Extended Marketing Mix Essay

Launched on 3rd of October 2009 by the McLaren’s Group which has been a name with great passion towards improvement of motor sports in Sri Lanka, Speed  Drome (Pvt) Ltd. is every Pro/Go-karter’s heaven on earth. Located amidst green pasture in close proximity to the parliament complex and Buddhadasa play ground in Battaramulla, Speedrome is a fully equipped and professionally fitted race track which includes 19 go-karts, computerized timing and scoring systems, professionally trained staff, designated spectator areas and air-conditioned VIP gallery, all for the sake of providing their customers with the best experience that they can offer. Go-karting may be Speed Drome’s main product but they haven’t stopped there as far as the entertainment aspect is concerned, with a sports bar and a luxurious lounge. These two additional services are provided for customers to host parties or any corporate events. Speed Drome also has taken an initiative in providing a swimming pool to cater to discerning corporate executives and high profile lifestyles. As for the little kids, Speed Drome has taken the liberty of creating a kiddies race track as well. To put it simply, Speed Drome aims to be not only an attraction for Pro/Go-kart lovers everywhere but also to provide the entire family with leisure activities and entertainment. Speed Drome has gained much popularity ever since its launch, with an exhibition kart race in which the participation of Yoshitha Rajapaksa, Aravinda De Silva the former cricketer who is a keen fan of motor cars along with the lady racer S.A. Lakshika and Jackson Anthony were noted. Karting championships such as â€Å"Speed Drome All Island Karting Championship Rounds 1-3 † show off exactly what Speed Drome is all about as many professional formula one drivers take part in these competitions exhibiting the real skill involved in Go/Pro-karting, while attracting even more potential customers and leading to other karting championships. Finally the major plus point for Speed Drome is the fact that it is the one and only Go/Pro-Karting facility in Sri Lanka as yet and with its added assets Speed Drome’s future seems very fruitful with all the necessary standards being maintained. The Extended Marketing mix 1. Product In a service organization, the product is referred to the service being delivered to the consumer which is intangible, inseparable, variable and perishable. The speed Drome (Pvt) Ltd. (Appendix 1) offers a variety of  services which can be explained in terms of entertainment, leisure and experience. Their main focus is on providing their customers with the experience of real Pro-Kart racing (Appendix 2) and in addition to that other entertainment and leisure services are also provided such as the Kiddies track, (Appendix 3) the sports bar (Appendix 4) and the swimming pool (Appendix 5) along with the Luxurious Lounge (Appendix 6). The nature of the service in terms of: Intangibility: True services are intangible. Therefore when you leave Speed Drome there is only one memory or the experience that remains, which is riding a pro-kart at the only available place in Sri Lanka. Some elements are tangible such as the karts used, the swim pool etc., but the core benefit of the purchase is not, and that is the sheer experience of riding a pro-kart and feeling its speed. Inseparability: The service provided by Speed Drome is inseparable as the physical presence of a customer is essential in this service. However, with the help of its physical resources the overall service takes place when only the consumer that is the person interested in riding a pro-kart meets the service provider. Perishability: Karting or any other service provided by the company must be consumed when offered. It cannot be produced now for consumption at a later stage / time nor can they be held or stocked because the value of this service exists at the point when it is required. Variability: This service is highly variable because Speed Drome is the only service provider for kart racing in Sri Lanka currently. It has its very own standardized quality which cannot be competed with another form of entertainment service, as it provides a unique and an incomparable experience. The above mentioned characteristics define the services they provide which attract youngsters and veteran drivers alike. 2. Price Pricing is one of the most important marketing mix decisions and it is the only marketing mix variable that generates revenues. Speed Drome (Pvt) Ltd. is a profit and cost oriented organization. Their main objectives are to: * Maximize their profits, * Achieve a target return on investment, * Recover investment costs over a particular time period And to, * Generate volume so as to drive down costs. Speed Drome doesn’t pursue the status quo or sales oriented objectives as it is the only organization specializes in this certain industry in Sri Lanka. Due to the same reason Speed Drome follows the price skimming strategy. Their prices for all the services are relatively high (even though they don’t have competitors in the same industry) compared to the other entertainment forms in the market. This is due to the service quality, image and to prevent competitors enter the market easily. The following are the current prices attached to the services being provided by Speed Drome: * Pro-Karting/ Go-Karting (10 minutes) – Rs. 750 * Happy Hours Karting (every Tuesday 3pm-8pm) – Rs. 500 * Swimming pool charges (unlimited) per person – Rs. 450 * Membership Benefits: * Membership free Rs.15000 * Rs. 750 tickets for Rs.500 * Kart trainer amount Rs.1500 for Rs.1000 * Members can use pool free, additional guest with members charged only Rs. 250 each * 10% discount for corporate package with fully use of pool and entertainment area. Additionally the race fees, special event fees and training programme fees are charged. 3. Place The place part of the marketing mix is where the customer receives the service or where the service is located. Speed Drome is Located in close proximity to the Parliament Complex and Bhuddhadasa Play Ground, in Battaramulla. It has situated itself around major cities such as Colombo, Rajagiriya, Nugegoda and Pitakotte which are all highly residential areas have all been thought out very carefully by Speed Drome management prior to construction. This is to boost their target market which is basically the upper class of community because although the cost for riding a Go-Kart (which is something very rare to do in Sri Lanka) seems reasonable as far as the cost for maintaining the Karts and equipment needed go, Unfortunately  though for the majority of Sri Lankan’s the price to pay for such an experience is highly unreasonable. The area in which the Arena (or facility) has been built on is extremely large and compliments the Track very well and to add to this the lush scenery surrounding the Speed Drome gives this track a unique feel to it. Speed Dome’s location has one more major benefit which is that it’s just a drive away not only from the cities surrounding it but also from other major cities in the district like Colombo and Dehiwala etc. Over all the decision to build Speed Drome where it is an extremely well thought and strategic move which has shown and is yet to keep bringing in results. 4. Promotion Promotions have become a critical factor in the service marketing mix. Services are easy to be duplicated and hence it is generally the brand which sets a service apart from its counterpart. As mentioned under the topic ‘Place’ Speed Drome’s marketing mix carters to a selected segment, which is known as Niche marketing. Its service is all about providing entertainment for those who desire the ‘need for speed’. What better way to communicate about this sheer experience which can be gained at only one place in Sri Lanka other than promoting the service? The obvious competitive advantages Speed Drome possesses are: * Service Differentiation The only facility that provides karting experience in Sri Lanka. * Image Differentiation Karts which are only available at Speed Drome in Sri Lanka and the unique logo itself distinguish the service provided. How Speed Drome gets through to the customer The main objective of Speed Drome is to make the potential customers well aware about their new service. Hence the following methods are mainly used to promote their service- * Weekly offered special karting hours * ‘Happy Hours’ Every Tuesday from 3pm-8pm (Rs.750 tickets at Rs.500) (Appendix 7) * Karting competitions * Thank God its Race Day Competition (Appendix 8) * All Island Karting Championship (Appendix 9,10) * Exhibition kart races of celebrities (Appendix 11) * Publications * News Paper advertisements Ex: Daily Mirror, Sunday Times, Sunday Observer * Magazines Ex: Things to do in Colombo, Esteem, Hi etc. * Online Advertising * Social network groups Ex: The official Facebook Group with latest updates. Twitter etc.

Paper on Bsp

Information Technology Management IT600-1204A-02 Dr. D. Lance Revenaugh By Licia Felton Business System Planning The Business Systems Planning (BSP) Approach was developed by IBM, a proprietary technique devised initially for IBM internal use. It was later sold for customer use in the mid-1970s. Business Systems Planning was one of the first information system planning methods and is now one of the most commonly recognized. â€Å"This approach concentrates on a firm’s data resources and strives to develop an information architecture that supports a coordinated view of the data needs of the firm’s major systems.The BSP process identifies the key activities of the firm and the systems and data that support these activities. The data is arranged in classes, and a method is developed to relate data classes to the firm’s activities and its information systems. † (Frenzel, 2004) BSP offers a structured approach to IS planning in numerous defined stages that lead from the identification of business processes, to a definition of required data structures. Data is then followed as they flow throughout the organization by the business activity support or from which they result.The BSP methodology consists of four major activities, documenting the business activities, defining the business processes, defining the data necessary to support the business processes, and defining the information architecture. â€Å"BSP, in addition to its value for IS planning, also made two other important intellectual contributions: It helped introduce the process view of the firm. The popular Business Process Re-engineering of the 1990s was built on this concept. It pointed out the need to de-couple the data from the applications that use these data, i. e. , data independence.This supported the database approach to systems development. † (Dubey, 2011) What should Information technology (IT) management professionals understand about the BSP approach? BSP stu dy requires the diversion of staff and other scarce resources from more immediate tasks. Therefore, it is important to gain top management commitment and involvement. This support is needed not only to get things started but also to measure adherence to the plans. Discipline and constraints are imposed by BSP on managers and high-level business executives, who often view these constraints as counter-productive to their short-term interests.This is why top management support is critical for the BSP study. The BSP approach can be a very useful tool for communicating with users. It helps to articulate major information system segments to define the overall architecture. â€Å"However, this approach needed further help from other planning methods to make it also peep into the possible opportunities and competition. This approach also has its limitations. It is too internal focused and does not take into account extended enterprises needs and creativity. In addition, BSP is very compreh ensive, time-consuming and expensive. (Dubey, 2011) In conclusion, the Business Systems Planning (BSP) Approach was developed by IBM, a proprietary technique devised initially for IBM internal use. It was later sold for customer use in the mid-1970s. The BSP methodology consists of four major activities, documenting the business activities, defining the business processes, defining the data necessary to support the business processes, and defining the information architecture. The BSP approach can be a very useful tool for communicating with users.It helps to articulate major information system segments to define the overall architecture. It also has its limitations. The approach is very comprehensive, time-consuming and expensive. References: Frenzel, C. W. , & Frenzel, J. C. (2004). Management of Information Technology. 4th Edition, Boston, MA: Course Technology. Colorado Technical University. Information Management. Live Chat 10/10/12. Dubey, Shankar Sanjiva. (2011). IT Strategy and Management. 2nd Edition. Pages 38-39. | | | | | | | | | | | [pic][pic]

Benvolio Mask Essay

For my Benvolio mask, I chose the color blue for loyalty, the dove’s wing for being a peacemaker, and the monocle to represent wisdom. In public, when Benvolio enters the scene, he sees men with raised swords so he told them to â€Å"put up your swords† (1,1,76). Tybalt then enters and tells Benvolio to draw his sword but Benvolio tells Tybalt that he should â€Å"part these men with me† (1,1,82). This shows that Benvolio wants no violence but rather peace. Since a dove’s wing means peacefulness, honesty, and faith, I chose the dove’s wing because Benvolio has all these traits. After the fight, Romeo is seen grieving about his purged heart and tells Benvolio goodbye, but Benvolio tells Romeo that he will â€Å"go along†(1,1,196) and if Romeo leaves him, then he will â€Å"do [him] wrong†(1,1,197). True friendship and loyalty was exhibited in this scene which is represented by the color blue on the mask. I put blue as the background of the mask because it’s meaning is loyalty and Benvolio shows this by tagging along with his friends and trying to soothe them and communicate with them. When the Capulets arrive into the public place, Mercutio calls Tybalt out to fight him , but when Benvolio sees the danger point, he tells the men to â€Å"withdraw unto some private place, and reason coldly of your grievances, or else depart. † (3,1,50). When no men heed Benvoilio’s warning, Mercutio is killed and Romeo looks for revenge and he achieves it with a fallen pale Tybalt. Benvolio tells Romeo to â€Å"be gone†(3,1,134), and to â€Å"stand not amazed† (3,1,134) since the â€Å"prince will doom thee death†(3,1,136) and â€Å"if thou art taken: hence, be gone, away! †(3,1,137). This shows how wise and aware Benvolio is. A monocle represents this because when one wears a monocle they have the urge to think deeper.

Can Rational Choice Theory Explain Cyber Terrorism in the United Research Paper

Can Rational Choice Theory Explain Cyber Terrorism in the United States - Research Paper Example This defines the scope of cyber terrorism and I, in this paper, explore the scope of cyber terrorism and existence of a relationship between the scope of cyber terrorism and Rational Choice Theory and the theory’s applicability to cyber terrorism in the United States. Cyber terrorism The definition of cyber terrorism is controversial because of differences in professional perspectives. Information technology experts, for example, dispute diversified opinions over the term cyber terrorism and existence of such a crime. There are however many security based definitions of cyber terrorism and their consideration can coin a comprehensive meaning. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), defines cyber terrorism as an offensive that employs â€Å"computer or communication networks† to inflict significant harm or disorientation with the aim of creating â€Å"fear or to intimidate† a group in order to achieve an objective (Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terro rism, 2008, p. 119). The organization however identifies limitation in this definition because of lack of the physical aspects in the scope of the alleged attacks. The National Infrastructure Protection Center however offers a more comprehensive definition that incorporates elements of violence in the offensive acts, confusion as the attackers’ intentions, and â€Å"political and social† influence as possible objectives (Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism, 2008, p. 119). The federal Bureau of Investigations further incorporates pre-established plans into the acts that majorly target civilians (Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism, 2008). Cyber terrorism is therefore a planned attack on a civilian group that is affiliated to a target political force, implemented using computer based applications and communication systems and leads to violence, destruction of property and disorientations in order to instill fear and intimidate people into the offend er’s desires political, social, or ideological needs. Elements of cyber terrorism The scope of cyber terrorism identifies many elements. One of its major elements is the speed with which it is executed and the number of people that it affects. Being an illegal act that authorities would wish to divert, the crime is conducted at a swift speed to ensure success through avoiding possible prevention measures. The faster nature of the crime also identifies with its medium of execution, the internet, which is instant. Cyber terrorism also affects many people because of the medium’s property and the crime’s aims. The internet condenses data and this means that extensive information that affects many people can be targeted by a single attack. Further, communication through the internet is fast, information is accessible to many people, and this spreads impacts of the offensive to a wider population (Keene, 2011). Illegal access to a system is another feature of cyber te rrorism whose scope includes hacking of a target’s website to interfere with its data or use the site to communicate the terrorists’ intended messages (Broadhurst, 2004). Application of computer and computer-based applications is another element of the

Summarize chapter 16 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summarize chapter 16 - Essay Example The wheels are made in two halves which need to be matched by manufacturer and part number. d. Air craft Tire Construction. Air craft tires are tubeless tires designed to with stand high speed along with static and dynamic loading. Unlike automobile aircraft tires fail under continuous operation. e. Tire Specification The specification details are mentioned on the side walls of tires and available in manufacturer’s data sheets. These include ply rating, load rating, speed rating, retread history etc. m. Coefficient of Friction. The stopping of aircraft on runway after application of brakes is the function of friction of tire and runway. The value used in all deceleration calculation is coefficient of friction which is the ratio between the force needed between the two surfaces to slide against each other and force holding them. The coefficient is measured from MU meter and diagonally brake

Hrd Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Hrd Practice - Essay Example Information was gathered and notes taken through personal discussions with HRD personnel, management and a number of personnel affected by these systems. Data on attrition rates, performance appraisals, and career development was garnered from the meticulous records maintained by the ORTD. This data was allowed to be drawn for study only and not allowed to be used in this report. The main findings included in the following report are that ABC has a clear view of its mission and objectives and HRD strategy is visibly and strongly linked to the overall plans. The two areas studied are well developed and effectively used. This report offers some recommendations to further strengthen these. This report is written at the conclusion of a study of Human Resource Development (HRD) practices in an existing company (ABC, at their request). Theoretical inputs received during class and the thinking of various experts was compared with actual practice, to develop deeper understanding of HRD. HRD embraces a large range of activities aimed at bringing out the best in each individual to meet organizations' objectives this study was limited to two areas, Career Development and Performance Appraisal. ABC adopts a paternalistic approach and shows total involvement in the welfare of the employee both on and away from the workplace. In all dealings with employees the company makes a conscious attempt to integrate feelings, priorities and welfare of the employees' family. ABC also has well thought out medium and long term plans for growth and consolidation and its efforts at career planning and development are fully integrated into them. Manning and skill level requirements of the organisation as it evolves and grows in the next five years are written and HRD responds to this through its activities of recruitment, training and development of in-house human resources. Lateral recruitment at higher levels is rare. 2.0 Industry Studied - Overview 2.1 Background The Organisation selected for study is a large company, employing about 3,600 personnel. The company manufactures fertilizers, PVC and Cement and is essentially chemical technology driven. The company is very successful in its performance as is

Define your concept of a college education, and what a college Essay

Define your concept of a college education, and what a college education means to you - Essay Example This paper will attempt to explore the importance of college education in an individual’s life and why is it worth the amount of time, hard work and money that students invests on their college education. Tamara Draut in her article ‘Whats a Diploma Worth, Anyway?’ quotes, â€Å"Getting a bachelors degree is the required ticket for entry into the middle class today, but the security once implied in that status is gone. In addition to the exigencies now felt by middle-class Americans of all ages -- rising health care costs, soaring home prices and flat or falling incomes -- todays new generation of college grads bear an added vulnerability of massive debt† (Draut, 203). Personally speaking, nothing is further from truth. College education serves a more profound purpose than providing a promising for a prosperous life. Several evidences points to this very fact. First, not all people, who graduate from elite branded colleges, end up successful and neither all the graduates of mediocre schools stay unsuccessful all their lives. On the contrary, everyone hear rags-to-riches stories about people who attended mediocre colleges or did not go to one at all and did great. Examples include Bill Gates, the founder of Windows and Steve Jobs, the creator and owner of Apple. In addition, there are evidences of graduates of Harvard, Stanford, and Cambridge working at mediocre companies and living an average life. Thus, there is no black and white rule that promises successful prospects after college education. The question now arises, why go to college if a dropout can achieve so much more without a degree? How is it prudent to invest so much money and time in a venture, which is not even remotely reassuring of a good future? The answer lies in under the covers of salary, degree, and fame. The college education serves the purpose of character building. It deepens the attitude and dampens the soul of those who take it seriously. When one studies the

STRONG LETTER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

STRONG LETTER - Essay Example Without education, it will be impossible for me to get a suitable job that can help me in paying back my loan. I do not want to be dismissed from the university after coming this far. I assure you that I will focus more on my studies now as I have more time for studies now as compared to before. Earlier, I was the only source of income for my family due to which I did not have much time to spend on studies. However, my life has changed recently. My wife has started working due to which I have more time to study now. It will be difficult for me to cut off from studies at this point of time when I have completed the major portion of my degree. I have completed all of my courses and have met all the requirements of becoming a physician. All I need to do is to pass the board exam to complete my medical degree. I understand the consequences of failing my board exam. I know that I will have no chance for residency in this country without this degree. I also know that without this degree, I will not be able to get any job here in the United States. I may have hard time to practice in the United States, but I can return home where my degree will be very valuable. I am taking this exam very seriously. It was just a mistake that I made a wrong choice by writing the clinical skills (CS) part before writing the critical knowledge (CK) part in the board exam. I assure you that I will not repeat this mistake if given a chance to continue my study. I have also registered for a program that I think will be very helpful for doing CK, CS, and NYCSPrep. The program director, Dr. Lakshman Somasundararam, is a practicing physician and he has promised to help me. He wants me to complete CK before doing CS. He has also assigned a mentor who will help me in studying CK for the next two months. He can be contacted on my behalf at (917) 349-2605. Please, I am asking for a chance to allow me to pursue my degree. Having come to this point and

Politics in East London Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Politics in East London - Research Paper Example This paper discusses the current political system and main challenges encountered by Hackney, Croydon, Tower Hamlets, and Lewisham. Response of the boroughs to the Alternative Vote (AV) The residents of Hackney responded differently to the Alternative Vote (AV) than the common response of the residents of the rest of the three boroughs of East London. While the residents of Lewisham, Croydon, and Tower Hamlets voted against the AV, only Hackney supported the Westminster Electoral system’s reform in the referendum of 2011. According to the statistics noted by Brown (2011), in the electorate’s 34.23 per cent turnout, electoral reforms endorsement in Hackney happened with a majority of 10,905. 39.32 per cent of the people voted against whereas 60.68 per cent of them voted in favor. A turnout of 35.9 per cent was observed in Croydon and most of the residents i.e. 67.01 per cent voted against whereas only 32.99 per cent voted in favor. The response from the residents of Lewi sham was much similar to that of Croydon as 50.65 per cent of the residents of Lewisham voted against any alteration in the First Past the Post system. In Tower Hamlets, 54.17 per cent of the residents voted against and the rest voted in favor of choosing a new way to elect Webminster’s MPs. According to the opinion polls, the No Campaign had received a victory across the country. This served as a blow to the Liberal Democrats who had been heavily defeated in the local elections and others who wanted a preferential system of voting. Comparison of severity of main issues in the boroughs London Poverty Profile (2010) drew a comparison between the level of severity in the issues of low income and benefits, low pay, low education attainment, ill health, and inadequate housing among London’s boroughs. According to London’s Poverty Profile (2010), of the four boroughs in the East London, two with the comparatively greatest problems of â€Å"low income and benefitsâ⠂¬  include Hackney and Tower Hamlets, Lewisham has comparatively lesser issues of low income and benefits whereas these issues are the least in Croydon. The issue of â€Å"low pay† is the most severe in Hackney, its severity is almost the same in Croydon and Lewisham, whereas low pay as the issue is the least severe in Tower Hamlets. The issue of â€Å"low education attainment† is the most severe in Hackney, its level of severity is lesser in Lewisham, whereas its level of severity in Croydon and Tower Hamlets is the lowest. The severity of the issue â€Å"ill health† is maximal in Hackney, lesser and almost the same in Lewisham and Tower Hamelts, and is the least in Croydon. The issue of â€Å"inadequate housing† is the most severe in Tower Hamlets, its level of severity is lesser in Hackney, it is even lesser in Lewisham, whereas the level of severity is the lowest in Croydon. Government-imposed cuts in public spending and its effects in the boroughs The Coalition Government in the UK is attempting to reduce the deficit in budget by bringing immediate and deep cuts in the public spending. The government claims of implementing progressive and fair cuts and of protecting the most vulnerable. Nevertheless, it is hard to make such reductions in public spending without having any negative implications for the most vulnerable communities. Hackney is the second most deprived borough in the UK after Brent and is likely to experience loss of money by as many as 6790 poor households as a result of the

Positive and negative aspects of e-business for traditional retailing Essay

Positive and negative aspects of e-business for traditional retailing and whole-selling organisations - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that e-business or e-commerce is a significant trend in today’s business environment which is fundamentally facilitating change in the method of conducting commercial activities. E-business provides exceptional opportunities for retail and wholesale organisations by helping to overcome the geographic limitations. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can mainly benefit from e-business through collecting valuable information easily, promoting themselves through the internet and serving consumers in new markets with comparatively little cost than traditional business practices. E-business refers utilisation of information and communication technology (ICT) in the business environment which comprises knowledge and data exchange, web advertisements, online ordering and real–time delivery information among others. E-business implementation makes retail and wholesale organisations to rearrange the business procedures and to distribute goods and services more competently and effectually. However, despite rapid and sustained development of e-business several retail stores and wholesale organisations are still in the investment and brand development stage and have not utilised the benefits properly. E-businesses usually concentrate on the visual appearance and ease of use of their portals as a primary way for enlarging the customer base. The impact of e-business on retail stores and wholesale organisations is determined by the level to which they match the present retailing as a substitute channel or swaps existing networks. Environmental forces such as demographical, cultural, lifestyle, fashions, economic and political pressures and other commercial expansions impact the future possibility and practice of e-business in retail and whole-sale organisations. E-business is simply an enabler which results in retail or wholesale procedure innovation, where the products and the goods remain same. E-business acts as a re placement network which has resulted in fundamental alterations in shopping practices (Burt & Sparks, 2003). Positive Impact

Globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Globalisation - Essay Example been broadly understood as a concept, policy and process casually used to describe a variety of phenomena that reflect increased economic interdependence of countries. It includes flows of goods and services across borders, reductions in policy and transport barriers to trade, international capital flows, multinational activity, foreign direct investment, outsourcing, increased exposure to exchange rate volatility, and immigration. These movements of goods, services, capital, firms, and people are believed to contribute to the spread of technology, knowledge, culture and information across borders (Fischer, 2003; Soros, 2002; Balakrishnan, 2003;Geriffi & Sturgeon, 2004). Thus, globalisation permeates the contemporary world. The paper aims to understand the positive impact of globalisation in India. As such, the focus question is how do changes brought about by globalisation have a positive impact in India? The paper will have the following structure: first part is the introduction where globalisation is defined, and the problem is presented. The second part is the presentation of the economic scenario of India. And the third part is about the positive impact of globalisation in India. India with a population of 1,139.96 million as of 2008 and a population growth of 1.3% annually is one of the emerging powers of the Third world (Harris, 2005). India’s 2008 GDP is $1,217.49 billion still higher by $40.60 billion than 2007despite the world economic crisis. Both the agricultural and industries sectors share 36% of GDP with 18% each respectively in 2008. The services sector comprises 53% of the GDP while India’s exports of goods and services for 2008 cover 24% of the GDP. There is a remarkable increase in workers’ remittances from $38666 million in 2007 to $51974 million in 2008. Foreign direct investments have tremendously increased from $6,677 million in 2005 to $22,950 million in 2007. Also, an increase in number of mobile phone subscribers from 21 per 100

Trafficking of African Women and Girls Essay Example for Free

Trafficking of African Women and Girls Essay INTRODUCTION:   Human trafficking, the modern euphemism for slavery, is a major problem in Africa. The trafficking in women and girls is now considered the third largest source of profit for organized crime, behind only drugs and arms. This is an inhuman condition which cannot be allowed to emerge, as it tarnishes the color of human race and civilized society. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Poverty, social disruption and family pressures and even natural disasters sow the seeds for the practice, while armed conflict, corrupt governments and a universal demand for cheap labor help reap the crops of new victims. Africa needs to establish stronger laws against the trafficking of women and children on and from the continent as well as better child-labor laws, a former U.S. ambassador to Madagascar told members of the newly reconstituted Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations. One should investigation into the causes and forms of violence against women, looking at the relationship between poverty, militarization and discrimination. Women are forced to compete for work in conditions of extreme sexual exploitation, often being exposed to risky sexual practices, high levels of HIV, violence and murder. Amnesty International shows how women have led campaigns against all forms of violence and have achieved dramatic changes in laws, policies and practices. CONCLUSION: Countries, organization and people should unite to fight against and encounter the grim condition emerging on the African soil. One should tap into the greatest resource in Africa: Women and give them a bright and promising future. Thesis Proposal Human trafficking tarnishes the global scene today, as slavery used to decades ago. The women and girls are vulnerable to exploitation within the country as well as out of the country. The trafficking of women and girls for prostitution is big business. The horrific experiences of migrant women and girls, who have very little choice or control over their lives is a sad tale. Women are forced to compete for work in conditions of extreme sexual exploitation, often being exposed to risky sexual practices, high levels of HIV, violence and murder. The trafficking in women and girls is now considered the third largest source of profit for organized crime, behind only drugs and arms. Africa needs to establish stronger laws against trafficking of women and girls, supported by Commonwealth, Amnesty International, Human Rights and other world forums. The fundamental source of trafficking is the lack of awareness, insufficient support, lack of education, vulnerability of women as a gender. On an international scene explosion of organized crime and easy access to transportation of â€Å"Humans: women and girls† across border with a promise for better and brighter picture. The dependant status of this gender further encourages trapped into such practices, even without conscious will.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The national consciousness’, international legal support and geographic migration laws have to join hands to bring about effective change in the depressing condition of women and girls in Africa. The human rights should play a forceful role backed by powerful countries to support in aid and legislation with severe penalties for the offenders. This is an inhuman condition which cannot be allowed to emerge, as it tarnishes the color of human race and civilized society. Countries, organization and people should unite to fight against and encounter the grim condition emerging on the African soil. One should tap into the greatest resource in Africa: Women and give them a bright and promising future. Rajgopal, offers great insight into this field   with his research experience in South and Southeast Asia, South Africa and Brazil. His current investigation into four ares of research: : new democratic and legal strategies for operationalizing socio-economic rights, especially rights to water, food, land, housing, and environment in India, South Africa and Brazil; the impact of globalization and decentralization on protection of human rights; the accountability of international organizations; and corporate compliance with human rights law. He helped establish first human-rights field office in Cambodia Helped establish the first human-rights field office of the United Nations in the mid-1990s and has been a consultant to several international organizations and NGOs on development-related human rights and legal issues. Member of the Asia Advisory Board of Human Rights Watch, the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law and the International Advisory Board of the Robert Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights.                            Annotated Bibliography    Monzini, Paola (2005) SEX TRAFFIC: Prostitution, Crime, and Exploitation.United kingdom: Zed Books.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The trafficking of women and girls for prostitution is big business. This book focuses on the experiences of migrant women and girls who have very little choice or control over their lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Women are forced to compete for work in conditions of extreme sexual exploitation, often being exposed to risky sexual practices, high levels of HIV, violence and murder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This book examines the techniques of recruitment, methods of transportation, and forms of exploitation abroad, and focuses on womens own experiences of migration. It explains the mechanisms of supply and demand and assesses attempts at controlling trafficking and strategies for resistance and change. Hallam, Rebecca (1994) CRIMES WITHOUT PUNISHMENT: Sexual Harassment and violence Against Female Students in Schools and Universities in Africa. United kingdom: African Rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is a discussion paper addressing the widespread and persistent problem of sexual harassment and violence against women and girls in educational institutions in Africa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The paper also deals with wider problems of teenage pregnancy and lack of sex education in schools, and the specific problem of rape by forces of the state, such as soldiers and policemen. Oguli Oumo, Margaret; Molokomme, Imelda M.; Gwaba, Monde M. Mogegeh, Valencia K.D (2002) PROMOTING AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO COMBAT GENDER BASED VIOLENCE: A training manual. United Kingdom: Commonwealth Secretariat   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is a manual promoting an integrating approach to combat gender based violence with governments, non governmental organizations, private sector and international organizations working together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It includes instructional material and case studies for training trainers, middle level professionals, development workers and extension agents Amnesty International (2004) ITS IN OUR HANDS: Stop Violence Against Women. United Kingdom: Amnesty International.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is an investigation into the causes and forms of violence against women, looking at the relationship between poverty, militarization and discrimination.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Amnesty International shows how women have led campaigns against all forms of violence and have achieved dramatic changes in laws, policies and practices. Commonwealth Secretariat (2003) REPORT OF THE EXPERT GROUP ON STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING THE TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN. United Kingdom: Commonwealth Secretariat.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The trafficking in women and girls is now considered the third largest source of profit for organized crime, behind only drugs and arms.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This concise report describes the political and social background to the trade across the Commonwealth and looks at prevention strategies and assistance to victims. Bib,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Akintunde, Dorcas Olu Labeodan Helen (2002) WOMEN AND THE CULTURE OF VIOLENCE IN TRADITIONAL AFRICA. Nigeria, Sefer Books Ltd.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is a collection of essays first presented at the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians on February 5, 2002.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These papers look at a variety of issues concerned with womens rights in Africa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors describe the realities of equal rights policies, sex and power, cultural roots of insecurity. Human Rights Watch (2002) THE WAR WITHIN THE WAR: Sexual Violence against Women and Girls in Eastern Congo.USA Africa Watch/ Human Rights   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Forces on all sides in the Congo conflict have committed war crimes against women and girls, Human Rights Watch said in a new 114-page report.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The report documents the frequent and sometimes systematic use of rape and other forms of sexual violence in the Rwandan-occupied areas of eastern Congo. Balakrishnan Rajagopal.( 2003) International Law from Below : Development, Social Movements and Third World Resistance. United States, Cambridge University Press. The emergence of transnational social movements as major actors in international politics as witnessed in Seattle in 1999 and elsewhere has sent shockwaves through the international system. Many questions have arisen about the legitimacy, coherence and efficiency of the international order in the light of the challenges posed by social movements. This ground-breaking book offers a fundamental critique of twentieth-century international law from the perspective of Third World social movements the first ever to do so. It examines in detail the growth of two key components of modern international law international institutions and human rights in the context of changing historical patterns of Third World resistance. Using a historical and interdisciplinary approach, Rajagopal presents compelling evidence challenging current debates on the evolution of norms and institutions, the meaning and nature of the Third World, as well as the political economy of its involvement in the international system.

Concept of Figuration: An Analysis

Concept of Figuration: An Analysis Figurational Sociology The concept of figuration grew out of Norbert Eliass best-known work, The Civilizing Process (Elias, 1939/1994). This work provided an analysis of how the European nation state emerged. It analysed social behaviour in modernity, and particularly social interactions. Split into two parts, the work first focussed on an analysis of manners to provide a description and understanding of the way in which modern norms underlying social interactions had developed. The second part of the book looked at how the nation-state had been built in the twentieth century. What Elias was most interested in, the central thesis of the book, was that it was possible for forms of social discipline manners and social norms to be translated into aspects of individual self-discipline (Olofsson, 2000). For Elias, then, there is a clear connection between a tendency towards state centralisation and the development of modern social manners. This is what he called the civilizing process. This essay, therefore, examines the concept of figuration, its theoretical roots in the study of court society, its modern form and the criticisms that have been levelled against it. As will be seen, the argument over the usefulness of the concept of figuration has been highly contested and strongly polarised (Featherstone, 1987). At the heart of Elias work are a number of concepts figuration is best understood within these. The concepts are interdependence, functional differentiation, self-control and power differences. Social change for Elias mostly results from the effects of functional differentiation. This is an idea shared with writers like Marx who placed the division of labour at the centre of his theory. For Elias, though, this functional differentiation leads to increasing levels of interdependence (Olofsson, 2000). Elias argued that the coercive power of societies emerges out of increasing interdependence. This brings the discussion to the concept of figurations. In order to explain these, Elias uses the example of court society (Olofsson, 2000). He argues that in court society calculation is an important process which individuals must engage in to negotiate with each other as the king communicates with his aristocracy. Because of changes in economic factors, many courts in Europe saw a shift of power from the aristocracy to the king. The power each member of the aristocracy had, therefore, depended on their relationship with the king. In order to survive, aristocrats had to play by certain rational rules that developed. These were based on the complex interdependency between the individuals and the fact that they were playing long-term power games with each other. An important component in playing these long-term power games was being able to control impulses. Because of the number of people in the court, the chains of interdependence were long and complicated. This required planning, attempting to predict the future and saving. Elias called this complex relationship between the king and the court a figuration. A figuration is characterised by asymmetrical power relations amongst a network of individuals. The court situation can, therefore, only be understood in terms of how the individuals relate to one another. Four critical propositions about the figurational approach are extracted from Elias work by Goudsblom (1977). These are firstly that human beings inevitably exist in relationships of interdependence with each other. As a result of this interdependence, complex dynamics emerge which shape many aspects of development and change the ways in which peoples lives develop. The second proposition is that these figurations are constantly changing and being transformed. The third is that these social figurations are not essentially planned but emerge from the interdependencies. Fourth, figurations provide an important cause of the development of human knowledge. In order to better understand the idea of figurations, Elias used various metaphors from games (Olofsson, 2000). Games are useful to analyse because the interactions between the players are not just a result of the absolute strength of each player, but of the relationship between the strengths of the two players. One example is two chess players pitted against each other. If one of them is significantly stronger than the other, then she will be able to control the manner of the victory as well as the actual victory itself. If, however, the levels of skill are much closer then the manner of victory will be much more uncertain and emerge from the interaction between the individuals. What this metaphor shows is that the power differences between two individuals have an important effect on the relationship. Chess only normally involves the relation between two players, but society obviously involves the relations between many more players, all with varying levels of power. Shifts of power differences in society can be seen in the way the upper and lower classes interact. The lower classes have, for example, increased their level of organisation in order to increase their level of power in negotiating with the upper classes (Olofsson, 2000). One of the questions Elias wanted to address was how people continue to interact in generally peaceful ways when there is so much animosity in, for example, power relations (Loyal Quilley, 2004). Models used to answer this question should have a number of characteristics. These are firstly that social processes cannot be analysed in terms of aggregations of components. Secondly the models work to both mould and constrain the behaviour and habitus of individuals. The strength of the idea of figuration for Elias was that it was able to access ideas of what society was about more effectively than other methods in sociology (Krieken, 1998). Specifically it tends not to emphasise the dichotomy often present in sociological literature between the individual and society. Instead it places the emphasis on how human beings are interdependent. Society was not most usefully thought of as a totality or a whole system of individuals. Society for Elias was the way in which people interweaved with each other (Krieken, 1998). The advantage of this view was that it didnt downplay the agency of the individual at the expense of societys control and helped to show how peoples individuality melded together to form networks of interdependence. One important theoretical aspect of figurations that Krieken (1998) points out is that they can continue without the existence of the same individuals but they completely cease to exist if there are no individuals at all. Krieken (1998) argues that Elias concept of figuration has been extremely important for sociology. One of its major strengths is the avoidance of the dichotomy between structure and agency. Although the distinction has been questioned many times in sociology, it is often still treated by sociologists as though it were real. Krieken (1998) points out that some have argued Elias concept of figuration should be placed alongside of the idea of structure. Mouzelis (1993) argues for avoiding abolishing this distinction. He argues for designating relations between actors in terms of figurations, relations between institutions as institutional structure and plain structure when analysing the interaction between institution and individual. Krieken (1998) does not, however, agree with this three-way distinction. Krieken (1998) argues instead that Elias used the concept of figuration to subsume all these categories of analysis. This means that figuration includes the analysis of what is traditi onally called the structure of society. Habitus is also an important concept in Elias theory of figuration. Habitus refers to the idea that each individual has their own set of personal preferences, attitudes, beliefs, expectations and rules. Habitus comes from a persons community and family experience and through their own experience of life as they grow up. For Elias, though, this habitus develops in an essentially shared manner (Krieken, 1998). Individuals grow up in society and their personal characteristics are, to a certain extent, moulded by those around them. Through this collective moulding of individuals, the nature of collective behaviour is formed. The ideas of habitus and figuration lead to a further important concept in Elias theory. That is that the way in which a persons habitus is formed is called psychogenesis. This, then, can only be properly understood when it is considered in relation to social relations or sociogenesis. Theoretically and methodologically, therefore, Elias was arguing against the separ ation of sociology from psychology. Each has important complementary effects on the other, so it is hard to get a clear picture of the full human being if both are not considered together. Elias ideas have vital implications for the way in which sociologists carry out their research. Krieken (1998) identifies two particular characteristics of Elias theory that are a challenge to some types of sociology. First is the focus of figuration on social relations which points to the fact that an individual cannot be analysed in isolation. Individuals can only be understood, even in isolation, argued Elias, in terms of how they relate to other people, as that is how people are formed. Thinking about humans without the relational element has a huge array of possible associated mistakes. For Elias, the analysis of power especially fell foul of the tendency to see power as a thing in itself rather than as arising from social relations (Krieken, 1998). This led, he thought, to all sort of misunderstandings. To be understood effectively, power should be seen in reciprocal terms. Elias argued that power was often analysed as though it only flowed down from above. A figurational analy sis, however, also points to the reciprocal effects flowing up from below. The second major characteristic of Elias theory is that it focuses on processes (Krieken, 1998). Figuration, therefore, cannot be seen as a static phenomenon, but as something that evolves and emerges over time. What had happened in sociology, however, argued Elias, was that there had been a reduction of social phenomena to particular states. Communities, families, individuals, all should be analysed as though in a state of flow, rather than statically. The use of figurations could be used to analyse these flows as long as there was not a reduction to a simple argument of causality. For example, Elias argued that a particular figuration made other, later figurations possible although it did not guarantee they would happen. Analysing society using a series of static conceptual categories, therefore, was precisely what Elias did not agree with (Rojek, 1986). Instead a process theory of sociology encourages analysis in terms of movement. This type of approach has a character quite oppos ed to many in sociology. Figurational sociology can be seen as extremely useful as a reaction to six dominant paradigms in sociology (Arnason, 1987). First Marxs work is limited by its concentration on the economic areas of life, whereas Elias figurational sociology is applicable to all areas. Against Durkheims idea of norms, Elias argued these do not represent fundamental units but rather the question should be asked in terms of power relations. For Elias, these questions should be addressed using a long-term analysis. Examining the functionalist approach, Elias found that trying to explain social structures in terms of the needs of the system was ineffective. The functionalist account is lacking because it finds it difficult to account for the fact that systems are interlinked at all levels. As has already been seen, Elias argued against a structuralist approach. The reductionist approach also had problems for Elias as society, he believed, could not be understood at this level. Finally, Elias took issue w ith individualism, the idea that it is possible to analyse society in terms of individual behaviour (Arnason, 1987). This is replaced by Elias with a focus on power relations and the analysis of figurations. A number of methodological injunctions develop naturally from Elias theory of figurations; these are examined by Loyal and Quilley (2004). The first is that sociologists should not think about either individuals or society as in any way static or fixed. An effective analysis emerges which sidesteps arguments over macro- or micro- level explanations. A further dichotomy which Loyal and Quilley (2004) present as being avoided by Elias work is that of mind-body duality which has crept into sociological work. The idea of figuration draws attention to habits of language in which processes are often reduced to states. The focus of figuration, however, is on using language that has the meaning of motion and flow built into it. The danger for sociologists of automatically adopting the available language of states is a misunderstanding of the processes occurring in society. This view was influenced by the work of Whorf (1956) who argued that language fundamentally affects the perceptions of t he members of the society that speak it. Finally, Elias believed that some measure of distance was required from society in order to be able to analyse figurations effectively. A Critique of Figurational Sociology While much of the commentary on Elias figurational approach discussed so far has been complimentary, his work has a number of critics. Layder (1986) argues that many of Elias claims about the benefits of his approach to sociology are vastly exaggerated. As a result, argues Layder, Elias tends to focus on trying to solve problems that dont actually exist. Layder (1986) starts by considering Elias focus on the static categories used in language as well as the idea that positivistic notions of causation are inadequate. The concept of figuration is used to challenge these ideas by Elias. In addition, underlying Elias concept of figuration is the idea that it transcends long-running arguments in the philosophy of the social sciences such as that between induction and deduction and rationalism and empiricism. Layders (1986) first criticism is that Eliass figurational approach does not transcend previous approaches. One reason for this is that Elias uses only the worst examples from disciplines so that he can easily demolish their explanatory power. Elias critique of social psychology and psychiatry assumes that all its approaches are atomistic. It doesnt, for example, take into account the wide variety of approaches such as those which do, indeed, focus on the effects of society on the individual and are not so atomistic. Symbolic interactionists, for example, highlight the way in which the ordinary, everyday processes of social interaction build to create what is called society. Mead (1934), an important theorist in this approach, emphasised the importance of socialisation and social interaction. For Layder (1986), then, the concept of figuration does not provide any additional explanatory power. Layder also argues that Elias does not demonstrate exactly how the idea of figurations provi des a better explanation of society. In criticising the concept of figurations, Layder (1986) argues that Elias makes a number of philosophical mistakes, some ontological and some epistemological. Layder describes figurations as generalised depictions of the social ties between individuals that Elias argues cannot be analysed outside of individuals. Figurations, though, must have some meaning outside of the interactions of individuals; otherwise it would not be possible to talk about them in an abstract sense. This is not, of course, to suggest that figurations only have meaning outside of actual interactions. For Layder, then Eliass mistake is to argue that a figuration does not have both a manifestation as a social practice as well as existing as an idea about that particular social practice. If the ideas did not exist it would be impossible to talk about the things themselves in an abstract sense. For Layder, then, the very discussion of social practices as figurations proves that they exist outside of the actions th emselves. What Layder allows Elias concept of figuration is that it does provide a useful descriptive tool. Although it doesnt transcend alternative explanations advanced by those working within structuralist and functionalist models, it can provide a useful way of examining interrelations between people. These analyses would, however, in Layders view, be useful in addition to those insights from structuralist or interactionist perspectives, they wouldnt supplant them. The weakness of using the concept of figuration is that it tends to ignore actual people, in deference to their networks of social relations compared to, for example, the analysis provided by interactionism which is very much focussed on social actors themselves. In this sense, it is again difficult to argue that figuration provides an approach transcending interactionism and other schools of thought. The second major criticism that Layder (1986) makes of Eliass concept of figurations relates to their rejection of objectivist structures. As discussed, figurational sociology sees social processes as fundamentally fluid and avoids reductionism Elias claims that this is an insight that helps the figurational analysis transcends other approaches. Against this idea, Layder (1986) argues that many phenomenological and interactionist schools of thought are based on the idea of social relations as a process. But, Elias does not compare his theory to these approaches, preferring to pretend they dont exist. Instead, figuration is compared with the theory of Talcott Parsons as an example of an objectivist theory. Elias takes Parsons idea that society is essentially in an unchanging equilibrium and states that this is the way society is seen from an objectivist viewpoint as a static system. In this analysis one of the mistakes Layder (1986) thinks Elias has made is to create a false dichoto my between static and fluid analysis as though there is no intermediary point. In doing this Elias claims that theories such as Parsons cannot explain processes, which, argues Layder, they can. Indeed, in concentrating on long-term processes, Elias does not allow an effective analysis of short-term processes. The third major criticism which Layder (1986) levels at Elias is that the concept of figuration lacks explanatory power. Rather than helping to explain what lies behind social changes, Layder argues that it merely provides a description of what is happening. When looking for the causes of figurations, Elias presents more figurations. Criticism of the concept of figuration has also come from Rojek (1986). In particular Rojek (1986) examines the way in which Elias talks about the accumulation of scientific knowledge. As briefly noted earlier, Elias argued that the quest for knowledge was not immune to the power of figurations. Indeed he thought it was a mistake that philosophers of the social sciences tended to make that assumed there was one model of the way science should be conducted. One particular claim that has been made for the usefulness of figurational sociology is that it provides a link between micro and macro approaches (Mennell, 1980). Layder (2006) argues, however, that using figurations as the linking between the macro and micro approaches just serves to blur the differences between the two. The character of social relations is quite different depending on its manner for example a face-to-face encounter is different from sending and receiving an email. Within Elias approach each of these would be considered aspects of figurations. Layder (2006), however, argues that each of these creates different levels of reflexivity and therefore requires a different analysis. For Layder (2006), Eliass figurational approach deflects attention away from a number of important factors. Institutions, for example, have important effects on the behaviour of people but this is difficult to analyse by thinking in terms of networks of connections between people. Further, when analysing social organisation in the form of groups, a figurational approach can deflect attention away from the nature of the ties between people, preferring instead to focus on their actual existence and their particular form. A false criticism that Elias makes of sociology generally by way of his figurational approach is that not enough emphasis has been given to the interaction between society and the individual Layder (2006) argues that this interaction is practically the founding idea of sociology. The challenge for sociology is in working out where to split the society from the individual. A problem which Elias work shares with sociology more generally is that a socially constructed model makes it difficult to understand the uniqueness of an individual. A complete lack of barriers between individuals leads to the conclusion that people have no individuality themselves. While it is not helpful to focus too much on the individual, it is also problematic for a complete understanding to give too little focus to the individual. Layder (2006) argues that, like extreme social constructionists, Elias theory of figuration is in danger of completely eradicating the individual as a legitimate object of study. Figurational Sociology and Sport In order to further assess the usefulness of the concept of figuration and see the benefits and criticisms in action, it is instructive to examine an example of its practical application. The principles of figurational sociology have been applied in a number of different areas, but one particularly popular area is that of sport. Figurational sociology has been used to try and understand football hooliganism, the growth of professional sport, the globalisation of sport and finally initial process of sportization (Murphy, Sheard Waddington, 2002). To take one example in this line of analysis, Dunning and Sheard (1979) examine the development of rugby. They explain the increased professionalism of the sport in terms of a societal move towards functional democratisation. This process leads to greater levels of competition, so that rugby players can no longer play just for fun. Instead, it is necessary to be highly committed to the sport in order to be recognised as successful. Because of the increased interconnectedness of individuals, it is no longer possible for athletes to play for themselves; instead they have to play for their countries (Dunning Sheard, 1979). This analysis helps to explain professionalism in rugby and the advantages of a figurational approach can be seen. Societal changes are examined here in terms of figurations and this provides a useful analysis and explanation of changes. In contrast, Murphy et al. (2002) point out that one of the criticisms of the figurational approach to sport is that it has ignored gender issues. Hargreaves (1992) argues that the figurational obsession with detachment has meant the analysis of sport has readily accepted a notion of sport as dominated by men. Even while Murphy et al. (2002) argue that this absence of the analysis of gender in figurational sociology is not a result of its theoretical limitations, from the criticisms already described the opposite can be argued. Particularly, as Layder (2006) points out, the figurational approach is weak on the analysis of the individual. Conclusion Elias made many claims for his concept of figuration. He claimed that it transcended previous approaches to sociology, rose above false dichotomies and helped sociologists focus on human beings as fundamentally involved in a network of interrelated relationships. Methodological injunctions also flowed naturally from Elias theory: e.g. focussing on processes rather than categories or states and establishing a distance between the researcher and the subject. Considering the criticism levelled at Elias work by Layder, however, it is difficult to see that these claims for a transcendent sociology are justified. Elias frequently misrepresented or ignored the work of sociologists he was apparently transcending as well as making serious epistemological and ontological errors. While both the advantages and disadvantages of the figurational approach can be seen in the area of sport sociology, it is hard to argue that Elias work stands up to Layders criticism. Perhaps the strongest criticism i s that figuration is merely a descriptive rather than an explanatory approach. For that reason, the usefulness of Elias concept of figuration is limited. References Arnason, J. (1987). Figurational Sociology as a Counter-Paradigm. Theory, Culture Society, 4(2), 429-456. Elias, N. (1939/1994). The Civilizing Process: The History of Manners and State Formation and Civilization. Blackwell. Dunning, E., Sheard, K. (1979). Barbarians, gentlemen and players: a sociological study of the development of rugby football. London: Martin Robertson. Featherstone, M. (1987). Norbert Elias and Figurational Sociology: Some Prefatory Remarks. Theory, Culture Society, 4(2), 197. Goudsblom, J. (1977). Sociology in the Balance: A Critical Essay. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Hargreaves, J. (1992). Sex, gender and the body in sport and leisure: Has there been a civilizing process? In E. Dunning C. Rojek (Eds.). Sport and leisure in the civilizing process: Critique and counter-critique. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Krieken, R. (1998) Norbert Elias. London: Routledge. Layder, D. (1986). Social Reality as Figuration: A Critique of Eliass Conception of Sociological Analysis. Sociology, 20(3), 367. Layder, D. (2006). Understanding Social Theory. London: Sage Publications. Loyal, S., Quilley, S. (2004). Towards a central theory: the scope and relevance of the sociology of Norbert Elias. In: S. Loyal S. Quilley (Eds.). The Sociology of Norbert Elias. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mead, G. (1934). Mind, Self and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mennell, S. (1980). Sociological Theory, Uses and Unities. London: Nelson. Mouzelis, N. (1993). On Figurational Sociology. Theory, Culture Society, 10(2), 239. Murphy, P., Sheard, K., Waddington, I. (2002) Figurational sociology and its application to sport. In: J. Coakley E. Dunning (Eds.). Handbook of sports studies. Sage Publications. Olofsson, G. (2000) Norbert Elias. In: H. Andersen, L. Kaspersen (Eds.). Classical and Modern Social Theory. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Rojek, C. (1986). Problems of Involvement and Detachment in the Writings of Norbert Elias. The British Journal of Sociology, 37(4), 584-596. Whorf, B. (1956). Language, thought and reality: Selected writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf. J. B. Carroll (Ed.). Massachusetts: MIT Press

Government Role in Construction Industry

Government Role in Construction Industry ECONOMICS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT JULIANA SULING ANDREW INTRODUCTION The two main parts of economic theory were typically labeled â€Å"monetary theory† and â€Å"price theory†. Monetary theory recommends that distinctive monetary strategies can advantage countries relying upon their special arrangement of assets and impediments. It is in light of center thoughts regarding how variables like the measure of the cash supply, value levels and benchmark premium rates influence the economy. Financial experts and focal keeping money powers are regularly those most included with making and executing monetary strategy. A monetary theory that fights that the price for any particular great/administration is the relationship between the powers of supply and interest. The theory of price says that the time when the advantage picked up from the individuals who request the element meets the dealers minimal expenses is the most ideal business price for the great/administration. In a nutshell, microeconomics has to do with supply and demand, and with the way they interact in various markets. Microeconomics analysis moves easily and painlessly from the one topic to another and lies at the center of the most of the recognized subfields of economics. TASK 1 There are two types of sectors involved in our construction industry; there are public sector and private sector. It is important to understand the difference between the private sector and public sector because your privacy rights will differ depending on the legislation that an organization is governed under. The private sector is typically made out of associations that are privately possessed and not some piece of the government. These as a rule incorporate enterprises (both benefit and non-benefit), organizations, and foundations. A simpler approach to think about the private sector is by considering associations that are not claimed or worked by the government. For instance, retail locations, credit unions, and neighborhood organizations will work in the private sector. The public sector is generally made out of associations that are claimed and worked by the legislature. This incorporates elected, commonplace, state, or metropolitan governments, contingent upon where you live. Protection enactment more often than not calls associations in the public sector a public body or a public power. A few illustrations of public bodies in Canada and the United Kingdom are instructive bodies, medicinal services bodies, police and jail administrations, and neighborhood and focal government bodies and their areas of expertise. Size is a vital normal for the gatherings, associations, and groups in which social conduct happens. At the point when just a couple of persons are connecting, including only one more individual may have a huge effect by the way they relate. As an association or group develops in size it is adept to experience tipping focuses where the route in which it works needs to change. The intricacy of vast groupings is halfway in light of the fact that they are comprised of interrelated subgroups. As a group gets bigger, including someone else has less impact on its attributes. A thought in any event in littler groups, however, is whether the quantity of individuals is even or odd. Doing things together is simple if each one of those included concede to what to do, or if dominant part sentiment has the capacity override protests without repulsing the objectors. A group of six or eight individuals can part into two equivalent groups, so choice making is not well-suited to be as simple as though the size were five, seven or nine. As groups get bigger stalemates are more improbable yet at the same time can be troublesome. On the off chance that a group settles on choices by voting it can embrace a method for tie-breaking. As the size of a group increases, the number of possible person-to-person links (L) increases rapidly as the size of the group (N) increases (L = (N ² N) /2). In a four-member group there are six possible pairings; add a fifth member for each of the four to relate to and you have ten pairs. Requirement for initiative gets to be more self-evident. Certain things must be finished a gathering to shape and proceed with: individuals must be inspired to meet up and participate; objectives must be set; assignments appointed, booked, and completed; issues comprehended. A couple of individuals who believe one another and offer an essential reason can at times do the greater part of that in an unconstrained and equalitarian way. Substantial gatherings quite often rely on upon perceived pioneers to oversee operations. Assorted qualities build, giving more assets to critical thinking however hindering correspondence and collaboration and making accord harder to reach. Bureaucratic methodology has a tendency to grow, for example, allotting distinctive assignments to diverse subgroups and embracing standard methods. Much economic activity for example farming, mining, production, sales and others are carried out by small groups, each of whose members work together under the supervision of a first-line manager. They usually operate manually using their staff or workers. Manufacturing industries are categories under large groups of organization. They use big machines to build up their products, for example production of cars. When the demand is high from the customers, they don’t have enough time to build the cars one by one, so they need machine to help them. Same goes to highway construction, they need the heavy machine to construct the highway and the workers needed are many. TASK 2(A) The two projects that can enhance economy of the country are highway projects and housing projects which both of this fall under construction industry.   TASK 2(B) The construction industry is a real investment in the economy either in civil engineering construction, non-residential or residential. It is considered as a component of a strategy to promote aggregate demand for building and industrial sectors. The volume of investments varies depending on the policy of stability through the decision to reduce or increase spending on social services. In Malaysia, the sector of the construction industry is one sector of the economy the main countries. In the next 20 years, its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is in the range of 3-6% per annum. In the same period, the construction industry has recorded impressive growth rates of double-digit growth for eight years from 1989 to 1996. Highway transportation is the method for subtle element circulation between homes, shops, and others. It is just the streets which can convey merchandise from and to aerodromes, harbors and rail route stations. Considering the utility of streets anyplace in the distinctive parts of a nation, they can be rightly contrasted with corridors in a human body generally as supply routes keep up mans wellbeing by giving flow of blood; likewise streets advance countrys riches by keeping its kin and merchandise moving. Hence, we see that advance and prosperity of a country depends much on streets. Actually, streets are the life lines of countrys economy. Housing is one of the basic requirements for ensuring the well-being of the people is protected. The construction sector also contributed to economic growth that has direct relevance to other sectors, including the services sector and the manufacturing sector of building materials. In fulfilling this requirement, such factors as the ability of buyers, development costs and selling prices always affect the demand and supply of housing. Based on the current state of affairs, housing construction is largely concentrated in urban and suburban areas densely populated with potential buyers was high and the housing market is more widespread. TASK 3(A) Economics policy-makers are have two kinds of tools to influence a country’s economy: fiscal policy and monetary policy. TASK 3(B) Monetary policy and fiscal policy allude to the two most broadly perceived tool used to impact a countrys monetary action. Monetary policy is principally concerned with the administration of premium rates and the aggregate supply of cash available for use and is for the most part done by national banks, for example, the Federal Reserve. Fiscal policy is the aggregate term for the saddling and spending activities of governments. Monetary policy National banks have commonly utilized monetary policy to either empower an economy into speedier development or back off development over reasons for alarm of issues like swelling. The hypothesis is that, by incentivizing people and organizations to acquire and burn through, monetary policy will bring about the economy to become quicker than typical. Alternately, by limiting spending and incentivizing reserve funds, the economy will become less rapidly than ordinary. Fiscal policy Fiscal policy devices are various and fervently among market analysts and political eyewitnesses. As a rule, the point of most government fiscal strategies is to focus on the aggregate level of spending, the aggregate structure of spending, or both in an economy. The two most broadly utilized method for influencing fiscal policy are changes in the part of government spending or in assessment policy. Fiscal policy Monetary policy Principle: Manipulating the level of aggregate demand in the economy to achieve economic objectives of price stability, full employment, and economic growth. Manipulating the supply of money to influence outcomes like economic growth, inflation, exchange rates with other currencies and unemployment. Definition: Fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and revenue collection to influence the economy. The process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money. Policy tools: Taxes; amount of government spending Interest rate; reserve requirements, currency peg, discount window Policy-maker: government Central bank TASK 3(C) The government plays an important role in the construction industry of every country. The involvement of the public sector has such major effects for the competence of the industry that the matters need to be measured in some detail. With the amount of the government’s involvement is not same in all countries, the general principle are alike. The scarcity of land in many countries and growing burdens on it from various types of uses have made it necessary for its use to be efficient and controlled everywhere. At the same time, due to the accordingly high density of development in most urban centers, it is necessary for regulations to be expressed and enforced to safeguard public health and safety. Hence, there is need for actual physical planning laws, building regulations and construction codes. In many countries, and at various eras, construction items are attractive as a form of asset. Governments attempt to protect the interests of end purchases with relevant laws and controls with regard to the operations of developers and the items they produce. To avoid the harmful effects of speculation, government have, on incident, had to interfere in the market for existing and new construction item with relevant legist ration or regulations.

The Fiscal Rescript Of Umar II :: Islam Religion Essays

The Fiscal Rescript Of `Umar II From `Umar b. `Abd al `Azà ®z, Commander of the Faithful, to the governors: Verily God sent Muhammad "with the Guidance and the Religion of Truth that He should make it supreme over every form of religion, rage the associators of gods with God as they may." [Koran, 9:34] And verily the religion of God wherewith He sent Muhammad is His Book which He sent down upon him, that God should be obeyed therein and that His command should be followed and what He has forbidden be avoided, and that His limits should be upheld and His ordinances observed, that what He has made unlawful should be prohibited, and that His right should be confessed and that men should be ruled by what He has revealed therein. Wherefore whoso follows the guidance of God is guided aright, and whoso turns away from it "he hath erred from the even way." [Koran 2:108] And verity of obedience to God, as He has revealed in His Book, is that all men everywhere should be summoned to Islam and that the gate of emigration should be opened to all the people of Islam, that the alms and fifths should be applied according to the decree of God and His ordinances, and that men should seek their livelihood with their own possessions on land and sea, being neither hindered nor withheld. As for Islam, verily God sent Muhammad to all men everywhere, as He hath said: "And we have not sent thee save universally to men as a messenger of good tidings and of warning." [Koran 34:28] And He hath said: "O ye people, verily I am the Messenger of God to you all." [Koran 7:157] And God, blessed and exalted is He, hath said in that wherewith He commands the Believers in regard to the associators: Then if they repent and observe the prayers and pay the zakà ¢t, they are your brethren in the Faith." [Koran 9:11] This is His decree and law; to follow it is obedience to God, to depart from it is rebellion. Wherefore summon to Islam and command thereto, for God hath said: "And who is better of speech that he who summons to God, and doeth good, and saith,`I am indeed one of the Muslims.'" [Koran 41:32] Wherefore, whosoever accepts Islam, whether Christian or Jew or Magian, of those who are

Essay --

Walaupun Kalah dari Napoli, Arsenal Tetap Lolos Arsenal menelan kekalahan saat melakoni laga matchday terakhir Liga Champions di markas Napoli. The Gunners mengalami kekalahan dengan skor 0-2 dari tuan rumah Napoli, tetapi hasil itu tetap membuat Arsenal lolos ke babak 16 besar. Pada laga terakhir yang berlangsung di San Paolo, Kamis (12/12/13) dinihari WIB, pada babak pertama kedua tim gagal membuat gol ke gawang lawannya. Napoli mencetak gol pertama pada menit ke 73. Gol itu dicetak oleh Gonzalo Higuain. Di injury time, Napoli berhasil menambah kedudukan lewat gol yang dicetak oleh Jose Callejon. Dengan tambahan tiga angka, Napoli mengoleksi poin yang sama dengan Arsenal, yakni 12 poin. Namun, mereka terpaksa harus tersingkir sebab Napoli hanya berada di posisi ketiga klasemen karena kalah selisih gol dengan para pesaingnya. Sementara itu, Juara Grup F diraih oleh Borusia Dortmund yang juga mengumpulkan 12 poin, Setelah di laga terakhirnya berhasil memetik kemenangan atas Marseille. Pada pertandingan tadi, Napoli mendapatkan peluang pertama untuk mencetak gol di menit kedelapan. Go...

Environmental Analysis: Southwest Airlines Essay

INTRODUCTION Southwest Airlines Co. began its operations in 1971 and has been serving the industry for the past 43 years now (Southwest Airlines, n.d.). It is the major domestic airline, and ranked number one in 2014 by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (United States Department of Transportation, 2014). Back in 1971 the airline began its services in Texas in the cities of Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. The company has been ranked as the nation’s largest low cost carrier (Mergent, 2012). It offers the lowest fares, and has the lowest cost structure in the industry. Southwest Airlines Co. also acquired AirTran Holdings Inc. in 2011 and now owns AirTran Airways. The company has been ranked 9th among the 50 most admired companies in the world according to a survey by Fortune magazine (Fortune Magazine, 2013). Southwest uses the exchange symbol LUV on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This paper will summarize an environmental scan of Southwest Airlines to include an analysis of the most important external environmental factors in the remote, industry, and external operating environments, the most important strengths and weaknesses of the organization, an assessment of the company’s competitive position, and analyze the structure of the organization and how this affects organizational performance (University of  Phoenix, 2013). POLITICAL FACTORS The Airline and Aviation industry underwent Governmental Regulations by the passage of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 and the simultaneous creation of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). This Act enabled the CAB to control the service fares, the entry of new airlines from the market and the exit of existing airlines from the same, and the assigning of air routes to different airlines. Then the Federal Aviation Act was passed in 1958 and led to the formation of the Federal Aviation Administration in August 1958. The rule making was shifted to the FAA and it had control of the air routes, the airline safety and air traffic controls. The Airline Deregulation Act was passed in 1978 and falls in the category of Federal Law. It eliminated the governmental authority over determination of service fares and control of routes and new airlines entry into/exist from the airline industry. As a result of the act, the CAB was dissolved in 1984. The FAA was not eliminated and it remained in control of airline safety and air traffic control (United States Government Accountability Office, 2006). This Amendment came into force in 1979 and comes within the category of federal law. It manages the air traffic at Dallas Airfield in Texas. Initially, this amendment posed such restrictions on nonstop flights that their routes got limited to Texas and its neighboring states only. However, the restrictions were taken off in 1997 and 2005. The Amendment was revoked in 2006 but some restrictions will expire in 2014. Soon after the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Southwest was about to begin interstate flights. But restrictions were imposed by the Congress and the airline was disqualified to ticket/operate flights beyond Texas and the states touching its borders. ECONOMIC FACTORS A number of economic constraints are also there in the environment that have their relative impacts on Southwest’s operations. These include: Higher unemployment rates, which Southwest had been challenging by refusing to lay off employees even during surging unemployment. Increase in operating costs. Instable credit market and capital market. Declining demand for air travel. Economic Recession in the country (Southwest Airlines, et al., 2013). SOCIAL FACTORS Social factors influencing performance include an increase air pollution caused by the airline industry as a whole; gases are emitted in upper atmosphere causing an increase of around three percent of greenhouse emissions globally. Also, fuel efficiency has increased significantly from the past three decades. The airline industry has been divided into labor unions which include several types of unions such as the Flight Attendants’ Unions, the Machinists’ Unions, and the Pilots’ Unions. The majority of the employees are part of such unions which has led to an increase in labor costs for the entire airline industry. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Fuel efficiency is increasing. Aircrafts that are more fuel efficient are being developed and the engines are being redesigned to cater to this change. The Air Transportation System has been reformed by the introduction of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). This system is supposed to be implemented in the country by 2025. The system revises air routes and updates it to satellite system management; the promotion of usage of GPS technology for navigation, route length shortening, time reduction, and fuel saving, etc. The JPDO (Joint Planning and Development Office) has been setup to facilitate the development of NextGen. Apart from that, the tracking system has been  updated and routes have been improved significantly. Airline forecasting and algorithms have allowed improvements in prices and costs for airlines in the industry. The average age of an aircraft in the industry is around 13 years. The market is expected to grow and revenues are likely to increase. HOW SOUTHWEST SHOULD CONFRONT THESE THREATS Southwest should take active measures to deal with all the above measured threats. To combat with political threats of regulation, the Shelby agreement does help by providing expansion in a few routes. However, they are still less and the routes and areas served need to be expanded. Some sort of agreement should be made for that. To deal with its economic threats, Southwest is already implementing fuel cost saving strategies. It has already reduced its fares for the passengers, which provides it with a competitive edge. Southwest has adopted a no-layoff policy with reference to its employees, in the face of high unemployment rates. Therefore it should work to control and ultimately minimize its operating costs. To deal with the social issues present in the industry, careful negotiations and dealings with the various kinds of unions should be done. Environmentally safe emissions of gas should be reviewed as well as alternate sources of energy. Technology is increasing in the industry. Southwest needs to be able to afford the latest technology so that it could offer superior quality of service than its competitors. SOUTHWEST’S STRENGTHS Southwest Airlines has a number of strengths. It uses the inner city airports and focuses on point-to-point service, which reduces the connections and facilitates nonstop routing. That resultantly reduces the total flight time. This makes it easier for Southwest to charge low flight fares for its passengers. The airline also serves downtown airports including Houston Hobby, Chicago Midway, Dallas Love Field, Burbank, Oakland, San Jose, Manchester, Baltimore-Washington International, Hollywood, Long Island Islip and Providence airports. This way the airline can make good use of its assets and perform on time and be reliable. That ultimately shows up as an increase in market revenue (MarketLine, 2012). The company has also employed successful advertising methods. It has reduced its  overall operating costs and has been profitable for 36 consecutive years. It is known in the airline industry as being the best low cost carrier. SOUTHWEST’S WEAKNESSES Contractual obligations associated with the purchase of future aircraft, debt payment, and leasing arrangements resulted in a lowering of the companies’ credit rating in 2009. This has affected the company’s ability to secure future financing (Tellex, 2012a). With increased technology, fewer companies are dependent on face-to-face meetings resulting in a lower demand for business travel. Reappearing downturn in the economy have also reduce the amount of those who travel for leisure. The subsequent result in the overall decrease in travel is lower profit margins for the company (Tellex, et al., 2012b). The company continues to rely heavily on revenue generated by passenger travel, earning only one percent of its revenue through the transportation of freight and cargo. Considering that passenger travel is heavily dependent on price, fluctuations in fuel and security costs can expose profits to volatility (Tellex, et al., 2012c). The airline has always maintained a conservative growth strategy. It needs to develop a more aggressive, robust business plan in order to keep up with other industry leaders in the modern economy. The company is currently limited to approximately 68 cities domestically and relies heavily on one aircraft manufacture (Boeing) to produce its fleet (Tellex, et al., 2012d). MAIN COMPETITOR One of the major competitors to Southwest Airlines is Delta Airlines, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. It has a few significant weaknesses such as the legal issues it has recently faced (including 2009’s antitrust lawsuits) that have had their impact on the company’s brand image. Also, the company is heavily indebted. In Fiscal Year 2011, the company had a long term debt of $11,233 million, and in FY2010 it was $12,553. The interest expense was also very high. That is why it is more  prone to recession and because of this financial depression it is also unable to acquire additional funds. That has become a threat to its liquidity. The company also faces increasing fuel costs, competitive threats, and extensive governmental regulation (MarketLine, et al., 2012). While it is difficult to combat governmental regulation, Southwest Airlines can build upon Delta Airline’s weaknesses, because it has remained profitable and has also become fuel efficient in the recent past. Also, the company has been successfully able to reduce its overall cost structure and provide high customer service, which is why it is amongst the top ranked airlines in the industry. This automatically creates value for the stakeholders. SOUTHWEST’S COMPETITIVE STRATEGY The company follows a low-cost competitive strategy by offering low fares to its customers which happen because it has been able to reduce its operating costs. It focuses on inner city airports such as the Dallas Love Field. To minimize costs, Southwest doesn’t provide meals in flights. It also uses Boeing 737 aircrafts which are technologically more fuel efficient. This makes its ranking high in customer services as compared to other airlines in the industry. RECOMMENDED MODIFICATIONS TO SOUTHWEST’S STRATEGY Assuming that the United States economy is undergoing a downturn, Southwest Airlines will need to make a few amendments to its strategy. These include improving its cost efficient structure and maintaining its existing customer base as well as begin providing healthy meals on an economical basis without increasing the flight fares too much. It should focus on what it does best and also build upon its competitive edge of excellent customer service. That way it would be able to combat the effects of an economic downturn, partially or completely. IMPACT OF GLOBAL COMPETITION ON SOUTHWEST’S STRATEGY If viewed from a global perspective, the company needs to make several revisions to its competitive strategy. Although Southwest has a competitive edge in the local industry because of its low fares and low cost structure, to be able to face global competition, the company needs to begin serving more routes, as the number of routes it serves currently is making it seem like a competitive disadvantage for the company. Also, the company should utilize its profits for the provision of healthy quality meals. An overall improvement in the operations should also be considered. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE Perhaps the most important element of Southwest Airline’s success is the company’s decentralized organization structure. The airline places a limited emphasis on organizational structure allowing employees and management committees to make decisions. The company’s policies are developed by combining employee input and measuring all decisions against its own code of ethics. The company continuously demonstrates its ability to develop relationships through the formation of cross-functional teams that share goals and knowledge and build a mutual respect for one another rather than blaming. â€Å"Focus on relationships is the fundamental driver of leadership, culture, strategy, and coordination at Southwest† (Gittell, 2003, p. 177). Southwest defines leadership as a process that can occur at any level of the organization but is most productive on the front lines. Supervisors assume a position of servitude to their subordinates going beyond the traditional responsibilities of that role. Employees are viewed as internal customers who deserve nurturing and training. The company intentionally distorts the lines between work and personal lives to enhance family and community relationships. The end result of such an organizational structure is improved flight departure performance, faster turnaround times, greater staffing productivity, fewer lost bags, and fewer customer complaints (Gittell, 2003). CONCLUSION Since its inception in 1971, Southwest has continuously distinguished itself from other airlines in the industry. For 41 consecutive years, it is the only airline to sustain a profit. The company’s organizational structure reflects its commitment to customers and employees alike. The benefits of this commitment have established the company as the benchmark for the industry in terms of loyalty and customer/employee satisfaction. Rankings such as number one in air transportation (United States Government Accountability Office, et al., 2006), number nine in _Fortune’s Most Admired Companies_ (Fortune Magazine, et al., 2013), and number 12 on _Forbe’s Best Companies to Work For In 2013_ (Forbes, 2013) also provide testament to the success of the company’s business strategy. In order to sustain this level of success in the long-term and remain competitive within an industry that already has limited flexibility created by an unusually large amount of fixed costs, federal and union regulation, manufacturer dependency, and economy. The company must give consideration to developing a more transformational model. Fortunately for Southwest, the company has no need to reinvent itself. However, this model should include an cost-effective approach to fleet expansion and additional freight and cargo transportation services to generate more revenue while retaining their proven formula for organizational structure and customer service. References Forbes. (2013). _The 25 Best Places to Work in 2013_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45eddil/no-12-southwest/ Fortune Magazine. (2013). _World’s Most Admired Companies_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Fortune: http://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/southwest-airlines-9/ Gittell, J. (2003). _The Southwest Airlines Way: Using Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance._ New York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved June 8, 2014 MarketLine. (2012, December 21). _SWOT Analysis_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from MarketLine: http://advantage.marketline.com/PageForbidden?returnUrl=%2FProduct%3Fpid%3D345D3B5B-CDC8-4F13-AD68-8D79064FB08A%26view%3DSWOTAnalysis Mergent. (2012, Decemeber 14). _Company Detail: Southwest_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Mergent Investor Edge: http://www.mergentinvestoredge.com/companyDetail.php?compNumber=7750&companyName=Southwest%20Airlines%20Co&ticker=LUV&cik=0000092380&pagetype=detail&exchange=NYS&country=USA# Southwest Airlines. (2013, December 31). _LUV Investor Relations_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from 2013 Annual Report: http://southwest.investorroom.com/company-reports Southwest Airlines. (n.d.). _Company Profile_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from LUV Investor Relations: http://southwest.investorroom.com/ Tellex, T. (2012, March 20). _Southwest Airline SWOT Analysis_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Exploring the World of Business: http://www.tamaratellezmba.com/blog/2012/03/20/southwest-airlines-swot-analysis/ United States Department of Transportation. (2014, May 15). _Airline Traffic Data_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Bureau of Transportation Statistics: http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/press_releases/bts024_14 United States Government Accountability Office, (. (2006). _Airline Deregulation._ United States Government Accountability Office. Retrieved June 8, 2014 University of Phoenix. (2013). _STR/581 Week 3 Individual Assignment: External and Internal Environmental Analysis_. Retrieved June 7, 2014, from