Albert Camus and “The Stranger”

Albert Camus is a French writer and philosopher, Nobel Prize winner in 1957, an author who is usually referred as existentialist (although he rejected this), a   man who was called â€Å"Conscience of the West†. Camus was born in 1913 in Algeria in a family of a French settler and a Spanish woman.His father died during the First World War in 1914. Camus mother moved to the suburbs of Algiers where the family had to survive in poor living conditions. However in 1923 Camus was accepted into the lycà ©e and afterwards managed to gain entrance to the University of Algiers. At this time Camus became interested in football, yet tuberculosis has put an end to his hobby.During his studies Camus continued to experience material problems and so he had to take odd jobs like a clerk or a tutor. Those hardships still did not prevent purposive Camus to present his master thesis on Neo-Platonism in 1936.While in the University Camus joined the communist movements of various kinds and then the anarchist party. Camus wrote numerous publications on anarchism and founded a Worker’s Theater in 1935. Political publications cost him job in 1939. In 1940 he decided to join the French army to fight against the Nazi, but he failed due to tuberculosis. Camus did not die at war with the Germans as his father, and had to witness Nazi parades in Paris and the execution of Gabriel Pà ©ri – an event that crystallized Camus anti-German views.In 1942 he returned to Algeria where he stayed until the Allies returned to Paris. During the Was Camus joined a cell of Resistance movement and published and underground newspaper.   Anarchism remained in Camus mind for the rest of his life. He supported anarchists during Spanish civil war and later in the 50-s during anti-communist apprising in Germany, Poland and Hungary.In 1951 he published â€Å"The Rebel† – a philosophical analysis of rebellion which demonstrated his alienation from communism and resulted in breach of his friendship with Sartre, however, strengthened his friendship with George Orwell, with whom he opposed totalitarianism of both East and West.Together with Orwell and others he organized the European Federalist Movement in 1945 and welcomed the ideas of UN and European federation, which later failed as a result of domination of Churchill’s idea of European Union.At the time Camus became known as a dogmatic opponent of restrictions of freedom of any kind, and a principal antagonist of death penalty, which he castigated in â€Å"The Plague† and especially in â€Å"The Stranger†. Camus was also one of the first cultural activists who protested against nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as nuclear weapons themselves.Family life of Camus was not so stable, as his political opinions. In 1934 he married Simone Hie – a woman who was addicted to morphine, however, he soon divorced her as a result of infidelities of both. In 1940 he marri ed for the second time. This time his wife was Francine Faure, talented pianist and mathematician.Love of Camus to Francine was so passionate that he even rejected his own anarchist views on marriage as unnatural institution. After marriage Camus had numerous affairs with other women, which he did not even try to hide. Still on September 5, 1945 Francine gave birth to twins Catherine and Jean.Camus life ended in a traffic accident on January 4, 1960 near Sens. France. His close friend and publisher Michel Gallimard drove the car and also perished. Camus grave in the Lourmarin Cemetery, Lourmarin, Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Cà ´te d'Azur, France. The twin children of Camus still hold copyright on all of his works[1].[1] O. Todd. Albert Camus: A Life. Da Capo Press; 1st Carroll & Graf Ed edition. 2000.

Can You Teach Compassion?

Can You â€Å"Teach† Compassion As nurse educators, who could be a better example of teaching compassion to us than the Son of God Himself, Jesus Christ? Jesus was the ultimate teacher, healer, and lover of mankind. Matthew 9:35-39 states: â€Å"Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ’†(NKJV) As Christians, Jesus Christ is our example of how to live. If Jesus could have compassion for those who He loved, so should we. We should show this compassion to our patients as we seek to help them reach healing. We should see k to teach our students how to have compassion for those that they will serve. Compassion, or caring, can be viewed as â€Å"nursing’s most precious asset† (Schantz, 2007), a fundamental element of nursing care (Dietze and Orb, 2000), and as one of the strengths of the profession.One can think of few other professions that are known for their â€Å"caring†. But this act of caring does not come naturally to the nursing student-it must be taught. The nurse educator must seek out specific exercises to instill caring practices in the nursing student. According to Wright (2004), â€Å"Society has witnessed an increase in the power of technology, and this appears to be mirrored in nursing, where the technical and managerial aspects of care take priority over care delivery – possibly because the expansion of nurses’ role has eroded the essence of nursing. The nurse of today is so busy with computer charting, monitoring, and the technical duties of nursin g that little time is actually left for â€Å"caring† for the patient. The nurse of today’s technology overloaded healthcare field must make a special effort to learn how to show compassion to his/her patients. Do nursing students understand compassionate care? According to Pearcey (2007), â€Å"student nurses considered that it was doing the little things for patients that constituted a caring approach. Pearcey goes on to offer the perspective that â€Å"nursing has a functional component or ‘doing’ role, as well as a ‘being’ role. † As human beings, we have all been touched by someone’s compassion for us. Therefore, most of us, including nursing students, have a basic understanding of what compassion is and how to administer it. That being said, nursing students do not automatically know how to integrate compassion into their daily nursing care and must be taught these skills. Dr. Patch Adams, M. D. (2011) of the Gesundheit In stitute has studied the value of compassionate care and its positive effect on holistic care.He has encouraged, challenged, and enticed medical schools to include compassion training in their programs. Dr. Adams has suggested that medical (and nursing) students be included in a two-year study of compassion to help them learn to recognize, appreciate, and integrate compassion into every aspect of the care they give. His suggestions for a small student group study of compassion include: 1. Keep a journal about your relationship to love and compassion. What is it? Ask everyday—How are you giving it? (Pay close attention. Be present. ) How are you receiving it? From everything, from strangers, from trees, etc. ) 2. Do outrageous things for love, like clowning. 3. Actually see if you can produce the vibration of compassion for prolonged periods. What sustains it? (friends, having meaning, fun †¦ ) What hurts it? (arrogance, apathy, tight underwear †¦ ) Are there times yo u do not want to be compassionate? 4. Be observant of compassion in action around you, everywhere. Give details of its languages. 5. Become aware of compassionate projects around the world and plan on at least one elective at a project.Post these projects on this website and ideally how to contact them. 6. Explore the language of love and compassion. Read psychologists and poets, write essays on things you love. Add books you love to our book list. 7. How do you recognize love/compassion? Are there measurements? 8. Do we invite professors in on our exploration? Who? 9. How do you change performances of compassion in different situations? 10. At the small weekly meetings, find easy ways to present your findings to the group. Mention difficulties and ways they were overcome.Search for common languages to speak of these things. Keep notes. Bring questions for the group and preceptor. Integrating these discussion topics to be used in small nursing student groups could effectively teach the nursing student to administer compassionate nursing care. Not to say that teaching compassion to nursing students is an easy job. Not only is compassion difficult to define, but even more difficult to measure, leading to a broad range of definitions and measurements that confound and discourage the teacher and the student.Newton (2010) argues that â€Å"the key to developing a compassionate nurse is being a role model for them so they know how to act with patients and what kinds of approaches to care they should take. Too often, we make assumptions that a junior nurse instinctively â€Å"knows† how to wash or feed a patient or how to deliver fundamental care. † In conclusion, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2008) emotions like compassion can be taught. The healthcare providers and patients expect and demand that nurses provide compassionate care.The challenge exists for nurse educators to model and teach compassionate nursing care i n an ever-demanding, technologically growing nursing profession. References: Adams, P. (2011, March). Education of compassion. Patch Adams M. D. & Gesundheit! Institute. Retrieved from http://patchadams. org/education-in-compassion-update-march-2011 Dietze, E. V. , Orb, A. (2000) Compassionate care: a moral dimension in nursing. Nursing Inquiry; 7: 3, 166-174. Fields, J. (2008, March 27). Can you really teach compassion? New study says yes. jonathanfields. Retrieved from http://www. jonathanfields. com/blog/can-you-really-teach-compassion-new-study-

The Development of Modern Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Development of Modern Art - Essay Example This paper will discuss five of the best artists in the Contemporary period. Each of these artists will be analyzed in terms of their inspirations, styles, and techniques that they have applied to their works; works of which have contributed to the development of Contemporary Art. The list of contemporary artists includes Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, Andy Warhol, Jenny Holzer, and Kara Walker.Upon the onset of the Modern Period, Jackson Pollock is one of those who had staged a significant feat in art development. Pollock, considered as one of the greatest contemporary painters in American art history, was part of a period where the Modernist Movement of 1920 was slowly transformed into the Post-Modernist Movement of Contemporary art history. In the New World, Pollock was known as an important member of a group of artists called the New York School. The New York School, more of a unified and collective artistic idea rather than a concrete institution, was popularly known as the Abstract Expressionists (Getlein 497). It was in this influence that Pollock acquired his unique style unto his works. His art established a new kind of visual that many had not seen before. In line with the Abstract Expressionists, the artist derived a direct influence from Surrealism. His technique showcased automatism and focused on the aesthetic powers of the unconscious. Being a painter of the mentioned genre, Pollock always exhibited large scale works in the literal sense. He used huge canvass sizes – this was to take his audience into the very essence of his paintings. The emphasis on huge painting canvasses is an essential part of Abstract Expressionists in order to highlight the effect of the entire piece (Getlein 497). The bizarre characteristics of the artist’s works bring out the very sense of post-modernism in his style. The perfection of his â€Å"drip technique† (Getlein 497) brings out the chaos ever present in his works. Yet, amidst this chaos, order, and beauty emerges as the by-product of Pollock’s hard work. This trait of â€Å"order out of chaos† is the true and sole criterion of good post-modern artwork (Libby).

Performance Reviews Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Performance Reviews - Essay Example An organization needs to measure performance because it helps to determine if a function is productive and where to focus energies on (Hendry, Woodward, Bradley & Perkins, 2000). It is essential to understand where to use the quantifiable data effectively thereby justifying the need for additional resources. While many believe an annual appraisal or attention is enough, according to Cascio (1995) it demands daily attention (cited by Connell & Nolan, 2004). Once a year has not been considered sufficient to identify and discuss job strategies and weaknesses of individuals or teams. Performance appraisals have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Ninety percent of the human resources executives are dissatisfied with the current performance appraisal system. Many argue that lack of objectivity in their completion, inappropriate timing of such a review and the lack of appropriate content have lead to their unpopularity among managers and subordinates alike. With diverse opinions available on this issue, this paper will explore the ineffectiveness of performance appraisal. The system of Performance Appraisals was introduced as it was expected to improve organizational efficiency and enhance productivity. Facilitating communication can even help reduce employee uncertainty. Feedback is essential for employees as failure to provide a feedback can have negative implications. Without a system of feedback employees keep guessing whether they are on the right track or whether they should chart another course of path. A properly structured and applied appraisal system can help reduce distractions and promote an increased level of trust within the organization (Schraeder, Becton & Portis, 2007). PA systems provide a forum for collaboration in setting goals for the employees. During the appraisal when individual goals and objectives

The Sustainable Agribusiness Model Research Paper

The Sustainable Agribusiness Model - Research Paper Example ted practices used in agriculture were found to be productive in the short run but less effective in the long-term due to nutrients depletion (Paoletti and David 7). In fact, soils that have been overly farmed with commercial fertilizers have become overly dependent on fertilizers, without which they are unproductive. That does not imply that fertilizers should not be used in farming, but that there should be a guide on the quantity used over a certain period. Therefore, there is a need to find a balance between resource efficiency and agricultural productivity. Finding such a balance is often challenging although its results are desirable. Agricultural production can be approached through incorporation of cleaner production techniques that are sustainable and eco-friendly. Such an approach is anticipated to help agribusinesses create sustainable solutions through an innovative and cost-effective process (Allen et al. 3). This paper shall discuss some of the possible perspectives on sustainable agribusiness model that may be adopted as possible models. There have been various perspectives on the adoption of a sustainable agribusiness model. According to Agrios, there is increased desire to adopt methods that are perceived as environment friendly for the agribusiness model. Such methods have been seen as offering the best approach to agribusiness, as they do not pollute the environment. Research has shown that sometimes farmers overuse fertilizers on their farms. After a while, such practices lead to nutrients loss in the soil such that the land cannot do without secondary fertilizer. Combined with chemical controls, research shows that continued use may result into the chemicals finding their way into other environments and later various tropical levels (Agrios 34). In a bid to alleviate such possibility, some scholars had recommended the use of non-chemical controls in farming. Agrios (12) observes that the other danger to adopting such a model is that farmers

Leadership themes in World and American Hist Essay

Leadership themes in World and American Hist - Essay Example Subsequently, Deng implemented a development plan for the foundation of the Chinese economy known as the ‘Four Modernization policy’ (Benson, 2013). The approach focused on key development sectors such as agriculture, defense, industrialization, science, and technology. According to Benson (2013), Deng paid more attention to agriculture since it was the main economic and social activity in China (80%). Investing in agriculture would reduce poverty and hunger levels; hence, increasing the national economic growth. The modernization of the industry had more setbacks compared to other policies leading to a slow growth (Benson, 2013). However, agriculture provided a foundation for science and technology that would be used in mechanization of agriculture and production of ammunition for the military. Additionally, it also attracted urban and rural workers due to the high pays leading to higher rates of economic development. In the long-run, the economic growth under Deng’s reign attracted foreign investors that also contributed positively to the development. China also signed international treaties that linked its market to the global markets. The foundation of the CPP was a major political revolution in China under Deng (Benson, 2013). However, he had to change the political ideologies of most of the leaders. Consequently, he initiated a plan to eliminate some of the higher-ranking leaders in the party to ensure that the new members would follow his rule. He slowly dismantled China’s socialist ideas by adopting the Marxist-Leninist thought. The proposal had both political and economic benefits since his network of leaders made sure that it infiltrated the Chinese villages (Benson, 2013). China was under an imperial leadership structure that did not allow for any uprising from the public. Deng presented a political ideology that was recognized internationally mostly due to the previous notion of the enemy and

Supply and demand, why demand is better Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Supply and demand, why demand is better - Article Example One of the two factors in economics is dependent on the other and therefore the independent factor is the most important in economics. According Blaug, supply depends on demand in the market. The article is titled, Economic Theory in Retrospect and was published by the Cambridge University Press. The article is authored in English as the original language of the author and the target group. The major subjects covered in the article are economics and history within the concepts and discipline of economics. The economic history contained in the book is linked to the fathers of economic and the concepts they applied to explain economic. This book covers the historical situation and concepts economics and the current thoughts including the relationship between demand and supply. The author outlines the equations of demand and supply curves and it is from this point that the reliance of supply on demand in the economical perspectives reveals the significance of demand over supply. The impact of demand on the central factor of both demand and supply that is the price implies a course of effect on supply. The author argues that the increase in the demand of a given product at a given price increases the motive to supply the customers with the commodities demanded. When demand increases the prices in the market increases too prompting the need to meet the demand that is desired in the market and the producers are forced to increase the supply. Supply in market is linked to the possibility and surety that the market will be able to buy the products. Higher prices caused by increase in the demand in the market inspire the producers to increase the supply into the market. Higher prices indicate the times when the producers are targeting the market and this is the time they increase the supply into the market. This therefore reveals that demand is independent of supply while supply

Rooms Divisions Department - Occupancy and Room Revenue Assignment - 3

Rooms Divisions Department - Occupancy and Room Revenue - Assignment Example Revenue or yield management is a very crucial aspect of any hospitality business. Revenue management is defined by Cross as the application of disciplined analytics so as to predict the behavior of the micro-market, as well as optimizing the availability of products and services, along with price in order to maximize revenue growth. The major aim of revenue/yield management is to sell the right product to the right customer, for the right price, at the right time, and with the right pack. Mauri points out that yield management utilizes data-driven tactics along with a strategy to make decisions on when to sell, what to sell, whom to sell and at how much so as to increase revenue. Yield management also increases the revenue using the demand forecast-technique that is used to establish if room rates need to increase or lower. Basing on the economics of demand and supply, when the supply is low and demand is high, the room prices are increased. On the other hand, when the supply is high, and demand is low, the room prices are reduced. There are various techniques that a hotel’s room division staff may use to promote and maximize revenue. These strategies are based on pricing, inventory, and channels, as well as marketing. First, revenue generation can be maximized by selecting the best blends of predicted demand for the existing prices. The use of sophisticated technology and optimization algorithms needs to be geared towards selling the right quantities of inventory at the right price. Another technique is through the creation of a more dynamic and targeted pricing in the form of promotions and pricing in order to more accurately match demand and supply.  

Lady in the Water Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Lady in the Water - Essay Example From the essay "Lady in the Water" it is clear that this film is the story which was a spontaneous and unplanned story told by the writer and director of this film, M. Night Shyamalan to his children. But when this kids’ story came in form of the film, it has not become a mere kids’ story. It was because some of the scenes shown in the film are not suitable for kids. Fairy tales can work effectively on pages as well as on screen. They take you in the world of fantasy and imagination. â€Å"Lady in the Water† also has the same attributes. It is a complex and fantasy-filled bedtime story. It is the story based on the current situation. The story conveys the message to the adults who have lost their capacity for deep thinking due to materialism and excess of individualism. According to the writer, we have lost our capacity of deep listening. Today we are surrounded by the bogus stories which are actually far away from reality, especially on television. These stories contain a certain amount of violence, and horror as well as humor. But the real purpose of the bedtime story cannot be attained in television programs. According to Christian Hamaker, "The film is often inspirational, contemplating the worth of humankind, showing how those who are emotionally deadened can be reawakened by a power beyond themselves, and demonstrating how the bonds of a loosely knit community can be strengthened in a common cause. †¦ Although not quite on par with some of the director's earlier work, Lady has its rewards." (Christian Hamaker, July 20, 2006). The power for cherishing goodness by defeating the evil things is there in every human being. Once it gets awakened, the evil has to be defeated. Every human and every living and non living thing on the earth have occupied with divine soul. But unfortunately the materialism of life has made us to forget the divine qualities in us. The water in the film is associated with purity so as the aquatic creature. Again here there is an essence of Hindu theology of incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In the troublesome period, to save the mankind, Lord Vishnu, one of the prim e Hindu Gods incarnate himself and became a fish. This incarnation is known as Matsya (Fish). In this film also Story comes from water to assist mankind. Thus the water is associated with purity, sacredness, innocence while the land is associated

Group Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Group Analysis - Essay Example The work environment also teems with groups, either of friends or groups put together to facilitate the achievement of a specific organizational goal. The next stage in life is to form families of their own which are also groups with the cycle beginning all over again. Almost all activities carried out by people are done in groups, making them a core element of study with relation to understanding human behaviour. According to Forsyth, groups have long been the subject of interest to both researchers and scholars (2006). Extensive studies have been carried out with regard to how groups are conceived and how they are later dissolved; this includes how they are transformed and how they are used to either realize set aims, or how they can be used to execute offenses (Forsyth 2006). This paper discusses group dynamics and communication within a group of first year undergraduate nursing students’, participating in a peer-led team learning group. I participated in a peer-led team le arning group in my first year as a nursing student; therefore, this assignment is an overview of my observations of the group. The use of peer learning is a practice that has been adopted in many universities worldwide, as a means to improve students understanding of concepts through supportive discussions that take place in small groups, and where the discourse encourages as many questions as there might be, from students (Peer-Led Team Learning 2013). It is a fact that most students feel free around their fellow students, rather than around their lecturers and professors. This makes them more inclined to discuss concepts and questions with other students, than with a lecturer or professor. Peer-led team learning holds the strengths of being a method that enhances student engagement and motivation in learning, as well as overall performance (Centre for the Study of Higher Education 2002). This is due to the fact that in the process, students learn to communicate effectively as they work in teams, while peer leaders gain self-confidence, learn a number of group management skills, and how to teach. In this context, students were requested to band themselves into groups of four. Two peer leaders (i.e. group leader and assistant group leader) for each group were then selected from third and fourth year students, who had displayed exemplary performance in class. As a way of equipping them with the necessary skills, the peer leaders were taken through brief training mainly focussed on how to handle groups. When this was set, each group was given a structured problem to solve. According to the guidelines, each group was required to meet twice every week, and members were given the privilege to choose the best time for their discussions. Description of Peer Leaders and Group Members Characteristics and Behaviours 1. Tom (Group leader) He is a fourth year nursing student. He is firm, confident, and resourceful. His resilience and optimism helps him conquer complex pro blems. He also has a very open minded approach to things. He is however quite poor in time management since he often comes late for the discussions, and is usually late to meet deadlines. His lack of respect for time and set deadlines is at times considered as lack of respect towards the assistant group leader and group members. 2. Olivia (Assistant group leader) She is a third year nursing stud

Capital Punishment Essay Example for Free

Capital Punishment Essay Bang! The next thing you know you get a phone call- The worst has just happened. Murderers and Serial killers. How do you punish them for a crime so violent, so cruel and so unjust? How about I rephrase that sentence. Let Murderers endure the rest of their lives trapped in a cellar were their emotions run wild with guilt of what they have done, or the easy way out- Death. Capital punishment is wrong; it’s brutal, immoral, inhumane and corrupt. Taking a life for a life is wrong. It won’t bring the other person back. People are very hypocritical when they know it’s wrong to kill, however they think it is okay for the government and court to take another persons life away for a crime that they have committed. How does the government even decided who is â€Å"worthy† or â€Å"unworthy† of Capital Punishment. There should be only one being that has the power to take a life away and that is God. The court makes Capital punishment sound like that its okay and alright to kill if you have more power and money over someone else. It takes double if not triple the amount of money to actually go through with capital punishment. The cost for capital punishment, trails as well as the jail term for the state to put the criminals to death is astounding. Why would people want to waste their tax money on that when people are already complaining about how there is little or no money towards health care or education? For those people who are religious and would like to look at Capital Punishment through a religious prospective the bible even states in one of the Ten Commandments â€Å"Thou shall not kill†. There are also people that believe that Capital Punishment is okay and should be enforced more often. Some do not want to give them a â€Å"second chance†. The chance that criminals may get parole and receive bail is not a chance people take lightly. How do people know that they won’t commit the crime again? The truth is, they honestly don’t know, but they do not want to take that risk. Others believe that Capital punishment will reduce the rate of murders and crime in the image00.pngcountry or state. That is why they believe Capital Punishment is the answer. Facts and studies however prove that Capital Punishment does not in fact decrease the amount of murders and crimes. The crime and death rate caused by murders have actually gone up since the early 70s’. In some states in the U.S.A that have the death penalty it actually shows a higher amount of murder rates then states with out Capital Punishment. Some people also believe that it also depends on your race, social status, education and location of crime on whether or not you receive the death sentence. image00.png Say you were the one who got that horrible phone call, someone close to you has just been murdered. How do you think you would act? Many people feel the need for justice. Some feel they get this justice by Capital Punishment. â€Å"An eye for an eye†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"A life for a life†. Revenge and payback for what that criminal has done. Don’t you think that you there has been enough unnecessary blood-shed already? As I stated before in my opening statement death is the easy way out. With Capital Punishment you feel pain for a split second and then you die. Locked up in Jail, for the rest of your life, the pain of those criminals knowing that they will never have freedom, never be fully welcomed back into society and them knowing what crime they have committed and the guilt it shall bring upon themselves will be overwhelming. This is true revenge. Society must voice their opinion about Capital Punishment. Put an end to this Violence, both inside and outside of the court. Revenge is much sweeter when you can see the effects on the person.

Biofuels And Bioenergy

Biofuels And Bioenergy Introduction The use of fossil fuel as a source of energy has aided the development of the human race for many years. This technology has allowed for many benefits such as electricity, transportation, manufacturing machinery etc. The world is faced with the complex economic and environmental issues associated with energy use that must be addressed if we are to maintain and improve our lifestyle. Our economy depends on low cost energy. The idea of renewable energy has been around for quite some time but did not receive much attention mainly due to lower oil prices over half a century ago. However the time has now come when it can no longer be ignored as we enter a new level of consciousness about our fuel consumption and the lack of fossil fuels we have including awareness about the impact on the environment[i]. The pressure to have cheaper alternative energy has become more important especially at a time where we are facing a global recession. As pressing as these economic issues become, we are also faced with even greater environmental consequences if we do not change our energy use patterns. Looming in the background of everything is the mounting concern of carbon dioxide (CO2) build up and other so called greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which trap the heat that usually radiates from the earth, and cause global climate change[ii]. Therefore clearly, developing alternatives to fuel should be one of the highest priorities of many nations. With record oil prices, the future of Biofuels made from biomass is of keen interest to the world. The global production of Biofuels has increased from 4.8 billion gallons in the year 2000 to about 16.0 billion in the year 2007, but this still accounts for less than 3 percent of the global transportation fuel supply[iii]. This literature reviews the technology of biofuels, their production, usage and impact on a global scale. What are Biofuels? A biofuel can be defined as fuel derived from biomass which is found in many living biological material. Living organisms and their metabolic byproducts such as manure have been successfully used as biomasses. Biomethane, Bioethanol, Biodiesel Biobutanol These fuels can be burnt to produce heat and power, used to run vehicles (Brazil has the highest proportion of road vehicles designed to run on biofuels which peaked at 90% in the 1980s) or powering fuel cells. The content by volume of a biofuel is a minimum of 80% biomass products. Biomass is a form of stored energy just like coal of petrol. The main advantage of biofuels compared with most other traditional fuel types is that this is a biodegradable technology, therefore it is comparatively harmless to the environment. A large amount of biofuels come from specifically grown agricultural crops such as sugar cane and corn. Another useful source is biodegradable by-products that come from industries, households and forestry e.g. timber and rice which can also be used to generate biofuel. There is a growing interest in the field renewable energy technology. And this has resulted in research currently being carried out on projects such as the large scale utilization of micro algae as an energy source. Brief History of Biofuels The initial use of biofuels was in the early days of the automobile industry. A German inventor known as Nikolaus August Otto came through with his invention of running the combustion engine using ethanol. Another historic invention was the powering of diesel engines using peanut oil was by Rudolf Diesel, the German inventor. But unfortunately however in the 19th century when crude oil became cheaper, cars began using fuels from oil which has led to where we are now. There is an increasingly importance in the use of biofuels as a replacement, now being considered by many countries such as the United Stated, by 2025 aim to replace 75% of the oil coming from the Middle East. Over the last century, the world has become accustomed to petroleum based transportation fuels, lubricants and other useful products derived from fossil fuels. However the recent oil prices have been escalating ever since the 1970s fuel crisis and the global climate has changing drastically. Perhaps the time has come to learn a lesson from history and adopt the idea of biofuels for the benefit of the living to save the planet instead of taking the easiest and cheapest way out, saving the planet for the next generations to come. Case Studies and practices of Biofuels We will now look at a few case studies where Biofuels have been successfully used and utilized. Case Study 1 A Lesson from Brazil The worlds second largest ethanol program is based in Brazil and they are capitalizing on bountiful soybean supplies to spread out into biodiesel. About 20 percent of the countrys fuel supply is obtained from the nations sugarcane crop which is processed into ethanol. Brazils policy program was changed to encourage the nations energy independence and creating a substitute value added market for sugar producers. The following was set off in the 1970s right after the famous OPEC oil embargo. Sugarcane producer have been well supported by the government which has spent billions to develop distilleries, build infrastructure and promote the production of pure ethanol and other transport fuels[iv]. It was shown that while the costs were high, this program benefited by saving far more in foreign exchange from the resulting reduced petroleum imports. Brazil in the mid to late 1990s pursed a less intrusive move towards the elimination of direct subsidies and price settings for ethanol with two main elements. Which were a blending requirement (which is now about 25%) and tax incentives favouring the use of ethanol and its purchase for flex-fuel vehicles. Today 80 percent automobiles produced in Brazil have flexible fuel capability[vi], up from 30 percent in 2004. Ethanol is widely available to consumers at nearly all of Brazils 32,000 gas stations; the consumers primarily have the choice between a 100-percent hydrous ethanol and a 25-percent ethanol-gasoline blend on the basis of relative prices[vii]. Roughly 20 percent of current fuel use in Brazil is ethanol, but it will be challenging to raise the share as Brazils fuel demands keep growing with the rest of the worldou. Brazil is a middle-income economy having a per capita energy consumption which is only 15 percent that of the United States and Canada. Unfortunately, the current biofuel production levels in Brazil are not much superior than they were in the late 1990s due to the limitations by the economy and environmentalist. Biofuels have however, come under serious attack recently saying that it is eating into farmlands meant for food production. And as a result last year the European Union backed out from a commitment which would introduce a 10 percent compulsory quota of biofuels in all transportation by 2020[viii]. While admitting that â€Å"biofuels are no silver bullet,† the authorities in Brazil understand and insist that biofuels are the best way forward for developing countries[ix]. A large expansion in ethanol production is underway in the United States, spurred by high oil prices and energy policies The production of ethanol is the U.S climbed to almost 5 billion gallons[x] in 2006, up nearly 1 billion gallons from 2005. Regardless of the speed and degree of this increase, the industry has stepped up the speed of expansion, with production expected go as high as 10 billion gallons by 2009[xi]. Market conditions and policy factors are fueling the rising interest in ethanol. A rapid run-up of oil prices over the past several years has combined with provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and already existing Federal and State biofuel programs to provide economic incentives for an expansion of U.S. ethanol production. This increase in prices reflects rising global demand for crude oil resulting from strong world economic growth, including rapid manufacturing gains in China and India. Further growth in global economic activity will continue to drive up world demand for oil, particularly in highly energy-dependent economies in Asia. Although the increase in demand is likely to be partly offset by future oil discoveries, more new technologies for discovery and extracting oil, and constant expansion and enhancement in renewable energy, the oil prices are expected to remain high by historical standards. As a result of these strong incentives, the ethanol production capacity has increased over the last year as more production plants have been built or are under construction. Once the constructions of the new plants are complete according to the Renewable Fuel Program of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 renewable fuel use should reach 7.5 billion gallons by year 2012[xii]. The vast expansion in biofuels production and use mandated by EISA will require the development of new methods and equipment to collect, store, and pre-process biomass in a manner acceptable to biorefineries. These activities, which constitute as much as 20% of the current cost of finished cellulosic ethanol, are comprised of four main elements: Harvesters collectors that remove feedstocks from cropland and out of forests. Storage facilities that support a steady supply of biomass to the biorefi nery, in a manner that prevents material spoilage. Preprocessing/grinding equipment that transform feedstocks to the proper moisture content, bulk density, viscosity, and quality. Transportation of feedstocks from the field to the biorefinery. Case Study 3 Biofuels in Senegal JATROPHA PROGRAM It all started in India when Jatropha Carcus-â€Å"Honduras† were carried in by Portuguese sailors a few hundred years ago. They were planted around other valuable plantations as a fence because animals and insects were repelled away from it. Meanwhile, Indian farmers found out that the nut contained oil which they used in their oil lamps. Over the years, these farmers bred the plant to have higher oil content as high as 40-50%. India has always been interested to produce biofuels however it had to come from non-food crops. The Biodiesel produced required certain characteristics for example it had to come from non-food crops and grown in non-prime agricultural land. Jatropha fulfilled these requirements as it is resistant to droughts, requiring minimum use of pesticides and fertilizers. Jatropha plants are very hardy and grow very fast producing seeds for extraction within a few months. The main objective of the program is to ensure Senegals self-sufficiency in biodiesel by 2012 with the production of 1 190 000 000 litres of crude Jatropha oil. This production will represent 1 134 000 000 litres of refined oil which can be used as biodiesel for vehicles as well as to generate power[xiii]. It is also the aim of the program to accelerate the modernisation of the agricultural sector, to create 100,000 direct employment opportunities for the local population particularly in the rural areas where the cultivation of jatropha will be mostly undertaken. The successful implementation of the jatropha program will ensure the diversification of the cultivation of cash crops, reduce the energy bill of households in the country as well as its heavy dependence on imported energy and improve the countrys international trade and balance of payment. Moreover, the program will contribute towards the reduction of environmental pollution caused by vehicle engines; and will also help alleviate poverty and inequality between rural and urban areas. BIOFUEL PRODUCTION TYPES SOURCES Biofuels can be classified in two ways, firstly by the state at which the fuel exists in their natural form which are mainly gas, liquid or solid. And secondly by the sources they have been produced from and the technology used to produce them. In this literature review, biofuels have been classified according the second way. FIRST GENERATION (food crops) First generation biofuels are derived from food crops such as starch, sugar and vegetable oil using conventional techniques discussed later on. Several types of first generation biofuels are discussed briefly below. Biodiesel Biodiesel is probably the most common and most popular type of biofuel in the world because it also is the easiest to produce from ordinary vegetable oil. Biodiesel is produced very simply by combining any type of oil or biomass with methanol and sodium hydroxide[xiv]. It can be used on any diesel engine without any changes to it by mixing with mineral diesel as was described earlier in the â€Å"History of Biofuels† section. Vegetable oil These kinds of oil can be either used for cooking purpose or even as fuel. The main fact that determines the usage of this oil is the quality. The oil with good quality is generally used for cooking purpose. Vegetable oil can even be used in most of the old diesel engines, but only in warm atmosphere. In most of the countries, vegetable oil is mainly used for the production of biodiesel. There has a been great interest shown by European countries and the USA, the graphs below show a rising trend of biodiesel production is USA and many countries of Europe. Biogas Syngas Biogas is produced from organic materials by anaerobic digestion. Waste materials which are biodegradable can also produce biogas if they are fed into anaerobic digesters[xv]. The resulting biomass can be used as fertiliser for agricultural usage. Biogas is rich in methane gas which can be recovered and used as burning fuel. Methane gas is also produced by the natural decay of garbage dumps over time. Another process to produce Syngas or biosyngas is by gasification of biomass into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Hydrogen can be recovered from syngas or the syngas can be converted to diesel fuel using Fischer-Tropsch process[xvi]. Bioalcohols (bioethanol) Enzymes and micro-organisms are used to produce alcohols through the process of fermentation of starches and sugar[xvii]. Ethanol being the most common of those bioalcohol as in bioethanol produced from sugar cane in Brazil. A significant amount of ethanol is also produced from sugar beets and corn by fermentation in other parts of the world. SECOND GENERATION (non food crops) Second generation of biofuels had been developed to use biomass left from the non-food parts of current crops such as stems, leaves and husks left behind after the important parts of the crop has been taken. It also includes biomass from non food crops such as Jatropha plant (which are toxic), switch grass and industrial waste such as wood chips, skin and pulp from fruit pressings. This generation of biofuels is not cost competitive with existing fossil fuels, do not threaten food supplies and biodiversity[xviii]. THIRD GENERATION (agriculture) Third generation biofuels is obtained from algae and this is also called advanced biofuel. Algae is easy to grow and it is a high-yielding feedstock for the production of biofuel as it produces 30 times more energy per acre of land than traditional crops such as corn or soybean[xix]. They are biodegradable so it is environmentally friendly. Similar to obtaining the oil from vegetation, algae contains almost 40-50% oil which is squeezed out and the remaining biomass can be used as fertilizer or high protein animal feed. The oil from algae can be converted to biodiesel. FOURTH GENERATION (biodiesel to gasoline) Last but not least is fourth generation biofuels which is still undergoing research at the highest levels. The main aim is to convert biodiesel into gasoline similar to the one obtained from petroleum but it will be much cleaner with less harmful emissions. This is similar to how natural gas or methane is converted to petrol. However there is much more study required in this part and will probably not be available in 10-20 years time. First generation feedstocks include corn for ethanol and soybeans for biodiesel. These feedstocks are currently in use and their yields have been increasing. Second generation feedstocks consist of the residues or â€Å"left-overs† from crop and forest harvests. They show much promise for near-term adoption with the development of cellulosic conversion technologies. Third generation feedstocks are crops whichrequire further RD to commercialize, such as perennial grasses, fast growing trees, and algae. They are designed exclusively for fuels production and are commonly referred to as â€Å"energy crops†. They represent a key long-term component to a sustainable biofuels industry[xx]. BIBLIOGRAPHY Charles E. Wyman (1996) Handbook on Bioethanol Production and Utilization, Taylor Francis Publishers, pg 1 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 1990. J.T. Houghton, G.J.Jenkins, and J.J. Ephraums, eds. â€Å"Climate Change-the IPCC Scientific Assessment,† Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Amber Waves, November 2007, Volume 5, Issue 5, William Coyle â€Å"The Future of Biofuels A Global Perspective. Amber Waves, November 2007, Volume 5, Issue 5, William Coyle â€Å"The Future of Biofuels A Global Perspective. Market Research Analyst, â€Å"Worlds Ethanol Production Forecast 2008 2012† http://www.marketresearchanalyst.com/2008/01/26/world-ethanol-production-forecast-2008-2012/ Flex-fuel Vehicles inBrazil: http://alternativefuels.about.com/od/ethanol/a/ffvsbrazil.htm Amber Waves, November 2007, Volume 5, Issue 5, William Coyle â€Å"The Future of Biofuels A Global Perspective. CLIMATE CHANGE: â€Å"Brazil Defends Biofuels†, Claudia Ciobanu, http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49597 CLIMATE CHANGE: â€Å"Brazil Defends Biofuels†, Claudia Ciobanu, http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49597 Green Car Congress, â€Å"Energy, Technologies, Issues and Policies for Sustainable mobility†: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/08/us-ethanol-prod.html Amber Waves, September 2007, Volume 5, Issue 5, Paul. C. Westcot â€Å"U.S. Ethanol Expansion Driving Changes Throughout the agriculture sector.† Shurson, Jerry, Mindy Spiehs, Jennifer Wilson, and Mark Whitney. â€Å"Value and use of ‘new generation distillers dried grains with solubles in swine diets,† Alltechs 19th International Feed Industry Symposium Proceedings, May 2003. Ministry of Agriculture, New orientation for the Agriculture Sector Policy, REVA Plan, Special Biofuels Program, March 2007, â€Å"Biofuels in Senegal Jatropha Program 2007-2009.† Biofuel Organisation: http://biofuel.org.uk/first-generation-biofuels.html Biofuel Organisation: http://biofuel.org.uk/first-generation-biofuels.html Lee S., Lee L., Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing, CRC Press (2005), â€Å"Biofuels and Bioenergy† pp123 Biofuel Organisation: http://biofuel.org.uk/first-generation-biofuels.html RenewableEnergy.com News Article: Next generation of biofuels; http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=49099 Washington Post News Article; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303907.html United States Department of Agriculture, â€Å"National Biofuels Action Plan†, September 2008, Board Action Area 2: Feedstock production pg 5.

British Airways Internal And External Environment

British Airways Internal And External Environment British Airs has chosen as its competitive strategy to be focus differentiated. This is supported by the fact that since the mid 1980s the company determined that they needed a more dynamic, customer-focused and service driven culture. Furthermore, the company stated in its 2008/2009 annual report that its objective is to be a high-performing, market-focused, global premium airline. Among its objectives, it wants to be the worlds leading global premium airline; be the airline of choice for longhaul premium customers; and deliver an outstanding service for customers at every touch point. Moreover, in order to analyse if the company is supporting its strategy, it is important to analyse its value chain and how the company can creates value to its customers. In its operation, B.A is outsourcing some activities, for example catering, therefore they can focus on their core business, and also they can save costs with employees and avoid problems with strike. (Guys on this point, reviewing the case study, that the franchises do not not contribute to support their strategy of differentiation). B.A has also created a subsidiary OpenSkies to be more competitive in the transatlantic routes, due to the fact of being a new company, they can hire new employees with different salaries and benefits from B.A. B.A has also created the Terminal 5 which is very modern and with a lot of technology, therefore they can reduce costs mainly with employees and it also a mean to reduce the problem of possible strikes. This terminal does not depend too much on employees force. Furthermore it helped the company to improve its efficiency and offer better service. On services, the company has invested to achieve its objective of serving outstanding services. Some examples are a Club World Cabin, which offers more comfort and privacy, on all its Boeing 747 and on half of its Boeing 777; Two-by-Two seat configuration in its Club Europe; Galleries lounges at terminal 5 and 3 in Heathrow, Milan, Vancouver and Johanesburg; Check in from mobile and PDA; In flight entertainment system. Its Human Resources activities can represent a critical aspect from its value chain. In one hand, the company has invested in world-class hospitality and customer service training (annual report); on the other hand to support its objective of reducing costs, the company has progressively cut the number of employees and their benefits (such as reduction on their pensions), which has generated a turbulent relationship with its employees, mainly with the trade unions. As an example, due to the 5000 jobs cut in its backroom operation, the cabin crew went on strike in August 1997. They are reducing the pensions, they are hiring new employees with different salaries which create employees conflicts, affect motivation and they have strikes. Firm Infrastructure: They changed the management style in the mid 1980 to be more flexible. However, more recently they are becoming more toughened due to the competitive. They are trying to manage the efficiency of the employees with the clocking-in system; they are also trying to reduce absenteeism. Apart from this, employees fell bulled. Therefore, it seems to be more autocratic. We can also support this with Terminal 5, they just decided to start the operation but employees were not prepared. Strategy Sustainable it is not sustainable The company is focusing on reduce costs and maximizing profits to deliver the results expected by the shareholders. However, on the other hand, this strategy is impacting the employees. They are reducing the pensions, they demand more performance, they dont want to give pay risen, they want to reduce the number of employees, thus this will impact the quality of the service. Therefore this does not support the strategy. Evaluation of Strategy: Primary evaluation index is performance if it has grown and if it has been profitable; However Rumelt indicates three questions to evaluate depth the strategy, to appraise more fundamental factors and trends which will guide the company for success: Are the objectives appropriate? Are the major policies and procedures appropriate? Do the results obtained confirm or refute critical assumptions on which the strategy rests? The strategy needs to be consistent (goals and policies); consonant (it needs to represent an adaptive response to the external environment and critical changes); it needs to create competitive advantage and it needs to be feasible according to resources. We have set our sights on being the worlds leading global premium airline. We have five key goals. They are to: Be the airline of choice for longhaul premium customers; Deliver an outstanding service for customers at every touch point; Grow our presence in key global cities; Build on our leading position in London; and Meet our customers needs and improve margins through new revenue streams. Background and Introduction British airways were founded as aircraft transport and travel (ATT) in 1916, and soon on after the World War I the first international scheduling air service were launched between London and Paris. 1939 its principal competitor were Imperial Airways and the government nationalized both company from British Overseas Airways (BOAC). The BOAC were operation just in Long Haul flight and for short haul another new company were operation, British European Airways (BEA). In 1974 after the BOAC has a great knowledge about long Haul Flight (US, Japan, and so on) and BEA has a great knowledge about short haul flight the both companies merger, became the British Airwyas. (DataMonitor, 2009). Business agreement between BA AA Iberia 2008 British Airways is one of the worlds leading scheduling premium international airlines, during FY2009 British Airways earned  £8 billion in revenue, down 11% on the last year. Passengers represent 87% of the revenue, 7% Cargo and 6% form other activities, (annual report BA, 09). With 245 aircraft makes one of the best fleet services in actuality. British airways serve more than 300 destinations worldwide. The company carried more than 33 million passengers and 777,000 tonnes of cargos destinations throughout the work during fiscal year 2009. British airways also provides another types of services to other airlines including cargo handling at airports, airframe maintenance, computer and communication services and consultancy services. (datamonitor, 2009). British airways has a objective to be the biggest airline company in the world, and the airline industry is consolidating at an accelerating pace. In order to do this, merger with Iberia and plan to join business with American Airlines are examples of the era for international aviation. But these deals are always in focus on benefit its costumer. (Annual Report BA, 2009) British Airways during March 2009 launched a low-cost airfare sale with price starting to $478 between London to New York and also develop its popular Europe for Free that is a program offering low-cost fares and two free hotel nights in same seven selected cities on the Europe continent, (datamonitor) Appendix 01 -Timeline British Airways Macro environment Analysis According to Lancaster (2008) companies are inserted in a macro environment composed by different factors or forces which have an impact on their operations. Some of these factors are closer to the company such as suppliers, intermediaries, distributors and so on, which he denominate proximate macro environment. There other factors have a wider prospect, such as legal, cultural, economic, so on, but can also impact companies results. Political Factors Almost every aspect of running an airline is governed or influenced by tight regulatory controls. This varies from the routes companies can fly, the business partners they can cooperate with, the airport slots they can use, the fares they set and the infrastructure costs they pay. Strict rules also govern safety and security and the management of their environmental impact. (XXXXX) Terrorism is another political problem which affects companies, one example are the attacks which occurred in the U.S in 2001, which reduced the demand for flights and also demanded from companies more investments on security measurements and policies to rebuild consumers confidence. (XXXX) Economic Factors Airline companies were direct affect by economic recession when in 2008 were the worst experience has ever faced in especially US and Europe. The global recession has affect in both cases passenger and business people in air travel. This aggravated its pension deficit and it also impacted its demand because many companies are trying to reduce the costs with travelling; instead they are trying to use communication technology as teleconferencing. Although the price oil has fallen from 2008 were the oil price was $147 a barrel. (Key data) Appendix 2 UK residents visits overseas by air by Country visited (000) Currency changes are another problem. For BA the pound weakens impacted its costs due to many of them occur in dollar or euro. Other factors which can impact either B.A costs base or profits are oil prices fluctuations and increase unemployment which impact consumer confidence. Social Factors Ageing fastest increase in the oldest old Population by age, UK, 1984, 2009 and 2034 The graphic above describe how the UK trend populations are going, over the last 25 year the people aged 65 has increased from 15% in 1984 to 16% in 2009, increase of 1.7% million people, in other words, UK population is ageing. On the same period the young population has decreased from 21% to 19%. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=949 Analysis this graph, it is possible to understand that people are focus on their career and probably having just one children or in some case no one, and the consequence is young population decrease and old population increase. British Airways can take advantage of this situation because people in this age may want to enjoy the live travelling, visit some friends and so on, and British Airways can bring this customer to it, and this type of customer possibly will pay to better services and better company, and business class for this customer are the best option to British Airways introducing them. Appendix 3 Unemployment rate According to graph above, the UK Unemployment rate despite is getting a small better still so high, and this factor impact direct on British Airways, because whist people have no job it is difficult to this people travel by plane. On the other hand, people aged 16 to 54 had has been a significant increase since 2009, and may can bring more customer to British Airways. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=12 Technological Factors Price comparison using the internet Online booking services and check-in It is good because young peolpe prefer to used, but old people dont like this new techonolgies The technology has created a lot of benefits for consumers. In the case of airline industry, now they can use comparison websites, which has contributed for their bargaining power; On the other hand, online booking beside facilitating customers, companies do not need to pay to agencies anymore (intermediaries). Furthermore, British Airways can also reduce the number of employees because it is possible to use more machines than people and BA improved its efficiency, as an example the clocking-in system implemented by BA to control employees hours, and It also creates new ways of communicating with customers. (XXXXX) Environment Factors One of the British Airway strategic is reduce issue that affect the environment, in order to this, British Airways chose to engage in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) to help achieve the company strategic, CSR also can help British Airways to identify risks to health, safety and environment, this strategic also can attract more investors and grow the company. CSR CASE STUDY According to Convention for Climate Change and the Kyoto protocol, one big issue to solve is the carbon emission. And airlines companies have a high contribution in carbon emission. So, in response to this British airway decided to develop a program to solve this issue and the first target was fuel efficiency to reduce in 30% between 1990 from 2010. Doing this action the saving represents 50m tonnes of carbon diode (CO2). The British airway has great reduction in carbon emission that the carbon emission saved can then be sold for other companies, which needs to go above its carbon emission. CSR CASE STUDY Furthermore, another crusial point to British Airways is the noise pollution, to minimize this issue the company is inventing in quieter aircrafts and changing the way that its fly, the target to reduce the average noise per flight is around 15% by 2015. The people who living near to Heathrow are the people more affect with the noise but British Airways reduced around 30% the noise between 2008 and 2009. (annual report BA, 2009). Natural disasters and weather conditions can impact the operations. These issues can impact on costs and consequently the companys profit. Volcano ashes Legal Factors During March 2010 British airways announce a decline in passage number; the decline was so high that was compared with the month after September 11 terrorist attacks. It was the worst march in more than a decade for passenger numbers, and the British airways strategic were cuts some its operational capacity. But the consequence was worst it. Because became a Cabin-Crew Walkouts that generate around  £45m loss to British Airways. When more than 47% of the flights were cancel in Heathrow airport. On the other hand, during the same time Ryanair Reported that the passenger number has increased 13%. One of the reasons from that is probably the no-frills. (financial Times, 2010) Beside all the legislation which reflects the heavy regulatory control governments have over airline industry, companies are also impacted by employment relations laws and recognition of trade unions. In the case of BA this has represented a lot of problems due to the strikes conducted by the employees. Beside the impact on image, the company has incurred significant losses. Other legislation which can impact its strategy is the restrictions on mergers and acquisitions. (XXXXX) Meso Environment XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Competitive rivalry The competition is very intense. Generally the main competitive factors in the airline industry are factors such as, customer services, safety record and reputation, price, routes services, in-flight entertainment systems and frequent flyer programs, flight schedules, capacity, types of aircraft, code-sharing relationship and so on. (datamonitor) Short haul market BA has a lot of competitors, mainly Easy jet and Ryanair, and on this type of flights is more difficult to have differentiation. Product and service are easily replicated and it is difficult to achieve consumer loyalty, On the other hand. Long haul market with the OpenSkies changed the competitive landscape. Five new companies have slots in Heathrow to fly to U.S. (XXXXXXXXXX) New Entrants In the airline industry new entrants are low because there are significant barriers to enter. It requires high capital investment, there are also high regulatory requirements, it is a high competitive environment, it offers low profit margins, it takes more time to have the return on investment, and Slot spaces are expansive and the barriers to exit are high. (XXXXXXXXX) Substitute On short Haul routes, airlines companies have a great competition with on the ground. Train operations in UK are taking a bigger share of the air, principal because the infrastructure has suffer improvements and minimize journey times in lines such as West Coast mainline. Although Eurostar is disrupt by snow and freezing weather in January, the company still in increase around 1.2% more passenger in 2009, at the same time demand for flight between London to Brussels and Paris fell b y 14%. (Annual Report BA, 2009). Power of Buyer British Airways through a strategic sourcing process produce services and goods, using benchmarking to make sure that they will achieve maximum value, for both parts such as suppliers and purchase. During the 2009 year , the company reviewed all its spending with 500 top suppliers who account around 94% of total annual external spend, in order to this, British Airways re-structure all its commercial deals and the result was a considerable saving over this period. Power of Suppliers Suppliers have high bargaining power, there are basically to suppliers of airplanes: Boeing and Airbus. And they are restricted by sole supplier of fuel in the airports. (XXXXX) Micro Environment Analysis XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Strengths British airways has some important resources and capabilities such as: a fleet of about 250 airplanes and more than 300 routes; It has an international customer database; It has financial resources, according to datamonitor 2009 report, the company has increased its revenues since 2005 and in 2008 the company had 10% of operating profit margin. The company has slots in the main airports; The company has created two subsidiaries: OpenSkies and BA City Flyer; It has also established some important alliances (OneWorld alliances) and it has franchised some routes. These resources and capabilities are valuable and can help the company to react against some threats and capitalize on opportunities. However they cannot be rare and inimitable depending on the competitors available resources. On the other hand, British Airways have some unique resources and core competencies which are more difficult to imitate, are more rare and represent an important value for the company. British Airways is the only company with access to terminal 5 in London Heathrow Airport, one of the main airports in the world. BA has also a reputable brand image recognized globally and reinforced by its long-standing existence within the industry. Through its subsidiary OpenSkies has offered a 32-seat all premium service from London City Airport to New York (Annual report). British airways has a constantly increase in its revenue since FY2005 to FY2008 (HERE I NEED TO SHOW WITH GRAFICS, WHY THIS LAST YEAR THE COMPANY DECREASE?). British Airways has focus on operational services such a punctuality and costumer services, important factor to achieve this aim is Terminal 5 at Heathrow. It is allowing British airways to provide customer with a completely level of services in a highly efficient way. Furthermore, an important strategic for the company is investments in its fleet, and  £100 million is using to develop and modernise its first cabin and the customer feedbacks is brilliant. Costumer likes its idea because it is what costumer is looking for, more comfortable beds, space, privacy and everything is British style. (annual report BA, 2009) British airways has a excellent fleet base operation and has its robust route network. The company is operating with 245 aircraft in service. (HERE A NEEDS TO SHOE WICH AIRCRAFTS AND COMPERER WITH COMPETITOR). Although, diversity fleet operation help the company to achieve their advantages over their competitor and to be effective utilization of its asset base. In addition the British airways have just order two airbus A138 and six Embraer E190SR and five E170 aircraft to replace RJ85 and RJ100 Aircraft. Which are currently operated from City airport. Furthermore, the British airways has carries more than 33 million passenger per year. (HERE I NEED THE INFORMATION HOW MANY PEEOPLE PER YEAR) BA focuses on offering online services to preserve old customers and to attract new customer. The e-services were important factors that helped British airways to reduce costs and increase revenues. Furthermore, the e-services helps costumer to book hotels, cars all through the website. Third of all companies booking was sold by ba.com. in order to do this, British airways introduce a new tool that is capable to upgrade their booking at any time between buying a ticket and checking on-line. Other facility it is access in real time the arrival and departures information through their mobile, which is useful tools for business people. (Datamonitor, 2009) Weakness British airways has a high debt obligation in FY 2009, the amount is around  £2,382 million, an increase of  £1,072 million in comparison to FY 2008. The increase in net debt included  £554 million due to the retranslation of foreign debt. High debt make more difficult for a company to pay its principal and interest with respect to its obligations. In addition, can reduce the British Airways ability to use cash flow to fund working capital and other general corporate requirements. Furthermore, high British Airways debts difficult to planning and reaching to change in business and industry. (datamonitos, 2009) British airways is one of the biggest airline company in the world but 62.5% of the revenue came from European Market (data monitor, 2009). And it is not good business depends too much of a specific market. Because if the continent has an economic problem the company for sure going to be serious problem. Appendix 5 GDP Nominal According to Nominal GDP, 30% of the world nominal GDP came from Europe. So it is a good strategic from BA focus on this market. But there are some problem mentions above. Appendix 6 klj According to PPP GDP, British airways should be focus on other countries to try to improve their revenues. In some countries such as China, Japan, India, Brazil and so on, there is a great chance to increase the revenues. On the other hand, The European population has a high number of retender people that increase the probability of this people to travel (long haul flight) to enjoy their live. (here i need to find the reference. Again,, heheh) Opportunities British airways to try to improve its revenues were focus on business agreement with other airlines companies. British airways, American Airlines and Iberia have signed a joint business agreement in 2008 on flight between North America and Europe and part of the plan it is expand their global cooperation. This relationship was created to benefits customer to increase flight schedule and more fly option to travel to whore world. (annual reports BA, 1009) OneWorld Global Alliance it is another (HERE I NEED TO EXPLAN WHAT IS ONEOWRDL) Another opportunity to business is the Open Skies between EU and US, because British airways can significantly increase its number of destination choices that the airlines can offer for the customers. Although, Airlines are applying for EU-US anti-Trust Immunity, where London Heathrow is open to any US or EU Airline that wants to fly to US and where the rival alliance have immunity. In order to this, the airlines companies also can expand customer choice by supporting more routes that it is not be economically viable for the airlines companies. This strategic can increase the opportunity to British Airways to provide a better services for its customer and improve its business as well. (datamonitor, 2009). Threats The global recession has a high impact over on Airline industry, according to GDP growth rate has a declined from 5.1% in 2007 to 3.1% in 2008. Due the crises many Airline companies had financial loss and the principal affect class were the premium passenger because companies decided to cut business travel to save money, a recent survey suggest that 47% of business travel will take fewer travel in the year ahead. So, Global economic is affecting British airways where the company focus main on business travel. (datamonitor, 2009) Over the latest years the Airline industry has been affected by global recession and drop in air travel and the airline companies strategies are merger and joint venture, recent examples such as Delta and Northwest Airlines in October 2008, between America West Airlines and US Airways in September 2005, American Airlines acquired majority of Trans World Airlines assets in 2001. In Europe market some consolidation is happens too, such as Vueling and Clickair in Spain, Alitalia and Air one in Italy, Lufthansa acquired Brussels Airlines and British Airline BMI and Austrian Airlines. Other merger or joint venture with domestic and international market can affect directly British airways revenues. (datamonitor, 2009) EU-US Open Skies Agreement has had a high impact on Long Haul Flight, during the first phase of the Open Skies at Heathrow, the competition has change on transatlantic routes, US Carriers Delta, Continental and US Airways have commended new flights to Heathrow offered more than 100 services per week. Other important markets are being liberalised is Canada, and others countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Brazil are going to be the next to suffer the Open Skies. (annual Report BA, 2009). Strategic Analysis British Airways main strategic is become the worlds leading global premium airline. And to achieve goals its focus on make the cost base more efficient but making customer service an important part of this long-term vision. These are import factor to create a sustainable and profitable future for business, benefiting our customer, colleagues and shareholders. (annual report BA, 2009) Global, offer destiny a across the world making individuals and business travellers want to choose British airways to travel for wherever their wants. (annual report BA, 2009) Premium, certify that all its customer take pleasure in use unique premium service, and that their costumer make out the service and can pay more for it. (annual report BA, 2009) Airline, Always develop new products and services to be always serving well its costumer. (annual report BA, 2009) Mission The mission of the group is to deliver service that matters people who value how the fly. British Airways has objective to be the Airline of choice for Long Haul Premium customer, Long Haul flight market is the key to its profitability but always with a strong presence in economy and short haul segment and always focus on bring an excellent service and the best global connectivity for its customer, British Airways has a strategic to build presence in all top global cities through expanding and airlines partnership. (annual repost BA, 2009) Another value to BA is deliver an excellent service for customer at every touch point, to achieve this aim all the cabin staff have been receiving training such as service style to all passenger receive a premium service on all routes and classes. (annual repost BA, 2009) BA has an important objective to grow its presence in all key global cities in the world to offer the best global connectivity for its customers. The company want to be present in the top cities and also to expanding networking through partnerships. (annual repost BA, 2009) London is the worlds biggest competitive international air marketing in the world, Build on its leading position in London Airline continuous to been the core for its business to achieve this objective British Airways has the government helps, however, the company going to enhance this by building profitable ancillary services that offer customers great value and re-enforce its brand. (annual repost BA, 2009) BA has essential to know what its customer needs and improve that through new revenue streams based on its core of business, although, BA building profitable auxiliary services that offer customer great value and re-enforce its brand. However, the company want to develop new products and services which exploit its assets and capabilities. (annual repost BA, 2009) British Airways Business Plan British Airways business plan is build around the world a Global Premium airline for long haul flight, and to achieve its objectives British Airways has a structure in five factors: Colleagues, Customer, Performance, Excellence and Partnership. (annual report BA, 2009) FOCUSED ON OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE Colleagues What can British Airways to do improve its business and how can they work together to achieve that, and how the company can develop its people to achieve their performance. (annual report BA, 2009) Customer What British Airways can do to outstanding experience for its entire customer, they will monitor carefully all the opportunities and try to adjust capacity as economic condition allow, another strategic is reduce flying outside the peak periods to reduce costs and maintain the quality and services for its entire consumers, the company intend to develop more flying during the holidays businesses to give the customer more opportunities to fly. In addition, the new Boeing 777-300ERs will arrive soon to improve its fuel efficiency and environmental performance. (annual report BA, 2009) Performance What British Airways can do to improve its financial performance and deliver for its shareholders, the company will build on record-breaking levels of operation performance through continuous improvement of the way its plan and control the operation. The company will extend the successful Terminal 5 at Heathrow to more of its services through developing of the second satellite Terminal 5C that going to open in 2011. (annual report BA, 2009) Excellence What British Airways can do to maintain and improve its operation performance and the quality of its processes. One of the strategies is implement joint business agreement with American Airlines and Iberia. Doing this can the company offer for its customer better services such as improve flight schedules, deliver enhanced and disruption management. Partnerships going to be developing such as those who were announced this year with Indias Kingfisher Airlines and the Russian carrier S7, to improve its position in the global cities in whole world. (annual report BA, 2009) Partnerships What British Airways can do to work with other Airlines companies business, with its principal suppliers and the communication that is based on economic environment and challenging industrial relations, for the next years British Airways will work to make better to engage across the company rallying our colleagues with drive towards ever greater customer services. The company will continuous to invest in make targets to improve its way to manage its talents with focus on develop new front-line leaders. (annual report 09 Vision Objectives British airways have many objectives such as, improve employee and customer Satisfaction, increase revenue, Maintain competitive strength in the industry, improve fuel efficiency and develop especial equipments for disable people. HERE I NEED IMFORMATION ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE FLYING PER YEAR) Another British airways objective is maintain customer loyalties and sustain their dominance in the airline industry. (executive report, mar binns, 2007) According to Annual report 2010, the merger with Iberia is a good deal both for long-term sustainability of the business and for customer, because they can together increase their networks, one is strongest on the North Atlantic and Asia and other is strongest in Latin America. Together they believe can realise around  £400 million in synergies from the fifth year. BA strong believe in the synergies can realise its resources on this highly competitive route will be good for customers, shar

Buddhism Essay -- essays research papers

The followers of the Buddha believe life goes on and on in many reincarnations or rebirths. The eternal hope for all followers of Buddha is that through reincarnation one comes back into successively better lives - until one achieves the goal of being free from pain and suffering and not having to come back again. This wheel of rebirth, known as samsara, goes on forever or until one achieves Nirvana. The Buddhist definition of Nirvana is "the highest state of spiritual bliss, as absolute immortality through absorption of the soul into itself, but preserving individuality" (Head1 57). Birth is not the beginning and death is not the end. This cycle of life has no beginning and can go on forever without an end. The ultimate goal for every Buddhist, Nirvana, represents total enlightenment and liberation. Only through achieving this goal is one liberated from the never ending round of birth, death, and rebirth (Head3 73). Transmigration, the Buddhist cycle of birth, death, a nd rebirth, involves not the reincarnation of a spirit but the rebirth of a consciousness containing the seeds of good and evil deeds. Buddhism's world of transmigration encompasses three stages. The first stage in concerned with desire, which goes against the teachings of Buddha, is the lowest form and involves a rebirth into any number of hells. The second stage is one in which animals dominate. But after many reincarnations in this stage the spirit becomes more and mo... Buddhism Essay -- essays research papers The followers of the Buddha believe life goes on and on in many reincarnations or rebirths. The eternal hope for all followers of Buddha is that through reincarnation one comes back into successively better lives - until one achieves the goal of being free from pain and suffering and not having to come back again. This wheel of rebirth, known as samsara, goes on forever or until one achieves Nirvana. The Buddhist definition of Nirvana is "the highest state of spiritual bliss, as absolute immortality through absorption of the soul into itself, but preserving individuality" (Head1 57). Birth is not the beginning and death is not the end. This cycle of life has no beginning and can go on forever without an end. The ultimate goal for every Buddhist, Nirvana, represents total enlightenment and liberation. Only through achieving this goal is one liberated from the never ending round of birth, death, and rebirth (Head3 73). Transmigration, the Buddhist cycle of birth, death, a nd rebirth, involves not the reincarnation of a spirit but the rebirth of a consciousness containing the seeds of good and evil deeds. Buddhism's world of transmigration encompasses three stages. The first stage in concerned with desire, which goes against the teachings of Buddha, is the lowest form and involves a rebirth into any number of hells. The second stage is one in which animals dominate. But after many reincarnations in this stage the spirit becomes more and mo...

Organizational Behavior Essay -- Psychology, Emotional Intelligence

This paper will identify and examine the perspective of cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence which are considered to be important individual diversities in the field of organisational behaviour. The organization selected for this topic is, The Australian Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, commonly known as (AHEPA), the association was founded in Melbourne Australia in 1938; at that time the mission of AHEPA was to promote Hellenism, education, philanthropy, civic responsibility, family and individual Excellence. Originally the association was set up with a small group of Australian/Greek volunteers as a community based establishment to assist Greek immigrants in Australia experiencing language barriers, families with financial difficulties, finding homes, jobs, medical care and help the elderly, as former state secretary of the association I was able to experience the cognitive and emotional intelligence behaviours first hand. The General Structure of the "AHEPA Family" is composed of distinct groups, all of which work in harmony on a local, state and national level under its constitution and by-laws. They are; the Supreme Lodge (National body), Grand Lodges and District Lodge (State bodies). There are several committees within AHEPA who work in harmony to organise fundraising and community activities. The members of these committees work diligently to achieve their various goals for the betterment of the whole community. AHEPA is recognized as a non-profit charitable organization; this essentially means that any profits or surpluses the charity makes must be used to further its charitable purposes. Such profits or surpluses must not be distributed to owners, members or any other individual or group of i... ...n greater in today’s diverse working environments, neglecting emotional intelligence working in a small group can be devastating in the efficiency to the organisation, and these breakdowns can produce confusion, uncertainty hostility and reduce the required performance. The fear of change in any organisation is a major concern as at times management seeks for a quick fix instead of taking a more comprehensive and longer perspective, thus creating emotional uncertainty and mistrust. Given the facts and understandings of cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence are conceptualized, emotional intelligence can be rationally considered as a reasonable measure to which a person can apply rational judgment and reasoning and feelings to situations and responses in the organisation, it shows that emotional intelligence is a stronger predictor to a task performance.

Comparing Epic of Gilgamesh and Book of Genesis of the Holy Bible :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Parallels Between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible The most well-known parallel between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible is the story of the Flood, in Genesis 6-7. This is essentially equivalent to the story that Utnapishtim, the Sumerian Noah, tells to Gilgamesh on Tablet XI. Even the way the narrative is laid out is similar - the gods put a bug in Utnapishtim's ear; a description of how the ark is built ("daubed with bitumen," a common glue or mortaring agent in Mesopotamia); everyone piles in, and it starts to rain. When it's over, Utnapishtim releases a dove, then a swallow, and finally a crow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the section of the Bible that really seems linked to Sumerian mythology is the book of Ecclesiastes. The writer of that book informs us, in Eccl. 12:9-10, that in the course of composing it he read widely, presumeably everything that he could get his hands on in those days. From internal evidence it's obvious that he read some version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. It's fascinating to see that the story, already very ancient by Biblical times, circulated so widely in the Middle East.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (in the Revised Standard version) runs, "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up." This appears in fragmented form in Tablet V column ii of the epic. (If you want to look at the tablets in English translation the best one is by John Gardner.) It was apparently a common proverb in the Middle East, and you can easily find equivalents all over the place in literature. It appears in King Lear and in Beowulf, "Bare is back without brother behind it." (Alliteration's artful aid, what?)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Epic of Gilgamesh has two main parts. In the first, Gil has a number of the standard Conan-the-Barbarian style adventures, whomping monsters, humping maidens, defying the goddess Ishtar. And he's king of Uruk, one of mankind's first cities - all very picturesque, and would make a great cover for a genre paperback. Then, in the second half, Gil has a spiritual crisis and goes on a quest for eternal life. Well, when he's wandering around having angst, he meets a Wise Woman, a barmaid - it seems the Sumerians invented beer, too.

Information technology and college experience Essay

Technology is continually changing the way the world is going. Education is not an exemption. Today, it is helping shape the way students are procuring information, and the way teachers are getting the information which they share. In fact, many students, teachers, and schools now perceive that it is unimaginable to go back to the stage when there is no internet, electronic mail, or word processing. This shows that the partnership between education and technology should be further nurtured. Meanwhile, there are issues that need to be addressed. This research shows how all of these are happening, and how they are affecting college experience. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTINGS The paper will focus on the way technology has changed in the past ten years. In the process, it will also involve how technology is still changing the way in which education is being changed today by new innovations. There will be discussions on learning with technology, specifically through the use of online learning methods and distance education instruction. The research will focus on the college environment. The population for the research will likewise be college students. On the process, teachers will also be involved in the research to qualify or disqualify conclusions throughout the research. Overall, the goal of the research is to identify how technological changes in college education have impacted the experiences of the students studying in college. Sub-problems The following sub-problems will be posed in the research. The sub-problems are: 1. to compare college education today and ten years ago to determine the specific innovations that were introduced during the ten-year period; 3. to identify the positive and negative effects of the changes and the innovations; 4. to know how the changes affected the college experience of students; and 5. to recognize the needs of the students and the technological framework that is working in the education industry. Hypothesis This research hypothesizes that technology is a powerful tool. By its power, a great deal of innovations has been contributed to many industries. Thus, it can also be said that it has impacted and affected the education industry especially in the college level positively. Statement of delimitations The research will focus on college students who are taking courses in the traditional classroom setting. However, no limitations will be set pertaining to any determinants such as age, gender, location, or religion. There will also be no limitations as to the courses that they are taking. Students who are attending online courses while attending traditional classroom setting will also be allowed to join. There will also be points when teachers will also be tapped to provide information on several research sub-topics. This will give the paper a diverse yet focused population for its research. Definition of terms In the course of the study, several terms and jargons will come up. Most of these words are referring to terms used in technology and education. The following words are most likely to appear throughout the study. They are defined here for reference and clarity.

Marketing Department Essay

Carphone Warehouse relies on this functional area as it has a big affect on the business. This department involves advertising, designing and researching products in order to identify and meet the needs of the customers; with the use of marketing mix which consist of four Ps. The definition of the four Ps is Price, place, product and promotion. Price means setting the cost of the product to the standard of meeting the needs of the customers. Place means identifying the right/ideal location to promote and sell the product. Product is identifying the types of goods and services to sell. Promotion is how the company will advertise the product. This department also use primary and secondary research to help market Carphone warehouse, primary research known as field research involves getting data directly about the product and market either through questionnaires or interviews. Secondary research known as desk research involves acquiring the summary or collection of existing data from the internet or books. Distribution Department Carphone Warehouse delivers products all across Europe. This department ensures that all goods are delivered to the right place on time in the exact condition directly to the customer who has ordered the parcel; Carphone Warehouse have many ways in ordering products either from telephone, internet or at store. They check that the delivery van load are safe and secure and also plan the roots of the vehicle before sending the parcel. When a product is bought from Carphone Warehouse, this department makes sure that deliveries match orders precisely and is sent to the exact address on time. Oxfam International Oxfam International is known for their outstanding help for the less fortunate, their aim is to help feed the poor, shelter the homeless and find solution to poverty and injustice. Their main purpose is to provide goods and services to the public such as clothes, books, accessories etc at cost price because they are a `not for profit` organisation and sometimes receive their products for free, from members of the public. They also provide free services as in, helping the poor, feeding them, sheltering them and coating them with clothes. This is a charity organisation under the voluntary sector owned and run by trustees. They are a global organisation with over 13 organisations worldwide in almost every continent, their scale of organisation is large with over 3,000 partners (volunteers) in more than 100 countries to help them support the business and fight against poverty. Functional Departments In order for Oxfam to achieve an overall aim, Oxfam International has various types of functional areas that play a key role in the success of the organisation e. g. Research and development, customer services, administration and human resources. Without these departments Oxfam would struggle to achieve their goals. Research and development This department consist in researching and innovating new products. The R&D department helps Oxfam International to achieve their overall aim by researching and developing the goods or materials used to help the poor such as medicine, drugs foods etc to cure the ill/sick people as well as feeding them and finding them shelter. They also research Areas that need help in order to make an accurate visit and research things that could help find cure for cancer and all other diseases. Customer Service This department is important for Oxfam because this department helps them provide service to the public. They are all about bringing customers back and offering excellent service to the customers, helping Oxfam answer customers’ enquiries, solving their customers’ problems and dealing with customers’ complaints. This functional area helps Oxfam deal with customers in the most respectful and polite manner and provide the best of service. Administration The admin department is the most important functional area it is a support function required by the organisation. The Admin department helps Oxfam carry out a wide range of tasks; which includes sending and receiving messages by fax, email or telephone, dealing with paper work, monitoring budgets and interviewing new staff. This department is very helpful to Oxfam as it makes sure that all requirements are fulfilled accurately and correctly. Human Resources This functional department helps Oxfam by advertising job vacancies to recruiting new experienced employees; to help them provide the best services. They maintain staff records and arrange staff training; to make sure they have the best of staff and encourage continuous professional development. Human resources helps the Oxfam have the best of staff in order to help develop and provide the best service to the public.

Hoover vs FDR

The Great Depression caused hardship for almost everyone in America. Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover were two presidents during this era with two very different approaches on how to deal with It. Roosevelt Is generally thought of as a liberal, while Hoover Is considered a conservative. A liberal Is generally someone who pushes for direct government involvement In citizens' lives, while a conservative typically pushes for limited government.Roosevelt did indeed have a more liberal approach, putting mammoth sums of money into relief programs directly for the people; Hoover was conservative in his approach?he claimed it was the Job of churches and private charities to provide relief, however became less conservative towards the end of his term. Hoover was especially conservative for the beginning of his term. He showed limited government involvement through very limited spending. In 1929, the first year of Hover's term, the government expenditures were only $3. 27 billion, barely rising 1933, however, spending Increased to $4. 659 billion and $4,598 billion, respectively Doc F), showing that his conservatism decreased a bit. The deficit still remained extremely low, showing Hover's unwillingness to be too Involved In recovering the economy, but rather allowing the private factor to grow. Hoover also worked on limiting government by literally limiting government?by not increasing control or spreading bureaucracy. He said that Liberalism, â€Å"should not be found striving to spread bureaucracy but striving to set bounds to it† (Doc A).He showed his conservative values by criticizing a large government. He also left the charity work to private charities and churches, saying that â€Å"economic depression cannot be curbed by legislative action or executive pronouncement (Doc 8). Later in his term Hoover became slightly more liberal in his approaches to ending the Great Depression. The federal expenditure Increased from $3. 127 billion In 1929 to $4. 659 billion In 1932 (Doc F). He started helping the people more directly by creating huge government sponsored projects which created Jobs. These Include the Hoover Dam.Hoover also hectically increased the size of government, passing more legislation and creating more bureaucracy. Under him later in his term, farmers were lent money to buy and sell agricultural goods and were helped through cooperatives. Such spending and loaning is very liberal. Hoover wanted to â€Å"rehabilitate agriculture† through â€Å"large appropriations for loans† (Doc D). Document C depicts Hoover as no longer caring about being seen as conservative, rather saving the poor by spending government money. Roosevelt, unlike Hoover, was a liberal president from the beginning to the ND of his term.He stated himself that â€Å"Liberalism becomes the protection for the far-sighted conservative† (Doc G). This not only promotes liberalism, but attacks conservatism. Franklin Roosevelt liberalism Is most clearly seen through the federal spending under him. During his term, annual government expenditures rose from government spending more to end the depression. Roosevelt also, as Hoover did legislation and increasing bureaucracy. The legislation included the Works Progress Administration. The WAP cost $1 1. 4 billion and employed a huge portion of the workforce.He also passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act to stabilize the farm industry by decreasing the surplus created by farms. FDA can be characterized as liberal due to his extensive spending, loans, and government intervention. While FDA is most commonly known as a liberal and Herbert Hoover is most commonly known as a conservative, Hoover became more liberal in his approach to ending the Great Depression toward the end of his term. Although Hoover played a part in ending the Great Depression, it really took Fad's extreme liberalism to completely recover America's economy.