Japanese economic history

In the history of Japanese economy is for 17 years from 1920 to 1937. Japanese economy will be hit by three big depressions, reactionary depression (1920 depression), ? Financial crisis, and ? Shows Depression, after the war [ ? ], and will experience long-term depression in this period. The one-eyed postwar reactionary depression which occurred for 1920 (Taoist 9) years Is the depression which made the cause the economical gap of during the war and the postwar period.As for the Japanese economy of the ass, a protracted economic slump will continue starting with this depression. The global supply shortage of 1920 previous World War I (1914 o 18 years) made Japan's export expand, and It led It to prosperity. Expansion of demand changed Japan from the agricultural country of prewar days to the Industrialized country. Moreover, the labor shortage by expanding demand moved the farmer to the city, and supported city development greatly.However, when World War I held the end of the war and It entered In the ass, Western countries reorganized domestic production and It reduced the demand to Japan. In Dalton to the reduced demand from Western countries, an excess of imports by resumption of import decreased the Japanese specie, and caused the fall of a money order and outstations on commodities. In this way, Japanese economy will fall into a protracted economic slump. Moreover, this depression will deal a blow to many companies, and will drive them in to a breakdown.Moreover, although a return of the gold standard by the lifting of the gold embargo was desired as a measure against reactionary depression, a ban was not removed on the bank or foreign trade business which were faced with the dormant capital at this time. (After World War l, the countries of many including the united States returned to the gold standard one after another, and formed the axis of new international finance. Then, the Great Kant Earthquake occurred for 1923 (Taoist 12) years, and an excess of imports became increasingly large so that this might be attacked.The government proclaimed the Bank of Japan earthquake bill discount-lost â€Å"the government compensates a loss of the Bank of Japan for less than 100 million yen at the same time the Bank of Japan does rediscover influence of the note (earthquake bill) whose earthquake disaster victim is an obligator and it postpones collection† as a measure to the company which suffered the serious damage caused by an earthquake disaster. However, the earthquake bill recessing problem arose by this Imperial edict.In the note processed as this earthquake note, many notes of the company and the manager who became bad loans under the influence of reactionary depression were Intermingled. It Is [ In / In order to prevent the breakdown of the company by this, or a bank / an every place considered as 2 million yen or more In the case of the bank which has a head office In a big city these standards It cannot fill, either a duty of a bank was Imposed so that capital Increase and a merger might be performed wealth five years and the standard might be reached † It went Into effect and Inland banks were cut down.However, by Improper language disturbance of Finance Minister Kate after the Tokyo Waterman bank is actually closed, the bank commission by the depositor banks were obliged to closure and also had the bank which results even in a breakdown. This depression that occurred for 1927 (Shows 2) years is the second financial crisis. It was continuously hit by two depressions after the war with reactionary depression and a financial crisis, and in order to reorganize the Japanese economy which the foreign outflow of the specie was aggravating, Minister-of-FinanceJunketed Onion of the Coach's Humanistic civil administration intermarry big building pushed the lifting of the gold embargo. It is ordered in the basis of Junketed Onion who performs a tight financing policy, and 1929 in the lifting of the gold em bargo (â€Å"Finance Ministry Ordinance of the purport that a ban is removed on gold export from January [ next year ] 1 1 and Japan also makes the gold standard return at last after the war.However, the business of the United States which began to lead the world instead of Britain retreated, and when the New York Stock Exchange slumped n connection with it, the global Great Depression occurred after the war. In this way, Japan will be involved in the global Great Depression simultaneously with the lifting of the gold embargo. This is Shows Depression which occurred for the third 1930 (Shows 5) year. Moreover, in industry, the silk industry in which the demand from the United States occupied most suffered the damage caused by this Shows Depression most.Then, social problems, such as unemployment, selling themselves, and an undernourished schoolchild, also occurred, and the Japanese held economical / social uneasiness and were troubled with poverty. Aiming at escape from this Great Depression, Minister-of-Finance Kookier Dashiki of the Toughs Incubi Friends of Constitutional Government Party Cabinet starts an expansionist fiscal policy. First, Dashiki re-forbade export of gold in 1931, after Britain stopped the gold standard.The managed currency system and red-ink bond which were newly introduced instead of the gold standard and which are not bound by the quantity possessed of a specie enabled reservation of the source of revenue stabilized for performing an expansionist fiscal policy. Dashiki performs the â€Å"spending policy† which plans economic recovery by expanding annual expenditure based on these goods. The war expenditure expanded by the Manchuria Incident which broke out in Shows Depression in 1931 made the annual expenditure by the government increase.This annual expenditure that increased, I. E. , an effective demand, increased the demand for fund of private enterprises, and it led Japanese economy to inflation. The demand for fund of privat e enterprises is connected to the employment to Jobless people, and Japanese economy began to incline to prosperity. However, superfluous circulation of the inconvertible paper money by the red-ink bond and managed currency system which continue increasing will depreciate the exchange rate of the yen, and we will be anxious about a vicious inflation.To this, although Dashiki aimed at reduction of a red-ink bond and a war expenditure, he was assassinated. Although Minister-of-Finance riding ground ? 1 of the successor Koki Horror new Cabinet performed reduction of the public loan, expansion of the war expenditure was continued. Although the demand to heavy and chemical industries also increases with war expenditure expansion, since it did not catch up with it, the controlled economy (â€Å"direct intervention to a governmental economic process†) will start.In this way, the Japanese economy in accomplished high including a spending policy, though the blow was received in three big depressions.

Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 8

When the Jetta turned into the parking lot of a7-Eleven, James smiled. There was a nice isolatedarea behind the store, and it was getting dark. He drove his own car around back, then got out to watch the store entrance. When Phil came outwith a bag, he sprang on him from behind. Phil yelled and fought, dropping the bag. It didn'tmatter. The sun had gone down and James's powerwas at full strength. He dragged Phil to the back of the store and put him facing the wall beside a Dumpster. The classicpolice frisking position. â€Å"I'm going to let go now,† he said. â€Å"Don't try torun away. That would be a mistake.† Phil went tense and motionless at the sound of hisvoice. â€Å"I don'twantto run away. I want to smash your face in, Rasmussen.† â€Å"Go ahead and try.† James was going to add,Makemy night, but he reconsidered. He let go of Phil, who turned around and regarded him with utter loathing. â€Å"What's the matter? Run out of girls to jump?† hesaid, breathing hard. James gritted his teeth. Trading insults wasn't going to do any good, but he could already tell it was going to be hard to keep his temper. Phil had that effect on him. â€Å"I didn't bring you out here to fight.I brought you to ask you something. Do you care about Poppy?† Phil said, â€Å"I'll take stupid questions for five hundred, Alex,† and loosened his shoulder as if gettingready for a punch. â€Å"Because if you do, you'll get her to talk to me.You were the one who convinced her not to see me,and now you've got to convince her that shehastosee me.† Phil looked around the parking lot, as if calling for somebody to witness this insanity. James spoke slowly and dearly, enunciating eachword. â€Å"There is something I can do to help her.† â€Å"Because you're Don Juan, right? You're gonna heal her with your love.† The words were flippant,but Phil's voice was shaky with sheer hatred. Not just hatred for James, but for a universe that would givePoppy cancer. â€Å"No. You've got it completely wrong. Look, youthink I was making out with her, or trifling with her affections or whatever. That's not what was going onat all. I let you think that because I was tired ofgetting the third degree from you-and because Ididn't want you to know what we weredoing.† â€Å"Sure, sure,† Phil said in a voice filled with equal measures of sarcasm and contempt. â€Å"So whatwereyou doing? Drugs?† James had learned something from his first encounter with Poppy in the hospital. Show and tellshould be done in that order. This time he didn't sayanything; he just grabbed Phil by the hair and jerked his head back. There was only a single light behind the store, butit was enough togive Phil a good view of the baredfangs looming over him. And it was more thanenough for James, with his night vision, to see Phillip's green eyesdilate as he stared. Phillip yelled, then went limp. Not with fear, James knew. He wasn't a coward.With the shock of disbelief turning to belief. Phillip swore. â€Å"You'rea †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Right.† James let him go. Phil almost lost his balance. He grabbed at theDumpster for support. â€Å"I don't believe it.† â€Å"Yes, you do,† James said. He hadn't retracted hisfangs, and he knew that hiseyes were shining silver.Philhadto believe it with James standing right infront of him. Phil apparently had the same idea. He was staringat James as if he wanted to look away, but couldn't.The color had drained out of his face, and he keptswallowing as if he were going to be sick. â€Å"God,† he said finally. â€Å"I knew there was something wrong with you. Weird wrong. I could neverfigure out why you gave me the creeps. So this is it.† I disgust him, James realized. It's not just hatred anymore. He thinks I'm less than human. It didn't augur well for the rest of James's plan. â€Å"Now do you understand how I can help Poppy?† Phil shook his head slowly. He was leaning againstthe wall, one hand still on the Dumpster. James felt impatience rise in his chest. â€Å"Poppy hasa disease. Vampires don't get diseases. Do you needa road map?† Phillip's expression said he did. â€Å"If,†James said through his teeth, â€Å"I exchangeenough blood with Poppy to turn her into a vampire,she won't have cancer anymore. Every cell in herbody will change and she'll end up a perfect specimen: flawless, disease-free. She'll have powers thathumans don't even dream of. And, incidentally,she'll be immortal.† There was a long, long silence as James watchedthis sink in with Phillip. Phil's thoughts were toojumbled and kaleidoscopic for James to make anything of them, but Phil's eyes got wider and his facemore ashen. At last Phil said, â€Å"You can't do that to her.† It was thewayhe said it. Not as if he were protesting an idea because it was too radical, too new.Not the knee-jerk overreaction that Poppy had had. He said it with absolute conviction and utmost horror. As if James were threatening to steal Poppy'ssoul. â€Å"It's the only way to save herlife,†James said. Phil shook his head slowly again, eyes huge andtrancelike. â€Å"No. No. She wouldn't want it. Not atthat cost.† â€Å"What cost?† James was more than impatientnow, he was defensive and exasperated. If he'd realized that this was going to turn into a philosophical debate, he would have picked somewhere less public.As it was, he had to keep all his senses on the alertfor possible intruders. Phil let go of the Dumpster and stood on his owntwo feet. There was fear mixed with the horror in his eyes, but he faced James squarely. â€Å"It's just-there are some things that humansthink are more important than just staying alive,† hesaid. â€Å"You'll find that out.† I don't believe this, James thought. He sounds likea junior space captain talking to the alien invadersin a B movie.You won'tfind Earth peoplequitethe easymark you imagine. Aloud, he said, â€Å"Are you nuts? Look, Phil, I wasborn in San Francisco. I'm not some bug-eyed monster from Alpha Centauri. I eat Wheaties forbreakfast.† â€Å"And what do you eat for a midnight snack?† Phil asked, his green eyes somber and almost childlike. â€Å"Or are the fangs just for decoration?† Walked right into that one, James's brain told him.He looked away. â€Å"Okay. Touch?. There are somedifferences. I never said I was a human. But I'm notsome kind of-â€Å" â€Å"If you're not a monster, then I don't knowwhat is.† Don't kill him, James counseled himself frantically.You have toconvincehim. â€Å"Phil, we're not like what you see at the movies. We're not all-powerful. We can't dematerialize through walls or travel through time, and we don't need to kill to feed. We're not evil, at least not all of us. We're not damned.† â€Å"You're unnatural,† Phillip said softly, and James could feel that he meant it from his heart. â€Å"You'rewrong. Youshouldn't exist.† â€Å"Because we're higher up on the food chain thanyou?† â€Å"Because people weren't meant to †¦feed †¦ on other people.† James didn't say that his people didn't think ofPhillip's people as people. He said, â€Å"We only do whatwe have to do to survive. And Poppy's already agreed.† Phillip froze. â€Å"No. She wouldn't want to becomelike you.† â€Å"She wants to stay a!ive—or at least, she did, before she got mad at me. Now she's just irrationalbecause she hasn't got enough of my blood in her tofinish changing her. Thanks to you.† He paused, then said deliberately, â€Å"Have you ever seen a three-weekold corpse, Phil? Because that'swhat she's going to become if I don't get to her.† Phil's face twisted. He whirled around and slammed a fist into the metal side of the Dumpster.†Don't you think I know that?I've been living withthat since Monday night.† James stood still, heart pounding. Feeling the anguish Phil was giving off and the pain of Phil's injured hand. It was several seconds before he was ableto saycalmly,†And you think that's better than whatI can give her?† â€Å"It's lousy. It stinks. But, yes, it's better than turning into something that hunts people. Thatusespeo ple. That's why all the girlfriends, isn't it?† Once again, James couldn't answer right away.Phil's problem, he was realizing, was that Phil wasfar too smart for his own good. He thought too much.†Yeah. That's why all the girlfriends,† he said at last,tiredly. Trying not to see this from Phil's point of view. â€Å"Just tell me one thing, Rasmussen.†Phillip straightened and looked him dead in the eye. â€Å"Didyou†-he stopped and swallowed-â€Å"feed on Poppybefore she got sick?† â€Å"No.† Phil let out his breath. â€Å"That's good. Because if you had,I'd have killed you.† James believed him. He was much stronger than Phil, much faster, and he'd never been afraid of ahuman before. But just at that moment he had nodoubt that Phil would somehow have found a way to do it. â€Å"Look, there's something you don't understand,†he said. â€Å"Poppy did want this, and it's something we've already started. She's only just beginning tochange; if she dies now, she won't become a vampire.But she might not die all thee way, either. She couldend up a walking corpse. A zombie, you know?Mindless. Body rotting, but immortal.† Phil's mouth quivered with revulsion. â€Å"You're justsaying that to scare me.† James looked away. â€Å"I've seen it happen.† â€Å"I don't believe you.† â€Å"I've seen it firsthand!†Dimly James realized hewas yelling and that he'd grabbed Phil by the shirtfront. He was out of control-and he didn't care.†I've seen it happen to somebodyIcared about, allright?† And then, because Phil was still shaking his head:†I was only four years old and I had a nanny. Allthe rich kids in San Francisco have nannies. Shewas human.† â€Å"Let go,† Phil muttered, pulling at James's wrist.He was breathing hard-he didn't want to hear this. â€Å"I was crazy about her. She gave me everythingmy mom didn't. Love, attention-she was never too busy. I called her Miss Emma.† â€Å"Let go.† â€Å"But my parents thought I was too attached to her.So they took me on a little vacation-and they didn'tlet me feed. Not for three days. By the time they brought me back, I was starving. Then they sent MissEmma up to put me to bed.† Phil had stopped fighting now. He stood with hishead bowed and turned to one side so he wouldn'thave to look at James. James threw his words at theaverted face. â€Å"I was only four. I couldn't stop myself. And the thing is, I wanted to. If you'd asked me who I'd rather have die, me or Miss Emma, I'd've said me. But when you're starving, you lose control. So I fed on her, and all the time I was crying and trying to stop. And when I finally could stop, I knew it wastoo late.† There was a pause. James suddenly realized that his fingers were locked in anagonizingcramp. He letgo of Phil's shirt slowly. Phil said nothing. â€Å"She was just lying there on the floor. I thought,wait, if I give her my own blood she'll be a vampire, and everything will be okay.† He wasn't yelling anymore. He wasn't even really speaking to Phillip, butstaring out into the dark parking lot. â€Å"So I cut myselfand let the blood run into her mouth. She swallowedsome of it before my parents came up and stoppedme. But not enough.† A longer pause-and James remembered why hewas telling the story. He looked at Phillip. â€Å"She died that night but not all the way. The twodifferent kinds of blood were fighting inside her. Soby morning she was walking around again-but shewasn't Miss Emma anymore. She drooled and her skin was gray and her eyes were flat like a corpse's.And when she started to-rot-my dad took her out to Inverness and buried her. He killed her first.† Bilerose in James's throat and he added almost in a whisper, â€Å"I hope he killed her first.† Phil slowly turned around to look at him. For thefirst time that evening, there was something otherthan horror and fear in his face. Something like pity, James thought. James took a deep breath. After thirteen years of silence he'd finally told the storyto Phillip North,of all people. But it was no good wondering aboutthe absurdity. He had a point to drive home. â€Å"So take my advice. If you don't convince Poppyto see me, make sure they don't do an autopsy onher. You don't want her walking around without herinternal organs. And have a wooden stake ready forthe time when you can't stand to look at heranymore.† The pity was gone from Phil's eyes. His mouth wasa hard, trembling line. â€Å"We won't let her turn into†¦ some kind of halfalive abomination,† he said. â€Å"Or a vampire, either. I'm sorry about what happened to your Miss Emma,but it doesn't change anything.† â€Å"Poppyshould be the one to decide-â€Å" But Phillip had reached his limit, and now he was simply shaking his head. â€Å"Just keep away from my sister,† he said. â€Å"That's all I want. If you do, I'll leaveyou alone. And if you don't-â€Å" â€Å"What?† â€Å"I'm going to tell everybody in El Camino what you are. I'm going to call the police and the mayorand I'm going to stand in the middle of the streetand yell it.† James felt his hands go icy cold. What Phil didn't realize was that he'd just made it James's duty to killhim. It wasn't just that any human who stumbled onNight World secrets had to die, but that one activelythreatening to tellabout the Night World had to die immediately, no questions asked, no mercy given. Suddenly James was so tired he couldn't seestraight. â€Å"Get out of here, Phil,† he said in a voice drainedof emotion and vitality both. â€Å"Now. And if you reallywant to protect Poppy, you won't tell anybody anything. Because they'll trace it back and find out thatPoppy knows the secrets, too. And then they'll killher-after bringing her in for questioning. It won'tbe fun.† â€Å"Who're ‘they'? Your parents?† â€Å"The Night People. We're all around you, Phil.Anybody you know could be one-including themayor. So keep your mouth shut.† Phillip looked at him through narrowed eyes. Thenhe turned and walked to the front of the store. James couldn't remember when he'd felt so empty. Everything he'd done had turned out wrong. Poppywas now in more kinds of danger than he couldcount. And Phillip North thought he was unnatural andevil. What Phil didn't know was that most of thetime James thought the same thing. Phillip got halfway home before he rememberedthat he'd dropped the bag with Poppy's cranberryjuice and wild cherry Popsicles. Poppy had hardly eaten in the last two days, and when she did get hungry, it was for something weird. No-somethingred,he realized as he paid for a second time at the 7-Eleven. He felt a sick lurch in his stomach. Everything she wanted lately was redand at least semiliquid. Did Poppy realize that herself? He studied her when he went into her bedroom togive her a Popsicle. Poppy spent most of the time inbed now. And she was so pale and still.. Her green eyes werethe only alive thing about her. They dominated herface, glittering with an almost savage awareness. Cliff and Phil's mother were talking about gettinground-the-clock nurses to be with her. â€Å"Don't like the Popsicle?† Phil asked, dragging achair to sit beside her bed. Poppy was eyeing the thing with distaste. She tooka tiny lick and grimaced. Phillip watched her. Another lick. Then she put the Popsicle into anempty plastic cup on her nightstand. â€Å"I don't know †¦ I just don't feel hungry,† she said, leaning backagainst the pillows. â€Å"Sorry you had to go out fornothing.† â€Å"No problem.† God, she looks sick, Phil thought.†Is there anything else I can do for you?† Eyes shut, Poppy shook her head. A very smallmotion. â€Å"You're a good brother,† she said distantly. She used to be so alive, Phil thought. Dad calledher Kilowatt or Eveready. She used to radiateenergy. Without in the least meaning to, he found himself saying, â€Å"I saw James Rasmussen today.† Poppy stiffened. Her hands on the bedspreadformed not fists, but claws. â€Å"He'd better keep awayfrom here!† There was something subtly wrong about her reaction. Something not-Poppy. Poppy could get fierce,sure, but Phil had never heard that animal tone inher voice before. A picture flashed through Phil's mind. A creaturefromNight of the Living Dead,walking even though its intestines were spilling out. A living corpse likeJames's Miss Emma. Was that really what would happen if Poppy diedright now? Was she that much changed already? â€Å"I'll scratch his eyes out if he comes around here,†Poppy said, her fingers working on the spread like acat kneading. â€Å"Poppy-he told me the truth about what hereally is.† Strangely, Poppy had no reaction. â€Å"He's scum,†she said. â€Å"He's a reptile.† Something about her voice made Phillip's fleshcreep. â€Å"And I told him you would never want to become something like that.† â€Å"I wouldn't,† Poppy said shortly. â€Å"Not if it meanthanging around withhimfor eternity. I don't want to see him ever again.† Phil stared at her for a long moment. Then heleaned back and shut his eyes, one thumb jammedagainst his temple where the ache was worst. Not just subtly wrong. He didn't want to believe it, but Poppy wasstrange.Irrational. And now thathe thought about it, she'd been getting stranger everyhour since James had been thrown out. So maybe she was in some eerie in-between state. Not a human and not a vampire. And not able tothink dearly. Just as James had said. Poppy should be the one to decide. There was something he had to ask her. â€Å"Poppy?† He waited until she looked at him, her green eyes large and unblinking. â€Å"When we talked,James said that you'd agreed to let him-change you.Before you got mad at him. Is that right?† Poppy's eyebrows lifted. â€Å"I'm mad at him,† sheconfirmed, as if this was the only part of the questionshe'd processed. â€Å"And you know why I like you?Because you've always hated him. Now we bothhate him.† Phil thought for a moment, then spoke carefully. â€Å"Okay. But when youweren'tmad at him, back then,did you want to turn into-what he is?† Suddenly a gleam of rationality showed in Poppy's eyes. â€Å"I just didn't want to die, â€Å"she said. â€Å"I was so scared-and I wanted to live. If the doctors could doanything for me, I'd try that. But they can't.† Shewas sitting up now, staring into space as if she saw something terrible there. â€Å"You don't know what itfeels like to know you're going to die,† shewhispered. Waves of chills washed over Phillip. No, he didn'tknow that, but he did know-he could suddenly picture vividly-what it was going to be like forhimafter Poppy died. How empty the world was going tobe without her. For a long time they both sat in silence. Then Poppy fell back onto the pillows again. Phillipcould see pastel blue smudges under her eyes, as ifthe conversation had exhausted her. â€Å"I don'tthinkitmatters,† she said in a faint but frighteningly cheerfulvoice. â€Å"I'm not going to die anyway. Doctors don't know everything.† So that's how she's dealing with it,Phillipthought.Total denial. He had all the information he needed, though. He had a clear view of the situation. And he knew whathe had to do now. â€Å"I'll leave so you can get some rest,† he said to Poppy, and patted her hand. It felt very cool andfragile, full of tiny bones like a bird's wing. â€Å"Seeyou later.† He slipped out of the house without telling anyone where he was going. Once on the road, he drovevery fast. It only took ten minutes to reach the apart ment building. He'd never been to James's apartment before. James answered the door with a cold, â€Å"What areyou doing here?† â€Å"Can I come in? I've got something to say.† James stood back expressionlessly to let him in. The â€Å"place was roomy and bare. There was a singlechairbeside a very cluttered table, an equally clut tered desk, and a square unbeautiful couch. Cardboard boxes full of books and CDs were stacked inthe corners. A door led to a spartan bedroom. â€Å"What do you want?† â€Å"First of all, I have to explain something. I knowyou can't help being what you are-but I can't helphow I feel about it, either. You can't change, andneither can I. I need you to understand that from the beginning.† James crossed his arms over his chest, wary anddefiant. â€Å"You can skip the lecture.† â€Å"I just need to make sure you understand, okay?†Ã¢â‚¬ What do youwant,Phil?† Phil swallowed. It took two or three tries before he could get the words out past the blockage of hispride. â€Å"I want you to help my sister.†

PERSONNEL PLANNING AND RECRUITMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PERSONNEL PLANNING AND RECRUITMENT - Essay Example They are a source of motivation and encouragement to the workers. However, they may lead to conflict among the employees seeking for promotion to the vacancies available. External sources on the other hand have to be acquired from outside the organization. One example is placement agencies which are private firms conducting recruitment activities on behalf of organizations at a fee, the advantage of this is it assists organizations to acquire necessary competencies. They however increase the cost of recruitment. Another is press advertisement of vacancies in journals and newspapers. The main advantage of this method is its wide reach. It is however time consuming as well as costly. The jobs ads evaluated were posted on the internet. They all follow the principal of AIDA (Attention, interest, desire, action). The first ads for the position of an AM Restaurant Supervisor start with the question: â€Å"What will it be like to work for this Hilton Worldwide Brand?† This grabs attention from suitable job seekers. The second job ad for the position of a Management Assistant appeals to applicable interest by indicating that the job is available for both new and experienced applicants. The third job add reviewed for the position of an Open Territory Sales Representative produces desire to go after what seems like a good opportunity by stating that the company assists its employees in attaining their goals. This ad also leads to action by offering clear instruction that interested applicant should not apply for the job without waiting. An email address and the company’s website is provided in order to make contact. The job ads evaluated do not appear to be appealing to the minority groups. There is no gendered wording present in most of these ads. The most probable reason for this is that the targeted job applicant would not be better off in the position if came from either gender or a certain group. It is important for companies to use of language

Safety Legislation,safety profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Safety Legislation,safety profession - Essay Example The first major step I would adopt in assuring that my organisation complies with OSHA is to initiate a health communication standard. Through this standard, I will ensure that the employees and the management team are aware of the hazardous chemicals in the work place and how to protect against their adverse effects. This will entail complying with the rules as outlined by the 29 CFR 1910.1200. Secondly, I would initiate an emergency action plan standard. This involves describing the actions that employees should emulate to ensure their safety during emergencies. Thirdly, my focus will be to establish a fire safety. Through a fire safety prevention plan, I will ensure that any accident that arises as a result of fire is avoided. Fourthly, I would establish an exit route. This will be inline with the OSHA requirement that all organisations must establish exit route within their premises. Fifthly, I would initiate a walking and walking surfaces (United States Department of labor 24). In this way, accidents related to slips, falls and trips will be significantly reduced. Sixthly, I would establish a medical and first aid kit. In this way, all accidents within the work place will be addressed. Question 2 Safety profession entails protection of harm to employees, environment as well as the properties that are vital in day to day running of an organisation. Using key principles that are drawn from various fields such as engineering, health, management, physics, education and psychology among others, safety professionals are focused at preventing accidents and illnesses among other incidents that can affect the operations of a company.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Assignment Example I have used both in my writing to give me as much information I could think of on the subject and express the scope of the elements that could be considered in writing. 3. The difference between free writing and focused free writing is in terms of focal point. Focused free writing centers one’s attention to a particular topic. In contrast, free writing is a prewriting strategy that lists just about anything that comes to mind. 4. The difference between a comparison and contrast paragraph is in the elements being compared: a comparison paragraph emphasizes similarities while a contrast paragraph emphasize differences. In a cause-and-effect paragraph, the focus is on why things happen (cause) and what happens as a result (effect). These paragraphs differ in approach as the cause and effect looks at historical information (root causes) and the outcome; while comparative analysis takes in a balanced perspective. 5. Defining simply states the precise meaning or specifying the natur e of the topic or subject being defined. Classifying, on the other hand, is an analytical technique that arranges or puts into order a subject or topic being evaluated. These kinds of analysis are similar in terms of the use of the information to detail, depict and describe. The difference between these two is in terms of arrangement or organizing process being created by the classification technique. 6. Since it was revealed that the difference between an analytical argument and persuasion is the selection of a specific audience, choosing an audience is deemed so important for persuasion because the nature of the arguments should be well understood by the audience being influenced or persuaded on the subject at hand. The objective of an analytical argument is merely to evaluate something into parts or components and determine its viability or credibility. A persuasion’s objective is to convince the audience to agree to one’s contentions. 7. Given that one is asked to persuade a potential student to attend your college next year, the three genres of communication that can be used to deliver the persuasive argument are written communication, oral or verbal communication and through electronic communication. The written communication could be disseminated through the local student paper or brochures that would highlight the benefits, features and competitive advantages of attending one’s college. Verbal communication could be used in face-to-face interactions where one could persuade and convince potential students, either within the campus or outside. Electronic communication is easily accessible and predominant currently. It is most effective to disseminate persuasive arguments that highlight the benefits of the college through social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and other networks through referrals from friends and associates. 8. There are various pieces of a business letter: the heading, date, salutation, the body of the l etter, and the complimentary close. The heading generally contains the information and address of the person writing. An inside address is needed prior to the salutation to indicate the address of the proposed recipient of the letter. The salutation or greeting addresses the person to whom the letter is directed to. A subject line would detail the aim or objective of the letter –

Psychology insight paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Psychology insight paper - Essay Example Another example is in sports, there are students which evidently have the potential to be an athlete but others excel more. One observation related to the reason for such cases is the initiative of a person to work and excel in specific areas. One student who is always reviewing math problems tend to join activities that can enhance the skills he has. On the other hand, the student who has more innate logical and mathematical skills achieves relatively lower marks. A realization regarding the matter came up when I personally inquired the reason why the student perceived to have more potential fails to enhance his skills and he gave a response that was based on his self perception. He perceived that he is not capable of excelling in the subject matter. Self-perception then became the focus of personal reflection. This is the manner by which a person sees himself. This can affect different aspect of his behavior and attitude. Generally, it can affect a person’s performance. If t he person perceives himself to be less than what he really is, his success and achievements are limited and hindered. On the other hand, when a person perceives himself to be more than his innate skills and talents, he can excel.

Autobiography Fictionalized Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Autobiography Fictionalized - Essay Example I was a good obedient girl, thus I took my Barbie doll and a box filled with patchy handmade doll clothes I made from time to time during flushes of childish creativity and went to my room. Dad still wasn’t at home. Mom kept ironing bedlinen and his office shirts. â€Å"Honey, have you brushed your teeth?† I heard while I was diligently putting all my coloring books, pencils and dolls together (I was seven, but I was already clever and sedulous enough). I was naively thinking that father was always at home at the time I went to do my toilet in the evening. Scrubbing my teeth with one of those funny toothbrushes with hippo-shaped caps, I saw mom sitting at the table and crying over her cellphone. I’d never seen a tear shed by her – she’d always been so adult and strong and wise to me. My childish logic didn’t tell me anything better than to come over and hug her as a sign of comfort: We couldn’t sleep well that night. I was hugging my mother, while she lay with her back to me and held the phone in her hand. The phone was ringing continuously, but she wouldn’t answer, except for once, when she picked up the call and yelled haltingly: I was a little bit scared and puzzled, my childish mind didn’t want to admit that it was my father, though it was him. He must’ve hurt mommy or did something wrong, I thought. I hoped that there wasn’t my fault in their quarrel. The next morning, mom didn’t want to talk to me – or to anyone – at all. She cooked my usual Sunday pancakes, dressed them amply with blueberry jam and informed me that we were going for â€Å"a very long† walk in the park. Well, it was strange, for we always spent Sundays together with her and father either making some barbeque or going on one-day trips to some picturesque places. Well, dad never participated in our entertainment too actively: he’d rather walk around silently, smiling from time to

In what ways do reggio emilia philosophies and practices of pedagogy Essay

In what ways do reggio emilia philosophies and practices of pedagogy support and enhance children's creativity and their understandings of the world - Essay Example It was deeply felt that children should be given firsthand experience of their surroundings, and that they should explore and establish relationships with the world around them using their own natural curiosity, instincts and gifted abilities; instead of being taught about the world with a preset curriculum. â€Å"One of the focal points of the Reggio Emilia philosophy... develops a complex system of abilities, learning strategies and ways of organizing relationships.† (Rinaldi, 2006, p. 83). My experience in Reggio Emilia convinced me that all children have the right to work and play with a wide range of the highest-quality materials in the highest quality settings in their daily life in school. It is in this way that children are able to build rich and complex relationships with the world, which will grow and evolve over time. (Cadwell, 1997, p. 72). The Reggio philosophy was based upon giving the children the freedom and the right to set their own curriculum, according to their individual needs and interests; it incorporated parents as partners, and teachers as learners. The teacher in Reggio Emilia is not viewed as the expert or sole dispenser of information; rather, the role of the teacher becomes one that is shared among members of the group... The teacher’s role is to create a partnership with the learners ... and begin the process of the co-construction of knowledge. (Fraser & Gestwicky, 2002, p. 46-47). She always directs their attention back to the essence of their own lives [and invites them] to turn their own language upon this world...At the same time she knows that she is initiator at the outset... if the children are to take over, it is because she has opened up the possibilities and established the tone. (Connie & Harold Rosen, 1973, p. 64) A very important aspect of the Reggio philosophy is the use of documentation of the child’s progress and development through various critical

Political science Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Political science - Research Paper Example ossible for hyperglobalization to be fully-embraced by countries without negative consequences.This is because one way or another, there will always be clauses within international policies set by the WTO that can either be beneficial or detrimental to a country’s growth, of which it may be impossible to fully change or circumvent these policies in the country’s favor. In turn, the government has to choose between following the international policy at the cost of the economy and of the local market, or be subject to the sanctions imposed to countries when these are unable to comply with international standards. Either way, unless governments are able to strike a balance between smart globalization and national democracy, it can be expected that local and international trade policies will always clash, and the government and its economy will bear the burden of its effects. Issues on hyperglobalization arose from incompatibilities between national interest and of international policy implementation. The issues that arose from Argentina’s economic problems in the 1990’s were able to capture the essence of the inherent incompatibility of hyperglobalization with national democracy, wherein the over-reliance of politicians to â€Å"tried-and-tested† methods of maintaining economic growth became its downfall upon the crash of the Asian markets and the devaluation of neighboring Brazil’s currency(185). Due to the reluctance of some politicians to change economic and trade laws that were considered obsolete even by then-standards, the crises that came about and resulted to the overvaluation of the Argentinian peso with respect to other neighboring countries made investments less profitable. This caused a large amount of capital to be pulled out from the country, which in turn cascaded into wider panic among citizens as more and mor e people pulled out their money from financial institutions and essentially reduced the monies circulating and fueling the economy. The

SOCIAL, CULTURAL and ECONOMIC CONTEXT OF HEALTH Essay - 1

SOCIAL, CULTURAL and ECONOMIC CONTEXT OF HEALTH - Essay Example , we cannot delink and conceptualise public health and health care separately since both focus on the improvement of the health of the entire population, in a country or a region, although health care focuses on individual care while public health care focuses on a part of the population, or the entire population (Gostin et al., 2011). However, the type of the health care that the nation provides is determined by the quality of care offered and the outcome of care provided by practitioners in the health care sector. In this case, the quality of care is the most important aspect as it determines the health of the entire population. Various research studies identify the importance of the quality of care in determining the outcome of care with the outcome of care provided being the most important aspect in the determination of the effectiveness of a nation’s health care system (Hermann et al., 2006; Parish et al., 2011; Pincus et al., 2007; Shih et al., 2013). To achieve effectiveness in the health care sector with the aim of achieving quality care, it is important to ensure that there is sufficient allocation of resources that are consequently utilised in an approach that was effective. In this case, allocation of resources should not only be done without following their implementation and utilisation in every level and organisation of the health care system in which the resources are required. This implies that the efficiency of the health care sector is determined by various factors with the amount of resources allocated determining the implementation of services in ensuring that the health care sector met the needs of the nation. In line with this, Kluge (2007) identified resources as critical in setting the priority in the health care sector. Stakeholders face a challenge related to the setting of priorities in an environment whereby the resources allocated are not sufficient to implement a health care system that addresses the needs of all stakeholders in the

Total Knee Arthroplasty Essay Example for Free

Total Knee Arthroplasty Essay Etiology and Pathology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The knee functions as a type of biological transmission whose purpose is to accept and transfer range of loads between and among the femur, patella, tibia, and fibula without causing structural or metabolic damage. Arthritic knees are like living transmissions with worn bearings that have limited capacity to safely accept and transmit forces. Arthritis of the knee can be restricted to a monoarticular clinical manifestation, or it may be a part of an oligo-or polyarticular disease. A careful anamnesis and clinical examination will allow the clinician to classify the clinical presentation of arthritis of the knee into disease groups such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis spondyloarthropathy, or miscellaneous arthritic diseases. Infectious arthritis presents typically as an (sub) acute inflammatory monoarthritic disease. Up to 90 % of infectious arthritis cases present as monoarthritis. The only exception is gonococcal arthritis, which presents more commonly as a migratory polyarthritis. If the condition is unrecognized, joint destruction will occur rapidly. In confronting the athlete who will undergo the operation it is important for me to discuss a working hypothesis and ultimately critical to arrive to the most likely diagnosis. The clinical history of the patient is to be well studied it is a demanding task and a lot of circumstantial evidence can evolve from a full history of the current problem , past medical conditions, and the family history. Kinds of Pain The nature of the pain that he might encounter and the reason he needs to undergo TKA belongs to â€Å"the basics†, whether it is mechanical, inflammatory, neuropathic, or poorly defined.   Mechanical pain occurs when the joint is used; walking becomes difficult and especially climbing stairs causes problems. On resting, there is less pain. Starting pain and stiffness are very characteristics of a more advanced mechanical pain pattern. Inflammatory pain typically presents at night. More specifically, the second part of the night become troublesome, and patients need to go out of bed and move. They experience morning stiffness for at least one hour, and this stiffness diminishes progressively as the pain begins to move. When pain is neuropathic in origin, a typical distribution pattern corresponding to the innervations’ is found. Psychosomatic pain has no typical presentation or distribution. Complaints are always more impressive than the clinical findings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consider asking the patient of how long the knee problem has existed, when pain and swelling have been present for less than 6 weeks, the problem is acute. Beyond 6 week’s duration, the term chronic is used and implies that spontaneous healing of the arthritis is unlikely.   It is also important to look for circumstantial evidence. Did the trauma occur just before the knee swelling began? Did the patient have an episode of fever such as angina, gastroenteritis, or arthritis? Does the patient have other clinical conditions that could be linked to the knee arthritis, such as skin problems (psoriasis, erythema nodosum), chronic diarrhea as seen inflammatory bowel disease, and eye problems such as uveitis or scleritis? In this setting a complete familial history can also add useful information. Advantages of Total Knee Arthroplasty Consistent reproducible results Correction of mechanical alignment Addressing all knee compartments Long term (greater than 90%) 10 year survivorship Drawbacks Postoperative pain which can endure for months Prolonged recovery sometimes inferior Patient satisfaction With extensive exposure required to align and implant the total knee arthroplasty, there is significant damage to the quadriceps muscle both in cutting into the musculature itself as well as damage with eversion of the patella and prolonged stretch to the quadriceps mechanisms intraoperatively. Muscle damage is permanent and can limit postoperative strength and/or function. Surgical Procedure   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before the surgery is performed usually blood count, electrolytes, APTT and PT to measure blood clotting, chest X-rays, ECG, and blood cross matching for possible transfusion. Accurate X-rays of the knee are needed to measure the size of components which will be needed. Medications such as warfarin and aspirin will be stopped some days before surgery to reduce the amount of bleeding. The athlete may be admitted on the day of surgery if the pre-op work up is done in the pre-anesthetic clinic or may come into hospital one or more days before surgery. Recent improvements in technology have led to a confusing spectrum of choices for both the patient and surgeon in treating monocompartmental knee arthritis. The obvious need to get the surgery done right, there are now pressures to â€Å"do it quickly† and with a minimal scar and reduced disability time. The combination of patient’s demands and expectations with actual surgical possibilities may be challenging. To this end, a logical structuring of options is in this order: Osteotomies Unincompartmental knee arthroplasty Total knee arthroplasty The indications and more importantly, the contraindications of the surgical procedures often results in overlap of options that must be considered for any given clinical situation. The appropriateness of any of these procedures should be considered in light of their relative indications and problems. These include patient age, activity level, expected longevity of the procedure, reliability of the procedure to bring about the expected goal, and ease of revision in the event of failure. Of equal importance are the contraindications to the procedures including contracture, deformity, ligament contracture or insufficiency, and bone deficiency. The relative value of an osteotomy stands in inverse proportion to the patient’s age. Younger patient’s demands on an implant that will not stand the test of time, with failure due to wear or fixation failure. Considering that the patient is an athlete, athletic activities after the operation such as jumping and running are associated with surface loads in excess of the limits of the polyethylene.   The hazards of heavy or repetitive loading, deep knee bending and the lifting activities that accompany a variety of occupations and activities may loosen or damage prosthesis. Research Probability on Different methods on Knee Surgery Long term results of osteotomy show a gradual decline in function and recurrence of deformity. Hungerford et al reported that on ninety-two knees with a good or excellent rating after osteotomy at two years. At ten years only fifty-eight knees (61%) maintained this level 13. Parvizi et al reported on fifty-eight patients with a mean fifteen year follow up. There were only 55% good to excellent results. Twenty-six patients formed subsets that have been reviewed previously. At eight years, there were 73% good to excellent results, declining to 46% at eighteen years. Technical Problems   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Technical problems of total knee arthroplasty after closing wedge osteotomy include: difficulties in gaining exposure, bony deficiencies necessitating grafts or wedges, difficulties in attaining ligament balance, prolonged surgical time and increased blood loss. Lonner et al recommended reserving the procedure for young, active overweight patient only 15.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Justification for the procedure in high demand patients is more difficult. Bellemans and Co author have reported range of motion between 120 and 130 degrees with enhanced functional potential for activities of daily living including stair climbing and transfer function.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Osteotomy has some contraindications including: various deformities greater that 10 degrees, flexion contracture more than 20 degrees, limited range of motion, ligament insufficiency including the anterior cruciate, and patellofemoral (Kurtz, 2004). Unicompartmental arthroplasty shares similar contraindications. Surgical treatments include tissue repair approaches, arthroscopic lavage and debridement, osteotomy, and unicompartmental and total knee replacement. There is little or no evidence that surgical reconstruction of torn cruciate ligaments or the meniscus prevents the development of the knee OA. It remains to be seen whether cartilage repair procedures prevent or slow down knee OA. The combination of tissue repair, such as the repair of cartilage defects, with an osteotomy, performed on the right patient and by a trained surgeon. In the case of knees with advanced degenerative arthrosis which undergo joint replacement surgery, the principle of functional restoration may be more properly stated as maximization of the functional capacity of the knee. As effective as current joint replacement techniques are at achieving pain relief and often associated increases in muscle strength and control, knees that have had joint replacement surgery do not replicate the functional status of a healthy, uninjured, adult joint. After the joint replacement the patient should avoid in running marathons or play tackle football. The structure of the knee is complex, and its behavior can be unpredictable even in the most experienced hands. However, the task of replacing the bone surfaces and balancing the ligaments can be made manageable by following a logical plan based on correct alignment throughout the arc of flexion and ligament release based on the function of each ligament. Optimal knee function requires correct varus-valgus alignment in all positions of flexion. This requires reliable anatomical landmarks for alignment both in flexion and extension. The long axes of the femur and tibia and the anterior and posterior axis of the femur are highly reliable and provide the guidelines for establishing stable alignment of the joint surfaces by placing the tibia and patellar groove correctly in the median anterior-posterior plane trough the entire arc flexion.   Knowing their function and testing their tension provides the information necessary to release only the ligaments that are excessively tight, leaving those that are performing normally. Fractional release does not destabilize the knee, because other ligaments are retained, and because the peripheral attachments of the ligament to other soft tissue structures such as the peristeum or synovial capsular tissue allow the released ligament to continue to function. Ligament release does not cause instability. Failure to align the knee and release the tight ligaments, however, does not cause instability, unreliable function, and excessive wear. With this knowledge, good instruments, and sound implants, the surgeon can align, balance, and stabilize the knee even when severe bone destruction and ligament contracture are present. CT scanning is an accurate way of measuring the component malrotation. Assessment of the rotatory alignment of the femoral component and the axial rotational relationship of the femoral and tibial components is part of the Perth CT protocol which is used routinely in total knee replacement surgery. The athlete will have preoperative clinical investigation and a radiological examination with standardized coronal long leg stance X-ray and standard lateral X-rays, adapted from the technique. Intraoperative complications will be recorded. The radiological evaluation was repeated between the 6th and 12th postoperative weeks by an independent observer at each center. The athlete should perform straight leg raises by the first postoperative day, by the second postoperative day research shows that 90% of patients have straight leg rise which suggest s good control of the quadriceps mechanism. On the third postoperative day the athlete should be able to independently transfer from a bed to a chair and on fourth postoperative day the athlete is able to navigate up and down stairs with assistance, and the mean postoperative discharge is 2.8 days.   The athlete is discharged to physical therapy which he will perform on his own home. Athlete should be averaging 10 days on a walker, 1 week on a cane, and independent ambulation is averaging approximately 3.5 weeks.    Rehabilitation Protocol To have the ability to perform physical actions task, and activities related to self-care is improved: Care is coordinated with patient, family, and other professionals.   Case is managed throughout episode of care   Integumentary integrity is improved   Knowledge of behaviors that foster healthy habits its gained Placement needs are determined   Risk factors are reduced   Risk of secondary impairments is reduced   ROM is increased   Standing balance is improved, stress is decreased To achieve this outcome, the appropriate intervention for this patient is determined. This will include coordination, communication, and documentation.    Is there evidence of total contact? If the person has a pelite liner, total contact maybe checked by putting a little ball of play dough at the end of the socket, the patient stands and bears weight and the displacement of the play dough indicates the extent of total contact, Too little contact may cause may cause distal end skin problems and a stretching pain. Too much may cause excessive pressure at the end of the stump and pressure pain. Is suspension maintained when patient’s lifts leg off the floor? Check that there is no excessive movement of the prosthesis away from limb when weight is removed. On weight bearing, make a small pencil mark at the anterior socket brim or, if sleeve or shuttles locks suspension, place lightly at edge of socket. Too much movement between residual limb and socket creates abrasions and may lead to toe drag on swing. CONCLUSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joint replacement surgery is designed to expand the entire envelope of function of symptomatic arthritic knees as safely and predictably as possible. Properly utilized, total knee replacement surgery is capable of substantial increases in the functional capacity of a given arthritic joint, but it is not designed to restore the full physiological function of a normal, uninjured adult knee. Future developments in the therapeutic management of arthritic knees may eventually involve biological approaches that could result in further improvements in maximizing the post treatment envelope of function over what can be achieved with the current technique of using artificial components. By tracking the loss of osseous homeostasis in knees starting at a time prior to the development of overt radiography identifiable degenerative changes Most patients can easily readily grasp the concept of the envelope and therefore can have a better understanding of what function is to be expected postoperatively. By this method they can more readily understand the joint replacement surgery is not designed to restore a knee to full, normal physiological function. Patients have responsibilities, as well to do all they can ( by participating in pre- and post operative physical therapy, for example_ to maximize their envelope and, once3 this is achieved, to not exceed the functional capacity of the joint following surgery by avoiding activities associated with supraphysiological loading. Cited Literature Hungerford MW, Mont MA. 2000. Nonoperative treatment of knee arthritis. In Insall JN, Scott NA (ed.). The Knee. CV Mosby, NY. Robertsson O. 2000. Unicompartmental arthroplasty. Results in Sweden. Orthopade 2000; 29 Suppl 1:S6-8. Lonner JH, Hershman S, Mont M, Lotke PA, 2000.Total knee arthroplasty in patients 40   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  years of age and younger with osteoarthritis. Clinical Orthopedic pp. 380:85-90. Mont MA, Chang MJ, Sheldon MS, Lennon WC, Hungerford DS, 2002. Total knee arthroplasty in patients less than 50 years old. J Arthroplasty 17: pp. 338-343. Romanowski MR and Repici JA. 2002. Minimally invasive unicondylar arthroplasty. Eight year follow-up. J Knee Surgery 15: pp. 17-22. Parvizi J, Hanssen AD, Spangehl MJ, 2003.   Total knee arthroplasty following a prior proximal tibial osteotomy. A long-term study identifying risk factors for failure. J Bone Joint Surgery (In Press). Hungerford, D. S. Kenneth A., Krackow, Kenna R.V. 1994. Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Comprehensive Approach. Williams and Wilkins. Kurtz, S.M.   2004. The UHMPE Handbook Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene. Academic Press. Rodriguez, E. C. 2003. The Haemophilic Joints: New Perspective. Blackwell Publishing. Delloye, C. and Bannister, G. 2004. Impaction Bone Grafting in Revision Arthropplasty. Published Informa Health Care. Bono, J.V., Scott, R.D. 2005. Revision Total Knee Athroplasty. Springer. Dutton, M. 2004. Orthopedic Examination, Evaluation, and Intervention. Mc Graw Hill Professional. Sculco, T.P., Martucci, E.A., 2001. Knee Arthropplasty. Springer Publising. Moffat, M. Rosen, E. Rusnak-Smit S., 2006. Muscuskeletal Essentials: Applying the Physical Therapist. SLACK Incorporated. Callaghan, J.J., 2003. The Adult Knee. Contributor Harry E. Rubash. Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

Domestic monetary systems Essay Example for Free

Domestic monetary systems Essay With a population of 170 million, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is strategically located in South Asia, sharing borders with India to the East, China to the North East, Afghanistan to the North West and Iran to the West. To the south lies the Arabian Sea, this provides close proximity to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The country is predominantly Muslim with a major portion of the population (65%) residing in the rural areas. Although significant progress has been made in recent years, the country still lags behind as far as social infrastructure and human development are concerned. (Bajwa, 1999) Structure of Government and Politics: The constitution of the country, promulgated in 1973, holds out the country as a parliamentary democracy with all powers vested in the parliament. However, for much of the past decade, Pakistan was run along the lines of a military dictatorship, with Parliament subservient to the President and vast powers vested in his self. After the gradual transfer of power to democratic forces following an election on the 18th of February, the resignation of General (Retd) Pervaiz Musharraf, and the election of Asif Ali Zardari as the new President, parliament is reviewing the balance of power between the Presidential Palace and the Parliament House and it is expected that, soon, the country would revert back to the old format of the President being a ceremonial Head of State and the Prime Minister running the country independently with Parliament backing. (Malik, 2001) At present, there is a coalition government in place that comprises the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). It is led by the President of the country, Asif Ali Zardari, who happens to be the widower of famed democratic leader Benazir Bhutto, assassinated by terrorist elements during an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi last year. Other coalition partners include the MQM (Muthaida Quami Movement translated as United National Movement) and the ANP (Awami National Party). The Opposition is deeply divided and primarily consists of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) and the Pakistan Muslim League (N). The main political issues on the domestic front are, as mentioned above, the repealing of anti democratic laws enacted as part of the constitution by the outgoing military regime and the issue of the deposed judges of the supreme court that were sacked by the former military regime when they refused to remain puppets. Apart from this, there is the dire issue of reconciliation between neglected provinces. However, the inability of the new coalition government to actively address issues of popular appeal and an over indulgence in issues of power sharing and power consolidation lend it ever decreasing credibility in the eyes of the general public. Although the new government has been in power for almost an year, its performance has been dismal. The popular mandate of democracy that has shot the PPP and its coalition partners into power has not been implemented. The Prime Minister, Yousuf Reza Gillani, remains a puppet and the Presidential Palace remains the main power fort. Despite the fact that the opposition is ready to support the government on national issues, such as the reinstatement of deposed judges and the repealing of undemocratic laws, the government has so far shown quiet restraint to address these issues. Foreign Policy: â€Å"Pakistans foreign policy has been marked by a complex balancing processthe result of its history, religious heritage, and geographic position. The primary objective of that policy has been to preserve Pakistans territorial integrity and security, which have been in jeopardy since the states inception. † (US Library of Congress) The aforementioned paragraph adequately describes Pakistan’s foreign policy ever since it came on the map of the world in 1947. Being predominantly Muslim, the country finds itself sentimentally attached to the Islamic World, in particular the Middle East. A developing country, lacking skilled manpower and capital to exploit the wealth of natural resources that its lands have been bestowed with, the country’s foreign policy has had to take in account the economic impact that relations with other countries can have. Moreover, traditional enmity with the giant neighbor on its eastern borders (India) has forced it to make balancing measures with staying in the good books of China and supporting pro Pakistan elements in Afghanistan. (Bajwa, 1999) Pakistans foreign policy is deeply aligned with the United States goal of War on terror. After the September 11 attacks, Pakistan renounced terrorism and became a frontline state in the war against terrorism. The country is the main supply route to NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan and is a major non NATO US ally. Despite this close alignment with the United States, the country often finds itself in a tricky situation when it comes to its tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. These areas are largely unregulated since independence from the British in 1947, operate with full autonomy while pledging allegiance to Islamabad. Pakistan is blamed for â€Å"not doing enough† to quell terrorist incursions from these tribal areas. Tribes here are said to be providing safe havens to terrorist and Taliban elements with the theory that the top brass of Al Qaeda and the Taliban is hiding here. NATO led forces have made several air strikes in the area which Pakistan declares as encroachment on its sovereignty but takes little steps to discipline these tribal belts. Part of this inaction is based on the fact that a stable Afghanistan, aligned with India is not in the best interests of Pakistan. Traditional enmity with India over the Jammu Kashmir disputed territory has led the two countries to fight three full scale wars in 1948, 1965 1971 and one limited war in 1999. Pakistan perceives a pro Pakistan Afghan government or an unstable Afghanistan as a hedge against encirclement by India. It is this threat to its security that leads it to, introvert if not extrovertly, refrain from taking any drastic steps to quell those destabilizing elements in Afghanistan that originally emanate from its terrotiry. (Bajwa, 1999) On the economic front, Pakistan is primarily an exporter of textiles accounting to about 57% of the country’s exports. Prime markets are North America and Europe. Good relations are important with these two blocks of nations as they provide trade facilitation and, at the same time, help with soft loans and aid to help in social and economic development. Remittances also play an important part in the country’s balance of payments and a large amount of Pakistani’s work in the Middle East, Europe and America. The country’s foreign policy also has to take account of these factors. (Malik, 2001) Thus, to sum up, as implied earlier, the country’s foreign policy is driven by its perceived security threat, religious affiliation with the Islamic fraternity of nations and the dependence upon economic aid and facilitation by friendly countries. While the policy has been largely successful in maintaining the country’s territorial (if we exclude the secession of East Pakistan in 1971 due to Indian intervention) integrity and safeguarding its economic interests, continuing on such lines indefinitely is not an option and it is important that the country makes a strategic review of its policy and seek alternative ways of addressing outstanding issues. Domestic Monetary Systems: Speaking In purely political economic terms, the government of technocrats that took power in October 1999 was faced with a huge crisis. Business confidence was low, investors were hesitant and the economy seemed to be heading for a deeper depression. Political legitimacy for the regime was another issue. Quite smartly, the policy makers then decided to lower interest rates. The idea was that low interest rates would encourage private sector borrowing, push up aggregate demand, increase corporate sector profitability, help in the generation of employment and quite importantly provide legitimacy to the regime. The concept to create this artificial boom was not a bad idea at all, but the fact that this approach only stocks problem for the future are alarming. While banking is referred to as â€Å"the refined management of money†, during the last 9 years, the country bore witness to the greatest mismanagement of scarce resources in the history of the country. The rise of consumer banking in an undocumented economy meant that people borrowed cheap and spent it on unproductive activities like buying consumables, investing on a volatile stock market vacationing in Europe. New investment in capital was made, but the bulk of the corporate sector used the low interest rates to either replace existing machinery or reschedule existing loans at cheaper rates. Thus, the economy was inflated by the use of an expansionary monetary policy that increased the dependence on oil and fuel. Worse, the effect is more severe as a high proportion of petroleum consumption is used by private car owners. Had the government tried to balance total economic and social benefit with total economic and social costs, by for example, encouraging public transport as opposed to private car ownership, the economy would have been less affected by the oil price hikes. Switching to Compressed Natural Gas was instead provided as a viable alternative but the result was lower gas supply for domestic and industrial use. Today, the Pakistani economy is representative of an over inflated balloon and attempts to deflate it are having serious repercussions. The state bank of Pakistan has raised interest rates to 15. 5% in attempt to curb inflation running as high as 20%. Measures have been introduced to reduce the money supply. This would help ease inflationary pressures on the demand side. However the argument goes that high interest rates would discourage investment, lead to low business confidence result in excessive saving as people would consume less and save more. This would mean that a â€Å"general glut† would appear in the economy with high inventories and unused capacity. Unless there is adequate demand outside the economy, employment levels may fall and output would decrease, leading to further slow growth, possibly complete stagnation. Given the current world economic scenario, with recession in the US, the sub prime mortgage crisis, competition from low cost producers such as China and India and the overall geo political scenario, monetary contraction is only making matters worse. Another important problem is the fact that unethical business practices like cartelization and hoarding are ever prevalent in this country. Moreover, the country is highly dependent upon imports of fuel and other items to aid its industries. Thus, a major portion of the inflation that the country faces is cost push in nature. However, the aim remains to target aggregate demand. (Janjua, 2008) This policy of the government makes some sense as the economy is artificially inflated. However, by not targeting the cost push factors and solely targeting the demand factors by reducing money supply, the government is not helping consumer and business confidence. The government’s inaction can be explained by two reasons. First, the country has recently obtained a hefty loan of USD 7. 6 billion from the IMF. A condition of this loan is to restrict money supply further. This is typical of many IMF financings which focus on monetary betterment as opposed to the level of unemployment and GDP growth. Secondly, many of the cartels have representation in the government and due to the absence of a strict legal system; any action against them is made impossible. Foreign Trade: A very interesting scenario is presented in the Economic survey of Pakistan 2007-8, which states that exports â€Å"suffer from serious structural issues which need to be addressed primarily by the industry itself, with government playing its role of a facilitator. † It then goes on to tell how textiles are the most important contributor to exports (56. 67%) and the issues that the industry faces as a result of its inability to innovate, become efficient and embrace fashion trends in its primary foreign markets. A new surprise is found in the face of food items (the country is running out of water, by the way) accounting for 13% of total exports, petroleum products (meager resources at best) accounting for 6% of total exports, manufactured leather products 3. 7% and chemicals and pharma products almost 3. 27% of total exports. Aggregate these and you find that the top five exports make up 83% of total exports. (Ministry of Finance, 2008) The point of doing this analysis is to show that as an economy; Pakistan is heavily exposed to, what is called in financial management terminology, unsystematic risk. Its lack of diversity makes it more prone to microeconomic shocks in the prime exports that it makes. Another worrying problem is the terms of trade, (a monetary measure of the price of exports upon the price of imports). Sadly, whereas the terms of trade were highly in favor of Pakistan until 1998-99 (115. 7), they have since then nose dived to stand at 58. 35 (2007-8). What this implies is that although the country has been exporting a lot more in volume, in value terms, international trade is becoming increasingly disadvantageous for Pakistan. Even if you take the effect of rising oil prices out of this analysis, the terms of trade had, never the less had fallen to 73. 6 by 2004-5. This lack of value addition makes us it more suspect to microeconomic level industry shocks that could further damage its standing in the export market. (Ministry of Finance, 2008) The previously mentioned most accurately describes the Pakistani government’s policy towards foreign trade. Although it has been working tirelessly to gain access to markets in Asia, Europe and North America for its export industries, the emphasis has remained towards increasing textile exports. This support of textiles and agricultural items to a certain extent has not fared well for other industries and sectors. Export diversity is low and so is value addition. Moreover, the country has not been able to reposition itself with regard to reliance on imports. So in so, that even though the country is an agricultural country by definition, due to poor harvests and lack of support, in certain years, we see that staple food items are imported by this agricultural country. Although natural consequences favor that Pakistan produces and exports textiles and food items, unfortunately, but both these industries have certainly lost their efficiency at doing the job that is intended of them. The textile industrys inability to change coupled with power shortages and political nightmares and our lack of water resources for agriculture coupled with reluctance from commercial banks to serve this sector means that there should be a policy change at the federal level. The high level of competition that these industries face means that the government has to take steps not only to help these industries blossom and at least maintain their market share, but to ensure that comparative advantage is exploited in other fields as well. The Pakistani government has been providing support to the traditional industries for some time now with mixed results. Therefore, instead of a status quo â€Å"wait and see† policy, a change is warranted. Thus, a policy shift should be made towards growth of value adding, job and export oriented activities. Exchange Rate Policy: Interest rate parity and purchasing power parity holds that changes in exchange rates between currencies can be explained by differences in interest rates and inflation rates respectively between countries. Building on this premise, the Rupee Dollar (PKR:USD) exchange rate remained range bound between PKR 59/USD to PKR 62/ USD for almost 8 years, starting 2000. The reason was that the country followed a managed float, with the central bank intervening in the market whenever the exchange rate would go out of range. This was happening against the backdrop of the fact that interest rates and inflation rates were considerably high in Pakistan and the currency was expected to depreciate. (State Bank of Pakistan) This managed float policy changed in early 2008 when the new government took power and the country reverted to a floating system. The rupee has since lost 33% of its value against the US dollar and currently stands at PKR 80/USD. (State Bank of Pakistan) The current policy is more realistic in its economic nature as the country, lacking substantial foreign currency reserves and a permanent balance of payment deficit could not continue to support an artificially strong exchange rate. Furthermore, this new policy of floating exchange rate systems will benefit the country with regard to its exports becoming cheaper when priced in USD. However, whether demand for the country’s exports picks up is another issue. More over, the effect of the rise in the prices of imports also has to be considered as many inputs in the production process are imported. Conclusion: The analysis of Pakistan’s monetary, foreign trade, exchange rate and foreign policy reveals the tendency in many developing countries to take decisions regarding economy based on politics. The short term benefits include lending credibility to the person in power, but the long term effects are almost always devastating. References: Bajwa Naseem, F. (1999) Pakistan : A Historical and Contemporary Look. Karachi : Oxford University Press. Asif Malik, M. (2001). Ideology and Dynamics of Pakistan. Karachi: Publishers emporium. Lipsey G. , H. Harbury, C. (1992) First Principles of Economics. London: Oxford University Press. Library Of Congress. For Researchers. Retrieved from http://www. loc. gov/rr/ State Bank Of Pakistan. Publications : Financial Stability Review. [Data File] Retrieved from http://www. sbp. org. pk/fsr/2006/index. htm Janjua Ashraf, M. (2008).. Government Borrowing and State Bank’s Authority. The Daily Dawn Economic and Business review Retrieved 12th december 2008 from http://www. dawn. com/2008/11/24/ebr14. htm

The Case Of Ryanair In Airlines Commerce Essay

The Case Of Ryanair In Airlines Commerce Essay This case is about Ryanair which is the first budget airline in the Europe headed by Michael OLeary who was the CEO of Ryanair. The case further explains how Ryanair the most profitable airline faced various challenges during the time period of 2004 to 2007 including the backdrop of the European airline industry. Main objectives of this assignment are to provide recommendations to senior management team of Ryanair with strategic choices and recommend new strategic initiatives and areas for improving strategy implementation. In order to accomplish those objectives a strategic analysis of environment, industry as well as the internal performances of Ryanair will be conducted. 3.1 About Ryanair Ryanair was founded by Ryan family in 1985. It has changed from a fully service conventional airline to the budget airline segment with the great turbulence they had faced in 1990. Now it has become the worlds most profitable airline. Ryanairs mission statement Ryanair will become Europeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²s most profitable lowest cost airline by rolling out our proven `low-fare-no-frillsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² service in all markets in which we operate, to the benefit of our passengers, people, and shareholders (Mayer, 2007) It is possible to identify Ryanairs current business scope from that statement. (Thompson Strickland, 2003) They are the Europes most profitable low cost airline who provides low cost no frill services to their customers who are according to (Mayer, 2007) within Europe and price-sensitive with a lower income level or other preferences and less willing to pay for the add-on services onboard. According to (Strategy, n.d) Ryanairs main objective is to firmly establish itself as Europes leading low-fares scheduled passenger airline through continued improvements and expanded offerings of its low fares service. Their other objectives includes providing best customer service, providing point to point short haul routes to secondary airports around major population destinations and travel destinations at the lowest possible cost by lowering the operating costs. According to the case they have some future growth plans also. Critical Issues It is possible to identify many critical issues when analysing the case. Among them main issues would be high customer dissatisfaction and poor labour relations. Other issues may include failure to acquire their Irish rival Aer Lingus, announcement of its CEO Michael OLeary to leave the organisation. Models and Theories Used To analyse the macro-environment of European aviation industry, PESTEL analysis, Porters Diamond model and strategy drivers of globalisation will be used. European aviation industry and especially the low cost airline industry will be analysed using Porters Five Forces model and Strategic Grouping method. After analysing external environment, internal analysis of Ryanair will be conducted using VRIO model and Porters Value Chain analysis. Finally a SWOT analysis will be done to review the findings. External Environment Analysis Organizations do not operate in a vacuum. It is been affected and affects the environments in which it operates and so the strategy of an organization. In a highly competitive market it is necessary to analyse the environment an organization operates and assess the impact to its strategy. Finally this analysis would lead to identify opportunities and threats that are facing by the organisation. When analysing the external environment it can be divided into 2 parts, macro-environment and industry environment. Macro-Environment According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) macro-environment consists of all relevant forces outside an organisation and those factors are far beyond the control of the organisation. Since they have a big impact on an organisations strategy, analysis is very important. 6.1.1 PESTEL Macro-environment can be analysed using the PESTEL analysis. It helps to identify each factor of macro-environment and its effects on the industry in which an organisation operates. This includes the following components (PESTEL analysis of the macro-environment, 2007); P Political This analyses how political decisions, government policies, etc affects businesses. E Economic This considers economic factors like interest rates, taxation, and economic growth. S Social This analyses how changes in social life styles affects demands and businesses T Technological Technology is changing and improving faster. It affects businesses in many ways. New technology can be used to improve product quality and reduce costs. Also new technology creates new products and markets. E Environmental This considers the environmental factors like climate changes, and impact of industrial outputs on the environment L Legal This relates to the legal environment in an organisation operates. Detailed analysis of the PESTEL analysis for Ryanairs external macro-environment and key drivers for changes including environment created opportunities and threats is included under Appendix 1 6.1.2 Globalisation Drivers of Strategy A detailed analysis of how globalisation created opportunities and forced aviation industry to go international especially in Europes context is conducted under Appendix 2. (Jatuliaviciene Kuanskiene, 2006) 6.1.3 Porters Diamond This model has been developed by Michael Porter to understand the competitive position or advantages that certain nations or geographic regions posses in global competition. According to this model certain nations possess competitive advantages over other nations as an outcome of the combination of interlinked advanced activities or factors between related companies in a geographic location. As this model explains governments play an important role in possessing competitive advantage through proactive actions. (Diamond model Michael Porter, 2010) (Diamond model Michael Porter, 2010) According to (Diamond model Michael Porter, 2010) Porter has identified factors for competitive advantages for regions or countries as follows. 1. Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry 2. Demand Conditions 3. Related Support Industries 4. Factor Conditions A detailed analysis of how Europe possessed competitive advantage for aviation industry as a region and how it created opportunities for Ryanair is analysed under Appendix 3. Industry Environment Traditionally after conducting a macro-environmental analysis industry analysis is conducted to analyse the level of competition a business likely to face. (The Industry Environment Analysis, n.d) According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) the level of competition within an industry is depends upon 5 factors. Profitability of an industry is determined by the collective strength of those forces. Those can be analysed using the Porters Five Forces model. Porters Five Forces (The Industry Environment Analysis, n.d) According to Porter competitive forces are as follows; The threat of entry of new competitors. The seriousness of the threat of entrance of new competitors depends on the barriers presents in a particular industry. If barriers of entry are high and the new comer expects high reactions from existing firms, new firm will think twice before entering. Some barriers to entry are as follows; economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirement. (Pearce Robinson, 2005) The bargaining power of buyers. When buyers have more power than sellers they can force down the price and thereby affecting the profitability of an industry. (Aaker, 2005) The bargaining power of suppliers. In situations like when suppliers sell for too many customers and when the supplier switching cost is high from the buyers perspective the bargaining power of suppliers can be high.(Aaker, 2005) The threat of substitutes. Firms from different industries can have close competition if their products substitute each other. According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) competitive pressure from substitute products depends on factors like price of substitutes are attractive, whether substitutes provide satisfactory performance, etc. The Rivalry among competitors in the industry. According to (Aaker, 2005) intense of competition from existing competitors depends on factors like, the number of competitors, their size, similarity of their product offerings and strategies, high fixed costs of businesses and existence of high exit barriers. A detailed analysis of Porters Five Forces model and how each force impact the profitability of the Ryanairs industry which is low cost airline industry is conducted under appendix 4. 6.2.2 Industry Life Cycle Analysis Life cycle stage strongly affects the industry growth rate (Thompson Strickland, 2003). Organisations will have to change their strategy when they move from different stages of life cycle. Analysis of Europes aviation industry is included in Appendix 5. 6.2.3 Strategic Grouping According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) a strategic group consists of those rival firms with similar competitive techniques and positions in the market. Using strategic group concept can help analysis of competitors in an industry. Reducing the number of competitors into manageable groups certainly make it easier the analysis than analysing large number of competitors (Aaker, 2005). Appendix 6 contains a strategic groping map for the aviation industry in Europe. 6.2.4 Key Success Factors Analysis According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) KSF are prerequisites to success in a particular industry. They can include particular strategy element, product attribute, resources, competencies, competitive capabilities. KSF can be identified from the industry analysis. A detailed analysis of KSFs of budget air line industry in Europe is provided under Appendix 7. 6.3 EFAS (External Factors Analysis Summery) According to (Fletcher, 2003) after finding main external factors that can affect a business by conducting external environmental analysis EFAS table will be used to organize those factors into opportunities and threats and measure the perceived importance of particular factors. Ryanairs EFAS is attached in Appendix 8. Internal Environment Analysis An internal analysis is a must to identify organisational strengths and weaknesses which are essential in strategy formulation. (Pearce Robinson, 2005) Understanding business in depth is the goal of an internal analysis. This analysis would have more emphasis on the analysis of performances. (Aaker, 2005) Internal analysis can begins with analysis of financial performances. Financial Performances According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) there are four basic groups of financial ratios. Those include liquidity ratio, leverage ratio, activity ratio and profitability ratio. Liquidity Ratios these ratios are used to measure whether organization is in a good position to meet its short term obligations. Leverage Ratios this ratio is used to identify the firms source of capital either owners or outside creditors. According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) the most used leverage ratio is total debt divided by total assets. Total debt includes current liabilities and long term liabilities. Activity Ratios these are to be used to analyse whether an organisation utilizes its resources effectively or not. According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) it is possible to establish an organisations efficiency of its operations by comparing revenues with the resources used to generate them. Profitability Ratios According to (Pearce Robinson, 2005) profitability is the final result of larger number of strategies and decisions made by an organisations management. The profit margin is calculated by the widely used ratio of return on sales (ROS). And other useful ratio is ROI (return on investment). Financial analysis of Ryanair is attached under Appendix 9. Resources and Capabilities analysis The difference between resources and capabilities is defined by (Gallagher, 2004) as resources, what companies have, versus capabilities, things companies can do. Resources and capabilities can take many forms they range from tangibles to intangibles, examples may include plant and equipments, financial resources, technology a company posses, brand and reputation and even expertise an organization posses. (Gallagher, 2004) According to (Fletcher, 2003) tangible resources can be listed in the balance sheet and they become rarely competitive advantages because of their nature and intangible resources can often play big role in competitive advantage creation. In there the organisational capabilities are defined as complex combinations of both tangible and intangible resources. According to (Thompson Strickland, 2003) a companys competencies become a meaningful competitive capability customers value them as valuable and beneficial. Core competencies are resources and capabilities that serve as a source of competitive advantage over rivals. (Internal Analysis Competencies, 2009) Ryanairs resources and capabilities analysis is included in Appendix 10. VRIO analysis and Competitive Advantages This model says that in order core competencies and resources to become sustainable competitive advantages for an organisation, they should have characteristics as follows (Gallagher, 2004); Valuable A resource will become valuable if it can help the organisation to face threat or capitalize on an opportunity. Most importantly those should be valued by customers. Rare If resources are scarce or they are not available to an organisations competitors they become rare resources. Inimitable This means that resources cannot be easily imitated or substituted. Usually intangible resources or capabilities like a good brand image cannot easily be imitated. Organized There is no use from a valuable resource if it is not well utilized by the organisation. Therefore it should be very well organized to be utilized. A complete analysis of Ryanairs resources and competencies using the VRIO model to identify Ryanairs competitive advantages is included under Appendix 11. Value Chain Analysis Value chain proposed by Michael Porter analyses systematically the series of activities an organisation performs to provide products or services to customers (Pearce Robinson, 2005). A firm can achieve competitive advantage over their competitors by performing these strategically important activities better than competitors. According to (Gallagher, 2004) many processes that are identified in value chain analysis can be a potential source of VRIO resources. (Morrison, 2007) Major categories of activities are grouped in to primary activities and support activities. Primary activities help directly the physical creation of products where support activities provide inputs or infrastructure to help primary activities to take on ongoing basis. Primary activities that are identified by this model are as follows (Pearce Robinson, 2005); Inbound logistics activities that are associated with receiving, storing inputs to production Operations activities related to transforming inputs into products Outbound Logistics activities that are related to distributing products towards customers Marketing/Sales activities associated with informing customers to encourage the purchasing Service Activities that undertake once products are sold to customers to enhance or maintain the value of products. Support activities that are identified by this model are as follows (Pearce Robinson, 2005); Procurement activities that are done within the firm to provide inputs across entire value chain Technology development activities that are done to improve the product as well as the way each activity is performed Human resource management activities conducted in order to ensure the availability of human resources to each primary activity. Infrastructure activities like accounting, management that are essential to perform all activities in the value chain. Value chain analysis of Ryanair is included in Appendix 12. IFAS (Internal Factor Analysis Summary) According to (Fletcher, 2003) after finding main internal factors that can affect the current and future competitiveness by conducting internal analysis of an organisation, IFAS table will be used to organize those factors into strengths and weaknesses and measure the perceived importance of particular factors. IFAS of Ryanair is included in Appendix 13. SWOT Analysis According to the findings of external and internal environment analysis SWOT analysis would be as follows. Strengths Strong brand image (as the first budget operator and number one in the budget industry) Web site (enabled them to on line bookings, promotions) Financial strength Low cost strategy Advantages of economies of scale and experience curve Innovative promotional techniques used at a lower cost Same fleet of airplanes New more efficient airplanes Weaknesses Customer dissatisfaction Poor quality of services Poor employee relations Decrease in employee morale Some secondary airports are too far from city centres Opportunities Budget airline market is growing Revenue generation from ancillary services Web site can be turn into a revenue generator Can apply low cost no frill into long haul Spread their business to more countries Increase customer base Acquisition of Aer Lingus is a growth opportunity Threats Security issues like terrorism Rapid increase in oil price and unpredictable fluctuations Intense rivalry among competitors Changes in customer demographics Pressure from environmental protection groups Costly new EU regulations Conclusion Ryanair as the most profitable airline in the world and the number one budget sector airline in the Europe is not without facing any challenges as it is the nature of the highly competitive modern business world. It was possible to identify many critical issues that were facing by Ryanair like high customer dissatisfaction and poor labour relations and many other threats which are externally created when analysing the case. Macro-environment, industry and internal analyses were conducted to analyse the current situation of Ryanair. From the external environment analysis it was possible to identify many opportunities that were created by the environment like growth in the budget airline industry in Europe and opportunities created by internet, etc. Also they were facing many threats like new EU regulation, environmental concerns, fluctuating oil prices and terrorism threats. Further from the internal environment analysis it was possible to identify number of strengths that are possessed by Ryanair like strong brand image, their financial strengths, efficient operations, etc and their weaknesses like customer dissatisfaction, poor employee relations, etc. In the analysis it was found that there is a huge growth potential in Europe and they could successfully win over the competition if they utilize their strengths like brand image and financial strength to beat competition and if they can minimize weaknesses like customer dissatisfaction there will be no chance to competitors like easyJet to outperform Ryanair. Therefore it can be said that the management of Ryanair needs to consider adjusting their existing strategies or if required formulate new strategies to capitalize on the opportunities using their strengths and more importantly to minimize the weaknesses and face externally created threats using their available strengths and opportunities.