Southwest Airlines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Southwest Airlines - Case Study Example The challenges are: recession, intense competition, intensified airline regulations, uncertain weather conditions in new markets, and labor demands. The recommendations are: determine a succession plan, expand slowly to underserved markets, and strengthen the culture committee. Southwest Airlines is an example of a low-fare/no-frills airline with a point-to-point service strategy. It focuses on the southwest region of the U.S., where weather is more stable and delays are less frequent. The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 intensified competition because of the absence of government regulation in setting fares, allocating routes, and controlling entry and exit points. Instead of encouraging truly free competition, the Act benefitted large carriers who â€Å"cherry-picked† lucrative routes (Ginsberg & Freedman, p.260). A Porter’s 5-forces analysis reveals that the airline industry has intensive rivalry, high supplier power, low substitute, high buyer power, and high threat of new entrants. The strengths of Southwest are its good safety reputation, efficient services, low costs, strong corporate culture, strong customer and employee focus, and strong leadership. The weaknesses of the company are lower load factor, relatively low employee product ivity, slow expansion rate, dependence on the charismatic leadership of Kelleher, and reliance on passenger revenues. The opportunities are booming U.S. airlines industry, positive expansion in the US airfreight industry, underserved markets, increasing technology efficiency, and sympathetic business passengers. The challenges are recession, intense competition, intensified airline regulations, consolidation, uncertain weather conditions in new markets, and labor demands. The main problems of Southwest are: 1) it lacks succession planning; 2) it has a slow market expansion rate, because of its limited point-to-point service strategy; and 3) if Southwest changes its service

Intercultural Relations Essay Example for Free

Intercultural Relations Essay Question: There is no need to study intercultural relation. Discuss Communication occurs between individuals who have varying degree of intimacy within each other. Intercultural relations capability is the degree to which people effectively adapt his/her nonverbal and verbal messages to the appropriate cultural context (Kiss 2008). Intercultural relations can be taken place when individuals influenced by different cultural societies exchange shared meanings in communication. Yet, intercultural relations can be formed of different nationalities, different ethnic and even different religion, as well as communication among individuals of different sexual orientation. However, communicating and exchanging values within different culture of individuals is complex as communication process is apparently complicated involving cognitive process, cultural background, individual’s linguistic capability and even biological process. Stienfatt and Roger 1999, claims that one of the most illuminating aspects of intercultural communication is that it opens our minds to the interplay of varied influenced. The world these days is facing great challenges of an increasingly diverse in cultures. Interaction and exchanging values between individuals from different cultures can lead to a whole host of benefits, for instance establishing good relationships within society and healthier communities. Yet, culture allows individuals to connect in small communities to larger communities through exchanged experiences and values (Lull 1995). Intercultural relations assist students step back from their characteristic point of view of seeing the world and demonstrates the influences that have constructed the ways of viewing this world. Cited in Stienfatt and Roger 1999, Gitlin 1995 indicated the concept of people thinking that human think within the intellectual and cultural currents that surround them. Back into the last decade, invasion; colonialization; and warfare brought individuals among countries with divergent cultures into face-to-face contact. An improvement of technologies in communication and rapidly evolving the transportation has changed the way individuals interact and communicate with each other in terms of intercultural relations and communication. However, people from different cultures are usually representative of divergent norms and psychological elements. The crusade explored that communication through various cultures occurred among individuals by human nature. Jerusalem is one of great examples cities in Middle East where people in different cultures and religions; Muslims; Christian; and Jews living together in relative peacefulness and harmoniousness. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Jerusalem indicated that communication effectiveness among divergent cultures and religions are not relying on the study of intercultural relations. Nevertheless, cited in Yinyan 2013, Y. Y. Kim (1988) argued that person who wishes to accomplish an effective intercultural interaction in terms of intercultural relations must be equipped with skills and abilities to be capable and deal with dynamics of cultural diversity. Yet, cite in Sydney morning herald article, Munro (2009) had explored the experiences of an Australian diplomat who worked in Jakarta decided to resign from her workplace due to the strict rules of international diplomacy. The purpose of this essay is demonstrated the necessity of intercultural relations for human being and discuss the terms of intercultural. People are socialized in their own culture and also different in cultures are different norms. An effectiveness communication in intercultural relations can occur by human being in every generation as indicated in our predecessors in Crusades which is people should be culturally sensitive.

High Contact Service

High Contact Service Summary of the Reviewed Article High-contact service industries are those in which service employees and customers have close and direct interactions for a prolonged period of time (Chase, 1981). A high-contact environment of services has the characteristics of longer communication time, understanding of communication, and richness of the information exchanged (Kellogg and Chase,1995). In this article, the impact of employee satisfaction on, quality and operational performance in high-contact service industries is investigated. The hypothesized relationships among employee satisfaction, service quality, customer satisfaction, and firm profitability are examined. Employee satisfaction plays a significant role in enhancing the operational performance of organizations in the high-contact service sector. Firm profitability has also a moderate effect on employee satisfaction, which lead to a satisfaction-quality-profit cycle. The reason of conducting this research is that the research in operational management to invest igate the relationships between quality, customer satisfaction and business performance has been conducted (e.g., Heim and Sinha, 2001; Balasubramanian et al., 2003; Nagar and Rajan, 2005), but research on the impact of employee satisfaction on operational performance is relatively scarce. In order to represent the whole service firm, service employees are often the first party and therefore are essential to shaping customers perception of service quality (e.g., Parasuraman et al., 1985; Hartline and Ferrell, 1996). Service employees job is considered as a three-cornered fight, in which the organization and customer are at the two ends, while service employees are caught-in-the-middle among them, Bateson (1985). It is important for service employees to meet the target of productivity performance in the organization and to fulfill customers needs and external quality goals. Hypotheses There are four hypotheses made by the writers of this article with empirical support and theoretical backing of the previous studies that employee satisfaction, service quality, customer satisfaction, and firm profitability have relationships with one another. Hypothesis-1. Employee satisfaction has a positive influence on service quality. Hypothesis-2. Service quality has a positive influence on customer satisfaction. Hypothesis-3. Employee satisfaction has a positive influence on customer satisfaction. Hypothesis-4. Customer satisfaction has a positive influence on firm profitability. Data Collection This study was conducted in Hong Kong. They identify 12 main shopping areas in Hong Kong (e.g., Tsimshatsui and Causeway Bay) and they selected five major shopping centers randomly from each area. They choose small service organizations with only two to five service employees, because employee satisfaction level tends to be more consistent and easier to capture. in small organizations (George and Bettenhausen, 1990). To collect the data, they prepared survey packets, in which one shop-in-charge questionnaire and two service employee questionnaires are included and they choose eight different types of service shops. Results In their results they show that All the four hypothetical relationships were supported at the significance level of p = 0.01. The linkage between employee satisfaction and service quality (Hypothesis 1) is highly significant (P = 0.423, t = 4.778). Supporting hypothesis-2 service quality has a positive influence on customer satisfaction (P = 0.287, t = 3.33). Employee satisfaction has a significant and direct impact on customer satisfaction, H-3, ( P = 0.234, t = 2.77). The relationship between customer satisfaction and firm profitability (Hypothesis 4) is also highly significant (P = 0.270, t = 3.64). Hypothesized model Alternative Models In this study, the writers have also made some alternative models which shows the different relationships among employee satisfaction, service quality, customer satisfaction, and firm profitability. They did this work keeping in view the point of Bentler and Chou (1987), who said that to shed light on the key features of the hypothesized model, the researcher should build a few alternative models in an ideal situation. Critical Review In this article, it is asserted that employee satisfaction is an important determinant of operational performance and is crucial in achieving quality and profitability in the service industry. While in another research paper it is suggested that customer satisfaction has a significant impact on financial performance, findings also suggest that employee satisfaction has no direct impact on financial performance because the relationship between employee satisfaction and financial performance is an indirect one, which is mediated by customer satisfaction(Christina G. Chi *, Dogan Gursoy, 2009). In another study of the relationship between employee loyalty, service quality and firm performance in the service industry, it is argued that employee satisfaction has no direct relationship with customer satisfaction. When there is an employee satisfaction, then employee loyalty is created which has the direct effect on customer satisfaction and employee loyalty is an important determinant of f irm profitability. In the same study it is concluded that a loyal employee has more opportunities to understand and fulfill the specific needs of the customers, leading to a greater impact of employee loyalty on service quality and if there is low contact time between employee and customer, then the relationship between employee loyally and service quality would diminish. Employee loyalty plays a significant role in enhancing the performance of organizations in high-contact service sectors and is used to boost service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Workers who are strongly committed to the organization or highly satisfied with their jobs show up at work more often than those with weak commitment and low satisfaction. Employees who are highly satisfied with their jobs and are strongly committed to the organization will avoid withdrawal behaviors, (like absenteeism, lateness), and maintain continued attachment to work (Blau Boal, 1989). An employee who is absent from work intentionally or unintentionally is expressing negative attachment to the organization. In the reviewed article a lot of material is written on the relationships between employee satisfaction, service quality, customer satisfaction and financial performance and it is highly asserted that employee satisfaction is very important and cannot be neglected in any case. But how an employee satisfaction can be gained, it is not emphasized. In another research, some factors are mentioned as antecedents of employee satisfaction. These antecedents are the employee empowerment, Employee training, teamwork, appraisal systems, and employee compensation. When an organization focus on these factors, then employee compensation is automatically created. All employees will become satisfied, when they are given empowerment, training, teamwork, compensation and their efforts are appraised. Formal and informal training could focus on instilling the employees with the thought that service quality involves also transferring positive emotions to customers. The writers of study have found that top management commitment has a positive impact on all the antecedents. And as a result, all these factors have a positive impact on employee satisfaction (Minjoon Jun , Shaohan Cai , Hojung Shin, 2005). Relevant to the Organizational Policies This topic is highly related to our subject that is organizational policies, because while making policies, employee satisfaction cannot be neglected. Oliva and Sterman (2001) unambiguously showed that maximizing throughput that drives employees to working overtime traps service organizations in a vicious cycle of declining service quality, causing severe and permanent financial losses. There is a concept of balanced scorecard, where employee morale and growth, internal business process, customer satisfaction and financial measures are regarded as four balanced quadrants that drive the strategic initiatives of an organization (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). In case of a lack of focus on any of these four perspectives, the entire organization will be thrown out of balance, causing strategic efforts in operations to collapse. As it is concluded that organizational profitability emanates from satisfied employees, so it is suggested that organizations in high-contact service industries should thus focus their efforts on improving employee satisfaction, and only satisfied employees can maintain the service quality and ensure customer satisfaction.

Technology, Privacy and Credit Card Fraud Essay -- Exploratory Essays

Technology, Privacy and Credit Card Fraud The advancement of technology over the years appeared to be the greatest thing known to mankind.   With the Internet, the world is at one's finger tips and just about anything can be accessed using it.   This is not necessarily a good thing, with crimes like creidt card fraud going around.   The number of credit card fraud incidents is rapidly increasing as the years progress.   Anybody with a credit card could possibly be a victim of this crime and it should be taking seriously.   One’s life could be ruined if their information gets into the wrong hands.   Around the holidays, most consider shopping via Internet the most safe and convent way to go.   You never leave the house, so there is no need to worry about those thieves running the streets snatching bags and picking pockets.   But, shopping online holds risks just as great as shopping in the stores.   The Internet may say your information is safe and will not be shared with anyone else, but who really knows?   Very rarely people find out their victims of credit card fraud before too much damage has been done.   In East Lansing, there were two cases of credit card fraud within this past year.   According to an article in The State News, Sadia Zoe Tabie- Bogne was arrested on November 10, 2004 for two counts of credit card fraud.   She has stolen and made over $3,000 worth of purchases, with at least $2,800 of it being stolen from her husband.   All of Sadia's victims have been international students, her husband included.   Sadia Zoe Tabie- Bogne's pre-trial is scheduled for November 24, 2004.   Denita Dorsey is faced with twenty seven charges of identity theft/ credit card fraud this month also.   The May graduate has stolen more than $1... ...t year.   The number of incidents and the amount of monetary lost has drastically increased over the past four years.   Privacy is being invaded by technology in more ways than you know. Works Cited * Houghton,   Shannon.   " E.L. resident arrested for credit card fraud."   The State News November 17, 2004 * Mullins, Marcy.   â€Å"Net’s global reach gives criminals an open door.† USA Today October 21, 2004.: 2B * Nordberg, Jenny.   â€Å"Criminals Focus on Weak Link in Banking: A.T.M Network.†Ã‚   The New York Times August 3, 2003.: 24 * Anonymous. â€Å"Identity Theft.† Identity Theft Protection Information and Resource Center. 16 November 2004. <http://www.identity-theft-protection.com/tips.htm> * Anonymous.   â€Å"Federal Trade Commission: Your National Resource for Identity Theft.†Ã‚   ID Theft.   11 November 2004. <http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/law_investigate.html>.

International Economics Essay

1. Why did the Mercantilists consider holdings of precious metals so important to nation-state building? (6 points) Wealth was viewed as synonymous with holdings of precious metals. Nation-states wished to become wealthy and this meant obtaining large holdings of precious metals. It is also argued by some that the shortage of coinage constrained the growth of these nation-sates and that precious metals were required to increase the supply of coinage (money) in order for the countries to grow. 2. Assume that both the United States and Germany produce beef and computer chips with the following costs: (12 points) a. What is the opportunity cost of beef (B) and computer chips (C) in each country? In the United States: the opportunity cost of one unit of beef is 2 chips; the opportunity cost of one chip is 1/2 unit of beef. In Germany: the opportunity cost of one unit of beef is 4 chips; the opportunity cost of one  chip is 1/4 unit of beef. b. In which commodity does the United States have a comparative cost advantage? What about Germany? The United States has a comparative cost advantage in beef with respect to Germany, while Germany has a comparative cost advantage in computer chips. c. What is the range for mutually beneficial trade between the United States and Germany for each computer chip traded? The range for mutually beneficial trade between the United States and Germany for each unit of beef that the United States exports is: 2C < 1B < 4C d. How much would the United States and Germany gain if 1 unit of beef is exchanged for 3 chips? Both the United States and Germany would gain 1 chip for each unit of beef traded. 3. â€Å"If U.S. productivity growth does not keep up with that of its trading partners, the United States will quickly lose its international competitiveness and not be able to export any products, and its standard of living will fall.† Critically evaluate this statement in light of what you have learned in chapter 3 of the textbook. (10 points) This statement could be true if trade was based on absolute advantage. However, since trade can take place on the basis of comparative advantage, what counts is relative cost differences. Consequently a country can be less efficient or become less efficient in all goods and yet again from trade as long as there are relative cost differences in autarky. Thus, different rates of productivity growth may change what a country exports, but it is unlikely that it would ever take away the basis for trade, its ability to expert. 4. The following table shows the number of days of labor required to produce a unit of textiles and autos in the United Kingdom and the United States: (12 points) Textiles Autos United Kingdom 3 days 6 days United States 2 days 5 days a. Calculate the number of units of textiles and autos that can be produced from 1 day of labor in each country. In the United Kingdom one day of labor can produce 1/3 of a unit of textiles and 1/6 of a unit of automobiles. In the United States, one day of labor can produce  ½ of a unit of textiles and 1/5 of a unit of automobiles. b. Suppose that the United States has 1,000 days of labor available. Construct the production-possibilities frontier for the United States. 500 U.S c. Construct the U.S. consumption-possibilities frontier with trade if the terms of trade are 1 auto: 2 units of textiles. 500 textiles U.S d. Select a pre-trade consumption point for the United States, and indicate how trade can yield a consumption point that gives the United States greater consumption of both goods. 500 textiles U.S 5. In the previous question, suppose that the United States always wishes to consume autos and textiles at the ratio of 1 auto to 10 textiles. What quantity of each good would the United States consume in autarky? What combination would the United States consume with trade and complete specialization? What would be the gains from trade? (10 points) In autarky, the production ( and consumption ) of textiles and autos will utilize all the available 1000 days of labor. Thus, with T = number of units of textiles produced and A = number of autos produced, 1000 = ( 2 days / unit) T + (5 days / unit )A. The consumption requirement is that 10 units of textiles be consumed for every unit of automobiles. Hence, total textile production is equal to (10) ( total auto production), 10A thus, given the available labor, and substituting 10A for T, 1000 = (2)(10A) + 5 A A= 40 units If A = 40 units, then textile production and trade, textile production equal 500 units. Consumption of textiles (CT) is equal to textile production minus the textile exports used to enquire auto imports, and auto imports are equal to auto consumption (CA). With the international terms of trade of 1A:2T, auto imports = (1A/2T)(exports of textiles) = (1A/2T)*(textile production – textile consumption). By the demand assumption, consumption of auto is also equal to (1/10)(textile concumption). Hence , CA = (1/2)(500 –CT ) and CA = (1/10)(CT). Thus, (1/2)(500- CT) = (1/10)(CT) 250 – (1/2)(CT) = (1/10)(CT) 0.6CT = 250 CT = 416 2/3 units With Ct = 416 2/3 units, CA therefore equals 41 2/3 Unitts. Because of specialization and trade, the united States had gained 16 2/3 Units of textiles ( 416 2/3 – 400 ) and 1 2/3 ( 41 2/3 – 40 ) in comparison with autarky situation. Another method of arriving at these results is to utilize the equations for the PPF and for the consumption pattern. In autarky the PPF equation is T = 500 – 2  ½ A, and the consumption equation is CT = 10CA. Solving the two equations for the two unknowns yields A = CA = 40 and T = CT = 400. With  trade, the equations to be utilized are for the consumption- possibilities frontier with trade has the equation T = 500 – 2A. When this equation is put with the consumption equation CT = 10 CA and the two equation are solved for two unknowns, the equilibrium results are A = CA = 41 2/3 AND T = CT = 416 2/3

IMF in Korea essays

IMF in Korea essays The subject matter that will be discussed within this paper are the effects of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) in relation(s) to South Korea and other neighboring Asian countries in the same economic distress. It will also tie into the use of media and other aspects of international communications Korea and the United States used to cover the crisis. The economic crisis of South Korea has hit many of the citizens of Korea very hard. Many companies went bankrupt and with that many people lost their jobs. This economic crash was not only felt by the Koreas living in Korea, but also by the ones who live abroad. Many international students had to return back home because they could no longer afford the expenses with studying abroad. Store owners in Korea who lived in the United States would more than likely lose their businesses. Overall, the economic crash is effecting our United States economy greatly. It began with the devaluation of currency in Thailand in July of 1997. Afterwards, many other Asian countries were to follow such as the Malaysia, Philippines and of course South Korea. Media coverage of the economic situation was and still is now, being highly covered. All the major news stations are covering how this situation is having adverse effects to not only the Korean nation, but the United States also. Many goods that the United States export to Korea and other Asian countries cannot be bought due to the lack of money. As the crisis has unfolded in Asia, the IMF has become, at least for this brief moment in history, almost a household name. But even if the institution has become more well known, its role in Asia and more broadly in the world economy is not widely understood. Despite the back-to-back corporate failures and resulting financial jitters, Korea has asked the United Nations to help with their crisis. The involvement of the United Nations has increased the media coverage of the Asian crisis. The actions they ...

7 Heavenly Bodies as Sources of Adjectives

7 Heavenly Bodies as Sources of Adjectives 7 Heavenly Bodies as Sources of Adjectives 7 Heavenly Bodies as Sources of Adjectives By Mark Nichol 1. Earth Through in modern usage our planet’s Latin name, Terra, appears only in science fiction, the adjective terrestrial is often employed to refer to phenomena associated with Earth or with land as opposed to water. It is also the root of extraterrestrial, the term for any (so far conjectural) life-form that does not originate on Earth, or for anything existing or occurring beyond the planet. Terrestrial also refers to the inner planets of the solar system as a category. (See the next entry for the classification for the outer planets.) It can also mean â€Å"mundane,† as does terrene, which has the additional sense of â€Å"earthly.† (Terrene is also a noun referring to the planet or its terrain and that word, like terrarium, also stems from the Latin term terrenum.) 2. Jupiter Jovial means â€Å"jolly, convivial† not traits associated with a god normally generally depicted with a stern visage. However, this is the word medieval astrologers used to describe those characteristics, which they ascribed to the influence on the planet on human behavior. The adjectival form for referring to the god or to the category of gas giants typified by the planet Jupiter is Jovian; this is also the term for referring to the planet’s natural satellites in fact and fiction and to fictional inhabitants. 3. Mars Because of its belligerent-looking red glow, Mars was associated in ancient times with conflict, and the Romans named it after their god of war. The adjective martial (â€Å"martial law,† â€Å"martial arts,† court-martial the hyphen in the last word is a holdover from the term’s French origin) refers to war and fighting. 4. Mercury Someone with an unpredictable or volatile personality is said to be mercurial, thanks to an association with Mercury, the swift messenger of the Latin gods. (The liquid element mercury, also known as quicksilver, was perhaps given that name because of its rapidly free-flowing quality.) But the adjective is also associated with eloquence and ingenuity, as well as larcenous behavior. Why? The god Mercury was considered the protector of thieves as well as merchants and travelers, who would appeal to the deity to favor them with speed. The planet Mercury was so named because of its fast orbital velocity. 5. Moon Like Terra, Luna, the Roman name for the Moon, seems to appear only in science fiction these days. But lunatic, meaning â€Å"foolish† or â€Å"insane,† is common, albeit mostly in the nonclinical sense. (Lunacy, another word for insanity, and the adjectival form derive from the onetime notion that phases of the Moon affect mental instability.) Lunar, however, is the adjectival form for scientific references to Earth’s natural satellite. 6. Saturn The Roman god said to have been the father of Jupiter was associated with traits opposite to those of the scion who usurped his rule; a saturnine person is gloomy, sardonic, and surly, as opposed to the jovial type, though the adjective also has the neutral sense of â€Å"sluggish† and â€Å"serious.† This temperament was said in the Middle Ages to be the influence of the planet farthest from the Sun (or the one believed at the time to be the most remote) and the slowest. But the god was also identified with justice and strength, as well as with agriculture, and later was celebrated in the weeklong winter-solstice feast known as the Saturnalia, when the rules of moral conduct and social status were suspended. That name, with the initial letter lowercased, now refers to any unrestrained merrymaking. 7. Venus A supposed inhabitant of Venus is a Venusian, of course, but another term influenced by the name of the Roman goddess of love and beauty may surprise you. Because of Venus’s association with sex as well as affection and attractiveness, her name was the inspiration for venereal, which means â€Å"relating to sexual pleasure or indulgence† but is almost exclusively employed to refer to sexually transmitted infections or diseases. However, another variation has a more positive association: To venerate is to admire, honor, or respect (the noun form is veneration), and venerable refers to someone or something considered deserving of one of those types of regard. It is also synonymous with sacred and can apply to a person, place, or thing that through age and/or accomplishments earns esteem. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Inquire vs EnquireThe Many Forms of the Verb TO BEOne "L" or Two?