Minimizing weather disruption in aviation: regard of Heathrow, British Airways and UK aviation system

Introduction More than any other mode of transportation, aviation is significantly affected by weather conditions including fog, thunderstorms, snowstorms, and wind as well as temperature and pressure extremes (Iyengar, 2002). Kulesa (2010) notes two major adverse effects of weather on aviation which are its impact on safety and efficiency of operation. The aviation industry must regularly deal with adverse types of weather to enhance safety while attempting to maintain integrity of flight schedules and to rein in on costs attendant to disruption, a significant budget item in aviation (Qualley, 2009). Weather disruptions at London’s Heathrow Airport in recent years have highlighted vulnerability in the industry. Of note was the adverse snow condition on December 18, 2010an exceptional event with unprecedented volume and speed of snow fall (AOA, 2013; DoT, 2013). This condition was compounded by capacity constraints and consequent lack of operational contingency since Heathrow operates at 9 9% capacity daily and the pre-Christmas period usually has high customer volumes (DoT, 2013; Seabury, 2012). The challenges of the day highlight prevalent problems and potential damage of weather-related disruption. A serious problem exists in the parallel forecast models run in the US and EU which give variations in weather forecasts. Conflicts are particularly often on parameters such as temperature of the day – which defines whether precipitation will fall as rain or snow (DoT, 2013; Qualley, 2009). On this day, weather forecasts and predictions were accurate and congruent and were received on time. Based on extensive experience on the part of British Airways (BA) and National Air Traffic Service (NATS), and in anticipation of greater challenges of disruption, a decision to cancel all BA flights between 1000 and 1700 was arrived at (BA, 2014; UK Parliament, 2011). There was however misjudgement among stakeholders on the severity of prediction and actual weather conditions. In the confusion, Heathrow claimed ‘business as usual’ while BA (its largest carrier) cancelled its schedule. Media reports of continued operations even after eventual closure of airport also undermined the decisive action taken by BA and thousands of passengers continued to turn up for cancelled flights creating chaos (UK Parliament, 2011). The command and control structure was not employed proactively or efficiently (Seabury, 2012). Overall, the airport failed to recover as quickly as it could have done and the impact of the day was extended unnecessarily. BA’s extensive and refined contingency plans for recovery following disruption were not replicated by Heathrow airport and were thus not useful (UK Parliament, 2011; Kulesa, 2010). A lack of forward planning and lack of shared operational experience about the most effective approach for return to efficient regular operations was evident when the airport re-opened (DoT, 2013). Major emphasis was put on the op ening of the runway without regard to the taxiway, apron and stand infrastructure which are also essential for efficient airport operation (Deloitte, 2013; UK Parliament, 2011). The ineffective approach caused many of the problems faced on re-opening and impeded return to normal operations. Eventually, a decision by Heathrow airport to invoke the Scarce Capacity Protocol (SCP) designed to ensure fair and proportionate allocation of access to take-off and landing slots for airlines was reached. This protocol was however overly conservative and difficult to enforce, hindered by policing issues (AOA, 2013; UK Parliament, 2011). Various UK airports have similarly been affected by weather conditions to varying degrees though recovery has usually been swift. A number of these airports remain open to receive long-haul diversions in times of disruption (DoT, 2013; Seabury, 2012). Although weather forecasting would add value to minimization of disruption, AOA, 2013 and Deloitte, 2013 disclos e that none among UK’s civilian airfields has a dedicated forecasting service based on site. Closure, delay, and/or cancellation have far reaching consequences beyond the inconvenience caused to customers which portends erosion of passenger goodwill and loss of future revenue (BA, 2014; Deloitte, 2013). Costs associated with weather disruption vary depending on contingency and elusive to pin down exactly. Direct costs derive from airline operations such as diversion, cancellation, delay or insurance and include listed costs such as: fuel, crew, time, and aircraft operating costs, lost passenger and cargo revenue, hotel accommodation and meals, ground-based employee overtime pay, insurance, etc. (Deloitte, 2013; Seabury, 2012). Disruption, particularly for hub airport operations given their extensive connectivity may have widespread effects affecting myriad flight schedules and airport operations in far flung areas. Seabury, 2012 and Deloitte, 2013 estimate that one diverted f light can cause 2 to 50 flight delays, while a cancelled flight can result in 15 to 20 delays. British Airways has more recently in 2013 and early 2014 been impacted by adverse weather in its operations at home and internationally (particularly the US) and affecting its global network (BA, 2014). In 2012, the airline also suffered mishaps on its Airbus fleet due to the freezing of pilot tubes which feed vital air speed data to on-board computers facilitating the autopilot mode. This led to two emergency landings evidence of the risk weather portends to safe flight linked to the potential damage in loss of life, property as well as repute (BA, 2014; FoE, 2013). This scenario lays out a representation of problems and damages consequent to weather disruption at Heathrow affecting BA and the entire UK aviation system. Steps to minimise the effect of bad weather and the ramifications of decisions to stakeholders Accurate weather forecasts are a priority for safety and efficiency in aviation. This is a primary focus area in order to minimize effects of weather disruption (FoE, 2013; Seabury, 2012)†¦ Accurate information derived from congruent forecasts from numerous agencies enables an effective prediction of the extent of disruption and therefore appropriate response. The use of varied and possibly conflicting forecasts was the probable cause of conflict in the case above creating problems and compounding the issue (Qualley, 2009; Iyengar, 2002). Adverse effects of weather on the industry can be avoided if only airlines and the entire industry work together to interpret such natural phenomena better. Various agencies – both state and private – should participate in accumulating reports and materials on weather patterns useful in the creation of referential databases. These can th en be updated and shared widely across the industry to minimize the impact of adverse events. Uniformity and congruence of information should be aspired to and costs associated with provision of weather information should be addressed (Kulesa, 2010; Qualley, 2009). Despite additional costs, the development of meteorological capacity on site in airports manned by employees or forecast vendors should be made mandatory. This strategy will negatively impact weather forecast contractors and vendors. Timely transmission of forecasts is also essential allowing sufficient lead time for appropriate preparation, and early response (FoE, 2013). Such include the efficient conduct of the intricacies of flight planning such as re-routing, rescheduling, load and fuel balancing, among others, as well as institution of mitigation measures. Open and extensive communication and consultation among various players is paramount for coordinated and effective response towards overall reduction of impact. T his can be achieved through efficient and proactive use of command and control structures and involvement of external entities such as the broadcast media transmitting vital information to customers. During response, focus should be on the entire airfield and mix of essential operations in an interdependent system (Kulesa, 2010). Development of comprehensive and extensive protocols and contingency planning should be undertaken to facilitate response to disruption (Deloitte, 2013; DoT, 2013). These should entail forward planning, strategies and methods to govern operations, as well as effective business continuity plans to mitigate risks to the extent possible. Despite prohibitive costs, use of intricate computer programs in planning and response should be encouraged. Existing policies, protocols and measures should be realigned and restructured for better effectiveness and enforcement mechanisms should be instituted to ensure compliance (Seabury, 2012; UK Parliament, 2011). On-groun d mitigation measures such as de-icing and ploughing of snow should be made mandatory and part of essential procedure. Such measures may not sit well with independent industry players but should be enforced. At the operational level, measures to protect reputation and consequently the potential loss of business from inconvenienced customers should be instituted (Deloitte, 2013). Customer support programs and response centres undertaking such tasks as rebooking, refunds processing, and provision of information are thus essential. Airlines should also create alliances and agreements activated in times of disruption to enable support for affected players and entities (Seabury, 2012). Though it comes at a cost, this will serve to benefit customers and to reduce overall adverse impact of event. Safety measures such as enhanced flight briefings, appropriate pilot training, and continuous streaming of updated current information should be emphasized as weather is unpredictable and subject to change. Overall, comprehensive reviews of incidents and failures and generation of continuous applicable learning for particular locations and scenarios is beneficial. Regarding policy, the expansion of airport capacity at Heathrow and major airports, as well as creation of new airports is essential for better resilience (Deloitte, 2013; Seabury, 2012; DoT, 2013). With no spare capacity, Heathrow is vulnerable to short term operational disruption (BA, 2014; AOA, 2013). Capacity expansion may also enable diversion in times of need easing intense pressure and thus enabling better management of adverse events. Alongside such developments, it is also important to focus on surface connections such as rail and roads to ease pressures of domestic air travel and hence to free some airport capacity (DoT, 2013; Seabury, 2012). They could also serve in times of disruption facilitating diversions and airport transfers. These measures may not be popular however with political players and cust omers seeking convenience. References Airports Operators Association, 2013. The Airport Operator, Amsterdam: AOA. British Airways, 2014. Our Business. Matching capacity to demand. London: BA: Deloitte, 2013. Aviation and Sustainability. Niigita, Japan: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Department of Transport, 2013. Aviation Policy Framework. Report of Secretary of State for Transport. March 2013. London: HMSO Friends of Earth, 2013. Aviation and Global Climate Change. London: Friends of Earth. Iyengar, J., 2002. â€Å"The Role of Risk in Aviation under Adverse Weather Conditions.† In: Vickery, S., (Ed.) Research Issues. Eli Broad Graduate School of Management. Michigan State University. Decision line: May 2002, Pp. 7-10 Kulesa, G., 2010. Weather and Aviation: How Does Weather Affect the Safety and Operations of Airports and AviationViewed from: http://adds.aviationweather.gov/ on 18th Apr, 2014. Qualley, W., 2009. Impact of Weather and use of Weather Information by Commercial Airline Operations. Texas, US: Amrcorp. Seabury, 2012. Sustainable European Aviation: A position paper. Association of European Airlines and Seabury. Viewed from: www.seaburygroup.com on 22nd Apr, 2014 UK Parliament, 2011. Impact on transport of recent adverse weather conditions: Written evidence from British Airways. Session 2010-11. Viewed from: www.parliament.uk/publicaions&records/commons_select_committee/transport/transport/ on 18th Apr, 2014.

Top Gun

Top Gun relationship to Dully Article Top Gun is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. The movie was inspired by the article â€Å"Top Guns† (U. S. navy established an elite school for one percent of its pilots it purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat, also known as flight weapon school) written by Ehud Yonay for California magazine.The film starts stars such as Tom Cruise as a young naval aviator named Lieutenant Pete â€Å"Maverick† Mitchell; Anthony Edwards aka â€Å"Goose† as a Radar Intercept Officer, and Maverick best friend; Kelly McGillis as â€Å"Charley† as a civilian instructor in air combat and a lover of Maverick, and others. The movie Top Gun centers around Maverick (Tom Cruise), a hot-headed, troubled, egoist fighter pilot/navy pilot, and how he grows up as a man/person and as a better pilot with the help and influences from his past and his colleagues. In th is paper I will be examining the theory or studies given by Dr.Frank Dully, and relating it to the characters of the movie by identifying their personality traits of naval aviator described in the Dully Article â€Å"The Life Style Keys to Flight Deck Performance of the Naval Aviator. † As mentioned above, this movie portrait around the character Maverick. Who is a very skilled, smart, charming, and one of the best fighter pilots in the nation; but he also is cocky, hot-headed, aggressive, very controlling, emotional, mission-oriented naval aviator who characteristics changes throughout the movie.In the beginning of the film Maverick and his partner Goose are involved in a reconnaissance mission. While maneuvering Maverick and his partner Goose made a contact to enemy aircraft. With his skills and boldness he maneuvered to trail the enemies’ aircraft; while breaking all the rules of flying such as flying under 10000 altitudes, high-speed passes over 5 air controlled to wer, uses the illegal breaking maneuver to outsmart the enemy, performing unrealistic stunts even throughout the movie. This characteristic of Maverick shows that he is reckless, aggressive, and very controlling naval aviator.As Dully mentioned, the first ingredient of a naval aviator characteristic is being in control, and in this movie Maverick is very controlling, the one who make things happen. Dully also mentions that â€Å"oldest sons and oldest daughters comprise a remarkably large segment of this population, well in excess of their demographic one-out-of-three stature. These are the youngsters that initially set out to please that Very Important Parent, (usually Dad), in response to his requirements for excellence in many things. It becomes the mission of the first child to bring to the Very Important Parent a series of vicarious successes.Seizing the opportunity for recognition and a taste of success, the child usually applies himself diligently to the tasks thus assigned. † In this movie Mavericks is known as the only son, and his mission-orientation or goal/action was based on his father action and reputations. However his friends are trying to help him to be a team player and a healthier naval aviator. Another characteristic that is associated with Maverick personality traits described in the Dully article is the calculation of emotional distance. As mentioned in the article, there are three factors that shape our emotional views.First â€Å"occurs in the toddler years, the second plays out in early grammar school, and the third takes place late in his high school years. † For Maverick his emotional feeling or factors seemed like they were inherited from his dad actions. Another example that shows his emotional feeling was in the beginning of the movie when he disobeyed the leader to help one of his fellow pilots back to the carrier. This shows that he is not selfish, he cares for other and he is a team player in his way. Also his emo tional feeling come out when his losses his friend Goose.For instance, when he was trying to drop out of the top gun course; this could symbolize Maverick as a stressed or failing aviator. Lastly his emotions are seen with his relationship with Charlie. That he is a nice, caring and aggressive guy when it comes to Charlie. Another character that plays a huge part in this movie is Anthony Edwards aka â€Å"Goose,† a Radar Intercept Officer, and Maverick best friend. In his movie Goose would be described as the man who influences Maverick to change from a hot-headed, reckless fighter pilot to a well-mannered, responsible, team-player pilot.After Maverick passed by the control tower, Goose told him that his action will also endangered his own place at work, so to be careful. Goose personality traits are not really mentioned well in the movie; however he seems to have a good balance with Maverick to make a good naval aviator. Goose personality traits are that he is very likable, friendly, caring, funny, not controlling, a good husband and naval pilot. According to the Grid I would classify Goose as a 5, 5 pilot because he has come to adopt or adjust to the system and to the comfortable tempo thatMaverick lives in. The last character I will be describing, and who had a big influence on Mavericks well-being is Charlie. She is a highly-qualified instructor at the school and holds a degree in air combat. Throughout the movie she has different personality and behaviors. She too, is an ambiguous figure. She seems fairly masculinizing and controlling through her name. However she has an emotional affiliation with Maverick that she wants to keep private. She is also very aggressive, usually get what she wants.As Dully mentions, usually the oldest son the controlling and aggressive ends up with the same counter-part controlling and aggressive oldest daughter in this case it seems true. Although this movie could be a good description on what a healthy/good and bad na val aviator life might be. It has a Hollywood twist and a perfect ending which make it hard to conclude and study the life, personality, and attitude of naval pilots. But it shows the significant characteristic described by Dully.

A Postmodernist View Of International Relations Politics Essay

A Postmodernist View Of International Relations Politics Essay Some scholars argue that alternative approaches to IR theory have not made any significant contributions to the theorization of IR. Moreover, these approaches lead our IR theory into disorder and we are left with a lack of direction. However, focusing on Postmodernism, we find it has produced the idea of the power-knowledge relationship to criticize the â€Å"absolute truth† which is proposed by Positivism, and also provides us with different methodologies such as genealogy, text, narrative, discourse, deconstruction and double reading to explain world politics. Besides, Postmodernism has utilized a variety of methods such as deconstruction of text to overcome the theories and concepts that people believe (Der Derian and Shapiro, 1989). In the past international theory has been dominated by four main theories: Realism, Liberalism, Marxism and Constructivism. However, in the last two decades there has been a dramatic change to this picture. A range of new approaches has develo ped to aid understanding of world politics. In the context of globalization, even Realism seems inadequate to explain issues like the rise of non-state actors, identity politics, transnational social movements and information technology. The new major development is not only underway in the academic discipline of social science but also in the philosophy of social science, in a movement known as Positivism. Thus many alternative ways of thinking about the social sciences have been proposed and since the picture of IR theory has changed a series of alternative approaches has emerged as more relevant to world politics in the twenty first century (Smith S, 2008). Until the late 1980s, most social scientists in International Relations tended to be Positivists. But since then Positivism has been under attack. The assumptions made by Positivism met with dissent as criticism of the IR theories led by Positivism began to emerge (Smith S, 2008). This is the so-called â€Å"the third debateà ¢â‚¬  (Ashley R., 1987; 1990; Walker R. B. J., 1993). It can also be called the Positivism and Post-Positivism debate (Lapid Y., 1989; Jim G., 1990; Smith S., 1995).. The dissent from Positivism prominently contains Feminism, Critical theory, Post-colonialism, Poststructuralism and Postmodernism. Their common idea is that they all see the world as something external to the IR theory (Smith S., 2008).Postmodernism is the term used by sociologists and others to describe a way of thinking that has become pervasive in the Western world in the last twenty-five years. It is an approach to reality that is having a significant effect on architecture, art, education, law, literature, psychotherapy, science, theatre, and the study of history and people’s view of religion (Exploring Christianity-Truth, n.d.). It reached IR theory in the mid-1980s, but can only be said to have really arrived in the past fifteen years (Smith S., 2008).The term â€Å"Postmodernism† first entered th e philosophical lexicon in 1979, with the publication of The Postmodern Condition by Jean-Franà §ois Lyotard (Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy, 2005). Other significant writers who have promoted Postmodernism are De Man, Elshtain, Geoffrey Hartman, Harold Bloom, Michel Foucault, J. Hillis Miller, Jacques Derrida, Habermas, Richard Rorty and Rob Walker. Postmodernists who have made important contributions to IR theory are Richard Ashley, James Der Derian, David Campbell and William Connolly. Its origins are found in the philosophies of Nietzsche, Heidegger, Marx and Freud (Exploring Christianity-Truth, n.d.; Smith S., 2008).

Cross Cultural Trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cross Cultural Trends - Essay Example Artists from the United States who studied and stayed in France such as Mary Cassatt brought the Impressionist art in the United States in the 1860s where it was readily accepted (Arthistory, nd) Harlem Renaissance on the other hand is an art movement led by Langston Hughes in the United States during the civil rights movement that aimed to promote Afro American art and literature. It included paintings, drawings, music poem that included the works of Langston Hughes (Hughes, nd) which is now integrated in the American culture particularly among the Afro-American population. NeoClassical art also known as the academic approach in painting originating in Greece and Rome where the strict rules of order and reason in rendering the art is followed (www.visual-arts-cork.com, nd). This approach originated in Europe but was later adopted not only in the United States but elsewhere in the world due to its methodological approach and beauty in rendering art. One of the trends/art forms that has directly affected me is Dadaism. Dadaism has affected me because it widened my perspective in art. Through Dadaism, I realized that everything around us can become objects of art if we are creative enough to transform

World Religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

World Religions - Essay Example There are also several differences on the level of dogma as well. For example, people who have adopted the approach of Reformation Christianity do not share the idea of a saint in a traditional meaning of this word. Thus, the pious figures who acted in the Bible are respected, but they are not prayed to, as it is in Roman Catholicism. Reformation Christianity suggests that a true believer should only pray to God and not intermediary is needed so that the prayer is heard by the All Mighty. Finally, the idea of purgatory – the place when souls of the sinner might stay temporarily in order to purify themselves – is characteristic to Roman Catholicism only. Reformation Christianity argues that the after life is divided into two separate worlds – Heaven and Hell – and there is no need for a third one as the above-mentioned concepts are perfect and a true Christian should work hard on getting into Heaven and ending up in a purgatory is not an option. Just like any other religion, Islam has several fundamental principles that define its spiritual tradition. They received the name of Five Pillars of Islam. The first of them is called Shahadah and is largely focused on the key ideas of the Muslim faith: there is no God, but God (Allah is simply the Arabic word for God) and Mohammed should be regarded as the only Messenger from him. These two simple statements from a set of coordinates that Islam operates within. That is why there is no wonder that the above-mentioned statement is repeated several times during a day by true believers.

Mental Health Settings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mental Health Settings - Essay Example The quality of care management that a person with depression receives depends entirely on the policies and practices of the managing care individuals and organizations. Case management is integral responsibility of monitoring and active follow up of the condition of the patient. Case management also involves processes such as continual provision of care, systematic assessment, improved education and holistic approaches that can create awareness of the impacts of co-morbidity (Lockwood, & Michele, 1999). Subjects who are enrolled in impatient units are assigned to various treatment conditions. This includes brokers case management where the client’s needs are assessed and the health is monitored. Services are provided by multiple providers. Another case of management is assertive community treatment where the client is provided with comprehensive services for unlimited period. Lastly is assertive community treatment which supported by community workers (Cumming, 2005). Community nurses offers primary care to patients. They are involved in planning evidenced-based care and interventions of the personal decisions of the patient. Some of the interventions that primary care nurses make are development of the care pathway, assessment of the patients, assessing of risks and management of risk. All these practices are aimed at normalizing of the mental health problems. Nurses have the responsibility of monitoring and following the condition of the patient very actively. It includes systematic and accurate assessments of needs of the patient and provision of continued care to the patient. They assess the patient to understand what he or she requires in relation to care nursing. There are regular contact nurses in the community based treatment who are supposed to contact the patients regularly. As a person with severe depression, I expect the regular nurse to liaise with my family members who are concern with my health condition. The

Financial Institutions and Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Institutions and Markets - Essay Example A monetary policy employed by a country can either be an expansionary monetary policy or ‘contractionary’ monetary policy. Expansionary monetary policy helps in increasing the money supply in the economy of a country at a faster rate than normal and in case of ‘contractionary’ monetary policy, the money supply increases at slower rate or even fall behind in the economy. Expansionary monetary policy is often employed to prevent unemployment during recession. It happens because of interest rates going lower which therefore attracts credit facility to be available easily for the business concerns to help themselves expand. In the United States, expansionary monetary policy is implemented through the combination of three things. They are: a) Using Open Market Operations, by purchasing securities in the open market. b) Federal Discount Rate is lowered. c) Reserve Requirements are also lowered. Now, all these three steps have a direct impact on the interest rates, including mortgage rates. This leads to increase in borrowing of mortgage loans, as well as increase in rates of capital investments by business concerns. Most countries follow an expansionary monetary policy to ensure higher economic growth and go on decreasing the interest rates. It helps in growth of employment opportunities but at the same time has its limitations too. This can only have a short term effect on the economy. In the long run, it will lead to higher inflation rate and would also affect the economy in an adverse way (Mishkin, 2007, p.39). Thus, effect on long term mortgage rates are less predictable and the effect is on a lower proportion as compared to the extent of expansionary economic measures taken by a country. This happens mainly due to two reasons. Firstly, real factors like market demand influences the long term mortgage interest rates more than the monetary factors. Secondly, the effect or impact of monetary factors operates mainly on the expected future l ong term mortgage rates (Gwartney, et. al. 2008, p.301). Although the expansionary economic measures reduce the short term mortgage interest rates, it may lead to a rise in interest rates in long term. This unpredictability problem creates a surmounting problem in creating a balance between the mortgage rates and expansionary economic measures followed by a country. Expansionary Monetary Policy Expansionary monetary policies are used by countries to help stimulate the economic growth of the country. It leads to increase in supply of money in the country. It usually leads to lowering of interest rates in the country. This in turn reduces the borrowing cost and also reduces the return on savings. This helps in increasing the aggregate demand of goods and services in the economy. People are more attracted towards investing in housing by taking loans at lower interest rates. These types of expansionary monetary policies are often employed in countries to counter the recessionary gap. It helps in reducing or preventing unemployment

Argentine Military Terror Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Argentine Military Terror - Essay Example Other than the communist and capitalist struggles, the Argentine military played a significant role in the dirty war, which targeted the citizens. This essay will therefore investigate how Argentina military became an integral element of the 1970-1980 s terrorism. The essay will also investigate factors that caused left wing and right wing struggles to degenerate into brutality. The dirty war had its origin in the early 1970 s where military officials played a key role in committing acts of genocide against the civilian population. The operations were conducted under the leadership of Jorge Rafael Videla who took over from Isabella Martinez. Under Videla’s leadership, the Argentine military was ready to deal with anyone who opposed the authoritarian regime of Jorge Videla (Marvin web). Firstly, the military targeted trade unionists and college students, protesters and right wing activists. The military applied immediate tactics in dealing with protesters such as kidnappings and detentions without trials. In the late 1970 s, the target changed from those who opposed the government to those who were suspected to be against the regime or those who had conflicts with the regime (Marvin web). The military is also accused of mass murder of dirty war victims most of whom were never accounted for. The Argentina’s dirty war is considered as the darkest moment of the country’s history. During this period, the government is accused to have killed between 9,000 and 30,000 argentines in its effort to curb social activism that came to be known as left wing movement. It is obvious that the argentine regime was part of the right wing faction. There are various reasons that led the left and right conflict to degenerate into a brutal confrontation. Firstly, the US government offered support to the argentine authority in its effort to eliminate the right wing activism that was champion by the Russians. The independence of Argentina also introduced social

Zara business model in comparison with others in apparel industry Assignment

Zara business model in comparison with others in apparel industry - Assignment Example A lot of companies in the industry face the challenge of being able to predict and even respond to the fast changing trends in a manner that is swift that will be able to meet the consumer demands. In this paper I will focus on Zara business model that continually changes with the changing customer demands. I will compare the model with other business models in the industry by using Gap.inc Company as the proxy company that will be responsible in representing all other firms in the industry. It will be used in making comparisons with the Zara business model. Gap inc. specializes in clothing, personal care products and accessories. This company was the former industry leader before Zara came to the limelight. Zara’s model Zara runs a fast fashion model that has come to be known as the business model innovation. Zara’s model has three basic components which include concept, capabilities and value drivers. It has the concept of maintaining design. This is achieved through its production and processes in distribution that will enable it to respond fast to shifts in demands f consumers. It emphasizes on giving consumers what they want by putting their focus on demand and not on the supply. It maintains control over its production through in-house manufacturing and also with strategy partnerships located near its headquarters. 80% of its materials are made in Europe and 50% made in the Zara controlled facilities in Spain. Herman (2008) indicates that Zara has a unique approach to marketing and advertising. This is because it spends 0.3% of its revenues on advertising and marketing. It uses the location, layout of the store and life cycles of their products as marketing tool i.e. it locates all stores in the prime retail district in order to do visibility marketing. It also does its marketing by doing a lot of investment in the layout of its stores by making them look trendy. This model encourages the customers get to the store very often and also encour ages them to buy on the spot because of the fear that if they don’t buy at that time, the product will sell out. Zara has a core philosophy that quality and creativity with fast response to market demands yields results that are profitable. In terms of the use of information and technology, Zara has a different approach as compared to other companies in the industry that are represented by Gap inc. Communication protocols are different from others because it spends 0.5%of the total revenue on information technology and 0.5% on the employees of technology. It uses human intelligence and information technology to create hybrid in information flow from the stores to the headquarters. Using of the human intelligence on information technology made it successful since it resulted to inventories that are well managed, reduced cost from merchandise that was obsolete and also a link between the demand and supply. This strategy is advantageous in terms of cost to the operations of Zara and responds fast to the changing demands. According to Badil, (2009), Zara is able to change its designs in a fast way and quickly due to the proximity it has to the stores. It has departmental stores that modify designs of other people and send them to Asian factories that are low cost. This model supports the notion of stocking little while ensuring that it updates the collections more often. Zara does restocking of new designs twice a week as compared to other competitors in the market. Consumers in the market have characteristics of quickly losing interest in a fashion that stays for a while in the market and that is why Zara is involved in observing the trends and often changing fashion.

Visiting Nurse Health System Essay Example for Free

Visiting Nurse Health System Essay I. Executive Summary Visiting Nurse Health System (VNHS) is experiencing difficulty in quantifying the benefits of their telemonitoring services used to provide care to patients recently discharged from hospitals. While the company believes these services provide real value to the patients, hospitals and insurance companies, VNHS is worried about the ability to provide future investment in the technology given the tenuous healthcare reimbursement environment. To continue to grow its telemonitoring services, VHNS should: †¢ Assess patient specific effectiveness of telemonitors †¢ Quantify the advantage of telemonitoring to insurance companies †¢ Reduce the technology’s accessibility limitations †¢ Find alternatives to the telemonitoring service †¢ Create and implement a marketing strategy In order to accomplish these goals, we recommend the following: Develop an electronic means of assessing telemonitoring usage and compliance with final clinician approval for removal of telemonitor. †¢ This will increase the effectiveness of telemonitors by eliminating patients who do not use telemonitors effectively. †¢ Automated analysis will be quick and simple. Lobby with FDA and government agencies to pass new act/regulation which forces insurance companies to reimburse for telemonitoring devices †¢ Benefits the entire health care industry and reduces cost at multiple levels. (Insurance companies, patients and hospitals) Create secure website and computer application to compliment Health Buddy. †¢ Gives patients a variety of choices to transmit data †¢ Inexpensive and effective, with no need to upgrade Health Buddy Integrate Health Buddy with alternative technologies †¢ Having options to do telemonitoring via internet, mobile application and voice based automated telephone systems will allow VNHS to keep the cost low. Create a marketing strategy that targets hospitals and insurance companies that do not have a preferred partner status with VNHS. †¢ Acquiring preferred status has a direct correlation to the future success of VNHS †¢ By targeting specific hospitals and insurance companies, the marketing message can be tailored to each individual client. II. Overview Visiting Nurse Health System (VNHS) is an accredited nonprofit home health company located in Atlanta, GA. As a home health company it depends on patient reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies to fund a majority of its operations. As the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) moved to a flat fee for reimbursement and also implemented initiatives to reduce the amount of hospital readmissions due to preventable causes, healthcare organizations are under increased pressure to lower costs while also delivering high quality health care. One way VNHS is trying to become more efficient and meet CMS goals is to use telemonitoring devices to assess a patient’s health remotely. By remotely monitoring patients, VNHS can reduce clinician visits to the patient location as well as monitor potentially important health information that can prevent the patient from having to be readmitted to the hospital. The Health Buddy telemonitoring device has the potential to improve patient outcomes while reducing VNHS cost. The downside is that while CMS encourages the use of telemonitors, VNHS does not receive reimbursement from CMS or insurance companies when it purchases telemonitors. With a limited supply of telemonitors and a significant cost associated with each, VNHS must decide if telemonitoring is the most cost effective way to increase patient health outcomes while also keeping its costs low.

Search Theory in Employment Scenario

Search Theory in Employment Scenario Introduction There have been changes in technology over years with people appreciating and embracing the technological changes. This has been witnessed even in the job search sector with most jobs advertised online. The use of internet has not only made the work easier but issued an efficient and effective platform for job search. Job websites like Monster.com has enabled many to get information in relation to vacancies. This has made them apply and in the process develop their careers in an easier manner. The Search Theory supports the notion that information availability helps in the reduction of frictional unemployment among workers (Alper et al., 2013). According to Stevenson (2008), the use of internet has enabled workers to change jobs without huge unemployment spell. Based in these two readings, job search using internet is improving today’s workers prospects when it comes to employment.6 Search Theory This theory is about sellers and buyer who struggle to find a partner in commerce at the spot. The theory specifically aims in finding the optimal strategy when choosing from several opportunities. The assumption made in the choosing is that there is a cost related to not making the decision. The search theory helps in the identification of the balance between cost and value. The cost is in relation to delay while the value is as per the act of trying again (Alper et al., 2013). Application of Search Theory in Employment Scenario This is one of the most influential theories in the economics field as to date. This theory is normally used in the economics of labor to study unemployment and factors related to it. The kind of employment studied is normally those caused by the employees seeking jobs that they desire more. The theory holds that desirability of a given occupation depends on the values of the available alternatives minus the undesired act that is associated with the hunt. That is, Occupation Desirabity = Alternatives Value- Hunting Undesirability This simply means that the desire of a given occupation depends on the value of the alternative jobs and the undesired to hunt the jobs (Alper et al., 2013). The use of internet in the job search has improved the desire when it comes to occupations. This is because of the fact that it has improved the information in relation to the alternatives in the market. Internet also has reduced the undesirability that is related to job search. Internet is a friendly method that is cost effective and reliable making people to desire its use (Alper et al., 2013). Employment Prospect Improvement First, it allows the employee to search for the known distribution of the vacancies. The known distribution vacancies are the job vacancies that one is aware of their existence. The information in relation to their existence can be from a friend, colleague or print material. The use of internet will increase the chances of employment since it will provide additional information in relation to the vacancy. The information can be in terms of how to apply for the job or the requirements that needed for application or the qualifications (Autor, 2001). According to Jansen, Jansen, Spink (2005), the use of internet can improve the employee’s employment prospect enabling the search for ‘unknown jobs’. This gives us the second point of this section which is searching for the unknown vacancies. ‘Unknown jobs’ are the jobs that one didn’t know of their existence thus could look no information in relations to it. This is normally done through random search in the job advert sites and sees if there are any relevant jobs. The ‘unknown job search’ can also be done trough random access to websites or other sections including sending emails o friends and social media. Internet job search allows for the search of jobs in a randomized manner (Glover, 2009). Jobs are always posted in a daily basis in the job sites thus making it important for randomized job search in these sites. This increases the chances that the employee will get a better job or develop his or her career to the better. The last point in this sector will be that internet job search can enable one to get a better job. The changes can be in terms of increased payment, increased benefits, higher or the change of environments. Using internet to search for jobs can enable one learn if the place they work at is really to the standard. If not, one can take the action of going to the better place or occupation or industry. Getting a better job normally comes with satisfaction and thus one values him or herself which is the main reason for career development (Holzer, 1996). According to Windleton and Five O’clock Club, people do go to internet so as to see that they access and apply to better jobs or positions. This is from the fact that in the market there are different ranges of salaries that are offered. These regions may be divided into the sections of government, non- government and private organizations. Similarly, the requirements needed in a given position may differ in terms of level of compe tence, experience or qualification. The Internet and Job Search by Stevenson Majority of the people who use internet when searching for jobs normally get employed in the relevant sectors they want to (Stevenson, 2008). These employment sectors have also made it clear that the internet is the way to go since this are the areas that they advertise jobs. Internet has enabled the employees to identify and shift from job to job in an easy way. There are several ways to which this improves the employee’s employment prospects; these are discussed below. Employment Prospect Improvement First prospect is that the internet offers job options to the employee without looking for in several sources. The internet allows the employee to get access in relation to the vacancies at the sitting position. This makes the employee to not waste time walking or engaging in activities as he or she looks for vacancies. As any other source of media, the fact that it informs the employee is an act of awareness creation. This makes the employee informed of the surrounding and the job vacancies that are related to his or her career. Most of the employers have shifted and advertises their jobs online thus one can only access the information through use of internet. Employers also have shifted their mentality and prefer the use of emails when it comes to job application. This ensures that the application gets to the relevant authority in a short span of time. Email use for job application also helps in the ensuring reliability of the means (Green, 2010). Secondly, use of internet in job search shows that the employee is up to date with the changes in technology. Dynamicity of the work places is a reality and the employees prefer potential employers or employers to be able to use these technologies. For example, a marketing firm that uses online as a strategy of marketing will only prefer sales person who know how to use the internet (Onah and Nigeria, 1994). The fact that most people are educated and have similar qualification makes it relevant to appreciate an additional skill. This means that those with the information in relation to internet use have higher employment chances that those who don’t. Thirdly, the use of internet in job search is cheaper compare to other means thus cost effective. Internet use can be in a bus, at a place of work, in the garden or any other place. This allows the act of multi tasking thus saving time. Using internet to search for jobs allows one to look for a job without making frictions with the present employer. This is because the employee will look for the jobs while at the office in the free moments between the working hours. This develops the career of the employee at the place of work. The same time it makes the employee aware of the greener pastures and their availability (Bellante and Jackson, 1983). Fourthly, the use of internet for job search improves the employment prospect of an individual through increasing the engagement frequency. The internet allows for the employee to engage as much as he or she wants with the site as he or she search for jobs. This freedom of engagement makes the use of internet in job search become flexible. With flexibility, internet then turns to be the best choice since one can refer to a site as many times as he or she wants. The fifth point will be in terms of reliability of the internet in job search. Most organizations normally make their advertisements in the website so that makes it appropriate for one to search jobs in the website (Keifer and Neumann, 1979). Even the adverts that are normally in the print source are first put in the website before getting them to the print media. This makes the employee therefore to get first hand information. Reliability of the use of internet also goes together with its accessibility compared to other means . This makes accessibility the sixth point: since the internet can be used in 24 hours, no matter the place, it is more accessible. Accessibility of the internet makes it more effective and efficient since time is not wasted. The seventh point is that internet job search equips the employee with the information in relation to job characteristics. Internet job search enables one to know the culture of the firm thus able to see if he or she can fit. This is through the information that is normally given in the organizations website. The eighth point is that internet job search enable creation of personal network. This is normally done through the platforms like LinkedIn among others. Through these networks the employees can know what to expect in the organization in terms of salary and also the environment (Green, 2010). Conclusion The Search Theory has three points that supports that internet job search improves the employees of today prospects. The work by Stevenson (Dissertation) also gives more than seven points as evidence of the same. Using this two works, it is therefore clear that the use of internet in job search in this era increases the prospect of the employees. 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