Successfully Navigating the Turbulent Skies of a Large-Scale Erp

Bombardier is the world’s only manufacturer of both planes and trains, it is present in more then 60 countries and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Both Bombardier Aerospace & Bombardier transportation employ over 70 000 and posted a revenue of over 18. 3 billion in the fiscal year ended December 31,2011. The case presents the implementation of an ERP system in Bombardier, along with all the major changes the corporation undertook for a successful transition. In the analysis I will address the challenges faced by Bombardier, the challenges associated with the integration of the large system & its benefits.I will also address how the project team managed and communicated it’s vision amongst the firm and how the new roles were defined, communicated & understood. The analysis will focus up to and including the implementation of the system. As the company grew over the years, Bombardier’s strategy of growth by acquisition turned the firm into a â€Å"textbook s ilo organization†. This created problems as systems did not communicate with each other effectively. This inefficiency generated additional costs because the firm had to maintain all the different systems.Another problem, related to the operation of the aerospace division, was the low visibility of inventory and lack of integration between the old computer systems. This caused process delays, low inventory turns & price inconsistency from suppliers. The Bombardier Manufacturing System (BMS) , the group of information technology applications that had been supporting Bombardier Aerospace’s manufacturing activities, had not evolved to cope with the fast changes. The BMS capabilities had become limited. We can assume that Bombardier was not a fully integrated company at that time because there was a clear lack of coordination and unity.An example would be how employees would create numerous stand-alone databases throughout the company on operations specific to their functio n without realizing the negative effect it causes to the rest of the organization such as data errors or omissions. But Bombardier Aerospace was working on becoming an integrated Company, as the Vice-President of Operations and Project Sponsor was aware of the challenges and created a Vision: â€Å"One Company†: To align the operations of its acquired companies by implementing common roles and responsibilities.To meet this enormous challenge, a Enterprise Resource planning (ERP) system was first implemented at Bombardier Aerospace. The first attempt in 2000 was a costly failure. The implementation of this technology without the corresponding organizational changes was the main reason of its failure. The factors that contributed to its breakdown are identified as : Focusing the implementation on inappropriate business processes, an outdated company vision, a weak sponsorship model, insufficient involvement of internal employees and having too many third-party consultants emplo yed on the project.In October 2001, Bombardier Manufacturing Information System (BMIS) was created by the Senior Project Manager to establish a new integrated manufacturing system. BMIS was the first project launched with a vision of an integrated organization. Once completed it would support 9,500 users over seven sites and the main benefit of the system’s integration is the cost savings of over $1. 171 billion and a one time reduction in material inventory of $219 million. To Create & implement such a system, a blue print of the operation was created.An integration team was formed; There role was to identify integration points where a process crossed functional boundaries, and independently resolve integration points that could potentially cause disagreement. The functional council took high –level decisions regarding the design of the projects. The BMIS team requested that the plants provide them with experienced employees for the design phase. Some problems that th e BMIS project manager was concerned about is that there was a lack of strong business employees, although empowered to make decisions and complete the design had to constantly go back to the business in order to validate.Another problem was the documentation that was requested by the BMIS team were not provided. As a result, the Design phase ran over schedule by several months. Bombardier Aerospace decided to go with a progressive implementation of the system. BMIS would be implemented one plant at a time starting with there newest facility, the Mirabel Plant. The Critical success factor for the project was the â€Å" Vanilla† approach to system design: It was important that the first roll-out or implementation of the system at the Mirabel plant to be a controlled one.Bombardier limited the scope of the first roll-out one section at a time and trained the rest of the shop accordingly. This approach would siege the system to one part of the plant and identify lessons for subs equent roll-outs. The Restructuring of the procurement function plays an important role in realizing the vision of the BMIS. As was stated earlier, one of the problems the firm faced was the low visibility of inventory. By improving the visibility, you can reduce inventory levels that would improve liquidity and reduce cycle time.It was decided mid-project to restructure the procurement function, it was undertaken in parallel with the implementation of the BMIS and was called the Material Resource Planning Technology. The main idea for procurement was to minimize the total acquisition cost and overall procurement costs by concentrating on a centralized and strategic sourcing of inventory. This big change would require the training of new employees and have them ready to use the new system.Data Management was also a parallel project, it can be divided in 2 activities: 1. Data Cleansing: identified as a major risk of the project. 2. Data Preparation: Extraction, mapping, staging and c onsolidation of data. Before going live it was important to prepare the users in utilizing the new system. Due to the pressure of staying on schedule, training were delivered to users in a short period of time which wasn’t effective because transmitting such a large amount of information in a sort period resulted in a negative effect.

Human Resource at Mcdonald’s Essay

I. Introduction In today’s intensely competitive and global marketplace, having a highly committed or competent workforce is one of the most critical factors in maintaining a competitive advantage (Millmore et al., 2007). Therefore, in a growing number of organizations, strategic human resources management (SHRM) is now viewed as a source of competitive advantage. Strategic human resource management is designed to help companies meet the needs of their employees while promoting company goals. As an important aspect of strategic human resource management is employee development, organisations have to consider employees may want or need and what the company can reasonably supply (Baker, 2009a; Tarique and Schuler, 2010). This research paper tries to discuss how organisations achieve this mission. We will discuss about two very important aspects of SHRM, strategic international HRM (SIHRM) and employment relationship. Although these two fields will be analysed separately, we can see the link bet ween them when we apply them to the case McDonalds’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009). In each section, we will discuss about the theories and models relating to each of those aspects and how these theories showed up in McDonalds’. II. McDonalds’ and Strategic International HRM II.1. Literature review of SIHRM and its frameworks The main trend of recent studies on changes in the business environment is the growth of internalisation, for example Ferenbach and Pinney (2012); Hitt et al. (2012); and Zain and Kassim (2012). As businesses become more and more global, SIHRM plays an important role in the development and success of multi-national corporations (MNCs) (Festing et al., 2012; Smale et al., 2012; and Stahl et al., 2012). According to Briscoe (2012) international human resource management (IHRM) can be defined as set of managerial tools for managing organizational human resources at international level to achieve organizational objectives and competitive advantage over competitors, both domestic and international. IHRM, therefore, includes typical HRM functions such as recruitment, selection, training and development, performance appraisal and rewards and punishment done at international level and additional activities such as global management skills, expatriate management and so on (Millmore et al., 20 07). Milliman et al. (1991) developed a SIHRM framework based theory of â€Å"fit and flexibility†. The concept of â€Å"IHRM fit† included external and internal side. External IHRM fit indicated the MNCs’ capability to deal with the cross-national environment, which includes the social, legal, political and cultural factors of diversified foreign countries where they operate. On the other hand, internal IHRM fit stressed on the management ability to ensure appropriate control and co-ordination between corporate and foreign subsidiaries. In addition to â€Å"fit† concept, â€Å"flexible† was also important as it specified the organisational capability to smoothly implement changes and adapt to diverse circumstances. Zheng (2013) commented on the framework that in today’s open global environment in which information and knowledge is transferred freely and quickly, an integration of fit between internal HRM and external functions is required and sho uld not be treated as two separate functions. The SIHRM framework of Schuler et al. (1993) seems to implement this point (Figure 1). The framework constituted of two major elements: inter-unit linkages and internal operations. Inter-unit linkages showed the MNC’s ability to differentiate its operating units thorough the world while, at the same time, keep them well coordinated and controlled. Internal operations indicated the fit between each unit’s confines of its local environment, laws, politics, culture, economy and society and its own strategic objectives given by the corporation. Schuler et al. (1993) framework’s limitation is to ignore the role of human-beings (managers and staff) which is widely considered as a very important constituent of SIHRM (for example Briscoe et al., 2012; Shi and Handfield, 2012; and Sanchez-Arias et al., 2013). The SIHRM framework of Taylor et al. (1996) stressed on how smoothly top managers can transfer the parent company’s SIHRM orientation to affiliate’s HR M system, then to impart organisational values and top managers’ belief to specific employees within the affiliate (Figure 2). Although Taylor’s model (1996) can complement the limitation of Schuler’s framework (1993), we still need a more detailed and practical model to apply in the real business world. This is the point at which the framework for global talent management of Tarique and Schuler (2010) comes in handy. In the next section, we will discuss about the framework in details and in the case of Mc Donalds’ (Figure 3). II.2. The framework for global talent management and the case of McDonald’s a.Global Talent Challenges for McDonalds’ The major driver of global talent challenges for McDonalds’ is the globalisation. Although globalisation enables firms to employ workers in the developing economies of the world at much lower wages than is possible in the developed economies of the world (Wise and Covarrubias, 2012), it also leads to increasing competition in fast food industry (Asif et al., 2011; Gupta, 2012; and Royle, 2012). In such circumstance, global competitive advantage is only for those multinational firms that succeed in locating and relocating its workforce over the world, adapting to local differences, learn continuously, and transfer knowledge more effectively than their competitors do (Molinsky, 2013; Steers et al., 2013). Therefore, human recourse becomes more and more important in maintaining competitive advantage at MNCs. In addition, as McDonalds’, like other MNCs, expand its business into many other countries, its consumers continue to have very different buying patterns from region to region. The organisation therefore must have a talent management strategy in place that continually assesses whether employees have the ability to address the particular needs of a diverse customer base (Podsiadlowskia et al., 2013). In 2011, Manpower Group conducted research among nearly 25,000 companies across 39 different countries and territories, which shed light on that 32% of American companies were looking for foreign workers, higher than any other area (that number of the whole world was 24%). This raises the demand for workers with competencies and motivation considerably high, especially for American companies. While the demand was getting higher, the foreign labour supply for MNCs was not so abundant. The research of Manpower (2011) showed that 74% of American employers (among 5,820 surveyed companies) found it difficult in recruiting foreign labours. In addition, Pearson (2012) believed that high employee turnover is a threat for today’s businesses. These issues made the labor market more competitive for employers, especially operates in an industry whose the rate of employee turnover is as high as fast food industry (Harris, 2012). For McDonald’s and other fast food restaurant, there is another specific obstacle. According to Sharma and Kiran (2012), employees nowadays do not only look for organisations offering high wage but also those â€Å"whose philosophies and operating practices match with their own principles†. This might create an issue for McDonalds’ to compete in recruiting best talents as fast food restaurants usually have bad reputation of causing ethical healthy issues such as obesity (Fraser et al., 2012; Jeffery and Utter, 2012). Tarique and Schuler (2010) summarised global talent challenges as too little needed talent and too much unneeded talent, or rather â€Å"the needed talent is available in the wrong place†. b.McDonalds’ Human Resource Actions to Address Global Talent Challenges Talent management initiatives can only be effectively successful when linked to the strategies of the organization. Since 2005, McDonald’s global workforce strategy has been designed to be aligned with and support the execution of its business objective, which is â€Å"to become everyone’s favorite place and way to eat† (Harkins et al., 2005). Interestingly, the global talent management practice initiated by McDonalds’ nearly ten years ago was very similar to the Tarique and and Schuler’s framework (2010). Prior to 2001, McDonald’s developed its performance assessment system comprised of six â€Å"performance drivers† (Figure 4) on which managers and staffs’ annual performance will be measured not just on the â€Å"what† of their accomplishments but also on â€Å"how† they accomplished it (Goldsmith et al., 2009). However, when it was rolled out globally in 2003, it was clear that certain elements of the new system re-design were not suited for the foreign cultures and legal structures that existed in certain countries. As a result, all of its affiliate and franchising stores were given flexible to make certain changes to adapt local requirements. This manager’s initiative reflected the â€Å"fit and flexible† concept of Milliman et al. (1991) as discussed in the last section. In 2003, McDonalds’ introduced its Global Talent Review Process of which main purpose is to train and develop next generation of leaders and managers and in 2006, the organisation added a more in-depth analysis of who needs development moves to enhance their experience and a process that facilitates this movement (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The initiative allowed potential leaders of next generation to move more freely to various organizational departments in order to realise development job opportunities with support of their peers and develop their own talents (Brown and Lent, 2012). With the intention of attracting and retaining high-performing talents, The McDonald’s Leadership Institute and the Global Leadership Development Program were introduced in 2006 (McDonald’s, 2013). The Institute was a virtual community that provides a culture of learning and development and to which anyone from any geographic location can accessed. The Global Leadership Development Program focused on preparing participants for broader leadership responsibilities and building a strong peer network that will support these individuals in developing their leadership path. The qualitative impacts of these initiatives were managers and staffs became much more aware of the strengths and talent gaps in each area, so they can recognise their own development needs and develop their talents more effectively. In addition, as the number of cross-organizational movement increased, organisation had better selections for all tasks. Schuler et al. (2010) pointed out several barriers of talent management to which McDonalds’ and other MNCs should pay attention. First, managers at all levels rather spend time on their own pressing tasks than on talent management programs. Second, organizational structures might inhibit collaboration and the sharing of knowledge across boundaries. Finally, HR departments might be short of â€Å"the respect of other executives whose cooperation is needed to implement appropriate HR actions† and might not be able to deal with the global talent challenges. III. McDonalds’ and Employment Relationship III.1. Literature review of employment relationship and new ERM model In last section, we discussed how important talent management is for McDonalds’ to maintain its competitive advantage in today’s widely open business. Although McDonald’s already has a quite complete talent management program, the organisation should be noticed that its workforce strategy could not be successful without great employment relationship. Gospel and Palmer (1993:3) define employment relationship as â€Å"an economic, social and political relationship in which employees provide manual and mental labour in exchange for rewards allotted by employers.† Rose (2004) clarified that rewards can be not only economic but also social and psychological. Millmore et al. (2007) believed that psychological reward is an indispensable part in employment relationship. They went on to define two key strategic concepts that were labour – management partnership and psychological contract. According to Millmore et al. (2007), key values of a successful labour – management partnership included share of goals, culture, knowledge, effort and information. Armstrong (1996) discussed that the labour – management partnership initiated when employees provide skill and effort to employers and the employers provide the employee with a salary in return. However, the employment relationship can also be expressed in terms of a psychological contract defined by Rousseau (1994, cited by Millmore, 2007:448) as â€Å"the understanding people have regarding the commitments made between themselves and their organisations†. Noe (1999, p. 290) states, â€Å"a psychological contract is the expectation that employers and employees have about each other†. According to CIPD (2006), psychological contract breach occurs when employees believe that the organization has failed to deliver its promises or obligations. There were many research works about psychological contract and its importance in employment relationship, for example Robinson and Morrison (2000); Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler (2000); Guest and Conway (2002); Turnley et al. (2003); Conway and Briner (2005). These works however did not point out a model that is practical and easy to apply and measure in the workplace. In addition, because of globalisation and today’s fast changing business environment, the needs of organizations and workers’ expectations changed significantly (Burke and Ng, 2006). Therefore, the traditional psychological contract might not work as well as it had been. Besides, most of the research in the past has emphasised the employee, while it should be on both employees and employers’ perspectives (Baker, 2009a). Baker (2009a) believed that there is a need to develop a new concept of employment relationship that enables corporations to attract good staff and retaining talented employees in toda y’s business environment of volatility, uncertainty, and global competition. In such a business environment the traditional perspective on employment relationship such as that of Gospel and Palmer (1993) might not work. According to Baker (2009a), the new employment relationship model must base on the workers’ needs with organisational outcomes. He then provided core attributes of the model including flexible environment, customer-focus, focus on performance, project-based work, human spirit and work, loyalty, learning and development and open information. In next section, we will discuss about these core attributes with the illustration of McDonalds’. III.2. McDonald’s and the application of new employment relationship model The first aspect of the relationship is flexible employment which defined by Baker (2009a) as organisation policy to encourage workers to work for other units or departments. In 2006, McDonalds’ conducted an in-depth analysis of which staffs could be potential leaders and managers, what skills and experience they needs, to which units they should be moved to get these skills and knowledge, and how to facilitate the movement (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The implementation of flexible employment strategies can create opportunities for workers to develop their career beyond the confines of their specific specialization. Kappia et al. (2007) proved these career development opportunities could be more motivating than monetary rewards. The concept of customer-focus, which becomes more and more important in business techniques (Bharadwaj et al., 2012; Idris, 2012; Kanti, 2012), is the second attributes of new employment relationship model (ERM). The concept of customer-focus places empl oyees in the â€Å"unique position of answering to two bosses†, the organisation and the customer (Baker, 2002). Baker (2009b) believed that a successful customer-focused strategy depend on managers and workers’ good communication with external sources such as local communities and culture. Related to the case of McDonald’s, its customer-focused â€Å"Plan to Win† relies on local talent to develop a deep connection between McDonald’s and the local communities in which it operates (Goldsmith et al., 2009). According to Baker (2009a), the concept of focus-on-performance suggests that customers should focus on the achievements of their job and the way they achieve them instead of job specifications. Organisations, on the other side, should link rewards and benefits with performance rather than organisational policies and rules. Moreover, new ERM suggests that an effective â€Å"multidimensional performance system† promotes workers to contribute beyond their regular task while organisations can utilise and reward workers for these non-job contributions (Baker, 2009b). Since 2001, McDonald’s redesign its performance measurement system with six â€Å"performance drivers† for which employees ‘be measured not just on the â€Å"what† of their accomplishments but also on â€Å"how† they accomplished it’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The system also enable top managers to signal the importance of needed culture change in which employees are encouraged to be more innovative and contribute more than merely doing their regular tasks. The fourth aspect of new ERM is project-based work. As business environment is increasingly uncertain and unstable, project-based work gains more interest from both corporations and employees (Watson, 2012). This initiative includes several forms such as temporary and fixed term contracts, outsourcing, flexible time, part-time working, overtime, job rotation, or functional mobility, which provides job flexibility (Peirà ³ et al., 2002) The project-based work is also widely applied in McDonalds’ as the senior managers often depend on peers’ assessment in providing employees development job opportunities (Goldsmith et al., 2009). With the increase in market competition and dynamic work environment, many employees are suffering from work overload that could seriously affect the organisational performance (Altaf and Awan, 2011) and many researchers believes that workplace spirituality is one way to deal with this problem (Karakas, 2010). Baker (2009a) also mentioned human spirit and work as a function of new ERM. The effectiveness of the workplace spirituality on work performace, however, is still criticised by several researches and hypothesis tests, for example Bell et al. (2012) and Weitz (2012). There is also no evidence that this concept has ever been applied at McDonalds’. Another aspect of new ERM doubted to be effective and not applied at McDonalds’ is open information. Loyalty and commitment, on the other hand, has no doubt to be a so important attribute of new ERM. According to Baker (2009b), these aspects should come from both sides. Employees’ loyalty is to enhance organisational outcome rather than processes, while organisational commitment is to improve employees’ personal objectives and development. McDonald’s has paid significant attention to its employees for years. McDonald’s has its Commitment Survey to assesses employee satisfaction with the support and recognition they receive, the extent to which their skills are utilized and developed, the degree of their empowerment, working condition and their compensation (Goldsmith et al., 2009). A manager’s scores on the Commitment Survey are one of many important factors considered in assess employees’ effectiveness and potential for advancement. Much related to this aspect is learning and development. As discussed in last section, McDonalds’ initiated its The Leadership at McDonald’s Program, which aimed at identifying developing high potential talent, in 2004 (Goldsmith et al., 2009). Having been accessed as qualified candidates of the program, employees will be granted for many individual learning opportunities. First, each participant will have a coach to discuss progress against objectives and receive objective feedback and developmental coaching throughout the program. They also have opportunities to work closely with McDonald’s high potential peers throughout the program and with talented management peers from other companies/industries as part of the Thunderbird Program in order to build strong internal and external peer networks ( Goldsmith et al., 2009). The application of these attributes brought McDonalds’ several positive signs. As of mid-2006, 34% of the 104 graduates of the LAMP Program have been promoted while only 4% of the them have left the company for other opportunities. It is a key objective of the program for its participants to know they are highly regarded and that the company will continue to invest in their ongoing development. The program also made itself a strong brand identity and equity within the organization and more and more employees want to join the program (Goldsmith et al., 2009). IV. Conclusion As SHRM becomes more and more important for organisations, it is critical for managers to understand not only its related theories and concepts but also discover and invent the most practical models for which they can apply to their organisation. As businesses become more and more global SIHRM and the model of global talent management of Tarique and Schuler (2010) plays an important role in the development and success of MNCs. Even when organisations already have a quite complete talent management program, they should notice that its workforce strategy could not be successful without good employment relationship. Baker (2009a) believed that there is a need to develop a new concept of employment relationship in today’s business environment of volatility, uncertainty, and global competition and he introduced the new ERM. The case of McDonalds’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009) has shed the light on how practically successful these models could be when appropriately and effectively applying in an organisation. This is, however, just the beginning of these relatively young models and the question of whether these models can create sustainable competitive advantage will need more academic and practical researches in the future.

Citizenship: How Big a Problem Is the Use of Child Labour Today Essay

Child labour is often seen only to occur in third world countries but this is not the case. Child labour occurs all over the world and the brutality and cruelty of this work varies. Although child labour is seen as a bad thing, for the children and families living in their poor conditions, child labour is seen as necessary for the family to live as it is an essential income. UNICEF estimates that around 150 million children aged 5-14 in developing countries, about 16 per cent of all children in this age group, are involved in child labour. Therefore child labour is still a big problem in our world today especially as some children are forced to work in dangerous, unhygienic, life threatening conditions. Not only does is it harmful to their physical body it also effects their education as some children drop out of education to work. Even though many organisations and charities attempt to stop child labour or at least make the conditions suitable for children, child labour is still seen as a big problem in the 20th century. The more children are forced to work, the fewer opportunities there are for adults to earn a living. By driving down adult wages and depriving children of education, child labour ensures that poverty will be passed down from generation to generation. If children are used as the only income for a family an employer can take advantage of this vulnerability and use it to make work as cheap as possible because the child will work for anything as long as he is providing some sort of income. Child labour is a problem because children work long hours, often exposed to hazardous chemicals and made to use dangerous tools and machinery that are inappropriate to their mental and physical development. In agriculture they use acid, dangerous pesticides without skin protection, so this chemical are able to touch the skin causing damage and severe health problems. An example of when employers use child labour because it is cheap is with Vinod’s story. Vinod is an Indian 10 year old boy who lived in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. Manufactures employed him because he was cheap and had small hands and nimble fingers which were perfect for the job of weaving carpets, which was where he worked for 2 years without receiving a single rupee for a year’s work. Vinod worked long hours and was exploited to working conditions which were unacceptable. By working these long hours he was made ill and being squashed and sat in uncomfortable positions he could have suffered from malformed bone structure. He did not attend school, so the chances of him gaining a better job in later life were highly unlikely. If Vinod made mistakes he was punished starkly. He had to use dangerous tools such as a sharp knife to turn the carpet knots but when cuts or wounds were made he was not medically treated from them. Instead the employer filled the wound with matchstick powder and burnt it. This cauterised the wound and stopped infections. Vinod’s right were violated and almost mocked by the employer. Children should be allowed to work in conditions which damage the mental and physical state, children should be allowed to live their childhood to the maximum not worrying about whether they will get beat or whether their families will suffer from their mistakes.

Analysis of Case JetBlue Airline's Success Story Essay

Analysis of Case JetBlue Airline's Success Story - Essay Example For one, all airlines were facing serious financial crunch with customers losing confidence in security arrangements on airlines and government urging airlines to invest more on the same. With additional costs being incurred on safety measures, prices per ticket went up and this ultimately led to fewer people choosing US airlines. The only way JetBlue could succeed was by discovering and developing a business model that would promote cost efficiency and effectiveness. Luring customers with lower prices is always easy but offering them quality service and making money at the same time are gargantuan tasks. The firm thus planned to use its resources efficiently by transferring costs from unproductive services to more productive once and hence creating value. Value led to volume and this led to lower fares and ultimate success. The few core areas that JetBlue targeted were cost, operations, technology, marketing and human resource. JetBlue knew that cutting costs is not always the best practice unless it is matched by higher quality as well. It is easier to cut costs and offer sloppy service but if a firm wants to succeed in the long run and create a good image in the mind of the passengers, it is important to reduce costs by investing in more productive services. The airlines refused to serve meals on any of its flights. This could have been a dangerous move since people expect meals on flights especially long ones. But JetBlue thought of an alternative. Instead of serving meals, it served chips, crackers and cookies along with canned drinks and coffee. This way, passengers had enough to eat while the firm was saving money. While an ordinary meal would cost $4 per customer, snacks were costing 12-14 cents per passenger. Besides, serving snacks also went well with the firm's image as a fun airline. The firm decided to offer core services at cheaper rates. This meant providing customers with services that they would really appreciate. Since people had already been complaining of airline food, it was about time that money was shifted to something better. JetBlue decided that a fraction of the money it saved on food could be easily transferred to such services as leather seats and personal television sets. In the end, the firm emerged a winner with its business model allowing more cost effectiveness and efficiency. The firm stands just a notch below SouthWest in terms of cost per passenger mile ($6.43 and $6.33 respectively) but stands far ahead of other airlines and industry average of $12.45 per passenger mile. Scanlon (2003) quotes USDTV CEO and writes: "We like what JetBlue has done, we like what Dell Computers has done and we like what Toyota has done," says CEO Lindsley, referring in particular to JetBlue's success at challenging its larger competitors by offering bare-bones service at cheaper prices. "These companies were able to gain a foothold in very maturing industries, even with incumbents that are well- heeled." The airline also uses A-320s instead of Boeing 737s since the former is more fuel-efficient. Operations: Interestingly JetBlue has no class distinctions on its flights. There is only one class, which means equal service to everyone, and no compromise on quality. Apart from that, it also allows the firm to use its human resources more efficiently since staff can be interchanged between flights. There were fewer scheduling issues to handle. Another operational choice and a wise one at that was

Managerial Marketing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managerial Marketing - Term Paper Example Retention of the customers is a system which must be mastered because it is the key to success and profitability. Businesses start with dreams of financial independence and financial security. No business can ever start to germinate and soar to success without a good idea, a business plan, sufficient capitalization and mastery of at least two aspects of business, human resource management and marketing management. This paper zeroes in on marketing management Target market is defined as the specific groups of customers that a business entity aims to capture (www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82498.html). Today, there is stiff competition in practically all kinds of business so it is imperative that to capture these target markets, there be target market strategies. It is also important that these target markets be identified, a process called market segmentation and a market niche be established (Daly,2001,p.50). To do this, an earnest research should be conducted to identify who these people are who have needs and wants that can be met by the services or the products of the business entity. If the business has already been started, then research begins with one's own existing customers. The questions to be answered are: who are these people; what sort of lives do they lead; who influence their buying decisions; what purchasing power do they have; what

Critically discuss the historical-cultural context of human rights Essay

Critically discuss the historical-cultural context of human rights. Does their context differ across cultural boundaries and if - Essay Example In academic literature, the school of thought that who argued against universality in relation to human rights are today establishing new perspectives regarding human rights. This school of thought, now incorporates cultural elements within a universal concept related to human rights, instead of directly criticizing the idea of universality (Hey 2000, p.17). This approach taken in regard to human rights paves way for a focus on various issues affecting the society and the implications in terms of establishing human rights that are recognized internationally. Further, there is a likelihood of a new universalism being born as a result of globalization. This new universalism related to significant developments that have occurred globally in terms of theories and politics related to human rights. In practice, various rights that exist within the society are now viewed as being interdependent. However, there is also an increasing recognition of cultural diversity thus resulting in varying concepts related to rights in regard to a new universalism. For example, the establishment of the internationally recognized criminal tribunals in countries such as the Netherlands or Tanzania, reflect on a consensus for international responsibility, and also accountability in regard to serious crimes that are against humanity. In essence, this paper explores the historical-cultural context related to universality of human rights. (Hey 2000, p.19). Universality is an important characteristic related to human rights and by definition, human rights denotes the rights available to every human being and hence, considered universal. Each human being is considered a holder of human rights that are independent of their origin, their daily activities, where they reside and their citizenship or community. Universality in regard to human rights is often influenced by other factors associated with human rights, and human rights are categorical, egalitarian and indivisible (Onuma 2001, p.33). In essence, a review of universalism and relativism reveals a build-up of two different terminologies, however; the counterpart of the former term is particularism and for the latter term is absolutism. The main reason for the misconception revolves around an assumption identifying universalism as being only legitimate through absolute justification. As a result, a relative means of legitimization can establish only a justification considered relative. The result in this sense related to the proponents advocating for human rights tends to establish an absolute justification in terms of the set human rights. This assumption is influenced by the view that relative justification is not appropriate to establish universality related to human rights (Onuma 2001, p.42). On the other hand, it could be argued that this two terms lack direct association, which creates consequences in regarding to developing an understanding of the universality related to human rights, and also attempt to esta blish a justification. Human rights often struggles as a result of particular interests among states that place priority for sovereignty over universality related to human rights. In addition, the private sector also impacts on human rights as a result of focusing on self-regulating approaches and capitalizes to establish their influence relative to certain limits. Further, this challenge forms part of

Family Divorce ( You Must use research it from a feminist perspective) Paper

Family Divorce ( You Must use it from a feminist perspective) - Research Paper Example The same case is replicated in Europe where the rates of divorce have been on the increase in the recent decades and is expected to escalate even further in the coming years. It is such disturbing trends that have prompted studies into understanding the effects and possible interventions of divorce. The feminist perspective on divorce revolves around the ways in which women’s positions at divorce systematically differ from men’s positions. Although the current labour force trends indicate an increase in women participation, Carbone (1994) says there is no corresponding rise in the fathers’ domestic contributions. In fact, women still endure the burden of child rearing. In a nutshell, therefore, a feminist perspective is concerned about the implications of divorce not only on the lives of women but also on the lives of children. Divorce has a huge impact on the family for the simple reason that it breaks the bonds that were once responsible for bringing the family together. On the part of children, Carbone (1994) says divorce brings the feelings of being unwanted and loss of trust to the parents. On the part of the fathers, divorce leads to loss of finances, emotional stress following loss of family and having to start again and loss of parental responsibility. With regards to the mothers, divorce leads to financial stress and emotional stress just to mention a few. Sometimes these effects deteriorate even to the extended families. Divorce shams serious concerns on the family, in particular, the well-being of the children. Although the adults are also affected by divorce, the children bear the brunt of it all. The divorce causes psychological, physical and socio-economic problems onto the affected families. This is in contrast to families that do not experience divorce. Wallerstein (1991) identifies persistent loneliness as a major consequence of divorce on children. He cited a study in

Cv Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cv - Essay Example I am proactive and have a strong determination to succeed. I am competent, reliable, enthusiastic and energetic. I have good convincing ability that was aquired through my prior job experiences which required me to handle various individuals. I possess good analytical and conceptual skills. I believe these attributes can prove to be extremely beneficial for the organizations I work for. I am a motivated and confident individual with a willingness to learn. I am adaptable and flexible and am adept at handling changes. Relevant Skills I possess extremely good communication skills which were acquired through my academic experience during which I had to make presentations. I have good convincing ability and during my job as an assistant in ‘The Nido Student’, I was able to improve my persuasive and negotiation skills. I am a team player and have the ability to work in cooperation and coordination with my team members to achieve the team’s goals. I could improve on thi s particular skill through my experience of working in teams during my university education. I am a self starter and make sure that tasks are accomplished with perfection. I was entrusted with the responsibility of planning and organizing various tasks and allocating the tasks to the various team members. I strictly adhered to deadlines and accomplished the assigned tasks within the stipulated time period. During my previous jobs, I have worked as a team member as well as a team manager. I have successfully fulfilled my responsibilities demanded by the various roles that I had to undertake in the teams. I had worked as the Student Ambassador and Student Representative in the London Metropolitan University. Computer Skills I am computer literate and have working knowledge of computers. I have an in depth knowledge of various word processing packages and Microsoft Office. Language Proficiency I am proficient in English and Arabic and possess slight knowledge of Italian. However, I am a quick learner and have the ability and the interest to learn new languages. Key Strengths I possess extremely good interpersonal skills and I am good at presentations. In my prior jobs, these skills have helped me to perform well since I have had direct interaction with customers and it requires good communication skills. I am a quick learner and can quickly adapt to changes. I am proactive and always take the initiative to accomplish tasks to perfection. I am capable of performing well in teams as well as individually. Mobility I am free to travel anywhere as demanded by my job. Academic Qualification Duration Year Degree Course College/University 2010- 2011 Third year Undergraduate Degree Business management London Metropolitan University 2009-2010 Second Year Undergraduate Degree Business management London Metropolitan University 2008-2009 First Year Undergraduate Degree Business management London Metropolitan University 2007-2008 Business Foundation Programme London Metropolit an University 2007-2008 Student Representative London Metropolitan University 2006-2007 Certificate of Advanced level of English EC London College, London 2001-2005 Intermediate Diploma in Accounting Libyan College Training Undergone I have received training in customer services, leadership and entrepreneurship from London Metropolitan University. I had also undertaken a security course for the position of a door supervisor

Native Americans Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Native Americans - Assignment Example Albanese (36) explains that Native Americans have responded positively to other religions assimilating some foreign practices, integrating religions, or conversion to new religion. Any of the three actions demonstrated compatibility, in either principles or beliefs, between Native American religions and religions among immigrant groups, and therefore suggests possible religious effects on the immigrant groups. Commonalities within the native religions, that distinguished them from foreign religions is another aspect that establishes the traditional religions as a microcosm for other religious adaptations. Even in their interactions with other religions, the native religions have sustained their identity, with peyote religion as an example (Albanese 37), and this shows that immigrant groups would monitor religious interactions for sustainability of their respective religious identities. Identity aspect of commonalities within religion would influence religions to establish distinct values for sustainability among other religions. Existence of relationship with a supreme authority, which is common among the Native American religions and other religions such as Christianity (Albanese 23- 25), is another illustration of the native religions as a basis for understanding possible religious adaptations among immigrant groups. The groups’ changes in religion would therefore be limited to such relationships with supernatural beings. Existence of distinct practices and beliefs among the native religions and foreign religions, together with compatibility into systematic religious interactions for sustaining religious identity are therefore microcosm for understanding religious adaptations of immigrant

Doing Business in Russia Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Doing Business in Russia - Research Proposal Example Soviet-era management practices, a decaying infrastructure, and inefficient supply systems hinder efficient utilization of those resources. For nearly sixty years, the Russian economy and that of the rest of the Soviet Union operated on the basis of central planning meaning state control over virtually all means of production and over investment, production, and consumption decisions throughout the economy. Economic policy was made according to directives from the Communist Party, which controlled all aspects of economic activity. The central planning system left a number of legacies with which the Russian economy must deal in its transition to a market economy. The constant changes in the business environment can make business activities hard to plan for managers. Taxes in Russia are high but some reforms are implemented in order to reduce the amount of taxes paid by companies. During recent years, the government has put emphasis on reducing regulation and lowering taxes. Depending on the company’s location, the tax can vary. The thorough tax code has recently been implemented including a new VAT law and a new profits tax law. The VAT is quite similar to the EU model; however, input VAT is only recoverable when paid whereas output VAT can be accrued on a cash or accrual basis. The government actions regarding the VAT are mixed. On one hand, the Russian government decided not to apply VAT on certain actions (i.e. inter-company loans or derivatives transactions), but on the other hand, some other fields that were not concerned by VAT are now subject to it (i.e. transfer of patents, trademarks, copyrights). The new Profits tax law is lowering the tax rate to a maximum of 24 % and reduced the number of non-deductible expenses.

Social Inequality 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Inequality 2 - Essay Example They see employment opportunities in connection with the social network they have. If they don’t have connections, they have a slim chance of getting a job. Also, they view higher level jobs that are prominent in the present time as unreachable since they do not fulfill the requirements needed for them to be eligible to apply, like a clean background and a high school diploma. In contrast, the aspirations and expectations of the Brothers indicate a more optimistic view of a future life. Since they are in school and are exposed to a different part of the neighborhood, living near middle-class and even white families, they see society’s standards as a guide for their own aspirations and expectations. They value education and work compared to masculinity, violence and peer group (or subculture) solidarity as an important aspect of life for the Hallway Hangers. With that, they aspire to reach middle and higher level jobs and expect that with a diploma and perseverance, they will be able to reach their goals in life. Employment opportunities, they believe, are open for them as they have a better family and social background than that of the Hallway Hangers. Looking at these scenarios, we can also expect that the Brothers will be able to reach their aspirations and expectations, however, they ended up the same as the Hallway Hangers in the job market, as the unemployed or underemployed. This can be credited to the fact that since they have lived in lower-class neighborhood, born in lower-class families, they tend to be accepted in jobs that are more manual than professional. Also, the changing structure of the economy, from manufacturing (needing hard labor) to a more service-oriented one gave them lesser opportunities. This increases the validity of how the social background and job opportunities are triggered by social factors.

A Gothic novel Essay Example for Free

A Gothic novel Essay How far can we accept Mary Shelleys Frankenstein as a typical example of the Gothic Tradition? Focus on specific examples of the genre to illustrate your answer. Many critics have named Mary Shelleys Frankenstein as a Gothic novel. A traditional Gothic novel can be described as, tales of the macabre, fantastic and supernatural. In the beginning, the word Gothic implied medieval, but with time its meaning altered, until its emphasis lay on the macabre. Many of the best gothic novels show examples of invention and produce moments of horror far greater than pieces that are less emotive. Frankenstein fits into this category. Victor Frankenstein is an ambitious, although misguided inventor, looking to solve the secret of life. In her introduction, Mary Shelley declares her desire to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart. This type of language immediately signals to the reader that Frankenstein should be placed in the gothic genre. Gothic novels are generally said to include some of the following elements. They should be set in a castle with an atmosphere of suspense and mystery, there should be supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events, am ancient prophecy, omens, portents, visions, high or overwrought emotion, women in distress or threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male, and finally the metonymy of gloom and horror. Frankenstein does not really include any of these points to the excess. It is not set in a castle and the language cannot really be said to be mysterious, as we are narrated clearly throughout. Can it still be said to be a gothic novel, even without any of the conventional gothic traits? The term gothic covers a wide variety of texts and is by no means easy to define. It is not that straightforward to therefore relate Frankenstein to other gothic novels. However, some certain elements of Frankenstein can be determined as gothic, even though other parts may not fit the pattern.

Total Quality Management In The Software Industry

Total Quality Management In The Software Industry As total quality management has a great demand in todays software environment it is always better to understand not only this concept, but any concept with the help of a case study. In this case we have chosen American multinational technology and consulting firm which has its head office at Armonk, New York (IBM). In this case study we will try to strike an understanding of what is total quality management (TQM) and what are the essential steps to be followed to have a successful TQM implementation. We even discuss briefly about the management seven (M7) and quality seven (Q7) tools which are commonly used in TQM process. We also provide recommendation for the people to ensure success during (TQM) implementation. IBM is a globally renowned organization which is operating over 170 destinations across the world. Today there are about 40000 employees putting their heart and soul to bring in innovative solutions to a diverse client base to encounter some of the toughest challenges in their business. IBM is not just the worlds largest IT firm it also known to bring innovation and solution for various worldly problems. It is well known for its research and development. It partners with various governments to build a smarter planet. IBM can be called as the leading information technology and services in the planet today. It main services include: IT services Business consulting Application services Outsourcing services Services for small and medium business(SMEs) Software service Asset recovery Its main products include: Software Storage Systems Services Internet security Semiconductors(US) Point of scale(US) Printing systems from info point IBM certified pre owned equipment Its main support includes: Download Troubleshoot Documentation Install Open a technical service request Support by product Customer support Customers: There a range of customers from a verity of business sectors and a range of countries, few of them are listed below Winn-Dixie Stores (US) Tran zaps (US) Allied Irish bank Post bank Ag(Germany) Japan airlines Ps bank(Philippines) Industrial bank of korea IBM Qualifiers: End to End IT Enterprise Services: Ranging from single onsite resource deployment on a time and materials basis to fully managed services of entire system areas. Sector Expertise: Core IT sector skills, expertise and experience of working across software, Banking, Utilities, Government, Healthcare and Manufacturing, Hardware and Software.. Cost Effective Global Delivery Model: IBM provides clients with cost-effective solutions through worldwide for successful execution of project. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA): Provides services to the clients and operates progressively. Shows eight Web pages, different processes but same design Source:www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/edge/08/jul08/peraire/index.html Winners: Industry Standard best practices: Quality initiative at ISL is driven by ISO 9001:2002, SEI CMM Level 5, SEI CMMi Level 5, SEI PCMM Level 5 backed by IBM processes and methodologies. Technology Collaborations: In global market IMB associations created own repos and given access to all the customers. Operational Processes: IBM solutions main Operational process: The main operational process that confers to the services delivery of the company can be discept in greater detail as below: Technology Division: Generally the development of any IT applications and services delivery project usually requires the following main iterations: Project Planning: The Project planning is key for any project success. This phase prioritizes the identification of potential aspects such as scheduling and developing. Requirements Specification: The document that specifies the functional, operational, design and reference points requirements of the project is called requirement specific document, this document is generally put together by the inputs taken from the high level authority of the project. Design Development: Design is the next step that follows after the requirement specification document is created, This is the phase where the intended features, process diagram, functional hierarchy templates and ER diagram are listed, This phase is immediately followed by the development process, developers use these design elements to develop their source code. Integration Testing: Integration is the process where the various modules of the project are integrated in to once system, I E code developed by various developers is put in to one place and the software is now ready to de tested , The testing process is used to test the correctness, reliability and the completeness of the software and defects and incompleteness identified in this phase are corrected by the developers and then again tested, this cycle continues until all the bugs in the software are eliminated. Installation Acceptance: Once the software is tested completely and all the imperfections are eliminated the next phase is the installation phase, In this phase the developed software is installed for the clients to use the software, Though this is not the last phase, once the installation is done, the project is almost complete, the final phase of the software implementation process is the User acceptance test(UAT), Here a personal or a team from the users test the application or the software to confirm that all the initial requirements laid out in the SRS document are achieved and there are not bugs in the application Maintenance Support: This basically depends on the agreement that the client and the development company have agreed, it may occur that the company that has developed the software is responsible for the maintenance and support or the user may hire professionals to do this job for him, any further enhancements to the software can also be added to the finished software. The other business functions or supporting processes involved are: Customer Services: This is an ongoing process where any suggestions and complaints or requests from the client are communicated to the development team for any further changes to the application .This process also involves providing technical assistance to the customers. Marketing Sales: This is a very important aspect where any future business is generated, this team is responsible for finding new customers for the product, this team is responsible for giving demonstrations of the product in an effort to improve business. They also have the responsibility of extending the current time bound contracts to generate further business and following up with existing and new clients until the deal is sealed and the case is handed over to the technical heads. Accounting Finance: All the financial aspects starting from the pricing of the product to the employees pay scales are handled by this department. Any audit to tax payments are carefully invoiced and documented by this department. Human Resources: Human resource department need to ensure the recruitment of new talent, satisfaction and retention of the existing staff, maintaining the training and learning needs of the staff and ensuring minimum wage levels and tracking the attendance of all the employees of the organization. They form the back bone of the firm in the sense that they provide the technical manpower to satisfy the clients requirements for skills. Literature review: According to the Websters Dictionary, quality is a degree of excellence; a distinguishing attribute. That is, quality is the degree to which a product lives up to its performance, endurance, maintainability, and other attributes that a customer expects to receive from purchasing this product. In order to produce quality product, one must adopt TQM concept into ones product development process. TQM is a management technique for continuously improving the performance at every level and in every area of responsibility to ensure customer satisfaction (Schulmeyer McManus,2007). It is a way of managing an enterprise towards achieving business excellence (Dahlgaard et al., 1998). TQM can be traced to the work of Dr. Edwardss Deming and dr. Joseph M. Juran during the rebuilding of the Japanese economy in the after math of World War 2. Since American business discovered TQM in the 1980s it has been successfully implemented in a number of well known corporation in the US and XEROX, federal express and IBM (capezio. 1995). Deming (1986) suggested the use of statistical techniques for quality control, and hence mentioned the following principles on quality: The Deming Management Method: Although Walter Shewhart is considered as the founding father of statistical quality control system, W. Edwards Deming is the first one who introduced the TQM concept. Deming offered the management his fourteen points of management obligations and identified seven deadly diseases and some obstacles of TQM implementation. The fourteen points as listed below are also known as the Deming management method [Walton, 1986]. Juran (1986) emphasizing on the vitality of both technical and managerial aspects mentioned the following aspects of quality: Planning organization Control The aim of the management is to reduce the cost of mistakes, reaching a point where the total costs of quality are minimal (Juran Gryna, 1993). TQM Techniques, tools and systems Statistical Process Control ISO 9000 series Pareto Analysis Matrix Diagram Histograms Tree Decision Diagram Critical Path Analysis Fishbone or Ishakawa Diagram TABLE: Hard TQM Practices Identified in Quality Management Literature ISO 9000 series: The International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 is perhaps the most popular quality improvement system. It is an international set of documents widely known as standards written by a worldwide organization known as the ISO/Technical Committee 176 (Lamprecht, 1992). Critical path analysis (CPA). This tool is associated with managing projects. It is related to TQM because project management is critical to the implementation of quality programs within an organization (Bicheno, 1998). CPA seeks to establish, through the use of a network of arrows or nodes, a logical order of activities in terms of time and importance for the completion of a project (Bicheno). Fishbone or Ishakawa Diagram: This is one of the classic TQM tools called fishbone or Ishakawa diagram. The fishbone diagram is used to identify causes of a problem without using statistical methods (Bicheno, 1998; Goetsch Davis, 1994). According to Goetsch and Davis, the fishbone diagram serves as an excellent reminder for the things that have to be done. Crosby (1979) defined 14 steps for quality improvement, including top and intermediate management commitment, quality measurement, evaluation of quality costs, corrective action, training, a zero-defect philosophy, objective setting and employee recognition(Crosby, 1979) cited in (Tarà ­, 2005). The key components required to carry out the TQM process include top management commitment, employee involvement, problem-solving tools, continuous improvement and customer satisfaction, based on the work of Deming, Juran, and Crosby (Haag et al., 1996). The research by all these authors shows both strengths and weaknesses, for none of them offers the solutions to all the problems encountered by firms (Dale, 1999). Total Quality Management for Software: Process Improvement: The TQM philosophy described above can be applied to any development process, be it product development or software development. The Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC): This phase generally involves intelligence, design, choice, and review [Simon, 1977]. The System Development Life Cycle (SDLC): This phase involves planning, analysis, design, implementation and support [Whitten and Bently, 1998]. The application of TQM to software: Software development is a process in which the developer precisely converts the requirement specifications into software products. It is clear that the quality of software is largely determined by the quality of the process used to develop and maintain it (Sanders Curran, 1994). A number of authors have advocated the adoption of TQM for the development and maintenance of software systems (Rowe Neal, 1993).Specific frameworks do exist for the software industry like ISO 9000 and CMM which act as stepping stone towards attaining TQM. Software quality management: Major quality management processes identified by Schwalbe (2004) are: Quality planning: determining which quality standards are relevant to this specific project and deciding how these standards will be met. Quality assurance: involves evaluating overall performance regularly to ensure conformance to the set standards. Quality audits or reviews can support this function. Quality control: monitoring the activities and end results of the project to ensure compliance with the standards utilizing various available tools and techniques. TQM Concepts Total Employee Involvement Continuous Improvement Continuous Training Teamwork Empowerment Top-management Commitment and Support Democratic Management Style Customer/Citizen Satisfaction Table: Soft TQM Concepts Identified in Quality Management Literature Challenges: Many of the firms implements CMM or ISO 9000 series for improvement and reach their TQM goals. For any Organization to have a successful implementation of TQM it must ensure that the majority of its employees and those part of the value chain are willing to participate and embrace the TQM philosophy before embarking on the journey. Everyone involved in the chain need to actively play participate and engage themselves in the journey to TQM realization otherwise the whole process will be hindered. The difficulty or factors which need to be taken care off while implementing TQM: Improper Management support Less knowledge and improper market analysis. Short term involvement inability to stay on target for long Failure to get worker input Measuring profits in short term span Financial problems- not possible to invest requisite amounts to bring the change Despite the benefits TQM brings, problems have been encountered while implementation. Firms must develop a number of components in an integrated way for successful implementation (Easton Jarrell, 1998). Future of TQM: The new age TQM is being built upon the information contained in databases rather than on generic and research models. Thus, TQM will be informed and shaped by customer requirements reflected in accurate data and information systems (Aurand et al., 1996).In summary, technology would remain the key driver of TQM through the use of IT and e-business. The future of the TQM is being designed to address the needs of service based and SMEs, rather than on the conventional product based framework of TQM. Also there would be fast track TQM implementation processes as firms are trying to march ahead on the technology change front.Thus, there is likely to be a requirement for more interdisciplinary research as the future of TQM develops (Dale et al., 2001). Also, newer environmental legislation, quality standards, carbon footprint and quality-award model development related issues would be redefining the future versions of TQM.

Obama and Romney Campaign Video Analysis

Obama and Romney Campaign Video Analysis Analysis of Obama and Romney campaign Advertisements Igbinosa Ojehomon According to McNair Brian â€Å"Political communication simply is purposeful communication about politics†[1] From his definition of political communication, the main word that strikes a chord is â€Å"purposeful† which according to Merriam Webster dictionary, defines purposeful as â€Å"having a clear aim or purpose†[2] So his explanation could be summarized as communication related to politics having a clear aim. Political communication always has an intent and intended target. More so, it usually has an objective and the objective most of the time it is to influence and persuade an intended group or populace. Besides political communication is always issue specific. Part time the information disseminated is well-defined to reflect a particular message. This is done in other to ensure that the recipients of the targeted information get the intended message in other to have maximum impact. Besides political communication has gone beyond just spoken words and com posed text but it has metamorphosed into to the realm of using filmic and photographic cues[3]. These include deliberate concerted efforts at manipulate audio-visual and pictorial materials, structured in such a way that it portrays a particular identity. In this fashion this could be referred to as Political Image. It further includes advertising related attributes such as emblem design for political party, facial cosmetics, and hairdo making of whoever is going to be a flag bearer of the political party. All this are deliberately done to ensure positive image of the political part and the party leader in other to create a positive impression on the mind of the intended target in order to achieve an intended objective desired by the political party and the political leader. This processes goes down to include what type of slogan to use, what color should be used to represent the party to even include voice training of the political leader, gesture training, walking steps to dressin g style are all carefully manage by a specialist to portray and image consistent with what is intended by the party. Funny enough all this transformation in political communication has influence by advancement in communication technology. From paper to newspapers, magazine to radio, television to the social media. However the advent of the television most especially the colored television has open a fora for highly colorful political advertising programs, speeches, jingles all utilize highly creative multimedia tools to produce the most colorful and eye appeal video footage. Besides all entities have components, this divisions that make up the entity. Against the backdrop the parts that make up political communication are as follows the media, the citizens and the political organization[4] COMPONENT OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION The citizen, media and political organization are all core parts of political communication. They are highly dependent on each other and they could be referred to as mutually interdependent. Each constituent depend on the other constituent depend on the other constituent for relevance. This process is also vice versa. Firms 2012 (Barack Obama’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud3mMj0AZZk This 32 seconds Ad was carefully structured to support the motion that Romney was the problem and not the solution to American’s economic woes, by exposing the trading pattern of Romney’s firms and money laundering schemes. In the period when these Ads were aired, America has been experiencing a steady increase in unemployment and the economy was in a bad shape. This economic situation badly affected the middle class of the American society who were losing their jobs to offshore- outsourcing of labor to countries of cheap labor such as Mexico, India and china. Besides, further investment in Tax havens such as Cayman Island and Bermuda. Tax havens â€Å"are locations with very low tax rates and other tax attributes designed to appeal to foreign investors†[5] Some tax haven do not apply taxes for foreign investors. This is an attraction for rich folks and investors, for it is more profitable for them to invest in this place because of low or zero tax. This must hav e been an attraction for Romney’s firm, for his is a business man and wants to make profits. However, investing funds in another country has a tendency of improving the economy of that country. So what this Obama TV Ad is trying to drive at with relation to the economic situation in the United States, is that Romney by investing in the Cayman Island and Bermuda instead of the United States, is contributing to the economic challenges of the United States at that time and not helping the situation. For every amount of money that was invested outside the United States would have contributed to the improvement of the American economy. Besides, the money laundering acts by Romney highlighted in this TV Ad to Swiss account helped to further reinforce the key message of this TV Ad the â€Å"Romney is the problem and not the solution† for when large chunk of money is moved from a country, it short circuit the natural flow of money in the economy and this disruptions have signi ficant impact on the general functioning of the economy. Likewise, those funds saved in the Swiss account by Romney if saved in banks in banks in United States, it would have help improved the American economy by making available funds which banks could borrow to American citizens for business related activities and the such activities would create jobs for American people etc. Personally the arrangement of ideas in this Ad was very was very effective and the arrangement of evidences to support the main idea was splendid. This was an attempt to demonize Romney and blame him for economic situation at that time. However looking at things objectively Romney is a business man, and the goal of every businessman is to make profits so every sane business man will act in like-manner like Romney, such as outsourcing of jobs, investing in Tax haven if he or she feels it is profitable. The Cheaters 2012 (Barack Obama’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MI4YOICmuA This 30 seconds audio-visual Obama Ad is titled The Cheaters, this title is arrived at by taking out excerpt from Romney’s speech which is as follows â€Å"It’s time to stand up to the cheaters and make sure we protect jobs for the American people† Funny enough this excerpt was taken from Romney’s TV Ad against Obama accusing Obama of not standing up to China Hence being a cheater. So we could argue that this Obama Tv Ad is a response to Romney’s Tv Ad. The architect of this Ad are very smart, in that they used Romney’s words which he accused Obama of cheating and not standing up to china against him. This they did by picking up key phrases in Romney’s Ad such as â€Å"Stand up to† â€Å"the cheaters† and â€Å"protect jobs† which he accused Obama of, then using those key phrases against Romney. This they did by providing evidences to prove that what he accused Obama of, he (Romney) is guilty of it; that is,  "not standing up to china†. This evidences are presented as follows Firstly, transferring employment to china. Romney’s investment company called Bain capital has overtime systematically invested in companies that focus on shifting jobs from United States to china.[6]This is a direct link to the fact that Romney has not stood up to china. For how can you claim you are standing up to a country and then still indirectly provide jobs for that country at the expense of your own country. That is highly hypocritical and dishonest; this was what Romney’s action implied. This was what Obama TV Ad was trying to capitalize on. That Romney is a hypocrite and dishonest hence â€Å"The Cheater.† This evidence is aimed at making the American public view Romney as unpatriotic. For his investment patterns was taking jobs from the American people and transferring them to China. Americans are very patriotic people, so they would not vote for a presidential candidate that reflect unpatriotic sentiments. Personally I feel this was a very convincing message, that Romney was not standing up to china for the way the Obama TV portrayed it Secondly, heavily investing in china. The surveillance industry in china is a booming industry due to the rising threat of insecurity as a result of large and growing population. This Obama TV Ad help to highlight the fact that significant portion of Romney’s wealthy is invested in the surveillance industry in china.[7] This directly boosts the Chinese economy, provide jobs for Chinese people. This action of Romney’s firms highly illustrates the fact that Romney is not standing up to china instead he is supporting china. These furthermore reinforces the fact that he is supporting china at the expense of the American people. This has negative connotation on the voting populace. For the American people have been wary of china for it is a direct threat to the American economy. For it is a hub for cheap labor and a distribution point for cheap product to the United States. Due to this economic characteristics of china, American has been losing funds and jobs to china. So Ob ama TV Ad on the second point helps to illustrate that Romney has chosen to align himself with china which is a threat to American economy. Thus, it indicates that Romney is supporting china. This message the Obama TV Ad tries to pass across to the American people that Romney is supporting china which depriving them jobs while he claims he is not supporting china. To sum up, the two TV Ad of Obama titled Firms 2012 and the cheaters 2012 were designed to were designed portray Mitt Romney in a negative fashion. The Tv Ad Title Firms 2012 was designed so that the American public could perceive Mitt Romney as the cause of America’s economic challenges due to foreign outsourcing of jobs and investment in tax havens which indirectly causes unemployment and reduction in funds available in the American economy. More so the campaign advertisement title â€Å"The cheaters 2012† was to show mitt Romney as not a dishonest person, for he claimed he would stand up to china, however his financial company was heavily investing in china directly and indirectly Source: http://www.inc.com/gene-marks/mitt-romney-small-business-admit-when-youre-wrong.html Mitt Romney, has had successful career both academically, politically and businesswise until the presidential election in 2012 which he lost to Barack Obama. He studied in Ivy League schools such as Stanford and Harvard[8]. Politically he was one time governor of Massachusetts. Businesswise he owns a very profitable financial company called Bain capital.[9]This company has been very profitable to Romney and has help to manage his financial assets and channel funds to profitable investments. Conservative Agenda 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6vMqnP3TM4 The first few words of this campaign Tv advertisement summarizes everything in this video. That is Mitt Romney claiming that he would make the American government simpler smaller and smarter, this he further explains he would do through nationalization of programs eliminating non-essential programs and Obamacare. This his rhetoric is highly conservative and a reflection of Republican Party doctrine. Republican Party are not in favor of welfare programs, that may explain why he said he will get rid of programs(Obamacare).He also talks about introducing spending cut and balancing of budget. By this he is trying to show that Obama’s government are not literate enough to handle the American economy. More so his approach here to what is causing job loss for the American people is government deficit as a result of excessive spending .In this campaign add he is outlining the problems of the American economy and offering solutions to it. He is not directing his criticism at Obamas per sonality but at the institution that represent Obamas government. Besides his words in this video is portraying care and concern for the American people and the future. He is portraying himself as a responsible father by talking about the negative impact the Obama government is having on the future of the American kid. Give Me a Break 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9gKQlYtDU8 â€Å"Give me a break† means literally excuse me or give me breathing space. This could literally mean mitt Romney telling Obama to give the American people a break, for even former president Clinton said the same word in 2008 presidential campaign about Obama, highlighting the fact that he could not see any meaningful solution Obama would bring. For since Obama took office the American economy has regressed, the middle class are falling backward and large chunk of the American population are looking for job. Failing American Workers 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58pq658byzI The title of campaign advertisement summarizes everything in this video. Before Obama took office for the first time he promised to create jobs and revive the economy. However the video illustrates that Obama has failed to meet up to his promises, thereby failing the American workers, who are affected most by his failure. Romney shows using figures that illustrate that Americas manufacturing jobs was more than china but when Obama took office, it drop till the extent that china overtook America in manufacturing jobs. An excess of half a million manufacturing jobs were lost under Obamas first administration. This is a concrete prove that Obama has failed the American worker. This is the message Romney is trying to pass across. Failing American Families 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erT_1axOAHo Family is a very important factor in among the conservative in the American society. Romney is using the family as a weapon to show that under Obamas administration family income has on a regular interval been reducing by 4000 dollars and furthermore he also illustrates that national debt have increased steadily. By this happen he has failed to meet up to the expectation he promised the American people when he initially took office hence failed the American families. PERSONAL ANALYSIS In this section would attempt to analyze Obama campaign and Romney campaign separately then show the differences and similarities between the two The differences between Obama campaign and Romney campaign in this Video clips is that the two Obama video clips are is more of a personality attack on Romney, designed to create negative sentiment about Romney. Secondly it is mainly focused on Romney as the cause of the problems. Thirdly it it is attacking Romney’s business life. Taking his past business activity and associating it to be the cause of American economic problems and increase unemployment. While alternatively Romney’s campaign advertisement is has substance. Substance in the sense that it is using statistics, numerical facts to prove that Obamas first time in office has done America more harm than good. He does that by comparing America’s economy (house hold income, employment rate and debt burden), before Obama took office and after Obama’s first term in office. He used it to prove that America has not made progress domestically and internationally when compared to china. Personally this is highly convincing, concrete and professional. The challenge to Romney’s approach is that it appeal to the intellectuals and highly educated. In short it appeal to the brain because it the argument are logical and factual. But, it is not the whole American population that would view his campaign from that standpoint. More so Romney’s campaign advertisement was more nationalistic and futuristic. He was trying to make the America public understand the negative impact of Obamas government in the first four years on the future of the American people. More so, Romney’s campaign Advertisement was making use of authority’s facts, such as information from national bureau of statistics, while Obama was utilizing information from newspapers etc. But when view both campaign, Obama campaign seemed to have more effects because it appealed to the emotion. It provoked negative feelings towards Romney by the American people, no wonder Obama won the presidential election the second time. In conclusion, Obama negative campaigning again Romney won again Romney’s logical and systematic and factual representation of campaign advertisement can personally learn from this that people may response more effectively to emotionally charged campaign advertisement than to logical and factual campaign advertisement. More so independent research also suggest that Obama was more genuine that Romney, only God knows. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011. 2. Webster, M. (n.d.). . . Retrieved, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purposeful. 3. McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011 p6 5. Dharmapala, D., Hines Jr, J. R. (2007, April). Which countries become tax havens?. InAmerican Law Economics Association Annual Meetings(p. 48). bepress. 6. Hamburger, T. (n.d.). Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-thatmoved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_story.html 7. JACOBS, A., BULLOCK, P. (2012, March 15). Firm Romney Founded Is Tied to Chinese Surveillance.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/world/asia/bain-capital-tied-to-surveillance-push-in-china.html?pagewanted=all_r=0 8. The American Presidency. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 14, 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9439058 [1] McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011. [2] Webster, M. (n.d.). . . Retrieved, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purposeful. [3] ibid [4] McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011 p6 [5] Dharmapala, D., Hines Jr, J. R. (2007, April). Which countries become tax havens?. InAmerican Law Economics Association Annual Meetings(p. 48). bepress. [6] Hamburger, T. (n.d.). Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-thatmoved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_story.html [7] JACOBS, A., BULLOCK, P. (2012, March 15). Firm Romney Founded Is Tied to Chinese Surveillance.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/world/asia/bain-capital-tied-to-surveillance-push-in-china.html?pagewanted=all_r=0 [8] The American Presidency. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 14, 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9439058 [9] ibid

Cuban Race Relations Essay -- Spanish Cuba Cuban Racial Essays

Cuban Race Relations I. Introduction- Retracing a History of Racial Scorn in Cuban Society: The study of race relations in contemporary Cuba indelibly requires an understanding of the dynamic history of race relations in this ethnically pervasive island of the Caribbean. Cuban society, due to its historical antecedents of European colonialism and American imperialism, has traditionally experienced anguished and even tumultuous race relations. Racial disharmony has plagued Cuban society ever since the advent of the Colonial institution of the plantation system. Thus, in order to acquire some understanding of Cuba’s dynamic race relations one must study and investigate the evolution of racial tensions and the quintessential impact that the revolution of 1959 had on Cuba’s social structure. II. The Impact of Spanish Colonialism in Cuba: Legitimizing Racial Schism- The specter of colonial repression, imposed by the institutions of slavery and the plantation system, has incessantly haunted Cuban society, culture, politics, and ideology. The legacies of slavery and the plantation system imposed a structural and systematic practice of racial discrimination against Afro-Cubans, which suppressed any ambition for the pursuit of liberty and equality. Despite Cuba’s abolition of slavery in 1886 and its winning of independence in 1902, Afro-Cubans remained destitute, marginalized, and in the periphery of political autonomy within Cuban society. Thus, the origins of Cuba’s disdainful race relations emerge during the Spanish colonial tenure in Cuba. The era of Spanish colonial rule in Cuba can be characterized by many institutions, such as slavery and the plantation system, which presupposed a notion of ra... ...n and Mesa-Lago, Carmelo. Revolutionary Change in Cuba. Ed. Carmelo Mesa-Lago. (University of Pittsburgh Press: New York.1971), 347. 11. .de la Fuente, Alejandro. "Race, National Discourse, and Politics in Cuba." (Latin American Perspectives v25 (1998) : p. 43-70.), 55. 12. .Amaro, Nelson and Mesa-Lago, Carmelo. Revolutionary Change in Cuba. Ed. Carmelo Mesa-Lago. (University of Pittsburgh Press: New York.1971), 348. 13. .de la Fuente, Alejandro. "Race, National Discourse, and Politics in Cuba." (Latin American Perspectives v25 (1998) : p. 43-70.), 55. 14. .Ibid 15. .Ibid 16. .Ibid 17. .Knight, Franklin. The Caribbean: the Genesis of a Fragmented Nationalism. (Oxford University Press: New York. 1990), 307. 18. .Information taken from the "Afro Cuba Web Page:" http://www.afrocubaweb.com/afrocVoice.htm Cuban Race Relations Essay -- Spanish Cuba Cuban Racial Essays Cuban Race Relations I. Introduction- Retracing a History of Racial Scorn in Cuban Society: The study of race relations in contemporary Cuba indelibly requires an understanding of the dynamic history of race relations in this ethnically pervasive island of the Caribbean. Cuban society, due to its historical antecedents of European colonialism and American imperialism, has traditionally experienced anguished and even tumultuous race relations. Racial disharmony has plagued Cuban society ever since the advent of the Colonial institution of the plantation system. Thus, in order to acquire some understanding of Cuba’s dynamic race relations one must study and investigate the evolution of racial tensions and the quintessential impact that the revolution of 1959 had on Cuba’s social structure. II. The Impact of Spanish Colonialism in Cuba: Legitimizing Racial Schism- The specter of colonial repression, imposed by the institutions of slavery and the plantation system, has incessantly haunted Cuban society, culture, politics, and ideology. The legacies of slavery and the plantation system imposed a structural and systematic practice of racial discrimination against Afro-Cubans, which suppressed any ambition for the pursuit of liberty and equality. Despite Cuba’s abolition of slavery in 1886 and its winning of independence in 1902, Afro-Cubans remained destitute, marginalized, and in the periphery of political autonomy within Cuban society. Thus, the origins of Cuba’s disdainful race relations emerge during the Spanish colonial tenure in Cuba. The era of Spanish colonial rule in Cuba can be characterized by many institutions, such as slavery and the plantation system, which presupposed a notion of ra... ...n and Mesa-Lago, Carmelo. Revolutionary Change in Cuba. Ed. Carmelo Mesa-Lago. (University of Pittsburgh Press: New York.1971), 347. 11. .de la Fuente, Alejandro. "Race, National Discourse, and Politics in Cuba." (Latin American Perspectives v25 (1998) : p. 43-70.), 55. 12. .Amaro, Nelson and Mesa-Lago, Carmelo. Revolutionary Change in Cuba. Ed. Carmelo Mesa-Lago. (University of Pittsburgh Press: New York.1971), 348. 13. .de la Fuente, Alejandro. "Race, National Discourse, and Politics in Cuba." (Latin American Perspectives v25 (1998) : p. 43-70.), 55. 14. .Ibid 15. .Ibid 16. .Ibid 17. .Knight, Franklin. The Caribbean: the Genesis of a Fragmented Nationalism. (Oxford University Press: New York. 1990), 307. 18. .Information taken from the "Afro Cuba Web Page:" http://www.afrocubaweb.com/afrocVoice.htm

Why Hamlet Needs To Die Essay -- Literary Analysis

Hamlet's view of death morphs through the course of the play as he is faced with various problems and troubles that force him to deal with life differently. This holds particular significance for a modern audience who, unlike the predominately Christian audiences of Shakespeare's time, contains an assortment of perspectives on the subject. For the majority of the play, Hamlet yearns for death, but there are different tones to his yearning as he confronts death in different circumstances; from his encounter with his father's ghost to the discovery of his beloved Ophelia dead in the ground, Hamlet feels an irrepressible urge to end his life. There are obstacles that get in his way, both internal and external, and Shakespeare's play is an account of Hamlet's struggle with them. When we first meet Hamlet, he is moping around Elsinore Castle on account of his father's recent death and his mother's more recent marriage to his uncle. In the first act of the play, it has been two months since King Hamlet was laid in the ground—a fairly short time ago in terms of grief, but not so long that family members could not conceivably begin their lives again, as Hamlet's mother has done in marrying her late husband's brother. Hamlet is still in mourning clothes, is wholly fixated on the loss of his father, and is positively mortified and revolted by his mother's apparent indifference. In the play's first conversation between Hamlet and his newlywed parents, they chide him for his "obstinate condolement" for his father (1.2.93). They believe that "Hamlet's long mourning for his father is against not only the rule of nature, grace, or grace, but also heaven" (Hassel 612). Thinking of death makes Hamlet an unpleasant person for the newlywe... ...zlw4MBx3Rc3yxAK4i00QEjo#v=onepage&q=&f=false>. Gottschalk, Paul. "Hamlet and the Scanning of Revenge." Shakespeare Quarterly, 24.2 (1973): 155-170. JSTOR Database. 13 Nov. 2009 . Hassel, Chris, Jr. "Hamlet's 'Too, Too Solid Flesh." The Sixteenth Century Journal, 25.3 (1994): 609-622. JSTOR Database. 13 Nov. 2009 . Russell, John. "Dust and Divinity: Hamlet's Fractured World." Hamlet and Narcissus. Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, 1995. 39-50. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 92. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 39-50. Literature Resource Center. Gale. 14 Nov. 2009 . Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Ed. Jacobus, Lee A. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 340-393.

Aflac

Table of Contents I. Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 II. Company History†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3-4 III. Company Financials†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 IV. Internal Factors & External Industry Analysis. 6-11 V. House of Quality & DMAIC†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11-19 VI. Tree Diagram & PDPC†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 19-22 VII. Flowchart & Check Sheet†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦22-26 VIII. Consultants Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 26 IX. 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‚¬ ¦ 27 ? I. Executive Summary AFLAC, incorporated offers all different types of insurance including life, health, and accident insurance as being their top sellers. The insurance industry can often be a competitive one. There are many insurance companies, in the past few years, that have been greatly effected by the current recession in the United States. Some insurance companies needed government intervention to help them through this. AFLAC, just like other big companies out there, have gone through many problems. Building the House of Quality and using Deming’s five points will help this company succeed and train their employees better. Using flow charts, check sheets, and tree diagrams will show the employees the right way to do their work and can continuously improve at their work. Consultants will be overall most satisfied with these types of practices. II. Company History Aflac, also known as American Family Life Assurance Company, was founded in Columbus, Georgia in the year 1955. It was discovered by brothers John, Paul, and William Amos to sell life, health, and accident insurance (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † Competition was very fierce back then and the little company did poorly. In the 1940s and 1950s, there were many cases of polio scares and had spawned insurance coverage written specifically for this disease. It was then that Aflac decided to sell cancer insurance (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † In the year 1958, they introduced the world’s first cancer insurance policy. This wound up being a big hit for this company and had written over a million dollars in premiums and had expanded over state lines. This company grew very quickly. It grew very quickly in the decade of the 1960s. They developed a selling approach that was much clustered. This approach worked as employees were willing to make payroll deduction for premiums (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † By the year 1971, this company was booming in over 42 states. In the 1970s, John Amos then decided to expand his company outside the United States. This started by Amos visiting the World Fair in Osaka and he then decided to market this idea to the Japanese (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † The Japanese healthcare plan left them exposed to considerable expense from cancer treatments. After four years, the company finally got approved to sell health insurance overseas to the Japanese (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † It was basically approved because after research, it would have not threatened existing markets and the Amos’s found notable backers in the insurance and medical industries. Aflac became one of the first insurance companies to enter the Japanese market, and it had an eight year monopoly with the Japanese (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † Aflac has sought to supplement its cancer insurance by introducing new products and improving old ones to encourage the policyholders to add on or trade up (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † The company boosted its name recognition in the United States from two percent to fifty six percent primarily through advertising, including the slots throughout the 1998 Winter Olympic Games and NASCAR races (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). Accident and disability premiums surpassed cancer premiums in the United States for the first time in the company’s history in the year 2000. The popular Aflac duck made its first appearance on television in the year 2001 for a commercial for accident insurance (â€Å"Aflac Incorporated History). † III. Company Financials With every company, the financial po rtion of the company will vary from year to year. AFLAC, which is one of the most trusted insurance companies and has the most popular commercials, has been doing very well over the years as an insurance company. This company has annual sales presently at over eighteen million dollars (â€Å"Aflac Financial Reports†). Ten million dollars of the eighteen million dollars in revenues were solely from the sales of the employees that worked for this company. This company is a publicly traded company located on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Over the years, this stock price has gone up and up every single year. It is now priced at fifty five dollars per share, which shows how successful this company has been over the years. Below, is a chart that shows Aflac’s stock price from June of 2009 to April of 2010 (Business Source Complete). It shows that in June of 2009, it was price at thirty three dollars per share. It had a significant setback right before September where it dropped under thirty dollars per share (Aflac’s Financial Reports. )† It has since resurged in the past ten months to be up to fifty five dollars per share. It shows that Aflac has not been affected by the recession, which is ongoing in the United States. IV. Internal Factors & External Industry Analysis The insurance industry is a very competitive industry. AFLAC’s main concern is the customer service problems and that the agents are not trained enough to help out the various customers the company deals with. AFLAC specializes in accident and health insurance mostly, with the option of life insurance as well (Business Wire). The industry as a whole is very successful. The most popular aspect that most people will recognize about this company is their memorable commercials featuring the AFLAC duck (Price 1). The duck’s familiar quack and voiceover by Gilbert Godfrey immediately shows that it provides worker’s compensation to its employees (Price 1). There are definitely way more strengths than weaknesses in this particular company. The strengths of this advertisement are its catchiness and cleverness of the advertisements design rather than its theme. The main theme of the advertisement should have gone in a more interesting way of the necessity of the worker’s compensation as part of one’s health insurance package (Price 1). However, the nature of the duck in AFLAC’s commercials makes the surface theme of the duck recognizable and that’s why AFLAC’s commercials with the duck are so popular and has been a big reason why AFLAC has been a solid company over the years. Moreover, in the strengths of this company, it also has to do with the sole person that the customer is dealing with (Wiki wealth). The main strength of this company is the agents that are hired to work with the various customers. If a customer has a great representative, it has come apparent that they would recommend the company to all their friends and family. Personally, having a good representative will keep the customer more calm and know that their insurance claims will be paid in a more efficient time period. In addition, having an agent that can answer all of the customer’s questions and concerns is a big thing as well. If the agent is intelligent enough to answer all of the inquiries the customer may have, the customer will overall have a great experience and would feel that dealing with a company like this would be overall a great experience for that individual. Many believe that the insurance industry can be a profitable one. The industry in itself can be a very successful one, but also can be risky at times. As many might already know, insurance involves pooling different funds from many uninsured entities in order to pay for relatively uncommon, but severely devastating losses which can occur to these entities (â€Å"Industry Handbook). In the United States, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 was put into legislation. It stated that banks, brokerages, and insurance firms can come together to offer the customers a range of services (â€Å"Industry Handbook. )† In the insurance industry, this had led to an outrage of â€Å"Merger and Acquisition† activity. In addition, a majority o f liability insurance companies underwritten in the United States has been through big firms, which has been scooping up all different insurance industries (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). Insurance can also have some positive and negative effects on society and the economy as well. These are effects that are important and have to be monitored closely (â€Å"Insurance†). One negative about it is that it can increase fraudulent acts by individuals (â€Å"Insurance†). People will try to use insurance companies to try to get money out of them even if nothing extraordinary happens when they need money. On the other hand, it can help many families and individuals prepare for catastrophes and the effects of this on households and societies (â€Å"Insurance†). As one can see, the risk of insurance companies is that there can be access to fraud by individuals trying to exploit these companies for money. On the other end, this is a great way just in case a catastrophe happens in a family such as a deadly car accident, untimely death, or anything of that circumstance. Other factors need to be considered as well when talking about the internal and external aspects of this industry. Demographics is an important factor that needs to be considered. It can affect the sales for insurance, particularly the life insurance aspect (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). As people become older, they tend to rely more on life insurance products for their retirement. In more recent years, the insurance industry has made great headway in offering investments and savings type insurance products for their benefit (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). The Global Insurance Industry is also an important factor when it comes to insurance companies. The industry has to deal with the many fluctuations of the interest rates established. Global insurance premiums grew by 3. 4% to reach 4. 3 trillion dollars (â€Å"Reuters†). Insurance companies do invest in much of the collected premiums, so the income generated through these premiums is highly dependent on these interest rates (â€Å"Reuters†). For the first time in the past three decades, premium income has declined in inflation adjusted terms, with non life premiums falling by 0. 8% and life premiums falling near 3. 5% (â€Å"Reuters†). It has become apparent that this industry (insurance) is exposed to the global economic turndown on the assets side by the decline in return on investments and on the liabilities side by a rise in insurance claims (â€Å"Insurance†). It shows that AIG, a similar insurance company just likes AFLAC, was bailed out in September of 2008 and has had an enormous effect on AFLAC’s business and the insurance industry as a whole. The recession and the financial crisis that has gone on throughout the United States the past few years have shown that the insurance industry is sufficiently capitalized (â€Å"Insurance†). The vast majority of the insurance companies have had enough capital to survive, with only a few insurance companies asking the government for help. AFLAC was one of the companies that did not to have the government intervene into their company. The Five Forces Model, which originated from Michael E. Porter’s book, â€Å"Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors,† has become a frequently used tool for analyzing a company industry structure and corporate strategy (â€Å"Porter’s Five Forces Analysis†). These five aspects include Threat of New Entrants, Power of Suppliers, Power of Buyers, Availability of Substitutes, and Competitive Rivalry. First, the threat of new entrants is the first aspect in Porter’s Five Forces Model. In explaining this, it most nearly means that the easier it is for new companies to enter the industry, the more cutthroat the competition will be (â€Å"Porter’s Five Forces Analysis†). Barriers to entry can limit the threat of new entrants. When it comes to the insurance industry, it is not like any type of person or entrepreneur cannot come along and start an insurance company. The threat of new entrants lies within the insurance industry itself. AFLAC has been fearful in the past of being squeezed out by the big players (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). Another threat for AFLAC may be the other financial services companies entering the market (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). This might cause a direct threat to AFLAC and often hurt them in the long run. If a bank or investment company offered insurance products, it would directly hurt the success of AFLAC. The second aspect of this model is the Power of Suppliers. This most nearly means how much pressure suppliers can place on a business (â€Å"Porters Five Forces Analysis†). In the insurance industry, there can be an immense amount of pressure. The suppliers of capital might not pose a big threat initially, but the threat of suppliers luring away human capital does pose a big threat (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). In AFLAC’s case, they do not want suppliers luring away their human capital because they would lose a lot of business. Also, if this had happened, government intervention might have to happen if they were not doing well financially. For example, if a talented insurance agent is working for a smaller insurance company, there is a legitimate chance that they will be enticed away from the smaller company moving to a larger one. In AFLAC’s case, there have been a few individuals that have gone from smaller insurance companies to the more, popular large ones to move into a particular market that they are comfortable in. The power of suppliers has a huge effect on AFLAC and needs to be monitored closely. The third aspect of this model is the Power of Buyers. This is just the opposite of the Power of Suppliers. In this case, this most nearly means how much pressure customers place on a business (â€Å"Porter’s Five Forces Analysis†). The customer can hold substantial power when it comes to insurance companies such as AFLAC. A regular individual does not pose a threat to AFLAC when it comes to the power of customers. But, what do pose a threat to AFLAC, is the large corporate clients that have more bargaining power than AFLAC (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). Just like airlines and pharmaceutical companies pay lots of money in premiums every year and insurance companies try hard to get high corporate clients (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). AFLAC tries this approach so they can get more for their dollar and be successful in different ways of the insurance industry. The fourth aspect of this model is the availability of substitutes. If someone who uses AFLAC as an insurance possibility and the cost of switching is low, this could cause a potential serious threat to AFLAC (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). This aspect is a pretty straightforward one as there are various substitutes in the insurance industry. Most large insurance companies, such as AFLAC being one of them, offer similar services. Whether it be automobile, life, home, and health insurance, chances are that the competitors can offer similar services. Companies focusing on niche areas usually have a competitive advantage, but this advantage depends on the size and whether there are barriers of entry available (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). AFLAC is one of these companies that do focus on the niche areas of the industry and have the competitive advantage. It seems that they are going to be fine when it comes to other companies offering substitutes. The fifth and final aspect of this model is the competitive rivalry. This is the most important part of the model. This describes the intensity of the various companies in the insurance industry (â€Å"Porter’s Five Forces Analysis†). It is becoming a very highly competitive industry. The difference between one insurance company and another is not all that different (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). As a result, it seems that insurance has become a commodity, which means an area in which the insurance company with a low cost structure, greater efficiency, and good customer service will beat out the competitors (â€Å"Industry Handbook†). AFLAC has the historical characteristics of having a low cost structure and good efficiency, but the customer service is still â€Å"Up in the air. † In the long run, I believe we may see more consolidation in the insurance industry. Other companies may prefer to take over or merge with smaller companies, but AFLAC’s approach is to advertise and market with the AFLAC duck and so far it has been a success over the years these commercials have aired. V. Product or Service for Improvement (House of Quality, DMAIC) There is not one company out there in the world that cannot improve. Even if you are considered a â€Å"perfect company,† there will always be room for some type of improvement on a product or service. In AFLAC’s case, they have been a successful company, but at the same time, they have many concerns within their organization. Within AFLAC, there are multiple changes that could be made to their product or service. The most important thing to fix in their system is that it seems that the company does not pay the customers claims in an efficient amount of time. This can mean a certain wide of things, but more importantly needs to be fixed before this company loses more and more customers. Paying the claims on certain individuals and families have been delayed for as long as two years, which seems to be an unreasonable amount of time. Moreover in this, it seems the customer service is lackluster and needs to be improved as well. Building an improvement plan so this company can get better reviews and even improve financially is important. I believe the first aspect of this is to build what is called a House of Quality. The House of Quality is â€Å"A set of matrices used to relate the voice of the customer to technical features and production planning and control requirements (Evans, 294). The House of Quality relates the attributes of the customer to the technical features. This requires six basic steps needed to be successful. When it comes to AFLAC, building a House of Quality will be reliable in their organization. The first step of this model is to identify the customer attributes. The manager must apply Quality Functional Deployment, which is used to ensure custo mer requirements throughout the product or improvement design process (Evans, 293). It is vastly important to use the notion of â€Å"The voice of the Customer† so it is not misinterpreted by any type of designers or engineers. For AFLAC,I have developed three customer attributes that AFLAC deals with. The first one is the basic attribute, which also can be called the â€Å"Must haves†(â€Å"AFLAC Attributes†). These are expected by the various customers. The second attribute is the â€Å"Linear Satisfiers† (â€Å"AFLAC Attributes†). If this company uses this attribute more effectively, this will increase the customer satisfaction, which at some points, is lacking. The third customer attribute is the â€Å"Energizers† (â€Å"AFLAC Attributes†). This means that it is not expected or required, but creates high customer satisfaction when present and can make the difference in choices for the consumer. For AFLAC, the different type of customers might include single individuals, families, working unions, and government officials (Evans, 295). Therefore, there are many classes that need to be considered. The second step of this model is to identify the technical features that are necessary to meet the requirements of customers (Evans, 295). These technical features expressed the language of the designer and engineer. These are the people that form the basis for design and service activities in an organization. In AFLAC, these must be measurable to track the positive or negative results and the output will be compared to the goals of AFLAC. The roof of the House of Quality (Evans 297) shows the interrelationships between any pair of technical features. These technical features can include the premiums, fees, allocated income, less claims, and less operating expenses. They are classified into either a very strong relationship, strong relationship, and a weak relationship (Evans, 296). The third step of this model is to relate the customer attributes to the technical features. The customer attributes is applied to using Quality Functional Deployment. The customer attributes is to have a better â€Å"experience† than they have had in the past with AFLAC. As set up on the House of Quality chart, the customer attributes are listed down the left hand column with the technical features listed across the top (Evans, 296). Using a relationship matrix is the most effective way to show this. AFLAC’s customer attributes must show whether the final technical features adequately address the customer attributes. These technical features can affect several of the customer attributes. â€Å"The lack of a strong relationship between a customer attribute and any of the technical feature suggests that the attributes are not being addressed and that the final service will have difficulty meeting customer needs (Evans, 296). If the technical feature does not match customer attribute, then the designer might have missed something important. † For instance, in AFLAC the â€Å"Voice of the Customer,† all input is appreciated with expert experience, customer surveys or overviews, or any type of controlled experiments (Evans 296). AFLAC should implement customer surveys and overviews to see what the customers have to say about their experience. Within many companies, especially restaurant establishments, they give out survey cards and rate the service of the waiter and restaurant staff. AFLAC should implement this and read over these surveys so at each AFLAC branch, they can see what they are excelling in and what they are struggling in. This would be beneficial to the company as a whole and to the customers as well. The next step of the House of Quality is evaluating the competitive products or services. This evaluation helps highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the problem. In AFLAC’s instance, the strengths of this company is that they have a strong financial strength within the company, the coverage it provides, the portability, the cost, and the direct payment (Hartman 1). The weaknesses include delays on paying customer’s claims, poor customer service, and more concerned about processes than progresses (Hartman 1). This step enables the designers to seek the opportunities for improvement. This links Quality Functional Deployment to a company’s strategic vision and allows priorities to be set in the design process (Evans, 297). † Some customer attributes become key selling points and help establish promotional strategies. The next step is the evaluation of the technical features of competitive aspects and development of targets. This step is usually accomplished through internal testing and translated into measurable results (Evans, 297). With AFLA C, these evaluations are compared with the competitive evaluation of customer attributes to find inconsistencies. The inconsistencies with AFLAC is their customer service. Targets for each technical feature are set on the basis of customer importance ratings and the existing products strengths and weaknesses (Evans, 298). The final step in building the House of Quality is selecting the technical features to be deployed in the remainder of the process. This means â€Å"identifying the characteristics that have strong relationships to customer needs, have poor competitive performance, or are strong selling points (Evans, 297). † The cost and direct payments with AFLAC are the proper actions and controls to maintain the voice of the customer. Also, on the negative side, the poor customer service and the delay of paying customer claims are critical as well and do need the attention. The House of Quality shows the six steps and how they are to be evaluated in sequential order. They will either be a very strong relationship, strong relationship, or weak relationship. We have to focus to make sure AFLAC improves its processes. It is important AFLAC improves as a company as a whole or could face the financial crisis as AIG did in September of 2008. They need to improve on what they have been criticized for in the past. Using a six sigma approach would be beneficial to their improvement plan. This is an approach to measuring product and service quality (Evans, 93). â€Å"The late Bill Smith, a reliability engineer at Motorola, is credited with originating the concept during the mid 1980s and selling it to Motorola’s CEO, Robert Galvin (Evans, 94). † He wanted to improve product and service quality in his organization and wanted to achieve six sigma capability by 1992. The key concepts of this was think, focus, emphasize, ensure, provide, Create highly qualified improvement experts, and set stretch objectives for improvement (Evans, 94). Today, Six sigma is used as a quality framework and in service organizations. As part of the improvement plan, AFLAC needs to implement a six sigma approach called DMAIC methodology. â€Å"This is a standard problem solving approach used in Six Sigma (Evans, 264). The DMAIC stands for define, measure, analyze, improve, and control. AFLAC can use this methodology to help solve their problem of not dealing with the insurance claims in an efficient amount of time and the customer service that goes along with it. It is explained that the six sigma project selected is dealing with the insurance claims in a sufficient amount of time without any delays. Therefore, the first step is to define the process that needs to be solved or needs â€Å"help. † The problem must be described in operational terms. As an example for AFLAC, this company has history of poor customer service and not paying the claims in time. Therefore, this six sigma project is to improve customer service reliability. Along with this problem, shows that the various insurance agents that are employed with AFLAC seem to not be motivated enough to satisfy the customer. In most organizations including this one, the main job is to satisfy the customer and make sure he or she got the experience with the company and is walking away happy with the customer service. This drills down to a more specific process which is called project scoping (Evans, 264). The customers must be identified that have the most impact on this negative performance, errors or the customer complaints. This phase also needs to address project management issues. In a more timely effort, these AFLAC agents may need some motivation whether it be more of an incentive or extensive training practices to make sure every customer walks out happy. The next phase is the measuring phase. This phase main focus is on how to measure the internal practices of the problems (Evans, 265). It does require an understanding of relationships between process performance and the value of the customer. In AFLAC, every customer is important. Once this is understood, collecting good data, observation, and careful listening should be implemented (Evans, 265). With AFLAC, the high managers and CEO should be doing this type of aspect of this cycle. They should be doing the observation part of every AFLAC branch. Hiring a team of auditors would most likely be the smartest idea. The careful listening part should be by the various AFLAC agents. The auditors and CEO should be giving the individual feedback and the agents should listen on how they can improve their working practices. The third phase is the analyze phase. A huge flaw that happens in problem solving teams and approaches is a lack of emphasis on the analysis portion (Evans, 266). A lot of the time, companies just want to jump into a solution and miss the step of understanding how serious the problem is and identifying where it is coming from. This phase focuses on why defects and errors occur in the organization. The AFLAC auditors need to conduct experiments to be one hundred percent sure that the scope of the problem is accurate. These experiments generally consist of formulating some type of hypothesis and then collecting data and analyzing it (Evans, 266). AFLAC needs to implement a statistical thinking tool. This tool is a philosophy of learning and action based on three principles. These principles include all work occurring in a system of interconnected processes, variation exists in all processes, and understanding and reducing variations are keys to success (Evans, 323). Analyzing statistical thinking in AFLAC would be an immense of help regarding not paying the claims in a timely manner. Variation must exist in this process and AFLAC does not have variation in this type of process. This is why statistics is an important part of the Six Sigma training. Also, what also needs to be analyzed in AFLAC is to see if their also is a computer problem regarding the claims not going through their system. AFLAC pays all their claims online and doing a computer simulation of all computers in the offices would scope out if there is a possible problem with the computer. Once the cause is determined, the analyst, auditors, and teams needs to generate ideas for removing or resolving the problem and improve the performance measures (Evans, 266). One of the difficulties in this section of the DMAIC phase is the natural instinct to prejudge ideas before thoroughly evaluating them in full detail. â€Å"Effective problem solvers must learn to defer judgment and develop the ability to generate a large number of ideas at this stage of the process, whether they are practical ideas or not (Evans, 266). AFLAC needs to improve their customer service and paying their claims in a timely fashion. One idea that needs to be implemented is to have an online website to file the claims to AFLAC. This would be a big convenience to all AFLAC’s clients. On the website, it should also have a spot where you can track the status of your claim. This would save AFLAC lots of money and it would cause less hassle on the customer service line of all the customers asking if their claim has been paid or not. Switching it to online would be more efficient, save money and also would be easier to keep track of every claim. It is way more efficient being on the computer and being well organized than searching through a person’s file looking for it. Implementing the websites to file claims will make the turnover be lower of the amount of complaints regarding the customer service, but there still needs to be improvements. As for the poor customer service, their needs to be extensive training for the many insurance agents that are employed with AFLAC. It has become apparent that these agents were not trained fully on the job when they were originally hired. Implementing a plan where training must exist upon hiring an agent and it should be done every two years to ensure quality in these individuals. The final phase of DMAIC is the control phase. This focuses on how to maintain the improvements AFLAC has implemented. This means putting tools in place to ensure the key variables remain within the maximum acceptable ranges under the modified process (Evans, 266-267). Controlling these plans are vastly important. AFLAC should hire an individual outside of the organization to solely work and monitor the website where claims are filed and to see the status of the claims that are filed. The company will be paying the individual, but in the end, it will save them money and turnover will have gone down significantly. The individual will control these websites and make sure there are no downturns or technical difficulties in the operation of this website. As for the training process improvement, the individual will be trained by top management on an individual basis once every two years. This might seem to be a lot of training by retraining them every two years. Technology changes from year to year and different programs will most likely be established in the near future and it is very important that the agents learn the new development in technology to help them do their jobs on the computer. Training the individual might seem like a hassle to the co-worker, but in the end they will become a more positive individual because they will know that they are doing their job in the most efficient and successful way possible. VI. Identify Management Planning Tools (Tree Diagram, Process Decision Program Chart) Planning is one of the basic functions of every manager out there. The complexity of the business environment today means that planning is not always the easiest thing to do (Evans, 302). However, many different types of tools have been developed by several Japanese companies over the last half century as part of their planning processes (Evans, 302). These tools can be used to address problems typically faced by managers in an everyday role. There are all different types of management tools that can be used to show the improvement in a chart or just explaining it in words. These help the manager understand what exactly needs to be done to improve the process it is struggling or needs â€Å"help† in. With AFLAC, showing these different management tools to management and the lower level employees will help them understand what AFLAC is trying to do as a company and is finding many ways to improve themselves in the