Digital Fortress Chapter 127-128

Chapter 127 There was a sudden and reverent silence among the group on the podium. It was as if they were watching an eclipse or volcanic eruption-an incredible chain of events over which they had no control. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. â€Å"We're losing it!† a technician cried. â€Å"Tie-ins! All lines!† On the far-left screen, David and Agents Smith and Coliander stared blankly into their camera. On the VR, the final fire wall was only a sliver. A mass of blackness surrounded it, hundreds of lines waiting to tie in. To the right of that was Tankado. The stilted clips of his final moments ran by in an endless loop. The look of desperation-fingers stretched outward, the ring glistening in the sun. Susan watched the clip as it went in and out of focus. She stared at Tankado's eyes-they seemed filled with regret. He never wanted it to go this far, she told herself. He wanted to save us. And yet, over and over, Tankado held his fingers outward, forcing the ring in front of people's eyes. He was trying to speak but could not. He just kept thrusting his fingers forward. In Seville, Becker's mind still turned it over and over. He mumbled to himself, â€Å"What did they say those two isotopes were? U238 and U†¦?† He sighed heavily-it didn't matter. He was a language teacher, not a physicist. â€Å"Incoming lines preparing to authenticate!† â€Å"Jesus!† Jabba bellowed in frustration. â€Å"How do the damn isotopes differ? Nobody knows how the hell they're different?!† There was no response. The room full of technicians stood helplessly watching the VR. Jabba spun back to the monitor and threw up his arms. â€Å"Where's a nuclear fucking physicist when you need one!† Susan stared up at the QuickTime clip on the wall screen and knew it was over. In slow motion, she watched Tankado dying over and over. He was trying to speak, choking on his words, holding out his deformed hand†¦ trying to communicate something. He was trying to save the databank, Susan told herself. But we'll never know how. â€Å"Company at the door!† Jabba stared at the screen. â€Å"Here we go!† Sweat poured down his face. On the center screen, the final wisp of the last firewall had all but disappeared. The black mass of lines surrounding the core was opaque and pulsating. Midge turned away. Fontaine stood rigid, eyes front. Brinkerhoff looked like he was about to get sick. â€Å"Ten seconds!† Susan's eyes never left Tankado's image. The desperation. The regret. His hand reached out, over and over, ring glistening, deformed fingers arched crookedly in stranger's faces. He's telling them something. What is it? On the screen overhead, David looked deep in thought. â€Å"Difference,† he kept muttering to himself. â€Å"Difference between U238 and U235. It's got to be something simple.† A technician began the countdown. â€Å"Five! Four! Three!† The word made it to Spain in just under a tenth of a second. Three†¦ three. It was as if David Becker had been hit by the stun gun all over again. His world slowed to stop. Three†¦ three†¦ three. 238 minus 235! The difference is three! In slow motion, he reached for the microphone†¦ At that very instant, Susan was staring at Tankado's outstretched hand. Suddenly, she saw past the ring†¦ past the engraved gold to the flesh beneath†¦ to his fingers. Three fingers. It was not the ring at all. It was the flesh. Tankado was not telling them, he was showing them. He was telling his secret, revealing the kill-code-begging someone to understand†¦ praying his secret would find its way to the NSA in time. â€Å"Three,† Susan whispered, stunned. â€Å"Three!† Becker yelled from Spain. But in the chaos, no one seemed to hear. â€Å"We're down!† a technician yelled. The VR began flashing wildly as the core succumbed to a deluge. Sirens erupted overhead. â€Å"Outbound data!† â€Å"High-speed tie-ins in all sectors!† Susan moved as if through a dream. She spun toward Jabba's keyboard. As she turned, her gaze fixed on her fiance, David Becker. Again his voice exploded overhead. â€Å"Three! The difference between 235 and 238 is three!† Everyone in the room looked up. â€Å"Three!† Susan shouted over the deafening cacophony of sirens and technicians. She pointed to the screen. All eyes followed, to Tankado's hand, outstretched, three fingers waving desperately in the Sevillian sun. Jabba went rigid. â€Å"Oh my God!† He suddenly realized the crippled genius had been giving them the answer all the time. â€Å"Three's prime!† Soshi blurted. â€Å"Three's a prime number!† Fontaine looked dazed. â€Å"Can it be that simple?† â€Å"Outbound data!† a technician cried. â€Å"It's going fast!† Everyone on the podium dove for the terminal at the same instant-a mass of outstretched hands. But through the crowd, Susan, like a shortstop stabbing a line drive, connected with her target. She typed the number 3. Everyone wheeled to the wall screen. Above the chaos, it simply read. ENTER PASS-KEY? 3 â€Å"Yes!† Fontaine commanded. â€Å"Do it now!† Susan held her breath and lowered her finger on the ENTER key. The computer beeped once. Nobody moved. Three agonizing seconds later, nothing had happened. The sirens kept going. Five seconds. Six seconds. â€Å"Outbound data!† â€Å"No change!† Suddenly Midge began pointing wildly to the screen above. â€Å"Look!† On it, a message had materialized. KILL CODE CONFIRMED. â€Å"Upload the firewalls!† Jabba ordered. But Soshi was a step ahead of him. She had already sent the command. â€Å"Outbound interrupt!† a technician yelled. â€Å"Tie-ins severed!† On the VR overhead, the first of the five firewalls began reappearing. The black lines attacking the core were instantly severed. â€Å"Reinstating!† Jabba cried. â€Å"The damn thing's reinstating!† There was a moment of tentative disbelief, as if at any instant, everything would fall apart. But then the second firewall began reappearing†¦ and then the third. Moments later the entire series of filters reappeared. The databank was secure. The room erupted. Pandemonium. Technicians hugged, tossing computer printouts in the air in celebration. Sirens wound down. Brinkerhoff grabbed Midge and held on. Soshi burst into tears. â€Å"Jabba,† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"How much did they get?† â€Å"Very little,† Jabba said, studying his monitor. â€Å"Very little. And nothing complete.† Fontaine nodded slowly, a wry smile forming in the corner of his mouth. He looked around for Susan Fletcher, but she was already walking toward the front of the room. On the wall before her, David Becker's face filled the screen. â€Å"David?† â€Å"Hey, gorgeous.† He smiled. â€Å"Come home,† she said. â€Å"Come home, right now.† â€Å"Meet you at Stone Manor?† he asked. She nodded, the tears welling. â€Å"Deal.† â€Å"Agent Smith?† Fontaine called. Smith appeared onscreen behind Becker. â€Å"Yes, sir?† â€Å"It appears Mr. Becker has a date. Could you see that he gets home immediately?† Smith nodded. â€Å"Our jet's in Malaga.† He patted Becker on the back. â€Å"You're in for a treat, Professor. Ever flown in a Learjet 60?† Becker chuckled. â€Å"Not since yesterday.† Chapter 128 When Susan awoke, the sun was shining. the soft rays sifted through the curtains and filtered across her goosedown feather bed. She reached for David. Am I dreaming? Her body remained motionless, spent, still dizzy from the night before. â€Å"David?† She moaned. There was no reply. She opened her eyes, her skin still tingling. The mattress on the other side of the bed was cold. David was gone. I'm dreaming, Susan thought. She sat up. The room was Victorian, all lace and antiques-Stone Manor's finest suite. Her overnight bag was in the middle of the hardwood floor†¦ her lingerie on a Queen Anne chair beside the bed. Had David really arrived? She had memories-his body against hers, his waking her with soft kisses. Had she dreamed it all? She turned to the bedside table. There was an empty bottle of champagne, two glasses†¦ and a note. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Susan drew the comforter around her naked body and read the message. Dearest Susan, I love you. Without wax, David. She beamed and pulled the note to her chest. It was David, all right. Without wax†¦ it was the one code she had yet to break. Something stirred in the corner, and Susan looked up. On a plush divan, basking in the morning sun, wrapped in thick bathrobe, David Becker sat quietly watching her. She reached out, beckoning him to come to her. â€Å"Without wax?† she cooed, taking him in her arms. â€Å"Without wax.† He smiled. She kissed him deeply. â€Å"Tell me what it means.† â€Å"No chance.† He laughed. â€Å"A couple needs secrets-it keeps things interesting.† Susan smiled coyly. â€Å"Any more interesting than last night and I'll never walk again.† David took her in his arms. He felt weightless. He had almost died yesterday, and yet here he was, as alive as he had ever felt in his life. Susan lay with her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart. She couldn't believe that she had thought he was gone forever. â€Å"David.† She sighed, eyeing the note beside the table. â€Å"Tell me about ‘without wax.' You know I hate codes I can't break.† David was silent. â€Å"Tell me.† Susan pouted. â€Å"Or you'll never have me again.† â€Å"Liar.† Susan hit him with a pillow. â€Å"Tell me! Now!† But David knew he would never tell. The secret behind â€Å"without wax† was too sweet. Its origins were ancient. During the Renaissance, Spanish sculptors who made mistakes while carving expensive marble often patched their flaws with cera-â€Å"wax.† A statue that had no flaws and required no patching was hailed as a â€Å"sculpture sincera† or a â€Å"sculpture without wax.† The phrase eventually came to mean anything honest or true. The English word â€Å"sincere† evolved from the Spanish sincera-â€Å"without wax.† David's secret code was no great mystery-he was simply signing his letters â€Å"Sincerely.† Somehow he suspected Susan would not be amused. â€Å"You'll be pleased to know,† David said, attempting to change the subject, â€Å"that during the flight home, I called the president of the university.† Susan looked up, hopeful. â€Å"Tell me you resigned as department chair.† David nodded. â€Å"I'll be back in the classroom next semester.† She sighed in relief. â€Å"Right where you belonged in the first place.† David smiled softly. â€Å"Yeah, I guess Spain reminded me what's important.† â€Å"Back to breaking coeds' hearts?† Susan kissed his cheek. â€Å"Well, at least you'll have time to help me edit my manuscript.† â€Å"Manuscript?† â€Å"Yes. I've decided to publish.† â€Å"Publish?† David looked doubtful. â€Å"Publish what?† â€Å"Some ideas I have on variant filter protocols and quadratic residues.† He groaned. â€Å"Sounds like a real best-seller.† She laughed. â€Å"You'd be surprised.† David fished inside the pocket of his bathrobe and pulled out a small object. â€Å"Close your eyes. I have something for you.† Susan closed her eyes. â€Å"Let me guess-a gaudy gold ring with Latin all over it?† â€Å"No.† David chuckled. â€Å"I had Fontaine return that to Ensei Tankado's estate.† He took Susan's hand and slipped something onto her finger. â€Å"Liar.† Susan laughed, opening her eyes. â€Å"I knew-â€Å" But Susan stopped short. The ring on her finger was not Tankado's at all. It was a platinum setting that held a glittering diamond solitaire. Susan gasped. David looked her in the eye. â€Å"Will you marry me?† Susan's breath caught in her throat. She looked at him and then back to the ring. Her eyes suddenly welled up. â€Å"Oh, David†¦ I don't know what to say.† â€Å"Say yes.† Susan turned away and didn't say a word. David waited. â€Å"Susan Fletcher, I love you. Marry me.† Susan lifted her head. Her eyes were filled with tears. â€Å"I'm sorry, David,† she whispered. â€Å"I†¦ I can't.† David stared in shock. He searched her eyes for the playful glimmer he'd come to expect from her. It wasn't there. â€Å"S-Susan,† he stammered. â€Å"I-I don't understand.† â€Å"I can't,† she repeated. â€Å"I can't marry you.† She turned away. Her shoulders started trembling. She covered her face with her hands. David was bewildered. â€Å"But, Susan†¦ I thought†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He held her trembling shoulders and turned her body toward him. It was then that he understood. Susan Fletcher was not crying at all; she was in hysterics. â€Å"I won't marry you!† She laughed, attacking again with the pillow. â€Å"Not until you explain ‘without wax'! You're driving me crazy!†

Economy in Tibet

Economy Since the democratic reform in 1959, and especially since the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, Tibet has witnessed remarkable economic development. The Tibetan economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture. The Tibetan yak still plays an important role in Tibetan life. Yaks still promote the best way to plow fields in Tibet. The Tibetan economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture.Due to limited arable land, the primary occupation of the Tibetan Plateau is raising livestock, such as sheep, cattle, goats, camels, yaks, horses and some crops such as barley, buckwheat, wheat, potatoes, and assorted fruits and vegetables. Development Zone The State Council approved Tibet Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone as a state-level development zone in 2001. It is located in the western suburbs of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is a flat zone, ideal for construction services , and it has the natural conditions for good drainage .Source: http://www. starmass. com/china_review/provincial_overview/tibet_demographic_economy. htm Tibet demographic analysis and economy overview The service sector plays an important role in Tibet’s economy growth. This is because in 2007, more than half (55%) of the provincial GDP is derived from the service industries. Tourism plays a crucial role to the province’s economic growth. Newly emerging service sectors such as modern commerce, tourism, posts and telecommunications, catering, cultural entertainment and information technology have also been developing rapidly.The construction sector contributes 21% to the provincial GDP, agricultural sector 16% and manufacturing contributes the least- 8% to the total GDP GDP While traditional agricultural work and animal husbandry continue to lead the area's economy, in 2005 the tertiary sector contributed more than half of its GDP growth, the first time it surpassed the area's primary industry. Rich reserves of natural res ources and raw materials have yet to lead to the creation of a strong secondary sector, due in large part to the province's inhospitable terrain, low population density, an underdeveloped infrastructure and the high cost of extractionTibet's GDP in 2008 reached 39. 6 billion Yuan. The Chinese government says that it exempts Tibet from all taxation and provides 90% of Tibet's government expenditure. Critics say that the central government is stripping Tibetan resources and neglecting the welfare of Tibetan people. Tibet's economy has grown on average 15% per year from 2000 to 2006. http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/2009-03/30/content_11098888. htm Report on economic and social development of Tibet www. chinaview. cn 2009-03-30 10:22:48 Source: http://www. starmass. com/china_review/provincial_overview/tibet_demographic_economy. tm Tibet demographic analysis and economy overview The GDP per capita reached 13. 861 Yuan in 2008 for the first time in Tibet's history. GDP reached 39,5 b illion Yuan in 2008. In the first six months of 2008, economic growth in Tibet was halved after the Lhasa riots (a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in the capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. The violence was mostly directed at Han and Hui civilians). The Lhasa riots led to a slump in tourism and consumption.In recent years, due to increased interest in Tibetan Buddhism, tourism has become an increasingly important sector, and is actively promoted by the authorities. (Philipois) China has invested 310  billion yuan (about 45. 6  billion U. S. dollars) in Tibet since 2001. Industry There was no modern industry or infrastructure before the 1950s With some adjustments, the value of industrial output rose again in the late 1980s. Moreover, as in the rest of China, the ownership structure of industrial enterprises in the TAR also experienced a major change.In 2007, for a â€Å"gross industrial output value† totalling 5,044 million yuan, 33,1  % came from state enterprises, 5. 6  % from collectively-owned enterprises and 61. 3  % from â€Å"others† (private companies, joint ventures and foreign companies). Thus, private enterprise is now the main source of growth in industrial production. Commerce (traditional handicrafts, carpets etc) tourism, catering, leisure and other industries that had never been heard of in old Tibet, are now booming as the primary industries in the region. Prospects for Growth and DevelopmentAlthough Tibet's society and economy were affected by the March14 Incident in 2008, the impact on most local industries was limited, except for temporary difficulties for tourism in Tibet. In the next few years, Tibet's economy is expected to maintain sound and rapid development in virtue of favorable factors such as increasing investment and transfer payments from the central government, rising income level of farmer s and herdsmen, and burgeoning consumption by local residents. Slides (Philips, just in case you want to use this map†¦ I think it`s a good one)Slide 1: Economy in Tibet Democratic reform in 1959 and reform and opening-up policy in 1978: remarkable economic development in Tibet. Traditionally dominated by subsistence agriculture. Due to limited arable land, the primary occupation of the Tibetan Plateau is raising livestock, such as sheep, cattle, goats, camels, yaks, horses and some crops such as barley, buckwheat, wheat, potatoes, and assorted fruits and vegetables. Slide 2: Yaks still promote the best way to plow fields in Tibet. Slide 3: Development ZoneThe State Council approved Tibet Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone as a state-level development zone in 2001. Location: in the western suburbs of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Flat zone Construction services Natural conditions for good drainage. Slide 4: Tibet`s GDP Industry: no modern ind ustry or infrastructure before the 1950s With some adjustments, the value of industrial output rose again in the late 1980s. Nowadays private enterprise is the main source of growth in industrial production.Newly emerging service sectors: modern commerce, tourism, posts and telecommunications, catering, cultural entertainment and information technology have also been developing rapidly. Tourism: essential for the economic growth. Source: http://www. starmass. com/china_review/provincial_overview/tibet_demographic_economy. htm – Tibet demographic analysis and economy overview Slide 5: Economic Growth and GDP Tibet's GDP in 2008 reached 39. 6 billion Yuan. Tibet's economy has grown on average 15% per year from 2000 to 2008. In the first six months of 2008, economic growth in Tibet was negatively affected by Lhasa riots.Source: http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/2009-03/30/content_11098888. htm – Report on economic and social development of Tibet Slide 6 China has invest ed 310  billion yuan (about 45. 6  billion U. S. dollars) in Tibet since 2001. The GDP per capita reached 15. 000 Yuan in 2009. Source: http://www. starmass. com/china_review/provincial_overview/tibet_demographic_economy. htm – Tibet demographic analysis and economy overview I COULDN`T FIND ANY GOOD VIDEOS†¦ http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=_xkzjvx7SzE;feature=related

Personnel Resourcing and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Personnel Resourcing and Development - Essay Example It includes the required outcomes of an organisation with the contribution from the individuals or the teams. It is essential to achieve the strategic objectives of an organisation as well as an individual. Moreover, performances encompass both the financial and the behavioural outcomes of an individual. This is due to the fact that an individual’s behaviour may lead to the final outcomes. Thus, it can be affirmed that performance of an individual is directly correlated with the potentials of an individual which is based on his/her method of comprehension and realisation (Australian Public Service, 2001). Performance management is referred as the procedure of creating a working situation, which can enable individuals to enhance their quality of performances. It is described as the procedure of monitoring and analysing the performances of an individual in order to obtain requisite outcomes (Melin, 2010). It is necessary because it may lead to varied rewards and recognitions, re sulting in augmentation of the brand image of an organisation as well as reputation of an individual. The prime objective of performance management system is to train and to educate the staff in order to enhance the level of performances. It also helps in attainment of constructive and constant feedback about the underlying barriers of the performances of an individual so that it can be treated to reduce those discrepancies (Dattner, 2010). Subsequently, performance management system also facilitates in evaluating the high as well as poor performers of a particular group, which provides a detailed idea about the types of training programmes required to maintain the trends of performances (Apriority Learning, n.d.). For this reason, performance management is described as the current buzzword, which plays an active role for an organisation that facilitates in its sustainability in this era of competitiveness. In order to do so, performance management system includes certain specific c omponents, namely planning, reassessing and performance appraisal and constant feedback (Slideshare, n.d.). This aspect is depicted in the below figure. Performance Management Components Source: (Slideshare, n.d.) Planning is the most crucial part of the performance management procedure which forms the fundamental source of performance appraisal (Apriority Learning, n.d.). It is mainly performed in order to evaluate the level of performance of an individual among other employees of an organisation. This method of performance appraisal is done with joint effort of appraisee along with reviewee to detect his/her level of action. With the help of this process, the major areas of responsibility along with individual skills, knowledge and priorities can be easily analysed (Department of the Interior, n.d.). Moreover, it also helps in development of an action plan in order to enhance the level of performance thereby diminishing the drawbacks or shortcomings. Other than this, reviewing als o plays an active role in the entire process of performance management system. In this process, the appraisee is offered a form to appraise him/her-self, but later again reviewed or quantified by his/her seniors (Slideshare, n.d.). After completion of the entire process, the reviewee provides a dynamic contribution within the process of appraisal in order to investigate the loopholes of the performance and to overcome them (Melin, 2010). It also helps in constant progress and development of the individuals through varied types of guidance programmes, which might facilitate in augmenting those loopholes. In addition to these steps, the other significant component of performance ma

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Embezzlement in the Workplace - Assignment Example The accounting method that the manager used was a complex deception web where he set up fake companies, made fake invoices, and delivered fake expense reports for payments supposedly made to certain companies on Quest’s behalf. This resulted in the impact on the company’s balance sheets as erroneous calculations had been made due to the fraud. This fraud led to several accounts being impacted that include account receivable as well as sales revenues. The main reason behind this impact is the fact that the erroneous calculations affected both the calculations that had been made during the fraud and that requires being re-calculated. This affected the company’s balance sheet. The other fraud case in the recent times involves Block Communications Inc. that was deceived by a thief who was hired by the company as a thief prevention specialist. The accounting method used in this fraud was computer exploits (Bilski, 2009). In this instance, instead of the ‘specialist’ protecting the interest of the entire company he wrote himself checks and then destroyed the cancelled checks, which were returned to the company. The culprit made false entries to the company’s books affecting accounts such as account receivable and sales revenues. This is mostly because the company incurred losses emanating from the fraudulent sales. This cost the company funds amounting to $1.1 million. In addition, the culprit also made false entries in the organization’s books in order to cover the tracks. This fraud affected the company’s cash flow statement. Another case of fraud incorporated missing company assets. In this particular case, a former employee in the Directory Plus company stashed away at least 100,000 directories belonging to the company assets over a period of approximately four years. The directories were hidden in there different storage units that were found to be under her name. The employee also stashed away several phone books so as to cover the tracks of the fraud activity. This amounted to over $500,000 (Bilski, 2009).  

Final Book Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Risk Assessment Paper Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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The Strategic Route of Lexus Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Strategic Route of Lexus - Term Paper Example There have been huge sales of Lexus brand in different categories like hybrid, midsize premium and others. There are several models of Lexus. The focus is on Lexus GS model that is available in two variants: GS 300 and GS 460. These two are the premium products and have the capability to attract the consumers (Lexus, 2010). There is huge potential in the global market of the brand Lexus and the opportunity can be captured properly with an appropriate marketing strategy. The company needs to identify the primary and selected market for attaining more sales of Lexus. The brand Lexus GS model will be discussed in this paper regarding its potential in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market. This research paper looks to determine the potential market of Lexus GS in the UAE market for the upcoming years (2011-2013). There are certain factors that have already been discussed and now it centers on the marketing strategy for Lexus GS. Marketing strategy is the key factor for the business success. There are two approaches i.e. primary and selective marketing strategies for the Lexus brand in the UAE market. The basic discussion of the paper is related to the type of demand that will be stimulated for the next three years. Both primary demand and selective demand will be focused upon the UAE market and one will be selected as a marketing strategy for Lexus. The UAE’s real growth for 2011 is expected to be 6.7%, 7% in 2012 and 6.7% in 2013. The per capita expected in 2011 is $43,030, $47330 in 2012 and $52160 in 2013. There is huge potential for Toyota Lexus market with increase in real growth and per capita income (Government of Ras Al Khaimah, 2009). According to Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), there were more than 1021880 registrations of new vehicles in the UAE market. The potential of the UAE market is estimated to be approximately 1542000.  

Operations Management in a Business Context Essay

Operations Management in a Business Context - Essay Example Moreover, the company with the provision of quality products and/or services has aim at attaining a better market position in the retail industry globally. At the same time, Tesco PLC also concentrated on building a healthy relationship with its employees and stakeholders with the intention of maintaining its competitive advantage in the retail market segment. The company has been communicating information with stakeholders, so that operations of the company can be conducted in a coordinated manner (1Tesco, 2014). Over the years, Tesco PLC has diversified its business operation in different geographical location for providing several other services to its consumers that include telecoms and internet services and financial services among others. The company is listed on the â€Å"London Stock Exchange† market under the constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. According to the Tesco PLC Annual Report (2014), it is identified that the company has gained 3rd largest position among the world retail companies due to its wide range of products and services. Moreover, it has been ascertained that Tesco PLC has earned approximately  £43.6bn revenue (68%) from the local market of the UK. Consequently, the company has witnessed  £10.3bn (16%) revenue from Asian market and  £9.3bn revenue (14%) from Europe market during the year 2013-14 (Tesco PLC Annual Report, 2014). The objective of the essay is to highlight the five performance objectives, where operations management plays an important role for maintaining the competitiveness. Apart from this, the essay explains the impact of operations management performance objectives. Operation management is one of the most essential aspects for an organisation based on which organisations manage their resources as well as activities more accurately. In this regard, an organisation can significantly control its performance objectives by

Rise and fall of World Empires Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rise and fall of World Empires - Term Paper Example Just like numerous other empires of its time, the Roman Empire relied heavily on agriculture to boost its economy. The empire owned large tracts of agricultural land that not only provided food for the urban population but which also offered employment to a large section of individuals in the empire. The surplus food gotten from the agricultural sector was used for trade with other nations in the region. In order to facilitate trade, an extensive road network was built in the region and this made the region to have one of the best transport infrastructures in the region. This infrastructure enabled commerce in the region to flourish something that led into the region’s economic stability (Maddison 12).  Ã‚   The Roman Empire trade and economic prosperity enhanced during the Pax Romana era, the empires well laid road and sea network made it ideal for merchants to go to every region belonging to the Roman Empire. However, this network was not stable since after the Pax Romana ended, merchants were no longer assured of their safety of their goods while in transit. The collapse of the Pax Romana and the expansion that they had engineered also brought to an end the loss of the loot that came out of the numerous conquests engineered by the emperor, and this in many ways accelerated the collapse of the emperor (Maddison 13).  Ã‚   In order to fund their operations, the different emperors would occasionally alter laws and come up with varied currencies something that brought chaos in the empire.  Ã‚  

Competitive Strategy Essay Example for Free

Competitive Strategy Essay â€Å"Successful and unsuccessful strategies shape a company’s destiny† – R.A. Burgelman, Strategy is Destiny†¦ Competitive Strategy is the high-level strategy used by the firm to realize its business goals, and in particular, profitability, in the face of competition. We study competitive strategy within the overall context of technology firms, which operate within a so-called industry, e.g., the computer industry, the consumer electronic industry, the cellular phone industry. Each industry, ideally, serves a market, which denotes the buyers or customers of the products and services offered by the industry. The function of strategy, which has a time horizon of years, is, in general, to set the long-term direction or position of the firm, for example define the technology, product, or service that the firm intends to develop, and determine the intended market for the product or service. The function of planning, which, in general, has a time horizon of several months to years, is to translate long-term strategy into medium-term activities, e.g., the portfolio of projects that the firm should execute the time-phased planning of these projects, and resource allocation. The function of operations, which has the time-horizon of days to months, is, in general, to translate medium-term planning activities into short-term product design, development, and delivery activities such as prototyping, manufacturing, product release, and shipment. No company can follow only one strategy. For example, Johnson Johnson uses one marketing strategy for its common product such as BAND-AID Johnson’s baby products; and different marketing strategy for its High Tech healthcare products such as Vicryl Plus, antibacterial surgical sutures or NeuFlex finger joint implants. There are several different types of strategy, including competitive strategy, technology strategy, product market strategy, financial strategy, and supply-chain strategy. For a technology company to be successful all these strategies need to be aligned with each other, and with the business goals of the firm. Competitive strategy, is the highest level of strategy in the firm, and is intimately related to the mission and vision of the firm and also to setting the direction for all the other strategies in the firm. There are several schools of strategy formation: design, planning, positioning (Mintzberg, 1998). We focus on two important schools or frameworks for strategy-creation or â€Å"strategy-making† that are particularly important for high-technologycompanies. The first framework is the so-called â€Å"positioning† approach due to Porter (Porter, 1980), In this approach strategy is viewed as taking a generic position in a competitive market and which views strategy-making as an analytic process performed at the industry-market structural level (Porter, 1980) and the resulting dynamics between functional groups of players (e.g., competitors, suppliers) in the industry. The second framework analyzes strategy-making at the industry-level, company level, and intra-company level using evolutionary organization theory (Burgelman 2002). In this evolutionary organizational theory approach, each company is an organizational ecology within which strategy emerges through two basic mechanisms, external selection and internal selection. When companies start, because they are new and small ¸ the external selection mechanism dominates. As a company grows in size and becomes more established, internal selection plays an important role. Based on e volutionary organization theory, views strategy-making as an evolutionary process performed at three levels: industry-company level, company-level, and intra-company level. When these two frameworks are combined, an integrated approach to competitive strategy emerges: from industry-market level all the way to intra-company level. A unique aspect of creating competitive strategy for a company, and in particular, a high-technology company, is that the time-scales for the evolution of markets, industries, and technologies are, in general, much shorter (â€Å"faster†) compared to other industries. Therefore, the strategy frameworks of the positioning school needs to be augmented with functional maps (Clark and Wheelwright, 1993), which capture the evolution of the market, industry, and technology relevant to the company, and which can therefore be used to create strategy. The objectives of this chapter are as follows: 1. Describe the positioning framework for the creation of competitive strategy. 2. Provide an integrated competitive strategy process which is useful in developing competitive strategy in a technology company. 3. Demonstrate the application of the process of competitive strategy The objective of technology strategy (Clark and Wheelwright, 1993) is to guide the technology company in developing, acquiring, and applying technology for competitive advantage. An important part of technologystrategy is the definition of technical capabilities (e.g., advanced device design, rapid prototyping, automated assembly) that provide competitive advantage. The objective of product/market strategy is to clearly establish the following: define what differentiates the product from its competitors; identify market segments for the product, the customer needs of these segments, and the corresponding products (i.e., product lines) that will be offered to these segments; etc. An important outcome of produc t/market strategy is to define the product roadmap, including sales volume and price, necessary to realize the business goals. However, in the rapidly evolving industry and market landscape of high-technology, competitive strategy, in turn, depends on three levels of â€Å"strategy-making† as follows (Burgelman, 2002): 1. Industry-company level. At this level the firm must determine its strategic position, its core competencies, and its strategic action. 2. Company level: At this level strategy-making involves induced strategy and autonomous strategy. 3. Intra-company level: At this the internal level autonomous strategy is created. In successful companies, it is the tight coupling of strategy these three levels of strategy-making with the highest-level (i.e., industry-market level) competitive strategy that, results in successful strategic action where what the company actually does, e.g., the product lines it develops and markets, results in the realization of its business goals. It is also useful to mention two other strategies that are closely related to competitive strategy. Financial strategy in cludes issues such as capital budgeting and portfolio management, i.e., deciding on which technology and product development projects to fund in order to maximize the cumulative expected profit. Another important and related strategy is supply chain strategy (Chopra), which specifies the service, distribution, and operations functions, performed either in-house or outsourced, that the company should do well in order to successfully realize its intended competitive strategy. The â€Å"Positioning† Framework We first present a historical overview of the positioning or analytic school of strategy. Then, we develop the five forces framework (Porter, 1980) and the approach to creation of competitive strategy that is closely related to the five forces framework. We will use the personal computer industry to illustrate the approach. The positioning school of strategy which emerges from the competitive school is based on the following assumptions (Mintzberg, 1998): the marketplace is competitive strategy is a generic position in the marketplace; strategy formation is the selection of a generic position based on analysis. The underlying assumption is that industry or market structure drives position which drives the organizational structure of the firm. Matrices like the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) introduced two techniques: the growth-share matrix, and the experience curve. The growth-share matrix for a firm, developed in the early 1970s, is a 22 matrix with â€Å"growth† along one dimension, and â€Å"market share† along the other dimension. Each of these variables can take two values, â€Å"high† or â€Å"low† resulting in a 22 matrix. Therefore, the product portfolio of a firm can be decomposed into four combinations of growth and market share, each with a well defined meaning: (High growth, high market share) or â€Å"stars†, (high growth, low share) or â€Å"question marks†, (slow growth, high share) or â€Å"cash cows†, and (slow growth, low share) or â€Å"dogs†. The approach to strategy using this matrix would be to have a portfolio balanced mainly between cash cows (the stable business of the firm, e.g., â€Å"MAC† computers in the case of Apple) and stars (e.g., the iPod, in the case of Apple). The experience curve, developed in 1965-66, is based on the idea that accumulated experi ence by a firm influences costs and prices. The claim â€Å"for the experience curve was that for each cumulative doubling of experience, total costs would decline roughly 20% to 30% because of economies of scale, organizational learning, and technical innovation† (Ghemawat, 1999). In 1971, the consulting firm McKinsey came up with the GE/McKinsey nine-block matrix called the Industry Attractiveness-Business Strength matrix (Ghemawat, 1999), which plotted business strength [High, Medium, Low] along one axis, and industry attractiveness [High, Medium, Low] along the other axis. The basic idea was to divide the company into â€Å"strategic business units (SBUs)†, and then make the appropriate strategic recommendations for each SBU depending on its â€Å"location† in the matrix. The Five Forces Framework and Competitive Strategy In this framework there are two high-level stages in the creation of competitive strategy, each stage corresponding to a high-level determinant of profitability mentioned in the previous section. The first stage is the assessment of the attractiveness of the industry in which a given company is embedded based on a structural analysis of the industry. In this stage, called the five forces framework, five forces that influence industry attractiveness are identified, as well as the factors (e.g., number of competitors, size of competitors, capital requirements) that determine the intensity of each force and therefore the cumulative intensity of the five forces. The purpose of the five forces framework is to relate the degree (or intensity) of competition in a given industry, as qualitatively measured by the combined strength (or intensity) of five forces, to the attractiveness of the industry, defined as its ability to sustain profitability. Based on the structural analysis, a particula r company may be in a very attractive industry (e.g., pharmaceuticals) or in an unattractive industry (e.g., steel). However, though a firm exists in an unattractive industry, it can still be highly profitable by choosing the proper competitive position within the industry, for example, e.g., a mini-mill such as Nucor in the steel industry in the nineteen-eighties (Ghemawat). The second stage of strategy creation addresses the competitive strategy available to the firm in order to achieve a strong competitive position. Ideally, a firm would want to be in a very attractive industry (e.g., pharmaceuticals) and have a strong competitive position (e.g., large pharmaceutical firms such as Smith Klein or Glaxo) within the industry. The five forces framework for the structural analysis of an industry is as follows. First, we define the following terms used in the structural analysis of the industry: industry, market, competitors, new entrants, substitutes, buyers, and sellers. The term ind ustry denotes (1) the manufacturers (or producers) and (2) the suppliers of a primary product or service, as well as (3) the manufacturers of alternative products and services that could serve as a substitute. For example, the (conventional) personal computer (PC) industry would include PC manufacturers like Dell and Apple, suppliers of semiconductor chips like Intel and Micron, suppliers ofdisc drives like Seagate, suppliers of software such as Microsoft, etc. Substitute products could be pen-based tablet PCs or small hand-held personal digital assistants (PDAs). In the five forces framework described below, manufacturers and producers will designated as (1) competitors in the industry if they already have established products, or (2) new-entrants if they are trying to enter the industry, or (3) substitutes, if they provide alternative (substitute) products. The term market denotes the buyers (or customers) of the product or service. For example, the market for PCs would include enterprises and individual consumers. The analytical process of strategy analysis and creation can be decomposed into the following five steps. 1. Create a map of the industry in which the technology company is em bedded. There are five key sets of players that constitute the business landscape: competitors, new entrants, substitutes, suppliers, and buyers. Identify key players (companies) for each industry. 2. Perform a five forces analysis of the industry structure. The five forces that influence the intensity of competition in a particular industry, and therefore the profitability of the firms within the industry: Force 1: the degree of rivalry (or competition) between the competitors; Force 2: the threat of new entrants (or the inverse of this force, the barrier to entry); Force 3: the threat of substitutes; Force 4: Buyer Power (to demand lower prices); Force 5: Supplier Power (to increase material prices). For each force, determine the key structural determinants which affect the intensity of the force. Porter and Ghemawat provide a detailed set of the determinants for each force, some of which are given in the table below. In the last column of this table we indicate plausible values o f each force for the PC industry in the nineteen nineties. Table 1 |Force |Key Determinants |Strength of the force | |Rivalry between competitors |Concentration (number) and size of |Medium to high | | |competitors | | | |Fixed costs/value added | | | |Brand indentity | | |Barrier to entry |Economies of scale |Medium to high | | |Brand identity | | | |Capital requirements | | |Threat of substitutes |Price/Performance of substitutes |Low to medium | | |Switching costs | | |Buyer Power |Buyer concentration | | | |Buyer size (volume) |Medium to high | | |Switching costs | | |Supplier Power |Supplier concentration |Low to medium | | |Supplier size (volume) | | | |Switching costs | | In theory, one would, qualitatively determine the strength of each force, as indicated in the third column of the above table, and then determine the cumulative or combined intensity of the five forces. The collective intensity or strength of the forces will determine the structural strength of the industry, as characterized by attractiveness, or the profit potential of the industry. The profit potential is measured by the long term return on invested capital (ROIC). If the collective strength of the forces is high, as in the steel industry, then the corresponding profit potential or attractiveness is low, and vice-versa. At one extreme of this analysis is the perfectly competitive free market, where there are numerous firms alloffering very similar products that cannot be differentiated (therefore, the force of rivalry is high), entry is free (therefore, the threat of both new entrants and substitutes is high), and bargaining power of both suppliers and buyers is low. Using the PC industry of the 1990’s as an example, the qualitative values of the forces shown in the last column of the above table would lead one to conclude that the cumulative strength of the five forces was medium to high, and therefore the attractiveness of the industry, i.e., its profitability, was medium to low. The PC industry in the nineteen-nineties would therefore not be attractive to new entrants, and in fact, in the early 2000s, HP’s computer business was unprofitable, and IBM sold its computer business to Lenovo. (It is important to note that HP’s unprofitability in computer business in the early 2000s cannot be attributed solely to industry attractiveness being low, but is also due to issues associated with its acquisition of the computer company Compaq.) 3. Select a competitive positioning strategy The basic premise of Porter and Hall was that for a firm to be successful (in a market) it had to compete based on one of two sources of competitive ad vantage: cost, i.e., by providing low cost products, or differentiation, i.e., by differentiating its products from its competitors with respect to quality and performance. Porter also proposed that a firm needs to select its strategic target: either offering a product to the entire market (â€Å"market-wide†), or offering a product for a particular market segment. Using these two dimensions (source of competitive advantage, and strategic target), Porter proposed the following three generic competitive strategies: 1. Cost Leadership: offering the lowest costs products to the entire market 2. Differentiated: offering highly unique products (as perceived by the customer) to the entire market 3. Focus: offering products which serve the needs of a niche segment of the market Porter’s claim is that for a company to be successful in the industry in which it operates it must choose between one of the three generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiated, and focus. If one uses the personal computer industry in the US during the 1990’s as an example, then the competitive strategies of the major players was as follows: Dell was the low-c ost leader; HP had a differentiated strategy with high-quality products; Apple had a focus strategy, targeting a narrow marketsegment of users who whom the user-experience (look, feel, and graphical user interfaces) were extremely important; and IBM had a mixed strategy. 4. Link competitive strategy to strategic planning (Ghemawat 1999) In order for a company to derive competitive advantage (or position) within its industry, the company needs to maximize, relative to it competitors, the difference between the buyer’s willingness to pay and the costs incurred in delivering the product to the buyer. Therefore, the next step in the competitive analysis is for the company to link competitive strategy to strategic planning by analyzing all the activities involved in differentiation and cost, and, to this end, a value chain (Porter, 1985) is an extremely important tool. According to Porter, â€Å"the value chain disaggregates a firm into its strategically relevant activities in order to understand the behavior of costs and the existing and potential sources of differentiation.† A three step process for using these activities, first to analyze costs, then to analyze buyer’s willingness to pay, and finally to explore different strategic planning options to maximize the difference between willingness to pay and cost, is developed in (Ghemawat, 1999). 5. Competitive strategy needs to evolve, especially in a high-technology company where markets, industries, and technologies, are changing relatively rapidly. A good example of the evolution of competitive strategy is IBM’s strategic decisions to evolve from a product-based company in the early nineties to a services-led company at the present time. In the early nineties, when the company was in trouble, IBM closely examined its business model and strategic direction, and decided to â €Å"stay whole† by moving its focus from products and hardware to solutions. One result of this strategic shift was the creation of IBM Global Services in the mid-nineties. By the late-nineties the company moved into e-business solutions, and extended this model in the 2000’s to â€Å"business-on-demand†. One result of these shifts in strategy was IBM’s decision to exit the Personal Computer Market by selling its PC business to Lenovo. Functional Maps A functional map essentially is a time-based evolutionary map of a key metric for an important organizational function, e.g., a product performance metric map for the engineering function in a technology firm, e.g., the well-known Moore’s Law in the semiconductor industry. Since the time-scales for the evolution of markets, industries and technologies for technology companies, especially â€Å"high-tech† companies, is short compared to other industries, the creation of the appropriate functional maps is critical to strategy formation in a technology company. As an example, in the relatively short span of four decades, information technology evolved from mainframes through workstations, servers and personal computers to internet-based and mobile computing. An important feature of our approach to developing competitive strategy in a technology firm is the integrated approach to strategy for a technology company, which relates company strategy to the company’s busin ess goals, business strategy, technology strategy, and product marketing strategy. Since, markets, industries, technologies, and products for a technology company are continually evolving, an important concept that plays a vital role in the creation of strategy, and, in particular, competitive strategy, is the functional map (Clark and Wheelwright, 1993). Here are some useful â€Å"dimensions† along which to create functional maps for strategy creation: a) Evolution of the industry in which the enterprise operates (changes in technology, customer needs, competitive landscape, etc.) b) Evolution of strategy business, technology, and market of the enterprise c) Evolution of technology (including manufacturing), product platforms, and product lines of the enterprise. The processes used for technology, product, and process development within the enterprise. d) Growth (or decline) of the enterprise with respect to of market share, revenues, costs, profits, etc. e) Organizational structure of the enterprise f) Key decisions made at different stages in the life of enterprise, and the drivers for these decisions g) The interconnections and relationships between all the above dimensions A multi-dimensional functional map for Intel is given in the next section. A very simple example of how functional maps can shape strategy is in the information technology industry. A functional map of the Information Technology Industry from the 1990s to the 2000s would reveal a shift from â€Å"products† to services†. The Services business in 2007-08 is approximately $750 billion, with IBM, whose share of this market is $54 billion, being the leader. HP, whose own share in the market is $17 billion seeing this shift in the industry and the need to build competitive strength, acquired EDS, whose share of the market is $21 billion. The combined share of HP and EDS would then be $38 billion, allowing it to compete more strongly with IBM. Another simple example of the use of a functional map in creating strategy is in the software industry. In the 2000s the software market is moving from a â€Å"packaged† product to online software, where individuals can get software that is mostly free, supported by advertising. Google is using its leadership on the Web to provide online softwa re that competes with Microsoft’s packaged software. Understanding this shift from packaged to online, and the corresponding change in the revenue model from direct sales (of product) to advertising, Microsoft is aggressively entering the online advertising business. Process for developing competitive strategy in a company If we combine the positioning framework for competitive strategy due to Porter, the evolutionary organization theoretic framework due to Burgelman, and augment these with the creation of relevant functional maps, then the resulting process of developing competitive strategy in a company can be decomposed into four stages, as follows. Stage 1: Company Analysis 1. Establish the business goals and objectives (ROI, %market share, revenue, and growth aspirations). 2. Determine the technology strategy and product market strategy for the company. 3. Define the overall development goals and objectives to align business goals, technology, and market strategies. 4. Develop the functional evolutionary maps of the markets and industry in which the company is embedded. Create functional maps (time-based evolutionary maps) for technology, product market, and manufacturing strategy of the firm. These maps will be useful in the process of assessing and creating competitive strategy. Stage 2: Industry Analysis 1. Perform the structural analysis of the industry in which the company is either an active competitor, or a new entrant, or a substitute. 2. Determine the existing competitive strategy of the company within the industry. 3. Determine the relationships between the company and the other players in the industry Stage 3: Assessment and Evolution of the company’s strategy within the relevant markets and industries 1. Using the functional maps of the overall markets and industry in which the company is embedded, as well as the company specific functional maps, assess the evolution of the company’s competitive strategy. 2. Decide on what the company’s future competitive strategy should be, and the corresponding technology strategy, product market strategy, and manufacturing strategy. Glossary Autonomous Strategy (also see induced strategy). Autonomous strategy refers to actions of individuals or small groups within the company that are outside the scope of current high-level corporate strategy. While autonomous strategy is constrained by the company’s distinctive (core) competencies, it usually (1) involves new competencies that are not the focus of the firm, and (2) results in so-called â€Å"disruptive technologies† that could change the strategic direction of the firm (Burgelman, 2002). Company Structure (vertical vs. horizontal). A vertical company is one which uses only its own proprietary technologies. A horizontal company is one which (usually because of the existence of open-standards) which does not solely rely on its own proprietary technologies, but usually uses technologies and products from other suppliers. In the computer industry, traditionally, Apple is an example of a vertical company, while Dell is an example of a horizontal company. The co mputer industry, itself, moved from a vertical structure to a horizontal structure in the 1980s (Ghemawhat, 1999). Corporate Strategy (official corporate strategy). Corporate strategy is top management’s view of the basis of the company’s success. It includes distinctive (core) competencies, product-market domains, and core values (Burgelman, 2002) Industry. The term industry, e.g., the consumer electronics industry,denotes (1) the manufacturers (or producers) and (2) the suppliers of a primary product or service, as well as (3) the manufacturers of alternative products and services that could serve as a substitute (Porter, 1980). Market. The term market denotes the buyers (or customers) of the product or service. Typically markets are segmented, for example, a two-dimensional segmentation based on the types of product (product segmentation) along one axis, and the types of customers (customer segmentation) along the other axis. The market, as represented by â€Å"Buyers† is an important part of the industry analysis in Porter’s framework. Once youve established the key assets and skills necessary to succeed in this business and have defined your distinct competitive advantage, you need to communicate them in a s trategic form that will attract market share as well as defend it. Competitive strategies usually fall into these five areas: 1. Product 2. Distribution 3. Pricing 4. Promotion 5. Advertising Many of the factors leading to the formation of a strategy should already have been highlighted in previous sections, specifically in marketing strategies. Strategies primarily revolve around establishing the point of entry in the product life cycle and an endurable competitive advantage. As weve already discussed, this involves defining the elements that will set your product or service apart from your competitors or strategic groups. You need to establish this competitive advantage clearly so the reader understands not only how you will accomplish your goals, but why your strategy will work. [pic] References Burgelman, R.A., â€Å"Strategy is Destiny†, The Free Press, New York, 2002. Chopra, Sunil, and Peter Meindl, â€Å"Supply Chain Management, Strategy, Planning, and Operations†, Third Edition, Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2007. Clark, K. B., and S.C. Wheelwright, Managing New Product and Process Development, Text and Cases, The Free Press, New York, 1993. Edwards, Cliff, â€Å"Intel†, Business Week, March 8, 2004, Pages 56-64. Ghemawat, Pankaj, Strategy and the Business Landscape, Text and Cases, Addison Wesley, 1999. Mintzberg, Henry and Bruce Ahlstrand, and Joseph Lampel, Strategy Safari, The Free Press, New York, 1998 Porter, Michael, Competitive Strategy, New York, The Free Press, 1980 Porter, Michael, Competitive Advantage, The Free Press, New York, 1985 Figure 1: A strategic view of the technology firm, showing different types of strategy Revenue ($), Growth (%), Etc. Purpose of the company Financial Strategy Competitive Strategy Market Strategy Technology Strategy Business Goals †¢ Vision †¢ Mission

The Problems Of The Red Tide Environmental Sciences Essay

The Problems Of The Red Tide Environmental Sciences Essay The term red tide is a misnomer as it does not associated with tides. It is used to described as a phenomenon microalgal species growing very fast or bloom and is caused by the growth and accumulation of microscopic algae (single-celled marine plants) called phytoplankton (Anton, A. et al, 1998). These algal blooms become so numerous that they can discolour coastal waters.To the scientists they prefer to call them as algal blooms or HABs These algal bloom may cause oxygen depletion in the waters and/or release toxins that may cause illness in humans and other animals. Red tide is a global phenomenon. Since 1980s harmful red tide events have become more frequent and widespread. The major factors influencing red tide events include warm ocean surface temperatures, low salinity, high nutrient content, calm seas, and rain followed by sunny days during the summer months. In addition, algaerelated to red tide can spread or be carried long distances by winds, currents, storms, or ships. Red tide has affected my countries all over the world including South East Asia and Sabah in Malaysia. The first report of HABs and shellfish toxicity in Malaysia was in 1976 when the marine dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense var. Compressum bloomed in Brunei Bay on the west coast of Sabah (Roy 1977). The study by Anton, A. et al (2000) found 11 species in both the West and East Coast of Sabah and all the species densities were below 100 cells/L which is far below the densities to consider to be a bloom, which values are more than 103 cells/L. This is because too many blooms are unhealthy for coastlines because an over abundance of blooms can lead to suffocating low-oxygen conditions for fish, and increased diseases in seafood. Below shows the distribution of PSP toxin in the world between 1970 and 2006. Figure 1: Comparison of PSP Toxin distribution in the world between 1970 and 2006 2.0 The problem of red tide Since there are many factors influencing the events of red tide, it has caused a lot of concern and problems to sicientists especially the marine biologists. A lot of research has been carried out such as Harmful Algal Blooms in Malaysia: Revisiting Kimanis Bay by Anton A.et al (2000); Lipid and DNA features of Gonyaulax fragilis (Dinophyceae) as potential biomarkers in mucilage genesis by M. Riccardi et al. available online on 25 January 2010; Effects of temperature, salinity and irradiance on growth of the novel red tide glagellate Chattonella 1 ovata (Raphidophyceae) by a group of scientics lead by Haruo Yamaguchi et.al. Available online on 13 February 2010 and many others has being carried out. The presence of red tide impose a severe burden on the affected country (Gires U. et al, 2002). The problem is compounded by wide adoption of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) protocols which require that seafood is certified as safe and wholesome for consumption by monitoring the natural toxins. Red tide has also caused mass mortalities of wild and farm fish and shellfish, human illness and death from contaminated shellfish or fish, death of marine mammals, seabirds, and other animals, and alterring the marine habitats or trophic structure. In 1972, Massachusetts has declared a state of emergency because of red tide bloom. (Esterbrook, J. 2005). It has caused the shellfish industry about $3 million per week. Although until today there are nothing much marine biologist can do to eliminate red tide problems, however, with the technological advancement such as satellite imagery have enable the scientist to better track and monitor the harmful algal booms. By tracking and monitoring these blooms has helps to reduce harmful effects of the algae by providing early warnings against eating infected shellfish and against swimming in infected water. Sophitiscated instruments to test for the presence of red tide algae in coastal waters have been developd by the Sarasota Operations Coastal Oceans Observation Laboratory. NASA Earth Observatory has develop programmes such as SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor) and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instruments to detect harmful algal bloom from space. Autonomus underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with temperature and salinity meters as well as a Breve-Buster, which is an instrument that collects water samples and determines the levels of red-tide causing algae by shining a light through the sample and noting the light absorbing characteristics within the sample (indicative of these algae) is also used in the research of red tide. Although red tide events can be avoided, reseachers are attempting to develop an antidote to the red tide toxins. Interestingly, while developing such anti-toxins, researchers have found a possible treatment for cystic fibrosis. 3 Methods used to collect samples Traditionally, light microscope is used to estimate the population of zooplankton in the water. An example of the equipment used is as shown in Fig.2 below. Figure 2. A representation of the volume of water being sampled by a plankton net from a depth of 3 meters. The amount of water sampled and how to properly enumerate the organisms in the sample is important. This is because the amount of water sampled can be considered equalto the amount of water that passes through the plankton net. Since the opening of the plankton net is circular, the amount of water that passes through the net from a specific depth to the surface would be similar in shape to the cylinder. Therefore, the formula for the volume of a cylinder is, V= Ã‚ °R2 x H. By applying this formula the amount of water sampled through the plankton net can be calculated. Once the plankton has been captured in the filter canister at the bottom of the plankton net, small volume (1ml) sub-samples can be placed under the microscope so that each plankton organism can be counted. Finally, the total number of plankton within the sampled water can be calculated by extrapolation. This number can then be extrapolated so that the total number of plankton in the seawater can be estimated. Figure 3. Custom-fabricated pucks for the 2G ESP shown L to R as sample collection and filtration, array processing, and FISH archival. Quarter shown for size. However, recently there is a shift from using traditional ligh microscopy to molecular approaches for identifying and quantifying marine harmful algal bloom (HAB) species has been driven by the need to expedite sample processing for both research and monitoring purposes (Anderson 1995; Scholin et al. 1996). In addition, light microscopy has limitation to sufficient resolution to discern species when compared to electron microscopy. Some methods used to accurately identify HABs in a fast manner are fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) (Lim et al. 1993), fluorescently labeled antibodies and lectins (Sako et al. 1996), sandwich hybridization (Scholin et al. 1996), probe arrays (Loy et al. 2002), environmental sample processor (ESP) (Scholin et al. 2001) and a variety of nucleic acid amplification methods that target specific signature sequences. However, most of these techniques require ccess to shore-based laboratories for sample processing and analysis, which can be both time and labour intensive. Most of the methods mentioned above are very technical and require researchers who are well verse in handling the equipment and also thoroughly understand the methods used. It takes time to prepare, process and image analysing of the samples collected, and interpreting the results. An example of the equipment used in ESP is the puck as shown below. 4. Application and implications of biology Implications of red tide Environmental implication There are many species of red tide that release harmful toxins. Among the harmful species found in the United States are: Alexandrium fundyense found along the Atlantic coast from the Canadian maritimes to southern New England Alexandrium catenella found along the Pacific coast from California to Alaska Karenia brevis found in the Gulf of Mexico along the west coast of Florida Alexandrium species Dinophysis species Macroalgal Blooms Figure 4: Different species of red tide Although red tide algae make potent natural toxins but it is unknown why these toxin are created, but some can be hazadous to larger organisms through the processess of biomagnification and bioaccumulation. Grazers such as fish and krill are unaffected by the toxins, so when they eat the algae to toxins are concentrated and accumulated to a level that is poisonous to other aquatic lives such as bigger fish that feed on them. Then when mammals such as birds, man, etc. consume these fish they will either contracted diseases or they can cause death. Diseases that may affect humans include: 1. Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) This disease is caused by the production of saxitoxin by the Alexandrium species and they are common along the Atlantic and Pacific Coast in the US and Canada (Monica Bruckner, Montana State University). Poisoning occurs when on ingests shellfish contaminated with PSP toxins causing disruption of nerve function and paralysis. In extreme cases it may result in death due to asphyxiation. 2. Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) This disease is caused by the Dinophysis species. It generally occurs in Japan and Europe, but it has been found in other countries such as Canada, the US, Chile, New Zealand, and Thailand. Symptoms of DSP include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and cramps. However, DSP is generally not fatal. 3. Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) Amnesic shellfish poisoning has been found along the eastern Canadian coast. It is caused by domoic acid producing planktonic and benthic algae, including Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries and Amphora coffaeformis. It can also found in soft shell clams and blue mussels infected by Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima. It causes gastricand neurological symptoms including dizziness, disorientation and memory loss. ASP Domoic Acid and Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning DSP Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning PSP Saxitoxin and Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Figure 5: Different types of poisoning caused by red tide Red tide has also caused substantial impact to the ecosystem that include a reduction in light penetration, a reduction in the extent of seagrass beds and a reduction in the growth rates of hard clams. Further, red tide caused mass mortalities of mussel populations in Rhode Island and in Long Island waters, Recurrent blooms have had severe impact on bay scallops, affecting more than 80% of New Yorks commercially valuable harvest. Acute or chronic exposure to red tide and their toxins either directly or through the food web, puts the affected population at increased risk (Anderson, D. 2007). Economic implication In 2005, the massive red tide outbreak in New England has caused the shellfish industry to lose $3 million per week and forcing the Massachusetts to declare a state of emergency. This has lead to the shellfisherman to raise their prices especially for the shellfish industry. The 2009 paralytic shellfish poisoning (red tide) occuring in Maine, Portsmouth, New England has caused devastating economic impact where Maine authority estimates that there were 89,000 acres of productive shellfish in the state waters and at that time more than 97% of these resources were closed due to red tide (Anderson, D. (2007). Further, there had been unusual reports of mortality events of both short-nose sturgeon and eider ducks which were suspected to be caused by the transfer of red tide toxicity through the food web to these larger animals. The first paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) case recorded in Sabah in 1976 where 202 victims were reported to be suffering from PSP and 7 deaths. (Roy 1977). This event has caused significant economic losses to fishermen because the public are afraid to consume all types of seafood during the bloom event which lasted two to three weeks. Then in 1991, three people were taken ill after consuming green mussel (Perna viridis) cultured at a newly established mussel form in Sebatu Malacca (Gires, U. et al 2002). Symptoms suggested that of intoxication due to algal toxins were confirmed by testing the extracts from mussles collected during the event confirmed the presence of toxins caused by dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamiyavanichi. Further, in September 2001, six people were taken ill after consuming lokan (Polymesoda sp.) collected from a coastal lagoon (Sungai Ubi) in Tumpat Kelantan and one of the victim died with symptom suggested intoxication due to algal toxins (Usup et al. 2000). Picture 4: A spectacular red tide bloom (non-toxic) of Noctiluca scintillans in New Zealand NSP Brevetoxins and Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning PSP Saxitoxin and Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Figure 6: The economic loss due to the effect of red tide Societal Implication Although the impact of red tide (algal blooms) events are more associated to the environmental impact as well as economic impact, however, the presence to these events have also affected the recreation, tourism and local aesthetics by diminishing the qualities of the environment (Anderson, A. 2007). This can manifest in a variety of ways in different regions of the country. Some examples are: Massive fish mortalities that result in fish accumulating on beaches Clossure of receational fisheries Respiratory ailments experienced by beachgoers from aerosolized toxins Unsightly and noxious piles of macroalgae that accumulate and decompose on beaches Discolouration of water Mortalities of protected species and modification of their habitats Working patterns can also be disrupted when fisherman seek alternative occupations or sources of income and restaurants seek alternate suppliers for their seafood. Boat charter reservations and pier attendance for recreational activities will be disrupted, vacations ruined and some may never visit an impacted region again. In addition to that, people who have retired to coastal or lake shore homes may find their property values adversely affected when red tide or harmful algal blooms (HABs) frequently occur. Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects from the National Centre for Environmental Health, Communicable Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta is also very concern with the frequent occurrence of red tide (HABs) events all over the world. This has lead them to work with investigators from local, state, and federal health agencies of the country concerned to assess the respiratory effects of: Recreational exposure to red tide toxins dispersed in the air. For example, in 2003, CDC completed and reported a pilot study oftwo separate red tide events in Florida. Occupational exposure to red tide toxins dispersed in the air. For example, CDC has collected respiratory-function data from Flrida lifeguards who worked during a red tide event. Red algae bloom at Leigh, near Cape Rodney. This massive red tide of the dinoflagellate Noctiluca stretched for more than 20 miles along the southern California coast. Non-toxic blooms such as these can cause extensive mortalities of plants and animals in shallow waters when the bloom biomass decays, stripping oxygen from the water. Figure 7: Red Tide occurrence 5.0 Benefits and risk to humans, other organisms and environment The site of seeing red tide at the beach indicate that there is something unusual has occurred in the sea especially at the site of the event. As discussed in details above, red tide occurrence has been widespread all over the world. They have caused many implications to the environment, ecosystem and the living organisms that depended on the equatic lives to live. Among the risk to humans are not only man are not able swim in the beaches, lost in tourism but by the exposure to these events can cause harmful effect to the health of the population living nearby. Besides, the toxins produced by the harmful algal blooms have caused extensive mortalities to plants and animals when the bloom biomass decays, stripping oxygen from the water. It has also cause shellfish fisherman to loose million of dollars in income because of the fear to consume shellfish during red tide seasons. However, with many research being carried out from time to time on red tides or harmful algal blooms (HABs), man has learn a lot about the causes to the occurrence of these events. Sophisticated instruments have been designed and built such as SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor) and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instruments to detect harmful algal bloom from space. Autonomus underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with temperature and salinity meters as well as a Breve-Buster, which is an instrument that collects water samples and determines the levels of red-tide causing algae by shining a light through the sample and noting the light absorbing characteristics within the sample (indicative of these algae) is also used in the research of red tide. All these instruments are used to track and monitor these blooms and have help to reduce harmful effects of the algae by providing early warnings against eating infected shellfish and against swimming in infe cted water. Research carried out by Peterson, J. 2004 with red tide toxin yields potential therapies for cystic firbosis. In the research, experiments conducted with both the compounds; ÃŽÂ ²-Naphthoyl-bevetoxin and brevenal (a natural compound produced by red tide) in sheep revealed that both the compounds were able to block the effects of the red tide toxin on the respiratory system. While conducting the experiments an even more important discovery prevailed the anti-toxins behaved much like drugs used to treat cystic fibrosis because these compounds helps to speed up the clearance of mucus from the lungs. According to Danial Baden, Ph.D., director of University of North Carolina in Wilmingtons Centre of Marine Science and director of the project, mucociliary clearance is one of the most important defense systems in the lungs, protecting the airways from bacteria and pollutants. Tests conducted in sheeps also showed that these compounds to be effective at doses 1 million times lower than t he current medications used in the treatment of cystic fibrosis and they have no side effects. 6.0 Alternatives views or solutions for implications of biology encountered One of the ways to control red tide or harmful algal blooms (HABs) is to reduce excess pollutants and key nutrients from being released into coastal ocean areas. From the environmental perspective, taking steps to reduce pollution would also reduce HAB occurrences. For HABs, reducing nitrogen release is especially important; however, this is also one of the most difficult pollutants to control as it comes from a wide range of widely used agriculture chemicals such as fertilizers and fossil fuels. Therefore, efficient and effective dissemination of useful information about HABs to the populations that live in the coastal areas is important. Subsequently, controlling harmful algal blooms (HABs) using chemicals, fine clay particles or biological agents should be studied further. Although the potential dangers of chemical or biological agents should be known, they also hold great promise in controlling unwanted toxic phytoplankton populations. Under some circumstances, dispersal of fine clay particles over a bloom has seen some sucess, as the clay aggregates with itself and with other particles in the water (including HAB cells) and pulls the harmful algae to bottom sediments. Control techniques in the context of risk assessments, similar to those applied in evaluating land-based agriculture, should be purseued with HABs. Better monitoring systems and detection methods on HABs need to be further developed. Government and multinational companies and philantrophies such be encouraged to fund monitoring programs and research. In addition, the medical community should be better informed and prepared to treat individuals suffering from HAB toxicity. Individuals visiting or living on the shore or consume seafood also need to be better informed about the risks. Overall, scientiests need to be encourage to investigate HAB controland mitigation strategies. This is because it is easier to pursue basic or fundamental science, rather than taking on the challenging and highly visible practical research that tries to control blooms. There are surely technologies that we have not even considered or explore yet that will be effective if scientists and engineers are given the resources and encouragement to pursue control and mitigation research. 7.0 Conclusion Red tides and harmful algal blooms is one of the important areas where the biologist can seriously undertake in their research. This is because there are many factors that can cause HABs or red tides. Once it occur, it will cause much harm to the environment, aquatic ecosystem, lost of income to the shellfish and fishery industries and the health of the populations exposed and staying in the coastal areas will be affected. Therefore, it needs a concerted multi-prong effort from not only the biologists but also the agencies involved; be it governmental or public, and last but not the least the affected populations and individuals at large to help find effective mitigation solutions to the problems at stake.

Influence of Societal Expectation in Hunger and Siddhartha Essay exampl

Societal expectations play momentous roles in character development in Hamsun’s Hunger and Hesse’s Siddhartha. Societal expectations derive from the origins of the individuals in the society who create authority and code of conduct for the people to obey and follow (based on their own morals). Both novels uncover the character development of the protagonists yet the authors approach these themes in different manners. Hamsun follows the hero’s path through an unforeseen destiny of solitude and weariness allowing the hero to find no place among the society. His journey of struggle within the society faces the hero to make certain decisions that readers question as either rational or irrational decisions. Whereas in Hesse’s, the hero accepts the transformation from an aesthetic Siddhartha to a more self conscious character basing his needs on the materialistic pleasures. Siddhartha’s influence from the environment enables him to feel and un derstand his present surroundings of a society leading to his ultimate motive of Self realization and to break the cycle of life and achieve ultimate happiness. Hamsun’s hero, the unnamed narrator in the novel Hunger, is a struggling character, always contemplating over his ideas and actions and often losing his sense of reality to his own illusionary world of his conscious â€Å"my deranged consciousness ran away with me and sent me lunatic inspirations† . The effect of having to create a character struggling within his own decision making skills has the audience to believe the protagonist has in a breaking point between sanity versus insanity. Yet under the society of Christiniana, under certain laws and rules that are to be followed, Hamsun creates a paradoxical character, ... ... through a chaotic state. Yet in Hunger it is portrayed that human nature always strives to be in communities, but when a society is formed, there are always certain individuals as outcasts like the protagonist, who tend to fall under the influence of its society’s expectations. Their strive to have a place in the society follows up working too hard to reach the expectations of earning money for a materialistic value in the society, therefore allowing the protagonist to go in a state of insanity. Siddhartha follows society as a materialistic living and a need, the protagonist allows himself to go through against materialistic living, following the expectations of the society. He allows the materialism of earning money and have physical pleasures to reach his own journey to reach enlightenment through experience of having to understand how to let it out of his Self.

Reasons to Learn CPR Essay -- essays research papers

Have you ever thought about what you would do if a family member suddenly stopped breathing? Imagine that you grow up in a small town, the population is 700 people, and one morning you wake up and everyone in the town is dead. On any given day 670 people die of sudden cardiac arrest. Could it be a loved one, someone you care deeply for, or just a complete stranger? The chances are that someone in your family is going to die of sudden cardiac arrest in your lifetime. On average it takes an ambulance no less than seven minutes to reach someone in need, therefore, every adult should know how to administer CPR. Brain death starts to occur four to six minutes after someone is attacked with cardiac arrest, so you should immediately begin with assessing the victim?s airway. You should start out by shaking and shouting at the victim to check his or her level of responsiveness. If the patient does not respond, you should then call 9-1-1. After placing the call, bare the victim?s chest of all clothing and open his or her airway. To open to victim?s airway, you should use the head-ti...

Environmental Analysis: Southwest Airlines Essay

INTRODUCTION Southwest Airlines Co. began its operations in 1971 and has been serving the industry for the past 43 years now (Southwest Airlines, n.d.). It is the major domestic airline, and ranked number one in 2014 by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (United States Department of Transportation, 2014). Back in 1971 the airline began its services in Texas in the cities of Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. The company has been ranked as the nation’s largest low cost carrier (Mergent, 2012). It offers the lowest fares, and has the lowest cost structure in the industry. Southwest Airlines Co. also acquired AirTran Holdings Inc. in 2011 and now owns AirTran Airways. The company has been ranked 9th among the 50 most admired companies in the world according to a survey by Fortune magazine (Fortune Magazine, 2013). Southwest uses the exchange symbol LUV on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This paper will summarize an environmental scan of Southwest Airlines to include an analysis of the most important external environmental factors in the remote, industry, and external operating environments, the most important strengths and weaknesses of the organization, an assessment of the company’s competitive position, and analyze the structure of the organization and how this affects organizational performance (University of  Phoenix, 2013). POLITICAL FACTORS The Airline and Aviation industry underwent Governmental Regulations by the passage of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 and the simultaneous creation of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). This Act enabled the CAB to control the service fares, the entry of new airlines from the market and the exit of existing airlines from the same, and the assigning of air routes to different airlines. Then the Federal Aviation Act was passed in 1958 and led to the formation of the Federal Aviation Administration in August 1958. The rule making was shifted to the FAA and it had control of the air routes, the airline safety and air traffic controls. The Airline Deregulation Act was passed in 1978 and falls in the category of Federal Law. It eliminated the governmental authority over determination of service fares and control of routes and new airlines entry into/exist from the airline industry. As a result of the act, the CAB was dissolved in 1984. The FAA was not eliminated and it remained in control of airline safety and air traffic control (United States Government Accountability Office, 2006). This Amendment came into force in 1979 and comes within the category of federal law. It manages the air traffic at Dallas Airfield in Texas. Initially, this amendment posed such restrictions on nonstop flights that their routes got limited to Texas and its neighboring states only. However, the restrictions were taken off in 1997 and 2005. The Amendment was revoked in 2006 but some restrictions will expire in 2014. Soon after the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Southwest was about to begin interstate flights. But restrictions were imposed by the Congress and the airline was disqualified to ticket/operate flights beyond Texas and the states touching its borders. ECONOMIC FACTORS A number of economic constraints are also there in the environment that have their relative impacts on Southwest’s operations. These include: Higher unemployment rates, which Southwest had been challenging by refusing to lay off employees even during surging unemployment. Increase in operating costs. Instable credit market and capital market. Declining demand for air travel. Economic Recession in the country (Southwest Airlines, et al., 2013). SOCIAL FACTORS Social factors influencing performance include an increase air pollution caused by the airline industry as a whole; gases are emitted in upper atmosphere causing an increase of around three percent of greenhouse emissions globally. Also, fuel efficiency has increased significantly from the past three decades. The airline industry has been divided into labor unions which include several types of unions such as the Flight Attendants’ Unions, the Machinists’ Unions, and the Pilots’ Unions. The majority of the employees are part of such unions which has led to an increase in labor costs for the entire airline industry. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Fuel efficiency is increasing. Aircrafts that are more fuel efficient are being developed and the engines are being redesigned to cater to this change. The Air Transportation System has been reformed by the introduction of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). This system is supposed to be implemented in the country by 2025. The system revises air routes and updates it to satellite system management; the promotion of usage of GPS technology for navigation, route length shortening, time reduction, and fuel saving, etc. The JPDO (Joint Planning and Development Office) has been setup to facilitate the development of NextGen. Apart from that, the tracking system has been  updated and routes have been improved significantly. Airline forecasting and algorithms have allowed improvements in prices and costs for airlines in the industry. The average age of an aircraft in the industry is around 13 years. The market is expected to grow and revenues are likely to increase. HOW SOUTHWEST SHOULD CONFRONT THESE THREATS Southwest should take active measures to deal with all the above measured threats. To combat with political threats of regulation, the Shelby agreement does help by providing expansion in a few routes. However, they are still less and the routes and areas served need to be expanded. Some sort of agreement should be made for that. To deal with its economic threats, Southwest is already implementing fuel cost saving strategies. It has already reduced its fares for the passengers, which provides it with a competitive edge. Southwest has adopted a no-layoff policy with reference to its employees, in the face of high unemployment rates. Therefore it should work to control and ultimately minimize its operating costs. To deal with the social issues present in the industry, careful negotiations and dealings with the various kinds of unions should be done. Environmentally safe emissions of gas should be reviewed as well as alternate sources of energy. Technology is increasing in the industry. Southwest needs to be able to afford the latest technology so that it could offer superior quality of service than its competitors. SOUTHWEST’S STRENGTHS Southwest Airlines has a number of strengths. It uses the inner city airports and focuses on point-to-point service, which reduces the connections and facilitates nonstop routing. That resultantly reduces the total flight time. This makes it easier for Southwest to charge low flight fares for its passengers. The airline also serves downtown airports including Houston Hobby, Chicago Midway, Dallas Love Field, Burbank, Oakland, San Jose, Manchester, Baltimore-Washington International, Hollywood, Long Island Islip and Providence airports. This way the airline can make good use of its assets and perform on time and be reliable. That ultimately shows up as an increase in market revenue (MarketLine, 2012). The company has also employed successful advertising methods. It has reduced its  overall operating costs and has been profitable for 36 consecutive years. It is known in the airline industry as being the best low cost carrier. SOUTHWEST’S WEAKNESSES Contractual obligations associated with the purchase of future aircraft, debt payment, and leasing arrangements resulted in a lowering of the companies’ credit rating in 2009. This has affected the company’s ability to secure future financing (Tellex, 2012a). With increased technology, fewer companies are dependent on face-to-face meetings resulting in a lower demand for business travel. Reappearing downturn in the economy have also reduce the amount of those who travel for leisure. The subsequent result in the overall decrease in travel is lower profit margins for the company (Tellex, et al., 2012b). The company continues to rely heavily on revenue generated by passenger travel, earning only one percent of its revenue through the transportation of freight and cargo. Considering that passenger travel is heavily dependent on price, fluctuations in fuel and security costs can expose profits to volatility (Tellex, et al., 2012c). The airline has always maintained a conservative growth strategy. It needs to develop a more aggressive, robust business plan in order to keep up with other industry leaders in the modern economy. The company is currently limited to approximately 68 cities domestically and relies heavily on one aircraft manufacture (Boeing) to produce its fleet (Tellex, et al., 2012d). MAIN COMPETITOR One of the major competitors to Southwest Airlines is Delta Airlines, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. It has a few significant weaknesses such as the legal issues it has recently faced (including 2009’s antitrust lawsuits) that have had their impact on the company’s brand image. Also, the company is heavily indebted. In Fiscal Year 2011, the company had a long term debt of $11,233 million, and in FY2010 it was $12,553. The interest expense was also very high. That is why it is more  prone to recession and because of this financial depression it is also unable to acquire additional funds. That has become a threat to its liquidity. The company also faces increasing fuel costs, competitive threats, and extensive governmental regulation (MarketLine, et al., 2012). While it is difficult to combat governmental regulation, Southwest Airlines can build upon Delta Airline’s weaknesses, because it has remained profitable and has also become fuel efficient in the recent past. Also, the company has been successfully able to reduce its overall cost structure and provide high customer service, which is why it is amongst the top ranked airlines in the industry. This automatically creates value for the stakeholders. SOUTHWEST’S COMPETITIVE STRATEGY The company follows a low-cost competitive strategy by offering low fares to its customers which happen because it has been able to reduce its operating costs. It focuses on inner city airports such as the Dallas Love Field. To minimize costs, Southwest doesn’t provide meals in flights. It also uses Boeing 737 aircrafts which are technologically more fuel efficient. This makes its ranking high in customer services as compared to other airlines in the industry. RECOMMENDED MODIFICATIONS TO SOUTHWEST’S STRATEGY Assuming that the United States economy is undergoing a downturn, Southwest Airlines will need to make a few amendments to its strategy. These include improving its cost efficient structure and maintaining its existing customer base as well as begin providing healthy meals on an economical basis without increasing the flight fares too much. It should focus on what it does best and also build upon its competitive edge of excellent customer service. That way it would be able to combat the effects of an economic downturn, partially or completely. IMPACT OF GLOBAL COMPETITION ON SOUTHWEST’S STRATEGY If viewed from a global perspective, the company needs to make several revisions to its competitive strategy. Although Southwest has a competitive edge in the local industry because of its low fares and low cost structure, to be able to face global competition, the company needs to begin serving more routes, as the number of routes it serves currently is making it seem like a competitive disadvantage for the company. Also, the company should utilize its profits for the provision of healthy quality meals. An overall improvement in the operations should also be considered. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE Perhaps the most important element of Southwest Airline’s success is the company’s decentralized organization structure. The airline places a limited emphasis on organizational structure allowing employees and management committees to make decisions. The company’s policies are developed by combining employee input and measuring all decisions against its own code of ethics. The company continuously demonstrates its ability to develop relationships through the formation of cross-functional teams that share goals and knowledge and build a mutual respect for one another rather than blaming. â€Å"Focus on relationships is the fundamental driver of leadership, culture, strategy, and coordination at Southwest† (Gittell, 2003, p. 177). Southwest defines leadership as a process that can occur at any level of the organization but is most productive on the front lines. Supervisors assume a position of servitude to their subordinates going beyond the traditional responsibilities of that role. Employees are viewed as internal customers who deserve nurturing and training. The company intentionally distorts the lines between work and personal lives to enhance family and community relationships. The end result of such an organizational structure is improved flight departure performance, faster turnaround times, greater staffing productivity, fewer lost bags, and fewer customer complaints (Gittell, 2003). CONCLUSION Since its inception in 1971, Southwest has continuously distinguished itself from other airlines in the industry. For 41 consecutive years, it is the only airline to sustain a profit. The company’s organizational structure reflects its commitment to customers and employees alike. The benefits of this commitment have established the company as the benchmark for the industry in terms of loyalty and customer/employee satisfaction. Rankings such as number one in air transportation (United States Government Accountability Office, et al., 2006), number nine in _Fortune’s Most Admired Companies_ (Fortune Magazine, et al., 2013), and number 12 on _Forbe’s Best Companies to Work For In 2013_ (Forbes, 2013) also provide testament to the success of the company’s business strategy. In order to sustain this level of success in the long-term and remain competitive within an industry that already has limited flexibility created by an unusually large amount of fixed costs, federal and union regulation, manufacturer dependency, and economy. The company must give consideration to developing a more transformational model. Fortunately for Southwest, the company has no need to reinvent itself. However, this model should include an cost-effective approach to fleet expansion and additional freight and cargo transportation services to generate more revenue while retaining their proven formula for organizational structure and customer service. References Forbes. (2013). _The 25 Best Places to Work in 2013_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45eddil/no-12-southwest/ Fortune Magazine. (2013). _World’s Most Admired Companies_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Fortune: http://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/southwest-airlines-9/ Gittell, J. (2003). _The Southwest Airlines Way: Using Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance._ New York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved June 8, 2014 MarketLine. (2012, December 21). _SWOT Analysis_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from MarketLine: http://advantage.marketline.com/PageForbidden?returnUrl=%2FProduct%3Fpid%3D345D3B5B-CDC8-4F13-AD68-8D79064FB08A%26view%3DSWOTAnalysis Mergent. (2012, Decemeber 14). _Company Detail: Southwest_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Mergent Investor Edge: http://www.mergentinvestoredge.com/companyDetail.php?compNumber=7750&companyName=Southwest%20Airlines%20Co&ticker=LUV&cik=0000092380&pagetype=detail&exchange=NYS&country=USA# Southwest Airlines. (2013, December 31). _LUV Investor Relations_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from 2013 Annual Report: http://southwest.investorroom.com/company-reports Southwest Airlines. (n.d.). _Company Profile_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from LUV Investor Relations: http://southwest.investorroom.com/ Tellex, T. (2012, March 20). _Southwest Airline SWOT Analysis_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Exploring the World of Business: http://www.tamaratellezmba.com/blog/2012/03/20/southwest-airlines-swot-analysis/ United States Department of Transportation. (2014, May 15). _Airline Traffic Data_. 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