Catcher and the Rye

Every citizen how the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those are the statements given to us by the Declaration of Independence. Out of these words, people believed that an ideal lifestyle can be found in America, dubbed the American dream. This concept provides the belief of prosperity and happiness, in which can be achieved with hard work and determination. The Catcher in the Rye and Shawshank Redemption conflicts prevent the protagonists from acquiring the standards of what the American dream is all about, a fair and peaceful world.Although they run into obstacles within their lives, they continuously strive for their American dream. The Catcher in the Rye and The Shawshank Redemption both revolve around the ideal of the American dream because they both signify the value of freedom, the goal of starting new lives with better opportunities, and finding happiness in their lives. The American Dream can not exsist without freedom. Freedom is the most quintessentia l trait that the dream promises to all citizens. In both of the works, the protagonists are confined in a place where they feel they do not belong in.Pencey is to Holden as Shawshank is to Andy. As a result, they attempt to escape their institution and follow their natural instinct. â€Å"All of a sudden, I decided what I'd really do, I'd get the hell out of Pencey right that same night and all†¦ I yelled at the top of my goddamn voice ‘Sleep tight, ya morons' I'll bet that I woke up every bastard on the whole floor. Then I got the hell out†(Salinger 28,29). Holden is frustrated with Pencey and decides to leave to a place in which he will find much more suitable.He considers the school as an elaborate trap in which he is caught within a society of phoniness. Andy, on the otherhand, spends nearly two entire decades digging a tunnel every night that will lead to him out of Shawshank state prison. His patience and determination eventually leads to his success. When he steps out of prison for the first time in twenty years, he cannot help but cheer in his effort. As both characters strive for their freedom, they also strive for a successful life. In addition to freedom, Holden and Andy both want to be able to start their lives over in a better place.The characters point out where they would like to go if they could at the moment. In the movie, Andy tells Red that if he were to ever get out of Shawshank, he would like to spend his life in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, down south by the Pacific Ocean. There, he would like to start a hotel and have Red join him. Andy also uses a fake identity he created for himself that he can uses as an alias so he will not be traced back to. With that same identity, he can manage the money he made during the laundering operation while he was in prison.In the aftermath of the movie, Andy utilizes the American dream by making his fantasies a reality. Throughout the novel, Holden repeatedly explains where he would rather be t han where he actually is at the moment. Near the end, Holden fantasizes about traveling West and building a cabin where he can falsly live as a deaf mute so he no longer will have to deal with other people. â€Å"I'd start hitchhiking my way out West†¦ I figured I could get a job at a filling station somewhere†¦ I'd build me a little cabin somewhere with the dough I made and live there for the rest of my life†(Salinger 106,107).In American history, migrating to the West was a common sign of finding a more prosperous life and creating new opportunities for yourself and family. When the Calfornia gold rush began, it brought nearly 300,000 people to California in hope that they could strike fortune and become wealthy. Migrating also meant that some people couldn't deal with the lifestyles of either the North or the South, so they settled to move westward instead. It is much like Holden's retreat of society. He would much rather run away and make excuses then face his p roblems.Holden and Andy seek out their dream location they would like to live at along with the happiness and joy of their lives. Continuing from new opportunities, the protagonists happen to be in the pursuit of happiness. Both characters are constantly placed in dire situations that make themselves feel depressed and miserable. While they live out their lives, they struggle and attempt to determine what they should do during their time on earth. Holden is undergoing identity and role confusion and Andy is in confinement.Although much of their purpose is unknown, they have few moments of where they may enjoy life and look back at who they are. In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy locks himself in the warden's office and plays an Italian record over the intercom for all the other prisoners to hear. Even though he knows he will be disciplined for doing so, he still decides to follow through. As the warden and the guards try to enter the office, he ignores them and enjoys the music to ma ke himself feel like a normal person again. It was an emotional moment for him that really showed he is looking for a reason to enjoy life for. In TheCatcher in the Rye, Holden brings his younger sister Phoebe to the carousel and watches her ride it. When it begins to rain, he watches his sister go around while getting soaked. All of a sudden, just seeing his sister gets him all happy it nearly gets him to start crying. â€Å"I felt so dam happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was dam near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth†(Saligner 114). At this point, Holden's love and concern for his sister causes him to become affectionate. His sister is what keeps him happy though he is confused throughout his life.Holden and Andy both find meaning in their lives through Phoebe and Red where the pursuit of happiness shows that everyone in America can make it and life worthwhile lives. In the end, the American dream is present in The Catcher in the Rye and The Shawshank Redemption because the desire for freedom, improved lives, and happiness are all incorporated within them. Holden tries to escape from his phony society at Pencey and travel west where he can live the rest of his life as a deaf mute in a cabin, however, he eventually finds happiness in his life after watching his sister Phoebe on the carousel.Andy dreams of life on the outside world while listening to a record and escapes one night to start a hotel near the Pacific coastline in Mexico with his friend Red. Both characters have found many obstacles on their journey to fulfilling their wishes. Neither once did they completely give up and quit following their natural instinct. With the amount of effort and determination, they have conquered and found their American dream.

Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (a)

For the exclusive use of J. SICINSKI Harvard Business School9-700-115 Rev. November 21, 2007 Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A) In April, 1986, the upstart Irish airline Ryanair announced that it would soon commence service between Dublin and London. For nearly a year, the new airline had operated a 14-seat turboprop between Waterford, in the southeast of Ireland, and Gatwick Airport on the outskirts of London. The founders of Ryanair, brothers Cathal and Declan Ryan, felt that service on that first route had developed well. They knew, however, that the Dublin-London route would pose new challenges.For the first time, they would face Aer Lingus, British Airways, and other established competitors on a major route. European Aviation The environment in which the Ryan brothers launched their fledgling carrier had long been shaped by Europe’s national governments. 1Privately owned, commercial airlines sprang up in Europe following World War I. Soon, however, the governments of Brita in, France, Germany, and other countries began to amalgamate the first, small airlines into national â€Å"flag carriers. † Each of these airlines literally carried the flag of its nation on the tails of its aircraft.Figuratively also, each airline carried the flag, serving as an international emissary. Predecessors of British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, and others gradually became owned by, and subsidized by, their national governments. The route structures of British, French, Dutch, and Belgian flag carriers developed to serve the colonial aims of their respective governments. For instance, the aircraft of British Airways’ predecessor, the aptly named Imperial Airways, were familiar sights in India, South Africa, Australia, and other British outposts by the 1930s. Service focused on international routes from each nation’s capital to colonies, other areas of national influence, and the capitals of other European countries. Intra-country service was sparse, largely connecting provincial cities to the capital. Fares on domestic routes were often kept high to subsidize international service. World War II brought advances in aviation that made air travel widely economical for the first time. The aftermath of the war also brought the threat of American dominance in air travel.Had free competition been permitted on international routes, the efficient, privately owned carriers of the United States would likely have won the lion’s share of the market. 3A set of multilateral and bilateral agreements averted this outcome. The International Air Traffic Association (IATA), essentially a government-endorsed cartel of the major airlines, emerged to set international fares. Governments negotiated bilateral agreements that regulated all aspects of air travel between pairs of countries. In Europe, â€Å"pooling arrangements† became common.Under pooling, the routes between, say, France and Italy would be given strictly to Air France and A litalia. The two flag carriers would Professor Jan W. Rivkin prepared this case as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  © 2000, 2007 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www. hbsp. harvard. edu.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. This document is authorized for use only by Jan Sicinski in Strategic Management IBP 10-11 taught by Dr. TOMASZ LUDWICKI from October 2010 to April 2011. 1 For the exclusive use of J. SICINSKI 700-115Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A) pool their capacity an d revenue, then divide the proceeds in an agreed-upon manner.Carriers were banned from flights that did not begin or terminate on their national soil; Air France, for instance, could not fly from Rome to Frankfurt or Milan. Intra-country service was also regulated strictly. To varying degrees, domestic fares were set by government authorities, and entry by new airlines was discouraged. The collapse of European empires and the advent of jets capable of crossing the Atlantic economically led virtually all European flag carriers to refocus their international efforts on routes across the North Atlantic in the late 1950s.Heavy and growing demand for transportation to and from North America made such routes highly profitable, at least initially. Europe’s system of regulation soon came under pressure. A late-1950s attempt to unify the flag carriers of France, West Germany, Belgium, and Italy collapsed under the weight of disparate national interests. By 1960, the Economist magazine bemoaned the state of the heavily regulated, fragmented airline industry. â€Å"The basic trouble,† it concluded, â€Å"remains that the world has too many airlines, most of them inefficient, undercapitalised and unprofitable. 4Though the IATA introduced some forms of restricted, discount fares in the 1950s, consumers grew dissatisfied with high prices. European regulations applied largely to regularly scheduled service between destinations. To bypass these regulations and to tap pent-up demand for leisure travel, charter airlines appeared and grew rapidly during the 1960s. These start-ups, funded in part by shipping companies, offered holiday makers cheap fares on non-scheduled flights and â€Å"inclusive tours† that bundled flights with lodging.Charter holidays proved especially popular among British and Irish vacationers, who used them to escape the North Sea for sunnier climes. By the mid-1980s, charter flights would transport 60% of all European passengers. 5Fla g carriers responded to the independent charter airlines both by establishing new discounts within the IATA structure and by starting charter subsidiaries themselves. The 1970s took airlines around the world into financial straits (Exhibit 1). The introduction of wide-bodied aircraft such as the Boeing 747 increased capacity on the North Atlantic route dramatically.The OPEC oil embargo raised the price of jet fuel, and the ensuing recession cut demand for air travel. These events hit Europe’s flag carriers, with their heavily unionized staffs and high fixed costs, especially hard. Exhibit 2 compares the staff productivity of European and U. S. airlines in 1978. In 1978, the U. S. Congress approved the thorough deregulation of the domestic U. S. airline industry. Pricing, route scheduling, entry, and exit were freed up dramatically. Prices plunged rapidly as airlines competed vigorously for marginal customers.Twenty-two new, low-cost carriers entered the market between 1978 an d 1980. 6Most of the new airlines soon failed, however. Established players such as American, United, and Delta used hub-and-spoke route structures and computerized reservation systems to spur a new wave of consolidation. Following consolidation, prices and profitability remained low and unstable. Strong U. S. airlines reached out for new routes into Europe. The U. S. experience brought calls for European deregulation from consumer advocates and supporters of competition.A 1984 memorandum from the European Commission proposed the abolition of pooling arrangements, price fixing, and government subsidies. Trade unions and flag carriers allied to defeat the proposal. In 1986, the Single European Act called for the creation of a unified European market by the end of 1992. The market was intended to â€Å"comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured†¦. †7 Industry observers expected new proposals for the liberalization of the European airline industry to follow.This document is authorized for use only by Jan Sicinski in Strategic Management IBP 10-11 taught by Dr. TOMASZ LUDWICKI from October 2010 to April 2011. 2 For the exclusive use of J. SICINSKI Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A)700-115 British Aviation and British Airways While Europe as a whole remained dominated by state-owned carriers with government- mandated monopolies or near-monopolies, individual countries moved to liberalize their domestic airline industries and to push for international deregulation on a bilateral basis with individual countries. The United Kingdom was among the most aggressive in doing so. As early as 1971, Britain’s airline regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, encouraged the establishment of British Caledonian Airways (BCal) as a â€Å"second force† to compete with the dominant, state-owned British Airways (BA). Labor Party governments, however, subsequently protected BA from BCal’s incursions. Though independent airlines such as BCal and British Midland operated in the U. K. during this period, momentum for airline deregulation picked up only after the election of the Conservative, market-minded Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1979.An early Thatcher bill required, for the first time, that regulators give the interests of consumers equal weight to the interests of operators when allocating licenses for new routes. A hallmark of Thatcher’s government was the privatization of state-owned enterprises, and a centerpiece of her privatization programme was a proposed flotation of BA on the stock market. The state of BA in 1979, however, precluded a rapid privatization. The cost structure of BA and its predecessors had been high at least since the end ofWorld War II, when the flag carrier was expected to â€Å"find a job for every demobilized member of the [Royal Air Force]. †9In 1977, the U. S. carrier Delta transported 30. 7 million p assengers with 31,000 employees while BA’s staff of 54,300 moved 14. 5 million passengers. 10After thin profits in the late 1970s, BA suffered a loss of UK? 102 million on revenue of UK? 1,760 million in 1981. A new chairman, John King—a self-made millionaire with experience in the ball-bearing industry—was brought in to revive BA and prepare it for privatization.With generous severance packages, King reduced BA’s staff to 38,000 by 1985. Loss-making routes were surrendered to competitors, and maintenance stations and training colleges were shuttered. King soon yielded the reins to Colin Marshall, a former executive of car rental agency Avis, who began to improve customer service. Marshall paid particular attention to satisfying full-fare business customers. By 1984, BA was earning record profits (Exhibit 3), and its privatization was being planned for 1987. Deregulation slowed during the period of BA’s turnaround.A Civil Aviation Authority proposa l to shift some of BA’s routes to BCal, for instance, was defeated in 1984, largely because the Treasury Ministry opposed the plan. In 1986, BA operated one of the world’s most extensive airline route networks, serving 145 destinations in 68 countries. 11No airline carried more international passengers. International journeys accounted for roughly two-thirds of the seats that BA sold and nine-tenths of its revenue. Nearly 80% of passengers passed through London’s main airport at Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest transportation hubs.Plying the network was a fleet of 163 aircraft, ranging from 44-seat turboprops to Boeing 747s with room for nearly 400. Since 1980, BA had invested roughly UK? 700 million to purchase 55 new aircraft, mostly for service within Europe. The company was beginning to upgrade its intercontinental fleet. In the United Kingdom and New York, BA provided its own passenger and ground services (e. g. , for passenger check-in, baggage handling, and aircraft cleaning). Elsewhere, it hired contractors to perform such services.BA catered its own flights from Heathrow, but contracted out all other catering. The company performed most of its own maintenance from a base at Heathrow and had engineering capabilities at three-quarters of the airports it served. BA sold tickets over the telephone and in 171 retail shops worldwide, where agents also sold package vacations. In addition, 49,000 independent travel agents had the ability to book tickets on BA via computerized reservation systems, including BA’s own system. Such agents accounted for 83% of the company’s scheduled passenger revenue.BA pitched its services to a wide range of This document is authorized for use only by Jan Sicinski in Strategic Management IBP 10-11 taught by Dr. TOMASZ LUDWICKI from October 2010 to April 2011. 3 For the exclusive use of J. SICINSKI 700-115Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A) business and leisure travelers. Accordingly, i t offered a spectrum of ticket prices with varying restrictions and the full range of classes of service—from first class to economy. Especially among business travelers, BA was known for its improving in-flight amenities. Exhibit 4 shows BA’s revenue and operating cost per scheduled passenger.The 6. 9% operating margin shown there reflects BA’s entire route network. In Europe alone, the carrier earned a 4. 4% margin. Irish Aviation and Aer Lingus As a country with a small population, limited land mass (roughly 250 kilometers across and 400 long), and no colonial possessions, Ireland did not lend itself naturally to commercial aviation. 12 Yet in 1936, a mere 15 years after Ireland’s initial political separation from Britain and 13 years before full independence, government and private interests in Ireland came together to form Aer Lingus, a flag carrier for the emerging state.Government support proved crucial in the airline’s early days. Annual lo sses in the 1930s and 1940s commonly ran between 20% and 100% of revenue. Not until the early 1950s did the airline earn a profit in consecutive years, and then only for a short period. Early on, passenger traffic focused on routes between Ireland and Britain, where a large population of Irish emigrants resided. To develop these routes, the Irish and British governments struck an unusual arrangement in 1946. Through BA’s predecessors, the British government took a 40% stake in Aer Lingus, leaving 60% in the hands of Ireland.Aer Lingus was granted monopoly rights to routes over the Irish Sea. BA’s predecessors gained the valuable right to land at Shannon Airport on Ireland’s west coast, refuel, and continue on across the Atlantic. (Aircraft ranges at the time required such a refueling stop. ) In exchange, Aer Lingus was allowed to land in Manchester, take on passengers, and continue to continental Europe. Such â€Å"onward rights† were rare in Europe and m arked the beginning of relatively liberal bilateral agreements between Britain and Ireland.The British partnership continued for a decade until Aer Lingus’ desire to develop its own trans-Atlantic routes, to reach the large ethnic Irish populations in New York and Boston, created a rift. Amicably, the British government reduced and eventually relinquished its stake in Aer Lingus. The predecessors of BA and independent carriers such as British Midland began to fly routes between Britain and Ireland. Problems on the North Atlantic corridor in the 1970s hit Aer Lingus especially hard. Compared to other carriers on the route, Aer Lingus drew its passengers especially heavily from the ranks of tourists.Tourist passengers actively sought promotional fares, created erratic peaks of seasonal demand, and largely stayed at home during the recession of the mid-1970s. The Irish government insisted that Aer Lingus continue to fly the North Atlantic corridor despite losses on the route. 13 Aer Lingus first published its objectives in 1971 and had, by 1986, reviewed and ratified the statement a number of times. The statement called on Aer Lingus to provide an air transport service that was â€Å"safe, efficient, reliable, and profitable. The airline touted the many benefits it brought to the Irish community: national development, promotion of tourism, employment, a contribution to the balance of payments, and educational, social, and cultural services. 14 Losses in the 1970s prompted Aer Lingus to seek new sources of revenue and profit. â€Å"We perceived that an airline with a limited home market, limited financial resources and a cyclical product would have to diversify,† reflected one of Aer Lingus’ chief executives. 15Aer Lingus began to offer maintenance service and engineer training to other airlines.Successful introduction of its computer reservation system led Aer Lingus to offer computer consulting and data processing services. The company also entered the hotel business in London, Paris, and New England. By 1986, This document is authorized for use only by Jan Sicinski in Strategic Management IBP 10-11 taught by Dr. TOMASZ LUDWICKI from October 2010 to April 2011. 4 For the exclusive use of J. SICINSKI Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A)700-115 so-called ancillary businesses include hospital management in Baghdad and an investment in robotics. In 1984-85, air transportation, irline-related services such as maintenance, and non-airline businesses provided Aer Lingus operating profits of 0. 5 million Irish pounds (I? ), I? 12. 7 million, and I? 17. 1 million, respectively. 16Within air transportation, Aer Lingus’ domestic and European routes earned a modest operating profit while its trans-Atlantic flights sustained operating losses for the sixth time in seven years. 17During the coming decade, Aer Lingus faced tens of millions of pounds of investment to replace aging jets in its fleet. Government officials were conte mplating the sale of part of the company to finance the capital expenditures.Ryanair Cathal and Declan Ryan had essentially grown up in the airline industry. 18Their father, Tony Ryan, had long worked for Aer Lingus. As the flag carrier’s aircraft leasing manager, the elder Ryan struck innovative deals to lease excess capacity to other airlines. From 1973 to 1975, for instance, he arranged for an Aer Lingus 747 and its Irish crew to ply Air Siam’s route between Bangkok and Los Angeles. 19In 1975, Tony Ryan co-founded Guinness Peat Aviation, which quickly became the largest aircraft leasing company in the world.Tony Ryan’s 10% stake in Guinness Peat Aviation gave him sufficient wealth to invest a million Irish pounds in his sons’ efforts to launch an airline. Both sons were in their 20s when Ryanair initiated service in 1985. At first, Ryanair used a 14-seat turboprop aircraft to run a scheduled service between Waterford in the southeast of Ireland and Gat wick Airport, one of London’s secondary airports. This initial service was intended to prove the company’s ability to operate a scheduled airline successfully. In 1986, Ryanair gained a license to operate between Dublin and Luton, another of London’s secondary airports.Aer Lingus and BA already operated on the Dublin-London route, which was reputed to be quite lucrative for both carriers. Indeed, Aer Lingus’ Chairman noted that â€Å"Dublin-London is the only route on the Aer Lingus network that has the volume of business to allow of itself a reasonable return on capital. †20Aer Lingus’ and BA’s least expensive, unrestricted round-trip fares on the route were priced at I? 208 (equivalent to UK? 189 at the time). Discount fares as low as I? 99 were available, though they had to be booked one month in advance.Observers felt that the figures shown in Exhibit 4 were typical of Aer Lingus’ and BA’s average revenues and costs for a Dublin-London round trip. Ryanair managers believed that the flights of Aer Lingus and BA were typically 60-70% full. According to airport authorities, half a million round-trip passengers flew the route each year. The total number of air passengers on the route had been stagnant for ten years. Roughly three-quarters of a million round-trip travelers opted to use rail and sea ferries rather than aircraft. The journey took nine hours by rail and ferry and one hour by air.Prices of round-trip rail-and-ferry tickets fell as low as I? 55. 21 On their new Dublin-London service, the Ryan brothers intended to run four round trips per day with a 44-seat turboprop. They did not have permission to fly larger jet aircraft on the route, but hoped to get permission soon. Ryanair would offer meals and amenities comparable to what Aer Lingus and British Airways provided. The company would distinguish itself from the flag carriers in two ways. First, its employees would focus intently on deli vering first-rate customer service.Second, the company would charge a simple, single fare for a ticket with no restrictions. In announcing its Dublin-London service, Ryanair publicized a fare of I? 98. This document is authorized for use only by Jan Sicinski in Strategic Management IBP 10-11 taught by Dr. TOMASZ LUDWICKI from October 2010 to April 2011. 5 700-115 Exhibit 1 For the exclusive use of J. SICINSKI Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A) Composite Profitability of All Major, Scheduled European Airlines 10 5 0 -5 Introduction of wide-body jets First oil crisis Second oil crisis -10 Introduction of jetsSource: Association of European Airlines, 1994 Yearbook, p. 19. Exhibit 2Staff Productivity of U. S. and European Airlines, 1978 Airline U. S. carriers: American Eastern Pan American TWA United European carriers: Air France Alitalia British Airways KLM Lufthansa Staff 40,134 35,899 26,964 36,549 52,065 32,173 17,040 54,645 17,812 29,400 Passengers per staff memberStaff per aircraft 762158 1,099156 358355 665156 657156 333314 374279 308264 231326 460320 Source: House of Lords Select Committee on European Air Fares, 1981, 185-7, European Air Fares, Air Transport Users Committee, Civil Aviation Authority, 1978.Cited in P. Lyth and H. Dienel, â€Å"Introduction† in H. Dienel and P. Lyth, eds. , Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport Since 1945 (London: Macmillan, 1998), p. 8. This document is authorized for use only by Jan Sicinski in Strategic Management IBP 10-11 taught by Dr. TOMASZ LUDWICKI from October 2010 to April 2011. 6 Profit after interest as a percentage of total costs 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A) Exhibit 3British Airways Performance, 1977-85 For the exclusive use of J. SICINSKI 700-115 Revenue (mm UK? ) Operating profit before taxes and interest (mm UK? )Passengers (mm) Staff (thousands) Available ton-kilometers (mm) T on-kilometersused(mm) Load* (%) 197719791981 1,073. 91,403. 31,760 95. 876 . 0(102) 14. 515. 817. 0 54. 355. 953. 6 6,2337,1647,930 3,6074,4164,812 586261 19831985 2,0512,905 169292 16. 318. 4 45. 938. 1 7,2087,837 4,4615,267 6267 * Load = portion of available ton-kilometers used, a measure of capacity utilization. Source: British Airways Annual Reports. Cited in P. Lyth, â€Å"Chosen Instruments: The Evolution of British Airways† in H. Dienel and P. Lyth, eds. , Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport Since 1945 (London: Macmillan, 1998), pp. 2, 74. Exhibit 4British Airways Average Revenue and Cost per Passenger, 1986 UK? Revenue 151. 3 Operating expenses Staff32. 4 Depreciation & amortization7. 8 Fuel & oil28. 9 Engineering and other aircraft costs8. 9 Selling16. 4 Aircraft operating leases3. 1 Landing fees and en route charges10. 6 Handling charges, catering, & other15. 1 Accommodation, ground equipment & other17. 7 Percent of I? Revenue 166. 5100. 0% 35. 721. 4% 8. 65. 1% 31. 819. 1% 9. 85. 9% 18. 010. 8% 3. 42. 0% 11. 77. 0% 16. 610. 0% 19. 511. 7% Subtotal 140. 9 Operating profit10. 411. 4Source: Case writer calculations, based on British Airways Prospectus, February 11, 1987. This document is authorized for use only by Jan Sicinski in Strategic Management IBP 10-11 taught by Dr. TOMASZ LUDWICKI from October 2010 to April 2011. 7 155. 193. 1% 6. 9% For the exclusive use of J. SICINSKI 700-115Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A) Notes 1 This section draws especially on P. Lyth and H. Dienel, â€Å"Introduction,† in H. Dienel and P. Lyth, eds. , Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport Since 1945 (London: Macmillan, 1998), pp. 1-17. 2 P. Lyth, â€Å"Chosen Instruments: The Evolution of British Airways,† in H.Dienel and P. Lyth, eds. , Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport Since 1945 (London: Macmillan, 1998), p. 50. 3 P. Lyth and H. Dienel, â€Å"Introduction,† in H. Dienel and P. Lyth, eds. , Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport Since 1945 (London: Macmilla n, 1998), p. 3. 4 â€Å"Unfree as the Air,† The Economist, May 28, 1960. 5 P. Lyth and H. Dienel, â€Å"Introduction,† in H. Dienel and P. Lyth, eds. , Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport Since 1945 (London: Macmillan, 1998), p. 7. 6 N. Donohue and P. Ghemawat, â€Å"The U. S. Airline Industry, 1978-1988 (A), HBS Case 390-025. A. P. Dobson, Flying in the Face of Competition (Hants: Avebury Aviation, 1995), p. 192. 8 This section draws especially on P. Lyth, â€Å"Chosen Instruments: The Evolution of British Airways† in H. Dienel and P. Lyth, eds. , Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport Since 1945 (London: Macmillan, 1998), pp. 50- 86. 9 P. Lyth, â€Å"Chosen Instruments: The Evolution of British Airways† in H. Dienel and P. Lyth, eds. , Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport Since 1945 (London: Macmillan, 1998), p. 65. 10 P. Lyth, â€Å"Chosen Instruments: The Evolution of British Airways† in H.Dienel and P. Lyth, eds. , Flying the Flag: European Commercial Air Transport Since 1945 (London: Macmillan, 1998), pp. 72-73. 11 The following description of British Airways in 1986 draws on the company’s February 11, 1987, prospectus. 12 This section draws especially on M. O’Riain, Aer Lingus, 1936-1986: A Business Monograph, 1987 and B. Share, The Flight of the Iolar: The Aer Lingus Experience, 1936-1986 (Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1986). 13 H. Carnegy, â€Å"Turbulent Times for Aer Lingus,† Financial Times, June 3, 1986. 14 Aer Lingus Annual Report, March 31, 1986. 15 Extract from M. J.Dargan’s address to the 50th Anniversary Banquet of Aer Lingus in the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, 27 May 1986. Quoted in M. O’Riain, Aer Lingus, 1936-1986: A Business Monograph, 1987. 16 H. Carnegy, â€Å"Turbulent Times for Aer Lingus,† Financial Times, June 3, 1986. 17 Aer Lingus Annual Report, March 31, 1986. 18 This section draws especially on interviews conducted with Ryanair personnel between February 10 and February 17, 2000, including Michael O’Leary, CEO; Declan Ryan, founder; Charlie Clifton, Director of Ground Operations and Inflight; and Kevin Osborne, Director of Purchasing and Administration. 9 B. Share, The Flight of the Iolar: The Aer Lingus Experience, 1936-1986 (Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1986), pp. 203- 206. 20 Aer Lingus Annual Report, March 31, 1986. 21 J. Fagan, â€Å"Air Price War Hits Sea Route Traffic,† Financial Times, September 24, 1987. H. Carnegy, â€Å"UK-Irish Air Route Challenge,† Financial Times, April 24, 1986. This document is authorized for use only by Jan Sicinski in Strategic Management IBP 10-11 taught by Dr. TOMASZ LUDWICKI from October 2010 to April 2011. 8

Identify the strengths and weaknesses of Tokai UK’s international strategy. Essay

The Tokai Company was founded in 1947 in Hamamatsu, Japan and produced all forms of musical instruments,including a large range of pianos. Tokai instruments first appeared in the UK in the early 1980s when they were imported by a company called Bluesuede Music. At that time the two biggest names in electric guitars were those produced by the American companies Fender and Gibson, who both produced high quality electric guitars but at a price that was prohibitive for the average amateur guitarist. Tokai competed against Fender, with products that replicated the Fender quality and also closely esembled their guitars but for half the price. Not surprisingly the Tokai product stood alone in the marketplace and competed with Fender by making quality instruments available to customers who couldn’t afford a genuine Fender or Gibson guitar. Tokai’s biggest seller at the time was the ST50 which resembled the famous Fender Stratocaster. However, Fender issued writs against Tokai which forced them to change the designs so as to not infringe Fender’s copyright. Imports continued on for a further three years and Bluesuede Music did remarkably well with the product, using sales agents out on the road selling guitars to retailers. Unfortunately, in the mid-eighties one of the partners left Bluesuede owing the company and Tokai a lot of money. At that point Bluesuede had to stop the import of Tokai guitars. At the beginning of 2002 Nick Crane, a British entrepreneur, went to Japan to see Mr Shohei Adachi, the managing director of Tokai, and agreed a deal to import the company’s guitars once more into the UK. This started as a small operation and the products began to trickle into the UK. Shortly afterwards Nick Crane approached Bob Murdoch, who had 25 years’ experience in the music wholesale and retail business. Bob Murdoch saw the potential of these instruments on the European market and became a partner in Tokai UK in early 2002. The company began by working from a small garage, but over the subsequent 18 months turnover increased by 200 per cent and they are now selling into Ireland, Italy and Spain. They had a huge market in Germany but, as we will see later, have now pulled out of the market. Tokai UK now operates from premises on an industrial estate at Dinnington, South Yorkshire. Nick Crane left the company to follow other interests in Spain; Bob Murdoch bought out his partner and now has overall control of Tokai UKÂ  and plans to launch Tokai across the pan-European market.

By using ''The Three Ecologies'' by Felix Guattari and '' Essay

By using ''The Three Ecologies'' by Felix Guattari and '' Frankenstein'' to use evidence. find a subject in which the Three ecol - Essay Example As a result, the global world will experience increasing homogenization from the sponsorship of control forces, which he names Integrated World Capitalism. It is under the three relation types (subjective, social and environmental), which constitute the three ecologies under the Guattari’s book title (Ricke, 2012). This article will discuss the environmental impacts of a meat industry. In addition, the essay will focus on the measures that people can take to reduce the environmental disasters and why people fail to act as a group. Guattari indicates that people should think in unison about the three crucial ecologies based on a worldwide scale under the ethico-political point of view as he labels it ecosophy (p. 28). According to Guattari, it is unheard of for people to separate the three ecologies especially because he argues that the divide in culture/nature has fallen down due to technical developments (Ricke, 2012). Extending the meaning of ecology in order to take into co nsideration the human subjectivity, environmental concerns and social relations, â€Å"The Three Ecologies† indicates that all the ecological Earth crisis threatening the planet originates from capitalism's expansion. Therefore, Guattari suggests that people should develop new ecosophical strategies that will respect the distinctions between a living system and another. On this note, it is essential to discuss the environmental impacts of meat production and consumption. Environmental impacts of meat industries By March 2010, the global production of meat tripled, and the trend had been so for three continuous decades. Consequently, by 2020, the meat productions all over the world will double the amount currently (Dosse, 2011). The increasing livestock evolution exerts several impacts not only to the environment, but also to the social life such as environmental destruction, worldwide economy, and impacts on human health. Brief Background Statistics show a shocking aspect by indicating that when a person consumes one pound in meat form, it is equal as leveling fifty-five square feet in terms of rainforest. The production of meat is the leading contributing aspect causing environmental issues in the world such as water crisis, pollution, climate change, rainforest destruction and the diminishing arable farmland (Miller & Spoolman, 2008). In as much as people might gather health advantages of consuming meat, the same not only puts their health at risk, but also indicates a significant danger to the environment in the future. More so, it is crucial to outline some of the key results in the report. Over 1.7 billion livestock in the world constitutes the livestock production, which occupy over a quarter of the entire land on Earth. The production and distribution of animal staple feed takes around a third of the entire arable land. At least forty percent of the worldwide agricultural product from the domestic sources comes from livestock production (Guattari , 2005). The sector of livestock production inclusive of transport and feed production emits at least eighteen percent of the entire greenhouse air pollution through gas emissions in the world (Ricke, 2012). Around 800 million citizens in the US could consume the entire grain that livestock feed. The industries feed their farm animals using at least 70 percent of the grain. Industries consume over a half of the total water consumption in the US for livestock product

Marcia.ehret_inspiration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marcia.ehret_inspiration - Essay Example However, we can set parameters and working definitions, but the importance and impact of these biblical inspirations will only be manifested depending upon the individual’s personal belief. To the atheist/ agnostics, no matter how defined the subject matter of biblical inspiration is, it will be impossible to come to point where he levels off and agrees with a believer. A believer, on the other hand, will perpetually argue on the grounds of established facts such as Jesus being able to acknowledge and refer to specific scriptures in his teachings, in the way he prepared his apostles to document his existence and the various lessons he taught, in the way all these survived despite dramatic efforts to destroy it, and the way how the teachings, virtues, lessons are true and applicable regardless of era or period. This religious relativity is difficult to compromise especially that the trend nowadays focuses on two extremes: religious pluralism at one end and denomination-centered belief on the other end. In a gist, the bible is a worthy and credible source of God’s word since its contents were written and recorded by people who embodied the authorized representative of god to deliver a specific message.

Project halim Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Project halim - Assignment Example The main function of the encoders and decoders is to convert parallel data to series data. Design of the control circuit The function of the control circuit will be to give an alarm to indicate the departure of the child. The communication process that will be employed is the RF communication because it is the most accepted and affordable cost solution. In the RF module, both transmitter and receiver pairs are essential because the communication uses the principle of serial communication. The module of operation demands a component that converts the n-bit data to serial data. The RF module can, therefore, employ Serial encoders or decoders (HT12D and HT12E) to convert the data or task. RF communication block diagram The block diagram of the RF communication illustrated above employs the encoders/decoders that are TTL compatible. Therefore, the input levels are depicted in a TTL Logic level. To solve the problem, the TTL input must be changed into serial data input. To have a serial d ata input, an encoder must be used because; it can be read directly by the RF transmitter performing the amplitude Key shifting (ASK) modulation, and further transmitting the data via antenna. At the receiving end, modulated signal by the antenna is received; the RF Receiver carries out the filtering, demodulation and processing of the transmitted data. The data obtained at the end is a serial data that is converted to a TLL level logic data. The RF Module The module comprises of an RF receiver and transmitter. The two operate at a frequency of 434MHz. The transmitter obtains serial data from the encoder and transmits it using a wireless platform provided by the antenna attached to the pin 4 (data). The transmission speeds are between 1Kbps and 10Kbps. The RF receiver operated at the same frequency as the transmitter to obtain the data transmitted. In most cases, the RF module is used beside coupled with a pair of encoder HT12E and Decoder HT12D. The encoder is useful in encoding pa rallel data for transmission while the receiver send the required signal to the decoder for decoding. Features Range frequency of the TX: 433MHz Supply voltage of the TX: 3V ~ 6V Coverage in open space (standard Conditions): 100 Meters Receiver Frequency (RX): 433 MHz Operating voltage of RX: 5V Supply current of the RX: 3.5 mA RX IF Frequency: 1MHz Low Power consumption Easy Application HT12E and HT12D The decoder (HT12D) is ICs comprising a series of CMOS for remote control applications. The IC is paired with an encoder HT12E with the HT12D main role is the conversion of the serial input to parallel output. The HT12D decodes the serial addresses and data that are received by the RF receiver, which in turn sends the parallel data to the output pins after processing. For successful operation, the paired decoder and encoder must have the same number of address and data format selected. The serial data and address from matching encoder, received by the decoder, is transmitted by a car rier employing the RF transmission medium providing output to the output pins. Consequently, the HT12E encoder IC is also a series of CMOS specifically for Remote Control applications. The purpose of its use is interfacing the RF. The suitability of the encoder is restricted to 12 bit information consisting of N data bits and address bits. The encoder converts the parallel input from the

MANAGING INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ENVIRONMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MANAGING INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ENVIRONMENT - Essay Example The civil law system is based on a detailed set of legal codes and is adopted in many countries including Japan, France, Germany, among other countries. There is less flexibility in the application of the law because, unlike in the case of the common law system, the judge is limited to applying the provisions of the law as embodied in written codes. It must be noted, however, that the decisions of the courts form part of the jurisprudence of these countries and are also applied in the individual cases brought before the court. The Islamic law system is the most widely applied legal system of theocratic law in the world, and governs nearly all aspects of life in Islamic countries. Its application to business is most commonly known to be in the realm of lending where interest is considered illegal land outlawed by the Koran. The exporter must come to grips with evolving and designing contracts applicable to his commercial situation. Where common law prevails, contracts have to be very detailed with all contingencies spelled out because no written codes can be referenced. However, in civil law systems, contracts can be shorter because many issues covered in such contracts are already covered in the civil code. The exporter has to be sensitive to the differences of legal systems in countries where he exports his goods because in case of a contract dispute, the strength of his position in court can be affected depending on the legal system that obtains. Where international trade transactions result in a dispute, the question raised is always that of which countrys laws apply. For some countries the issue has been resolved with the establishment of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), which was adopted in 1980 by ll countries, including the United States, and took effect in 1988. The CISG establishes a

Foundation Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Foundation Law - Assignment Example The compensation claimed in major cases are a) road accidents b) accidents at work place c) accidents due to ill equipped / ill planned safety and security measures d) gadget deficient to meet accident eventualities e) accidents at home f) accidents during holidays. In order to broaden the base of personal injury, we may include medical and dental injuries under the purview of personal injury. The chronic diseases found in the work force at industrial work places are termed as industrial diseases2. In case of non-responsible attitude of one party towards another party, if proved, is a ripe case to claim monetary compensation from the party at fault through the competent court of law. In western countries claim of compensation that relates to personal injury is a complex issue. Usually the solicitor charge in terms of percentage according to the volume of compensation claim at the end of the case provided it is awarded. Since the compensation under medical malpractices is rampant in t he western countries, therefore it is necessary for a claimant to engage a counsel of repute to plead his or her case in a competent court of law3. In the given scenario, Matthew, who is the warehouse operator is the claimant while the defendant is the pharmaceutical company, which has to follow certain employment rules and regulations under employment law. English employment law is applicable here as it is the employer’s responsibility to handle situations related to the employees at the workplaces. The English law does not provide an indefinite period of time to the claimant of compensation under personal injury. In the English territorial jurisdiction, an individual can claim compensation within a period of three years from the date of its occurrence. Therefore, under the law in vogue, court proceedings should be commenced within the given time limit. Otherwise the claimant might lose the opportunity to seek relief from the court of competent jurisdiction. The only excepti on is that if a person met with an accident under the age of 18 years, he or she may have the opportunity to claim compensation before the maturity of 21 years through court proceedings. The court has the discretion to waive the time limit if convinced. Another remedy available to ignorant person is that if he or she comes to know that he or she may claim compensation of personal injury under the law. In that situation claimant may file compensation within a period of three years which starts from when he or she comes to know that they are entitled for compensation under personal injury4. The key element is determining the veracity of negligence of the coworker that caused compensation to the claimant. No doubt that the claimant has suffered in both ways a) physically and b) economically. Therefore, both losses (disability of Mathew to perform duty / inability to pay off liabilities) are to be taken into consideration while deciding the case of compensation. It was held by the compe tent court of law in the case of Lunney and Oliphant (2008) that law of tort merits restoration of victim to its original physical status prior to the incident. It is the court to decide the amount of compensation keeping in mind the level of damages that occurred due to incident / accident. In the case of Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Morts Dock and Engineering Co Ltd, it was held that the defendant can be liable for foreseeable consequences. Further,

East Asian Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

East Asian Financial Crisis - Essay Example The intention of this study is the East Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 that culminated into one of the most devastating global shocks in the twentieth century. Its far-fetched effect could be compared with nothing less than that of the Great Depression of 1930s which had entwined the US economy into stagflation. In fact, what prevented the 1930s depression from spreading out throughout the world was the lack of ample networking among various economies. On the other hand, the impact of the East Asian crisis by the end of the millennium was more brutal or burgeoned due to a close-knitted financial relationship already been accomplished between them. The link was especially prominent among the underlying economies in South East Asia, bound together by a regional pact ASEAN that aimed at strengthening and shielding at the same time, the international trade position of the East Asian tigers. These economies had secured massive as well as exemplary economic growth rates that awed many o thers. When these economies were recording a growth in real income equal to 7 percent per annum, the US economy lagged behind at a modest 2 percent. Many nations tried to imitate the fiscal configuration of policies being framed by these nations. However, the cheap labor that the economies in the South East Asian region were endowed with, could not be equaled anywhere else in the world. Hence, it was infeasible for others to carry on their production and supply their outputs at competent prices in the world market.

The racist media of America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The racist media of America - Essay Example This is really a big problem not only for the society but also for its future because racism affects every aspects of life. To understand why media always portray African Americans unfairly it is important to understand where this racism came from in the media. Live shows were very popular in American entertainment when there was no film and television long back ago. In 1920s stage shows was the main source of entertainment in America. During that period comedy shows are very popular and mockery of other races by the stage actors is very popular among the white audiences. Generally the white stage performers make the African Americans victims of their degrading jokes. During that period the most famous comedy show was the minstrel show. The minstrel show was started by in 1830s by the white actor, Thomas Dartmouth Rice. He copied the song-and-dance idea from the young African Americans artists who used to perform on the street. In this show the lead actor used to perform the role of "Daddy Rice" after blackened his face with burnt cork. He used to perform "Jump Jim Crow" while wearing tattered clothes. After few years, Edwin P. Christie, a white businessman, marketed the entire show which made the minstrel show more famous. After the laws were changed, the African Americans also performed in the show, but they too had to paint their face black for the show. There were several titles for minstrel shows. These shows are completely based on the stereotypes of African American cultures. Generally these shows are based on lazy African Americans who used to spoke poor English. Often white actors used to perform in a stupid way and audience used to laug h at them. The motion picture was started after the Thomas Edison invented the Kinetoscope 1889 and after the invention of cinema whites again started portraying the African Americans unfairly for their entertainment. The first full length feature film "The Epic Birth of a Nation" was released in America in 1915 in which Klu Klux Klan was portrayed as true American hero whereas blacks were portrayed as inferior and brutal to whites. In this way, the first movie which was made in America shows the brutal racism against the African Americans. In the early days of Hollywood there were many African American actors but almost all of them are portrayed as inferior and stupid servants with low level of intelligence. The minstrel image from the early days of the film and television of America still continue to haunt the media of this country. Men in Black and Rush Hour are the highest grossing films starring African American actors. In the movie Rush Hour Chris Tucker acts as an incompetent joker from the beginning till the end. Chris Tucker is now the highest paid African American actor in Hollywood. He collects over $20 million a movie. In Hollywood there are also serious actors such as Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington who do not perform minstrel roles like Chris Tucker, and both Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington are not highly paid as him. In Men in Black, Wills Smith had performed weird minstrel role and acted like a joker in the whole movie and handles the tiny gun incompetently. In America media plays an important role to guide the thoughts and mind of the people.

MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH PROGRAMS (Module 1 SLP) Essay

MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH PROGRAMS (Module 1 SLP) - Essay Example The manager of our interest was appointed as head of a health service and research institute in 1993, that time it was on the verge of closure due to mismanagement and inefficiency. The head excelled in planning, organizing, communicating, leading, controlling and monitoring. As showed by Koontz and O'Donnel (1959) the head had proficiency in all the major functions of a manager (Koontz & O'Donnel 1959). No doubt the head was an active leader. As showed by Bateman and Zeithaml (1993) the head used vision and judgement to create opportunities and did the right things (Bateman& Zeithaml, 1993). The head gave opportunity for high performance. Incentive was given for excellent performers. The head always ensured success and used to project ones own success as institutes success. Finally the head made everybody to believe that head is the personification of institute. The institute started progressing and at the end of a decade it became one of the internationally renowned institutes. Lot of laurels and praise came to the head of the institute. People started praising the head as one of the successful managers. the head got retired, the employees of the institute were divided in to two groups, one the so called high performers patronised by the head and two, the worthless low performers! Institute fell into internal squabbles and was in great trouble. Nobody had direction as everybody was accustomed to orders. Analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses In spite of being an active leader and visionary the head failed to develop positive work environment because the head gave orders rather than directions. Though the head gave opportunity and incentive for high performance in the process the head formed a group of henchmen. As depicted by Agars and Wilson (2005) the head applied the principles of classical conditioning in its crude form (Agars & Wilson, 2005). Person and group of persons took precedence over activity. Bateman and Zeithaml (1993) outlined effective manager as an active leader who creates a positive work environment in which the organization and its employees have the opportunity and the incentive to achieve high performance (Bateman & Zeithaml, 1993). Though successful the head failed to become an effective manager. References Agars, W.S., & Wilson, G.T. (2005). Learning theory. In B.J. Sadock & V.A.Sadock

Incumbents and Their Re-election Essay Example for Free

Incumbents and Their Re-election Essay Statistical research suggests that in 1998 a total of 395 Representatives and 26 Senators were reelected (U. S. Census, 2000). Since the middle of the 20th century and up to the present time, the process of re-electing incumbents has turned into one of the major political trends. The more incumbents sought to reestablish themselves in political office, the more concerned political scholars became about the causes and factors of such political advantage. The current state of political research suggests that a whole set of factors predetermines incumbents’ continuous political success, with access to media and excessive financial resources being the most important elements of political fight. True, those trying to become the members of political office for the first time often lack sufficient political opportunities, compared to resources, which incumbents can access and use in their election campaigns. Reelection of incumbents has already turned into the major political trend in the U. S. , and there are several reasons for that. To begin with, incumbents are frequently referred to as â€Å"the perks of Office†; in other words, all Congress members are given enough material and nonmaterial resources to hire professional staff, whose primary responsibility is to turn their Congress employers into well-represented, widely recognized and well-liked political figures (McKay 140). For example, incumbents can send postage-free letters to their constituents, and can use these as a part of their promotional political campaigns (McKay 140). These are just some out of many benefits which Congress members are being granted by the state. Time is just another component of incumbents’ success in Congress. It should be noted, that Congress is incumbents’ full-time job, and meeting voters, resolving local issues, and participating in public events and television shows are what they are being paid for. It appears that for many potential candidates to run for office and to try to combat an existing Congress member would mean to face the lack of media and financial resources, which for the current Congress members are available on a regular basis (McKay 147). Certainly, all these benefits would be irrelevant and unimportant if not for the image promotion and visibility of all Congress members. It is difficult to deny the fact that â€Å"sitting members of Congress are almost universally recognized in their districts† (Cusdi). This visibility is the direct result of one’s running for office, and after having served two or more years for Congress, its members become widely recognized and accepted among their constituents; and voters are more likely to give their vote to those whom they already know for their Congressional achievements than those, who just start their political career. It should also be noted, that such political visibility is directly associated with incumbents’ ability to organize their promotional campaigns. Having won at least one election campaign, an incumbent is more prepared to face the major political and organizational challenges than his (her) political opponents (McKay 152). Finally, these are financial resources that predetermine incumbents’ political successes. McKay writes that â€Å"for both senators and representatives, money has become a crucial resource in congressional elections. With voters acting in response to the appeal of individual candidates rather than to parties, both incumbents and challengers must ensure that the voters know who they are and what their record is† (169). It appears that in terms of money, incumbents also have significant comparative advantage over political outsiders. Average financial resources available to incumbents are 2-3 times higher than those available to challengers, which makes it impossible for the latter to develop well-grounded media campaigns. For example, in 2002 many Republican incumbents took advantage of â€Å"fundraising visits by President Bush during the 2002 election cycle† (Smith, Roberts Wielen 74). As a result, incumbents have much more chances to win elections for the second time, and will hardly give their position away to political outsiders. Conclusion A whole set of advantages works to provide incumbents with an opportunity to be reelected. Time, visibility, access to media, and excessive financial resources – all these factors make incumbents less vulnerable to political changes and give them a kind of comparative advantage over political challengers. On the one hand, these advantages seem to make elections unfair, but on the other hand, political outsiders have to develop convincing argumentation that would persuade constituents to change their political commitments, and to give a political beginner a unique chance to run for office.

Developing a Learning Organizational Culture

Developing a Learning Organizational Culture ABSTRACT Employees of an organization that has a mission of enhancing standards of excellence must have knowledge and skills that best suits their work. This then calls for continuous trainings of employees for an organization to better utilize the existing human resources. Training and Development is a major strategy to accomplish this objective. In this perspective there is need for flexibility which is required to respond effectively to the rapidly changing environment, Human Resource training efforts must enable the employees to perform multiple tasks in multiple roles while enhancing a good organizational learning culture. This paper therefore contributes to the debate by analyzing in detail the creation of a learning organizational culture We also examine the methodologies that enable us to show that even successful organizations do not always implement best practice Human Resource Management, and that there is frequently a discrepancy between intention and practice. conclusion at the individual and directorial levels are intricate and often contradictory; we question the extent to which it is possible or meaningful to attempt to measure the interrelationship between Human resources management, at the level of the formal system, and organizational performance, without taking into consideration the role played by the informal organization in the process and implementation of Human resources training. Introduction The human resource field takes a clear view of workers, supercilious that almost all wish to contribute to the enterprise productively, and that the main hindrance to their actions are lack of knowledge, insufficient training, and failures of process. Human resource management is seen as a more inventive aspect of workplace management other than the traditional approach. It results to the managers of an enterprise expressing their goals with specificity in order to be understood and undertaken by the workforce, providing the resources needed for them to successfully accomplish their assignments. As such, Human Resource management techniques, when properly practiced, are expressive of the goals and operating practices of the enterprise overall. Human Resource management is also seen by many to have a key role in continuous trainings of employees. The employees of an organization that has a mission of enhancing standards of excellence must have knowledge and skills that best suits there work. This then calls for continuous trainings of employees for an organization to better utilize the existing human resources. Training and development is a major strategy to accomplish this objective. In this perspective the flexibility required to respond effectively to the rapidly changing environment, Human Resource training efforts must enable the employees to perform multiple tasks in multiple roles (Adler 1997, p.13) Development and training The aim of the development function of human resources maintenance is to ensure that personnel are adequately trained to enable them to be capable to fulfil their goals, as well as to contribute to enhabnced performance and growth with their work . The development of employees can be regarded as a special field of human resource management that includes planned individual learning, education, organization development, career development and training. Training is an efficient method for altering an employees behavior to prepare the employee for a job or upgrade the employees performance on the job. Development involves the preparation of a person for broader responsibilities and higher-level positions within the company. Preparation and growth can fluctuate from one firm to another, as well as by type or size of service organization (Armstrong 1996, pp. 220 -221). To maximize training effectiveness, it is important to consider how employees learn most effectively. Culture as a factor has a strong impact on training practices in different parts of the world. For example, in the USA, where power distance is small, the interaction between the trainer and employees appears to be equal. The trainer and employees use first names, and the employees therefore feel free to challenge what the trainer says. In another country outside the USA like Malaysia, power distance is large, a trainer receives greater respect from the employee. The trained employees use his/ her surname and title, and he/ she is an expert that students rarely challenge. Defining a Learning Culture A learning tradition can be defined as an organization that knows how to learn, with people who freely share what they know and are willing to change based on the acquisition of new knowledge. Undoubtedly, one of the most significant rudiments of a learning culture are high quality, sound learning programs that are evaluated not only for their effectiveness but also for their potential for really making a difference. That kind of communal appraisal is a self-check on the worth of the program and whether its being endorsed and supported. Organizations that simply make public large catalogs of training courses without consulting their clients or assessing their unique needs exhibit more of a course culture — the more courses, the better — than a learning culture. Instructors that are content only to make public a large e-learning course catalog, and not much more, will be less likely too be seen as business problem-solvers (Galaghan, 1991, p. 43). An extra suggestion of a high-quality education society is higher-ranking management support — and Im not just talking about words, but long-term funding. For learning to hold base, senior executives must do extra than just endorse learning; they must embrace it and become users themselves. This will make them good role representation for the rest of the institute. Good learning traditions involve an savings in good learning depth and evaluation. Its serious to demonstrate that learning makes a variation and that its benefits are not simply conjecture. Some organizations that are just paying attention on plan and liberation tend to miss out on the front end (needs assessment) and the back end (evaluation), which are very culturally specific. Good learning traditions go out of classroom and out of the instructional mode to become involved in the workplace. If the staff gets two or three weeks of instruction a year, thats pretty good. But what is their responsibility for the remaining parts of the weeks? They didnt stop learning; theyre learning on the job. So the ease by which the workforce contacts information, form communities of performance, and use performance support to learn and improve their performance in the workplace is a sign of a good learning culture. An additional attribute of an education tradition is how well and how thoroughly we integrate front-line supervisors into our learning strategy. Do they commend whatsoever training the workers call for but not pay any attention to outcomes, or are they integrally involved in developing their people? Then theres the whole performance assessment and performance analysis scheme. To what degree is learning truly included and embroidered, and to what extent are employees encouraged in the review process to teach one another and share their knowledge? This is where it becomes very important to review not just whether the employee took the requisite number of hours or the requisite number of courses. That becomes very mechanical. Workers — above all managers — have to be weighed up on their coaching and support for learning. Executives must assume that liveliness comes in large part from learning and growing. They must actually consider about their own â€Å"knowledge measure† (their curiosity in, and capacity for, learning new things) and the learning quotient of their employees. Also, a learning society cannot give confidence to knowledge hoarding, but slightly knowledge sharing. If I know that Im going to be rated on the known, why would I share information with someone else — which would give them an advantage in the appraisal system, especially with companies that rate on a curve? If I come up with a brilliant idea and share it with everybody, I should get credit for sharing it, even though the idea then would not be to my exclusive benefit. The blueprint of a outcome evaluation scheme has to equal any kind of required rating and ranking with criteria that focuses on knowledge-sharing, learning and teamwork (Arthur 1994, p. 298). Creating a Learning Organization A learning organization can be described as one that is able to inspire commitment, and cultivate a culture of discovering and acquiring knowledge and experience for continued growth, development and success. The organizational learning process requires some relatively permanent change in behavior of its workers that results in continuous capability to adapt and change as the market, clients or environmental demands. To tackle these changes requires a strong commitment from management and often a significant shift in organization culture. One of the biggest challenges in moving toward the learning model is convincing and enabling employees to develop new ways of thinking about how things are smartly done. To be a learning organization also demands an open culture where information is shared, interdependence is high, collaboration is the norm, and achievement of the organization mission or vision is pursued with cooperation and open-mindedness ( Hofstede 1991, p. 304). A commitment to such a challenging level must offer tangible outcomes. The learning organization can also on the other hand have some distinct advantages, the most significant being the ability to respond to major change much more quickly than a more traditional organization. As well, learning organizations are more likely to embrace processes of systematic problem solving, and to focus on creating new ideas and solutions to optimize outcomes, versus the more traditional approach of trial and error or committing to approaches that have worked in the past. A typical learning organization will learn from past experiences and history, but utilize that experience to pursue more enlightened and future-directed outcomes. The plasticity and compliance intrinsic to a learning institution is determined by the rapid and efficient internal transfer of knowledge. The open culture and communication processes that are indicative of a learning organization are the enablers in this internal knowledg e transfer. Knowledge sharing encourages motivation and commitment from employees, by encouraging employee involvement in the process of creating and developing a learning culture, and by providing continuous constructive feedback ( Huselid 1995). The test for most associations is the shift from a long-established to a learning organization. How does one begin the practice of changing organization ethics, comprising organization acquaintances â€Å"unlearn† the old ways of doing things, and convincing them to embrace a culture that is committed to change, innovation and continuous improvement? The key is a well thought out strategy that is based on an in-depth understanding of the culture, values, market position, and knowledge base across the organization. For advanced organizations to successfully develop continuous learning, they should regard the Initial consultation within the senior leadership team to gain an accurate and detailed view of how the organization functions overall; structure, knowledge base, mission, goals, vision, culture and values, and; the rationale for becoming a learning organization. This information is necessary and invaluable when determining the requirement for and viability of a more detailed needs analysis (Stacey 1996, p. 64). The institutions should also take on a thoroughly need investigation through surveys, focus groups and key stakeholder interviews. It should also undertake a strategic planning and action by senior leaders based upon the in-depth needs analysis. Because contact is serious in organization expansion progression, it is therefore important to ensure all employees are aware of the process, and the targeted outcomes. It is essential to ensure that all employees understand the â€Å"learning organization† concept, the rationale and value, implications for employees, implementation process, and targeted outcomes. Through senior leaders, planning, organization and delivery of information workshops would facilitate provision of survey feedback, â€Å"educate† employees on the â€Å"learning organization† concept, solicit their ideas and concerns and achieve buy-in. An organization should establish a multi-dimensional management development program, which is essential for the successful implementation of a learning organization culture. The two major dimensions of the program would be: a formal management development process with a consulting focus, to prepare managers for their next promotion level, while strengthening performance in their current position and; a dynamic and substantive coaching program developed for each level of management. Both dimensions of the management development program would be aligned with organization mission, vision and goals, and would include a concerted focus on interpersonal skills development, in the learning organization milieu. An evaluation of developmental initiatives, and particularly the management development/coaching process, is necessary, to ensure that the â€Å"learning organization concept† is well entrenched within the organization (Triandis 1995, p. 39). Becoming a Learning Company The aptitude of a corporation to learn, not to be rigid, bright and responsive to sustain itself in the given environment is in the modern world being seen as the only way to manage a competitive advantage. Speculative images of the learning company thrive but there is little research focusing on companies who have actually applied the concepts and made them work. The following case study is concerned with describing a company which has attempted to become a learning organization. Prudential UK The Organization The Company started by giving loans and life insurance to people since 1848. Since then it has become a leading company, as measured by annual premium equivalent sales. Their service has also increased to include annuities, pensions, savings and investments. The company has offered financial services to many enterprises such as Jackson National Life, Prudential Corporation Asia and Egg. Prudential company is found in the United Kingdom, the United States and Asia and has employed over 20,000 people, 7,200 of whom are based in the UK and Mumbai. Globally Prudential Company has assets of 234 billion pounds on behalf of 19 million customers, to whom it promises, â€Å"In an uncertain world, we make it possible for everyone to enjoy a secure future†. The Challenge At the start of the decade the company had to accept a period of profound change to cater for the increasing demands of its highly-competitive and tightly-regulated market. In 2002 the companys leadership team learnt the way it would achieve this in a strategy called the ‘1,000 day plan, the cornerstone of which was best practice in all people policy and procedures. â€Å"We wanted to make sure that we involved our people to transform our business. To do this we harmonised our practices using the People Standard as our benchmark,† says Liane Collins, Human Resources and Learning and Development Operations Consultant. The plan was to provide success and the Standard helped the company to engage its people to succeed. By adopting Andra King from Capital Quality Limited as their external Adviser, the Prudentials aim was to maximise the potential of its people using a number of different tools such as continuous assessment and recognition. Using these tools the y wanted to continue to ensure that their people were at the heart of their business. A further difficulty was to ensure that its workers grasped and applied the brand values to everything they did. â€Å"We are focused to delivering the right services,† explains Liane. â€Å"We want our clients to know that we can be trusted, helpful and easy to deal with. Thats the experience we want them to have. Honest dialogue is the essence of what we believe in.† The Solution Among the first things to be done back at the outset of the 1,000 day plan in 2002 was to align learning materials with a Capability Framework, in which the company outlined the skills it needs to thrive. Since then understanding of the framework has leapt from under 40 per cent to over 90 per cent and there is noticeably more connectivity between company strategy and its people. Having established physical Learning Zones across its head offices in the first year of the plan, the second year saw the company bring learning to each desktop through an online learning management system called Learning Space. As well as providing a way to track learning achievements, it gives access to over 4,000 items of learning material. Nearly every employee has now actively used it, and so has helped put them in control of their own learning and development. At the same time highest achievers were offered access to the Pru University programme, an internal institution designed to develop a group of key managers and specialists committed to achieving our business goals. This concept was extended the following year to an Alumni scheme, allowing those who studied together to work and develop together. A talent management process was also introduced to ensure leaders are properly assessed. â€Å"The Pru University is aimed at influential people, ambassadors and drivers of change, irrespective of grade, who can contribute to the development of the organisation and make a real difference to the business,† says Head of Learning and Development Matthew Starks. More recently the company has started to implement best practice in encouraging healthy lifestyles, which research suggests will reduce the burden of self-reported sickness absence. Although it is too early to say what the results have been, the company estimates that it will lead to a five per cent reduction in absence and a ten per cent reduction in cases of stress reported to Occupational Health. It estimat es that the return will be  £2 for every  £1 spent on the project. The Results Business outcome is usually quantified using performance Indicators (KPIs), an array of measures which come under the headings of cashflow, customer, people, risk and compliance, profit, and shareholder. Absence, employee turnover, and performance remain key human resource measurements that are closely linked to the people indicator. But other variables that are factored include elements drawn from an employee survey and from the Organisation Cultural Index (OCI), a characterisation of a companys culture. Honest dialogue, simplicity and people all close to the companys desired brand values are consistently the highest scoring values, suggesting the aim of developing understanding of these among employees has been successful. Success s due to developments in its Learning, three-quarters of the people now understand how they can access learning and development opportunities and 88 per cent feel personably accountable for their own development. The vast majority of people 98 per cent have also used Learning Space the online learning management system. A group of initiatives has also delivered benefits. Self assessment by managers revealed that the number now rating their knowledge as ‘good has increased from 48 per cent to 92 per cent. Meanwhile an internal audit gave a positive evaluation of the performance review process with 88 per cent of people believing their review meetings to be open, honest and frank. Integrating communications with the strategy has proved an effective approach for Prudential. â€Å"There is now a greater connectivity with the strategy from the top and understanding of why things happen and the connections being made,† says Matthew. As a result one of the primary objectives which include, ensuring understanding of the 1,000 day plan among employees has been achieved. The ‘Living PRU survey found that the percentage of people who said they understood their role within the plan increased from 71 per cent in 2004 to 94 per cent the following year. External recognition has come on a number of levels for the company. Among a survey of 7,500 customers, 90 per cent of them said they were satisfied with the service provided. And on a business level, Prudential is also performing extremely well, posting a 33 per cent rise in pre-tax profits in 2005, well above market expectations. The one thousands day reform process come to an end in October 2005 having inspired a period of profound organisational change and improvement in business performance. One of the most dramatic changes came in June 2003, still the first year of the three year programme, when Prudential opened a $10 million customer service centre in Mumbai, Indias commercial capital. Champion Status To get success is a major endorsement of everything that the company tried to put in place. As Champions, Prudential intended to continue to build on its philosophy of sharing best practice. As well as being involved in forums, the company has worked alongside other organizations, including the Inland Revenue and the Department for Work and Pensions. It shares many of its activities through awards, articles, case studies and benchmarking forums. But, as a Champion the company looks forward to sharing its experience with other employers and showing how involving people in the business is the key to any organizations success. A human resource manager is involved in performance of the following tasks Planning He or she ensures that a firm has the right number and mix of people at the right times and places varying from long-range planning for large, stable companies to short-range crisis planning for thousands of small companies employing low-skilled and low-paid workers. (Haksever p217). In this case human resource, managers have to consider all of the laws that protect against discrimination and all of the requirements that employees must meet for the company. Effective planning by a human resource manager clearly brings accurate results that a company wants .in a case of staffing, understaffing result to result to the drop of the industries economies of scale and field of specialization, information, customers and the attained profits, while Overstaffing is extravagant and expensive, if continual, and it is costly to get rid of because of contemporary legislation in respect of joblessness payments, cons ultation and minimum periods of notice. Significantly, overstaffing reduces the competitive effectiveness of the business. An assessment of current and future needs of the organization has to be evaluated with present and future predicted resources when considering staffing. When proper steps are used in planning, it brings demand and supply into balance. The future demands of a company are influenced by the predictions of the personnel manager, who examine and adjust the simple delivery of the other managerial staff and also recruitments which depends on the following aspects The predictions of Sales and productivity Impact of technological change on job needs Difference in the competence, output, and suppleness of labor as a training result, job study, organizational alteration and new motivations. Renovation in employment performances by the involvement of subcontractors or organization staffs, hiving off tasks, buying in and substitution. Deviation, countering fresh legislation, for example payroll taxes, new health and safety requirements Adjustment in Government policies Logical staffing demands a plan for varying dates in the future which can then be compared with the crude supply schedules. The associations will then show what ladder must be taken to achieve a balance which involves the further preparation of such enrollment, training, or alteration in labor force operation as this will result to a balance in demand and supply (Claude Johannes 1999, p.115). Recruiting A human resource manager is involved in identifying people who could fill positions within the firm and then securing them as applicants. He has to plan a good job picture for the position and a specification of skills and abilities the candidate should have. A potential applicants list is developed from various sources, depending how the human resource manager decides to advertise the job opening. Managers obtain their recruits sources from internal and external sources. Advantages of internal recruiting The members of staff will not have to undergo basic teaching or learning all of the policies of the company. Disadvantages Inbreeding Results to seldom new ideas brought into the company. Jacuis (1975).An external source for recruiting brings into account the opposite of internal recruiting from outside the company. There are many forms of external recruiting. Some include employment agencies, advertising, Internet recruiting, and word of mouth. He is also involved in the recruitment of employees depending on: An examination of the work to be performed through carefully consideration of the errands to be carried out to establish their essentialities written into a career description so that the applicants know what physical and mental distinctiveness applicants must acquire, what traits and attitudes are attractive and what uniqueness are a certain disadvantage. Where substitution is to take effect, imperative questioning of the need to employ at all should be taken into consideration. Human resource managers have to search for recruitments in the following areas: 1.Domestic promotion 2.Careers advisors 3.Boards of university appointment 4.Unemployed agencies 5.Advertising Selecting Of Employees After applications have been confirmed, the human resource manager then begins the selection process basing on undoubtedly established criterion for performance of the job. The request form ought to be intended to discover the applicants skills and abilities for the job performance. The human resource managers choice reason could also be based on testing, interviews, references, and probationary periods of employment. (Simnett 1995, p.56). An effective selection is considered as buying an employee (the price being the wage or salary multiplied by probable years of service) hence the human resource manager has to carefully select to minimize and avoid in competencies in the company firms may involve external specialist consultants for selection of their employees Some small organizations exist to catch the attention of staff with high status from existing employers to the recruiting employer. Training and Development Training is an efficient method for altering an employees behavior to prepare the employee for a job or upgrade the employees performance on the job. Development involves the preparation of a person for broader responsibilities and higher-level positions within the company. Instruction and progress can differ from one firm to another, as well as by type or size of service organization. (Chaffee 1995, p. 46). Preparation in interviewing and in evaluating candidates is clearly crucial to good recruitment. For the most part the former consists of training interviewers how to draw out the interviewee and the latter how to rate the candidates. For consistency (and as a help to checking that) rating often consists of scoring candidates for experience, knowledge, physical/mental capabilities, intellectual levels, motivation, prospective potential, leadership abilities etc. (according to the needs of the post). Relevance of the normal curve of allocation to scoring g ets rid of freak judgments. Aims of Organization for Setting Reward System In Human Resource Management, the employee reward policy is intended to align employees with organizational strategy by providing incentives for employees to act in the firms interest and perform well over time. Anticipation theory carries a clear significance that workers must sense confident that their effort will affect the rewards they receive. Awareness of equity is therefore crucial in an employees judgment to remain and produce valuable work. Equity is a multidimensional construct, embracing external equity (the degree to which a firm pays employees the rate they would find in the external labor market), internal equity (the degree to which a firm differentiates pay between employees on the basis of performance in similar jobs), and individual equity (the degree to which employees are rewarded proportionately to their individual performance). For the reason that the varying strains of performance on human resources in high- velocity companies, perceptions of equity in its three forms may become confused, as job roles and job interdependence become more varied and flexible. Since employees would expect that as their job changes, so will their rewards, designing reward systems in high-velocity environments presents a major challenge to organizations. In high-velocity environments, a premium is placed on individuals who are able to operate in ambiguous circumstances and who are able to take advantage of loose job descriptions provided by their employers. Organizations in faster-moving surroundings are prepared to pay proportionally higher salaries to individuals who have such skills. We would expect, therefore, that emphasis on individually equitable rewards as a means of recruiting and retaining highly capable employees would be required (Farah 1991, p. 340). Employee Rewards Policy amended by the Human Resource Management can be classified under three broad headings: performance-contingent rewards, which explicitly reward through performance outputs; job-contingent rewards, where pay is contingent on job classification; and person-contingent rewards, in which pay is dependent on the competencies a person has (Dean Snell, 1993). Because both output orientation and job categorization may be complex to determine truthfully in high-velocity circumstances, the prospect of person-contingent rewards, which may encourage the values of learning, flexibility, and creativity, would seem to be best suited to fast-changing conditions. In addition, member of staff Reward Policy can be one of the best foundations of control available to a company in its quest to increase organizational performance and effectiveness, yet remain one of the most underutilized and potentially complex tools for driving organizational performance. The significance and diffi culty of connecting reward strategies to industrial goals in a systematic manner has been a recurrent argument in the study in this field, as has the importance and difficulty of linking rewards to the longer-term view (Hambrick Snow, 1989). In recounting the strongest stage of connection the stress has been placed on Lawlers (1990) description of reward processes which are capable of reinforcing the behaviors crucial to business strategy like long-term versus short-term, customer focus versus financial results. Utilizing This involves arranging the employees work to make them both productive and motivated. The factors that determine the effectiveness of human resource utilization include: 1.The structure of the work that provide an opportunity for â€Å"stretch† performance 2.Contribution in verdicts that have a straight forward effect on the persons job 3.Open interactions and fair setting up of assignments 4.Competent supervision and organizational flexibility 5.Economic and non-economic rewards that recognize achievement and equity 6.Opportunity for growth Role of Human Resource Management in Implementing a Learning Organization culture Human resource management has a strong impact on the organizational culture, it contributes a lot in implementing a learning organization because according to Senge, â€Å"the essence of a learning organization is that people are changing, people are developing w Developing a Learning Organizational Culture Developing a Learning Organizational Culture ABSTRACT Employees of an organization that has a mission of enhancing standards of excellence must have knowledge and skills that best suits their work. This then calls for continuous trainings of employees for an organization to better utilize the existing human resources. Training and Development is a major strategy to accomplish this objective. In this perspective there is need for flexibility which is required to respond effectively to the rapidly changing environment, Human Resource training efforts must enable the employees to perform multiple tasks in multiple roles while enhancing a good organizational learning culture. This paper therefore contributes to the debate by analyzing in detail the creation of a learning organizational culture We also examine the methodologies that enable us to show that even successful organizations do not always implement best practice Human Resource Management, and that there is frequently a discrepancy between intention and practice. conclusion at the individual and directorial levels are intricate and often contradictory; we question the extent to which it is possible or meaningful to attempt to measure the interrelationship between Human resources management, at the level of the formal system, and organizational performance, without taking into consideration the role played by the informal organization in the process and implementation of Human resources training. Introduction The human resource field takes a clear view of workers, supercilious that almost all wish to contribute to the enterprise productively, and that the main hindrance to their actions are lack of knowledge, insufficient training, and failures of process. Human resource management is seen as a more inventive aspect of workplace management other than the traditional approach. It results to the managers of an enterprise expressing their goals with specificity in order to be understood and undertaken by the workforce, providing the resources needed for them to successfully accomplish their assignments. As such, Human Resource management techniques, when properly practiced, are expressive of the goals and operating practices of the enterprise overall. Human Resource management is also seen by many to have a key role in continuous trainings of employees. The employees of an organization that has a mission of enhancing standards of excellence must have knowledge and skills that best suits there work. This then calls for continuous trainings of employees for an organization to better utilize the existing human resources. Training and development is a major strategy to accomplish this objective. In this perspective the flexibility required to respond effectively to the rapidly changing environment, Human Resource training efforts must enable the employees to perform multiple tasks in multiple roles (Adler 1997, p.13) Development and training The aim of the development function of human resources maintenance is to ensure that personnel are adequately trained to enable them to be capable to fulfil their goals, as well as to contribute to enhabnced performance and growth with their work . The development of employees can be regarded as a special field of human resource management that includes planned individual learning, education, organization development, career development and training. Training is an efficient method for altering an employees behavior to prepare the employee for a job or upgrade the employees performance on the job. Development involves the preparation of a person for broader responsibilities and higher-level positions within the company. Preparation and growth can fluctuate from one firm to another, as well as by type or size of service organization (Armstrong 1996, pp. 220 -221). To maximize training effectiveness, it is important to consider how employees learn most effectively. Culture as a factor has a strong impact on training practices in different parts of the world. For example, in the USA, where power distance is small, the interaction between the trainer and employees appears to be equal. The trainer and employees use first names, and the employees therefore feel free to challenge what the trainer says. In another country outside the USA like Malaysia, power distance is large, a trainer receives greater respect from the employee. The trained employees use his/ her surname and title, and he/ she is an expert that students rarely challenge. Defining a Learning Culture A learning tradition can be defined as an organization that knows how to learn, with people who freely share what they know and are willing to change based on the acquisition of new knowledge. Undoubtedly, one of the most significant rudiments of a learning culture are high quality, sound learning programs that are evaluated not only for their effectiveness but also for their potential for really making a difference. That kind of communal appraisal is a self-check on the worth of the program and whether its being endorsed and supported. Organizations that simply make public large catalogs of training courses without consulting their clients or assessing their unique needs exhibit more of a course culture — the more courses, the better — than a learning culture. Instructors that are content only to make public a large e-learning course catalog, and not much more, will be less likely too be seen as business problem-solvers (Galaghan, 1991, p. 43). An extra suggestion of a high-quality education society is higher-ranking management support — and Im not just talking about words, but long-term funding. For learning to hold base, senior executives must do extra than just endorse learning; they must embrace it and become users themselves. This will make them good role representation for the rest of the institute. Good learning traditions involve an savings in good learning depth and evaluation. Its serious to demonstrate that learning makes a variation and that its benefits are not simply conjecture. Some organizations that are just paying attention on plan and liberation tend to miss out on the front end (needs assessment) and the back end (evaluation), which are very culturally specific. Good learning traditions go out of classroom and out of the instructional mode to become involved in the workplace. If the staff gets two or three weeks of instruction a year, thats pretty good. But what is their responsibility for the remaining parts of the weeks? They didnt stop learning; theyre learning on the job. So the ease by which the workforce contacts information, form communities of performance, and use performance support to learn and improve their performance in the workplace is a sign of a good learning culture. An additional attribute of an education tradition is how well and how thoroughly we integrate front-line supervisors into our learning strategy. Do they commend whatsoever training the workers call for but not pay any attention to outcomes, or are they integrally involved in developing their people? Then theres the whole performance assessment and performance analysis scheme. To what degree is learning truly included and embroidered, and to what extent are employees encouraged in the review process to teach one another and share their knowledge? This is where it becomes very important to review not just whether the employee took the requisite number of hours or the requisite number of courses. That becomes very mechanical. Workers — above all managers — have to be weighed up on their coaching and support for learning. Executives must assume that liveliness comes in large part from learning and growing. They must actually consider about their own â€Å"knowledge measure† (their curiosity in, and capacity for, learning new things) and the learning quotient of their employees. Also, a learning society cannot give confidence to knowledge hoarding, but slightly knowledge sharing. If I know that Im going to be rated on the known, why would I share information with someone else — which would give them an advantage in the appraisal system, especially with companies that rate on a curve? If I come up with a brilliant idea and share it with everybody, I should get credit for sharing it, even though the idea then would not be to my exclusive benefit. The blueprint of a outcome evaluation scheme has to equal any kind of required rating and ranking with criteria that focuses on knowledge-sharing, learning and teamwork (Arthur 1994, p. 298). Creating a Learning Organization A learning organization can be described as one that is able to inspire commitment, and cultivate a culture of discovering and acquiring knowledge and experience for continued growth, development and success. The organizational learning process requires some relatively permanent change in behavior of its workers that results in continuous capability to adapt and change as the market, clients or environmental demands. To tackle these changes requires a strong commitment from management and often a significant shift in organization culture. One of the biggest challenges in moving toward the learning model is convincing and enabling employees to develop new ways of thinking about how things are smartly done. To be a learning organization also demands an open culture where information is shared, interdependence is high, collaboration is the norm, and achievement of the organization mission or vision is pursued with cooperation and open-mindedness ( Hofstede 1991, p. 304). A commitment to such a challenging level must offer tangible outcomes. The learning organization can also on the other hand have some distinct advantages, the most significant being the ability to respond to major change much more quickly than a more traditional organization. As well, learning organizations are more likely to embrace processes of systematic problem solving, and to focus on creating new ideas and solutions to optimize outcomes, versus the more traditional approach of trial and error or committing to approaches that have worked in the past. A typical learning organization will learn from past experiences and history, but utilize that experience to pursue more enlightened and future-directed outcomes. The plasticity and compliance intrinsic to a learning institution is determined by the rapid and efficient internal transfer of knowledge. The open culture and communication processes that are indicative of a learning organization are the enablers in this internal knowledg e transfer. Knowledge sharing encourages motivation and commitment from employees, by encouraging employee involvement in the process of creating and developing a learning culture, and by providing continuous constructive feedback ( Huselid 1995). The test for most associations is the shift from a long-established to a learning organization. How does one begin the practice of changing organization ethics, comprising organization acquaintances â€Å"unlearn† the old ways of doing things, and convincing them to embrace a culture that is committed to change, innovation and continuous improvement? The key is a well thought out strategy that is based on an in-depth understanding of the culture, values, market position, and knowledge base across the organization. For advanced organizations to successfully develop continuous learning, they should regard the Initial consultation within the senior leadership team to gain an accurate and detailed view of how the organization functions overall; structure, knowledge base, mission, goals, vision, culture and values, and; the rationale for becoming a learning organization. This information is necessary and invaluable when determining the requirement for and viability of a more detailed needs analysis (Stacey 1996, p. 64). The institutions should also take on a thoroughly need investigation through surveys, focus groups and key stakeholder interviews. It should also undertake a strategic planning and action by senior leaders based upon the in-depth needs analysis. Because contact is serious in organization expansion progression, it is therefore important to ensure all employees are aware of the process, and the targeted outcomes. It is essential to ensure that all employees understand the â€Å"learning organization† concept, the rationale and value, implications for employees, implementation process, and targeted outcomes. Through senior leaders, planning, organization and delivery of information workshops would facilitate provision of survey feedback, â€Å"educate† employees on the â€Å"learning organization† concept, solicit their ideas and concerns and achieve buy-in. An organization should establish a multi-dimensional management development program, which is essential for the successful implementation of a learning organization culture. The two major dimensions of the program would be: a formal management development process with a consulting focus, to prepare managers for their next promotion level, while strengthening performance in their current position and; a dynamic and substantive coaching program developed for each level of management. Both dimensions of the management development program would be aligned with organization mission, vision and goals, and would include a concerted focus on interpersonal skills development, in the learning organization milieu. An evaluation of developmental initiatives, and particularly the management development/coaching process, is necessary, to ensure that the â€Å"learning organization concept† is well entrenched within the organization (Triandis 1995, p. 39). Becoming a Learning Company The aptitude of a corporation to learn, not to be rigid, bright and responsive to sustain itself in the given environment is in the modern world being seen as the only way to manage a competitive advantage. Speculative images of the learning company thrive but there is little research focusing on companies who have actually applied the concepts and made them work. The following case study is concerned with describing a company which has attempted to become a learning organization. Prudential UK The Organization The Company started by giving loans and life insurance to people since 1848. Since then it has become a leading company, as measured by annual premium equivalent sales. Their service has also increased to include annuities, pensions, savings and investments. The company has offered financial services to many enterprises such as Jackson National Life, Prudential Corporation Asia and Egg. Prudential company is found in the United Kingdom, the United States and Asia and has employed over 20,000 people, 7,200 of whom are based in the UK and Mumbai. Globally Prudential Company has assets of 234 billion pounds on behalf of 19 million customers, to whom it promises, â€Å"In an uncertain world, we make it possible for everyone to enjoy a secure future†. The Challenge At the start of the decade the company had to accept a period of profound change to cater for the increasing demands of its highly-competitive and tightly-regulated market. In 2002 the companys leadership team learnt the way it would achieve this in a strategy called the ‘1,000 day plan, the cornerstone of which was best practice in all people policy and procedures. â€Å"We wanted to make sure that we involved our people to transform our business. To do this we harmonised our practices using the People Standard as our benchmark,† says Liane Collins, Human Resources and Learning and Development Operations Consultant. The plan was to provide success and the Standard helped the company to engage its people to succeed. By adopting Andra King from Capital Quality Limited as their external Adviser, the Prudentials aim was to maximise the potential of its people using a number of different tools such as continuous assessment and recognition. Using these tools the y wanted to continue to ensure that their people were at the heart of their business. A further difficulty was to ensure that its workers grasped and applied the brand values to everything they did. â€Å"We are focused to delivering the right services,† explains Liane. â€Å"We want our clients to know that we can be trusted, helpful and easy to deal with. Thats the experience we want them to have. Honest dialogue is the essence of what we believe in.† The Solution Among the first things to be done back at the outset of the 1,000 day plan in 2002 was to align learning materials with a Capability Framework, in which the company outlined the skills it needs to thrive. Since then understanding of the framework has leapt from under 40 per cent to over 90 per cent and there is noticeably more connectivity between company strategy and its people. Having established physical Learning Zones across its head offices in the first year of the plan, the second year saw the company bring learning to each desktop through an online learning management system called Learning Space. As well as providing a way to track learning achievements, it gives access to over 4,000 items of learning material. Nearly every employee has now actively used it, and so has helped put them in control of their own learning and development. At the same time highest achievers were offered access to the Pru University programme, an internal institution designed to develop a group of key managers and specialists committed to achieving our business goals. This concept was extended the following year to an Alumni scheme, allowing those who studied together to work and develop together. A talent management process was also introduced to ensure leaders are properly assessed. â€Å"The Pru University is aimed at influential people, ambassadors and drivers of change, irrespective of grade, who can contribute to the development of the organisation and make a real difference to the business,† says Head of Learning and Development Matthew Starks. More recently the company has started to implement best practice in encouraging healthy lifestyles, which research suggests will reduce the burden of self-reported sickness absence. Although it is too early to say what the results have been, the company estimates that it will lead to a five per cent reduction in absence and a ten per cent reduction in cases of stress reported to Occupational Health. It estimat es that the return will be  £2 for every  £1 spent on the project. The Results Business outcome is usually quantified using performance Indicators (KPIs), an array of measures which come under the headings of cashflow, customer, people, risk and compliance, profit, and shareholder. Absence, employee turnover, and performance remain key human resource measurements that are closely linked to the people indicator. But other variables that are factored include elements drawn from an employee survey and from the Organisation Cultural Index (OCI), a characterisation of a companys culture. Honest dialogue, simplicity and people all close to the companys desired brand values are consistently the highest scoring values, suggesting the aim of developing understanding of these among employees has been successful. Success s due to developments in its Learning, three-quarters of the people now understand how they can access learning and development opportunities and 88 per cent feel personably accountable for their own development. The vast majority of people 98 per cent have also used Learning Space the online learning management system. A group of initiatives has also delivered benefits. Self assessment by managers revealed that the number now rating their knowledge as ‘good has increased from 48 per cent to 92 per cent. Meanwhile an internal audit gave a positive evaluation of the performance review process with 88 per cent of people believing their review meetings to be open, honest and frank. Integrating communications with the strategy has proved an effective approach for Prudential. â€Å"There is now a greater connectivity with the strategy from the top and understanding of why things happen and the connections being made,† says Matthew. As a result one of the primary objectives which include, ensuring understanding of the 1,000 day plan among employees has been achieved. The ‘Living PRU survey found that the percentage of people who said they understood their role within the plan increased from 71 per cent in 2004 to 94 per cent the following year. External recognition has come on a number of levels for the company. Among a survey of 7,500 customers, 90 per cent of them said they were satisfied with the service provided. And on a business level, Prudential is also performing extremely well, posting a 33 per cent rise in pre-tax profits in 2005, well above market expectations. The one thousands day reform process come to an end in October 2005 having inspired a period of profound organisational change and improvement in business performance. One of the most dramatic changes came in June 2003, still the first year of the three year programme, when Prudential opened a $10 million customer service centre in Mumbai, Indias commercial capital. Champion Status To get success is a major endorsement of everything that the company tried to put in place. As Champions, Prudential intended to continue to build on its philosophy of sharing best practice. As well as being involved in forums, the company has worked alongside other organizations, including the Inland Revenue and the Department for Work and Pensions. It shares many of its activities through awards, articles, case studies and benchmarking forums. But, as a Champion the company looks forward to sharing its experience with other employers and showing how involving people in the business is the key to any organizations success. A human resource manager is involved in performance of the following tasks Planning He or she ensures that a firm has the right number and mix of people at the right times and places varying from long-range planning for large, stable companies to short-range crisis planning for thousands of small companies employing low-skilled and low-paid workers. (Haksever p217). In this case human resource, managers have to consider all of the laws that protect against discrimination and all of the requirements that employees must meet for the company. Effective planning by a human resource manager clearly brings accurate results that a company wants .in a case of staffing, understaffing result to result to the drop of the industries economies of scale and field of specialization, information, customers and the attained profits, while Overstaffing is extravagant and expensive, if continual, and it is costly to get rid of because of contemporary legislation in respect of joblessness payments, cons ultation and minimum periods of notice. Significantly, overstaffing reduces the competitive effectiveness of the business. An assessment of current and future needs of the organization has to be evaluated with present and future predicted resources when considering staffing. When proper steps are used in planning, it brings demand and supply into balance. The future demands of a company are influenced by the predictions of the personnel manager, who examine and adjust the simple delivery of the other managerial staff and also recruitments which depends on the following aspects The predictions of Sales and productivity Impact of technological change on job needs Difference in the competence, output, and suppleness of labor as a training result, job study, organizational alteration and new motivations. Renovation in employment performances by the involvement of subcontractors or organization staffs, hiving off tasks, buying in and substitution. Deviation, countering fresh legislation, for example payroll taxes, new health and safety requirements Adjustment in Government policies Logical staffing demands a plan for varying dates in the future which can then be compared with the crude supply schedules. The associations will then show what ladder must be taken to achieve a balance which involves the further preparation of such enrollment, training, or alteration in labor force operation as this will result to a balance in demand and supply (Claude Johannes 1999, p.115). Recruiting A human resource manager is involved in identifying people who could fill positions within the firm and then securing them as applicants. He has to plan a good job picture for the position and a specification of skills and abilities the candidate should have. A potential applicants list is developed from various sources, depending how the human resource manager decides to advertise the job opening. Managers obtain their recruits sources from internal and external sources. Advantages of internal recruiting The members of staff will not have to undergo basic teaching or learning all of the policies of the company. Disadvantages Inbreeding Results to seldom new ideas brought into the company. Jacuis (1975).An external source for recruiting brings into account the opposite of internal recruiting from outside the company. There are many forms of external recruiting. Some include employment agencies, advertising, Internet recruiting, and word of mouth. He is also involved in the recruitment of employees depending on: An examination of the work to be performed through carefully consideration of the errands to be carried out to establish their essentialities written into a career description so that the applicants know what physical and mental distinctiveness applicants must acquire, what traits and attitudes are attractive and what uniqueness are a certain disadvantage. Where substitution is to take effect, imperative questioning of the need to employ at all should be taken into consideration. Human resource managers have to search for recruitments in the following areas: 1.Domestic promotion 2.Careers advisors 3.Boards of university appointment 4.Unemployed agencies 5.Advertising Selecting Of Employees After applications have been confirmed, the human resource manager then begins the selection process basing on undoubtedly established criterion for performance of the job. The request form ought to be intended to discover the applicants skills and abilities for the job performance. The human resource managers choice reason could also be based on testing, interviews, references, and probationary periods of employment. (Simnett 1995, p.56). An effective selection is considered as buying an employee (the price being the wage or salary multiplied by probable years of service) hence the human resource manager has to carefully select to minimize and avoid in competencies in the company firms may involve external specialist consultants for selection of their employees Some small organizations exist to catch the attention of staff with high status from existing employers to the recruiting employer. Training and Development Training is an efficient method for altering an employees behavior to prepare the employee for a job or upgrade the employees performance on the job. Development involves the preparation of a person for broader responsibilities and higher-level positions within the company. Instruction and progress can differ from one firm to another, as well as by type or size of service organization. (Chaffee 1995, p. 46). Preparation in interviewing and in evaluating candidates is clearly crucial to good recruitment. For the most part the former consists of training interviewers how to draw out the interviewee and the latter how to rate the candidates. For consistency (and as a help to checking that) rating often consists of scoring candidates for experience, knowledge, physical/mental capabilities, intellectual levels, motivation, prospective potential, leadership abilities etc. (according to the needs of the post). Relevance of the normal curve of allocation to scoring g ets rid of freak judgments. Aims of Organization for Setting Reward System In Human Resource Management, the employee reward policy is intended to align employees with organizational strategy by providing incentives for employees to act in the firms interest and perform well over time. Anticipation theory carries a clear significance that workers must sense confident that their effort will affect the rewards they receive. Awareness of equity is therefore crucial in an employees judgment to remain and produce valuable work. Equity is a multidimensional construct, embracing external equity (the degree to which a firm pays employees the rate they would find in the external labor market), internal equity (the degree to which a firm differentiates pay between employees on the basis of performance in similar jobs), and individual equity (the degree to which employees are rewarded proportionately to their individual performance). For the reason that the varying strains of performance on human resources in high- velocity companies, perceptions of equity in its three forms may become confused, as job roles and job interdependence become more varied and flexible. Since employees would expect that as their job changes, so will their rewards, designing reward systems in high-velocity environments presents a major challenge to organizations. In high-velocity environments, a premium is placed on individuals who are able to operate in ambiguous circumstances and who are able to take advantage of loose job descriptions provided by their employers. Organizations in faster-moving surroundings are prepared to pay proportionally higher salaries to individuals who have such skills. We would expect, therefore, that emphasis on individually equitable rewards as a means of recruiting and retaining highly capable employees would be required (Farah 1991, p. 340). Employee Rewards Policy amended by the Human Resource Management can be classified under three broad headings: performance-contingent rewards, which explicitly reward through performance outputs; job-contingent rewards, where pay is contingent on job classification; and person-contingent rewards, in which pay is dependent on the competencies a person has (Dean Snell, 1993). Because both output orientation and job categorization may be complex to determine truthfully in high-velocity circumstances, the prospect of person-contingent rewards, which may encourage the values of learning, flexibility, and creativity, would seem to be best suited to fast-changing conditions. In addition, member of staff Reward Policy can be one of the best foundations of control available to a company in its quest to increase organizational performance and effectiveness, yet remain one of the most underutilized and potentially complex tools for driving organizational performance. The significance and diffi culty of connecting reward strategies to industrial goals in a systematic manner has been a recurrent argument in the study in this field, as has the importance and difficulty of linking rewards to the longer-term view (Hambrick Snow, 1989). In recounting the strongest stage of connection the stress has been placed on Lawlers (1990) description of reward processes which are capable of reinforcing the behaviors crucial to business strategy like long-term versus short-term, customer focus versus financial results. Utilizing This involves arranging the employees work to make them both productive and motivated. The factors that determine the effectiveness of human resource utilization include: 1.The structure of the work that provide an opportunity for â€Å"stretch† performance 2.Contribution in verdicts that have a straight forward effect on the persons job 3.Open interactions and fair setting up of assignments 4.Competent supervision and organizational flexibility 5.Economic and non-economic rewards that recognize achievement and equity 6.Opportunity for growth Role of Human Resource Management in Implementing a Learning Organization culture Human resource management has a strong impact on the organizational culture, it contributes a lot in implementing a learning organization because according to Senge, â€Å"the essence of a learning organization is that people are changing, people are developing w