Character Cannot Be Developed in Ease and Quiet Critical Lens Essay

Critical Lens Essay Helen Keller once said â€Å"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. In other words what this quotation means is what individuals go through in life makes them what they are. Individuals have to go through good and bad to learn love and strength. Two examples that support the validity of this quotation are Night by Elie Wiesel and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.In Night by Elie Wiesel, the protagonist, Eliezer, is taken to Birkenau during World War Two with his father and is separated from the rest of his family. When seeing such horrific conditions in the concentration camp, Eliezer starts to lose faith in God and in himself, yet as his character builds, he starts to mature as time went on. Eliezer’s experiences educate individuals that life in not always far; some individuals lose faith and give u p yet some, like Eliezer, gain strength from their experiences and build up their character.In The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the protagonist, Esperanza, lives on Mango Street with her family and struggles with events where she is faced with adult responsibilities and maturity. In the vignette â€Å"Red Clowns†, she is taken advantage of and experiences an act of nature where she is transformed into a woman. Esperanza shows that overcoming catastrophes make you a stronger person. With such experiences comes strength and maturity.In both Night by Elie Wiesel and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the protagonists, Esperanza and Eliezer are faced with events that make them stronger and better people. They are two examples of individuals that support the validity of the quote that Helen Keller once said â€Å"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved†. Even when the going gets tough, individuals learn love and strength which allows them to obtain victory and build character and achieve their dreams.

How Do I Develop a Personal Code of Ethics

How do I develop a personal code of ethics? Developing your own personal code of ethics is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. A personal code of ethics puts into writing those ideas and philosophies that are the essence of your life and allows you to say I will do this because I believe this. A code of ethics is a document, which you can look to each day not only as a reminder of what you believe in but also as an encouragement to carry on with your daily walk.The main question most people have is â€Å"how do I develop a personal code of ethics? † The answer really is quite simple, but it will take a little work and thought on your part. First, take stock of your life. Take the time to write down who you are. This is a reflection of who you believe yourself to be. Think of it this way. If you asked a friend to describe you, what would they say? An example of this would be someone saying to you that you are helpful or that you are kind. List all the trai ts that anyone has ever pointed out to you.Second, think about what you believe. Make a list of all of your ethical beliefs. Don’t worry about why you believe them just write down as many of your personal beliefs as you can think of. These are the beliefs that carry you through your everyday life and define your decision-making process. Third, think about the places you work, rest, and play and how you relate to all the people you come in contact with. Are there things that you would like to change about these relationships that would involve listing them in a code of ethics?I am not only talking about any obvious things like any misdealing with customers or family members. I am talking about the little things as well, such as gossip, etc. Fourth, now that you have your beliefs written down, think about why you believe them. This is essential because it sets up how important each of your beliefs are to you. The source of all ethical beliefs is the Bible. So if you have any fa vorite verses, now would be the time to list them next to each of your beliefs that is shaped by a biblical truth.Now that you have all the information about who you are and why you believe what you do, it is time to write and develop a personal code of ethics. This is not as hard as you think it might be, but it will take you a little time to think about what you want to include and not include. The first part of your personal code of ethics is the purpose for your personal code of ethics. Are you writing it to regulate your behavior or to inspire you to greater heights? Whatever your reason, this is where you will develop the philosophy behind your code of ethics.The only requirement is that the purpose, as well as the code of ethics, be tailored to your needs. The second part of your personal code of ethics is what I like to call the â€Å"I will† section of your personal code of ethics. God, in the Bible, set up His â€Å"I will’s† which are based on who He is. This is the same thing you need to do. Go through the list of how people see you and look to see if any match up to what you believe. This is the aspirations section of your document. All the traits that you now exhibit as well as those you wish to develop should be included.The third part of your code of ethics is the rules or beliefs you expect yourself to follow when dealing with other people. These are all the â€Å"why’s† listed in the information gathering part of the process of writing a personal code of ethics. In this section, you might want to list some Bible verses that help you to see the importance of applying your personal code of ethics to your life. Once you are done writing the first draft, look it over and refine it as necessary and as changes come in your life. Remember you are writing the code of ethics and it will be up to you to follow it.

Schools Like Any Other Organizations Education Essay

Schools, like any other organisations, are aggregations of interconnected human and non- human resources working together to accomplish a common end within structured relationships. But they differ from any other industrial, commercial, governmental or military organisation as it require a alone manners of leading, ways of thought and an attack to disposal. This is because the mission of schools is non to increase net incomes but to raising and develop people to go to the full functional persons foster the acquisition, personal growing and development of all participants, the staff and the pupils. Literature reappraisalOrganizational Behaviors and saying the relevancy in today ‘s contextA school is a universe in which people live, grow and work. Like any other societal organisation, the universe of school has power, construction, logic and values. The behaviour of people at work in a school, separately every bit good as group is non simply a contemplation of their single alone personalities but is strongly molded and molded by the societal norms and outlooks of the civilization that prevail in the organisation. Therefore the person and societal influence creates alone organisational behaviour of people in the school organisation. A school is an extraordinary powerful environment which form and mold behaviour of the people through its civilization and clime. This web of interactions between people and the organisation and its deductions for leading is determining the behaviour of people at work in educational organisations. The ends of any educational organisation are academic accomplishment, effectual work wonts, civic values, societal behaviour, self esteem and self trust. In order to accomplish the ends of schooling, the outlooks that instructors have for the accomplishments of pupils, the relationships between pupils and instructors, the motive of pupils, clip spent on instruction and acquisition and the equal relationships affairs. Besides how schools are managed, how pupils are grouped, how parents and the community are involved, how work is assigned and the determinations made in school. The widespread credence as the preferable manner for exerting control and coordination in schools is the bureaucratic mechanism. The present twenty-four hours acceleration in the development of engineering, political relations, economic sciences and society has by and large left stiff bureaucratisms staggering and unresponsive. To boom in today ‘s quickly changing universe, schools must nimble, adaptative to alter and invariably germinating ( Peter Senge – a learning organisation ) . They are non merely adaptable to new challenges emerging in the universe but are besides adaptable to the worldwide rise in outlooks for increased democracy, personal freedom, single regard and self-respect and chances for self- fulfilment. Administrators who tactically or explicitly embrace the non bureaucratism affect a good trade of persuading. The instructors who are underlying behavior form of theory X or Y who are in the non bureaucratic environment Theory Ten Theory Yttrium Needed to be belonged, liked and respected. Want to experience utile to the school and tend to corporate volitionally and to follow with school, section and unit ends if the above demands are fulfilled. In add-on to the demands of theory X, desire to lend efficaciously and creatively to the achievement of worthwhile aims. Majority are capable of exerting far more inaugural, duty and creativeness than their present work fortunes allow. Administrators ‘ basic undertaking is to do each instructor believe that they are utile and of import portion of the squad. They should be willing to explicate determinations and discuss instructors ‘ expostulations. Besides to affect instructors in planning and determination devising. Teachers should be encouraged to exert self way and ego control Administrator works to bring out the originative resources of the instructors. Teachers participate in determination devising and develop. Information is shared and instructors involve in determination devising. This helps to increase the demand of belongingness and single acknowledgment. It will increase the morale and cut down opposition to formal authorization. Administrators and instructors make usage of the full scope of experience, penetration and originative ability to better the public presentation in school. Accomplishment of aims will increase the self-control and self way. Schools in the island were officially introduced during the colonial epoch. Education is largely delivered through a spiritual background, either through temples or the church. The priests followed the regulations defined through the faith to set single behaviour. Many described such schools as oppressive. But traditionally such schools emphasized powerful societal norms and outlooks that support and wages such behaviour. The norms of such schools discourage behaviour that inquiries the established the order and proposes alterations. With the educational reform in 1947, schools in the state were managed under one organic structure known as Education section of Sri Lanka and new theories and constructs of instruction being introduced to the school web. In order to understand the acquisition abilities and features of kids and grownups in the educational environment, behavioural psychological science applied theories of development. B.K Skinners ‘ methodological analysis of behaviourism had hence embraced by instructors and they used the programmed instructions, scripted instruction, diagnostic-prescriptive instruction and behavior alteration in learning. Educationists decide on ends ( marks ) , all right supports to bring forth those responses ( lesson programs ) , a plan that will bring forth the coveted behaviours ( category room activity ) and eventually mensurate the support methods ( tests, all schoolroom, term and public ) and alter them carefully ( twelvemonth terminal reappraisal and preparation Sessi onss ) . These methods are non developed to â€Å" develop the head † but to set up the very behaviours which are to be taken to be grounds of acquisition. The pupils learn in such an environment retained the cognition and accomplishments they learn in school and so applied in state of affairss in existent life. Therefore unlike in the colonial instruction system, there were 1000s of people adding into the work force every twenty-four hours. They retained a ample sum of the cognition for many old ages and mastered that cognition. For the last decennary or so Sri Lankan authorities instruction system, including the universities were based on behaviourism and as a consequence, there are 1000s of unemployed school departers and alumnuss who are unable to suit into the current competitory market. As a consequence Educationists considered the cognitive psychological behaviour ( Chomsky ) had adopted the method of learning which will authorise the critical thought and originative thought ( with 2009 course of study alterations ) . This is besides the construct of left- encephalon and right-brain orientation of thought. Cognitive psychological science has a batch of impact on the pattern of learning and larning in the schoolroom. The results are emphasized and the solutions are being motivated to be reached by the pupils in assortment of ways. The schoolrooms are now larning environments which promote survey accomplishments, societal accomplishments, job resolution and organisational accomplishments along with the capable affair command. The instructors create motivated schoolroom environments harmonizing to Weiner and the expression for self- regard, when pupils show internal/ability property, supplying challenges to larn and developing them to keep self – regard when fa ilures occur. When they show internal/effort property to hold high outlooks for success as they will remain motivated in malice of impermanent reverses. There are assortments of specific actions that the instructors are in the ways and agencies of ways to increase motive in schoolroom undertakings. The intrinsic motive to be practiced through explicating or demoing why larning a peculiar content or accomplishment is of import, create and maintain wonder, supply a assortment of activities and centripetal stimulations, provide games and simulations, set ends for acquisition, associate larning to student demands and assist pupil develop program of action and the extrinsic motive through supplying clear outlooks, giving disciplinary feedback and providing wagess. The outlooks of a instructor in such an environment demands the instructors to alter radically with the technological alterations the passage of inactive acquisition content to electronic integrative tools. The instructor ‘s function remained mostly as a facilitator at the same clip to be a co-learner in technological cognition and accomplishments. The current demand from a instructor is to hold are, hypertext transfer protocol: //thejournal.com/articles/2008/06/30/the-future-of-instruction-teacher-as-colearner.aspx # Learning and creativeness – instructors use capable affair expertness to ease and animate creativeness in pupils, including ingeniousness, job resolution and reflecting through the usage of digital tools collaborative tools and co-learning experiences. # Assessment – Use appraisals for ratings so that the pupils set their ain ends for acquisition, engage in individualized acquisition and are evaluated based on multiple, varied formative and summational appraisals aligned with content and engineering criterions. # Digital age skills – instructors exhibit eloquence in digital tools, engage on a regular basis in engineering – based coaction and usage information resources to back up research and acquisition. # Digital citizenship: Teachers promote â€Å" safe, legal, and ethical usage of digital information and engineering, † promote etiquette, and work to further a planetary position in pupils # Professional development: Educators adopt a theoretical account of womb-to-tomb acquisition and exhibit professional leading through engagement in larning communities, rating of research into the latest digital tools for instruction, parts to the â€Å" effectivity, verve, and self-renewal of the instruction profession, † and presentation of leading in instruction engineering. The ministry of Education with NSB and selected providers took enterprises to supply Personal computers for instructors at a sensible monetary value through Teacher PC Drive plan and to supply developing through reputed private institutes such as IDM Computer Studies and Gateway in 2006. The ‘Innovative Teachers National Competition 2008 ‘ conducted by the Ministry of Education ‘s Secondary Education Modernization Project ( SEMP ) II and Microsoft Sri Lanka assessed the advancement of this plan. In â€Å" The Skills for life † launched in 2009, provides specialised plans for instructors in Sri Lankan instruction system plays a critical function in this scenario. Programs such as ICDL, CTP straight on ICT making and LTCC, IPICT as an instruction tool for non ICT instructors. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.skillsforlife.lk/index.php? option=com_content & A ; view=article & A ; id=9 & A ; Itemid=16 Photo caption: Kithsiri Abeysinghe – Nikawewa Dewanampiyatissa Central College, Chithrangani Karunasekera – Katuwana National School, Premawathie Henayalage- Project Manager, Department of Education North Central Province, Ranjith Tharukaratne – Sujatha Balika Maha Vidyalaya hypertext transfer protocol: //www.digit.lk/09_sept_slteachers The instruction leader inevitableness faces a calling in which new resilient responses are invariably required to run into the challenges that will ineluctably and unremittingly originate in the hereafter. These challenges are likely to happen in rhythms as they have for over a century. The jobs that seem overvelming to us now will in clip recede into the background as new an seemingly more demanding challenges emerge in the hereafter. In position of this dogged patterned advance, educational leaders non merely necessitate to develop responses to the urgencies of the minute but besides to develop a set of values, beliefs and principals to steer them in developing effectual schemes and actions in the unsure hereafter. Take together these values, beliefs and principals cast and determine the educational leaders vision of what the school ought to be like the way in which it should be traveling, and the terminal province for which it should be like, the way in which it should be travelin g and the terminal province which it should be endeavoring. A nucleus component in such vision

Consumer Behaviour in Malaysia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Consumer Behaviour in Malaysia - Essay Example (Ndubisi 2006, p17) In order to be able to take advantage of opportunities and establish strong chance at competition in Malaysia, Australian exporters should be able to understand the dynamics of the country’s consumer market because Malaysian consumers differ significantly from those in Australia. An understanding of consumer behavior, particularly, can make a difference since it impacts purchasing behavior and, therefore, marketing decisions as well. In addition, the diffusion of trends such as technological and economic is also crucial to penetrate the Malaysian market. Culture and Consumer Behavior The relationship between consumers and consumer goods is driven by several variables. Culture is one of the most important of such. McCracken’s model, which explained the movement of cultural meaning, identify possession ritual, exchange ritual, grooming ritual and divestment ritual as what dictates individual consumer behavior in the process wherein meaning is construct ed, structured and transferred in the flow of consumer goods. (Schiffman et al 2009) Ritual is the key concept at work here. Consumption becomes a symbolic activity typified by steps, behaviors and actions that became constant, occurring repeatedly over time. This underscores how culture impacts consumers. Consumer products are symbols that represent what the consumers value in products and services or what the marketers communicate as value for the buyers. Karahana, Evaristo and Strite also explained how culture impacts behavior through their own theoretical model of culture’s influence on behavior. Here, behavior is driven by attitude and social norms, variables that are produced by cognitive beliefs, cultural practices and values. (p8) Pecotich and Schultz conducted a review of studies on consumer perception on brands in Malaysia. It was found that Malaysians display specific characteristics in their attitude towards products. Specific examples were provided. For instance, in brand selection on electrical products, Malaysians were found to be motivated by the perceived best brand, favoring prestige over a product that is simply thought of as efficient or works well. (p426) This is also congruent to the tendency of Malaysian consumers to patronize celebrity-endorsed products and their loyalty to brands. According to Kacen and Lee (2002), impulse consumer buying behavior now accounts for up to 80% of all purchases in some countries and that culture plays a part as consumers engage in sudden, compelling, hedonically complex purchase decision process that precludes thoughtful, deliberate consideration of all information and choice alternatives. (p163) The argument is that culture tempers impulsive buying. This is highlighted in Malaysia by the Islamic subculture, which in turn can best be depicted through the concept of halal. In Malaysia, halal, which means what is permitted, is the norm in Islamic consumption. Consumers and their consumption are subjec t to institutionalization regulated by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs. Fischer (2008) explained that halal informs and controls ideas and practices such as wearing of gold and ornaments, wigs and hairpieces; paintings; photographs, keeping of dogs; cleanliness;

Sustainable New Orleans Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sustainable New Orleans - Research Paper Example Owing to the enactment of the legislation, the United States Army Corps of Engineers were charged with the responsibility of building artificial levees and floodwalls around the city so as to protect its residents and property from possible destruction by hurricanes and strong winds. This paper will discuss the sustainability of New Orleans after the Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused major damage to the city of New Orleans; the magnitude of damage defying measure. The natural disaster has been credited with the loss of at least 1,836 with property worth about 81 billion US dollars (Colten 45). Most damage caused by the hurricane occurred due to the catastrophic failure of the levee system which was meant to regulate water levels. As a result of this failure, the city got severely flooded, the floodwaters remaining in place for weeks on end. The worst damage was experienced in coastal region, the worst of which occurred in the Mississippi beachfront towns making what has been considered the worst engineering failure in the history of the United States of America. During the disaster, casino barges, and water vessels, rammed into constructions and inland houses, the floods stretching between 10 and 19 kilometers from the beaches. With the city currently recovering from the massive damage and loss caused by Hurricane Katrina, it is only reasonable from the government, residents, private and public organizations to take every measure to ensure that no such damage and loss occur in the future in case of a similar disaster. There are several measures that could be taken in the rebuilding of New Orleans in a sustainable way – â€Å"without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs† as stated by grist (Lange para1). The following sections of this paper will dwell on the eco- friendly rebuilding of the city for better development and better

Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Globalization - Essay Example Before the United States of America was the ultimate supreme ruler and countries like India were low-level underdeveloped nations. However, globalization has changed this. Although these countries cannot yet rise to the same level in terms of development, they are able to learn and understand better the culture and other aspects of development such as in technology and innovations about other countries. Communication has definitely increased in growth. People are now integrated in their thinking to improve and modernize their ways of doing things. Lower level countries can now understand the good concepts of other countries and integrate them in their own country for development. Technology, especially computers, paved the way for Internet, which has made communication so much faster. Freidman, in his book, realizes that the world is flat when he visited several technology companies and call centers in India and also in China. Friedman is later told that the playing field right now h as been leveled, a condition in which all companies and businesses have an equal chance of being successful and on top. Now, countries like India can participate in the competition for worldwide understanding and knowledge, flattening to the point where businesses, small or big, can collaborate and vie globally. Globalization has caused several effects in the development of many areas in development and growth. In the military, it has flattened through the use of computer technology. Now, low-status officers and recruited men could gain access to different kinds of information through the Internet. Education is also now available through the Internet. Online schooling is now possible. American people can be lectured, coached and instructed online by Indian tutors. Information is spread throughout the world and is now continually flowing to even the remote locations in several countries. In terms of trade and commerce, advertising and sales can be done through television and the inte rnet as well which is seen by more audiences in a cheaper and a more low-cost way. Because of the flat world, there is an emergence and the beginning of worldwide production markets that have dramatically increased the development of international trade within the past five decades. In addition, in terms of economy, in my opinion, countries now have the same and equal opportunity to become the number one power in terms of wealth. Before, the United States was the main world power and it has maintained a sturdy and rich economy. But because of globalization, China grew tremendously, competing with America, and it has been predicted that in twenty years time with this kind of rate from China, it will have enough to rival with the United States. Communication to the social public has now effectively increased and grew. Tri media has now become cheaper and cheaper to the point where it has become affordable to everyone, enabling it to reach a larger audience faster and in a more afforda ble way. Culture has also become influenced and has changed. Cultural diffusion, or the sharing an the spreading of ideas, the contact between cultural countries, adopting new cultures and practices and technology has bloomed, flourished and tremendously grew. Cultural diversity is now more apparent such as the emergence of international pop culture and trends. With all this development and the rise

The Effects of Computers on Today's Society Coursework

The Effects of Computers on Today's Society - Coursework Example Refrigerators use built-in computers to regulate the temperature, cars have computers in the form of anti-locking breaking systems and engine controls and smart phones also make use of some very sophisticated computer technology to safe keep our contacts, music and pictures (Frisicaro et al n.d). The biggest advantage of computers is the ease with which knowledge can be made available to the masses. Whether it is journals, databases, blogs or newspapers; anyone with a connection to the internet can now have a wealth of information on their fingertips. Search engines make it easier to look for information. Computer and internet technology has specially changed the nature of education (Frisicaro et al n.d). Students are learning in a whole new fashion which could not have been thought of before the advent of computers. They can now design models, run simulations, conduct extensive research and become a part of the global information revolution at the few clicks of a mouse (Kashmanian, 2000). Research also suggests that personal computers have had a huge impact on students’ decision to graduate from high school. Students who have had access to computers show better academic performance and achieve better test scores (Beltran et al 2008). Computers have completely changed the way we read and write. Now thanks to word processors, spelling mistakes are a thing of the past and even most celebrated writers now prefer electronic writing over traditional text. Computers are also a great interpersonal medium, enhancing our conversations through emails, discussion groups and chat rooms (Ferris, 2002). But despite all the goodness of computers, there are some major drawbacks. Thanks to all the word processors, the ability to express clearly without computers has become virtually nonexistent. Chat rooms and emails have done more damage to our writing and conversation skills than anything else. The Net-Generation speaks in abbreviations and shorthand that are wreaking havoc on language skills. Young children learn this language from an early age which effectively destroys their command over English language. Computer games and the internet mean that children as well as adults these days are spending all their time in front of the computer screen. Physical activity has become virtually non-existent; this is leading to many health issues. As these children grow up, this habit has taken hold and they continue to lead this computer-oriented lifestyle for the rest of their lives (Frisicaro et al n.d..). Office goers often complain of physiological problems such as Repetitive Strain Injuries, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and DeQuervains Tendonitis which are brought on by non-stop use of computers. But there is an even darker side to the health issue. Computers are now known to cause some very serious psychological problems as well. The first issue is that computers can cause an alienation from society, many computer users are not able to function in social s ettings and are completely dependent on computers for any interaction they have with the world at large. Another issue is stress and burnout brought on by using computers for extended periods of time. Stress can also be brought on trying to keep up with the constant changes in computer technology. Computer addiction is also a very common psychological disorder in our society. People who suffer from it are always online and in search of the latest game, program or any other addiction that may keep them hooked

Discuss the differences in Leadership between Men and Women Essay

Discuss the differences in Leadership between Men and Women - Essay Example In order to find out the difference in the leadership style of men and women, it is very important to investigate on the nature of the differences. Gender differences in the Communication For being a good leader, it is very important for an individual to have a strong communication skill. Good communication is considered as the most important skill which is very difficult to master. Failure in good communication results in friction and problems arising in an organization. Various situations, cultures, time, gender styles etc. affect as well as complicate the communication process. After studying the pattern of communication for many years, the linguists agree upon the facts that the gender difference is one of the reasons affecting this process. The gender differences may arise from some of the basic genetic or biological differences or as a result of difference in the cultural behavioral expectations. This difference may lead to several problems in interaction within the organizatio n. The main difference in the communication style of men and women arises due to the fact that the view the purposes of their conversations differently. According to many academic research scholars, women use the communication as an important tool for enhancing the social connections and creating relationships whereas men use this as a tool to exert dominance and finally achieve tangible outcomes (Leaper 801). Women seem to be more expressive, polite and curious in their conversations whereas men are hungry for power. Both of the aspects have a positive impact related to the leadership styles. For example, the expressive and polite nature of the women help in creating a strong relationship (as a leader) with the subordinates whereas the dominant nature of the men help in influencing the subordinates to work efficiently within an organization. Women try to be more expressive and social while interacting with others. Men give higher value to their independence. Men try to maintain the ir status as well as dominance in the relationships with the subordinates while interacting with them and do not believe in building intimate bond with them in order to have an effective leadership style. Women are found to use more tentative, polite language as compared to men especially in the situation of conflict. Research studies made on the gender differences related to the communication styles have concluded that men try to be self assertive and try to converse in such a manner that it may lead to tangible outcomes. On the other hand, women value cooperation. The next phase is finding out that how the gender differences in the leadership styles lead to the differences in their leadership styles. Differences in the Leadership Styles across the Genders It has been found that men are mainly task-oriented leaders whereas women believe in relationship-oriented leadership. The task oriented leaders are autocratic and focuses on setting the work standards, job supervision and meetin g the goals of the production. Men are generally very goal oriented in nature when it is concerned about approaching communication for the purpose of leadership. They use the method of conversation to preserve independence, achieve results and also maintain the status in

Management Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management Research Methods - Essay Example Numerical data are exact and specific; therefore, their treatment is necessarily objective. On the other hand, qualitative data are descriptive and experiential, and therefore their treatment is subjective. There are necessary differences in the philosophies that govern quantitative and qualitative research methods. These philosophies define the world-view the method assumes when conducting research. The quantitative method is grounded in positivism, which asserts that the knowledge that is gathered through research can only be significant if it can be measured. It proceeds from the theory of Auguste Comte, the French philosopher, that the world is an external environment that can be seen externally and measured objectively. Opinions, impressions, and perceptions that cannot be measured are not significant in a positivist approach (Zawawi, 2007, p. 3). Qualitative theory, on the other hand, is based on the philosophy of phenomenology. This philosophy states that the world and its rea lity derive their meaning from people (Husserl, 1946 in Zawawi, 2007, p. 3). The experiences of people concerning certain phenomena provide their significance, thus their subjective understanding of the event or phenomenon is what comprises knowledge. This is why qualitative approach uses cases, descriptions and narratives to convey the knowledge gathered about an event. Comparing qualitative and quantitative approaches highlights certain important contrasts. One is that the quantitative method is deductive while the quantitative method is inductive. The deductive approach begins from established theory that relates to the topic being researched, and then goes on to seek evidence of its application in the real world. A hypothesis is tested based on the chosen theory, then situations are tested to see if they comply with the theory. On the other hand, the qualitative method makes use of the inductive approach, which begins with the focus of the research – the issue or problem, or the organization under study – and at the end of the research develops a theory that would explain the phenomena observed (Greener, 2008, p. 16). Furthermore, the quantitative approach is positivist while the qualitative is interpretivist. The positivist approach is characterized by the use of the scientific inquiry most closely associated with the natural sciences. The positivist approach emphasizes those observations that may be made with the senses, and promotes the process of experimentation, of statistically proving or disproving hypotheses, and to explain the discrepancies or deviations from the rule. Positivism emphasizes the objective or normative. On the other hand, quantitative techniques lean more towards interpretivism, which in turn is closest to the social sciences. This branch of the sciences attempts to interpret social phenomena in a way that explains consistently their causes and effects (Greener, 2008, p. 16 -17). There are many other differences betwee n the quantitative and qualitative approaches to research, but these are their most important contrasts. Section B With reference to Qualitative approaches describe the common methods used for data collection and analysis. (1000 words) According to Creswell (1998), qualitative research is defined as: †¦an inquiry process of understanding based on distinct methodological traditions of inquiry that explore a social or human problem. The researcher builds a complex, holistic picture, analyses words, reports

Stock Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stock Markets - Essay Example Hypothesis being the Greek word for "assumption", the Efficient Markets Hypothesis therefore assumes that capital markets, of which the stock or equity market is one, is efficient. And what we mean when we say that a market is efficient is that buyers and sellers of stocks have all the relevant information they need to make an intelligent decision to either buy or sell stocks in companies at a certain price that reflects all available information. The first to propose the hypothesis is Eugene Fama of the University of Chicago in a paper (1970) where he presented a method of testing the efficiency of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds of studies have been conducted to either prove or disprove the hypothesis. Since we know that in science, a scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory, the fact that the efficiency of markets remains a hypothesis begs the question: why Do test results thus far show that capital markets are inefficient because scientific investigation has not proven otherwise Or, if capital markets are efficient, and stock prices reflect all available information, then why is the trade on mere pieces of paper (called stocks) growing Is it a case of altruistic holders of stocks, seeing the potential for future earnings, selling these stocks to others in order to share the wealth Or are all sellers of stocks just looking for another fool to unload a worthless piece of paper And why do people still make (and lose) money in the stock market And if capital markets are efficient, are all investing decisions intelligent and based on complete information As we will show, capital market efficiency does not necessarily mean an increase in the intelligence quotient of all investors. Power of Information in Capital Markets Today Capital markets have the advantage of getting buyers and sellers to agree on a deal without the use of financial intermediaries like banks and insurance companies who direct the flow of resources from savers to borrowers. Capital market transactions are therefore deemed more efficient in the absence of intermediaries except for brokers who put buyers and sellers together and get a small commission for the effort, making the deal almost frictionless. This is one factor that leads to our hypothesis: the low transaction costs of capital markets enhance its efficiency. With transaction costs negligible, the only real factor that determines the current price of a stock should be the net present value of its future cash flows in the form of dividends and, assuming the company lasts long enough, capital gains when the stock is sold at a future date. After all, a stock is nothing else but a claim to a company's future cash flows. A company's cash flow is affected by several factors, among which are its business prospects, management quality and strategic plans, the economy's over-all performance, and the company's standing within the economy. If all these pieces of information are known, making a study of free

US invasion of Iraq Essay Example for Free

US invasion of Iraq Essay The research paper scrutinizes the invasion of Iraq initiated by the United States. Iraqi people had undergone several adversities as a consequence of this attack and are still on the pursuit of envisioning autonomy and liberty from the herculean clench of United States. On this account, the paper tackles all the efforts made regarding the reviving and enlivening of Iraq made by several state actors in accordance to their own personal capacity. United States invaded Iraq on 19th March 2003, and an operation known by the name of â€Å"Operation Iraqi Freedom† was started together with the support of United Kingdom, Australia and Poland. On March 17, President Bush had already given an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein either to surrender or to face the military wrath of the coalition forces, but the Iraqi government fell to its knees on 9th April by the invasion initiated by the US forces which concluded with the capture of the Iraq’s capital Baghdad (Copson, 2003). In the months of January March 2003, the US gathered its troops in the Persian Gulf. The total number of troops that the US gathered to invade Iraq was 100,000, furthermore military analysts assessed that though it will be possible even to attack in the extreme heat of summer, but military experts observed that fighting war in the cooler months before May would be much more favorable for the war (Hemmer, 2003). The American President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blaire viewed their actions as that of disarming Iraq of â€Å"Weapons of Mass Destruction† and to end Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror and his support for terrorists and their activities and obviously, to free the Iraqi people (Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003). However after the invasion, no WMDs were ever found in Iraq. The intelligence officials furthermore agreed on this fact that no chemical weapons have been in production since the early gulf war of 90’s (SHRADER, 2006). The CIA also accepted that no weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. CIA officially released a report stating that CIA was not able to locate any weapons of mass destruction (Associated Press, 2005). The question regarding Saddam’s links with terrorist organization, Al Qaeda being the most important one, was also answered. There was no evidence found regarding direct link of Saddam being supportive of terrorist groups. Certain notable US persons have also raised fingers regarding the authenticity of the claims made that Iraq is linked with Al Qaeda and can supply weapons of mass destruction to Al Qaeda too. Carl Levin Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee clearly stated it to be exaggeration of the issue. Senator Dianne Feinsten also said that clearly the Al Qaeda issue was hyped (HAYES, 2003). Public Relations In January 2003, an American poll showed that most of the Americans were in favor of having support from the allies before indulging itself in a war. Furthermore the American public even went for supporting big time for the President Bush in order to launch an invasion against Iraq. Polls further shifted in the favor of Bush administration following Secretary of State Collin Powell’s February 5 presentation to the Security Council (CNN, 2003). Although some polls which were later carried out showed a decline in support of war, but President Bush’s speech which he delivered on March 17, once again was fruitful in gaining support from the American people. A Washington Post – ABC News polling showed that 71% supported President Bush’s decision in going to war, and 66% supported the President’s decision in not seeking the vote from United Nations Security Council (Washington Post, 2003). But nonetheless many Americans opposed the war too and of violating a country’s sovereignty. Large rallies and anti-war demonstrations were held in many of the cities especially huge protests in San Francisco and large demonstration in New York after the war begun. Many people also believed that because of this war, there will be high level of anti-American feelings around the whole world, and it can further add fuel to the fire (Cosgrove-Mather, 2009). Development regarding post-war Iraq With the switch of Operation Iraqi Freedom from a military to a reconstruction phase, Congress with the passage of time started to get more and more demanding regarding specific information from Bush Administration’s plans for rebuilding Iraq or the post-war future of Iraq. The Chairman of The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar said that for a proper functioning of democracy in Iraq, it could at least take five years for this to be successful (Lugar, 2003). In addition many of the analysts and policymakers believed that in order to rebuild Iraq, it will be required for Congress to allocate additional funds for the future, but many were of the view that international community should come forward too for rebuilding of Iraq. Several members of United Nations Security Council submitted a letter to President Bush too regarding their support for the post-war rebuilding of Iraq. Overall, Congress was of the view that after the downfall of Saddam’s reign of terror Iraq will be highly dependent on aid from the United States and the international community, particularly from the members of U.  N. Security Council as well as number of police and military forces to maintain peace and order. But the question was that for how long Iraq will be requiring United States assistance and help and how much assistance will need to be provided (Sharp, 2003). Post-Saddam Transition and Governance The U. S. aims for Iraq are for a united, democratic, and a civic Iraq that can sustain, govern, and defend it and is an ally in the global war on terrorism. The following sections discuss Iraq’s progress toward those goals. In establishing a successful and peaceful rule in the new Iraq, a lot of complexities were involved regarding various post war risks to stability in Iraq, therefore many analysts were of the view that instead of going for the democratic form of government the present Iraq might be most effectively governed under a military regime which will not be going for the restoration of full democracy in the country but instead would comply with U.  N resolutions. However no one came forward to take the role of this leadership. The Bush Administration therefore appointed a retired General, Jay Garner to take up the responsibility of administrating Iraq’s ministries. The Administration largely discarded the State Department’s Future of Iraq Project that planned the administration of Iraq after the fall of Saddam. The project cost $5 million and had 15 working groups on major issues (Department of State USA, 2005). Traditional administrative law (TAL) The Bush Administration was looking forward to holding of general elections in the late 2005 however Ayatollah Sistani and others demanded for early elections and the return of Iraqi sovereignty which ultimately led the U. S to announce that sovereignty would be returned to Iraq by June 30, 2004 and national elections to be held by the end of 2005. This whole decision was made part of an interim constitution named as Transitional Administrative Law. It was signed on 8th March 2004. It helped to provide a way for political transition and of holding of elections for National Assembly by January 31, 2005, drafting of a permanent constitution by 15th August and by providing a roadmap for national elections for a full term by 15th December 2005 (Katzman, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, 2009). Elections of 2005 The elections for transitional National Assembly, 18 provisional councils and the Kurdish regional assembly were held in 2005. The Sunni Arabs did not take part in the elections thus enabling the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance to ally with the Kurds and to dominate the national government. The elected government formed a committee which was given the task of drafting a new constitution and the constitution got approved on 15th October 2005. Sunni opposition tried to oppose the constitution but achieved only two-thirds of â€Å"no† vote in two provinces, not in the three, required to defeat the constitution. But in the elections later held on 15th December for a first full term government the Sunnis in a way allied with the Kurds and accepted Nuri-al-Maliki as Prime Minister, he won the approval of cabinet on 20th May 2006 (Katzman, Iraq: Politics, Elections, and Benchmarks, 2009). Promoting stability internationally and domestically After the war, the U. S pressure led UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Syria and Egypt either to send ambassadors to Iraq or announced that they’ll do it in the near future. Furthermore in almost 30 years, Iraq appointed its first Ambassador to Syria. Notable leaders who visited Iraq as a beginning of a new relationship were Jordan’s King Abdullah who was the first Arab leader to do so, he visited on August 11, 2008. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited in March 2008. Two of the most major steps in reconciliation efforts were the visit of Turkey’s foreign minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul and it was the first such visit by Turkish head of state in 30 years. The second was the visit of Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Al Sabah in February 2009. Furthermore Saudi Arabia also thought of opening an embassy in Iraq, however its still one of the pending issues and the final decision has yet to be made by the Saudi Arabia (Katzman, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, 2009). Even before that, Secretary of the Treasury John Snow tried to use diplomatic means to promote Iraq’s recovery. What he did was to try to persuade the institutions like that of World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to support the rebuilding of Iraq. Snow reported that representatives of the G-7 industrialized nations had agreed on this decision to help Iraq in its rebuilding efforts if the U. N Security Council grants its permission. Furthermore governments were asked to forgive the debt owed by Iraq, however Russia was particularly resistant regarding the subject matter as it owed $8 billion by Iraq and was heavily in debt itself (Blustein, 2003).

Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Example for Free

Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Martin Luther King was a major driving force during the 1950-1960s African American civil rights movement. Following his influence in fighting for the respect of equal human rights, Luther has become one of the most recognized human rights icons in the American nation. According to available historical information, born in 1929, Luther started his civil rights activist activities during his early ages. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott due to segregation practices, which compromised the principle of equality of all American citizens (Darby, 1990). True from history, Luther brought much influence in the war against racial segregation and discrimination. Just to be appreciated is the fact that despite the provisions that all men are equal during the declaration of independence in the 18th century, racial discrimination was a common practice in the early twentieth century. Historical information indicate that the â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech by Martin Luther King in the 963 March on Washington triggered the African Americans into fight for their human rights (Darby, 1990). Conducting his affairs uniquely, Luther is praised advocating a non-violent approach to the realization of equal human rights in the American nation (Darby, 1990). Indeed, this was the underlying reason behind why he was given the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending racial segregation and l discrimination through non-violent means in 1964. In addition to his impact on the American community, Luther finds his honor in advocating against the violation of human rights during the Vietnam War in 1968. Following his influence in the civil rights war, Luther is globally appreciated as a crucial fighter for freedom (Darby, 1990). To emphasis on this claim, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 nine years after his assassination. Such are also found in the establishment of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a U. S. national holiday in 1986. References Darby, J. (1990). Martin Luther King. Jr. Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group.

Problems Faced By Easyjet

Problems Faced By Easyjet A comment on problems being faced by EasyJet and evaluation of strategies adopted by EasyJet Introduction EasyJet, a British airline company which has been fund in 1995 by Stelios Haji-Ioannou with 2 Boeing airplanes and 2 routs, has now expand to European market with 189 airplanes and more then 400 routes (Suit 101, 2009). Nowadays, EasyJet along with its well known low cost strategy is consisting on capturing larger market share. However, there has generated two main conflicts inside the firm. First, Stelios as the biggest shareholder against managers future growth plan of purchasing more aircrafts. Second, Stelios insist that shareholder of EasyJet should be paid by dividend. In order to examine the current issues of EasyJet, this report will analysis issues relate to EasyJet in aspect of economics and finance. In the economics section, this report will first discuss business objectives of EasyJet while focus on growth as its main objective. After that, the report will look into the separation theory of ownership and control issues and apply it into the discussion of current problems exist between shareholders and managers. Thirdly, this report will describe the market structure of British airline industry and discuss whether the low cost strategy could fit the market. In the finance section, this report will first examine the reflection of strategy adopted by EasyJet on the accounts using ratio analysis and trend inspecting. Then it will move on to a comparison among EasyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair, and explore the investment risk of EasyJet. Finally, this report will make a conclusion as well as recommendations that may probably solve the problems exist in Ea syJet. Part A. Economics A.1 Business Objectives According to Neild and Carysforth (2004, p.47), Business objectives are targets which must be achieved for an aim to be met. Strategies or plans adopted by firms are often based on targets such as profit, sales and growth. A.1.1 Growth Growth as the major objective of EasyJet, it is relatively easy to achieve during recession as well as recovery period. Growth of a company is regarded as expand size and enlarge sales. It is based on the scarification of short-term profit in favor of long-term profit. For example, EasyJet use retained earnings to push fleet growth. As a result, shareholders are not satisfied without dividends. In order to balance interests of both sides, managers have to increase the short profit through enlarge sales. Moreover, as managers are controllers of the company, they are free to choose growth as objective to fulfill their interests such as bonuses and share options based on acquiring a large volume of business (Stokes, 2010, p.477). A.1.1.1 Growth Strategy EasyJet adopts several strategies such as advertising and diversification to stimulate growth and enlarge market. Based on EasyJets dramatic investment programmes such as increase fleet size, EasyJet experienced a high rate growth of revenue even during the recession periods from  £264 million to  £2667 million. It increased nearly 10 times respectively and from 2000 to 2009 (EasyJet, 2009). However, certain growth strategies may result in rising expenditure and reducing price. Increase promotional expenditure While EasyJet already has a total number of 189 airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft in 2010, it is respected to acquire another 59 planes in the next 4 years in favor of adapting increasing number of passengers and various destinations (Flightglobal, 2010). However, in order to get good revenue performance,  £86 million is spent on fuel costs in 2009 which partly lead to a reduction in profit margin (EasyJet, 2009). Decrease price In order to share larger market and promote growth, EasyJet carries out a strategy to make their travel fees as well as cost base lower than other established carriers. Since 1999, EasyJet has been voted as the Best Low Cost Airline by Business traveler Magazine and recognized as the first European carrier that won the award for Best Low Cost Carrier at OAG Airline Industry Awards in 2008 (EasyJet). A.1.2 Other Business Objectives Sales Revenue Maximising Sales revenue maximizing is achieved by increasing products and reducing price. Higher sales could efficiently help to expand and compete for the market. In addition, aim to maximize sale revenue could also benefit managers by enhancing their credibility as well as wages (Jain Khanna, 2009, p.22). EasyJet purchase more airplanes, provide various domestic and international flights and adopts low cost strategy to attract more passengers. According to EasyJet (2009), total revenue per seat has increased 10.9% with total revenue increased 12% from 2008 to 2009. Profit Maximizing Profit is considered as the strongest motivation of the company. Maximizing profit sometimes means maximizing the value of shareholders wealth when net cash flows back to the company in the long run. However, fixed cost may increase in a short term to promote output (Dransfield, 2004, p. 215). In future development, the objective that EasyJet might follow is profit maximizing. Nowadays profit margins are spend on aircraft purchase to meet the needs of passenger and capture larger market share, these will return to positive cash generation beyond the period of higher than normal capital expenditure (EasyJet, 2009). Managerial Utility Maximizing It is known that managerial utility could maximize when there is a higher level of output. The case indicates that EasyJet has ordered more airplanes to serve more passengers and explore new market. By increasing sales and profit, managers could provide enough money to make shareholders happy. Meanwhile, extra money could be used to promote salary, bonuses and many other perks as well as develop discretionary projects (Stoke, 2010, p.470). A.2 Ownership and Control Issues A.2.1 Ownership of EasyJet EasyJet is owned by shareholders who invest money for future dividends and for the potential increased value of their shares. Shareholders have been seen as the monitor of the operation and management of a company. Due to their interests on investment returns, they may indirectly influence company to increase share value or maximize profit (Turner, n.d.). On the other hand, shareholders could sale their stocks to express their dissatisfaction on the operation of the company. However, this conduct may lead to a reduction on share price and increase the risk of take-over bid by raider (Stokes, 2010, p. 478). Stelios Hajiloannous owns 38% stocks of the company, followed by Standard Life, who is the second large shareholder, owns 9.45% stocks (London Night Standard, 2010). Due to the family of Sir Stelios is the biggest shareholder, he could possible exercise an effective influence on the company, and directs the decisions made by directors and managers correspond to shareholders interests. A.2.2 Ownership Issues The biggest shareholder as well as Non-Executive Director, Stelios has been strongly opposed to EasyJets rapid expansion strategy and management strategy. Shareholders are more concern profit maximizing rather than sale revenue maximizing. Stelios claims that the capital cost and profit is no longer balanced and the expenditure for new airlines are from the expense of profit margins. Stelios insists that approximately 190 aircrafts is enough to operation and other excess ones should be sold to conserve cash (Flightglobal, 2010). The fleet growth strategy is not suitable for recession period as there are poor economic returns and market changes. Sometimes non executive director has insufficient influence on the Board. As a result, Stelios tries to persuade other shareholders to reject the growth strategy. However, Stelios failed to gain enough support to exert power on managers. Standard Life, who is the second large shareholder, expressed his satisfaction with management team (London Night Standard, 2010). Shareholders have the right to benefit from the company. According to the case (2010), Stelios argues that the firm is a mature company that the share price do not has the capacity to increase. Thus Stelios claims that shareholders should receive reward from dividend payments instead of the share price of the stocks they hold. Huge capital expenditure should be limited while cash should be conserved. Stelios quitted the Board to against growth strategy. There generates another disputation about the brand license. The Easy brand belongs to Stelios Easy Group and was licensed to EasyJet. However, he now is concerns to reclaim the brand and license to another airline (Daily Mail, 2010). A.2.3 Control by Managers EasyJet is controlled by managers. Although shareholders own the company, they left the operation and governance power to the Boards and management. There are two kinds of executive in the board: non-executive director who purely give advice and executive director who really exert power to make decision. The decision made by executive director and managers should be based on the interests of stakeholders to a certain degree. Thus, managers can be viewed as the agents of shareholders (Stocks, 2010, p. 477). On the other hand, managers have their responsibilities be loyal to the company while exercise judgment to operate the company. Managers should be informed the business environment to make decision that benefits the company. Rewards such as bonus are the motivations of managers. However, it may also be the stimulation of risky policy making (Bevans, 2007, p. 220). It is known that appropriate corporate governance is the guidance to achieve success operation of the company. It requires greater administration managers. However, it is difficult to balance different interests between shareholders and managers, thus lead to several problems (Rees Sheikh, 1995, p.145). A.2.4 Control Issues With the aim of growth, EasyJet sets the goal to maintain a growth of 7.5% and increase its European market share from about 7% to 10%. EasyJet believes that its growth plan on fleet size could contribute to occupy larger short-haul European market (Flightglobal, 2010). EasyJet indicates that they earned a profit of  £ 4 million and performed well in the recession period, the expansion plan is under control instead of taking huge risky (London Evening Standard, 2010). Andy Harrisons chief executive position was taken place by McCall due to the disagreement with Sir Stelios (New Statesman, 2010). Although there is a 5% drop of share price due to the long battle between shareholders and managers, EasyJet claims that overall there was a 34% rise of the share price in 10 years which shown a remarkable potential among European airline carriers as well as a sufficient reward to shareholders (Independent, 2010). A.3 Market Structure A.3.1 Market Structure of British Airline Industry According to Moschandreas (2000, p.10), market structure is the characteristics of the market that could have impact on the mode of competition. Those characteristics include product diversification, barriers of entry the market, number of suppliers and the level of price control. The market structure of British airline industry is oligopoly. Oligopoly is an imperfect market with standardized or differentiated products and a high degree of interdependence which dominated by a few companies (Chauhan, 2009, p.65). A.3.1.1 The Characteristics of Oligopoly Few Sellers: The market is dominated by few companies. Figure 1 shows the market share in the UK main airport London Heathrow. British Airways, BMI and Virgin Atlantic have relative higher market shares than others. Figure 1. Top Airlines market share at London Heathrow. AnnaAero. (2008). [One line] Available from: http://www.anna.aero/2008/12/05/flybe-heading-for-no-1-in-uk-domestic-market/ [Accessed 05th December 2008] Product diversification Many companies in oligopoly market established brands and offer various products (Jain Khanna, 2009, p.115). For example, British Airways with the slogan The worlds Best Airline serves more than 300 destinations by 238 aircrafts (British Airways, 2009); BMI with the slogan Better for Business serves various destinations by 43 aircrafts (BMI, 2010). Entry Barriers There are several barriers that protect incumbents from new firms. First, due to diversification of the products, established companies could consolidate market by branding and promotion. As a result, new firms have to spend more money on advertising and branding to conquer customer loyalty to incumbent companies and attract passengers. Second, financial requirements or vital resource also restrict new entrants, such as difficulty in accessing available landing airports and huge cost of purchasing aircraft (Tucker, 2008, p.178) A.3.1.2 Common Strategies of Oligopoly There are several price strategies or non-price strategies which could be used in oligopoly market. A.3.1.2.1 Price Strategy (Stokes, 2010, p.148) Prestige pricing. If one firm increases the price of the product, it may still attractive to customers. This may because of the promotion of quality and service or conspicuous consumption behavior. Price discrimination. Charging different price in different market could help to increase revenue. There are three degree of price discrimination (Dwivedi, 2008, p.328): First degree discrimination exits when sellers charge the highest price of the product that customer willing to buy. For example, BA offer free drinks and snacks, they could charge a higher price compare to EasyJet, who do not offer free airline catering. Second degree price discrimination exits when sellers charge different prices for the different quantities of purchase or different category of consumers (p.328). Such as first-class and economy class charge differently in airline industry as economy class is frequent required by passengers. Third degree price discrimination occurs when different price are charged refer to different submarket. For example, airline companies may offer discounts according to the time that customers book ticket in advance. Limit pricing. Limit pricing occurs when firms pricing products lower but still can get profit. Such strategy could help to deter competitors or new entrants. Price elasticity of demand. When demand is inelastic, increase price could result in revenue increase. On the other hand, when demand is elastic, decrease price could also result in revenue increase. A.3.1.2.2 Non-Price Strategy Non-Price Strategies in oligopolistic markets could help to increase demand and develop loyalty among consumers (Riley, 2005, p.83) Expanding into new markets Develop new markets could help to enlarge network and strengthen market power as well as increase sales. For example, recently EasyJet has lunched new route from Edinburgh to Dortmund, which is expected to carry more than 55000 passengers during the first year (EasyJet, 2010). Diversification of the product A company could be benefit from the diversity of its product against rivals. The more distinct products they sale, the smaller their rivals could occupy the market (Mukherjee, p.460). For example, EasyJet offer 422 flight routes among 27 countries and 114 airports (EasyJet, 2009). Advertising and Branding Advertising and Branding are essential especially for the new entrant. Advertising could establish brand images to customers. For example, EasyJet use orange as its main colors and permitted ITV operating a reality show named Airline that present EasyJet plane in the air to increasing its popularity (Fastcompany, 2002). EasyJet used to advertise its low price flight and claims that people could fly to Scotland for the price of a pair of jeans (Fastcompany, 2002) A.3.2 Low Cost Carriers Strategy of EasyJet EasyJet adopts a low-cost model to attract passengers and seize larger market share (Dunmore Gleave, 2003) Offer cheap fares: EasyJet sale tickets through internet or phone in order to avoid commissions. By the end of 2005, 98% of tickets were sold online (EasyJet, 2005). Customers could book in advance for cheap seats and transform flight for different time schedule without extra charge. Do not offer airline catering. Uniform airplane types: Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. Have higher aircraft utilisation: EasyJet aircrafts operate 11 hours a day which more than 3 hours than BA. Use high seating density airplane and increase load factors to reduce cost base: By the end of June 2010, the load factor has increased to 87.2%, thus reduces per seat costs by 16% compared to BMI (EasyJet, 2010) Use smaller airports to reduce charges: Such as London Luton and Liverpool A.3.3 Low Cost Strategy in Oligopoly Market In the UK oligopolistic market, as oligopolists are interdependent among others, firms are sensitive to competitors actions. A rational company may try to speculate reactions of competitors using game theory before they adopt various strategies such as price changes. However, even one company reduce its price, it is unlikely lead to a price war or significant profit changes. According to the theory, when companies change prices, their competitors will adjust strategies such as advertising to avoid loss (Stokes, 2010, p.152-156). As a result, low cost strategy which aims to enlarge market by reducing price is not typical in oligopoly market. However, due to the conception of price elasticity of demand, reduce price may lead to the increase of demand. Lower price strategy combined with higher frequencies could attract more business passengers who account for a remarkable proportion of passengers for EasyJet. Although such strategy could make overall cost considerably lower, it still enjoys an average growth of 4.4% while 10.5% in some major routs when fist became a low cost carrier. Apparently the successful low cost airlines are more profitable than established carriers, thus easy to survive in the market (EasyJet, 2009). In the first part, this report has discussed the features of growth strategy and low cost strategy adopted by EasyJet. The next part of the report will examine these features by analysing the financial accounts of EasyJet. Part B. Finance B.1 Strategies reflect on EasyJets Accounts B.1.1 Growth B.1.1.1 A Growth Company From Figure B1, it can be seen that sales revenue has shown a consistently upward trend and nearly doubled from  £1341.4 million to  £2666.8 million during the 5 years. Hence, according to product life cycle, EasyJet still being in the period of introduce to the market instead of maturity. Figure B1* Figure B2 shows a significant increase in trade creditors and debtors. However, it can be seen in Figure B2 that EasyJet could pay suppliers more slowly while receive debtor quicker than before. As a result, working capital as well as financial environment may probably get better, which could benefit for its growth strategies. It can be seen from Figure B3 that the market value per share has increased from 2005 to 2007 before it reduce sharply in 2008. However, it has recovering in 2009 after the recession period. The overall trend shows a growth in shareholders wealth as well as the company itself. P: E ratio is the indicator of investors wishes for long term profit. It reduced from 2005 to 2007 followed by an increase since 2008. The upward trend could reveal a huge potential growth in the future. B 1.1.2 Growth Strategies Increase promotional expenditure Figure B5 illustrates a growth of current assets and current liabilities. Current ratio of EasyJet reflects that the growth rate of current assets is slowly than current liabilities, which could reflect EasyJets fast growth of borrowings for increase promotional expenditure, as current ratio shows a downward trend. Nevertheless, the ratio is fluctuating above 1, which means that current assets always more than current liabilities and EasyJet has the ability to pay future bills. However, the more the ratio near 1, the less cash or cash assets could be contributed to short term debt. A large amount of cash of EasyJet is used to pay for aircraft order for future long term profit. Interest cover ratio could reveal whether EasyJet pay interest borrowings by generating enough profits. However, from Figure B5, EasyJet experienced a dramatic decline on interest cover ratio and lower than 1.5 in 2009. Due to the sacrifice on short term profit and large amount of borrowing for airline purchase, EasyJet may burdened by interest of debt. Gearing ratio could be used to describe the proportion of long term liabilities in capital employed. The higher a gearing ratio is, the more debt a company loaned and the more risk a company may take. From Figure B6 one could know that overall the gearing ratio has increased with a peak in 2007. Due to the huge cost of aircrafts, EasyJet is now in serious financial problem. Decrease in short term profit Gross profit and net profit margin ratio is helpful to know the percentage of profit generated from total revenue. Profit margin of EasyJet has shown an upward trend until 2007, both gross profit and net profit margin ratio decreased about 10% by the end of 2009. Such reduction indicates a increase in cost of sales and may not be satisfied by shareholders. However, despite of the rising in tax rate, this trend could reflect EasyJets strategies to explore new market, increase net work as well as route length which lead to a rise of fuel costs, airport charging and advertising costs. Capital employed includes shareholders funds and long term liabilities. Figure B8 indicates that EasyJets capital is rising, which indicates an expansion of EasyJets size. Although the investment of EasyJet has been increasing, profit has been used for further expansion. Hence, large short term profit may not be generated from capital. The situation is reflected on the reduction on ROCE. It also can be seen from Figure B8, return on equity has shown the same trend as that of profit. They both have increased till 2007 and then decreased sharply. Although the reduction of return on equity may due to the tax policy released in 2009 and increasing costs, which lead to a reduction on earnings after tax, it also partly result in the expansion of shareholders funds (EasyJet, 2009). However, overall it shows a lack of ability to return profit for owners investment. Figure B9 shows that after 2005, assets turnover decreased and has been fluctuating around 1, which reflects a poor utilization of assets and less profit return on assets. However, this primarily because of the large bulk of airplane purchase plan during the next few years. As a result, the long term benefits may not be reflected in more than one year. B.1.2 Low Cost strategy Figure B10 shows increase both in sales revenue and number of employee, which indicates the expansion of companys size and growth of finance performance. This may probably base on the low cost strategy. According to low cost strategy, EasyJet offer more frequencies on flight and larger capacities than other companies, thus lead to an increase in passenger flown as well as efficiency in airplane utilities. Aiming to enlarge its market, EasyJet has lunched more airports and increase its route length to various European destinations which result in a raise in cost, especially fuel cost. As a result, it can be seen from Figure B11 that a sharp rise of cost per passenger has increased since 2007. B.2 Compare EasyJet with Jet2 and Ryanair In order to discuss investment risky of EasyJet, this part of the report will compare EasyJet with Jet2 and Ryanair, both of which also adopt low cost strategy as EasyJet. B.2.1 Differences and Similarities in Balance Sheets Apparently from Appendix 1, Appendix 2 ad Appendix 3, EasyJet shows a significant higher increase rate of total assets, liabilities and capital employed, which indicate a rapid expansion of companys size. Ryanair also shows a slightly development of the company. By contrast, although Jet2 experienced an increase in total assets, the total liabilities has reduced, mainly due to the decline of non-current assets. Although the current assets of Jet2 raised sharply from 2008 to 2009, according to Figure 15, unlike Ryanair and EasyJet, the current assets of Jet2 is much lower than current liabilities. Thus Jet2 may not have the ability to pay bills or have enough cash to develop business. By comparing the proportion of total liabilities and shareholders fund in total assets, it can be seen that all three companies liabilities is higher than shareholders funds. Thus, EasyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair are mainly financed by debt. As Ryanair has the largest number of assets while Jet2 has the lowest, one may presume that Ryanair has the largest size of company while Jet2 has the relatively smallest. While the major liabilities of both EasyJet and Ryanair is long term borrowings, Jet2 takes trade payable as major total liabilities and deferred tax as major non-current liabilities. This situation may probably indicate that the working capital of Jet2 could be influenced negatively due to a poor ability of paying debt. B.2.2 Investment B.2.2.1 Comparison among EasyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair By comparing current ratio in Figure 12, it can be see that Jet2 current liabilities is more than current assets, thus Jet2 may have difficulty to pay bills immediately. On the other hand, Ryanairs current ratio has increased to 1.84 in 2009, as current assets in much higher than current liabilities. The figure may indicate a poor utilization of resource. Compared to Jet2 and Ryanair, EasyJet has a better management on assets and liabilities. It can be seen that EasyJet has the highest rate of gearing ratio, as the operation of company is largely depend on borrowings. Meanwhile, according to Figure 12, EasyJet has the relative lower interest cover ratio, which indicates that EasyJet may have more difficulty to pay interest expense than other company. As a result, an investment in EasyJet is more risky than invest in Ryanair and Jet2. Earning per share has been widely used as measurement for the growth of a firm as well as the indicator of the amount of profit could return to each share. Although the EPS of Jet2 rose remarkably, the PE ratio also declined dramatically. On the other hand, it can be seen that the PE ratio of EasyJet as well as Ryanair has increased sharply. It indicates potential capabilities of future growth of the two companies which could give confidence to investors. From Figure B16, it can be seen that Jet2 has the longest time to pay creditors, thus has a longer time to utilities liabilities. However, it also needs the longest time to collect receivables. On the other hand, although Ryanair has to pay creditors quicker compared to the time in 2008, the period is still longer than EasyJet. Moreover, Ryanair could receive debt much quicker than EasyJet. Thus Ryanair may have the best efficiency cash flows which could contribute to company operating. Obviously from Figure B13, Ryanair has much higher figure of return on capital employed, which means that Ryanair could profitably operation the company by using investment. As a result, investor could receive more interests in the short run from Ryanair rather than EasyJet, which has the lowest ROCE ratio among others. B.2.2.2 Brief Evaluation Based on the ratio discussed above, it can be seen that overall Ryanair is the best choice for investors compared to EasyJet and Jet2 despite its lower efficiency on the utilization of assets. It has the highest PE ratio and return on capital employed rate. Moreover, the working capital of cash flows is also considered as the best one among others. Investment on Ryanair could have less risky than EasyJet. Jet2 relatively has a poor condition of capital. It seems that Jet2 may easier fall into the dilemma of debt difficulty. Although EasyJet has a large amount of borrowings, and the lowest return on capital, a more flexible cash flow as well as a proper utilization of capital could be compensations. In addition, higher PE ratio implies a potential power of growth. Thus, investment on EasyJet could have less risky than Jet2 and may probably get better profit in the future. Conclusion To sum up, EasyJet as a growth company has adopt several strategies to compete in oligopoly market. EasyJet utilise low cost strategy to increase it efficiency in business operation will use growth strategy to seize larger market share and expand the size of the company. However, scarification of short term profit may leads to unsatisfactions of shareholders. Moreover, by looking at the accounts of EasyJet, it can be seen that its growth plan of aircraft purchasing lead to a heavy burden on debt. EasyJet has potential risky due to the large proportion of liabilities. In recommendation, EasyJet could reduce its growth plan while pay dividend to shareholder in order to alleviate the conflicts. As a result, the reputation of EasyJet could be maintained and attract more funds invest in the capital. Hence, EasyJet may not need to largely depend on liabilities and the risk of investment could reduce. References AnnaAero. (2008). Flybe Heading for #1 in UK Domestic Market; Overall Demand Down Around 4% in 2008. [One line] Available from: http://www.anna.aero/2008/12/05/flybe-heading-for-no-1-in-uk-domestic-market/ [Accessed 05th December 2008] Bevans, N. R. (2007). Business Organizations and Corporate Law. New York: Thomson Delmar Learning. Chauhan, S. P. S. (2009). Microeconomics: Theory and Applications. New Delhi: Learning Private Limited. Daily Mail. (2010). Stelios Warns He May Reclaim EasyJet Name. [On line] Available from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1287205/Stelios-warns-reclaim-easyJet-name.html [Accessed 16th June 2010] Dransfield, R. (2004). Business for Foundation Degrees and Higher Awards. Oxford: Heinemann Dwivedi, D. N. (2008). Microeconomics: Theory and Applications. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley Ltd. EasyJet. (2009). Annual Report and Accounts 2009. [On line] Available from: http://2009annualreport.easyjet.com/files/pdf/easyJet_AR09.pdf EasyJet. (2010). EasyJet to Launch Two NEW Routes: Edinburgh to Dortmund and Dortmund to Thessaloniki. [On line] Available from: http://www.easyjet.com/en/news/new_routes_dortmund_edinburgh_thessaloniki.html EasyJet. (n. d.) EasyJet Awards and Tributes. [On line] Available from: http://www.easyjet.com/EN/About/Information/infopack_awards.html Fast Company. (2002). Stelios Makes Growth Look Easy. [On line] Available from: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/64/ioannou.html [Accessed 31st October 2002] Flight Global. (2010). Haji-loannou Bids to Overturn EasyJet Expansion Strategy. [On line] Available from: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/05/14/342001/haji-ioannou-bids-to-overturn-easyjet-expansion-strategy.html [Accessed 14th May 2010] Jet2. (2009). Annual Report 2009. [On line] Available from: http://www.dartgroup.co.uk/pdf/DartReport09.pdf Kothari, J. E, Barone. (2006). Financial Accounting. An International Approach. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. London Evening Standard. (2010). Standard Life Backs EasyJet after Stelios Quits. [On li

Free Definition Essay - The Meaning of Courage :: Expository Definition Essays

The Meaning of Courage In life there are many terms that are relative to individual cultures. That means that the definition is different depending on the culture's location and its persons believe. The definition for one such term, courage, as defined by both Daniel Webster and Funk & Wagnalls is "That quality of mind or spirit enabling one to meet danger or difficulties/ opposition with firmness/fearlessness." The words that make courage a relative term are danger and opposition. The definitions of those words are what determine if a person or an act is considered to be foolhardy, courageous, or cowardice. Those labels change from society to society because people possess varying ideas as to what is danger and opposition means. For example, there are many types of people who encounter danger regularly like police, firefighters, cultural tribes, religious groups, teachers, advocates, doctors and nurses, criminals, and everyday people. Contrasting the difference in the type of danger encountered by each group shows what makes courage different. The difference between the danger for the police and the danger for the criminals is that one is done without a valid reason. The danger for the criminals is created by themselves and therefore even though they encounter danger it is not courageous. It on the other hand is either foolhardy or cowardice. Actions like killing sprees or random slashing are considered foolhardy because the persons responsible are taking unnecessary risk. These actions can also be considered to be cowardice because the people responsible are generally either unwilling to face the consequences for their actions or unwilling to face the underlying reasons for their bursts of violence. In my mind and most other westernized cultured people minds, I am correct because criminal acts are not generally accepted nor rewarded in our society. However, in the eyes of a criminal his/her acts are courageous and are accepted and rewarded with some exceptions such as rape. When we look at actions of some cultural tribes we generally judge their actions towards certain opposition as foolhardy. Actions like hunting styles or tribal initiations are judged to foolhardy because they are things that we as western civilized people do not do. We judge others ways of doing things and we completely ignore the fact that they are customs that have existed for many years and they are necessary for each cultures' survival. Free Definition Essay - The Meaning of Courage :: Expository Definition Essays The Meaning of Courage In life there are many terms that are relative to individual cultures. That means that the definition is different depending on the culture's location and its persons believe. The definition for one such term, courage, as defined by both Daniel Webster and Funk & Wagnalls is "That quality of mind or spirit enabling one to meet danger or difficulties/ opposition with firmness/fearlessness." The words that make courage a relative term are danger and opposition. The definitions of those words are what determine if a person or an act is considered to be foolhardy, courageous, or cowardice. Those labels change from society to society because people possess varying ideas as to what is danger and opposition means. For example, there are many types of people who encounter danger regularly like police, firefighters, cultural tribes, religious groups, teachers, advocates, doctors and nurses, criminals, and everyday people. Contrasting the difference in the type of danger encountered by each group shows what makes courage different. The difference between the danger for the police and the danger for the criminals is that one is done without a valid reason. The danger for the criminals is created by themselves and therefore even though they encounter danger it is not courageous. It on the other hand is either foolhardy or cowardice. Actions like killing sprees or random slashing are considered foolhardy because the persons responsible are taking unnecessary risk. These actions can also be considered to be cowardice because the people responsible are generally either unwilling to face the consequences for their actions or unwilling to face the underlying reasons for their bursts of violence. In my mind and most other westernized cultured people minds, I am correct because criminal acts are not generally accepted nor rewarded in our society. However, in the eyes of a criminal his/her acts are courageous and are accepted and rewarded with some exceptions such as rape. When we look at actions of some cultural tribes we generally judge their actions towards certain opposition as foolhardy. Actions like hunting styles or tribal initiations are judged to foolhardy because they are things that we as western civilized people do not do. We judge others ways of doing things and we completely ignore the fact that they are customs that have existed for many years and they are necessary for each cultures' survival.

More than a Pastry :: Personal Narrative Essays

Danish is More than a Pastry Okay...this is one of the saddest things. I just spent 45 minutes typing this email and then the stupid mail system broke down and it was lost when I sent it! Aaaghh...the horror... The email was about my crazy, crazy day yesterday. What an adventure! But what happened, exactly? Well, I'll start from the very beginning! Here goes: I woke up to a beautiful day. Took my time preparing breakfast and enjoyed my good cup (well, cups) of coffee, as well as a bowl of oatmeal with sugar and raisins sprinkled on top, soaked 3/4s with milk. Delicious! I checked my email and started psyching myself up for the bike ride into Copenhagen. When 10:30 rolled around, I got my stuff together and headed out. I began my long, arduous journey from Roskilde to Copenhagen officially at 10:45. Rested from last night's good sleep, I could push myself and make it there in about an hour and a half. I was in no hurry though...my first obligation for the afternoon was meeting Carolina concerning our IPO (initial public offering) project due next week. And my first class wasn't until 3:30. So I had plenty of time! I was spinning pretty well...staying in second gear mostly. Yeah, that is NOT a typo...second gear. It must be noted that this bike HAS only 3 gears. It's my host-mom's bike...3 gears, purple frame, and you pedal backwards to brake. Oh, and when it's dark out I use what you call a "dynamo". I push it down until it touches the front wheel's rim, start pedaling, and it creates electricity so the light turns on! So smart! (I just consulted with my host-brother, Michael, and have decided to name my bike "Lille Lilla" which is "Little Purple" in Danish. That's a nice name) Right, back to the story...so Lilla and I are heading steadily east and I'm thinking "Gosh! This is amazing! I'm in Denmark...biking.....into school!" How cool is that? I'm in Europe and it's gorgeous here!" Sometimes I just get this overwhelming happy feeling; it's almost unreal I'm here. I'm about halfway to Copenhagen and I cross an intersection. When I cross, a car honks. Now, it's rare that cars honk in Denmark. You know, the Danes ARE very civilized people...and it's not necessarily honking at me, of course.

Process Essay †How to Name a Cow -- Process Essays

Process Essay – How to Name a Cow Naming your cow may not be an easy task. While some claim to be well versed in bovine nomenclature, many first-time cow owners are not. It may be true that cattle should not be named because a growing attachment to your cow may hinder economic gain—if you plan to eat your cow, don’t name it. Most cow lovers need not worry about any of this. Their cows have become welcome household pets. They have put down their steak knives and decided to dine with them, not on them. Such docile animals have now become a part of the family, and owning but a few cows has eased the problem of naming a vast herd of cattle. I once knew a family in Loma Rica that tried to name all their many cows. They couldn’t keep track of them, and the family became mean, bitter people. Cows are just too damn difficult to distinguish from each other when they are in large groups, and you just plain run out of names. Cow connoisseurs usually begin with one or two cows and are therefore able to relate to their cows on a more personal level. Get in touch with your cow. Spend quality time with it. Get to know it as it gets to know you. Both you and your cow have distinctive attributes that distinguish either of you from others. That should play a big part in the naming process, and spending time with your animal creates a better bond and gives insight to a proper name for the creature. I might like a bizarre name like Sink, Horse, or Unhalangami, depending on the personality of my cow. Another person might like a more traditional name like Daisy or Buttercup. Try naming your bovine after an obvious characteristic or physical feature. If your cow is a rich brown color, na... ...ter, Rolling Pin, Dinner Jacket, Vendetta, and Alaska. You can get some really great names by employing this technique, but it may take several tries. Try other reference books for variation. An alternative approach: Instead of names, give your cows words. Paint a word or phrase on each cow. (Nontoxic cold-cream-based finger paint works well for this.) As your cows arrange themselves in a field, in a sort of fluxus tradition, they create an artful type of found poetry. Your cows can be your art. All in all, research your possibilities; milk your sources. If you are religious, pray, and ask for guidance. Ask your friends. Ask your grandmother. (If you ask me, I would name my cow Heimlich. Then I could have Heimlich manure!) Most of all, be creative. Don’t stress, because with these pointers, naming your cow will be fun, easy, and satisfying.

The Soyuz 11 Space Disaster: a Case Study in Engineering Disasters

The Soyuz 11 Space Disaster: A Case Study in Engineering Disasters ENGG 123 November 20, 2011 ABSTRACT In 1971, Soyuz 11 was the first manned spaceship to contact the first space station. As the astronauts were preparing to re-enter the earth's atmosphere the crew cab depressurized and the astronauts were killed within seconds. This paper will discuss the events that happened and how they were investigated. It will also discuss how the disaster affected future engineering decisions regarding the Soyuz missions as well as other future space adventures. i Table of ContentsAbstract†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. i Table of Contents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ii List of Figures†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ iii 1. 0 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 2. 1 What Happened†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. 1 What Went Wrong†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 3. 2 What Was Learned†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 4. 0 Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 Works Cited†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 List of Figures Figure 2. 1: a) a view of Soyuz 11 docked b) a view of Soyuz 11 taking off (Space Facts, n. . )†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2 Figure 2. 2: a) seating chart for the astronauts b) the three astronauts inside Soyuz 11 c) astronauts preparing for takeoff (Space Facts, . n. d)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Figure 3. 1: a) map of the landing route for Soyuz 11 (Svens Space Page, n. d. )†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 Figure 3. 2: a) Soyuz 11 after landing b) workers covering up the astronauts.. 7 ii Figure 3. : a) Funeral held for the three Soyuz 11 astronauts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 1. 0 Introduction The purpose of this paper is to provide background and information on the Soyuz 11 space disaster. This disaster occurred in 1971 and took the lives of three astronau ts who took part in the first successful visit to the world's first space station. This paper will provide insight on how the disaster actually happened, what the causes were of this disastrous event. It will provide insight on how the events that occurred were investigated and also what was learned from these events and what changed. 2. 1 What HappenedUnless otherwise stated the information in this section is provided from About. com(n. d. ) 1 Salyut 1, a space station made by the Soviets was the first space station to ever be made. It was launched on April 19, 1971. It was a large cylinder with three compartments, could be used with or without people inside of it and it could only dock one spacecraft at a time. The primary use of this space station was to study the effects of long term space travel on a human body, as well as studying effects on growing plants.On April 19, 1971 Soyuz 10 was the first spacecraft to attempt a mission out to the space station however this mission wa s unsuccessful. As the space craft attempted to dock it failed so the astronauts had to return to earth. On the return the ships air supply turned toxic but only one man passed out, all three astronauts recovered fully. On 2 June 6, 1971 Soyuz 11 embarked on a journey to the space station. This ship was originally supposed to be manned by Valery Kubasov, Alexei Leonov, and Pyotr Kolodin. Just before the launch, Valery Kubasov was suspected to have tuberculosis so this crew was replaced by three other men.They were: Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev. Soyuz 11 successfully reached the space station and managed to hand dock the ship once they were within 100 metres. Once docked, problems began to take over the mission. Instruments and telescopes were not working, cramped space made it hard to work, and personalities were clashing. A small fire had even broke out at one point. This is when the crew decided to cut the mission six days short and go home. Right afte r Soyuz 11 undocked and made its way back to earth, all communication with the crew was lost.This happened much earlier than was to be expected. The ship made its way to earth and was discovered on June 29, 1971. When it was opened, all three members of the crew were found dead. The following images are from Space Facts(n. d. ) Figure 2. 1: a) a view of Soyuz 11 docked b) a view of Soyuz 11 taking off (Space Facts, n. d. ) a b Figure 2. 2: a) seating chart for the astronauts b) the three astronauts inside Soyuz 11 c) astronauts preparing for takeoff (Space Facts, n. d) abc 3 3. 1 What Went Wrong Unless otherwise stated the facts provided in this section come from Engineering Failures(n. . ) All the people on earth at the time thought this was a normal re-entry of a space craft. However upon opening the capsule the discovered differently. It was obvious to the people there that the crew had suffocated. Located between the orbital module and the descent module was a ventilation valve. As the two modules had been separated this valve was forced open. The two modules were connected via explosive bolts, these bolts were intended to fire sequentially or one after the other, but they actually fired simultaneously or at the same time.Because of this there was extra force put onto internal parts of the space craft. The ventilation valve had been jerked open by all this extra force. This valve was intended to automatically adjust cabin pressure but because it was actually opened in outer space the cabin pressure of the space craft very quickly reached zero, a fatal pressure for the cabin to be at. This valve was located underneath of the astronauts chairs making it impossible for them solve the problem. One of the astronauts was wearing a suit with biomedical sensors that showed he died within 40 seconds of the pressure loss.It only took 935 seconds for the cabin to reach a pressure of zero. 4 The facts in the next paragraph are from abyss. uoregon. edu(n. d. ) What cau sed all this to go wrong was a poor design. It should have been placed in a more accessible place. When thoughts were going into its design it was thought that it would only need to be used in an emergency, however no one thought what would be happening that it would need to be closed. The valve was intended for emergency but proved no use in the emergency because it was inaccessible.This problem could have been solved if the design team performed more tests, however it is impossible for a design team of a safety device to know every single situation that could happen. The following is a quote from Geoff Perry, Senior Science Master at Kettering Grammar School. 5 â€Å"I picked up my first signals for over 7 days on 28 June around 2110 UT   – Salyut on 20. 008 MHz and assumed that recovery would take place on 29 June around 2000 UT. Consequently I set the alarm clock for 3. a. m. BST hoping to see two objects indicating that Soyuz-11 had separated from Salyut   but that was not to be.We had no signals during 29 June and when 2000 UT came and went I went off watch, but, fortunately, left the time switch to do the pass at 2230 and 0300 UT. I did not believe that the Russians would worry about a recovery in darkness at this time of the year, considering their usual precision landings. However, they did worry and Soyuz-11 went two extra revs to give a daylight recovery. The time switch recorded signals 45 s after it had operated with LOS at 2247:15 +/- 15 s (allowing for possible variations in mains frequency affecting the clockwork).Peter Bentley had banked on a daylight recovery and was listening at Menai Bridge and gives LOS at 2247:27 +/- 1 s (or, as he says, +/- 5 s for 99% accuracy). I have therefore adopted 2247:25 +/- 5 s as LOS and the time of separation of the descent module and instrument module. The tragedy must have occurred minutes, or even only seconds, later. Telemetry at LOS was normal for a Soyuz recovery†. (Svens Space Page, n. d. ) The following is a map taken from Svens Space Page (n. d. ) showing what information the Kettering group had received from Soyuz 11. Figure 3. : a) map of the landing route for Soyuz 11 (Svens Space Page, n. d. ) a 6 The following are images from after Soyuz 11 landed. Figure 3. 2: a) Soyuz 11 after landing b) workers covering up the astronauts a b Figure 3. 3: a) Funeral held for the three Soyuz 11 astronauts a 3. 2 What Was Learned 7 After this terrible and fatal accident much thought and consideration went into the next missions. First off the USSR never again attempted to send astronauts to the Salyut 1 space station. Eventually Salyut 1 was deorbited and burnt up. It took more than two years for another man mission to be attempted About. om(n. d. ) The Soyuz spacecraft went through a lot of modifications. The first main difference was that it was redesigned to only carry two astronauts instead of three. This allowed more room inside which allowed for the astronauts to wea r space suits during the launch and the landing. The Soyuz capsule remained this way until a new design in 1980 which allowed three astronauts. 4. 0 Summary The Soyuz 11 space disaster was an extremely unfortunate event. Three astronauts died from a malfunction that should have been fixable. This is a