Investigating the effectiveness of Mobile Antivirus Application on Android and Windows Mobile Phone Essay

Chapter 1: Anti-virus Applications on Mobile Devices Mobile phone anti-virus software refers to security software programs which have been professionally developed to protect device users from viruses, worms, Trojans and other malicious programs and removing them where possible. Anti-virus software programs have lately gained popularity due the increased incidences of malicious threats of attack on the web. There are several new viruses that are detected on a day to day basis on the cyberspace. While some of these viruses may be harmless, others are annoying and quite destructive. Certain viruses replicate themselves, but others may cause serious problems to the extent of erasing all data on a device drive. The use of anti-virus for device protection can be applied to multiple operating systems including Mobile Windows and Android mobile phones (iSoftwareReviews 2010). Antivirus software works in various technical ways to give protection to and remove viruses from mobile devices. This normally occur through two security scanning functions namely On-Access Scanning and On-Demand Scanning. The On-Access scanning works in real-time to ensure a mobile device is protected at all times by monitoring for viruses to any accessing in the mobile device, for example while opening a file or opening an application. Despite of the fact that this software slows down the speed of a device, its role in antivirus protection is so critical and should thus be enabled at all times. On-Demand Scanning offers antivirus protection only when activated to scan any particular area, folder, file, or drive. The program then provides a scan report about how many viruses that have been found in the scanned item. In the event that a virus is detected, the program will notify the user and recommend an action which includes either to deleting or quarantine the virus (iSoftwareRevie ws 2010). The rapidly increasing advancements of mobile phone technology to include a number of useful features have made android and windows mobile phones very popular pocket personal computers. This increased popularity has not however come with its own setbacks. Just like the ordinary personal computers, android and windows mobile phones have also been subjected to increased viruses attack. Virus attack has therefore become the latest and single biggest threat to the mobile phone industry. Subsequently, numerous companies dealing in software have come up with anti-virus for use in the android and windows mobile phones. These are mainly anti-virus software packages developed to provide anti-virus protection to mobile phones (iSoftwareReviews 2010). There are a number of anti-virus software programs for mobile phones that are available to the users. The main mobile phone anti-virus software includes AhnLab Mobile Security, Avast! PDA Edition, Avira Antivir Mobile, BitDefender Mobile Security, BullGuard Mobile Antivirus, Dr.Web Mobile Security Suite, F-Secure Mobile Security, Kaspersky Mobile Security, and Norton Smartphone Security. AhnLab Mobile Security software provides a solution for viruses and worms protection and removal. It runs under windows mobile and android mobile phones. Avast! PDA Edition is an antivirus protection for PalmOS and Windows CE, Android phones, and Pocket PC based devices (iSoftwareReviews 2010). Avira AntiVir Mobile provides professional virus and malware protection for pocket PCs, Windows mobile and Android mobile phones. BitDefender Mobile Security provides solution for virus protection and removal for PDAs and Smartphone that run on Windows mobile or Android mobile phones. BullGuard Mobile Antivirus provides solutions for protecting Pocket PCs and Windows mobile against viruses and other malicious programs. Dr.Web Mobile Security Suite is designed to provide anti-virus security solutions for pocket PCs that runs on Windows Mobile operating system. F-Secure Mobile Security is a complete mobile security software package that includes anti-virus, anti-spyware, a firewall and a remote control anti-theft feature for protection. Kaspersky Mobile Security also provides a complete protection package including Anti-theft protection, virus protection, firewall and anti-spam for SMS, EMS, and MMS. Norton Smartphone Security offers anti-virus, anti-spam, and firewall for Windows mobi le and Android mobile protection (iSoftwareReviews 2010). Protecting an android and window mobile phone from attack requires a complete understanding of all application communication. This is important because software can only protect a device if and only if it is able to read the same information as the mobile phone device, subsequently application layer threats. It may not be possible within the technological framework for antivirus software to understand application communications or analyse application behaviour through the deep inspection of intrusion prevention packets, whether on individual basis or when reassembled into their original sequence. Similarly, network-level antivirus may detect a small number of known, easily identifiable security threats by simply examining pre-programmed patterns (Citrix Systems 2006).   Installation of antivirus is the best known way of protecting android and windows mobile phones. The best types of antivirus are the application firewalls since they operate at the application layer instead of the network level. The application firewalls are able to enforce correct application behaviour while preventing any malicious activity. This is because the firewalls are able to inspect the actual internet communication and understand the context of all client requests and application responses through which they are sent to the internet. A complete mobile phone security application needs to offer full protection of all the elements of an application as well as users of the application. In most cases however, security applications for mobile phones are only limited to the application programme and application data (Citrix Systems 2006). Thesis Statement Despite web devices continuing to face significant security threats, mobile phones go completely unprotected while web browsing, downloading applications, checking e-mail, conducting online banking and connecting to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. While mobile attacks are increasing rapidly and hackers are financially motivated to steal data, identities, and intercept corporate communications, it has become critical to protect mobile devices such as android phone and Windows phones. Background of the study Smartphone security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your system. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users (also known as â€Å"intruders†) from accessing any part of your mobile phone system. Detection helps you to determine whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done. We use android and windows mobile for everything from banking and investing to shopping and communicating with others through email or chat programs.   Although you may not consider your communications â€Å"top secret,† you probably do not want strangers reading your email, using your phone to attack other systems, sending forged email from your phone, or examining personal information stored on your phone (such as financial statements). There are a variety of antivirus software packages that operate in many different ways, depending on how the vendor chose to implement their software. What they have in common, though, is that they all look for patterns in the files or memory of your Smartphone that indicate the possible presence of a known virus. Antivirus packages know what to look for through the use of virus profiles (sometimes called â€Å"signatures†) provided by the vendor. New viruses are discovered daily. The effectiveness of antivirus software is dependent on having the latest virus profiles installed on your Smartphone so that it can look for recently discovered viruses. It is important to keep these profiles up to date. Chapter 2: Android Phone Emulators An android mobile phone is a phone fitted with a set of software consisting of operating systems, middleware and other major applications. The main features of android include application framework for facilitating reuse and replacement of components, Dalvik virtual machine which is optimised for mobile devices, optimised graphics, an integrated browser, media tools for common audio, video and still image formats, SQLite for structured data storage, and GSM Telephony. Other features include Bluetooth, Camera, and Rich development consisting of a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling. Android technology is dependent on Linux version 2.6 to power the main system servicing including security, memory management, process management, network stack, and driver models (Android Developers 2010). Android technology is made up of a multi-process system in which each application runs in its own process. A standard Linux facility is responsible for coordinating security between different applications such as user and group identifications assigned to the applications in Android mobile phone. The crux of the security applications is on the basis of the concept that no application, by default, has access to perform any operation with a potential of adversely impacting on other applications, the operating system, or the user. The applications that the Linux facility must grant permission include reading or writing the user’s private data, reading or writing another application’s file, performing network access, and keeping the device awake. The permission that an application requires is statistically declared in that application so that Linux facility can master the upfront during installation and not subject to change thereafter (Android Developers 2010). The antivirus software for mobile forms utilises various virus detection methods. The two main virus detection methods include signature based detection and behaviour based detection. Signature Based Detection makes use of virus signatures dictionary to compare the files when checking for viruses. A signature dictionary is a database containing very many virus signatures which the software manufacturer has so far found. The user is expected to continually update the virus signature directory as when new viruses, worms, Trojans, and other malicious programs appear. Failure to update the dictionary may lead to failure of the software to detect emerging viruses. The behaviour Based Detection is designed to monitor and control any activities in the device system for suspicious program behaviour. In the event that a suspicious behaviour is detected, the software probes further into that suspicious behaviour by applying the signature based detection to countercheck whether the activity is malicious or not. In the event that the suspicious program is malicious, an alert will be generated to notify the user. Android emulator is a virtual mobile device which runs on a phone system and allows the user to prototype, develop, and test android applications for possible malicious programs without necessarily using a physical device. This device mimics all the hardware and software features of a phone save for the fact that it cannot receive or make a call. As soon as a particular application starts to run on the emulator, it may make use of the services of the android platform to invoke other applications, access the network, and notify the user. The emulators also contain various debug capabilities like console from which the user can log kernel output, simulate application interrupts, and simulate latency effects and dropouts on the data channel (Android developers 2010). As stated earlier, android utilises a multi-process system in which each and every application runs on its own process. Since majority of the security between applications is granted at the process level, android emulators provide more detailed security features through a permission mechanism that enforces restriction on the specific operations that any particular process can perform and permission for granting ad-hoc access to specific pieces of data. While the emulators ensures that no application acts in a manner that can adversely affect another application, it is still possible for an application to encroach into the actions of another application as long as permission is forehand obtained in order to perform the foreign function not provided by the basic nucleus (Vennon 2010). The android emulators can also disallow these extraneous permissions on the basis of the certificates that were used to sign the application or by simply prompting the user. The permission that an application will require to function outside its nucleus is statistically declared by the emulators within the application and will be relayed to the Smartphone user, and the permission will not change. The android emulators consider malware to be malicious software designed to infiltrate a Smartphone system without the user’s informed consent (Vennon 2010).

Poetry and Painting

Analysis on the Relationship Between Poetry & Painting An analysis on the relationship between poetry and painting Lope De Vega, in one of his sonnets, refers to two famous contemporaries in a striking way; he calls the Italian poet Marino â€Å"a great painter for the ears† and the Flemish painter Rubens â€Å"a great poet for the eyes†. Six hundred year and 6000 miles away, a similar concept occurs in a parallel situation. The Chinese poet Su Shi, in one of his poems, praises two men, one a poet and the other a painter: â€Å"Tu Fu’s poems are figureless paintings, Han Kan’s paintings are wordless poems. In both poems, a very special relationship is established between poetry and painting. They are considered parallel and comparable; more than that, they take each other’s place. A comparative treatment of the same phenomenon in two widely seperated and obviously unrelated literatures may bring out siginificant differents as well as integritions. Actually, the conversation between poetry and painting has been through centuries, traced back to 6th century until now, different people have different opinions. For Plato, poets and painters are both imitators and their work a third-generation removed from the truth. For Aristotle, â€Å"The poet being an imitator just like the painter or other maker of likenesses, he must necessarily in all instances represent things in one or other of three aspects, either as they were or are, or as they are said or thought to be or to have been, or as they ought to be. † More than five hundred years ago Leonardo da Vinci entered into a stinging debate with a bunch of pompous poets who degraded painting as a mechanical art. Defending the primacy of art, Leonardo—painter, architect, scientist, and a genius of high Renaissance—snapped: â€Å"If you call painting dumb poetry the painter may call poetry blind painting. † He argued that a good painter can provide a more intelligible and beautiful sense experience than a poet because painting satisfies the eye whereas poetry appeals to the ear and seeing is superior to hearing. In the 18th century the playwright and philosopher Gotthold Lessing described the intrinsic difference between ainting and poetry in terms of the distinction between image and word. He rejected the ancient belief that these two arts are in fact similar, or as the Roman poet Horace put it: Ut pictura poesis (painting is like poetry). Lessing also pointed out that the domain of painting is space while the domain of poetry is time. In my opinion, transfering a poem exactly to another form is quite an impossible task because of the unique nature of every vernacular and their peticular idioms. And on the other hand, painting as an art form is unique as well. It can portray astonishingly beautiful or ugly people, or show breathtakingly magnificent or depressingly dull landscapes and still lives and other visual phenomenon, which defy exact verbal description. Generally speaking, objects of the visual world can be represented in painting more accurately than in words. However, poetry has the upper hand in describing emotional states and mental events. A comparison of these two art forms reveals that in many ways both poetry and painting resist conversion, and they mutually defy transference into each other. However, despite their irreconcilable differences, painting and poetry share many common attibutes. With the development of literature and enlargement of understanding about this world, we have to acknowldge the integration of poetry and painting as well. Through five thousand years of continuous civilization, Chinese art has developed a rich language of symbols. By the second century the image of falling leaves, for instance, had become a metaphor for troubled times in which great talent was cast aside and unjustly punished with exile. Magnificent flowers often symbolize beautiful ladies. Rising above a lake they may represent fairies with red hair spins walking above the water and one single lotus flower in the Hua Qing Pool is like the entire world. In spite of its fragmentary posture western culture has produced great artists excelling in different branches of art. Among painters and poets the oeuvre of such artists as Michelangelo, Goethe, William Blake, Apollinaire and Picasso shows the unity of painting and poetry. As the proverb goes, â€Å"there is a poem painting, painting in poetry†. A successful poem, in my perspective, is the one with a relative aesthetic painting in our mind when we read it. That is what we called in Chinese Yi Jing. For example, a famous poem in China â€Å"Shi Zhi Sai Shang† written by Wang Wei, which gives us a picturesque painting in our mind immediately: the desolation and broadness of a frontier fortress, a puff of smoke and the setting sun†¦In terms of painting, painter integrates with poetic beauty. In Song dynasty, the task for getting a professional painter certification required examine to draw a painting according to a piece of poem. Poetry enters the painting, bringing the creativity into the painting. Even the limit of time can also be overcome. In conclusion, although poetry and painting have some differences, they both are important literature forms, we pay more attention to what they bring to us. In my vision painting and poetry invite us to step into a deeper level of reality that lies under the peel of surface appearances. The creativity power of art can play a significant role in ameliorating the human human condition, in making the planet a habitable and welcoming environment for ourselves and for future generations. Without concern, responsibility, care, compassion and love we cannot survive.

Central Role of Entitativity in Stereotypes

Everyone has their own perception and thinking about a particular event. It is not necessary that every person perceive the similar events identically. There can be difference in the perception of different people. This is because perception portrays the thought processes of the person or it can be said that the way a person thinks is the base of what he will perceive about a particular event (Young, Hellawell and Hay, 2013). Perception designed the behaviour or the response of the person to a particular situation or stimuli. This is reason why behaviour and response of the person also differs with the difference in their personality and thinking. When many of the individual faces any situation, he used to organize the information he observes and then process it to take out an outcome. The difference in their process of aligning and assessing the information makes the people different (Walker-Smith, Gale and Findlay, 2013). There are many factors that can affect the change in perception of the people at personal life as well as on the workplace. These are the factors related to the vicinity environment of the people. As the environment changes, it may be possible that the perception of an individual towards a particular thing or event can also change (Gibson, 2014). The attitude and the behaviour of the person also results in biasness in perception. As the individual makes a perception about an event, they become bias as well. Some of the factors are discussed below that leads to distortion in the perception and biasness in the mature of the people (Broadbent, 2013): Selective perception is the first and the major factor that affect perception of the individual. Everyone receives large amount of information from the outside stimuli. It is not possible for the individual to observe everything or assesse very information (Slovic, 2016). Thus, the final behaviour of the person demands on what that person has selected to observe from the information. This selective information forms the selective perception of the person. At the same time, it is possible that another individual have selected different type of information from the same stimuli and thus have different perception from the first person (Krishna, 2012). Selective tendency lead to biasness because the individual used to observe the information according to his comfort and ideas. In this type of selection, the individual looks only for the information he believes in and thus leads to biased decisions. Another factor that can affect the perception of the individual is stereotype. It can be d efined as the generalized thinking that has been framed by an individual for a particular group of people (Chen and Tsai, 2007). When an individual judges a person belongs to a particular group than the shortcut method of stereotyping is used to make the perception. Stereotyping allow the people to manage the small amount of information available for a particular type of people. It is very simple method of evaluating others by looking for the characteristics of the group they belongs to. It is very common method to be used from making perception (Mancini, Longo, Kammers and Haggard, 2011). However, it is common does not mean that it can be accepted as the universal method and is always correct. It can develop errors or distort the perceptions from truth.   At the workplace, stereotype develops negative results. This is because the whole group is perceived to be of a particular kind only by assessing or interacting with a particular person from the group (Spencer-Rodgers, Hamilton and Sherman, 2007). It is not necessary that the person can represent the whole group by his views. There can be different views and attitude of the people in a single group as well. Sometime the perception of the individual can be made only by judging only one traits of the person. This method of making perceptions is called Halo effect. It is the effect that results in perception by only one trait of the individual and assuming that the other traits are also associated with this trait only. For example, if a girl is beautiful and attractive, the boss perceived that she is intelligent and god performer (Hu and Lindemann, 2009). Later on he realized that he is not good in typing. This is the perception error he has in his mind because of the one trait of that girl that is beauty. Halo effect creates error in the perception nada los creates biasness (Hu and Lindemann, 2009). As in the above case, the boss thinks that beauty means intelligence which is the wrong perception. Beauty is different trait and intelligence is very different. It is saying that â€Å"first impression is the last impression†. This is because when a person met another person first time, he perceives something from his personality and then it becomes his perception for that person for life time. This is not always true and thus first impression can also distort the person and create biasness. It is very difficult for the individual to change the first impression they had on another person. But that does not mean that if a person has been arrogant at the time when he was observed by another person is arrogant in nature (Sikdar and Mitra, 2012. It depends on the situation when the two people met or confront each other. There may be another reason behind such behaviour of the person. Therefore, making a perception only by judging the person’s first impression is also wrong. Contrast effect can be learnt in this context of making perception. Contrast effects are the effects that a re very different from the environment and draw the attention of other. This also helps in making or creating the perception for a person. Projection is another factor that can alter the perception of the people. The next factor that can be considered to have an impact of the perception is the projection. Projection refers to perceiving others as own. The people who believe in projection perceive the individual as what they like to perceive and what they are rather than whet that person is. This is a very wrong way of perceiving others as this have many errors. There are many implicit theories of individual that support them to have perceptions. These theories are made by tem only and this decides their way to perceive other person. These theories can be correct for one person but may get wrong for different person and thus create distortion in the perception (Nosek, Smyth, Sriram, Lindner, Devos, Ayala, Bar-Anan, Bergh, Cai, Gonsalkorale and Kesebir, 2009). Distortion in the perception is the very big issue and this needs to be overcome by the people in their personal as well as professional life. This is because distortion or wrong perception about any individual may lead to harmful effects for them. There are many ways in which an individual can improve or correct their perception process in their personal life. The first way is to improve self-perception. Self-perception is based on self-esteem and it is very personal that it cannot be judge as wrong or right (Hammi, Samp, Rà ©muzat, Auray, Lamure, Aballà ©a, Kooli, Akhras and Toumi, 2014). The individual himself has to identify the negative and positive of his perception process and then try to overcome the negative part so that this factor may not distort his perceptions. Avoiding schemata is another way to resolve this issue. Schemata means the set of information perceived or observed by the person that becomes the basis for that person to perceive others. Following the pattern every time in perceiving others result in distortion and the individual should avoid this. There are many environmental factors such as society, family etc. that affect our thinking process and perceptions towards a particular event. It is very necessary fir the person to be critical in judging these social factors that affect the thinking. This is because these factors not only provide the positive perceptions but sometimes lead to develop negative perception that may be wrong. Sometimes, the people develop their own prophecies to judge anther individual. For example, there was a biology teacher in a school who belongs to China. Students thought that he would not be a good teacher as he does not know how to speak English properly (Pronin, 2008). This was a very wrong perception made by their own assumption that he belongs to China and cannot speak good English without actually experiencing his teaching. This made their perception wrong and distorted. Better communication and intera ction making the people can resolve this issue. It is required by the people to communicate more with the people so that they can better judge them by assessing al their qualities rather than making assumptions. If two people properly interact with each other, they get to know each other better and make their perception by assessing the actual traits of the person. There will be no other environmental factor that can affect their thought process that time. If a person chooses his or her life partner, they took time to know each other rather then deciding after one meeting. This is because interacting and communicating with each there helps them to develop better understanding. It is not only in personal life but at the workplace also, this issue of distortion in perception generates. At organizational level, it is very important to have correct perception in order to make better decisions for the human resource of the organization. Any distortion in the minds of the manager about a person can lead to wrong decision of promotion or demotion and thus can affect a person’s life very badly (Pronin, 2007). At the organizations, the management of the company has to take many decisions regarding training, promotion, Pay scale etc. this decision shouldn’t be made on assumptions and should be made on assessing all the factors and the traits of the employees. The management should implement some of the strategies such as 360 degree analysis, interviews, and other evaluation techniques to judge the person. This is because these techniques where all the employees of the organization participate and all the factors of the organization are considered c an only lead to better and efficient decision. An example can be taken in order to understand the concept better. Suppose, if a manager has to choose a team leader in his team. He used the method of stereotype and selected the person who belongs to an educated family to be a team leader. This is his perception that the person belongs to a good and educated family that means he can be a team leader but in reality it was not the case. After sometime the manager realized that another person of the same team is doing very good in his work and have all the skills of leading the team (Moore and Small, 2007). This suggests that assessing the skills of the person is required to take such decision rather than the perceptions. Perception are the part of an individual’s personality and thus it is not necessary that every person always perceive things right. It is also not important that every individual behave similarly in every situation and perceive similar thing about a particular person. Distortion in the perceptions is very common practice but it should be removed by the people in order to take better decision about others. It can be concluded that every individual should assess the environment and other factors that can help in making perceptions of the people. Broadbent, D.E., 2013.  Perception and communication. Elsevier. Chen, C.F. and Tsai, D., 2007. How destination image and evaluative factors affect behavioral intentions?. Tourism management ,  28(4), pp.1115-1122. Gibson, J.J., 2014.  The ecological approach to visual perception: classic edition. Psychology Press. Hammi, E.E., Samp, J., Rà ©muzat, C., Auray, J.P., Lamure, M., Aballà ©a, S., Kooli, A., Akhras, K. and Toumi, M., 2014. Difference of perceptions and evaluation of cognitive dysfunction in major depressive disorder patients across psychiatrists internationally.  Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology,  4(1), pp.22-29. Hu, G. and Lindemann, S., 2009. Stereotypes of Cantonese English, apparent native/non-native status, and their effect on non-native English speakers’ perception.  Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development,  30(3), pp.253-269. Krishna, A., 2012. An integrative review of sensory marketing: Engaging the senses to affect perception, judgment and behavior.  Journal of Consumer Psychology,  22(3), pp.332-351. Mancini, F., Longo, M.R., Kammers, M.P. and Haggard, P., 2011. Visual distortion of body size modulates pain perception.  Psychological Science,  22(3), pp.325-330. Moore, D.A. and Small, D.A., 2007. Error and bias in comparative judgment: on being both better and worse than we think we are.  Journal of personality and social psychology,  92(6), p.972. Nosek, B.A., Smyth, F.L., Sriram, N., Lindner, N.M., Devos, T., Ayala, A., Bar-Anan, Y., Bergh, R., Cai, H., Gonsalkorale, K. and Kesebir, S., 2009. National differences in gender–science stereotypes predict national sex differences in science and math achievement.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  106(26), pp.10593-10597. Pronin, E., 2007. Perception and misperception of bias in human judgment.  Trends in cognitive sciences,  11(1), pp.37-43. Pronin, E., 2008. How we see ourselves and how we see others.  Science,  320(5880), pp.1177-1180. Sikdar, A. and Mitra, S., 2012. Gender-role stereotypes: Perception and practice of leadership in the Middle East.  Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues,  5(3), pp.146-162. Slovic, P., 2016.  The perception of risk. Routledge. Spencer-Rodgers, J., Hamilton, D.L. and Sherman, S.J., 2007. The central role of entitativity in stereotypes of social categories and task groups.  Journal of personality and social psychology,  92(3), p.369. Walker-Smith, G.J., Gale, A.G. and Findlay, J.M., 2013. Eye movement strategies involved in face perception.  Perception,  42(11), pp.1120-1133. Young, A.W., Hellawell, D. and Hay, D.C., 2013. Configurational information in face perception.  Perception,  42(11), pp.1166-1178.

A Journey from Paper to Paperless Office Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Journey from Paper to Paperless Office - Essay Example 635- 650; 2005; Dos Santos & Wright, pp.53- 64; 2001; Miesing, pp753-770, 2003; Salmon, pp.491-502, 2000; Scifres et al., pp247-250, 2003). For example, Cohen and Lippert (pp745, 2005) commented that computer-based workflow "may be useful for skills-based training but may not be useful for creative-thinking workflow or general paperless workplace." Thus, several researchers have suggested that rather than replacing traditional with on-line workflow, the benefits of both traditional and paperless techniques could be realized through mixed-mode workflow in which face-to-face business but paperless workflow which is enhanced by using the Web (Bigelow, pp. 635- 650; 2005; Bilimoria, pp.232-243, 2006; Dos Santos & Wright, pp.53- 64; 2001; Human et al., pp.584- 606, 2005; Miesing,pp753-770; 2003; Parikh & Verma, pp. 27- 46, 2002; Salmon, pp. 491-502, 2000). Such a mixed mode of interaction usually consists of traditional workplace workflow augmented by using a web portal that enables emplo yees to--among other things--continue discussion of project concepts and cases outside the workplace (when travelling etc) using a bulletin board; conduct group work on-line through chat rooms; take tests on-line; and access office files, collaborate and communicate, video/voice conference on-line (e.g., Bigelow, pp. 635- 650; 2005; Dos Santos & Wright, pp.53- 64; 2001; Fredickson, pp.67-77, 2005; Shrivastava, pp.691-702, 2005). Specifically, a firm that operates as an intelligent ... services to clients; creates a collaborative culture that encourages sharing and learning; and deploys technology solutions that help eliminate repeatable processes, capture knowledge, enhance client communications, and attract and retain the most talented professionals. Researchers have argued that "paperless workplace in particular, could benefit from the use of some of these technologies" in conjunction with traditional methods (Bilimoria, pp.232-243, 2006; Dos Santos & Wright, pp.53- 64; 2001: 53; Salmon, pp. 491-502, 2000). Transferring administrative and purely informational aspects of workflow to the web portal frees up office time for employees to work on interpersonal and communication skills, which are critical to success in project completion, which have been found to be best developed through face-to-face traditional methods (e.g., Bigelow, pp. 635- 650; 2005; Dos Santos & Wright, pp.53- 64; 2001; Scifres et al., pp. 247-250, 2003). The use of a web portal as a supplement to traditional management projects has also been found to increase employees' participation in discussion of cases and project concepts and to lead to more thorough and higher quality discussion than in traditional workplaces alone (Bilimoria, pp.232-243, 2006; Dos Santo s & Wright, pp.53- 64; 2001). Paperless workplace researchers have also demonstrated that by encouraging an active workplace environment in which employees communicate virtually and asynchronously, the use of a web portal can help develop technological and communications skills that enable employees to increase their productivity and get more comfortable with computers in the workplace" (Meisel & Marx, 2005: 719). A web portal can also be used to reduce the number of in-office lectures and face-to-face group meetings in a

Organization Design Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organization Design - Research Paper Example Thus the structure of a business organization need to be conducted based on six essential elements which can be stated as follows. Firstly the organizational design can be based on the degree of work specialization of the organizational employees. Secondly the different organizational tasks needs to be grouped based on like factors forming departments. Thirdly the organizational design needs to be based on the job hierarchy roles in the concern defining the reporting authorities. Fourthly the organizational design needs to understand the number of subordinates who can be managed by one managerial head. Fifthly the organizational design differs in organizations in regards to centralized and decentralized decision making paths. Finally in the sixth case organizational design also differs based on the standardization of work rules in the concern or departments (Robbins, Judge and Sanghi, 2010, p.234). Designing of Individual Position The business organization performs in an effective ma nner through the collective relationships of large number of employees based along different units and departments. In this regard, Aart (2005) relates that the organizational machinery performs effectively based on the designing of individual positions in the concern. The organic approach to organizational design suggests that the people in the organization work as vibrant units adapting themselves to the external changes. The organizational vision and mission objectives and policy changes needs to be communicated effectively to the different individuals in the concern. These individuals need to coordinate with each other to help in the achievement of organizational goals. Thus the different individuals or groups... The study performs business organization in an effective manner through the collective relationships of large number of employees based along different units and departments. In this regard, Aart relates that the organizational machinery performs effectively based on the designing of individual positions in the concern. The organic approach to organizational design suggests that the people in the organization work as vibrant units adapting themselves to the external changes. The organizational vision and mission objectives and policy changes needs to be communicated effectively to the different individuals in the concern. These individuals need to coordinate with each other to help in the achievement of organizational goals. Thus the different individuals or groups working in a concern needs to be assimilated and trained effectively to pursue the holistic organizational mission. The organization thus must not be seen as an isolated entity; rather it must be visualized as an organic w hole. Fox, Schwella and Wissink state that an organization to effectively pursue the organizational mission and objectives needs to design its structures accordingly. The structures based on grouping of tasks and organizational potencies act as superstructures helping the organization accomplish its mission. Designing of organizational superstructures is conducted based on a process in which the organizational objectives thus framed are percolated throughout the concern in the form of top down structure.

Abstinence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abstinence - Essay Example Sexually transmitted diseases are common at present and it is increasing to alarming levels because of the unawareness about the seriousness of such diseases. ‘With abstinence, no barriers or pills are necessary because the person is not having sex. You don't have to be a virgin to practice abstinence. Sometimes people who have been having sex decide not to continue having sex. Even if a person has been having sex, he or she can still choose abstinence to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the future†. Abstinence is difficult to observe in life because of physiological and psychological factors. Sexual desire is an inborn train for every living thing and it is not easy to avoid or remove it. Persons with high will power might be succeeded in avoiding sexual activities. It is difficult for the lay man to refrain from sexual activities. In order observe abstinence, developing the will power is the only way and it should be started at an early stag e itself. In other words, abstinence should be taught in school to prevent "young' pregnancies, STD's and behavioral risks

Marketing Communications in Tourism & Leisure Industry Essay

Marketing Communications in Tourism & Leisure Industry - Essay Example In this regard, the critical theory is applicable to the noble cause of whl.travel’s campaign in promoting sustainable tourism through empowering the local communities to take a leading role in building the tourism industry in their respective communities. The goal of critical theory in tourism is to empower the members of the local communities to be the main actors in promoting the tourism industry (Tribe, 2008). Indeed, it is the duty of every business to ensure that they achieve their profit goals but there is also need to create a fine balance between their activities and the need to safeguard the interests of the culture of the local people in communities they will be operating in. Thus, the cultural environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect a society’s values, perceptions, preferences and behaviours (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). Usually people grow up in a particular society that shapes their basic beliefs and values and they absorb the w orldview that defines their relationships with others. Therefore, different cultural characteristics affect the marketing decision making process of a particular organisation that operates directly within the community. For instance, people have different views about themselves, others, organisations, society, nature as well as the universe (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). It is therefore imperative for the organisations operating in the tourism industry to adopt the environmental perspective. This is â€Å"a management perspective in which the firm takes aggressive actions to affect the public and forces in its marketing environment rather than simply watching and reacting to them.† (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004, p.132) Evaluation of Marketing Communications by whl.travel In order to evaluate the marketing communications used by whl.travel, it is important to give a historical background of the organisation in order to gain a clear understanding of the whole concept. According to i ts official website (2011), â€Å"the WHL Group is a private company incorporated in Hong Kong and is owned and operated by a team from Australia, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, India, South Africa, Switzerland, Syria, USA, Vietnam and Zambia.† Whl.travel launched its campaign after realising that it was important to incorporate the cultural values of local people in emerging tourist markets especially in the developing world. The strategy it uses is unique in that the booking site for all tourist facilities in the areas it is operating in are owned and operated by the local people. The major aim of this strategy is to empower the local people to have control of the tourism industry while at the same time promoting their local culture and environment through sustainable practices. Culture exchange is promoted and there are various marketing communication strategies used to achieve this initiative. A company’s marketing communication mix is also called the promo tion mix and it is defined as â€Å"a concept of marketing communi

Other topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Other topic - Research Paper Example This section is going to present how the research was carried out. It will give the approaches taken in the research and the philosophical assumption of the approach. Research approaches are plans and steps that explain how the research will be undertaken and the procedures and methods for data collection, analysis, and presentation (Karin 16). This study adopted a qualitative approach of research which involves studying and exploring new phenomena and problems with a certain group of people. It is a method best used in the social sciences and also in market research to explore the behavior of people or groups of people towards certain products (Karin 12). This approach best suited this study since the study wanted to explore the impacts that electronic marketing has on the service industry in Tallinn City. This study intended to gather in-depth understanding of the behavior of users of electronic marketing facilities and qualitative approach is the best to use on this kind of study. Furthermore, a small selected sample was used to facilitate the research and it is one of the features of qualitative approach of study (Karin, 12). The philosophical assumption behind this qualitative approach of research is constructivism. According to Karin, it is an assumption that mostly focuses on the interaction of human being with one another on their world (21). The study of impacts of electronic marketing in the service industry in Tallinn City is a study on the interaction of people as they shop for goods and services purchased and receive cash for the service rendered. The constructivism philosophical assumption has it that human beings develop meaning from their interaction in the world they live in, (Karin, 21). The aim of the research design is to provide a way of answering the research questions (Damon, Pedersen and McEvoy, 132). It is to provide the outline of the

Global Warming's Terrifying new Math By Bill McKibben Essay

Global Warming's Terrifying new Math By Bill McKibben - Essay Example Global warming has caused significant changes in climate patterns as it cause the earth’s temperature to rise above the normal, which is detrimental to the ecosystem. Humans are solely responsible for global warming as they engage in activities such as combustion of fossil fuels, and this emits carbon, which cause global warming (McKibben). Efforts to curb global warming have failed, and this is because industrialization has resulted to use of carbon dioxide and the emissions have continued to increase over time. The situation has been made worse because developing countries are trying to emulate the west by becoming industrialized, and this further increases the emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. To reduce the carbon print, many countries have come up with policies that aim at reducing emission of carbon dioxide but the efforts have failed. Petroleum companies have been blamed for the big emissions of carbon dioxide they cause as the industry is profitable and imp osing regulations on them would reduce the incomes of countries. To protect the ecosystem from the adverse effects of global warming people all over the world and political leaders and environmentalists need to collaborate and advocate for people to reduce their carbon print so that the environment remains sustainable for future

The Production Function for Buses - Edgeworth Box Assignment

The Production Function for Buses - Edgeworth Box - Assignment Example Our function will reproduce increasing returns to scale. This means that with an accumulation of production factors volume of produced goods will grow. To find a number of buses with every combination of production factors, it is necessary to substitute each number of employees and the number of machines for K and L indicators. Hence, if a number of machines are 14 and number of employees who make buses is 5, the calculation of production output will be the following: In accordance with above example, we can calculate all the rest level of production. (K=10, L=3): (K=8, L=1): etc. From the table, we can also see that in accordance with the accumulation of employees, the number of produced buses grows. Part (B) Make an ‘Edgeworth box’ diagram for the production of buses in Utropica: put the number of employees making buses on the horizontal axis (0 to 6), and a number of machines used to make buses on the vertical axis (0 to 16). Draw an isoquant line for 5 buses. On the same diagram, add an isoquant for 7 buses, and an isoquant for 10 buses. To draw an ‘Edgeworth box’ diagram for the production of a specific number of buses, it is required to find all combinations of factors that are able to create the stated level of production. Hence, using a table above, it can be seen that 5 buses can be produced by 10 machines and 1 employee or 8 machines and 2 employees. So there are several alternatives for this output. Consequently, finding all possible combinations, we receive points that will form the isoquant line on the diagram. Using the same method, we find combinations of the factors for producing 7 buses.

Issue in the media today Essay Example for Free

Issue in the media today Essay Why is asylum such an important issue in the media today? More countries joined the EU recently, and it is expanding. People in the Eastern countries get low wages and so are attracted to Britain. 100-150,000 Poles have come to live in the UK illegally, to find work. The media reflects public concerns over mass immigration. Secondly, we are getting more immigrants than emigrants, so more people are entering than leaving the country. This also raises concerns about overcrowding. Thirdly, terrorism has become increasingly worrying, and people link asylum seekers to the recent murder of a police officer in Bradford. The general public dont believe that the government are effectively handling immigration, where only 25% of asylum cases get rejected, but NOT deported; leading the public to wonder where these people go. Asylum is an issue locally, because there is a Home office (Asylum Centre) in Croydon. These results in many asylum seekers come to Croydon. In this coursework I am going to compare two contrary newspaper articles on the issue of asylum. The point of view expressed by THE SUN is that asylum seekers should not be allowed to come into the UK and stay here. THE SUN wants people to read this article and get angry about those coming into the UK, at the experience of British tax payers. THE SUN believes that some asylum seekers are terrorists, and are using this to convince people to be against asylum seekers and write letters to the government against so much immigration. There are very strong elements of bias present in THE SUN because it gives only the point of view against asylum seekers staying in Britain. It is a very one sided article and though full of opinion, the opinion are put forward as facts. However, the point of view expressed in THE GUARDIAN is liberal, and is trying to give readers more information about the topic, so that they can come to their own decision. This newspaper gives different examples to show that not all asylum seekers are terrorists or coming here for free money. It also makes out that other newspapers are deliberately trying to give false impression to the public to try to scare them. The newspaper, however, is biased, as it only gives the point of view for immigration to be continued, rather than giving information for both sides of the story. However it is clearly an opinion piece and the photograph of the writer reinforces this. THE SUN makes the reader angry using phrases like Every day 1000 people or refugees claim free treatment on the NHS without being entitled to it, and The Government plans to fork out millions of Tax payers money buying luxury Hotels and more estate to house asylum seekers. These phrases make the reader angry if they think that they are paying taxes and asylum seekers are living in luxury hotels for free using their money; making them feel it is unfair. The language used by THE GUARDIAN is more sophisticated than THE SUN; the words used have more complex meanings whereas THE SUN uses simple language to make its points. This shows that the readership of each paper is very different; where THE GUARDIAN is read by people who are typically more educated then those of THE SUN. Its uses language such as tolerance, ethnicity and liberal progressives, which are effective because they make the reader feel that the issue is not in such a dangerous position as others make out. THE SUN uses other techniques to persuade its readers, such as photos and graphs. These are effective because the images used to make you want to read the topic and you can imagine what THE SUN is talking about when looking at the pictures. The graphs are eye-catching and show you the differences between spending in other countries and the UK; it shows the differences here very clearly. The cut-out letter to Tony Blair makes it easy for people to complete, and gives them a sense of power to do something. The bold writing used is catchy because you can see it instantly, and your eye looks at the different writing because it shows you the main points clearly. THE GUARDIAN uses a cartoon to persuade its readers because it is complicated, and vague, so makes them think about its meaning. The photograph is effective because it shows the person who is writing the article, and you realise that this persons opinions are written here. However, THE SUN makes opinion sound like facts which is misleading. I find THE SUN more persuasive because it is simple and effective words which most people are able to understand. It also shows the picture where I think people are able to understand. It also shows the picture where I think people are climbing over the fence having scarves on, which is not showing there full face, this makes the reader think that the people are terrorists or criminals. The article makes me feel angry towards the newspaper because it gives a very biased point of view, and doesnt tell me about genuine asylum cases. My point of view is that asylum seekers should be allowed to move from their country to any country they wish, because they are also humans as we are and they are just unlucky that they cant live in their own country because of many reasons like war and persecution. The main reason that people move from their country to the UK is because they need to reach a place of safety. Secondly, they choose the UK in preference to other destinations which tells us that they know of the UK but I dont think they will have a detailed knowledge of our immigration and/or our benefits systems. I think that the people should make more effort to understand the difference between asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants are people who move to settle in another country or region, temporarily or permanently, in violation of the law or without documents permitting them to settle in another country or region, temporarily or permanently, in violation of the law or without documents permitting them to settle in that country. I can understand that some people may get upset by so many people moving here, because it is hard to find jobs anyway, hospitals and schools are overcrowded and there is a lot of crime, people may feel that asylum seekers only add to the problem.

Ryanair-The Southwest of European Airlines Case Essay Example for Free

Ryanair-The Southwest of European Airlines Case Essay Ryanair was founded in July 1985 by the three brothers, Catlan, Declan, and Shane Ryan, with the financial assistant of their father Tony Ryan. As a beginner commercial carrier, its operations began with 25 staff and a single 15-seat turbo-prop commuter plane between Waterford in the southeast of Ireland and Gatwick Airport, the second busiest airport in London after Heathrow. Later on, regulatory authorities permitted the Ryanair Airlines to have at least four flying flights a day on Dublin-London route, with more seating capacity. Nowadays, Ryanair, with its rapid growth, occupies the most sought position in its own field, being Britains favorite airline and the oldest-low cost air carrier in Europe. The goal of my internal analysis on Ryanair is to focus on resources and capabilities as internal sources of uniqueness that allow firms to beat the competition. This analysis is often called the resource-based view of the firm. By theory, a firm gains an advantage by obtaining valuable and rare resources and developing the capability to utilize these resources to drive customers toward their products and services at the expense of competitors. As a result, firms with superior resources and capabilities enjoy competitive advantage over other firms. Value Chain AnalysisFirms make products or provide services by engaging in many different activities. The basic structure of these activities is embodied in the firms value- chain. Value-chain activities are of two types: primary activities and supportive activities. Primary activities include inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and services. Support activities include human resources, accounting and finance operations, technology, and procurement. All the activities -primary and support are potential sources of competitive advantage or disadvantage of any firm. In Ryanair case, parts of the inbound logistics are Ryanairs low-cost deals, negotiated against promise of large and growing volume of business. Also, they include dependency on suppliers to deliver fuel as well as food, drinks and duty-paid products to be sold on-board; they need to be stored, handled and controlled upon delivery. The other important element of the primary  activities includes the operations. Ryanair fast turnarounds of 25 minutes are the companys core competencies. This is the most important cost advantage that enables high aircraft utilization. More frequent departures of two more per day than competitors with few planes, increases Ryanairs revenue. Point-to-point flights mean no interlinking with other carriers. Raynair offers direct non-stop journeys, avoiding the cost of providing through services for connecting passengers and delays caused by late arrival of connecting flights. Ryanair uses the standard model plane- Boeing 737, which means that company, is a ble to obtain spares and maintenance services on favorable terms, to limit the cost of staff training and to offer flexibility in scheduling aircraft and crew assignments. A relatively young fleet reduces maintenance, spare and fuel costs. Also, Ryanair placed resources to strengthen its core business such as satellite television, Internet service and arcade game, so the passengers can enjoy the trip. For outbound logistics, Ryanair uses isolated secondary airports, which often require further transport arrangements for customers. Also, some destinations are so geographically obscure that they cant support regular services to customer, as evident on some Scandinavian routes for example. This limits the level of market share Ryanair can achieve. EasyJet does the opposite and flies to big cities, but then have to pay higher landing charges which are reflected in their higher prices. However, using regional airports saves costs as charges are lower, facilities cheaper and Ryanair can negotiate favorable deals. It also enables fast turnaround times, and more on-time departures as the airports are less congested. 95% of Ryanairs flights are punctual compared to 88% for EasyJet. As I already mentioned, under primary activities are also marketing and sales. Ryanair considers branding virtually irrelevant as it believes that price is most important to customers. This reflects on companys image which isnt always so good in the press. In contrast Southwest Airlines, contribute a large part of their success to theirs well established brand values, and EasyJet has won awards for its brand. Ryanair invested resource to establish website for passengers. It made passengers more convenient. Spending on advertising and promotions to expand its market is reduced as most advertising takes place on the website. There promotion is also used to sell excess capacity, such as two-for-one offers, which creates market awareness. Over 90% of bookings  are made directly, either on the website or through reservations centers. The website saves on staff costs, agents commission, while significantly contributing to growth. Travel agencies are used on a small scale as necessary when opening new routes in unknown markets. Under services, Ryanairs virtually no-frills- lower costs considerably. The company enables fast turnarounds and offers very low ticket prices. But with less flight attendants, usually only two per flight, compared to five for the competitors, the quality of the services drops. The philosophy of Ryanair is that for passengers the price is more important than the quality. The low quality services could damage the brand name and this could lead to business reduction. Under support activities- the procurement, the purchasing power of the company enables negotiation of favorable deals with suppliers. However, these demand large and growing volumes based on passenger numbers. Although growth is slowed down new planes has been ordered aiming to double the fleet by 2009. Ryanair keeps good buyer-supplier relationships which ensure reliability and low-cost procurement of services. Many functions of the company are contracted out. Under human resource management, Ryanair aims to control its personnel cost by continuously improving the productivity. The staff is working under big pressure set by an overhead person and most commonly with feelings of dissatisfaction. The technology development factor of the support activities indicates that Ryanair uses its website (www.ryanair.com) to monitor bookings and to see how full planes are, all minute by minute. Also, the company uses its internet site as the major part of the business, which saved them about $6 million a year on an average. Resource AnalysisResources and capabilities are the fundamental building blocks of a firms strategy. The resource-based view presents a perspective of competition that portrays the value of a resource or capability as derived from the dynamic interplay of market forces. While the market and environment establish external constraints and pressures, a firms response through resource allocation and capability development become a source of competitive advantage. The resource-based perspective views a firm as an organization that has a bundle of protective resources and capabilities.  Resources are tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies. Capabilities are the skills a firm uses to bring its resources to bear. Ryanairs tangible resources include all Boeing 737 airplanes the company uses, as well as the companys headquarter building in Dublin and all other buildings the company uses. Part of the tangible resources also are all of the supplies, food, drinks and duty-paid products company holds in inventory, as well as fuel. Intangible resources contain bigger part of the business. They include all the intellectual capital, like expertise and accumulated knowledge, experience, skills, abilities and talents that every employee in Rayanair possesses. Here I could include also the companys brand recognition, customer loyalty, investors confidence and the good reputation. Charismatic personality of the companys CEO- Michael OLeary is part of the organizational culture under the intangible resources. The capabilities of Rayanair are:-The lowest airfare rates, simple processes (no frills), large brand awareness, clear offer (focuses on particular market segment), the innovative strategies on cost cutting, and quick turnaround time-Learning curve (early entrant), accumulated much knowledge/experience, outstanding marketing and PR skills of the CEO OLeary- The company ability to bargain and get beneficial deals with suppliers; the efficiency and high turn-around rate, fast luggage handling and high punctuality- The ability to think strategically and assertively and to act on it: acquisition of Buzz-The expansion of new hubs and new added routes-The ability to control and cut costs, which are crucial to survive and succeed in the industry!-The ability to build and sustain brand (loyalty). Financial AnalysisRyanairs current financial objectives, strategies, policies and programs are clearly stated in their Annual reports and financial statements for 2008, which I have attached in the separate file. These financial objectives seem to be consistent with Ryanairs mission, objectives, strategies, policies of low fares, as well as with internal and external environments. There was an increase in profit after tax of 33%, which was because of 7% increase in average fairs, so profit margin was 19.66%. There was an increase in fuel costs by 50%, and staff costs rose  32%. The operating margin decreased by 1% (to 21% from 22%), which lead to an increase in operating profit by 28% compared to 2007. Total operating revenues increased by 32%. Maintenance costs increased by 12%, marketing and distribution costs increased by 71%, and aircraft rental costs increased by 23%. (Ryanair Holdings PLC, 2007). From this financial analysis, I could conclude that costs are increasing, but profit is also increasing leading to gains in the company. The statements are calculated in Euros, and there could be some differences based on the floating Euro/US Dollar exchange rates. In addition, this financial analysis supports Ryanairs past and pending strategic decisions, based on being a low fare air carrier. Ryanairs profit margin in 2007 is 19.66%, compared to EasyJet with 8.47% (2007), Air Lingus with 8.19% (2007) and British Airways with 5.48% (2007). If most companies in the same industry report decrease in profits, Ryanairs financial performance indicates that the company is in competitive advantage. (Ryanair Holdings PLC, 2007)Analysis of Strengths and WeaknessesStrengths and weaknesses are the major internal characteristics of firms, derived from the SWOT analysis. Firms within an industry generally have different strengths and weaknesses, and those differences often have a strong bearing o n which firms win competitive interactions. Ryanair strengths are:-Brand name: Ryanair through its 24 years in the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) market has developed a very well recognized brand name. -Benefits from low airport charges: These aid the low cost base Ryanair benefits from. -Has first mover advantage on regional airports (e.g. Charleroi): Acts as a barrier to entry-Internet site (94% bookings) www.ryanair.com : Lowers the cost of distribution as over the phone bookings are more costly. Eliminates the need of travel agents. -High seat density. -All Boeing aircraft: A uniform fleet saves on maintenance and training costs. -Fast turn-around. -High Service performance: Punctual, high rate of flight completion, low baggage loss, which give a good image of the companys reliability. -Modernized fleet which leads to less expensive maintenance: Will become more uniform with only one model (Boeing 737-800), also newer planes will require less maintenance. -High aircraft utilization: Ryanair flies its planes for longer thus generating more revenue from its assets. -Fuel and other risks hedging. -Small headquarters-Point to point flights: No hub and spoke, lowers cost as no through services requiredRyanair weaknesses are:-Prone to bad press: Rayanair is perceived as arrogant and the slightest incident with the scandal commercial gets a lot of press coverage. -Niche market: Restricted expansion possibility. -Distance of some regional airports from advertised destination: Over time customers may find this a big inconvenience. -Poor service: Ryanair decreased the number of flight attendants per flight, which decreased the service quality. -Ryanair is extremely sensitive to changes in charges (increase in fair value)In conclusion I would like briefly to summarize the strengths and weaknesses I mentioned above. Ryanair carries out its routine checks and repairs on its aircraft using its own engineers which means that some maintenance costs are included in the staff cost. Also the company has cost advantage, because of its ability to achieve 25 minutes turnarounds and therefore can run two more flights a day in its schedule than rivals such as British Airways. Their use of secondary airports means that they are able to negotiate deals with the airports, in contrast to larger airlines unwilling to split their operations between two or more airports. Ryanair does not pay dividends to its shareholders. All profit is reinvested back into the business, which means a higher profit margin. Ryanair is unable to expand its home market industry, because of airport taxes. Passengers having their own luggage carried at their own risk could mean a loss of reputation if any major scandal is to occur in terms of loss of luggage. Increasing its fleet could mean that it might incur more losses. Reference: Thompson, A.A., Strickland, A.J., Gamble, J.E. (2008), Crafting executing strategy;The quest for competitive advantage. Boston: McGraw- Hill Irwin. Ryanair Holding PLC, (2007). The Worlds Favorite Airline. Retrieved May 20, 2009,from Ryanair Web Site:http://www.ryanair.com/site/about/invest/docs/2007/070920annualreport.pdfRyanair Holding PLC, (2007). Strategy. Retrieved May 20, 2009,from Ryanair Web Site:http://www.ryanair.com/site/about/invest/docs/Strategy.pdfGoogle (2009). Ryanair Holdings plc (Public, ISE: RYA). Retrieved May 20, 2009, from Google Finance Web site: http://www.finance.google.com/finance?q=ISE:RYALavarack, M P. M. Brown. (1992) Benchmarking: Learning from Best Practice. Business Studies, Vol 5, No.2. Thompson, J. L. (1997) Strategic Management. International Thompson Press: London. Carpenter, M.A. and Sanders, W.G. Strategic Management: A Dynamic Perspective Concepts and Cases, 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009

Advantages and Disadvantages of Electric Cars

Advantages and Disadvantages of Electric Cars The electric car has been a hot topic for the last few years. The development of the electric car is everyday news. In every form of media there is a link to the effects of the electric car or its development. But how come the idea of an electrically powered vehicle is at the center of the attention? Indeed the origin of the electric car goes back for centuries. In the 19th and 20th, century electricity was one of the preferred ways to power an automobile. At that time an electric powered automobile was chosen over a fuel powered automobile, because electric powered automobiles were much easier to handle and much cheaper and easier in maintenance. But why did people still chose for a fuel powered automobile? The competition between electric vehicles and fuel powered vehicles was killing. During the 20th century the electric car lost popularity. There are a number of reasons to explain the decrease of popularity. The invention of the automatic starter, the growing market of cheap fuel, the mass production and easier and faster fuelling. Soon, the fuel powered cars using the latest Internal Combustion Engines had more advantages than the electric car. The electric car slowly disappeared. Only after decades the electric car was reintroduced when General Motors produced their first electric car. At first sight, the reintroduction of the electric car seemed a great success and late 1990 it even created a real hype. People really believed the electric car could change the world. Unfortunately the hype was short-lived. Car companies and oil companies started to defend themselves against the change the electric car tried to achieve. Oil companies saw their market slowly fade and car companies feared losing much of their sales. The resistance was extraordinary, even the government was involved trying to stop a successful reintroduction of the electric car. Again, the electric car slowly disappeared.. Today, the competition between electric powered vehicles and fuel powered vehicles strikes again. Who will be the winner now? Will the electric car eventually substitute the regular car? Advantages, youll pay the price. The fact that the electric car was becoming a success in the late 1990 is not a big surprise. People again experienced the advantages of an electric car. People realized they saved lots of money on their fuel costs and produced much less pollution by driving electric cars. They found it an encouraging thought that they contributed to a better climate while they were saving money as well. Contributing to a better climate is now one of the most important concerns in the world. We cant avoid the fact that the climate is changing. Therefore we need to look for alternatives to fight these environmental problems like air pollution and global warming. One of the best alternatives is replacing the old combustion engine vehicles with electric cars. Electric cars produce zero emissions, so they dont contribute to air pollution at all. Besides air pollution, they also make no sound, so they dont contribute to noise pollution either. Unlike the fuel powered cars, the electric cars have got fewer moving parts. The technical construction of the electric car is much simpler and much more efficient. That makes the electric car more reliable and easier in maintenance. All the electricity is stored in high-end batteries. These car batteries are used to have a lifespan of 5 years. These rechargeable batteries are fully recyclable, this keeps the old batteries of becoming a disposal problem. It also makes the electric car more durable en cheaper the longer term. The last few years the prices of oil has risen sharply. Oil is the black gold, but the prices of oil are so high for a reason. Oil is one of the fossil fuels and these fossil fuels are limited. Oil is getting scarcer every day, and youll pay the price. Electricity is not a fossil fuel and therefore not limited. This makes electricity much cheaper than fuel. One of the biggest advantages of driving an electric car are the fuel costs. For example: When you are driving 40 miles a day in an electrically powered car which has got a mileage of 280 watts per hour per mile and a electricity price of $0.10 kilowatts per hour, it would cost you $1.12. When you are driving the same 40 miles in an fuel powered car with a mileage of 25 miles per gallon you would need 1.6 gallons of fuel. 1.6 gallons of fuel at a price of $3 per gallon would cost you $4.80. In this case, driving your fuel powered car is 4 times more expensive than travelling the same miles in an electric car.  [1]   In fact, traveling in your electric car can even be cheaper. Here is another example of saving more money on your fuel costs. Recharging your electric car during the nighttimes when the electricity is cheaper will save you even more money. Disadvantages, every pot will find its lid. Earlier on we explained that driving an electric car has many technical, environmental and financial advantages. How come that not everyone has exchanged his regular fueled car for an electric car? Well, unfortunately there are still some disadvantages about driving and purchasing an electric car. One of the biggest disadvantages is that the electric car is in a high-dollar prototype stage. Car producing companies have to do many research and many tests to find a way to develop these electric cars. The electric cars also have to meet the safety requirements, just like the regular cars. This requires even more research and more investments from the car companies. To makes these investments attractive for the car producing companies, the government provides subsidies. With providing these subsidies, the cost of an electric car will lower and purchasing one will become accessible for everyone soon. Besides the purchase of an electric car, there are also some disadvantages in its use. One of the reasons the combustion engine won the competition a few decades ago, was that it would only take a few minutes to refill your car with gasoline. Refilling an electric car took half a day. Still, refilling or recharging your electric car is one of the disadvantages. It takes 3 to 10 hours to fully recharge a car battery. So when you are running out of fuel, you wont be able to quickly recharge your battery. The only solution is to charge your car battery overnight, just like the way you would recharge your mp3-player.  [2]   Most of the electric cars are equipped with the most available and inexpensive car batteries. This means that when your car battery is fully charged the next morning, you will be able to travel a distance of 50 to 120 miles. This mileage is ideal for traveling from your home to your office. So using an electric car with such travel range, should not be a problem when you are commuting. It will become a problem when you want to go on a vacation. For example, travelling to your holiday destination in the south of France will keep you busy for almost four days. Of course not all the electric cars are equipped with these inexpensive batteries, but the electric cars equipped with more durable car batteries are much more expensive. So if you want to travel larger distances, you always need to be sure that your electric car is equipped with a better and more expensive battery.  [3]   Eventually, with all the new technologies there will be a solution to expand the range of your inexpensive car batteries and speedup its recharge time. But driving an electric car is completely useless if you wont be able to recharge your car batteries. Unlike the regular combustion engine car you cant stop at the local gas station and quickly fill up your tank. Nowadays, more and more of the gas stations have special charging stations, but in most cities there not enough places where you can simply recharge your electric car. In order to recharge your electric car you are dependent on the few charging stations throughout the city. One of these charging stations is the power supply at your own home. People who drive an electric car need to purchase a converter in order to connect their electric car to their home power supply. Most of the time, this is not a problem. It will become a problem if 200 people living in apartments want to recharge their electric cars at the same time. Lucky enough, more and more cities and villages adapt themselves to the rising demand for more charge stations. But, recharging all these electric cars, isnt that damaging to the environment? Earlier we explained that driving an electric car doesnt contribute to the air pollution. In fact, this is actually not true. Driving an electric car produces zero emissions, but in order to recharge your electric vehicle, you need electricity. This electricity is often generated by burning fossil fuels. So indirectly it still has some environmental costs. But even if the electricity used to recharge the electric car is generated by burning fossil fuels, it still is less than a half compared to the pollution produced by regular powered cars. The indirectly produced pollution can even be reduced. In the future the electric cars will no longer use electricity generated by burning fossil fuels, they will get their energy from cleaner forms of electricity. With the use of cleaner forms of energy, like windmills or solar cells we will be able to reduce the pollution to less than one percent. Besides the air pollution, there is also one disadvantage about the electric car and its noise pollution. Most combustion engine powered cars make a noise which is recognized by children as the sound of an incoming car. The electric car doesnt make any sound at all. This can be very dangerous for the children playing in the streets. At first sight, this seems not a big problem. But when everyone is driving an electric car, people and especially young children need to adapt themselves to this new and changing environment. Conclusion In this essay we discussed all kind of advantages and disadvantages of the electric car. But the question still is, will the electric car eventually substitute the regular car? The answer to this question is yes! In fact, eventually we have no other choice than to replace the combustion engine powered car with an electric car. Times are changing and so is our climate. The use of limited fossil fuels has changed our environment and we need to search alternatives to generate and use energy. With the technical development throughout the decades we found lots of suitable alternatives. When coming up with alternatives, it is important that it is not at the expense of the economic growth and the current standard of living. Therefore, one of the best suitable alternatives is the development of the electric car. The electric car is making its comeback. A few years ago, we chose a combustion engine powered car because of its convenience and because the car producing companies were afraid to lose most of their profits. Lets not make the same wrong choice again and stimulate the technologic development of the electric car. The age of technology is upon us and we are able to find a solution for every possible disadvantage. Soon we will be able to make an environmental friendly car with the convenience of a combustion engine powered car. Within a few years the use of an electric car is unavoidable, so buy your own electric car tomorrow!

Of Mice And Men :: essays research papers

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck At first glance, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a tale of two best friends traveling the countryside looking for work. This would seem like the norm for lower class people trying to survive in the rat race of society. Yet, the story isn’t merely George and Lennie’s search for jobs. Rather, it is about their all out quest for the American Dream, the dream of owning their own stake of land and ending their subservience to their bosses. In order for this to happen, however, George and Lennie had to remain a team. They had to pool their resources as well as their manpower, something their apparent mutual love for each other seemed to take care of. Yet, an irrevocable rift between them sent the dream crashing down. This caused George’s feelings of love and understanding to change from being existent to non-existent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the passing of Lennie’s aunt, George felt an obligation to take care of Lennie as well as to act as his guardian. George fulfilled this role with love and understanding. We first see change in George’s attitude towards Lennie when they moved onto the ranch, their place of work. George immediately feels that he is jeopardizing his relationship with other men in order to defend Lennie’s actions. George is further discouraged when he realizes, based on Lennie’s behavior that he can never be left alone- even to go to the bathroom. Lennie can’t even be trusted not to kill puppies while petting them. Lennie, in fact, goes so far as to kill the owner’s daughter-in-law. By this point, George, a nice yet overly ambitious individual, could no longer control this growing contempt towards his once beloved Lennie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As George’s feelings changed, he started vocalizing his frustrations towards Lennie. Before, George would plead with Lennie with words of love to run away. Now, George actually suggests it. George relates to Lennie that he feels that he is â€Å"holding me (George) back from the good life†, and that he could get his own little stake of land if he freed himself of Lennie and his shortcomings. This is something the old George would never dream of saying. George further alienates Lennie by scolding him mercilessly after Lennie innocently told Crooks their future dreams. These comments reflected George’s sentiments exactly. Lennie had become more of a nuisance than George could even handle. Of Mice And Men :: essays research papers Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck At first glance, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a tale of two best friends traveling the countryside looking for work. This would seem like the norm for lower class people trying to survive in the rat race of society. Yet, the story isn’t merely George and Lennie’s search for jobs. Rather, it is about their all out quest for the American Dream, the dream of owning their own stake of land and ending their subservience to their bosses. In order for this to happen, however, George and Lennie had to remain a team. They had to pool their resources as well as their manpower, something their apparent mutual love for each other seemed to take care of. Yet, an irrevocable rift between them sent the dream crashing down. This caused George’s feelings of love and understanding to change from being existent to non-existent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the passing of Lennie’s aunt, George felt an obligation to take care of Lennie as well as to act as his guardian. George fulfilled this role with love and understanding. We first see change in George’s attitude towards Lennie when they moved onto the ranch, their place of work. George immediately feels that he is jeopardizing his relationship with other men in order to defend Lennie’s actions. George is further discouraged when he realizes, based on Lennie’s behavior that he can never be left alone- even to go to the bathroom. Lennie can’t even be trusted not to kill puppies while petting them. Lennie, in fact, goes so far as to kill the owner’s daughter-in-law. By this point, George, a nice yet overly ambitious individual, could no longer control this growing contempt towards his once beloved Lennie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As George’s feelings changed, he started vocalizing his frustrations towards Lennie. Before, George would plead with Lennie with words of love to run away. Now, George actually suggests it. George relates to Lennie that he feels that he is â€Å"holding me (George) back from the good life†, and that he could get his own little stake of land if he freed himself of Lennie and his shortcomings. This is something the old George would never dream of saying. George further alienates Lennie by scolding him mercilessly after Lennie innocently told Crooks their future dreams. These comments reflected George’s sentiments exactly. Lennie had become more of a nuisance than George could even handle.

Sir Gawain: The Ideal Knight Essay -- Canterbury Tales English Litera

Sir Gawain: The Ideal Knight Throughout the Arthurian legends, Sir Gawain seems to be the epitome of a noble knight. He is always putting his king before himself, repeatedly sacrificing his own life in some way for King Arthur. He is an honorable knight that lives up to his word. This is evident in both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell." In these stories, Gawain lives up to the expectations of a knight belonging to the legendary Round Table. In "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell," King Arthur is accused of unrightfully giving away Gromer Somer Joure's lands to Sir Gawain. Gromer Somer Joure asks Arthur a question, which Arthur must answer if he wants his life to be spared. Arthur, going against the instructions of Gromer Somer Joure, tells Gawain of his predicament. He tells Gawain that he must not speak of the situation to anyone else. Gawain responds by telling Arthur, "I am not that man that wold you dishonour." ("Ragnell" 150) It is apparent that Gawain is an honorable person that keeps his word. Arthur would not confide in him, otherwise. Gawain's commitment to King Arthur is even more evident as the story goes on. Arthur finds an old hag, Dame Ragnell, who knows the answer to the question he has been asked. She asks in return, "Thou must graunt me a knighte to wed--his name is Sir Gawen." ("Ragnell" 280-281) Arthur cannot agree to this without consulting Gawain. When Arthur tells Gawain about his encounter with the hag, Gawain brushes it off as if it is nothing. He does not fear marrying the hag as long as it will spare the life of King Arthur. He says to Arthur with great confidence: Is this alle? I shalle w... ...s given his land to Sir Gawain. Arthur relies on Sir Gawain to get him out of the predicament that he is in. He also relies on Sir Gawain when the Green Knight confronts him in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Gawain offers to take Arthur's place in the Green Knight's Christmas game. Arthur quickly accepts without a second thought. It is obvious that throughout the Arthurian legends that Arthur and Gawain are portrayed differently. One thing that remains the same is that there is a special bond between these two characters. Gawain is always the knight that is ready to defend Arthur at all times. Works Cited Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams et. 7th Edition, Volume 1. New York: Norton, 2000. 156-210 Sands, Donald B. Ed. Middle English Verse Romances. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc., 1966.

Essay --

FAKE IT TO MAKE IT: A FACTITIOUS DISORDER I. There have been people that love attention, and have taken it a little too far and would invent or inflict illnesses on themselves. A. A factitious disorder has been described as a disease in which a person convinces people and themselves that they have a disease, when in reality they do not. 1. Munchausen disorder, one type of factitious disorder, dates back to the 18th century when Baron Karl Friederick Hieronymus von Munchausen would tell entertaining but untrue tales of his past. 2. Some symptoms which have been known to appear in a patient with a factitious disorder are unbelievable, inconsistent, and have a long medical history in different hospitals or clinics. 3. Psychiatric help has been the main treatment offered, but sometimes when the level of the disorder has been harmful to the patient or others, they were hospitalized forcefully. 4. There’s been many symptoms that have are recognized as factitious, and though there are medications that have helped calm patients, the main way that they have help an individual has been with mental help. II. Traces of factitious disorder were seen back in Galen’s time, a famous Roman physician from around 200 AD. A. That is not however, where it was first named a disease, it was given the name Factitious by English physician named Gavin in a book he published in 1842. 1. Gavin wrote the first and most complete description of why people might do this to themselves. a) He listed a total of eight reasons. b) The first seven reasons were malingering because their reasons are to get something that is convenient to them out of it. c) The eighth reason he named was that people do it to get compassion or attention. 2. There are two main... ...y can hurt themselves and their families, they are forced into being hospitalized. 4. If the patient wants to be treated, then it has to come from them, or all the work would be done in vain because the person does not want to admit that they need help. V. A factitious disorder is when a person says that they have a disease, when in reality they do not. A. The two main types of factitious disorder are factitious disorder by proxy, which is when a person inflicts a disease on a person that they care for. B. There is also Munchausen's syndrome, in which a person causes the symptoms on themselves. C. They have physical symptoms like cuts, surgical scars and others. D. They also have mental symptoms, where they have created a sickness that even they, themselves believe. E. The only way to really help a person with a factitious disorder is by offering them mental help.

Leading Teams Essay

The following report presents an analysis of Shell Oil, and the ways in which it incorporates team leadership concepts in balancing stakeholder needs. Stakeholders are defined in The Times 100 case study Balancing Stakeholder Needs as â€Å"anyone who has an interest in what a business does or an influence on the business†. The case study continues on to identify Shell’s stakeholders as shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, local communities, and interest groups. It is vitally important for large corporations such as Shell to balance the needs of these parties, in order to ensure profitable, safe and continuous operations. In order to do so, Shell must consider what the needs of each of these groups are, and how to use leadership to control the effects of conflicting needs. a) Making reference to appropriate theory what aspects of leadership and team dynamics may Shell have considered when considering their approach to balancing Stakeholder needs? The leadership tactics employed by Shell in balancing stakeholder needs will be varied, but will no doubt include an assessment of its vision and principles, the corporate leadership style, and how to construct its teams to maximise performance. The statement â€Å"Begin with the end in mind† (Covey 2004 cited Benson and Rice 2009a, p.3), gives a fair indication as to the purpose and necessity of a corporate vision. Where is the business going, and how is it going to get there? An essential element to leadership, a vision defines the goal that everyone in the company should be working towards. Kotter (1990, p.105) suggests that a key part of vision is â€Å"how well it serves the interests of important constituencies†. In other words, Shell should display balanced stakeholders needs in the company vision. According to Nanus (1992 cited Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1993), a vision should also display the following  characteristics, which Shell would likely have taken into account for each group of stakeholders: * Attracts commitment and energises people * Creates meaning in workers lives * Establishes a standard of excellence * Bridges the present to the future * Transcends the status quo. Shell publishes its vision, along with its core values and other operating principles in the Shell General Business Principles, which is widely communicated, and available for download from the company’s website. Shell has clearly recognised for quite some time the value and necessity for a vision in balancing needs, as the first set of principles was originally published in 1976 (Royal Dutch Shell plc 2005). It is important to separate leadership from management. Kotter (1990, p.104) states that â€Å"Management is about coping with complexity†, and that â€Å"Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change.† And what is a vision, if not an anticipated change to the company? The management of change is a key role of leadership. The recent corporate restructuring and appointment of a new CEO in July 2009 (Wighton 2010), shows that Shell’s leaders are required to consistently react to changes such as market conditions, and adjust its focus to ensure al l stakeholder needs are still being met. The study of leadership in general has led to many differing leadership theories, which can essentially be divided into two categories; Behaviour Models, and Situational Leadership. Behaviour Models tend to address the personal traits of the individual leader, and Situational Leadership addresses a customisation of style to each new situation. While it is possible to apply some Behaviour Model theories to an organisation, it is more likely that Shell apply Situational Leadership methods, altering the balance of task vs. relationship dependent on which stakeholder group is being considered. Shell will also have spent considerable time finding the most effective teams for their business profile. Owing to the highly technical nature of Shell’s operations, there is a good possibility that it uses expert teams to ensure that shareholder needs are incorporated at every level of the organisation. For example, and expert in say, oil drilling, may not have the expertise to determine what effects a proposed course of action would have on the local  community. It is worth noting however, that it may be time for Shell to re-evaluate the effectiveness of its teams. Wighton (2010) reports that Shell has been â€Å"plagued by delays and budget overruns on big projects†, indicating that its teams are not performing. To ensure that stakeholder needs are being met, Shell will have incorporated ways in which to monitor and control performance within the organisation. Shell begins by reporting. It reports on several sectors of the business, to include annual financial reports, which are particularly relevant to shareholders, and sustainability reporting, which will be of interest to local communities and interest groups (Shell International B.V. 2010a). It became apparent, through the annual reporting to their shareholders in May 2009 that Shell had misinterpreted its shareholders needs. This resulted in a tense annual meeting where the shareholders voted 60% against the proposed incentive scheme for executives, which would have seen top executives receive large bonuses, even if they failed to meet performance targets (Lindsay and Pagnamenta 2010) b) How may Shell’s approach to balancing Stakeholder need’s impact upon employee motivation? There are two major motivational theories which are widely used in the field of management; Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory (1959 cited Boddy 2008, p. 500-502), and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1970 cited Boddy 2008, p. 494-497). The Two Factor theory suggests that there are two elements to motivation, Motivating Factors, and Hygiene Factors. Motivating Factors contribute to an employee’s satisfaction, and Hygiene Factors contribute to their dissatisfaction. The theory identifies these factors as: Motivating Factors| Hygiene Factors| Achievement| Company Policies| Recognition| Supervision| The work itself| Relationship with Supervisor and Peers| Responsibility| Work conditions| Advancement| Salary| Growth| Status| | Security| Herzberg went on to conclude that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not opposites. The opposite of satisfaction is no satisfaction, with the opposite of dissatisfaction being no dissatisfaction. In other words, the absence of Motivating factors does not create dissatisfaction, and the existence of the Hygiene Factors does not create satisfaction. On the other hand, in the Hierarchy of Needs, Maslow speculates that everyone has a prescribed set of needs that must be met in a certain order, as follows: Maslow maintains that employees begin by looking to fill Physiological needs, for example a properly heated/cooled workplace. Only when Physiological needs are met, or mostly met, will an employee seek to fulfil their Security needs, for example a permanent contract. And so on through the other needs. Both of these theories have identified common areas of motivation relating to security (job security, salary), recognition (status, advancement, self-esteem, rewards), and job development (growth, achievement, self actualisation, responsibility). Regardless of which theory, if any, that Shell has chosen to adopt, these are the basic employee needs that they will need to have taken into account. It is a widely held belief that employees are a company’s greatest asset, which means that their role as stakeholders is an important one. If Shell is getting the stakeholder balance right, they will have addressed their employee’s needs, which should result in positive levels of employee motivation. As we saw in Question a) however, it is not always that easy to get the balance right. If Shell has favoured its shareholder needs, this could potentially lead to employee pay cuts and a reduction in safety costs, in order to maximise profits. If interest groups and local communities are favoured, this could potentially lead to the cancellation of new and innovative projects that would have allowed employees to develop new skills and achieve new discoveries. All of these outcomes would have a noticeably negative effect on employee motivation. If we are to believe Shell, it recognises this need for balance, and goes to great efforts to ensure that employee’s needs for recognition and job development are met (Shell International B.V. 2010b). It professes on its website: * â€Å"Joining Shell means getting more out of your working life than you thought possible.† (Shell International B.V. 2010b) * â€Å" [We make] every effort to provide the kind of rewards and benefits that will complement your own particular lifestyle and needs† (Shell International B.V. 2010c) Certainly, the testimonials offered by Shell employees, from every facet of the organization, seem to support these statements (Shell International B.V. 2010d). It is worth noting however, that nowhere in the literature published in the Jobs & Career section of the Shell website, does it address the subjects of job stability, employee safety, or personal security. It was reported by Wighton (2010) that within weeks of his taking over at the helm of Shell in July 2009, Peter Voser had cut 5000 jobs. Combine this with the inherent safety risks of the petrochemical industry, and the security risks associated with operations in locations such as Nigeria, and some doubt is cast on Shell’s ability to meet all of their employee’s needs. c) What conflict situations may Shell have needed to consider and manage in order to successfully achieve its balance towards Stakeholder needs? Shell has five main stakeholder groups, shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, local communities, and interest groups (The Times 100 ca.2009, p. 133-136). The nature and the needs of each one of these groups differs to such a degree that conflict is nearly inevitable. â€Å"Conflict frequently has its roots in difference† (Benson and Rice 2009b, p.2), this statement supports the idea that conflict management can also be regarded as the management of differences. Shell’s balancing of stakeholder needs could essentially be redefined as management of the differences in stakeholder needs; or conflict management. With a multinational company such as Shell, listing potential conflicts could be a daunting task. To begin with, the shareholder’s need to earn the greatest dividends possible is obviously at odds with the em ployee’s desire for greater remuneration and benefits packages. The shareholder’s and employee’s dedication to innovative new technologies and projects may oppose the goals of interest groups who strive  to protect the environment and human rights, and local communities who are stretched to accommodate a new industry. The customer’s desire for a reprieve from the ever increasing cost of fuels is in direct opposition to a supplier’s objective of selling their product at the most profitable price. The list is virtually inexhaustible. Shell has incorporated measures throughout its organization to mitigate potential conflicts, which centre on ensuring balance, communication and involvement. The first and foremost of these measures is Shell’s decision making criteria (The Times 100 ca.2009, p. 136), which is specifically designed to achieve a good balance of stakeholder needs and provide a transparency by assessing: * the economic impact of the activity is likely to yield a good return for shareholders * the social impact will be suitable for employees and communities * the long-term effect of its activity will harm the environment As mentioned in Question a) Shell report openly and honestly on its activities and their effects, through financial and sustainability reporting. According to Shell, they have â€Å"voluntarily reported on our environmental and social performance since 1997 because this performance matters to our stakeholders and to our business success† (Shell International B.V. 2010a). This provides a consistent avenue for communication with stakeholders. The greatest volume of resources dedicated to mitigating conflict can be found in Shell’s social programmes. A brief review of its website reveals that it has no fewer than seven separate social programmes, which focus on a myriad of topics, from sustainable development, to road safety, to HIV/AIDS (Shell International B.V. 2010e). There is an underlying conflict however that is not so easy to identify, and which is not evidently addressed in the mitigation measures. It is the diversity of the stakeholders that presents Shell with perhaps the biggest challenge of all. In order to truly balance stakeholder needs, Shell must consider the cultures in which it operates, and strive to understand â€Å"the richness and strength of the many different facets of diversity, including age, gender, colour, race, ethnicity, religion, differing abilities (physical and cognitive), sexuality, socio-cultural and economic background† (Benson and Rice 2009c, p.2). This will not only affect the way in which it must represent itself in each region, but it will also have a great impact on the internal development of its teams in order to maximize performance.  Again, the management of differences between cultures becomes the management of conflict. d) Conclude by taking the key elements of your observations in steps a-c regarding Shell in order to make a recommendation for other organisations to consider implementing the approach of balancing Stakeholder needs as a means to business success? Shell Oil began as an antiques dealer in London, who diversified into importing shells from the Far East in 1833 (Shell International B.V. 2010f). This is a far cry from the multinational petrochemical company of today that is a recognized symbol around the globe. The business success that has propelled Shell from local antiques store to global giant will not have happened by accident. It will be well calculated and methodically achieved. This outstanding business success will certainly provide many other organizations with insight regarding balancing stakeholder needs which will be beneficial. First and foremost is the need for vision and leadership. Business success on the scale of Shell Oil cannot be achieved without establishing a vision of what that success will look like, and how to get there. A properly composed and communicated vision will essentially be the battle cry that enlists all of your stakeholders to joining in and making the increased business success a reality. To accompany this, it is necessary to embrace the ideas of leadership over management, after all, â€Å"No one yet has figured out how to manage people effectively into battle, they must be led† (Kotter 1990, p.104). Once a vision has been communicated, it will quickly lose momentum if the stakeholders are not informed of its progress. Tools to measure and disseminate the organisation’s and individual’s performance to the vision should be developed. No matter how inspiring the vision and enthusiastic the leadership, effective teams who are able to perform will be essential. Dependent on the type of organization, and its particular stakeholders, the team dynamic required to meet expectations will be different. For example, the approach to technical innovation required by Shell will not be needed in a non-profit organization that gives support to individuals through social programming. Research into effective team structures for the desired outcome is highly recommended. While no one group of stakeholders should overshadow the rest, it is perhaps the employees who will have the most complex needs to balance against the other stakeholders. Every organisation should ensure that the balance of stakeholder needs promotes positive employee motivation  in order to achieve its envisioned business success. A study of motivational theories should be undertaken to understand the various factors, before assessing them within the organisation. As concluded in Question b), Shell has heavily promoted its ability to meet the job development and recognition needs of its employees, though it may have fallen down on fulfilling needs such as job and personal security. This will in part be owing to research and feedback directly from their employees. The employees most valuable to Shell and achieving its vision may be those who are eager to participate in the innovative and technical projects that Shell has to offer, and are willing to sacrifice in other areas as a result. Every organisation should work with its employees to determine what their needs are against the desired outcomes of the company, before assessing how these needs will fit into the balance of stakeholders. An organisation who is striving to achieve business success would benefit from approaching the balancing of stakeholder needs as if it were the management of differences in needs, in other words, conflict management. Consistent communication will be required with each stakeholder group in order to identify and discuss potential conflicts. This will allow the introduction of appropriate mitigation measures within the balance. It is acknowledged that not every organisation will be conducting multinational business; however careful research into the diversity of the stakeholders is recommended. This will allow the organisation to harness the differences within its stakeholder groups, with a view to maximising potential for performance. This report has summarised some of the key areas addressed by Shell Oil in its balancing of stakeholder needs, and has made some high level recommendations for other organisations to consider. Any organisation that is keen to achieve business success will no doubt find value in research regarding Shell’s approach. References Benson, A., and Rice, M., 2009a. Developing and Sustaining Effective Teams Guide 2: What are you there for? Setting Objectives. London: Royal College of Nursing. Available from: http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/78735/003115.pdf [Accessed 02 February 2010]. Benson, A., and Rice, M., 2009b. Developing and Sustaining Effective Teams Guide 6: Some thoughts about conflict. London: Royal College of Nursing. Available from: http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/78735/003115.pdf [Accessed 02 February 2010]. Benson, A., and Rice, M., 2009c. Developing and Sustaining Effective Teams Guide 4: Is everyone involved? Diversity. London: Royal College of Nursing. Available from: http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/78735/003115.pdf [Accessed 02 February 2010]. Boddy, D., 2008. Management: An Introduction. 4th ed. Edinburgh: Pearson Edutcation. Kotter, J.P., 1990. What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business Review, 68 (3), 103-111. Available from: Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost [Accessed 31 March 2010). Lindsay R. and Pagnamenta, R., 2010. Shell tries to appease investors with caps on pay. The Times, 17 February. Available from: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/movers_and_shakers/article7029759.ece [Accessed 21 April 2010]. Royal Dutch Shell plc, 2005. Shell General Business Principles. The Hague: Shell International Limited. Availa ble from: http://www.shell.com/home/content/aboutshell/who_we_are/our_values/sgbp/sgbp_30032008.html [Accessed 03 April 2010]. Shell International B.V., 2010a. Our approach to reporting. The Hague: Shell International B.V.. Available from: http://www.shell.com/home/content/environment_society/approach_to_reporting/our_approach/our_approach_to_reporting_26042007.html [Accessed 03 April 2010]. Shell International B.V., 2010b. Jobs & Careers. The Hague: Shell International B.V.. Available from: http://www.shell.com/home/content/careers/ [Accessed 03 April 2010]. Shell International B.V., 2010c. Rewards & Benefits. The Hague: Shell International B.V.. Available from: http://www.shell.com/home/content/careers/professionals/rewards_and_benefits/professionals_rewards_benefits_13092006.html [Accessed 03 April 2010]. Shell International B.V., 2010d. Meet Our Professionals. The Hague: Shell International B.V.. Available from: http://www.shell.com/home/page/careers/our_people/tool/app_xp_meet_ our_people.html [Accessed 03 April 2010]. Shell International B.V., 2010e. Programmes. The Hague: Shell International B.V.. Available from: http://www.shell.com/home/content/environment_society/society/our_neighbours/social_investment/programmes/ [Accessed 03 April 2010]. Shell International B.V., 2010f. The beginnings. The Hague: Shell International B.V.. Available