Gothic settings are desolate, alienating and full of menace Essay Example for Free

Gothic settings are desolate, alienating and full of menace Essay Gothic settings are desolate, alienating and full of menace. In the light of this comment, consider some of the ways in which writers use settings in the gothic texts you have read. In The Bloody Chamber and Wuthering Heights, Carter and Bronte conform to the gothic conventions with desolate and alienating settings that are full of menace, but there are also elements that subvert this view and portray purity and entrapment; the need to escape the gothic mould. A desolate setting is a place without life in a state of bleak and dismal emptiness. This is expressed in The Courtship of Mr Lyon when the girl finds herself bored in the country. This subverts the gothic as the country is associated with purity and feminine inexperience, compared to the male dominated, corrupted city. We see here that the girl longs to break the mould of female passivity with the mean kitchen and her boredom. All the snow and the words light bright and white infer purity and represents her total innocence but also isolation from the outside world, living down a long unmarked country road. Carter places the girl at the window in his tale and ses a lack of description of the kitchen to create a sense of longing for the outside world. She is trapped in the domestic sphere in the kitchen but pauses on her chores. This foreshadows transgressing gender barriers in the story. For a gothic setting to be alienating it could be it makes someone feel isolated or estranged. The girl in The Bloody Chamber feels cut off from her previous, un-married life in the castle surrounded by water. She described how she goes into marriage, into exile and would always be lonely. She feels alone in a patriarchal society because his orefathers had ruled the coast for centuries. This highlights the in which the woman must conform to his wishes, but also connotes medieval undertones of a fairy tale. The girl presents the castle as a magic place, the fairy castle whose walls were made of foam alluding to the supernatural in the magic place like a fairy castle, which highlights gothic architecture of grand castles. The foam however subverts to the gothic as it suggests pleasant freedoms and a lack of substance, almost like its from a dream. In contrast to this image, the reality of a thick darkness, unlit by any tar represents her entrapment and struggle to recover from discovering his dead wives in the bloody chamber. She feels deeply corrupted with no hope of escaping her new knowledge for which she must pay the price, as the room is unlit by stars. This suggestion that women should not have knowledge connotes religious imagery of when Eve corrupted Adam and they paid the price for Eves sin. This knowledge gives the girl the power to question the Marquiss power because when looking at the picture of Saint Cecilia, she asks what had been the nature of her martyrdom? in which she questions her corruption. She suggests Cecilia was only beheaded for her disobeying a man. A bloody chamber is present in some form in each of the ten stories and whilst taking different forms throughout the book, it serves the same symbolic purpose. It is a room where violence and enlightenment occur simultaneously. It is a place of transformation for the heroine. The term the connection between womens sexuality and the violence they experience. ln The Courtship of Mr. Lyon, the bloody chamber is the Beasts room. Even though the Beast does not hurt anyone in the room, it represents the violent and bloody reputation. If the Beast is seen as a being who devours, his room is perceived as a place of terror a bloody chamber. The Beasts room is also a place of transformation for both himself and the heroine. It is there that she realizes her love for him and that he transforms back into a human. Alienating settings can also cause someone to become unsympathetic or hostile. The characters in Wuthering Heights fit in to their new surroundings, subconsciously, and adapt to its beliefs and values and become hostile to their previous way of life. They adapt to the narrow windows deeply set in the wall with a range of gaunt thorns. The Grange rich regal colours such as crimson and blues, showing that the characters have become aware of their social standing and expectations; whereas at Wuthering Heights, there are gaudy painted canisters with objects that are liver-coloured, black and green. Wuthering Heights portrays violence and freedom to act as you please and when Lockwood encounters Cathys ghost he pulled its wrist on the broken pane, and rubbed it to and fro till the blood ran down and soaked the bed-clothes. He states that terror made me cruel and this fear of what is uncertain or obscure at Wuthering Heights explains his violence. This state contrasts to his highly cultured and civilised behaviour at the beginning of the novel. If a setting is full of menace then it poses a threat or danger in a hostile manor. During Lockwoods first visit of Wuthering Heights he feels threatened by the way he describes its appearance among a wilderness of crumbling griffins. Griffins are inhuman evil creatures, suggesting the residents of Wuthering Heights to be cruel and wild. Lockwood feels under threat because he does not know how to act around a family that is crumbling from societys control. Therefore, passing the threshold would mean Lockwood transgressing the oundaries of social norms. Once inside, Lockwood feels trapped because the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall making it impossible to get out. It gives the impression of a prison, where the morally corrupted are kept, with their secrets and taboos. It can also be seen that Wuthering heights poses a threat to Thrushcross Grange because the characters keep wanting to go there and escape from culture at the Grange and become free from entrapment in an oppressive society and become reunited with nature. This is the case for Cathy, Isabella, Catherine and Nelly, who feel drawn to danger, which is liberating and freeing.

Barclays Bank Total Quality Management (TQM)

Barclays Bank Total Quality Management (TQM) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Banks believe that they are in the finance industry, and not in the service industry. Thus they tend to compete in terms of financial prowess rather than service quality. People, resources, time, and systems are devoted more to managing assets and cash rather than managing customers and service. In fact most bank systems are designed to control customers rather than satisfy customers. Products and procedures are set up for the convenience of the bank rather than that of the customer. Banks usually give customer service and satisfaction very low priority. (Rene T. Domingo) The lifeblood of any business is its customers. Customers decide sales based on their perception of product and service quality. Therefore, quality determines profits, and customers alone define and determine what that quality is and should be. Introduction This study will limit itself to the assessment of operations department at Barclays Bank PLC. Information provided is strictly confidential and for the only purpose of this study. 1.0 Introducing Barclays Bank PLC ‘Our strategy is to increase the growth potential of Barclays by continuing to diversify our business by customer, product and geography. John Varley, Group Chief Executive, Barclays Group With over three hundred years of history and know-how in banking, Barclays operates in more than sixty countries and employs one hundred and thirty five thousand people. Barclays progresses, lends, invests and protects the money of over thirty million customers around the world. Barclays Bank Plc, Mauritius with its ninety years of presence in the country, has built itself a very solid reputation. As a branch of Barclays Plc (UK) operating in Mauritius, the bank caters for the domestic and international divisions of the financial sectors. As a fast growing multi-national bank with approximately one thousand two hundred employees, Barclays Bank, Mauritius offer a wide range of services for individual as well as corporate customers. Barclays Mauritius has reported outstanding results for the Year 2010 with a profit after tax increasing by 119% to reach Mur 2.38bn. This includes a one-off gain of Rs 1.33bn from the sale of the custody business to Standard Chartered Bank. As a result, income has increased by 33 % with Mur 4.8bn. The Operation Strategy 1.1 The Operation Strategy in Mauritius The operations area is the driving engine of the bank with a headcount of 450 employees split into the Consumer and Commercial Operations. These two streams will have greater and clearer focus to the business functions to which they provide support. The operations function is headed by the Chief Operating Officer assisted by managers and team leaders from each section. The Operation Function chart 1.2 Purpose of the Project Barclays Bank Plc have to maintain image, reputation, and credibility in order to do their job as custodians of other peoples money. But over the years, the complex systems and bureaucracy were set up and added in the name of control while sacrificing and neglecting customer service in the process. The management is concerned with profitability, growth and resource generation. But only a few inspectors are responsible for checking product quality. If one looks at the concept of Quality and its progress over the years carefully, it is evident that Quality has always been an important element for the success of any organization. pay much attention to the plight of their clients before, during, and after sales. The bank is considering implementing a quality system that conforms to ISO standards. Total Quality Management (TQM), which is about total customer service and continuous customer satisfaction, is applicable not only in the manufacturing industry but in the service sector as well, where the customer is just as important. In fact, customers in the service industry are more sensitive to service quality and service delivery than in manufacturing because they are always in contact with front-line service personnel. Starting a total quality management (TQM) programme will upgrade and improve professional skills of the employees and the proposed programmes will also emphasise the need of excellence in all spheres of management. For design, development and implementation of a QMS, the ISO 9000 approach is completely compatible with the total quality philosophy. ISO system is about standardizing the approach organizations everywhere take in managing and improving the processes that ultimately result in producing better quality products and services. The quality management system is often implemented all at once throughout the organization. Where phased implementation takes place, the effectiveness of the system in selected areas can be evaluated. It would be a good idea initially to evaluate areas where the chances of a positive evaluation are high, to maintain the confidence of both management and staff in the merits of implementing the quality management system. According to initial plans, the proposed training programme will have two stages. The first phase will be implemented in the Commercial operations department. In the next phase, TQM will be applied across all departments across the bank. The process for implementation of a quality management system depends on the size of the organization and complexity of the actual process. Lets have a look at these in our next chapter. Current Situation 2.1 Literature review Supplier quality management is an important aspect of TQM since materials and purchased parts are often a major source of quality problems (Zhang et al., 2000). Many authors advocate that companies must establish supply chain partnerships to motivate suppliers to provide materials needed to meet customer expectations (Harrison et al., 1996; Kumar, 1996; Lambert et al., 1996; Clifton, 2001; Jabnoun, 2000; Thakur, 2002). The quality gurus believe that supplier should be  viewed as an integral part of the organizations business operations (Ishikawa, 1985; Deming,  1986; Crosby, 1989). 2.2 Definitions of Quality Total Quality Management (TQM) is defined as a quality-centered, customer-focused, fact-based, team-driven, senior-management-led process to achieve an organizations strategic imperative through continuous process improvement. The Oxford American dictionary defines Quality as â€Å"A degree or level of excellence†. Feigenbaum, 1983, defines quality as: â€Å"Quality is defined as being about value†. According to Juran, 1989, â€Å"Quality is fitness for use†. The word total in TQM means that everyone in the organization must be involved in the continuous improvement effort, the word quality shows a concern for customer satisfaction, and the word management refers to the people and processes needed to achieve the quality. 2.3 Tools and techniques to depict current situation All departments within the Commercial Operation Functions are linked to each other with the same aim to meet business strategies. However there are no clear interactions and synergies present between them which will make all department functions effectively. The service level between each department is low as there is great competition to perform better than the other. 2.3.1 Flow Chart Figure 3 below, depicts the current situation in the Commercial Operation department. List of tasks to be performed by: 1) Operators: record all incoming and outgoing instructions Operators may liaise with external customer by face to face telephone, emails or signed fax, Nature of instructions/queries by telephone statements, transfers, debit or credit advises, swift copies, queries on cheques/interest/charges acknowledgement of instruction form client either by fax/mail/diskette for salary transfers/or original documents being submitted personally by client Nature of instructions by fax/mail new account opening, change in authorized signatories, transfers, payments of bills or import loans, salaries, request of statement/advices/swift copies, complaints/, of letters of credit/bills/import loan accounts, access to internet banking, Liaise with internal customers like the Consumer Operations department in order to respond to clients queries 2) Team leader: verifies/sample checks whether all incoming and outgoing instructions are logged properly after instructions signed by relationship managers send all instructions to be processed to concerned department Does sample checks whether operators performing jobs as required 3) Line manager: liaises with other departments to help improve quality of service/ attend queries/complaints when same are of high priority and if involves loss to the bank No wonder staffs do not pay attention to customer service since it does not affect their performance evaluation. Most banks do not have a system to handle errors or customer complaints. Few banks realizes that if they continuously cut all processing times, it becomes a WIN-WIN situation customers are happier, and the banks make more money. 2.3.2 The current work flow process is being described in below chart: Our main concern is that the quality of service has decreased to such an extent that we are not able to retain the existing customers. We have to accept that all banks are able to provide the same products but what differentiates one bank from another is its quality of service. Our ultimate goal is providing customer satisfaction. 2.3.3 Ishikawa (Fishbone) Diagram The Fishbone/cause and effect diagram is an analysis tool to display possible causes of a specific problem. Its major benefits is that it pushes you to consider all possible causes of the problem in a structured and uncomplicated manner. Using Ishikawa (Fishbone) diagram, we will be able to identify the reasons why customer service has declined and as such identify remedies. It also helps in indicating how much we know about the process. Poor technology compared To other banks Internal environment (stress, high processing time)Poor communication) Ignorance of staff External On how to make full Environment (highly Utilization of existingvolatile and risky laws and risky technologyindustry, law and legislation) Currently nobody opinion is Bureaucracy 2.4 Implementation of a Quality System There are several approaches that can be used to implement a quality system, like Juran 10 Points for Quality improvement, Crosbys 14 Steps for Quality Improvement, and many others. However for this study, we are going to implement W.E Demings 14 Points for quality improvement. W.E Deming is one of the most famous gurus in quality implementation. He is generally credited with the post-war introduction of quality concepts in Japan. According to Deming : â€Å"The consumer is the most important part of the production line. Quality should be aimed at the needs of the consumer, present and future†. According to Deming, adoption and implementation of his 14 points would be a a sign that management intends to stay in business and aims to protect investors and jobs. Below are the 14 points of W.E Deming and how their application would increase quality and customer satisfaction: 1) Create constancy of Purpose for continual improvement of product and service Management should accept this as number one priority. Resources have to be allocated for long term planning rather than short-term profits. Investment in quality and innovation will ensure existence and competitiveness of the company. Top management should motivate employees and communicate clear policies. For the purpose of this study, implementation of point one will help to remove stress and hence providing a friendly environment to work with. Commitment form top management to invest in innovation and allocate resources for long run will ensure the people (employees and external customers) that the organization is planning to remain in business for the very long run. Innovation will help the bank increase its technology or product/service quality that will help it gain competitive edge over its competitors. This will also help to decrease the gap in technology with other banks. 2) Learn and Adopt the new Philosophy. A change is necessary in the old management methods. Organisations need to understand that higher quality cost less. However change cannot happen overnight. There should be a constant movement towards the new philosophy. First we have to analyse the existing system (as described in figure 2 chart 1 above) and the damaged caused by the current system should be appreciated by everybody (cause and effect diagram). Managers have to admit that they should be more present in day to day business, rather than just delegation work on the operation side. The organization should concentrate on defect prevention rather than defect detection. One dissatisfied customer is equivalent to a lost customer. Defect prevention will help improve process, quality and productivity as each instruction/document returned causes a delay and decrease quality. Top management should make each and every staff aware the benefits the organisation expects to realize through quality management system. The above flowchart (chart 1) can also be called a value chain, and if everybody in the value chain looks for defects, the flow towards the documents/instructions processing will be smooth, quick and the end result will surely meet or even exceed customers needs. 3) Understand the purpose of inspection. Management should understand that the purpose of inspection is to improve the process and reduce cost. Mass inspection is managing for failure whereas defect prevention is managing foe success. Defect prevention decreases long run costs, results in high quality products and minimizes the need for after sales service. For this statistical evidence is required. Team leader should take note about the number of failures with respect to any documents and the reasons why. With proper recognition by staff about building quality in the service or product, the number of failures should decrease and this will also lead to a decrease in number of controls and procedures over time. Use of checklist as a tool of quality control will help management to observe the common defects and how many times they occurred. By checking this on a weekly basis, management would know whether they are decreasing and what is the biggest problem. Checklist Defect type Number of defects Total Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Fraudulent instructions 0, 0, 0 ,0,0 0 Instructions not processed 5, 6, 7, 8, 4 30 Instructions received early but process late 4 , 3, 2, 2, 1 12 Unattended complaints 10, 5, 6, 7, 9 37 Unattended queries 9, 4, 7, 9, 8 37 E.g. Management needs to make staff understand that controls are not punitive measures, but to minimize risk that pose a threat to business. 4) Stop awarding business based on low price alone. Purchasing managers should look at quality form suppliers before making any purchase. There are huge savings that can occur over the long run by purchasing quality products. As Walter Shewhart says: â€Å" Price has no meaning unless a measure of quality is purchased at the same time†. Deming advice is to choose a single supplier for each item on the basis of statistical evidence from the suppliers process feedback loop. This point refers to the technological problem in our study. The appropriate technology that matches the organisation context should have been build in-house rather than sub-contracting or buying the package from outside. This would have helped to meet the needs of the employees better and hence providing and producing quality products. Also building the technology in-house would have required employees from all department collaboration and hence almost each and every staff would have been aware of the technologies and staff would have a sense of belonging to the organization. 5) Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service. Management should take more responsibility for problems by finding and correcting them in order to decrease costs and increase quality and productivity. The focus is again on prevention rather than detection. The process of quality improvement should never stop and it should always be geared towards customers absolute satisfaction. Note that there is always variability around every target and this is why there is always a room for further improvement. Constant improvement will lead to a reduction in customers complaints. Improving quality of service will lead to increase in communication and employees opinions taken into consideration. 6) Institute training on the job. A continuous program of on the job training should be instituted and this should include managers. Investment in proper training of all new employees will ensure that the new comers will know exactly what is expecting from them. Training will help detect variation, use of statistical techniques and helps to keep up with new developments. For our purpose, training will help employees to equip with a better understanding of the job and its requirements. The worker is not just getting satisfaction but also getting an incentive to improve. Proper training will help managers address complaints themselves, help in defining roles and responsibilities and help in the integration between old workers and the new generation. 7) Adopt and institute modern methods of leadership. Management should not create a negative and fault finding environment. They should create a positive and supportive environment where workers job are recognized. For this there should be clear communications at all level. Management should ensure that immediate action is taken whenever defects are identified which compromises quality. Modern leaders should ensure that quality, productivity and performance are continually improved. Difference between old and new school of thoughts should be taken as an advantage. According to Deming, todays leaders should: Lead and motivate by example rather than fear, Teach and counsel rather than judge and supervise. Use mistakes to learn rather than to blame Understand the difference between random and special variation. Management should differentiate between variations due to outside factors (special causes) and random variation (causes are due to the process itself). Size Size Statistical Controlh Out of statistical control Promote team work and mutual trust Provide innovative methods to accomplish the improvement. 8) Drive out fear and create trust and a climate for innovation Management should encourage effective communication and teamwork. Fear is caused by lack of job security, performance appraisals, ignorance of organization goals, and not knowing the job. Fear can be eliminated through proper communication, clear definition of goals and objectives, training and supervision. Once fear eliminated, innovative ideas will crop up. Deming believes that fear makes the implementation of most of his other management points impossible. Elimination fear in the department, will lead to a less stressful environment, positive attitude towards work, opinions being voiced out, decrease the clash between old and new school of thoughts and hence leading to better quality service. Performance appraisal leads to competition, competition leads to jealousy and jealousy leads to fear. Removal of performance appraisal will lead to cooperation. 9) Break down barriers between departments and individuals. Barriers exist among levels of management, among departments and within department. It exists because of poor communication and ignorance of organizational goals. Eliminating barriers, communication channels opened and teamwork organized, competition within the company has to be replaced with cooperation. Note that point (8) and point (9) are allied and go hand in hand. By breaking down barriers, employees from different departments can meet and interact to find quality solutions. 10) Eliminate the use of slogans, Posters and exhortations for the workforce. Exhortations that ask for increased productivity without providing specific improvement methods can handicap an organization. They just express managements desires. According to Deming, people should be given the means to work smarter, not harder. This is quite common in large organizations like Barclays Bank Plc. Due to its large number of employees, management goals are communicated through emails and this is interpreted differently at different levels of the organisation. A more face to face interaction is required so that management policies are understood, friendly environment is created, proper channel of communication developed and employees have a sense of belonging to the organization goals. 11) Eliminate numerical quotas for the work force. Quotas focus on quantity rather than quality. Quotas should be replaced with statistical methods of process control. Instead of management by objective, management should learn the capabilities of the process and how to improve them. Management should stop focussing on figures and start looking at customer satisfaction. Relevant statistical data should be analysed in line with current procedures and system. We have to take into consideration that Mauritius is a small country and it is quite impossible to look for new business every year. The only way to increase sales in through competition among banks. This leads to clients advantage. Same products are offered in all banks but the only difference is the quality of service. Only by improving process and service quality will the bank remain in business for the long run. 12) Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. Ignorance of organisational goals, punitive supervision and adequate training leads to loss of pride. According to Deming, the two serious mental obstacles which prevent pride in workmanship are performance appraisal and management by objective. These two obstacle leads to internal competition and hence barriers in communication, reduces risk taking and hence decrease in innovative ideas, variability in performance leading to jealousy and fear and focuses on short term results which may prevent the organization from attaining its long term goals. Deming strongly recommends the abolition of annual merit rating because of above reasons. Performance appraisal can be replaced bay a proper leadership and communication and by a proper counselling and development procedure. This will lead to job security, teamwork, friendly environment and all employees will have a sense of belonging to the organization. 13) Encourage Education and self improvement for everyone. An organization requires people who are improving with education. Things change fast. Managers should be aware of this and be appropriately trained. Here we are referring to continual re-education and self-improvement for everyone which is quite similar with point (6). The common truth between both points is that without training there is no guarantee for innovation. Re-training leads to investment in the most important asset of the company its people. This leads to job security, increased motivation and less brain drain. 14) Take action to ensure top management permanent commitment to accomplish the transformation. The top management should demonstrate a commitment and a determination to implement a quality management system in the organization. Without top management commitment, no quality initiative can succeed. The top management should provide evidence of its commitment for e.g. by defining the organizations quality policy and make this known to every employee, ensuring that quality objectives are established at all levels and functions and ensuring the availability of resources required for the development. Management has to accept the primarily responsibility for the never ending improvement of the process. A cultural change is required. All employees should understand and be committed to the new philosophy. Deming advocates† Quality is made in the Board Room†¦.[however]†¦ limitations on quality are also made in the board Room†. 2.5 Obstacles to implementation According to Deming, there are 7 Deadly Diseases that management will face while implementing the above. Lets analyse the 7 diseases (the first seven ones below) as advocated by Deming and others that apply particularly to our case. 1. Lack of constancy of purpose. As long as the focus in on short term thinking, management will fail to plan adequately. This follows from his last point. Constancy will decrease cost, assist innovation, make employees feel secure, they know about the vision of the organisation. 2. Emphasis on short-term profits. This defeats constancy of purpose. Its easy to show short term profits by cutting expenses on training, maintenance and other long term plans. Short term profits is due to fear of takeovers, but if long term strategy/planning is forgone, surely in the long run the company will be more prone to takeovers. 3. Evaluation by performance, merit rating, or annual review of performance. All this should be stopped. The main reasons are because they create competition, fear, they are subjective, concentrate on short term profit. 4. Mobility of management/Job hopping This causes instability and destroys teamwork. 5. Running a company on visible figures alone. Figures can be manipulated. The only figures to be used are those that which represent properly selected statistical data. 6. Excessive medical costs. For our study, this can be related to additional benefits provided by the organisation to its staff. 7. Excessive costs of warranty, fuelled by lawyers who work for contingency fees. 8. Inability of management to use statistical techniques to improve productions. 9. Training once completed is not put into practice. 10. Inability to change the organisational culture and lack of planning. These are long term objectives and if management would like these to happen in the short term, then there will be complete chaos in the organisation. 11. Lack of continuous training and education. 12. Fear of change. For the TQM to succeed, we need to have a careful analysis of its failures/obstacles. But most importantly, management should educate all staff about the reasons for adapting TQM. TQM will not take place until all employees understand and are committed for its implementation Implementation In this chapter, we will have a look about the benefits TQM will have on the department and also how TQM will help in overcoming the obstacles mentioned in the previous chapter. Lets have a look at the direct benefits the department will achieve: Increased effectiveness in the use of the organizations resources to enhance customer satisfaction and improved reliability of its processes through shorter cycles time. This means that processes will be simpler, more reliable and the amount of defects will decrease. Tailor made services can be produced. Improved quality of products and services, leading to reduce in customer rejection of products/services because of poor quality. Results are more predictable. This will lead greater employee and customer satisfaction, hence higher sales and profits. Improved organizational performance and competitiveness. This will be a long term goal for the organization, whereby the organization will have a competitive edge over its competitors. Improve customer loyalty leading to repeat business. It is commonly acknowledged that a satisfied customer tells about four friends, but an unhappy customer tells about thirty people. Customer loyalty will help increase the organization reputation. Reduce or eliminate repetition of work. Responsibilities and accountabilities are clearly defined. This will decrease cost, increase efficiency and make staff performing value added jobs. Reduce management time spent on â€Å"putting out fires†. This is due that there are good controls and everybody is committed in producing quality services/products. This gives management time to focus on improving conditions of work of the staffs. Improve productivity by â€Å"doing it right the first time†. This will decrease cost of re-work, scrap and inspection. Preserve Existing Revenue and increase in revenue. Preserve revenue due to customer loyalty and having an account management team and increase in revenue due to quality products and services and having a sale management team. Staff will be motivated and will work towards the organization objectives. Workforce will be proactive and prevention oriented. Miscommunication between organizations will be minimized leading to cooperation. Establishment of trust and elimination of fear. By providing staff with the appropriate training, this will lead to greater responsibility, and this will inspire, motivate and encourage them to work smarter. This lead to creativity and innovation. Staff will be eager to participate, understand the importance of their role, identify their own constraints, accept ownership of their problems and free sharing of knowledge and experience. Use of statistical techniques will make more data available for analysis and hence leading to improvement. Also this will facilitate decision making (as the structure is well defined) and decisions are made in accordance with staff. Pay much attention to the plight of clients before, during, and after sales. Assesing root cause of complaints will help improve service in the future. Complaints and problems should be looked as an opportunity to enhance quality service and look at the root cause of problems. Other benefits that will accrue to the organization are: Wider customer acceptance of products and services (New customers require ISO compliance) Consumers are confident that they are dealing with an organisatiopn where fair treatment is central to the corporate culture Increased revenue and market share obtained through flexible and fast responses to market opportunities. Internationa

Reflective Account on Implementation of Change Process

Reflective Account on Implementation of Change Process This reflective account deals with implementation of a change management process at a workshop, where the author was employed for some years a few years ago. The workshop provides a range of electrical, mechanical and overhauling services to different departments of an industrial firm. It has separate departments for activities like electrical and mechanical work, fabrication, transmission and general repair and overhauling. The workshop was set up in the early 1980s and has its own accounting, administration and inventory functions. The conduct of an efficiency audit revealed numerous deficiencies in the working processes of the workshop and the emergent need to implement significant changes for enhancement of productivity and achievement of (a) swifter turnaround time, (b) reduction of labour and (c) cost savings in various areas. External consultants recommended the adoption of a sophisticated ERP system for coordination of various workshop activities and optimisation of its operations. The organisational management accepted these recommendations for the implementation of a modern ERP system and initiated processes for its introduction in the organisation. It was estimated that the adoption of the new system would lead to reduction of workshop strength by 30 employees, significant lowering of inventory levels, elimination of material shortages for workshop operations, and shrinking of turnaround time. The external consultants and the senior management of the company were convinced that the combined effect of these different advantages would result in substantial improvement in workshop productivity and profitability. The workshop manager was informed about the decision by the CEO and two board members and was asked to initiate and implement the change management process. He asked for some time to study the proposal and involved me and two other junior workshop managers in the exercise. We found in the course of our investigation of system features that whilst its introduction could certainly result in improvement of workshop productivity and efficiency, it would be very difficult for the existing workshop employees, many of whom had been with the department for years, to handle the complexities associated with operating the proposed system. It would be necessary to appoint some fresh individuals with expertise in handling such ERP systems and train other workshop employees in the operations and mechanisms of the new system. Concerns were also raised about the organisational implications of terminating 30 employees who had worked sincerely for the workshop for many years. The change management group, headed by the workshop manager and staffed by myself and two other members examined the various implications of introducing and implementing the system and came to the conclusion that it would be necessary to recruit at least 7 fresh employees with requisite knowledge to implement and operate the ERP system. We felt that in such circumstances it would be better to remove 37 departmental employees and induct 7 ERP specialists in order to meet organisational objectives, both in areas of system proficiency and in reduction of employee strength. The workshop manager and the rest of us in the change management team had some theoretical knowledge of Lewins and Kotters change management process. We decided to implement the change management process in specific phases comprising of (a) informing the workshop employees of the proposed change process and its implementation schedule, (b) the implications of the proposed change on the productivity and efficiency of the workshop, (c) the various inputs that would be provided by the company to facilitate the change, and finally (d) the imperative requirement to reduce existing employee strength by 37 people and induct 7 specialist employees (Gary, et al, 1995, p 114). Deliberating on the possible adverse repercussions of the decision to terminate employees, our group leader specifically sought a meeting with the CEO and asked him to accommodate the surplus employees in other areas of the company (Heller, 1998, p 37). The CEO understood our apprehensions and after discussions with the HR department was able to confirm alternative positions for 25 people on similar terms and conditions, but placed at different locations. Handsome severance packages were also worked out for the employees who would have to perforce be released (Heller, 1998, p 37). The first task of the change management team concerned dissemination of information about the proposed change to all workshop employees (Joseph, 2006, p 24). The announcement about the impending change and its implications were made at a general meeting where all employees were asked to be present (Joseph, 2006, p 24). The announcement at this meeting was followed up by detailed meetings with smaller groups where members of the change management team individually informed workshop employees about the need for the change process and the ensuing benefits (Joyce, 2000, p 73). It was decided by us that the existing system would continue for at least 3 months after the implementation of the ERP system (Joyce, 2000, p 73). The training of existing employees in the new system was delegated to external trainers and the change process was formally put into motion (Joyce, 2000, p 73). The proposed change however met with very severe resistance from a section of employees, most of whom had been shortlisted for termination of employment or transfer to other departments (Moss, et al, 1992, p 67). Whilst approximately 20% of the employees chosen for release were reasonably satisfied with the carefully formulated severance package, the other 30 employees became vocal in their opposition to the plan and asked to see the CEO in order to vent their concerns and apprehensions. With employee relations in the workshop being happy for many years, the internal workers union had been disbanded many years ago. The workers however began to feel betrayed and vulnerable and started discussing the idea of forming a new workshop union with national trade union organisations (Moss, et al, 1992, p 67). The CEO and the workshop manager had detailed discussions with the affected workshop employees but were unable to convince them to take up alternative postings, many of which were in distant places and required them to live separately from their families (Moss, et al, 1992, p 68). The breakdown in discussions between the workers and the management led to disruption in production schedules and made it very difficult for us to recruit new employees to operate the new ERP systems. Such difficulties led to significant delays in implementation and to disruption of workshop activity (Joyce, 2000, p 81). The organisational management was however firm in its decision and arranged for subcontractors to compensate for the drop in workshop productivity (Joyce, 2000, p 81). Many of the existing employees also started feeling demoralised and started looking elsewhere for alternative employment (Joyce, 2000, p 81). It finally took the organisation more than a year to complete the implementation of the new ERP system and stabilise workshop production (Joyce, 2000, p 81). Whilst the introduction of the system has resulted in significant improvement in workshop efficiencies, productivity and profitability, I do feel that the change management process could have been handled better (Buono Kerber, 2010, p 4). My theoretical knowledge of change management processes informs me that successful change management needs to be planned very carefully and is dependent upon the effectiveness of communication with the people most likely to be affected by the change process (Buono Kerber, 2010, p 4). I feel that the decision to introduce the system was pushed with too much haste and without allowing the employees to acclimatise to the change proposal (Frame, 2002, p 54). My colleagues in the change management team also agree with me that our communication of the various implications of the proposed change was possibly inadequate and did not instil feelings of the emergent need of bringing about the proposed change (Frame, 2002, p 54). Whilst the senior management of the company was committed to the change management process and extended all possible help, communication failures and hasty action at the operational level precipitated concern and crystallised resistance among employees, which eventually resulted in implementation delays, loss of productivity and incurrence of subcontracting costs (Doherty, 2002, p 89). I personally have learnt significantly from my experience and realise that theoretical knowledge of change management processes, whilst helpful for implementation of change, needs to be supported by strong management skills, clear and careful planning, preparation for contingencies and sound knowledge of employee behaviour for bringing about successful completion of change management initiatives. Situation 2: Reflective Account on Team Work and Leadership I have had the opportunity to participate in a diverse team, comprising of individuals from different ethnic and national backgrounds, which was given the specific tasks of preparing a promotional and marketing campaign for an NGO working in different areas of environmental conservation. The opportunity came about because of my interest in environmental issues and the acceptance of my request to volunteer with a well known international NGO. Teams comprise of groups of two or more individuals who work dynamically, adaptively and interdependently for the achievement of common goals and objectives (Arya, 1997, p 9). Members of such teams are usually provided with specific roles and responsibilities (Arya, 1997, p 9).Our team consisted of 7 members and we were given the task of working together for the creation of a marketing and promotional campaign for reduction of environmental pollution in and around airports in the UK. The significance of team work for achievement of specific outcomes is now widely accepted in modern day organisational behaviour theory (Buller Bell, 1986, p 305). Modern day organisations are increasingly making use of teams for improving organisational performance in increasingly complex and changing business environments (Buller Bell, 1986, p 305). Organisational experts however ironically argue that whilst team work is now widely accepted as an important instrument for enhancement of organisational productivity and efficiency, many organisations that have built their operations around teams have found that the use of such teams very often results in little positive effect on organisational productivity. In some cases their use actually results in loss of productivity (Rees, 2001, p 19). It has often been witnessed that teams with numerous high calibre individuals with demonstrated performance capabilities fail, even as teams of people with far more mediocre abilities often produce excellent results (Banker, et al, 1996, p 868). The modern day business environment is replete with examples of freshly started innovative and committed teams getting the better of large and established corporations with far greater resources (Banker, et al, 1996, p 868). My experience of participation in a diverse team of people in a not for profit NGO environment provided me with the opportunity of understanding and appreciating team work mechanisms. Our team was significantly diverse with regard to gender, nationality, academic training, work experience and personality. The team consisted of six members Larry, Martha, Nora, James, (myself), Peter and Sheila. Larry, the oldest member automatically assumed the role of leader. Organisational theory and literature specifies that diverse teams lead to the availability of a variety of skills and perspectives (Brett, et al, 2006, p 84). These, if utilised appropriately, can result in significantly greater creativity and flexibility in creation of concepts, ideas, options and solutions in comparison with more homogenous groups and thus result in significantly better performance (Brett, et al, 2006, p 84). Whilst teams with diverse members often have access to a wider range of skills, abilities and perspectives, they also face challenges on account of differences in attitudes, cultures, perceptions and languages of team participants (Brett, et al, 2006, p 86). Our team members came from the UK, Latin America, Africa and South East Asia. Their educational backgrounds varied from the performing arts to the liberal arts, sciences and management. Whilst three of the group, including myself had experience of organisational work, the other four were fresh from college. The leadership of the team devolved upon Larry, who was the oldest and most experienced team member (Olmstead, 2002, p 79). This development actually took place, without his actively seeking it, because other team members came to him on their own for advice and suggestion on the functioning of the group (Olmstead, 2002, p 79). Leadership is an extremely significant element of team work processes. Much of the credit for both successes and failures of teams is given to leaders and to their decisions (Olmstead, 2002, p 79). Leaders are required to communicate with clarity on the goals of the teams, provide team members with appropriate and specific roles, build environments of cooperation and collaboration, encourage communication between team members, generate commitment towards achievement of team objectives and create atmospheres of inclusiveness by involving team members in various discussions and asking them for comment, feedback and suggestions (Rees, 2001, p 42). Leaders often ap preciate the roles of team members in order to motivate them to perform better in their tasks (Rees, 2001, p 42). Whilst leadership devolved upon Larry without his asking for it, he certainly did not disregard his responsibilities and worked for the development of an efficient, cooperative and focused team that was committed to its objectives (Ephross Vassil, 2005, p 109). All of us were given specific responsibilities for the development of the marketing and promotional campaign on airport pollution. We were asked to meet on determined dates, provide updates on our progress and asked to contribute by way of suggestions on the work of other team members (Ephross Vassil, 2005, p 109). I was asked to research information on legal aspects of airport pollution, assess the work of other team members, and help them in achieving their objectives (Ephross Vassil, 2005, p 109). Our team activity required members to engage in extensive discussions and generate numerous ideas and concepts for the campaign. Some of these sessions led to disagreements and even quarrels, which resulted in some members refraining from talking to others for some time (Olmstead, 2002, p 92). Nora, who was otherwise very friendly and outgoing, could not stand being opposed and would become excessively argument if she was contradicted by others. Larry would on such occasions take her aside and explain to her the necessity of collaboration and pleasantness between team members for effective team effort (Olmstead, 2002, p 97). We were asked to prepare the campaign in a period of six weeks and were happy to find that the job was completed in time despite arguments and delays. The marketing campaign was presented to the board of the NGO on the predetermined date. Larry deliberately chose Nora to handle the presentation, even as all of us were present to answer questions on our areas of work. We were at the end of the exercise happy to know that we had succeeded in our team objectives despite our diversity and our different social and cultural backgrounds. The results of our team reiterated that teams with diverse members could excel in areas of creativity if they were led with sincerity, provided with transparent environments, and encouraged to communicate and collaborate with each other. Section 3: Reflective Account on Motivation and Reward This reflective narrative concerns my experiences of working with a HR consultancy organisation entrusted with the task of formulating a reward and remuneration programme for textile workers in Bangladesh. The client of the HR consultancy services operates a garment manufacturing factory that is situated on the outskirts of Jessore, a small town in western Bangladesh. The organisation creates garment designs in their London studio and produces the garments in Bangladesh in a subcontracted factory with local Bangladesh labour. The produced garments are subsequently sold to clothing retailers across the UK and in some towns in Germany. The recent stress on sustainability in business operations in the UK has resulted in substantial pressure from UK clothing retailers and consumers for ensuring of sustainable manufacturing practices at the workplaces of outsourced suppliers and manufacturers in developing countries (Marks, 2005, p 7). The organisation, in response to market demand, conducted an internal HR audit and found both working conditions and the remuneration of workers at the factory in Bangladesh to be significantly below acceptable norms. Workers, both male and female, were being paid salaries of approximately GBP 20 per month, which were 15% lesser than the minimum wages specified by the Bangladesh government. The factory operated in two shifts of 10 hours each, even as the maximum legal time of a shift was 8.5 hours. The HR audit also revealed deficiencies in working conditions in areas of sanitation, availability of water, separate washrooms for men and women and crà ¨che facilities for working mothers. The internal audit also revealed that some of the workers appeared to be a bit too young for taking up such strenuous work, even though HR records revealed that all workers were above 18 years in age. My organisation was given the brief of formulating suggestions for improvement of working conditions, rationalisation of remuneration and improvement of motivation of workers at the outsourced production centre in Bangladesh. I was a member of the small team of three that was entrusted with the responsibility for making a primary study on the issue and develop workable solutions that would serve sustainability objectives without placing undue financial pressure on the management of the company. Modern day HR theories are informed by the work and theories advanced by psychologists and behavioural experts like Maslow, Herzberg, Vroom and McGregor. Maslows well known theory of needs states that individuals essentially work to satisfy their needs, which progress from basic physiological needs like food, clothing and shelter to safety and security, love, status and esteem, and finally to self actualisation (Maslow, 1954, p 11). Herzbergs theory of motivation on the other hand states that individuals are influenced in their job choices by two distinct sets of conditions, namely hygiene factors and motivation factors. Hygiene factors represent issues like salary, security, workplace reputation and general working conditions (Herzberg, et al, 1993, p 21). Motivation factors on the other hand consist of issues like potential for learning and growth, scope for enhancement of responsibilities and official recognition for efforts of employees (Herzberg, et al, 1993, p 21). Our team found, whilst analysing the remuneration levels and working conditions at the clients factory in Bangladesh that the workers lived lives of basic subsistence and were just about able to meet their physiological needs with their existing salaries. Most of them lived in low quality slums and did not have the resources to buy liveable houses. The application of Maslows theory of needs in such circumstances led to the conclusion that the workers would be ready to put in significantly greater efforts in order to satisfy their physiological and security needs and work even harder to achieve their status and esteem needs. The application of Herzbergs theory revealed that the workers did not at the time of the study have access either to hygiene or to motivation factors. Their working conditions were poor, their salaries were low, and there was little scope for career progression, reward or recognition. Apart from such circumstances, it was also evident that the owners of the sub-contracted manufacturing facilities at Bangladesh were deliberately contravening governmental rules and regulations with regard to minimum wages, time of work and also possibly utilisation of underage labour. It did appear ironical to all of us that whilst people in the UK were concerned about the application of modern day HR theories and the work of Maslow, Herzberg and McGregor, people in the developing countries continued to work in extremely difficult conditions just to survive and meet the very basic needs of their families and their own selves. It was also very obvious that outsourcing by the client organisation to Bangladesh had been done primarily to exploit the low wages in the region. Any recommendation to improve the wages or the working conditions of the workers was bound to lead to greater costs, reduction of profitability and negation of the basic reasons for shipping the work abroad. Members of our team however understood that growing pressure from environmentally conscious buyers and final consumers was bound to create pressure on firms that shipped work to low wage regions to improve the working conditions of their workers (Latham, 2006, p 47). We thus formulated a detailed report recommending the improvement of wages to 20% higher than minimum wage levels and the construction of a scheme to reward sincere, efficient and productive workers. We recommended the establishment of washrooms, canteen facilities and crà ¨ches and the reduction of daily working hours to 8 hours a day, with overtime payments at established rates in case operations at the facilities had to be conducted for longer hours (Latham, 2006, p 47). We also recommended the establishment of a performance appraisal and management system for locating good performers who could be shortlisted for more responsible positions in future (Latham, 2006, p 47). We explained in detail in our report that the implementation of such measures would lead to significant organisational benefits, both in the market place and at the manufacturing facilities (Armstrong, 2006, p 5). Awareness of sustainable manufacturing practices among buyers and consumers would lead to improvement of reputation and increased demand for products (Armstrong, 2006, p 5). The implementation of the recommended measures at the workplace would also lead to improvement of productivity, reduction of wastage, lesser absenteeism and greater commitment among members of the workforce (Legge, 2004, p 16). Compliance with governmental regulations on the other hand would reduce the liability of prosecution and the levy of significant penalties (Legge, 2004, p 16). We were happy to find that the suggestions in our preliminary report were accepted with openness and appreciation by our clients. The clients called us for a detailed meeting wherein we explained of the likely benefits of adopting more worker-centric policies to organisations that shipped work to low wage regions. We provided the example of Nike and the extensive critical media reports on the company after the publication of exposes on the abysmal working conditions at its factories in South Asia (Dusen, 1998, p 1). The senior management of the company assured us that they would initiate plans to improve working conditions at their facilities in Bangladesh in line with our suggestions. I think of my experience in working on the project as one of the most rewarding and fulfilling episodes of my working career. It showed me how modern day HR theories can be used to good effect in different types of situations and workplaces. It not only gave me the opportunity to practically use my theoretical knowledge on motivation and reward but also gave me the chance to make a difference to the lives of people who work in difficult conditions for survival and subsistence.

Romanticism Vs. Survival In Th :: essays research papers

An important theme in The Death of Artemio Cruz, by Calrlos Fuentes, was the comparison of romanticism and survival. This is shown through two important characters: Artemio Cruz, and his son Lorenzo. A romantic (Lorenzo) is a being that has ideals and fights for them. They know their goals and try to achieve them, while survivors have an only goal of keeping themselves alive. The survivors live through their choices and the romantics die as heroes, but each one complements the missing half of the other. Artemio Cruz is a typical survivor. He “knew how to fuck up other people and not get [himself] fucked over'; (PAGE 137). His choices allow him to survive and others to be killed. Although he lives through his choices, Fuentes shows through his interesting narrative device of expressing Cruz’s unconscious, thoughts and memories that he regrets and reflects upon while on his deathbed. When the second person narrator says that you “are going to live...You are going to be the meeting point, the universal order’s reason for being...Your body has a reason for being...Your life has a reason for being...You are, you will be, you were, the universe incarnate'; (PAGE 305), he is trying to show that everyone has a reason for living. Fuentes shows the reader why Artemio’s life is so important and why he believes that he is a model to the people. Artemio Cruz lives through his choices. He chooses to be a survivor, but each time he makes a choice, he leaves part of his romantic half behind since he saved himself instead of others. Instead of following his ideals, he follows his greed. He chooses to become rich and corrupt and to abandon his dreams, but he regrets doing a lot of those things because he killed many people in order to survive, including a part of himself. He said that he “could have died at Perales...with that soldier...I survived. You died'; (PAGE 236). After everything is passed, he stops to think about what he did wrong and regrets it, but at the time, he just cared about himself. When he went to war he met Regina and they started to have a relationship, but since he is a survivor, once again he saved himself. Regina got killed, but he didn’t. However, his son Lorenzo, has a completely different life story, but of the same importance.

The Second Amendment - The Right To Bear Arms Essay -- Constituton Bil

The Second Amendment Few issues incite americans more than the issue of rising crime and violence. This problem can easily be linked to the availability of guns."The debate over whether guns are a hallowed tradition and a right guaranteed by the Second Ammendment of the U.S.constitution or whether they are a fearful danger contributing to crime and violence." ("gun control") Due to the outbreak of violence in our society, some people feel that repealing the Second Ammendment would solve the problem. These people feel that repealing the Second Ammendment would solve the problem. These people feel that there are two reasons for the repeal; One is the rising of violence among teenagers, the second reason is their interpertation of the Second Ammendment which could be considered a strict one. The side opposing these views use arguments like how it would be immpossible to repeal the Second Ammendment, and a long western civilizations history with a right to bear arms. Finally one can see the conflict of views dealing with the Second Ammenment, but one would also see that repealing the ammendment wouldn't solve the problem facing our society. The contriversy of this issue that has the potential to pulverise this country is why it is such a good topic to discuss, people should be better informed and make a decision based on fact and not fiction. Many advocates of the limitations of guns can quote numerous examples of increasing violence and homicide crimes. But the area which hits the closest to home is the issue of violence among the teenagers of our society. The years have changed on how students deal with their problems "Twenty-five or thirty years ago, when teenage boys got into a fight... it usually meant a fist fight. In more and more neighborhoods... it now means a shoot out" ("Gun Control"320). Violence like that is a major problem on our streets and even in our schools. Almost everywhere now "youngsters are packing weapons, Some are involved in drugs or gangs; others carry them for self-defense... One study says at least one in every three male juveniles is armed"(Muller 2). Now more than ever before an "increasing number of children under the age of 18 arrested each year for murder has jumped 55% in the past decade,... Juvenile arrests for aggravated assault are rising dramatically" (Henkoff 2... ...dment most people are unaware that the 14th or Civil Rights Ammendment also guarantees the right of freedmen to bear arms. Do advocates against the Second Ammendment suggest that we repeal this ammendment too? Many Americans would not go for that. Furthermore it is obvious that it would be impossible to repeal the Second Ammendment there are otherways to deal with rising crime and violence. Obviously military type weapons should not be available to the public, they are designed with one thing in mind, to kill people. There should also be limits on semi- automatic handguns because they are not even suitable for sport and it only takes one shot to warn off someone attaking you not 14 as many weapons can hold. Even though steps must be taken to curb gun violence people must get more involved with the system to insure that limits do not go too far. It is after all the people who control politics, not politicians. In conclusion the Constitution holds the basic rights for which we exercise each day. Our basic rights are guarenteed by the Constitution, and if they abolish the Second Ammendment we would not enjoy the result, no crime but at the cost of a police state. This is not America.

Review Case Study Dogfight over Europe: RyanAir Essay

1. Overview of RyanAir RyanAir was founded in 1985 by Tony Ryan who former has been worked in Aer Lingus. It established to provide schedule passanger airline services between Ireland and UK as an alternative flight to the state monopoly carrier, Aer Lingus. Initially, RyanAir was a full-service conventional airline, with two classes of seating and leasing three different types of aircraft. RyanAir’s objective was to maintain its position as Europe’s leading low-fare airline, operating frequently point to point flights on short-haul flights, mainly out of regional and secondary airports. Its strategy was based on providing a no-frills service with low fare designed to stimulate demand, particularly from budget-conscious leisure and business travelers who might not have travelled at all. Mission Ryanair aims to offer low fares that generate increased passenger traffic while maintaining a continuous focus on cost commitment and operating efficiencies. Vision To firmly establish itself as Europe’s leading low-fares scheduled passenger airline through continued improvements and expanded offerings of its low-fares service. Values Ryanair is committed to bring customers the lowest fares and most on-time flights out in comparison to all competitors. Most importantly are safety issues, punctuality, near-perfect baggage handling, and the green policy. Goals Ryanair plans to increase efficiency and lower costs even further in comparison to industry rivals. The company wants to become the 2nd largest international airline. 2. Internal Analysis Ryanair’s success was based on a skilful adaptation of the Southwest Airline model focusing on the cost leadership. It benefits from the first mover advantage as it has implemented the budget model first in the European market by negotiating best rates possible with secondary airports. Ryanair has established a single type aircraft fleet that saves on training costs, point-to-point flights that enable fast turn-around times and flights to secondary airports that save airport fee costs. All of them enable Ryanair to keep its operations extremely efficient. Furthermore, Ryanair sub contracts employees on temporary basis, which again saves the company huge expenses making it flexible and adaptable to environmental changes. Figure A2 illustrates all the key points as a summary. Further savings are generated through Ryanair’s website where no advertisement is necessary. Through ancillary revenues as e.g. on-board gaming and car renting Ryanair manages to generate highly satisfying 20% of its revenues. The low-cost business strategy has been successfully integrated into the Porter’s Value Chain. The Resource Based View Model shows the internal analysis as a summary. 3. External Analysis PESTLE Analysis is a suitable tool in order to analyse the external environment. It summarises all the external factors, which might create opportunities or cause significant threat to Ryanair’s operations. Political The political institution European Union affects Ryanair’s strategy and operations by establishing regulations and restrictions in the airline industry. For example, the regulation setting a ceiling on flying hours in order to prevent pilot’s fatigue forces Ryanair to hire more employees. In addition, the EU demands to refund air passengers in case of delays or cancelled flights. Also, the EU might increase the emission fees. All those  EU regulations must be considered and Ryanair’s strategy has to be accordingly adjusted in order to avoid a negative impact on the business. In addition, Ryanair should be aware of regional distinctions as the Irish tourist tax and national government laws acting in favour of national airlines that increase Ryanair’s costs, e.g. national employees contracts in other countries have different terms and conditions that must be applied and are more expensive. Economical Ryanair saves costs by operating over secondary airports. In that way they avoid primary airport charges and extra costs. The economics downturn in 2009 has shown that Ryanair as the leading budget airline can offer the cheapest flights attracting customers and still generate returns. As long as the low fares are guaranteed Ryanair will do well in comparison to its competitors. But if fuel price fluctuations occur, an increase in price will lead to an increase of Ryanair’s operating costs causing problems to guarantee low fares, which stand for the core competence of Ryanair. Failures in hedging, as it happened in year 2008, should be avoided. Also exchange rates should be observed as they might lead to supply chain disruptions. Social Customers perceive Ryanair’s customer service as poor, as the passengers expect to be compensated for cancelled and delayed flights. The poor working conditions cause legal and safety issues that can scare established and potential new customers away. Additionally, the provoking and misleading advertisements lead to a bad image of Ryanair from customer perspective. Those social factors should not be ignored, as customers are key for further growth and market expansion. Technological Ryanair has successfully demonstrated how to make use of modern technology in order to save costs. Ryanair’s online check-in policy and marketing on Ryanair’s website demonstrates how to make use of the Internet technology avoiding expenses of travel agents and excessive advertising. Besides, if  technology such as on-board Internet connection and television are offered for a fee they can generate additional revenue on board. Legal Ryanair is involved in a few legal battles with Stansted and Dublin airport that raise their departure duties. Besides, Ryanair’s misleading and provoking advertisement assault media law and civil law resulting in high penalty fees. The poor working conditions and insufficient training might be an issue of labour law. Additionally, the poor working conditions lead to safety issues and can cause a bad image. All those legal issues are causing handling-, penalty fees and court expenses that should be limited. 4. Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis The Porter’s Five Forces Framework helps to identify the attractiveness of an industry in terms of five competitive forces. In Ryanair’s case it determines if the European budget airline industry is an attractive one. (see: Figure A6) 1) The Threat of Entry The low fares industry, especially, with established leading players as Ryanair, is really hard to enter. The entrants need high capital requirements in order togenerate high economies of scale to compete in the European market. Besides, access to distribution channels is required. That means that the factor threat of new entrants is pretty low. 2) The Threat of Substitutes A service that creates equivalent value to the customers as the airline industry does is the railway networks, sea transports and car rental firms. The only significant threat is the train service because the other options are too expensive. Even though Europe has a good train network like EuRail, the disadvantage of trains is the journey time. It takes much longer to reach a destination by train than by plane, which results in a higher opportunity & transaction costs. To conclude, the threat of substitute is low. 3) The bargaining power of buyers Customers have a high bargaining power because switching to another airline is simple and there are no additional expenses required (e.g. EasyJet and Virgin Express). Especially, in a strategy of cost leadership each customer becomes important. Besides, an increasing problem is that more and more competitors start to offer cheap prices, as well. 4) The bargaining power of suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is high, as there are only two manufacturers competing in the aircraft industry. Supplier switching costs are high, as the pilots will need to be retrained and high capital investments must be made. Ryanair’s main supplier has traditionally been Boeing. But Ryanair can allow itself to change suppliers because of its healthy cash flow and because it has already tried to purchase Airbus aircrafts after the purchase of 200 jets from Boeing got cancelled. 5) The extent of Rivalry between competitors The number of competitors that are trying to imitate Ryanair’s cost leadership is increasing. As the market share of the budget airline is only 30% of the whole airline industry the market contains the potential to grow. This might also be the problem for Ryanair and its expansion strategy. As the threat of entry is high the extent of rivalry stays as middle. 5. SWOT Analysis a) Strength 1) Point-to-Point flights. 2) Low Fare 3) Low Operating Cost (Outsourced) b) Weakness 1) Less customer service 2) Poor working conditions c) Opportunity 1) Market share expansion 2) Establish good relationships with labour unions as BALPA 3) Ryanair’s website presence and modern technology 4) Competition Committee who control harm competitors d) Threatness 1) EU regulation 2) Oil price 3) Legal Issues 4) Substitute Transportation 6. Evaluation of Michael O’Leary’s Leadership Michael O’Leary is an extraordinary figure and key personality in Ryanair’s management. He owns an aggressive and innovative leadership style. His statements are provoking and direct. Even though he has a deep financial understanding and became a wealthy person by selling 5 billion of Ryanair’s shares, he still lives the life of a middle-class person. Strong Leadership style O’Leary has an energetic, motivating leadership style. Former employees are praising his leadership style and he received a the European Businessman Award from the magazine Fortune. Innovation abilities O’Leary persuades Ryanair to adopt the strategy model of Southwest Airlines even though the majority of the management team was not willing to do so. He was the inventor of charges for online check-in. Skilful Promoter O’Leary was able to bring Ryanair to the customers by doing provoking stunts and curious advertisement. He always managed to attract the attention of the media and was able to put the company Ryanair on the first page in the news. Maintaining Core Competencies and effective Organizational Culture Over the years, O’Leary managed to build a low-cost culture amongst Ryanair workforce. The corporate culture determines how Ryanair operates and conducts its business. Developing Human and Social Capital Social capabilities are O’Leary’s disadvantage. As he is totally focussed to squeeze out everything out of the available resource, e.g. the employees, to lower costs and offer the lowest price, he forgets about the social component. If he and the company want to survive they need to start developing closer relationships without exploiting all the resources. Ryanair has to manage to move away from an autocratic leadership style and transfer to a democratic one. 7. Recommendation SO strategy Ryanair should definitely proceed with its plan to open up 146 routes in year 2010 according to its five years plan. Expanding further in the market pursue the goal to achieve economies of scale that provide a guarantee to offer the lowest price in the airline industry. Moreover, Ryanair should make use of the strengths as its young, commonality aircraft fleet and start to promote a Greening-image. Besides, more revenue can be generated by increasing cross-selling over the website. ST strategy Ryanair should keep buying the newest aircraft models from Boing as supplier. That will allow Ryanair to minimise its emission costs that will lead to competitive prices. Especially, in time of increased competition Ryanair should promote the greening image. In times of an economics downturn Ryanair can even allow to raise the prices as the competition is forced to do the same and Ryanair possesses a wide price difference of 89% compared to its competitors. WO strategy In order to counteract against the bad public image because of controversial advertisement and poor customer service Ryanair should try to look for a dialogue with labour unions and its customers. The successful dialogues with the labour unions should be promoted in marketing channels. Furthermore, Ryanair’s website should be equipped with a feedback area for customers  complaints. The complaints must be constantly reviewed and responded. WT Strategy Ryanair should definitely pay attention to its public image. The poor customer service and safety issues can scare away customers. All problems concerning safety must be eliminated. In order to decrease the pressure from employees more staff should be hired.

Examine and Assess the Ways the State Claims Legitimacy

The state refers to the shared ideas and expectations regarding the ordering of social life, it is seen by social scientists as a set of practices and organisations. The state is an institutional order striving to create some order, thus preventing chaos in order to ensure law and order to encourage social stability. Governments include a part of the state, with the main concern being the protection of individual freedom, the government demands the right to represent or rule some areas of society’s lives. Social scientists are able to see the differences between what the government is and what the state is all about. On the whole the government includes a group of ministers who rule and administer the laws concerning national issues, whereas the state is seen to have continuity, therefore it is not temporary, the state is based on shared beliefs concerning the arrangements of social life. The English historian AJP Taylor argued that until August 1915 â€Å"a sensible law abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state beyond the post office and the policeman† (Exploring social lives 2009). This shows that from the end of this period and onwards across the United Kingdom the state appears to be everywhere, it shows that the lives of society have been made and remade by the state as during World War 1 and World War 2 acts of parliament were passed, the state legitimised acts which could not be contested by society as they were faced with war and great turmoil. The state is part of the discourses that can be seen in day to day life and can be seen by such organisations as schools, hospitals, housing and transport to name a few. The making and remaking of the state is also shown to be constructed by society, whereby individuals have had to become â€Å"active citizens†. This making and remaking can be seen by the members of society who pay their taxes, who comply with the speed limit, individuals who renew their MOT and so forth, on the other hand many may also unmake the state by not complying with the law, this however would lead to consequences by the state and shows that the state can claim legitimacy over such members of society. Christopher Hood (1982, Exploring social lives) a political scientist argues that the bodies that now make up the state are a â€Å"formless mass†. By this he means that the state is so large and made up of many organisations and practices compared to a century ago that it is full of complexity. With reference to the essay title it is difficult to actually decipher what legitimacy actually means, this is because the government or state have their own ideas of what is legal and lawful whereby they pass acts of law which lead to legislation, however some members of society may not agree with what the state deems to be legitimate, one such example is the evidence shown in the Exploring Social Lives DVD involving the coal miners’ strike. Although the miners’ strike was caused by the massive pit closure programme that was introduced by Thatcher and her Conservative government; the government used the state and the police to help defeat the miners’ strike. The miners were also prevented from claiming state benefits this was due to the fact that welfare benefits were not permitted to individuals who were on strike. Another act was also passed in 1980 concerning the social security act, this saw that any dependents of any individual striking would not be permitted to receive any payments even if they were in â€Å"urgent need†. The German sociologist Max Weber defined the state as â€Å"a human community that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory†. By this he means that the state can choose to pass laws that cannot be contested by others, the state is therefore more dominant. In the case of the coal miners it shows that the state claimed legitimacy when passing such acts of law and showed they were more dominant than the coal workers. Members of society can show whether they are opposed by some acts passed by the state by having elections, however this does not mean that society can question the states legitimacy it is merely a way for individuals to question government policies and elect a new government if need be. David Beetham a democratic theorist argued that political A9363176 legitimacy can come into being from a number of points, firstly legal validity, by this he means that a government is formed, and then state agencies operate according to the rules of the constitution. Secondly justifiability of those rules in terms of local values, by this he questions the constitutional rules and asks if they are satisfactory to the members of society who are ruled by them. Thirdly evidence of express consent, this is whereby members of society can have the opportunity to either withhold or not their agreement with the government and its policies (1992 Exploring social lives). The general idea of Beetham’s statement shows that the legitimacy of a state can be if the constitutional rules are acceptable to the members of society that are ruled by them. The state can also be experienced through the census, which is carried out every ten years. The state claims legitimacy through the census as you are required by law to complete it. However in many cases members of society do not comply and choose to ignore aspects of some of the categories that they are meant to complete. Other ways in which the state can claim legitimacy is through indirect influences such as education, for example in Exploring Social Lives parents such as Jill have to make choices in the selection of nurseries and schools that would be appropriate for their child. This shows that education is an indirect legislation, although the parent can make choices as to where the child is taught not all parents can be successful in choosing the school of their first choice in addition the child cannot vote or take part in the system so the state can claim legitimacy through the educational system. Another example of how the state claims legitimacy is in the way it is connected to democracy. This type of democratic system is whereby society decides which representatives should be elected to run the country, however democracy is seen to be more than just voting it is based upon the principles of equality and freedom of speech and a way of life. Legitimacy of a state however can only be practised in countries where laws are enforced. Most importantly individuals from a democratic state have particular liberties and freedoms that are protected by the state. Democracy is a political order that happens in the majority of countries, there are very few individuals who would actually object to democracy as it would be denying freedoms. Now in the twenty first century democracy is closely linked to state legitimacy. â€Å"while democracy is not yet universally practised, nor indeed uniformly accepted, in the general climate of world opinion, democratic governance has now achieved the status of being taken to be generally right. The ball is very much in the court of those who want to rubbish democracy to provide justification for that rejection† (Sen 1999 Exploring Social Lives). The political theorist John Hoffman argues that the state cannot exist unless it is being contested. A state claims a monopoly of legitimate force, but ironically it is only because ‘competitors contest the state’s claim to have a monopoly of legitimate force that the state exists at all. A state that really did have a monopoly of legitimate force would have no reason to exist† (Hoffman 2007, Exploring Social Lives). One such example of a state that has been fought for is Northern Ireland. During the years 1919 -1921 after the war of independence Ireland was divided, this new division of Ireland created in the south saw a new independent Irish Republic, whilst the North of Ireland was ruled by the British. The population of Northern Ireland was divided which saw much hostility within societies living there. Most of the population of Northern Ireland looked upon themselves as British (Unionists). Others saw themselves as Loyalists and were mainly Protestants, whilst others saw themselves as Irish Catholics. The Nationalists and Republicans began to contest against the state as they felt they were being discriminated against, this led to civil rights marches during the 1960’s. However in 1972 on the 30th of January a march led to the start of what is known as â€Å"Bloody Sunday†.