Human resources management final exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human resources management final exam - Essay Example In addition, leadership should provide the required information and resources for realising that vision, and balance and coordinate conflicting interests among members and stakeholders (leadership, 2010). Leaders, whilst shouldering responsibility for the entire group, should also motivate their following and ensure that they realise their objectives. They should also ensure continuity and momentum, permit change if warranted, and should be sufficiently ahead of the group (ME96 Leadership, n.d.). A transactional leader ensures compliance, by providing incentives, threat of punishment, and appeal to the altruistic leanings of the group members or their sense of rationalism. On the other hand transformational leaders have to improve themselves, asses the leadership situation, and circumstances in which their followers reach beyond the extant requirements. Such leaders have to fully employ their followers, thereby fulfilling their higher necessities (Martin, 2006, p. 46). These leaders are strongly governed by their mission and enjoy a dedicated following. Leadership is distinguished by being unidirectional, static and intrapersonal. What commences as a process of mutual influence amongst individuals culminates with the passage of time, mutual interaction and an array of contextual elements engenders a leadership identity that is fixed and lasting (De Rue and Ashford, 2010, p. 628). Managerial skill emerges from external sources, standards of an organisation and procedures. The policies of an organisation could constitute the justification for managerial decisions. Leadership emerges from awareness or the leader’s ability to process information (Blank, 2001, p. 19). Leaders decide on the basis of what they consider to be significant and what demands attention. Leaders are not born, and there is no hereditary plan or inborn arrangement that creates a leader. History is replete with individuals who were termed leaders, as they were able to attract supporters (Blank, 2001, p. 8). The process of making others willing followers requires certain skills. Leadership is a skill that can be bettered through practice. It can be improved by personal experience and the organised study of the relationships between people (Are leaders born or made? 2011). Leadership may be obtained and developed through intentional practice. Although leadership has considerable influence, there are other factors that affect organisational effectiveness. Some of these are investments, strategic planning, marketing and product development, secondary capacities, motivation and input (Larsson and Vinberg, 2010, p. 318). Good leaders necessarily possess risk forbearance, and the capacity to control others and increase the value of their surroundings. They should also have sufficient courage to express themselves, and the capacity to accept rejection of their initiatives (McCrimmon, 2011). Question 2 Change Change in variegated forms is an inescapable truth of life. Indiv idual concentrate on change and the adaptations required to deal with its effects. On occasion, individuals themselves effect change (How We Change, Stages of Change, n.d.). Change is the universal bedrock, which is especially true of enterprises that are actuated by market pressures. Such business entities have to incorporate in their objectives, better quality, productivity and flexibility; uninterrupted innovation and the capacity to change, in order to provide an adequate response to market demands. Effective

Discrimination in Academia and Affirmative Action

Discrimination in Academia and Affirmative Action Mitch Shea Affirmative Action Principles:  Discrimination in Academia Affirmative Action, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, is distinguishable as the positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and culture from which they have been historically excluded. [1] Accordingly, the fairness of Affirmative Action principles has repeatedly been called into question, not just within the United States, but global as well. These arguments for and against Affirmative Action and its subsequent principles are in constant debate, both morally and politically. These debates often mirror those of academics, both for and against-those arguing for the need of Affirmative action and its positive effect on social unity and distributive justice, and those arguing upon political principle, often referencing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, quoting Title VI and Title VII. Throughout history, Affirmative Action principles and subsequent political literature and court rulings have been identified as a process or evolution-definitional, in a sense, by local and federal court systems. In less than a decade after the creation and ratification of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Supreme Court contributed heavily to the molding of Affirmative Action and its principles [2]. In short, the Supreme Court ruled that all institutions would need to assess or reassess their institutional practice and policies related to the exclusionary practice not necessary to an institutions activities [2]. This ruling gave a definitional meaning to Affirmative Action that had been lacking previously. It gave distinctiveness to the main role and principle behind Affirmative Action that stated the purpose of which was to not necessarily compensate for past occurrences of unjustness, but rather to direct compliance with nondiscrimination as defined by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This paper aims to call into question Nebraska Initiative 424 and the possible snowball effects it might have on private and public academic discrimination, both locally and nationally. In the election of 2008, the state of Nebraska voted (58%) to effectively ban Affirmative Action at the state governmental level, prohibiting the state from granting Affirmative Action principles to prohibit the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting [3], [4]. Several arguments in favor of the initiative have been put into place and are ongoing including those identifying the anti-discriminatory laws supposedly favoring racial preferences having the same discrimination-like effects that their very role was designed to incapacitate [5]. Other constituents argued that Affirmative Action principles in the state of Nebraska explicitly understated the states motto: Equality Before the Law. Several more arguments ensued including the undermining of minority achievement, causes a mismatch effect of qualified and underqualified students in higher education, and the lowering of statewide standards in a multitude of private and public settings [5]. When discussing Affirmative Action principles, it is difficult to view the objectivity of the arguments for and against them and the government regulations related to them; however, Affirmative Action principles are existent and have been presented in such a manner that cannot be understated. It is necessary to break stereotypes, providing new opportunities and introductions to undiscovered possibilities for minorities, gives the needed boost for disadvantaged students to succeed as they rightfully should both in education and the workplace, increase and maintain minority enrollment in higher education, and provide cultural diversity that the United States, the Worlds Melting Pot, was built upon. Nebraska Initiative 424 is part of a general push against Affirmative Action. This has been seen in many other states including California, Texas, Washington, and Michigan. In fact, of the 8 states that have set in place amendments similar to that of Nebraska Initiative 424, a total of 29% o f the learning population resides in them [6]. So why should Affirmative Action principles remain in place and be the standard bearer of civil liberties and rights? Affirmative Action promotes equality. It basically states that guidelines and steps must be taken to guarantee equal opportunity in the workplace and in education. Attempting to create an even playing field does not mean that Affirmative Action is anti-white or anti-male. This is a misnomer or misinterpretation of the roles of Affirmative Action. The role that Affirmative Action plays, has played, and should continue to always play is the dismantling of discriminatory practicing through increased representation, improved equality and access, and equal opportunity at every age. Affirmative Action does not pull down, but rather builds up. First, take the impact of the banning of Affirmative Action through amendments like Nebraskas Nebraska Initiative 424. In a 2014 study on the Changes in Levels of Affirmative Action in College Admissions in Response to Statewide Bans and Judicial Rulings by G. Blume and M. Long, it was identified that the decline in affirmative actionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦affects not only students in these states but also those students who live in adjacent states, particularly when the adjacent states lack highly selective colleges [7]. The study analyzed the extent to which universities changed the weight placed directly on the applicant being a minority [7]. The extent to which minorities were affected in terms of acceptance in the banned Affirmative Action states was much more than that in other states (a 23% drop in minority admission v. 1% drop in other states) [7]. The importance of understanding racial diversity falls upon the educational system, but has a fundamental basis in employment as well. This is because workplace behavior has a broader range of perspective viewpoints for analyzing Affirmative Action-related outcomes. F. Kurtulus found that Affirmative Action ban within some states resulted in declines in Asian and Black female and Hispanic male representation (this data was representative of minorities employed in state and local governments) [8]. Although objectively understanding the changes is still vitally important, as it was observed the drastic change in Asian female representation was limited to the first year of implementation due to the small number of Asian females in legislative and governmental roles [8]. The paper summarizes a significant loss in workplace diversity, directly contradicting opposition to Affirmative Action. This data can be expected to be somewhat related to that of which is seen in academia. Secondly, the relevance of racial diversity, or lack thereof, in medical school matriculation should be one of importance to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The statewide laws banning the consideration of race in postsecondary admissions pose serious obstacles for the medical profession to address the health-care crisis facing the nation [9]. The overall percentage of racial minority representation in the medical field falls below that of what should be expected. Roughly half as many African Americans and Latinos are represented within medicine than should really be. Accordingly, it equates to a 17.2% decline in the first time matriculation of underrepresented student populations in public medical schools [9]. It is feared that the decline in the number of minorities populating medical schools will further exacerbate the already present shortage of physicians, especially in heavily populated minority communities. The answer to which is unclear for states that have effectiv ely banned Affirmative Action principles. The needed compensation for such lack of representation needs to be answered as the physician shortage only increases and underserved communities face the most difficult of challenges. Finally, there is the underlying responsibility for racial disparity, both globally and locally. In universities from states that have adopted Affirmative Action-related bans or amendments with anti-Affirmative Action-related language, sufficient differences in matriculation and enrollment have occurred. Accordingly, K. West-Faulcon writes that racial disparities in admissions rates for universities that have undergone state-litigated anti-Affirmative Action principles changes in admissions, could be deemed unsatisfactory within federal regulation standards and thus be liable in future cases taken up against these universities [10]. This implies possible future avenues that could be reached for universities to bypass state level anti-Affirmative Action laws and regulations [10]. Which in and of itself shows that the evolution of Affirmative Action principles go both ways, but nonetheless are very much still needed in this day and age. References [1] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/affirmative-action/ [2] https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/legal-events-timeline.html [3] https://web.archive.org/web/20081107110152/http://www.nebraskacri.org/ballotlanguage.html [4] http://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/articles.php?article=I-30 [5] https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122445872052148477 [6] https://tcf.org/content/commentary/what-can-we-learn-from-states-that-ban-affirmative-action/ [7] http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3102/0162373713508810 [8] http://gap.hks.harvard.edu/impact-eliminating-affirmative-action-minority-and-female-employment-natural-experiment-approach [9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4454423/ [10] https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/101-westfaulcon157upalrev10752009pdf

Reaching . . . Extending . . . Chasing. . . What? :: Essays Papers

Reaching . . . Extending . . . Chasing. . . What? This mantra plays through my head and my body like children on a jungle gym, swinging from youthful legs and arms, tearing new clothes, taunting, laughing, bouncing, running, ducking just out of my reach. I am conscious of some message they have to give me, but not yet bowed enough to hear the whispers of meaning between the shouts of proclamation. REACH! I feel like I've been reaching for something for a long time, maybe my entire life. The reach I learned as a baby has certainly kept me exploring new worlds. I consumed books as a child, never satisfied until I found one more tidbit of information on the aardvark or Algeria or Aunt Sue's garden. I did not care what it was, I wanted to know it. But is that IT? Is knowledge of the world what I'm after? I did book reports during the summer because I thought if I could just show the teacher that I was a hard worker, I could hold onto . . . I don’t know. The favored spot in the class? The other students’ approval? My own sense of self-worth? The little girl got to college and couldn't sustain it anymore. No one cared, because everyone else was reaching for IT, too. So, she had to switch races. Reaching for bodily strength was a lot more productive, the fruits (no matter if they were bitter) were screamingly visible. No hiding the results of this race---success! With every step I ran or weight I lifted, my body grew more rigid with tension. I was ready to find IT, and I felt IT within my reach. Thankfully, I did not cross the finish line of this one, for I fear now what I would have found on the other side. Certainly not IT. Three years of my life spent reaching for something that only led to non-life: loss of relationships, loss of health, loss of desire. The only thing I had was schoolwork. I must make up for lost time. So I began to reach for relationships; not just the occasional nice conversation, but absolute emersion in any opportunity to connect with anyone. Seek them out, Heather. Get to know all those people you missed. There's something there worth reaching for, and you’re pretty far behind the others.

Motivation Report

Describe the motivational problems of the staff at Health-Time using Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy.The staff at Health-time will be worried because Matthew’s first action as manager was to go in and fire most of the office staff. This will have them feeling that their safety, their need to feel secure and stable is being threatened. When Matthew puts a complete stop to idle chatter on the job he is taking some of the receptions chance to interact with other people. When you sit at a desk and answer phones all day it is nice to have that little time of interaction with customer or clients when you can.When Matthew starts the meeting off immediately complaining about the workers they are not going to be receiving the esteem that they need to feel that they are getting recognition for what they have done. Instead Matthew is only telling them what to do. He is not giving his workers any kind of respect or recognition for what they have done and then moving on to what could be do ne to make them even better at their jobs. 2.Describe the motivational problems of the staff at Health-Time using the expectancy theory of motivation. Discuss the staff’s outcome valences, effort-to-performance (E-to-P) and performance-to-outcome (P-to-E) expectancies.The E-to-P theory objective is â€Å"to increase the belief that employees are capable of performing the job successfully.†(Book) Matthew was already ahead of the game when it came to his staff. The E-to-P theory tells you to select people with the skills needed to accomplish the job. When Matthew became manager he already have workers in place that had the skills and the know  how to accomplish the jobs they were assigned. Matthew was so quick to try to lay down staff rules that he did provide the staff sufficient time and resources for them to be able come to terms with all the changes that were happening in the club.He needed to give the staff fewer changes at a time and work the staff up to where he felt that they need to be. In the P-to-O expectancy theory the objective is â€Å"to increase the belief that good performance will result in a certain outcome.† (Book) To do this Matthew needed to do was give his workers example of workers who are already doing the things that he feels need to change for everyone and show them how these workers are receiving higher rewards.This could be that they have received a pay raise or they have a demand from clients for more classes or even individual classes that could pay more. 3.Describe the motivational problems of the staff at Health-Time using the equity theory of motivation. Discuss whether the staff is in a situation of underreward inequity or overreward inequity, and how they are attempting to restore a feeling or sense of equity.The staff at Health-Time is underrewarded. The receptionist are only being paid minimum wage to check people-in, write receipts, answer phones, and clean up the facility during downtime. Along with Matthew not showing them any respect and reward other than a sweatshirt they are feeling that they are not valued and that they are not needed. They realize that they could work other places for the same pay and have a more sense of equity.Most of Matthew’s workers are students at the local university and they have to be able to make changes at last minutes. They could have a change is schedule or a test that have to be taken at a certain time of day. If Matthew is not going to let them do this then they are going to leave and find a job that understands the demands of a college student and let they feel rewarded and that they are receiving equity out of their job. 4.What strategies would you recommend to Matt to deal with the problem?First of I would suggest that Matt take the time to make a survey that cover all of the problems that he feel Health-Time is having; then take the time and get feedback from customers and see how they feel that Health-Time needs to change. This would also be a good time for Matt to get his employees  involved in making Health-Time a top in the Fitness industry. He needs to have each employee give feedback on how they think that they daily run of Health-time could be increased. Have each employee make their own goal setting, they could set specific goals for themselves and how they could start to accomplish these goals.Matt needs to take all this information and see what is top priority to customers and employees and slowly start implementing ways to make Health-Time better. Employees feel more secure and needed when they are in some way included in changed made around a facility. I can give an employee a sense of accomplishment that they were one of the reasons their company is used by more people.

Virgin Blue

VIRGIN BLUE UNDERSTANDING EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT 1. Attractiveness of the Industry 1a. Identify the industry, product segments and value chain The industry is the Australian airline industry (global). Core activities cover providing travel services to leisure travellers in Australia and overseas, including flights, travel insurance, holiday packaged deals, and freight business. Products segments including ? Business travel? 57. 1% of industry revenue ? full-fare ? business & government travellers ? growth of video conference (-) impact on growth unit value of sale/pax double leisure travel fare ? Leisure travel? 29. 4% of industry revenue ? low-fare ? leisure travellers ? price is an important factor and strong driver for growth ? high cost incurred for flight changes ? Freight and other? 13. 5% of industry revenue ? freight transport, time sensitive & high value to weight item & charges on excess baggages, late fee,etc†¦ 1b. What is the current life cycle of the industry? The Aus tralian airline industry is at the mature stage of its life cycle.This is demonstrated by the low average growth rate of the production, and the low airline operating margins around 2 percent over the last five years. Declining fares in the leisure travel segment due to strong competition have combined with increasing costs to lower profitability over this period. Yield management is critical to profitability due to high fixed costs involved in operating a flight, that is, the marginal cost of passenger on a flight is very low, so having a plane full, with as many full-fare passengers as possible, is important to maximise profitability.Over recent years, there has been consolidation, brand transformation in the industry and more services been introduced to attract higher yield customers. This is evidence of a low growth environment, wherein the industry is at the mature stage of its life cycle, the organisation focus is on efficiency, cost control, and market segment. 1c. What have been the key issues affecting historical industry growth? What was their impact? Key issues influencing historical industry growth using TEMPLES model FactorIssuesNature of Impact ————————————————- +/ =/ -) Technology? The growth of video conference- Negative has had a slightly negative impact on growth in this segmenting recent ————————————————- years Economy? Threat of the uncertainties of the global financial- Negative crisis, changing interest rate and fierce competition ————————————————- from low-cost carriers in its domestic market Market? the low density of population and the size of Aus+ Positive Air travel in Australia is somewhat of necessary ? Declining fair in the leisure travel segment due to- NegativeStrong competition have combined with increasing costs to lower profitability over this period; fierce competition from low-cost carriers in its domestic ————————————————- markets Politics? Being restricted in the ability to expand overseas due – Negative to Singapore Airline’s right to veto the use of the Virgin ————————————————- Blue name internationally. SIA had the power to block ————————————————- Virgin Australis’s brand due to 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic ————————————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- hat SIA acquired in 1999 Law ————————————————- Environment? With a launch of the first real low-cost arline in+ Positive Australia, one class of ticket and minimal on-board, complementary service, there had been strong growth in the 2000s in market for travel for leisure, encourage ————————————————- Australians to take more holidays and air travels Society? low density of population and size of Australia+ Positive ————————————————- Air travel is somewhat necessaryOverall+ Positive 1d. What are the key issues that will affect future industry growth? What are their likely impact and the overall assessment of the industry’s future growth? Future growth for the overall industry is assessed as positive (although it will be at a lower rate than historically growth) Key issues influencing future industry growth FactorIssuesNature of impactAssessment of (+/ =/ -)impact on future Industry growth ————————————————- (Low/Med/High) Technology? The growth of video conferenceNegativeLow as had a slightly negative impact on growth in this segmenting recent ————————————————- years Economy? Threat of the uncertainties of the global Negative Low Financial crisis, changing interest rate and fierce competition from low-cost carriers in ————————————————- its domestic market Markets? Threat of new entrances present theNegativeLow Possibility the firms will enter industry And diminish the industry return by passing along value to buyers in form of lower price and raising cost of competition the alliance with SIA was one of thePositiveMedium several that Virgin had formed in building ————————————————- its international network Politic? the alliance with SIA was one of PositiveMedium several that Virgin had formed in building its international network, allow Virgin to offer global flight coverge, epscially South-east asia and China, attractive to International business and leisure ————————————————- travellers Legal ————————————————- Environment?Alon g with alliance with SIA, there have beenPositiveMedium forged alliances with other international airlines such as Etihad, Air NZ, and US giant Delta Air Line to give business travellers an attractive overseas ————————————————- and flequent flyer network Society? the airline developed and preserved its PositiveMedium culture by spending a lot of resources on recruiting the right people to serve its leisure customers and providing a culture and conditions that retain good ————————————————- people Overall ImpactPositiveMediumIn conclusion, the future industry growth is assessed as Low to Medium 1e. What have been the key issues affecting historical profitability? What was their impact? Industry revenue was estimated to be $14. 5 billion in 2012, with its main busin ess being the transportation of passengers and freight on scheduled routes within Australia. Approximately 86% of the industry revenue is generated from airline ticket sales. The business travel segment is accounted for 57. 1% of industry revenue in 2012, while leisure travel segment is 29. 4% and freight and other are 13. 5%.Airline operating margins are relatively low, averaging around 2% over the last five years. Declining fares in the leisure travel segment due to strong competition have combined with increasing costs to lower profitability over the period. Using Porter’s five forces model, we can review the factors affecting historical profitability, it can be concluded that industry’s rivalry has increased. This is the result of many factors including: ? Threat of new entrance is low due the barrier of entry high. Capital requirements required to enter the airline industry. High fixed cost in operating the fly. The power of suppliers has been high due to limited number of service options available in business travellers segments such as proving access to hundreds of destination and business lounges around the world, offering high quality catering and other on-board service like newspapers & magazine in premium class cabins, car hire and hotel reservation services. ? The increasing power of buyers’ buyers due to the price sensitivity of consumers (low price) and the search for best deal available, as well as air travel in Australia is somewhat of a necessity, given the size of Autralian and the low density of population. The increasing impact of substitutes such as alternative services like video conference maintaining low-cost services ? Industry rivalry is high: Jetstar, QAL’s low cost airline, was introduced in 2004 in response to Virgin Blue’s success in the industry and the loss of market share away from Qantas's full-fare service to the low-fare carrier; Jetstar is a low-cost carrier targeting low-fare leisure trav ellers; The airline industry growth is average and as it is easy for buyers to switch between the airline companies, depending on price. Thus rivalry is increased.Furthermore, the high fixed cost create opportunity for the airline companies to have price wars to compete each other, the great market share of Qantas will kill Virgin Australia at last. Porter’s competitive model Airline industry Potential New entrants Airline club loungesForeign carriers Priority ticketingRegional carriers Priority check-in High quality catering Newspaper ; magazine Hire car ; hotel reservationIndustry Rivalry Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Qantas Jetstar Alternative services Business travellers Subsitute products ; services Video conferenceLeisure travellersFreight ; other, tour packages 1f. What are the key issues that will affect future industry profitability? What is their likely impact and the overall assessment of the industry’s future profitability? Attrac ting higher yielding corporate and government customers has been a key driver of improving the industry profitability. Yield management is critical to profitability due to high fixed costs involved in operating a flight – that is, the marginal cost of a passenger on a flight is very low, so having a plane full, with as many full-fare passengers as possible, is important to maximise profitability.Also, in order to improve profitability, the major competitors in the industry (Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin) have become vertically integrated. Strategic airline alliance been introduced. Qantas and Malaysia airline negotiated an agreement for access markets in Asia and code-sharing. SIA and Virgin formed an alliance, allowed SIA customers access to Virgin Australia’ s domestic airline airport’s lounges. This partnership, along with Virgins’ other alliance, would allow Virgin to offer global flight coverage, attractive to international business and leisure travellers. The key factors influencing the future profitability of the industry can be summarised as follows: ? Positive factors include ? Forming alliance has allowed Virgin to offer global flight coverage, attract more international business and leisure travellers ? introducing a premium – valued service ? develop new lounge – product enhancement ? introduce new uniform and new menu – product enhancement ? Negative factors include ? Strong competition in the industry between major companies as growth slow and more emphasis is placed on maintaining or increasing market share with price becoming a key factor. Potential entrance of other new low-cost carriers. The future profitability of the industry will continue to be medium. 1g. Who are the industry’s key competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses? In 2012, the industry is dominated by two airlines, Qantas Airways Ltd and Virgin —————————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- CompetitorValueStrengthWeaknessRelative ————————————————- Propositionproposition Qantas Airways Ltd? Fully integrated? Highest market? Less focus on? Strong ? Accounting for 65%shareleisure travellers share of industry? Dominates business evenue in 2012segment ? More services offered such as full service, ————————————————- low cost, regional Virgin ? Fully integrated? Second highest? No coverage? Strong ? Accounting for 17. 2 %? Strong presencein regional share of industryin leisure market revenue in 2012? Offer services in full service and low ————————————————- cost service Others? Accounting for 17 . 8%? private charter ? group of small? Weak share of industrypassenger flights orcompanies revenue in 2012freight operation UNDERSTANDING EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT 2.Summarise the strategic position of Virgin Blue 2a. Who are Virgin Blue’s key stakeholders, what are their objectives and are their objectives aligned with Virgin Blue’s strategic goals? As stated in the section on â€Å"Game change program- a new strategic direction for Virgin in Australia†, Virgin regard itself as number one position in the leisure segment and maintaining its low-cost focus. Its state strategic goals are as follows: ? Growing its share of the Australian business travel segment from 10% to 20% ? Establishing a ‘virtual’ global network through strategic airline alliances ?Ensuring capacity was closely aligned to profitability ? Maintaining a strong presence in the leisure market ? Enhancing its brand in Australia and overseas markets There are numerous stakeholders (individ uals/groups that have interest in the business or corporate strategy of the organisation) in relation to Virgin Blue. An analysis of the objectives of each of these stakeholders and the alignment of these objectives with Virgin’s strategic goals as follow ————————————————- Who are theWhat do they seek to receive fromIs Virgin Blue delivering against their stakeholders? he organisation? expectation? John Borghetti? Launching â€Å"Game Change† program? Yes, the transformation of Virgin (CEO)with the vision to be the airline of has been well on the way and choice for Australian business and attract numbers of business & leisure travellersleisure travelles ? Reinvent the company as a full-service? No, still not yet take over Qantas brand by altering its low-cost, no-frillsbusiness market model to take market share from Qantas ————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- in the higher-margin, business market Board including: Roger Linderman? new management team, formed to?Yes, its chase growth in business (General manager)take on Qantas, particularly in thesegment, but not yet take over Jane McKeoncompetition for business travellerQantas (running government’s relation team) Hope Antzoutlatos (head of domestic ; International network Operations) Will Owens (Heads of yield Management) Hans Hulsbosch? develop the airline’s economy ;? Yes, have been attractive to (Creative director)business class cabins to attract numbers of business travellers ————————————————- Business traveller segment Employees? Secure employment prospect? Yes, as its chase growth in the family based, teamwork,business segment, it has to ensure ——â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- respect and funlow turnover and maintain culture Singapore Airline? SIA and Virgon form an airline? yes, the agreement between SIA alliance, allow the use of Virgin Ausand Virgin has allowed SIA customer Band overseas. Virgin able to build to use Virgin’s domestic network its international network, and alsowith just one ticket & allow two allows SIA customer access to Virginairline gold member to access to Australia’s domestic networkVirgin’s domestic airline’s airport ————————————————- ounge 2b. What business strategy is Virgin Blue supposed to have been pursuing and has this in fact been the case? The five questions (5Qs) approach is used to understand Virgin Blue’s stated business strategy Business strategy usingExamples of how V irgin has been pursuing this stated ————————————————- 5Qs approachbusiness strategy ? Does Virgin Blue want to growthVirgin blue wants to grow. We can see from their new vision profitability? â€Å"to be the airline choice for Australian business and leisure Travellers†. And its targeting to grow the share in business travel segment from 10% – 20%.The airline alliance strategy to establish it built its international alliance network in Asia as it is a critical market for Virgin ? What products/services will Virginleisure travel segment maintaing its low-cost; Virgin Blue Blue provide? began offering a premium economy fare, reinvent itself as a full service brand by altering its low-cost, no-frills model to take market share from Qantas in the higher margin, business market; developed its passenger lounges, introduced a loyalty reward scheme, ‘Velocity R ewards’, and offered the first Web check-in service in Australia. In what market will Virgin BlueGeographic market – Australia domestic airline, global flight operate? coverage after Virgin formed alloances with Singapre Airlines Customer market – business traveller, leisure traveller, freight and other include travel insurance, and formed a new venture with ZUJI, an online travel company. ? What generic strategy will VirginGeneric strategy – low cost leadership (no-frills models) adopt? -;Differentiation: take market share from Qantas in the igher margin, business market (full-service model). ? what is the position in the insutryVirgin Blue had grown through expanding its leisure travel does Virgin Blue plan to hold? segment, and growing low-fare passenger numbers to hold the number one position in the leisure segment and maintaining its low cost focus; By 2010, Virgin had about 10 per cent of business travellers and an approximate 30 per cent of all dom estic air travellers; Growing its share of the Australian business travel segment from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.SWOT ANALYSIS Identify the capabilities of the organisation in the context of the competitive environment, using SWOT analysis ? Strength: Virgin Blue had grown through expanding its leisure travel segment, and growing low-fare passenger numbers to hold the number one position in the leisure segment and maintaining its low cost focus. _ Virgin had formed alliances with Singapore Airlines in building its international network _ Borghetti was a former QAL executive who was appointed CEO and MD of Virgin in 2010.He quickly established a new management team capable of taking on Qantas, particularly in the competition for business travellers, by recruiting some highly experienced ex-Qantas staff including: Roger Lindeman as General Manager Service Experience; Jane McKeon, to run Virgin's government relations team; Hope Antzoulatos as head of domestic and international network operations; and Will Owens as head of yield management. ? Weakness: Qantas has 65% of industry revenue in 2012 but Virgin only has 17. % and no regional offered compete with Qantas; Qantas dominates the business segment. _ Unprofitable routes in New Zealand and to destinations including Fiji, Phuket and South Africa, high costs in maintaining its four brands, and confusion in the market between the brands. ? Opportunities: Acquire 20% of market share in market sector _ brand transformation reduce the cost of advertising and less confuse customer _ expand alliance with SIA to enter Asia market, broaden its offering by adding more services to enter the business segment and attract higher yield customers ?Threats: fierce competition from low-cost carries in its domestic market; Jetstar would have in capturing part of the leisure market _ Declining fares in the leisure travel segment due to strong competition have combined with increasing costs to lower profitability over this period. EVALUATION OF STRATEGIC OPTION ? Competitive advantage Benefits:yes, to sustain growth and profitability Valued by customers_ maybe not as people perceived Qantas as leading provider for business segment _ have to be careful not losing loyalty customers External consistency Industry’s life cycle:Fits well – moves to more competituve environment TEMPLESto respond to the external environment particular social cultural factors and economy factors – > fit well to maintain profit Profit well with the changes in external environment where more competitive from low cost Jetstar and profit due to pressure on price, to sustain growth & profitability by capturing more market sharee in business segment ? Internal consistency Revenue & costrevenue increased by capturing more in business segmentCost reduced by consolidating into one brand Not implementmore difficult to complete in the industry because of competition Reputation riskculture issues Loyal customer * Consistent i n term of growth and sustainability But not consistent with the current culture and balance >< low cost leisure and business segment ? Internal consistency Capabilities:experience management team from Qantas Capitalcan be quite costly to reposition itself and do it property Strong culture in family oriented can be quite difficult for business market

Connect Evernote Content With Your Marketing Calendar

Connect Evernote Content With Your Marketing Calendar You’ve helped us become better planners at . Yes, really! You raved about how much you love Evernote to get the blogging and marketing juices flowing: A1: I usually start with ideas and planning in Evernote. #CoChat Colin Haas (@colinmhaas) June 4, 2015 So we took that to heart and explored how awesome Evernote is for coordinating your marketing, planning ahead, and capturing ideas. That’s why you’re going to be stoked to read this: Now you can connect your Evernote content directly into your marketing calendar. So get ready to collaborate better than ever while planning awesome content. Connect Your @Evernote Content With Your #Marketing CalendarTurn Your Evernote Notes Into Real WordPress Blog Posts Until now, writing blog posts in Evernote was easy, but getting them into WordPress kind of sucked. Now you’ll sync the blog posts you write in Evernote through your marketing calendar in to easily turn notes into WordPress blog posts. Let me reiterate here (because I’m nerding out): Now that Evernote integrates with your marketing calendar, you will create your content in Evernote, then easily turn those notes into real blog posts in WordPress. Finally! Create your blog posts in @Evernote and sync them into #WordPress. #bloggingAnd to top it off, your images in your notes auto-magically sync into your WordPress Media Library. Let me repeat that, too: When you connect your Evernote notes as blog posts through , your graphics and images will automatically import into your WordPress Media Library as real media files. There is no more copying and pasting your blog posts, let alone saving your images out of Evernote then uploading them into WordPress. Simply connect your Evernote into , and you’ll turn your notes into real blog posts with a couple easy clicks. Drag And Drop Evernote Notes As Real Content On Your Calendar The drafts bin has always been your handy way of throwing blog post ideas on the back burner until you have the time to write them. It turns out that tons of you use Evernote to capture your content ideas. And, why not? Evernote is literally on every device. Even your new Apple Watch. Now, you can capture all of your blog ideas on the go in Evernote and easily turn them into WordPress blog posts when you need them. And when you connect Evernote with , youll see all of those ideas right in your drafts bin to easily drag and drop them onto your marketing calendar. From there, what was once just an idea turns into real content youll create from your marketing calendar. Sync Your Notebooks And Notes From Evernote Into There are tons of ways marketers like you use Evernote notebooks: Managing your marketing strategy Collaborating with your team Gathering ideas for content you’ll create Creating your content Now you can sync your Evernote notebooks with your marketing calendar. That combines your plans from Evernote with a calendar designed to help you create content even more efficiently. Easily add a note from your Evernote notebooks right onto your marketing calendar. From there, you have content to complete with the full benefits of using your workflows, communication, and deadlines planned with . Quickly Attach Notes Created In Evernote To Your Existing Content In You may have noticed a new feature from that helps you plan any type of content. Blog posts? No problem. Graphics or pictures? Do it. Videos, e-books, ads? Go for it. When you plan content in , it’s easy to attach Evernote notes to your existing content. From there, you can flesh out your plans, ideas, and even create your content using Evernote. Oh, And One More Bonus Feature For You When you create content in Evernote, , or even Google Docs, it’s easier than ever to export it directly into WordPress, as HTML, and PDFs. Are You Ready To Get Started With Evernote And ? We bet you are. Whether you use Evernote for free, Evernote Premium, or Evernote Business, it all works with your marketing calendar. You can rock Evernote with marketing and enterprise plans in . And we’re excited to hear how you’ll use this awesome new feature to plan awesome content, save a ton of time, and work more efficiently. So we have to ask: How will you use Evernote and ?

The Ubiquitous Butt

The Ubiquitous Butt The Ubiquitous Butt The Ubiquitous Butt By Maeve Maddox The word butt in the sense of buttocks was once considered unsuitable for general use. Comedians used it to get a laugh, but it was not considered acceptable in polite conversation. Children were taught to use less offensive colloquialisms like rear-end or backside. Nowadays the word has become so acceptable that it has largely replaced buttock and buttocks, even in formal contexts: Best 10 Exercises to Tone Your Butt 18 Exercises to Tone Your Legs and Butt Butt Augmentation Options: Fat Injections vs Implants Dr. Constantino Mendieta: Miami Butt Augmentation Specialist Speakers used to attaching only one meaning to butt may be unfamiliar with other words that are spelled the same but have meanings unrelated to human or animal anatomy. The Oxford English Dictionary has fourteen entries for the word butt as a noun. Its sense of â€Å"human posterior† developed from this definition: The thicker end of anything, especially of a tool or weapon, the part by which it is held or on which it rests; e.g. the lower end of a spear-shaft, whip-handle, fishing-rod, the broad end of the stock of a gun or pistol. The etymology of butt in the sense of â€Å"thicker end† is obscure, but the word seems to be cognate with foreign words with such meanings as blunt, short, thickset, and stumpy. Boston butt This cut of meat does not come from the rear of an animal. It is the upper portion of a pork shoulder containing a small piece of the shoulder blade and characterized by leanness. The origin of this use of butt comes from this definition: â€Å"a cask for wine or ale; later, also a measure of capacity.† On the upper east coast of colonial America, butchers packed less prized cuts of pork like the shoulder of the pig into butts (barrels) for storage and transport. The shoulder cut packed in this way became associated with New England, chiefly Boston, hence, â€Å"Boston butt.† shooting an arrow at the butt Another definition of butt is â€Å"a hillock (small hill) or a mound.† A meaning that developed from butt as mound is â€Å"a mark for shooting.† Archery targets were set up on a mound or embankment. Because there were usually two butts on an archery range, one at each extremity of the range, one might speak of â€Å"a pair of butts.† Another term for an archery range is â€Å"the butts.† This butt comes from French but: â€Å"goal, target.† This meaning of butt as target gives us the expression â€Å"to be the butt of a joke†: â€Å"an object at which ridicule, scorn, or abuse, is aimed.† The word butt can also be used as a verb. One of its verbal meanings is â€Å"to strike, thrust, shove or push with the head or horns.† This butt is related to modern French bouter, â€Å"to strike, thrust, project† and gives us these expressions: to butt in: to intrude where one is not wanted. Example: Stop butting in our conversation. to butt out: to stop intruding or interfering. Example: I told him to butt out of my private affairs. A curious fact about the shortening of buttock to the shorter form butt is that buttock is itself a diminutive form of butt (â€Å"thicker end of something†). The suffix -ock is the same one that makes hillock mean â€Å"a small hill.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:16 Substitutes for â€Å"Because† or â€Å"Because Of†Among vs. AmongstBail Out vs. Bale Out