Rhetorical Analysis of a Modest Proposal Essay Example for Free

Rhetorical Analysis of a Modest Proposal Essay Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal† written in 1729 was his proposal â€Å"for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to he publick† (Swift, Title). This proposal included the selling, skinning and buying of babies at the age of one. This proposal that he has come up with is a very inhuman and controversial one when it comes to being socially acceptable. Swift begins his essay by describing walking down a street in Ireland. He describes how you would see, â€Å"beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms† (Swift, Para. 1). This gives the reader a mental picture of how bad things are for the women he is trying to help. Swift then talks about how there are very many of these poor people in Ireland and how they are not able to be part of the middle or working class. Look more:  how to write satire essay He then proposes his idea that the children could, â€Å"contribute to the feeding, and partly to the cloathing of many thousands† (Swift, Para. 4). In no way, shape, or form is the eating of or the using of children in this manner acceptable. No society would ever find it suitable to eat or make babies into clothes. Dr. Swift has made a proposal that he should know would not work because of the inhumanity that it is asking people in which to participate. Jonathan Swift later tells the reader of how he has, â€Å"computed the charge of nursing a beggars child (in which list I reckon all cottagers, labourers, and four-fifths of the farmers) to be about two shillings per annum, rags included; and I believe no gentleman would repine to give ten shillings for the carcass of a good fat child,† (Swift, Para. 14). This is a good thing that Swift does telling how the mother would stand to make money on selling her child to a man for dinner. Except, I do not believe you couldn’t find a willing mother to sell her child knowing that it would be eaten by a human for a meal. Dr. Swift has made a plan for people with no remorse or thought of their children. The only place this plan could be carried out and continue working is a place with robots that have no feeling or conscious. Swift then makes the statement, â€Å"Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flea the carcass; the skin of which, artificially dressed, will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen,† (Swift, Para. 15). He thinks that someone would be able to treat a baby’s skin as an animal’s and make it into a glove or boot without objection to what it is. This is another flaw in his plan. There are people who are against making animals into clothing. Therefore, I am sure that there would be people against the making of clothes from baby. Next, Dr. Swift gives 6 reasons of why he thinks the plan is a good one. His second reason states, â€Å"Secondly, The poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own, which by law may be made liable to a distress, and help to pay their landlords rent, their corn and cattle being already seized, and money a thing unknown,† (Swift, Para. 22). He thinks that poor tenants with children will be able to give their landlords something valuable by giving them their child. No landlord would take a child as a means of money because it just costs more money to them to have the child then without it. In his fourth reason Swift says, â€Å"Fourthly, The constant breeders, besides the gain of eight shillings sterling per annum by the sale of their children, will be rid of the charge of maintaining them after the first year,† (Swift, Para. 24) If the people who like to â€Å"breed† hear of this then they will just think that they will be able to keep having children and selling them instead of having a job. This would cause more jobless people and after so long the supply of the babies would surpass the demand. There then would be poor children hanging on their mothers again in the street defeating the purpose of the plan in the beginning. Fifthly Dr. Swift says, â€Å"This food would likewise bring great custom to taverns, where the vintners will certainly be so prudent as to procure the best receipts for dressing it to perfection; and consequently have their houses frequented by all the fine gentlemen, who justly value themselves upon their knowledge in good eating; and a skilful cook, who understands how to oblige his guests, will contrive to make it as expensive as they please,† (Swift, Para. 5). Again, I refer back to how people would not be able to eat the carcass of an one year old child, but also I think that if you were to find a cook to make this and a person to eat it that it would be at such an outrageous price that the people could not afford to try the meal of the baby. Finally, the last reason I do not think that this plan would work is what is in the final paragraph of the essay-â€Å"I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the publick good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, relieving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich. † (Swift, Para. 33). If the person that is proposing the idea at the end of the idea tells you that he has no interest in promoting his own proposal, I believe that it means he thinks that it also will not work and could not be enacted on a society. I am not the only one that is outraged or appalled with the works of Dr. Swift. Patrick Delany also states â€Å"As I have marked the passages that seemed to me most faulty, and gave me most offence, I beg leave to point them out, as they come in my way: without any further preface, or apology. The picture he draws of the Yahoos, is too offensive to be copied, even in the slightest sketch. † (Kathleen, Pg. 132). Delany and I are both offended and disagree with Swift’s works, but as a satire writer this just shows how effective his writing is on his audience. He tries to use outrageous and controversial subjects in order to grab the attention of his readers and keep them reading his papers. This style works very well and is a great way to get your point across. This style has grabbed the attention of all the readers and will continue to grab the attention of all the future readers of his essay.

Purpose Of Education In Singapore

Purpose Of Education In Singapore Education is said to be as old as humanity itself. (Gordon, 1966) All living things, regardless of animal or human origin, are born with a capacity and need to be educated. The genetic makeup of any animal causes it to recognize that educating their offspring plays a crucial role to ensuring their survivability in the wild. Prehistoric human beings realize this too but modern human beings also recognize that in todays complicated world, our purposes for educating our young are far more complex than simply knowing how to gather and hunt for food. Thus, in this essay, I will briefly explore both the selfish and the societal reasons for education in our modern society before delving specifically into the aims of education in Singapore as well as their implications. There is one fundamental limitation to be addressed the aims of education are ever changing. Survivability in todays modern society is defined differently from the past and also differently from the society of the future. Hence, there are no fixed aims of education because our purposes will change along with the current societal needs and mindsets. The question Why do we educate? can be answered from the selfish point of view. Firstly, as human beings, we evolved from animals and are instinctively concerned about our survival. Thus, the most evident reason and aim in pursuing education is for the sake of our livelihoods. This is also known as the bread and butter aim (Gordon, 1966) because we desire to be educated so we can graduate with better qualifications and hence land a better paying job. This utilitarian purpose of education enables people to provide the basic necessities, and possibly luxuries, for themselves. While this practical aim may be important, I believe that there are many other things Man has to live for other than simply money. The other selfish reason is nobler. It is to pursue education for the sake of education. Although it is still a selfish reason, it is in contrast to the livelihood aim because people who believe in this deem education as more than a vehicle for the mere acquisition of knowledge to gain wealth. These are people who have developed an intrinsic motivation for lifelong learning and see that education as a dynamic tool that allows one to think and adapt independently as compared to a static process of memorization. (Gordon, 1966) Other than selfish reasons for education, there are also societys objectives in having its people educated. The first societal purpose of education is to have socially contributive citizens. Ironically, this societal purpose ties in with the selfish purpose for livelihood. In achieving the knowledge, skills and understanding required of us to deal with a specialized and better paying job, we unintentionally play a part in the creation of societys workforce and hence contribute to economic development and growth of the country. (Biesta, 2009) This relates very closely to the educational theory of Essentialism. Essentialism, grounded in philosophies of Idealism and Realism, disregards interests and promote teaching useful knowledge instead for the learner to use in society. In addition, discipline is a key focus in Essentialism as it emphasizes on how the learner is expected to respect legitimate authority to function efficiently in society. (Ellis, 1981) Hence, Essentialism is crucial in creating people who participate effectively in society. Another social intention of education involves character and moral development as emphasized by Aristotle (Homiak, 2007) and by Herbart in the 19th century. Aristotle claims that there are 2 sides to every Man. The baser side involves primal animal instincts of brutality and passion while the humanitarian side involves morality and intellect. The aim of education, Aristotle insists, should be towards developing human character through the humanitarian aspect. (Gordon, 1966) In accordance to Aristotles claims, I personally believe that while we should develop the humanitarian portion, we should focus equally on both the intellectual and moral sections because they are of equal importance and not place greater emphasis on the intellect as our society currently does. The last societal aim of education is for society to create responsible citizens of a country through the development of every child the political agenda behind education. The 2 aspects to this societal aim are the positive and the negative. The positive aspect is what Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of America during her husbands presidency, describes as good citizenship. (Roosevelt, 2008) She illustrates how education is to help a child see and understand the various governmental processes through the government departments of law and legislation along with Americas relationship to the rest of the world. The child, being able to see such things, will see himself as a part of a greater being and understand where his own usefulness may lie. I agree with Roosevelt as National Education is a vital aspect of Singapores education system and this will be elaborated further. The negative aspect however, has roots in the USSR. Lenin, the Communist leader, once expressed: Without teaching, there is no learning. Without learning, there is no knowledge. Without knowledge, there is no Communism. Without Communism, society degenerates into capitalist decay. (Nicholas, 1983) The leadership of the Soviet Union then started to shape its national education programmes to promote Communist propaganda to the children in order to guarantee the security of the Communist ideology. (Nicholas, 1983) This is an example of how a country can use its education system with a political motive to legitimize a particular political doctrine. While the purposes of education are inexhaustible and constantly changing, Singapore has managed to define its own rational of educating her citizens for the 21st century society. As extracted from the Ministry Of Educations (MOE) Website, Singapore has 4 clear Desired Outcomes of Education (Ministry of Education, 2010). They are: Confident person, self directed learner, active contributor and concerned citizen. These 4 desired outcomes of education are adaptations of the purposes of education as discussed above and this essay will only focus on the latter 2. The first desired outcome of education that I am focusing on is the creation of an active contributor. An active contributor is one who cooperates well in a team, takes lead and responsible ventures and is original and competent in his actions. (Ministry of Education, 2010) The reason for this desired outcome of education is Singapore having no natural resources except for her population. Therefore, Singapore, having to rely on her people for economic growth and development, has no margin for mistakes and emphasizes on the need for her people to contribute. This need resulted in several educational policy changes, the most obvious trend being the inclination towards Essentialism. Singapore chooses to adopt a practical and utilitarian approach to education though the Bilingualism Policy in 1966. (Dixon) Learning English aided communication with the Western world and was considered an Industrialization language. In the year 2000, the Mandarin language was promoted in order to help foster economic relations with China. Singapore also privatized education through allowing autonomous and independent schools, created a public ranking of all schools in 1992 (Tan, C. Wong, B. Chua, J.S.M Kang, T, 2006) and started the Thinking Skills, Learning Nation (TSLN) policy in 1997 in recognition that literacy only is not enough to survive economically in the 21st century and highly innovative individuals were crucial too. (Teo, 1997) These 3 policies encourage competition between schools and students for better results and prestige as well as promoting the freedom of ingenuity. These result in Singapore being able to nature the full potential of her citizens, develop an abil ity driven economy and encourage Research and Development, both surmounting to greater economic contribution. These policy changes have significantly impacted Singaporean teachers and students alike. Both teachers and students had to be proficient in the English language in order to understand each other. More teachers were recruited to teach the various mother tongues of Malay, Tamil and Mandarin. Students had to work harder to compete and get into a prestigious and elite school. In addition, students had to pay higher fees for autonomous or independent schools. Teachers also had to rethink their teaching methods and engage students more to promote creativity and induce intrinsic motivation to learn instead of mere memorization. As our former Minister of Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, explained diverse paths were also provided for students with talents in different fields so as to train young people to embrace change and do well in life. (Lee, S.K. Goh, C.B. Fredriksen, B. Tan, J.P. 2008) In evaluation, while these policies appeared feasible in theory, practice proved it wrong. The Bilingual Policy was admitted to be a mistake. (Hoe, 2009) Minister Mentor (MM) Lee Kuan Yew said that his implementation of the Bilingual Policy caused students to be put off by the Chinese language instead of fostering a love for the language. However, MM Lee is not entirely wrong as students are able to fluently converse, read and write in their Mother Tongues. This echoes the education theory of Essentialism where societal gains are placed before personal interests. Another policy that was changed in 2004 involved the softening of the school ranking system. (Shanmugaratnam, 2004) While this policy may be effective in differentiating students of varying IQs, this has also objectified students as they are either classified condemned, normal or gifted. This is a result of our focus on meritocracy and ability. Streaming is not effective because students are not given equal chances to flourish in different aspects of their character but is solely based on how well he does in his studies in a particular examination. Lastly, the TSLN policy is cast in a more positive light as it shifts Singapore from an efficiency-driven education system to an ability-driven education system. (Lee, S.K. Goh, C.B. Fredriksen, B. Tan, J.P. 2008) This is a better policy as it offers students greater flexibility and choice in their education. Students are now able to choose from a range of educational institutes like the School of the Arts (SOTA), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, the Singapore Sports School and the Singapore Institute of Technology to develop their talents and abilities. Nonetheless, while this can be seen as a deviation from Essentialism, the main objective of the TSLN policy is to remain economically competent in the 21st century. The other desired outcome is the creation of a concerned citizen through moral education. Moral education in Singapore was, and always will be, aimed at forging citizens together and promoting common values to prevent racial and cultural tension amongst the 4 racial groups. (Tan, J. Gopinathan, S. Ho, W.K., 1997) The reason for this desired outcome is due to the largely polarized cultural groups in Singapore directly after independence. Hence, there was a need to bring together the people of Singapore and thus, moral education is needed for nation building and cohesion. The introduction of moral education into the education system resulted in several policy changes. The more significant ones include the mandatory singing of the National Anthem and recitation of the National Pledge (1966) in all schools every morning (Tan, C. Wong, B. Chua, J.S.M Kang, T, 2006), the implementation of Education for Living as a subject (Tan, J. Gopinathan, S. Ho, W.K., 1997) and more recently, the National Education for all levels and Community Involvement Programme (CIP) in 1996 for lower level schools and Service Learning for upper levels. (Ministry of Education, 1998) These 3 policy changes work towards the cohesion of Singaporeans as a whole regardless of race or religion and promote social concern and civic responsibility amongst citizens. These policy changes have affected teachers and students in a more subtle manner. Students then had to learn the National Anthem and Pledge by heart. Teachers were required to undergo training to learn and teach the Education for Living syllabus, Good Citizen, as a subject in the various Mother Tongues. Furthermore, teachers also had to learn how to organize and manage students for CIP and incorporate National Education into everyday teaching. The compulsory singing of the National Anthem and recitation of the Pledge is effective because the Pledge embodies our goals as a country as shown by the words, One united people to signify cohesion in diversity, and to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our Nation and the recitation every morning reminds students that diversity is not an obstacle and that Singaporeans should always care for the country. Furthermore, although the CIP and Service Learning projects have noble intentions and are theoretically effective, they turn out to be less efficient in practice. For example, secondary school students carry out the bare minimum of 6 hours of community work in order to meet the criteria set by the Ministry of Education. This defeats the purpose of CIP as it does not properly inculcate students to sincerely help out the needy but only forces students to help because their schools said so. In conclusion, ultimately, Singapore is still a survival-driven society and economy. Having only people as resources has not made it any easier. Hence, regardless of what policy changes or desired outcomes of education, Singapores ultimate goal in education is to remain economically competent in the 21st society. 2191 words.

Case Study Analysis Ryanair The Low Fares Airline Management Essay

Case Study Analysis Ryanair The Low Fares Airline Management Essay The key objective of this report is to critically evaluate the strategy of Ryanair against the backdrop of the European air line industry and the bludgeoning Budget sector, in response to the challenges facing the Industry as a whole and Ryan air in particular also has evaluated the Ryan airs bid for fellow Irish carrier, Aer Lingus. This evaluation is done by using a strategic analysis of environment and the industry as well as the company, present strategic choices recommended new strategic initiatives and areas for improving strategy implementation using Macro-environment analysis, Industry analysis and Internal analysis. The analysis has been done by using significant theories such as PESTEL analysis, Porters five forces, Strategic group model, key success factors and value chain etc. knowledge on Ryanair. Through the Ryanair environmental analysis unproductive strategic decisions have been identified and finally suggest the recommendations to develop Ryanairs competitive gain in the future. (2.0) Introduction This document is based on the case provided; Ryanair the low-fairs Airline which was written by Eleanor OHiggins, University College Dublin, Republic of Ireland in 2007. Ryanair is Europes first and largest law fares airline which started 1985 by Ryan family. (Ryanair website) Its an Irish airline with head office in Dublin and its biggest operational base at London Stansted Airport in the UK (Ryanair Europes greenest airline n.d).Ryanairs has grown steadily to now in the most environmentally friendly way by investing in the latest aircraft and engine technologies which have reduced fuel burn and CO2 emissions and the implementation of certain operational and commercial decisions. According to the case the report has critically evaluated the strategy of Ryanair against the backdrop of the European air line industry and the bludgeoning Budget sector, in response to the challenges facing the Industry as a whole and Ryan air in particular also has evaluated the Ryan airs bid for fellow Irish carrier, Aer Lingus. For this evaluation as a member of the management consulting firm I have provided a strategic analysis of environment and the industry as well as the company, present strategic choices recommended new strategic initiatives and areas for improving strategy implementation using Macro-environment analysis, Industry analysis and Internal analysis from this document to the senior management team of Ryanair. The analysis of this report was done with the support of the provided case information, Ryanair website, industry related information from academic books, journals, websites, and other publicly available secondary data sources. (3.0) Overview of Ryanair Ryanair is a global airline which provides scheduled passenger airline services between Ireland and the United Kingdom. Starting in 1985 Ryanair followed the example of Southwest Airlines. It was set up with a share capital of just  £1 and a new staff base of 25. Since 1985 to now it has grown massively into one of the Europes largest low fare carrier. In 1990 the company suffered a  £20 million loss and was forced to completely restructure and a new management team was brought in headed by Michael OLeary who made major changes to the airline. Ryanair restructured itself and became a low-fares, no -frills carrier. After the next few years Ryan air significantly slashed its fares further and managed to open up many new routes. Today, Ryan Air has destinations in 26 countries with 950 routes. Also the headquartered in Dublin, employs about 4,200 people, operates with a fleet size of 120 Boeing 737-800, carries approximately 35 Mio passengers a year and had a turnover of 1,692.5 Mio in 2006 with a net profitability of about 10% (Mayor, 2007). Furthermore revenue has risen from à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬231 million in 1998 to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2,714 million in 2008 and net profits have increased from à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬48 million to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬480 million, over the same period despite the worldwide recession and the high oil prices. (3.1) Vision Ryanairs CEO, Michael OLeary, has a vision of a world where the fare could drop to nothing as local communities would subsidize the airline to bring a steady traffic of business people and tourists to their region. (Ryanair Report, 1997) Mission Statement Ryanair will become Europeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²s most profitable lowest cost airline by rolling out our proven `low-fare-no-frillsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² service in all markets in which we operate, to the benefit of our passengers, people, and shareholders. (Mayor, 2007) Ryanair aims to offer low fares that generate increased passenger traffic with a continuous focus on cost-containment and operating efficiencies. Moreover Ryanair has main objective and other objectives to stay as the favorable and low cost airline in Europe. (Please Refer Appendix 01). Also refer Appendix 02 for financial analysis. (3.3) Critical Issues Though Ryanair has gone quite well all the way to now I have identified below critical problems through out the case. Major critical issues are; Negative public image due to aggressive CEO and unfriendly staff. Immature handling of sensitive issues such as criticizing politicians, disabled passengers Misleading advertisements and messy website. Unreasonable ancillary charges for example wheelchair charges, check in baggage charges, refund handling charges etc. Leadership issues (4.0) Environmental Analysis Environment has a great impact on functioning of any business. Environmental analysis is the process of monitoring the organizational environment to identify both present and future threats and opportunities that may influence the firms ability to reach its goals. (Certo Peter 1991). Its important to a business to adapt to the environment to be successful hence it needs to be analysis both internal and external environment. (4.1) External Environment Analysis Purpose of an external environment analysis is to identify or develop a finite list of opportunities that could benefit a firm and threats that could be avoided. Firms should be able to respond either offensively or defensively to the factors by formulating strategies that take advantage of external opportunities or that minimize the impact of potential threats. The external analysis can be divided into macro environment and industry analyses. (4.1.1) Macro Environment Analysis There are several influences of macro-environment on Ryanair within their operating countries. Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal factors had created a considerable impact in macro environment on the performance in a company. This is known as PESTEL Analysis. Please Refer Appendix 03 (4.1.2) Industry Analysis Industry can be defined as a group of organization or business unit producing close substitutes (Fletcher 2003). The aim of this analysis is to assess the industry environment and answer the following questions. Whatre the forces within the industry which are determining the profitability of the industry? Howre the forces changing and expected to change overtime? How will those changes affect future profitability? For the analysis of Ryanair industry environment have used porters five forces model and Strategic group. Please refer the Appendix 04 05 (4.2) Internal Environment Analysis An internal analysis should be conducted in-order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of an organization. It also assist the firm to find-out its resources and capabilities in-order to utilize those resources to the best potential. The main objective of internal analysis for this case is to measure the Ryanairs resources in terms of other major competitors such as Easy jet and South West air lines. For the internal analysis have used value chain model and key successes factors. Please Refer Appendix 06. (4.2.1) Key successful Factors Key successful factors are some of the important factors which are necessary in business. It brings a comparative advantage to the business. It is highlighted that low-cost companies concentrate on offering the lowest prices as the first critical success factor. Although Ryanair had encountered different problems especially in line with its cost structures, the company had been able to survive and grow in the marketplace. They have implemented different marketing strategy to make the company survive in the competition and to gain a competitive position in the airline market.   Ryanair has recognised recently as the most punctual airline between Dublin and London and also recognised as the second largest airline in United Kingdom and Europes largest low-fares airline because of the strategy of it. Technology related Expertise in given industry technology Scientific technology expertise in airline industry Making Internet the primary base of distribution and marketing Distribution related Accurate filling of customers orders A strong network of communication via internet Low distribution cost Marketing related Fast, accurate technical assistance Courteous customer service Clever advertising Manufacturing related Access to adequate supplies of skilled labor A strong brand identity among the buyers Low cost marketing and distribution methods Skills related Superior work power talent Ability to develop new products and product improvements. Expertise in technology Organizational capability Superior information system Experiential top management SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis given below is to help Ryanair to achieve their mission and objectives by capitalizing on opportunities using their strengths and reducing their weaknesses and threats. Strengths Ryanair is the 1st to launch low cost flights in Europe and has continuously maintained the low fare policy. They have a strong brand image and strong bargaining power in airport deals. Aggressive and Innovative leadership (CEO- Mr. Michael OLeary). Larger market share New fleets results in maximum aircraft utilization. Weaknesses Earn publicity through negative press reporting which affect brand image. Very poor customer relations which is damaging to the success. Low level of understanding for employees Misleading advertisements about ticket fares and destinations. In-flight mobile phones and gambling can deter some customers Opportunities Withdrawal of traditional companies from most of the less traffic intense point to point routes using regional airports. Industry growth in European air travel industry Being an fine choice of most of the market due to recession Threats Upper middle class economy travelers may seek greater value proposition than just low fares. Increasing Prices of Oil Markets and fluctuating currency issues Terrorism Impending legislations for environment protection. Recommendation. The whole analysis has summarized both pluses and minuses in the company. Through examining the Treats and weaknesses the following recommendation could be illustrates. Following strategies can be used to decrease the weaknesses and avoid threats of the company and improve its competitive upgrading. Total Quality Management The low cost strategy has hided the quality of the service. To attract and retain the customers Ryanair has to follow an effective total quality management process. Efficient total quality management values could make a great difference in the service quality. It will not only enhance the quality but also it will increase the productivity. Thus effective quality management will make the brand identity stronger and make a more brand loyalty with in customer base. Competitors Competitors like easyJet, Air Berlin, Basic Air are catering to the value market division and have established slots at some main airports and providing basic cost effective services. Later acquiring the Aer Lingus would increase Ryanairs showings in stock market and faster growth in to the value oriented market segments. Therefore Ryanair need to be more concern about the low price strategy. Customer Relationship Management In the service sector what is important is the satisfaction of the customers. Due to poor facilities and ancillary services Ryanair has lost their customer relationship. Therefore, a strong CRM strategy should be implemented to minimize the weaknesses of the company. Apart from the CRM strategies Ryanair could move on to CSR projects to draw the corporate position to the organization. (7.0) Conclusion Ryanair is the most favorable low fare airline in the Europe and with this they have been successful all the way so far. But now I can conclude from the above analysis that Ryanair have to develop a successful strategy not for only winning the low fare strategy but gaining a stable position in the value segment and in new non-European markets. References Barrett, S., (2000), Journal of air transportation of Transport Management Vol.6, pp. 13-27 (Butterworth-Heinemann; Oxford) David, F. R. (2005). Strategic Management (10th Ed.). NJ:Prentice hall Fletcher, J. (2003). Strategic Management à Ã‚ ¨ study guide and plan. Edith Cowan University. Lynch, R. (2003), Corporate Strategy, 3rd ed., Prentice Hall Financial Times Mayer, S. (2007). Ryanair and its low cost flights in Europe. University of the Sunshine Coast Queensland (Business Faculty). Retrieved April 23, 2010, from http://www.grin.com/e-book/87815/ryanair-and-its-low-cost-flights-in-europe Paul, V. (2007). French Accent Ryanair Slow on Emotion, Retrieved from April 27, 2010, from http://www.brandchannel.com/brand_speak.asp?bs_id=72 Ryanair case study analysis (2009), Retrieved from April 27, 2010, from http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/04/case-study-analysis-ryanair.html Ryanair and its low cost flights in Europe (2007), Retrieved from April 28, 2010, from http://www.grin.com/e-book/87815/ryanair-and-its-low-cost-flights-in-europe Ryanair Europes greenest airline. (2006). Retrieved from April 28, 2010, from http://www.ryanair.com/en/about/ryanair-and-the-environment (9.0) APPENDIX Appendix 01 Ryanair main objective is to: Offer the lowest fares at all time on all routes: Ryanair main objective is to establish itself as Europes leading low-fares scheduled passenger airline through continued improvements and expanding offerings of its low-fares service. Ryanair other objectives are to; Continue to find ways of reducing costs Though Ryanair has the lowest cost base of any of its competitors Ryanair can continue to lower its cost base as it grows even if at a slower pace. Ryanair 100% online Ryanair expect continuing to use the internet as its primary point of sale and over the next 5 years the aim is to have 100% of bookings via the internet so as to reduce the costly call centers. Increase the Frequency of Existing Routes On the moment Ryanair have an average of 3.88 flights per day per route. This figure, compared to Easyjet and traditional carriers, is very low. It means that Ryanair is losing out on business passengers who need more flexible timetables. If Ryanair can enhance the frequency on some of their routes they possibly will effectively steal some of the passengers from the traditional carriers thus increasing market share. Open New Routes in Europe There are many possible routes still un-served by low-cost carriers. Ryanair can also open routes where the competition is a more expensive for traditional carrier while attracting customers with the cheaper, no-frills option. Develop Its Smaller Continental Operating Bases Ryanair must look to other operating bases to expand their network. Although there is not the same demand outside there is still sufficient demand to make a considerable profit. Source: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FfQQcO538yAJ:solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf+http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdfHYPERLINK http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FfQQcO538yAJ:solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf+http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdfcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=lkHYPERLINK http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FfQQcO538yAJ:solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf+http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdfcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=lkcd=1HYPERLINK http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FfQQcO538yAJ:solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf+http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdfcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=lkHYPERLINK http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FfQQcO538yAJ:solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf+http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdfcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=lkhl =enHYPERLINK http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FfQQcO538yAJ:solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf+http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdfcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=lkHYPERLINK http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FfQQcO538yAJ:solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf+http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdfcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=lkct=clnkHYPERLINK http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FfQQcO538yAJ:solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf+http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdfcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=lkHYPERLINK http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FfQQcO538yAJ:solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdf+http://solvay.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/BuspPresRyanair04.pdfcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=lkgl=lk) Appendix 02 Financial Analysis Appendix 03 PESTEL ANALYSIS Political In political factor focused on Government stability, Taxation policy, foreign trade regulations and Social welfare policies but in the Ryanair case according to the provided information affected to; Increase of route charge by the government In 2006, airport and handling charges increased by 21%, slower than the growth in passenger numbers, reflecting a net reduction in costs from deals at new airports and bases despite increased costs at certain existing airports such as Stansted. Increase in trade union pressure Some of the countries in Europe have formed a trade-union among each others and due to this it gives the pressure for Ryanair to do business in these countries. Furthermore the Europe Union (EU) has expanded in the past few years and it is a big factor that affects the direction and strategy planning for Ryanair. Government passed The law for carbon emission to aviation industry to compensate further taxes Ryanair replaced its fleet of old aircraft with new more environmental friendly aircraft. The newer aircraft produced 50% less emissions, 45%less fuel burn and 45% lower noise emissions per seat. UK government put on compulsory security measures and restrictions due to terrorism attacks on airlines in August 2006, UK authorities imposed severe security measures at all airports in the face of an alleged imminent terrorist plot to attack up to 10 aircraft on transatlantic routes. Economical According to the Fletcher, 2003; The health of a nations economy affects the performance of individual firms and industries. The economic environment refers to the nature and direction of the economy in which a firm competes or may compete (Fletcher, 2003, M.3, P. 4) Economical Analysis consists of GDP, Price fluctuations, unemployment trends, depreciation of U.S dollars, interest rates and economies of scale etc. In Ryanair case they have affected by; High price ceiling of petroleum products and fuels From 2005 fuel prices are increased and Ryanairs fuel costs represented 35% of operating costs in 2006 compared with 27% the year before. Energy and fuel costs are cause of uncertainty Also jet fuel cost fluctuations are unpredictable and not controllable. Social The socio-cultural environment represents the set of values, ideals and other characteristics that distinguish members of one group from those of another according to the Fletcher, 2003, M. 3, P. 3). Organizations need to be aware of these factors because they can straightly affect the way the organizations manage the operations, more importantly human resources and marketing. Change in the mode of travelling due to the terrorist attacks Because of the terrorists attacks there was a treat that passengers would choose other forms of transport such as trains rather than facing to the inconvenience and expense of checking in luggage and extra time spent in airport security queues. Increase in travelling life style and flying patterns. Technology Many new advances in technologies can affect the way businesses are competing. Technological developments represent a real opportunity for the skillful people who can understand and apply them appropriately. It also helpful to reduce its costs effectively and furthermore can maintain good relationship with customers. Technological analysis consists of new communication technologies, product innovations, new product development and application of knowledge etc. Related to the Ryanair occurred; Technological expansion Ryanair has introduced new technological environmental friendly airlines in order to make profits High fuel efficiency, less noise pollution and lessening of carbon pollution using Boeing 737 planes Ryanair tries to reduce pollution. Web sales/services Ryanair tries completely to do online check-in in the future. Environment This consists of changes in environment that can impact on industries such as tourism and farming etc. nowadays more and more people are concerned about global warming and green house gas effects. According to the case Ryanair affect environment by; Contributing Global warming though Ryanair contribute to the global warming up to some certain they have introduced new aircrafts that reduce fuel burn in 45%. Noise level controls Also they have lower the noise emission in 45% in their new aircrafts. Legal Legal analysis consists of competition law, health and safety, employment law and product safety. As in the case Ryanair affected by; Allegations of misleading advertisement Ryanair accused it of misleading passengers on its website by exaggerating the prices of its competitors in making comparisons. Safety measures; pilots and passengers In July 2006 the Irish high court found out that Ryanair had bullied pilots and forced them to agree to a new contract, pilots had to pay à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 15000 for retraining on a new aircraft if they left the airline. In 2006 pilots of Ryanair lodged a pay claim stating that there is significant difference in take home pay between Ryanair and Aer Lingus pilots it also claimed that training pilots were working for nothing. Also the case says Ryanair has charged more money for the insurance than its actual amount. Appendix 04 Porters Five Forces Model. This five forces model is developed by Michael Porter and it described five forces which are Bargaining power of Suppliers, Bargaining power of customers, New entrants, Threat of Substitutes and Competitive Rivalry. These forces have analyzed below according to the Ryanair. Source: http://notesdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/porters-five-forces-model.jpg Bargaining Power of Suppliers Aircraft Suppliers Boeing is Ryanairs main supplier. There are only 2 possible suppliers of planes. They are Boeing and Airbus. Fuel Suppliers Price of aviation fuel is straightly related to the cost of oil (Ryanair controls these through hedging Regional and Bigger Airports Regional Airports have little bargaining power as they are heavily dependent on one Airline. Bigger airports, where Ryanairs competitors operate, have greater bargaining power. Ryanairs policy is to try and avoid these airports. Bargaining Power of Customers Low price Customers are price sensitive and they know about the low cost of supplying the service from Ryanair. Distribution power of travel agents was decreasing as prospects used to book tickets from internet or through direct booking. So it was a threat to travel agents, so they employed to offer complete travel solutions to customers. Direct bookings on the Ryanair website has meant that there have been savings in the region of 42.6% in marketing and distribution costs. New Entrants Some barriers to entry there are some regulations when entering to the European countries. High capital investment at the beginning of the new airlines need big financials otherwise there is a threat of losing money. Restricted slot availability makes it more difficult to find suitable airports European countries have many landing slots that were reserved or used by national carriers. Also for new entrants have a need for low cost bases. Threat of Substitutes Other modes of transport the treat of substitutes to the airline industry comes in three main forms. These are road, rail and boat service. Of these, rail would seem to suggest the maximum threat because, certainly around Europe, it offers a brilliant continental service around the main cities that Ryanair fly to. No switching costs for the customer there is no switching cost when changing the traveling mode and there is no close relationship between customers. Competitive Rivalry Most cost advantages can be copied immediately However if any company does choose to race on the same basis as Ryanair there will be heavy pressure on prices, margins and hence on profitability Low frills and low price Ryanair has a benefit over other airlines because their policy of bundling low frills and low prices together means that they are competing for the more price responsive customer. Appendix 05 Strategic Group Model Strategic group is a group of firms in an industry following the same or a similar strategy along the same strategic dimensions. (Fletcher 2003) It consists of competitors competes with similar strategic dimensions such as product, quality, target market, geographical area. Firms are competing directly with the aligned strategic groups as they hold same strategic scope. (Porter 1980) The below graph represent the strategic group analysis for the airline industry. The grouping has been done accordance to the dimensions of quality and price. 1st strategic group This is the basic strategic dimensions of this strategic group and Ryanair provides low cost fares with no frills. Ryanairs major competitor in this strategic group is Easy jet as they contain a similar resource promise in the industry. 2nd strategic group These companies targets the middle class hence they offer fares for a moderate cost and the service contain reasonable quality. The major players in this strategic group are Ethihad, Thai, Qatar and Kuwait air ways. 3rd strategic group: Emirates, British airways and Singapore airways generally targets the high end people. They provide a luxuries service with a high pricing system. According to the Strategic group Model Identifying Strategic group layers would enhance the understanding about the direct competitors, Different bases of competitive rivalry within the strategic group and also the threats and opportunities could be examined very clearly as it narrow downs the major players in the same category.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Christopher Columbus, reflecting on his voyage which led him to the discovery of America, said, "Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World." I am sure that after four years of high school, we have all formed our own opinion of Christopher Columbus - especially if you had Mrs. Powers - but whether you view him as a genocidal rogue or the first American Hero, I find his quote fitting for where we stand today. As we set sail, leaving behind the Old World of Coleman High School, there are many things that I am sure none of us will miss. We will enter a world without Scholarly Papers or Culminating Exhibitions; a world where we can use our cell phones freely and urinate without the permission of our teacher. In the real world, Sareth won't throw away your lunch before you've taken your first bite. Of course, if you've made it this far - if you are graduating here tonight - there are surely things you will miss about this Old World as well. Maybe you'll miss coming to school early and being surprised by free hot chocolate, or that third period teacher who would always let you turn in your assignments late. It might be that coach that never let you quit and always pushed you to your limits, or that gorgeous girl (or guy) that you got to sit next to freshman year. It could be walking with your best friend to class everyday, or that giant excuse of a bear that sits in front of the cafeteria. Wha tever it may be, we will all leave this place with something that we will miss and cherish forever, even if we don't fully realize what that is today. We will also leave behind a number of beloved teachers, counselors, and other staff persons - many of whom have had huge impacts on getting us here tonight. We will surely miss the... ...ves: whose advice do we take - Martin Luther King Jr.'s or Homer J. Simpson's? Do we put our brooms in the closet of futility and go inside and watch TV, or do we take them out and sweep like no sweeper has ever swept before? No matter where our passage takes us, we must navigate it to the best of our abilities, or we will fail. In conclusion, I will leave you with one last thought from the founder and President of Habitat for Humanity, Millard Fuller, who put it best when he said: "It's not your blue blood, your pedigree or your college degree. It's what you do with your life that counts." I would like to thank you all and congratulate you for surviving four years of my speeches and suffering the pangs of my voice on the announcements nearly everyday this year - but you have heard my voice for the last time so clap loud. Let's graduate. Thank you and God Bless.

The Time Machine Essay -- essays research papers

The main characters in The Time Machine were The Time Traveler, Weena (an Eloi who The Time Traveler rescued), the Eloi as a race and the Morlocks as a race. Now that you know the main characters, I will explain their purpose in the novel and their behaviors. Weena was by far the most interesting character in the novel. She was an Eloi who was drowning while trying to bathe in a river. The Time Traveler quickly jumped into the river and rescued her. Weena then started following The Time Traveler everywhere during his explorations. He learned about the Eloi people and their language and the Morlocks from Weena. The Time Traveler was definitely intelligent. He figured out a way to travel through time! He was also a very charming, rich and friendly man, a little too anxious and curious, I would say. His anxiousness made him go to another time unprepared, nothing with him but a package of matches. The Morlocks are a futuristic equivalent to our current day primates-just uglier, smellier and they live underground. They are very aggressive and are blinded by even weak sources of light. The Morlocks are carnivorous and sometimes make a meal of an Eloi. The Eloi are a beautiful, friendly and fragile race of small creatures. They seem to have a great fear of the dark, because that is when the Morlocks come out from their Underworld. Both are descendents of humans. The Morlocks stole The Time Machine (I think) to lure The Time Traveler into the brass gates so they co...

Payless ShoeSource case study

1. Which of the different product mix pricing strategies applies best to Payless’s new strategy? To my view they are using mix of different strategies. Firstly, skimming pricing. This is about selling a product at a high price, sacrificing high sales to gain a high profit, therefore ‘skimming’ the market. I see that they have invested a lot of money to hire top notch designers, rebranding effort like remodeling stores etc. There needs to be some mechanism (read, strategy) to recover this cost. For some items they have even employed premium pricing. Interestingly, Payless came up with some really good product like Lela Rose, Abaete etc. On the other hand, they have products which are low as $12. As best strategy that they are employing; I would say that they are going for Product Line Pricing. They want their customers to get attracted by the big brands in their portfolio. In that way, other products will gain due importance too. So to customers, overall portfolio will look very attractive. 2. How do concepts such as psychological pricing and reference pricing apply to the Payless strategy? In what ways does Payless’s strategy deviate from these concepts? By definition, psychological pricing on the theory that certain prices has a psychological impact. The retail prices are often expressed as â€Å"odd prices†: a little less than a round number, e.g. $19.99 or  £2.98. There is no explicit reference given in the case where we see that they are using this strategy. As a matter of fact, we see that though Payless is increasing the price of their products. So, sudden upward movement of price may come as a shock to customers. This strategy of Psychological pricing can be employed in this scenario. Payless actually did not pay a heed to that and did not come up with any proper plan towards psychological pricing. As for Reference pricing, it is a strategy in which a product is sold at a price just below its main competing brand. Now, in the case of Payless, they did not stress on setting the price at competitor price level. Instead they just increased the price to a bare optimum level so that customers can afford luxury and trendy items at much lower price. This price is well below the market price. 3. Discuss the benefits and risks of the new Payless strategy for both Payless and the designers. Which of these two stands to lose the most? There are benefits as well as risks involved in the new strategy of Payless. Benefit is customers can afford the luxurious and trendy items at much lower costs. They will be able to buy the designer product and a range of shoes and other related products at ease. In the process Payless will get a large volume of customers. Risk is historically designer luxury items and low cost does not gel together. Low cost has two connotations. One, the product is cheap. Second, the product is of inferior quality. Now consumers may be totally confused as to what will be the product quality when they see the cost price is so low than others in the market. If this is the case, sale will dip instead of increase. 4. Consider the scale on which Payless operates. How much of a price increase does Payless need to achieve in order to make this venture worthwhile? Payless undoubtedly operates at a mass volume of customers. The CEO, Rubel said, in many cases the price increases may be as little as 50 cents per pair of shoes. Payless has a large base of value conscious customers. In that segment a small price increase can sustain profitability. Basically that segment needs to be sustained so that they do not go for other company’s products. That is the key for assured return in terms of margin. They are banking on the fact that â€Å"making everyone happy will ring up the sales and profits it needs†. I think, some of the products which are really of very good quality and come from top designer houses can be priced at a bit lower than the markets. It is necessary to recover the huge volume of money spent on remodeling of the business and distribution system.

Daniel Allistair Kaffee

I do know you. Daniel AlliStair Kaffee, born June 8th, 1964 at Boston Mercy Hospital. Your father's Lionel Kaffee, former Navy Judge Advocate and Attorney General, of the United States, died 1985. You went to Harvard Law on a Navy scholarship, probably because that's what your father wanted you to do, and now you're just treading water for the three years you've gotta serve in the JAG Corps, just kinda layin' low til you can get out and get a real job. And if that's the situation, that's fine, I won't tell anyone. But my feeling is that if this case is handled in the same fast-food, slick-ass, Persian Bazaar manner with which you seem to handle everything else, something's gonna get missed. And I wouldn't be doing my job if I allowed Dawson and Downey to spend any more time in prison than absolutely necessary, because their attorney had pre-determined the path of least resistance. I do know you. Daniel AlliStair Kaffee, born June 8th, 1964 at Boston Mercy Hospital. Your father's Lionel Kaffee, former Navy Judge Advocate and Attorney General, of the United States, died 1985. You went to Harvard Law on a Navy scholarship, probably because that's what your father wanted you to do, and now you're just treading water for the three years you've gotta serve in the JAG Corps, just kinda layin' low til you can get out and get a real job. And if that's the situation, that's fine, I won't tell anyone. But my feeling is that if this case is handled in the same fast-food, slick-ass, Persian Bazaar manner with which you seem to handle everything else, something's gonna get missed. And I wouldn't be doing my job if I allowed Dawson and Downey to spend any more time in prison than absolutely necessary, because their attorney had pre-determined the path of least resistance.