Two friends

Present, has been efurbished quite a lot but this place still retains the characteristics of the cross- cultural Vietnamese – French The Hanoi Opera House is an architectural work is incomparable with the price outstanding value of history, culture, architecture and art. Can see the Opera House as an integral part of urban and architectural capital, contributing to the establishment of our country faces today in the cultural field. For over 100 years old and works in Hanoi Opera House exists as a symbol of architectural space, cultural and political capital 1,000 years old.Long Bi ©n Bridge Long Bien Bridge is the first steel bridge across the Red River in Hanoi, a length of 1862 built by the French. At that time, Long Bien Bridge is the largest bridge in Indochina and is one of four huge bridges in the world. But do not take pride that the long term, such a tool is built primarily by the purpose of colonization, the bridge soon to bear the buckling his war wounds. Old bridg e is an important transportation hub, became the meeting place between urban and rural, one the banks still appear the floral field bowls, one side of ife with urbanization.Today, trains, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians are still crossing the bridge. Some parts of the bridge is intact, but most have been repaired Dy tne damage. But tne or10ge Is stlll tnere as a slgnlTlcant evlaence 0T war ana history. After more than a century of existence, the Long Bien Bridge has a familiar image for many, many generations and became a cultural icon, the history of Hanoi. For Hanoi, almost everyone kept a memory of this bridge Temple of Literature Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam is a monument rich diversity and contains many recious human values of Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general.Covering an area of 54,331 square meters, including: Lake Van, the Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam and park Glam. The value of history and culture of the Temple of Literature was confirmed during thousands of years. Quoc Tu Giam is where the examinations held important national stature and train talented people for the country and 82 preserved in Temple of Literature. It depicts of the traditional hospitality of the people It is also the encouragement and rged the next generation of today and tomorrow is always to preserve and retain traditional hospitality of the people.Many times repairing the Temple of Literature 9 March 2010, UNESCO officially recognized 82 steles at Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Glam, the legacy of the material world. It is also a lot of domestic and foreign delegations have been visiting the Temple of Literature. With the ancient architecture and the unique human values, Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam is a hyphen history of Hanoi's past and present, contributing to enrich the cultural treasure of the nation.

Organizational Impact Paper Essay

Both manufacturing and the service industry drive today’s economy, not only domestically but globally. Innovation, design, and creativity are essential to each organizational type. A company must find its niche and create a name for itself that differentiates itself from all others within its branding. By having the creativity to take another company to the next level all three aspects must be balanced. The restaurant industry is very complex and offers a great variety to customers. Innovation, design, and creativity can be seen in each company. Restaurants include everything from fast food settings to fine dining, inexpensive to expensive pricing, American food to Asian cuisine. The restaurant industry strictly caters to the needs and wants of the public. Fast food has become a necessity with the growing fast pace of life. Companies such as McDonalds, Five Guys, Taco Bell, and Subway have not only created different menus in relation to daily meals but also have created a healthier choice menu. Offering different varieties is a form of innovation. Innovating new concepts and ideas will create a name and buzz that will be beneficial to the company. For example, when Wendy’s created the first value menu in 1989, items were 99 cents (â€Å"Wendy’s â€Å", 2013). This was innovative and created an option for those on a tight budget. With the popularity of the value menu other chains followed suit including, Taco Bell, McDonalds, and Burger King. Designing of a menu, concept, building, even a drive through is important to the restaurant industry. Design goes down to specific details and even reasons why colors are chosen. For example, researchers have discovered the color red makes people hungry (Buswell, 2013). It is very common to drive past several chains and notice they all share some sort of red color in the logo or building structure. Designing a menu that caters to a crowd with dietary restrictions is growing ever more popular. By creating a dietary menu options are given to those that may not usually patron a chain. This creates new customers and more profit for a restaurant. Creativity is also important within the service industry. With a growing list of options to choose from to dine there has to be an element of creativity to attract customers. Restaurants such as Black Angus  Steakhouse offer a mailing club that sends out a free birthday meal up to 20.99 for anyone that signs up for coupons and emails (â€Å"Black Angus†, 2013). Not only does this bring people in that may only go out to a nice sit down steakhouse a few times a year but it also provides an incentive to return, as w ell as spend money in the restaurant. By giving a coupon or free item customers feel as though they are getting a deal and tend to spend more money since they are already saving somewhere else. Restaurants hope that offering deals will not only create a reoccurring guest, but the savings will entice consumers to purchase a dessert, cocktail, or add on item. The same three principles go for manufacturing companies such as General Motors Corporation. General Motors offers a multitude of designs including Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. GM prides itself on being creative and innovative within its industry. According to â€Å"General Motors Corporation† (2014), â€Å"We challenge ourselves to be creative and lead in everything we do† (Our Company). Having a clear innovative approach has shown beneficial throughout the economic struggle. Learning and offering new concepts has helped secure GM within the car manufacturing industry. Listening to consumer’s needs and wants when purchasing a vehicle have been heard. Creating a new design concepts not only in the factory but in the car lots can help with sales. Finding the most cost efficient way of producing a vehicle, marketing to a specific genre of people, and creating life time customers is the goal. Each year new concept cars or upgrades are made to the previous year’s model. By updating and adapting features, consumer interest grows. A new design in Arizona offers clients the opportunity to get a haircut, pedicure, lunch, and offer daycare at no cost when in the market for a new car. The Toyota Company has created a more relaxed approach to the buying of a vehicle. This is an unheard of approach that General Motors could learn from. By providing an environment that is relaxed and enjoyable consumers may be more inclined to visit that dealership. All three concepts can be easily defined in each industry. Although, this is just an overview of how the three principles all work together, the principles run deeply through the core of the company. Creativity, innovation, and design spread throughout each branch within a company. When one department excels within these principles great things can be created, and new ideas can blossom. The future for the restaurant industry and manufacturing industry look bright and promising for years to come, as long as new ideas, and concepts and created.

Studying Fossil Fuels Use In Singapore Environmental Sciences Essay

Singapore is a little state with no natural resources, it is important to diversify the state ‘s energy beginnings so as to guarantee that this will non restrict Singapore ‘s economic fight and growing. Currently, the gas-fired power works generates 80 % of the state ‘s electricity and the staying 20 % coming from the oil-fired power works [ 1 ] . The Energy Market Authority ( EMA ) has predicted that there would be an increasing gas ingestion demand in the electricity sector [ 2 ] . Therefore, there is an increasing demand to look for other energy beginnings such as coal and liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) , and besides atomic energy in distant hereafter [ 1 ] . In add-on to happening the alternate energy beginnings, safeguarding the environment is besides an of import undertaking for the state. It is reported that electricity coevals histories for about half of the C dioxide ( CO ­Ã‚ ­2 ) emanation in Singapore [ 3 ] . Therefore, there is a demand to look for cleaner fuels in order to cut down C dioxide emanations so as to minimise its part to planetary heating. This paper will give an overview of the hazards, impacts, advantages, every bit good as the disadvantages of utilizing coal and LNG as alternate energy beginnings in Singapore. Coal Coal is a non-crystalline solid fuel which consists of chiefly C formed from the remains of organic affair under the Earth ‘s surface for 1000000s of old ages. It besides contains trace sums of sulfur, quicksilver and radioactive stuffs. Hazard and Impacts of Coal One of the hazards associated with the usage of coal as energy fuel is that coal degrades in reserves upon subjugation to weathering and atmospheric oxidization. This implies that the belongingss and constructions of stored coal can be altered and therefore, doing them less valuable for intended usage. Therefore, in order to keep the belongingss of the majority coal, big coal atoms with smaller surface-to-volume ratio are preferred since a smaller overall effectual surface country slows down the rate of debasement. However, larger coal atom size would ensue in more null infinite, taking up valuable storage infinite, bring forthing less energy per unit volume which leads to higher transit costs [ 4 ] . In the event that smaller coal atoms are employed alternatively, oxidation and debasement of coal would take topographic point at a faster rate due to increased effectual surface country. This may bespeak that coal is non suited for usage under Singapore ‘s clime of high humidness degrees which aggravate the coal debasement job. Coal has high oxidization affinity which could ensue in self-generated burning during storage [ 4 ] . Heat coevals can happen from the exothermal oxidization reaction, and wetting ( heat of wetting ) . While the rate of heat dissipation is slower than the rate of heat coevals, heat build-up occurs. This frequently leads to self-generated burning that may be hard to command one time a reserve gimmicks fire [ 4 ] . The issue affecting coal debasement is that dust atoms would be released when the coal is exposed to environment [ 4 ] . The production of all right atoms would degrade air quality and can trip societal wellness concerns, particularly when inter-building distance is smaller in Singapore. It would decline the wellness conditions of people who are enduring from lungs- and eye-related wellness jobs. Having assessed the hazards affecting the usage of coal, the impacts associated are besides analyzed. If stored in unfastened reserves, the coal is non merely subjected to weave eroding which will increase particulate pollutants in the air, but besides rains that are frequent in Singapore ‘s clime that will do coal pile overflow. The H2O oozing through the hemorrhoids would fade out or leach heavy metals and toxic organic substances within, and finally travel into the belowground H2O, which may do its manner to reservoirs and H2O catchments. Contaminated H2O can do farther societal wellness jobs and would be damaging to marine aquatic life. Besides the issue related to char storage, combustion of coal can take to serious environmental jobs. 20 % of the planetary nursery gas emanations emitted are the consequence of coal firing [ 5 ] . In United States entirely, 51.6 metric tons of quicksilver were released into the air yearly from coal power Stationss [ 6 ] . It will be expected that more quicksilver is released if Singapore increases her use of coal. Mercury is toxic and poses a menace to both human species and marine beings. Accretion of quicksilver in the organic structure can do harm to encephalon and kidneys. Singapore has ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2006, which has ordinances on emanations and in consequence, punishments have to be paid for emanations [ 5 ] . This would be a great impact when Singapore adopts coal power because it has significantly more emanations compared to oil and gas. Punishments for CO2 emanation are expected to increase over clip due to more rigorous controls in topographic point, and would likely do coal power less attractive as an alternate fuel for energy variegation. Advantages of Coal Due to the high handiness of coal, the cost of coal is low compared to natural gas or crude oil. Based on research carried out by Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) , the cost of coal is ~ $ 1-2 per million BTU, compared to $ 6-12 per million BTU for natural gas or crude oil [ 7 ] . Therefore, the usage of coal enables a lower capital investing in the natural stuff. Greater nest eggs from procurance of low-priced natural stuff enables better flexibleness in investing for pollution control in cut downing CO2 emanation. Coal militias could last much longer than gas and oil. In order to enable Singapore to prolong long-run energy demands, a dependable supply of fuel is a cardinal consideration. Harmonizing to probes carried out, the ratio of the militias to production rate ( based on the current ingestion tendencies ) has revealed that coal could last for another 155 old ages, which is much longer than in the instance of oil and gas ( 40 and 65 old ages severally ) [ 6 ] . Si ngapore can see coal as one of its option in energy beginnings variegation since the low cost and durable supply of coal render it attractive, and therefore makes Singapore economically more competitory [ 8 ] . Coal is a major beginning of energy in many states like China, US, and India. As the supply will non run out in the close hereafter, researches are proactive to develop advanced clean coal engineerings, including gasification and liquefaction for C dioxide gaining control and storage [ 7 ] . Furthermore, the lifting costs of oil and gas as a consequence of depleting beginnings would force the development of such engineerings at a faster rate, doing coal power emanations comparable to oil and gas power. China as the universe largest coal consumer would unlikely halt the use of coal. Alternatively of change overing to alternative cleaner fuels that may incur substructure costs while decelerating down its advancement, research on advanced methods for continual use of coal at a much lower emanation would be developed by them. With new methods being developed, coal power emanations would be of all time diminishing along the clip line [ 7 ] . For case, CO2 Capture and Storage ( CCS ) which is presently in development is expected to do coal power a feasible power option with an expected 20-60 % addition in usage compared to today ‘s degree. With CCS, CO2 emanations from firing coal can be reduced to merely half to a 3rd of the sum of emanations today, which makes it comparable to CO2 emanations from burning of gas and oil at present times [ 7 ] . Disadvantages of Coal Despite the fact that coal is lower in cost, the comparative energy content per unit weight is low excessively [ 4 ] . Sing two indistinguishable trucks transporting the same volume of coal and crude oil, the truck transporting crude oil gives higher energy output content. Consequently, higher cost is incurred in the transit of coal. Currently, H2O conveyance offers a lower cost alternate to railway, but there is an increasing ordinance on fuel for Marine conveyance, which will further increase cost of coal transit. Stocking of coal requires stock heap direction, which would likely be much more strict than anyplace else as land is scarce in this state [ 5 ] . Coal storage is comparatively land area-intensive. Other considerations include the clime of Singapore, which rains are expected to happen often, unfastened hemorrhoids are improbable to be considered. Storage in enclosed silos or sand traps would, nevertheless, incur higher capital costs and can restrict enlargement capablenesss. Gas fired power workss emit 70 % lesser CO2 per unit of electrical end product, and petroleum-based systems emit 50 % lesser CO2 than coal-burning power [ 7 ] . LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS ( LNG ) Liquefied natural gas is natural gas that undergoes liquefaction and it consists chiefly of methane. During the procedure of liquefaction, drosss like H2O, N, C dioxide, H sulphide and other S compounds are removed. The beginnings of gas are well-diversified. Soon, the type of natural gas used in Singapore is the Piped Natural Gas ( PNG ) obtained from Indonesia and Malaysia. Singapore considers LNG as an alternate energy beginning as it starts the building of the liquified natural gas terminus in Jurong Island, so as to purchase gas from Qatar, every bit good as other possible LNG providers such as Australia and Oman [ 2 ] . Hazards and Impacts of LNG The hazards involved in LNG prevarication in its containment and handling. Under ambient temperature and force per unit area, natural gas in its liquid signifier occupies 1/600th times the volume of its tantamount gas signifier. If LNG were to get away into the ambiance, it will zap rapidly taking to the undermentioned jeopardies: ( 1 ) formation of a gas cloud with many times the volume of associated LNG which may attach to with hazards such as fire or detonation ; ( 2 ) terrible brickle break harm to reaching stuffs such as C and low metal steel constructions at cryogenic temperature ; ( 3 ) terrible hurt to personnel coming into contact with the cryogenic stuff [ 9 ] . The release of LNG would non ensue in fire unless it is exposed to an ignition beginning when its volume in air is between 5 % and 15 % [ 10 ] . If this happens in or near to residential part, the abodes who face the fire would have thermic radiation harm. In instance if LNG escape were to go on in the cloaca systems, it would bring forth flammable bluess that would detonate under parturiency and doing farther harm [ 9 ] . In add-on, vaporized LNG can do suffocation when released into a confined country as O concentration is reduced. During the transit of LNG, oilers are comparatively vulnerable to transgress by hit with heavy supplanting ships even if at the most moderate velocities. Such incidents are likely to happen within port where heavy supplanting ships and LNG oilers portion the same operating environment. In add-on, spillage can happen when LNG oiler travels through difficult point obstructors ( for case, concrete hemorrhoids and stone pinnacles ) . Upon impact, terrible harm to the bottom construction of the LNG oiler could ensue in interior hull incursion. Nevertheless, hazard of major spillage can be greatly reduced the two-base hit hulled design [ 9 ] . Singapore ‘s displacement in accent to LNG has raised the concerns of general public with respects to the storage and transit of LNG, particularly after some efforts of onslaughts by terrorists. However, for the same ground stated under hazard of loss in containment of LNG, pure methane will non light in the presence of an explosive charge without premixing with the right proportions of air. In instance of terrorist onslaught, the likely consequence on LNG installations would be a big pool fire alternatively of an detonation. Hence, LNG armored combat vehicles and oilers are non attractive marks for terrorists who seek to execute monolithic devastation to population lives [ 11 ] . Advantages of LNG Singapore depends on natural gas and crude oil as its chief beginnings of energy supply, which makes these options vulnerable to monetary value fluctuation and supply break. Therefore, LNG offers the chance of significant variegation off from current fuel supplies, enabling Singapore to keep its security of supply while maintaining electricity costs every bit low as possible to maintain concern and consumer costs down. The providers of LNG are good diversified as identified earlier. Hence, LNG may easy be available in copiousness. Even though LNG is a non-renewable resource, its supply worldwide is sufficient to run into the demands of Singapore for the following two decennaries, harmonizing to EMA [ 12 ] . Compared to other fossil fuels, LNG is considered as an environmentally-friendlier and cleaner fuel. LNG contains about wholly methane and no other drosss such as metals, sulfur and N since the liquefaction procedure has removed such drosss from natural gas to forestall solids formation as the gas is refrigerated. As such, LNG burning will surely ensue in less air pollution and lower C dioxide and azotic oxide emanation every bit good as atom emanations. In add-on, the emanations of sulfur dioxide are besides negligible compared to char and oil. Hence, the usage of LNG will assist to cut down jobs of acerb rain and nursery consequence. Due to the high volatility of LNG, it will non blend with H2O or dirt in instance of spillage on H2O or land. Alternatively, it will vaporize and disperse rapidly into the air without any residues. Water and land pollutions are therefore avoided. In footings of flammability, LNG has higher flammability bound ( 5 % ) compared to other fuels like Liquefied Petroleum Gas ( LPG ) ( 2.1 % ) or gasolene ( 1.3 % ) . This implies that for a given volume, more LNG bluess are required to light. Besides, LNG vapour has the highest autoignition temperature ( 1004 oF ) compared to other liquid fuels like LPG ( 850-950oF ) , gasolene ( 495 oF ) and diesel fuel ( about 600oF ) . Since LNG occupies 600 times less infinite than natural gas at ambient conditions, less storage infinite is required. It is besides easier to transport LNG though grapevines than natural gas. In footings of energy coevals, LNG has high net energy output. Hence, the usage of LNG will give higher efficiency compared to oil in power works. Disadvantages of LNG Although LNG is considered as a cleansing agent fuel, it besides contributes to planetary heating to a little extent. Methane, which is the chief component in LNG, is besides a nursery gas which will increase the methane degree in the ambiance if released. In tropical part like Singapore, one definite challenge is to maintain LNG as liquid. This could imply a important sum of energy ingestion to take down the temperatures of the LNG armored combat vehicles [ 13 ] . In order to keep LNG as liquid without excessively much chilling, expensive substructure is required for LNG storage and transit [ 11 ] . Economically, the operations of LNG are capital intensive due to big sum of disbursals needed for the building of liquefaction installations, transit grapevines and purchase of specially designed oilers and LNG ship. High transit cost of LNG from other states to Singapore constitutes portion of the cost excessively. Furthermore, being the lone receiving and regasification terminus in Singapore, the LNG terminus may monopolise LNG supply. In other words, the users may hold to bear higher monetary values. Even though LNG oilers and installations are less likely marks for terrorists, any successful onslaught could ensue in loss of substructures that are highly valuable. Therefore, seashore guards are needed to guarantee the safety and security of the LNG oilers. By beef uping security along coastlines and port installations, Acts of the Apostless of terrorist act and incidents can be prevented. However, while guaranting larboard security is indispensable, transportation paths are every bit vulnerable. If any incidents or onslaughts were to happen in the center of a sound, LNG supplies and all other flows of trade via the same transition would be disrupted. Decision Coal is the cheaper signifier of energy that is besides extremely abundant. It could, nevertheless, degrade when exposed to oxygen, ensuing in it being a hapless quality fuel. Due to take down energy content per unit volume, coal would take up big storage infinites in land-scarce Singapore. Environmental pollution could originate from the release of coal dust which is a menace to public ‘s wellness. Heavy metals and other drosss found in coal are harmful pollutants that are likely to be released upon debasement. However, development of new clean-coal engineerings can be expected from big coal consumers such as China, US and India. Like coal, Liquefied Natural Gas ( LNG ) will help Singapore in get bying with the demand in electricity as a cleansing agent and abundant signifier of fuel. The monopolization of LNG terminus in Singapore could, nevertheless, unfavorably consequence in consumers paying higher monetary value for LNG fuel. The storage infinite for LNG is much smaller than natural gas, which fits good for Singapore whereby land is scarce. When assorted in 5 % to 15 % with air, LNG will light upon exposure to an ignition beginning. Most of all, LNG is a much cleansing agent and efficient signifier of energy compared to other fuels and burn with minimum atom residues and environmental pollution. The hazards associated with the handling of coal and LNG can be minimized by following with industrial criterions and ordinances. While the clime of Singapore disfavours the storage of both coal and LNG, the scheme for energy variegation utilizing these two options shall render our energy system resilient for the following 20 old ages.

Explaining an Ongoing Controversy Regarding the Freedom of Expression Research Paper

Explaining an Ongoing Controversy Regarding the Freedom of Expression - Research Paper Example In that regard, this paper aims at explaining an ongoing controversy regarding the freedom of expression and the First Amendment in terms of news media on music and censorship and internet censorship, the argument being whether censorship is essential in maintaining moral standards. It will also identify government and repressive laws and abuses of freedom of expression. Additionally, it will also shed some light on the background of the issue, some opinions about it and a legal case on Madison’s description of press and speech clauses, which was introduced in the House of Representatives. He argued that,† the people shall not be abridged their right to publish their sentiments, write, speak, freedom of the press, which is one of the greatest protection of liberty, shall be unbreakable† The First Amendment claims that the Congress shall not make any laws in terms of respecting any religion as well as abridging the freedom of the press or speech; or the right of peo ple to assemble in peace and appeal to the government to rectify grievances. The Supreme Court applied the law in incorporating the principle of the freedom of speech, in which this decision applied the freedom of speech first amendment to federal and state laws. ...Each citizen should be able to write, print, speak with the utmost freedom, but shall be held responsible in case he abuses the freedom as defined by law. Unresolved controversy regarding freedom of expression and the First Amendment that has appeared in the news media is about music censorship and internet censorship. Europa Publications Limited (2006) argues that internet censorship has been left unresolved and become a public debate.

Operation Management at Fiat Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operation Management at Fiat - Case Study Example Fiat was founded On 11 July 1899 at Palazzo Bricherasio, the company charter of "Societ Anonima Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino" was signed. Among the members of the Board of Directors, Giovanni Agnelli stood out in the group of investors and won recognition for his determination and strategic vision. The 'Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino' company was founded in Turin, The first factory was opened in 1900 in Corso Dante. 150 workers were employed there and produced 24 cars. After that Fiat started a factory on s green field site at Melfi in southern Italy. At that time the competition was too high in the automobile industry. Fiat and all its competitors were facing a problem of poor quality products and productivity. The plant was the outcome of a major re-engineering effort undertaken by the company related to quality, productivity and endemic industrial conflict. For over a decade the plant was considered by Fiat and its competitor to be the leading example of productivity. But after the factory was started to do a better performance, it started fell down in productivity because of a strike in its production and supply area, by workers. From the very beginning the production system of Fiat's is a customer driven production system. But as the production was fallen due to the strike, the marketing department has to take steps to defend its market share, which was decreased as well. But as it's the problem of internal environment and related to human resource where alone marketing department cant do much. Marketing department can do a research "LE PEST C analysis (stands for Legal, Economical, Political, Ecological, Social, Technological and Cultural analysis)"1 along with HR department on its internal environment to find out the problem. At same time Fiat have to do another research on its customer to understand their recent behavior, needs and also on market to understand the recent market situation and future trends. All the decisions will depends up to these research result and some measurement. Such as recent consumer behavior, situation of sales and recent market share, recent market trends- after conflict was co vered and published by media. After media coverage, if the market and consumer behavior remain same marketing department need no to go for increase marketing activities such as advertisement but other promotional tools must be in working mode such as "public relation, direct marketing, sales promotion"2 etc. To capture the market share and get a competitive advantage they will use "Flank Attacking strategy"3. If the market trends shows that the future market may boom and the consumer behavior are in changing pattern as they want to spend more money for having a car, and if the demographical segment shows that the income level is increasing and will booster the sales, only then Fiat should start to build a new factory that will be worthy to Fiat in long run. If Fiat decide to start a new plant based on positive research

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Reflection - Essay Example Even the leadership traits that I considered to prevent the achievement of organizational goals educated me on better leadership approaches. Therefore, this paper gives a reflection of my growth in leadership, aiming to be a school principal, based on transformational leadership theory. Transformational leadership has been associated with desirable organizational performance irrespective of the context. According to Boerner, Eisenbeiss, and Griesser (2007), this style of leadership causes positive results by promoting leader-follower relationship. This reflects my approach to leadership. It is an approach that I used when managing my father’s company to cause the company to post positive results. I associated with the employees and got to understand them better. This informed my decisions that proved to be effective. Being social, transformational leadership best fits within my personality traits as it promotes relationships. Considering my prospect of being a principal in a s chool, I work towards ensuring that I develop a relationship with my students. This will enable me understand them better and therefore make informed decisions on leading them. Hence, transformational leadership promotes the leadership traits that I exhibit hence my choice of basing this paper on the theory. One of the strategies in transformational leadership is to inspire followers to attain extraordinary results. According to Boerner et al. (2007), this entails the alignment of goals and objectives of followers to that of the organization and provision of the necessary support, coaching and mentoring to achieve the desired goals. This was the approach I used to cause positive outcomes when tasked to manage my father’s company. As my chosen style of leadership, I led the workers from the front. I did what was expected and thus set a standard for them to follow. I motivated them into achieving the set objectives. This led to a reduction in time wastage at work, misunderstand ing among employees and negligence of duties. This would be the same approach that would be applied when I become the principal. My greatest role as a principal would be to promote positive relationships among parents, teachers and students so as to positively impact on students’ performance. To achieve this, I would be needed to make it clear to each of these parties what their roles would be. I would ensure that they understand the reason for giving them the respective responsibilities is to see the school perform well. As a way of motivating them to work towards this goal, best performers would be rewarded. This follows the inspirational motivation argument in transformational leadership which according to Boerner et al. (2007) calls for leaders to motivate their followers and encourage them to share in the future vision. This arouses both the individual and team spirit. The second strategy that I would use would entail individualized consideration. Leading a mixed group s uch as a school entails leading many people from different backgrounds. First, the students vary in ages, gender, behavior and even racial background among other distinctions. The same applies to parents, teachers and support employees. Thus, each of these persons would have distinct needs that require individualized attention. In one of my refection papers, I gave the example of Toyota, a vehicle manufacturing company, whose success could be linked to this argument. Toyota manufactures cars that meet the

Srategic analysis of an e-business application initiative Assignment

Srategic analysis of an e-business application initiative - Assignment Example Commerce institutes of the interchange of the products and services between groups, individuals and businesses and the act is as an essential activity in any business. Methods in e-business enable the link of internal and external data processing system between firms flexible and efficient to work with as the partners and the suppliers communicate easily (Vaman 94). This enhances the need to satisfy the customer expectations and needs in a better way. Though the internet is public, companies tend to use secure and private networks for effective and proficient administration of their core functions. Anheuser- Busch InBev brewing company is one of the largest suppliers of beer in the global market. The multinational company operates from Belgium-Brazil and its headquarters based in Leuven, Belgium (Grant). The company constitutes of 25% market share as it is the world’s largest brewer and owns seventeen brands that produce, individually, over one billion US dollars revenue in a year out of the two hundred portfolio in 2013. There are global brands included in the portfolio. These brands are Stella Artois, Budweiser and Corona. The international brands constitute Hoegaarden, Leffe and Beck’s. The locally based brands include Skol, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Quilmes and Habrin (Elliott 107). Anheuser- Busch InBev Company hires over one hundred and fifty thousand people in twenty-four different countries. There was an interbred in 2004 where the company merged to form Am Bev thus created the world largest brewer. The company operates. Revenue of all the 200 AB InB ev brands totaled to over forty three billion US dollars in 2013. Apart from the brewing and packaging operations, the companies participate in agricultural operations and environmental conservation programs. This program promotes marketing of the company products as the

Friends of the Earth Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Friends of the Earth - Research Paper Example The organization asserts that the right to a clean and healthy environment is concurrent with the right to justice for every individual. This organization aims at not only changing the world for the people dwelling on Earth but also aims to preserve the natural blessings from complete deterioration. The key areas of the organization’s focus involve the promotion of economic justice and increasing resistance related to neo-liberalism, preservation of natural resources including forests, promotion of bio-diversity, steps to promote autonomous food availability and environmentally sound activities as well as preserving the energy resources which are getting scarcer in the modern age. The organization follows a fixed procedure to manage the tasks and project. Friends of the Earth International organize bi-annual meetings to prioritize projects and campaigns. The organization under review does not only aid environment and life locally but extends its activities at an international level. Its major international efforts relate to desertification, water, maritime, nuclear powers etc. MISSION The mission of the organization as described on its official website is â€Å"To campaign on today’s most urgent environmental and social issues by challenging the current model of economic and corporate globalization, and promote solutions that will help to create environmentally sustainable and socially just societies† [1]. The organization’s mission involves several deep concepts which extend the scope of its work areas and extent of its activities. Globalization, for instance, requires the organization to work in different areas like labor relations and issues, environmental issues and so on. HISTORY Friends of the Earth organization was started in 1969 by David Ross Brower (1912-2000), a prominent environmental enthusiast with also a passion for mountaineering. In 1971, the organization went international by collaborating with groups belonging to S weden, UK and France and over the years, the number of member groups in different countries increased to a number of 76. Among their early battles was the law suit against building a pipeline in Alaska going from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez Alaska. According to the Friends of the Earth, this was in conflict with the National Environmental Policy Act and an incursion into America’s last wilderness. They were also keen to tackle supersonic aircrafts due to its sonic boom and higher potential for damage to the ozone layer. This resulted in the ban of all overland commercial flight. Friends of the Earth was also one of the first organizations to challenge the construction of Nuclear Plants for generating energy in the United States. In 1986, Brower resigned to be succeeded by Erich Pica, a leading expert on the way federal tax dollars subsidize pollution and took the work forward of holding corporations accountable to the social and environmental impacts of their practices [1]. INFLUEN CES OF FRIENDS OF EARTH Giving voice to issues that favored the earth’s environment and lobbying aggressively for the correct government action has led to many governmental policies that curb if not prevent corporations and industries to violate the health and safety of our environment. These policies, legislations and checks not only benefit the subjects but are beneficial to the entire population of the Earth and its

New and Emerging Energy Supply Technologies Essay

New and Emerging Energy Supply Technologies - Essay Example According to Michael Pollan, we have to act now to arrest the present rate of our carbon emission before we face another kind of planet . The documentary of Nick Miller entitled â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth† articulated that global warming precipitated the climate change that have disastrous consequences have been proven to be right with series of climate disturbances that flooded cities and region beyond regions which never happened before . The growing need of energy also compels us to develop new supply energies that would lessen, if not totally depart our dependency towards fossil fuels whose stability of supply and price is subjected to a myriad of factors that ranges from the political factors to deliberate contraction of supply by the OPEC . These factors that caused disturbance in terms of supply and price are often beyond the control of dependent economies to fossil fuels yet they are affected by it due to the heavy dependency of its economy to oil. Exporting countries of oil may have nothing to do with the conflict in the Middle East yet they are still severely affected when the political instability in the region contracts the supply that would precipitate the spike on the price of oil that fuels our energy source. The spike in price of oil in turn reflects in every goods and services that we purchase due to our dependency to energy that make such goods and services to become available. Such, the development and creation of new energy supply source is not just a matter of technological musing but an imperative of conserving our already degraded environment and to ensure that there is a stable and sufficient supply of energy that is clean, cheap that could meet our energy demands. There are emerging technologies which are directed at producing energy source that intends to make energy supply cleaner and hopefully, cheaper with the ultimate objective of weaning away from the dependency to carbon based energy sources that cause excessive CO2 emiss ion. These emerging technologies ranges from making the existing energy source more efficient that would significantly reduce its CO2 emission to the point that it is already negligible such as carbon capturing sequestering4 to technologies that virtually emits no CO2 such as hydrogen fuel whose byproduct is only a vapor. The harnessing of nature to produce electricity such as the usage of Dinorwig's reversible pump/turbines also proves to a reliable source of energy5. The obstacles in making these emerging energy technologies viable on a mass scale will also be tackled including the ones that are already in used right now either as a pilot study or in experimental phase. One of the most popular emerging technology in supplying energy is the use of hydrogen fuels because of its clean emission. The technology is made possible by combining hydrogen and oxygen to form water where the chemical reaction during the process creates electrical energy. The technology that controls the combin ation of these two gases to produce the electrical energy are the fuel cells. This is envisioned to be used in fuel cell powered vehicles that will be virtually CO2 emission free because the only byproduct of the technology is water vapor6. While this technology can virtually wean our dependence on oil, the cost of the technology is just too prohibitive (its very expensive) and unreliable to make it available on a mass scale. Storing and transporting hydrogen can also be a challenge because it needs to be compressed to thousands of pounds per square inch (psi). At present, automative producers are using storages in

Keeping Marine Mammals in Captivity Essay Example for Free

Keeping Marine Mammals in Captivity Essay Problem (2 Points) Does captivity affect the overall health and behavior of marine mammals? Research (2 Points) Wild Animals Habitat: Open ocean Diet: Krill Behavior: Friendly Captivity Habitat: Tank of ocean water, replicated to appear like the ocean. Diet: Krill caught in the ocean, fed three times a day. Behavior: Friendly to other mammals within the tank. Hypothesis (4 Points) If we keep marine animals in captivity for over a year, then their health and behavior will be negatively impacted. Procedure (4 Points) 1. Set up area in both wild and captive areas for testing. 2. Choose the same marine mammal for both the wild and captive area to test. 3. Tag and assess health of the wild marine mammal. Asses the health of the  captive mammal. 4. Monitor mammals for a year. 5. Record their behavior with detail and accuracy. 6. Asses health and behavior of both mammals after one year. Analysis (4 Points) The animals in captivity appeared to be healthier and friendly to their tank mates. They were fed organic krill and were fed regularly, but were very nervous and slightly hostile to outside animals once they were exposed. The animals that were not in captivity fed on their own time but were not necessarily unhealthy. They were not hostile to other mammals and peacefully coexisted with other mammals in the ocean. Conclusion (2 Points) My results did not support my hypothesis. The mammals kept in captivity were healthier than the mammals in the wild, due to controlled setting, and regular nutritious diet. However their behavior was negatively impacted. They were nervous and somewhat hostile towards the wild mammals once exposed to the wild. Grammar/Spelling (2 Points) Once you complete designing your own experiment, check the assignment for directions on how to submit your final product to your instructor.

Jenny Holzers Untitled | Analysis

Jenny Holzers Untitled | Analysis Erin Brubaker Fig. 1. Jenny Holzer, Untitled. 1989,16 x 162 x 6 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.   Untitled is a piece of art by Jenny Holzer that was located in the main lobby of the Solomon R. Guggenheim museum in 1989. Selections of phrases are presented in LED lights that follow the spiral ramp, drawing the eye gradually upwards. Constantly moving and changing, the sentences are presented in a variety of colors and fonts in all capital letters. On the floor below are marble benches arranged in a circle which have additional phrases etched into them. From every angle, the viewer is given a new statement to read. The phrases Holzer included make stances about several areas of interest, for example political, social, and personal. In figure 1, the top level of electronic text reads PRIVATE PROPERTY CREATED CRIME. This sentence exemplifies her style of writing, which involves making bold claims that are a matter of opinion. Holzers writings, as well as the materials she uses to present them, are designed to make the viewer react strongly, causing them to call into question what is presented to them as truth on a daily basis. Holzer uses her materials to make a comparison to the media. By using LED lights as her method of expressing her writing, Holzer shows that her message is for the public. LEDs are familiar to most people because we see them in everyday life. In cities they are used to display the names of hotels, restaurants, casinos, and other businesses. They can also be found on buildings to inform breaking news, or advertise products. Viewers can react to her phrases similarly to the way they would react to a headline news story. Underneath the LEDs are seventeen marble benches with her texts etched on the tops and sides of them. The benches contrast the LED boards because instead constantly changing; they are static and have a sense of permanence. While the physical structures Holzer uses are important, the messages written on them are what Holzer uses to provoke further thought. The content of Holzers work is significant because it provokes thought. Her piece in the Guggenheim included texts from several of her past collections of writings. The collections she chose from were Truisms, Inflammatory Essays, The Living Series, The Survival Series, Under a Rock, and Laments. Truisms, which she wrote in the late 1970s, is a body of one-liners, slogans, and aphorisms. The stances they take are difficult to categorize because it seems like they come from a variety of perspectives. The intentions of the Truisms are not clear, but they all act to surprise the reader. For example, MONEY CREATES TASTE and AN ELITE IS INEVITABLE are thought provoking, but do not demand action from the reader. This aspect of her work will change in later writings. Holzers next body of writing was called Inflammatory Essays. In this series, her phrases were more forceful and assertive than Truisms. The essays are aggressive from beginning to end, and are sequences of private thought. At times her statements contradict each other, for example the beginning of one of her essays reads DONT TALK DOWN TO ME. DONT BE POLITE TO ME. According to Terry Barrett, The essays show how language, truth, force, and power can pervert each other (Barrett 1994, 60). In other words, this way of writing serves to confuse the reader, and possibly make them question what is presented to them as truth. The difference between Truisms and her later collections Living and Survival is that the intentions of her work become clearer. Although the texts in these series do not have a unifying purpose, many of them act to advertise, instruct, or cause emotional reactions. Several phrases in Survival provoke fear and uncertainty. For instance, THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WILL BE SECRET, and YOU ARE TRAPPED ON THIS EARTH SO YOU WILL EXPLODE suggest that the future will be dangerous. Under a rock is written from the perspective of someone who has experienced or witnessed dark crimes, such as murder and terrorism. The collection is made up of gory and disturbing descriptions that involve pain. This is a similar theme to her other collection, Laments. Laments is Holzers most political collection of phrases. For this series, she uses her imagination to create voices for innocent lives lost in the AIDS epidemic happening at the time. According to Paula Geyh, In Laments, Holzer sought to give voice to the final thoughts of the dead, to give them a chance to say what they couldnt say(Geyh 2002, 178). It is significant that this is her first series in which she uses the pronoun I. Instead of writing from an outsiders perspective, this series is much more based on an individual. She used her anger about the death toll of the disease to make a political statement that there was no good reason for that many people to die. Untitled at the Guggenheim was a display of language that publicized Holzers private thought. She demonstrates a variety of perspectives in her writing that details the human condition. Her materials she used to present her writing gave her work a sense of importance to the public. The exhibit was designed to provoke thought and emotions. The unifying theme in all of the texts that are a part of Holzers exhibit is that they impose reactions on the viewer, making them rethink what they believe to be truth. Word count: 893 References Barrett, Terry. 1994. Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. Geyh, Paula. 2002. Postmodernism: The Key Figures. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Holzer, Jenny. 1989. Untitled. Reproduced in Davies, Penelope J.E., Denny, Walter B., Hofrichter, Frima F., Jacobs, Joseph F., Roberts, Ann S., Simon, David L. 2014. Jansons History of Art, 8th Edition, Volume 2. Pearson.

Current Macroeconomic Environment And Policy Of Australia Economics Essay

Current Macroeconomic Environment And Policy Of Australia Economics Essay A strong economy displays characteristics of maximizing growth as well as internal and external balance whilst minimising inflation, foreign debts and liabilities. There are various policies in Australia governing the macroeconomics including Fiscal and Monetary policies. Both these policies influence the economy through altering aggregate demand. In the last three years, since the onset of Global Financial Crisis, Australia has applied both expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to increase aggregate demand. There seems to be a general agreement amongst the economists with regards to the success of the monetary policy implemented. However the only general consensus with regards to the effectiveness of the fiscal policy is that there is no consensus. Key macroeconomic indicators Australias macroeconomic health same as the rest of the world is governed by factors of Gross Domestic Product(GDP),unemployment, price fluctuations, total nations income per year, interest rates, inflation, government spending, tax system, exchange rates, Consumer Price Index(CPI), consumer credit, foreign trades and value of currency. As oppose to Microeconomics, Macroeconomics deals with totals or aggregates. Gross Domestic Product Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is the single best measure of a nations economic wellbeing. It measures the total value of goods and services produced in a country in one single year (Liu,EC 5103 lecture notes,2009). GDP = Consumption + Investment + Government Spending + Net export. There are three approaches to calculating GDP Expenditure approach calculates the final spending on goods and services. Product approach calculates the market value of goods and services. Income approach sums the income received by all producers in the country. Problems with using GDP alone as a measure of economic wellbeing is that by itself, GDP does not give any information on income distribution in the country nor takes into account the effect of negative externalities on economic growth such as pollution or the effect of positive externalities such as health and education( Trading Economist, n.d). Taxes and interest rates influence GDP over time. Non economical factors influencing GDP include war, drought, natural and man made disasters. Figure 1. Australia GDP growth rate- Period 2006-2010 Source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDPGrowth.aspx?Symbol=AUD#ixzz0i0dpV4ucConf_2009.htm Consumer Price Index The best price index measure is the Consumer Price Index (CPI). CPI is used to calculate the inflation rate and is also a measure of the change in cost of living over time. Business Cycle Fluctuations in economic activity over a period of time are reflected in the business cycle. Figure 2: Business Cycle Different stages of economy over a period of time Source: http://www.thebluecollarinvestor.com/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2008/11/business-cycle-graph-better.jpg The growth rate of Real Gross Domestic Product is used for measuring the fluctuations in the business cycle. Economists argue that higher interest rates can motivate the households for savings, and supply more loanable funds in the market, in form of bank deposits. Increased savings results in reducing foreign dependence which in turn accelerates economic growth due to higher investments. McKinnon (1973) and Shaw (1973) cited in Shrestha, M. B., Chowdhury, K. 2005, further assert that higher real interest rate also helps channel the capital to the most efficient industries and help development and technological advancement leading to economic growth. The aforementioned reiterates the fact that both fiscal and monetary policies are used to smooth out the business cycle. Commodity Prices and Trade One of the key contributors to Australias economic condition is the international economic activities in particular the commodity prices which is reflected in the Terms of Trade i.e. ratio of exports to imports prices (White, 1994). Since Australias export of commodities is large and the import is relatively stable, the world economy trades more with Australia hence strong Term of Trade is one of the key reasons for an increase in standard of living in Australia. The recent rise in global commodity prices due to increase demand in China and a drop in the price of imports mainly from China has allowed Australia to achieve a higher Term of Trade above its average. In 2005 Australia entered into an agreement with the US on Free Trade (Australian US free Trade Agreement- AUSFTA). Other countries that have FTA with Australia include New Zealand, Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea (Travel Document System, n.d). Farm output Farm output also appears to be a key determinant of the economic activity of Australia. This is influenced by factors such as drought. For instance, the major drought of 1980s was one of the key contributors to the disparities between the growth in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and Australia (White, 1994). Government spending Government spending in infrastructure such as water, transport, telecommunication, education and health are aimed to expand Australias supply capacity such as plans to improve irrigation infrastructure and buy back unused water allocation along the Murray-Darling river. Environment: climate change Climate change must also be mentioned in this context. A report commissioned by the former Howard government recommended a domestic carbon emission scheme emphasizing that Australia should have an active role in developing a global carbon emissions trading scheme. The Rudd government aims to introduce a carbon trading system by 2011 and reduce emissions by 5% by 2020 (from 2000 levels). Interest Rates Interest rate is defined as the percentage rate per annum that a borrower pays to the lender or the cash rate which is the rate charged on overnight loans between the financial intermediaries. Interest rate has a negative effect on the money demand as shown below. Australia is a price-taker in global capital markets, so the Australian interest rates move with the global financial market trends. Interest rates are generally higher in Australia and New Zealand compared to the international standards largely due to strong fiscal policies relative to other developed countries (Kirchner, 2007, p. 11-15). In Australia, the Reserve Bank (RBA) determines the interest rate. It does so by changing the amount of money supplied, in other words by altering the equilibrium quantity of money supplied and money demanded. Australias interest rate is currently at 4.0 percent according to the data published by the Trading Economics in March 2010. Table 1. As at 31.03.2010, Australia has the highest interest rate amongst developed countries. The Reserve Bank of Australia 4% Bank of Canada 0.25% Bank of England 0.5% Bank of Japan 0.1% European Central Bank 1% Federal Reserve 0.25% Swiss National Bank 0.25% Source: http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/interest-rates-table/ Figure 3. A graphical demonstration of the effect of change in money supply on the interest rate. Source: Source: (Liu, EC 5103 supplementary notes, 2009) Figure 4. Australias Interest Rate- Period 2000-2010 Source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Unemploymentrate.aspx?Symbol=AUD#ixzz0i0ejiErm Unemployment rate Unemployment rate refers to the % labour force that are unemployed and actively pursuing a job. The unemployment rate is negatively related to the real GDP i.e. falling GDP results in an increase in unemployment and vice versa. As at January 2010 based on data published by Trading Economics the unemployment rate is 5.30 percent. Figure 5. Australia unemployment rate Source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Unemploymentrate.aspx?Symbol=AUD#ixzz0i0ejiErm Inflation rate Inflation rate refers to the % rate of increase in the average level of prices measured against a standard level of purchasing in the economy. According to the latest figures published by the Trading Economics the Inflation rate was 2.10 percent in December 2009. Inflation rate is best reflected in the CPI or the GDP deflator. Figure 6. Australia Inflation rate based on CPI- Period 2008-2010 Source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/InflationCPI.aspx?Symbol=AUD#ixzz0i0eRh6VH Consumer Credit One of the major contributing factors that led to the recent Global Financial Crisis was the lack of regulation with relation to consumer credit originating in the United States. Money for institutions to borrow and lend was easily accessible which eventuated in sub-prime mortgages and what has come to be known as NINJA loans (No Income No Job or Assets). This toxic debt was then sold globally through various hedge funds. Although affected by the rest of the world through the freezing of credit markets, Australia has managed to remain in relatively stable position in comparison to the rest of the major economies. This, in part, can be attributed to the regulations enforced through the Consumer Credit Code (Appendix 1). Constant reviews and amendments of macroeconomic policy in relation to consumer credit regulation have contributed to Australias robust financial system in comparison to the majority of other developed nations  [1]  . Gold and Foreign Currency reserves The Reserve bank of Australia (RBA) has the responsibility of owning and managing the foreign currency and reserves for Australia  [2]  . On average, countries hold 10 per cent of their reserves in gold, although the proportion varies widely from one country to another. The Reserve Bank of Australia holds just 80 tones of gold, or 6 per cent of its total foreign reserves. The bank sold down its gold holdings in 1997 and its reserves are now largely held in US Treasuries and other government bonds. The reserves are used, when required, to keep the Australian dollar steady in times of volatility. (Bourlioufas,N. 2008). Several reasons exist for the reduction in gold holdings for Australia such as: Lack of income that it produces The cost of storage/security Inability to put value behind the Australian Dollar. Appendix 2 displays the RBAs current reserve holdings for 2009/2010. The amounts are displayed in Australian dollars and are subject to movement based on current exchange rates. Taxation (GST) One of the many aspects in taxation is the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is a value added tax on the supply of goods and services in Australia. Until the introduction of the GST, Australia operated a Wholesale Sales Tax (WST), which imposed a tax on wholesale of goods. The GST was introduced to bridge the unfair tax gaps between service based businesses and suppliers of goods (GST Australia, 2009). In Australia the GST is levied at a flat 10%, which is collected from the buyer, which shifts the demand curve downward by the size of the tax, which effectively means both buyers and sellers share the burden of the tax (Mankiw, 2008). National income and output Measures of national income and output are used as an estimate of total economic activity by including Gross domestic profit, gross national product, and net national income. Each of these aspects is in relation with the total amount of goods and services within a country. The National income and output values are of importance for a variety of users such as the Reserve bank, academics, and private as well as the Australian government to allow the government to make interventions into the economy based off current and accurate information, as well. (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2008) Macroeconomic Policies in Australia The goals of economic policy makers are: Maintaining real GDP growth constant and positive Maintaining unemployment rate low Minimising inflation The most important contributor to the economic growth is aggregate demand (effecting GDP). Both monetary and fiscal policies effect aggregate demand. How is this game being played? Should RBA consider a looser fiscal policy when determining interest rates? Or should the government consider the possibility of a rate cut when deciding on fiscal stimulus? Aggregate Demand (AD= C+I+G+NX) is effected by factors such as: Capital investment boom Rise/fall of exchange rate Consumer boom in a country that Australia has trade agreement with A boom in housing market A share price slump Unexpected cut/rise in interest rate Monetary policy Monetary Policy through the effect of the exchange rate influences the economy. Exchange rates also influence the inflation which in turn affects the trade (export and import). Exchange rates are influenced by factors such as commodity prices and interest rates. This reiterates how the determinants of macroeconomics are intertwined. Monetary policy is set by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to influence the supply (availability) of money and credit within the economy in an effort to stimulate growth and stabilise the financial system. Monetary policy influences the interest rates through purchasing and selling of government bonds. When RBA purchases government bonds to increase liquidity, it results a lower interest rate and lower unemployment. During the periods of high inflation, RBA sells government bonds resulting in an increase in interest rates. Effects of monetary policies are: In short term, a tight monetary policy results in a decrease in the prices of Goods and Services as well as higher disposable incomes hence an increase in the households demands. In long term, household demands decrease due to reduced income and increased unemployment. Reserve Bank Act 1959 establishes the objectives of the monetary policies  [3]  . Fiscal Policy: Fiscal policy targets both consumption and capital spending. It influences economic activities through government budget. The budget is announced yearly in May stating the government Revenue (T) and Expenditure (G). By varying the amount of spending, a fiscal policy may achieve one of the following: Fiscal surplus- when G Fiscal deficit- when T Balanced budget- when T=G When government wishes to stimulate economic growth, it applies an expansionary fiscal policy through increase in government spending and tax cuts which in turn increase consumption and investment. On the contrary, if government decides to slow down the economy, it applies a contractionary fiscal policy. Global Financial Crisis and Australias Response Deteriorating housing market in the US was the trigger to the onset of GFC in the world. Banks tightened lending policies; credit became more expensive and this led to a restrained aggregate demand resulting in weakness in world economic activity. The policies of governments around the world in response to GFC were aimed to address these weaknesses. Since the onset of GFC in 2007 Australia has responded by conducting monetary and fiscal policies. Both Short term and long term implications of these policies have to be considered to determine their effectiveness Analysis of Australias Monetary Policy in response to GFC During the GFC, expansionary monetary policies were implemented in Australia in response to the contraction in aggregate demand. RBA increased liquidity through multiple purchases of government bonds resulting in a decrease in interest rate through shifting the LM curve down and IS curve left. Figure 7. Shifts in LM and IS curve reflecting on the interest rate Source: http://www.rba.gov.au/econ-compet/2009/pdf/second-prize.pdf The lower interest rate led to a decrease in cost of borrowing which resulted in lower incentive for saving and ultimately led to an increase in consumption which resulted in the aggregate demand curve to shift to the right (figure 8). Figure 8. Expansionary Monetary Policy and its effect on Aggregate Demand Source: http://www.wcc.hawaii.edu/facstaff/briggsp/Macroeconomics/Chap_34_MonetaryFiscal.pdf Analysis of Australias Fiscal Policy in response to GFC The $42 billion economic stimulus plan of Rudd government between December 2008 and February 2009was intended to stimulate aggregate demand (Treasury, 2009). The focus of this package was mostly on investment in infrastructure which was predicted to have a larger effect on the economy in long run than in short run (Australian Government, 2010). It also provided incentives to housing as well as cash bonuses to stimulate consumption in short run. The inherent weakness of such cash bonuses is where people save their bonuses instead of spending it. Figures published by ABS demonstrate that immediately after the stimulus payments were made, there was a massive hit on spending by Australians households but this slowed down after 3 months (Insider retailing, 2010). According to the latest figures published by Trading Economics on 03.03.2010 and ABS, Australias economy grew at the fastest pace in the last quarter in almost 2 years. Table 2 demonstrates some of these figures published in this report. Table2: Australias economic figures March 2010. Percent Increase/Decrease % Comparison Period GDP à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ 0.9 Last Quarter Growth à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ 2.7 Last Year Current Account à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ 19 to $17,459 b at December 2009 September 2009 Machinery Equipment spending à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ 10.9 Last Quarter Households spending à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1.8 Last Quarter Unemployment rate à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" to 5.3 Last 11 months Australian Dollar à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ against $US and  £ British 25 year high against  £ British Interest rate à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ by 0.25 Source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDPGrowth.aspx?Symbol=AUD#ixzz0i0diuCw6 Also http://abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[emailprotected]/mf/5302.0/ Economists believe that the underlying reason for Australias Economic performance is Rudds Government stimulus package as well as increase in export however the widened account deficit of 19% in December 2009 figures is mainly due to an increase in imports. One of the consequences of this is expected to be a 1.3% decrease in Australias GDP therefore the recovery period is going to be weak (Market watch, 2010). Figure 9.Effect of fiscal stimulus on real GDP (forecasts from May 2009 Budget) Source: http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/1686/HTML/docshell.asp?URL=Australian_Business_Economists_Annual_Forecasting_Conf_2009.htm The unemployment rate has dropped by 5.3% and the number of people employed has increased by 52700. This will put more pressure on RBA to increase interest (The Australian, n.d). Figure10. Effect of fiscal stimulus on the unemployment rate (forecasts from May 2009 Budget) Source: http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/1686/HTML/docshell.asp?URL=Australian_Business_Economists_Annual_Forecasting Treasury secretary Ken Henry warns of the adverse shocks to financial markets despite the fact that GFC seems to have passed. Further more he explains that fiscal circumstances improve as the economy strengthens. As the economy strengthens, other things being equal, there is increasing upward pressure on prices and monetary responses to that (The Australian, n.d). In his book The Great Crash of 2008, the economic advisor Ross Garnaut, warns Kevin Rudd of hard times ahead in terms of lower living standards and economic wellbeing as a result of stimulus response to GFC (The Australian, October2009). Garnauts point of view is also shared by many other economists who consider the stimulus package a dangerous revival of a discredited Keynesianism which focuses on the short term aggregate spending as the source of growth in the economy. Some point out that fiscal policies result in an interest rate rise which has a crowding out effect on the expansion due to export and import. Hence they argue the ineffectiveness of Australias fiscal policy. The supporters of Stimulus package on the other hand argue that the spending avoided further economic contraction at the right time boosting consumers and businesss confidence and hence avoiding a recession. They also argue back with regards to trade issue pointed above, in the sense that Australias trade share is 47% of GDP which is less than the 60% quoted in previous studies as a benchmark of ineffectiveness of fiscal stimulus. They therefore argue that because of the lower trade share the fiscal stimulus has been effective in Australia (The Australian, n.d). Irving Fischer, the renowned American economist contributed to the economics in many ways one of which is his theory of Inter-Temporal Choice, which describes that through time savings, interest rates and investments are related(The Australian, n.d.). His theory highlights that present economic decisions have to have the future in mind  [4]  . Discussion There has been increasing concern amongst the economists in Australia about the sustainability of the fiscal policy in particular with regards to a solution for the current government deficit of $17.459 billion (Table 1). Australia has had challenging times in maintaining a stable economic condition. The recent Global Financial Crisis (GFC) that started in 2007 imposed great pressure on the economy. Nevertheless implementation of the fiscal and monetary policies achieved a better than expected performance by the economy (Budget, 2009-10), with forecasts of stronger growth and lower unemployment. Rudds Stimulus package through its fiscal expansionary characteristics seems to have been an appropriate response to the GFC in stabilizing the output levels however there is great concerns regarding the future of the economy. Did our politicians throw in a Keynesian based fiscal stimulus package without consideration of future consequences of it? Was there any vote buying elements incorporated in the design of it? There is a general consensus amongst the economists on the effectiveness of lowering interest rates as a monetary response to GFC by RBA which was also assisted by a depreciated exchange rate. On the other hand the fiscal policy has generated a lot of debate amongst the economists with no consensus on its effectiveness in sight. This is mainly due to the long lasting effect of the fiscal stimulus as oppose to short term, temporary and more reversible effect of the monetary stimulus. Kevin Rudds Fiscal stimulation concentrated on aggregate spending in short term to boost economic growth as per the Keynesian model. This has been proven to be the case in Australia however the unproductiveness of this large scale spending and the deficit resulting from it is far from a perfect economic condition. Does Kevin Rudd share the thought with John Maynard Keynes of in the long run we are all dead? If so are we, the Australian people supposed to suffer the consequences of his 17 billion dollars debt through our taxes, higher interest rates and higher inflation? If Irving Fisher was alive and if he was with Kevin Rudd when he was signing on the stimulus package, perhaps he would have reminded the prime minister that although his short term fiscal stimulus policy would increase public spending, it would show no regards to achieving long term high standard of living for Australian people. The side effects of the fiscal cash out include: Increasing future taxes to pay for the debts Higher interest Likelihood of inflation (as history shows us that the easiest way out of public debt has traditionally involved money creation). So was Kevin Rudds big night out worth the next days hangover of a budget deficit that adds to public debts which would further drain the economy? Or has the government designed an appropriate fiscal rebalancing strategy that it hasnt shared with Australian public yet?

The Assassin- Creative Writing Essay -- Creative Writing Essay

It was almost 6 o’clock and the night was drawing closer. Waiting patiently for the return of his prey, he lay with his body embedded in the fallen leaves of what looked like an endless procession of hedges. The silence was deafening. He had been there for almost three hours, and only one car had passed by, it was going to be a long night for him. The skies were casting a dark, unwanted shadow over him, as though they knew for what purpose he was present. It had started to rain, its pressure strengthening rapidly. Within minutes buckets of rain belted down hard on the ground, leaving him deeply embedded in the thick garden mud. He struggled to reposition himself, as the slightest of his movements could attract attention to the bush in which he was concealed. His concentration doubled as another set of headlights busted through the trees and peered at him through the rain but again they carried on the road accompanied by the sound of its engine. It must have been a van, he thought, as he could still hear the roar of the engine. He raised his rifle, and took a concentrated look at the house, in order to make an accurate shot. The house was a small detached bungalow in a state of disrepair; belonging to a middle-aged lady, afraid of the outdoors. The curtains were drawn, and the nets were extremely discoloured. Strangulating vines of ivy twisted and turned round the house, clenching it tightly in its possession.Through this tangled mass of plants a shed protruded from the ground, unlike the house the rain highlighted its wooden walls and bounced neatly off its glassed windows but the roof had seen better days and a glance through an... ...er. His body relaxed. She lifted her bag, her position made her a perfect target-just a single bullet. His arm was raised. His finger poised on the trigger, ready to strike. He fired. The shot killed her with a revolting wound to the back of the head. Her body crumpled to the ground. Within minutes her body was drained of blood. She lay there motionless. One push of the trigger, and her world had been snatched from her. I wasted not my valuable minutes and swiftly concealed all indications of my presence. Before taking my leave I took one last look at her. The remnants of her brain poured out of her head endlessly. It was a sight to see. Who would have ever believed that this blood-spattered corpse would make me a million pounds richer? So precious was her life to her, and others, that somebody wanted her dead!

Academic Discourse Essay -- essays papers

Academic Discourse In Peter Elbow’s, Writing for Teachers, he states, â€Å"Teachers are one of the trickiest audiences of all, yet they also illustrate the paradox that audiences sometimes help you and sometimes get in your way.† A teacher’s experience can give a student author valuable insight to the development of his writing, while at the same time offer criticism that may prove beneficial. Unfortunately, the relationship between a student and his teacher is a very difficult one that often poses more problems than can be resolved. In order to become a more proficient writer, a student must be able to write in numerous voices, or at least develop one to use as a platform. In order to find and utilize his voice, an author must be able to specifically identify his audience and then determine the type of discourse that would prove most effective. This can become an impossible task when a student views a teacher as his audience, while the teacher is determined not to be the audience. A teacher’s decision to be nothing more than a proofreader is based on sound reasoning. With a teacher as the intended audience, a student will attempt to change his style in order to receive a higher grade. Not only is it uncomfortable for the author to write in a voice not his own, but when a teacher returns his essay, he is certain to be disappointed by his mark. A teacher would find his paper awkward as a result of his unsure voice. This is only more frustrating for the student, who believed that his paper was what the teacher wanted. Furthermore, the student is questioning his own ability to produce an essay that expresses his own beliefs rather than those of his teacher. The opposite type of student can pose an equally destructi... ...g. By doing this both students are learning: one is coming to an even greater understanding of the principle which he is trying to explain, and the other is learning a technique he has never encountered before. The relationship between teachers and students is one that can not be solved easily. Each teacher is different and has his own methods of conveying information to students. The only practical way to become better at writing for teachers is to get to know the instructor then adjust your own work habits so that both of you can make the most of your time. Overall, this will produce a less stressful working environment and both the teacher and the student will be more willing to accommodate each other. Ultimately, this will resolve the dilemma between the instructor and the author while providing an increased understanding of literary techniques to the student.

Analysis of Ryanair

Summary Ryanair, one of the most famous low cost airlines, attracts attentions from people and researchers all over the world. As the financial crisis and the European debt crisis have an obvious negative influence on the global economy, the aircraft industry has experienced some decline for the last few years. However, both the sales and profits of Ryanair have increased during this period. In this essay, we will first analyse the external environment of Ryanair by using PESTEL Analysis Model.Then we will make an in-depth analysis about its strategic capability by SWOT model (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). In the following part, we will compare Ryanair with its biggest competitor easyJet and critically access the effectiveness of its cost focus strategy. Finally we will give a conclusion of the whole result of our research and give some suggestions for its future development. Introduction Ryanair was first established in 1985 by Christy Ryan, Tony Ryan and Liam L onergan.Its headquarters are located in Ireland, while its primary operational bases are at London Stansted Airports and Dublin. In 1989, Ryanair’s businesses saw a decline. At the same time, Tony Ryan persuaded his financial advisor to assume the CEO. Then, Ryanair began to learn experience from Southwest Airline, and was the first one to introduce the cheap air carriers and mode into Europe. Profitability of consecutive years has made Ryanair to become the most profitable airlines in the world. Findings and Analysis Environmental AnalysisPESTEL Model is used in this report to give an overview of the six different environmental factors that the company has to take into consideration. Firstly, political factors refer to the political organizations and relevant policies, laws, regulations as well as other factors which have the actual and potential impacts on operating activities (Gillespie, 2007). The charge which was raised by airports of different countries has a significan t effect on Ryanair. Indirectly, Ryanair is also insubstantial to extra charges and taxes, for instance, the â‚ ¬10 tourist tax imposed by the Irish government.In addition, EU imposed a regulation on 17 February 2005, which asked airlines to provide standardized and immediate assistance for passengers who stayed at EU airports for delays, cancellations and denied boarding. This regulation led Ryanair to raise at least â‚ ¬200 million in their budget every year. (O’Higgins, 2011) Secondly, economic factors mean the organization's external economic structure, industrial layout, resource situation, the level of economic development and future economic trends (Gillespie, 2007). There are two interrelated economic factors that affect Ryanair. The first one is the recession of 2008/09.It created adverse economic situations such as high unemployment rates and severe credit crisis, which lead to the leisure spending and business passengers declining. Ryanair's planned passenger volume growth has been restricted by this depression. Moreover, the continuing growth of fuel price is the greatest concern to this company. It is hard to control and predict the wide fluctuations of Jet fuel price and its increase demand. According to Pearce (2011, 3), â€Å"However, the developed economies have seen a much slower recovery and levels of output, income and spending remain well below pre-recession levels†.Thirdly, social factor refers to the historical development, cultural traditions, values, education levels, as well as customs and other factors of society where the organization belongs to (Gillespie, 2007). It can be found in Ryanair's own report (2012) that Ryanair as well as other airlines are facing some social changes–threats from terrorist attacks, the continuing acceptance of the security budget suppliers and more price-sensitive business travelers. These factors make up the social factors which affect Ryanair and aviation industry.Fourthly, t echnological factors include not only the revolutionary innovation but also some relative new technologies, new materials and new ways of operating or management (Gillespie, 2007). For airline industry and airline companies, the contributions of technology could be separated in three parts: to ensure aviation safety, to improve the quality of services and to make operations more efficient. Even Ryanair bought some of second-hand planes, these aircraft are all Boeing 737, which could reduce the training fee for pilots and flight attendants (Box, 2005).More important, Boeing's help to make the unitive structures of plants could decrease the possibilities of incorrect operations and the unsuited spare parts of aircrafts. Although Ryanair is widely regarded as a low cost airline, it is also one of the safest airlines. As some of other airlines rely on the tickets agents, Ryanair built its own website and ticketing system. The cost of agency fee is reduced and the company could make cont rol of the ticket service which could lead to some misunderstandings as some operators of tickets agents would treat customers in a worse mood.Furthermore, through operating the ticketing system, Ryanair itself, could make booking tickets and bounce easier and speedily. Fifthly, environmental factors include ecological and environmental aspects. Countries in the world are faced with the enormous challenges of environmental issues, and sustainable development is an important way to solve this problem (Gillespie, 2007). Due to the report of IATA, air transport contributes 2% of global man-made CO2 emissions. Although Boeing 737 helps Ryanair to save fuel of airplane, it is not enough at the moment.New energy sources such as biological energy source are in the experimental stage and should be used in the further, and most airlines have to adapt to the new development. Lastly, legal factors include discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and safety la w (Gillespie, 2007). Ryanair's latest attempt to take over its Irish rival Aer Lingus is investigated by the European Commission over competition worries. Ryanair also has problem with the government. The British government decided to remain the Air Passenger Duty (APD), a ladder-type tax, and raised the tax rate by nearly 10%.This change leads to the increase of cost of daily operation of Ryanair. To cover the costs of the EU's new eco-looney ETS tax, the Ryanair has to raise the prices of tickets, which could make their prices less competitive. Furthermore, BAA, the owner of London's Heathrow airport, is seeking to sell Edinburgh after losing a legal challenge to an order from the UK's antitrust regulator to break up the company, while the bid of Ryanair is rejected by BAA (Rothwell, 2012). Strategic capability analysis SWOT Analysis Model is used to assess the strategic capability of Ryanair by four dimensions: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats.Strength 1. Low-cost st rategy The most significant strength of Ryanair is its low-cost strategy. It uses a young efficient fleet with low cost of ownership and industry load factors to increase benefit and gain high asset utilization. The following statement from their CEO Michael O’Leary proves that â€Å"These quarterly results are a testimony to the strength of the Ryanair ‘lowest cost’ model which – even during the most difficult trading conditions (including record fuel prices and intense competition) – delivers strong passenger growth and profits. †(Sorensen, 2005) 2. Youngest fleetRyanair only choose to use Boeing 737 planes for easier staff training and also can improve pilot’s familiarity with aircraft operation, in this way to keep customers’ safety. According to O’Higgins Ryanair â€Å"reducing the average age of its aircraft to 2. 4 years† which be the youngest planes in Europe and increased the safety of the flight (2011). 3 . New kinds of marketing strategy Ryanair uses newspaper, radio, television and all the possible methods they can to advise, which are proved to be efficient on increasing the number of customers: â€Å"as a result,Internet bookings account for 99 per cent of all reservations†(O’ Higgins, 2011).Otherwise, some methods might be controversial and audacious, such as using the pictures of Queen Sofia, President Sarkozy and his wife’s on the air slipping. Although the action is without permission and also costs damage, it still made the company become famous rapidly. Weakness 1. Customers’ dissatisfaction Ryanair takes a lot of ancillary revenues from customers, which causes customer’s dissatisfaction, such as payment for using the toilet on plane, charge for check-in luggage and â€Å"fat tax† for overweight passengers. These measures will lead to customer’s bad impression to the company. 2. Overstep in increasing scaleRyanair is too addi cted to increasing scale. This will cause the increasing of operating costs. With the growing of fuel and airport charges, the bigger scale of the company is, the more challenges it will be faced to. 3. Single-handed leader and the controversial acts As Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary is a controversial leader. The issues he made such as calling thousands of passengers â€Å"idiots† (Huff Post, 2012), using the Italian minister Umberto Bossi abusive gestures picture for advertising caused great repercussion. Most of people think this measure was not suitable and will give a bad impression on Ryanair.Opportunities 1. New markets With the enlargement of the European Union, a lot of new destinations could be opened up. Skies agreement opened by EU could be a source for increased routes and passenger traffic inwards. According to the opinion of Ryanair’s route development director O’Toole, there remains major opportunities in Spain and Italy, as well as Norway, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Russia (Routes Online, 2010). Besides that, future open skies agreements in Turkey, Tunisia and Georgia could make these interesting countries for the carrier, he added. 2. Benefits from economic recession.Though economic slowdown created unfavourable economic conditions with reduced spending by leisure and business passengers which restricts the growth of the whole airline industry, actually, it can help Ryanair to improve corporate culture, and ‘steal’ customers from traditional carriers as they seek lower fares. Mr. O'Leary, Ryanair’s CEO, stated that the rise in profit came â€Å"despite the economic downturn† in Europe (New Europe Online, 2011), and he intended to double the size of the airline over the next decade. Threats 1. Increasing oil price Ryanair’s earning rate highly depends on the oil market because the fuel cost is influenced by it.With the increasing of global oil price, fuel cost cou ld be a burden for Ryanair and its expansion plans will be challenged by the high fuel price. 2. Increase of low fare competition According to Newll (2006, 3), â€Å"Yet perhaps the price tag has become too much the focus of attention†. Value market segment is being catered by an increasing number of competitors, such as easyJet, Air Berlin, Basic Air, BMIBaby. Slots at some primary airports have been established by them (Air Scoop, 2007). Ryanair have to compete directly with other low cost carriers in the near future.At the same time, additional marketing costs and reduced yields from lower fares force Ryanair to promote additional routes. As a result, Ryanair was likely to encounter increased competition, and continue depressing yields, as airlines struggled to fill vacant seats to cover fixed costs. 3. Customers are very price sensitive Because of the low cost strategy, the customers of Ryanair are much more sensitive to price, that means, any kinds of extra fees could ma ke bad influence on its corporate image. As a result, it is difficult for Ryanair to improve unit profit and have to reduce unit costs through scale expansion (O’Higgins). . Introduction of duty for fuel and environmental charges Since Ryanair is powerless to prevent the environmental charges such as the tax on aviation fuel, its growth potential would be reduced as the unit costs would be increased. SO strategies 1. Ryanair should use the low-cost passenger ticker strengths to attract more customers. Nowadays, global economic recession is a serious problem to all over the world, especially for Europe. Ryanair is a company most facing the European market. Customers now are more concern about the price. The company should catch this opportunity to occupy more market share. . Special â€Å"pay by use† service of Ryanair is one of its characteristics and the unusual features compared with other companies which can decrease costs of services. Ryanair can use the financial crisis of competitor’s and capture the opportunity to attract more customers and earn more profit than others. ST Strategies 1. In the next few years, low cost airlines market expansion would probably slow down because new opportunities would be more limited. As growth slows, labor costs for the low-cost carriers will continue to rise as well as the level of oil prices.Ryanair should be prepared for convergence of costs and conditions and make corresponding strategies, but it should still retain the ‘no-frills’ advantage of high seat density, aircraft utilization and lowest fares in any market (Air Scoop, 2007). 2. In order to achieve the aim to be the biggest player and keep its domination in the low-price market segment, Ryanair will have to expand into more popular routes coupled with retaining its differentiation strategy, such as purchasing newer, more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly aircrafts and offering best customer services compared with its peer grouping in Europe.Strategic Assessment The core strategy of Ryanair Airlines is cost-focus strategy. The company continuously keeps its cost at a low level to offer low-fares services. Actually, cost control is the central strategy of all budget airlines, such as Ryanair’s main competitor in Europe—easyJet. In this part, we are going to assess Ryanair’s competitive strategy through a comparison with the operating performance of easyJet. EasyJet is a Europe's leading airline comes from the United Kingdom, founded in 1995, which has remarkable positions in some key markets: No. in Gatwick, Milan and Geneva; No. 2 in Paris with over 300 million people within a one hour drive of an easyJet carrier (easyJet plc, 2012). And easyJet is one of the leading lights of Europe's budget flight industry. 1. Financial results analysis with business strategy Table 1 Comparison of operating financial results between Ryanair’s & easyJets in 2012 Ryanair(? million)Eas yJet(? million) Scheduled revenues28273794 Ancillary revenues71560 Total operating revenues35423854 Scheduled revenues /total operating revenue79. 8%98. 4% Selected costs Fuel12841149 Maintenance84203 Marketing145104Total operating expenses29883323 Source: Ryanair Annual Report 2012 & easyJet Annual Report 2012 In their own financial year of 2011/12, Ryanair performed better than easyJet by ? 312 million in the total operating revenues (after exchange EURO to GBP with current rate), which mainly due to the high ancillary revenues from various ancillary services and involvement in other activities connected with its core air passenger services, including non-flight scheduled services, Internet-related services, and the in-flight sale of beverages, food, and merchandise (Ryanair annual report, 2012).Michael O’Leary talked previously about their ancillary strategy: â€Å"If you want a quiet flight, use another airline, Ryanair is noisy, full and we are always trying to sell you something† (O’Higgins, 2009). The ancillary strategy has been working well so far. However, the scheduled revenues which should be the primary business revenue of Ryanair were lower than its competitor easyJet. It might be caused by the cutting routes strategy and lower average load factors, especially the cutting routes strategy carried out in 2009, which has already cut down 389 rotes (1000 routes in 2009).In terms of operating costs, Ryanair had a better performance in controlling total operating expenses in 2011/12, which is ? 2988 million, while that of easyJet is ? 3323 million. However, Ryanair spent more on fuel and oil, which occupied nearly 43% of the Ryanair’s total expenses. Jet fuel is always variable and cannot be predicted previously. And jet fuel prices are dependent on crude oil prices, which are quoted in U. S. dollars. As a result, Ryanair’s fuel cost is affected by currency exchange. â€Å"Based on Ryanair’s fuel consumption fo r the year 2011, a change of $1. 0 in the average annual price per metric ton of jet fuel would have caused a change of approximately â‚ ¬1. 5 million in Ryanair’s fuel costs† (Ryanair annual report, 2012). In order to minimize its loss on fuel price change and currency rate, like many other airlines do, such as Southwest Airlines, Ryanair uses forward contracts to protect against fluctuations. Ryanair’s maintenance cost is relatively lower than easyJet. It might be largely due to the aircraft it adopts. Ryanair uses single fleet type—Boeing 737-800, which is considered to be one of the most fuel efficient fleet type, while easyJet has two types—Airbus A320, A319.The single fleet type reduces the number and cost of aircraft components in stock, as well as its maintenance cost. Ryanair’s marketing cost is more than easyJet’s. This may be a result of its promotion for ancillary revenue. In order to earn a widely range of revenue apart from scheduled revenue, Ryanair advertises its services in national and regional newspapers, as well as controversial and topical advertising (Ryanair annual report, 2012). 2. Growth capacity under strategy: Table 2: Ryanair’s financial performance(â‚ ¬Million) 20122011Changes Total revenue4,324. 93,629. +19% Profit before tax560. 4375. 6+50% Adjusted net profit after tax502. 6400. 7+25% Basic earnings per share (in euro cent)38. 0325. 21+51% Adjusted basic EPS (in euro cent)24. 1026. 97+26% Source: Ryanair annual report 2012 Ryanair’s operations have grown rapidly during 2011/12. This year, net profit after tax had a 25% increase after adjusted, total operating revenues increased by 19% to â‚ ¬4,324. 9 million as average fares rose by 16% (Ryanair annual report, 2012). Furthermore, ancillary revenues grew up by 11%, faster than the 5% increase in passenger numbers.Although the average load factor of Ryanair was lower than its competitor, there is still an incre ase of 13% (Ryanair annual report, 2012). In 2012/13, Ryanair plans to develop 330 new routes and intend to continue expanding its navigation, new destinations and new flights, which are expected to increase Ryanair’s booked passenger volumes to approximately 79 million passengers per year. In addition, there is a strategy of transferring operating flights from high cost airports to low cost airports in winter in order to reduce cost in off season.Overall, the company’s growth has been largely dependent on increasing performance and growing capacity. 3. Star rating & customer satisfaction From Low-Cost Airline Ranking in Official SKYTRAX Airline Star Ranking website (2012), the star ranking of Ryanair is two stars while easyJet is three stars. And easyJet ranked 5th in World's Best Low-Cost Airlines award, however, Ryanair wasn’t in this list. Actually, Ryanair always has a worse public image than its competitors due to its marketing strategy by making stunts.An d in some instances, the extra charges imposed on passengers such as check-in charges and booking fees make customers unsatisfied. What is worse, some flying accidents make its statements of punctuality and safety being doubted by the public. Conclusion Overall, Ryanair is successful in planning and performing its cost focus strategy. Facing with the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, it is recommended that: 1. Ryanair should continue using its low fares to attract price-sensitive customers. 2. Ryanair can keep following its â€Å"pay by use† service, which is an effective way to ensure low price.However, when taking extra charges, it should consider the public’s attitudes to the fee. 3. Ryanair should continue controlling its costs to compete with other low fare airlines, especially fuel and oil costs. 4. Ryanair should pay attention to its brand and reputation, and make some efforts to earn a better degree of satisfaction. 5. Ryanair should take measure s to build a good relationship with authorities and governments. Reference List Gillespie, A. (2007), Foundations of Economics, Oxford University Press: Oxford O’Higgins, E. 2011), ‘Ryanair: the low fares airline – future destinations? ’,IN, Johnson,C. (ed. ) Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, Pearson Education, pp. 618-627 Pearce, B. (2012), ‘The state of air transport markets and the airline industry after the great recession', Journal of Air Transport Management, Volume 21, July 2012, pp. 3-9 Rothwell, S. (2012), Ryanair Deepens Cuts at Edinburgh as BAA Seeks to Complete Sale [Online]. Available: http://www. businessweek. com/news/2012-04-12/ryanair-deepens-cuts-at-edinburgh-as-baa-seeks-to-complete-sale [Accessed: 12th April 2012]Box, T. M. (2005), ‘RYANAIR (2005): successful low cost leadership', Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, Volume 13, Number 3, pp. 65-67 Air Scoop, (2007), The Low Cost Carriers Analysis Newslett er, [online], Available: http://www. air-scoop. com/pdf/air_scoop_May2007. pdf [Accessed: 10th December 2012]. Huff Post, (2012), Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary Calls Passengers â€Å"Idiots†, [online], Available: http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2012/09/05/ryanair-ceo-michael-oleary-calls-passengers-idiots_n_1857143. html [Accessed: 10th December 2012]New Europe Online, (2011), Ryanair profits rise despite fuel costs and economic downturn, [online], Available: http://www. neurope. eu/article/ryanair-profits-rise-despite-fuel-costs-and-economic-downturn [Accessed: 10th December 2012]. Newll, I. (2006), ‘Is win-win just pie in the sky? ‘, Strategic Direction: The airline industry, Volume 22, Number 6 June 2006, pp, 3-5 O’Higgins, E. , 2011, Ryanair: the low fares airline – future destinations? , IN, Johnson,C. (ed. ) Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, Pearson Education, pp. 618-627Routes Online, (2010), â€Å"Major opportunities remain in Europeà ¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬â€Ryanair route director,[online], Available: http://www. routesonline. com/news/36/the-hub/97447/amajor-opportunities-remain-in-europea-a-ryanair-route-director/ [Accessed: 10th December 2012]. Sorensen, T. C. , (2005), An analysis of the European low fare airline industry- with focus on Ryanair, Aarhus School of Business. EasyJet Evidence, 2012. AT A GLANCE. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 December 2012]. Ryanair, 2012. Annual report 2011-2012. [online]Available at: [Accessed 1 December2012]. easyJet plc, 2012. Annual report 2011-2012. online]Available at: [Accessed 1 December2012]. STARTRAX Evidence,2012. Low-Cost Airline Ranking. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 December 2012 ] Appendix Selected operating data RyanaireasyJet PASSENGERS (JAN’11 – DEC ’11)76. 4million55. 5million AVERAGE LOAD FACTOR82. 2%87. 5% NUMBER OF DAILY FLIGHTS13531260 COUNTRIES SERVED2730 DESTINATIONS162130 ROUTES6111400 PERMANENT EMPLOYEES75719000 NUMBER OF AIRCRAFT27 5202 AVERAGE FLEET AGE3. 03. 9 FLEET TYPE275 Boeing 737-80035 Airbus A320 167 Airbus A319 Sources: European Low Fares Airlines Association (ELFAA), December 2011