Whats up in Japanese - How to say whats up in Japanese

Meaning: Whats up?   Pronunciation: Listen to the audio file for Nanika atta?. Japanese Characters: ä ½â€¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£ â€šÃ£  £Ã£ Å¸ 㠁 ªÃ£  «Ã£ â€¹Ã£ â€šÃ£  £Ã£ Å¸ More Greetings: Previous wordNext wordGreetings ArchiveSimple Japanese Phrases

Essay about Geography Customs, Culture and Government of...

Introduction Jordan is located in the center of the Middle East and it shares borders with Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. It is also next to the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. Jordan has a terrain of about 35,475 square miles (Advameg, Inc., 2014). Jordan is unique because it has sand mountains and colorful rocks, plus it has barren deserts and fertile valleys. The main language of Jordan is Arabic but English is also taught and spoken. The capital of Jordan is Amman (Advameg, Inc., 2014). Their flag has 4 colors: black, white, red, and green. The flag contains of horizontal stripes black, white, and green in that order and it has a red triangle on the left side of the hoist. In the triangle is a seven-pointed star. The flag of†¦show more content†¦Government Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, meaning that there is a king or queen that is the official head of state, but the elected officials run the government. This means that the head of state isn’t in full control of the country because elected officials run the government. It was first based on the constitutional promulgated on January 8th, 1952( Michigan State University, 1994-2014). Then on October 1st, 2011, it was amended (Michigan State University, 1994-2014). The kings job is to execute the laws and also sign them, but if (Lynch, Jordans cabinet shuffle) both houses of parliament oppose the kings power, it can be overridden by 2/3rds of their votes (Michigan State University, 1994-2014). The king is also supposed to say when to fight or declare war, he can also sign amendments, and command arm forces into battle when said so (Michigan State University, 1994-2014). Right now, the current head of state is King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein and the head of government is Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour. Fifty-five members of the upper house were appointed for a four year term by the king. In July of 2007, Jordan held elections for councils and mayors and 20% o f the council seats that year were reserved for women (Michigan State University, 1994-2014). Then on November 2009, the king dissolved parliament (Michigan State University, 1994-2014). After that in November 9, 2010 new elections (Michigan State University,Show MoreRelatedEssay on Jordan Is a Land Loaded with History725 Words   |  3 PagesThesis: Jordan is a country with great complexity that includes location and geography, demography, communication, morale, laws and any other capabilities and habits as acquired by man and woman in the Jordanian society. The land is commonly known for its desert land but the history and the consideration therein when it comes to its people, society, culture, language and power and authority rests on its ancient and preserved sayings from Mohammed. I. Jordan is a land loaded with history.Read MoreSocio-Cultural Analysis Of Israel. Sgt Bush. 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Bin Ladin and Hitler Essay Example For Students

Bin Ladin and Hitler Essay 1 September 1939: Adolf Hitler invades an unsuspecting Poland that started one of the most devastating wars in the history of the world. From this attack, Hitler went on to concur other great nations in Eastern Europe. Hitlers reign of terror resulted in the death of millions of Jews living in Eastern Europe and countless lives of American soldiers. 11 September 2001: Two planes hit the World Trade Center, a plane hits the Pentagon, and a plane crashes in Pennsylvania. It is immediately thought that terrorism is the cause of these disasters. Later, Osama Bin Laden is named the prime suspect in the first attack on American soil since the Pearl Harbor attack in World War II. This tragedy resulted in the death of over 5000 American firefighters, businessmen, and other civilians. Though these events in history seem rather different, there are some connections in the main parties involved: Hitler and Bin Laden. These two men are reasonable for a lot of death and devastation in the past 100 years, and they both basically had the same goal: to take over the world. First, to understand why these two men wanted to take over the world, we must first understand their background. Hitler was born in 1889 in Braunau, Austria. Hitlers early child was fairly normal, as he received high marks in elementary school. In 1903, Hitlers father died and Hitler dropped out of high school two years later at the age of 16. After his mother drew a widow pension and bought some land, Hitler stayed home and did not work. He dreamed of being an artist. Hitler moved to Vienna in 1907 were he tried to pursue his dream of being an artist. He wanted to attend the Academy of Fine Arts, but he failed the entrance exam twice. In 1907, Hitlers mother died and he received an inheritance from his mother, an aunt, and he received an orphans pension. He lived ideally in Vienna for the next few years and got interested in politics and admired the effective leadership of the Social Democratic Workers Party of Vienna. He also developed a strong hatred for the Jews and Slavs. In 1914 Hitler joined the armed forces of the German Army and gradually moved his way up the ranks as World War I progr essed. After Germanys defeat, the country was in turmoil. Hitler wanted to bring power back to Germany. He joined the National Socialist German Workers Party and it became known as the Nazi party. Through the next years Hitler created the storm troopers, which were his personal army. Though the 1920s Hitler tried to overthrow the German government but he was unsuccessful and was incarcerated. After he was released from jail, Hitler reorganized the Nazi party and by 1933 the Nazis were a major political party. In 1933 Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany and by 1935 started limiting the rights of Jews in the country, and by the late 1930s, Hitler was the dictator of Germany. Hitler started invading lands and in 1939 he invaded Poland and started World War II. Hitler occupied most of Eastern Europe by 1945, but when he realized that he was losing the war and might have to surrender, Hitler killed himself in April of 1945. Bin Laden was born in 1957 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to a wealthy Saudi family. He studied civil engineering and management in King Abdul Aziz University in Jidda. In 1979, he left Saudi Arabia to join a militant group to Pakistan who were fighting against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In Pakistan, Bin Laden founded an organization that recruited Muslim fighters from around the world to join the mujahideen. He also brought in construction equipment to aid the guerrillas and fought in several major battles. After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, Bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia. .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 , .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 .postImageUrl , .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 , .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2:hover , .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2:visited , .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2:active { border:0!important; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2:active , .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2 .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1ce32d7489109450050134730a214eb2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Child Development EssayIn 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, sparking the Persian Gulf War. Saudi leaders feared that Iraq would next try to take over the oil fields in eastern Saudi Arabia. The United States and a number of other nations sent troops to Saudi Arabia to protect that country and help drive the Iraqis out of Kuwait. The placement of bases and troops

Marketing Plan of Emirates Airline Essay Example

Marketing Plan of Emirates Airline Paper Introduction With just purely two aircrafts, the Emirates airline was established in the year 1985 by the ministry of Dubai. After two decades Emirates has expanded its empire with 83 aircrafts soaring to 78 destinations in more than 55 countries worldwide. Emirates Airlines has a one of the largest number of cabin crews hailing from 95 different nationals. With such strong history Emirates Airlines are still venturing further in to the future. They have recently made orders which are worth more than 26 billion US dollars for about 45 numbers of A380 Airbus. This will make the company to be the worlds largest purchaser of Super-Jumbo Air bus. Emirates Airline is expected to become not only one of the greatest budding airlines but also the fifth most gainful airline in the world. Emirates Airlines is devoted to accomplish its mission. By installing individual entertainment system in all of its classes, having 22 audio 18 TV channels, as well as enabling customers to not only book online, search for flights but also to choose their seating arena consequently this airline is identified as a pioneering and customer-oriented contributor of advanced services because of these outstanding features. Emirates empowered over 280 international awards, one of them being the prestigious CAPA airline of the year award 2005 by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. BUSINESS OVERVIEW We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Plan of Emirates Airline specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Plan of Emirates Airline specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Plan of Emirates Airline specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer General Profile of the Airline Industry Today it is definitely the airline industry which is booming to be the most spirited and emerging industries in the world leading to not only economic growth, international investment, but also tourism. In the last decade, airline industry has urbanized powerfully by 7% annually for both business as well as relaxation needs. This industry is one among the best ever growing sectors with growth rates increasing on average of 3. 2 times greater than the GDP rates. This figure is predicted to rise by an average of 5 % a year from 2000 to 2010. Sometimes the airline industry is affected by the political, economical and trade factors. Taking an example of the political factors, the September 11th attack dropped the number of passengers who travel, because people were afraid of being attacked by terrorists. The economical factor which gets affected is due to increase in oil prices which shatters the profit of the global airline industry. Many airline companies initiated to modify their strategies and services not to just dwell but also to succeed in the airline industry. They invest deeply in the quality of services by introducing e-booking system, more comfortable seats for passengers, low cost carriers, new interactive entertainment systems and many other technological techniques. The ideas behind introducing these services were to magnetize customers faith also to gain a competitive advantage. To survive in such a challenging market, many companies set on agreeing with each other to reduce costs and also share the available resources, which is otherwise called as alliance. On the whole, the airline industry is expected to double the number of passengers by 2010 and also to exceed 3 billion due to the trade, economic development and tourism. Thus obeying the theory, survival of the fittest, successful airlines will be those that can continue to play smart by putting into action the above ideas so as to secure a strong position in the aviation market. Competitors Overview and Situation analysis The airline industry is in its prime of life, hence there is a tough competition in the market and the rate of sales growing faster before beginning to stabilize gradually. In this stage advertising and promoting sales makes it obvious that the competition is getting more aggressive. Furthermore to find best services required in gaining the attention of customers, many competitors have increased their research and development (RD) budgets. In view of this, many companies have now started on focusing to differentiate their products and services from their competitors in order to capture their customers brand loyalty. For case in point, there are companies concentrating on cutting the operating cost, the result is that the profit margin will decrease and so the least efficient companies will have to leave the market so that only the well-established companies remain. There are many companies which use offensive strategies instead of defensive strategies. They achieve this through modifying their market product and arketing mix to survive and compete during this stage. For instances to modifying the marketing mix, the Kuwait airways implemented the strategy by launching a low cost carriers with the intention of increasing its customer base and loyalty and also increasing sales of. The Competitors Emirates airlines are facing stiff competition with major international and national airlines on the market shares. However the major competitors identified here are the national airlines of other states of UAE. Air Arabia Air Arabia, a national airline of the Sharjah emirate is established in 2003 by Sharjah rulers decree. It is based in Sharjah airport and has got quick access to Dubai and fast check-in facility. Air Arabia is the only low-fare airline in UAE and the first airline to introduce the low budget airline in Middle East and Northern Africa since 2004. After success stories of American and European low-cost airlines Air Arabia modeled low fares on customized local preferences. They focused on their business mission by offering most convenient and frequent online booking as well as less expensive air fares in the market with better service and safety standards. Air Arabias worthy scheme Pay less. Fly more, enables customers to make smart travel choice; those who cant afford and were hesitant to travel in the past, to start flying and those who traveled more frequently, benefiting both and vacation travels. Etihad Airways Etihad Airways first captured the skies in November 2003, with only four member team organization. Now it stretched out to a family of over 2500 employees spread across region. Etihad airline has also reputed as the national airline of the UAE (Abu Dhabi) by a royal decree of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (President of UAE) with investment of AED 500 million. Compared to 2006, Etihad conceded more than 4. 6 million passengers in 2007. It has also been designated as the Worlds leading New Airline two years in a row, in 2004 and 2005. RAK Airways The fourth national airline of the UAE is RAK Airways which was established under an Emiri Decree by Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah in February 2006 The core intention of RAK Airways is to give support to the economic development of Ras Al Khaima. The development includes economic free zones to magnetize business as well as residential, leisure and tourism projects. This Airways function on charter as well as scheduled services so as to assemble the demand of the various markets that the airline will serve. In a cost successful manner they provide value for money to customers Emirates competitive advantage To gain a competitive advantage amongst its competitors Emirates Airlines adopts differentiation generic strategy by contributing the top notch quality services. This is done to be the best company in the market and to segregate from its competitors. For illustration, the first airline that offered TV screen for all classes was Emirates airways. Another instance, along with other airline company like Qatar Airways, Emirates airlines provided training courses by using the most modern machines, called plane simulator. This was a feather to the hat of Emirates airlines. The aim of such change is to be on top of the industry thus increase the awareness nationally and internationally which in turn increase the demand and the profit. STRATEGIC MARKETING FOCUS In this section we shall take a peek into mission, goals, core competencies and external and internal environments in regard to the Emirates airlines. 3. A Mission Offering consistently high-quality value-for-money service and to be the best airline on all of its routes. Emirates airline is determined to accomplish its mission by positioning itself as a long-term sustainable business providing value to its customers, employees and investors. 3. B Goals Discussing the goals, they are states as below: ?Focusing on maximizing the overall Group’s return on capital. ?To be diverse and hence balance to the Group’s earning streams Take full advantage of the group’s competencies in market. Objectives Tangible objectives pertaining to the goals are : Retain and improve frequent business class traveler’s market share. ?Increase market share 40% to 55% by end of 2009 ?Tap low cost carriers market to achieve company’s return on investment. ?Promote Dubai’s Tourism activities and introduce Dubai to the world. 3C- Values Emirates Airlines has valuable human resources as well as a bunch of well qualified staff. The vice-chairman of the airline itself has more than 50 years of experience in the aviation industry. The airline also provides outstanding training to its staff and is devoted on improving their skills not considering the costs. In addition, Emirates Airlines is the international carrier of Dubai which is a politically stable area and has a strategic location especially for transit passengers. 3. D Core Competencies Various key factors should be implemented to sustain airline companies’ achievement. Differentiation By providing advanced services airline companies tend to differentiate each other. For instance, the best way to invite customers and to distinguish the company from competitors is by providing the aircraft with the latest technology, such as wide seats, e-ticketing, etc. Strong brand name By obtaining a strong brand name it is easy to build a base of loyal customers. This guarantees that customers will stick with the strong brand name company and hence ignore any attractive offers coming from other competitors. There are airline companies utilizing some techniques such as offering a flyer mile to win a free ticket if the points were completed to retain their customers, Alliances As discussed earlier we are aware of alliance. By linking networks, alliance will allow different companies to share their resources so as to build a wide base of customers, expand services and increase number of routes. Moreover, the outcome of this is in sharing experience and decreasing the operation costs. Relations with supplier To construct a strong relation with suppliers the Airline companies must emphasis by setting long-term contracts. Such relations will be beneficial since this will keep them in the safe side even if there was any change in the pricing strategy in the future as there is a contract between them. 3. D External Environment PEST Analysis for Emirates PoliticalPolitical situations that affect the airline industry will be mainly wars and terrorism. For instance, due to the terrorist activities in different areas of the globe, namely in USA, Palestine, Iraq etc made these areas unpleasant for not just tourists but businessmen to travel. Economical One of the factors following the success of any airlines is to have the most sophisticated airports which are facilitated with cutting edge technologies to meet customer’s requirements. UAE has major plans on investing to develop such international airports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The benefits are to enhance the economical growth, reduction on oil revenues, to increase the number of tourists plus thereby driving profits to airline firms. Social The population of the world is shooting at high rates. Thus the social factors also increase. For instance, the population is expanding in UAE, this there is because UAE is a multicultural country. As the expatriates number in UAE increase, the profit obtained by the airline company also increase. Technological New technologies affect this industry in negative and positive manner. For example, the teleconferencing reduced the necessity for face to face business meetings. This reduced the number of businessmen traveling and hence the purchase of business tickets. 3. E Internal Environment SWOT analysis for Emirates Strengths ?Member of Arab alliance ( Arab Air) ?First Airline Company to offer Internet booking with various features and options. ?Self-Check in facility for customers in Dubai and partner airports. ?Long-haul flights Dubai to New York ?Worlds largest purchaser of Airbus by 2012 , booking 45 Airbus air crafts. ?Increasing employees devotion to work by providing training , rewards and performance analysis. ?Official sponsor of FIFA World Cup 2006. ?Skywards Miles FFP shared with many airlines including Sri Lankan airways Weakness Huge investment to purchase air planes and implementing latest technologies there is high amount of operational cost. ?Emirates airlines fares are higher than traditional airlines. ?No global alliance membership for Emirates Airlines No permission to operate in Abu Dhabi , capital of UAE Opportunity ?UAE ‘s higher per cap income ?Government is disposing money to develop regional airports. ?High forecasted growth rate for UAE tourists ?Growth on population and internet usages lighten World and Dubai makes room for opportunity. ?Dubai Air shows helps to promote regional aviation industry. Threat Might face losses of around 5 billion due to soaring oil prices ? Aviation security expenses and insurance will also increase operational expenses of airlines industry. ?Low cost carriers are another threat for traditional airline operators. ?Information security vulnerabilities poses danger to electronic ticket system ? Natural disaster and acute diseases affect tourism In a nut shell, Emirates Airlines has strengths like new technology, such as e-ticketing and self check-in services. An evident weakness is the elevated prices of Emirates due to its huge investments in ordering aircrafts. Although it has opportunitie s like investments in Abu Dhabi airport there are many threats are concerning it, such as increase of oil prices, low cost airlines and the spread of killer diseases. MARKETING PLAN 4. A Target Market Over the last few years, Emirates Airlines is one of the air carrier, which barely felt the economic and airline down turn. Emirates Airlines is one of the airlines, which hardly felt the economic and aviation down-turn of the last few years. Emirates airlines market segment is divided into three major categories of customers 4. A. 1 UAEs Tourism and Business segment Customers Dubais emergence as a regional business and tourism hub has provided emirates airlines plenty of room for growth and has fuelled regional air passenger traffic. The recent freehold ownership law has been a major reason for the attraction of tourists and business communities. Dubai aims to attract 15 million visitors by the year of 2010, the ruler of Dubai has emphasized about this on his strategic plan for the emirate of Dubai. The growth of the region especially GCCs is now started stimulating tourism and business sector and providing room for local airlines to further grow. According to World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Middle East accounted for around 2. 4 % global travel and tourism activity in 2006, forecasting a growth of 5. 9 % for the coming years. Emirates should plan to take advantage of this boom for increasing their passenger traffic. 4. A. 2 Expatriates in UAE UAE worlds 5th largest Crude Oil exporter and Dubai worlds fastest growing city has created huge demand of skilled and unskilled workforce to feed its booming economy and emerging labor market, the highly paid labor market is a major attraction for the various work force around the world. The overall expatriate population of the country equals 80% of its total population; the national emirate population is 20% of the total population. United Arab Emirates has got large amount diverse populations in the Middle East. As per the 2006 censes the total population of UAE is 4. 2 million consisting of the national emirate(20%) , other Arab and Iranian (23%) , South Asian (50%) and other (8%) constituting Westerners and east Asians. The diversity of this population enables emirates to plan their route all around the world; emirates have reached mutual agreement with almost all the national authorities around the world to operate in. Dubai operates in an open sky policy, which allows any carrier to compete with Emirates airlines. 4. A. 3 Transit passengers Dubai is the operational hub for Emirates airlines, the best positioned connection point between Europe and Asia/Australia has supported the growth of emirates airlines. Emirates airlines has been using this connection point in favor of promoting their business especially transit passengers, the well established and marketed wide range network enables Emirates Airlines to prosper in this particular segment. Emirates airlines presently operates 87 cities in 59 nations around the world (still growing). Additionally to accommodate the growth in the sector Dubai airport authorities are invested $4. 1 billion in the expansion of Dubai Airport, The Fly Emirates caption is well known to the world and attracting customers from around the world. 4. B Intended Strategies Airline industry achieved in the mature stage and there is a tough competition between various operators. According to the analysis of external and internal factors each airlines uses offensive strategies to secure their position on market. Emirates adopts below marketing strategies to operate business efficiently. 4. B. 1 Market Penetration (Improving In-Flight Services) Business focuses on selling existing products to existing markets drives growth strategy for Market Penetration. 1)Retain and boost market share of Emirate airlines product and services 2)Protect market dominance of Emirates airlines existing markets. 3)Driving out competitors by restructuring mature market. 4)Enhance usage of existing passengers Enabling passengers to make voice and data call over aircraft’s telecom system Tele-communication is vital element in everyone daily life, So communicating with others while on airplane would be very good value added service can provide by Emirates Airlines. This can be done by adding some infrastructural changes on aircraft to communicate and partnership with telecom provider who can assist deploy. Currently Emirates uses high expensive tele-communication method to make voice calls and internet, instead can deploy new system to make voice and data calls from traveler mobile phone via trusted telecom providers. Passenger’s mobile phone should be beam signal to the ground satellite system and from Immarsat which is already installed on most of the Emirates airplanes. Similar service, â€Å"On Air† is being developed by Airbus SAS and air transport IT service provider SITA. Early of this year British carrier BMi and TAP-Air signed on to offer OnAir’s voice and text messaging services for European flights. 4. B. 2 Market development: (Extending New Routes) Deploying current services into new markets where company seeks to sell its products into new areas. Possible way to achieve this strategy by launching existing services into new geographical area or new market segments. Emirates Airline’s objective is to build up Dubai into a widespread aviation center that will finally serve as an important universal long haul hub. It provides an alternative to the traditional European airline hubs like Heathrow Airport (London), Charles De Gaulle (Paris) and Schiphol (Amsterdam). The airline heavily promotes Dubai as a destination, offering reduced hotel rates as well as insight into events like the Dubai Shopping Festival, hoping to attract more visitors to the city. Adding new routes and destinations are suggested , especially there is growth in UAE tourism. Major regions are not operated by Emirates Airlines and have to extend some of the destination world-wide (especially attractive areas) As always, the airline conducted road shows and press conferences to announce its entry into a new city. These events allow travel agents, tour operators and local airline personnel in contact and gain information about Emirates’ new routes, holiday packages and other benefits. After establishing a route to the country’s economic hub – Shanghai – the irline offers passengers a chance to visit the epicenter of China’s political and cultural activities. It is China’s richest city in terms of historical value and has a heritage that dates back over 3000 years and houses marvels as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China and the Ming Tombs The success of Dubai as an intercontinental hub has been facilitated by airlin es such as Emirates. The geocentric nature of Dubai has become incredibly important. Now there are hardly two points on the globe where it is not logical or possible to use Dubai and connect any two cities, and usually it is a pretty direct route. . B. 3 Product Development (Private Suite) Introducing new services into existing markets implies product development. This strategy involves the development of fresh competencies and requires business to expand customized services which can apply to current markets. Since Dubai is a hub for all international business travelers this is high time to introduce new product to cater top level business executives. Imagine the CEO of multi-national company makes lengthy overseas journey to attend a board meeting that could have a major impact on the company financials. Of course, company wants CEO to be top of his game, rested, refreshed, relaxed and ready. The cost of CEO’s air travel is doesn’t seem so expensive after all. That’s why Emirate Airlines introduce high quality first class private lounges to attract business travelers. This premium class private suite would be fully outfitted with personal storage, coat cabinet, desk and individual mini bar. Long seat reclines to become fully horizontal couch and the 21† wide screen entertainment over 500 channels. Exceptional level of personal services including a la-carte gourmet cousins and wide-ranging wines provided by specially trained multi-lingual cabin crews are the other value addition for this product. 4. B. 4 Diversification: (Low-cost carrier) Diversification is a strategy, where business sells new services into new market segments. Diversification is more risky strategy due to limited experience on particular new market areas. After the success stories of European low cost carriers, Middle East operators also started eyeing to explore new marketing concepts of Frills-free fly. The global low cost carrier sector is growing at more than three times the average industry global rate, with just under 50 million seats on 342,000 LCC services offered worldwide in January 2007, up 17% and 15% year-on-year, respectively. Low cost carriers are airlines that offer lower fares than traditional network airlines by eliminating certain complementary passenger amenities generally offered by traditional airlines. The key opportunity for low cost carrier lies in passenger fare elasticity, low air transport penetration rates and substation of traditional modes of low-cost transport such as trains and buses. Air Arabia dominates exclusively to this low cost carrier service in UAE, Emirates Airlines must decide how to respond this threat posed to the large expatriate market in UAE. Among the options considered there is scope to introduce low-cost subsidiary of Emirates Airlines. Emirates Airlines be supposed to diversify slightly from current marketing objectives to acquire low cost air travel market share and to retain its customer base of UAE expatriate market. This can be done launching new subsidiary to cater budget airline market. Key routes should be according to the high demand and large number of expatriates home country like Egypt, India and Pakistan. Under the arm of Emirate Airlines, new budget airline subsidiary has to introduce to new Al-Makthoum Inter-national Airport being constructed in Jebel Ali, located on Dubai border. This will provide residents of Dubai and Northern emirates enhanced travel option to neighboring destinations. Emirates Airlines is placing lease order of for 200 aircraft and to be operational by 2009. The carrier is expected to use Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737 on lease basis for the first few years prior to acquiring ownership status. Similar practices already succeeded the case of Kuwait airways and they implements the strategy of modifying marketing mix by beginning a low-cost carrier called Al-Jazeera in order to enhance its passenger base and loyalty and boost in sales. Business strategy over Ansoff’s growth matrix Ansoff’s product/market growth matrix provides for a business tends to grow depend on whether it sells new or current services in new or current markets. New products and new markets could relate to current products and current markets or may possibly distant and discrete. The result from the Ansoff’s product/market matrix is chain of recommended growth strategies that set the road of business strategy. Figure: Ansoff’s growth matrix EVALUATION After marketing plan is implemented, it should be evaluated. Evaluation entails gauging the extent to which marketing objectives have been achieved during the specified time period. Below table demonstrate effectiveness of marketing strategies and counter-measure to improve/replace current plan. Improving In-Flight Services Success criteria of deploying a system to allow passenger to use their mobile phones to use voice and data communication is to increase market penetration. It can be measured in terms of voice and data usage and growth of market penetration. There is not corrective action plan if it fails to respond. Extending new routes New destinations are implemented to achieve market development. Flight occupancy is the best way to measure result of this strategy. It needs to re-discover new destination if the flight occupancy level is lower than expected. First Class Private Suites It’s a new product of Emirates Airlines and can be measured the success of the product launch. Quantitative measurement of this product would be number of booking or occupancy. If it fails to respond, corrective plan is to reduce the price of ticket but again this is not price sensitive product and cannot be achieved by price reduction. Budget Airlines Success criteria would be capturing new customer base for the airline . Since its separate operating entity we can gauge financial results of operating profit would be good measure to evaluate the success of budget airline subsidiary. Effectiveness should be identified through external marketing auditor or agencies. A market audit helps management allocate marketing resources efficiently. Market audit should be comprehensive, systematic, periodic evaluation of the objectives strategies, structure and performance of the marketing organization. IMPLEMENTATION PLANS BUDGET Strategy # 1 (Market Penetration) Strategic Program Deployment a system to passenger to make voice and data call from their mobile phones Implementation Tasks Technical Study Feasibility Study Partnering strategic alliance with telecom service providers. Installation of system on aircrafts Marketing concepts to the audience Responsible Chief Technology Officer Vice President – Finance General Manager – Marketing Time Scale New service launch would be 1st January 2009 Cost Factors Approximate Budget 150,000 for each aircraft Marketing Budget 150,000 Strategy # 2 (Market Development) Strategic ProgramOperating new routes and destinations Implementation Tasks Researching market gap to operate new routes Feasibility Study Partnering hotels and tourist institutions at new destinations Partnering strategic alliance with local airports to operate Marketing new routes to the target market Responsible Vice President – Finance Vice Present Operations General Manager – Marketing Time Scale Four new routes are added every quarter starting from January 2009 Cost Factors Additional capital investment for new aircrafts USD 200 million Marketing budget for each route 0. 5 million Strategy # 3 (Product Development) Strategic ProgramIntroducing new First Class Private Suite Implementation Tasks Technical Study Feasibility Study Installation and modification of aircraft’s onboard faclilities Marketing concepts to the audience Responsible Chief Aircraft officer Vice President – Operations Vice President – Finance General Manager – Marketing Time Scale New service launch would be 1st January 2009 Cost Factors Approximate Budget 300,000 for each aircraft Marketing Budget 150,000 Strategy # 4 (Diversification) Strategic ProgramLow cost carrier subsidiary Implementation Tasks Market Study Feasibility Study Leasing and buying used aircraft for operations Deploying new set of human resources for this subsidiary Developing Marketing force for the new target customers Marketing concepts to the audience Responsible President Chief Executive Officer Time Scale Mid of 2009 Cost Factors Approximate Budget USD 500 million Conclusion Traveling around the world will always remain as a special interest in the hearts of the people. Hence they are and will be in search for the best for themselves. This will increase the need for better safety as well. Hence it becomes the responsibility for the airline company to deliver their best in terms of services security to their customers. Emirates airlines have always been on top of the airlines list in the UAE. We know UAE is a country with different ethnic groups, and Emirates is the only airline in the country which suits these various cultures. But today as the number of the airline company is increasing there is immense pressure on Emirates airlines to keep up their fame and glory. A strong strategy has been studied and adopted to put words into action. Therefore Emirates with its unique qualities, untiring services and promising strategy will be able to improve in delivering the best efforts in a country like UAE having a mixture of different cultures hence keep their motto fly high! Bibliography Anon. (2005)Emirates expands self check-in service. Ameinfo. 17 Oct. 2005. The ultimate Middle East business resource. 21 Dec. 2005 Available from http://www. ameinfo. com/70067. html [Accessed 8th June 2008] Anon. (20050 Emirates e-ticketing network grows rapidly. Ameinfo. 27 Oct. 2004. AME Info FZ LLC. 20 Dec. 2005 http://www. ameinfo. com/48088. html[Accessed 8th June 2008] Shakir Hussain (2008) ‘Economic Success of Dubai as hub is going to grow’ [online][n. p] Available from http://archive. gulfnews. com/articles/08/06/06/10218851. html [Accessed 8th June 2008] Anon. [n. d] Ansoff’s Product/Market matrix [Online][n. ] Available from http://tutor2u. net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix. htm [Accessed 8th June2008] Richard Backer(2008) Review : Emirates First Class [online][n. p] Available fromhttp://www. ameinfo. com/158791. html [Accessed 8th June 2008] Christina Valhouli (2004) The very best in First Class service[online][n. p] Available from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/6460432/ [Accessed 8th June2008] PARSIPPANY (2006) RAK Airways Selects aiRESâ„ ¢ Passenger Services System For Reservation And Departure Control Functions Innovative Technology Will Provide Greater Business Flexibility to New Airline [online][n. ] Available from http://www. travelport. com/en/media/pr/show_release. cfm? id=189 [Accessed 8th June 2008] Anon. [n. d] RAK Airways takes off on inaugural flight to Dhaka[online][n. p] Available from http://www. zawya. com/story. cfm/sidZAWYA20071129092225 [Accessed 8th June 2008 Anon. [n. p] The Emirates Story [online][n. p] Available fromhttp://emirates. com/us/english/about/the_emirates_story. aspx [Accessed 8th June 2008] Anon. [n. p] About Air Arabia [online][n. p] Available from http://www. airarabia. com/about-airarabia. tml [Accessed 8th June 2008] Anon. (2005) Emirates airlines $15bn plane order. BBC News. 14 Dec. 2005 Available from http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/1637284. stm [Accessed 8th June 2008] Anon[n. d] Middle East Low Cost No Frills Airlines[online][n. p] Available from http://www. attitudetravel. com/lowcostairlines/mideast/ [Accessed 8th June 2008] Anon. [n. d] â€Å"Aviation makes up 15-20% of GDP in UAE† [online][n. p] Available from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0CWU/is_2005_Dec_29/ai_n15976826 [Accessed 8th June 2008]

The Executive Branch of US Government

The Executive Branch of US Government The President of the United States is in charge of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The executive branch is empowered by the U.S. Constitution to oversee the implementation and enforcement of all laws passed by the legislative branch in the form of Congress. As one of the foundational elements of a strong central government as envisioned by America’s Founding Fathers, the executive branch dates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Hoping to protect the liberties of individual citizens by preventing the government from abusing its power, the Framers crafted the first three articles of the Constitution to establish three separate branches of government: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. The Role of the  President Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution states: â€Å"The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.†Ã‚   As the head of the executive branch, the President of the United States functions as the head of state representing U.S. foreign policy and as the Commander-in-Chief of all branches of the U.S. armed forces. The president appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Secretaries of the Cabinet agencies, as well as the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. As part of the system of checks and balances, the president’s nominees for these positions require the approval of the Senate. The president also appoints, without the approval of the Senate, more than 300 people to high-level positions within the federal government. The president is elected every four years and chooses his vice president as a running mate. The president is the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces and is essentially the leader of the country. As such, he must deliver a State of the Union address to Congress once each year; may recommend legislation to Congress; may convene Congress; has the power to appoint ambassadors to other nations; can appoint Supreme Court justices and other federal judges; and is expected, with his Cabinet and its agencies, to carry out and enforce the laws of the United States. The president may serve no more than two four year terms. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits any person from being elected president more than twice. The Role of the  Vice President The vice president, who also is a member of the Cabinet, serves as president in the event that the president is unable to do so for any reason or if the president steps down. The vice president also presides over the U.S. Senate and can cast a deciding vote in the event of a tie. Unlike the president, the vice president can serve an unlimited number of four-year terms, even under different presidents. The  Roles of the  Cabinet Agencies The members of the President’s Cabinet serve as advisors to the president. The cabinet members include the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive branch departments. With the exception of the vice president, cabinet members are nominated by the President and must be approved by the Senate. The President’s Cabinet departments are:   The Department of Agriculture, among other functions, ensures that the food Americans consume is safe and regulates the nations vast farming infrastructure.The Department of Commerce helps regulate trade, banking and the economy; among its agencies are the Census Bureau and the Patent and Trademark Office.The Department of Defense, which includes the U.S. Armed Forces, protects the nations security and is headquartered at the Pentagon.The Department of Education is responsible for ensuring equal access to a quality education for all.The Department of Energy keeps the U.S. plugged in, regulating utilities, ensuring the security of power supplies and promoting new technology to conserve energy resources.Health and Human Services help keep Americans healthy; its agencies include the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health and the Administration on Aging.The Department of Homeland Security, established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, is charged with preventing terrorist attacks in the U.S. and helping to fight the war on terror and includes the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Housing and Urban Development promotes affordable home-ownership and ensures that no one is discriminated against in the pursuit of that goal.Interior is dedicated to protecting and nurturing natural resources, national parks, and wildlife. Among its agencies are the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.Justice, led by the Attorney General, enforces the nations laws and includes, among other agencies, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).The Department of Labor enforces labor laws and keeps workers safety and rights protected.State is charged with diplomacy; its representatives reflect the United States as part of the world community.The Department of Transportation established the Interstate Highway System and keeps the U.S. transportation infrastructure safe and functioning.Treasury ensures the countrys financial and economic stability, manages federal finances and collects taxes . Veterans Affairs provides medical care for wounded or ill veterans and administers veterans benefits. Phaedra Trethan is a freelance writer and a former copy editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper.

GMAT and GRE Math - What is 20 of 40 Percent

GMAT and GRE Math - What is 20 of 40 Percent Are you preparing for the GRE or the GMAT? If these timed graduate and business school exams are in your future, heres a short cut for answering percent questions. More specifically, this article focuses on how to easily calculate the percentage of a number. Suppose a question required you to find 40% of 125. Follow these simple steps. Four Steps to Calculate a Percentage Step 1: Memorize these percents and their corresponding fractions. 100% 150% 1/225% 1/433 1/3% 1/320% 1/510% 1/10 Step 2: Choose a percent from the list that fits with the percent in question. For example, if you are looking for 30% of a number, choose 10% (because 10% * 3 30%). In another example, a question requires you to find 40% of 125. Choose 20% since it is half of 40%. Step 3: Divide the number by the denominator of the fraction. Since youve memorized that 20% is 1/5, divide 125 by 5.125/5 2520% of 125 25 Step 4: Scale to the actual percent. If you double 20%, then youll reach 40%.   Therefore, if you double 25, youll find 40% of 125. 25 * 2 50 40% of 125 50 Answers and Explanations Original Worksheet 1. What is 100% of 63?63/1 632. What is 50% of 1296?1296/2 6483. What is 25% of 192?192/4 484. What is 33 1/3% of 810?810/3 2705. What is 20% of 575?575/5 1156. What is 10% of 740?740/10 747. What is 200% of 63?63/1 6363 * 2 1268. What is 150% of 1296?1296/2 648648 * 3 19449. What is 75% of 192?192/4 4848 * 3 14410. What is 66 2/3% of 810?810/3 270270* 2 54011. What is 40% of 575?575/5 115115 * 2 23012.   What is 60% of 575?575/5 115115 * 3 34513. What is 5% of 740?740/10 7474/2 37

CRITIQUE ON CHAPTER 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CRITIQUE ON CHAPTER 7 - Essay Example An important feature of this chapter is that it assumes that the reader is familiar with material that has been presented in all the preceding chapters. The abstract ideas are critical here, but they rest on concepts that have already been thoroughly discussed such as resource allocation ( p. 8) and perception, action and cognition (p. 9). 2. The close link between media and physics was something of a surprise, since most f the earlier chapters were more concerned with biology, but on reflection this is the missing piece of the puzzle that makes all the earlier concepts hang together. Humans are made up of physical atoms, and the concept of forces interacting in the environment in a dynamic way helps to explain some of the interesting variables in media studies, like for example why some people react in one way to a media stimulus, (e.g. being scared at a horror film) while others act in another way (e.g. just laughing at the fake blood). A lot of factors contribute to how people feel about the horror film, and this was interesting. 3. The chapter ended with an intriguing statement about uncovering â€Å"a science of human communication that is applicable across media, cultures and environments† and I would like to have heard more about this. I suspect that such a science would be very technical, and hard to follow, since the abstract concepts are not easy to remember without concrete examples, but nevertheless this does explain the point behind all this heavy theorizing. I think perhaps the authors should have made this objective clearer at the beginning of the book. Some of the lengthy theory sections might have made more sense if the reader had been aware of this final objective. 4. We talked in class about the weather, as an example of how dynamic interaction takes place and this was a good way of teasing out the relationship between ever changing variables. I liked the

Dementia ,sexaula relationships in restidental care homes for the Essay

Dementia ,sexaula relationships in restidental care homes for the eldery - Essay Example The role of social and ethical expectations laid down by the society is a safety net in many instances, but can also be akin to thinking in the box. Various issues in the society have been so marred by negative thinking and opinionated views that now merely discussing them is considered taboo. This may have helped keep some negative issues at bay, but it does not eliminate them, and the importance of looking into the various issues that are affected negatively by such â€Å"norms† is an essential need in any civilized society (Sewell, 2001, p. 1). Issues such as sexuality are considered a very private and personal issue, which is frowned upon should it be discussed more openly. While ethical approach and mannerisms may be an adequate explanation to avoid discussion in these topics, it on the other hand has led to many myths, confusions, and negative ideas about the various issues that pertain to sexuality. This approach towards sexuality and its various issues is very limiting and negative in its effect, for sexuality is among the four primary drives of the human. This drive remains through out life, and the negative reaction displayed against an elder person showing these emotions is another social stigma that has complicated matters greatly (Sewell, 2001, p. 1). More than 90% cases of dementia exhibit behavior problems including sexual inappropriate behavior in the course of their illnesses. Dementia has become more prevalent in the recent years (Srinivasan and Weinberg, 2001, p. 20). Almost 5% of the patients develop dementia in the ages 65-69 years of age, where as 20% of the patients develop dementia in ages above 85 (Srinivasan and Weinberg, 2001, p. 20). Despite the growing prevalence of dementia, there is still very little awareness in the general population about its challenges and issues, and how to respond to them. Even if dementia is not present, the population is anaware

Reseach on Performance Work Systems in Local Councils the Case of Harare City Council in Zimbabwe Essay Example for Free

Reseach on Performance Work Systems in Local Councils the Case of Harare City Council in Zimbabwe Essay 1.0 Introduction This chapter forms the basis of the study on the assessment on the role of high performance work systems have on Harare city council workers for effective and efficiency service delivery. This paper is going to provide a background of the study stating the problem, purpose and importance of the study. To add to the above, the objective, anticipated constraints and research questions, including literature review and research methodology are going to be highlighted. 1.1 Background of the study Performance has been a widely researched subject by most social scientist and industrial psychologist in an attempt to establish what motivates people to do what they do, and why they do it. An organisational performance has always been an issue for managers, as it is believed that satisfied workers tend to be more productive, creative and committed to their jobs. There is therefore need to establish whether high performance work systems are what bring satisfactory performance or there are other factors. High performance work systems is a complex and multifaceted concept, which can mean different things to different people. However, the researcher in this study attempted to establish the role of high performance systems, whether it brings positive or negative results with particular attention at Harare City Council. 1.2 Statement of the problem The dilemma at hand is that the Harare city council workers are said to be hindering the performance circles of which are of particular appeal to affect the residents. The council provide services to the residents which are not helpful but only distract them from developing their communities in the proper manner they desire. This is happening due to the failure by the council to carry out good research on its performance since today employees are expected to work in teams rather than solely on their own. They are expected to keep learning new skills and to assume broader roles through the employment security, selective hiring of new personnel, self-managed teams and decentralization of decision making as the basic principles of organizational design, comparatively high compensation contingent on organizational performance, extensive training, reduced status distinctions and barriers including dress, language office arrangements, and wage differences across levels, extensive sharing o f financial and performance information throughout the organisation. 1.3 Objectives of the study 1 To investigate and establish the role of high performance work systems in relation to organisational performance as this affects the service delivery. 2 To establish what causes poor performance and service delivery in the organisation. 3 To find out ways of maintaining and improving staff loyalty, motivation and performance. 4 To recommend on changes to improve council performance and staff welfare policy. 1.4 Significance of the study As a researcher it is of paramount importance to conduct a study on the role of high performance work systems by the local authority. One can easily notice that it is important to carry out this research as it: The research findings of this research were also intended to assist management in addressing concerns and expectations of staff in order to harness their full contribution and effort to the benefit of the organization. The organization would then use the research findings to redesign its human resources policies towards the workers welfare and provide the answers to the questions presented on the sub problems of the research problem. Employees could use the research as a platform to express their concerns and desires to management, which they would not probably get, and also use it as a reference point to those who would intend to do their own researches. 1.5 Literature review Review of related literature is the most important part of research. It refers to the systematic exploration of issues related to the one’s research which has been treated to date by various authors and authorities. According to the high performance work systems Assessment, â€Å"by social impacts we mean the consequences to human populations of any public or private actions that alter the ways in which people live, work, play, relate to one another, organise to meet their needs and generally cope as members of society.† The concept of high performance work systems and organisational performance High performance work systems have been defined as a distinctive managerial approach that enables high performance through people. (1987). High performance work systems are somewhat not quite the same as motivation, but the two are closely linked. Many thoughts and views have been developed to define performance at work but much of it explains one’s reaction, feelings and emotions towards the accomplishment of organisational goals. Many research studies were however founded to explain how people react in the manner they do in their jobs. Various factors have been associated with one’s performance. These factors include: * The level of pay and benefits, * The perceived fairness of the promotion system within a company, * The quality of the working conditions, * Leadership and social relationships * The job itself. Different models were developed to account for the attitudes that people develop at various situations. The following models of job satisfaction shall be discussed to aid the understanding of high performance work systems at work. Classical theories of Maslow (1943), Herzberg (1968) and Vroom in relation to high performance work systems have been the basis of the modern day studies. Abram Maslow proposed a hierarchical theory of five needs, which gained popularity over the years and formed a basis for management studies to human motivation at work. Having been simplified by Clayton Alderfer made a fine-tuning to the hierarchical explanations of human needs to that of three levels. Abbreviated to ERG, (Existence, Relatedness and Growth), Existence needs constituted Maslow’s physiological and safety needs, and Relatedness included internal esteem and social needs and lastly, the Growth stage was made up of self actualisation and external esteem needs. The Wikipedia encyclopaedia cited various models of which can help to explain high performance work systems that were written to by different authors as follows: * The two-factor theory * The job characteristics model * The fulfilment theory * The equity theory These models shall be discussed below to aid the research to find the basis of high performance work systems in the workplace. Theories of Employee Motivation for performance The two-factor theory This theory also known as the motivator-hygiene theory is the work of Fredrick Herzberg (1968). The theory is on the premise that employee satisfaction has two dimensions namely â€Å"hygiene† and â€Å"motivation†. (Agarwal.1983). According to Herzberg, Hygiene factors include those aspects such as company policies, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions. Motivators include those aspects that satisfy people such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility and advancement. The model was criticised by researchers who failed to empirically measure of satisfaction as being a methodological artefact. (Wikipedia encyclopaedia). High performance work systems characteristics Model The model was proposed by Hackman and Oldham (1976), which states that there are five core job characteristics, which impact three critical psychological states. The five core job characteristics include: * Skill variety: employees use a variety of skills to complete their jobs, skills that have been acquired by long years of study and/ or experience and are the primary reason for their employment and work allocation in a business organisation * Task identity: involvement of the employee in all steps of the job, thus providing identification with the task. * Task significance: The significance of the job being properly executed to the well being of the organisation. * Autonomy: The freedom to do the job with responsibility and by oneself. * Feedback: The provision of feedback providing information about the excellence of performance of the job. The three psychological states include: * Experienced meaningfulness, * Experienced responsibility for outcomes, and * Knowledge of the actual results. The Fulfilment theory According to Agarwal (1983), fulfilment theory regard satisfaction as resulting from outcomes (rewards) a person receives or the extents to which a person’s needs are satisfied. The difficulty with the fulfilment approach is that satisfaction is a function of not only what a person receives but also what he feels he should receive and/or wants to receive. People have different expectations and what satisfies one may dissatisfy another. Equity Theory According to literature by Agarwal (1983), a person’s satisfaction is determined by his perceived equity. Received equity is, in turn, determined by his input-output balance as compared to his comparison others’ input-output balance. Input-output balance is a perceived ratio of what a person receives from his job relative to what he put in the job. According to the equity theory, either under reward or over reward can lead to dissatisfaction although the feeling associated with them are different. As illustrated by the following diagram the comparison may result in one feeling unfairly treated when outcome received appears lower than others or feels guilty when received more than others. The equity theory A Perceived outcomes actually received A = B Satisfaction A B Dissatisfaction A B Guilty and discomfort Perceived personal input B Perceived personal outcome that should be received Perceived outcome of comparison others Perceived input of comparison others Fig 1.Equity Theory (Agarwal 1983) Determinants of high performance work systems Agarwal (1983) says that there are various factors that determine performance. These are discussed below. Employee Supervision As with Herzberg hygiene factors, supervision is critical to provide leadership to employees’ performance. A good leader is one who establishes trust from his followers and promotes feedback. He knows how to treat employees at different situations. Research has shown that low performance and low productivity occurs when a supervisor is a laissez faire type of leader. Agarwal (1983). Research has also discovered that those people’s reason to seek employment is to get paid (money) though not a motivator but they desire to be paid fairly. Management must always ensure consult for salaries and benefits to see whether their employees match the market. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication) The work group in relation to employee performance Employees need to socialise with others to create an environment of belongingness, develop a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. Social interaction creates organisational performance though depending on their affiliation. Inappropriate behaviour should not be encouraged though because of influences, but strong reprimands should be exercised. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication) Job content in relation to high performance work systems Employees need to feel that the work or task they are doing is of great importance to the company. Their contributions result in positive outcomes. It is therefore essential for management to recognise as an important a task to the overall achievement of the organizational goals. Agarwal cited Herzberg, Mauner and Suyderman as holding a view that job content factors such as achievement, recognition, advancement, responsibility and the work itself tend to provide satisfaction but their absence such as supervision, working condition, company policies and salary tend to produce dissatisfaction but their presence does not produce satisfaction. Age in relation to performance According to Agarwal (1983), some research works have reported a positive correlation between age and performance. Older workers tend to be more satisfied with their jobs than their younger counterparts because older workers are said to have adjusted to their jobs while young workers still have ambitions and need for advancement. Job Satisfaction and performance The analysis of results from the work of Herzberg et al, on twenty-six studies focusing on the relationship between job satisfaction and performance, fourteen of these showed that workers with positive job attitudes had higher performance than those with negative attitudes. Nine studies have shown that job attitudes and performance were not related, and in three studies, workers with positive attitudes had poorer performance records than those with negative attitudes. Lawler, 1977 and Porter, 1961, hold the view that it is productivity that leads to satisfaction and not the vice versa. Performance leads to rewards and if these rewards are considered to be equitable in relation to the perception of the worker of the rewards of his referent others and his perceptions of what he should receive, he will experience satisfaction. The following is the illustrative diagram. Model of performance leading to satisfaction Perceived equity of rewards in relation to referent others Performance Reward intrinsic extrinsic Satisfaction Perception of how much he should receive Fig 2.Source: Agarwal 1983: Model of performance leading to satisfaction Adapted from Lawler III Porter â€Å"The effect of Performance on job satisfaction†, Human relations, October, 1967 P23 1.5 Justification of the study The area of discussion is worth studying because it aims at alerting the management of the Harare City Council how their service provision are being hindered by the employee performance, thus organisational performance is affected as well. As such the research is vital as it will help in gathering or adding information on the importance of high performance work systems being as well as its importance to the Ministry of local government urban and rural development. The Minister will be able to see if there are any amendments which need to be done and if there are any gaps left which need to be filled. Furthermore the research will see the researcher attain the ultimate goal for a Bachelor of science Honours degree in Local Governance Studies 1.6 Research Methodology Various techniques will be exploited to achieve the proposed objectives of the study. Haralambos (1995:36) asserts that: Any academic subject requires methodology to reach its Conclusions, it must have ways of producing and analysing Data so that theories can be tested, accepted or rejected without a systematic way of producing knowledge the findings can be dismissed. The researcher is going to use both quantitative and qualitative techniques to come up with conclusions as both techniques can be used to complement each other as well as questionnaires. According to wordiq.com (2011), quantitative research is the numerical representation and manipulation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomena that those observations reflect. It is bent on developing and employing mathematical models. On the other hand, Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in any different disciplines. It means a non numerical data collection or explanation based on the attributes of the source of data. Qualitative research is used to gain insight into peoples behaviour, attitudes, value systems, motivations concerns, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. Christensen (1994) expressed that a sample makes a better study. Leedy (1993) agreed with the same idea saying that, â€Å"the larger the sample the better.† I will select the people that are going to give relevant information to this study for example the most affected people and the possible problem solvers. 1.7 Research Tools (a) Interviews (Group The researcher intends to use interviews as a research technique. Gray et al (2007) allude that the best data gathering technique for survey research is the interview. These interviews will be done in groups so as to save time. (b) Observation The researcher will use observation in tackling the research problem. The rationale for using this technique is that the researcher intends to learn about the sensitive issues that participants might be unwilling to disclose or talk about with regards to the research. (c) Analysis of secondary sources The researcher will make use of other researchers that have been studied in relation to the field under study. This will be done in order to weigh the impacts that the previous researchers have had. Target Population The study will be focussing on the Harare City Council employees. Anticipated constrains Wikipedia (2011:4) notes that any limit or restriction given for the design process is called a constraint. The study is likely to encounter a number of challenges which may compromise the quality of research results and these include: (a)Access to information The information is mostly confidential in the Harare City Council thus releasing information might be problematic. Some may be reluctant to disclose such information as such the respondents will be guaranteed that their information will be treated with utmost privacy and confidentiality. (b)Resources Resources such as time and finance may compromise the quality of the research as the researcher is a student with other university commitments RESEARCH REFERENCE LIST Argawal R.D.(1983) Organisation and Management, Mcgraw-Hill, Tata Boxall P., Macky K. Rasmussen E., (2003)‘Labour turnover and retention in New Zealand; the causes and consequences of leaving and staying with employers’ Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. Vol 41 (2)., Cascio, W.F. (2003) Managing Human Resources: Productivity, quality of work Life profits (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin. French, W.L. (1998) Human Resources Management. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company Ivancevich et al (1989):Foundations of Personnel ,Human Resources Management Kreitner, R., Kinicki, A. (2001) Organisational behaviour (5th ed.). Irwin McGraw-Hill. Milkovich, G.T., Boudreau, J.W. (1994) Human Resource Management (7th ed.). IRWIN Publishers, USA. Morrell W. H., Loan-Clarke J. Wilkinson J (2004), ‘Organisational change and employee turnover’, Personnel Review, vol 33 (2) Morris W.T. (1972). Management for Action: Psycho Technical Decision making. Reston. Mowday, R., Porter, L., Steers, R. (1982) Employee-organizations linkages – The Psychology of commitment, absenteeism and turnover: Academic Press, .London Rhodes, S.R., Steers, R.M. (1990)., Managing employee absenteeism Addison: Wesley Publishing Company, USA Spector, P.E. (1997)., Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes and Consequences: SAGE Publications, USA Van der Merwe, R., Miller, S.(1988),. Measuring absence and labour turnover: A Practical guide to recording and control. Lexicon Publishers., J

of mice and men :: essays research papers

"Of Mice and Men" is a skillful novel, which deals with the theme of `outsiders', that is, individuals who do not fit into the mainstream of society. The novel portrays this idea of loneliness throughout John Steinbeck's stimulating and exciting novel. When Lennie kills Curley’s Wife, Steinbeck describes Curley's wife as a prettier figure. He writes, "The meanness and the planning’s of the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face." (p.128) This shows that now Curley's wife is dead, she now looks happy and has escaped from her loneliness. Even though Curley's wife is mentioned frequently, we never know what her name is. This just shows how people do not care for others, leading to loneliness. I think all the men do not consider her as a normal human being, but and object, this object refers to the picture since in the picture there stands one tree in the middle of no where thus representing loneliness. All of the men are to scared to talk to her in case Curley becomes jealous and wants to start a fight. She has no female friends on the ranch, so the men are her only option, but they do not want to become friends with her. She spots out Lennie and wants to start a friendship with him as all of the others fear Curley and will have nothing to do with her. She says to Lennie â€Å"Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever once in a while?† This shows that she is trying to tell Lennie that she desperately needs to talk to somebody as she hardly does ever talk to anyone because they do not listen to her. The dreams that so many of Steinbeck’s characters have are ultimately covering pains and difficulties that they may be enduring. Curley’s wife is the only main character that Steinbeck did not provide a name for. This could be for the reason that the men at the ranch saw her as a nobody and a tramp; therefore Steinbeck is showing she should not be issued with her own name. I am given the impression that she is living in two lives. In reality she is living in a boring ranch, with no companionship in isolation. However, she also believes that she would make it to the movies one day. She says to Lennie "I aint used to livin like this. of mice and men :: essays research papers "Of Mice and Men" is a skillful novel, which deals with the theme of `outsiders', that is, individuals who do not fit into the mainstream of society. The novel portrays this idea of loneliness throughout John Steinbeck's stimulating and exciting novel. When Lennie kills Curley’s Wife, Steinbeck describes Curley's wife as a prettier figure. He writes, "The meanness and the planning’s of the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face." (p.128) This shows that now Curley's wife is dead, she now looks happy and has escaped from her loneliness. Even though Curley's wife is mentioned frequently, we never know what her name is. This just shows how people do not care for others, leading to loneliness. I think all the men do not consider her as a normal human being, but and object, this object refers to the picture since in the picture there stands one tree in the middle of no where thus representing loneliness. All of the men are to scared to talk to her in case Curley becomes jealous and wants to start a fight. She has no female friends on the ranch, so the men are her only option, but they do not want to become friends with her. She spots out Lennie and wants to start a friendship with him as all of the others fear Curley and will have nothing to do with her. She says to Lennie â€Å"Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever once in a while?† This shows that she is trying to tell Lennie that she desperately needs to talk to somebody as she hardly does ever talk to anyone because they do not listen to her. The dreams that so many of Steinbeck’s characters have are ultimately covering pains and difficulties that they may be enduring. Curley’s wife is the only main character that Steinbeck did not provide a name for. This could be for the reason that the men at the ranch saw her as a nobody and a tramp; therefore Steinbeck is showing she should not be issued with her own name. I am given the impression that she is living in two lives. In reality she is living in a boring ranch, with no companionship in isolation. However, she also believes that she would make it to the movies one day. She says to Lennie "I aint used to livin like this.

Defenders Of Art And Life Differ On Everything In Between

In Robert Browning's â€Å"Fra Lippo Lippi†, a 15th century painter discusses the illogic of his patrons who want him to paint less of the real world—in turn for more spiritually uplifting scenes.   This poem gives Browning a platform to put forward his philosophy on art, which holds equal respect for the high and the low alike.   Similarly, in â€Å"Why The Novel Matters†, D. H. Lawrence forms a postulation that there is more to life than just the label of â€Å"spirit†.   But he goes further to say that there is a difference between that which is alive, and that which is inanimate.He contends life is more important—and a well-written novel is the equivalent of life.   He puts novels on a pedestal, while everything else is lesser than the living things.   Browning's character Lippi, however, while also detesting the barrier of the word â€Å"spirit† , does not go so far as to say the material mortar of the world is somehow more imp ortant than the soul.   He merely defends its equivalence.   He does not believe his paintings are more important than living things; he believes that they share equal value.Although Lawrence is willing to include the human body in with the word â€Å"spirit†Ã¢â‚¬â€he draws a line at the fingertips, and calls everything else (except for the novel) of lesser substance; alternately, Lippi is more liberal in his view, for he does not dwell overlong on the delineation between life and immaterial things—but just on their symbiosis.   Ultimately, Lippi is more humble about his art and life in general.For Lippi, painting for his patrons is only half of a life: carousing about town is the other part.   This is why he regularly escapes for release from the dogged work.   Although the religious service is a career for him, he cannot sustain it without proper romps on the town.   Therefore, by living in worlds both saintly and debauched, Lippi is able to see through the Prior's facade, when he is asked to only paint the spirit—not the body.   The Prior says: â€Å"Your business is not to catch men with show †¦Ã‚   Your business is to paint the souls of men† (Lines 175-184).   Lippi, however, would rather include everything in his art, and therefore more accurately reflect the world—and make better use of art.   â€Å"Now is this sense, I ask?†(198) Lippi says.â€Å"Why can't a painter lift each foot in turn, †¦ Make his flesh liker and his soul more like †¦ You should not take a fellow eight years old / And make him swear to never kiss the girls.†(224-225).   Lippi rails against simplifying existence into a word or an image: â€Å"The world and life's too big to pass for a dream †¦Ã‚   The only good of grass is to make chaff†(251-257).   Lippi cannot settle for a narrow view of the order of things—while Lawrence only partly concedes that there is more to â€Å"spiri t† than just vapor.  Lawrence contests that life's ether is as vital as the shell—and by singling out, labeling—or falsely idolizing any one part of its essence, we are hindering ourselves from fully living.   For instance, Lawrence rants on the fallacy of labels: â€Å"We think of ourselves as a body with a spirit in it †¦ Mens sana in corpore sano.   The years drink up the wine, and at last throw the bottle away, the body, of course, being the bottle†(2446).   Indeed, Lippi's dead shell of a horse is Lawrence's empty bottle of spirits—and the two of them seem to agree that definitions of the â€Å"spirit† are just distractions from the truth of existence.Lawrence, however, sets aside one exception, being that the Bible itself, when read as an entire piece, achieves some spirit similar to that of the humankind: â€Å"The Bible †¦Ã‚   [It sets] the whole tree trembling with a new access of life, [it does] not just stimulate growth in one direction†(2448).   Herein lies one key difference, then, between Lippi and Lawrence, which is that Lawrence makes exception for the novel as being at the rank of a living entity—while Lippi does not go so far as to suggest that art is exclusive from the rest of the lifeless world, although he does believe it is as important as life.   After all, Lawrence says the novel can â€Å"make the whole man alive tremble.Which is more than poetry, philosophy, science, or any other book-tremulation can do†(2448).   Moreover, while he does not specifically call out painting as one of the lesser â€Å"tremulations†, it seems safe to say this is implied—since he even excludes poetry from his sacred circle of life—which, ironically, is the medium through which Browning's Lippi is experienced.   In contrast, Lippi says that life's everyday details are â€Å"better, painted—better to us †¦ Art was given for that†(300 -304).—and again, Lippi does not put art above life—only beside it.   He says: â€Å"Do you feel thankful, aye or no, / For this fair town's face, yonder river's line, †¦ What's it all about? / To be passed over, despised? or dwelt upon†(286-291).Of course, Lawrence, does distinguish the particularization of his own body, and how each part is equal to the whole—but nothing beyond himself: â€Å"Why should I imagine that there is a me which is more me than my hand is?†(2446).   But Lawrence's â€Å"me alive† theory excludes the static objects of the order of things as merely props—that are not to be confused with life or novels.Ultimately, Lippi sees no place for the soul without the bodily elements, and rhetorically argues: â€Å"What need of art at all? A skull and bones, / Two bits of stick nailed crosswise†(321).   Lawrence, however, sees the various mediums of communication as â€Å"words and thoughts and sighs and aspirations that fly from [us], they are so many tremulations in the ether†(2447).   Lawrence merely concedes that the lifeless elements are â€Å"tremulations† that may â€Å"reach another man alive† and â€Å"he may receive them into his life, and his life may take on a new color†(2447).So, while Lawrence agrees with Lippi that the baser elements are important, he goes on at length to flesh out the reasons why life and the novel are substantially more important:   â€Å"All things that are alive are amazing.   And all things that are dead are subsidiary to the living†(2447).   He builds a wall between life and the novel—and the rest of existence: â€Å"I, who am man alive, am greater than my soul†(2447).   In this way then, while Lawrence agrees with Lippi that the parts cannot be distinguished from the whole, without excluding the essence—he differs in that he goes further to impose a privileged position upon th e energy of life and novels, whereas Lippi simply thinks that art and the lesser units ought to have equal exposure in the spotlight life.So Lawrence is circular in his theory, insisting â€Å"spirit† is limiting in its language—while touting the transcending power of the novel.   Indeed, despite arguing that limitations abound under labels, and that any â€Å"particular direction ends in a cul-de-sac†(2448)–Lawrence is still making divisions: â€Å"A character in a novel has got to live, or it is nothing†¦.   We likewise, in life have got to live, or we are nothing†(2449).  Ã‚   Plus, he is proud of his specialness as an artist, in a way that Lippi is too humble ever to approach: â€Å"Being a novelist, I consider myself superior to the saint, the scientist, the philosopher, and the poet, who are all great masters of different bits of man alive, but never get the whole hog†(2448).Ultimately then, at the root of their respective p hilosophies on art and life, Lippi is more adverse to divisions of all kinds, not putting himself or his art above the world, put equal to it.   One senses that he is not likely anymore proud of himself than the subjects he paints about, while Lawrence is more proud of the novels he writes than the objects described in them.

Study Notes †Balance management Essay

Customer Flow: Taco Bell serves on average 1,500 customers per day (15 hours). On average there are 75 customers in the restaurant (waiting to place the order, waiting for the order to arrive, eating, etc.). How long does an average customer spend at Taco Bell and what is the average customer turnover? R=1,500 customers/day I=75 customers T=I/R=(75 cus/1,500 cus/day)x(15 hrs/day)x(60min/hr)=45 minutes Customer turnover=1/T=(1/45 min)x(60 min/hr)x(15 hrs/day)=20 times per day Job Flow: The Travelers Insurance Company processes 10,000 claims per year. The average processing time is 3 weeks. Assuming 50 weeks in a year, what is the average number of claims â€Å"in process†? R=10,000 claims/yr T=(3 weeks)/(50 weeks/yr)=3/50 yr I=RT=(10,000 claims/yr)Ãâ€"(3/50 yr)=600 claims Material Flow: McDonalds’s holds raw hamburger meat an average of three days before its cooked and sold to customers. The typical inventory of raw meat is 2,500 lb. What is the average amount of hamburger McDonald’s goes through in a week and what is the takt time of processing hamburger in a 15-hour day? R=I/T, R=?, T =3 days=3/7weeks, I=2500lbs, R=2500lbs/ 3/7weeks R=5,833lbs/week, Takt =1/R 1/5833 lbs/week x 7days/week x 15hr/day x 60min/hour = 1.08min/lb – means none of the processes can take more than 1.08min Monetary Flow: For the new Euro introduction in 2002, Wim Duisenberg had to decide how many new Euro coins to stamp by 2002. Euroland’s central banks’ cash-in-coins handling was estimated at â‚ ¬300 billion per year. The average cash-in-coins holding time by consumers and businesses was estimated at 2 months. How many Euro coins were to be made? R=300 B/yr T=(2 months)/(12 months/yr)=1/6 yr I=RT=(300 B/yr)x(1/6 yr)=â‚ ¬50 B Cash Flow (Accounts Receivable): A wholesaler sells $300 million worth of clothes and accessories to retailers per year. The average accounts receivable is $45 million. What is the average billing to collection process cycle time? T=I/R=($45 M/$300 M/yr)x(52 wks/yr)=7.8 weeks A general manager at Baxter states that her inventory turns three times a year. She also states that everything that Baxter buys gets processed and leaves the docks within six weeks. Are these statements consistent? No, because if the flow time is 6 weeks, then inventory turns should be 1/T=(1/6 wks)x(52 wks/yr)=8.7 turns/year. 1. Registration: Average Inventory = 20, Throughput = 20 per hour, Average flow time = 20 / 20 = 1 hour Triage: Average Inventory = 5, Throughput = 20 per hour, Average flow time = 5 / 20 = 0.25 hour, Admit: Average Inventory = 10, Throughput = 5 per hour(25%of20), Average flow time = 10 /5 = 2 hours Average time spent by people admitted = 1 + 0.25 + 2 = 3.25 hours Routine: Average inventory = 10, Throughput = 15 per hour (75%of20),, Average flow time = 10/15 = 0.6667 hour Average time spent by routine care patients = 1 + 0.25 + 0.6667 = 1.9167 hours Average time in ER for all patients = 0.25(3.25) + 0.75(1.9167) = 2.25 hours OR 2. In this case we have: Average Inventory = 20 + 5 + 10 + 10 = 45, Throughput = 20 per hour, Average flow time = 45 / 20 = 2.25 hours. Inventory turns can be calculated using financial statements by dividing COGS (R) by average inventory value (I), linking flow time (an operational measure) to financial measures. With a decrease in total assets (such as inventory, accounts receivable, and plant & equipment), return on assets (ROA) improves. Flow Time = Inv/COGSInv Turns= COGS/Inv

Longhouse to Village essays

Longhouse to Village essays In the book From Longhouse to Village: Samo Social Change, the author R. Daniel Shaw reflects on the impact that extended contact with modern culture and people has on the Samo people. The Samo people were seen as uncivilized and savage people, who frequently conducted raids on each other. However, after contact with Western culture and a modern government, the lives of the Samo people were changed dramatically. Each chapter in Shaws book discusses a different aspect of Samo culture. It shows how they were before and after contact. The book compares and contrasts the changes that took place and the effect they had on the lives of the Samo people. One of the major changes discussed in the book is the process by which the Samo people moved from their protective longhouses to villages. The Samo people were very much considered war-like people before contact with Western civilization. Their longhouses were built as a means of defense in war situations. Each longhouse was built to be able to keep intruders out. The men were able to fire arrows from an open porch area and they were also able to get a better viewpoint from this are as well. If there was a raid on the house, the Samo people were able move inside and keep intruders out by stacking logs to block the main entrance. This means of defense was very effective. The government of the Western civilization outlawed raids and killing, which the Samo did their best to adhere to. This outlaw eventually eliminated the need for protective houses, which proved to be a waste of time and resources. The Samo people quickly adhered to the laws of this modern government. They realized that building their longhouses in isolated areas due to protection was not necessary. I dont feel that the Samo people talked about in this book are very different from the way we are today. They were quick to change their ways when they realized it was unnecessary and there were quicker ways of...

The Biblical Reference in The Grapes of Wrath

The Biblical Reference in The Grapes of Wrath There is a Biblical reference in Revelations to the grapes of wrath that appears to be the earliest known source or inspiration for John Steinbecks famous novel, The Grapes of Wrath.  The passage is sometimes referred to as The Grape Harvest. Revelation 14:17-20 (King James Version, KJV): 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. With these passages, we read about the final judgment of the wicked (unbelievers), and the complete destruction of the Earth (think Apocalypse, end of the world, and all the other dystopian scenarios). So, why did Steinbeck draw from such violent, destructive imagery for the title of his famous novel? Or, was that even in his mind when he chose the title? Why Is It So Bleak? With Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck created a novel set in the Depression-era Dust Bowl of Oklahoma. Like the Biblical Job, the Joads had lost everything under disastrous and inexplicable circumstances (the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, where crops and the topsoil literally blew away). Their world had been obliterated/destroyed. Then, with their world torn apart, the Joads packed up all their worldly possessions (like Noah and his family, in their infamous Ark: Noah stood on the ground looking up at the great load of them sitting on top of the truck.), and were forced to set off on a cross-country trek to their Promised Land, California. They were searching for a land of milk and honey, a place where they could work hard and ultimately fulfill the American Dream. They were also following a dream (Grandpa Joad dreamed that hed have as many grapes as he could eat when he reached California). They had very little choice in the situation. They were escaping from their own very-certain destruction (like Lot and his family). The Biblical references dont stop with their journey toward the Promised Land either. The novel is infused with Biblical allusions and innuendo, though Steinbeck often chooses to slant the imagery to fit his own literary vision for the novel. (For example: Instead of the baby being the representative Moses who will lead the people to freedom and the Promised Land, the little rain-soaked body heralds news of utter devastation, starvation, and loss.) Why does Steinbeck use Biblical imagery to infuse his novel with symbolic meaning? In fact, the imagery is so pervasive that some have called the novel a Biblical epic. From Jim Casys perspective, religion offers no answers. But Casy is also a prophet and Christ-like figure. He says: You dont know what youre a doin (which, of course, reminds us of the Biblical line (from Luke 23:34): Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.