Property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Property - Essay Example It is in this scenario that the concept of property development & management comes into the picture, which provides the developer with a rigid framework for the effective development of a property. The present report will evaluate the viability of developing a small office site in a suburban London town location. All along, the report will concentrate on the information gathered on the property and will attempt to assess the viability of developing the property based on a series of valuations, funding proposals and elevations of the completed scheme. The report will initially consider, outline and assess the various important factors that will influence the decision to build and develop the property. The report therefore, would emphasize on planning the development of the property in the context of urban development, construction, quantity surveying, and design & property development. The report would then list out all the factors governing the development of the small office site and would proceed with discussing the development appraisal that was initiated as a major constituent of the property development scheme and will also model the cash flow involved. Therefore, the report would evaluate the viability of the small office site property development proposal on the whole. FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROPERTY The concept of property development especially with regards to commercial spaces has been a subject of constant debate and a plethora of literature is available in this regard. Among the literature available, major topics of discussion have been focusing on evaluating commercial property sites on the basis of nearness to the target customer base & urban centres, location of transport facilities, the government legislation and the political situation etc. The current section will aim to outline the basic set of factors that were currently prevalent at the small office cite in suburban London.The first and the foremost factor that influenced the development of the small office site were the availability of the land, and the presence of other critical facilities. Even though the land was available, it was important to assess whether the quality of the soil was good enough for construction purposes. A civil engineer who conducted surveys of the land and certified that the proposed site was suitable evaluated the land. In addition it was also important to determine the nearness of the property to hotels and cafeterias for the purposes of the employees who would be working in the office site. It was additionally important to determine the availability of drinking water in the area. Fortunately, the area was quite populated and as such, both these needs were not a problem at all. The area was abundant with hotels and the local water department ensured a constant supply of clean drinking water. Thus, the prime concern under the property development scheme was to assess the proposed site for its physical suitability for development.The next major consideration under this was to dig into the legal restrictions of the area. This was important as certain areas had a different pattern of construction norms and adhering to the law of the land was extremely important. For this, the help

The Dred Scott Decision Essay Example for Free

The Dred Scott Decision Essay The Dred Scott decision of 1865 had many implications on the status of free blacks in the United States, along with the concept of popular sovereignty, and the future of slavery in America. Dred Scott was a slave who moved in with his master to the free state of Illinois. He claimed that residence in a free state made him a free man, and he fought for his freedom all the way to the Supreme Court (1865). Chief Justice Taney ruled that since blacks could not be citizens, they had no right to sue in a federal court. The court also went further and said the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. This decision greatly affected the status of free blacks in the United States. They were not allowed any additional rights due to the fact that they were not citizens. Therefore, they could not advance in society socially, and otherwise. Because of this, they could not vote and freely voice their opinions as the Constitution did not apply to them. The Dred Scott decision also had many implications on the concept of popular sovereignty. It was questioned that if Congress could not exclude slaves from a territory, how could a mere territorial legislature do so? Until statehood was granted, slavery seemed as unprofaned as freedom of religion or speech or any other civil liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. Where formerly freedmen (as guaranteed in the Bill of Rights) was a national institution and slavery a local one, now according to the Court, slavery was nationwide, as was excluded only where states specifically abolished it. This meant that popular sovereignty had virtually no jurisdiction in the aspect of slavery in a territory, because slavery was only abolished if a state specifically said so. The future of slavery was also impacted upon by the Dred Scott decision. It convinced thousands that the South was engaged in an aggressive attempt to extend the peculiar institution so far that it could no longer be considered peculiar. Although slavery was eventually outlawed, at that time it seemed that there was to be no end.

Tuberculosis and Typhus Fever: Diseases of Class in 19th-Century Englan

Tuberculosis and Typhus Fever: Diseases of Class in 19th-Century England Missing Works Cited Although more prevalent amongst the working class, tuberculosis and typhus fever were contracted by all populations in Victorian England. People of the upper and middle classes could afford treatment while the poor were often subjected to unsanitary, disease-ridden living conditions. Charity schools were common places of infection due to inedible food and a vulnerability to contagion, i.e., the necessity of sharing beds and drinking from a common cup. F.B. Smith confirms the increased likelihood of disease within charity schools in his book The Retreat of Tuberculosis. He states "Charity school children displayed above average rates (of tuberculosis) even though the badly affected individuals usually were excluded" (7). Tuberculosis and typhus fever outbreaks, increased significantly in the nineteenth century due to overcrowding, poor housing conditions, low wages and standards of nutrition, ignorance, and lack of effective medical treatment. Tuberculosis is marked by symptoms such as a hollow cough, an emaciated body, nightly weats and daily intermittent fevers. Tuberculosis was common amongst working classes because it was contracted through pestilent, infected air, manifesting itself in places surrounded by swampy land. Geography plays an important role in the transmission of tuberculosis. The working classes could not afford to live in areas that were free of the epidemic. The upper classes did contract consumption, although they sought the medicine of the day which often brought them to health. The most popular remedy was a sea voyage in a warm climate, but also pure air and the most nutritious food were encouraged. Accordi... ...the poor were supposed to be upgraded by industrial innovations; but, on the other hand, company waste and inadequate working conditions, exploitation, took a severe toll on the very people this revolution was supposed to help. The mass presence of disease was due to the degradation of society. Poor conditions of various institutions, a side effect of the revolution, presented a dangerous risk of exposure for lower, working class families. Tuberculosis and typhus fever were painful, contagious, and long-lasting epidemics that killed people of all classes. Naturally, the lower classes suffered the most. The upper classes reaped the financial benefits from this new urban society, while the working classes were subjected to filthy, disease-ridden atmosphere. The impoverished have always been the disadvantaged, but in 19th century England, they paid with their lives.

Overview on ZEN Works

Zero Effort Networks (Z.E.N. works) is a great new tool in NetWare 5, that makes the network administrator†s job a lot easier by allowing him to spend less time at each user workstation. To be able to use the Z.E.N. works these are the minimum hardware requirements: Processor: 486/33 or higher Memory: 16 MB (for Windows 95); 24 MB (for Windows NT) Hard disk space: 4 MB (workstation; 24 MB (full station) Z.E.N. works needs to be installed on the server and the client on the workstation needs to be updated. During the installation process Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) are copied to the workstation. DLLs contain subprograms that are called by an application to perform certain operations. Another utility that is included in Z.E.N. works to help the distribution and management of applications is the Application Launcher, which consists of four major components: Application objects in the NDS tree Application Launcher Window and Application object The snAppShot utility allows you take a â€Å"snapshot† of the Windows workstation before installing the application. The snapshot includes Registry settings along with the names of system and application files on the workstation. After the application has been installed, the snAppShot utility takes another picture of the workstation†s configuration and then uses the two snapshots to create an Application Object Template (AOT) file. The Application Launcher uses the AOT file to determine what Registry settings and system files need to be copied to the workstation to run the application from the network. In addition to including configuration settings and system file names, the AOT file also contains the name of the Application object and the path where you want to store the AOT and installation files. Consequently, before running the snAppShot utility, you need to define the name you want to use for the Application object and decide where the application and AOT files will be stored. The Application Launcher software consists of two components: the wrapper program and the launcher. The wrapper program determines which launcher program (NALW31.EXE, NALWIN32.EXE, or NAL.EXE) to run based on the client computer†s operating system. The launcher program then determines the Application objects to which the user has access and displays a window showing all applications the user has been authorized to run. When the user selects an application, the launcher determines whether the application is installed on the workstation. If this is the first time the user has run the application from this workstation, the application will automatically be installed using the AOT file created by the snAppShot utility. If Application Launcher senses that the application configuration has been damaged, or files are missing or corrupt, it will automatically correct the application configuration and copy and damaged or missing files.

Economic reform in the Soviet Union and Russia Essay

Economic reforms in Russia and the Soviet Union have really never come to be, even after the constant assurances that the government gives its citizens that it is doing everything in its power to bring this to pass. One of the reasons this has been so difficult to achieve is the ‘man exploitation of man’ notion. Having some people live with hardly an income of between $40-$60 a month while others take huge amounts of profits made by years of an average man’s effort and labor not to mention the illegal owning of the country’s natural resources. Russia’s enormous size has also contributed to the delayed reforms. Russia is a large country which stretches across eleven time zones and eighty nine different regional governments. This has made the long distance between the locations promote the difficulty in communication and transportation. The presence of a weak central government in Moscow sometimes makes the officials far away from the capital refuse to carry out the reform programmes. There has been a lot of organized crime which especially grew in the 1990s. The ‘Russian Mafia’ had at one point in 1998 been estimated to control 40 percent of the private companies and 60 percent of state owned enterprises. It was like they had their own economy. This mafia even expanded outside Russia. This affected the economic growth for it rewarded illegal activity over honest business. Mikhail Gorbachev had brought about some economic reforms which unfortunately, yielded little results. There was the alcohol reform which involved the increment of alcohol prices such vodka and beer. Wineries were also destroyed and drinking in public prohibited. This failed due to the blockage of information by the conservatives making the pace of the reforms too slow. It brought about a huge blow to states budget making a huge loss. The glasnost reform which meant greater freedom of speech was introduced. Gorbachev intended to let the media and the public openly criticizes the government decisions. This turned out to be a mistake as the media used it to reveal some of the mistakes the government had done in the past like to severely punish its citizens. The freedom got way out of hand more than Gorbachev had intended which made the citizens change their views towards the government (Katz, 2008). Gorbachev political initiatives were positive for freedom and democracy, but his economic policies brought the country close to a disaster. There were severe shortages of basic food supplies that led to the supply of limited food substances to the citizens. Yeltsin did not do much to help in implementing the reforms. Although he advertised self sacrifice by riding in city buses, visiting factories and stores, talked with commuters, gathered hundreds of officials who were corrupt and gathered information on deficiencies, he resigned in October 21, 1987 claiming that the economic reform was proceeding too slowly. He blamed this on Gorbachev associate claiming that he had been blocking his attempts to improve the lives of Moscow’s common folk. References Katz, A. (2008). The politics of economic reform in the Soviet Union. New York: Praeger

Plant Biotechnology essays

Plant Biotechnology essays The earth can be seen as an ecological system which includes the birth/death rates, water/air management, minerals/energy, and plant/animal life. When there is an imbalance in one of these systems, problems can arise. The plant/animal subsystem has four components: Food and population, minerals and energy, excretory, and biotechnology. The food and population system is the ratio between the calories of the living and human behavior. Currently, 1 trillion calories of food are needed per day. The energy and mineral system is comprised of the use of fuels, metal and resources that humans need to survive. The excretory system is the waste and pollution produced from the other subsystems. For example, the agriculture industry impacts the soil and climate of the environments. Pesticides seep into the ground water and linger in foods causing precious resources to be lost. In order to sustain the ecological system, water, soil and sunlight are needed to produce food. The ways to increase the production of food are to increase the acres under cultivation or to increase the yield of current crops. To do this, the fourth system of biotechnology is necessary to ease the strain on the other three systems because it conserves resources and produces higher crop yields. Although there may be draw back and potential dangers of biotechnology, countries that have problems with population and food such as China, need to use this and other technology to increase their food supply. The problem of overpopulation with not having enough food has always existed worldwide, but primarily in China. In 46 years, the worlds population has increased from two billion to six billion people. China has tried family planning in order to combat its population problems. Each family is allowed to have only one child and special permission is needed to have that one child. Failure to follow the one child rule results in economic hardships for the family. These reper...

Teaching Reading Comprehension to Dyslexic Students

Teaching Reading Comprehension to Dyslexic Students Reading comprehension is frequently very difficult for students with dyslexia. They are challenged by word recognition; they may forget a word even though they have seen it several times. They may spend so much time and effort in sounding words out, they lose the meaning of the text or they may need to read a passage over and over to fully understand what is being said. An in-depth report, completed by the National Reading Panel in 2000, provides a look at how teachers can best teach students reading comprehension. This skill is considered essential, not only in learning to read but also in lifelong learning. The panel held regional public hearings with teachers, parents, and students to help form an understanding of what was required in making sure students had a solid foundation of reading skills. Reading comprehension was listed as one of the five most important skills in developing reading. According to the panel, there were three specific themes within reading comprehension that were discussed: Vocabulary InstructionText Comprehension InstructionTeacher Preparation and Comprehension Strategies Instruction Vocabulary Instruction Teaching vocabulary increases reading comprehension. The more words a student knows, the easier it is to understand what is being read. Students must also be able to decode unfamiliar words, that is, they must be able to derive the meaning of the word through knowledge or similar words or through the surrounding text or speech. For example, a student can better understand the word truck if they first understand the word car or a student can guess what the word truck means by looking at the rest of the sentence, such as The farmer loaded hay in the back of his truck and drove away. The student can assume that the truck is something you drive, thereby being like a car, but is bigger since it can hold hay. The panel found that using a variety of methods to teach vocabulary worked better than simple vocabulary lessons. Some of the successful methods included:Using computer and technology to aid in vocabulary instruction Repetitive exposure to wordsLearning vocabulary words prior to reading textIndirect learning of vocabulary, for example, using vocabulary words in a number of different contextsLearning vocabulary in both written text and oral speech Teachers should not rely on a single method of teaching vocabulary but instead should combine different methods to create interactive and multi-faceted vocabulary lessons that are age-appropriate for the students. Text Comprehension Instruction Text comprehension, or understanding what the printed words mean as a whole rather than understanding individual words, is the basis of reading comprehension. The panel found that comprehension is enhanced when readers actively relate the ideas represented in print to their own knowledge and experiences and construct mental representations in memory. Further, it was found that when cognitive strategies were used during reading, comprehension increased. Some of the specific reading comprehension strategies that were found to be effective are: Teaching students to monitor their understanding of the material as they readHaving students practice reading comprehension skills as a groupUsing pictures and graphics to represent the material being learnedAnswering questions about the materialCreating questions about the materialDetermining the structure of the storySummarizing the material As with vocabulary instruction, it was found that using a combination of reading comprehension strategies and making lessons multisensory was more effective than using a single strategy. In addition, understanding that strategies may change depending on what is being read was important. For example, reading science text may require a different strategy than reading a story. Students who are able to experiment with different strategies better equipped to determine which strategy will work for their current assignment. Teacher Preparation and Comprehension Strategies Instruction In order to teach reading comprehension, the teacher must, of course, be knowledgeable of all of the components of reading comprehension. Specifically, teachers should receive training in explaining the strategies to students, modeling thinking processes, encouraging students to be curious about what they are reading, keeping students interested and creating interactive reading instruction. There are two main approaches to teaching reading comprehension strategies: Direct Explanation: Using this approach, the teacher explains the reasoning and mental processes used to make text meaningful. Teachers can explain that reading and understanding text is a problem-solving exercise. For example, when summarizing what has been read, a student can play the part of a detective, looking for important information in the text. Transaction Strategy Instruction: This approach also uses direct explanations of the strategies used in reading comprehension but includes class and group discussions on the material in order to develop a deeper understanding of the material. Source Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction, 2000, National Reading Panel, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Government

14 Things You Need to Know as a New Nurse

14 Things You Need to Know as a New Nurse So you’ve made it. You want to be a nurse and now you’re ready to begin your nursing career. Here are 14 tips from actual nurses, things they wish they’d known back when they first were starting out, that can help set you on a steeper learning curve as a new nurse. 1. Your schedule is different on paper vs. in real lifeYour schedule might look totally doable- a manageable series of shifts (most hospitals would say 3 shifts of 12 hours each). But when you factor in changeover duties, exchanging important patient information before and after each work day, and your commute? Those days are easily 15 hours. And those four days off per week? Forget it. Be ready for the 5 a.m. phone calls begging you to pinch hit when you’re understaffed. Best be prepared for more hours than your schedule would suggest on paper.2. Your duties expand far and wideThe definition of â€Å"nursing,† as it turns out, has a lot more to it than just the medical care you were trai ned to give. Expect also to have to perform the tasks of waitress, housekeeper, advocate, crusader, IT person, mediator, electrician, errand runner, and counselor. The more your realize how much outside stuff will factor into your ability to get your actual job done, the better a nurse you’ll be.3. Your memory game must be on pointIf you don’t have an outstanding memory, you’d better come up with a mnemonic system to keep things better in your head, or at least be extremely organized and know where you’ve recorded the details you really can’t forget. You’ll be expected to know without hesitation details about your patient, their disease profile, the technology you’ll need to wield, medication interactions, etc. Often as a matter of life and death.4. Your mistakes will be plentifulIt would be naà ¯ve to think that you won’t make them. You will. Everyone does. The first one will feel awful, and you’ll probably cry, but yo u’ll be very unlikely ever to make it again. Do your best to learn from your mistakes. They’ll make you a much better nurse. And take extra care with medications- they’re the easiest thing to mess up!5. You will learn how to handle the most difficult thingNursing school, no matter how much you think it has, cannot prepare you to witness your first, second, or two hundredth death. You will see hundreds and they will not get easier. Each will be different and tragic in their own way.6. You will develop a sick sense of humorIf you don’t have one already, you will soon. You and your coworkers will find yourselves making jokes you’d never even realize were joke-worthy before you became a nurse. Just go with it. This is how we keep each other sane.7. You will be attached to the phoneYou’ll be dealing with patients a great deal. You’ll be expected to be graceful under fire. But you’ll also spend an ungodly amount of time, tedious time , on the telephone. Other departments, doctors, pharmacies, insurance companies, supply companies, etc. Train yourself to have excellent phone demeanor and you’ll go far.8. Your body will take a beatingIt will hurt you. After almost every shift. And as you grow older and more seasoned in your career, it will only hurt more. You’re standing, walking, lifting patients and equipment. It takes a toll. Take good care of yourself. Stretch. Learn to optimize your body mechanics- standing, sitting, bending, lifting. Wear compression stockings and good, supportive shoes.9. Your friends and family become bonus patientsYou’re never going to be off the clock. Not as long as your friends and family have cell phones and cameras and can send you their complaints and health questions. Just get used to it. You’ll have a hard time turning loved ones away when you or your colleagues might be of help.10. Your pay is not as high as it should beIt will never be enough for the amount of work you’re expected to do just to perform your base duties. But there are always opportunities for you to pick up extra shifts and overtime. If you can do the extra work, you can make the extra cash.11. Your schedule will be all over the placeKiss your weekends and holidays goodbye. And be prepared to explain to your friends and family why you can’t always be counted on to come to dinners and birthday parties and weekends away. Eventually you’ll all get used to the way things have to be.12. Your second family will be at workYour coworkers will become your family. You’ll be battle tested. And you’ll see everything, process everything, mourn and celebrate everything as a little unit. You’ll love and hate them, and celebrate most holidays by their side.13. You will come to depend upon breakfastIs more important for you than for almost any one else in any other career. Make sure you eat it, even if you do it during your commute. It mi ght be the only chance you get to eat. And try to load up on protein bars or drinks to keep you going when you only have two minutes to eat and no time to chew!14. You will learn the meaning of commitmentProbably the most important thing to ask yourself is how much you actually want this. Nursing isn’t for everyone. It’s a thankless, underappreciated, underpaid profession, but if it’s what you love, you’ll be able to hang in there no matter what. Do a bit of soul searching to find the kind of dedication you’ll need to keep you going during the course of your long career.

The Human Genome Project promises a revolutionary insight to the Essay

The Human Genome Project promises a revolutionary insight to the genetic 'blueprint' of the human body. Consider the social, - Essay Example Ethical issues include balancing individual interests against the interests of others, and such considerations as potentially racist applications and unforeseen consequences of information which gene-related activities can produce. Some of the most critical issues such as privacy and the desire not to know are highlighted. Financial implications for society at large, private companies and for individuals are explored. Finally there is assessment of the extent to which the Frankenstein metaphor applies to this project. The paper concludes that the Human Genome Project is an extremely powerful resource which can be used for good or evil purposes, and that we have resolved some, but by no means all, of the major ethical issues that it brings. The Human Genome Project promises a revolutionary insight to the genetic â€Å"blueprint† of the human body. Consider the social, ethical, and economic implications of this project for society, and the potential for applications of this rese arch. Genetic engineering is a relatively new science, which rests on the pioneering work of Gregor Mendel on the garden pea, leading to the formulation of Mendel’s laws in 1866. (Thomas, 2003 pp. 1-3). ... They were motivated by scientific curiosity and, as in so many laboratories, the focus was on the pure science, theories and explanations of what was going on at the tiniest possible levels of genes and chromosomes within the human body. At this stage there was very little concern for the ethical and moral implications of these new discoveries. The field of genetics made further progress with the invention of effective gene sequencing techniques in the mid 1970’s. At first only tiny viruses and bacteria were studied, but with advances in computing and automation, more complex organisms could be studied. Throughout the 1980s techniques improved so considerably that attention turned to the human genome. The Huntingdon’s disease gene was mapped to chromosome 4 in 1983 (Collins and McKusick: 2001, p. 541) but this was only a first step towards accurately locating the disease to its specific position there. There was no systematic way of sequencing all of the genes, and the scale of the task, encompassing some 3 billion base pairs, defeated even the best technology of the time. More resources were needed to tackle such a huge task. In 1989 both private and publicly funded organisations began to map the whole human genome. An international consortium was set up in 1990 and named the Human Genome Project. At this stage, finally, some of the more serious implications of the project were realised, and a portion the funding amounting to between 3% and 5% was set aside for exploration of the moral and ethical issues attached to the research. (Collins and McKusick, 2001, p. 540) Over a period of 13 years, the Human Genome Project was carried out in various locations,

US Economic Policy Impact on Asian Economies Research Paper

US Economic Policy Impact on Asian Economies - Research Paper Example m the recession trap, the Federal Reserve undertook the policy of Quantitative Easing, since the value of bond price and interest rate in the market is inversely related. The high demand for fixed assets by the central bank had lowered the market interest rate in the economy of U.S. Thus, with the help of Quantitative Easing, the financial reserves available with the commercial banks increased and the banks could offer the accumulated reserves to the potential investors in the economy. Ultimately, the tool of Quantitative Easing helped to recover the economy of U.S. from the recessionary stage. However, it had been claimed by the U.S. government that the level of Quantitative Easing would reduce if the U.S. economy had generated a productive growth in the market. In the month of May 2013, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, had finally declared to taper quantitative easing (Eichengreen, 2011). As a result of this business decision undertaken by the Federal Reserve, the long term interest rates in U.S. increased and the foreign domestic stock market level declined to some extent. There were many public officials who claimed to defer the quantitative policy, but the Federal Reserve claimed that it was crucial for U.S. to rise from it’s near-zero interest rate trap. As the first step directed to end the Quantitative Easing, the Federal Reserve had lowered the bonds purchase in the economy. This resulted in lowering the demand for fixed assets in the market, thereby leading to the rise in the interest rate of the economy. However, presently, as a result of this initiative undertaken by the Federal Reserve, the demand for Dollar has significantly increased in the world market. This is because Dollar is a flexible currency and has a high value in the market... This research paper concentrates on the impact of U.S. economic policies on the Asian economies in recent years, following the financial crisis. After globalization, the state of commercial and non-commercial affairs of the different countries had become highly integrated with each other. The changing U.S. economic policy had negatively influenced the Asian countries initially, in the long run, the Asian nations will benefit from the U.S. growth. After the tapering of quantitative easing, investors who invest money in different economies fear that in future the supply of dollar would reduce in the market. This is the reason for which many investors, who had invested money in the different equity markets of several Asian economies, have started to withdraw these funds and reinvest them in the U.S. assets. The public authorities of a nation must forecast the long-term benefits of an economic policy instead of simply concentrating on the short run factors. History has proved that the growth of the developed nations has carved the path of evolution for the developing nations. Thus, the Asian countries should consider the long-term perspective and enhance its transactional relations with U.S. Despite the short run negativities, the changes in the U.S. economic policies have bestowed many benefits to the Asian nations. The rising investments of the Asian investors in the U.S. market have augmented the business competences and efficiencies of the domestic markets of the Asian economies

Monitoring the glucose level as well as alteration in expression of Research Proposal

Monitoring the glucose level as well as alteration in expression of m-RNA and protien levels of glucose transporters(GLUT4) in d - Research Proposal Example The reduction of insulin activity removes the glucose transporter in the urine samples out of the body. This concludes that glucose level monitoring and the Vitamin D level monitoring is very important for the type 2 Diabetes patients.1 When the Vitamin D binds to the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a heterodimer is formed. This hetereodimer then binds to the DNA and initiates many cofactors leading to the increase in the transcription of the genes that are responsible for the production of the proteins that control the calcium homeostasis. Vitamin D regulates the insulin receptor gene expression at the genetic level. The mRNA that codes for insulin receptor gene is produced at large numbers by increasing the expression level. The increase in the insulin receptor will increase the binding of the insulin and makes the GLUT4 transporter gene translocation from the intracellular level to the plasma membrane. 2 This increase in flux increases the glucose metabolism and thus controls the type 2 Diabetes mellitus in humans.GLUT 4 contain the phosphate at the basal state. The phosphorylation of GLUT4 is mediated by the cyclic cAMP- dependent protein kinase inhibiting the glucose transport.2 Scientific Background: A study was carried out in the year 1993, to identify the genes that are responsible for the regulatory domain of the GLUT4 in the adipose tissue. The transcriptional regulation of the gene was studied in the murine C2C12 skeletal muscle cell line. Transient transfection of the 5’ and 3’ deletions of the GLUT4 5’ flanking DNA has identified a region of 281 base pairs present at the myotube-specific expression. 3 The total RNA was isolated and used for Northern Blot analysis and hybridization was carried out. This gene was then inserted into the luciferase EcoRI- DraI fragment plasmid and further analysis was carried out. 3 The GLUT4 mRNA was found to be dependent on the thyroid hormone. This region was also found between the -517 and -237 regio n. This 281 base pair region is found to play a major role in understanding the mechanism that controls the GLUT4 gene expression in the skeletal muscle. All these experiments were carried out in the rat model.3 The vitamin D deficiency is found to be associated with the impaired insulin secretion. When Vitamin D is supplied at sufficient level then it binds to the vitamin D receptors (VDRs) present in the pancreatic beta cells. VRD gene is present in the Chromosome 12-cen-q12. When allelic variations are done in the VDR receptor gene then glucose absorbance rate also varies. The genomic DNA was extracted from the four healthy individuals and the four SNPS at the intron 8 and Exon 9 was examined with the controls. 4 The peripheral blood samples were analyzed for the given SNPS at the VDR gene using the polymerase chain reaction and then by the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The restriction sites looked for were TaqI, ApaI, BsmI and Tru91SNP. 4 It was found that the genotypes were similar in both the patients and control. This concluded that VDR is not the major gene for the Type 2 Diabetes mellitus. Hence further research is necessary for finding the responsible gene for Type 3 Diabetes mellitus.4 The vitamin D is not only the factor that is responsible for the insulin resistance. There are other factors too. The 25- hydroxyl vitamin D (25(OH)-D) is found to be inversely proportional to the insulin resistance and the (25( OH)-D) concentration is determined in the serum for the analysis. The association between the

Blacks and televised news Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Blacks and televised news - Essay Example Most of the sections of the media that have a maximum of white representation, do better in terms of citizenship and attracting the masses, as well, leading to a poor contribution of black people to the news. Black people are stereotypically very outgoing and social and like to be portrayed by the media as yet another group or community of people who are waiting to be heard by the rest of the world. However, they are not able to reach out to the masses and are subdued when it comes to the local news. Local news channels have the ability to showcase whatever they want to; the broadcasters and producers of the channel or the show get to decide whether or not to represent certain pieces of the news and thus, because of this reason, black people are not able to gain much representation on the local news. Furthermore, the local news gives very less importance to crime news with white people and thus if there is black representation, it is mostly about crime and vandalism, because this is what flatters the US audience. Despite this, a number of black women state that, â€Å"Without a doubt black males, young and old, must be held politically accountable for their sexism. Yet this critique must always be contextualized or we risk making it appear that the problem of misogyny, sexism, and all the behaviours this thinking supports and condones, including rape, male violence against women, is a black male thing.† (Brooks, Dwight E.) Black women and men however are suppressed by the community and even though they might have a very outgoing personality, they are not able to show case the same through the news. A lot of statistics show that black people as compared to white people have a 6:1 ratio of being televised because national and local networks portray them on channels and shows that do not require much intelligence. This leads people to believe that they are not

Organizational Support for Creativity Part II Assignment

Organizational Support for Creativity Part II - Assignment Example ate Education (2012) noted about the impact of the size of organizations on the support for creativity, I am convinced that your organization can do even better in supporting creativity if there was a way of categorizing the potentials of different people within the organization. This way, the organization would have a relatively smaller quantum of creativity to support than supporting individual creativity in the manner that currently exists for your large organization with 6000 employees. Hoever, I., van Knippenberg, D., van Ginkel, W., & Barkema, H. (2012). Fostering team creativity: Perspective taking as key to unlocking diversitys potential. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(5), 982–996. In terms of the room given to employees to be creative, I find that your organization is very different from mine because in my case there is so much room for people to explore their individual creative skills. But analyzing your organization critically, I find that one crucial factor that influenced creativity was the nature of organizational structure you have where the top seem to be so much apart from the down. This is because Ekvall (1996) notes that in such situations, there is much likely to be absence of support for creativity because the top hardly knows what is taking place downward (Kim, Kim and Wilde, 2008). I am therefore of the opinion that if there was a frontline management system, a lot more would have been seen of employees in terms of what they have to offer to the organization and so they would have been given the freedom to create (Ekvall, 1996). I would therefore conclude by saying that the importance of leading from all levels of the organization is to ensure that leaders are close enough with subordinates so that they can promote them to be

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Management - Essay Example ause the nature of the relationship is a subjective one, the leader is unable to determine whether any progress is being made, despite the fact that he is responsible for accountability. One of the things that a manager has to teach his sales representatives is the ability to bend and flex and adapt their sales pitch and styles to suit the needs of different customers. In the insurance industry in particular, there are certain standardized packages that are available, however a sales representative needs to be able to tailor his sales talk in such a manner that it suits the needs of the particular customer. Therefore, the most important lesson that a manager can teach his representatives is how to ask customers the right questions, by formulating at least 20 different types of questions that the customer can be asked in order to determine their needs. Once such answers have been obtained by the representatives for these key questions, they will be able to do things that are inexpensive, thoughtful and also inexpensive at the same time. (Acuff and Wood, 2004, p 190). The manager must teach the sales person how to understand what the customer desires by asking the necessary questions and then try to determine how best a particular product can meet that need, or how it can be tailored or modified slightly to meet the need. Therefore sales people should not focus exclusively on the customer or exclusively on the product but rather focus on bringing about a synergy between the two and managers should teach their salespeople how to achieve this.(Acuff and Wood, 2004, p192) The manager must also teach the sales person that his or her goal is to help customers understand that the company’s product is worthwhile. In the insurance business, the manager must therefore teach the sales people how to emphasize and focus upon the benefits of the products, in that it provides insurance against accidents and liabilities. By teaching sales people to focus upon the attributes of

Organizational Support for Creativity Part II Assignment

Organizational Support for Creativity Part II - Assignment Example ate Education (2012) noted about the impact of the size of organizations on the support for creativity, I am convinced that your organization can do even better in supporting creativity if there was a way of categorizing the potentials of different people within the organization. This way, the organization would have a relatively smaller quantum of creativity to support than supporting individual creativity in the manner that currently exists for your large organization with 6000 employees. Hoever, I., van Knippenberg, D., van Ginkel, W., & Barkema, H. (2012). Fostering team creativity: Perspective taking as key to unlocking diversitys potential. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(5), 982–996. In terms of the room given to employees to be creative, I find that your organization is very different from mine because in my case there is so much room for people to explore their individual creative skills. But analyzing your organization critically, I find that one crucial factor that influenced creativity was the nature of organizational structure you have where the top seem to be so much apart from the down. This is because Ekvall (1996) notes that in such situations, there is much likely to be absence of support for creativity because the top hardly knows what is taking place downward (Kim, Kim and Wilde, 2008). I am therefore of the opinion that if there was a frontline management system, a lot more would have been seen of employees in terms of what they have to offer to the organization and so they would have been given the freedom to create (Ekvall, 1996). I would therefore conclude by saying that the importance of leading from all levels of the organization is to ensure that leaders are close enough with subordinates so that they can promote them to be

A Reflection Paper on Animal Minds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Reflection Paper on Animal Minds - Essay Example I find this article very interesting and intellectually stimulating. As a human being, I often take for granted that animals respond to different external stimuli without really thinking. I hold the preconception that as opposed to humans, animals solely rely on their instinct and reflexes in order to survive. However, this article opens my mind into the possibility that maybe, at some points, animals also think and are conscious about their actions and emotions. The body of literature explored by the author appears very convincing that animals do share a level of consciousness even if it is largely limited compared to human beings. I agree with the claims that "some kind of mental activity is being attributed to animals: that is, there is considered to be some internal sifting and selection of information rather than simply the release of certain responses by a certain set of environmental conditions" (Griffin 10). This claim can be supported by human experiences and their interaction with animals. For instance, the argument that animals can process and retain information is evidenced by the fact that they can learn certain skills-parrots can be trained to speak specific words and dogs can be taught to perform funny tricks.

Urban transport conditions Essay Example for Free

Urban transport conditions Essay Urban transport conditions in bangkok, thailand For the past 30 years, the urban population of the world has been rapidly growing. In 1975, the urban population in developing regions has exponentially grown from 861 Million to 2135 Million in year 2000, and still is expected to grow by 45% in 2015 (Metge Jehanno, 2006). Such increase in population would entail a subsequent demand in adequate transportation systems. Being a developing country would involve that new developments will take place, which will result in the traffic congestion of the area. Such congestions will be due to the lack of mitigation policies, particularly pertaining to land use and transportation (Hokao Mohamed,1999). Thailand’s urban centre, Bangkok, is one good focus in analyzing the conditions of urban transportation in Developing countries. Bangkok â€Å"began in 1782 as a settlement on the bank of the Chao Phraya, and this area soon became the center of the city’s government and religious institutions† (Wyatt, 1995: n. p. ). Bangkok Metropolis has an area of 1,569 sq km (606 sq mi), which restricts it to utilize much of the land for the construction of roads. Bangkok is barely above sea-level, making it subject to frequent flooding, in addition to the 60 inches of precipitation it receives every year. Chao Phraya River is just one of the major waterways in Thailand, which is still currently used as a route for transport within the city. However, some of the canals have been filled in order to accommodate the construction of roads (Wyatt, 2005). The Bangkok Metropolis’ modes of transportation barely meet the demands of its 9 million daytime populations. Sixty-five percent of the city population relies on public transportation, more specifically the city buses, metered taxis, the Skytrain, the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) subway, and the tuk-tuks. The Skytrain has a capacity of 700,000 passengers per day, and is situated along the Silom and Sukhumvit, two of the most frequently congested roads in Bangkok. The MRT is a Thai-foreign venture whose construction commenced in 1997, and approximates a capacity of 80,000 passengers per hour. The Tuk-tuks are the Thai version of the canopied tricycle, and are public utility vehicles that can accommodate up to three persons per trip (â€Å"Tuktuks, Bangkok†, n. d. ). The mass transit system includes both buses and trains (â€Å"Infrastructure: Highways†, 2004). Although there are existing public transportation systems, the increase of the number of private car ownership doesn’t seem to wane. According to a study conducted by Du Pont and Egan (1997), such increase in ownership can be attributed to the inadequacy of Bangkok’s mass transit system. The rate of the development of infrastructures simply cannot keep up with such a rapid pace of motorization, therefore, this results in intolerable traffic jams in the city (Gakenheimer, 1997). One problem causing the endless traffic congestion in Bangkok is the proportion of road area to the number of vehicles traversing the roads everyday. Only 8% of Bangkok’s land area (roughly 625 sq km) has been used for roads, which is obviously insufficient to accommodate its 2 million vehicles (Du Pont Egan, 1997). Poboon et al. (1994) conclude that: â€Å"Traffic jams in Bangkok are therefore inevitable because they are attempting to carry too little passenger travel on public transport relative to their provision of roads† (as cited in Du Pont Egan, 1997). The inefficient city planning that failed to provide secondary routes from the major arteries within the city cause traffic to be as slow as an average of 6-10 kph in the central business district. Such inefficiency results in an annual loss of $9.6 billion, simply because an estimated 44 days in productivity is lost in exchange for travel time (as cited in Du Pont Egan, 1997). Not only does congestion account for the financial losses of the city, it also aggravates air pollution. In 1990, it has been estimated that â€Å"8-hour exposure at street level is equivalent to smoking 9 cigarettes per day†, and that such levels of pollutants have exceeded the safety guidelines set by the World Health Organization (as cited in Du Pont Egan, 1997). GOVERNMENT PROJECTS AND IMPLEMENTATION The government has prioritized the Bangkok traffic issues, and several commissions have been institutionalized to deal with these issues, most of which had been unsuccessful (â€Å"ASEM Bangkok†, 1996). More than 30 government agencies are responsible for transport and urban development of Bangkok, but the implementation of transport and land-use plans are carried out by 11 agencies which fall under two ministries — Interior and Transport Communications (Du Pont Egan, 1997).

MP3s Benefit both Consumers and Record Companies Essay -- Argumentati

You read the newest interview of your favorite band talking with Rolling Stone. In that interview, they are asked whom they are listening to these days. The answer is not what you expected. The rest of the interview is all about this new band that they are raving about. Who is this new band, and why do they seem so great? You quickly log onto your computer and start downloading a song from this mysterious band. The download completes, and the song is awesome! Now you know why this group is respected musically by the ones you respect in the business. All thanks to the incredible MP3! MP3 is a small compressed format that allows music to be downloaded quickly with very little sacrifice in the sound quality. Moving Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer III is what MP3 stands for. All this came about in the 1980's when a German Institute wanted to code music a different way. They did so and received a patent for the MP3. About 20 years later, there were many applications making MP3's an everyday thing. People around the world were downloading copyrighted music for free (Jones). In 1999, there were 60,000 MP3 websites and 6,000,000 people downloading a day (Knab). No one was concerned, but then Napster arrived (Jones). Napster will probably always be remembered as the MP3 software that allowed just about any song to be downloaded at any time by anyone who had an internet connection. The music industry was successful in changing Napster from a free source to a charging subscription. Others like Napster still exist because they have found ways of getting around all of the problems, but they are currently being pursued by the music industry in terms of shutting down. Record labels are upset because of the control they are losing. A... ...ranti, Marc & Guth Rob. "Downloadable-Music Wars Intensify." CNN.com 25 Mar. 1999. 5 Dec. 2002. . Jones, Christopher. "MP3 Overview." Hotwired. 27 Jul. 2000. 12 Dec. 2002. . Knab, Christopher. "MP3." Fourfront Media & Music. 1999. 7 Dec. 2002. . Lazarus, David. "Downloadable Music Ready to Rock." Wired News. 11 Sep. 1997. 7 Dec. 2002. . Petreley, Nick. "Opinion: How record companies could embrace Napster and maintain profits." CNN.com. 20 Mar. 2000. 19 Dec. 2002. . "The Future of Downloadable Music." Indian-Music.com. 5 Dec. 2002. . Â  

Illegal Immigration Essays -- Legal Issues, Anti-illegal Immigration

Illegal immigrants in the United States (US) have long been a topic of debate for policymakers and the public. The rationale about them is that they do not pay taxes; they add to the costs of taxpayers and use up funds in resources meant for assisting citizens and legal immigrants (the legal citizens). Therefore, they are perceived as a threat to the US economy. The true impacts of illegal immigrants on the US economy are discussed by debating over the economic benefits as well as economic costs of these immigrants. The negative impacts, discussed first, presented the decreases in low skilled jobs’ wage rates for legal immigrants and citizens instigated by illegal immigrants, the social services such as educations and healthcare that they utilize and add to taxpayers. Then contrary to the negative impacts, the positive impacts reveal benefits of low production costs, increases in the local market sales, undocumented tax generation, impact on growth and employment brought fort h by illegal immigrants. These impacts, both negative and positive, are independently analyzed and weighed against each other. The discussion does show a slight net positive impact on the US economy in contrast to the normal belief about illegal immigrants. â€Æ' Illegal Immigrants and the United States Economy: Is It that Big of an Issue? The journey from a few cave people to seven billion humans on this planet has been characterized by the physical movement of Homo sapiens from one place to another, sometimes over thousands of miles, either individually, or in the form of flocks, both voluntarily as well as involuntarily. This act of leaving ones’ ground and moving to another land with a motive is known as migration. The motive can be anything such as bett... ...ob security, and pay sufficiently low. They include, picking fruit and vegetables, cleaning houses, hotels and offices, and farming and construction labor. These jobs are not preferred by many working Americans, but they are certainly necessities in society. Illegal immigrants have no other option but to agree to do these jobs for the little money they get. Therefore, they play a vital role in carrying out these jobs. The bigger picture of low wages and in effect, low production costs should be considered. As the wage rates decrease, the whole population benefits from it by paying low prices for construction, agricultural produce, restaurant meals and cleaning services. It is estimated that because of illegal immigrants, an average American’s wealth is increased; though that increase is remarkably small and accounts for not more than 1 percent (Davidson, 2006).

Unilever Business Manual

Also the organization has set objectives that needs to be achieved. Goals of Milliner (termed â€Å"The compass Milliner strategy for sustainable growth†): ; This clearly outlines their vision for the future where their brands and services will be used all over the world thereby doubling the size of Milliner ; Decreasing damage caused to the environment and impacting society positively. Another aspect of this also includes improvement in the way of life of people in areas such as health, food, annotation, and opportunities within societies ; Combining its multinational competence with Milliner's strong relationship in various cultures to provide a wide range of products to satisfy a range of users and also building strong relationships in new markets which will be of significance in the future growth of Milliner. ; â€Å"Achieving significant growth objectives while decoupling growth from environmental and increasing our positive social impact is a bold but challenging vision † Milliner 1 CEO Paul Pullman.Milliner's mission can be put into key points: Proving a daily better future for all. ; Helping personal image with Milliner's brands and services ; To be an inspiration in taking action to benefit the world ; Doubling the size of its business ; Developing its products further to work towards its goal of doubling the size of its business ; Limiting environmental impact through innovation and developing effective and efficient ways to reach people Primary and Secondary goals On 1 5th November 2010 Milliner announced its plans of sustainability by or before 2020.These goals include: Acquiring 100% of its agricultural raw materials from sustainable sources. ; Improving hygiene for one million people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America through the usage of ‘lifebuoy' soap thereby reducing diarrhea which is a large cause of infant mortality. ; Making safe water available though their low-cost water purifier called Purest which is produced in India and distributed to a half billion people across the world. ; Improving the living conditions of people in developing countries by collaborating with organizations such as Oxford.

Pearson and Mcdonal Lawsuit Analysis Essay

Executive Summary There are two major lawsuits which the main populace has defined as frivolous. One of those cases is the McDonald’s split coffee case. This is the case where the plaintiff spilled her coffee and was rumored to sue McDonald’s for 2.7 million dollars and win. The other’s case is the Pearson dry cleaning case where a man sued Chung Dry Cleaner’s 54 million dollars for losing his pants. The plaintiff won in the McDonald’s Case and the Plaintiff lost in the Dry clearance’s case. In this paper we are going to dissect each case by the facts, the law, the issues, the ethical issues, the defendants preventative measures, and then the analysis of it all. Introduction Frivolous lawsuits have over taken our society by storm. Anywhere from someone suing over a pair of lost pants to a person suing over a coffee burn. But what is Frivalous? Perhaps there is more to see in each of these suits that was originally thought. In 1992 79-year-old Stella Liebeck spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s for the coffee being too hot. In May 2005 Judge Roy Pearson sued Custom Cleaners for losing a pair of his pants. On paper both of the lawsuits look ridiculous and should be dismissed as soon as the titles are read. But when looking into the details one discovers propaganda hugely blown out of proportion on one case and the other being exactly what it looks like. What are the Facts? Factual evidence is what gives a case its meat, its substance, so without worthy facts it is very easy for a case to lose any of its stimuli. On the other hand sometimes the facts of a case with swift ones initial opinion in a complete 180. The Pant’s Suit and the McDonald’s Coffee Suit both have information to back the claim, however, only one can truly be deemed as proof. In My 2005 District of Columbia Administrative Law Judge Roy. L. Pearson claimed Custom Cleaners lost his pants. Judge Pearson said he â€Å"dropped off blue Saks Fifth Avenue suit pants with burgundy pinstripes at Custom Cleaners for $10.50 alteration and that the gray, cuffed pants they tried to return to him were not his (Andrea, 2007).† Pearson then proceeded to request Custom Cleaners, owned by the So Jin and Sooo Chung, pay him over $1,000 for a new suit. The Chungs refused and Pearson proceeded with a lawsuit asking for 65 million dollars. Before the suit went to trial the Chung’s tried to settle, offering Pearson up to 12,000 dollars but Pearson refused and instead lowered his suit to 54 million dollars (O’Rourke, 2007). The suit then proceeded to the court. Stella Liebeck was burned by coffee going through a McDonald’s drive-through. Her grandson, Chris Tiano, stopped the car in the drive through so she could put cream and sugar in the coffee. Ms. Liebeck placed the coffee between her legs, and when she pulled the top off the coffee it spilled on her (Press & Carroll, 1995). She suffered severe third degree burn injuries to her buttocks, groin, and inner thighs. She was hospitalized for eight days because of the severity and had to receive multiple skin grafting procedures. Ms. Liebeck was disabled for two years due to her injuries. McDonald’s had 700 previous customer burning cases prior to Ms. Liebeck’s case, and the company decided to keep their coffee temperature at 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Prior to going the lawsuit path, Ms., Liebeck originally requested McDonald’s settle for injury costs; however, the company offered her $800 instead. Ms. Liebeck did not receive 2.7 Million Dollars as most assume, inste ad she received a total of $640,000 included the complementary damages and the punitive damages (Litant, 1995). When laying out the facts of the â€Å"McDonald’s Coffee Case† as most call it, one is shocked to find themselves on Ms. Liebeck’s metaphorical side of the matter rather than McDonald’s. One must always review the facts to have any true understanding on the matter. After reviewing the facts given by the Pant’s Suit and the McDonald’s Coffee case, a person can identify what suit is missing necessary information. In the Pant’s Suit Pearson has no proof that Customer Cleaners lost his pants, it is all alleged. He could have forgotten them at his house or lost them himself, there is not any way to prove Custom Cleaner’s even lost his pants. But in the McDonald’s case it is easy to see the facts because they are all in statistics, in photographs, the facts are all in the evidence. One case is already losing it’s steam while another is gaining momentum, lets move on. What are the Issues? An issue is why a case is even occurring. One issue is burns from an overly hot cup of coffee. The other issue is emotional distress and financial loss due to a pair of missing pants. There may be isssues though that grow from these or are the issues really that simple? In the missing pants case, the issue is Judge Pearson’s pants were allegedly misplaced by Custom Cleaners. So how is it a pair of missing pants led to a suit battle that lasted over two years? There must have been other issues involved. First lets assess the facts we received, the pair of pants Custom Cleaners gave Mr. Pearson he claimed were not his, but they were his size and matched the alteration specification requested (Goldwasser, 2007). Other issues that grew from the case was the loss of business and harassment the Chung’s received due to Mr. Pearson’s harassment. Mr. Pearson would regularly go door to door in the neighborhood asking the community in which Custom Cleaners was centered for his support in the case against him. The Chung’s had to eventually close down the store. The issue that started this entire fiasco was a pair of missing pants, which ended up leading Judge Pearson not being re-appointed and a Custom Cleaners being shut down. After the suit Judge Pearson received a letter from the Commission on Selection and Tenure Administrative Law Judges they elected not to re-appoint him as judge and cited his pour performance as a judge and the Pants suit (Cauvin, 2007). The issues are simple to spell out for Ms. Stella Liebeck’s case. The issue, which brings about the other issues, is the plaintiff, Ms. Liebeck, received third degree burns when Mc. Donald’s coffee was spilt on her lap. The plaintiff requested the defendant pay for medical bills and work loss, the defendant refused and offered a minimal sum, which would not even cover attorney costs. The defendant does not want to lower temperature they keep their coffee at as it would lower the â€Å"optimum taste† of the product. The plaintiff was partially at fault for spilling the coffee; however, experts said if the coffee was not that hot then the injuries would never of occurred regardless of who spilled the coffee. Subsequently the issues are but they aren’t that simple. From one issue can spur another and that is the case for both lawsuits. Ms. Liebeck was severely burned by McDonald’s coffee and requested an accurate amount for her injuries, they refused, and it went to court  causing the issue of monetary loss and embarrassment for McDonald’s. The issue that grew from the Pearson case was the business loss the Chung’s received. In both cases the defendants each ended up having an issue of their own. What Law Applies? Law’s can be manipulated and misinterpreted easily. There is even a branch of the government solely dedicated to translating the constitution accurately and ethically. In both cases there are law’s that come about, but in one case it is clear the law was perversely utilized. In the Custom Cleaner’s case the suit stated Judge Pearson was, â€Å" defrauded by the owners of Custom Cleaners and by the ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ sign they had (Cauvin, 2007). He also sued for emotional distress and legal costs (O’Rourke, 2007). Under Tort Law Pearson could be under Negligent Tort for damages, if he illustrates actual damages. Judge Pearson chose to sue under Intentional Torts, more specifically under Emotional Distress. The problem most defendants have come to is that emotional distress is ambiguous. Anyone can claim emotional distress for everyone is different with his or her tolerances. The most intriguing aspect in this case, is that the Chung’s never sued Pearson for defacement. The Chung’s had proof, witnesses, everything they needed for a successful trial. So under law the Plaintiff stretched manipulated the law definitions with very little proof for a lawsuit and the defendant did not even attempt to gain retribution. In the case of Stell Liebeck vs. McDonald’s several torn law come into the play. The definition of a tort law is â€Å"an injury to another’s person or property.† In this case there were severe damages done to the plaintiff according to the facts. There are there separate types of torn cases, compensatory nominal, and punitive. Ms. Liebeck’s case fit under compensatory and punitive. Compensatory for the injuries she received to include the special damages of doctor bills. She also is covered under punitive damages for the company was fully aware of how hazardous their product was and still refused to change the temperature of their coffee. Also Ms. Liebeck is covered under the ‘Cause-in-Fact’ of negligent Tort, since McDonald’s never went forward with any preventative measures. Her esquire Mr. Reed Morgan noted three specific charges against McDonald’s; the first being their product was  unduly hazardous due to its temperature; the second being McDonald’s failed to give its consumers the necessary warnings of the temperature; the third being the consumers could not drink the coffee at the time it was served; therefore there was breach of warranty (Press & Carroll, 1995). Mr. Morgan had the option of using a plethora of Tort law’s on behalf of his client Ms. Liebeck, and he took full advantage of that fact like any attorney would do for their case and client. In the McDonald’s case the law was not overly used, because the ones they referenced were enough for their case to be heard and be successful. But the Pearson case was another matter, the plaintiff was clearly stretching the law to try and manipulate it for his own base needs. What did the judge/jury decide? The McDonald’s case was a jury trial and the Pants case was a judge trial. Both cases were caught up in the legal battle for over two years. When the pants case finally made it to trial the case was dismissed in two days. The McDonald’s case did take a little longer for there was a lot of evidence for them to go through and there were multiple decision makers rather than just one. The Judge in the pants case held the decision not the jury. D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff found for the defendant on all counts. Judge Bartnoff denied any damage costs to the Plaintiff and ordered Pearson to pay the defendants court costs (Cleaners 1, Judge 0 in case of missing pants, 2007). Usually when one is in the judgment of ‘one of their own’ they find on behalf of their own. However it was clear Judge Bartnoff saw the absurdity of Pearson’s claim when she found in behalf of the defendants. In the case of the spilled coffee most of the jury had a 180 from their original inclinations of the case. Going into the case Jury member Roxanne Bell said, â€Å"she was insulted†¦the whole thing sounded ridiculous to me.† After the Jury heard testimony from three witnesses their opinions of the case started to alter. The first expert witness was Doctor Charles Baxter who spoke to the grotesque photographs of Ms. Liebecks’s injury and â€Å"testified that coffee at 170 degrees would cause second –degree burns within 3.5 seconds of hitting the skin (Press & Carroll, 1995).† And since McDonald’s kept their coffee at 190 degrees it is safe to say, It was extremely easy for Ms. Liebeck to get third degree burns. The other two  witnesses were actually defendant witnesses, the first was a quality-assurance supervisor at McDonald’s, and the second was a safety consultant. The first witness was Mr. Christopher Apleton who testified that even though McDonald’s had received over 700 coffee burn complaints in 10 years the company refused to lower their temperatures. The second defendant witness was Mr. Robert Knaff, who’s main problem was he contradicted himself in the middle of his testimony. As first he was tring to describe that 700 burn complaints in ten years amounted to only one in twenty-four million coffee cups, but then he later said in his testimony, â€Å"a burn is a very terrible thing (Press & Carroll, 1995).† By saying a burn was a terrible thing, then it was no longer a trivial matter. At the end of the case Ms. Bell defended the jury’s decision by exclaiming, â€Å" it was our way of saying, ‘Hey, open your eyes. People are getting burnedà ¢â‚¬â„¢ (Press & Carroll, 1995).† The Jury decided to teach McDonald’s a lesson for the over all negligence they displayed in their refusal to acknowledge the multiple previous warning they had received regarding the hotness of their coffee. The Jury awardee Ms. Liebeck a total of $2.7 million dollars in punitive damages, which at that time, is the amount of money McDonald’s would make in a two-day span. The jury was overzealous on Ms. Liebeck’s behalf for they wanted to reform and punish McDonald’s so the judge had to step in Where as in the Pants suit the judge quickly ‘put down the hammer’ on Judge Pearson. Did the judge or jury make an appropriate decision based on the applicable law controlling the cases? Why or Why not? The judge and jury both made the appropriate decisions in the verdict award, but no the appropriate decision on the fiscal award. In the case of the missing pants the judge appropriately awarded the fiscal and the verdict. The in McDonald’s case the jury appropriately awarded the verdict but inappropriately awarded the fiscal amount. Judge Judith Bartnoff made the appropriate decision according the appropriate definition of tort law in the missing pants case. In interpreting the law one must as a judge throw out the absurd cases but still justly review it. In her review of the missing pants case it was clear Mr. Pearson was unduly persecuting the Chungs over a pair of pants. Mr. Pearson did not have work loss because Custom Cleaners allegedly misplaced a pair of pants, and he was not harmed in any way. In the McDonald’s case the  jury made the correct decision in awarding the suit to Ms. Liebeck, but they made in the incorrect decision in obnoxious amount they chose to grant. Instead of awarding Ms. Liebeck the amount she was due, the jury decided to take a matter for McDonald’s company policy into their own hands to try and reform by ‘punishing’ the company so much they would have no choice but to lower the temperature of their coffee from 190 degrees Fahrenheit. The judge was correct in overturning the jury’s decision from awarding Ms. Liebeck 2.7 million in punitive damages to $480 in punitive damages. The judge recognized the jury was correct in deciding the defendant was guilty, but they were overzealous in their need to reform McDonald’s company policy. Overall the verdict for both cases was fairly awarded. What are the ethical issues in the cases? Do the ethical issues differ from the legal issues? If so How? There are ethical issues easily seen in both the Pearson and the Liebeck cases. In one case the Plaintiff was unethical and I the other case the defendant was unethical. In the Pearson case the ethical issues and the legal issues do not appropriately correspond. It was unethical for Mr. Pearson to be allowed a lawsuit of $54 million dollars for a pair of pants, but he was legally allowed. It was unethical for Mr. Pearson to deface Custom Cleaners by putting up signs in that community against them, but he was legally allowed to. It was unethical for Mr. Pearson to demand Custom Cleaners, at the time of the incident, over $1000 for a new suit, but he was legally allowed to. Many people do not take manipulate and take advantage of the freedoms the United States allows its citizens, but there are those who will not only take advantage but make others look on in disgust for why he was allowed to do what he did. There are multiple ethical issues in the Liebeck case. The main one being responsibility. It is the responsibility of the company to listen to its consumers and McDonald’s failed to do so on multiple occasions. The other is knowingly harming other, McDonald’s knew there coffee had caused severe burns on other customers in the past but had refused to do anything about it, even when they were approached by the National Burn Victims Association to do so (Howard, 1994). In this case the ethical issues do not differ from the legal issues as each ethical issue directly corresponds with a broken law by McDonald’s. there are major ethical issues by the press, congress,  and other entities continuing to further there own agenda by only giving half truths concerning Ms. Liebeck’s case. There has been a significant push by Tort reformers due to the jury decision made in Ms. Liebeck’s case, but those are using severe propaganda to do so. Both of these cases have been described as â€Å"frivolous† lawsuits. Based on your research what do you think? Is either one or both of these cases frivolous? Intro Pearson Based on the research given, the Pants Suit case was a frivolous suit. A frivolous case is considered to be absurd, unneeded, and previously thought impossible. Judge Roy Pearson, a legal professional, most likely originally thought he could use the scare tactic with Customer Cleaners for the initial $1000 ask because of his power position. Instead when the defendant refused to pay that sum, the plaintiff lost his temper and in doing so lost his professional mind. The Plaintiff was not hurt, and he did not have any significant financial loss due to the initial incident. McDonald’s On paper Ms. Liebeck’s case looks frivolous; however, after examining the facts in no longer appears to be so. A woman did spill coffee on herself and did get burned, but she was severely burned from the hazardous temperatures McDonald’s kept there coffee of hat was not fit for human consumption. The amount the jury awarded her it what most of society deems obnoxious, bringing the classification of her lawsuit to frivolous in nature. When just looking at the injuries Ms. Liebeck received from the coffee temperature, one could never deem it a frivolous lawsuit, but there are those who will seek to capitalize on a lawsuit such as this by exclaiming half-truths in order to further their own agendas. Combine Regardless of what you think of the lawsuits, how could the business owners have prevented them? What advice can you give them for the future? Intro Pearson When digging into the details of the case a very simple business practice alteration could have prevented the entire debacle in the missing pants case. Currently the Chungs have a ticketing system where they place the ticket number and article size on the clothing. However if they added to that ticket and item description the debacle could have been avoided. In doing this the customer is helped and so is the company. McDonald’s It was rather obvious when looking through the facts of the McDonald’s case how the company could have prevented their lawsuit, That is one of the main reason’s they lost the case, is because due to their sever negligence in ignoring their consumer complaints, the jury was abhorred by the company. Very simply put McDonald’s once receiving the first customer complaint should have completed testing to see what would keep their coffee at a great taste with a less hazardous temperature. Similar to other institutes had done at the advice of the Shriner’s Burn Institute lowering their temperature to 135 to 140 degrees (Litant, 1995). In the future, some advice McDonald’s should take is to listen to their customers, if there are several complaints regarding one item, then the item either needs to be altered or discontinued. Combine Conclusion

7ps of Airline

LALA LAjpatrai College | | |AIRLINE INDUSTRY | |SERVICE SECTOR MANAGEMENT | | | | | | | INDEX |Table of Content |Pg. No | |Chapter 1 | | |Introduction |3 | |Importance |4 | |Presence Scenario |5 | |Classification & Types |6 | |Advantages |8 | |Chapter 2 | | |PEST Analysis: The Indian Airline Industry |10 | |Five product levels |15 | |Chapter 3 | | |4 P’s |17 | |Chapter 4 | | |Extended Marketing Mix |24 | |Chapter 5 | | |Segmentation |29 | |Chapter 6 | | |Role of Technology |31 | |Chapter 7 | |8 Quality Dimension |33 | |Chapter 8 | | |Conclusion |35 | |Future |36 | |Reference |37 | CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Airline Industry in India is one of the fastest growing aviation industries in the world. With the liberalization of the Indian aviation sector, airline industry in India has undergone a rapid transformation. From being primarily a government-owned industry, the Indian airline industry is now dominated by privately owned full service airlines and low cost carriers. Private airlines account for around 75% share of the domestic aviation market. Earlier air travel was a privilege only a few could afford, but today air travel has become much cheaper and can be afforded by a large number of people. The origin of Indian civil aviation industry can be traced back to 1912, when the first air flight between Karachi and Delhi was started by the Indian State Air Services in collaboration with the UK based Imperial Airways. In 1932, JRD Tata founded Tata Airline, the first Indian airline. Airline organizations can be classified into a number of segments depending on the nature and degree of services they provide. Major Indian carriers are pressing their feet on the accelerator to reach an acme of service level by the year 2010 when their fleet strength will meet 500 to 550. In the previous two years more than 135 aircrafts have been introduced to keep up with the increasing number of passenger traffic in Indian aerospace. A number of domestic airline groups have emerged in a reasonably short span of time to make the market furiously competitive. IMPORTANCE Growing tourism: Due to growth in tourism, there has been an increase in number of the international and domestic passengers. The estimated growth of domestic passenger segment is at 50% per annum and growth for international passenger segment is 25%. Airlines play an important role in international tourism. Developing airline services helps the nation to cash on tourism as more than 85% of the foreign tourist arrives by air. Improving Infrastructure: We all know that India's air transport infrastructure is out-of-date. In fact the overall situation is critical. A recent report by McKinsey suggests that half of India's highly qualified graduates are located in cities without international airports. Without massive change, infrastructure will not be able to handle growth. We must move quickly now. Benefit all—the government, the airport, shippers, passengers, local communities and airlines †¢ Result in greater efficiency—lower costs †¢ Result in better service levels Globalization: Globalization has improved the lives of many in developing nations. Globalization in of its self is the trading of goods and services of a local economy into an integrated global economy. Technological advances have made this practice more feasible within the last 50 years. The major milestones were the development of the internet and increased transportation technology. These two advances made the world coined â€Å"flat† and set the stage for higher living standards. PRESENCE SCENARIO Revolutionized by privatization along with active participation of the foreign investors, the Indian airline industry has experienced phenomenal transformation over the last couple of years. From being a service catering to the needs of the privileged group only it is now well within the reach of middle class population. This has been the result of increased competition in the Indian aviation industry due to the presence of a wide variety of private and public airlines with their low price tags. It was further helped by the entry of Air Deccan, the first budget airline in India, offering unbelievable tariffs to the customers. In the financial year 2006-07 there has been a significant 22. 3 percent growth in passenger traffic in the domestic airports while the aircraft movement recorded a growth by 14. 2 percent. In terms of the number of flights Jet Airways secures the top position with 8,168 flights operating till June 2007. Indian Airlines is in second position with 7,562 flights. Sahara (3,225 flights), Air Deccan (2,889 flights), Spice Jet (483 flights) and Kingfisher Airlines (367 flights) come thereafter in the list of domestic and national carrier operators. CLASSIFICATION & TYPES The Indian airline sector can be broadly divided into the following main categories: 1. Scheduled air transport service, which includes domestic and international airlines. 2. Non-scheduled air transport service, which includes charter operators and air taxi operators. 3. Air cargo service, which includes air transportation of cargo and mail. Scheduled air transport service: It is an air transport service undertaken between two or more places and operated according to a published timetable. It includes: 1. Domestic airlines, which provide scheduled flights within India and to select international destinations. Air Deccan, Spice Jet, Kingfisher Airline and IndiGo are some of the domestic players in the industry. 2. International airlines, which operate scheduled international air services to and from India. Non-scheduled air transport service: It is an air transport service other than the scheduled one and may be on charter basis and/or non-scheduled basis. The operator is not permitted to publish time schedule and issue tickets to passengers. Air cargo services: It is an air transportation of cargo and mail. It may be on scheduled or non-scheduled basis. These operations are to destinations within India. For operation outside India, the operator has to take specific permission of Directorate General of Civil Aviation demonstrating his capacity for conducting such an operation. At present, there are 2 scheduled private airlines (Jet Airways and Air Sahara), which provide regular domestic air services along with Indian Airlines. In addition there are 47 non-scheduled operators providing air-taxi/non-scheduled air transport services. Apart from this, the players in airline industry can be categorized in three groups: †¢ Public players †¢ Private players †¢ Start up players. There are three public players: Air India, Indian Airlines and Alliance Air. The private players include Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Kingfisher Airlines, Spice Jet, Air Deccan and many more. The startup players are those planning to enter the markets. Some of them are Omega Air, Magic Air, Premier Star Air and MDLR Airlines ADVANTAGES 1. Foreign equity allowed: Foreign equity up to 49 per cent and NRI (Non-Resident Indian) investment up to 100 per cent is permissible in domestic airlines without any government approval. However, the government policy bars foreign airlines from taking a stake in a domestic airline company. 2. Low entry barriers: Nowadays, venture capital of $10 million or less is enough to launch an airline. Private airlines are known to hire foreign pilots, get expatriates or retired personnel from the Air Force or PSU airlines in senior management positions. Further, they outsource such functions as ground handling, check-in, reservation, aircraft maintenance, catering, training, revenue accounting, IT infrastructure, loyalty and programme management. Airlines are known to take on contract employees such as cabin crew, ticketing and check-in agents. 3. Attraction of foreign shores: Jet and Sahara have gone international by starting operations, first to SAARC countries, and then to South-East Asia, the UK, and the US. After five years of domestic operations, many domestic airlines too will be entitled to fly overseas by using unutilised bilateral entitlements to Indian carriers. 4. Rising income levels and demographic profile: Though India's GDP (per capita) at $3,100 is still very low as compared to the developed country standards, India is shining, at least in metro cities and urban centres, where IT and BPO industries have made the young generation prosperous. Demographically, India has the highest percentage of people in age group of 20-50 among its 50 million strong middle class, with high earning potential. All this contributes for the boost in domestic air travel, particularly from a low base of 18 million passengers. 5. Untapped potential of India's tourism: Currently India attracts 3. 2 million tourists every year, while China gets 10 times the number. Tourist arrivals in India are expected to grow exponentially, especially due to the open sky policy between India and the SAARC countries and the increase in bilateral entitlements with European countries, and US. 6. Glamor of the airlines: No industry other than film-making industry is as glamorous as the airlines. Airline tycoons from the last century, like J. R. D. Tata and Howard Hughes, and Sir Richard Branson and Dr. Vijaya Mallya today, have been idolized. Airlines have an aura of glamour around them, and high net worth individuals can always toy with the idea of owning an airline. All the above factors seem to have resulted in a â€Å"me too† rush to launch domestic airlines in India. CHAPTER TWO PEST Analysis: The Indian Airline Industry A PEST analysis is an analysis of the external macro-environment that affects all firms. P. E. S. T. is an acronym for the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors usually are beyond the firm's control and sometimes present themselves as threats. For this reason, some say that â€Å"pest† is an appropriate term for these factors. Let us look at the PEST analysis of the Indian aviation sector: Political Factors In India, one can never over-look the political factors which influence each and every industry existing in the country. Like it or not, the political interference has to be present everywhere. Given below are a few of the political factors with respect to the airline industry: The airline industry is very susceptible to changes in the political environment as it has a great bearing on the travel habits of its customers. An unstable political environment causes uncertainty in the minds of the air travellers, regarding travelling to a particular country. Overall India’s recent political environment has been largely unstable due to international events & continued tension with Pakistan. The Gujarat riots & the government’s inability to control the situation have also led to an increase in the instability of the political arena. The most significant political event however has been September 11. The events occurring on September had special significance for the airline industry since airplanes were involved. The immediate results were a huge drop in air traffic due to safety & security concerns of the people. International airlines are greatly affected by trade relations that their country has with others. Unless governments of the two countries trade with each other, there could be restrictions of flying into particular area leading to a loss of potential air traffic (e. g. Pakistan & India) Another aspect is that in countries with high corruption levels like India, bribes have to be paid for every permit & license required. Therefore constant liasoning with the minister & other government official is necessary. The state owned airlines suffer the maximum from this problem. These airlines have to make several special considerations with respect to selection of routes, free seats to ministers, etc which a privately owned airline need not do. The state owned airlines also suffers from archaic laws applying only to them such as the retirement age of the pursers & hostesses, the labour regulations which make the management less flexible in taking decision due to the presence of a strong union, & the heavy control of the government. This affects the quality of the service delivery & therefore these airlines have to think of innovative service marketing ideas to circumvent their problems & compete with the private operators. Economic Factors Business cycles have a wide reaching impact on the airline industry. During recession, airline is considered a luxury & therefore spending on air travel is cut which leads to reduce prices. During prosperity phase people indulge themselves in travel & prices increase. After the September 11 incidents, the world economy plunged into global recession due to the depressed sentiment of consumers. In India, even a company like Citibank was forced to cut costs to increase profits for which even the top level managers were given first class railway tickets instead of plane tickets. The loss of income for airlines led to higher operational costs not only due to low demand but also due to higher insurance costs, which increased after the WTC bombing. This prompted the industry to lay off employees, which further fuelled the recession as spending decreased due to the rise in unemployment. Even the SARS outbreak in the Far East was a major cause for slump in the airline industry. Even the Indian carriers like Air India was deeply affected as many flights were cancelled due to internal (employee relations) as well as external problems, which has been discussed later. Social Factors The changing travel habits of people have very wide implications for the airline industry. In a country like India, there are people from varied income groups. The airlines have to recognize these individuals and should serve them accordingly. Air India needs to focus on their clientele which are mostly low income clients & their habits in order to keep them satisfied. The destination, kind of food etc all has to be chosen carefully in accordance with the tastes of their major clientele. Especially, since India is a land of extremes there are people from various religions and castes and every individual travelling by the airline would expect customization to the greatest possible extent. For e. g. A Jain would be satisfied with the service only if he is served jain food and it should be kept in mind that the customers next to him are also Jain or at least vegetarian. Another good example would be the case of South West Airlines which occupies a solid position in the minds of the US air travelers as a reliable and convenient, fun, low fare, and no frills airline. The major element of its success was the augmented marketing mix which it used very effectively. What South West did was it made the environment inside the plane very consumer friendly. The crew neither has any uniform nor does it serve any lavish foods, which indirectly reduces the costs and makes the consumers feel comfortable. Technological Factors The increasing use of the Internet has provided many opportunities to airlines. For e. g. Air Sahara has introduced a service, through the internet wherein the unoccupied seats are auctioned one week prior to the departure. Air India also provides many internet based services to its customer such as online ticket booking, updated flight information & handling of customer complaints. USTDA (US trade & development association) is funding a feasibility study and workshops for the Airports Authority of India as part of a long-term effort to promote Indian aviation infrastructure. The Authority is developing modern communication, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management systems for India's aviation sector that will help the country meet the expected growth and demand for air passenger and cargo service over the next decade. A proposal for restructuring the existing airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata through long-term lease to make them world class is under consideration. This will help in attracting investments in improving the infrastructure and services at these airports. Setting up of new international airports at Bangalore, Hyderabad and Goa with private sector participation is also envisaged. A good example of the impact of technology would be that of AAI, wherein with the help of technology it has converted its obsolete and unused hangars into profit centers. AAI is now leasing these hangars to international airlines and is earning huge profits out of it. AAI has also tried to utilize space that was previously wasted installing a lamination machine to laminate the luggage of travelers. This activity earns AAI a lot of revenue. These technological changes in the environment have an impact on Air India as well. Better airport infrastructure, means better handling of airplanes, which can help reduce maintenance cost. It also facilitates more flights to such destinations. FIVE PRODUCT LEVELS The Core Service: The core service of the airlines industry is to transport goods and services to various destinations. As the needs of the people increased the entire system became more organized and formal. After this stage comes the various supplementary services. The Supplementary Services: The airline industry has many players they had a brand name like ‘Air India’,’ Jet Airways’,’ British Airways’. All of them had some common services to offer like connecting flights, through check-in, tele check in, food on board, and complementary gifts etc. Different classes like economy class, business class were introduced. Air concessions are given to school students, old people etc. Singapore airlines were the first to introduce small 8† television screen for every passenger. The freebies are actually win-win deals between airlines and other services. Sahara, for example, offers its passengers a ‘business-plan’ on two-way economy class ticket, which includes a night’s stay with breakfast, STD facility for 3 minutes and boardroom facility at the Park Hotel, New Delhi. To Delhi based fliers to Mumbai, it offers a night’s stay with breakfast, airport transfers and VIP amenities at The Orchid, Mumbai. For business class, the plan includes a stay at The Leela, with buffet breakfast and late checkout. All these added service helps the customer to decide upon which airlines he wants to travel. As competition increased and the customers wanted more the next phase evolved and that is the augmented service. The Augmented Service: This phase is where the customer’s expectations are met; the service providers kept working on new methods to meet the ever-changing customers’ demands. The players introduced online booking, which was very convenient for the service users. British Airways business class has showers; it’s more spacious and comfortable. Sahara airlines offer its passengers six different types of cuisine like vegetarian, fat free, diabetic etc. They also have auction going on board. Virgin airlines have gambling on board, they also have body massage to offer to their passengers. Air Emirates has something called cab service, they have customized pick up and drop cab service. This phase is the most crucial one; with increased competition service will become the final differentiation. Future Service: As mentioned above the customer needs keep changing, the future is unknown. The customers may be looking in for more frequent inexpensive air travel, something like air taxis, supersonic speed. This decreases the time thus reducing the cost. CHAPTER THREE 4 P’s Product The airline industry is a service that satisfies customer needs for travelling. In the airline industry the customers can be divided into two segments, business and leisure. While the airline industry started out as a luxury item, business travel has changed this industry to a necessity. As we further become a global economy and communication between international companies intensifies, travel needs continue to increase. The leisure traveller has always had the need for the airline industry. Satisfying the customer needs today involves competitive rates, convenient booking of flights and benefits with those flights. Some of the problems with this industry are personally experienced by the customers. The airlines have a difficult time being punctual and this has become the norm in the industry, although some companies try to avoid it. The industry is highly susceptible to situations that result in declines in air travel, such as political instability, regional hostilities, recession, fuel price escalation, inflation, adverse weather conditions, consumer preferences, labour instability or regulatory oversight. Airlines are now in the commodity business as the public demands low-priced transportation. It has moved from elite to a common form of transportation. Today's travellers know how to surf the web for bargains through a myriad of sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire, and Cheaptickets. As a commodity, airlines cannot increase prices to increase profits, so their only choice is to cut operating costs such as labour costs. Amid the competition, airlines have refocused their attention on the customers. The industry still heavily targets frequent flyers, as members can earn miles through travelling, car rentals, hotels, and credit card use. On overseas flights, business class seats convert to real flat beds. Soon passengers will have internet access during flights. Airlines are also catering to the consumer by offering mostly organic menus, while others are offering meals-to-go before boarding. For travellers pressed for time, many airlines offer fast check-in, online at home before leaving for the airport; or self-service check-in kiosks where passengers identify themselves with a credit card, print their own boarding pass, change their seat, and purchase meal coupons. Price The following are the pricing strategies: Premium Pricing: The airlines may set prices above the market price either to reflect the image of quality or the unique status of the product. The product features are not shared by its competitors or the company itself may enjoy a strong reputation that the ‘brand image' alone is sufficient to merit a premium price. Value for Money Pricing: The intention here is to charge the average price for the product and emphasize that it represents excellent value for money at this price. This enables the airline to achieve good levels of profit on the basis of established reputation. Cheap Value Pricing: The objective here is to undercut the competition and price is used to trigger the purchase immediately. Unit profits are low, but overall profits are achieved. Air India and Indian Airlines have slashed their prices to meet the competition of private airlines so that they can consolidate their position in the market. Airlines usually practice differential pricing. There are three classes: The First Class, The Executive or Business Class and The Economy Class. Fares for each class are different since the facilities provided and the comfort and luxury level is different in each class. Seasonal fares are also fixed, fares rise during the peak holiday times. Low-cost Pricing: With the advent of the low-cost airlines in the Indian aviation industry, a different low-cost flying concept has come up. Since these low-cost airlines are trying to woo the customers by providing air travel in exceptionally low prices, a price-band kind of pricing has to be designed. In low-pricing strategies, the airlines provide very low prices for the flight tickets. Also, they prices are made cheaper by booking the tickets long before the flight date. APEX Fares: In this scheme, people are given very cheap rates only if tickets are booked at least before the specified time period. But the draw-back here is that if the booking is cancelled, a substantial amount of money is not returned. Promotion Integrated Marketing Communication A successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a service can be communicated clearly to the target market. An organisations promotional mix can consist of: ? Advertising ? Public Relations ? Sales Promotion ? Personal Selling ? Direct Mail ? Internet / E-commerce In airline industry all the above methods are use for promotion purpose. The aims of promotion fall into three main categories: to inform, to remind, & to persuade. It will always be necessary to inform prospective consumers about new products & services, but other issue may also need this type of communication to consumers; new uses, price changes, information to build consumer confidence & to reduce fears, full description of service offering, image building. Similarly consumers may need to get reminded about all these types of issues, especially in the off-peak season. It is vitally important to recognize that promotion, or marketing communications generally, may not always be aimed at potential consumer or end user of service. In many business areas, it is to design promotions aimed at channel customers to complement end user promotion. For e. g. Airlines will need to promote their services to tour operators as well as end user. Distribution (Also known as the place variable in the marketing mix, or the 4 Ps) In Airlines, they utilise more than one method of distribution. For e. g. hey sell tickets through travel agents & sell seats on fligh ts to tour operators, whilst also operating direct marketing. Whichever distribution strategy is selected, channel management plays a key role. For channels to be effective they need reliable updated information. For these reason, I. T has been widely adopted such as on-line booking system. Channel structures vary somewhat by the nature of the service ? Internet booking system ? Telephone reservation system. CHAPTER FOUR Extended Marketing Mix Marketers suggest that the unique requirements of selling services require the organization attend to three additional P's. These are people, physical evidence and process. People The people section of the Marketing Mix is the most important section of the extended Marketing Mix. It is broken up into three sections: Employees, Consumers and the Company. Do we have enough employees to provide a good service? ; Do they have the necessary personal and professional skills? , Do they understand the brand-values? , Are they enough motivated or too tired? Those are questions that airlines companies have to ask themselves, and which answers are going to have important consequences in the type of service provided. The analysis of the buyer behaviour is really interesting in this sector. Every individual have different needs and expectations in this market, so segmentation and positioning will be also fundamental. Furthermore, it’s normally an industry where, the user follows all the steps of the buyer behaviour in the selection and purchase of the service. Special importance have the Information Search by the customer (which is normally more complete than in other purchases) and beliefs and attitudes, which are the most important challenges of this analysis because normally have an important weight in the final decision of the customer. In a market as competitive as this one, a personal bad experience or just a non favourable belief or attitude can determine the user's choice forever. That's why the Brand Image is also fundamental for this kind of Companies. For e. g. A Jain would be satisfied with the service only if he is served Jain food and it should be kept in mind that the customers next to him are also Jain or at least vegetarian. Therefore, management faces a tremendous challenge in selecting and training all of these people to do their jobs well, and, perhaps even more important, in motivating them to care about doing their jobs well, and to make an extra effort to serve their customers. After all, these employees must believe in what they are doing and enjoy their work before they can, in turn, provide good service to customers. The â€Å"people† component of the service marketing mix also includes the management of the firm's customer mix. Because services are often experienced at the provider's facilities, other customers who are being served there can also influence one’s satisfaction with a service. For e. g. crying children in a nearby seat on an airplane or ill mannered customer are all examples of unpleasant service conditions caused by a firm's other patrons. Physical Evidence The service is intangible because unlike a product it can't be experienced before it is delivered. It is the ability and environment in which a service is delivered. Because it is intangible customers are at greater risk when deciding whether to use a service, so to reduce this risk, and improve success, potential customer are offered the chance to see what the service would be like with the use of testimonials, demonstrations etc. Physical layout is not only relevant to its promotional materials, but also to the layout and structure of the organization, and websites. Customers have far higher expectations and therefore they select the particular service which they know will satisfy their want. Promotional materials and written correspondence provide tangible reassurance; they can be incorporated into the firm's marketing communications to help reduce customer anxiety about committing to the purchase. Service firms should design these items with extreme care, since they will play a major role in influencing a customer's impression of the firm. In particular, all physical evidence must be designed to be consistent with the â€Å"personality† that the firm wishes to project in the marketplace. They can offer to the consumer more than a fly: additional services, and so they focus their promotional efforts in communicating that to the potential user. Process The customer service department of any airline company deal with a number of processes involved in making marketing effective in an organisation e. g. processes for handling customer complaints, processes for identifying customer needs and requirements, processes for handling requirement etc. Example of Jet (Entire Process) Purchasing process According to epinions. com, travelers' overall purchasing experiences with Jet have been very positive. People like how easy it is to choose from the different one-way fares online to make up a round-trip reservation. Some travelers prefer to use Jettelephone reservation agents for purchasing their tickets. Overall, these reservation agents have been described as very courteous and helpful. Destination Choices We found many negative reviews on epinions. com when it came to Jet destination offerings. Several people complained that Jet doesn't offer service (either non-stop or connecting) to enough destinations. Some complained about Jet operating out of smaller, less convenient airports (like Poona and Nasik). People also complained that Jet only offers limited flights per day to some destinations, making travel less convenient for some. Overall Customer Service Based on our findings at epinions. com, Jet customer service is very highly regarded. Although some people have had unpleasant experiences, almost everyone who gave an opinion raved about the service from Jet flight attendants, gate agents, ticketing/reservation agents, and even the pilots. The 7 Ps – price, product, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence comprise the modern marketing mix that is particularly relevant in service industry, but is also relevant to any form of business where meeting the needs of customers is given priority. CHAPTER FIVE SEGMENTATION Segmentation involves finding out what kinds of consumers with different needs exist. In the airline industry, for example, some consumers look for only price, while others are much more concerned about other features and services provided. In general, it holds true that â€Å"You can't be all things to all people,† and experience has demonstrated that firms that specialize in meeting the needs of one group of consumers over another tend to be more profitable. Generically, there are three approaches to marketing: In the undifferentiated strategy, all consumers are treated as the same, with firms not making any specific efforts to satisfy particular groups. This may work when the product is a standard one where one competitor really can't offer much that another one can't. Usually, this is the case only for commodities. In the concentrated strategy, one firm chooses to focus on one of several segments that exist while leaving other segments to competitors. For example, Deccan Airlines focuses on price sensitive consumers who will forego meals and assigned seating for low prices. In contrast, most airlines follow the differentiated strategy: They offer high priced tickets to those who are inflexible in that they cannot tell in advance when they need to fly and find it impractical to stay over a Saturday. These travellers usually business travellers pay high fares but can only fill the planes up partially. The same airlines then sell some of the remaining seats to more price sensitive customers who can buy two weeks in advance and stay over. Note that segmentation calls for some tough choices. There may be a large number of variables that can be used to differentiate consumers of a given product category; yet, in practice, it becomes impossibly cumbersome to work with more than a few at a time. Thus, we need to determine which variables will be most useful in distinguishing different groups of consumers. We might thus decide, for example, that the variables that are most relevant in separating different kinds of airlines consumers are: (1) Preference for price, (2) Preference for combination of price and other features, (3) Consumers not worried at all about price: Looking for privacy or luxury (4) Willingness to pay for brand names We now put these variables together to arrive at various combinations. Several different kinds of variables can be used for segmentation. Demographic variables essentially refer to personal statistics such as income, gender, education, location (rural vs. urban, East vs. West), ethnicity, and family size. Jet Airways; for instance, has found that people from western region (India) on the average prefer vegetarian meal whereas people from east prefer non-vegetarian meal. Taking this a step farther, it is also possible to segment on lifestyle and values. Some consumers want to be seen as similar to others, while a different segment wants to stand apart from the crowd. Another basis for segmentation is behaviour. Some consumers are â€Å"brand loyal† i. e. , they tend to stick with their preferred brands even when a competing one is on sale. CHAPTER SIX ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY Intense competition in Indian Aviation Industry has made the role of technology very important for domestic airline companies. Technology can help in making travel comfortable, allow easy access to tickets and reduce time to check-in. A considerable amount of money is also saved by automation. Following points highlight the increasing use of Technology by different Airlines: Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines is planning to install a landscape camera at the bottom of the aircraft that will enable passengers get a view of the take-off and landing of their airplane when flying on domestic routes. They are also going to allow GSM phones to be used on board for the first time. They are already providing live TV as part of our high-end In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) initiatives. Kingfisher Airlines has announced the launch of two world-class technological innovations to enhance guest convenience. The first cutting-edge innovation is the introduction of the ‘Roving Agent’ at the airport. Now guests with hand baggage need not have to wait at the check-in counter to collect their boarding pass, instead they can directly approach the Kingfisher Airline’s Roving Agents deployed outside the security check-in area who will book them on their choice of seats. Also launched is the facility of ‘Web Check-in’. Now Kingfisher Airlines' guests can sit in the comfort of their homes or offices and print their boarding passes. All a guest has to do is log on to the official website of Kingfisher Airlines, www. flykingfisher. com, and click on the link – web check-in. Fill-in your reservation details and the screen will display the choice of seats available onboard that particular flight. Once booked, the guest can conveniently print out the boarding pass and carry it along with him/her on the day of the flight and proceed straight to the security check counter at the airport. The Airbus A380, the world`s largest and most advanced passenger airplane, which is widely regarded as the future of aviation, marks a momentous milestone in the history of civil aviation in India. Kingfisher Airlines, India’s fastest-growing airline, has engaged Sabre Airline Solutions, the global leader of software and services for the airline industry from planning to execution, to provide a full suite of more than 20 enterprise applications to enhance its guest processing functions, as the airline continues its rapid expansion of its operations. Kingfisher Airlines is also leveraging other technology from Sabre Airline Solutions to help analyze the market and determine the best approaches to maximize revenue. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and Dish TV have joined hands to provide live in-flight entertainment on Kingfisher aircraft. The in-flight entertainment system is one of the best in the world. The increasing use of the Internet has provided many opportunities to airlines. For e. g. Kingfisher has introduced a service through the internet, wherein the unoccupied seats are auctioned one week prior to the departure. Public sector airline Air-India is exploring the possibility of launching an information technology (IT) subsidiary to handle its automation activities. Jet Airways has launched an Interactive Voice Response (IVR)-based payment and ticketing services. The service will allow passengers to complete their reservation with credit cards through a secure gateway and instantly receive their e-tickets via email. Low-cost carriers such as Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo are currently allowing a web-check apart from online booking. CHAPTER SEVEN QUALITY DIMENSION IN CONTEXT WITH AIRLINE INDUSTRY Reliability is most important to customers. Reliability is performing promised service dependably and accurately. If you don't deliver on your promise you can lose customers and your credibility will be damaged. It takes a long time for a company to build up a reputation for reliability, and only a short time to be branded as â€Å"unreliable†. Security in airline industry is a very important issue. Terrorist threats and narcotics are the main threats in Indian airports. The airlines and the security screening people they contract with have a simple choice – employ more staff so as to process their passengers more efficiently, or lay off staff and cause their passengers to spend more time waiting to check in than they actually spend on the flight itself. Tangible – Tangibles refers to physical facilities and facilitating goods. Examples of tangibles would be distinctive materials such as brochures and the cleanliness of the facilities. Tangible is what makes you different than competitors. Customer can see for themselves and then decide whether to go for the service or not. Responsiveness – Responsiveness is the willingness to help customers promptly. Avoid having customers waiting for no apparent reason. Responsiveness is very important because if you provide customers with what they need in a timely fashion they will be satisfied. Nobody likes to wait. Replying to a customer request promptly is a good example of responsiveness. If customers see that the company is willing to help, this will cause loyalty and it will let them know that you are concerned about them. Assurance is the ability to convey trust and confidence. Being polite and showing respect for customers will create trust. Also having professional and knowledgeable staff will create trust and confidence in customers. People enjoy meeting pleasant, knowledgeable people. By being pleasant and knowledgeable to everyone a business will present the kind of business image that draws new business. Empathy is the ability to be approachable. Empathy involves treating customers as individuals. When a customer has a problem they should not be afraid to ask questions. A company should adapt to the specials needs of a customer. Listening to customers concerns and proving them with a positive solution is how you show empathy. CHAPTER EIGHT CONCLUSION Airline industry in India is plagued with several problems. These include high aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, rising labour costs and shortage of skilled labour, rapid fleet expansion, and intense price competition among the players. But one of the major challenges facing Indian aviation industry is infrastructure constraint. Airport infrastructure needs to be upgraded rapidly if Indian aviation industry has to continue its success story. Some steps have been taken in this direction. Two of India's largest airports-Mumbai and New Delhi-were privatized recently. Two Greenfield airports are coming up at Bangalore and Hyderabad in southern India. Investments are pouring into almost all aspects of the industry, including aircraft maintenance, pilot training and air cargo services. The future prospects of Indian aviation sector look bright. The Indian aviation industry has witnessed remarkable growth in recent years, with key drivers being positive economic factors, including high GDP growth, good industrial performance, and corporate profitability and expansion. Other factors include higher disposable incomes, growth in consumer spending, and availability of low fares. FUTURE PROSPECTS OF INDIAN AIRLINE SECTOR Consolidation in the aviation industry: Consolidation will ease competition and give pricing power to the dominant players and as a result of higher fares even smaller players like SpiceJet stand to benefit. The air fares for SpiceJet are expected to increase by 7. 4% and 3. 6% during FY08E and FY09E respectively. Due to booming economy, it is believed that the growth in the aviation industry will continue in the scenario of increased airfares. Generally it is believed that the aviation sector in any country grows at twice the growth rate of its GDP. In India, the GDP is growing at more than 7-8% per annum, which makes the growth rate in the aviation sector to be in excess of 15%. Aviation industry in India is expected to grow at a much better rate than this because the industry is at a nascent stage with lower base and low penetration. Strong passenger growth to boost top-line and profit: Strong passenger growth would lead to 86% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) growth in revenues for the next two years. Increased passenger volume would also help in spreading fixed cost over larger passenger base there by bringing down per unit cost. Domestic Passengers: In the last three years, the number of passengers travelling by air has more than doubled with industry carrying 34mn passenger during FY07. On back of conversion of upper class rail passengers to air travel and the surging tourism industry we expect the number of people travelling by air to increase at a CAGR of 25% to 67mn by FY10E. We expect the revenue passengers for SpiceJet to increase from 2. 8mn in FY07 (12 months) to 6. mn in FY09E, a CAGR of 58%. The expected growth in revenue passenger is on account of aggressive increase in fleet size from 11 aircrafts in FY07 to 23 aircrafts by FY09E. REFRENCE Books and Journals: Adrian Palmer (2001), Principles of S ervices Marketing, third edition, McGraw Hill, London. Kotler (1998) Marketing Management Ninth Edition The Economist, 4th January 2002 A new way to fly Websites Referred: www. 4ds. com www. epinions. com www. business. headlinesindia. com www. oppapers. com www. icmrindia. org www. airindia. com www. flyairdeccan. net www. spicejet. com (www. spicejet. com/pdf/BSE_Q2FY08) www. jetairways. com www. flykingfisher. com