“The Evacuation of Children in World War Two Was a Great Success”

How far do the sources you have used support this interpretation of evacuation in World War Two? (25 marks) Before the War in September 1939, the government understood the risk of air raids and the danger they bring upon major cities in England. Plans for evacuation started as early as 15 years before in 1924; the Air Raid Precaution Committee (ARPC) identified London as the main target, with children as the biggest concern.The government identified, after the ARPC produced a report on the potential disasters of air raid attacks in 1925, that maintaining civilian morale was a priority, and that the fear of bombing would bring it down. So, to prevent low morale (and also to ensure safety for what would be the future generation and social regeneration of Britain), the technique of evacuation was introduced. ‘Success’, in this case, is somewhat difficult to measure as it is a broad term when it comes to asking if it can be seen as a success in terms of numbers: ‘did the government send out as many people as they hoped to? or as a question of the success in the ‘well being of the evacuees’, and questioned as the overall safety of the evacuees: if death and casualty had been avoided/prevented. These sources help to show whether or not evacuation in World War Two was a ‘success’. Evacuation can be seen as a success if the evacuees, specifically children were ‘happy’. This is important as being considered ‘successful’ as whether or not they were treated well and were happy would influence the public morale of the citizens remaining in the city.For example, source one shows a group of children with their accompanying teacher in a Berkshire village, 1939. They appear to be ‘happy’ and well looked after; they seem well dressed and smiling in a peaceful, unthreatening looking setting, safely away from the danger of bombs/air raids. Also, as a teacher is shown to be with them, success id further proven in that the government managed to continue educational services throughout the operation (this point is additionally shown in sources three and four).This suggests evacuation was a success. Though, as the photo shows evacuation in a positive light, it could suggest a propaganda element. However, though possible, it seems unlikely that the photo is staged making it reliable to determine evacuation as a success through child ‘well-being’ and happiness. Furthermore, a view of it being successful in this way is source three, a newspaper extract from Kent, September 1939. The overall impression given is that evacuation was very much a successful operation.According to the source for the majority, it was a ‘happy adventure and homesickness quickly fled’. Again, this suggests success in the well being of the evacuees, though the source goes on to show this further saying that children were ‘eating high teas beyond their dreams and went up to bedrooms larger than thought possible’. From this we can infer that evacuation was a success in the way that children were living better out in the countryside not only for safety, but for lifestyle as well.However, this source is much less reliable that source one as it appears to be in fact very biased as a newspaper trying to imply the best out of evacuation to keep morale high, so it is harder to derive a conclusion of success from the source. Another way in which success is shown through the sources is that evacuation did the job that it was set out to do: to protect the children, and those who are at most risk, from the danger of war, specifically bombing in the city. Source five is a picture showing a bombed school playground in London.From this, we can infer that this is an example of what the government was trying to move children/evacuees away from. It also shows how, being a school playground, children were indeed at risk, thus, by sending the children away, they were, as far as we know, doing a good job of keeping them safe. Overall, this source shows that evacuation was successful as we can infer that children would clearly be safer out of the city, thus justifying evacuation itself. To further justify evacuation and therefore show its success in keeping evacuees safe, source six shows casualties in Liverpool.It shows that the death rate was generally over 100 and even in May 1941, at 1453. Again, this justifies the need to evacuate and the safety achieved through evacuation. Finally, sources three shows the success in evacuation as the sources show effectiveness and good organisation as a success of evacuation. This encompasses overall efficiency and pre-evacuation planning. To be able to transport the huge amount of 1million (intended 4million) to the countryside required this efficiency and overall, sources three and source two mention the efficiency and order of the transport (trains) and organisation in the countryside.In source three, a newspaper article from Kent, says that the departures were efficient, reflecting that it was seen to that ‘each child got milk and food’, and followed up with ‘no confusion’. Even source two, though showing evacuation in a negative way, also comments that the trains ‘ran to time’ and that evacuation came ‘complete with teachers’. Having teachers is shown in sources one, three and four as well. In source one, it is shown as a teacher with a group of children, in three there are mentioned ‘teachers in charge’ and in four, the graph shows about 103,000 teachers were evacuated.The fact that they were able to organise having teachers for the children, as well as having sufficient transport for a million people, shows great planning and effectiveness of the evacuation programme as a success in World War Two. On the other hand, evacuation can be seen as unsuccessful through the sources. One point is that of numbers; according to source four, ‘4 million had been planned for but only 1. 5million went’.Source four is most probably reliable as it is a textbook extract, with the main aim of ‘to inform’, and thus the historian writing this has no reason to twist the truth. Even though this shows efficiency, it shows how evacuation was not successful, as it didn’t go according to government’s plans. It also could suggest that the public didn’t see quite the same urgency to evacuate as the government. This interpretation is further shown as one of the sources is a propaganda poster discouraging mothers to bring their children back to the city.This shows this unsuccessful side to evacuation as it shows that mothers needed this encouragement though posters. This shows how evacuation was unsuccessful in encouraging the public. Source seven suggests that social barriers were broken with the ‘effect of showing one side of the nation to the other’, however two sources suggest different: source 2, a source showing a mainly negative view on evacuation, implies that the social responsibility was not evenly spread and that ‘the poor housed the poor and the wealthy evaded their responsibilities’. This is an alternate view that people weren’t treating the evacuees correctly that goes against mainly source one and three. Source one and three are both from the start of the war (1939 specifically) and therefore could be seen as too specific to generalise a positive experience for the duration on the war and that perhaps source two, a negative view, is a better outlook, despite being a secondary source, on the success of the war as it shows a view over time. Considering all the elements that determine whether ‘The evacuation of children in World War Two was a great success’, I believe that evacuation was in fact a success in most ways of measuring ‘success’: the overall operation fulfilled it’s aims of protecting children from bombs to safer quieter areas of the country (like source one depicts) and that the government did so in an orderly, effective fashion. However, I would not call the evacuation programme a ‘completely’ a success nor a ‘great success’ thorough considering that fewer went than planned and that it is difficult to derive a positive experience from the evacuees themselves. A ‘great success’ suggests complete fulfilment of original plans and a large majority happy and well treated in the operation. Not all sources agree with this, thus, overall, I conclude my agreement that evacuation in World War Two was successful, though not a ‘great’ success.

Educational Opportunities for Class 10th Students Essay

1. 0 Introduction As soon as a young child comes out of school finds self at cross roads. He is confronted with the problem of choosing career whether in Engneering, Medical, Non medical, paramedical, vocational, Humanities. This unit will provide you overall view of educational opportunities after 10th & 12th standard , Internship, Apprenticeship to excel in professional front. You will also become familiar with scholarships- like NTS,KVPY,UGC & others available at various stages of education for meritorious students. This unit helps you to know websites that gives information regarding higher education , entrance examinations. Objectives: After reading this module the teacher will able to : †¢ Make the students aware about the need of educational planning. †¢ Explain the students about various educational opportunities after 10th & +2 education. †¢ Help students in exploring various sources of higher education & Scholarships. †¢ Ways of disseminating the educational information to students 1. 1 Needs For Educational Planning â€Å"India is suffering from massive shortage of skilled manpower†- This was the News headline of a leading National Daily in July 2011. It is the matter of quality & not quantity of Manpower. As on today, the population of India is 1. 21 billion and half of the population is below 18 years of age. And responsibility lies with policy makers, administrators, educators, career counselors, teachers,& parents to channelize the energy of these youths & convert them into skilled human resource And it is the â€Å"Education† that determines the level of prosperity, Welfare & security of its citizens. Combined efforts of educators, teachers, career counselors and of course parents to bring awareness among students in an effort to make most realistic choice of courses of higher education depending upon his/her interest, aptitude, ability & financial background. 1. 2 Educational opportunities after10th standard:- Generally . We know that you are already aware about the three streams that you can choose from after Class 10 – Science, Humanities and commerce here you have to pursue your education for 2 years to become eligible for your graduation level academics.. Science Arts Commerce Includes study ofsubjects like Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Biology Includes study of subjects like Geography, Philosophy, History, Sociology, and Political Science Includes study of subjects like Accounting, Tax, Business Economics and Finance. You need to have good grades in Class 10 and equally good marks in Mathematics to secure a seat in 10+2 Average grades in Class 10 can help you seek admission in the Humanities stream in 10+2 Need good grades after Class 10 and also in Class 12 to pursue higher education in commerce Appear for competitive exams and start a professional career like engineering or medicine Less scope of joining a professional career and have to pursue a Bachelor’s degree. However, one can always a vocational course or pursue his or her interests simultaneously Start a professional career by  registering for CA foundation course You can make a shift to other streams Commerce or Arts after Class 12 You cannot make a shift to other streams like Science or Commerce after Class 12 You cannot appear for engineering or medical streams or change to sciencestream after Class 12. However, you can shift to Arts after Class 12. One can pursue 3 years diploma course either in engineering or Non engineering stream. Nearly there are 190 diploma courses. From Aviation, automobile, biomedical ,ceramic technology, dress making,†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦to textile engineering, web designing,X-ray technician. ( From A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Z) Those who can’t afford expensive training and who can’t get chance to pursue higher education and those who are having inclination towards technical education & most important those who want to earn at an early age can opt for Industrial Training Institute. – ITI’s . Earlier there were traditional courses like Fitter, Welder, Turner but in the present scenario there is immense demand for trades like-COE ( Center of Excellence),Laser technology, hospital mangament, retail management. After completing basic ITI one can opt-advance training course (CTS/POT) & become eligible to work as an instructor in Govt ITI. Even one can opt for JOC- Job Oriented Course after that he/she can start self-employment. 1. 3 Educational opportunities after 12th standard:-For science stream students they pursue career in Engineering, Medicine/Medical, paramedical, Health care, Information Science, Veterinary science, Genetics, Forensic Science, Fishery, Dairy Technology, Oceanography, Biological Science, Meteorology, Bioinformatics, speech Therapists, Space Technology, Nanotechnology & so many specialized fields. Even students choose R& D-Research and Development of the concerned field.For Careers in Humanities-there are Anthropology, Archeology, Geography, Fine Arts, Journalism, Library Science, Psychology, Psephology, Research Assistant, Sociology, Teaching at all level-nursary, primary secondary, senior secondary, & even+2 students .Career in NGO.Careers in Commerce- Accounting, Banking, Economics, CA,CS,ICWA, Stock Broking, Mathematics & StatasticsCareers in Designing-Gemology, Interior, Fashion, Jewellary Designing & Visual Merchandising. Careers in Management- Management comes every where-From Business to sales to HR to Rural , Event management, IT Management, Logostics to Export ManegementCareers in Defense Service- Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, By appearing NDA & NA Entrance Exam conducted by UPSC, Coast Guards, Corps Of Engineer, Paramilitary Services.Careers in Mass Communication- Advertising, Disc Jocky, Radio Jocky, Video Jocky, Public Relation, Video Editing, publishing & Printing. Even after pursuing their graduation students can opt career in Civil Services-Competitive Exams conducted by Union Public Service CommisionCompetitive Exams conducted by State Public Service CommisionCompetitive Exams conducted by Staff Selection CommisionIndian Economic/Stastical Service ExaminationIndian Geologist Service ExaminationCombined Defence Service ExaminationExams conducted by Indian RailwaysBanking Exams- both clerical & Officer Cadre. COMMON WRITTEN EXAMS- Conducted by IBPS- Institite Of Banking & Personal Selection. 1. 4 NIOS-National Institute for Open Schooling: It provides elementary education at 3 levels for school drop outs, neoliterates,& out of school learners through Accredited Agencies. Open schooling and basic education at a distance have got established, in the last two decades, as strong systemic intervention mechanisms to cater to the quality educational needs of millions of deprived people, with very low cost.Secondary Level-Children below 14 years of age & Adults above 14 years of age.Higher Secondary Level.Vocational courses. 1. 5 Scholarships opportunities For Students Scholarships are available for meritorious students & to those who belong to economically weaker section. Even Scholarships are available for scheduled caste & scheduled Tribes & Other Back word community students. Prime Minister’s 15 point program provides better facilities,& free coaching for higher studies for Minority community students. Scholarships are available at various levels of education at secondary level, under graduates, post graduates, post doctoral research.NTS- National Talent Search Scholarship. (For 10th onwords) till your graduation & onKVPY-Kishore Vaignanik Protsahan Yojana (For 11th & 12th Students) & onwordsPost Matric Scholarship for OBC’sPost Matric Scholarship for studies in Hindi from Non Hindi Speaking States.PG scholarships for professional courses for SC & ST studentsPG Indira Gandhi scholarship scheme for single girl child.Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship For SC/ST StudentsJRF & SRFPost Doctoral Fellowship For Women CandidatesDr. S Radhakrishnan Post Doctoral Fellowship 1. 6 Sources Of Educational opportunities- †¢ News paper supplement of all Leading news papers like, The Hindu, Deccan. Herald, The Times Of India, Indian Express & even regional news papers carry updated information in the current trends in education & higher studies every week. †¢ Surfing to Internet- at various social sites, Reading the Blogs written by well known educators & career counselors. †¢ Emplyment News in English & Rojgar Samachar in Hindi †¢ By viewing channels like-EDusat, Gynan Darshan, UGC,IGNOU Channels broadcasting educational updates, IGNOU’s Audio video catalogue †¢ University Career Bulletin †¢ Local District Employment Exchange. †¢ University Employment Information & Guidance Bureau. at the jurisdiction of concerned University. †¢ District Central Library 1. 7 Address of Websites related to higher education, Apprenticeship, Internships & training www. ignou. ac. in www. education. nic. in www. ncert. nic. in www. employmentnews. gov. in www. aiuweb. org www. dget. nic. in www. ugc. ac. in www. aicte. ernet. in www. iamrindia. com www. davp. nic. in www. upsc. gov. in www. nbtindia. org. in www. webindia123. com www. career360. com WWW. shiksha. com www. meritnation. com www. upsc. gov. in www. careers. icbse. com www. indiastudychannel. com www. goiit. com www. highereducationinindia. com www. indiaeducation. net Tanuja Rampure, Shimoga (Karnataka), India.

Air Asia

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT (PMS 3393) ‘AIR ASIA’ Prepared by: Ahmad Izzuddin Bin Ahmad Zamri (4102005781) HaslindaBinti Ismail (4092008911) MohdAzuan Bin MohdAbdKadir (4102008091) Muhammad Khairil Anwar Bin Othman (4102004441) Nur An-NisaBintiRahmat (4071032881) SitiAisyahBintiMohdYusoff( 4102001031) SitiKhajirahBinti Abdul Aziz (4092008931) Prepared for: Dr. HafsahBinti Ahmad Submission Date: 22nd November 2012 Table of Content Acknowledgement1 Introduction2 History3 The Vision, Mission Statement and Objective5 Value Strategy6 Business Model8 Competitive Advantages10 AirAsia Assumption12SWOT Analysis13 The Air Asia 5 Forces Porter Model16 Air Asia Market Segments19 Five Years Financial Highlights22 Appendix24 References25 Acknowledgement Alhamdulillah. Thanks to Allah SWT, whom with His willingness has giving us the opportunity to successfully complete this Strategic Management assignment. First of all, we would like to express our special thank to Dr. HafsahBinti Ahmad, a le cturer of Strategic Management who had guided us and also provide a lot of information regarding our assignment from beginning to the end of the semester and also the valuable advices that he gave to us during our lectures.We are really appreciating it. Deepest thanks and appreciation to our parents, family and all fellow friends for their cooperation, encouragement, constructive suggestion and full of support for the assignment completion, from the beginning till the end. Without the help and guidance from all of you, it will be difficult for us to complete this assignment. Thank you. 1. 0 Introduction Air Asia is a Malaysian-based low-cost airline. Air Asia is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia.Air Asia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Its affiliate airlines Tha i Air Asia, Indonesia Air Asia, Air Asia Philippines and Air Asia Japan have hubs in Suvarnabhumi Airport, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Clark International Airport and Narita International Airport respectively. Air Asia's registered office is in Petaling Jaya, Selangor while its head office is at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. 1. 1 HistoryAirAsia was established in 1993 and began operations on 18 November 1996. It was originally founded by a government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom. On 2 December 2001 the heavily-indebted airline was bought by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandes's company Tune Air Sdn Bhd for the token sum of one ringgit (about USD 0. 26 at the time) with USD 11 million (MYR 40 million) worth of debts. Fernandes turned the company around, producing a profit in 2002 and launching new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur, undercutting former monopoly operator Malaysia Airlines with promotional fares as low as MYR 1 (USD 0. 7). In 2003, AirAsia ope ned a second hub at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru near Singapore and launched its first international flight to Bangkok. AirAsia has since started a Thai subsidiary, added Singapore itself to the destination list, and started flights to Indonesia. Flights to Macau began in June 2004, and flights to mainland China (Xiamen) and the Philippines (Manila) in April 2005. Flights to Vietnam and Cambodia followed later in 2005 and to Brunei and Myanmar in 2006, the latter by Thai AirAsia.On August 2006, AirAsia took over Malaysia Airlines’ Rural Air Service routes in Sabah and Sarawak, operating under the Fly Asian Xpress brand. The routes were subsequently returned to MAS wings a year later, citing commercial reasons. Air Asia's CEO Tony Fernandes subsequently unveiled a five-year plan to further enhance its presence in Asia. Under the plan, Air Asia proposes to strengthen and enhance its route network by connecting all the existing cities in the region and expanding fu rther into Vietnam, Indonesia, Southern China (Kunming, Xiamen, Shenzhen) and India.The airline will focus on developing its hubs in Bangkok and Jakarta through its sister companies, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia. With increase frequency and the addition of new routes, AirAsia expects passenger volume to reach 18 million by the end of 2007 On 27 September 2008, the company had on its list 106 new routes to be added to its then-current list of 60. The number of old routes discontinued has not been publicly disclosed. On 2 April 2012 Air Asia had their first flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur.In August 2011, AirAsia agreed to forge an alliance with Malaysian Airlines by means of a share swap. The alliance was struck down by the Malaysian government, in effect voiding the agreement of both airlines. 2. 0 The Vision, Mission Statement and Objective The Vision To be the largest low cost airline in Asia and serving the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with poor connecti vity and high fares. The Mission Statement †¢ To be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family. †¢ Create a globally recognized ASEAN brand. To attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with Air Asia. †¢ Maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and enhance service level. Future Objective for AirAsia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based AirAsia has recently announced in a press conference that they intend to purchase an additional twenty-five aircraft. The purchase is the second this year for the airline and fourth since the 2005. The purchase agreement is for 25 Airbus A320 series aircraft. This will bring the total A320 series aircraft operated by AirAsia to well over 200 aircraft.Air Asia group CEO Tony Fernades says at the press conference that this purchase is an important step for Air Asia as it signifies their future aggressive route expansion plans in tandem to their expected traffic growth over the next decade. It also demonstrates their commitment to enhance AirAsia's position on the networks by incorporating the most modern and efficient aircraft in the market. The addition of aircraft will be used to add frequency across the route network and introduce new routes. AirAsia's introduction to the aviation industry as an innovator has grown to the extent it is now a leader that sets the benchmark to others. Also speaking at the press conference was Airbus CEO John Leahy. Leahy was very excited about this newest order and says that their company have been extremely proud to be part of AirAsia's outstanding success and delighted that the confidence in the A320 has resulted in the airline now becoming the largest airline customer for this aircraft in the world. With its unbeatable economics and enormous passenger appeal, he is confident that the large A320 fleet is destined to propel AirAsia to the forefront of industry in the years ahead. 2. 1 Value Strategy * SafetyAdop ting a zero tolerance to unsafe practices and strives for zero accidents through proper training, work practices, risk management and adherence to safety regulations at all times. * High Aircraft Utilization Air Asia implementing the regions fastest turnaround time at only 25 minutes and assuring the lower costs and higher productivity. * Low Fare, No Frills Providing guests with choice of customizing services without compromising on the quality and services. * Valuing their People Committing to their people’s development and well-being and treating them with respect, dignity and fairness. Customer Focused They care and treat everyone in the same manner that they want to be treated. * Lean Distribution System They also offer a wide and innovative range of distribution channels to make booking and traveling easier. * Integrity Practicing highest standards of ethical behavior and demonstrate honesty in all their lines of work in order to command trust and mutual respect. * Exce llence in Performance Setting goals beyond the best and reinforcing high quality performance standards and achieving excellence through implementing best practices. 2. AirAsia Business Model 1. Low Cost Carrier A low cost carrier (also known as a no-frills or discount carrier) is an airline that offer low fares but eliminates all â€Å"non-essential† services. The typical low-cost carrier business model is based on: * A single passenger class * A single type of airplane (reducing training and services costs) * A simple fares scheme (typically fares increase as the plane fills up, rewards early reservations) * Free seating ( which encourages passengers to board early) * Direct, point to point flight with no transfer Flying to cheaper, less congested secondary airport * Short flights and fast turnaround times (allowing maximum utilization of planes) * â€Å"Free† in-flight catering and other â€Å"complimentary† services are eliminated, and replaced by optimal pai d-for-in-flight food and drink. 2. Simple Products A typical low cost airlines product is extremely basic. It focuses on getting passenger from point A to B, cutting all the â€Å"extras†. This means there are no meals, drinks and snacks served free on the board. In certain airlines, these may be purchased on request.The aircraft have Narrow seating to permit greater capacity. Low cost airlines offer all-economy flights with no additional space requirement for wider business class seating. This means more passengers can be accommodate on each sector. There are no facilities for seat allocations as this free-seating makes passenger’s board the flights early to get themselves a decent seat. The pricing structures of low cost airlines allow for no additional schemes or sales promotion activities, including frequent-flyers programmed. 3. PositioningThe low cost airlines the world over are known to target non-business passengers, leisure traffic and the price-conscious busi ness passenger segment. The low cost model works best on short-haul point-to-point traffic with high frequencies. These airlines have aggressive marketing strategies and complete with all transportation carriers, including the road and railway networks. Most western low cost airlines fly to secondary airports which are cheaper to land into. However, this is not yet option in India. 4. Low Operation CostsLow cost airlines have a very lean organization structure and operating costs are kept to the bare minimum with low wages (as crew/staff requirement are low and generally fresher’s are preferred), low airport fees, low cost for maintenance and cockpit training (as these are typically outsourced). There is no requirement for standby crews due to a homogeneous aircraft fleet. Low cost carriers aim at achieving high resource productivity. This is generally achieved due to short ground waits (as turnaround times are kept minimal due to simple boarding processes, no air freight, no hub services and short cleaning times).Selling cost is also minimized as high percentage (if not 100%) of ticket sales is generate online, eliminating the margin that would otherwise need to be passed on as commissions to travel agents. 2. 3 Competitive Advantages 2. 4AirAsia Assumption Assumption 1: it is assumed that AirAsia’s customers can still be satisfied and chose AirAsia’s services even if the company does not improve their customer service, as the level and factors of satisfaction differ amongst different customers.Mathematical, these three assumptions can be stated as: A3 = A2 + A1 Where A3 = Customer loyalty through improved services in AirAsia is dependent on; A2 = Customer (repurchase) behavior and; A1 = Customer satisfaction level based on previous experience. Assumption 2:  it is improvement of AirAsia’s customer services will result in improved customers satisfaction and preference for their services, but does not guarantee future repurchase i ntention, thus reducing the chances of customer retention and loyalty.Assumption 3: from the figure (3) above, it is assumed that an improvement in AirAsia’s customers services will enhance customers patronage (which can be measured by the number of repeat purchase and/or intention to repurchase) by improving customer’s experience with their services and enhancing their preference for AirAsia’s services compared to that of AirAsia’s competitors. 3. 0 SWOT Analysis Strengths * Air Asia has a very strong management team with strong links with governments and airline industry leaders.This is partly contributed by the diverse background of the executive management teams which consists of industry experts and ex-top government officials. For example, Shin Corp (formerly owned by the family of former Thai Prime Minister – Thaksin Shinawatra) holds a 50% stake in Thai Air Asia. This has helped Air Asia to open up and capture a sizeable market in Thailand. With their strong working relationship with Airbus, they managed to get big discount for aircraft purchase which is also more fuel efficient compared to Boeing 737 planes which is being used by many other airlines. The management team is also very good in strategy formulation and execution. The strategy that they have formulated at the beginnings was a clever blend of proven strategies by other low cost airlines is US and Europe. They are Ryanair’s operational strategy (no frills, landing in secondary airport), Southwest’s people strategy (employee comes first) and Easyjet’s branding strategy (linking with other service providers like hotels, car rental). * AirAsia is the low cost leader in Asia. With the help of AirAsia Academy, AirAsia has successfully created a â€Å"low-cost airline mentality† among their workforce.The workforce is very flexible and high committed and very critical in making AirAsia the lowest cost airline in Asia. * The excellent ut ilization of IT have directly contributed to their promotional activities (email alerts and desktop widget which was jointly developed with Microsoft for new promotions), brand building exercise (with over 3 million hits per month and on the most widely surfed booking engines in the world) as well keep the cost low by enabling direct purchase of tickets by consumer thus saving on airline agent fees. Weaknesses Air Asia does not have its own maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility. It may be a good strategy when they first started with only Malaysia as the hub and few planes to maintain. But now, with few hubs (Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia) and over 100 planes currently owned and about another 100 planes to be received in the next few years, AirAsia have to ensure proper and continuous maintenance of the planes which will also help to keep the overall costs low. It is a competitive disadvantage not to have its own MRO facility. * AirAsia receives lot complaints from ustom ers on their service. Examples of complaints are around flight delays, being charged for a lot of things and not able to change flight or get a refund if customers could not make it. Good customer service and management is critical especially when competition is getting intense. Opportunities * There are 2 major events that are taking place now or going to take place in less than 6 months from now. First is the ever increasing oil price. Second is the â€Å"ASEAN Open Skies† agreement that has been reached. * The increasing oil price at the first glance may appear like a threat for AirAsia.But being a low cost leader, AirAsia an upper hand because its cost will be still the lowest among all the regional airlines. Thus, AirAsia has a great opportunity to capture some of the existing customers of full service and other low cost airline’s customers. However, there will be also some reduction in overall travel especially by casual or budget travelers. * There is also some opportunity to partner with other low cost airlines as Virgin to tap into their existing strengths or competitive advantages such as brand name, landing rights and landing slots (time to land). The population of Asian middle class will be reaching almost 700 million by 2010. This creates a larger market and a huge opportunity for all low cost airlines in this region including AirAsia. Threats * Certain rates like airport departure, security charges and landing charges are beyond the control of airline operators and this is a threat to all airlines especially low cost airlines which tries to keep their cost as low as possible. For example, Changi airport in Singapore charges SGD21 for every person who departs from Singapore. AirAsia’s profit margin is about 30% and this has already attracted many competitors. Most of the full service airlines have or planning to create a low cost subsidiary to compete directly with AirAsia. For example, Singapore Airlines has created a low cos t carrier Tiger Airways. * Users’ perception that budget airlines may compromise safety to keep costs low. 3. 1 The AirAsia 5 Forces Porter Model Internal Rivalry According to the geographic and product market, Lion Air, Batavia Air, Mandala Air, SriwijayaIndonesia and even Garuda Indonesia are Air Asia’s competitors.They also provide cheap prices andnumerous flight routes in South Asia. All these flight companies compete in price except GarudaIndonesia which has a different strategy. As consumer of Garuda, they will get a value-added. Air Asiaclaims that they have no Admin fees but in reality, there are many additional fees which don’t exist inother flight companies. Which is free for some companies is not for other ones. For instance, customers canspeak about booking seats fees or luggage fees. This is definitely the price dimension which matters onthis specific market.Thus the firms struggle on their costs. For instance Air Asia is well-known for theconsidera ble development of its Information Technology. Thanks to the considerable use of the IT, theyget low costs and are then able to offer low prices. In Asian developing countries, the middle class isgrowing up. This creates huge opportunities for the airlines. The companies will have to fight to get somemarket shares because customers are not loyal and switch easily from one company to another. Barriers to Entry Brand awareness is quite important in this industry.To enter this industry not only is requiredhigh capital but also brand image. Most of the time consumers choose the product or service they reallytrust. New entrants have to create brand loyalty by making huge investments to establish their reputation. The government legislation is one of the barriers for entering airlines industry. Therefore it isvery difficult getting a new flight route from the government. If Air Asia doesn’t get any more flight-routes, it may affect their profit because they need to extend their net work. Hopefully Air Asia has always been close to the governments in South Asia.For instance in Thailand, Shin Corp formerly owned by thefamily of former Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, holds a 50% stake in Thai Air Asia. Thishelped Air Asia to open up and capture a sizeable market in Thailand. Government policies have limitednew entrances, which is a good thing for Air Asia because they are already settled on the market. Key inputs as technological know-how, raw materials, distribution or locations may also limit theaccess to the market. But when a company already established creates its own low cost firm, the key inputs are not a problem anymore.Tiger Airways which has been created by Singapore Airlines is one of the most dangerous competitors of Air Asia Supplier’s Power In airline industry, the power of suppliers is quite high. First there are only two major planessuppliers which are Airbus and Boeing. However both suppliers provide almost the same standardaircra fts, so that the possibility of consumers to switch is low. Moreover Air Asia ordered large amountsfrom Airbus in order to expand its routes to international routes. They built a strong relationship and Air Asia managed to get big discounts.Then Air Asia uses the fuel supplier (AVTUR) from Pertamina which prices are very sensitive. Itmay affect the ticket price. Moreover Air Asia, as Lion Air or Mandala, doesn’t use catering suppliers. They only offer snacks on flight and this is not for free. Lastly, Air Asia doesn’t have its ownmaintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility. If this was not a problem before when they only startedin Malaysia, now with three hubs and an important fleet of aircraft, it might be too expensive. Air Asiamust pay attention to this, not having its own MRO facility is a competitive disadvantage. Buyer’s PowerNowadays, buyers are much more informed and high-educated. That is why they are verysensitive to the price not matter the produc t or the service. Even if Air Asia always provides the lowest price to the costumer, they still will make a comparison between the different airlines. Besides it is veryeasy and costless for the customer to switch from one company to another one because many are offeringthe same service. Moreover Air Asia often gives a bad image to the costumers because of their chronicflight delays. People could choose for another company to be sure being on time. Substitutes and ComplimentsSometimes the consumer is not so much interested in the main product for some reasons. On thelow cost market, the main reason will be the price which he judges too expensive. Then he will look for substitutes. In the airline industry, we can meet two types of substitutes, the direct ones and the indirectones. If the customer is looking for transportation for a short distance, he can look for indirect substitutessuch as bus, train or ship. But travelling will take a longer time. He has to make a strategic choice between time and money. In Indonesia, the railroad industry is monopolized by PT. KAI so there is nocompetition.Regarding the bus and the ship, there are many companies so many choices. Some are the property of the government, some are private. If he is travelling on a longer distance, he will look for adirect substitute, that is to say other airlines. Teleconferencing and other type of business communicationsmay also be substitutes to air travel. Then they would affect the demand for airplanes. 3. 2 AirAsia Market Segments Market segmentation varies for each product but typically targets price oriented customers through their slogan â€Å"Now everyone can fly† Air Asia’s philosophy of low fares is aimed to make flying affordable for everyone.Air Asia also aims at making travel easy, convenient and fun for its guest. Full market coverage Products offered to customers cover all areas of a budget traveler. 3. 3 AirAsia 5 years Financial Highlights Appendix 4. 0 Reference s 1) History of AirAsia en. wikipedia. org/wiki/AirAsia 2) AirAsia’s vision, mission and objectives www. airasia. com/iwov†¦ /AirAsia/IR/AA%20Corporate%202007b. pdf 3) AirAsia value strategy announcements. bursamalaysia. com/†¦ /AIRASIA-†¦ 4) AirAsia business model en. wikipedia. org/wiki/No_frills 5) Competitive advantage www. academia. edu/†¦ AirAsia_The_Worlds_Lowest_Cost_Airline 6) Strategic directions http://www. scribd. com/doc/14214973/Air-Asia-Strategic-Analysis 7) Strategic assumptions http://www. iservices. ilokabenneth. com/research_proposal_AirAsia. html 8) SWOT analysis www. allfreepapers. com/Miscellaneous/Air-Asia/9363. html 9) 5 Forces model www. studymode. com/subjects/air-asia-porter's-five-forces-page1. html 10) AirAsia market segmentations www. scribd. com/doc/51874782/14/MARKET-SEGMENTS 11) AirAsia 5 years financial highlights www. airasia. com/my/en/about-us/ir-5-year-financial-highlights. page

Compare and Contrast two different architectural structures that have Essay

Compare and Contrast two different architectural structures that have similarities and differences - Essay Example The dome covers the 3025 m2 of the base and has a height of around 35 meters. The dome is decorated with tall spires and lotus design providing a blend of Persian architecture with Hindustani decorative element (DuTemple).i The spheres of the Sydney Opera House which form the roof of the structure are the most extravagant attribute of the building. The spheres depict the earliest advancements in structural engineering as the irregular shape of each sphere was subjected to numerous asymmetrical forces (Shofner). The amazing appearance of the spheres was achieved by covering them with glossy white and matte-cream colored tiles imported from Sweden. ii Although there is an evident difference between the ways the two structures appear, but the roof designs in the form of domes and spheres have marked similarities as well; both the structures have curved roofs with a pleasant white appearance. The marble domes of Taj Mahal were constructed using the traditional Mughal construction technique with massive brick scaffolding, whereas precast concrete members were used to construct the spheres of Opera House. The exterior and much of the interior of Taj Mahal has been decorated with gemstones embedded in bronze. Large calligraphy panelsiii run from ground up to the arches and Islamic calligraphic inscriptions have been manually inscribed on the stone panels with astonishing precision.iv The magnificent arches and the intricate jalis are the other outstanding features of the interior.v Interior of Taj Mahal is an exemplary piece of work of Mughal architecture, similarly the interior of Sydney Opera House with its plain and topaz tinted glass, birch plywood and aluminum panelsvi is a perfect depiction of modern architecture in which prime importance is given to the function of the building (Murray). Wood cladding has been used in much of the interior of the Opera House in order to

The pentagon papers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The pentagon papers - Essay Example Firstly, it came to be known that Nixon had sought a way to illegally discredit and outright stop Ellsberg during his first and only term as president. This understanding and realization was worth more than most people initially realized; due to the fact that the desire to stifle dissent and promote continued engagement in Vietnam was an issue that both political parties tacitly supported. Secondly, the impact upon society with respect to an understanding of democracy was one that encouraged people to question what the government actually was taking part in; no longer was allowing for the luxury of believing spokesmen with respect to the activities that were going on within the military or within governance. As such, the principal values that were eroded with respect to this situation can be determined to be predicated upon public trust in the government. Further, the impact upon the constitutional strength of the first amendment was also profound. The underlying reason for this has do to with the fact that even though individuals within the government originally sought to prosecute those responsible for the publication of these documents, any effort to do so was eventually understood as causing further damage to the administration. Similar to the situation of Edward Snowden, the ethical concern that is illustrated within this case, and within the film, had to do with the fact that publication of these documents was clearly an abrogation of the law (Freivogel, 2013). However, due to the number of individuals that continued to die in the Vietnam conflict each and every day, Ellsberg was faced with the ethical dilemma of whether or not the lies and fabrications that the government had thus far been responsible for warranted the unprecedented release of information. Ultimately, the answer that was determined was that the loss of trust a nd outright lies that the US government had been peddling for nearly 8 years was

Assignemnt in Communication in the 21st Century Essay

Assignemnt in Communication in the 21st Century - Essay Example Internet has redefined the communication with its far reaching implications. The phenomenal growth in the internet user database has not only necessitated formulation of new strategies and policies that would entail active participation of the people, it has also revolutionized the concept of selling by bringing the goods directly to the individuals’ home or office. Effective communication at all levels of office hierarchy is crucial for the challenges and productive outcome of the visionary goals of the organization. Communication through electronic mail or e-mail, as it is popularly known, has made it easier to disseminate information among office staff of various branches, thereby, making it easy for the management to keep them informed regarding every aspects of organizational vision, mission and daily progress. It is a fast and efficient tool of communication leading to quality management. Creation of bulletin board in official sites has become an effective organizational strategy encouraging frank discussion and reactions to company’s decisions and policies. These electronic boards have become extremely popular medium of assessing organizational progress and at the same time, they have been used to solve employee’s grievances in a more democratic manner. This has helped improved working relationship among the people and making cross cultural adjustments easier. One of the boons of internet has been the real time presentation or virtual conferencing which has emerged as an important feature of the internet. It facilitates virtual boardroom discussions with people who might be at different places in the world. Online conferencing is being widely used in medical area where specialists from various fields get together to perform virtual surgeries as well as interact directly with the patients thus eliminating the need for personal interaction. It has become a very cost effective and time efficient tool

A day in the life of Alex Sander Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A day in the life of Alex Sander - Case Study Example ndon, the 360-degree feedback is used as a confidential and anonymous system where the employees receive the feedback from the people who works with them. The people who provide the feedback at Landon consists of the employees in the downward hierarchy, the upward hierarchy and the peer groups and also the outsiders directly involved with the activities at Landon. From the sample of feedback form in the case, it seems that around ten to twelve people are embraced in the entire process of feedback. Every person providing the feedback is required to fill up an anonymous feedback form that involves a number of areas in the competencies at workplace. The anonymous form asks the participants to put their views on the form according to certain rated areas. The areas are the greatest strengths of the employees and those that require further developments in the workplace. The participants are also asked to cite examples of instances that can provide evidence to their comments. The person who receives feedback from the people in the organization is also needed to fill a self-rating form where the rating areas remain the same as that of others. The completely filled feedback forms are handed over to the employees and after the employees go through the form once, they are asked to meet their boss for counseling. 1.2 Mode of Using the 360-Degree Feedback The appraisal system of 360-degree feedback should be primarily used by the companies for fulfilling the following objectives: 1.2.1 Help Employees to Become More Effective The 360-degree feedback should be used as a tool of development for helping the employees in recognizing their strengths and weaknesses so that they can focus more on the strengths and reduce or remove the weaknesses for becoming more effective in achieving their assigned goals. If the appraisal can be done properly, it acts as a highly effective tool for development, both for the employees as well as for the companies as a whole. The process should be used in a way that provides the people an opportunity for citing feedback to the performance of their co-workers. The recipients of the feedback should be accordingly provided proper motivation so that they can excel in their jobs. 1.2.2 Measure Employee Performance The appraisal format should focus more on the competencies and behaviors of the employees rather than on the basic skills, objectives of performance and requirements of the job. This approach should be followed because these attributes of the employees are best observed and addressed by peers and managers as a part of the performance review and appraisal process annually. It is possible through the technique to review the management performance more appropriately. The 360-degree appraisal system should be used with proper and clear communication of the entire process to the employees. Solution to the Question No: 2 2.1 Behaviors of Alex that had Greater Impact on the Data of 360-Degree The people who are working under th e supervision of Alex Sander perceived his nature differently. This is because of the fact that Alex was dedicated towards his works and had consistently shown aggression in every job that he performed. But according to his peers, upward colleagues and downward colleagues, at certain times, his dedication takes the form of violence and this is the reason that Alex has received

Labor Economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Labor Economics - Research Paper Example No matter how effective the human resource managers are in the selection and recruitment process, it appears that they still have to invest in employee training to optimize employee productivity. The essence of this article is to carry out an analysis of the two sources of employee knowledge and to provide a fact-based reaction on the same. Employee training refers to the provision of extra education to employees after the recruitment process as a way of enhancing their productivity by equipping them with knowledge that is relevant to the organizational activities. On the other hand, on-school training refers to the kind of knowledge that potential employees gain in school depending on the subjects and the topics they pursue in part of their career specialization. Most economists have failed to reach a concession on which of the two is more effective or which would be more beneficial to the organization in terms of profit turnover. Dostie (2008) is one of the researchers who have eng aged in an empirical research to investigate the effectiveness of the two sources of employee knowledge. The findings of her research indicate that there is a particular advantage in obtaining employees with proper school training rather than investing on on-job-training. It is indisputable to appreciate that each of the two types of training has its pros and cons and as it seems both are important to the firm. In supporting school training, Dostie (2008) points out that the subjects provided in school are optimized and are best suited for diversified for job opportunities. Consequently, employees will have a good background that will enhance their productivity while in the employment sector. In addition, employees who have adequate training will require little adapting to various work environments much quicker and hence reach the expected production rate almost after they are assimilated in the company. However, the major weakness in school trained employees is that they have littl e diversified knowledge while companies have specific operational activities that may be unique from one organization to the other. In short, although school training outputs an effective labor force, they may have shortfalls in terms of specialization and work orientation. On the other hand, the on-job-training is efficient in orienting new employees to the specific tasks that they are supposed to undertake in an organization. The strength of worker training lies in its ability to model the employees to fit their job description more efficiently and quickly whose cumulative effect is to improve their productivity. However, Dostie (2008) points out that employee training consume a lot of company capital that cannot be recovered by the impact of the process on employee productivity. From this point of view, on-job-training may have a negative impact on the turnover value of the company, which is contrary to the company’s aim of effecting this strategy (Goux & Maurin 12). In es sence, employee productivity can only be measured from their net contribution to the revenue turnover of the firm at the end of the fiscal year rather than their gross production rate. The main goal of any organization is to achieve maximum profits by optimizing employee productivity and minimizing the expenditure in terms of either salary or other priced business operations. The graph below

Walt Disney Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Walt Disney Company - Research Paper Example From Mickey Mouse series to Silly Symphony, Walt Disney, the founder, continued to foster a culture of creativity and innovation and his precision which lead the company to become one of the most successful and diversified corporations (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). From the success of animated cartoons, which won various Academy awards, the company soon developed related merchandise and initiated another stream of revenue that was followed by a new venture in action films including Treasure Islands and the television show during Christmas time. After the death of Walt, his vision was articulately carried on by his brother Roy, who carried out construction of the Disney land theme park as envisioned by his brother, on the 28,000 acres of land he had purchased in Florida and was later opened in Tokyo and Paris. After Roy’s death the company was then taken over by Card Walker, Donn Tatum and Ron Miller, all of which were initially trained by the Disney Brothers (DATAMONITOR, 2 011). The Disney Company then initiated its Disney channel in 1983 featured by Touchstone Pictures, its film label. The company remained under hostile pressures for takeover in early 1980s as its stocks remained undervalued and was eventually taken over by a new management. Soon after the Disney movies took a toll and collaborations with the filmmakers including George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola resulted in the opening of Splash Mountain. The company then expanded further to include luxury resorts in its portfolio. Establishment of Hollywood Records, stage production with Beauty and Beast, cruise line business were some of the more developments that took place (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). One of the most prominent events was Disney’s $19 billion acquisition of Capital Cities (ABC Network). This acquisition, the second largest in the United States, not only resulted in 10 TV station, 7 daily newspapers and 21 radio stations but also enabled Disney to own positions in t he cable networks including Lifetime, History Chanel, A&E and ESPN, which alone is worth $19billion today. Another important acquisition came in 2006 when Robert Iger, the then CEO of the company, decided to acquire Pixar Animation, a creative powerhouse which became one of the most successful partnerships in Disney’s history. The intensive growth strategy of Disney continued in 2009 when it acquired Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4.24 billion (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). Company Portfolio; Operations and Major Holdings The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate of the world, with extensive operations in more than 40 countries around the world with its headquarters in Burbank, California United States. In terms of its size, Walt Disney has been recognized as one of the largest companies of the world by Fortune 500 with a total number of employees amounting to 144,000 as per the year 2011. The stockholder’s equity amounted to a whopping $33,734 millio n (DATAMONITOR, 2011). Disney has a diversified portfolio and its major holdings have continued to increase over time. Walt Disney Motions Picture Group is one of flagship holdings that are also one of the best studios of Hollywood. It acquired ABC network along with its broadcasting television and radio stations. Walt

Managing Job Design and Flexibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managing Job Design and Flexibility - Essay Example   Right from the data collection and analytics of job information to incorporating dynamics into static job design documents, several challenges mar the success of job design as a useful management tool in today’s competitive environment. Impartial ratings by supervisors and non-familiarity on the part of incumbents worsen the effectiveness of job design. As a result, HR practitioners have to rethink the ways of job design in terms of various approaches which include all the essential components of work as well as worker characteristics. Background Flexibility and innovation have been the talk of the town lately in business. With the introduction of new activities every day in business practices, it has become a pre-requisite to change the structure and contents of jobs so as to make them compatible with the current job demands. This feat encounters numerous challenges and hurdles in terms of analytical hiccups and consensus building between people supplying information for job designs. As such, identification and removal of such shortcomings in the inception stages of job design are crucial to the human resources and organizational success. This paper allows making an attempt into finding out what challenges or threats are posed in front of HR practitioners when job design is the task. The discussion extends further to recommend the choices which these HR practitioners can adopt in tackling those challenges. The paper will commence with an introduction of job design and its components. Factors affecting job design have also been discussed in brevity to equip the reader with a thorough understanding of the background and enable him to correlate the recommendations well with the initial problem. Challenges of job design in terms of static job analysis output documents, more emphasis of a job designing on work rather than the worker, behavioral challenges in job design, reliability and validity issues in data collection techniques and the trade-off betwe en generalist and specific work design have been elaborated upon in detail. The four approaches to job design will form the basis of knowledge and future comparison for recommendations. Findings Objective of the paper The objective of the assignment is to delve deep into the job design aspect of human resource management by identifying and elaborating upon its probable challenges and available remedies to handle those challenges. Building upon the basic knowledge of job design, the primary task is to critically examine the topic of job design by highlighting how it has become ineffective and obsolete in today’s business scenario.  

Hair-hashish thesis and analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hair-hashish thesis and analysis - Assignment Example The lyrics demonstrate the perception held by people on drug use and scene as well as the counter dissociative culture in the sixties. In the song, Hair Cast talks about drug use among the generation and addresses the revolution. The drug problem has been intensively addressed as a proliferation in the community of all mood altering, illicit and physically dangerous drugs. The drugs also lead to problems such as crime, threat of crime, disease, violence, loss of productivity, growing number of users in welfare of the public, over-crowding of the penal institutions, congestion of court system, diversion of tax from productive areas, erosion of our civil rights, and corruption of law enforcement agencies. Hair Cast in â€Å"Hashish† song, addresses the theme of drug scene through the aspects involved such as remorseful mood and depressed tone featured in the lyrics. In summary, this research paper will be carried out through listening to the song and researching two other sources which will be cited properly in the paper. The paper will consider addressing the themes of the song in detail and illustrate how the aspects of the song such as tone and lyrics represent the mentioned

Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Essay Example for Free

Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Essay Introduction There is a thin line between fact and fiction.   This is particularly true in Tim O’Brien’s THE THINGS THEY CARRIED.   Tim O’Brien expertly dealt with words as he described the atrocities of war in this book. Tim OBriens The Things They Carried goes beyond the usual fare of war fiction. As a matter of fact it goes beyond fiction despite the fact that the author labeled it as a work of fiction on the title page.    The book is an amalgamation of several genres – a memoir, a novel, and a collection of short stories. O’Brien’s genius lies in the fact that he turns fiction into something real so much so that the demarcation of fiction and fact in this story is hardly noticeable. You can never tell when the fact ended and the imagination begins.   There is a subtle intertwining of fact and fiction that hooks the reader into reading further.    The story may be fiction but the emotions, tragedies and lives behind the story are real. So real in fact, anybody can relate to them. I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth. Chapter 18, pg. 179. This is a telling part of the story as Tim O’Brien relates how he wants the truth to come out not as the way other people seen it but the way he does.   His own version of the truth is what matters to him. Truly, facts could sometimes be stranger than fiction. Analysis The first-person narrator of this book is named after the author, Tim OBrien.   Tim is both a writer and combat veteran of the Vietnam War. The war fiction is not about the usual war story where gory tales of hatcheted bodies and non-stop killings abound. Instead, one finds a certain attachment to the characters as O’Brien skillfully narrates the emotional and psychological impact of war on them.   OBrien shows the true nature of the soldiers of the Vietnam War not as fearless soldiers but as young men and boys who are inexperienced and frightened in a strange land.   Even O’Brien is not spared from fear of going to war. My conscience told me to run, but some irrational and powerful force was resisting, like a weight pushing me toward the war. What it came down to, stupidly, was a sense of shame. Chapter 4, pg. 52. In this part of the story, Tim contemplated on how he was indecisive about being drafted for the war.   The character Tim OBrien reacts to his draft notice by going to the Canadian border and spends six days in a isolated lodge in the company of an old man named Elroy while he debates on whether he should evade the draft or accept it and go to war. In the end, he decided to go to war not so much he believes in it but more so because he does not want to put his family to shame. It is largely compelling, emotional and even humorous.   It gives a human face to the war as opposed to a mere narrative. OBrien explores the things they carried both figuratively and literally through the intermittent narration of the lives, even death, of the soldiers comprising the Alpha Company. OBrien masterfully recounts the emotions going through a soldier during unforgettable moments of his life: his feelings when drafted, his guilt when forced to kill an enemy, his shock at seeing friends or fellow soldiers killed in action and the gnawing feeling of homesickness. The plot is simple but told several times through different characters point of view, making it appear more complex than it seems. The book has its light and humorous moments though as depicted in the story the Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong.   O’Brien, the author, knows exactly the perfect order of stories to attain the best effect, whether as a stand-alone story or to augment other stories.   Tim has a way of relating stories that catches the reader by surprise like this one: Speaking of Courage was written in 1975 at the suggestion of Norman Bowker, who three years later hanged himself in the locker room of a YMCA in his hometown in central Iowa. (Page 155) Love is one of the motivating factor for Tim’s need to tell the story. It had all the shadings and complexities of mature adult love, and maybe more, because there were not yet words for it, and because it was not yet fixed to comparisons or chronologies or the ways by which adults measure such things. I just loved her. Chapter 22, pg. 228. Tim O’Brien, the character professes his love for a girl when they were little. In the end, Tim admitted that his penchant for telling stories and why he needs to do it as he relates his life to the soldiers.   Im skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmys life with a story. Chapter 22, pg. 246. In this quote, Tim tells of his need to tell stories. He knows it can bring the dead loved ones back to life, as if they are still with us. The soldiers do this to shield them from painful memories of losing a friend or killing a person. Tim, the character, tells stories since he was a child, when he lost the first girl he ever loved to brain tumor. The stories may change –characters, places, and events but the storyteller keeps the memories alive. These multiple narratives seem complex even at times confusing but OBrien once again manages to pull this off perfectly. â€Å"The Things They Carried† is a moving, heart-rending tale of the men in Vietnam War and the emotional and psychological baggage they carried, which leave them scarred for life, because of it. Work Cited: O’Brien, Tim. 29 Dec. 1998. The Things They Carried. Amazon. Accessed on 10, January 2007 http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Carried-Tim-OBrien/dp/0767902890.

Introduction To Disaster Management

Introduction To Disaster Management Disasters are seen as the effect of hazards on vulnerable areas. Hazards that occur in areas with low vulnerability do not result in a disaster. Great damage, loss, destruction and devastation to life and property are the results of Disasters. The immeasurable damage caused by disaster varies with the geographical location. In the concerned areas disasters have the following effects: It completely upsets the normal day to day life. Harmfully persuade the emergency systems Depending on the intensity and severity of the disaster the normal needs and processes are badly affected and deteriorated. Disasters are the effect of hazard on vulnerable or defenseless areas. Hazards that occur in areas with low vulnerability do not result in a disaster. 1.1.2 Types of Disasters: Disasters can be classified as: Natural disaster Human-Made disaster 1) Natural Disasters: Natural disasters are the result of biological, geological, seismic, hydrologic or meteorological conditions. They are a threat to, people, structures and economic assets Few examples are: Earthquake Cyclones Hurricanes Floods Landslides 2) Human-Made Disasters: Human-made disasters are Emergency situations which are the results of deliberate human actions. They involves situations in which people suffers casualties, losses of basic services and means of livelihood. Few examples are: Oil Spill An airplane crash War Civil strife Major fire 1.1.3 Difference between EMERGENCY and DISASTER situations: A situation in which community is CAPABLE of coping is EMERGENCY. Emergency situations are generated by a real occurrence of events that require immediate attention of emergency resources. A situation in which community is INCAPABLE of coping is DISASATER. Disaster situations are natural or human-caused events which causes severe negative impact on community. 1.2 WHAT IS A HAZARD? 1.2.1 Definition: Hazard is a chance or possibility of being injured or harmed. OR Hazard is the possibility of laying yourself open to loss or misfortune. Hazards can be classified into two Modes: Dormant Mode Active Mode 1) Dormant Mode: The situation that has the potential to be hazardous, but no people, or environment is currently affected by this. For example: An unstable hillside, has a potential for a landslide but there is nothing below or on the hillside that could be affected. 2) Active Mode: An incident in which hazard has actually occurred, creating an Emergency situations or Disasters. Classification of Hazards: Hazard can also be classified as: Natural Hazard Man-Made Hazard Natural Hazard: Definition: These hazards are caused by a natural process. Examples of some Natural hazards are: 1) Volcanic Eruptions: Ashes and different toxic gases are expelled through volcanoes from deep inside the earth 2) Droughts: A part of a land suffers from lack of rain during specific period of time which causes severe damage to the crops, soil, animals and people also. 3) Tsunamis: Very large waves which caused by an Earthquake, Volcanic eruptions smashes into a shore. 1.2.4 Man-made Hazard: Definition: These hazards are created by humans. Examples of some Man-Made hazards are: Global Warming: Projected increases in the Earths atmospheres average temperature. In the 20th century the Earths average temperature rose about 0.6 degree Celsius. Crime: It is a kind of Sociological hazard. Crime is a breach of laws and rules. For example Breach of contract. Industrial Hazard: It is a kind of Technological hazard. Industrial hazards often have an environmental impact. For example Bhopal Disaster ( worst industrial disaster to date). 1.3 VULNERABILITY, CAPACITY AND RISK: 1.3.1 Vulnerability: Definition: Susceptibility of a person, group or society to physical or emotional injury. OR Person or group liable to injury. As far as Hazards and Disasters are concern, the concept of Vulnerability is to link the relationship that people have with their environment to social forces and institutions and the cultural values that sustain them. 1.3.2 Capacity: Definition: Within a community all the available resources, that can reduce risk level and disaster effects. Frequent term used in Disaster is Capacity building. Capacity building is the efforts to develop human skills within a community to reduce risk levels. 1.3.3 Risk: Definition: Occurrence probability of a hazard that trigger a disaster with an undesirable outcome. Risk involves an exposure to a chance injury or loss. Risk generally described in terms of probability. Risk can also be defined as the probability of a loss, risk depends on three elements: Hazard Vulnerability Exposure 1.4 DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE: 1.4.1 What is Disaster Management? Main idea: To prevent disasters wherever possible or to mitigate or lessen those disasters which are inevitable. Through Public awareness and Hazard management disasters could be prevented or mitigated. 1.4.2 What is Disaster Management cycle? Definition: Disaster Management Cycle is a cycle which has phases to reduce or prevent disasters. It is a cyclic process it means the end of one phase is the beginning of another phase, although next phase can be started before the completion of previous phase. Some times several phases are taking place concurrently. During each phase, timely decision making can results in greater preparedness, better warnings, and prevent further disasters. The complete Disaster Management cycle includes the shaping of public policies and plans that addresses the causes of disasters and lessening their effects on people, property and infrastructure. 1.5 PHASES OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE: Disaster Management Cycle has four phases: Phase 1- Mitigation Phase 2 Preparedness Phase 3 Response Phase 4 Recovery 1.5.1 Phase 1 Mitigation: 1.5.1.1 Goal: The Goal of Mitigation activities is to get rid of or reduce the disaster occurrence probability, or to mitigate the effects of unavoidable disasters. Definition: Mitigation refers to all actions taken before a disaster to minimize its impacts. Example: Public education Building codes and zoning Mitigation includes: Reviewing building codes Zoning and land-use management Implementing preventative health measures There are two types of Mitigation activities: Structural Mitigation: It refers to constructing projects to reduce economic and social impacts. Non-structural mitigation: They are the policies which raise awareness of hazards. Non-structural mitigation activities also encourage developments to lessen disaster impact. Through Mitigation we can educate businesses and public in order to reduce loss or injury. At home Mitigation activities: In your home Strengthening vulnerable areas such as roof tops, exterior doors and windows. In your home build a safe room. 1.5.2 Phase 2 Preparedness: 1.5.2.1 Goal: The goal of Preparedness activities is: for any emergency situation, achieve a satisfactory level of readiness through programs that support the technical capacity of government. 1.5.2.2 Definition: Preparedness activities are the Plans/preparations made to save lives or property. 1.5.2.3 Preparedness includes: Implementation/operation Systems of early warning. Preparedness plans Emergency exercises Emergency communication systems Public education Through early warning systems people will react appropriately when any early warning is issued. Preparedness actions depend upon the incorporation of suitable measures for development plans at national and regional level. To save lives and minimize disaster damage, individuals, government and organization develop plans and this all is done in Preparedness phase. 1.5.2.4 Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Mitigation: Disaster mitigation and Disaster Preparedness go hand in hand. To ensure that existing infrastructure can withstand the forces of disaster, disaster preparedness includes implementation of mitigation measures. 1.5.3 Phase 3 Response: 1.5.3.1 Goal: The goal of Response is to give instant assistance to maintain life, improve health and hold up the morale of affected population. 1.5.3.2 Disaster Response includes: Assisting refugees with transport. Give temporary shelter and food. Establish semi permanent settlement in camps. Repairing damage infrastructure. The basic needs of people are more focused in Response phase until permanent solutions can be found. 1.5.4 Phase 4 Recovery: 1.5.4.1 Goal: To help people restoring their lives and infrastructure as soon as possible. 1.5.4.2 Types of Recovery Activities: Recovery activities can be: Short term recovery activities Long term recovery activities Until all system return to normal or better, recovery activities continues. 1.5.4.3 Recovery activities in disasters include: Building Temporary housing. Public information. Educating public about Health and safety education. Concealing programs for people. Reconstruction Economic impact studies From recovery to long-term sustainable development there should be smooth transition. DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: 1.6.1 EMS: EMS is the acronym for Emergency Management System. EMS can facilitate the effective management of Disasters. Information Technology can improve the system of Disaster Management and support all the phases of the DMC (Disaster Management Cycle) 1.6.2 PHASE I: Mitigation and Prevention: To reduce the impact of disasters, effective Disaster Management plays a key role. Disaster Management uses different effective technological tools to help the process of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. For example: Tracking system: the cargo of Hazard Management (HAZMAT) can be track by advance Vehicle-mounted hardware and when shipment carrying Hazardous materials deviates from its route centers of Disaster Management issues notification to management centers. Inventory systems: For any emergency situations Inventory Systems ensures that the suffient supplies are available. It monitors the inventory levels of important equipment and supplies and maintain the record of important supplies on regular basis in form of Databases. Detection: For detecting and monitoring the hazardous cargo, Roadside Detectors are used. These Roadside detectors also confirm that cargo is not deviating for its route. 1.6.3 PHASE II: Preparedness: Preparedness deals with the development of plans before any emergency or disastrous situations. Emergency management system helps Phase II of DMC via technological services like: Telemedicine: It is a connection between ambulances which are responding and emergency medical facilities available very near. By using telemedicine doctors can give advices to medical personnel for the treatment of those patients who are on the way to hospital. Advanced ACN: Advanced ACN is the acronym for Advanced automated collision notification. They inform emergency personnel through vehicle mounted sensors and wireless communication about incidents like collisions or crashes. They also tell the incidents exact location and characteristics. 1.6.4 PHASE III and IV: Response and Recovery: To provide immediate help or assistance to the population affected by disasters is the Goal of Response Phase. While the Goal of Recovery Phase is the restoration of peoples live as soon as possible after the disaster or any emergency situation. Emergency management System with the help of Technology can help the Response and Recovery phases through different systems and software like: Scheduling and Coordination software: In order to make the response process organized, structured and efficient complicated scheduling system can monitor and coordinate many response activities. Early Warning System: In transportation infrastructure a vast variety of sensors are used which provide an early warning systems. This early warning system used to detect large-scale disasters and emergencies and also man-made disaster or technological disaster. Large-scale disasters include earthquakes, tsunamis etc and man-made or t echnological disasters include HAZMAT incidents, act of terrorism, nuclear power plant accidents. Response management: Emergency vehicle fleets can be track by Response management by using the technology of Automated vehicle location (AVL) and two-way communication between dispatchers and emergency vehicles. Chapter No:2 TYPES OF DISASTERS: 2.1 INTRODUCTION: According to [11] CRED (Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disaster), Belgium, defines Disaster as: A disaster is a situation or event which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to a national or international level for external assistance OR Disaster is also defined as Great damage, loss or destruction results from a sudden catastrophic event. Many [11] different types of events like weather or earths geology are represented by Disasters. There exist a close association between a disaster and extreme weather events like cyclones, floods, tornadoes etc. The database of disaster events are maintained by CRED. It maintained the disaster events from 1900 to present. Possible causes of increment in disasters: There [11] are many causes for increase in disasters but some common causes are as under: Environmental changes related to economic development may affect the potential for disasters. Change of Global climate from the build-up of greenhouse gases may lead to a greater frequency of extreme weather events (heat waves) in the future, as well as sea level rise. Several existing coastlines may be threatened in this event. Industrialization without controls may increase the risk for technological disasters. Consumption of fossil fuels with industrialization. 2.1.1 What are the Types of Disasters? Disasters can [1] be broadly classified according to their: Causes Natural or Man-made disaster Speed of onset Sudden or Slow Earthquakes, Cyclones, Tsunamis are the examples of Natural disasters. The two most common examples of Man-made disasters are The Bhopal gas release and the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Forest fires (initiated by man) may be another example. There can be a sudden onset or slow onset of disaster. Sudden or Quick onset of disaster means they can occur suddenly in time and slow onset of disaster means they may develop over a period of time or gradually. 2.2 NATURAL DISASTES: 2.2.1 Definition: Natural [1] disaster occurs naturally in proximity to, and pose a threat to people, structures or economic asserts. They are caused by biological, geological conditions or processes in the natural environment for example cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods etc. Few examples of Natural disasters are: Earthquake Tsunamis Flood Cyclone Now I will discuss above Natural disasters. 2.2.2 Earthquake: Earthquake is the vibration of earths surface due to underground movements. Earthquakes also called as tremor or temblor. Sudden release of energy in the earths crust leads to a natural disaster called Earthquake. This sudden release of energy waves are called as seismic waves. Epicenter of earthquake is called as the origin point of these seismic waves. Among the most unpredictable natural disasters people can experience, Earthquake is the one. During earthquakes tens of thousands of people are put in danger. Some International Statistics of Earthquake: More than half a million deaths worldwide caused by Earthquake between 1999 and 2009. Each year more than one million Earthquakes occur worldwide. Measurement of Earthquake: To measure the size of an Earthquake there are many ways. Some of these ways depend upon the damaged amount caused by the Earthquake and some depend upon seismic energy generated by the earthquake. To measure earthquake there are two scales which are very popular: Seismographs Richter scale Seismographs: Seismic waves are generated by Earthquakes these waves can be detected by a sensitive instrument called Seismograph. Nowadays Digital seismographs are high-technology seismographs which can record ground shaking over seismic amplitude and covers broad band of frequencies that is why they are also called as Broadband Seismograph.The study of Seismograph is called as Seismology. Richter scale: Earthquakes intensity and magnitude can be represented by Richter scale. If the intensity of earthquake is 3 on a Richter scale then that earthquake is not harmful. Extremely harmful earthquake has the reading of 7 or above on the Richter scale. Nowadays modified versions of Richter scales are used for earthquake measurement throughout the world. Richter scale is also called as Richter magnitude scale because it measures the magnitude of earthquake. 2.2.3 Tsunami: Ocean [1] wave generated by submarine earthquake, powerful volcanic eruption or underwater landslide is called Tsunami. Tsunami [12] often generated by earthquake in a subduction zone (an area where an oceanic plate is being forced down into the mantle by plate tectonic forces). Tsunami also called as seismic sea wave. Sudden Large displacement of water causes Tsunami. Tsunami travels at a great speed across the open ocean and builds into large deadly waves in a shallow water of a shoreline. Tsunamis consist of multiple waves with an extremely low period and wavelength. The [1] largest earthquake event recorded in Samoa was on 26 June 1917, measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale. The event originated in Tonga (approximately 200km south of Apia) and it triggered a tsunami of 4 to 8 metre run-ups in Satupaitea, Savaii. The tsunami arrived less than ten (10) minutes from its point of origin, meaning it travelled at a speed of more than 1,000km/hr. Hence, when an earthquake occurs, you must listen to the tsunami warning, for example, people living in low-lying coastal areas must relocate to higher and safer grounds immediately. Tsunami speed: Tsunami in a pacific ocean can travel at speeds up to 450mph (half of the speed of sound). The height of Tsunami waves are about 30 to 100 feets. Damage caused by Tsunami: Substantial [13] amount of damage can be caused by Tsunamis. Entire coastal villages can be destroyed by a single Tsunami. It can remove all the sand from the beach sand which took hundred of years to accumulate. Safety: The approach [13] of Tsunami can be determined by many technological methods but nature has its own methods of warning people. If in a certain area the coastal water is abnormally high or low, then this is the warning for Tsunami. 2.2.4 Floods: Flood occurs when [1] large amount of water flow from river or from broken pipe onto a previously dry area. The origin of flood can be very [11] quick or they may develop over a period of days or weeks following an extended period of rain or quick melting of snow. Flash flood have sudden onset. Drowning is the main hazard from flooding. This is most common in flash flood. The common risk factor for flash flood victims is driving in an automobile, many victims of flash flood drown within their vehicle. Health concern from flooding: A longer [11] term health concern from flooding is the development of disease from inundated sanitation stations. Large floods pose a hazard to existing sanitation and drinking water systems. Importance of Flooding: For [1] local ecosystem, flooding can be environmentally important. For example some river floods bring nutrients to soil such as in Egypt where the annual flooding of the Nile River carries nutrients to otherwise dry land. Flood also affect economy. How to mitigate impact of flood: pre-event [11] measures: early warning for flash flood events public education on flood hazards like automobile driving post-event measures: maintaining proper sanitation system proper control of population 2.2.5 Cyclones: Chapter no 3 THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT: INTRODUCTION: The Advanced Information Technology plays a great role in planning and implementation of different measures for the reduction of hazards. The advanced information technology includes: GIS Remote Sensing Satellite Communication Internet The quality and analysis power of natural hazards can be update by Geographic Information System (GIS). In the selection of mitigation measures GIS can direct development activities. The identification of hazardous areas and before time warning for many future disasters can be done by Remote Sensing Communication satellites contribute a lot to provide communication in emergency situations and timely relief measures. For hazard reduction the addition of space technology inputs into monitoring of natural disasters and mechanisms of mitigation is very important 3.2 WHAT IS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: The management of emergencies concerning all hazards, including all activities and risk management measures related to prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Emergency management can rebuild and restore society back to functional level in no time after a disaster. The basic purpose of emergency management is to: 1) Save as many lives as possible 2) To protect and preserve the environment 3) To protect the economy 3.2.1 Emergency Management System: Definition: It is a technological tool used to improve and enhance the Emergency Disaster Management. Emergency management system can help Disaster Management in several areas, such as: Materials: To ensure that the warehouse is stock with all the items needed for national survival in any disaster, before any overseas help arrival. Manpower: In first aid and shelter management train personnel. Evacuation Plans: Testing of General disaster and Evacuation plan. Communication: To establish reliable Communication system. Transportation: To establish effective Transportation plans for example transportation through air which facilitates the food delivery supplies process to the victims of affected areas which are cut-off from any vehicular traffic. Examples of Emergency Management System at work: Management of Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT): By means of Air, Sea and Land, EMS provides secure transportation of dangerous and hazardous materials. EMS uses special devices for tracking the shipment of HAZMAT. Emergency medical services: EMS notifies the emergency personnel with important and valuable information on emergency incidents. For example EMS is equipped with automated collision notification system to detect vehicle collision. Recovery and Response: EMS has efficient Sensors which can detect natural disasters and warn population before hand. IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT, APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Through Information Technology the suffering of the disaster victims can be minimized. There are several tools of Information Technology which are useful in the management of any disaster. In this Report I am focusing the following Information Technology tools used in Disaster Management: Geographic Information System (GIS) Remote Sensing Global Positioning System (GPS) 3.3.1 GIS in Disaster Management: 3.3.1.1 Introduction: GIS is the acronym for Geographic Information System. For Disaster Management GIS can work in many ways, such as: They are the kind of information system which are well capable of storing, integrating, analyzing, editing, sharing, and displaying the information which is geographically-referenced. GIS can create the interactive queries, edit data and different maps and can easily present the final results of all these operations. The quality and power of analysis of assessments of natural hazards can be improved by GIS. In the selection of mitigation measures, emergency preparedness and response action, GIS also guide and assist different development activities. Applications of GIS: For the following activities GIS applications are very useful. Creation of hazard inventory map: At all the district and inter-municipal levels, the developmental projects pre-feasibility study can be very efficiently done by GIS. To locate important facilities: Through GIS we can take information on physical locations of drains, shelters and other physical facilities. Management and Creation of associated Database: Planners can make projects at feasibility level. These projects can used to make risk maps for existing cities, disaster preparedness planning and relief activities after disaster. Vulnerability assessment: To expand Disaster Management organizations by creating awareness of disaster with government and public is done by innovative and interactive technology tool GIS. Emergency shelters and the use of GIS: Shelter [1] operators use GIS technology to take the personal details of persons being housed at the shelters. GIS technology would also give information to the shelter operators on the general makeup of the shelter like that how many children, adults, disable or any special occupant are in the shelter or need shelter. Relief Distribution and the use of GIS: GIS generate maps of the affected areas where bunch of victims are located then with the help of these maps food drops processes will take place. These maps will also identify the unique needs of persons within these bunches. Vulnerable areas: The areas which are prone to disasters are highlighted by GIS. This will help the disaster managers to do planning before the occurrence of disaster and it also facilitates the coordination of efforts during and after the event. GIS Advantages: There are more advantages of GIS than challenges. Some GIS advantages are as under: It can [1] represent spatial information over a wide geographic area. To take more detailed view of contents GIS uses 3D graphics. Integration of different information of geo-spatial can be facilitated by GIS. Information of geo-spatial includes maps, models and other forms of graphics. GIS distributes updated informaton. It also efficiently analyzes, collects and manage that information. For individuals who wants to use GIS only little tranning is required. This feature of GIS makes it versatile and easy to use. 3.3.1.4 Challenges of using GIS in Disaster Management: GIS [1] can sometimes reveal personal and people-specific information which can significantly affect peoples life. Form GIS information sometimes vital and hard decisions have to be taken in the best interest of affected people. To get the output which is meaningful and useful from the system, large amounts of inputs are required. GIS delayed the decision making process during emergency because it require huge amount of information and vast amount of time to analyze that information. Disaster Management Cycle and GIS: Planning: To [1] realize the need for planning which is based on the present risk is the most important stage of DM. For forward planning GIS plays a key role. GIS provides a structure for disaster managers to view spatial data by computer based maps. Mitigation: For structural and non-structural mitigation, GIS can play very important role. Areas which are at risk are spatially represented by GIS. GIS also identifies the risk level associated with particular hazard. Disaster managers use GIS to determine the level of mitigative structures that should be in place given the vulnerability of an area or population. Preparedness: GIS can play a vital role in the identification of resources and areas which are at risk. The link between partners and critical agencies is established by GIS and the use of GIS in the establishment of that link will help disaster managers to know the location of stations of relevant partner agencies. In the context of Disaster Management, maps of GIS can provide information on the human resources present in an Emergency Operation Centre as well as on the ground personnel such as security, health providers and other key responders. This is particularly useful since the technology can help with strategic placement of emergency personnel where it matters most. Through GIS we can make sure that communication networks and road infrastructure are capable of handling the effe

Auto Parts and Service Company Business Plan

Auto Parts and Service Company Business Plan ABC will be participating in a growing market. After China join in the WTO, the price of cars keep going down. Since 2005, the price of cars has declined 10%-50% in China. It has become one of the largest-growing markets in China.  A recent survey indicates that over 20% factories and customers have suffered the problems that the lack of auto repair services. If we consider the whole auto market as a giant whose left leg is new cars or used cars market and right leg is auto-parts and auto repair services market. The left leg of the giant has stepped in China. However his right leg is still out of the country. Because the auto market is increasing in such high speed, it will help the auto-parts supplies and auto repair services market grow. The Organization Gaining the unsatisfied customers is the first mission of the organization. With this in mind, ABC will be working hard and produce the impressive services that are exceeded in customers expectations. To gain and maintain those customers, to build up close and stable relationships to customers, and to expand the market, ABC is going to offer supplies to auto factories, including body shops, to offer auto repair services to individual customers through participation and .inviting 3-5 local auto supply business partners to fund a corporation by offering advanced technology from the U.S. 1.1 Mission Firstly, ABC will offer high-quality auto repair services with all kinds of auto parts. ABC will proffer its convenient and rapid service. Secondly, ABC will set up a computer system to make sure that parts are available. Lastly, ABC will build strong relationships with the local towing companies and body shops. Keys to Success Relitionships with local towing service companies, body shops and workshops. A wide range of auto parts inventory. Proffering website which answer customers questions whenever they have a problem with their cars and make them be able to order auto parts on line. Rapid delivery of major auto parts. Uperior customer service, and systematic operation More advanced technology and more technical employees The idea of fixing customers cars in their own gagrages is one of our main operational cencept. 2.0 Company Summary The Chinese economic have been growing and it had resulted in the Chinese peoples increased income, since 2000. Nowadays, many Chinese have chosen to spend their money on their automobiles in order to declare they have become the members of middle class. As a result, the need for reliable and convenient auto services will increase with the help from the booming economy and the strong ideas of having own cars. ABC is going to enter Chinese market to fill up the need of the middle and upper class market for quality auto service in Qingdao. 2.1 Company History ABC was found by several local 4S shops in Seattle 2008. Besides the ABC has combined the successful experience of marketing, sales, management and operation, ABC also has developed its technical advantage. In 2008, due to ABC had seen the blight future of the application of composite materials in auto repair market and the corporation in the technical communication between Boeing Company and the local community colleges and universities, the company hired 30 employees from University of Washington and North Seattle Community College to put this technology in use for auto repair in order to improve the companys competitive advantage. These made ABC successful and generate the net profits which have exceeded $50000 in Seattle area in this year. However, ABC realized the advanced position in the competition will not last for long. Also, considering extending its size and influence and exploring a more valuable market, ABC is going to enter Chinese market. Past Performance 2010 Sales $600000 Gross Margin $500000 Operating Expenses $50000 Balance Sheet 2010 Current Assets Cash $200000 Inventory $100000 Other Current Assets $50000 Total Current Assets $350000 Long-term Assets Long-term Assets $290000 Accumulated Depreciation $10000 Total Long-term Assets $300000 Total Assets $650000 Current Liabilities Accounts Payable $50000 Total Current Liabilities $50000 Long-term Liabilities $1300000 Total Liabilities $1350000 Paid-in Capital $500000 Retained Earnings $50000 Total Capital $550000 3.0 Services 3.1 Auto services ABC will offer superior customer services with systematic operation. 3.2 Online services ABC has a free website where our employees will answer the questions and try to help our customers online. If the customers think they can fix the problems of their cars in their own garage with the help of our employees or somebody else, these customers will be welcome to order our parts through our website. Also, ABC allows their customers make appointment online. Lastly, our customers will be able to check out the record of their automobiles online. 3.3 Door to door services, fix your cars in your own garages! ABC will have a door to door services for some VIP customers to slove some problems which are not necessary to come to our shops, such as oil change. 4.0 Market Analysis Summary ABC highly focuses on the demand of local customers. At the same time, ABC also is going to establish relationships with the major local towing companies, and body shops. 4.1 Market Segmentation and Stategy Towing companies After traffic accidents, the towing companies usually are called to take their damaged cars away. However, the companies in China dont usually give the repair service. In this way ABC can make approximate 20% revenue, if we can successfully build up the relationships with the major towing companies. The Body shops The young people like to go to body shops to race their cars for vary reasons. They are more likely focus on the look of their cars and usually require very quick services as well. After we establish and strengthen the relationships with the body shops, we can reach that target market segment so that we can offer the body shops the rapid delivery services and make it available to ship the designed auto parts for each individual since we have an online booking service. Local regular customers The local regular customer base is the largest market of ABC. Based on the fact that not too many repair issues happens daily among the local customers and some owners of new cars prefer to take their cars to the dealers if there are really serious problems with their cars, ABC will also focus on the other services of automobile, such car wash, oil change, and so on. 4.2 Competition and Buying Patterns The exsiting market in China already have had 10 major auto repair and auto parts companies in the local area, so ABC will have 10 major competitiors. Nevertheless, ABC get the advantages that they dont have or not as competitive as ours. Firstly, these companies usually are not large enough, or do not have uperior customer service and systematic operation. Secondly, none of these competitors a computerlized systerm and online service. Thirdly, none of these competitiors have the technical superiority as ours. ABCs key to win the game is gaining and remaining customers by using the technical advantage, focusing on the convenienct high level customer service, and establishing and strengtening the relationships with lacal major body shops and towing companies. 5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary ABC will be successful by offering its systematic operation by adapt the technology from the U.S. 5.1 Sales Strategy ABC will focus upper and middle class customers. To reach the target market and promote the customers, the company will employ direct sales staff. At the same time, the company will further strengthen its relationships with the towing companies, and body shops. 5.2 PromotionMarketing Strategy Direct sale employees, online helping, door to door services, coupons will be our promotion. On the ABCs free website, our employees will answer questions and try to help our customers online. On asking question section, we will put the quick link to the booking page. These researchers will be more likely to order our parts through our website so that they can make it in their own garage. ABC also can send our employees to help them. Fix your car in your own garage! will be one of our marketing strategies. Additionally, ABC will give coupons to customers for 10% off. 5.3 Sales Forecast Sales Forecast 2011 2012 2013 Sales $50000 $150000 $250000 Direct Costs $10000 $10000 $10000 6.0 Management Summary ABC will be successful by combining the 3-5 local auto supply business partners experience of sales, marketing, orperation and management. In order to keep organization stable and keep all of the partners, the ABC will keep the core of the technology. 6.1 Personnel Plan Thank to the low average salaries in China, ABC will be able to hire more employees in the technology department in the U.S. Personnel Plan (Not in including investment from partners) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Owners $10000 $50000 $90000 Managers $5000 $15000 $25000 Mechanics $4000 $12000 $20000 Technology improment $20000 $60000 $100000 Sales Administrative $1000 $3000 $5000 Total People 25 75 125 7.0 Financial Plan ABC will be a corporation. The funding is from 3-5 local auto supply business partners by offering advanced technology from the U.S. Each partner will invest an equal amount. 7.1 Partners investment Summary ABC is looking for four local partners which meet the requrements to corporate.Each of the four partners which means to join ABC have to invest an equal amount. Table: Investment from partners (Requriements) Requirements Start-up Expenses Legal $1000 Other $5000 Total Start-up Expenses $6000 Start-up Assets Cash Assets $3000 Other Current Assets $15000 Long-term Assets $100000 Total Assets $130000 Total Requirements $130000 (ABC will be more likely to accept partners which are able to meet those requirements.) 7.3 Break-even Analysis Break-even Analysis Monthly Revenue Break-even $25000