Sunday, January 19, 2020
Technical Description Sample
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION LOT-1 PCS-01-005351 A parcel of land (Lot-1, Pcs-01-005351, being a portion of Lots-165 and 166, PLS-1110, Alilem Public Land Subd. L. R. C. Rec. No. ___________) situated at Brgy. Poblacion, Mun. of Alilem, Prov. of Ilocos Sur, Island of Luzon. Bounded on the S. along line 1-2 by Guis-it St. (10. 00 m. wide); on the W. along line 2-3 by Lot-167, PLS-1110; on the N. along line 3-4 by Lot-164, PLS-1110 and on the E. along line 4-1 by Lot- 2 of the consolidation and subd. plan. Beginning at a point marked â€Å"1†of Lot-1 on plan, being S. 65?. 02’ E. , 348. 29 m. from BLLM No. 1, PLS-1110, Alilem Public Land Subd. thence N. 7? 42’ W. , 16. 41 m. to point 2; thence N. 10? 27’ E. , 30. 59 m. to point 3; thence S. 69? 49’ E. , 16. 76 m. to point 4; thence S. 10? 42’ W. , 28. 29 m. to point 1; point of beginning, containing an area of FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY FIVE (485) SQUARE METERS. All points referred to are indicated on the pl an and were marked on the ground with BL cyl. conc. mons. 15Ãâ€"40 cms. except points 1 and 4 which are PS cyl. conc. mon. 15Ãâ€"50 cms. Bearings Grid, date of orig. survey was on April-May, 1983; date of consol. and subd. survey was on October 10, 2010 executed by Engr. Edmund A. Soliven and was approved on August 11, 2011. CERTIFIED CORRECT:
Friday, January 10, 2020
How a Virus Finds a Host Essay
Introduction            AIDS and the bird flu have raised concerns about virus attacks in the public eye. Infectious transfer of virus also very often causes the common cold. We are able to tolerate or overcome the vast majority of viruses, but some of them succeed in causing us to fall ill, even to the point of death. Not everyone responds to a virus epidemic in the same way: some overpower the pathogen, while others succumb. A fundamental understanding of the nature of a virus can solve these apparent paradoxes; its mechanism of taking shelter in living tissue is also relevant. It is worth noting at the outset that viruses search for all forms of plants and animals as hosts. Each type of virus has a particular preference of host. A virus is versatile and can change form with ease. Basic genetic structures and systems            A virus is a kind of bridge between a form of life and an inanimate object. All living things are made from permutations and combinations of four nucleic acids, adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine. Sequences of nucleic acids form genes. Genes are in turn banded together, to form chromosomes. The nucleic acids are joined together by ribose sugars. The latter has one molecule of sugar absent. The structure is entwined in the form of double helix coils inside the nucleus of each living cells. The latter are grouped together in higher forms of life to form tissues and organs. The nucleic acid structure inside each nucleus is called Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA.            DNA is used by life forms to produce Ribonucleic acids or RNA. RNA has ribose sugar with the oxygen molecule missing in DNA. RNA has just one strand of nucleic acids, as opposed to two in DNA. RNA has uracil instead of thymine. RNA moves out from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of living cells. RNA is used to produce proteins, which act as the materials of life forms. DNA and RNA physiology is at the heart of all life. It is a common system from unicellular life forms to human beings. Protein production by RNA and RNA production by DNA is the chemical basis of life. This is a process, which continues without ceasing from conception to death. Insidious nature            We are now ready to look at the nature and structure of a virus. A virus has a structure similar to RNA (Lewin, 744). However, the host DNA does not produce it. It also differs from RNA in that it may have a protective membrane made of protein. A virus is a kind of imposter. It finds a way inside a cell and abuses the host’s DNA to produce proteins of its own. Since a virus has no DNA, it does not qualify as a life form in the strict sense. However, as it able to use host DNA to produce protein, and since it has the ability to replicate, it shares an essential property of living things.            The fine distinction between a virus and a living cell with a nucleus could remain in the academic domain, were it not for the deleterious ability of a virus to threaten well-being and indeed life itself. A mitigating factor is that a virus cannot survive on its own: it must take shelter within the nucleus of a living cell, and is entirely dependant on the host DNA. Cat and mouse            Higher forms of life, such as human beings, do not surrender to virus attack without a fight, and they most often win. A virus enters a host through the medium of foreign living tissue. Bodily discharges such as sputum, blood, semen, and mucus are the most common agents of viral transfer between one living body and another. Transmission is routine if two members of a species are involved. A virus may occasionally adapt from one genus, even an order, or a phylum to another. Thus, an avian virus can infect a mammal, even a human. It can jump from one bird to another almost inevitably. Viruses know that they cannot always hope to find a host of the same species in which they currently reside (Watson et all, 1016). A virus is always on the search of a new host for its use of the present host’s DNA can be fatal for that host. The virus will have no use for a dead host, and must hence find a new life to infect. It has developed a great adaptive capability, and can adjust to the DNA of a new host, which may be an entirely different form of life in which it has existed before. A bird flu virus in a chicken would like a healthy chicken in which it can spread. Should other chickens be scarce, it will try to infect some other bird it can find. It will settle for a human if it can find no bird or other animal. It is worth repeating that the bird flu virus can move from one bird to another bird or from one bird to a human, only through oral or nasal of anal discharge from the infected and original host. Should the latter be isolated, then the virus is doomed to extinction with the death of its host. Infection is essential for viral transfer.            Animal bodies, especially human beings have powerful and sophisticated systems to combat invading viruses. Should a human being touch and ingest some discharge from an infected host, the virus will gain physical entry, but the body, which it has entered, will not take things lying down. Defense systems in humans and other animals are equipped to detect that a rogue pretending to be RNA has entered the body and is trying to cheat the DNA to produce proteins for its own use.            A virus tries to read the nucleic acid sequence in the DNA of any host that it finds. It then attempts to produce proteins of its own need and choice from the DNA it encounters (Heritage, Evans and Killington, 122). We should bear in mind that a virus is essentially an imposter in the garb of RNA. It tries to adjust its RNA sequence in a manner such that the host DNA cannot see through the disguise.            Higher forms of animal life have defense cells in blood. Soldier cells try to capture foreign virus-loaded tissue as soon as it enters the host. These cells are called macrophages and they contain most invasions by literally swallowing the foreign bodies. This mechanism is not necessarily comprehensive, and some particles of the foreign bodies may escape the macrophage confrontation. The sub-microscopic size of a virus means that a few members of an infectious source may escape the host body’s attention. Virus is then free to enter living cells of the host and start interaction with the DNA. The virus can tell instantly that it now has a different DNA structure. It starts studying the new nucleic acid sequence and sees it can replicate in the changed circumstances.            It is now time for the lymphocytes in the host blood to take charge (Despopoulos and Silbernagl, 68)  Lymphocytes are of two kinds, B and T. The latter specialize in fighting viruses. They recognize the production of unusual proteins, and detect the viral infection of cells. T lymphocytes kill cells infected by a virus, in a bid to contain the infection. T lymphocytes are produced in the thymus. Healthy individuals have immense capacity for defense and can ward off a majority of virus attacks. A compromise often prevails with the T lymphocytes winning the fight against a virus, though it is unable to destroy all traces of the virus in the host. Such a host then functions as a carrier, living with a low intensity of virus attack without external symptoms of any medical condition. A carrier can infect another individual who may succumb to the virus if its T lymphocyte system does not function well. Cancers of the lymphatic system and malnutrition are the primary reason for a host’s T lymphocytes to fail in protecting a host from virus attack.            We must bear in mind, for the question that has prompted this document, that a virus does not have the luxury of choosing a host. It will take any available living cell and try to adjust to the DNA sequence it finds. Nature favors the host: the virus will generally fail to break the code, or will perish with the host cell whose code it has broken. Immunity            Though anti-retroviral therapy has now entered the realm of reality, nature provides hosts with the capability to recognize a virus and the will to destroy cells infected by viruses. Nature balances such powers by making viruses highly adaptable. They can quickly change their own sequences of acids in bids to escape detection and to survive. Viruses will also settle for sub-clinical situations in which they are able to survive without killing the host on which it depends.            It follows that immunity is a key to fighting viruses. Higher forms of life are equipped with innate capabilities to fight viruses to the extent that the species can thrive, though some proportion of every population falls prey. Hygiene and balanced nutrition are the only things that most life forms need to defeat thieving viruses. Works Cited Despopoulos, A and Silbernagl, S, Color Atlas of Physiology, Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart, 1991 Heritage, J. G. V. Evans, and R. A. Killington, Introductory Microbiology, Cambridge University Press, 1996 Lewin, B, Genes, Oxford University Press, 1997 Watson, J. D. Nancy H. Hopkins, Jeffrey W. Roberts. Joan A. Steitz and Alan M. Weiner, Molecular Biology of the Gene, The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. (1998) Â
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Core Competencie Essay Example Pdf - Free Essay Example
Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1900 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Review Did you like this example? Describe the four criteria for an organisations core competence. Explain how core competencies can be identified and leveraged to develop strategies, Give example(s) to support your argument. Introduction This essay starts by briefly describing how the term core competencies was established before looking at why it is necessary to identify core competencies within an organisation. The four criteria used to identify core competencies is discussed with an analysis of each followed by an overview of strategy. This provides the pretext to discuss the role of correctly identifying core competencies and why leveraging them in strategy development is important. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Core Competencie Essay Example Pdf" essay for you Create order Core competencies Formulating strategies is a cyclical process in which an internal analysis of an organisation plays a crucial part (Introduction: What is strategy? 2006:1). This analytical process involves taking a theoretical approach known as a resource-based view (Unit 3: 5) in which an organisation objectively looks at all its resources and capabilities to see how best they can give an organisation competitive advantage. Grant has established that an organisations resources can be tangible, intangible or human and that these can be matched to its capabilities to eventually provide competitive advantage (Grant, 2008: 131). This process of exploiting the unique combination of resources and capabilities has given rise to the term of core competencies which have been defined by Prahalad and Hamel (1990: 78-90) as the ability of an organisation to coordinate all its technologies and production skills in order to deliver its strategy. Identifying core competencies Core competencies are t he building blocks on which organisations are able to strategise so it is vital to identify them correctly using four specific criteria (Segal-Horn, 2009: 169): 1) Does it provide significant value? 2) Does it allow to increase or dominate market share? 3) Is it difficult for competitors to imitate? 4) Does it provide competitive advantage? It is important to understand that these are not mutually exclusive categories therefore it is essential to meet all criteria in order to establish a core competency. Usually it is not possible for an organisation to have more than a handful of core competencies (Segal-Horn, 2008: 170). Value in this scenario is in terms of ‘perceived benefit to the end user of the product or service (Segal-Horn, 2009: 169). For instance, Vodafone became a leader in the world of mobile communications in the late nineties by providing value-adding services such as short message services and voicemail (Unit 1: 10) to their existing portf olio. The concept of value is equally applicable in not-for-profit organisations such as Crisis, a charity for single homeless individuals. One of its core competencies is achieved through its long establishment of over 40 years and its ability to provide services at a national level and this level of dedication is seen as a valuable asset. Organisations which have value-creating resources are at an advantage to those who do not, for example Vodafone who made heavy investments in their research and development to stay ahead of their competitors (Unit 1:9). It is important to understand that value is not always represented by revenue, as in the example of the charity Crisis; the value of such a service to a needy individual is priceless hence this is a context-specific measure. Markets are becoming increasingly complex and with the advent of globalisation and the internet they are not restricted by geographical boundaries so identifying competencies which can help to increas e market share are exceptionally valuable. An example of this would be the ability of an organisation to provide a service in several different languages simultaneously. Organisations whose infrastructure is such that it allows simultaneous function across continents are clearly at an advantage to those who have a lesser ability to do so. Markets are dynamic so the ability to adapt to changes in the environment due to specific capabilities can be regarded as a core competency. The third test is to see whether it can easily be replicated by another organisation; the more difficult it is to imitate, again the more value it holds as a core competence. A competitor might be able to obtain identical technology on how to build a TV but the core competence might lie in the ability to have a more efficient production line. Apple Inc. for example use an operating system which is unique to their products and sometimes reputation, an intangible resource, can be seen to be difficult to imitate especially in organisations which have been established for a significant length of time such as certain retailers. If a particular asset, (or combination of assets) has the potential to provide competitive advantage that is extremely useful in identifying a core competence. Competitive advantage is the ultimate goal of an organisations strategy (Grant, 2008: 131). Organisations with unique assets such as a patented technology immediately translate into a competitive advantage, however in many industries, competitive advantage is achieved through extremely precise combinations of resources and capabilities and the method by which an organisation exploits these assets is a core competence. Strategy development Strategy allows an organisation to deliver its vision. To develop a deliberate strategy which could potentially increase the sustainability of an organisation clearly requires the identification of core competencies but often a single strategy is not the answer. Organisations require a headline strategy to fit a brief which resonates the vision but several strategies are required over many departments such as research and development, production and marketing to deliver the main strategy. The process of strategy development is complex and methodology depends on several factors including the availability of resources and the external environment. The second step in strategy development following identification of core competencies is the process of leveraging resources so they can be exploited for maximum benefit. Strategy development is a crucial step in attaining competitive advantage but a strategy is only as successful as its implementation. The process of leveraging co re competencies therefore is vital and requires careful consideration since it forms the basis of implementation. Leveraging core competencies This is the process of exploiting core competencies in the most appropriate manner for effective strategy development because not all core competencies need to be used all the time and some may be more beneficial than others in any given scenario. Prahalad and Hamel (in Segal-Horn, 2009: 33-40) have highlighted five broad ways by which core competencies can be leveraged: 1. Concentrating core competencies effectively, 2. Efficiently accumulating core competencies, 3. Creating value through complementing core competencies with each other, 4. Conserving core competencies through contingency plans and 5. Recovering core competencies in a timely manner. Concentrating core competencies is a method which has two facets; one being convergence which reflects the overall vision most closely so all the resources ‘conver ge over time (Segal-Horn, 2009: 33) and the second being focus. By focussing the most appropriate core competencies on key aspects only it allows an organisation to meet significant short-term goals most effectively. This is most useful in situations where some departments require more development than others for example the production team may be meeting the targets set for them but the marketing department might not be on par so although all departments are working towards one goal, one or more of the core competencies are being focussed on the under-performing department. The process of accumulating core competencies refers to both organisation-specific core competencies as well as those of other organisations. Having a bank of information which has not been developed by an organisation themselves but is easily accessible can be extremely beneficial since it reduces time spent carrying out menial tasks as well as allowing the organisation to continue their learning and de velopment by borrowing resources through mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and so on. Knowledge through experience and the continual process of an organisation to learn and unlearn in order to ‘apply lessons is known as extraction. Some core competencies are stand alone resources, one example being the open culture exhibited at Apple Inc. where creative individuals are given appropriate space to develop their ideas. More often than not, organisations find that the cumulative effect of core competencies is far greater than that of exploiting them individually and this method is known as blending. An extension of this idea is balancing core competencies which ensures that different operational areas within an organisation work together in harmony and do not overshadow or undermine each other. When applying these methods to leverage core competencies it should be noted that adjustments to re-balance the status quo may need to be made periodically. Conserving core competencies is a methodology which can be divided up into three areas. Shielding which involves protecting an organisations resources to reduce risk to a minimum while simultaneously increasing risk for competitors, co-option which is a collaboration that often results in increased market share for stronger party in the collaboration and the final methodology is recycling whereby core competencies which have a proven track record in significantly contributing to maximising profits are used time and time again. The final method which is used to leverage core competencies is recovery. The faster the speed of recovery, the time taken to turn around a product from development to market saturation and back to new product development, the greater the chances of recovering investment quicker. This leverage method is particularly noticeable in the technology industry where soon as a product garners popularity, its successor is already ready to be launched. Conclusion The brief analysis above has discussed that in an attempt to develop successful strategies, the first step is an internal analysis to identify available resources and capabilities. The next stage is to identify the core competencies of an organisation using criteria to test whether they add value, increase market share, are difficult to imitate and together do they possess the potential to serve as competitive advantage. In doing so it is evident that an organisation may be capable of drawing up a list of several resources and capabilities but only a handful of core competencies will result in any one organisation. Whilst several organisations may have similar resources in terms of tangible resources, it is the existence of intangible and human resources and the capabilities to combine them which create opportunities to develop core competencies. Once correctly identified, it is vital that core competencies are leveraged most effectively to maximise their potential in attem pting to deliver an organisations strategy. Core competencies can be leveraged in one of several ways depending on the nature of the brief. In some rare instances all of the core competencies may be used all of the time but more often than not the combination used is context-specific. The specific nature of the task will determine whether core competencies need to be reserved, extracted, borrowed, converged, recycled, shielded, blended, balanced, focussed or co-opted. Whilst the work on core competencies carried out by Prahalad and Hamel has been cited extensively and used by organisations globally, it is worth noting that the research is almost 25 years old and the longevity of theory may be questionable. With markets becoming more complex and consumer behaviour changing rapidly perhaps not all of the existing methods of leverage may be completely relevant. References 1. Segal-Horn,S. (2009) The Strategy Reader, Oxford: Blackwell 2. Grant,R. (2008) Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Oxford: Blackwell 3. Segal-Horn,S. and Boojihawan,D. (2006) B820 Unit 1 Introduction: What Is Strategy?, Milton Keynes: Open University 4. Gleadle, P. and Bakhru, A. (2007) B820 Unit 3 Competing With Capabilities, Milton Keynes: Open University 5. Crisis (2014) The national charity for single homeless people, [Online], Available: https://www.crisis.org.uk [29.08.14] 6. Prahalad, C.K. Hamel, G. (1990) ‘The core competence of the corporation, Harvard Business Review, May/June, pp.78-90
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Whatever They Told You About The Best Research Paper Is Dead Wrong...And Heres Why
Whatever They Told You About The Best Research Paper Is Dead Wrong...And Here's Why The Argument About the Best Research Paper In the event you're not required to work on the specific subject matter, you must do what you can to locate a compelling one by yourself. The main aim of a research paper is to encourage an unaffiliated thinking process in students. The process was created to be fast, handy and thorough so you may secure an outstanding end-product. It's possible to negotiate the writing procedure and the price. Writing a research paper even though may appear challenging is a considerable portion of routine student life. If you're looking for good grades, then look no more. A whole lot of students have a tendency to undermine the writing procedure and leave for the past few days. Nevertheless, when students ask how to compose a research paper there's set of steps that was shown to be effective and beneficial. 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Tuesday, December 17, 2019
New Labours Academies Programme - 556 Words
In 2008 Lord Adonis proclaimed in an article entitled, ‘Academies and the future of state education’ that ‘Academies are injecting the best of the DNA of private schools into the state funded sector’ (p10). In that statement Lord Adonis showed the enthusiasm and positivity that the Labour government held upon implementing this programme. However, the New Labour’s Academies programme showed internal and external ambiguities. Hatcher (2010, p81) in his article, ‘New lessons for England’s schools’ writes, ‘The rationale for Labour’s Academy can be summarised simply as: in order to increase the competitiveness of the British economy, students attainment needs to improve, and the involvement of external organisations in running schools can make them more efficient’. Hatcher’s summary of what Labour’s policy on Academies intended to achieve contradicts Curtis (2009) observations that point to ‘litt le evidence on Academies ability to raise attainment’ and the notion that Academies were only introduced as an intervention process to change and transform education in disadvantaged communities and ‘turn around’ failing schools. Hatcher expands on this point about ‘external organisation’ as they continually change and drive the motives for business pressures and privatisation. This continued ‘change’ towards a school business model is a paradoxical swift from intervention which primarily focuses on improving failing schools. This is important because the current Conservative ledShow MoreRelatedContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words  | 846 PagesOxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lump ur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With oYces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand TurkeyRead MoreMotivation in Work Settings: Reflection in the Core Organizational Management Strategy16099 Words  | 65 Pagesattractiveness as well as the completive position can be structured by a firm and considers these as the challenges in respect to the competitive strategy. He stated that five forces determines the rule of competition in an industry ; these are the entry of new competitors, the threats of substitute , barging power of buyers , the barging power of suppliers also the rivalry among the existing competitors. These forces are considered as factors as factors of an industry profitability due to their action on
Monday, December 9, 2019
Tours and Travels
Questions: Part A of your report is the evaluation of strategic decisions. You need to evaluate recent strategic decisions that have been made by Thomas Cook a outbound tour operator STA a specialist tour operator You will need to examine at least two decisions such as Pricing strategies Choice of product in relation to customer portfolio, Part B of your report is to compare the tactical responses and decisions that could be taken by a STA and Thomas Cook in certain situations. You will need to examine at least one responses to Competition Price wars External factors You will then need to examine at least two tactical decisions such as Fluid pricing, Yield management Answers: Part A Strategic decision Strategic decision involves the whole environment in which the business functions. It also includes the resources as well as the people (Greer, Greenwood Patterson, 2002). It involves harmonizing the organizational resources and capabilities with the opportunities and threats of the business. Strategic decision made by Thomas Cook Thomas cook is one of the leading travel groups in the world. The company has a portfolio of leading brands in the market. It also has a business model that is flexible, and a focused strategy for business. The company has a large team of 31000 people, who are constantly making the vision of the company come true (Evans, n.d.). Thomas cook is also fulfilling the dreams of their customers as well as providing sustainable value to the shareholders. Recently the Thomas cook group has announced that it will unify the entire brands under the common symbol of the sunny heart. The logo came into operation in the 2013, 1st October (Beech Chadwick, 2006). The unification of the various brands of the company will make it even easier for the customers so that they can understand the full strength of the business. They can even understand the innovative offerings of the products and services, and they will get an inspirational experience. The vision of the company has always remained clear. They always make their dreams come true. They focus on strengthening the existing business and also invest in their future growth. The company has sales which is over 8.5 billion pounds and has more than 20 million customers. The company constantly tries to improve the product mix while trying to reduce the cost. By doing so, they try to improve the cost and profit margin. The group runs a fleet of 93 aircrafts which carries 17 million passengers. The fleet has four airlines: the German airline, the Belgian airline, the UK airline and the Scandinavian airline. The combined airlines have saved an amount of 19 million pound by the end of the previous year (Travelweekly.co.uk, 2015). Recently Thomas cook has moved to a single pricing strategy across the online channels to reduce the confusion of the customers. The biggest travel retailer of UK has decided to introduce a same price for its packaged holidays that will be booked online at the website of the company which is Thomascook.com. This facility is also available for bookings in their store or via their call centers. The same pricing strategy will be applied to their brands such as Thomas cook, Manos and Airtours. The company have now made available to its customers, a wide range of products to satisfy their customer needs and preferences. The holiday packages of the company they offer are villa holidays, city holidays, cheap package holidays, cruise and luxury holidays. The range of products also includes hotels and cheap flights (Thomascookgroup.com, 2015). The company always puts their customers in the front and always looks at the needs of the customers. Keeping in mind the busy customers they have even come up with the last minute holidays apart from their family holidays. People often worry about not booking their holidays in advance, but Thomas cook has come up with a solution. They provide great destinations like Egypt, and Turkey in the last minute booking. The company even provides summer and winter holiday packages. Strategic decision made by STA STA Travel is a travel retailer. They consider them to be different from others in the business. They have an experience of more than 35 years as experts in youth travel. The company provides the students and youth to explore the globe which will create an everlasting experience (Evans, n.d.). They claim that the experience will be filled with personal growth, adventure and discovery. The company is currently operating in 60 countries which have 200 retail locations. They have a customer base of 6 million and more (Beech Chadwick, 2006). The company wants to provide an epic adventure to their customers. They try to get students, teachers and recent graduates and offer them exclusive discounts on hotels tours, flights and more (Statravel.co.uk, 2015). One large initiative taken by the company recently is that they have stopped the tours on Elephant Rides and in Thailand as well as the Tiger Temple. The trips in Orlando, the Sea World has been stopped, which has led to drop in their revenue. The company wants to set an example of responsible tourism to the world as well as the other companies. STA travel provides various products and services like, student airfare, discount cards global cell phones, adventures, travel insurance and also online visa application. Their Student exclusive ticket gives students a competitive pricing in airfare. They get unmatched ease and flexibility while they book their tickets. For the students the company provides various options to choose from: they are tours, voluntary programs, accommodation and work. This makes the students plan their trips smoothly. The company provides special discounts for the international students and also the teachers. They have partnered with Apple store, The Body Shop, Target.com etc for these discount cards. STA travel also provides travel scholarships to the university students, so that they can subsidize their travel costs so that students can travel. The company provides a personal Travel Expert who will guide the users to book their travels. They have even plans which will provide a discount to the students as well as the youth a discount of 40%. The company enjoys buying powers with the best airlines of the world, the accommodation suppliers and the transportations on land. Part B Tactical decision These decisions are related to the implementation of the strategic decisions of the business. It is directed toward the development of the structuring workflows, acquisition of resources such as money, materials and men (Mjigal, 2010). These decisions are the decisions of the middle level management. Tactical Responses and Decisions of Thomas Cook Tomas cook which is one of the oldest travel agency in the world has taken drastic steps recently. The company has decided to cut 2500 jobs in Britain. The company has also decided to close 195 of its high street agencies. This was done to make the administrative cost of the company lower. The company has a debt of summing to 1.5 billion Euros (Phelan, 2008). The cutting of the jobs accounted to 15% of its employees. In 2013 august, the company moved to a new location where the rent was cheap. On November 23, an emergency was declared and the company was racing to gather funds in order to avoid bankruptcy (Travelmole.com, 2015). The unplanned removal and loss of the experienced talent from the key positions have led to adversely damaging the business both on a medium and a short term basis. The downturn of the economies of the source market of Thomas cook has led to a reduction in the demands of the services and products of the company (Thomascookgroup.com, 2015). Moreover there was threat from the internet distributers and the other low priced airlines which have tremendously caused a fall in the traditional package tours of the company. The company has initiated a fluid pricing system called the fluid pricing in which the company reduces the initial prices of the tickets. The cost of the tickets remains low when bookings are made way in advance. The price of the tickets rises when the deadlines of the bookings come. Moreover the company has decided to merge with a company called My Travels so that it can cut its cost. The reduction in the cost or the total savings is expected to be 75 million pounds. The initiative was taken to combat the completion from the low cost airline companies and also the web based travelling agencies. Tactical Responses and Decisions of STA Travel The STA travels has in the year 2010 has launched a travel brand called the Bridge the World which was its first ever initiative outside the student and youth market. The company faces a stiff competition from the American Express Company. The company constantly tries to provide a cheaper pricing strategy to its customers (Mjigal, 2010). They have now introduced a price beat guarantee scheme. This will not only assure a low price but is a commitment to provide the cheapest tickets in airlines for international flights. This was done to combat the tough competition it was facing from the other travel agencies. With more and more competitions coming into the business, the market is becoming homogenous. This has allowed the customers search several alternatives, while choosing a perfect travel agency (Statravel.co.uk, 2015). Thus the company always maintains its low price strategy so that the name STA Travels comes to the minds of the people while booking cheaper tickets for students an d youth. The company has unveiled a new look flagship store to mark its 35th year anniversary in London. They always wanted to enter into the retail chain. The stores had Travel clinic associated with it (Vanhove, 2005). It was done so that the customers get a health related advice while in the stores. The company provides special discounts for the international students and also the teachers. They have partnered with Apple store, The Body Shop, Target.com etc for these discount cards. Moreover to stop the exploitation of the marine creatures they have stopped selling tickets of some of the parks having those businesses. References Beech, J., Chadwick, S. (2006).The business of tourism management. Harlow, England: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. David, F. (2005).Strategic management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Evans, N.Strategic management for tourism, hospitality and events. Greer, D., Greenwood, P., Patterson, R. (2002).Designing Teaching Strategies. Burlington: Elsevier. Mjigal, T. (2010).Tactical management in the secular bear market. [S.l.]: Authorhouse. Phelan, T. (2008).Emergency management and tactical response operations. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier. Statravel.co.uk,. (2015).STA Travel | Crisis archive. Retrieved 16 February 2015, from https://www.statravel.co.uk/crisis-archive.htm Thomascookgroup.com,. (2015).Thomas Cook Group New Growth Strategy. Retrieved 16 February 2015, from https://www.thomascookgroup.com/new-growth-strategy/ Travelmole.com,. (2015).Travel industry news and job listings. Retrieved 16 February 2015, from https://www.travelmole.com/ Travelweekly.co.uk,. (2015).Travel Industry News and Travel Jobs from Travel Weekly - www.travelweekly.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2015, from https://www.travelweekly.co.uk/ Vanhove, N. (2005).The economics of tourism destinations. Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Modern Education Changing For The Future Essays - Education
Modern Education: Changing for the Future Matchmaker.com: Sign up now for a free trial. Date Smarter! Modern Education: Changing for the Future During the past few decades we have seen a shift from Industrial work to Information technology work. Recently our country has just recovered from an economic depression. This depression was a "wake up call" for many people, as they saw highly educated professionals loosing their jobs. Why, were these educated people loosing their jobs?-Did they break the rules, not get along with their bosses, or loose their cool? No, they did not have the flexibility, versatility, and cooperative skills that are needed in business for a changing economy. They were educated in a time when liberal art educations, and individualized work skills were taught at colleges. Layoffs were also due in part to the globilization of the economy. Cheaper labor can be found in other countries, which results in the closing of American factories or a drastic cut in pay for workers. Corporate downsizing, atomization, and an aging population have also contributed to this change in the type of work available (Rifkin 177). As most Americans used to be in the same economic bracket regardless of their line of work, today a worker's real competitive position in the world economy depends on what kind of job they have (Jacobus 253). Education is the key to creating the worker's demanded from businesses today. In aviation and other workplaces today, employers are not only looking for highly skilled workers, but for people who are flexible, work well with others and have good problem solving skills. Colleges must implement new teaching approaches and offer specialized degrees now, to prepare students for the needs of employers in the information-technology age. A workers must be flexible to be able to change and grow with the economy and the needs of employers is very important in today's job market. "With corporate downsizing and restructuring so prevalent, employers are demanding more of their employees. They must be more versatile and multi-task oriented (Schmiedl 29)." Employees must be able to move from one job to another, and learn new tasks quickly. The more education they have the easier it is to adapt to these changes (Carnoy 123). Continuing education is also becoming more prevalent for today's workers. To stay at the top of their fields in knowledge and technology, employees must constantly be up-dating their education (Schmiedl 29). Flexibility also ties in with the skill of working well with other people. To listen and interact with others in your profession, you must be flexible or open minded to their opinions, ideas and insights. Interaction with other employees and being a "people person" enforces cooperative skills. These cooperative skills can benefit the company as a whole, just as the Nobel Prize winner James Watson said "Nothing new that is really interesting comes with out collaboration (qtd. in Johnson 26)." These cooperative skills once taught only to management, now must be integrated to the employees, as many management positions have been eliminated. Workers must now possess a "management mentality," so that they can co-exist and work beneficially together (Carnoy 123). Problem solving skills are a necessity for even the simplest of jobs. A high order of problem solving skills are needed for more advanced positions jobs such as in aviation (pilots), and in computers and other technical jobs. Having the ability to work through problems to come up with a positive end result can be a long and arduous task. The people who have these problems solving skills can organize more learning, and help others to succeed in solving problems (Carnoy 123). Group cooperation heightens and speeds up the time in which it takes to solve problems. It makes for an easier and more efficient approach to problem solving. As you can see the three main qualities of flexibility, working well with others and problem solving are very closely linked. Workers must be flexible to work well with others, which is important in having better problems solving skills. Missing just one of these qualities dampens the ability of a worker to be the productive employee, which employers are looking for. These skills are not inherent and are difficult to learn. That is why they must be implemented early on in college. For years colleges have been ignoring the power of teamwork and the achievements that could not have been made with out it (Johnson 26). The problem lies itself within the faculty. It is their job to implement cooperative learning into classes, and make it work. This is not an easy task, which is why many professors
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