Dealing with Diverse People in the Workforce Case Study - 4

Dealing with Diverse People in the Workforce - Case Study Example As mentioned in the introduction, many people have already transferred from place to place and a lot of those people, the so-called immigrants, have already decided to stay and work on the foreign lands they have gone to. Hence, the main effect of this social move on achieving success in other places, the employment of the multicultural population has been the resort to supporting the lives of the said immigrants. Hence, the workforce of every company making up the business industries is at times having the same worries on how to face the challenge of dealing with and managing people who are widely different from each other. Understanding this particular factor suggests that Lael Matthews is indeed facing a particular management dilemma that practically subjects her to a decision that needs to be made abruptly and systematically understanding the fact that this particular decision would directly affect the organization as a whole. Having this responsibility established right upon her shoulder, it could be observed how important her decision is going to be in connection with the growth of the organization that she is standing for. To know how complex the matter is, the definition of the entire situation shall be presented below. There are three managers vying for the promotion that is to be given to only one particular candidate. Among the candidates included three major personnel which included Liz, Roy and Quang Yeh. All particular individuals have had their own chances of serving the organization for quite some time and had been able to find ways to improve the progress of the business for some certain ways in their own remarkable ways. Liz, for example, is a 34-year-old African American woman who has a child and has at least served the company for at least 4 years. She has been noted though to have a high energy level. Practically, the basic reason behind the nomination of Liz for the promotion is the fact that she is an African American woman and that her promotion would boost the confidence of the people working for the organization.

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 95

Essay Example Nor is there anyone equal to Him† (Surah Ikhlas cited in â€Å"112- Surah Al Ikhlas†). This Surah overtly explains the superiority of Allah in all ways. It is revealed that nobody gave birth to Allah nor has Allah any son of daughter, which clearly refutes the claim that the Christ is God’s son, and this is what lays the basis of difference in the Christian and the Muslim perspective of God Almighty. It has been declared that nobody is equal to Allah in any respect, which essentially obviates the need for any gods or goddesses. This is why Muslims believe in no gods and goddesses but one God who is Allah. â€Å"Accurately knowing Allah is the pillar whereupon Islam in its entirety hinges† (Al-Jibouri). Since Allah is the supreme power, He can handle everything himself and does not require any other god or goddess to help Him in His matters, nor is there any god or goddess because Allah did not make any. However, Allah made angels that carry out His orders and do as He directs them. The concept of God in Islam requires the Muslims to believe in only one God i.e. Allah as the one with the supreme power, believe in His angels, His holy books including the books that he sent before Quran via other prophets, belief in the prophets, and the Day of Judgment. The belief in Allah obliges the Muslims to live the life the way Allah has instructed through Quran as well as the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.). Any Muslim who thinks that there is anybody in addition to Allah who feeds him or gives him all the blessings of life does Shirk. The essence of being a true follower in Islam is acquiring peace by submitting one’s will to Allah. Muslim faith says that man on Earth is Allah’s messenger. Before, Allah sent thousands of prophets to carry his message to the people, but the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was the last Prophet. After him, it is the responsibility of every believer to spread the light of Islam to the non-believers so that the message

Patriot Act Essay Example for Free

Patriot Act Essay An act was created in the dark days following the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. It was created to allow the agencies of law enforcement and intelligence to have more authority in order to prevent any future attacks by terrorists on the United States. Additionally, it made available monitoring tools within the United States to aggressively address the Bush administrations domestic war on terrorism. The draft title of the act was â€Å"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001†. However, today it is better known as the USA Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was responsible for drastic changes in over 15 important government and constitutional statues. All which lead to the increased ability of the government and law enforcement to secretly monitor, conduct surveillance, and investigate anyone at anytime. Previous to September 11, 2001 there were several attempts by the Republican Party to allow for the electronic surveillance of citizens within the United States however these provisions were highly criticized as being anti-constitutional and therefore anti-American. It was this single act of terrorism which promoted Congress to tear apart the rights granted to every citizen in the United States Constitution and allow the rights of privacy to be completely subordinated. When asked why, congressional officials always cite the 9/11 terrorists attacks. Even the former White House John Podesta challenged their decisions stating that the devastating events of 9/11 emotionally pressured the members of Congress to agree to allow new legal implements to help fight the terrorists. He continues â€Å"But we should not forget what gave rise to the original opposition- many aspects of the bill increase the opportunity for law enforcement and the intelligence community to return to an era where they monitored and sometimes harassed individuals who were merely exercising their First Amendment rights. † After the establishment of the specific content of the Patriot Act, congress was given only a single week to pass the act. John Ashcroft not only had a time limit but also required there would be absolutely no changes to the act. Several congressman headed by the the Vermonts Patrick Leahy did convince the Department of Justice to make some changes and gradually members of Congress worked together and improvements were made. The process was not fast enough for John Ashcroft and he pressured Congress and the public by repeatedly warning that additional terrorists attacks were upon the United States and only Congress had the power to stop them by passing the Patriot Act. At that point all the revisions to the act were taken away and was passed. The Act was passed 357–66 in the House of Representatives. President Bush signed the Patriot Act into law on 26 October, 2001. What is most baffling about the Patriot Act is very few people can actually explain what the Patriot Act is and what is says. John Ashcroft on several occasions tried to explain exactly what the details of the Patriot Act is: Prosecutors will seek judicial authority to intercept communications related to an expanded list of terrorism-related crimes such as: the development, possession, or use of chemical or biological weapons; financial transaction with a terrorist government; or providing material support to terrorists or terrorist organizations. Investigators will use `roving wiretaps to intercept communications and thereby thwart the ability of terrorists to evade surveillance by switching phones or communication devices. Investigators will now aggressively pursue terrorists on the internet. The legislation permits investigators to obtain senders and receivers e-mail addresses just as it is done with telephone surveillance. Terrorists employ sophisticated technologies to evade detection and the legislation updates the law to the technology. Investigators will use search warrants to obtained unopened voice mail and e-mail. However, the most important parts of the Patriot Act were left out of his description. Under the stipulations of the act, obtaining warrants are much easier. It also approves unspecified search warrants to be used without notification. These particular components are in direct contrast to those given to all citizens in the Fourth Amendment which gives protection against â€Å"unreasonable searches and seizures. † The the real power the Patriot Act is in the subpoena. This allows the authorities to search and find credit card and bank account information of any suspected terrorists on the world wide web. This â€Å"will allow investigators to identify the terrorist who hides behind a fictitious internet name. The question remains how does the government determine who is a potential terrorist or not- could it be you or me? The truth is there is no defined methodology. Therefore, this allows the FBI to order anyone  to turn over anything  for any  reason. These pieces of information can include library records, medical records, business records, emails, and student information. This is legal as long as the FBI believes the information will help in an â€Å"authorized investigation†. This is extremely vague and all inclusive. This is a clear violation of privacy rights outlined in the Constitution. The Patriot Act continues that only a single court order is needed to do a communication search that is world wide. Under normal circumstances the court order is only effective in the judicial district it was initiated in. It continues Law enforcement and intelligence committees will share information on terrorist activities and thus better coordinate their efforts to prevent terrorism. It is obvious that the Patriot Act is actually a secret tool which can be used against terrorism but can also be used anytime against anyone the government feels necessary. Mark Corallo of the Department of Justice, was quoted as saying â€Å"The Patriot Act was not meant to be just for terrorism. An article in Newsweek has reported that the government had used the provisions set up in the Patriot Act, to investigate 1000 people who have had absolutely no terrorisms connection. Many critics draw a comparisons to Orwells 1984 in which the general public was constantly monitored. Tampering with the founding document of the United States is a bad idea and no matter how many times the President of the United States states that The Patriot Act defends our liberty,† it simply is not true. Benjamin Franklin, a great American thinker, said decades ago Those who are willing to give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. By passing and using the Patriot Act we are giving up our liberty for safety and in this case pseudo it is safety. The Patriot Act allows the government to treat every citizens as a potential terrorist. Based on that idea the government has the legal ability to question, search, and detain anyone. In recent months the Patriot Act has been renewed temporarily. However, it is clear that both members of Congress and the general population have lost faith and confidence in George Bush – in his actions and words. There are a number of outspoken critics of the Patriot Act including the American Civil Liberties Union who believed that the â€Å"Act gives the attorney general and federal law enforcement unnecessary and permanent new powers to violate civil liberties† and these infringements go way beyond those necessary for fighting terrorism. Many congressional officials who voted for the act in 2001 believe they made a mistake. John Kerry has been extremely open of his opinion that the Patriot Act was misrepresented and misused by the government. To be passed again, the Patriot Act must have substantial changes which will restore those rights granted to all American citizens. In fact there are almost no supporters of the Patriot Act as is, excluding those directly involved the Bush Administration. The governmentally run site which lists the reasons why the Patriot Act is beneficial lists the reasons why the act improves â€Å"counter-terrorism efforts. † They list four reasons including the following: the ability to readily investigate organized crime and the trafficking of drugs, allows information to be shared between governmental intelligence agencies, addresses new technology which is used in potential terrorist organizations, and increased the criminal punishment for terrorist activities. They also had the audacity to include on their web pages quotes of the Declaration of Independence as support for the the constitutionally debilitating provisions of the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act not only contradicts the United States Constitution but makes a mockery of the the hard work our founding fathers did to secure liberties for all of America and its citizens. By enacting into law our governmental officials took way our unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our actions in the passing of the Patriot Act, the mistreatment of those who simply â€Å"look† like terrorists, and our self righteous behavior abroad in Iraq supports the idea that the United States is gradually becoming what killed all those people on September 11th, 2001 – a terrorist nation. And how long will the world wait and placidly watch America reek the same devastation worldwide?

Critical Regionalism Was First Introduced Cultural Studies Essay

Critical Regionalism Was First Introduced Cultural Studies Essay The idea of critical regionalism has been heard in architecture society. Vitruvius discussed regional variations in architecture in his ten books, and the Romantics propounded picturesque regionalism during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, regionalism seems to against the theory of modernism and postmodernism, both of which were thought to have failed to address the human condition in their extreme stances towards historicism. Thus from the question, how to become modern and to return to sources? by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre hypothesize critical regionalism as the solution. The term was originally introduced by Tzonis and Lefaivre in their article The Grid and the Pathway, where critical regionalism was presented as the third and latest type of regionalism in Greece, succeeding the English picturesque of nationalist regionalism and the Neoclassical historicist regionalism. Here, modern architecture is thought to be remote and massive, destroying the hu manistic character in architectural term which would be stated by a new form of regionalism. Frampton follows the lead of Tzonis and Lefaivre in exploring the theory critical regionalism. In the article Towards a Critical Regionalism, Frampton defines critical regionalism as an architecture of resistance, seeking to mediate the impact of universal civilization with elements derived indirectly from the peculiarities of a particular place, Thus aiming to reflect and serve the limited constituencies in which it was grounded. It is a resistance in the sense that it is a reaction against universal standards, culture homogenization and placeless modernism, but at the same time critical in its outlook; self-evaluating such that is is confrontational with not only the world but also to itself. According to Tzonis and Lefaivre, this self-reflective function is executed through the method of defamiliarization, in contrast to the romantic regionalism of familiarization, which employed nostalgic picturesque elements from a foregone era. This process entails selecting regional elements and incorporating them in a way that may appear distant, as if it were the sense of place in a strange sense of displacement, seeking to disrupt the sentimental link between the building and the place, and thus in this sense a reaction agaist the romantic sentimentality of pictureresque follies. Postmodernism, as its name suggests, aspired to succeed modernism whose ideals and norms were seen as responsible for the numerous failures that characterized most reconstruction and urban renewal projects realized since World War II. Having pledged to bring architecture out of a state of stagnation and disrepute due to reductive, technocratic and bureaucratic dogmas of modernism as well as its indifference, if not hostility towards history and culture, postmodernism buildings, apart from their superficial features, were qualitatively not much different from their predecessors. With few exceptions, museum buildings, such as the National Gallery in London and pricate houses in the United states, such as those by Robert Stern, the re-introduction of historical knowledge and cultural issues to design was merely skin-deep. Regionalism was not the term the architects themselves were reffering to. It was a conceptual device that we chose to use as a tool of analysis. The concept of regionalism here indicated an approach to design giving priority to the identity of the particular rather than universal dogmas. The awareness of a regional architecture as an idiom having a distinct identity and being associated with an identifiable group, and having this association used for further manipulating the groups identity. Goes as far back as ancient Greece. It was the Greeks that in the context of the politics of control and competition between their polis and their colonies used architectural elements to represent the identity of a group occupying a piece of land, or the virtual presence of a group among other groups in a Pan-Hellenic institution such as Delphi or Olympia. Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, were not abstract decorative terms. They originated in the concrete historical context of fission and fusion of regions and identities and their use was frequently loaded with complex political meanings, carving supra-regional identities and relations. The Roman architect and author, Vitruvius, who extensively discussed the Doric or Ionic temples without referring to the term Classical, does refer by name regional architecture, pointing to the difference in building around the world which he explains through climatic conditions and draws a parallel to the variations in the physique of people and concludes that the arrangement of buildings should be guided by locality and climate. In the very end, however, he did not imply regional pluralism and respect for difference. The new global order consists of an effective interconnection of the whole planet by means of a reticular network of communication and exchange. It threatens individual variety and difference throught universalization of practices, but also accentuates the worst of a world of differences. It polarizes further a hierarchical dependance of regional differences rather than encouraging the diversity necessary for creativity. Enhancing a world to come about within which preserving, exploring and mining regional differences brings about a world more genuinely global. The picture of critical regionalism that emerges from these contributions is in great contrast to the simplistic ideas that the local is good by definition, that sustaining community and nature means both blind conservation and resistance to change and that understanding the context is a simple process that requires no special effort or analysis. The traditions are always contested, transformed, resisted and invented. One of the most significant aspects of the quality ofn the built environment whish has been systematically ignored and violated by superficial thinking, biased judgement and seductive illusions is the skin of buildings. The impact of bad choices of materials on the skin of a building is not immediate. It is here that deep knowledge of the materials and the climatic attributes of a particular area is needed that cannot be substituted by reductive technical descriptions and even more by photographic media reproductions. The thoughtless transfer of glass as well as concrete to the tropical region led to indifferent if not hostile environments. American architect Ralph T.Walker, like Mumford, he was highly critical of the older. He spoke out at length, and his comments deserve to be reproduced: I have been around South America recently and I have just came back from Europe, and I find everywhere that modern architecture means a slab on pillars. It means the same thing in the United States because you pick up the architectural magazines and practically every issue has as its leading number a slab on pillars Functionalism of materials has blazed our thinking around the world because you will find that the building in Rio for the Education Ministry looks exactly like a building that was designed for a giraffe in the London Zoo, and it looks exactly like the building that has been designed for the United Nations. In other words, you have a cover of unthinking uncritical acceptance of things. He went on to argue that what was needed was humanism because it is the basis of all art and what we are trying to do first of all is to develop surroundings for people to live in, that will give them the greatest amount of the happiness and warmth of life. The first point on which Mumford broke with older forms of regionalism was in his approach to tradition. Although he ded advocate the preservation of actual historical buildings, notably those built in the vernacular brick tradition of the South, which deserves to be regarded with a far more appreciative eye than people usually apply to it, he was opposed to their imitation in new buildings. Let us be clear about this, the forms that poeple used in other civilizations or in other periods of our own countrys history were intimately part of the while structure of their life. There is no method of mechanically reproducing these forms or bringing then back to life; it is a piece of rank materialism to attempt to duplicate some earlier form, because of its delight for the eye, without realizing how empty a form is without the life that one supported it. There is no such thing as a modern colonial house any more than there is such a thing as a modern Tudor house. The philosophic problem of the general and the particular has its counterpart in architecture; and during the last century that problem has shaped itself more and more into the question of what weight should be given to the universal imprint of the machine and the local imprint of the region and the communitu Mumford in the south in architecture. MEANS every regional culture necessarily has a universal side to it. It is steadily open to influences that come from other parts of the world, and from other cultures, separated from the local region in space or time or both together. It would be usefyul if we formed the habit of never using the world regional without mentally adding to it the idea of universal remembering the constant contact and interchange between local scene and the wide world that lies beyond it. To ideas or technical methods that originate elsewhere as with a human being, every culture must both be itself and transcend itself; it must make the most of its limitations and must pass beyond them; it must be open to fresh experience and yet it must maintain its integrity. In no other art is that process ore sharply focused that in architecture. TO CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENT MEANS TO CONSIDER HISTORYMUMFORD What we call globalization does not consist of an effective interconnection of the whole planet by means of a reticular network of communication and exhange. In reality, our global worlds structure is rather an atlas of radial nuclei and unplugged areas that keeps large zones of silence. Globalization bears a massive and infinite process of concentration from the peripheries to the centres, almost one half of the worlds population lives today in urban environments. This situation creates multiple physical and mental displacements. Globalization has marked two opposing cultural processes. Their interaction constitutes a critical point in the rearticulations of symbolic power and a paradox that signals the epoch. On the other hand, it constitutes the de post moment of expansion of industrial capitalism, which is part of the extension of Europe and its culture since the Renaissance. This expansion has been narrated as a story of the expansion of the world. The acquisition of worldwide power was seen as a globalization: the local Western became universal through the conquest of planetary power, colonialism and the construction of a totalizing rationality from that power. The idea of expansion culminated in an inverse notion, that of contraction: the world becomes smaller day by day, and even a global village. Western culture was imposed as an operating metaculture of the contemporary world. This was done with the purpose of conversion and domination, but implicity meant generalized access. If imposition seeks to convert the other, access facilitated using this metaculture for the others own, different ends, transforming the metaculture from within. Western metaculture has become a paradoxical means for the affirmation of difference, and for the rearticulating subaltern camps interest in post-colonial times. Hence globalization times are simultaneously those of the difference. This is the other contradictory process to which I referred at the beginning. The existence of an operative metaculture has allowed the globalization of difference beyond the local environments. This cultural globalization implies an interaction between the extended Western metaculture and the cultural plurality of the world. If the first maintains its hemegonic character, the others have taken advantage of its capacity for international broadcasting to supersede local frameworks. Besides, any vast expansion, such as Buddhism in Asia or the Latin language in the Roman Empire, carries a high degree of tension that opens pores and cracks. This globalization-differentation process is an intricate conflictive articulation of forces more than dual dialectics. It implies contaminations, mixtures and contradictions in many directions, although it direct current processes of culture, it cannot be taken passively, as a necessary inclination that occurs without any pressyre exerted by the subaltern sectors. Among other problems, there is the metacultural tendency to generalize practices from many diverse environments from yoga to karate in consumer-driven, culturaly aseptic method as isolated elements of a cosmopolitan mosaic. Nevertheless, some of the most successful experiences in non-occidental regions have consisted, as in the case of Japan, in managing Westernization to their benefit, empowering it from their own different background. It is in this labyrinth of displacements and ambiguities where the current cultural power lies. It becomes more evident that at this point there ir no viable return to pre-colonial traditions, because that would consist precisely of regression to the myth of an unpolluted past with a small margin of action in the contemporary world. The issue is to build the contemporary from a plurality of experiences that are able to transform the metaculture, Even when imposed by a dominant culture over a dominated one, cultural appropriation is not a passive phenomenon. Receivers always transform, resignify and use according to their visions and interests. Appropriation, and especially the incorrect one, is usually a process of originality, understood as a new creation of meaning. Cultural debate ahs become a political arena for power struggle, both in the symbolic and the social aspects. It is seen both in the cultural adjustments that the subaltern and peripheral sectors are making, as well as in the heterogenization that immigrants are causing in the contemporary megalopolis. Every alrge city today is a dynamic crossroads of cultures. There are many and diverse people incorrectly and unabashedly reworking Western metaculture in their own way, de-eurocentralizing it in plural form. What we call postmodernity is, in good measure, the result of overlapping of all these contradictory processes, they also determine an extraordinary dynamic of identities, with complex adjustments: multiple identities, identities in the form of chinese boxes, neo-identities, mixture of identities, displacement among them, ethnic gamesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦all borders mutate and turn into the critical spaces of our age. The birder and its culture have become paradigms of contemporary cultural processes, but these and other paradigms are at risk of developing into a narrative of harmonization of diversity, leveling contradicitons and masking confrontation of interests. The essay aims to discuss about the loss of cultural identity in this modern society, which lead to the loss of vernacular architecture. Basically vernacular architecture is a category of architecture based on localized needs and construction materials, and reflecting local traditions. It tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural, technological and historical context in which it exists. The building methods are tested through trial-and-error by the society as the people constructing the structure tends to be the person who will use it. However, nowadays, people have mistaken the meaning of cultural identity, they tend to re-create the vernacular architecture into a purpose space where the tradition has been reinvigorate to a resort. People have tried to modernize the vernacular architecture, but still, loss of culture identity is the problem or the modern vernacular. What is vernacular architecture in peoples view nowadays? Will people still respect the culture identity? Why is the topic important in the world or in the context of design? As nowadays, vernacular architecture is gradually disappeared in this modern society. People have started to copy the authenticity to attract the ever-increasing tourists. Figures in architecture hence become less to do with a response to materials and more to do with the associative at tributes of particular shapes and forms. Why is this happening? It was because a global homogenization of the culture of the tourists, an excess of material choice, rapid urbanization, emergence economies, global environmental crisis and politics. Architects have tried using the four ways to modernize the vernacular architecture for now which are reinvigorating, reinventing, extending and reinterpreting tradition, however it still leads to the loss of cultural identity. How will architecture recreate a tradition, a shared ground that provides a basis for the criteria of authenticity and quality? How am I going to approach the topic? The essay will take on a critical regionalism approach of how people view on the vernacular architecture nowadays. Making a point to the loss of culture and how vernacular architecture has slowly fade away, shows how people should react to this issue and also to explain when this vernacular architecture be applied again in this modernized society, create spaces of authenticity of a tradition.

A Critique of The Taming of the Shrew :: Taming Shrew Essays

A Critique of The Taming of the Shrew      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Taming of the Shrew is one of the earliest comedies written by William Shakespeare.   Some scholars believe it may have been his first work written for the stage as well as his first comedy (Shakespearean 310).  Ã‚  Ã‚   The earliest record of it being performed on stage is in 1593 or 1594.   It is thought by many to be one of Shakespeare's most immature plays (Cyclopedia 1106).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio was the only suitor willing to court Kate, the more undesirable of Baptista's   two daughters.   Kate was never described as unattractive (Elizabeth Taylor played her role in one film of the production), but was known for her shrewish behavior around all of Padua. Bianca, on the other hand was very sweet and charming and beautiful; for these reasons many suitors wooed her.   Kate was presented to be much more intelligent and witty than Bianca, but, ironically, she could not compete with Bianca because of these witty comebacks and caustic remarks she made (Dash 830).   All of the men who desired Bianca needed somebody to marry Kate, as it was customary for the older daughter to be married before the young one.   Finally, Petruchio came along to court Kate, saying he wanted to marry wealthily in Padua. It appeared, though, as if   Petruchio was the kind of man who needed an opposition in life.   The shrewish Kate, who was known to have a sharp tongue, very adequately filled his need for another powerful character in a relationship (Kahn 419).   When Petruchio began to woo Kate, everybody was rather surprised, but Signior Baptista agreed when Petruchio wanted marry her on Saturday of the week he met her.   Clearly, he was not opposed because he wanted to hurry and get Kate married so she would not be in Bianca's way anymore.   Petruchio showed up to the wedding late and in strange attire, but nevertheless they were married that Saturday.   Petruchio began his famous process of taming his bride.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the beginning, Petruchio wanted to dominate a relationship of two dominating personalities.   He sought to tame her in a nonviolent but still somewhat cruel fashion.   Petruchio's method of "taming" Kate featured depriving

Cadbury Schweppes Strategic Dilemma of Trebor Bassett Essay -- Value

Cadbury Schweppes' Strategic Dilemma of Trebor Bassett Cadbury Schweppes is a UK-based beverage and confectionary group founded in 1969 with the merger of two English groups (Cadbury and Schweppes). This family-managed group grew and flourished through the years. It became an international major player in the late 80s and was admired by its peers for such an ascent. In 1990 the group bought two little entities from the same business and merged them into a single unit: Trebor Bassett. The CEO of this unit soon became the CEO of the group (1993) and he then realized that the success of the past years was seriously in danger and that a real turn needed to be taken. John Sunderland (CS’CEO) and John Stake (Human Resources Director) decided to spend time trying to understand the problem and finding the adapted solutions. Let us see how to change from a budget-driven strategy to a sustainable value-driven strategy. The following pages will try to show how the precedent success was in fact a satisfactory underperformance of CS, then how a real change in the way of seeing the business helped to recover and finally what became the challenge in 1999. I. Cadbury Schweppes in 1996: a satisfactory underperformance 1. An admired company Cadbury Schweppes, born after the merger of two major companies in 1969, was an admired company in 1996. Indeed thanks to Sir Dominic Cadbury’s governance from 1983 to 1996, based on an international development and several strategic acquisitions, the company had become a truly global player: the financial company turnover increased by 30% between 1990 and 1996, the operating profit by 144%. This performance was underlined by the Most Admired UK Company Prize, awarded by the representatives of Britain’s top 250 publicly traded companies and 10 leading investment dealer companies. In 1996, Cadbury Schweppes gathered activities in two major fields, both consumer-oriented: confectionary and beverages. The beverages branch was highly competitive, all the more so as few giant players operated on the market. Cadbury Schweppes owned international bottling and partnership operations and sold products in 149 countries. The company, divided into five divisions in 1996, had a varied product portfolio, based on international brands such as Schweppes or Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, acquired by the group in 1995. As for the ... ...â€Å"over deliver† (= Game playing) - The Group was too far away from the BU and markets to appreciate the complex strategy issues - Strategy of achieving market volume and exploiting scale economy in order to protect short-term revenues â€Å"Grow bigger through steady volume increases† > price discounts in an attempt to protect volumes > irrational brand and packaging size proliferation with no real marketing strategy (and risk of cannibalisation) - No Piloting tools (managers’ comments : â€Å"A lot of data, not a lot of good facts†) Opportunities Threats - Fragmentation of the market - Long term potential of the sugar confectionary business - Total sweets market was stagnant - Low end market : private labels had already captured 20,000 tons owing to the strength of British major retailers - New competition entering the market in its most profitable niches - Raw material prices shooting up - Price competition EXHIBIT 2: COMPETING ENVIRONMENT OF THE BRITISH SUGAR CONFECTIONARY MARKET The five forces model of Porter allows a better analysis of the attractiveness and value of the British sugar confectionary market in the 1990’s:

Firefly: Malaysia Airlines and Airline Industry Essay

2.0 Background to the organization Firefly is the wholly-owned subsidiary by the Malaysia Airline System Berhad (MAS). Firefly is launched on April 3rd 2007 as well as it is the Malaysia’s first community airline that operated under FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd. the Malaysia’s first community airline also known as a new Malaysian no-frills airline. The name of Firefly is come from the characteristics of agility, brilliance, charm, and fun. Firefly offers a full service point-to-point carrier. The head office of Firefly is located at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor. The first flight of the Firefly was from Subang Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport to Penang International Airport, on the 2nd April 2007. Besides Airline of Air Asia Berhad, Firefly is another low-cost airliner. It mean that Firefly has the separate management compare with MAS even though it is wholly-owned subsidiary by MAS. Firefly is operated in two hubs that are located at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang, Selangor and Penang International Airport. Penang is the second big hub after the Kuala Lumpur. The aim of the Firefly is to bring communities closer by overcoming geographical constraints, link the world to the communities we serve, and contribute to the economy of the communities by bringing trade and tourism. Firefly not only wants to bring together the community in Malaysia but also for travelers to visit both of our neighboring countries and throughout the region. Become the Malaysia’s first community airline, Firefly most emphasis on the safety and comfort it its flying experience. However, Firefly try their best to provide the best service to their customers such as getting their customers to the destination in the shorter time, cost effective and make flying Firefly as a fun. 3.0 Situation analysis Positive or negative of general environment in the airline industry will significant affect the growth of the Firefly Airline. In order to growth the position and hit the target of Firefly, it is important to understand the current situation of external factor that can influence the Firefly Airline. 3.1General Environment 3.1.1 Political Fully Deregulation of the airline since December 2008 allow the member state to fly across other’s territory, make fuelling stop as well as pick up the passenger in order to complete their journey to reach their destination. This deregulation brings the benefit such as enhance the customer’s choice and increase the competition. For most time, the political stability and government decision will directly affect the direction and decision of the company. For example, the Malaysian government policy to support and develop the Low Cost Travel sector (Bernama 2006) was good news well for Firefly because Firefly applied the strategies of low cost carrier. Another example is Firefly took over the service rural air service in year 2007 announced by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy (The star 2007). Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy announced that the rural air service was the responsibility of the government and they will continue to subsidies the cost for the operation of the rural air service to maintain the low-fare structure. Apart from that, On the 24 March 2010, the state government of Perak signed a contract for strategies collaboration with Firefly to promote tourism and foreign investment in their state. The decision of the state government brings good news to Firefly. Though this collaboration, Firefly can enhance their reputation and increase their profit. Ps: if too much words, can delete it or add to opportunity. 3.1.2 Economic [pic] Firure1: Traffic Update for Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) Member Airlines Source: AAPA (2010). From the figure 1, we can clearly see that the increase 10.7% in the passengers by November 2010 compared with November 2009. The main reason for the increase in passengers is Asia Pacific carrier had successfully in economic downturn. However, carriers need to carefully in the global recovery economic in develop market as well as the threat of high oil price or government increase the taxes. Due to the global recovery economic, Firefly planed to increase 3 new planes as the demand of travel. However, Firefly will be caution in the fuel cost since it steadily rising. 3.1.3 Socio cultural As a lower travel carrier, Firefly position itself at the middle class airline. Hence, we can see that Firefly always focus on four community that are The Holiday Goers community, the â€Å"Balik Kampung† Community, The â€Å"Indonesia Workers† community, and The Business Community. The Holiday Goers community is convenient to the tourists or Malaysians who like to visit the Langkawi, Phuket, Koh Samui. Firefly provides an attractive price for the tourists to encourage them flight on Firefly. For the â€Å"Balik Kampung† Community and the â€Å"Indonesia Workers† community, there have the same purpose. It allow the worker who work on other state or country as well as for those who want visit their relatives at hometown to reach their destination easily at a reasonable price. In addition, Firefly connect with major cities such as Johor Bahru, Penang, Alor Setar and Subang enable the executive travel their business trip convenient. 3.1.4 Technological  The aircraft of Firefly is the product that combined with the advanced technology. The aircraft named ATR 72-500 not only fuel efficiency, but also for the noise friendly. It compliant with noise regulations and have a large margin with regard to Chapter IV (ICAO) noise regulations effective 1st January 2006. ATR operate at relatively low altitude, leaving the ozone layer unaffected and barely contributing to pollution of the upper atmosphere such as features of low fuel burn and gaseous emissions. It also supports the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol as it is an opportunity to contribute to the prosperity of developing countries through the transfer of cleaner and greener technologies. Besides this, the 72-seat aircraft will be equipped with the â€Å"Elegance† cabin, Light Emitting Diode (LED) as well as the newest technological innovations in passenger comfort, communications and navigation tools. 3.2 Industry condition [pic] The Porter’s five force model is major affected in the airline industry due to the airline industry become the major and important industry in our world. Though the five forces of Porter, we can clearly understand the industry condition. The five forces include rivalry among existing competitors, threat of new entrants, threats of substitution products or services, bargaining power of supplier and bargaining power of buyer. 3.2.1 Rivalry among existing competitors  Rivalry among existing competitors mean that the competition between the existing competitors in an industry. Normally, this type of competition earn a low returns because the cost of competition are quite high. The competitors exist in the airline industry is high. Except the Firefly owned by MAS, there also have Air Asia, Berjaya Air, Layang-Layang Aerospace, Sabah Air and Hornbill Skyways which is a helicopter service that operates in the rural area of Sarawak. In order to boosts its market share, all competitors will try their best to offer different type of services, cut-fare and other benefit to grab the more and more customers from their competitor. This type of competition will result the overall slow market growth rate. 3.2.2 Threat of new entrants Threat of new entrants refers to the threat of new competitors to enter the exits market. If the new entrants can enter the market easily, that means the barriers to entry are low. Whereas if the new entrants difficult to enter the market, the barriers of entry are high. In the airline industry, the market is nearly saturated with the existing airline such as MAS, Air Asia, and Firefly and so on. The new entrants will face a lot of barriers if they want enter the market. One of the barriers is cost of entry. Airline industry is expensive industry. The cost of technology, buying or leasing aircraft and manpower are high. Another barrier is the brand name of existing market. For the most time, customers will loyalty to the brand that they preferred 3.2.3 Threat of substitute product A threat of substitute product is stated that the availability of another product that customers can purchases to replace for existing product. Airline industry considers highly risk in threats of substitute product. Customers would change their choice to another airline company if that company provides the lower price than others. The competitions between the airline industries enable all competitors to come out the better services, promotion and lower price. 3.2.4 Bargaining power of suppliers  Bargaining power of suppliers is the ability to setting the price. Normally the suppliers are power if there are not so many substitute supplier and suppliers more control and concentrated. The main suppliers in the Airline Industry are Boeing and Airbus. Therefore, airline industry isn’t any cutthroat competition due to the limited of suppliers. In other words, Airline Company less opportunity for the bargaining in industry and it can be threats of industry. 3.2.5 Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of buyers refer to the ability of the customers to setting the price. In Airline industry, bargaining power of customers are high because the highly competitive.