optimize the production. Outbound logistics: This process involves the distribution of the finished products to dealers, distributors and to the warehouses. The entire process of delivering the finished goods to the end customers is handled under this operation. Warehousing, material handling, delivery operation, processing of the order and scheduling the delivery transportation is taken care of under this operation. Marketing and Sales: This process deals with the sales and marketing of the finished product. Functional areas like advertisement, promotion, stationing of the sales force, channel selection and pricing. Services: These operations include the after sales services like repair and maintenance. Functions like installation, repair, training, part supply and production adjustments. These services play an essential role in increasing the value of the product. The Support Activities- Firm Infrastructure: The infrastructure of the organi zation adds immense value to the product. The kind of facility available at the organization increases the value of the product. A general firm infrastructure is represented by the general management, planning and finance department, the legal department. These departments ensure smooth functioning of the entire production process. Human Resources Management: this operation regulates the recruiting and training of the employees. Human resource is the backbone of any organization. Managing the issues related to the employees such as benefits and compensation. Cost of hiring and training the employees and most importantly assigning the right job to the right person add a lot value to the product. Technology Development: An organization’s most important initiative in being effective and innovative is the stress given on technology development. Having the most efficient technology ensures fast and cost effective production. The quality of the product also increases with incorpora tion of latest technology. Procurement: Procurement deals with the function of purchasing materials for further processing. A cost effective and quality effective procurement ensure the cost and quality effectiveness of the finished product. When these nine basic yet essential operations are run efficiently by the organization the Value is added to the product. T

The exhibition as a process and as a product Case Study

The exhibition as a process and as a product - Case Study Example of the team into a multi-disciplinary exhibition research team is that; it is through broad research into exhibition themes and subjects, that it can be possible to design an exhibition theme that will be relevant, yet attractive to a broad audience (Morris, 2002:8). Thus, through the different research areas that the sub-groups of the team engaged in analyzing, it eventually became possible to emerge with the theme of displaying how and why image has been controlled through time. Further, the operation of the team as a research group was further reinforced by the ability of the team to work together in harmony, a factor that was a major source of strength for the process. Teamwork is an essential component for achieving success in different projects, and most especially in projects that entail combination of different individual strengths (Bedno, 1999:42). The process of preparing for an exhibition highly depends on the multiple strengths of different members of a team, considering that there are different roles that need to be played in the process, such as planning, designing, interpreting, curate and educating the audience (Downey, 2002:44). All these different roles highly depended on the different strengths of the team members, considering that some team members were highly competent in researching and developing content, while others were good at designing and planning, and still others played the role of educating the audience very well. This combination eventually produced a very competent team, considering that specialization is an effective strategy in the process of division of labor, which allows individuals to concentrate and specialize on the areas that they are highly competent and proficient (Kamien, 2002:127). Through this specialization and division of labor, the work process was effectively broken down into categories of tasks, and the competent individuals in such areas were offered the responsibilities. Thus, specialization and division of

Marketing of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company - Essay Example When you go to a hotel, the hotel tries to emulate this feeling by trying to make your stay convenient and comfortable. In more common occasions, the hotel falls short of this and the guest would need to frequently or occasionally call for room service just to be able to make the hotel more comfortable. Therefore, with their personalize system, you don't really need to call room service anymore because it is already automatically provided for and it gives the hotel the opportunity to call and inform the guest for point of interest that they might enjoy. Rewarding loyal customers. - Through constant visits in the hotel, more data would eventually be gathered for the guest. Therefore, making it possible to give even more precise and better service to its guests. Food preference - knowing the food preference not only makes it convenient for customers to give the company decisions for their own food, especially convenient for people who would stay for a considerable amount of time and make a routine service for food. It is like having a personal cook which knows what you want to eat without telling them. Also, it helps the company prepare the food before hand, thus cutting preparation time. No need to call for room service - Since the hotel would know what each client would like, there would virtually be less need for clients to call room service.

Song Modern Western Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Song Modern Western Philosophy Essay Your ideas are discrete autonomous and have grown with time. Long reign Geertz influential notion and thick description to the right of virtue ethics Your pursuit for a 21st century, commonly known as the Geertzian mechanics Geertz semiotic notion of culture improves the context-sensitive theory Your exploration to moral identity has a significant methodological relation This has an importance reference to historicism and cultural materialism (Cefalu, 89) Chorus *3 References Cefalu, Paul.Moral Identity in Early Modern English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print. Source document

God Loves Uganda Response Paper Essay Example for Free

God Loves Uganda Response Paper Essay I was aware of strong anti-homosexuality prejudice in Uganda from discussions with friends and some news coverage I saw on the internet. However, I was unaware of the influence of U. S. evangelical missionaries until I saw the documentary God Loves Uganda. The film’s director, Roger Ross Williams, illuminates how American missionaries in Uganda campaign to condemn homosexuality and ban condoms as part of their abstinence only education. Missionaries in the film hail from the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City, Missouri. They take direction from the charismatic Lou Engle, who is a prominent leader of the evangelical Christian right. Throughout the documentary, these missionaries speak candidly about their core religious beliefs without coercion or the trickery of film editing. The American pastor behind the anti-gay vitriol spread by these â€Å"well-meaning† IHOP missionaries is Scott Lively. It is important to note that Scott Lively is quite the conspiracy theorist and anything he says should be taken with a grain of salt. He co-founded the anti-gay group Watchmen on the Walls and authored books such as The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party, 7 Steps to Recruit-Proof Your Child, and The Poisoned Stream: â€Å"Gay† Influence in Human History (Scherr). Lively has forged relationships with Ugandan religious leaders, who preach his toxic message to their congregations. Two of the biggest myths that Lively and IHOP missionaries teach in Uganda are that homosexuality is a Western import trying to recruit children and that homosexuals can choose to be heterosexual. In Uganda, Same-sex relations have been deemed â€Å"unnatural† and laws against it have been in place forever. However, in 2009, anti-gay fervor reached new heights when the Ugandan Anti- Homosexuality Act was introduced to parliament. The bill criminalizes homosexual relations, which are punishable by life in prison or even death for serial offenders. Inspiration for the AntiHomosexuality Act directly stems from Scott Lively’s seminar titled, â€Å"Exposing the Truth Behind Homosexuality and the Homosexual Agenda†, which he presented before Ugandan Parliament. (Lapin) In conjunction with anti-homosexual propaganda, the missionaries preach that condoms should be banned, as abstinence is the key to lowering the HIV rate. The Ugandan government supports this flawed abstinence only policy. As a result, both hetero and homo sexual relations are stigmatized and condoms are not used. Therefore, disease continues to spread and wreak havoc on Ugandan society. Race and colonialism are not explicitly mentioned in the film but they are undeniable factors. Race has been beneficial to the missionaries. As ex-communicated, Bishop Christopher Senyonjo says of Ugandan’s relationship to the missionaries, â€Å"Because they are white, people believe them. † Colonizing of values is certainly happening. Africa has always been a place in which colonial aspirations come to fruition. Rather than exporting a way of governing to the colonies, missionaries are exporting religious governance. In addition to building orphanages and other good works, IHOP missionaries have exacerbated the anti-gay climate in Uganda. These people infiltrate Uganda in the name of God, demonize homosexuality as part of Biblical law, and then leave citizens to take the real law into their own hands. Consequently, LGBT people in Uganda fear for their lives. Now I must ask, is this what Jesus would want? Bibliography Lapin, Andrew. God Loves Uganda. The Dissolve. The Dissolve, 9 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. Scherr, Sonia. U. S. Anti-Gay Activists Under Fire for Role in Uganda. Souther Poverty Law Center. Intelligence Report, Apr. -May 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.

Hiring employees

Hiring employees factors when deciding the most effective way to assess the suitability of job applicant for vacancy. traditional unstructured interview most common but least effective, why still relied on by managers during selection process, and how to make selection process more effective? Explain best approach to making sound selection decisions and justify Hiring employees effectively is vital to the survival of any organisation. The hiring process consists of soliciting potential candidates during recruitment and then determining the best candidates to be employees during the selection process. The selection process, in particular, enables organisations to build and maintain a productive and motivated workforce that will be the key to their success. The objective of the selection process is to enable valid predictions of performance and effective employee decisions in potential employees. Mistakes in selection could have terrible consequences on the organisation. For example, if a company hires someone who does not have people skills and place him in customer services, it could result in loss of future sales. Therefore, it is in an organisations interest to make sound selection decisions and make the selection process as objective and scientific as possible. Any recruitment and selection process usually begins with the applicant indicating their formal interest in the vacancy. After that, there are several selection systems employed by organisations. Methods include interviews, psychological tests and performance tests. These are designed to assess the candidates knowledge, skills, personality and attitudes. Each of these methods has their strengths and weaknesses, and when evaluating each method, one should consider its practicality, sensitivity, legality, reliability and validity. Interviews are the most widely used method in the selection process, but also one of the least effective. According to the a CIPD survey from 2009, competency-based interviews is the most used method (69%), while interviews following a biographical CV and structured interviews ranked second and third respectively. Anderson (1992) summarised that interviews remain popular because of their social functions of selling, persuading and negotiating, their acceptability to interviewers and candidates, and also due to time and cost constraints. Unstructured interviews have many weaknesses and limitations, including stereotyping, the similar-to-me effect, the personal liking effect, the primary effect, and the contrast effect. Structured interviews in the form of situational interviews and behavioural interviews have proved to be more effective than unstructured ones. Behavioural interviews asking candidates how have performed in the past give good indications of how they will perform in the future. Situational interviews can find out more specifically how candidates would respond to a particular situation relevant to the job. These two types of interviews also obtain more consistent information for comparison as the same questions are asked of all candidates. Consequently, the structured approach has been criticised by Anderson (1992) as being inflexible and reduce the role of the interviewer to a mere administrator of questions, leading to potential resentment. Another selection method is psychological testing. These include cognitive tests of ability, numeracy and literacy, and personality measures. They are professionally developed and therefore checked for validity and reliability. This method is also scientific and objective, and increases the validity of selection decisions. Factors which cannot be measured through interview can also be tested in this way. This method is mostly used by larger organisations. However, racial and ethnic bias is a concern for this type of tests. Personality tests that use frameworks such as Big Five can capture up to 75% of a candidates personality. Emotional stability is an especially important trait to be tested. Performance tests require candidates to perform the job in a short period of time. These are done either by work samples or assessment centres. Work samples can give good indication with high validity of how well the candidate can perform at the job if they are designed well. However these are costly to design and must be specific to each job, having to be modified as the job changes. Assessment centres are also expensive. They assess a number of candidates together using multiple methods. New advances in technology are rapidly changing the selection process. The weighted application blank (WAB) captures data using a standardised application form and assigns weighted values to each question depending on the employee characteristic to be measured. The resulting score will then be used in making the selection decision. A study by Kaak et al. (1998) reported that the WAB is an effective selection tool that can distinguish good performers and can reduce turnover rate in the hospitality industry. It is an objective and scientific tool, and proves to be cost and time efficient once the scoring system has been established. In addition, many researchers have concluded that biodata is one of the best selection devices for predicting employee performance and turnover (Harold et al., 2006; Ployhart et al., 2006). Biodata is the life historical events that may contribute to shaping of the candidates preferences, attitudes and personality traits. Work sample and ability tests have the highest validities of over 0.4 while biodata, assessment centres and structured interviews follow closely behind. Other methods such as unstructured interviews and personality tests have lower levels of validity. Therefore, to make sound selection decisions, an organisation should use methods of high validity, taking into considering how cost efficient it is with the number of candidate expected.

Daisy Buchanan : The Great Gatsby Essay -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Behind every great man is a beautiful, charming maiden who holds his heart. What if this woman was not absorbed with taking care of his heart but was completely absorbed with money, reputation, and her own needs. In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Mrs. Daisy Fay Buchanan is the object of affection or the "rock of [Gatsby's] world."(99) All Daisy's life she has wanted to be noticed, to be heard, and to be loved. However, when everything she has always wanted is being held in her hands, in the form of Gatsby, Daisy chooses money as her form of happiness ultimately leading to her misery. Daisy's action and choices are extremely defined by her "East egg" way of life, which is a representation of old money and high class society within the novel. In short, Daisy thinks with her wallet instead of using her common sense, her head, or her heart. When reading the novel "it [seems]†¦the thing for Daisy to do [is] to [leave Tom], child in arms"(20) but unfortunately "there are no such intentions in her head". The reason being, Tom is her financial provider and equal socially. Even though Gatsby has enough money to support her now with his "drug stores" he will always be nouveau riche, a continuous flaw, according to Daisy's high class standards of life. If Daisy was not of high society or have money, she would lose what little power and influence she possesses as a woman of the 1920s. Some one as egoistical as Daisy cannot bare to be as unacknowledged like lower class society, but because Daisy is an ethereal beauty with money and charm her voice remains heard. At what cost does Daisy pay to keep her voice heard? Money allows her a form of power, yet "her face [is] sad and lo... ...burning and the heat is to the point of fatality Daisy only has Tom on her mind. Or it could mean Gatsby's love for Daisy makes the world outside around her so pleasant while Tom and his money creates nothing but a heat equal to burning fire and brimstone for Daisy's life. Though Gatsby is a great man and Daisy is the definition of charm and beauty, she will never allow herself to hold his heart. Daisy's love for money, her reputation, and her own needs have ultimately led to her down fall. Daisy chose to marry Tom and his wealth over being Gatsby's foundation of love. Daisy believed money would give her the attention, giver her the voice, and give her the love she wanted all her life. However, all she has received from pursuing money is misery. Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925.

Conflicts of Gender in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe :: Things Fall Apart

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are constant struggles between gender, identity, commodification, and class. Among the men and women in many African tribes that still exist today, there are divergences, which will always remain intact because of the culture and the way in which they are taught to treat each other. Chinua Achebe wrote the novel, Things Fall Apart, which is a great piece of African literature that deals with the Igbo culture, history, and the taking over of African lands by British colonization. The ongoing gender conflict is a prominent theme in Things Fall Apart presenting the clash between men and women of the African Igbo society. Throughout history, from the beginning of time to today, women have frequently been viewed as inferior, men’s possessions whose sole purpose was to satisfy the men’s needs. Maybe it's because men are physically stronger than women and have always had the ability to control them that way. In Things Fall Apart, the Igbo women were p erceived as being weak. They received little or no respect in the Igbo society and were harshly abused. The recurring theme of gender conflicts helps drive the novel Things Fall Apart by showing how important women are to the men, yet they do not receive the treatment they deserve. Women have many responsibilities in the Igbo society such as having children, cooking, cleaning, and farming. These are important function for women, yet they are not given much credit or meaning for their existence in the roles they fill. As Rose Ure Mezu points out â€Å"The world in Things Fall Apart is one in which patriarchy intrudes oppressively into every sphere of existence. It is an andocentric world where the man is everything and the woman nothing.† In some way Mezu is correct in saying that the man is everything and the woman nothing. The man holds the highest importance of the family and it is he who holds the titles. In Things Fall Apart, the reader follows the troubles of the main character Okonkwo, a tragic hero whose flaw includes the fact that "his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness" (2865). For Okonkwo, his father Unoka was the essence of failure and weakness.

Globalization and Drug Trafficking

Cheniece Bray Professor Hooper ENGL 1133 P19 12 November 2012 Annotated Bibliography II Working Title: Globalization and Drug Trafficking| Topic Description: Nations worldwide have been facing and losing the war on drugs for some time now. Innocent citizens are affected with the negative side effects due to drug trafficking such as violence resulting in death, lack of government assistance to halt the issue, and increase of crime rates.In this paper I would like to discuss the actions that can be taken to help stop drug trafficking worldwide, starting with one of the main drug routes from Mexico to the United States and other areas globally. I believe the war on drugs can be defeated if it is attacked by the government on every level federal, state, and local. | Working Thesis: What can be imposed to stop the violence and high crime rate related to drug trafficking and also decrease the flow of drugs across borders? | Source #1| Stout, R. (2012).Do the United States and Mexico Really Want the Drug War To Succeed? Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine, 63(8), 34. | This article stands out to me because it addresses one of my many concerns for this topic and that would be what is the government doing in order to defeat this war on drugs? Why is it so easy for drugs to travel past borders where government militia is stationed? Stout presents an argument in this article discussing what militarized efforts are being enforced to stop Mexican cartels as it seems like there is not much being done.Prosecution of offenders is not enough because even behind bars somehow kingpins still find a way for drugs to be distributed across the border into the United States. Most drug cartels â€Å"financed the construction and operation of luxurious night clubs, gourmet restaurants, and gambling activities that attracted large numbers of U. S. residents† (Stout, 2012, p. 2) making it very easy for individuals to gain access to these illegal drugs. | Source #2| Ei ght Steps to Effectively Controlling Drug Abuse And the Drug Market Retrieved from http://www. csdp. rg/news/news/8steps. htm| This online article offers many alternatives beside persecution that could be used to effectively control drug abuse and the control the striving drug market. I will use this article to help me with ideas of what policies would be best enforced inside Mexico to regulate cartels. The government is not achieving much in the war on drugs by simply putting the offenders in jail because that is costing them a lump sum of money along with the problem still ongoing because the offender will eventually get out and continue to do the same things.This article describes how the money being used to put offenders in jail could instead but used to treat, prevent, and educate offenders as the law enforcement should understand that their job is not enough to stop these powerful cartels. Drug trafficking is a problem and should be treated as one instead of a burden that cont inues to get recycled. | Source #3| Gleason C. (2008). Financial Cost of the War on Drugs Retrieved from http://suite101. com/article/financial-cost-of-the-war-on-drugs-a53068 | In this article Gleason demonstrates how much money is being spent to try and stop the war on drugs.This article will be useful to me because it will help me get a understanding of how much money is spent to house an inmate in jail who has been constantly convicted of using and selling illegal drugs, also providing and paying police officers with drug units to help stop drug trafficking. Gleason's article was useful and corresponded well the topic I chose over drug trafficking, although this article is biased it helped me formulate an opinion after I observed how much money the government has dispersed and seemingly wasted trying to prevent the use and movement of drug trafficking .This will be used in my research paper to give an example of the cost in the government trying to solve this ongoing problem. | Source #4| Jenner, M. S. (2011). International Drug Trafficking: A Global Problem with a Domestic Solution. Indiana Journal Of Global Legal Studies, 18(2), 901-927. | In this article Jenner explains many ways in which drug trafficking can be controlled, one of the ways Jenner discusses is the universal legalization of drugs.I will use this in my research paper as a policy that can be put into place to help eventually stop drug trafficking. Legalization would attack the drug market in a very sensitive matter; if drugs are legal the head â€Å"kingpins† of nations delivering narcotics, cannabis, and other drugs are unable to receive a profit from the drug trade therefore defeating the purpose of the whole process which is money and control. If this policy would ever be considered, control would then again be in the hands of the government and out of the violent drug cartels worldwide. |

Discuss The Factors That Influence Our Judgement, Thinking And Decision-Making

?Discuss some the factors which influence our thinking, judgement and decision-making Our everyday lives are filled with many choices and decisions which will impact on our lives both in the short and long-term. Our perception of the impact of these decisions on our own lives and those around us will affect how much time and effort is given to arriving at these decisions.There are several factors which impact on thinking, judgement and decision-making and it is important to note that often these occur simultaneously rather than as individual areas but in order fully understand the entire process we must analyse the factors in each individual area. While it is neither practicable or possible to consider all the factors in every decision, knowledge of the factors, process and how they interact can be of critical importance.By understanding the factors, we can ascertain how we make decisions and by gaining knowledge on the entire process, we can ultimately arrive at better decisions by being conscious of our thought and application process. How we think and apply our thought process to the decisions often determine the paths we choose to take. There are two systems, or modes, which determine how we think (Kahneman, 2011). The first system is fast, automatic, emotional and frequent and the second system is slow, logical, infrequent and conscious.The title of the Kahneman’s book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, gives us an indication of the two systems. The first system, thinking fast, is associated with quick response taking into consideration the environment in which we are in which then allows us to respond immediately. This can be important especially in times of danger and the system relies heavily on general rules and guidelines, known as heuristics. These heuristics are primarily geared towards helping us in the moment and protecting us from immediate danger and are very useful in this regard.However, the heuristics are designed to work in the environment fro m which we have evolved and outside of this environment can lead to errors. The second system, slow thinking, is the one we would normally associate with the thought process in the strictest sense. The process is a slow one which is both deliberate and conscious and we would feel that we are in control. The slow system may be used to determine what clothes we will wear today or which shares we should invest in to gain a higher return of investment. While both these systems operate in different ways, they too are interconnected and rely on each other.Any impressions that are formed through system one will be fed into system two. In situations where system one encounters an environment to which it is unfamiliar, it will automatically mobilise system two to give assistance. The information and thought process in system one is crucial in protecting us from day to day; it is nevertheless much less effective for any long term planning. Any short –comings of one system is made up fo r by the ability of the other system and combined can ensure better outcomes whether in the immediate or longer term.While the way in which we think, using either of the systems or modes of thinking described by Kahneman, is important, so too will logic play an important role in our thought process and how we reach decisions. Deductive reasoning, also known as deductive logic or logical deduction is the process of reasoning from one or more general premises or statements to reach a logical conclusion which is certain. Deductive reasoning makes a clear link between premises and conclusions and it recognises that if all premises are true and the terms are clear and the principles of deductive logic are followed then the conclusion that is reached is true.For example, if all students eat in the canteen, and Martin is a student, then Martin must eat in the canteen. Inductive reasoning, on the other hand, is reasoning whereby the premises would seek to supply strong evidence for the trut h of the conclusion. While a deductive argument is supposed to give certainty, inductive will giveprobable certainty. Using the example above, more evidence would need to be sought in order to determine of Martin does indeed eat in the canteen and it would not be taken as given until further evidence is provided.The application of either deductive or inductive reasoning will be a vital factor in our decision-making. In certain circumstances it may be suitable to apply either, depending on the importance and certainty required in decision and the impact of making assumptions. However, there are also some factors which can distort the outcome of any decision and the logic may not be true where a fallacy exists. A fallacy is â€Å"a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound arguments† (www. oxforddicionaries. com). An argument can be fallacious, irrespective whether or not the conclusion is true.There are two types of fallacy, formal and informal. A formal fallacy is an e rror that stems from a poor logical form whereas an informal fallacy is an error in reasoning that does not originate in improper logical form. A formal fallacy results in a pattern of reasoning that will always be wrong due to a flaw in the logical structure of the argument which will render the argument invalid. A fallacy can be of presumption which fails to prove the conclusion by simply assuming that the conclusion in itself is proof. A fallacy of weak inference would fail to prove the conclusion without sufficient evidence.Fallacies of distraction are those that fail to prove the conclusion with irrelevant information such as emotion while a fallacy of ambiguity would fail to prove the conclusion due to the impreciseness of the words or grammar. Some fallacies may be committed intentionally in order to either manipulate or persuade by deception or unintentionally due to a lack of understanding or carelessness. Either way, such situations can result in an alternative action than that which may have being taken if complete or accurate information was supplied.As with all information supplied for the basis of decisions, it should be checked to ensure greater accuracy throughout the decision-making process and to reduce the likelihood of judgemental biases. â€Å"Decision makers are susceptible to a number of judgemental biases that systematically lead to predictable inconsistencies and decisional errors† (Nisbett & Ross, 1980). We often use our judgement to quicken the decision-making process and we will use of judgement to assist us during this process. However, as Nisbett and Ross have identified, this process can often lead to errors.Selective perception, impression effects including primacy, regency and halo as well as framing and presentation effects and hindsight are all examples of judgemental biases with can distort our analysis and ultimately impact on our decision-making. Selective perception is whereby an individual perceives what they want from a message, in any form of communication including a picture or an advertisement, and ignoring everything else. People tend to see things from within their own frame of reference and as a result the message they receive may be distorted or inaccurate.This may occur due to the amount of information we receive and our inability to accurately process all the information our brain receives. We subconsciously scan the information that we receive and as a result we often not only see what we want to see but also what we expect to see (Plous, 1993). An example of this bias is the Hostile Media Effect, which refers to the finding that people who have strong biases towards a certain issue perceive media coverage as being biased against their opinions, irrespective of the reality. The results of a study carried outin Stanford University (Valone, Ross & Lepper, 1985), which showed news clips from the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut to both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli students, fo und thatboth sides considered the clips to be slanted in favour of the other side. The strength of our emotional attachment can have a significant influence on how we can perceive situations and can therefore distort our perception and influence our decisions. We have often heard that first impressions last so we are advised from childhood right through to preparing for interviews to make a good first impression.The basis for this is the primacy effect which â€Å"occurs when initial impressions are believed to be more relevant and important in rendering a decision than later impressions† (Williams, 2002). While this instinctive reaction is often correct, it can also be misleading and allowing us to form the wrong opinion. In such cases, because our opinion is already formed, it can be difficult to change this as we are unlikely to allow ourselves time to develop the relationship further.As well as the primacy effect occurring in instances such as the interview, it can also o ccur in situations when, for example a presentation that is presented first will leave a greater impressions, irrespective of the value of the content. In certain situations, it is, however the most recent incident which will be perceived to be most relevant and this is referred to the regency effect. This is often the case when recalling words or number or even items such as when contestants on TV shows such as The Generation Game would recall the items that had previously passed before them on a conveyor belt.Research showed that in most cases, contestants recalled the last item first in most instances (www. bbc. co. uk). The timing of when a decision will be made is a crucial factor and if a decision is to be delayed by as much as a week, then the primacy effect will take precedence whereas if the second or final argument isn’t delivered until a later date then the regency effect will carry more weight. Another factor which may influence our judgement and decision making i s the so-called ‘halo effect’, a cognitive bias whereby the judgement of a person’s character is influenced by one’s overall impression.The manner in which this can manifest itself it best illustrated with an example: you are at a party and meet a friendly person. Later that week you have asked to become involved in a charity event and are seeking sponsorship. You contact the person you met at the party as you suspect they will make a donation. In reality, there is no link between the pleasant nature of the person you met at the party and generosity. Yet, the halo effect is leading you towards the assumption that the two are connected.Many people use the halo effect to sway peoples judgement and it very often exploited by politicians. A local GP may seek election to local or national government having made numerous promises in their bid for election. The electorate may determine that because they are educated and medically qualified they will make good pol iticians. In reality, there is no correlation between the two but the halo effect in many cases convinces the electorate. The opposite of the halo effect is known as the devils horns effect and is essentially the reverse.If a negative characteristic is identified in an individual, then further negative attributes may be associated with them without sufficient evidence. In order to try and form a balanced and more objective opinion, it is important to be aware of the existence of the halo or devil’s horns effect and begin to ascertain what the actual characteristics or traits rather than simply forming an opinion without sufficient evidence. How information is both presented and framed to the decision maker can impact on their final judgement.The manner in which the information is received can impact on how the information is processed. For example, if we are asked how if we consider if someone is tall or small, or if the question of weight is presented as how large or small i s someone, we may give different opinions. Similarly, anchoring may occur when the questions is presented with data which may influence the decision-maker. Anchoring is the â€Å"act of basing a judgement on a familiar reference point that is incomplete or irrelevant to the problem that is being solved† (www.businessdictionary). Again, the manner in which the information is presented may influence the decision-maker. In the event of a company deciding on a projected return-on-investment, the CFO may ask the general manger if a 15% return would be acceptable. The general manger may anchor to the figure of 15%, whereas this should not be a reference point at all and if the information was presented with a certain tone, the general manager’s opinion may be swayed by this too.â€Å"When information becomes an anchor, we adjust insufficiently form that amount when making decisions† (Williams, 2002). Our decisions are also influenced how a problem is framed. This effe ct can occur when decisions makers are more inclined to avoid risk and problems are famed as gains and when they may seek risk problems are viewed as losses. Framing can also influence the decision maker when the information is presented in a positive rather than a negative manner. For example, there is a 90% chance of a positive return of investment rather than a 10% chance of a loss.In order to minimise presentation and framing effects and reduce the tendency to anchor, it can be beneficial to review the number of items under consideration in order to get a better picture of the situation in question. This can remove any bias by ensuring a greater range and reduces the focus from the presented information to increases the overall assessment and reduce and judgement bias. Hindsight, or the ‘knew it all along effect', can also have an impact on our judgement. It refers to the inclination to recall past events as being more predictable than they were prior to the event taking p lace.Hindsight bias may lead to memory distortion whereby those recalling the past events can reconstruct the event in such a manner that it leads to false or misleading theoretical outcomes. Studies carried out by Kahneman and Tversky show that the effect can cause problems when trying to analyse, interpret and understand results. One of the basic problems with hindsight it that the person may consider that they â€Å"knew it all along†, and examples have been cited in historians accounts of battles and in judicial systems when responsibility is being attributed.In business, hindsight may influence a decision and may cause an element of overconfidence in the decision when the decision maker sees themselves who remember correctly when in fact they are forgetting they made the wrong decision the first time. â€Å"The illusion that we understand the past fosters overconfidence in our ability to predict the future† (Kahneman, 2012). When faced with new information, hindsi ght can cause the distortion in the original analysis and can lead impact on future similar decisions In making any decisions, as outlined above, how we think and the factors that influence our judgement are critical.However, the factors that influence our decision making process is not limited to those. Groupthink, the levels of risk associated with the decisions, the rationality of the decision-maker as well as cultural and political influences all play an important role in influencing our decision making. Understanding the role of all these factors and how they ultimately influence to decision-making process us can assist us in making better informed decisions. Groupthink can occur within a group of people when a desire for conformity within the group results in an incorrect outcome in the decision-making process.The members of the group, in an effort to avoid conflict and reach a general consensus, do not critically review or evaluate the ideas sufficiently as doing so may resul t in isolation. As a result of groupthink, there is a loss of creativity and there is little or no encourage for independent thinking, which can lead to a dysfunctional group. The group is likely to encounter an illusion of invulnerability, an inflated certainty that they have made the right decisions and â€Å"to deterioration in mental efficiency, reality testing and moral judgments as a result of group pressures†, (Janis, 1972).Janis has extensively researched ways to avoid groupthink including the examination of all alternatives, an independent leader and the appointment of a ‘devil’s advocate’. He also advocated the â€Å"vigilant appraisal â€Å", (Janis, 1982), as used by President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis when the President invited experts in to give their opinion and allowed those experts to be questioned. The level of uncertainty and risk is an important factor influencing the decision-maker. The entire process is an attempt to t ry to reduce, or, if possible remove risks and uncertainties.The decision makers risk preference will also impact on the level of risk and uncertainty which will remain. In the face of uncertainty, key decisions may be put on hold until such time as the level of uncertainty is eliminated or, at least, reduced. It is important to note that there is a distinction between risk and uncertainty. Uncertainty is the situation whereby multiple outcomes are possible but are not yet known whereas risk is a situation of uncertainty whereby the possible outcomes will involve some degree of losses dependent on the actual outcome of the situation.The decision maker’s perception of risk, the framing of the risk and the level of personal involvement will also be a factor in the final decision and these will assist to determine the level of control the decisions maker has over the situation. The level of control the decision maker will play an important role because while a particular action may be riskier it may be taken if greater control can be exerted on the possible outcomes.In most situations the level of risk will never be completely eliminated, however it is important that all actions are taken to reduce its impact and in this regard a good understanding of our perception of risk and risk preference is a key consideration. In making any decision, it is usually assumed the person or persons making the decision will act in a rational manner. A rational decision maker will use â€Å"a method for systematically selecting among possible choices that is based on reason and facts† (www.businessdictionary. com). During the process those tasked with making the decision will often use a number of analytical steps to review the facts and possible outcomes before they decide on what course of action to pursue. A rational decision is one that is not only reasoned but one that is the optimal one for solving a problem or for achieving a goal. Determining the optimum cou rse of action will require collating and quantifying information and making several key assumptions.These assumptions must be clearly identified, otherwise, the decision maker may be seen to be acting in their own self-interest, and thus in an irrational manner. â€Å"Good decision making involves sufficient search for possibilities, evidence and goals, and fairness in the search for evidence and in inference†, (Baron,1991). However, the decision-maker may also be limited bounded rationality by the amount of information available to them, the time constraints imposed upon them, the cognitive limitation of their minds or the amount of resources, financial and non-financial at their disposal.This notion of bounded rationality was proposed by Herbert Simon whereby â€Å"the decision-makers lack the ability and resources to arrive at the optimal solution, they instead apply their rationality only after having greatly simplified the choices available† (www. princton. edu). Thus, it can be argued that the decision maker’s choice will be limited given the information available to them and the ability of those to act in rational manner, and they will often become satisfiers, seeking a satisfactory outcome rather than an optimal one.We constantly strive to make the best possible decisions and to make the most rational decisions can. However, as outlined above, we are subject to bounded rationality and therefore must, in reality try to determine the best possible outcome. The decisions we make are also affected by our nature, our chemical make-up, our environment and importantly, the role our emotions play. Our emotions can often overrule our reasoning and affect our logical approach to decisions, and it is important that we take time to consider options and alternatives before making unnecessary impulsive decisions.The desire to make quick and compulsive decisions can result in good decisions on occasions but finding an ability to restrict our incl ination to make compulsive decisions, which can be strongly influence by our emotions, can often result in improved decision making. Decision making is part of everyday life both personally and professionally. As outlined above there are many factors which influence our thinking, judgement and decision-making.However, the factors and process is not limited to those mentioned but also involves consideration of a cost/benefit analysis, which will impact of the rationality of the decision, as well as the emotional condition and level of involvement of those making the decisions and there may even be an element of luck, however â€Å"the idea that large historical events are determined by luck is profoundly shocking, although it is demonstrably true† (Kahneman, 2012). The time horizon and the effects of any decision should, where possible, be considered in the context of both the short and long-term to fully understand its implications.It is evident that the entire process does n ot involve one, or even several of the factors mentioned, but is rather a combination of both conscious and subconscious actions which, when combined, will impact on the decision. It is also clear that the correct or most favourable decision will not always be reached but recognition of the processes and the factors which influence our thinking, judgement and decision making will ensure that the choices we make will be better informed and therefore result in greater probability that the decisions we make are the optimal ones.

“My Bondage and My Freedom”

My Bondage and My Freedom is Frederick Douglass’ second autobiography, written in 1855.   It is important to remember that this work was written before Abraham Lincoln was elected President and before the Civil War. Slavery was becoming a volatile issue in the South and was threatening to split our young nation in two.   Additionally, it is important to remember that while slavery had some supporters in other sections of the nation, it was mainly a Southern issue. This is where the slaves were bought and sold and this is where the plantations depended so heavily on slave labor to be able to produce a product that was then sold and reaped great profits.   White American’s attitude differed depending on where they lived and how close they were to the issue; for the purpose of this paper the focus will be on attitudes in the South. In 1790 all white persons were granted citizenship in the United States.   This indicates how most white people felt about African Americans.   They were seen as, at best, a lower class and, at worst, no better than the animals that helped around the farm; the cows and the horses.   However, in some small towns slaves became part of the family and the family worked alongside their slaves to ensure survival.   This, unfortunately, was not Douglass’ experience.   Douglass writes, â€Å"After the valuation, then came the division.   This was an hour of high excitement and distressing anxiety.   Our destiny was now to be fixed for life, and we had no more voice in the decision of the question, than the oxen and cows that stood chewing at the haymow.† (138) Choices afforded to slaves were few and far between.   They were told where they would work, live, and be.   If they were lucky, they worked in a home where it was warm and relatively comfortable.   If they were unlucky or rebellious they were sent to slave breakers who were considered professionals at breaking the will of slaves who constantly ran or disobeyed their owners.   Douglass writes of his experience with one such man whom he calls Mr. Covey.   â€Å"I was a victim of his violence and brutality.   Such a narration would fill a My Bondage and My Freedom   volume much larger than the present one.   I aim only to give the reader a truthful impression of my slave life, without unnecessarily affecting him with harrowing details.† (170)   As any reader could see, slaves really had no choices.   Little more, yet enough more to make it appealing, were afforded free African Americans in America.   Douglass writes of the isolation of being a free slave, â€Å"For a time, every door seemed closed against me.   A sense of my loneliness and helplessness crept over me, and covered me with something bordering on despair.   In the midst of thousands of my fellowmen, and yet a perfect stranger!† (253) In his life Douglass chose not to give into the helplessness or despair that he writes of.   He chose to speak out and found himself at home with the abolitionist cause.   Douglass was an eloquent orator who constantly strove to bring his people into a different light.   One of his main objectives was to, â€Å"Chang(e) the estimation in which the colored people of the United States were held.† (xxiii)   He would do this through educating himself, through the speeches he gave, through the books he published and through newspapers like the North Star.   It seems he chose to educate rather than violate. The ramification of Douglass’ life and his choices were felt far and wide.   From the early beginnings of the abolitionist movement to the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment, to the eventual de-segregation of schools in the 1950’s, early pioneers of the anti-slavery movement set the wheels in motion for later events. Douglass closes his book by saying, â€Å"I shall labor in the future, as I have labored in the past, to promote the moral, social, religious, and intellectual elevation of the free colored people; never forgetting my own humble origin, nor refusing, while Heaven lends me ability, to use my voice, my pen, or my vote, to advocate the great and primary work of the universal and unconditional emancipation of my entire race.† (300)   His work and his words still continue today.

Montessori Math

Montessori is an approach which many have adopted these days as a teaching method for children in preschool. The materials which they use create an environment that is developmentally appropriate for the children. Montessori believes that with the helped of trained teachers and the proper environment which the children are placed in, intelligence and different skills will be developed in the child (Casa Montessori, 1997-2009). In addition, one of the main aims of Montessori is develop children to become life long , independent learners. Instead of following the tradition teaching methods whereby teachers would present the students with all the facts and information that they need to know, the teachers trained in Montessori teaching would ask questions and direct the children in a way where they have to look for the answers themselves. In the learning process, the teachers would basically motivate the children to be actively engaged in their learning and to think independently (Seldin, 2010). The basis of the Montessori approach is that learning through experience and going through the process of investigating and discovery is one of the most effective ways for a child to learn. Montessori also believes that children do not learn by memorising information given to them but from concrete experiences that interests them. This is why Montessori focus on different creating different developmentally appropriate concrete learning tools and materials that stimulates the child into logical thinking and discovery for subjects such as mathematics, sensory development, language and so on (Seldin, 2010). With regards to mathematics, the Montessori approach sees sensorial training as a very important platform which aids in the learning of basic arithmetic. The wide variation of materials Montessori has to cater to mathematics allows children to familiarize themselves with numbers at an early age (Modern Montessori International, 2006). They focus on using sensorial materials because they are precise and exact. They believe that it is important for the children to work with materials that are exact and so that they can be exposed to isolated concepts, learn through repetition and rom there draw the main principle of each and have a clear abstraction. All these concepts would help the child to order his mind and enable him to classify different experiences. This is because having a clear perception and the ability to classify things help the child to learn how to be precise in their conclusions. Working with sensorial materials prepares the children for the study of progression and sequ encing as it builds up spatial representations of quantities and form imagines of magnitudes (Montessori Primary Guide). Montessori believes that before a child can start learning mathematics, he or she must explore and accept the notions of idealized things with isolated qualities and to practice the requisite intellectual skills (Modern Montessori International, 2006). First of all, exposing the child to early sensorial activities is used to introduce the idealization of things and isolation of qualities to them. This is because allowing the child to work with sensorial materials gives them the opportunity to deal with isolated qualities physically and hence acquire the sensibility of what mathematics is all about. Secondly, the child must be introduced to the intellectual skills needed for mathematics such as exactness, calculation and repetition. Practical activities such as pouring beans into a jug or sweeping the floor can help children acquire such skills. It is believed that when children reach age four, they are ready to start learning mathematics. However, prior to that, the children have to establish certain things such as internal order, precise movement, work habits, the child must be able to complete a work cycle, follow a process and are able to work with symbols (Modern Montessori Guide). That is why there are developmentally appropriate ways for the children to explore arithmetic. The material first begins with concrete experiences such as the number rods and cards where the children are able to work with such materials to learn the different concepts of numbers. This would also help the child as they work towards the abstract stage of solving mathematical sums. The mathematics in Montessori is organized into six groups. Group 1 is Introduction to Numbers, group 2 is the Introduction to the Decimal System, group 3 is the Introduction to Teen Board, group 4 is the Operation of Decimal System, group 5 is the Introduction to Recording and Arithmetic Tables and group 6 is Abstraction. Firstly, group 1 which is the Introduction to Numbers introduces the units of quantity up to 10. The focus group for this group is for children age 3 and a half onwards and the main aim of this group is to help children learn the names of numbers, understand the value of each number and to memorise the number sequence. Secondly, for the in group 2, The Introduction to the Decimal System, the children are given concrete experiences with units with tens, hundreds and thousands as tools to introduce them to the decimal system. As for the third group which covers the Introduction to Teen Board, it helps the children to understand the different numbers within a hundred. Fourthly, group 4 which covers the Operation of Decimal System gets children to work with beans when doing the operation and is usually done at a sensorial and group level. The fifth group is the Introduction to Recording and Arithmetic Tables. Children at this level work individually with the materials and area also introduced to recording at the same time. The children will use strips, boards and beads that help in giving them material demonstration of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. In addition, these board games do help them children to memorise tables. And lastly group 6 is covers Abstraction. This level is a transition to abstraction which helps the children to internalize the different functions of arithmetic. The materials used by Montessori are of progressing difficulty. The child would first be introduced to a quantity in isolation and then a name would be given for it. After which, the child would be given the opportunity to associate the quantity and the symbol. Using an example for the number rod exercise, we can see that the children are first introduced to the numbers by itself when they are asked to count the rods. Subsequently, the teachers would go on and teach the children how to match the numerals to its values by matching the number cards to the rods. The focus group for this group is for children age 3 and a half onwards and the main aim of this group is to help children learn the names of numbers, understand the value of each number and to memorise the number sequence. With regards to Montessori, sequence is always given in all of the work and the children are taught to establish a sequence in everything they do. I believe that is how the children learn how the numbers go in sequence (Modern Montessori Guide). The advantage of this exercise is that the units of each number rod are fixed. Therefore, this reduces any possibility of confusion that might arise. Moreover, the children will be able to absorb the concept into the unconscious easily and hence teach them the names of the numbers before the child grasp the abstract conception (Montessori Mom, 2009). The materials by Montessori give the children the experience that they need to arrive and progress to begin working independently. Some of the activities are directed by teachers but all these activities would have to be followed up with activities which allow the children to work on their own. The children are only allowed to progress to the next level when they have fully understood the previous stage (Modern Montessori Guide). Thus, the children will only be able to progress to the decimal stage when they have finished the first level. As mentioned above, the children will start to learn about the decimal system in group 2. This teacher directed exercise is done for children age 4 years and above. What the teacher will do first is that she will put beads on a tray and place it on a table with the unit on the right and the thousand on the left. After which, the teacher will bring the unit of bead from the tray and put it on the mat and say â€Å"this is a unit†, and put the bead back on the tray. Subsequently, the teacher will bring out the tens bars and indicate to the children that â€Å"this is a ten†. And the teacher will do likewise for the hundreds and thousands. After all these have been taught, the teacher will follow up with the second period where she will place all four materials (unit/ tens/ hundreds/ thousands) at random and get the child to show her the unit she wants. In the last period, the teacher will take a random unit out and ask the child what it is. So for example, the teacher will take a cube and get the child to name what it is. The main aims of this exercise is firstly, that the children will learn the terms â€Å"thousands, ten and unit†, that they can understand the decimal system and that the child will be able to understand the relative values of one, ten, hundred and thousand. Following that, in order to teach the children how to associate the quantities with the numerals from 11 to 10 and to teach the children how to count from 11 – 19, the teachers would use materials such as a sequin board, 9 ten bead bars and a set of short bead stair. The different boards would be arranged on the floor and teacher would arrange the 9 ten bars to the right of the board. She would then ask the child to lay the out the short bead stair to the right of the ten bars. After which, the teacher would stack the numeral cards n order going from 1 to 9 and place the stack to the right of the board. With that the teacher will ask the child what the first number on the board is. When the child says 10, she will ask him to place a 1 ten bead bar to the left of the board and when she asks the child what comes after ten, the child will have to make 11 by adding 1 to the 10 bead bar. After that, she will get the child to place the numeral card with the number. She will continue to do this until the number 19. In order to teach the children numbers up till 99, the steps that the teachers do will also be similar to what they do with teaching the children from 11 to 19. As we can see, just like what was mentioned above, the procedures that Montessori adopts is one that has sequence. The children would progress step by step slowing adding on to what they know. Many have criticized Montessori’s method of using strings of beads to teach numbers as being clumsy or materialistic. However, they believe that it is necessary for the children to understand numbers because it would be easier for a child to work with concrete materials patiently if he or she is unable to get a clear idea of abstraction (Montessori Mom, 2009). The beads chain is used to give the child an understanding of the relative value of 1, 10 and 100. The teacher would place the chain and the 100 square next to each other, telling the child that the bead chain and the 100 square are the same. She will then start the exercise by asking the child to pull the chain into a straight vertical line and ask the child to count every single bead in the first bar. When the child comes to the 10th bead, the child would be asked to place the first number label 10, next to the ten beada. He will continue for the rest of the tens (20, 30, 40) until 100. In the next level, the children would progress to the stage where the teacher will develop their understanding of working of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. For example, in the exercise for addition, the teacher will show the children how to lay the materials out. A large number card is laid out in column and the 2 sets of small number cards are laid side by side. The teacher tells the children that they are going to work with addition problems. After that, the teacher makes addends in small number cards and puts one in each tray. She will then get the children to go to the bank and get the appropriate beads. After the children have done so, she has to show the children how to put the beads and the different quantities on the mat. The teacher will then explain to the children how she is going to add the different quantities and units that are there. She will get one child to place the large number card and show him where to place the card. A second child will be asked to bring down the 10s, count them and bring the large number card. She will repeat all the steps with the 100s and 1000s. Following that, children will start to learn composition and de-composition of numbers 1 to 10. This is for children age 5 onwards. The teacher will ask the child to build the stairs with the number rods on the mat. She will bring down the rod number 10 and get the child to count it. After which she would bring down the rod number 9 and get the child to count it as well. She will then ask the child â€Å"how many more do we need to make the number 10? † and the child will be required to go and take down the appropriate number rod. The teacher will continue this exercise using different combinations given to the child. The main aims of this exercise are to show the child the working of addition and to provide further practice in addition. In addition, this would also give the idea that two quantities added together make one large quantity. At the last level, the children will learn individual sums using different materials. For example, in the addition without changing exercise, the children will be introduced to individual addition sums using the golden beads and work cards, they will learn how tor record answers as further practice, it serves as an intermediate stage in the progression from concrete to abstract and to practice changing whenever it’s necessary. For this case, the teacher will remind the children that the colored lines corresponds to the numbers of large numeral cards and get them to read the first number (e. 4675). The child will then have to look for the corresponding beads and place them on the mat. After which, the child will read the next sum and have to bring the corresponding beads out as well. The child will then be asked to add all the units and record his answer. The teacher will repeat this with the tens, hundreds and thousands. Once the child has down all 4 sums, he will have to chec k his answer at the back of the cards. It has been said that children will soon grow out of using manipulatives such as blocks and beads to learn mathematics. Once they have reached the stage where they are familiar and are confident in using that method, they will want to go on to something of a higher difficulty level. This is when the teachers can start teaching them numbers with concrete objects (Montessori Mom, 2009). As the materials used for the different groups are developmentally appropriate, the children are able to learn the different concepts at a progressively level. At each stage they would learn something new which adds on to their prior knowledge. This is how the Montessori curriculum works. We can see that it all starts with the children learning the concept of numbers with the number rods and number cards and soon start progressing to learn decimals, addition, subtraction and learning how to group numbers together into tens, hundreds and thousands (Montessori Mom, 2009). Therefore it is important to introduce the fundamentals of mathematics in the early years during preschool where it would be easier for the child to grasp the concepts easily using concrete materials. The foundation of mathematics would have impact the children’s academic growth in years to come (Montessori Mom, 2009).

Air travel

Aircraft Utilization: The most basic metric for an airline is aircraft utilization. This is a measure of the average number of hours that each aircraft is flying in each 24 hour period. Planes that are flying are probably making money. Planes that are sitting on the ramp, whether undergoing maintenance, suffering delays due to weather or waiting for crews to fly them are not making money. Utilization is a statistic that varies from carrier to carrier and is normally considered a closely guarded corporate trade secret and is not tracked by government. Part of the art in running an airline is keeping utilization high. Load Factor: The next most important metric for an airline is the Load Factor, which measures the percentage of available seats that are filled during a specific period. In 2007 load factors for major airlines ranged from 72-84%[citation needed]. In 2008 U. S. airlines averaged a Load Factor of 79. 74% on domestic flights and 78. 74% on International flights [1] Available Seat-Miles (ASM): The ASM metric is used to track seat supply among airlines. ASM is equal to the number of available seats times the number of miles flown. Revenue Passenger-Miles (RPM): RPM measures the number of seat miles flown for which the company earned revenues. That is, RPM equals the number of filled seats times the number of miles flown. Yield: The amount of revenue earned per RPM is known as the airlines yield. This metric is generally expressed in cents and ranged from 9. 8-13. 1 cents for the major airlines in the first half of 2007[citation needed]. Fuel Costs: Most factors that affect the profitability of airlines are fairly stable, except for fuel costs. Fuel costs are facing extreme risk from the threat of Peak Oil. During January 2009, airline fuel costs averaged $1.76 USD per gallon[2]. Trends and Forces Joseph Weisenthal said in a recent post Airline-In-A-Box: Few businesses have as many variables and challenges as airlines. They are capital-intensive. Competition is fierce. Airlines are fossil fuel dependent and often at the mercy of fuel price volatility. Operations are labor intensive and subject to government con trol and political influence. And a lot depends on the weather. The Dual Mandate Problem The general public, including most investors, is not aware that congress long ago created what is referred to as a dual mandate for regulation of the airline industry. This means that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is a sub-agency under the U. S. Department of Transportation (U. S. DOT), is charged with both the promotion of the airlines and the safety regulation of the airlines. This creates an obvious conflict of interest and the dual mandate has been questioned and criticized for decades. The question has been asked if the FAA should be divided into two separate divisions, one that would function as a Department of Airline Promotion and another that would function as a Department of Safety. Another proposed solution is to shift the sky police functions involving safety to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Although the NTSB seems like it might be a good solution to police safety, the political realities of the U. S. Congress, the FAA hierarchy and the extreme size and funding imbalance between the two agencies make it impractical and unlikely that any shift would be feasible. The FAA generally maintains that they do not directly promote the airlines, which is true in the sense that the public doesnt see billboards and television commercials and email campaigns from the FAA promoting airlines. However, the FAA indirectly promotes the airlines in a huge way on a daily basis by imposing generally lax standards and enforcement. In fact, it is a well known historical fact that the FAA is so bad at safety enforcement that there exists what is called in the airline industry the Tombstone Imperative which refers to the fact that over and over again the FAA has known about serious safety issues and refused to correct them and the result was dead people. PGSanalyst 21:11, March 14, 2009 (PDT) The Railway Labor Act Problem The general public, including most investors, is also not aware that labor in the airline industry is regulated by the Railway Labor Act. This is arguably amazingly strange and curious that one of the major modern industries, developed in the early 20th century, and now providing part of the industrial backbone for commerce and industry in the 21st century, is regulated by a body of law that was originally passed to protect wealthy railroad investors from railroad strikes in 1877. As a general rule, airline labor is not allowed to strike, similar to the prohibition on strike actions for Federal Employees and employees of some states. For example, the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) functions as the collective bargaining agent for most, but not all, of the airlines in the U. S. and most ALPA collective bargaining contract terms provide very, very limited circumstances under which a strike is legally authorized. Another example of the difficulty of labor expressing its grievances by means of a strike is the 1981 Professional Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) strike that ended with President Ronald Reagan firing the controllers by using the authority of the Taft-Hartley Act that was passed in 1947 to greatly reduce the power and influence of unions in the U.S. The basic thing for a wise investor to understand about labor issues is that happy people are generally more productive than unhappy people and limiting by means of regulations peoples right to express their grievances may not promote happiness of the labor pool and thus adds risk to investments in those businesses in industries affected by labor relations ris ks. PGSanalyst 21:11, March 14, 2009 (PDT) Consolidation After the events of 9/11, the domestic commercial airline industry went into a precipitous freefall, prompting consolidation of several airlines and bankruptcies of others. Elimination of airlines, through consolidation or bankruptcy, benefit both revenuesthrough higher faresand costs by eliminating redundant expenses and routes. Additional terrorist attacks or declines in the overall domestic economy could accelerate consolidation as weaker airlines get acquired by financially stronger ones or become insolvent. Airlines worldwide have also sought to share costs by creating partnerships or alliances. Through these agreements, airlines can share facilities and operational costs (e. g. , maintenance facilities, sales offices) and negotiate volume discounts on large purchases. Passengers benefit from lower prices (due to lower expenses) as well as optimized routes and pooled loyalty rewards, especially in regards to international travel. Since the deregulation of the airline industry begain, airline ownership has been limited to companies and individuals of the operating country. THis has prevented major international mergers and acquisitions from occuring. Recently, the US government has announced its intentions to relax these regulations and clear the way for international ma deals in the airline industry. This could create significant cost-saving and synergy in the rapidly deteriorating industry. The three major global alliances are: Spotlight on Oil Prices Oil Prices are a key factor for airline operations because Jet Fuel costs are directly linked to the cost of the oil that must be refined to produce Jet Fuel. In 2008 fuel is constituting about 34% of an airlines costs, as opposed to about 13% in 2002. [4] For the budget airlines such as Jet Blue and AirTran, this share rises to nearly 50%. The rise has been very drastic just in the first six months of 2008. At the start of the year, jet fuel cost $850 a metric ton. As of June, the cost is now approximately $1300 a ton. [6] Jet fuel is extremely correlated with spot petroleum prices, which have risen significantly over the past several years. On the flip side, the stock prices of domestic airlines tends to be highly negatively correlated to jet fuel prices, indicating the sensitivity of this historically low-margin business to fuel expenses. In an exogenous event for the fuel procurement of airlines, oil companies are increasingly making airlines pay up front for fuel. In the past, the airlines were allowed to use fuel on credit and pay up to weeks later. Now, the oil refiners are eliminating this free credit line and making the carriers prepay. This will cause a negative shift in the short term cash situation for the airlines as they can no longer keep cash from revenues on the books for this credit line period. On June 4, the International Air Transport Association drastically lowered their profit forecasts for the industry. The group now projects that global airlines will collectively lose $2. 3 billion if oil averages $107 for 2008. If the price averages $135 for the last six months of the year, airlines will lose $6. 1 billion. [8] However, on 1 October 2008 Northwest Airlines (NWA) CEO Doug Steenland claimed that his company can maintain profitability even if oil stays at $100 a barrel. [9] Some airlines have utilized hedges to lock in the price of fuel and hence insulate themselves from oil price volatility. Southwest was perhaps the most forward-looking of airlines, and has hedged significant portions of its fuel expenses through 2010 at various prices per barrel below the current market rate. The company will reap benefits compared to other airlines if oil prices continue to rise or remain at current levels. On the other hand, if prices fall below Southwests hedging levels, they will be at a disadvantage to other airlines. American Airlines and United Airlines, on the other hand, have no remaining fuel hedges in the foreseeable future as of 2008. Other airlines have limited remaining hedges. Peak Oil Peak Oil experts from the oil industry are already warning of impending catastrophic drops in oil production that will severely limit the future growth of the airline industry and cause extreme increases in Jet Fuel costs and other oil related costs including fuel for airline support infrastructure such as maintenance vehicles, External Ground Power Units (GPUs), crew transportation vans, airline food costs, etc. , etc.. Some scientists and industry experts are seriously discussing the viability of the entire global airline industry and asking the question of whether their grandchildren will ever even fly on a commercial aircraft? The mere fact that these questions are being asked and remain unresolved should cause a wise investor to carefully consider the long and short term impacts of Peak Oil on the airline industry as a whole. PGSanalyst 21:23, March 14, 2009 Business vs. Leisure Travel Business travel is important to the commercial airline industry for two major reasons. First, it commands a much higher average ticket cost, approximately 5 times higher than the average leisure fare. Second, business travel is less elastic changes in macro-economic trends than leisure travel, which may be considered a form of luxury. In the past 24 months, leisure fares have dropped slightly, ranging from $110 to $100 In the same time frame, business fares have increased significantly, from around $350 to $500 Domestic vs. International Travel International travel accounts for about one-third of all traffic and capacity for the major carriers. Comparing 2007 year to date to the same time period in 2006, these major carriers saw international travel increase by about 5% , which is faster than domestic travel, which was relatively flat. Growth in domestic travel has been soaked up in large part by the regional discount carriers such as Southwest and AirTran. History of Airline Bankruptcies Raises Risk Concerns For Investors Over the period from 1990 through 2006 the Air Transportation Association of America reports that domestic airlines posted a cumulative loss of $22 billion on cumulative revenues $1,866 billion. Since 1978, when commercial aviation was deregulated, no fewer than 137 carriers have filed for bankruptcy protection. And from the end of World War II, when aviation started to become big business, through 1994, the sum of the industrys profits and losses was less than zero. Warren E. Buffett once remarked that it would have been a blessing for shareholders if someone had thought to shoot down Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk. [11] One reason the major airlines are at higher risk for bankruptcy is that they use huge amounts of fixed capital wide-body jets go for $100 million each and cant be readily liquidated which explains why many airlines do not own their aircraft but lease them instead. Airlines also depend on a highly skilled labor force that requires large cash flow into training, benefits and pensions. Consider some other businesses for a moment: Microsoft has highly skilled programmers but little invested capital. Merrill Lynch has both, but its assets stocks and bonds mostly could be liquidated overnight. Steel has high fixed capital, but it can replace its workers more easily. Unbundling of costs usually bundled in ticket prices Business practices for much of the history of the airlines included bundling all costs of travel into a single ticket price. Although some unbundling of the costs in tickets has occurred to various degrees at some airlines in different parts of the world, since the summer 2008 spike in fuel costs many airlines have chosen to broaden the practice, for example, charging the passenger for each piece of checked baggage b) Forces in the macro environment In terms of the case, it suggests that the environment of airline companies is not very stable, especially the increasing price of fuel which is the key driver of change. From Ryanair profit statement (Exhibit 1a) it shows the fuel and oil cost has increased by â‚ ¬200 million from 2005 to 2006. The increase in fuel costs is 74 percent. The impact to the airlines companies is obvious and the budget airlines may face the trouble more so than normal airlines. Moreover, airline companies also have to concentrate on some other issues. For example, according to the case, they are facing the risks from terrorist attacks which are difficult to predict. It is not difficult to find the changeability, however it is complex to the airline environment. Some factors, such as legal action and customer demand, also have influence on them. Some of these such as the price of fuel and oil can be predicted, while some of them cannot. Audit environmental influences The Pestel Analysis is employed to identify macro-environment influences of the airline industry. Political: Government wants to strengthen the economy and, consequently, will support local airlines by setting rules, such as preferential rights. Every government however, will probably do so. Therefore there’s no obvious advantage between competitions. The political issues have a wide range of effect, so they are not the key points that budget airlines are facing. Economic: This is identified as the most crucial factor to airline companies, especially to budget airlines. The influences refer to the macro-economic factors such as the national growth rates and the exchange rates. As budget airlines, they will pay more attention to the operation costs such as fuel cost. It became a big issue for budget airlines because of the increasing cost of fuel. That may reduce the advantages and the companies will be less competitive than before. On the other hand, the recession will lead more people to choose budget airlines. Social: With the development of Asian countries in particular China, there are more and more people deciding to study or travel in Europe. In recent years, the lifestyle of local people has also changed. They tend to travel abroad to enjoy their lives. Most of these people are not wealthy such as student. The budget airlines therefore, will be their best choice to reduce the travel costs. Technological: The innovation of technology helps the airline companies reduce costs and carry out tasks more effectively. The new type of aircraft can help to reduce the burning of fuel; and new technology can also make the security check more efficient and accurate. Environmental: European countries pay more attention on environmental issues, especially greenhouse gases from carbon emissions. Moreover in terms of the case, airline companies have to pay the environmental taxes for the contributions they make to global warming. In particular, it is bad news for budget airlines. Costs will increase and the companies want to maintain good brand image in the consumer’s perception. Furthermore, noise pollution and energy consumption cannot be ignored under such conditions. Legal: Some legal actions such as preferential airport rights are directed against the specific airlines. As budget airlines, which have higher competitive power, they should pay more attention to the legal forces to prevent loss. On the contrary, they can also take the initiative over illegal aid to rivals. Stage 3 – Determine industry specific factors (this stage will be analysed in Question 2) Stage 4 – Identify competitive position (this stage will be analysed in Question 3) Stage 5 – Identify key opportunities and threats There are many potential opportunities for the airline companies. For instance, the recession may lead to more people choosing the budget airline rather than the expensive ones; new technology which helps to reduce the usage of fuel; government set the tax at a lower percentage. On the other hand, the increasing cost of fuel may be the most significant issue most budget airlines face. What’s more, the compensation to passengers, terrorism and security, and customers’ satisfactions will all have potential negative impacts on the airline. In order to achieve lower costs, budget airlines will have to reduce costs from many departments and operations. That’s why lots of customers are not satisfied with the budget airlines except for the price. Question 2 Prepare a Porter Five Forces analysis of the budget airline industry. Express Ryanair’s perspective of these forces. The threat of entry There are high barriers to enter the budget airline industry. i) High investment requirements. Economies of scale are important in the airline industry. It is difficult for new entrants to match others existing competitors. In addition to this, the operational experiences cannot be acquired in such short space of time. ii) Expected retaliation. Retaliation will take place when new entrants appear for budget airlines, it will probably be in the form of a price war due to costs of entry being very high for them. iii) Legislation or Government action. Government won’t let new entrants enter the market if the industry is saturated. With regards to Ryanair in the budget airline industry, there will not be large impacts to existing budget airlines if new entrants appeared. Budget airlines always focus on the costs and price, so does Ryanair. According to the case, Ryanair was the first budget airline in Europe and now its ticket prices are much lower than the other rivals’. Therefore it will be impossible for new entrants to set a low price to win the market. The threat of substitutes Before discussing the threats, some comparative data is showed below. London Stansted Milan Going Out Regular Fare Adult 8. 99 GBP Tue, 2 Dec 08 Flight FR 4184 8:15 Depart 11:15 Arrive Coming Back Regular Fare Adult 12. 99 GBP Sun, 8 Dec 08 Flight FR 4185 6:45 Depart 7:50 Arrive (Source: Ryanair. com) One way by Rail Europe: London (ST Pancras) Milan Standard Class Adult 227 GBP Tue, 2 Dec 08 8:40 Depart 21:20 Arrive (Source: Raileurope. co. uk) Most of the travellers will prefer the short journey, in addition to the cheaper way to travel. From the tables it is obvious that taking a plane from Ryanair is much cheaper than taking the train in a similar situation. Although some airlines may be expensive, budget airlines such as Ryanair will usually be the best choice. The impact of substitutes, therefore, has less impact on the budget airlines. The power of buyers Buyers of airlines tickets can sometimes be the travel agency. In other cases, Ryanair caters to ultimate consumers. Majority of the buyers are not concentrated buyers and they come from all over the countries. Individuals can select the budget airlines according to their preference, because the switching costs are low and the differentiation of such service is weak. It is extremely expensive for people to own an aircraft. When there is a choice of budget airlines to use, with low prices. So there is a low buyer competition threat. Like Ryanair, with less concentrated buyers and buyers’ competition threat, the power of buyers is low. The power of suppliers The high power of suppliers may be one of the most significant threats among the budget airline industry. The increasing price of fuel, which leads to a high cost for airlines, is a basic issue they are facing. As we know, fuel industry is now concentrated in the hands of few producers. Therefore, in this situation it is difficult to cut the price for this essential material. In addition to this, it is useless to change fuel suppliers when the global price is growing. Moreover there are no practical substitutes. Ryanair is facing this problem with other budget airlines. Furthermore Ryanair sells all the ticket directly through the website. Thus there is no intermediary. Competitive rivalry Rivalry is influenced by these four competitive forces and each of them may have different levels of impact on the competitive rivalry. In this market, every airline provides the same services which are poorly differentiated. Low differentiation and switching costs in this industry, therefore, cause the price competition. Ryanair, which has the first mover advantages, still holds the dominant position. Although many of the competitors were losing money or even have been taken over, Ryanair remains steady in incremental growth. For industry growth rate, this industry is in the maturity situation of life cycle, which means the growth is low. Price war is therefore playing a crucial role throughout the competition. Question 3 Evaluate Ryanair’s particular strengths and weaknesses and explain, with reasons, what Ryanair must do to retain a sustainable competitive advantage. As the first-mover of budget airline industry, Ryanair still holds the dominant lowest-cost position. This is also the one of the strengths it has. What’s more, Ryanair was announced being the most profitable airline in the world according to the case. The revenue is still increasing, despite the price of fuel did not stop growing in recent years. The brand image of Ryanair is also one of its strengths. Customers are attracted by the lower price. Its traffic is the highest among the competitors (see Exhibit 2) and it is still increasing due to the enlargement of the company. On the other hand, there are still some weaknesses of this budget airline leader. In terms of the case, Ryanair win the market mostly depends on the costs. However, the costs of its major raw materials are increasing rapidly these years. This will be a serious issue. Further, minimize costs largely will cause the lack of service and training quality and so on. The Skytrax star rating (See Exhibit 2) indicates Ryanair is below the average level. Besides, competitors contribute big influence to Ryanair. For example, Easyjet which is a young upstart of the European budget airline industry grows quickly with a large number of market shares. It is obvious Ryanair makes success base on its price advantage, and how to sustain this advantage become very crucial issue in recent situation. Keep first mover advantages. Long history with experiences, well-known brand image and economy of scale, these are the unique resources of first mover advantages. It is difficult for competitors to get these resources at a similar level. Therefore, in order to prevent the competitors from copying the same strategy as cost reduction, Ryanair must make good use of these unique resources and try to dominate the market. Technology. Purchase and introduce the latest technological support. Although the fixed costs will be high, they can help the airline carry out tasks more efficiently and effectively such a new security check machine. Moreover it can also help to reduce the variable costs. For example, according to the case, new type aircraft produced 50 percent less emissions, 45 percent less fuel burn and 45 percent lower noise emissions per seat. They help Ryanair reduce the fuel cost with a lower pollution to environment. Unique cost structure. A cost structure which aims to minimize the costs must be set up. In particular to fuel cost, the fluctuations are subject to unpredictable and volatile world events according to the case. It is important for Ryanair hedge the risks before the price goes up suddenly. On the other hand, choosing the secondary and regional airport destinations is a good way of the structure. Moreover, the internet is used to reduce distribution costs. Service quality / Customers’ satisfaction. Customers will normally associate low price with low service benefits. Ryanair was voted the world’s least favourite airline due to its bad service such as unfriendly staff and poor legroom. However it still won a great number of customer base on the price. Thus if some competitors cut down the ticket price to a low level, Ryanair will get into a big trouble due to the similar prices but lower service quality. Therefore it must not only focus on the price but also the service. In order to gain competitive power, for example, brand loyalty can be one of the aspects. Government / legal actions. Ryanair should take care of the government and legal actions and moreover, can take the initiative over illegal aid to rivals. These may prevent the unnecessary loss. In summary, Ryanair, as the cost leader in budget airline industry should not only focus on the costs but also lots of other issues. Although it is developing rapidly and successfully, the future is unknown. The uncertain environment is changing all the time, thus Ryanair should always follow it and make the long-term plans in order to retain a sustainable competitive advantage. Grasp the opportunities, and it will has a bright future. c) Sources for collecting information Collecting your info: We may collect personal information that can identify you such as your name and e-mail address, as well as other information that does not identify you. When you provide personal information through the Site, the information may be sent to our servers located in the United States and other countries around the world. User Provided Information. We may collect and store any personal information that you enter into the Site or provide to us in some other manner. This includes identifying information (such as your name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number), and any other personal information you choose to provide while using the Site or the Services. Third Party List Information. We may also obtain both personal and non-personal information about you from third party data gathering sources. We may match this third-party collected information with the personally identifying information that you provide to us. When obtaining this information from third parties, we seek assurances from such third parties that they have the right to provide the information to us. Cookies, Web Beacons, and Other Information Collection Technology. We and our business partners, such as advertisers, may use various technologies to collect information from your computer and about your activities on the Site. For example, we and our business partners may collect and store non-personally identifying information through technologies such as cookies, log files, clear gifs (also known as web beacons), and other tracking pixels and third parties to help determine user viewing preferences for advertising and other purposes. We collect information at several stages during your interaction with . When you first enter our site, we note your IP address and time of your visit. As you browse the site, we record your zip code via a cookie so we can serve more location specific information on your next visit. We will not collect any personally identifiable information about you. Cookies do not recognize you as a person, just your computer. You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits although in that case you may not be able to use certain features on our site. This Privacy Policy is intended to cover collection of information on the Site from residents of the United States. The data protection and other laws of the United States and other countries might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. If you are visiting the Site from outside the United States, you acknowledge and agree that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and our central database is operated. By using our Services, you acknowledge and agree that your  information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this privacy policy. Third Party Advertising: We work with third parties who use cookies to collect non-personally identifiable information when you visit our Web site and other sites. This information may be used to provide you with better shopping or savings opportunities through advertisements on this and other Web sites that you visit, or to conduct market research and website analysis. User submited reviews: We discourage you from entering any personal information and please keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information online for example through e-mail, discussion lists, or elsewhere that information can be collected and used by others. In short, if you post personal information online that is accessible to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return. It is not required for you to submit personally identifiable information to enable you to submit a review. Sharing of information: We do not not share any contact information or IP address information with its partners. We will only use information that helps our customers to find the lowest prices. How we protect your information: The privacy and protection of your personal information is vitally important to us. Our Travel Portal does not make personal information available to any third parties without your permission. Any user statistics that we may provide to prospective advertisers or partners regarding your usage are provided in the aggregate only and do not include any personally identifiable information about any individual user. This Website Privacy Statement is effective as of the date listed below. Even if you read and/or agreed to a prior policy statement, you need to review this updated version. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, or other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected. If, however, we are going to use users personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify users by posting a notice on our Web site for 30 days. d) Collection tools and methods Prior to 1992, the length of time that aircraft deicing fluids (ADF) provided protection was overestimated by most commercial airlines. This was realized after the crash of U. S. Air Flight 405 at LaGuardia Airport, in which a long queue caused ice to re-accumulate on the planes wings and airframe after ADF had been applied. Bryan Wagoner, the Environmental Programs Administrator at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), says this incident spurred a nationwide focus on deicing practices. The FAA mandated that every plane must be absolutely free of snow at the end of the runway prior to take-off, he explains. This resulted in a significant increase in the quantity of ADF used nationwide. Midwestern winters, however, can be unpredictable. Months can go by with little to no precipitation, and then a snowstorm worthy of national news can hit with a fury. W