Airlines and the Oligopoly Market Structure Assignment

Airlines and the Oligopoly Market Structure - Assignment Example These advantages are witnessed in service pricing, destination services, marketing, and promotion, as well as the established hub philosophy that drives either point-to-point destination services or major hub development. Much of these competitive advantages come from establishing a market-oriented culture, defined as â€Å"delivering superior value to customers† (Narver, Slater & Tietje 1998, p.242). It is about aligning the business model based on three dimensions, having a customer orientation, a competitor orientation, and the ability to coordinate all business units with an inter-functional, systems-based philosophy and structure (Gauzente 1999, p.2). The majority of the airlines identified in the research article have established a market-oriented business model and internal culture, that provides both competitive advantages over other airlines in this oligopoly as well as a strong brand in the consumer market. A market orientation strategy â€Å"is a powerful competiti ve advantage, because it is an invisible asset that takes a long time to establish and one that is difficult to imitate† (Johnson & Verayangkura 2001, p.2). ...   a market structure, constant environmental scanning occurs to witness the competitive behaviors of rival firms to avoid market share losses or loss of brand reputation in consumer markets. Nickels, McHugh & McHugh (2005) identify a competitive advantage as better development of core competencies. These are â€Å"functions that the organization can do as well or better than any other organization in the world† (Nickels, et al., p.257). In the article â€Å"the joys of oligopoly†, it is identified that the core competencies of Southwest Airlines, as one example, is the ability of the firm to structure its scheduling, labor, and point-to-point destination services to provide low-cost, no-frills service that continues to bring the business significant revenues from satisfied customers. While larger competitors with more market presence continue to provide customers better in-flight services that require a higher pricing model, Southwest is able to manage its services ef fectively and with limited perks for the more frugal consumer. Southwest is also able to follow an A to B flight philosophy which fills more seats daily rather than waiting at a regional hub for connecting traffic that allows for almost instantaneous departure after a flight has arrived at the airport (Associated Press 2001). The core competencies of Southwest are labor-related, flight capacity scheduling, and independence from hub philosophy. However, other airlines that do utilize a hub philosophy consider this a competitive advantage in this market structure as it provides â€Å"greater frequency, more destinations and lower fares than customers could expect without it† (Associated Press, p.3).

Medieval Philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medieval Philosophy - Assignment Example Hence, metaphysical forces, including heavenly bodies and evil spirits, constrain human desires and create hurdles on the way to getting involved in different activities out of their free will. Furthermore, since the blessings and bounties showered by God upon humans, bring joys in their life, so humans must seek His protection in order to escape misfortunes in life. However, God has also granted powers to the evil forces existing in the universe and has allowed them to hurt and harm the individuals through their trickery. These forces tempt humans to follow their desires without making the adequate judgment between right and wrong. Consequently, there seems to be a high probability of humans to become prey to the evil temptations by extending their wishes and desires to a great extent. As a result, natural forces inflict the humans with deprivations that constraint their free will and limit their actions and conducts for the future days to come on the basis of the foreknowledge the Providence maintains. Question 3 (Answer): Contemporary era theologian and philosopher, Nelson Pike, has critically examined the Boethius’ doctrine regarding omniscience and free will. Since Boethius has submitted his claim that it is omniscience that constrains human free will, no human action is free and independent one in its nature and scope. However, Pike refutes the very notion by declaring it false and against the very evidence altogether. Pike is of the view that since God is all-Knowing and all-Powerful, He has foreknowledge of each and every incident that would happen in the life of every human throughout his life. Pike supports his thesis with several illustrations and examples, in order to clarify his argument regarding the powers granted to humans by the Lord for performing their domestic and professional duties and obligations. If a person, Pike argues, is determined to do something either trivial or important, God certainly maintains foreknowledge of it. Howeve r, He has allowed humans to apply their free will, out of their personal choices, in order to perform their everyday activities without any hurdle or obstacle on the way. In other words, though every incident to be taken place in the world in the life of humans is in the knowledge of God, yet He does not restrict the humans from taking part in individual and collective activities of their choice by constraining each and every human action. On the contrary, He has gifted the humans with the powers to even negate His very existence, as atheist observe, though He has complete foreknowledge of it. If God starts imposing constraints on every human action, then there would neither be any space for the atheists and infidels nor could humans be able to make this world a region where crimes, offenses, sins, and law-breaking occur very frequently. Thus, Pike nullifies Boethius’s doctrine that God’s omniscience limits human actions in such a powerful manner that it destroys the c oncept of free will altogether. However, Boethius does not claim that every human action is barred by the natural regulatory authorities.

Steve Jobs - Leadership Essay Example for Free

Steve Jobs Leadership Essay

Effective leadership styles in problem solving

Effective leadership styles in problem solving This assignment shall critically analyze the extent to which effective management and leadership styles can be used to address and solve problems in social care and health environments. Introduction The service field of social and health care environments has made great progress in recognizing its values for the future periods and things which require changing to achieve considerable and noticeable improvements across a variety of services. Management and Leadership styles need to be used effectively to bring out noticeable changes and for achieving specific actions to make significant improvements a reality in the social and healthcare environment. Effective and efficient implementation of change and improvement is a dynamic and comprehensive process which takes its due time to come into action and specific management and leadership programmes are usually unique to every organization. Every organization depends upon change and programmes for improvement for different reasons. Leadership plays a very vital role in the success of organisational improvement in social and healthcare service sectors. Effective leaders can enable improvements to take place and they have the capability to foretell the direction in which an organisation must be headed in terms of service delivery such as greater service user involvements and also guide their organisation in this direction. It is very important to have a predetermined purpose or ideology involving employees to bring about improvements in the system. The management must set the scope of these improvements and it is leaderships responsibility to aide in bringing and implementing changes for betterment of the services. Overview of Health and Social Care Sector Healthcare sector refers mainly to all those services which are offered by hospitals, clinics, general practitioners to prevent, diagnose and treating illness. This is a main and primary activity United Kingdom and consumes important parts of Gross Domestic Product and accounts of employing over ten million people across the country. This is a very complex sector comprising of not just healthcare service providers but also private and public funders and patients (consumers). Furthermore, significant economic sectors are associated actively with this sector, particularly pharmaceuticals and suppliers of medical equipments. In this assignment we shall concentrate on service provision of healthcare and how management and leadership styles can bring about improvement and address the problems of this sector. Social services is a multifaceted concept having different meanings and could include, provision of welfare payments and pensions. This assignment the term social services will be confined to work which is rendered by a person or organisation for furtherance of welfare of citizens. It includes, but is not restricted to, services for: Children and their families Disabled individuals of all age groups Elderly individual particularly those suffering from mental health problems Individuals misusing drugs and alcohol Services related to HIV/AIDS The typical providers of social services are public authorities and voluntary organisations however; private sector also plays an important role, to illustrate, provision of long-term care facilities. Healthcare and Social services were treated differently traditionally, due to their origins but also because of the fact that interest groups maintained their boundaries. This entire situation is undergoing changes throughout the western world due to different factors which include increase in elderly population, increase in awareness of preventing diseases instead of cure and an increased demand from customers (citizens) integrated services to meet needs specific in nature. This resulted in increasing stress on care including healthcare in the community, with higher collaboration between both sectors healthcare and social service providers. United Kingdom offers a National Health Service (NHS) free of cost at the point of delivery; this expenditure is funded primarily through general t axation. Several issues that affect healthcare also affect social services, especially ageing society. However, the functioning of hospitals and community-based care has transformed differently. UK is now exploring ways of coordinating both sets of services more efficiently, for e.g. shifting towards a home-based and community care grouped with correct use of expensive hospital services. This can be achieved and development in informatics and associated disciplines are anticipated to offer it. (OST, 2001, p. 8) Current Trends and Driving Forces of Social and Healthcare Sector Healthcare and Social care service sector is currently undergoing different changes and thus it is essential to evaluate what are the current trends and forces responsible for these changes. This assignment shall look at the most significant trends and drivers affecting health and social services sector, they are: Changes in Demography and society: The citizens of UK are currently living in ageing societies. However, the major concern is workforce and elder ageing, i.e. increase in number of persons above 80. This phenomenon is known as triple ageing. The resultant effects of triple ageing on health and social services are well known. Increasing consumerism and expectations. The term consumer patient is reflective on the assumption that more and more number of people are expecting to receive health care services they need at affordable prices. Latest medical technologies The need to reduce health costs, extend life expectancy and improve quality of life is often cited as drivers for technological developments in health and social sector. Many people believe that these latest technologies can totally transform and revolutionise the healthcare sector, despite concerns of increasing costs. Leadership in Healthcare and Social Services Leadership and management are two important factors which will help bring about the needed changes in the Healthcare and Social Services sector. Clarity and effective communication is very important for leaders depending on improvement initiatives. In the same line, frontline employees require to be provided with opportunities to embrace the latest ideology and purpose and customize it so that they can alter services accordingly. Leadership in healthcare and social services will be successful when the management decides the purpose of the organization and underlies requirements for improvement, analyzes what changes required to be made to achieve these objectives and examine how the necessary improvements can be achieved. To make a success of the implementing changes in service, leaders must make sure there is effective communication amongst the staff which is two-way and useful. Management in social and healthcare sector Management of the organization should entrust employees to carry forward improvements and enhancements in their daily service delivery. It is always possible for employees to be involved in what of the change, however there is a wide scope for involving how. Management must try to involve employees in the stages of planning, this will encourage staff to acknowledge and support the improvement process while feeling sense of ownership over the improvements. The main management style here is democratic in nature which means employees are heard to and their opinions and ideas are considered, including those employees who might not easily welcome changes. Employees must be given the tasks of carrying forward improvements in their daily routine work. Encourage them to participate in making decisions independently. Workers must be allowed to participate in discussions, questions and design activities of improvement. Another important aspect of democratic management style is feedback from em ployees which is a result of consulting on exercises and decisions taken based on inputs. Encouraging teamwork, both inter and intra-departmental, comprising of diverse members. Employees must be exposed to development of activities which they had been a part of while designing. Provide the staff with ample time for involvement, developmental activities and participation. If staff is finding it difficult to balance present commitments with time for improving services, then work along with the management and find answers. Management and Leadership Styles Management is a universal concept and is very popularly used terminology in the business world. Every type of organization be it business, political, cultural or social involves management since it is management which assists and directs the different efforts of people towards a predetermined goal or objective. According to Harold Koontz, Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in which people can perform and individuals and can co-operate towards attainment of group goals On the other hand, Leadership is a process through which an executive could direct, guide and influence behaviour and work of other individuals in the direction of achieving particular goals in an existing situation. Leadership refers to the potential of influencing the behaviour of others in the organization. It can in specific terms be referred to as the capacity to influence a group towards goals realization. It is the capability of a manager to motivate his subordinates to work together with confidence and enthusiasm. There are three main categories of management and leadership styles which are as given below: Autocratic managers are decision makers and closely control and supervise employees. Managers generally have less levels of trust and just give orders which are expected to be obeyed. Paternalistic managers tend to give more attention to the social needs and views of their employees. Managers are keen on making the employees feel happy and generally act as a father figure. They tend to consult employees about different issues and listen to their feedbacks and opinions. However, managers are actual decision makers but do take interests of workers into consideration since they believe staff actually needs direction. Democratic Managers are those who entrust their employees and encourage them to make important decisions. They would delegate work to them along with authority to do and also listen to their advice. There is a clear bi-directional communication which often includes democratic groups, offering useful tips and ideas. Managers should be willing to encourage skills of leadership among subordinates. Conclusion and Recommendations Health and Social Care services are in the midst of transformation at national, local and international level. The core of these changes lies in the desire to offer customers with increased levels of involvement in their caring, promotion greater choices and interdependence amongst users and more efficiently support from the entire community, everything while staying within the parameters of standards of quality and budgets. Some programmes are usually unique to particular organisations, beyond general regions targeted for improvements. Sometimes, organisations might undergo changes due to increasing pressures from their funding institutions or government, while others may be responding to changes due to poor standards and lastly organisations that are aligning their management to cope up with the new changes in the sector. Main recommendations for adopting management and leadership styles in health and social care services are: Effective leadership in the organisation which motivates employees in the organisation to willing participate in changes and also respond to it. Involving employees and their participation in decision making to cope up with the changes in the sector. Identify skills and help in development of those skills of employees. Employees must be constantly given chances to improve their existing skills and develop new skills according to the changing environment. Management of organisations in social and healthcare sectors must have a more democratic approach which will encourage employees to participate and also motivate them to work to their full potential.

Can One Perceive Or Confirm The Existence Of An Idea Or Object That Is :: essays research papers

Can One Perceive Or Confirm The Existence Of An Idea Or Object That Is External To Him Mainly - God? "I think therefore I am." Man wills, refuses, perceives, understands, and denies many principles. As explained by Rene' Descartes, man is a thinking thing, a conscious being who truthfully exists because he is certain that it is so. All that man perceives is internally present and not external to him or his mind. The focal point of the third meditation that must be dealt with is: Can one perceive or confirm the existence of an idea or object that is external to him mainly - God? There are three ways, Descartes explains, that one may come to the conclusion of an objects existence. The first is through nature. The second is through feeling an object independent of one's will, for example; heat and cold. The third, and most elaborated upon is the point of cause and effect, or more simply, the objective reality of an idea. We will primarily deal with the third reason of cause and effect. Descartes brings some examples to demonstrate his cause and effect theory. More importantly, is the logic that lies behind the actual theory. The rationale that an object will have an effect is only if it stems from a legitimate cause. A stone, for example, cannot be perceived accurately if there isn't an initial idea preceding with equal or superior properties in one's intellect. The mind generates ideas and develops reality through previous schema or beliefs as Descartes states: "And although an idea may give rise to another idea, this regress cannot, nevertheless, be infinite;we must in the end reach a first idea, the cause of which is, as it were, the archetype in which all the reality that is found objectively in these ideas is contained formally." Additionally, properties such as color, sound, heat, and cold are too complex in their nature for Descartes to determine whether they are true or false. In other words, are the ideas that one has about a property true or false? Consequently, Descartes concludes that there is a common element between examples like the stone and the cold. The cold portraying the unreal or false object and the stone as a true object. He contends that they both contain "substance" like man himself, and are therefore similar. The only difficulty that arises is the consideration of God's existence. There is no substance or idea for the notion of God to originate from. The valid question that Descartes asks is: Is it conceivable that a finite being have the idea of an infinite existence?

Free Hamlet Essays: The Message of Hamlet :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

The Message of Hamlet Hamlet shows a lot of sadness and also contemplates suicide. He is very confused with his feelings and his depression has brought down his spirits, but Hamlet uses a mask of pride to hide all of this from the naked eye. The many event’s which have occurred, has made thinking straight for Hamlet difficult. His plans of avenging his fathers death are unraveling beforehis eyes; and he is not in the right state of mind to fix things. Hamlet may be very proud; but it is obvious he is very depressed and confused with life; "O God, God, How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!" (I; ii; 32-34) First of all, Hamlet comes home to a dead father and the re-marriage of his mother to his uncle, Claudius; "We pray you throw to earth This unprevailing woe, and think of us as a father, for let the world take note you are the most immediate to our throne." (I; ii, 106-109) All of this has been a huge negative shock to Hamlet. He does not understand the event’s which have taken place. Hamlet’s mother re-marring makes mourning his father’s death all the more difficult. He does not understand why his mother would re-marry so soon after the death of her husband; especially the fact that it’s to his uncle, Claudius. All of this has caused a lot of anger and sadness inside of Hamlet. All of his feelings have become unbearable and bottled up. He begins to lose control of his life. It has also caused him to feel a lot of hatred towards his mother. He also feels hatred towards Claudius and blames him, for their marriage. Hamlet’s hatred does not stop with his mother and Claudius; he begins to see women as less due to his mothers’ actions. When Hamlet thought things could not get any worse, the ghost of his father appears, revealing his murderer; "The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown" (I; v; 39-40) Hamlet was not at all surprised to find that his father’s murderer was his own uncle; "O my prophetic soul!" (I; v; 41) Although Hamlet and two others saw the ghost with their own eyes, Hamlet was still reluctant to believing. Hamlet was the only one to hear the words of his father’s ghost.

Philosophy of Early Childhood Essay

My philosophy of Early childhood education is based on research that indicates that a child’s growth is developmental. Every child is unique in terms of life experiences, developmental readiness, and cultural heritage. A high quality early childhood program that provides a safe and nurturing environment, which promotes physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive development will ensure a positive continuation of the child’s education process. The National Association for the Education of Young Children states that high quality, developmentally appropriate programs should be available for all children. Bredekamp, S. , and T. Rosegrant. 1992. Reaching Potentials: Introduction. In S. Bredekamp and R. Rosegrant (Eds. ). Reaching Potentials: Appropriate Curriculum and Assessment for Young Children,* vol. 1, pp. 2-8. Washington, D. C. : National Association for the Education of Young Children. This is a statement that I firmly believe in and hope to incorporate in my teaching career. Young children before the age of eight, have an enormous potential for growth and achievement. And it is my philosophy that they have to right to fulfill their possibilities. A young child who is nurtured to reach for his or her educational goals from an early age and has been instilled with self-confidence will continue to pursue educational goals as he or she matures . 2. I have learned that an early childhood teacher immensely impacts the learning experience of the young children entrusted in his or her learning environment. Early childhood teachers make decisions each day on how best to present concepts to be learned, what is appropriate for a specific child given that each child comes to the learning center from diverse backgrounds and needs and how to nurture and support growing development in each child. As an early childhood teacher I would strive to provide information in a creative manner, engage children in discovery and mastery of concepts and skills, nurture development of play, and foster positive social interaction between myself and the children. 3 conceptual models that influence my philosophy of teaching: 1. John Dewey. What I find of interest in Dewey’s theory is that â€Å" Childhood has ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling, peculiar to itself. http://www. marxists. org/archive/novack/works/1960/x03. htm Dewey advocated that the need to know comes from within the child. Each child has an innate curiosity that should be nurtured and developed. He believed that children learn by doing. This theory is beneficial in an early childhood setting as that it encourages children to explore areas of interest and to creatively expand the knowledge. 2. Jean Piaget: His research shows that children cognitively develop in stages. His theory is the foundation for constructivist learning. Piaget’s theory emphasizes discovery learning and supporting the developing interests of the child utilizing this theory in early childhood education I would I challenge the child’s abilities, but not present material or information that is too far beyond the child’s level. I would also use a wide variety of concrete experiences to help the child learn. 3. Maria Montessori: The Montessori method of teaching stresses that all children have similar needs regardless of social status or intellectual abilities. The Montessori Method is a way about thinking about who children are. It is a philosophy that respects the unique individuality of each child. By utilizing this method , the teaches does not compare a child to norms or standards that are measured by traditional educational systems. But instead this theory is founded on the belief that children should be free to succeed and learn without restriction or criticism. Next part of question I believe that each child should enter an early childhood classroom with the expectation that he or she will have a good day. It sounds simple but in reality it is complex. As an early education teacher I will be interacting with children who are coming with diverse backgrounds, learning abilities, social, emotional and physical development. It will be a challenge to meet the needs and be supportive of this diversity. In order to succeed in this goal, my classroom would be welcoming to the child. How is this accomplished? Child sized furniture placed in areas for the children to work on projects; rug areas so that the children can creatively and comfortably play or look at books; an area with ample supplies to intrigue developing imaginations; colorful posters to make the room visually pleasing to a young child. But environment is only part of the educational experience that I would strive to present to early learners. Given what I have learned about the different ways that children learn and develop, lessons presented would engage the diverse learning methods of the children so that each will be lead to understanding to the best of his or her ability. Young children develop best when they experience acceptance of who they are, no matter what their abilities are. As an early childhood educator I would strive to not only let my students know that they are part of the classroom community, but that they are an important and integral member of our class.