Corporate Social Responsibility: Airplanes and Airline Industry

In 1978, The Airline Deregulation Act was purposed and signed by President Jimmy Carter. This federal law came into existence for two main reasons; stated by Carter (1978), â€Å"to help our fight against inflation, and to ensure American citizens of an opportunity for low-priced air transportation. Today’s motives in the airline industry go way beyond economic decisions for themselves as well as their shareholders. Nowadays, businesses are an essential part of society and the airline industry must exceed their compliance of legislation and obligations of what is expected of them and focus on the interests of society.In doing so, they must perform corporate social responsibility that will help improve the community, society’s youth, charity, education, and also our planet. This corporate social responsibility should not be an option but rather an obligation, as that they play an essential role in creating goodwill, a positive image, and a competitive edge for the indus try. Corporate social responsibility also increases sustainability by assisting the industry in achieving its goals and increasing long-term shareholder value.One company that exhibits this corporate social responsibility is JetBlue. They are dedicated to serving the needs of America’s youth as well as their community. Ian Deason, the director of airport operations, stated that â€Å"Flying is our core business†¦ our core values include caring, integrity and passion. † The company will continue to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility in April 2013 by hosting their third annual â€Å"Wings for Autism† event at their Boston Logan International Airport location.The program is designed to introduce the possibility of flight travel to children with autism and give their families an opportunity to practice the boarding process, become familiar with the plane, and interact with the pilots and crewmembers. Crewmembers will team up with autism experts a t The Charles River Center, where they will be trained to exemplify the expected and unexpected needs of families with children who are autistic. Since the program started in 2010, more than 400 families in the Boston area have been able to participate in the program which the company plans on providing to other cities in the near future (McFadden).JetBlue also partners with many nonprofit organizations. One in particular is KaBOOM, an organization that constructs innovative kid inspired playground areas for communities. This past March, following the occurrence of Hurricane Sandy the partnership hosted a design day in the Sandy impacted city of Long Beach, NY in which children were able to sit down with team members and assist in the design of a playground that will be constructed there in May of 2013.JetBlue plans to expand this program to other affected cites and since their partnership with KaBOOM in 2006 they have helped build a total of 13 playgrounds, engaged 2,636 volunteers and provided a safe place for children to play in cities across the airline’s network (BlueTales). Moreover, JetBlue isn’t the only airline that is signifying their corporate social responsibly to the community. Transaero, an airline company in Russia implements many charitable programs. In 2012, the company’s corporate social responsibility program made the top three in Russia and they were also assigned the top AAA(s) corporate social responsibility rating.Transaero supports children with cancer as well as their families. They offer camps where children can receive medical and psychological rehabilitation and also fund a year round facility in Moscow, where children and their parents can receive legal aid. With cancer treatments and airfare being rather expensive, the company offers free flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg or even abroad so that the children can receive their needed treatment. Also many of the airlines employees are regular blood donors and mak e regular visits to hospitals and cancer centers to visit with sick children.Olga Pleshakova, the company’s CEO stated that â€Å"volunteering is not just about the company’s social responsibility program, but is an integral part of its HR policy that allows employees to show their best sides and develop their potential†¦the social initiatives of employees should be met with understanding and support by management† (Tveritina). Oman Air and AirBus are two other foreign airline companies. Both are committed to inspire and educate today’s youth by providing them with an appreciation for science and technology. The two airlines joined forces back in March of 2013 and created â€Å"The Little Engineer† workshop.The workshops were conducted at Sultan Private School and Azzan Bin Qais International  School in Oman and gave young Omani students a first-hand look into the world of engineering and encouraged them to pursue a future career in aviation . (Awal). Furthermore, as mentioned above the airline industry can safeguard our planet by exercising their corporate social responsibility by â€Å"going green†. Air France-KLM is one company in particular that focuses on this issue. For eight consecutive years the Dow Jones Sustainability Index has ranked Air France-KLM transport leader in terms of sustainable development in the airline sector.This merit is awarded to 19 of the most responsible companies in the world, each in their own area of activity. Air France’s environmental efforts reduce 400 tons of waste each year (Amstelveen). Air France reduces environmental wastes by recycling old uniforms as well as 80% of inflight articles. An environmental and social approach was used in designing their new inflight, reusable headphones. After a flight, the recovered headphones are cleaned and repackaged by a company that now employs 50 additional disabled workers thanks to the efforts of Air France.Also, with pollution being a huge issue in the aviation industry Air France is conducting research with experts to create more sustainable biofuels that will cut down on carbon dioxide emissions and provide a more fruitful planet for society (The Financial). Additionally, the airline industry has been global before anyone even considered globalization. According to the article â€Å"The Airlines Global Dilemma†, international travel has been around since the early 1900s. Chalks Ocean Airways had routine trips to the Bahamas and Pam Am had international routes to countries such as China, Japan, and Philippines in the 1930s.International flights are the airlines best chance to make a profit as well because international flights have the most margins. â€Å"The Airlines Global Dilemma† article also highlights one key aspect to the globalization of this particular industry and is unlike any other industry, for the traditional airlines, globalization is not an opportunity, but the gravest thre at. The reason for this is partially laws, environmental uncertainty and complexity. In the United States, there is a restriction on how much equity can be held by a non-American.The government keeps it at 25% and the United States is not the only country that does this. There are many different laws of that the airlines have to deal with. European laws are the only laws that favor cross border mergers. Mergers for airline companies make a lot of sense business wise if they can be done. If a merger is not possible, many companies do route-by-route joint ventures. The main reason to do a joint venture is to gain access to areas that companies are weak. Joint ventures are service agreements where on specific routes the companies share costs and profits. The joint ventures tend to be harder for he bigger companies to produce but it is a very good way for smaller companies to stay competitive. Through multi-lateral communication, groups of smaller international companies can almost act as a virtual airline itself. The airline market also has many threats. There is the threat of new entrants and threats of substitution that American airlines have to deal with. The air space is getting very crowded for the American airlines so the threat of new entrants is very real. There are many companies that are entering the market with many strategies. Poland’s international airline is an example of company with a differentiation strategy.They are the first airline in Europe to have Boeing’s new 787 according to AirGuide Business. The 787 Dreamliner is supposed to be more fuel efficient and more comfortable for passengers compared to older plane designs. There are also companies from the Middle East with strong growth strategies and a distinct competitive advantage. The new airlines from the Middle East are capitalized with government funds, running virtually tax free, equipped with new fleets operating out of new airports, are non-union, and offer top notch serv ice according to Airlines Global Dilemma.The airlines in the United States also have strong completion from within by low cost strategy companies. The threat of substitution is most prevalent by companies like Delta-Northwest and United-Continental. American Airlines is a great example of a company currently in Chapter 11 which needs to restructure, cut labor costs, and merge with US Airways. According to an article in Time Magazine, American Airlines labor cost was 4. 4 cents, Delta 3. 4 cents, and United 3. 7 cents per available seat mile.That difference results in billions of dollars and probably contributed to American Airlines’ two billion dollars in loss last year. According to Fortune, the merger should eliminate 1. 25 billion in labor costs. Not only do the airline carriers have to deal with globalization but also have deal with airplane makers. Boeing, for instance, has a very different problem than companies like American Airlines and Delta. Boeing has too many orde rs to fill which could possibly give this supplier stronger bargaining power. Boeing owes it buyers 2845 planes and is only building 35 planes per onth. At that rate, it will take Boeing six years to fill those orders and that is only if they do not get any more orders during that time. Management for Boeing needs to stress efficiency. They have made promises to increase production to 60 planes per month. Even at 60 planes per month that still leaves potential buyers waiting for quite a while and that could cause them to seek other international suppliers. Many buyers may go to Europe’s company Airbus or even try to newer companies such as Canada’s Bombardier according to AirGuide.In 2000 the United States Congress passed the Wendel H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st century. The purpose of this bill was to create a competitive plan for new entrants entering the Airline Industry. It gives guidelines and requirements for existing airlines to allow n ew entrants a chance to get started in the business. Another name for the act is AIR-21, and the results for AIR-21 are significantly positive; by allowing one endpoint airports to decrease their price by 10%, and for both endpoints to decrease their price by 20%.Some problems new entrants have when entering the Airline Industry, is operations and marketing. Marketing for a new airline can be difficult because of the loyal customers existing airlines already have. However, there are plenty of ways that airlines can increase their loyal customer base, with things such as frequent flyer miles, corporate incentive agreements, and travel agent commission overrides. For new entrants these would be considered a threat to entering the airline industry. Another threat to entering the airline industry is starting off with limited operating access.These would include limited boarding gates, ticket counters, baggage handling, storage facilities, and take-off and landing slots. Even though it m ay seem like a great time for a new airline to open, with existing airlines cutting routes, and raising prices by seat, this would be a very hard industry to enter and have a success story. For an airline to see any profit right now while oil prices are higher than ever, they must be able to fly full planes at all times. Lately even existing airlines have failed to see a profit. For example, Virgin Airlines did not see a profit for five years after its first flight.Even Warren E. Buffet was stated in a New York Times article that an investment in US Airways, in the early 1990’s, one of his biggest mistakes â€Å"Here a durable competitive advantage has proven elusive ever since the days of the Wright Brothers. Indeed, if a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down†. There are many risks entering the Airline Industry, but there are also many rewards if a new entrant were to have a succes s story. JetBlue reported profits of $1. 5 billion dollars last year, and its revenue at $192 billion dollars.They opened in 2010, and they are now an international airline. At the end of 2011, JetBlue was reported to have an average of seven hundred flights a day. JetBlue is becoming more of a success story than most other new entrants. For a new airline to start up, they need to understand how their investment breaks down. Landing and associated airport charges makes up 4%, depreciation and amortization 7%, maintenance and overhaul 10%, fuel and oil 12%, flight crew 7%, enroute facility charges 2%, station expense 11%, passenger service 10%, ticketing, sales and promotion 16%, general administrative 12%, and the rest is miscellaneous.The above information was given by The Airline Industry Trends, Challenges, and Strategies authored by Dr. John Wensveen. Dr. Wensveen noted that there have been twenty five airline failures since 2007. This is because of the global economic crisis in 2008; airlines were forced to increase their rates because of the high oil prices and the falling demand of people needing to fly. A SWOT Analysis for an airline would go as followed: Strengths: The AIR-21 act gives new airlines a chance to get started * The reward of having a successful airline is very big * Opening an airline is a Cost-Leadership strategyWeaknesses: * The is a very big risk * Oil prices are high * It cost a lot of money to open a new airline * Loyalty systems other airlines have with their customers Opportunities * Being able to start something new * Opening up in an industry that will always be improving Threats * The US Airways merger with American Airlines * The United States Airlines Industry has the potential to become a monopoly with the merger of airlines * Not being able to move loyal customers to a new airline On February 14, American Airlines and US Airways publically announced their proposal to merge with one another.Higher power executives and preside nts in these 2 substantially large companies ensure that the soon-to-be merger will â€Å"lessen competition in the airline industry,† â€Å"provide the airline’s customers with a broader network, more choices, and better service† (Lawton). However, others do not agree. Many believe that because this newly merging company will be valued at $11 billion and will make-up a whopping 26% of U. S. market share, which would be the world’s largest airline, this will actually lead to an increase in fares (The Wall Street Journal).Although the future of airfares is uncertain, it is safe to say that both companies are doing an excellent job in organizational communication during this transitional phase. US Airways and American Airlines are currently in a bumpy transitional phase in merging to become an airline powerhouse. US Airways and American Airlines must establish strategies to achieve common goals and develop this approach, which will require extensive mutual planning. Doug Parker, the former CEO of US Airways, will be taking the role as head of the new company, which will be taking the name in favor of American Airlines (Jones).In a previous interview, Parker stated that â€Å"they’ve got some advantages in making the marriage go more smoothly. † New management taking the reins of the new American must use a strategic approach to devise a long-term plan. In doing so, this strategic approach will be more beneficial than considering a short-term volatile schedule. There may be a large internal advantage to already having a sufficient amount of employees within the companies, but the public consumer will be more concerned about what disadvantages will affect them through external company decisions.A conflicting potential impact of this merger is combining loyalty programs. Frequent flyers may certainly be an airlines most valued customer. But as their most valued customer, they should not reap harmful effects throughout the p rocess of this combination. According to article American, US Airways Can Take Lessons from Other Airline Mergers the frequent flyer members of the â€Å"Aadvantage† rewards program will receive perks from both the US Airways program and American Airlines program. Although this is rational decision making: trying to smoothly overlay both reward programs to satisfy existing members, this rationality is bounded.Because of this bounded rationality, decision making is limited because it would be impossible to add all reward benefits from both airlines into one blended program. For example, American Airlines members, who carry the Express Platinum Card and Black Card had unlimited access to first class lounges. When this merger is finalized, these card members will lose this privilege. (Jones) There may be some rough patches in aligning these airlines but the potential benefits will greatly outweigh the troubles that may be faced. Darryl Jenkins has said that â€Å"The financial deal is easy; the challenges are always in the integration. The new American must show sustainability for their firm to achieve long-term shareholder value. As of April 9th 2013, American Airlines (AAMRQ) closed with a stock price of $3. 58; US Airways (LLC) closed at a price of $15. 70 but dropped . 14 points throughout the course of the day (YAHOO Finance). Work Cited â€Å"Air France: Committed to Sustainable Development. † FINCHANNEL. com. The FINANCIAL, 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. . Amstelveen. â€Å"Sustainable Development: Air France-KLM World Air Transport Leader in 2012. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. KLM Corporate, 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. . Awal, Jamadil. â€Å"Oman Air, Airbus Bring ‘little Engineer' Workshops Muscat. † Arab News. SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. . Business & Industry News – Aircraft Finance News. (2012). AirGuide Business, 1-16. Hawes, A. (2012, May 25). The Challenge of Starting a n Airline. The New York Times.

Hedging Currency Risk at TT Textiles Essay

It was a hot March morning in Kolkata in the year 2009. Sanjay K. Jain, —Joint Managing Director of TT Textiles, watched the sunlight stream in through his office windowpane. But his mind was elsewhere, tracking the movements of the Swiss franc (CHF) in the last few months and the world events that had caused them. The Swiss franc had touched 1.17 CHF/US$ from the previous year’s record of 0.96CHF/US$. That was good news for him. Or was it? The irony of the situation was not lost on him. Once, the Swiss had franc barely figured among all the different currencies that vied for his attention in the normal course of things. Yet, lately, it was the movement of the CHF that weighed on his mind most heavily. As an exporter to more than 30 countries, TT Textiles was no newcomer to the area of currency risk. TT Textiles usually used forwards to manage currency risks. However, during 2006-07, when the INR was expected to appreciate to an unprecedented high of 35 INR/US$, the company had entered into a swap deal based on the historical stability of the CHF against the US$. At the time, the deal had looked relatively safe and very lucrative. However, when  the global financial crisis struck in 2008, it started making sizeable mark-to-market losses. Luckily it turned around in 2009 and was no longer in the red. But with three months left on the contract, the big question Jain faced was whether to quit now or hold it till maturity. The textile and clothing industry in India had traditionally been an export-oriented industry. In 2008, it contributed four per cent to the overall GDP of India and accounted for 14 per cent of the industrial production and 14 per cent of total exports of goods . More importantly, India earned about 27 per cent of its total foreign exchange through textile exports. It was also the second largest employer after agriculture, providing direct employment to 35 million people and indirect employment to 45 million people. In 2008-09, the total sales generated by the textile and clothing sector amounted to US$33.4 billion from the domestic market and US$21.6 billion from exports. Professor Rajesh Chakrabarti prepared this case solely as a basis for class discussion. This case is not intended to serve as an endorsement, a source of primary data, or an illustration of effective or ineffective management. The author thanks Shashvat Rai and Anurag Sharma from ISB’s PGP Class of 2011 for assisting in the writing of this case. This case was developed under the aegis of the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Case Development, ISB. Copyright @ 2013 Indian School of Business. The publication may not be  digitised, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted or transmitted, without the permission of the Indian School of Business. This document is authorized for use only by Christopher Alt at Clark University until July 2014. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860. As a mature industry, the textile industry was marked by relatively low margins ï £ § varying from three per cent to 12 per cent depending on where in the value chain a specific company operated. The total market for textiles and clothing was expected to reach US$100 billion by 2015, with 43 per cent of revenues coming from exports. Specifically, textile exports were expected to yield US$22 billion and the domestic textile market was expected to yield US$28 billion by 2015.2 The US dollar was the dominant currency for pricing textile products worldwide, in a large measure even for exports to Europe or Latin American countries. TT Textiles Limited, the flagship company of the TT Group, was founded in 1978 by the family of Dr. Rikhab Chand Jain. It was India’s first knitwear company to go public. TT Textiles was a vertically integrated textile company with a presence in the entire cotton chain, from fibre to yarn to  knitted fabric and garments. It had manufacturing facilities in all the major garment centers ï £ §Tirupur, Kolkata, Delhi, Varanasi, Saharanpur and Kanpur. It had ginning units in Gondal, Gujarat and branches for cotton in Jalna, Maharashtra. The company’s core businesses were agrocommodity, cotton, yarn, fabric and garments, and its markets were spread all over the world, as shown below (also see Exhibit 1): Sanjay Jain, an MBA gold medalist from IIM, Ahmedabad and an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ACS) and Institute of Cost Accountants of India (AICWA), began his career at ICICI Bank before starting his own brokerage firm, which he later sold. He joined TT Textiles in 2001 and was instrumental in expanding the textile business and setting up the marketing network for raw cotton yarn in over 20 countries around the world. Approximately 75 per cent of TT Textiles’ revenues came from exports, and at any particular point of time, the company had an exposure of roughly US$25 million. The life of a typical export transaction in the industry   particularly of the kind that TT was party to   was less than three months. TT Textiles enjoyed a margin of five to six per cent in its business. Currency derivative products were relatively new entrants in India. Most Indian companies depended on their banks to hedge currency exposures. In a 2009 newspaper article, Ramesh Kumar, Senior Vice President and Head, Debt and Currency Markets of Asit C. Mehta, explained: This document is authorized for use only by Christopher Alt at Clark University until July 2014. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860. Historically, in a controlled environment, India Inc. relied on banks for covering its foreign exchange requirements. †¦ Some of the companies trade actively in foreign exchange and have a separate treasury management unit for foreign exchange transactions. However, there are also large numbers of small and medium enterprises which participate in the currency market passively and depend on commercial banks (authorised dealers) for their requirement of foreign exchange and coverage of currency 3 The currency market was one of India’s biggest financial markets, with turnover on the spot and forward markets together yielding around US$12 billion a day in April 2007. Since September 2008, there had been both foreign exchange (forex) forwards as well as futures markets in the country trading the INR-US$. Derivatives on other currencies were not traded. The rupee-dollar forward market was an over-the-counter (OTC) market, the trades on which were settled through the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL), which was the clearing house for forex and interest rate trades in India. This minimized the credit risk associated with these agreements in the Indian market. According to Chakrabarti and De, â€Å"In 2006-07, 85,106 forex forward transactions went to CCIL for settlement, with a notional value of US$342 billion. By late 2006, forward market turnover was nudging US$2 billion a day. Foreign institutional investors were able to do transactions on the currency derivatives market that could be characterized as ‘hedging’ of the currency risk exposure on their Indian investment.† In addition to the domestic rupee-dollar forward market, there was active trading for cash-settled rupee-dollar forwards in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and London on what were termed â€Å"nondeliverable forwards† (NDF) markets. For foreign institutional investors who had limited access to the forwards markets on the domestic INR-US$ markets, the NDF market did not suffer from the constraints imposed by capital controls. However, for domestic investors, this led to limited participation by financial institutions of the onshore currency forward market.

Anishinaabe social movements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Anishinaabe social movements - Essay Example Efforts by the Canadian government to resettle the Anishinabe people so as to limit them to reservations that only handled farming was leading factor to the problems they had to endure. Initially, they practiced fishing and game hunting to support their livelihood. Their land was looted in an effort to force them to other places and pave a way for copper mining. The government promised to pay the Anishinabe once they moved to the reservations. Such promises and those of proper education for their children was not fulfilled hence creating dissatisfaction from the people. Individuals who had also settled on their previous land had made their way into the reserves taking over their source of livelihood. Constructions were built on land destroying fishing sites. The permanent homes they had been promised earlier on were not honored. Equipment and carpentry tools were not also given to the people hence making their lives miserable. The Anishinabe social movements started as a result of su ch issues from the Canadian government (Government of Canada, pg.1). The aboriginal people also commonly referred to as the first people formed a number of social movements to champion for their rights. The Native Americans had been deprived of their land, and most of it given to the British and French Traders. Strict regulations were also put in place so as to curtail the efforts of the First people to get pieces of land. The increasing numbers of settlers in the areas made them push for the Aboriginal people to surrender their land to them. The other reason for the formation of social movements was to advocate for proper education for their children. As it is presently, the First Nations people did not have access to the kind of education the Europeans had. The Indian Act of 1876 had its introduction making it difficult for the First Nations people to get quality education and other social services in the country. Unlike the past treaties that were as a result of negotiations

Business Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Project - Assignment Example This appropriate location is the SEZ or special economic zone which is duty free zone, declared so to attract new investors in trade and industry. By shifting the business to an industrial area, not only will the business have access to more infrastructure and facilities, but also draw more clients. This step would also free prime land, which is a part of the duty-free zone and slated to become a regional hub for business and leisure.( Fakhoury) Compared to the present maximum capacity of 30M tonnes/year and utilization of 20 M tonnes, the enlarged southern port's capacity will grow to 100M tonnes a year as the result of two major expansion phases in the next 30 years. Since the northern part of the coast has already developed into a tourist attraction, doing the same for the southern port would lead to an identity crisis and the uniqueness of this activity would be lost.( Fakhoury) Following best international practices, Jordan's only sea port will be broken up into separate business units to be offered for bidders, mainly on a joint-venture basis using the public private partnership model. The business units would comprise of the container terminal, a ferry terminal, marine services, a grain terminal and general cargo and ro-ro berths, in addition to an industrial terminal dealing mainly with phosphate, potash and fertiliser exports, which are Jordan's main mining exports. The public private partnership model would ensure easy finance, speedy completion of projects, sustainable public interest and ensure healthy profits. The general cargo, ro-ro, industrial and grain terminal might be offered as one package to interested operators.( Fakhoury) A new terminal for cruise ships will be built where the main port is currently located, as part of major mixed-use development comprising integrated tourism, commercial, residential projects as well as public use facilities (Fakhoury). This reflects the strategic and optimum utilization of available space for various activities. Diving being an attraction in the Aquaba coast, it could be further encouraged by adding tourist attractions like cruising, water sports and the like. Jordan being a country with limited water resources, it is imperative to take decisions, which would not harm the ecology of the country in the long run. http://www.ess.co.at/SMART/CASES/JO/jordan.htm Compared to its peer coast locations in neighboring countries, Aquaba offers a cleaner environment. Right now, as the flow of tourists is not much compared to neighboring countries, there is a lot of scope for developing this industry. Located on the Red Sea, Aqaba is a premier diving stop, as well as a place to soak up rays. It is also Jordan's only water port. Since 2001 Aqaba was granted a special economic zoning so prices on goods and services can be considerably cheaper than elsewhere in the country. The zoning has brought many new hotels on the beach. The town center is a dense network of streets and alleys. The center is also where one can find many shops, small hotels and restaurants. The city also has some historical treasures such as the Malmuke Fort and remains of the oldest church known. At

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

Self-Reflection - Essay Example nationality being that of Somalia (check 1st week blog).The two Chinese girls in my group had been friends before and therefore were in good terms with one another. At the beginning of the project, we did not all have very strong ties with each other. Opening discussions however brought us closer. We started discussing our goals and aims and reflected upon our previous accomplishments. Such discussions assisted us in understanding each other and we began to get closer as group. The best explanation of the way we adopted the model, interacted with each other and settles on what would be done by who is the Tuckman’s stages of group development (Chapman, 2009) shown below; The â€Å"Forming† part took us a lot of time to cover. From the time we started the group, we not only added each other as friends on Facebook but also created a group profile which facilitated our exchanging of messages and everyone could see this simultaneously. In accordance to Belbin (1993), so as for a group to function well, it is very important that the members know each other something that assists in the Forming and Norming process. We gradually covered the stages of â€Å"forming† to â€Å"norming†. So as to accomplish this, we decided to do these roles together and everybody comes with whatever information they gathered to the meetings. After this, we did not spend much time trying to hit the â€Å"storming† section of the theory Tuckman (1965).As time went by I felt that the participation of other group members was very minute since they were all expecting me to do all the work and had to inform our supervisor regarding this. It was thus agreed that tasks should be delegated and had to stop doing tasks together as had been before since it was no longer working. Consequently, it is at that point that we proceeded to the last phase of Truckman theory (1965), which is performing. At this stage Tang and I were already well versed with what was required of us to do and were thorough with

Management Issue Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management Issue Paper - Essay Example These areas of diversity bring a challenge to managers when they try to rally every employee to offer his or her best to the organization due to influence from their backgrounds. Some of the challenges that managers face includes resistance of some employees to the organizations diversity plan. Some of these employees present a challenge to the management as they try to sabotage the management efforts of ensuring that all employees relate well to each other and understand the organization’s demand. Employees’ negative attitude reduces productivity as they slow down positive change and damage moral of other employees. Secondly, communication in organizations with workforce diversity poses a challenge since there are people from different sexes, age groups among others are represented. Due to these differences, a challenge of dealing with different communication styles employees and between employees and management arises. There is also misunderstanding leading to poor of fice relations and misinterpretation of each other’s intentions. Thirdly, workplace diversity runs the risk of causing disorganization in the work place. People from the same background tend to form their own subgroups since they present the same ideas and viewpoints. This poses a challenge to the management, as they cannot rally all the employees to take a common stand through consensus building. Due to the disorganization in the workplace, the organization suffers as production is lowered when all employees and management cannot come together to champion a common course (Douglas 46). Fourthly, diversity in the workplace comes with stereotypes on how different groups of people work in the organization. Stereotyping increases stress and anxiety as the worker faced with such a challenge feels discriminated upon leading to low output levels (Konrad & Pringle 27). The main problem mangers face is coming up with strategic measure that will ensure effective management of people th rough creation of an organizational environment that attracts and retains diverse workforce by responding to changes in the demographic and social patterns in the workplace. Managers have a role to play in creating an organization that attracts workforce from diverse background while at the same time being supportive of their aspirations, promotes equality, and ambitions, (Cornelius 147). Several strategic plans can prevent crises that may come up in the organization due to the diversity of its workforce. Firstly, setting targets for diversity in the organization can help manage employees. In this regard, the management needs to come up with plan that determines the recruitment targets for various groups whether women, men, disabled, ethnic minority. Through such initiative, the organization is able to determine its progress towards workforce diversity and further practices and policies can be evaluated against the set targets (Cornelius 152). In order to manage diversity at the wor k place, managers need to create flexibility practices and policies that will ensure all employees are treated fairly in the workplace. Creating flexible time schedule ensures that all employees are available and offer their best to the organization. Other than cultural

Personal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

The Request For A Transfer To The University - Essay Example Transferring to your university will also give me the opportunity to access, interpret and use the wide variety of literature and information resources from your university’s library. All students who go through your university are known to possess top-notch communication and interpersonal skills which are crucial in any field of study or career. I wish to gain these skills from your university so that I can use them to improve my career ratings. The behaviors that I hope to acquire by this transfer include honesty, integrity, reliability, trustworthiness, and responsibility because I know that these are values which are taught to your students. The transfer will also enable me to understand the need to respect others and always strive to be credible and dependable in my career. The trustworthiness and responsibility expected of all your students can be inculcated in me if I am given the opportunity to transfer to your university. Advancing my education at your cherished insti tution will also give me the will to stay committed to professional excellence and continuous professional advancement. I am inspired to transfer so that I can gain new competence in a number of issues in my field from a reputable institution. I wish to transfer so that I can develop the ability to think independently and conclusively about my specific area of interest in my field of study and explore that are more comprehensively. The transfer will give me the opportunity to interact with new like-minded individuals and meet a professional mentor.

Point of View Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Point of View Paper - Essay Example The Confederate soldier would tell Farquhar that the Owl Creek Bridge had been taken, but if someone lit old driftwood on fire it would burn like tow. However, the Confederate soldier would warn Farquhar of the Union decree of death by hanging for anyone tampering with the railroad or bridges. Farquhar would not reply, but give a smug smile at the news. Then I would film Farquhar sliding off a plank and the rope snapping, with him plunging in the water. This scene should have a watch ticking in the background right before Farquhar slides off, and then snap back to actual sound when he hits the water. Shock should be filmed on the Union soldiers faces, with their fumbling for their guns. The next scenes shot would be Farquhar underwater. Lethargic at first, Farquhar would sink, and then come alive. He would slip out the ropes binding his arms, flinging off his noose, and come out of the water with a piercing shriek. The two soldiers on the bridge would be aiming and shooting at him. Since it takes a moment to reload, Farquhar would reach the sanding bank as the cannon fires a volley into the ground before him. Farquhar would reach the woods and flee. Then a couple of scenes of Farquhar running in the woods at night should be shot. One should show him running in fright, the next walking tiredly. Finally in the morning light, Farquhar should be shot walking with his eyes shut up a long driveway towards a two story home with six columns on the porch. He opens his eyes to run toward a woman dressed in a brown hoopskirt. As soon as he reaches her, the whole scene fades. The final shot should be of Farquhar’s swinging body on the bridge. It should not be of him falling, this would already been seen when the rope broke. Just his swinging body should be shot. A close up taken of the actor’s face might show a slight smile at the thought of being home. This would represent Farquhar’s peace at going home through death. To

Educational Institutions and ProcessesMarginality Essay

Educational Institutions and ProcessesMarginality - Essay Example The societal structure is more concerned with such human elements as religion, demography, social structure and culture. In addition, the structure is also concerned with the connection between politics and economics with regard to group or individual access to resources. As such, the societal framework tends to stress on the consideration of those fundamental causes of inequality, exclusion, social injustice, as well as the spatial isolation of the populace (Brodwin, 2003). On the other hand, the spatial element of marginality is chiefly based on physical setting and space from centre of development, lying at the periphery of a poorly incorporated society (Larsen, 2002). With this notion, it is anticipated that an insight into the physical locations and space on individuals and groups livelihoods shall be gained.From these meanings, one can undoubtedly observe that marginality is a progression that emerges and evolves gradually in a variety of scales and types under geo-political and socio-economical settings. As such, marginality supports and replicates that state of marginalization to a large extent. It is worth noting that the interpretation of societal marginality stems from social conditions. The apparent disparities in a social institution such as a school will often be as a result of exclusion from the 'mainstream'. At this point, the state and scale of economic, social, and political inequalities linking the mainstream and the marginalized ought to be assessed from the perspective of legitimate and equitable access to decision making procedures and resources. By and large, educational marginality is often revealed by the underlying state of people. The state could as well be represented by such poor living options as a lack of opportunities, resources, and skills. Further, such a state can also be reflected by either a limited or reduced contribution in the making of public decisions, and low self esteem (Brodwin, 2003). In the educational institutions, marginalized students are normally stigmatized, singled out, ignored and mostly repressed on age, gender, culture, race, ethnicity, religion, occupation, economy, and education basis by the mainstream (Larsen, 2002). Marginalized groups in existing schools situations McCready (2004) has suggested a multidimensional structure that considers the multiple forms and differences of oppression , with a view to understanding and suggesting possible options for gay as well as for the gender non-conforming African American male students attending urban schools. The author has indicated that such students experience a certain kind of marginalization, and which is almost recognized by almost everybody who knows about the sexual orientation of this group. In addition, the author has also indicated that in a majority of the cases, such gay students have feelings that they are usually being marginalized by the mainstream society in school. The sad situation that this book brings out is that in certain instances, such students will normally experience marginalization, yet they fail to admit it. It has often been argued that from a school perspective, marginalization tends to be a multifaceted and complex process. For this reason, it is important that the