Living Well In the Life of a Pharmacist - 864 Words

Becoming a pharmacist is a very time consuming process. Students must complete all of the pre-pharmacy requirements, take licensure exams, and finally get into and graduate from an accredited pharmacy school with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. While that might not sound like a lot, it takes eight years of hard work. A lot of undergraduates journey into the field with visions of dollar signs floating in their heads. Then they start taking their pre-pharmacy courses and decide that maybe becoming a pharmacist is not their calling. Many people have told me that hard work and determination going into a precise goal will get you anywhere you want to go in this world. My grandfather has told me countless times â€Å"Don’t blame someone else for you†¦show more content†¦The scientific portions of the requirement ask students to take sixteen credit hours of Chemistry, which include College Chemistry I and II and Organic Chemistry I and II. Students must also take eight credit hours of Biology, which include the courses Principles of Biology I, Human Anatomy and Physiology I, and finally Human Anatomy and Physiology II. Undergraduates also are required to take English, Literature, History, Fine Arts, Philosophy, Social Science, Statistics, and Physics (Smith). If you appreciate math and science, then pharmacy might be an option one might contemplate. However, that is a lot of work in only two years! When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Everyone I have talked to about college says that the first two years are the hardest, they did not lie! After all of the pre-requisites for pharmacy school have been met, it is time to take the dreaded PCAT. PCAT stands for Pharmacy College Admission Test. It is a standardized test administered to prospective pharmacy school students (Pearson). The best I have heard it described is an enormous version of the ACT. There are seven sections to be taken in about four and a half hours. The sections include Verbal Ab ility, Quantitative Ability, Biology, Chemistry, Reading Comprehension and two writing sections (Pearson). The writing sections should be the easiest because of the superb training I am now receiving by my instructor. Many students are spectacle aboutShow MoreRelatedLiving Well In the Life of a Pharmacist958 Words   |  4 Pagesget answers such as: astronaut, firefighter, or teacher. I was obviously not your typical ten year old. I wanted to become someone who helped sick people feel better. I was stuck between a doctor and a pharmacist. Because I do not do well with blood, I chose to become a pharmacist. Sure a pharmacist was not as â€Å"cool† as an astronaut, but I had a great reason on why I wanted to become a pill pusher. When I was eight years old my mother passed away from a liver disease. No one knew she had this diseaseRead MoreReflection Paper On Disease996 Words   |  4 Pagesproblems with disease conditions like chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis. Among the list of chronic diseases faced by people living in this area is cancer which is the leading cause of death in the area and this might be as a result of some exposure to chemicals from work place, life styles, and even from their environment. Another major chronic health disease faced by people living in this area is diabetes. Diabetes may be as results of poor diets, lack of exercises and other factors. Furthermore, asthmaRead MoreSince my uppper primary years, my ambition is to be a pharmacist. Initially, I wanted to be a1200 Words   |  5 PagesSince my uppper primary years, my ambition is to be a pharmacist. Initially, I wanted to be a pharmacist mainly to help people. Today, after going through different experiences, praticising pharmacy is more than just a way to help people; it is what I envisioned myself to be doing few years down the road for the rest of my life. I still remember my first encounter with a pharmacist. She is so patient and thoughtful, answering my questions in lay man terms and providing me details so I can understandRead MorePharmacy Essay615 Words   |  3 PagesPharmacy Pharmacists serve patients by providing information and advice on well-being. They also supply medication to patients in need of a better health. A qualified pharmacist must go through a certain amount and type of schooling to obtain certain degrees; these degrees will make an individual eligible to become a qualified pharmacist. Many colleges and universities across the United States offer great schooling to be part of this profession. There are many reasonsRead MoreThe Role Of A Pharmacist Essay963 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Today in the 21st century the roles of pharmacist have expanded tremendously. Before pharmacist had the role of solely dispensing drugs. Pharmacists were limited to only being regulatory or clinical pharmacist. Back then they were called medical purveyors who were much like today’s regulatory pharmacist and hospital pharmacist who are similar to hospital pharmacist. Now pharmacists carry many roles in healthcare. Pharmacist can play roles in public health, community, health systemsRead MoreThe Multi-faceted Role of the Pharmacist in Alberta Essay554 Words   |  3 Pagesrole of the pharmacist within Albertas health care system is multifaceted and constantly evolving. First and foremost, the pharmacist is a care provider who uses their knowledge, skills, and professional judgment to provide pharmaceutical care and facilitate management of patients medication and overall health. Subsequently, they are also a collaborator who work in concert with the team to provide effective , quality health care, and more importantly, to optimize patients quality of life. This isRead MoreTOEFL: An Obsticle for Foreign Pharmacists1040 Words   |  4 Pagesyear to start their dream in a better life. There’s no specific occupation that could be found significantly over another among the immigrants. There are foreign physicians, accountants, nurses, teachers, and pharmacists. All of them are coming to the US hoping in a better career and consequently better life. Over the last few years, the number of foreign pharmacists has been increasing tremendously. That made the National Association of Boards of Pharmacists (NABP) tightens their requirements inRead MoreWhy I Want Pursue A Career1744 Words   |  7 Pagesare very successful right now. Another reason is because of my aunt and uncle. They have made me realize that being either a doctor or pharmacist is a very good career to pursue because I can be a role model to their kids and that would want them to pursue a similar career. Basically I’ve been convinced to go for a career in the medical field throughout my whole life. I’m also in medical classes at school, so I already have plentiful knowledge of medical careers and I would be at a disadvantage ifRead MoreEmergency Contraception For Women s Reproductive Rights982 Words   |  4 Pagesdiscussing, â€Å"If a pharmacist has the right to refuse health care services based on moral grounds.† Also, the article tries takes a look at the overall controversy and the laws surrounding the pharmacist’s refusal to provide health care. It helps educate the reader and show them that a pharmacist’s right to refusal is wrong and should not be allowed. They begin discussing how an individual’s views on emergency contraception correlate with when they believe life begins. If someone believes life beings at fertilizationRead MorePharmacy : Life, Death, And Responsibility1583 Words   |  7 PagesPharmacy: Life, Death, and Responsibility As the end of the year approached, I knew the controversial I-Search was bound to be assigned in the near future. Through my high school years, I have heard many things about the infamous I-Search and was quite intimidated. When I received the first papers to begin this project, a cold sweat ran down my forehead. What was I going to write about? To help choose a topic, the class was told to create a web about each of our lives. After completing my web,

Essay on Views on the Importance of Science - 1010 Words

Views on the Importance of Science Different people have different views on the importance of scientific concepts in comparison to other branches of knowledge. In order to determine if it is reasonable to believe that science is a supreme form of knowledge, firstly we must determine what knowledge is. Knowledge can be seen as the act of knowing or understanding gained through experience or study. Thus in order for something to be considered as knowledge it must be true to the person who has that knowledge based on the information available to them at that time There are many different branches of knowledge from science, to ethics, religion and history. Secondly, we must determine what science†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, the rate at which progress occurs in science and the amount of knowledge acquired about the world through Science is astounding especially when compared to the rate of progress at which humans acquire knowledge in other areas, such as philosophy or History. However, this does not mean that other branches of knowledge should be overlooked or that information gained through scientific procedure is always entirely accurate. The belief that science is the supreme form of knowledge has been widely viewed throughout history, dating back to Ancient Greece where Aristotle developed the scientific method. One movement in philosophy that believed in this view strongly were the logical positivists. Logical positivism began in the early twentieth century in Europe and believed that science, along with maths, were the only true types of knowledge. Although there are many positive aspects of knowledge gained through science, there are also many limitations to such knowledge. Firstly, it has been known for scientific theories to be proved wrong for instance in the past scientists believed that the earth revolved around the moon. This also addresses the problem of how knowledge gained through science is dependant on time and technology. Many scientificShow MoreRelatedScience As An Environment For Learning959 Words   |  4 PagesEven though science can be very mind boggling it is often at times misunderstood by many, it draws together model experimental developments and concepts in conjunction with matter, gadgets, and other devices because scientists contributes different conveniences for the different communities to develop and expand their individual awareness. It helps one to better understand the invention of recreating mass and matter. As an attempt to look at the continuing debate of the true role science plays inRe ad MoreThe Transformational Psychology View, By Coe And Hall Essay1625 Words   |  7 PagesPsychology view, by Coe and Hall, believes how we live out our Christianity is more important than our understanding of how to think â€Å"Christianly.† Its an approach that states psychology is an act of doing love. It emphasizes learning, practicing, and living psychological science through the Spirit. 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ByRead MoreAnalysis Of Kuhn s Book On Scientific Research1323 Words   |  6 Pagesa widen view on how the research and approach on different paradigms varies from one scientist approach to another. It is important to acknowledge that effective research begins even before the scientific community has acquired answers to most delicate questions like the: composure of universe, interaction of fundamental entities of this creation, questions that might be asked and techniques employed to seek answers and solutions to these ques tions. He goes back to the classics of science such asRead MoreThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 1155 Words   |  5 Pagestwenty times as fast as her normal healthy cells, which eventually also died a couple of days after they started growing. The first immortal human cells were grown, which was a big breakthrough in science. The HeLa cells were spread throughout the scientific world. They were used for major breakthroughs in science, for example the developing of the polio vaccine. The HeLa-cells caused a revolution in the scientific world, while Henrietta Lacks, who died October 4th 1951, and her family were completelyRead MoreThe Science Of Science And The Conceptual Understanding899 Words   |  4 PagesLearning the History of science has an authentic significant to provide an obvious understanding for learners since that will lead them to visualize the progression of science from A to Z. According to Richard K Moran and Page Keeley in their book â€Å" Teaching For Conceptual Un derstanding in Science,† theories, hypotheses, and interpretations those were created by distinguished ancient scientists throughout the previous centuries must be included side by side with the modern science. Chapter two of theRead MoreA Compare and Contrast of Horror and Science Fiction/Fantasy Genres1777 Words   |  7 Pagesnot proven to be as timeless as another genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy. At first, these two genres might at times seem similar as they have at several occasions been blended together, but their basic, common theme serves different meanings about humans. I shall compare and contrast these two genres and focus on both classic films and modern films. From the Horror genre perspective I shall discuss Psycho (1960) and The Mist (2007), while in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre I will examine 2001: A Space

Auditors Liability in Global Financial Crisis

Question: Discuss about theAuditors Liability in Global Financial Crisis. Answer: Introduction Auditing is defined as the process of examining the books of accounts and certifying the financial statements of the entity based that examination. The audit is conducted by the members of an independent accounting body of a country (Gray and Manson, 2007). For example, the companies registered and operating in Australia are required to get their accounts audited by a practicing member of CPA Australia. The auditor owes duty to perform their work with integrity and objectivity to the owners of the company and to the public at large. In the circumstances of breach of fundamental principles of integrity and objectivity, the auditor becomes liable towards civil as well as criminal liabilities (Gray and Manson, 2007). This report is about an investigation carried out to find out the liabilities of the auditor in the cases of global financial crisis. The global financial crisis implies an economic mishap that affects all the countries around the world. The finical crisis always takes plac e exploiting the weaknesses in the governance and regulatory system of one country and then it becomes global financial crisis by spreading across the globe. In the context of this, the aim of this report will be to find out the liabilities of the auditors in the global financial crisis by identifying their role in the financial sector. Common Reasons for Major Corporate Collapses and Global Financial Crisis The common reason which has been found in all major corporate collapses is the failure of corporate governance (Clarke, Dean, and Oliver, 2003). Whether it is Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, or Lehman Brothers, the reason for failure of these big corporations was one that is weak governance system. The collapse of Lehman Brothers that occurred in the year 2008, affected the US economy badly (Panfilii, 2012). The research into the causes of failure of Lehman Brothers shows that it was failure of the governance system that laid the corporation to go into the fatal situation. The lack of good corporate governance and stringent accounting rules and regulations enabled the management to manipulate the financial statements. In the greed of jumping high in a quick time, the management overburdened the company with high debt. The financial statements were manipulated to so show the assets at values which did appear to be realizable in the normal course. The company was running its business with a ver y high leverage which gave rise to the risk of bankruptcy and ultimately in the year 2008 it went into liquidation (Panfilii, 2012). It is crucial to understand that whenever the big corporations like Lehman Brother fails, the entire economy of the country is affected (Panfilii, 2012). This happens because these corporations control the resources at the large scale. All the other entities linked vertically or horizontally with the failing company also get affected. Thus, the impact of failure of a large corporation is perceived on the entire economy. The failure of Lehman Brothers in the year 2008 contributed to the financial crisis in the United Stated. Further, failure of banking and financial sector in the United States took this crisis to the larger scale and it spread to other parts of the world resulting into a global financial crisis (Panfilii, 2012). Auditors Duty and Role After getting an insight into the common reasons of corporate failures and global financial crisis, it is important to understand the role of the auditor. It is really important to understand the work of auditor, his scope, and the responsibility areas before fixing any liability on them for corporate failures, scandals and the global financial crisis. In respect of a corporation, the auditors duty is to issue report on the correctness or otherwise of its financial statements. In this regard, the auditor is duty bound to adhere to the legal provisions of the statue governing audit of the corporations and the requirements of the auditing standards (Knapp, 2016). As far as there is no contravention of the legal provisions and the requirements imposed by the auditing standards, the auditor is not liable to any kind of corporate failure. However, if there is clear departure on the part of the auditor from the legal provisions and or the accounting standards, the auditor would be liable f or proceedings. The liability of the auditor could civil or criminal. Further, the auditor may also be liable for the damages caused to the third parties due his breach of duties (Knapp, 2016). The cases of departing from the legal provisions of the statue and the provisions of auditing standards fall under the category of professional negligence. However, it is quite subjective to establish the fact that the auditor committed breach of duty (Plessis, McConvill, and Bagaric, 2005). This is because the auditors work involves subjective judgments and application of the concept of materiality. The concept of materiality entails that the auditor can restrict his examination in relation to material items only. Further, the auditor is also not liable to proceed with the predetermined mind frame to find out some fraud or scandals. The auditor is liable to proceed with due and reasonable care. Now what does this due and reasonable care implies depends upon the study of circumstances in which the auditor performed his duties. However, in most of the cases, where it is apparently clear that the auditor would have found the fraud or irregularity had he performed normal procedures, lia bility would arise. The auditor is in no way liable to perform like a bloodhound but it is expected that he performs like a watch dog. In the cases when the auditor fails to perform like even a watch dog, it raises questions on his competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence (Plessis, McConvill, and Bagaric, 2005). Auditors Liability in Global Financial Crisis As has been discussed in the above sections that the global financial crisis does not happen due to the failure of any one corporation, rather it is the impact of overall failure of the sector or industry (Friedman, 2011). However, the size of the corporation that has failed does matter. If the corporation is as big as Lehman Brothers, it could really hamper the sector or industry and contribute greatly to the emergence of the financial crisis like situation. However, in these situations, if the governance system and regulatory environment is good, the financial crisis could be avoided. Thus, the financial could emerge only if the governance system and regulatory environment of the country is weak. It is essential to note that the auditors play a crucial role in building and maintaining the governance system and the regulatory environment. The auditors owe duty to seek compliance with the rules and regulations and report the instances of non compliance to the regulatory bodies (Knapp , 2016). The failure on the part of the auditor in discharging their duties properly could lead to serious damage to the governance system and which in turn becomes the reason for financial crisis (Friedman, 2011). Thus, it could be inferred that though the auditors may not be liable for global financial crisis directly, but their liability could be linked indirectly through corporate scandals. In this regard, it is important to analyze the cases of corporate scandals to find out the circumstances in which the auditor could be held liable for breach of duties and charged for being negligent in performing his duties. The three big corporate scandals namely Enron, WorldCom, and Lehman and Brothers are worthy to analyze in this context. In the case of Enron, three auditors from Arthur Anderson were found guilty and charged for professional negligence. The CPA licenses of these three auditors were revoked by the authorities (Edelman and Nicholson, 2008). Further, one of the auditors was also prosecuted for civil liabilities where he was found guilty and the court imposed heavy fine on him. Further, the court also found Arthur Andersen, the firm as a whole, guilty of professional misconduct. The aud itors of the firm were found to be reckless in preparing audit plan and assessing the risk of fraud and misstatement appropriately while preparing audit program (Edelman and Nicholson, 2008). The auditing standards require that the auditor consider the risk of fraud and misstatement while drawing out the audit program. In the case of Enron, the auditors did not consider the circumstances which were clearly indicating the risk of fraud or misstatement in the financial statements. Thus, it was a clear departure from the duties and the auditors were held liable for that (Edelman and Nicholson, 2008). Further, Arthur Andersen was also held liable for breach of due and professional care principles in the case of WorldCom. The auditors of WorldCom were also from Arthur and Andersen who were charged for being negligent in discharge of their duties (Lessambo, 2016). The auditors were debarred from practicing as professional accountant by the authorities. In the case of WorldCom, the company overstated its profits by capitalizing the revenue expenses. This breach of accounting principles and standards would have been caught by the auditors had they performed their duties carefully (Lessambo, 2016). Another recent case of corporate scandal is Lehman Brothers. In this case, the company materially misrepresented the financial performance by manipulating the financial statements for several years and ultimately collapsed in the year 2008 (Futures, 2015). The auditors were brought into question later on and in the year 2015 they were held liable for breaching the principle of professional skepticism. This principle requires that the auditor should remain always alert to the events and the circumstances which provide any indication of the fraud or irregularity in financial reporting (Johnstone, Gramling, and Rittenberg, 2015). In the case of Lehman Brother, it was held that the auditors did not follow professional skepticism. The court held that had the auditors been alert, they would have encountered the mess at very early stage which might have saved the company from failing. The auditors were fined for $10 million in this case (Futures, 2015). Therefore, it could be analyzed that the auditors can not be held liable for the global financial crisis directly and no penalty or persecution can be launched against them. However, the auditors owe duty to the individual corporations which they audit and they are responsible for any kind of default on their part in discharging audit function with reasonable and due care (Gray and Manson, 2007). The type of liabilities that the auditor can face could be civil, criminal, or third party liability. As can be observed from the discussion carried out in the above paragraphs, the auditors license to practice can be revoked, fine and penalty may be levied, and even prosecution can be launched for serious damages. Further, the auditors may also be liable to the third parties in certain cases if the third party has suffered due to the breach of duties by the auditor (Gray and Manson, 2007). Conclusion The discussion in this paper revolves around the issue of auditors liability in the case of global financial crisis. From the overall discussion, it could be articulated that the auditors are not directly liable for the global financial crisis because the global financial crisis is the result of many events. A single event that the auditors failed in discharging their functions appropriately could be not be the sole reason for the global financial crisis. However, the role of auditors is wide enough to help the economy and the society to build and develop, therefore, the auditors should have a sense of responsibility. They should work in the right direction to prevent accumulation of the events which could culminate into the global financial crisis. Recommendations The auditors owe duty to the entity and the owners of the entity, thus, they should be diligent in discharging their duties. The work performed by the auditors should help in building the nation from both economic as well social perspectives. The auditor should take responsibility to maintain and promote the integrity and objectivity. They should work independently and in an unbiased manner (Gray and Manson, 2007). References Clarke, F., Dean, G., and Oliver, K. 2003. Corporate Collapse: Accounting, Regulatory and Ethical Failure. Cambridge University Press. Edelman, D. and Nicholson, A. 2008. Arthur Anderson Auditors and Enron: What happened to their Texas CPA licenses? Journal of Finance and Accountancy, pp. 1-9. Friedman, J. 2011. What Caused the Financial Crisis. University of Pennsylvania Press. Futures. 2015. Auditor found liable for Lehman fraud.[Online]. Available at: https://www.futuresmag.com/2015/04/15/auditor-found-liable-lehman-fraud [Accessed on: 05 January 2017]. Gray, I. and Manson, S. 2007. The Audit Process: Principles, Practice and Cases. Cengage Learning EMEA. Johnstone, K., Gramling, A., and Rittenberg, L.E. 2015. Auditing: A Risk Based-Approach to Conducting a Quality Audit. Cengage Learning. Knapp, M.C. 2016. Contemporary Auditing. Cengage Learning. Lessambo, F. 2016. The International Corporate Governance System: Audit Roles and Board Oversight. Springer. Panfilii, A. 2012. Failure of corporate governance intention or negligence. [Online]. Available at: https://www.actionamresponsabil.ro/failure-of-corporate-governance-intention-or-negligence/17037 Plessis, J.D., McConvill, J., and Bagaric, M. 2005. Principles of Contemporary Corporate Governance. Cambridge University Press.

Maintaining biodiversity free essay sample

Biodiversity means the variety of life forms/organisms in an ecosystem, biome or entire planet. Globally, biodiversity is not evenly distributed. It generally increases from the poles towards the equator as around 50% of the world’s plants and animals live in tropical rainforests. This is because of the proximity to the equator causing a warmer, more moist, stable climate which means plants grow better and can support more species higher up in the food chain. Standard of living is the level of wealth, goods and services, which are available to a person or ground within a population. For development and to improve people’s standard of living, it’s often necessary to make use of the world’s biodiversity. However, it has become clear that we must preserve the current level of biodiversity so that we can maintain the carbon sink that rainforests provide and so that we can continue researching and finding developments in certain medicines that rainforests can provide. Human beings have exploited the tropical rainforests for many years now for their abundance of resources and their biodiversity. The moist exploited is the Amazon rainforest which has already lost 20% of its area forever. Deforestation is the single biggest threat to the rainforest; the prime cause of it is cattle ranching. This is when land is cleared to provide space for cattle ranchers to herd their livestock to help increase beef production. This activity accounts for 60% of deforestation in Brazil, which is having a major effect on the biodiversity of the ecosystem. The impacts of deforestation are wide. In the Amazon there have been problems with increased forest fires, soil erosion and decreased biodiversity, caused by habitat loss. Subsistence farming is another factor causing an increase in deforestation, being responsible for 25% in the Amazon. People migrate into the rainforest, clear areas of land and farm on that area as after 5 years it’s legally theirs. However, due to more people searching for plots there is greater pressure on the amount of available land. The logging industry is responsible for a relatively small level of deforestation, accounting for 3% in Brazil. Consequently, all these activity contribute together to the rapid loss of what is left of the rainforest and a large proportion of the world’s biodiversity. All of the resources that the rainforest provides could be lost in the next 40 years. The Grande Carajas mining project, Brazil as well as other individual projects have created a series of problems for the rainforests. The Grande Carajas project in particular is a large complex of open pit mines, which takes up more than 6miles of rainforest. Along with many other schemes of this nature, the Grande Carajas is contributing to the continued deforestation of the Amazon. In addition large areas were deforested to make way for the construction of The Trans-Amazonian Highway, which was meant to allow access in and out of several project schemes. After the highway was built evidence of soil erosion could be seen as the ground was left exposed due to the lack of vegetation. Access roads like this have been known to encourage settlements for the transport links they offer, and people will often settle close to the road, which leads to deforestation in order to create space. The HEP Project; the Tucurui dam also had similar affects to the Amazon. The reservoir created by the dam has an area of over 2000km, making it 5X the size of the Isle of Wight. This entire portion of the Brazilian rainforest has been drowned and the wildlife lost, there is also the possibility that unknown and endangered species were killed because of the creation therefore reducing biodiversity. Despite this, the scheme has been a key source for clean, renewable energy through the use of hydroelectric power; however the upset the project caused outweighs the benefits of the generated power. Sustainable development has been successful in many ways in minimising the loss of Biodiversity whilst creating economic development and wealth for countries with TRF biomes. Despite the damage The Grande Carajas mining project caused it has also aimed to be quite eco-friendly. It has resulted in the demolition of trees on only 1. 6% of its total areas. This has been shown to not of inhibited the project from becoming one of the world’s largest mines or from them supplying to countries such as Japan and Germany. Therefore, it’s not necessary to destroy the forest in order to achieve increased levels of wealth. Rubber tapping is an alternative industry to logging. It’s a process where rubber and latex are extracted from rubber trees. It’s an old tradition, which could be the reason for 63,000 families carrying it out on a daily basis. This type of sustainable development is successful, as it doesn’t involve cutting down or damaging trees so reserves can be established to allow rubber tappers to continue on the tradition allowing the culture to live on. This also provides jobs for future generations and gives them the opportunity to improve their standard of living. For centuries, tribal communities have extracted non-timber products such as fruits and nuts. One Acai palm tree produces 20kg of fruit annually which can be used to produce wine. Because the extraction technique doesn’t involve damaging the tree, deforestation rates have noticeably dropped, in spite of this Brazilian GDP has continued to increase. In contrast not all interests are shared in relation to preserving biodiversity. In spite of laws and restrictions approximately 80% of logging in Brazil is illegal and violates government controls and just 1% of logging is done sustainably. By law farmers are limited to 3 hectares per year, however this is very difficult to monitor and enforce so the limit is commonly exceeded. Ecotourism also aims to reduce the negative impacts caused by mass tourism. Whilst allowing people to visits places of natural beauty, tourists are encouraged to stay in self sustaining lodges/huts, use little electricity, dispose of waste safely and all income made from tourism goes to locals meaning the industry can be maininatined and improved for generations to come. For the Masai tribe, population pressure has meant overgrazing has left less and less space for their animals to graze even though their indigenous region is protected. The poaching of endangered species in these areas is also common, directly violating government regulations showing how insignificant the laws are to the people. Its imperative for ecosystems to maintain a high level of biodiversity as having a range of species helps maintain the ecosystem, i. e. : insects pollinate plants and animals disperse seeds. If one species dies out the entire ecosystem is affected. Biodiversity helps ecosystems adapt to the changing physical conditions, e. g. : If the climate changes in an ecosystem with low biodiversity all the species may die. When biodiversity is high, there’s a better chance that some of the species in an ecosystem will be able to adapt to the new conditions and survive. Reducing biodiversity threatens ecosystems and can be unsustainable. Humans rely on ecosystems to supply important natural resources such as food and fuel – when biodiversity is reduced; ecosystems are less able to produce these resources. This means that future generations won’t be able to make use of them to meet their needs. Personally, I would suggest that it’s not impossible to maintain the current level of biodiversity whilst improving the standard of living. As countries like Brazil have provide the momentum to push towards this goal as they was able to slow the rate of deforestation whilst still maintaining a high GDP. Giving proof that the world’s wildlife can be preserved and maintained whilst improving the economy and the standard of living. The creation of conservation complex’s such as the Central Amazon Complex has protected the surrounding area form major developments that might have impacts on the CACC. Ecotourism provides a source of income for locals and promotes conservation – in Mamiraua a low environmental impact ecotourism lodge has been built, which recycles waste and uses solar power. Reserves like this one are large and understaffed which makes it difficult to monitor and control illegal activities i. e. hunting. However initiatives that propose benefits for the local people may help deforestation rates etc to decrease as tax incentives as well as other benefits may give villages the tools needed to farm sustainably and help maintain biodiversity whilst achieving a reasonable standard of living which can only be built upon.

What impressions do we gain of Oedipus as a king and as a man Essay Example For Students

What impressions do we gain of Oedipus as a king and as a man Essay The play Oedipus Tyrannus is a famous tragedy written by an ancient Greek tragedian called Sophocles. The main protagonist of this play is Oedipus, happens to complete a prophecy that stated that he would kill his father and marry his own mother. Like in almost all greek tragedies, Oedipus is the tragic hero here and from the prologue and the first episode one may think that the tragic flaw or the weakness of the tragic hero is his intense anger. The play begins with a dramatic situation where the Thebians are undergoing a deadly plague. In the opening scene there is a civic gathering where the desperate Thebians ask for help from Oedipus. This is a key scene in the play, because Sophocles uses it to portray Oedipus as a good King from the very beginning of the play. In fact the opening line suggests that Oedipus has a sense of paternal benevolence from the way in which he addresses his Thebians as his Children. (l. 1) This can be further seen in other points of the opening speech where he says that I would be a hard man Not to feel sympathy for a gathering like this. (l. 12-13) We will write a custom essay on What impressions do we gain of Oedipus as a king and as a man specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now From the way he sympathizes for the Thebians, one can understand that he cares for his people. Sophocles highlights another good characteristic of Oedipus that makes him a good king in his opening speech: his dutifulness. I thought it wrong to rely on the reports, Of others, so have come here myself (l. 6-7). This again manifests his availability as a king and his dutifulness. As the play goes on, an emotive side to Oedipuss character is also shown where he empathizes with the Thebians about the horrific situation. Believe me, Ive shed many tears (l. 66) . Another quality of Oedipus is being open to his people. An example from the play would be when Creon returns from Oracle and suggests to go inside to speak about what the Oracle has said about the reason of the plague, and where Oedipus says Speak out in front of us all. I suffer more For these people than for myself (l. 93-94) This could be a good characteristic of a King although this shows that he doesnt think around in situations because here he could have risked to be nominated as the pollution directly by the Oracle. At times the lack of diplomacy could be quite dangerous. One of the main features of Oedipus as the King and as a man is his taking of immediate, swift actions. The first situation in the play where the audience notices this is where he sends his brother-in-law to the Oracle as soon as he finds out about the plague. I have sent Creon, my own brother-in-law, to Apollos shrine, in Delphi, to see if he can find out What I can say or do to save the city (l. 69-72) Here his rapid acts to seek a solution seems efficient to his role of King, although in other situations he tends to jump in to immediate conclusions. For instance when Tiresias accuses Oedipus of having killed the Laius,I say you are the murderer youre looking for (l. 62) Oedipus straightaway points the finger at Tiresias blaming him to be plotting against Oedipus to make over throw to pass the throne to Creon. Vicious slander (l. 363) These words show the signs of his rising temper. its me youre trying to throw out, thinking that you Will stand at Creons side when the throne is his. (l. 399-400). A characteristic that that belongs to Oedipus as a king and as a man is his tragic flaw: His acute anger, which leads him to jump into immediate conclusions and to take terrible swift actions. .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 , .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 .postImageUrl , .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 , .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1:hover , .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1:visited , .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1:active { border:0!important; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1:active , .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1 .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uab0f411b98c619efe2faf6117fcc3aa1:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Merchant of Venice, Act 1 scene 3, Act 2 scene 5 EssayAmong all these aspects Sophocles also underlines another negative feature of Oedipus: his great sense of pride. Famous Oedipus as everyone calls me. (l. 8) This aspect of his character makes him also be pompous. I, ignorant Oedipus, stopped her. I used my wits; I didnt rely on birds (l. 397-398) This quote also shows that Oedipus has great insight. In actual fact, he was the person who solved the riddle of the Sphinx with his intelligence and who saved the Thebians from the plague. However, Oedipus commits blasphemy by comparing himself to a god by boasting about his great insights. You pray. Now in answer to your prayers, if you are willing to hear and accept my words and attend to this sickness, You will find protection and relief from your afflictions (l. 216-218) These are some other main impressions that the audience is given about Oedipus as a man in the play. Overall, I believe that Oedipus was a good King even though his tragic flaw was his own curse which made him jump in to dangerous conclusions that sometimes involved violent acts which as a result made him face problems that he could have avoided only if he controlled his temper.

Definition of a Learning-Rich Environment

Definition of a Learning-Rich Environment Homeschoolers have a language of their own that may sometime be confusing to outsiders or newbies. One such term is a learning-rich environment. For some, the term may seem self-explanatory. For others, it may sound intimidating. They may wonder, if I don’t create the perfect environment for my kids, am I going to be a homeschool failure? Fortunately, the definition of a learning-rich environment may vary from family to family, but all definitions will probably encompass a setting in which children are encouraged to learn through natural curiosity and exploration and in which the tools for doing so are provided. Some common components of a learning-rich environment may include some of the following: Books in Relation to Homeschooling There probably isn’t a homeschooling family on the planet for whom a learning-rich environment will not include access to books. To create a setting in which natural learning can take place, children of all ages should have easy access to a variety of reading materials. Easy access may mean bookshelves placed low where young children can reach them. Rain gutter bookshelves provide a highly visual storage idea, which often encourages young readers to explore. Easy access also means placing books in high traffic areas of your home. You may have bookshelves in bedrooms or  your living room (or even your dining room) or you may use your coffee table to strategically place books you think will interest your children. A variety of reading materials may include books, magazines, graphic novels, or comics. It may include biographies, historical fiction, non-fiction, and books of poetry. A learning-rich environment will include ready access to the written word and the freedom to use the materials at will. Its important to teach children how to properly care for books, so you may wish to start with providing free access to sturdier reading material such as cloth or board books if you have young children. Tools for Expressing Creativity A learning-rich environment will typically include ready-access to tools for kids to express their creativity. Depending on the age of your children, these tools may include: Play-doh or modeling clayArt supplies such as paints, brushes, or chalksMusical instrumentsCameras digital or videoCraft supplies such as glue, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, or construction paperHandicraft supplies such as knitting needles or crochet hooks, yarn, sewing notionsBlocks or LEGOsBlank paper and crayonsOld magazines and greeting cards In order to encourage self-directed creativity, it is best to allow open access to art supplies and tools for creative expression. To offset the potential for disaster, you may wish to consider having a specific area in your home for art or leaving only water-based and washable art supplies openly accessible  (just skip the glitter). You might also consider teaching your children to cover their work surface with a plastic tablecloth and provide smocks (over-sized t-shirts work well) for art projects. Tools for Open-Ended Play and Exploration A learning-rich environment will also have the tools necessary for open-ended play and exploration. Dry beans can make the perfect math manipulatives, but can also double as the substrate for a sensory box. Old boxes of varying sizes can be used for building a fort or creating a stage for an impromptu puppet show. Preschool and elementary-aged children can enjoy self-directed learning and play with items like dress-up clothes; old dishes and cookware; or small notepads for playing restaurant or store. Children of a variety of ages will enjoy having access to items such as: Binoculars or a magnifying glassA microscope and/or telescopeField guidesA child-friendly computer or laptop with safe-search options Older kids may enjoy taking apart non-working electronics and appliances. Just be sure to take the proper safety precautions first. The idea is to provide the tools to let your children’s imaginations and natural curiosity take over and direct their playtime. The Value of Learning Stations Learning stations are not necessary for a learning-rich environment particularly if all the elements of the stations are readily accessible to children but they can be a lot of fun. Learning stations or learning centers need not be elaborate. For example, a math station may consist of clear, plastic box filled with items such as: RulersA plastic clock for learning to tell timeCounting bearsRegular playing cards (adaptable for a variety of math games)Buttons for countingTangram piecesA set of plastic shapesA set of diePlay money We had a writing center that was made up of a tri-fold presentation  board with a variety of writing helps (such as a word wall of common words and a printout of a hand with the 5W  questions, â€Å"Who, what, when, where,  and why?†). The board was set up on a table which held a dictionary, thesaurus, a variety of paper, journals, pens, and pencils. You might also consider creating learning centers such as: A reading nookA kitchen centerA science/nature study centerA geography center Again, learning centers don’t have to be elaborate. They can be stored in cabinets; boxes or baskets; on top of a bookshelf; or on a wide windowsill. The key is to make the elements of the learning station visible and easily accessible so that students understand that they are free to explore with the items. Creating a learning-rich environment can also be as simple as a purposeful use of your home and materials. For example, if you have an interest in astronomy and would love to share that with your children, pull out all your astronomy books and place  them around your home. Let your children see you studying the stars through your telescope, and point out to them some of your favorite constellations. It also may mean simply capitalizing on the everyday learning moments and demonstrating through your actions that learning never stops and isnt confined to the 4.5 hour/180 day school year (for example) that your state requires. It may mean simply being okay with the potential mess and with the kids using all those great math manipulatives that you purchased at the homeschool convention for something other than their originally intended purpose. And with any luck, you may discover that creating a learning-rich environment is more about your attitude than the articles in your home.

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 25

Report - Essay Example Global oil prices significantly fell sharply over the past nine months and this lead to considerable reduction in revenue for many countries exporting the product. The prices have fallen from an all time high of $110 a barrel to a low of $60 a barrel, a significant difference if $50 for a barrel. The trend in the fall of price of oil per barrel is likely to continue as the produced countries have resisted attempts to reduce the production that may increase the price of oil. Economists point to the surge in the United States production and tame economic growth in many countries as the leading causes of the oil price fall. The dynamic nature of oil prices in history has often been linked to stock prices. The ultimate way to validate, the assertion that the stock prices can be the result of changes in oil prices is only through empirical research. Most of the research on the relationship between these two variables are normally in the Western developed countries, and yet oil forms a sig nificant part of the economy of the GCC countries (Alabdulwahab, 2008). The relationship between changes in oil prices and stock markets in GCC countries are important for other significant reasons, other than the one mentioned above. These reasons include the specific characters of their GCC stock markets demands a deep understanding of the underlying oil to equity market relationship (Asia, 2012). The Gulf Cooperation Council, formed in 1981, and it comprises the six countries of UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait (Arouri, Bellalah and Nguyen, 2011). This paper is a report that shall present the manner in which the changes in oil prices affect the performance of stock markets of the GCC countries Markets in the GCC have reacted sharply to the changes in the oil prices from July 214 to January this year. The last time the prices of oil peaked was September, and since that day the price of oil has fallen drastically by more than fifty

Recent debate about U.S. media content or expression that is allegedly Research Paper

Recent debate about U.S. media content or expression that is allegedly obscene - Research Paper Example This therefore means that even the media have the freedom of expression to air whichever programs they want as they are protected by the law. On the other hand, the Supreme Court which is the highest court in US has mandate to revoke or amend laws and even change case rulings of the smaller courts. They can therefore change the laws of Federal Communications Commission if need be to in any case. Cases have been documented whose ruling by the Supreme Court goes against the set laws by the Federal Communications Commission. One of the most famous of these cases is the FCC v. Pacifica Foundation and even another one between US and Fox stations over airing programs with obscene scenes between 6.00 am and 10.00 pm (which are the hours such programs are not supposed to be aired). The cases have been ruled in favor of the defense with them being charged only minimal fines or being released with warnings which is not the recommendation of Federal Communications Commission. According to Overbeck and Belmas in their book â€Å"major principles of media law 2012†, the debate over which rules against obscenity by the media are to be followed and which legal or government institution’s laws are to be in-charge started a long way back. There are several cases documented as well and most of them are ruled by the Supreme Court and usually the ruling does not fully follow the laws by FCC. The debate has therefore led to some media houses not being charged and others being over or under charged and hence not facing the full implications of their actions. This is especially so for medias like the internet where strict rules have not been enforced. The Supreme Court rules in favor of the first amendment in such cases especially because it is sometimes hard to provide evidence of such obscenity and hence ruling is either based on allegations or simply dismissed. The first amendment does not protect

Assignment 5 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

5 - Assignment Example † All organizations need to realize the important of human resources and the value they give to the firm via their services. Human resource functions are critical for all companies regardless of their niche or size. The employees of the organization are the main resources that execute the objectives of the firm. However, while setting a human resource unit, an organization should look at the service composition of the department. These may include payroll and tax administration, legal compliance, liability protection, negotiation of benefits, administration of benefits, acquisition of talent, hiring employees, managing performance, leadership training, attendance and time monitoring, employee development, and guidance and review on termination. All these specific functions of human resource management need to be performed in a systematic mode so that all needs of the employees are catered by the firm in a successful manner. Performing human resource management functions success fully will allow organizations to gain a strong competitive edge in the business market. According to a 2010 study by the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA), chief executives believe that their human resource departments are crucial components of their businesses (3). Regarding performance, the study documented that senior HR is as essential as any other organizational pillar of a company. Fifty per cent of chief executives in the study had led their companies through enormous growth from 2008 to 2010. The other half had been leaders of companies that went through severe economic challenges during the same period that led to downsizing. In the two cases, the HR department contributed significantly to the management of effective work levels. This was crucial for the resilience of the organizations during the time of turbulence ("The Role and Future of HR"). The chief executives of the companies that experienced growth, acknowledged the importance of HR in attracting tale nt. The ones from companies that downsized were of the opinion that the most critical contribution of HR was in ensuring that the communication with employees remained transparent during the difficult times. They also helped in retaining the best talent. Retaining talented employees is crucial for long term success as market is becoming competitive with every passing day. From the study, it is clear that the HR department is a business partner that has the ability to see a company through moments of great success and economic threats alike. Consequently, a weak HR department would help bring a company to an early demise ("The Role and Future of HR"). Therefore, it is important for all organizations to ensure that they have a competitive HR department to manage their human resources. How Poor, Neglected â€Å"Operations† Is in Fact the Ugly Duckling That Can Mature Into A Swan Many MBA graduates avoid working in the operations departments of organizations because they hold the se areas with a low opinion. The fresh MBAs have in mind that these jobs are done by low qualified people and hence they do not accept such offers. Most companies are out to improve their operations to attract more talent because without operations businesses cannot exist. The second part of this paper provides information on how a company can improve its operations. Over the past five years, most companies have experienced a slump in their growth. At the same time, the costs of sales and marketing have been increasing.

Macro Environment of Nestle

Macro Environment of Nestle Nestlà © is the worlds largest food company and has held offices in the UK as early as the 1860s. Nestlà © was originally made up of three major companies: Nestlà ©, the Anglo- Swiss Condensed Milk Company and Rowntrees of York. In 1905 Nestlà © merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company and quickly became known for infant formula, chocolates and tinned milks. In 1939 Nestlà © launched Nescafà © in the UK, which became an immediate success for instant coffee (Nestlà © UK, 2012). In 1988 Nestlà © obtained Rowntrees of York and has since invested over  £200 million into the York site and  £100 million in their Tutbury factory. Between the years of 2006 2011, Nestlà © invested  £224 million in their UK sites (Nestlà © UK, 2012). With 6,500 employees across 20 different locations in the UK and exporting as much as  £300 million worth of products each year to 50 different countries, Nestlà © is not only a major employer in the UK, but also one of the UKs food industrys major exporters (Nestlà © UK, 2012). In 2002, Nestlà © UK acquired Ski Yoghurt from Nestlà © Australia and six years later in 2008, Ski Yoghurt was re-launched with only natural ingredients combining real fruit with thick, creamy tasting yoghurt and no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives (Nestlà © AU, 2012). 1.2 Previous Positioning of Ski Ski yogurt is currently positioned as a naturally delicious product and its positioning strategy focuses mainly on its fruit heritage and its value to the consumer. After the last re-launch of 2008, the new re-designed packaging tries to connect ski back to nature and puts forward an all natural ingredients story by featuring plenty of fruits in their natural environment for every flavour (Appendices 9.1). 2. Situational Analysis 2.1 Macro environmental analysis In the analysing of the macro environment of the product category, PEEST analysis is used to identifiy five main forces which affect marketing decision-making. The five forces analysed are political-legal factors, ecological-physical factors, economic factors, social-cultural factors and technological factors. (P)olitical Legal factors: EFSA bro-biotic dossiers companies that have vested interest in functional health adopt a more cautious approach or focus on benefits that have secured EFSA approval (Mintel, 2012). Trade negotiations under WTO. Bilateral trade deals (Doha, 2011). Compliance with legislation is becoming more costly April 2012 Dairy UK intention to sign up to the Department of Healths calorie reduction pledge which aims to support and enable consumers to eat and drink fewer calories on daily bases. (E)cological Physical factors: Environmentally friendly, reduced packaging is being promoted by the government (recycling good for corporate social responsibility image) Climate change adaptations Water management is an emerging priority (E)conomic factors: Unemployment rates on the rise, reaching 8.4% during January 2012 (Trading Economics, 2012) Economic growth of the market UK yoghurt market grows in a slow but steady pace over the last year at a rate of approximately 2.5% (Mintel, 2012) (S)ocial Cultural factors: Good intentions, such as not snacking between meals and eating more fiber, have become less of a priority in the recent years. Preoccupation with trying to loose weight Adults within a family are expected to remain the largest population segment Strong growth expected in the number of children between 5 and 9 years old Projected increase of one-person households (contribute less to volume sales of yoghurt). (T)echnological factors: The use of the internet through online grocery retailing directly influenced the supply chain, operations and processes of grocery and food retailers Online retail shopping has gained considerable popularity due to the increased accessed to broadband internet in the UK; 70% of overall market are broadband users (Keynote, 2010) Lack of applied RD and knowledge exchange as Government reduces funding 2.2 Micro Environmental Analysis In order to analyse the companys both internal and external environment, the SWOT analysis is used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation as well as the opportunities and threats from within its market environment. SWOT Analysis: Strengths Ski is apart of a global established brand Nestlà © Nestlà © stands for product Innovation Strong promotional activities e.g. Exclusive gifts as a part of their promotional offers Product availability and distribution to all major stores Perceived as a quality brand Strong historical background One of the first in the yogurt market Strong ability to recover from market share loss in the short term (2008) Weaknesses Frequent re-launches over the years lacks consistency Weak TV advertisements Very weak presence on social media platforms less interactive and informational, lacking updates Current positioning is not consistent with the current image of Ski, therefore its losing its roots Frequent re-launches over the years lacks consistency Opportunities Over three quarters of yogurt users view Ski as a healthy alternative to other treats (Mintel, 2012) Use of social media is growing extremely fast Backing of Nestle known as a established brand Spoonable yogurt represents over four fifths of the yogurt market (87%) (Mintel, 2012) Consumer engagement Capitalize on organic/historic brand positioning Increase of online advertising Increase of use of internet Increase of nutritional awareness Threats Decrease in popularity Higher competition from competitors Competitors stealing market share Due to the Economic downturn consumers switch to store-brands (Mintel, 2012) Customers choosing healthier or non dairy yoghurt options Brand loyalty Customers not making the switch from their usual brand to trying Ski Only gaining an older demographic because of history and recognition Nestle boycotts within the UK 2.3 Market Trends Overall since 2007, there has been a 0.9% increase in the eating of yoghurt, with an increase 7.1% in heavy users, and decreases of 1.9% and 5.2% in medium and light users respectively. The yoghurt market in the UK is saturated, making it hard to add new users. Yoghurt is considered a healthy option, with low fat varieties making up 56% of purchases. The growth of low-fat yoghurts, at 1.9%, has been faster than that of standard yoghurt, at 0.6%. Those in families are more likely to eat yoghurt compared with those not. The group that buys the most yoghurt is that of women and households with children aged 1-9. An increase in the number of 5-9 year olds of 11% is expected between 2012 and 2017, meaning the number of people in the above group will expand, giving potential for more growth. More affluent families are also more likely to be consumers of yoghurt, and are likely to consumer more of it (Mintel, 2012). 2.4 Competitors Within the dairy market in the UK, retailers own-label products have significally increased the competition since due to the economic downturns of the last several years, consumers tend to switch towards them. The two bigger players of the market are Danome and Muller which together capture 60% of the spoonable yogurt sales and continue to dominate the market. The direct competitors of the Ski yoghurt are Activia, Muller, Yoplait, Yeo Valley, Onken, Munch Bunch, Weight /watchers and own-label products (Appendices 9.2). 3. Objectives The roles of objectives play an important part of the overall campaign. Both the marketing and communications objectives provide direction, focus, values, and a time frame, while also providing a means by which the success of the campaign can be evaluated (Fill, 2009) 3.1 Marketing objectives Increase market share by 1% by June 2013. Increase volume of sales by 20% by June 2013 3.2 Communication Objectives Increase re-launch brand awareness by 30% by June 2013 Impart nutritional knowledge, brand heritage and Ski yoghurt diet plan to both males and females, ages 25-40 within the first 2 months of the re-launch. Build project the position of a healthy, active, and convenient product image of Ski to both males and females, 25-40 years old within the first 4 months of re-launch. Increase shelf space in supermarkets by 20% by June 2013 Expand saturation on trade grounds by 15% by June 2013 20,000 consumers to sample the product by the end of the campaign-June 2013 4.0 Consumer Strategy 4.1 Segmentation Demographic Trends According to Mintel (2011), The group that buys the most yoghurt is that of women and households with children aged 1-9. The current target market of Nestlà © is working mothers, aged bwtween 35-44 years old with older kids. However, an 11% increase in the number of children aged 5-9 year olds is expected between 2012 and 2017. (REPEAT and needs a Reference). This gives potential of growth and more affluent families being more likely to be yoghurt consumers, and are likely to consumer more of it (Mintel, 2011). In terms of social class, AB, C1 and C2, social class who are professionals, supervisory and skill manual workers, the geographic location of these classes is in United Kingdom. Hence, the yoghurt market should focus on British customers to gain an effective marketing strategy. Behavioural/Psychographic Trends The reason being that British customers are more concerned with their health. More and more, they consider calories consumed and fat content to ensure that they are eating well. Their healthy lifestyle can safeguard them from the widespread obesity epidemic (Key note, 2012). Some customers, who find themselves lack of time having proper food, consume snacks instead of main meals. Yogurt is the choice of healthy food of this target market, containing essential nutrition to make them healthier (Mintel, 2011) 4.2 Target Audience Ski Yogurt is marketing to group of people who prefer natural yogurt products in effective quality and sufficient quantities. This target audience covers; working mothers aged 25-50 with older children. Our target audience would be A, B, C1 and C2 (Appendices 9.3) which primarily concern with health and nutrition. We will expand our target audiences network with family who would like active activities and has busy lifestyle. 4.3 Pen Profile Within the Ski consumer strategy, young families, especially mothers who take a considerable interest in both their appearance and health will be targeted. In addition, young working people that like outdoor activities such as exercising, walking, and socializing. Also, someone who is of a higher social class, and will therefore typically think more about nutrition in trying maintain a more attractive physical appearance. A good approach to reach the target audiences is through advertising messages on television; press media and outdoor media that attract the consumers. Alternatively, a more efficient communication network is through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Accordingly, marketing activity will adapt and respond to changes in customer behavior. 4.4 Positioning The aim of the campaign would be to maintain the current positioning of Ski as a healthy and natural product choice and focus on strengthening the healthy aspect of the product as well as introducing the convenience factor. The ultimate goal of the campaign would be to move Ski yogurt towards a healthier position among the competitors within the perception map (Appendices 9.4). 4.5 Creative strategy Strap line: How do YOU doSKI? From Skis previous re-launch in 2008, it has been positioned as a brand with high nutritional value using only natural ingredients, and no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives (Nestlà ©, 2012). The Ski UK brand is one that naturally composes historical and nutritional value while also being backed by Nestlà ©, one of the biggest food distributors in the UK. Starting in January of 2013, Ski UK will begin their re-launch by focusing on the promotion of new beginnings, and will accordingly play an important role in influencing consumers to aim for a healthier and happier lifestyle in the new-year. By enhancing their current traits, the re-launch and creative strategy of Ski will be positioned as an active brand with high nutritional value and convenience for those with a busy lifestyle. In order to support the re-branding of Ski, the colours will change from its current blue, white and red to a more unique and fresh white, black and green. The new colour of Ski will directly reflect the active and green-friendly image of the brand. Ski yoghurt will be seen as a product that will enhance your overall health, happiness and lifestyle. The logo will also change to differentiate Ski from its competitors and to reflect the new positioning of the overall Ski UK brand. Also, the Nestle logo, currently on the packaging will become smaller to give the consumer the feel of a more organic, and family-owned product (Appendices 9.5). It is shown that the attractiveness of packaging affects the volume of sales and packaging can be essential in affecting the positioning of a product (Fill, 2009). In order to attract the attention of Skis target market, the packaging of Ski will become more durable, sustainable and pleasing to the eye to reflect the new active and green image of the brand. The basis of the re-launch will be based around the new slogan: How do YOU doSKI? In the advertisements, the produced concept will introduce new ways of eating and using Ski yoghurt. People will be shown how they can DoSki. This will be shown through sports activities like football, young professionals with busy lifestyles and health-conscious families. The look and feel of a product will change while still holding on to its natural heritage and nutritional value. The overall goal within the Ski UK re-launch and creative strategy is to enhance the product. 5.0 Communication mix 5.1. Media Planning The media plan of the campaign will take place within a six month time period, which is broke down into 24 weeks for precision. The brand can take advantage of the spirit after the New Year by initiating an image of a new start, new beginning and changed behaviors. Thus, the repackaging, and the pre and post-testing of the new design will take place three weeks before New Year. Advertising among business clients will take place in the third week of the repackaging and in the first week of the communication campaign delivered by B2B print media. The developed company website and a new Facebook page will start at the same time but remain active throughout the whole period of the campaign. In order to attract the consumers attention, the first week of the media activities plan will start with TV advertisements. During January, February and the first week of March, the tools used will help create awareness among non-users and regular or inconsistent users. Apart from TV commercials, these tools include online and outdoor media. From week 10 (second week of March) to week 13, print, online, outdoor and TV media will be used to inform people about the competition-taking place in weeks 14 and 15 (middle of April), which is intended to provoke interest among customers. During the competition, online media will remain active as well as sampling, which would create desire among people. Sales promotion will start in the second week of the competition (week 15) and will be used again throughout the whole month of March. Meanwhile, online media will be used after the end of the competition to the end of the campaign in June to inform people about its results. In addition, print and outdoor media is implemented in the end of June in order to prompt customers about the competition and its beneficial outcomes. Successfully, at the end of the campaign a complete AIDA model would be applied. Appendix 9.6 shows a detailed media plan including time frame and Appendix 9.7 shows the budget of the campaign. 5.2.1 Advertising Most marketing communications campaigns rely on advertising as it is an important communication mix tool and is best used for awareness as it is has the potential to reach a large number of target audiences with simple and understandable message content. Hence Ski has given emphasizes to their advertising campaigns with their amounting to  £72,6277; the highest amongst other communication mixes. This includes the production cost of advertisements in the communication mix. Advertising would give Ski an excellent platform to control the message, content, show-case creativity, and give it a competitive advantage to their competition. This would enable the increase of brand / product awareness, associations and encourage the change in consumer perceptions including their involvement with the advertisement. Their prime communication objective is awareness. The emphasis on the strategy for Ski is to introduce better understanding of the yoghurts features. Broadcast Television This broadcast medium has a huge influence over mass coverage and it makes a good platform for skis target segment. Skis budget allocated to the TV commercials would cost  £420,121. The commercials would air during the time slots, 11.00 to 21.30 between weeks 1 to week 13. The chosen channels would be ITV 1(This morning, Early evening news and Movie / drama) and ITV 2 (all-day campaign). Through this time slot allocation, Ski would be able to target mothers during the morning slots and during news and drama slots the message can be sent to families with younger children. ITV would air the commercials to increase awareness of the product between weeks 1 to week 5 at various time slots. In week 12 and 13, the media would air commercials promoting an upcoming sports event for schools. Print media Ski will use print media as a part of their awareness strategy as it has a huge impact on mass audience because of its easy access and availability to mass audiences. The target audience of The Sun would be parents, both working parents and stay-home mothers. The Sun is one of the leading daily newspapers in the UK with a readership of more than 2 million per day (Insight, 2011a). The advertisement in The Sun will appear in 6 issues in week 10 and 11 and the results of the event will feature in 2 issues during the last 2 weeks of the campaign. The Grocer will focus on business to business advertisements to attract the interests of potential clients to promote Skis products in the stores. These advertisements would feature in the magazine during the pre-launch weeks and the first week of the campaign. Additionally, before the Ski holiday competition, retailers will be targeted again through the magazine in order to raise interest in supporting the event and giving it a space in their stores. The approximate cost of advertising in print media would cost Ski  £14,616. Digital media (online) This new form of communication is high in frequency and offers a direct route of advertising to a wider audience; it is faster, easily accessible, flexible and can get instant responses, hence Ski will focus on improving on their web/social media presence. Through websites such as Yahoo!, the advertisements will be start from week 3 to week 17 and on the Good Food (targeting online shoppers who spend time with families and enjoy nutritious food) from week 10 to week 20 (BRAD Insight, 2011d). An online group page for Ski would be created on Facebook as well as advertisements on the site. The group page would focus on the upcoming sporting event and follow all the stages of the event, as well as interacting with existing ski consumers, sharing recipes, comments and feedback. The Facebook adverts will run from week 2 to week 22 and the online group page would commence in week 3 of the pre-launch period until the end of the campaign. The approximate cost of online advertising is  £ 30, 700. ( appendix ). Yahoo! reaches 22 million people in the UK per month; it offers corporate partnerships and provides a unique search and display engine. There are a high number of users using this search engine and it is likely that our target market will come across our adverts, hence the decision to choose Yahoo! for advertising. (BRAD Insight, 2011c). Ski will give importance on building their new interactive website. This would cost  £ 10,600 including half yearly maintenance. The website will include 10 pages and those will include recipes, news / events about ski, a feedback page, image gallery, links to social networking sites, promotional offers and tracking of the entire football event and family Ski holiday competition. Outdoor media In terms of Skis marketing strategy, this form of of media will be a support tool to other mediums such as broadcast and print. It is an effective technique of grabbing the attention of a large audience. Ski will use the 3 main formats of out-door media in order to achieve this. Billboards: To be placed at various central locations. Amounting to  £68,640 in cost. Bus Stops: Posters will be placed in bus stops. Amounting to  £36,000 in cost. Transit: Ads will be placed on buses. Amounting to  £67,600 in cost. The out-door media will run for a period of 8 weeks (from week 5 to week 12). The first 5 weeks will focus on brand and product awareness while the remaining 3 weeks will include details about the sporting event competition. The event result adverts will commence from week 22 to the end of the marketing campaign. Cinema The cinema adverts will run between week 7 and week 10. The cost for 100 screens at 12 cinemas would be  £ 40,000. The advertisements will be mostly run during the screening of movies for children especially when families spend time together. This will focus on the awareness of the football event and the family Ski holiday competition. Packaging Skis new design and packaging (industrial designer charges) will cost approximately  £15,000. The new packaging and design will be completed during the pre launch week before the media plan is implemented. 5.2.2 Sponsorship Sponsorship will be an integral part of Skis marketing communications mix. Through sponsorships new business opportunities emerge such as media coverage, increase of goodwill, increased consumer base and interaction between Ski and the consumer. Skis sponsorship cost is  £6,10,000. Ski will organize a sporting event for schools across England, where in the schools will participate in a football tournament. The winner of the competition will receive sporting equipment sponsored by Ski. The main aim behind holding this event is to promote the health and fitness lifestyle that Ski and Nestlà © stand for. 5.3 Sales promotion Through sales promotions Ski seeks to influence consumer behavior with their interactive promotional strategies. These strategies are especially designed to facilitate consumer interest, interaction and to promote fitness and nutrition. The total cost of Skis sales promotion would amount to approximately  £ 131,055. Vouchers Part of the promotions would include vouchers in Good Housekeeping magazine. The circulation of the magazine is over 400,000 per month (BRAD Insight, 2012). This is a monthly lifestyle issue focused on home and family; hence the rate of vouchers being received by potential consumers is relatively higher since the target market for this is also for mothers. During the sports event, vouchers would be distributed to students and their families to encourage the sales of the product. The vouchers would offer a 20p reduction on the price of any Ski Yoghurt. The total cost of these vouchers would amount to  £ 99,255. Good Housekeeping magazine voucher cost and magazine space amounts to  £ 99,105, whereas school promotional vouchers amount to  £ 150. Sampling Skis sales promotions will include sampling during the school competitions and in supermarkets. The overall cost of the sales promotional activities amounts to  £ 31,800. The sampling event will introduce consumers to a new package design and will focus on building awareness of the yoghurt. 5.4 Public relations A variety of promotional activities will be conducted during the sampling phase in supermarkets and during the sporting event. The main activity would include a life -size cutout with an image of a person skiing and holding a pot of Ski yoghurt and it will be displayed in both school competition finals and supermarkets. A professional photographer will take pictures of people. People need to be creative and imaginative and they can show different ways of using the yoghurt for a snack. Images with captions will then be uploaded on Facebook. Three families of four with the most Likes on their images will win a Ski trip to the French Alps. The Ski holiday will cost approximate  £2,000 each (Adapted from Thompsons, 2012). Twitter will be kept up-to date during the entire campaign. The school football competition videos will be uploaded to You Tube after the event. Post the ski holiday, Videos / images of the families that won the holidays to the Alps will be uploaded to YouTube / Faceb ook. The total cost of a Web administrator will cost  £16,000 per year, which would include maintaining and updating social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube (Adapted from PayScale, 2012c). 5.5 Budgeting The media used in the new campaign for Ski includes television, print media, online and outdoor advertising, and improvement of Skis website. Also, sport competition among primary schools, ski holiday competition, sampling during the finals of the competitions and in supermarkets, sales promotion in the form of coupons and repackaging are part of the marketing activities. Furthermore, the costs of pre-testing are calculated on the basis that Ski will need 1 focus group for the testing of the packaging; one focus group testing perceptions; and one focus group testing advertisements. The pre-testing of the awareness will be held by ambassadors in front of 50 central stores in London and Cardiff. The post-testing of the awareness will be the same in the end of the campaign and the post-testing of the perceptions will require one focus group. Additionally, the production cost of the advertisements is estimated as  £30,000 as 5% of the total advertising tools used. The budget of the campaign is estimated at about 5% of the intended market objective to increase sales to  £32 million in six months. During that time the budget should not exceed  £1.6 million. The total amount of the assessed costs is  £  £1,565,467 inclusive of  £50,000 for unexpected costs, especially having in mind that a competition among children can bring many unplanned activities involving extra costs. (Appendices 9.7). 6.0 Evaluation 6.1 Pre-testing To assess how well the new campaign will be received, tests will be carried out upon the prospective advertisements, guiding developers towards advertisements that are conducive to fulfilling the objectives. Five focus groups will used as they can accurately determine the reception of the advert, and therefore inform the creative process. To avoid bias brought in by participants interpretation of their own views, projective techniques will be used. Specifically completion will be used; where partially formed sentences are given to participants, helping to reduce bias and to structure responses in a way that gives responses that are easy to analysed. These should be carried out for all advertisement media developed for the campaign. 6.2 Post-testing Examination of the sales figures before and after the campaign will indicate whether the marketing objectives have been achieved. An examination of data showing any fluctuations in shelf space will of course show whether the desired increase in space has been achieved. Similarly, if all samples of the yoghurt are given out, the target number of people trying a sample will be met with room to spare. Awareness will be measured before and after the campaign to show whether the increase in awareness sought has been achieved. Measurement of this will be carried out with surveys. They will be carried out using opportunity samples outside supermarkets in two city centres within the UK. The locations of central London and Cardiff city centre have been selected as they are within the areas of highest and lowest consumption of yoghurt respectively, giving a more representative sample (Mintel, 2012). Focus groups will be used, separately to those used in pretesting, to show changes brought about in the perceptions of ski. Two groups will be run before the campaign, and two after. Monitoring the campaign and Public Relations Activities Considering the commencement of Skis social media presence in the UK, analysis of feedback from consumers and press will be carried out continuously during the campaign. Thus making it possible to refine and adapt. Using a number of different evaluation methodologies is key giving a holistic insight into the effect the campaign generally (Fill, 2009); and a variety is utilised here, giving a rounded picture whilst showing how the objectives were fulfilled.

Dune Essay -- essays research papers

Dune   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book all started with the family Atreides landing on plant Arrakis, commonly known as Dune. The planet Dune was the centre of the universe due to its immense amounts of spice. This spice is greatly needed for all planets as fuel and for raw materials. The family Atreides were asked by Emperor himself to go and mine the spice on the planet. Their greatest enemy the Harkonnen's, were also on Dune. These two families mining the precious spice on the same plant would lead to great troubles and wars.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Soon after that, I was introduced to a very brave and insightful young man. The young man is Paul Atreides. Paul is medium height with short, black hair. His mother Jessica is a Bene Gesserit that means she knows the â€Å"weirding way.† This means Jessica is trained to kill and is also trained as a mind reader. She is very tall and beautiful and is always concerned with the actions of Paul, the future ruler of the galaxy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jessica's teacher, the Reverend Mother heard of Paul and thought that he might be the great leader that the prophets told of. The Reverend Mother came to Dune and tested Paul to see if this was so. Paul underwent great pain and suffering but passed the tests with the highest reverence. Duke Leto, Paul's father now came into the picture. He was the leader of the Atreides Family. He seemed very established and perceptive. The Atreides family represented good and honesty while their enemies, the Harkonnen's, were ruthless killers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Harkonnen home planet, Gedi Prime was very desolate and dark. It represented the immorality and darkness within the Harkonnens. Their leader Baron Vladimir Harkonnen was very obese and inhuman. He killed his own slaves for fun and hated the Atreides with a passion. He hated their peaceful and honest ways. Most of all he despised their coming to Dune. This Harkonnen leader appeared the typical tyrant leader. Vladimir Harkonnen's most trusted solider Feyd-Rautha was also like him except his physical appearance was that of ideal shape and form.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Back at the Atreides base more characters are introduced to me. They are Duncan Idaho who was the personal trainer for Paul Atreides, Dr. Yeuh who was a good friend of the Duke and later was found out to be a traitor, and Thufir... ... understand the characters and their emotions with more comprehension. There were many themes in ‘Dune' such as â€Å"you shall get your just deserves.† This means that what you have done to others shall be done back to you in full. The Harkonnens army combined with the Emperors attacked and beat the Atreides. Paul in turn strikes back with brute force that many have not seen throughout their existence. The Harkonnens and the Emperor were annihilated and Paul's vengeance was paid. I must say that this science fiction book did create a sense of reality meaning that this situation could happen in the future. A boy or girl born in the future who is destined to be the almighty ruler. He/she will guide us out of depression and into a new era of peace and prosperity. Their may be truth to this story and one day a fight between good and evil may come to reality. Dune is the typical `Good guys vs. Bad guys' theme. The Atreides are at war with the Harkonnens and the good always win (as you already know.) Although this plot is really used too much Frank Herbert did an excellent job to disguise this fact. He blended this into a great story line of action packed adventure and dreams of the future.

Case Study – Jetblue Airlines

February 20, 2013 JetBlue Airways Corporation Case Study Report Situation Analysis History JetBlue Airways Corporation was created my David Neeleman. His vision was to create an inexpensive, easy way to travel by airplane. He was quoted saying he wants to â€Å"bring humanity back to air travel. † David Neeleman was already a seasoned entrepreneur. Two years after dropping out of the University of Utah he established his own business by renting out condominiums in Hawaii. Soon after he established his own travel agency and began chartering flights from Salt Lake City to the islands to bring in more prospective clients to rent his condo’s.In 1984 Neeleman joined forces with June Morris, who owned a large corporate travel agency in Utah, to bring to the world a company known as â€Å"Morris Air†. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011) Success followed and the company was bought by Southwest Airlines for $129 Million. Soon after the sale of â€Å"Morris Air† Nee leman pioneered the use of â€Å"at home reservation agents†. By using their homes as offices the reservation agents were saving money by lowering overhead expenses. He also developed the first electronic ticketing system in the airline industry. JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011) Neeleman became the executive vice president for Southwest but realized it wasn’t a good fit. He signed a five year noncompete agreement and was on his way. During his five year agreement he developed the electronic ticketing system he had initiated at Morris Air into one of the worlds easiest airline reservation systems. He called it Open Skies. He then sold this innovation to Hewlett-Packard in 1999. Finally in 1999 the noncompete agreement had reached its expiration and Neeleman launched his own airline.He raised the needed capital with ease and JetBlue became the highest-funded start up airline in aviation history. JetBlue commenced operations in August 2000. For a start up base JetBlue c hose John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2011)The company relied on electronic reservation and ticketing to keep costs down. JetBlue was of the first airline companies to issue laptop computers instead of manuals to their pilots. One of their highest selling points aside from price was the in-flight entertainment. The airbus A320’s ere complete with 24 live satellite broadcasts (including A&E, Animal Planet, CNBC, ESPN, the Food Network, Home & Garden, and the Weather Channel) at every seat. This kind of entertainment was of the first among airlines. Airlines typically aired taped shows or movies. To help keep costs down the airline provided no meals but did offer gourmet blue potato chips and soda. The seats were equipped with more leg room and were all leather with larger overhead storage compartments. Business grew rapidly in JetBlue’s first year of operations.Reservation agents were receiving calls of up to 12,000 a day and st ill the company was booking 40% online. In 2001 JetBlue opened a second base in California at Long Beach Airport. JetBlue grew over the years to serve more than 52 destinations in 21 states, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Mexico and the Caribbean. In 2008 they added services to Puerto Plata and St. Marteen. In 2009 they started serving Bogota, Columbia, San Jose, Costa Rica, Montego Bay and Jamaica. In 2007 JetBlue announced that they were entering into an agreement with Aer Lingus, and Irish flag carrier, to facilitate easy transfers for both airlines’ customers.Unlike traditional code-share alliances, customers could not make one reservation for both airlines if need be. They would have to make two reservations instead. Then only 8 days later, JetBlue announced a code-share agreement with Cape Air. Customers would be able to purchase seats on both airlines under one reservation. A much better fit for convenience. JetBlue’s growth was becoming harder to fund due to competitiv e pricing and high fuel prices amongst other growing costs. On February 14, 2007 an event took place that would shake the solid, well funded company to its knees.Not only costing Neeleman his position in a company that he created, it destroyed the companies reputation for good customer relations. There was a terrible storm headed towards the East coast and while all other airlines took the proper precautions and canceled their flights JetBlue in all their stubbornness did not. When the storm hit it was worse than expected and JetBlue’s customers were left stranded planes for 7 hours or more. David Neeleman when interviewed about this horrible turn of events said â€Å"Things spiraled out of control. We did a horrible job; we got ourselves into a ituation where we were doing rolling cancellations instead of a massive cancellation. Communications broke down, we weren’t able to reach out to passengers and they continued to arrive at the airports†¦ it had a cascading effect. † It took the organization more than a week to get the situation under control. This is where The Customer Bill of Rights came in. It basically outlined self-imposed penalties for JetBlue and major rewards for its passengers if the airline experienced operational problems and could not adjust to weather-related conditions within a â€Å"reasonable† amount of time.In 2007 the company reported a $76 Million loss with a primary reason being rising fuel costs. JetBlue remains profitable, posting a net income of $128 Million for 2012. JetBlue’s CEO and President, Dave Barger said â€Å"2012 was a very good year†. (Corporation, 2013) Mission JetBlue Airways does not operate under a traditional mission statement. Instead they use a set of core values. Those core values are as follows: * SAFETY * CARING * INTEGRITY * FUN * PASSION These five things are best described as â€Å"the JetBlue experience†. (John W.Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Corporate Strategy There are two new strategies that have been developed for JetBlue Airways; a growth strategy and an efficiency strategy. Both strategies have been created out of internal and external analysis. The growth strategy’s primary goal is to take advantage of recent mergers and failures within the airline industry. When companies merge it takes away some of the competition. Failures in other companies create opportunities for JetBlue to step in and create new business. (John W.Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) (Corporation, 2013) The efficiency strategy is developed based on the organizations position within the low-cost segment of the airline industry. To reach this goal an extensive internal analysis is performed with a careful look at the labor force as well as an analysis of the jet fuel prices/purchasing. (John W. Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) Strengths and Weaknesses of JetBlue Airways Strengths Strong brand recognition and their ser vices are competitive. If you consider revenue passenger miles JetBlue is the sixth largest passenger carrier in the United States and is a widely recognized global brand.The company has received several awards such as â€Å"Top Low Cost Airline for Consumer Satisfaction† seven years in a row and also â€Å"Best Coach Class Experience†, â€Å"Most Customer Friendly Airline† and â€Å"Best Value Airline Domestic† for 2011. JetBlue is also known for their spacious seating and live satellite TV. The Customer Bill of Rights is also a key player in the companies strengths. It was created with meaning and specific compensation for customer inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue’s control.Another service offered only by JetBlue is an expedited security experience in over 30 cities and they call it â€Å"Even More Speed†. JetBlue utilizes their aircraft most efficiently to have the ability to spread its fixed costs over a greater numbe r of flights and available seat miles and they do this by using Airbus A320 planes for the majority of their business. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Weaknesses JetBlue has an extreme amount of high fixed obligations. In 2011 JetBlue had a debt of $3. 14 billion and it accounted for 64% of its total capitalization.As the years go on and the company grows its debt will only grow as well. Eventually their high level of debt could make it difficult to grow the business further because of lack of funding. That in turn would put the company below their competitors who could find it easier to acquire necessary funding. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Opportunities An obvious opportunity for JetBlue is expansion in the travel industry. This specific industry has always fluctuated in the past but, it is expected to grow aggressively in the years to come.According to The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), airline travel is said to double over the next 20 years. In 2011 about 815 billion people or seats sold is expected to increase of the next two decades to numbers close to 1. 57 trillion. That is an average growth rate of approximately 3. 2% per year. Being the sixth largest passenger carrier in the US, JetBlue is in a good position to expect a growth like that as well. JetBlue has also put effort in to making business relationships with Asia. The pace of the economy as a whole is slowing but Asian economies have remained strong domestically.Cathay Pacific is the home carrier of Hong Kong. In 2012 JetBlue announced an interline agreement with this company. This agreement will link each other’s network between Asia Pacific and the America’s. JetBlue also announced a codeshare agreement with Japan Airlines to offer nonstop service to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. For this reason JetBlue’s expanded partnerships with major Asain airlines will help further strengthen its network and expand their services. (JetBlue Airways Co rporation, 2012) (Corporation, 2013) Threats The absolute biggest threat to JetBlue is the rising costs of aircraft fuel.Throughout history fuel costs have fluctuated out of the control of companies such as JetBlue. The costs vary widely and are unpredictable at best. In 2011 fuel costs represented nearly 40% of JetBlue’s total operating costs. Another threat is stringent governmental regulation. In the airline industry companies are subject to extensive regulatory and legal compliance requirements that result in significant costs. It is also very expensive for the company to keep their current certificates. Lastly there will always be intense competition in this industry.As a tradition the industry is typically dominated by the giants such as: United Air Lines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and US Airways. Because of their size and power, some of these companies may be better suited for necessary funding. They may also receive more favorable fuel pri ces due to volume of sales. Intense competition could lead to price wars which could negatively affect the company. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Identification of Problem(s) and Their Core Elements The first problem with JetBlue is that the company grew too big too fast.The organization was incapable of sustaining this growth both financially and physically with staff, equipment and services. The second problem was/is bad publicity. The airline was well known for exceptional customer service and relations but lately they are ranked among the lowest in customer satisfaction. JetBlue grew too quickly. In the 1990’s there were many small start-up airlines. Most failed when faced with competition from the major airlines because they were not able to withstand the wage wars. The smaller companies were also at a disadvantage when it came to start up capital and management talent.Because of David Neelemans talent and charisma he was able to acquire an abundance of start up ca pital which carried the airline through the toughest part of a business, the beginning. Once JetBlue took off the company had a difficult time keeping up with its popularity and growth. Technology for one was lacking and it all caught up with the company on Valentines Day in 2007. The company made a few bad decisions and it escalated quickly and their reservation system could not handle the capacity of the situation. Their technology also failed them when trying to remedy the problem.They were not prepared or ready for something of this magnitude. (Damaraju, 2009) With the growth divergence from the company’s original plan was starting to take place. They started off operation only one type of aircraft, an Airbus A320. The strategy behind this was to lower training cost and provides a very knowledgeable staff with flexibility in manpower. The airline then included a second type of plane, the Embraer 190 which the staff was not prepared for. Furthermore the company was embarki ng on even more paths where it did not have the needed experience. (Damaraju, 2009) JetBlue started as an airline for the New York leisure traveler.The concern with their expansion is that they don’t have the route structure to compete with the majors for the business class travelers. (Farzad & Bachman, 2012) The second problem is bad publicity. The first unfortunate event was the Valentines Day ice storm that left passengers stranded and the company without the proper tools to fix the problem in a timely manner. Customers were outraged as they should have been. The second very public mishap came in August 2010 when a frustrated flight attendant exited the plane using the emergency slide after becoming irate with passengers.And last but certainly not least, when one of their pilots had to be subdued by passengers and forcibly removed from the plane in March of 2012. (Farzad & Bachman, 2012) Because of these unfortunate events JetBlue now ranks last among 15 airlines in on-tim e performance and ninth in customer complaints to the Department of Transportation. (Farzad & Bachman, 2012) Those numbers are three times Southwest’s complaint ratio. Having started out as an airline that wanted to â€Å"bring humanity back to air travel† they seem to be coming up short in the customer service area.That was their biggest client attraction. Evaluation of Alternative Courses of Action The problem of growing too big too fast can easily be evaluated as a hind sight. The company had great aspirations and fell short only by default. Had the company foreseen the events that were to come with the failure in their choice of technology or the mental breakdown of their staff, I’m sure they would have done things differently. The costs of their technological errors were somewhere close to $30 million. The costs they endured over their lack of customer satisfaction are immeasurable.For these problems, the alternatives courses of action could only be to reva mp their technology and better train staff and let them know the real pressures of their positions. JetBlue already has a comprehensive training program for their employees known as â€Å"JetBlue University†. (JetBlue Airways Corporation, 2012) Recommended Solutions Recommended solutions for JetBlue’s growth from this point moving forward would be first, to monitor and maintain a functional operation-revenue to operating-expense ratio. As with any successful business the operating revenue must be greater than the operating expenses.This ratio will determine the future of JetBlue. (John W. Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) Internally JetBlue should consider how to reduce expenses. The two key players in this particular situation are labor and fuel expenses. Although JetBlue has remained un-unionized, which is imperative in keeping labor costs down; there may be more room for improvement in the budget regarding this matter. I suggest a closer look at Management and Airport Operations. These two positions are the furthest from the consumer and have the most employees.The reason behind choosing these particular positions is that change in these areas will not directly affect customer service. These positions need to be examined and see where, if any, the process inefficiencies lie. By doing this the company may be able to cut a few unnecessary positions. Recommendations for best efforts for capping fuel costs are an evaluation of the fuel purchasing agent’s performance. (John W. Kelly for KR Consulting, 2008) The second recommendation is to take a more aggressive approach like Southwest has and practice more hedging.Recommended solutions for JetBlue’s failure to provide exceptional customer service would be first to continue to practice and put to use The Customer Bill of Rights and to take a few leads from their competitors. Other airlines do not charge their customers for a pillow and blanket set. At all costs they should continue with t he perks they provide their customers. They may not serve meals but the snacks and sodas are always free. A big selling point for consumers is baggage fees. JetBlue allows their passengers to have two free bags per flight.That is one more than Southwest. The fact that JetBlue is â€Å"low cost† airline the consumers expect less, i. e. meals and things of the such, so their state of the art entertainment is a welcome surprise for passengers. Implementation Plan To take action on the operation revenue to expense ratio is to start immediately reviewing the labor functions and initiate an additional review every two years. Starting immediately with employee performance reviews, having properly trained employees is a must. Success or failure in this area will be measured in dollars saved.Immediate action considering fuel costs are to hire a congressional lobbyist to help neutralize the market by opening up national strategic reserves as well as encouraging increased domestic petro leum exploration and jet fuel production. Success or failure in this area will also be measured in dollars saved. Works Cited Corporation, J. A. (2013). JetBlue Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year Revenues. New York: PR Newswire. Damaraju, N. L. (2009). JetBlue Airlines: Will it Remain Blue? In McGraw-Timmons, Capstone Bus 250s (pp. 13-220). Dallas: University of Texas. Farzad, R. , & Bachman, J. (2012). Once High-Flying, JetBlue Returns to Earth. Bloomberg Businessweek , 27-29. JetBlue Airways Corporation. (2012). Company Profile JetBlue Airways Corporation. marketline. com. JetBlue Airways Corporation. (2011). Reference for Business. New York: referenceforbusiness. com. John W. Kelly for KR Consulting, L. (2008). Shaping Tomorrow's Solutions for JetBlue Airways- A Strategic Analysis. San Fernando Valley: University of La Verne.