An Introduction for Ryanair

INTRODUCTION Background in Brief Ryanair was established by the Ryan family with a staff of 25. Its first route was launched in 1985 with a 15-seat aircraft ferrying passengers between Waterford in Ireland and London. In 1986, Ryanair launched its route from Dublin to London to challenge British Airways and Aer Lingus, the two dominant airline carriers on that route, by offering fares at lower prices. With two routes in operation, Ryanair carried 82,000 passengers in its first full year of operation. By 1993 Ryanair has carried over 1 million passengers.In 1995 Ryanair overtook Aer Lingus and British Airways to become the biggest international scheduled route carrier in Europe. The Organization Today Ryanair now operates more than 1,500 flights per day from 57 bases on 1,500 low fare routes across 28 countries. It connects 178 destinations and operating a fleet of 305 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. In 2012, Ryanair had a team of more than 8,500 employees and carried over 78 million pas sengers. Ryanair’s main business is to provide â€Å"low-fare-no filling† airline services.Ryanair also offers various ancillary services including in-flight sale of beverages and food, car hire services, internet-related services etc. To expend its network, Ryanair, which already owns 29. 82% of Aer Lingus in 2012 announced its intention to acquire Aer Lingus by making an all cash offer of â‚ ¬1. 30 per share for its entire share capital. Ryanair recorded a profit of â‚ ¬503 million in 2012 fiscal year, increased 25% compared with year 2011 despite a â‚ ¬367 million rise in fuel costs. Revenues rose 19% to â‚ ¬4325 million as traffic grew 5% to 75. 8 million passengers. Ryanair’s return on equity (ROE) is increased from 12. 7% to 16. % in fiscal 2012. In addition, the company’s free cash flow is increased from â‚ ¬-610. 9m to â‚ ¬702. 7m due to high net income and reduced capital expenditure. Mission Ryanair' mission is to â€Å"become Europe’s most profitable lowest cost airline by rolling out our proven ‘low-fare-no-frills’ service in all markets in which we operate, to the benefit of our passengers, people, and shareholders†. To emphasis its focus on low fares, low frills, the CEO has stated, in response to criticisms of Ryanair's sub-standard customer service, that â€Å"any worthwhile passenger service commitment should involve commitments to low prices and high punctuality†.Ryanair has the cost minimizer's aim of generating the most benefit to both its shareholders and its passengers through offering the lowest fare service. It offers customers the choice of exactly which services they want to pay for rather than forcing them to pay a high price for the bundle of services the airline wants to offer, as legacy carriers usually do. Passengers benefit from paying less money by selecting and purchasing only the services they need. As a result, Ryanair is able to attract more cus tomers, which helps Ryanair to grow its market and profits. Goals and Objectives Generate greater passenger traffic through offering low fare services. †¢ Expand the air passenger market and network by opening up new bases and routes. †¢ Capture a larger market, such as by entry to the US airline market. †¢ Gain additional profits through increasing passenger traffic while keeping its cost base low. †¢ Maintain its low cost leadership position through continued cost efficiencies. Stakeholders There are many stakeholders involved in Ryanair’s business. As Table 1 shows, they have different expectations toward and demands on Ryanair. TABLE 1: Organizational Stakeholders Stakeholder Group |Group Demands / Attributes | |Product Market | | |Competitors |They want to carry more passengers at higher fares and would like to reduce Ryanair's market share. | | |They would like regulation to force Ryanair to offer travel agent commissions. | |Travel Agencies |They would like to organize Ryanair staff. | |Customers want the lowest fare price, and luxury services at no extra cost. | |Trade Unions |Boeing, Airbus would like to Ryanair orders at list prices. Airports would like regulations allowing | |Customers |them to charge higher fees to airlines, and to collude on capacity management. | |Suppliers |Legislators want to avoid high levels of controversial public complaints, and want higher airport and | | |route taxes. | | | |Government | | |Capital Market | | |Shareholders |Shareholders want to see Ryanair’s market and profit increased. |Banks |Banks want Ryanair to make loan payments in full on time. | |Leasing Company |They want Ryanair to lease more planes, i. e. expand routes. | |Organizational Market | | |Employees |Employees want higher income and better benefits | |Managers |Managers want to effectively use the human and capital resources of the company to meet the goals and | | |objectives set by top executives. |Top Executi ves |Maintain Ryanair’s cost-leadership position to gain profit while looking for more opportunities to | |(Michael O'Leary) |further expand its market | EXTERNAL ANALYSIS General Environment Demographic Segment: Airline travel passengers are mostly aged 18 to 65. Among them, passengers of age 25 to 55 years account for almost 75% of the total. The ageing of the post-1945 baby boom generation has reduced the numbers in the older higher income segment of this demographic.The resulting tendency is for a greater proportion of air travellers to be younger and less affluent and more oriented toward lower cost transport as opposed to seeking a luxurious flying experience. Political/Legal Segment The political and legal issues that concern Ryanair include regulations of regional and national governments and the European Union (EU), various legal actions, terrorism and security. Because many airlines are fully or partially owned by national governments, the airline industry has been affected by political regulation of both operation and ownership.For example, the EU regulations charging all airlines for their carbon emissions, and the rules on flight and duty time limitations, both increase the operating costs of Ryanair. Furthermore, O'Leary's ambition to start an ultra-low cost transatlantic airline using Aer Lingus planes and US airport landing rights has been blocked by the European Commission's Merger Office. The Commission has refused to allow Ryanair to go ahead with purchase of control of Aer Lingus. In addition, the threat of terrorism has increased insurance and security costs in the airline industry. Economic SegmentThe global economic recession and fuel price increases have greatly affected the European airline industry. The recession has impacted the purchasing power of consumers. Ryanair’s low cost strategy has enhanced Ryanair’s ability to compete in these conditions. Through offering low fares, Ryanair enables airline passengers to continue travelling despite the economic crisis. The floating exchange rate also has a direct effect on Ryanair’s profitability. Ryanair collects fares in various currencies and has its expense mainly in US dollars for fuel and in Euros for labour.In addition, the number of airline passengers could decline if their national currency loses value. Ryanair uses futures and options to hedge its fuel price, foreign exchange risks, and financing interest cost. The price for 90% of Ryanair's forecast fuel requirements for fiscal 2013 is hedged. Hedged prices for 2013 are significantly above 2012 prices. Socio-cultural Segment Due to changes in traveller’s behavioural  and psychological patterns, the European airline industry has changed from traditional patterns.People’s perspective towards air travel has been changed by the low cost revolution of air fares in Europe. Air travel is no longer being seen as expensive and is now accessible by low income people. Consequ ently passenger traffic in the Europe airline industry has increased. Ryanair's initial routes from Ireland to England were intended to provide a service to ethnic Irish people who had migrated to England to work due to lack of jobs in Ireland, but who still had most of their family in Ireland and wanted to visit often. Technological SegmentAdopting advantageous technologies has helped Ryanair constantly reinvent its processes to maintain its low cost advantage. For example, by using its online booking system, Ryanair reduced its distribution costs by eliminating travel agency commissions. Better technology has also allowed other transportation industries to cut costs such as the innovation of lower fuel consumption cars and high speed trains. These changes both increase the competitiveness of the substitutes for airline travel and also increase the complementarity of airline and other travelling tools.Global Segment Globalization increases the demand for international air travel. T here are an increasing number of people travelling between counties for work or to take vacations in foreign countries. Industry Environment Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of Ryanair’s aircraft suppliers is relatively high. Because Ryanair wants very low prices and many special conditions on aircraft purchases, so Boeing has refused to extend their supply contract with Ryanair, and Airbus has not been interested to seriously negotiate with Ryanair.Moreover, the switching cost of changing supplier for Ryanair is moderately high due to the significant amount of expense needed in terms of pilot, mechanic retraining and spare parts inventories. Ryanair is reportedly negotiating to buy the new C919 aircraft being developed by COMAC, a Chinese manufacturer, due to its greater amounts of seats and the lower fuel consumption. This availability of this substitute increases Ryanair’s bargaining power with Boeing. Ryanair’s bargaining power with its sup pliers of airport services is high, due to the current overbuilding of regional airports.Bargaining Power of Buyers The bargaining power of Ryanair’s buyers is high. The competition in the European short haul airline market is very intense, and many airlines have cut their cost in response to deregulation and availability of new cost saving technologies. Though Ryanair offers travel fares to passengers at very low prices, there is low switching cost for customers to change to another airline. The lack of brand loyalty in the air travel market increases buyer’s bargaining power. Threat of EntryThe threat of new entrants in the European short haul air travel market is high due to the relatively low cost of entry and the commodity nature of the capital required. However Ryanair has achieved economies of scale which would be difficult for a new entrant to achieve. Ryanair has a large network which would require a moderately large capital investment to duplicate. Availabili ty of access to some routes is another barrier for new entrants due to the intense competition for primary routes and primary airport landing rights for some routes. Threats from Substitute ProductsThe threat of substitute products and services for Ryanair is relatively low. Substitute services of Ryanair include trains, ferries, cars, as well as other low fare airlines. However, according to the record, it was shown that usually the tickets of train, bus or ferry are more expensive than Ryanair’s flight tickets. According to Ryanair's 2012 financial report presentation, Ryanair's average ticket price including bag is â‚ ¬45 (2013Q3 â‚ ¬50) and its closest price competitor's average ticket price is â‚ ¬71 (2013Q3 â‚ ¬79). This shows the threat to Ryanair's from substitute low ost airlines is relatively low as they are unable to achieve Ryanair's economies of scale and offer similar fares. Competitive Rivalry The competitive rivalry for Ryanair in the airline marke t is high. Its competitors include Aer Lingus, easy Jet, Air Berlin, Whizz, IAG/British Airway, and Lufthansa etc, the carriers which also offering low fare flights. Many airline companies have lowered the prices of airfares to avoid losing more market share. Competitor Analysis An analysis of major competitors, Aer Lingus, Easy Jet and British Airways is shown in Table 2.TABLE 2: Competitor Analysis | |Aer Lingus |Easy Jet |British Airways | |Future Objectives |Aer Lingus focus on generating revenue per |Easy jet wants to build strong |British Airways want to become the | | |seat rather than maximization of load |number 1 and 2 network positions |world’s leading premium airline by | | |factor as well as more emphasis on |while maintains its cost advantage. offering the best customer services. | | |partnerships and connectivity. | | | |Current |Moving to discount airline model, focusing |Easyjet focus on primary airports, |British Airways focus on satisfied | |Strategy |on pr imary airport routes. Focus on serving|and especially slot constrained |customers.It provides high level | | |Irish travel to visit relatives in New |airports, to provide service on the|premium tickets and offers first class| | |York, Boston and Chicago areas of US. |top 100 routes in Europe |ticket holders access to premier | | | | |lounges. | |Assumptions |They assume that low fares are mbedded in |They assume passengers want |They assume that customers will like | | |the Irish market place. |convenience. |to pay more for a better and | | | | |outstanding service. | |Capabilities |Aer Lingus operates 43 planes with an |Easy Jet has 214 planes flying 605 |British Airway has a fleet of over 245| | |average age of 7. 3 years.Carries about 10 |routes serving 133 airports with 23|aircraft over 600 destinations | | |million passengers per year on 92 routes. |bases, which makes it the 4th |worldwide. It operates in engineering | | | |largest short haul carrier in |provides engineering se rvices to BA | | | |Europe with 8% market share. |and many other airlines. |General Notes |Aer Lingus is the lowest fare long haul |EasyJet focuses on low fares |It is the flag carrier airline of the | | |airline in Europe, partly due to having to |without removing the services which|UK & the largest airline in the UK | | |compete with Ryanair on 46 routes. |are standard on most airlines. |based on fleet size. | Analysis of Interaction of External Force In summary, the external environment provides Ryanair both opportunities and risks.Though some political issues limited its operation and the intense competition in the airline industry poses some threats to Ryanair, the company has great opportunities to grow. The demand for air travelling is increasing as the reduction in fares has expanded numbers of passengers who can afford air travel, and existing travellers are choosing low cost carriers due to the economic recession. Ryanair has put itself in the right position to generate pa ssenger traffic and market shares. INTERNAL ANALYSIS Resources Tangible ResourcesAirports: Ryanair has established distribution channels with low cost and uncongested airports, which enable it to deliver a 25 minute turnaround, which helps to create Ryanair’s competitive advantage. Not only secondary airports, Ryanair’s primary airports also delivered it a great value. Locations: More than 1,500 routes across 28 countries in Europe and North Africa to 178 airports (of which 57 are ‘bases’, where Ryanair bases aircraft and crew). Aircraft Fleet: Ryanair has a fleet consisting of a single aircraft type, the Boeing 737-800.The average age of its 305 aircraft is around 4 years, which is younger than the 9-11 years of typical European airline carriers. This gives advantages in terms of fuel efficiency, maintenance costs and customer perception. Ryanair also benefits from its planes higher seating capacity (189 seats per aircraft, compared with Easyjet’s 156 on A319s and 174 on A320s). Financial Resources: The financial resources of the company come from the Ryan family, shareholders, investors and creditors. In addition, Ryanair has a high cash flow balance, which enables it to make emergency adjustments or further investments.In addition, Ryanair has the Aer Lingus shares with a market value of â‚ ¬150 million which could be converted to cash. Organizational Resources: Very sophisticated and precise controlling and coordinating systems to allow high operational efficiencies including shorter aircraft turnaround times than competitors. Technological resources: Online booking and checkin system which allows near elimination of airport checking counter costs. Intangible Resources Human Resources: Ryanair employs approximately 8,388 employees, as of March 31, 2012, including 1,636 pilots and 2,867 cabin crew employed on a contract basis.Ryanair’s Brand Recognition: Ryanair has a strong brand image as a cost leader and no-fri lls carrier. Rights: The landing rights and airport terminal slot rights for Ryanair as well as the government approvals to fly each particular route. Innovation Resources: Ryanair's senior management team has a strong capacity to constantly innovate and to cut costs by negotiating with suppliers to pressure for supply cost reductions and to change service routes to drop high rising cost suppliers in favour of low cost suppliers. The senior management team has the capacity to innovate by nbundling the components of major airline service and offering the components individually allowing travellers to choose lower cost combinations. Innovative use of secondary airports distant form major cities allows Ryanair to profitably offer ancillary car rental and bus and accommodations services through the online booking and ticketing system. Capabilities Primary activities Inbound Logistics: Ryanair’s main supplier, Boeing, provided Ryanair discount reported as approximately one third o ff for purchasing aircraft.Ryanair outsources the labour, airport services, and employee training they need at low cost. Operations: Ryanair provides â€Å"low cost no frills† airline service. About 50% of Ryanair’s flight crew are contractors employed only when required. Ryanair uses uncongested airports and only makes point to point trips. Outboard Logistics: Ryanair has quick 25 minute aircraft turnaround times. Ryanair has developed an online booking, ticketing, and confirmation system which eliminated the role and margin of travel agents taking the Ryanair service direct to the traveller.Marketing and Sales: Ryanair has the biggest website in Europe which allows them to do the marketing- internet sales. They also generate ancillary revenues by selling products in flight and encouraging customers to buy alliance services such as hotel bookings, car rentals and travel insurance etc. Service: Ryanair provides limited free services to passengers, and a full variety of onboard and travel services is available to customers for purchase. Customers decide which services they want to pay for. Support ActivitiesManagement Information Systems: Ryanair has efficient MIS systems to minimize airport turnaround times and to very tightly control on-board fuel inventories to minimize the cost of carrying excess fuel carried any flight. Firm Infrastructure: Ryanair has 57 bases. The cost of Ryanair airports are low due to its use of airports are mostly uncongested secondly airports. Ryanair has only one type of aircraft (Boeing 737-800). Therefore, Ryanair only trains pilots to fly one type of plane, which cut costs of training employees.Human Resource Management: In order to reduce costs, Ryanair pays relatively lower salaries to employees than other airline companies. The employees are paid by the hour on contracts. Ryanair employees get no benefits from Ryanair, but pilots like Ryanair because they can build their hours of experience quickly and be promote d to senior pilot positions. Technological Development: Use of online booking by Ryanair reduced their costs. In addition, by introducing self-check service to the passengers, Ryanair was able to reduce staff and cost. Procurement: As Ryanair only provide services, they have to outsource the material they need, such as fuel and equipment as well as leasing some operated aircraft. Core Competencies Ryanair has the following core competencies based on the VRIO framework: | |V |I |R |O | |Fleet of 294 -737-800s |Very fuel efficient and |Boeing list price of $90 |No competitor has as large |Ryanair has organized a 1500| | |about 4years average age so|million per plane or $26. |a fleet of short-medium |route network and short | | |low maintenance costs |billion for a similar fleet|haul fuel efficient jets |turnaround times to maximize| | | | | |the flying time of the fleet| |Supply chain management and |Forcing irports to compete|Very costly to imitate the |Competitors try to do this |Or ganized to operate the | |operations management |on fees for Ryanair's |scale of Ryanair's |also but Ryanair does it |fleet of 737-800s on | |including MIS systems |business and forcing Boeing|operation of 1500 routes |better |whatever routes offer low | | |to reduce prices on their |between 178 airports, so | |costs | | |huge order of 737-800s are |smaller network operators | | | | |keys to Ryanair's low cost |have less bargaining power | | | | |structure |with airports | | | |O'Leary's strategic vision, |O'Leary's strategy is the |Not available in the market|There is only one O'Leary |O'Leary is dedicated to | |marketing strategy and PR |basis for the company's | | |building â€Å"ultra-low-cost† | | |profitability.His | | |airlines | | |controversial PR saves | | | | | |millions in advertising | | | | | |costs | | | | Performance: Ryanair’s performance compared with its main competitors: | |Ryanair |Easyjet |Aer Lingus |British Airways | |Revenue |US$6. 35B |GBP 3. 85B |â‚ ¬1. 39B |â‚ ¬16. 1 B | |Operating Margin |15. 3% |8. 1% |3. 94% |3. 2% | |Profit Margin |12. 54% |6. 62% |2. 44% |3. 49% | |ROA |5. 59% |4. 74% |1. 90% |3. 44% | |ROE |18. 99% |14. 58% |4. 07% |13. 21% | |Market Cap |US$11. 51B |GBP 4. 18B |â‚ ¬0. 679 B |US$ 6. 7 B | STRATEGYBusiness Level Strategy Ryanair follows a cost leadership strategy. By controlling the cost of operations, Ryanair has a low cost base, which enables it to offer the lowest fares to passengers with acceptable service across Europe. Corporate Level Strategy Ryanair has a low-level of diversification. Ryanair's dominant business is passenger transport, with ancillary revenue from its ancillary services. According to Ryanair’s 2012 annual report ancillary revenue accounts for about 25% of the total revenue, while 75% of revenue come from is major business, which is scheduled airline service. International Strategy Ryanair follows a global strategy.Ryanair offers standardized services to all passengers across Europe, while the strategic decisions centralized in headquarters office to achieve economies of scale. Ryanair does not customize its products to individual national or regional market demands. Cooperative Strategy Ryanair has cooperative or alliance relations with a broad range of hotel and other accommodation providers, as well as with airport car rental companies and airport bus transport companies. Ryanair offers the services of these companies through the Ryanair website and the companies rebate a portion of the revenue to Ryanair. SYNTHESIS Ryanair has the strengths, and weaknesses, and faces the opportunities and threats as shown in Table 3: Table 3: SWOT Analysis |Strengths |Weaknesses | |Customer Service |Low Fares: The advantage of Ryanair’s low cost base |Low Frequencies: Ryanair offers less frequent flights on some | | |allows it to offers the lowest average fares in |routes and often schedules departures at low demand times, | | |European shor t haul markets. It was report that |which may not be convenient to passengers, but provides lower | | |Ryanair’s fares are about 37% below those of easyJet. |costs and faster turnaround times. | | | |Brand Perception: Recently published surveys vote Ryanair to be| | |Unbundling Services: Unbundling of inflight services |one of the weakest brands in the European airline industry. | |allows Ryanair to expand the travel market by serving|Ryanair offers limited free services to passengers and the | | |lower willingness to pay customers, which supposedly |media portrayal of Ryanair is often of a mean and | | |is a large segment of Ryanair’s home market in |money-grabbing. | | |Ireland. | | | |Punctuality: Ryanair has the best punctuality | | | |compared to other airline companies, since Ryanair | | | |only offers point-to-point short haul service. | | |Financial Resources |Cash flow: According to Ryanair’s 2012 annual report,|Seasonality of Earnings: Many Ryanair ’s customers are vacation | | |Ryanair has Euro 3. billion in cash, which allows it |travellers who tend to travel in the July to September period | | |to make further investment. |so Ryanair’s earnings are highly seasonal. | |Network: Economies |Ryanair flies more than 1,500 routes across 28 | | |of Scale |countries in Europe and North Africa, 178 airports of| | | |which 57 are bases. It carried almost 80m passengers | | | |in year 2012 with a market share of 12%.It has the | | | |lowest cost per passenger, which is one third lower | | | |than its major competitor EasyJet. | | |Network: Secondary |Due to the use of secondary airports and its |Many secondary airports are many kilometres away from a major | |Airports |excellent operations systems, Ryanair has a 25 minute|city, which may cause travel inconveniences to passengers. | | |turnaround times, which allows the airline to | | | |maximise aircraft utilisation. | |Fleet |One type of aircraft, the Boeing 737- 800 |Fleet is not certified for transatlantic service expansion | | |Largest short haul fleet in Europe 305 aircraft | | | |Average age of fleet 4 years (9 to 11 years for | | | |competitors) gives better fuel efficiency, and lower | | | |maintenance costs. | | |Executive Management|Introduced a series of innovations to achieve low |Portrayed by the media as mean and uncaring. | |costs and economies of scale | | | |Eliminated check-in desks; put advertising on | | | |boarding passes and overhead bins; persuading | | | |passengers not to check in hold baggage | | | |World leading skill in negotiating low cost supply | | | |agreements | | |Management Systems |Highly efficient MIS and standard operating | | | |procedures to efficiently operate at lowest costs. | | | | | | | |Opportunities |Threats | |Customers |The CEO of Ryanair has talked of plans for a |Ryanair’s competitors may learn how to imitate its value chain | | |long-haul transatlantic service under a n ew company |and copy its operation strategy.In addition, by focusing on | | |named â€Å"RyanAtlantic†. Purchase of Aer Lingus is a way|efficiency, Ryanair may overlook changes in customer | | |of gaining landing rights at New York, Boston and |preferences. | | |Chicago airports, which are favorite destinations for|By using the cost-leadership strategy, Ryanair needs to carry | | |Irish people travelling overseas to visit their |the risks of losing competitive advantages due to the dramatic | | |relatives. In addition, Aer Lingus has transatlantic |change of technology. | | |certified aircraft. | |Supplier Competition|Ryanair has the opportunity to get a better deal on |Airport and navigation charge increases: Increased airport | | |aircraft ordering. Ryanair has indicated interest in |charges in Spain’s AENA airports and Italy's ATC airport will | | |buying the C919 aircraft as a strategy to negotiate a|boost the ex-fuel unit cost. | | |better deal with Boeing. |Air t ravel taxes: Increases in air travel taxes reduce the | | |Stansted Airport: Ryanair cut its flights at Stansted|demand of air travel.Airport travel taxes are charged | | |Airport as a result of increased airport charge |independently of ticket price and therefore make up a higher | | |increases, and offered that if the airport charges |percentage of lower priced short haul tickets. Ryanair's costs | | |are reduced Ryanair will reverse the reductions in |are affected proportionately more by these taxes than are its | | |service levels and frequency at Stansted Airport to |higher fare competitor's costs. | | |transport about one million more passengers per day |Fuel price and currency: The price of fuel is highly volatile. | |by using spare fleet capacity shifting some flights |The international oil market is priced in US dollars so fuel | | |and routes from competing airports to Stansted. |expenses are in US dollars. Ryanair does not have US dollar | | | |revenues, and therefore mu st hedge its US dollar costs against | | | |its British Pound and Euro revenues using futures, options, and| | | |currency swap. |Government |Regional or local governments build airport capacity |Possible regulatory backlash in response to bad publicity about| | |in excess of local flight demand to attract tourism |service levels | | |dollars provide an opportunity for Ryanair to obtain | | | |very low cost or subsidized airport services. | | SWOT Matrix | |Strengths |Weaknesses | |Opportunities |Low cost base and low fares help to attract passengers |Low flight frequencies reduce the appeal of Ryanair | | |and grow its market. services for some travellers | | |Ryanair’s strong cash flow enables it to make further |Low level of free services reduces the attractiveness of | | |investment in aircraft |Ryanair flights for some travellers | | |Ryanair's strategic negotiating ability allows it to take|Unfavourable publicity causes regulator resistance to | | |advantage of secon dary airport suppliers to provide air |Ryanair operations | | |services to major cities at low cost | | |Threats |Large pan-European network allows Ryanair to shift |Revenue seasonality with lower winter time cash flows | | |business out of regulatory jurisdictions which raise |could make fuel price fluctuations more problematic | | |travel taxes or airport fees |because fuel prices tend to have a seasonal peak during | | |Ryanair's expertise at hedging fuel and exchange rate |October to January | | |fluctuations allows it to minimize the impact of oil |Ryanair’s disregard for customer luxury and convenience | | |price fluctuations compared to legacy airlines |could worsen declines in customer numbers during periods | | | |of economic prosperity when higher income levels give all| | | |travellers more choices of travel service level. | SWOT Fit with StrategyRyanair’s cost leadership business strategy is built on (1) senior management’s strength at negotiating lo w cost supplier agreements, and (2) unbundling air travel services from basic transport fares to allow lower willingness to pay customers to choose lower cost service. The cost leadership strategy and ability to negotiate lowest cost supplier agreements also puts Ryanair in position to exceed competitors network scale and thereby achieve competitively superior economies of scale. Ryanair’s focus on cost leadership minimizes the negative effect that their disregard for customer inconvenience could have on a differentiated supplier. In summary Ryanair’s strategy is a good fit with its strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVESAlternatives 1. Shift to primary airports and move upmarket by focusing on primary airports and increased customer service levels and fares, competing more closely with EasyJet. 2. Expand secondary airports network, with the same customer service level but the lowest price. 3. Expand secondary airport network and upscal e the customer services with a bit higher price. 4. Expand Network to US through buying Aer Lingus. 5. Expand Network to US Irish destinations by buying planes, routes and airport slots. 6. Develop a greenfield network in a non-European regional market. Criteria for Analysis of Alternatives †¢ Increased Profit / ROE †¢ Financial Feasibility Maintain low cost leadership / Increase Economies of scale †¢ Government Issues Evaluation of Alternatives | |Government Issues |Profit/ ROE |Economic of Scale | Financial |Total Point | | | | | |Feasibility | | |1. Shift to Primary Airports (Increase |3 |2 |2 |2. 5 |9. 5 | |Price) | | | | | | |2.Expand Secondary Airport Network |4 |5 |5 |4 |18 | |(Low Price) | | | | | | |3. Expand Secondary Airport Network |4 |3 |3 |3. 5 |13. 5 | |(Upscale Services) | | | | | | |4. Expand Network to US through buying |1 |5 |5 |5 |16 | |Aer Lingus | | | | | | |5.Expand Network to US Irish |2 |3. 5 |4 |3 |12. 5 | |destinations | | | | | | |6. Develo p second Network in |3 |Short run: 2 |Short run: 2. 5 |2 |Short run: 9. 5 | |non-European regional market | |Long run: 5 |Long run: 5 | |Long run: 16 | Explanation of Evaluation: 1. Issues of government approval of new runs and cost of buying airport slots.As the primary airports will charge higher fees and tend to be more intensely competitive, the cost and fare price will be increased with a higher customer services level. The primary airport routes are served by many discount fare and major airline feeder service competitors 2. The lowest cost way to achieve additional economics of scale. 3. Shifts the company cost structure to a higher cost curve and may reduce its economies of scale. 4. Issue of European Commissions Merger office disapproval 5. Combination of regulatory issues and cost of acquiring transatlantic certified aircraft. 6. High start-up cost for a greenfield network and time required to build up revenue and profit. Recommended AlternativeBased on the evaluation, the best alternative for Ryanair is to continual to develop its network serving secondary airports, as it will generate more profit while and achieve greater economies of scale. Short Term Continue with company’s current strategy of expanding the network of secondary airports served. Maintain current levels of customer service and continue to emphasize the value of the levels of customer service provided to the Ryanair customer niche to avoid regulatory backlash. Long Term The secondary airport network in Europe will eventually be saturated by Ryanair’s expansion and to continue growing faster than demographic growth Ryanair will have to expand into other markets.The recommended alternative is to make greater accommodations to the European Commission Merger Office regarding routes where Aer Lingus and Ryanair currently compete in order to gain the Merger offices approval for Ryanair to buy Aer Lingus. This will allow Ryanair to expand to the US market with guaranteed prof its from the Irish traveller traffic visiting relatives in Boston, New York, and Chicago. Further the cost to buy the additional Aer Lingus shares to give Ryanair controlling a share in Aer Lingus is very inexpensive compared to other overseas expansion options. If the European Commission Merger Office does not give approval then Ryanair should consider development of an alternative regional network. IMPLEMENTATION Action PlanExpand the secondary airport network by expanding service to the Balkans, Macedonia and Morocco. |Time Line | |   |April |May |June |July | |Average fare: |Euro 50 |Euro 51 |2% |Low competition in new route area allows | | | | | |higher fare level | |Costs per passenger excluding |Euro 27 |Euro 25 |-7. % |Using excess plane capacity so reduces | |fuel: | | | |average fixed cost | |Revenue per passenger: |Euro 51 |Euro 51 |0% |Travellers in the new route area very frugal. | |Passengers per year: |75. 8 million |79. 6 million |5% |New route volume | |ROE: |16. 9% |18. 4% |1. 5% |Higher utilization of aircraft results in | | | | | |higher ROE | By meeting the figures in the Target column Ryanair will have succeeded in expanding its revenues, profits and economies of scale.

Philosophy of an Slp

Danielle Williams SPED 299 My Philosophy of Speech-Language Pathology My Philosophy of Speech-Language Pathology I believe that babies, toddlers, teenagers, adults, and elderly, many of them are afflicted with a speech impediment, there often seems to be a little hope. Many of these individuals are children, or cast out of society as young adults. Many are sent to doctors and specialists who try to determine what is wrong with them. On occasion, they will meet a person who can help them, and ultimately, change their life for the better.This person is a Speech-Language Pathologist. I want to help individuals that have speech disorders. Many individuals believe that speech-language pathology it has its merits; however there are a few noisy people who believe that speech pathology is a useless ambition. They believe that children suffering from a speech disorder will eventually grow out of it. Children will not eventually grow out of an speech disorder. My heart is with this particular profession.I want to help the kids and adults that has a speech disorder, care those individuals, and make sure they get the proper treatment needed for their disorder. The patients often suffer from a wide variety of problems: late development, cleft palate, hearing loss, mental retardation, brain damage, stroke, or emotional problems. I am very compassionate about this profession. An SLP work in early intervention is complex, challenging, and rewarding. In many ways, each day is different from the next.They have several roles and responsibilities, including (1) participating in assessments to determine whether or not a child is eligible for early intervention services, (2) home visits — working with infants and toddlers and their families in their natural environment (usually their home), and (3) leading a therapeutic play group two mornings a week. The children that I work with are all under the age of three years old. They are eligible to receive early intervention servic es either because they have significant developmental delays or because they and/or their families have at least four environmental risk factors.These environmental risk factors include â€Å"child characteristics,† such as extremely low birth weight, extended hospital stays, and chronic feeding difficulties, and â€Å"family characteristics,† including homelessness, substance abuse in the child's home, and violence in the home. Most of the children that an SLP work with have significant developmental delays. These include, but are not limited to, receptive and expressive language delays, autism spectrum disorders, hearing loss, Down syndrome, and Global Developmental Delay.An SLP generally see about five families per day for home visits and assessments. They collaborate with co-workers during assessments, because they do those in groups of three in order to have a multi-disciplinary team. A typical assessment would include (an SLP), a social worker, and a special educ ator. On the days that an SLP lead the therapeutic play group, that takes up the entire morning, and They usually schedule a couple of home visits or an assessment in the afternoon.

The Arab charter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Arab charter - Essay Example The first Arab Charter was adopted in 1994, but none of the states ratified the charter thus leading to amendments that created the Arab Charter of 2004 in Arab summit in Tunis in 2004. The substantial amendments were done to confirm with the international human rights law on issues such as death penalty, rights of non-citizens and freedoms of expression (Weissbrodt and Vega, 2007). The Arab Charter 2004 came in to force on 16th March 2008 after the ratification of the seventh member state of the Arab league. Article 45 of the Arab Charter establishes the Arab Human rights committee that consists of seven independent member state nationals who are tasked with the supervision of the implementation of the charter and reporting on the progress that each member state has undertaken in giving effect to the rights and freedoms safeguarded by the Arab Charter (Shelton & Wright-Carozza, 2013). The final Arab charter is consistent with European Human rights as reflected in the treaties and op inions of UN experts on human rights (Weissbrodt and Vega, 2007). ... Accordingly, the charter reaffirms the principles of United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations International covenants on political, social and cultural rights and Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (Shelton & Wright-Carozza, 2013). The joint states in Arab charter include the 22 Arab countries, but only 11 have ratified to safeguard the human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the charter. The states that have ratified the charter include Jordan, Algeria, Syria, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Libya (Shelton & Wright-Carozza, 2013). Other member states of the League of Arab nations include Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Djibouti, Algeria, Republic of Sudan, Kingdom of Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, the Sultanate of Oman , Libya, Mauritania and Republic of Yemen (Weissbrodt and Vega, 2007). Article 1 of the Arab Charter recognises human rights as a national concern for Arab states and aims at improving human lives in accordance with human values. The Article seeks to ensure citizens have a sense of the national identity, and share common interests with the spirit of brotherhood, tolerance and universal principles of human rights. Article 1 (d) recognises that human rights are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent as outlined by the United Nations Declaration of universal international human rights charter. Article 2 grants the citizens the right to self-determination, right to sovereignty and right to be free from all forms of racism or Zionism, which constitutes impediment to enjoyment of the fundamental human dignity (Shelton & Wright-Carozza, 2013). The Charter is

Having a Baby Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Having a Baby - Case Study Example Kathee's problems began with the anxiety of conception. The couple made numerous attempts at the old fashioned way. They tried timing the female cycle to no avail. They used a method called the lunar cycle that insists the woman is more fertile during the same lunar phase as her birth. In desperation they experimented with different positions that they had read about on the Internet. With no pregnancy they turned to the medical community for help. Acupuncture was inexpensive and painless but did not produce any results. A similar disappointment resulted from herbal aroma therapy. Kathee even endured the side effects of fertility drugs, but again no baby was produced. As a last desperate attempt, Kathee consented to invasive surgical techniques. Artificial insemination again yielded only disappointment. Gamete placement, a complicated medical procedure, resulted in only pain and mounting medical bills. As a last resort, Kathee tried in-vitro fertilization. After the years of attemptin g to conceive a child, the anxiety was temporarily lifted when the home pregnancy test read positive. Though the conception had been rough, the pregnancy would prove to be even more mired in anxiety. Kathee suffered from the routine sickness that all pregnant mothers-to-be are afflicted with. She had severe morning sickness. Insomnia kept her awake for endless days and nights. As the pregnancy progressed she found it harder and harder to breathe. In addition to these 'normal' symptoms, Kathee caught the flu in mid term. Her ultra high fever threatened the wellness of the unborn baby. She was unable to safely take any medicine to control her nausea. She was unable to eat and was losing weight when she should have been gaining. Just as it seemed she was out of the woods, a few weeks before the baby's scheduled arrival Kathee was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, a serious life threatening condition. Her doctor determined that she could only be treated with an experimental drug. The drug had to be administered by taking several shots per day. The condition required close medical supervis ion and Kathee was forced to make numerous trips to the doctor during these final weeks. Her symptoms of illness and difficulties, along with the anxiety, briefly subsided in the final days before her due date. Kathee was relieved when she went into labor with the realization that it would finally be over. However, she would face even greater anxiety at the hospital. Upon her arrival she found out that her doctor was called out on an emergency and they did not know when to expect him. Her anxiety increased as the on call doctor was unfamiliar with her case and did not want to make a decision. The nursing shortage had left the pediatrics ward short handed and anxiety filled the halls. Since this was her first baby, Kathee did not know what to expect and there was no one except her nervous husband to help her. After being in labor for what seemed like an eternity, her doctor arrived and more problems presented themselves. He prescribed a painkiller [Name] Page 3 Essay 2 that dropped Kathee's blood pressure dangerously low. As her blood pressure dropped, she needed to be connected to a respiration device. When her blood pressure recovered, she was given a labor-inducing drug which did not

Instructional Strategies for ELL Classrooms Essay - 5

Instructional Strategies for ELL Classrooms - Essay Example Research indicate that giving right instructions makes student grasp fast what is being taught as opposed to giving unstructured instructions. This paper will address instructional strategies that need to be employed by teachers for English Language Learners (ELL) classroom. Sheltered instruction is noted to be a very effective strategy to use in ELL classrooms. Sheltered Instructions refers to the instructional activities that ensure that contents are made available and comprehensible for English language learners. Sheltered instruction exists in a variety of models, one such being the Sheltered Instruction Observation protocol (SIOP). Research indicate that teachers who make use of SIOP in planning for their lesions tend to become more effective in connecting language and contents when giving instructions to ELL. In addition, the use of SIOP makes them feel very much being in charge of their career development resulting in the teacher’s ability to incorporate diverse proficiency levels in the teaching rooms. SIOP has several strategic components useful for planning ELL (Wallace, 2004). The first strategy according to SIOP is that teachers must start by defining the language objectives, which is then shared with the learners (Echevarria, Vogt and Short, 2004). This ensures that teachers and learning become objective oriented. In addition, setting teaching objectives ensures that all contents relevant for the lesion is covered within the stipulated timeframe. It also enables teachers to easily, identify forms, structure and functions that need to be taught and setting attainable targets for the ELL students (Echevarria, Vogt and Short, 2004). Research indicates that teachers who have used language objective strategies in their lesions have helped native English-speaking learners who are finding it hard coping with academic demands of English language. For this to happen,

Analysis Of The Rate Of Unemployment As Related To Inflation Rate Essay

Analysis Of The Rate Of Unemployment As Related To Inflation Rate - Essay Example Low standard errors help to infer that the sample drawn for estimating is truly representative of the population and gives a power to the statistical inference to a study (Vassilis, 2008).If there is no significant difference between the standard errors of the two samples we can consider that they belong to the same population or in the other way the test results are same with respect to a particular parameter.  This curve is a historical inverse relationship between the rate of unemployment and the rate of inflation in an economy. This means that lower unemployment in an economy is correlated with a higher inflation rate. When high levels of both inflation and unemployment also take place then it is called stagflation and violates the principle of the forecast of the curve. To consider this anomaly various modifications of this curve has taken place. For example, New Kenysian â€Å"Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium† models based on macroeconomics has been developed wit h sticky prices it is reflected that there is a positive relationship between the rate of inflation and the level of demand and thus a negative relation between the rate of inflation and rate of employment occurs. In the context of this article, we concentrate on the money wage Phillips curve given by the equation gW= gWT – f(U) where g is the equivalent of the percentage rate of growth of the variable, W is the money wage rate and signifies the total money wage costs per production employee, which includes the benefits and the payroll taxes. Hence the focus is on the production workers money wages as these costs are crucial to a firm for making financial decisions. The equation tells us that the growth of money wages rises with the trend in growth of the money wages (T) and falls with the unemployment rate(U). The function (f) is assumed to monotonically increase with U so the dampening of money- wage increases by unemployment is reflected by the negative sign.

Risk evaluation and calculation for a company. Importance of risk Essay

Risk evaluation and calculation for a company. Importance of risk evaluation while taking investment decisions - Essay Example In order to illustrate the complexities of risks involved, the subject of evaluation shall be a multinational company, principally located in an emerging Asian country, but producing an internationally marketed product. While the foreign firm boasts a fundamentally sound business, the fact that it involves investment in another country requires consideration of the various risks. A UK-based investment fund is considering investing in the Asian emerging market. It is considering SMCorp, a food and beverage company principally located in the Philippines. Its main product is the globally renowned San Miguel Beer which had won numerous prestigious international awards. SMCorp has expanded its operations abroad and established breweries located in China, Malaysia, and South America. The Philippine currency has an exchange rate of about PhP69:Â £1, within the past year varying between PhP73:Â £1 and PhP68:Â £1. SMCorp stock is sufficiently liquid and is a favourite among global funds that decide to invest in the Philippines, because of its excellent company fundamentals and steady rate of return. The company regularly declares a uniform stream of annual dividends and exhibits a strong cashflow pattern. Its stock price has a beta coefficient of 0.8. Its 52-week per-share figures are a high of PhP 61 and a low of PhP 38; it is currently at PhP 41. Being in the co nsumer food and beverage industry, demand for SMCorp’s products are consistent even during economic downturns, and sales are brisk locally and abroad. Risk, as applied to investments, is the probability of earning a return less than the expected return (Brigham, 1996). Investors are usually risk-averse; that is, investors will as much as possible try to avoid chances of earning below expected income, moreso chances of loss. Investors who do not assume more than the prevailing

Compare and contrast two artworks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Compare and contrast two artworks - Essay Example More than rationale and thought of the artwork, romanticism gives focus and concentration on the storytelling and the mood behind every art piece (Romanticism para 3). Having said these facts, an individual usually and commonly thinks of romanticism as a style having overflowing sensibilities and personalities rather than a style possessing only a distinct taste which could make it a stand-out as compared to other art forms. As matter of fact, artists cultivating the romantic style do not share a special and discrete form of approaches in order to come up with a finished product. What is so special with romantic artists is their excellent use of their individualistic differences and understandings to promote a piece of art. In the minimum, romantic artists are linked by individualism as well as of freedom of expression. These characteristics, in many ways, break the convention set by the contemporary art. On one hand, Venetian Renaissance artworks as compared to romanticist art forms do not even concern feelings and intimacy but are more focused with politics and religion in the entirety. Venetian Renaissance is characterized mainly by rich colors and textures which symbolizes excellent and good changing economic stability and trade. In its deepest meaning, the artworks during the Venetian Renaissance era talks and depicts more about secularization and anti-religiosity. Also, base from a number of reasons which involve wealth, abundance, success, prosperity and affluence, the Venetian art focuses more of its understanding towards earthly pleasures, jovial way of living and myths (Kleiner 485). For this paper, I have decided to look with Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres’ Grand Odalisque painted in 1814 using the romantic art style. Also, I would be examining Titian’s Venus of Urbino painted in 1538 during when the Venetian Renaissance art style flourishes at its finest all throughout Europe. I have decided to examine these two classic works since they both depict and project a seemingly similar understanding and comprehension about women and the characteristics associated with the female race but in a totally different viewpoint and perspective. As can be seen in the Grand Odalisque by Ingres, the woman is depicted and portrayed as a passive element of resistance. As part of the intrigue in the artwork, you can see that there is something passionate and striking about the artwork’s personification and over-all impact. Seeing through the woman’s eyes, you can sense no fear about what is all happening in the background. In fact, the woman is so calm and very comfortable being nude and showing off with no clothes. Having said those facts, I believe that the portrayal and depiction of the whole artwork is so magnificent and extraordinary that it can efficiently talk across with the observer. It is very consistent in the narrative that it wants to translate, this is since it has been very effective in telling a story ab out an odalisque, which in common terms pertain to a concubine or a prostitute, having no choice to become anyone else but to be slaves for manly pleasure and sex. As stated above, the main character is an odalisque. And that fact is so important in order to understand more the nature of the art piece before being able to identify how similar and different it is to other artworks. Why so? Mainly because, the nature of the odalisque says it all what should the

Case summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Case summary - Essay Example The company also focuses on how their human nutrition centre will help the consumer to understand how important improved nutrition products are for their health. The changed environment of the world now focuses on sustainability, health, nutrition, waste management and economic development. Companies such as Walmart have incorporated these elements in their business and the supply chain focuses on shared value. Nestle has to focus on all these elements in order to keep with the expectations. Sourcing at Nestle focuses on shared value concept. Nestle has always planned ahead of time and has been very innovative and socially responsible when it come to producing and sourcing. Not only has Nestle introduced products that were high in nutrition, it has also introduced products that combats certain health conditions. By working with health companies it has come up with "nutraceuticals" that are health foods suitable for people with health conditions like diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease etc. Neslte identified that water is a very valuable resource of the world and it is being wasted by producers. Nestle emphasizes to make producers aware of its value so they use it wisely by improved irrigation systems and other technologies. Nestle identified that they had to contribute back to the society because Nestle is a huge firm and they rely hugely on the ecosystem. Hence if they invest in environment sustainability and social well being, the business is going to benefit. So they adopted CSV. As a food producer, investing in environment and health of people makes business sense because this will in turn give improved quality products at the end. Nestle formed SAI platform which was later joined by a number of companies to produce agricultural products sustainably. Consumer preferences had changed, now consumers were willing to pay more for

Professional vs training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Professional vs training - Essay Example Retrieved from http://tomakeaprairie.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/learning-vs-training-the-power-of-real- professional-development/ Many people go through several challenges in their professions and most likely in the times of gaining experience. This occurs mostly when an individual gets some job in a firm with less or different machineries from the ones he or she has learned leading to poor orientation. Poor training and monitoring of the work force during the orientation period is unprofessional. Companies should implement policies and procedures that expose all their employees to enough experience because much of the learned information or knowledge is lost if not put into practice. In the process of gaining experience, the interns should have mentors who are very knowledgeable in the same field to take them through the required procedures besides monitoring them. In gaining experience, interns go through a few practices whereby they gain the required knowledge in their professions. However, not all interns get the required or enough exposure in their fields of study. This is because the involved instructors or tutors may not be willing to take them through the process of gaining experience as required. Mostly, many interns get exposure to less than what they learned or to other things or machines besides their career. As a result, most of them feel demoralized besides this affects their learning process through losing interest in their profession and as well making them change their minds of furthering their studies in the same field. Professionalism In The Workplace. (2013). 2013 Professionalism In The Workplace. Retrieved 19 April 2014, from

A Streetcar Named Desire Film Analysis Essay Example for Free

A Streetcar Named Desire Film Analysis Essay These actors take on the difficult task of bringing two complex, emotional characters onto the silver screen. With spot-on reactions to each others theatrical advances, the pair create an experience that is both enjoyable and expressively coherant. Vivian Leigh was cast for the role of Blanch DuBois for various reasons. She was white, slender, beautiful and had already acted in several other films. Tennessee Williams, the author of the original play, saw Leighs performances in plays such as â€Å"The School for Scandal† and â€Å"Antigone†, and decided that she was perfect for the role. All that Leigh needed to change was the color of her hair, which was originally black. Leigh does a splendid job of portraying Blanches ascending insanity by seamlessly transitioning from melodramatic anguish into her signature faux semblants, or pretense. An example of this is the scene where Blanche sits alone in Stellas apartment crying until a delivery man comes to the door. Blanche is then quickly transformed into a mysterious temptress who seduces the young man into kissing her. Leighs uncommon ability to switch from such extreme emotions brings a refreshing distinction to the film. Blanches eccentric and offbeat personality requires a talented actress to be be fully realized. Leighs acting style works well with the other actors, and expresses a coherence so profound that one might often forget that she is acting. The role of Harold Mitchell was one that needed to be fulfilled in order for the script to make sense. Mitch is described as being two hundred and seven pounds, six foot one and having â€Å"a massive bone structure†. His physique is an important aspect of his character, thus making it imperative for the actor to meet these conditions to be casted for the role. Karl Malden is tall and bulky, with a large nose and a receding hairline. These traits accenuate Mitchs awkward demeanor and informs the audience of how lonely he is without him having to say it. Malden also shares Leighs ability to transition between emotional extremes. For instance, in the beginning of the scene where Mitch confronts Blanche about her lies, he is silent. Though after hearing more of her absurd grip on reality, he snaps into an aggressive brute who pins Blanche to the wall. Maldens on-screen chemistry with Leigh is apparent throughout the film, and is believable the entire time. Vivian Leigh and Karl Maldens performances perfectly depicted the tragic twosome that is Blanche and Mitch. With Leighs seamless transitions of polar-opposite emotions and Maldens angry yet passsionate fits of rage, the two give what are easily the best performances of the film. From their intriguing introductionto their dreadful departure, no purer chemistry has been captured so passionately.

Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction Essay Example for Free

Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction Essay PEMDAS stands for Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction. PEMDAS corresponds the right order of numerical operations that has to be used when solving mathematical problems. Following that definition, PEMDAS implies that expressions inside the parentheses should be evaluated first. If there are multiple parenthesis and brackets in the equation, the rule of thumb indicates working from the inside going out. After which, those with exponents are handled. Next, multiplication and division are performed. These two are actually ranked equally and should be carried out from left to right. Them being equal, you can evaluate the expression as you go along. You can multiply or divide from left to right, depending upon to what is called for. The same is true with addition and subtraction, which comprises the last part of the sequence. Just like multiplication and division, these two regarded as equal. It means that you can perform either addition or subtraction as required from left to right. PEMDAS is the universally accepted way of solving mathematical problems. It ensures a better flow of operation within the equation and is generally considered the most logical way to solve a problem. For example, the simple operation 2+(3-1)24 will generate 18 if PEMDAS is used. Evaluating this equation from left to right isnt really possible, because you dont have anything to square unless you evaluate whats inside the parenthesis first. If PEMDAS is not applied, mathematical problems will show different results. 5+32 is equal to 11 applying PEMDAS. But if it is merely evaluated from left to right, the answer becomes 16. Simply put, the use of PEMDAS standardizes the evaluation of algebraic equations and other and mathematical problems. Using it enhances the smooth flow of communication between people as well. We all know how mathematics is important in our daily lives. There are a lot of direct application of mathematics in medicine, engineering, and business. What will happen if doctors dont interpret in the same way a certain mathematical formula provided by pharmaceutical companies to determine the exact dosage of medicine to a patient? Then the results may just be fatal to the patient for all we know.

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI)

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) The pancreas performs both exocrine (secretes into a duct) and endocrine (secretes directly into the blood) functions, that are vital for correct metabolic function. One such role, is the secretion of digestive enzymes by pancreatic acinar cells, essential for the breakdown of nutrients in the small intestine.    Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is a degenerative disease caused by the insufficient production and secretion of pancreatic digestive enzymes; this leads to maldigestion (an inability to breakdown nutrients) in the duodenum and if untreated, ultimately death through starvation, regardless of how much the dog may seem to be eating (Foster, 2017). EPI is often accompanied by a secondary condition, known as Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Due to the nature of EPI, bacteria take advantage of the undigested food in the intestine, which often leads to many of the same symptoms as EPI, especially bowel discomfort and flatulence (GlobalSpan, 2013). Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) deficiency, is another secondary condition that more than 80% of dogs with EPI have (Steiner, 2011). This is because cobalamin requires intrinsic factor (IF), produced by the pancreas, for protection and absorption from the small intestine (SI). In addition to low IF levels, SIBO can also lead to reduced cobalamin uptake, as the bacteria bind it and prevent uptake from the SI (PetMD, 2017). Cobalamin deficiency can prevent weight gain and even has neurological side effects, which may affect the animals behaviour (Steiner, 2012). The pancreas is an elongated gland, located close to the small intestine, with the pancreatic duct emptying into the duodenum at the hepatopancreatic ampulla (Figure 2) (Ross Pawlina, 2015). The pancreas is split into exocrine acini and the endocrine Islets of Langerhans, these are interspersed around the acini. The functional exocrine portions of the pancreas look similar to a grape vine and are made up of three types of epithelial cell, acinar, centroacinar and duct cells, as shown in figure 3 (Yuen Dà ­az, 2014). The acinar cells produce inactive digestive enzymes (see table on page 5 for key zymogens produced), as well as store them within zymogen granules (figure 3.) ready for secretion into the acini lumen (Ross Pawlina, 2015). Once secreted, duct cells transport the zymogens along with their own bicarbonate secretions to the duodenum, where they will be activated and then proceed to digest and breakdown the chyme into absorbable nutrients. Exocrine cell Stimulation of enzyme secretion Secretion Function Acinar Upon the arrival of food into the duodenum, enteroendocrine cells release Cholecystokinin (CCK), which stimulates the acinar cells to secrete zymogens into the acini lumen. Acinar cells are also under the control of the parasympathetic nervous system. Proteolytic endopeptidases (trypsinogen and chymotripsinogen) Proteolytic exopeptidases (procarboxypeptidases and proaminopeptidase) Amylase Lipase Nucleolytic enzymes (deoxyribonuclease and ribonuclease) Endopeptidases digest proteins by cleaving internal peptide bonds. Trypsinogen is particularly important, as, after being activated itself by enterokinases secreted by the enterocytes of the duodenum, it then goes onto activate the other zymogens in the pancreatic juice (Pandol, 2015). Exopeptidases digest proteins by cleaving the terminal peptide bond Amylase breaks down carbohydrates into maltose by cleaving the glycosidic bonds Lipase cleaves the ester bond in triglycerides, resulting in fatty acids Nucleolytic enzymes cleave the nucleotide link between DNA or RNA, leaving mononucleotides Ductal cells Secretin is secreted by the cells of the duodenum in response to acidic pH conditions in the small intestine. It acts on the duct cells of the pancreas, stimulating them to secrete bicarbonate ions (Bowen, 2003). Bicarbonate ions These neutralise the acidic chyme when it enters the duodenum from the stomach and establish optimum pH for the pancreatic enzymes. Abnormal physiology Any physiological change that prevents pancreatic enzymes from reaching the duodenum can lead to EPI. This includes potential damage to the enteroendocrine cells of the duodenum (which secretes cholecystokinin (CCK), essential for stimulating pancreatic enzyme secretion (Gartner Hiatt, 2005)) or an obstructed pancreatic duct, due to cancer (Parambeth Steiner, 2011). However, the most common physiological change that causes EPI is the loss of the pancreatic acinar tissue. This typically comes about in one of two ways, pancreatic acinar atrophy (PAA) or chronic pancreatitis, although the exact pathogenesis of either is still unknown (Steiner, 2017). PAA is the selective destruction of the acinar cells and is thought to be caused by an auto-immune response (Morgan, 2009). This is supported by pancreatic biopsy analysis, which show a high prevalence of intra-acinar T lymphocytes in affected dogs, however there is still a lack of evidence to fully support or explain the exact cause (Morgan, 2009). PAA is the cause for approximately 50% of all EPI cases and appears to be a hereditary disease that occurs most commonly in German shepherds, rough-coated collies, and Eurasians (Westermarck, 2012). Originally thought to be passed on by an autosomal recessive allele (Clark, et al., 2005), new research points towards it being a polygenic disorder with possible environmental factors (Clark Cox, 2012). Dogs affected by PAA are typically young adults (1-2 years old), with German Shepherds generally being the youngest when diagnosed (Parambeth Steiner, 2011). Figures 4 and 5 provide a good illustration of the stark changes to the pancreatic physiology after acinar atrophy. Normal pancreatic structure is scarcely recognizable, becoming thin and typically transparent with prominent ductal structures. Histologically, early subclinical EPI may be visible as partial acini breakdown; however, when clinical signs become apparent, all acinar tissue has been destroyed, with atypical tissue left behind, often adipose in the case of PAA (Westermarck, 2012). Another cause of EPI, that can occur in all dog breeds, although generally later in life than PAA, is chronic pancreatitis. This refers to the recurring inflammation of the pancreas. Under normal conditions the pancreas secretes digestive enzymes as inactive forms to help prevent autodigestion; however, when inflamed the pancreatic enzymes are activated. If the pancreas remains inflamed long enough, then pancreatic atrophy (Figure 5.) and fibrosis can occur leading to both exocrine and endocrine diseases, such as EPI and diabetes mellitus (IDEXX Laboratories, 2016). Chronic pancreatitis can cause the pancreas to shrink and become nodular with fibrotic growth. Histologically, chronic pancreatitis displays extensive fibrosis and increasing acini destruction the longer the inflammation occurs (Westermarck, 2012).   Clinical signs develop due to maldigestion and malabsorption of nutrients ingested and begin to show when 85-90% of the pancreatic acinar cells are lost (Parambeth Steiner, 2011). Severity of the disease can vary, as well as the time it takes for symptoms to develop. In some patients, signs begin to show within a few weeks, but also take much longer in others. This may be because dogs can have subclinical EPI (no recognizable symptoms) for months, sometimes even years, before it becomes noticeable (Kennedy, 2009). The key signs associated with EPI are typically pronounced (Foster, 2017). The most noticeable sign is a rapid loss of bodyweight, due to a reduction of body fat, and muscle atrophy, making the dog look severely anorexic (Figure 1). This is especially apparent when the dog is eating normally or showing signs of polyphagia (excessive hunger/appetite) (Steiner, 2017). In some cases, coprophagia (consumption of faeces) and/or pica (consumption of non-nutritional substances) can occur (Bilton Veterinary Centre, 2011). Other signs of EPI and generally the first to present themselves are revolved around changes to the dogs faeces and defecation patterns. This includes passing extremely malodorous faeces, an increase in faecal volume and frequency of defecation (>3/day) (Parambeth Steiner, 2011). The faeces are commonly a distinctive pale yellowy colour and have a cow-pat consistency, as illustrated in Figure 4. Although somewhat dependent on the dogs diet, the faeces can appear greasy (steatorrhea) and undigested (Steiner, 2017). Increased flatulence and borborygmus (rumbling noises, due to movement of fluid/gasses in the intestine) are also common occurrences. Due to nutritional deficiencies, dogs may also have an extremely poor coat quality and seem nervous, aggressive, or irritable (GlobalSpan, 2013). Clinical signs, as well as signalment are useful for raising suspicion of EPI, however many of the symptoms are non-specific to EPI and can be seen in other disorders.   Reliable diagnosis can be made based on a pancreatic function test. The most consistent and reliable being the canine serum trypsin-like immunoreactivity (cTLI) test (Whitbread, 2016). Canine serum trypsin-like immunoreactivity (cTLI) As trypsinogen is exclusively produced by the acinar cells of the pancreas cTLI can measure its ability to produce enzymes (Suchodolski, 2012). Performed after a fasting period of 12-15 hours, cTLI tests for concentrations of trypsinogen and trypsin circulating in the blood, via radioimmunoassay. Under normal conditions, small amounts of trypsinogen enter the serum from the pancreas and have a reference cTLI range of 5.7-45.2  µg/L (Suchodolski, 2012). However, due to loss of acinar cells, dogs with EPI have a much lower concentration of trypsinogen in the serum and may even be undetectable. Values below 2.5  µg/L are considered to be highly diagnostic for dogs with EPI, especially considering clinical signs are almost always present at these levels (Parambeth Steiner, 2011). Results between 3.5-5.7 µg/L rarely coincide with any clinical signs of EPI, however may represent subclinical EPI. At this point it is recommended that the patient is tested again after a one month resting period (Kennedy, 2009). TLI tests are species specific, making them highly sensitive to EPI and considered almost 100% accurate (Bilton Veterinary Centre, 2011). Faecal pancreatic elastase 1 (FPE 1) Although cTLI is considered the gold standard for EPI diagnosis, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) forFaecal pancreatic elastase 1 (FPE 1), another inactive enzyme produced solely in the pancreatic acinar cells, can be used(Parambeth Steiner, 2011). A value of 40  µg/g shows normal pancreatic exocrine function (Morgan, 2009). However, FPE 1 tests should be conducted alongside cTLI serum tests, as the rate of false positives have been shown to be as high as 23% (Steiner, et al., 2010). Although restoration of pancreatic acinar cells is currently not possible, EPI is entirely manageable with the correct enzyme supplementation and dietary changes. Follow-up care is also essential for recovery and management, especially monitoring body weight and faeces. Enzyme supplementation The preferred method of treatment involves the supplementation of pancreatic enzymes (lipase, amylase and protease). Raw and powdered enzymes are more effective than tablets, especially those with an enteric coating, as pancreatic bicarbonate is needed to remove the coating (Morgan, 2009). Dogs should initially be provided with 1tsp/10kg of bodyweight, mixed with each meal (Parambeth Steiner, 2011). However, once clinical signs have been resolved, this can be slowly reduced until the lowest effective dose has been reached (cTLI can be used to monitor this while still supplementing with enzymes, as it is unaffected by exogenous enzymes). Raw pancreas can be used as an alternative to powder, in this case 30-90g should be used per teaspoon of powder (Steiner, 2017). Response to enzyme supplementation should see results within a few days, however an increased dose or a change from porcine to bovine enzymes and vice versa may be needed (GlobalSpan, 2013). Around 3 in 25 dogs suffer from oral bleeding, although this appears to correct itself once the dose was lowered (Steiner, 2017).   Dietary considerations A highly digestible diet, with a low fibre % (below 4%) is recommended, as fibre inhibits pancreatic enzyme activity. Another consideration is the provision of a raw diet, as raw meat contains its own enzymes that aid in digestion (GlobalSpan, 2013). More than 80% of dogs with EPI suffer from cobalamin deficiency, which prevents weight gain regardless of enzyme supplementation; for this reason, regular cobalamin and folate serum concentration tests should be performed and if necessary, cobalamin injections provided (Steiner, 2017). Some dogs will only need short term cobalamin supplementation, while others may need it for the duration of their life. With SIBO being a common condition alongside EPI, antibiotics may need to be administered initially and potentially followed up with probiotics to help restore gut flora. Client considerations Potential for a normal and long life is extremely favourable with the correct management, however clients need to be made aware that EPI is a lifelong condition and can be extremely expensive, with some enzyme supplements alone costing over  £3000 a year, although this can be reduced by shopping around (epi4dogs, 2012).   Ã‚  

The Invention of the Modern Automobile Essay -- Cars Car Ford History

The Invention of the Modern Automobile â€Å"The way to make automobiles, is to make one automobile just like another automobile [1].† With this statement, Henry Ford had invented the modern automobile. Many people may question this idea, as they know self propelled vehicles were in existence long before the days of Ford. In fact, these people would undoubtedly be correct; the idea of a self propelled vehicle and its actual realization had been present for at least one hundred years before Ford ever made one. However, by considering the definition of invention, the idea of the modern automobile and then briefly tracing the history of the self propelled vehicle, it will become increasingly clear how Henry Ford had invented this dominant form of land transportation. Before any evidence can be introduced in support of the topic at hand, the definition of invention must be established. Legally, an invention is a new, useful, and non-obvious process, machine, or product. Maurice Fabre, author of A History of Land Transportation (1963), offered an interesting take on the automobile and its inventor. â€Å"Who, for that matter, can say who invented the automobile? Was it Cugnot with his lumbering â€Å"fardier† of 1769? Was it Trevithick with his steam carriage of 1801, or the Bollees with their steam car of 1813? Or Benz or Daimler with their first successful internal combustion gasoline engine cars of 1886? It depends what you mean by an automobile [2].† In the year 2001, what do we consider the automobile to be? I invite the reader to take a minute to look out the window. I see a street lined with cars. Many of these cars possess similar shapes and sizes. In fact, some of them are the same make and model, only... ... The Automobile Age. pg 13. 17 Williams, Trevor I. A History of Invention: From Stone Axes to Silicon Chips. pg 248. 18 Flink, James J. The Automobile Age. pg 36, 38. 19 Flink, James J. The Automobile Age. pg 35. 20 Kaempffert, Waldemar. A Popular History of American Invention. pg 156. 21 Beard, Charles A. A Century of Progress. New York. Harper and Row Publishers, Inc. 1970. pg 67. 22 Flink, James J. The Automobile Age. pgs 40-43. 23 Hughes, Thomas. American Genesis. New York. Penguin Group. 1989. pgs 188, 193, 203-204. 24 Flink, James J. The Automobile Age. pg 115. 25 Flink, James J. The Automobile Age. pgs 37-39. 26 Flink, James J. The Automobile Age. pgs 43, 119-120. 27 Hughes, Thomas. American Genesis. pg 139. 28 Hughes, Thomas. American Genesis. pgs 1-11, 53, 139, 186

Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester’s Quest for Identity in Hawthornes S

Dimmesdale and Hester’s Quest for Identity in The Scarlet Letter  Ã‚     Ã‚   While allegory is an explicit and tempting reading of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, I see in this novel also the potential of a psychological reading, interpreting it as a search for one’s own self. Both Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne goes through this process and finally succeeded in finding the duality of one's personality, and the impossibility of complementing the split between individual and community identity. However, they were compelled to take different paths on this journey, and they react quite differently when they finally arrive at the conclusion of this search. Dimmesdale and Hester start out from the same point: their adultery. This "sin" shakes them out of place from their tracks, and begins their long and difficult journey. Dimmesdale’s crime is kept secret, but it does not mean that he can forget it or deny it. As a well-respected minister, he stands at the center of his community, being the advocate of religious and moral standards of that Puritan society. Whereas the Puritans are as a whole stern and strict concerning evils and sins, he is even more conscious of them than anyone else. The values he holds condemn him with a strong sense of guilt, precisely because he is his own prosecutor. The pain is acute because not only has he sinned, but he has to bear the secret of it: It was inconceivable, the agony with which this public veneration tortured him! †¦ He longed to speak out, from his own pulpit, at the full height of his voice, and tell the people what he was. †¦ ‘I, your pastor, whom you so reverence and trust, am utterly a pollution and a lie!’ (143) Not only does he have to bear the guilt of his crime, but h... ...uld have grown ripe for it, in Heaven’s own time, a new truth would be revealed, in order to establish the whole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness. (263) As Dimmesdale represents the society-bound person, oppressing his passions, and Hester the society’s exile, proudly denying her need for social support, the sad truth they discover, although through different ways, is one of the same: that one needs both individual freedom and social belonging. Although it is impossible for them to have both, and complete themselves, at least they have come to the recognition of this truth.    Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Girgus, Sam B. Desire and The Political Unconsciousness in American Literature. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990.      

Negligence Case Study Essay -- Law of Tort, Tort Law

Review the scenario below. Consider the legal principles influencing the likelihood of any successful action against Steve in negligence. Daria and her lover, Tom, were crossing the road on a pedestrian crossing when Tom was hit and killed by a car being negligently driven by Steve. The car missed Daria by inches. Since the incident Daria has had frequent nightmares and has been unable to return to work. Harry, a policeman patrolling the area, witnessed the incident and went to try to help Tom, but quickly realised that Tom was already dead. This was Harry’s first day back at work following six months recovering from psychiatric illness caused by the distressing nature of his job. As a result of seeing Tom’s injuries Harry has now suffered a return of the psychiatric damage which now appears permanent. Samira, a civilian worker in police traffic control, was watching a TV monitor which showed the road as the incident occurred. Samira recognised Tom as her husband whom she had not seen since the day, six months before, when he had left her and gone to live with Daria. Samira had always believed that, one day, he would return to her. She has suffered post traumatic stress disorder since the incident. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In our given scenario we are asked to discuss legal principles influencing the likelihood of any successful action against Steve in the grounds of negligence. Steve’s negligent driving caused a series of events that caused losses to the other people presented in the scenario and they take actions against Steve in the grounds of negligence. At first we must understand what negligence is. The tort of negligence provides the potenti... ...rameters and all the aspects of the law that appear in our given scenario we can safely say that any claim that is being made by Tom’s representative by Daria and Samira on the grounds of negligence – breach of duty of care and psychiatric injury would be successful and that even though Harry suffered psychiatric injury his claim won’t be successful since he doesn’t fulfill the necessary parameters in order to make a successful claim. Bibliography Neal Geach, Question & Answer Tort Law, Pearson Law of Tort, Module Handout. Cases Frances Quinn, Tort Law, Pearson, first edition, pp 34-35 Caparo v Dickman (1990) 2 A.C. 605 Page v Smith [1996] 1 A.C. 155 Bourhill v Young [1943] A.C. 92 Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1992] 1 A.C. 310 Hinz v Berry [1970] 1 All E.R. 1084 White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1999] 2 A.C.455

Understanding Societal Wealth and Inequality Thesis Statement on What Can Help Society (Hybrid of Capitalism and Communism)

On a general basis, wealth is an accumulation of physical entities which hold great importance to us. These entities are objects such as money, land, jewelries, gold, precious stones and so much more. It is also a means were by people grade themselves or attain superiority over others. Wealth comes with power, prestige, honor, and integrity. Wealth is a very important tool in a society and that is the very means of survival in today’s world. In Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory, he speaks of â€Å"survival of the fittest†. In today’s modern world when fittest is mentioned it actually means wisest, more intelligent or brilliant or clever. Even the strongest in a society cannot attain power without wealth. What an irony but that is the situation of the world and now people are misusing this privilege. The unreasonable use of this opportunity is what is causing inequality in a society. According to the founder or father of economics, Adam smith, he explains that the wealth of a nation is not based on land or other forms of property but on the labor gotten from the nation. What he tries to explain from this is that the amount of working power in a society gives rise to the power in terms of wealth of the nation. Even if a society has abundance in land, both fertile and unfertile, the society is useless without the working force of the society (Smith). Every human being in a society is entitled to the wealth provided by the society because when people are created they didn’t place a part of the society to them naturally. The moment people start claiming the wealth of the nation; many people will be left out. This is called private wealth which causes inequality amongst people in a community. Even if private wealth was a good thing, greed which is part of human nature makes it very bad in a society. One man wants to accumulate everything for himself and his family members and this wealth is passed down from one generation to the next. Others in the society have no way of accessing that wealth which belongs to all of them. In Jean Jacque Rousseau’s book Discourse on the origin of inequality published by Marc Michael Rey in1755, Holland, he talks about types of inequality. The types of inequality are natural or physical inequality and moral or political or ethical inequality. The natural inequality he explains that yes every one wasn’t born with the same physical structure. Some might be born strong or weak, tall or short and so on and so forth but that doesn’t mean that inequality should exist. Everyone is born with one skill or the other which enables one to survive in the society and it’s those skills that enable the society to develop very fast and well. The type of inequality that he focuses on is the moral inequality which is caused by people’s ideas which are brought forward and authorized because it favors them. This inequality is a detriment to the development of a society. People come up with the idea of private wealth and the moment everyone starts seeing things in their eyes they begin to accept it as a way of life which is not so (Rousseau). From this idea of private wealth, people who have, start taking advantage of it. They keep on accumulating more wealth from there they gain power, prestige, importance in the society and they begin to oppress others with it. Issue of superiority and inferiority start surfacing and stratification occurs. The less privileged ones become slaves to the rich people and that is how slavery starts which is a form of stratification in a society. People fall into this category because of survival. The thought of slavery is inhuman, why should somebody be a slave to another person because of material possessions? It’s not right. Slavery was initially based on debt or the violation of a more or defeat in war. Slavery based on debt is the subject matter. The rich knew that if they accumulated everything the poor or peasants would be forced to borrow from them. They went into contracts with them and the contract entailed that if they didn’t pay at the designated time with interest, they would be forced to pay up their debt with labor which meant they would become slaves to them. This was called bonded service or indentured service. This was a common psychology the rich used to oppress the poor and this continued from one generation to the next. In some circumstances if the father and the mother cannot pay up even after death, the child (ren) take the debt and work for the rich person till the ebt is paid. This occurred in the United States of America until Slavery was based on color. In some areas in Ghana when debt was not paid in time, the rich person will collect the girl child of that family and she becomes his own until he is satisfied with her probably when she is in her fifties. Nothing was done about this, girls suffered because of private wealth. People used it to their advantage and people suffered. This form of slavery con tinued in Ghana until a militant president broke the bond or contract. Now those girls who were taken from their house at an early age live in shame, they walk nude on the streets of Ghana because they have been stripped of their purity at an early age. Stratification of a society is the after effect of private wealth. Stratification of societies has evolved through the ages from slavery to caste to estate and to class system which is the modern day form of stratification. Slavery as a type of stratification system is what I have previously explained. The next stratification system is the caste system. The Indian caste system is a typical example of the intense effect of stratification. The system is ascribed meaning one cannot choose his or her class because it is given to you and it is based on religious reasons. It is a rigid system and its characteristics or features entail endogamy, it’s practically a taboo to marry outside your caste. The Brahmans being the apex of the society are the only ones that can teach other Brahman children. It doesn’t matter if you have a good education standing, your ideas or teachings are regarded as useless. Functionalist sociologists, Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore suggested that society must offer rewards to ensure that important social positions are filled by the most competent people (Rowell). This doesn’t look like what the functionalist theorist said about being rewarded because of your ability. The Brahmans are the richest in the society, they do no work and they get all the privileges the society has to offer. The other castes present in the system are the Kshatriya (warriors), Vaishay (merchants), Shudra (laborers/farmers), and Dalit (untouchables). This system is so rigid and it is almost impossible to change ones caste. Another caste system which existed in South Africa because of colonialism was the Apartheid caste system. We should note that colonialism was a form of amassing wealth. In this case a country is taking the wealth of another nation to add to its own wealth and they never stop accumulating wealth. It is a macro-view of man and greed when looked at properly. When I talk of macro-view I mean when a developed or civilized country oppress the underdeveloped or uncivilized people and use their scarce resources to make them wallow in poverty. At that time in South Africa, the nation was divided in four, white, colored, black and Bantu. Privileges were giving according to caste level. The people at the bottom of the caste suffered because they received less. So we now see that the problem of private wealth is an issue even amongst countries. The estate system which is another form of stratification was evident in the middle ages. In this period the political system was feudalism. There were three classes in this system namely, clergy, nobles and the commoners. The clergy and the nobles are about 1% of the society’s population and the remaining 99% belonged to the commoners which most of them were dirt poor or peasants. This system existed because the nobles owned vast amount of land and because of that they practiced feudalism which is a system of government by land ownership. This land ownership is still a form of private wealth because the nobles own the land which is the means of production and the peasants work their heads off to survive. Slavery, caste, and estate system were all means of stratification in the old era. The people were controlled by the divine rights which meant that the people were subjected to the nobles or kings because it was an authority from God to obey them and anyone that questions that authority would be put to death. The modern era of stratification has changed because people are now enlightened but how enlightened are they? The effects of private wealth cannot be left behind because as I said before, human greed is inevitable. The modern era of stratification is an open class or social class which is divided in three, upper class, middle class and the lower class. It is called the open class because it is flexible and it is achieved not ascribed, now that is ideal but not real because the elites in the society want to maintain that form of stratification they create institutions that help maintain that private wealth because even in the grave they still want to dominate. Yes it is undeniable that you should be rewarded for one’s hard work, which is where private wealth becomes positive in a society. That chance of working and being rewarded is limited to a few in the society and that few are known as the elites of the society. They pass this chance from one generation to the next in other to ensure that the system or order is not disrupted. They maintain this stratification by controlling ideas, information and use of force. All this is possible by the introduction of institutions such as, legal, educational, police and military institutions. They control the ideas through the educational system, they tell what children should believe and not question it. They also make it possible that only the rich can attend schools because if one is not literate, the chances of the person rising to a higher status in the society would be limited. The elites control the price of educational institutions in the society allowing only a limited amount of children to gain access and as the world is, the children that are given this privilege are the children of the elites. When education fails to impact what they desire, they move on to using the legal institutions. As we all know not everyone has the money to acquire a lawyer in a court case and that is why a public defendant is setup. The elites own the legal institutions especially the public ones and the moment a lower class citizen comes with a court case, he or she knows that the case has already being won by the rich or elite. They fill up these institutions with their own kind and in the course of that they protected from the law. The law was not implemented to create orderliness in a society, that’s what we all think but the real issue is that the law was placed to suppress the poor. Legal institutions are placed to justify the rich and their actions so that no one can question it. When the rich realize that a poor individual is about to gain access to private wealth, false evidence is planted to strip the poor of their right to the private wealth. Is that just? I doubt. The police institution was created by the elites to protect what they have and their lives from the poor. Mostly in nations it is noticed that the elites move around with convoys while the poor have no protection because they have nothing to lose. The police are also there to ensure that the poor doesn’t revolt on the inequality or stratification order. The moment the police isn’t effective enough they call in the military institutions. They mostly do this in times of riot and strike. In these cases they use force to maintain the stratification of the society. We see that the educational institution is used to control ideas and information while the legal institution is used to influence the behavior of the lower class and the military and the police institution is used to exert force on the people when they cannot influence or change their reasoning. In Karl Marx’s book, the communist manifesto, he suggests that the society is stratified according to those who won the means of production (bourgeoisie) and the laborers (proletariats). The bourgeois give the proletariats false consciousness and exploit them with these. He suggests that when the proletariats develop class conscious, there would be an overthrown, but it will happen violently (karl Marx). A violent revolution would take place and the society would go form capitalism to socialism and then communism. This communism entails a classless society but is achieving a classless society possible? When the former Soviet Union practiced communism it was ruthless and harsh. They misunderstood the true ideology of communism. They used violent means to achieve it and in the process tried to have ultimate power. The people of the Former Soviet Union had to give to the state a large amount of their products. During the communist the early communist period over 20 million people were killed whether by hunger or in war. There was no freedom of speech; people who revolted against it were killed immediately by a political police that was set up. The regulations were imposed by deporting people to Siberia, shooting them or provoking starvation to death. The economy failed because creativity was not enhanced. In a society, no individual will be willing to bring new ideas if they are not going to be rewarded for it. The government dictated what kind of products to produce and it was monotonous. Trade of goods became limited even the goods they had, countries were no longer interested in them because they had nothing new to offer. A classless society could not be achieved in the Former Soviet Union because the government which was 0. 5% of the society ruled and had ultimate power and the moment someone can influence your behavior without objections from the individual, it is said to be superiority and inequality comes to play. Communism led to revolutionary acts which caused a lot of victims especially in areas such as western Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia in 1953, USSR in 1962, and Poland in 1956 and 1970. Resources were wasted since the government was in charge. This happened in poorly developed countries owned by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union used up their resources to build strong armies to be able to compete with nations such as the USA. Communism would have survived but because people have greed for power, a dictatorship rule would be developed and all dictators hate competition and revolt. Massive killings would erupt because of insecurity from the dictator’s side. Another problem with communism is the income. Like in China the income was very poor. Peasants in china received $71 and 32 cents annually and the average workers and workers in state industries earned $459 yearly. Productivity reduced drastically because some accelerators for adequate production were unavailable to the people, which included fertilizers, machineries, basic farm tools, preservative equipment etc. Management activities were very poor because the amount of people handling it was very little and division of labor was not encouraged. They also suffered from inflation pressure because prices of goods rose due to expenses made on the production of the goods (Prybyla). Capitalism is what most countries practice and yes it has helped their economic standards when USA is used to compare but we should not forget that this same capitalism is what is causing the effects of the private wealth such as social class which is a type of stratification. People use capitalism to exploit others since they dictate the wages of the workers. They ensure that the wages of their workers are very low so that the profit can be very large. They enjoy but the workers suffer immensely because they can’t take care of their family and this is the reason nations are stratified. All past efforts towards a free market economy, world trade, globalization, industrialization, the pursuit of high living standards, unlimited economic growth and every other form of capitalist endeavor have benefited only a small minority; the big players† (Kumar). He explains that capitalism is has proved to be a detriment to the society by benefitting only the rich and we should note t hat capitalism doesn’t increase the economy of the nation rather the wealth of the capitalist in the society who are the elites. If capitalism increases the wealth of the society then why almost 70% of the society suffering from poverty, starvation are etc.? †¦capitalism is incapable of solving the problems of humanity, but in fact hunger, pollution, the breakdown of social fabric, human unhappiness and many other problems are caused by capitalism† (Kumar). As I have mentioned before, it is only ideal for capitalist to think they are improving the economy but the real thing is that people are exploited for their labor just as Karl Marx indicated. Now that I have established the fact that capitalism and communism cannot solve the problems of inequality in the society, it is time to establish my own solution. I believe that the two can work hand in hand and success can be achieved out of to some extent. Of cause nothing comes with a disadvantage but if it can solve 80% of the problem then I think it is a wonderful solution. A hybrid of communism and capitalism would be utmost importance. A communist government and a capitalist economy is the hybrid I am talking about. This hybrid actually means a form of communal living. No one is superior to the other but that doesn’t mean one cannot have more money than the other if he works for it. Communal living entails that everyone is entitled to the scarce resources in the land and the government has a say in the business of the citizens. A breakdown of the services and the wages are given to the government and the total money gotten from the business is calculated and estimated if the salary of the workers is not fair enough then the person doesn’t get the contract to execute the business. An agreed of the percent of the total investment or profit is dedicated to the payment of the workers. By that everyone is comfortable and living well and the poverty issue and starvation is reduced. If the opportunity is used to exploit the labor of the people then the privilege is taken from one and given from one and this is where reward is functional. This hybrid brings good reforms such as free education (primary and secondary level) to enable one to have a little experience to support ones self, subsidized health care, availability of employment for the masses and social amenities made available. All business activities executed in the nation is open to the government and they pay taxes according to what they earn since they are using the resources of the nation. The tax is used to build the society by contributing to education, health care, social amenities, and protection (police and military services). The agricultural sector is supported by the government by subsidizing cost of machineries and educating people in the agriculture to enable quality and quantifiable products. With this the issue of starvation is reduced. A good example of this idea is the Chinese political and economic system. The communist party realized that communism wasn’t working so they sent the people out to make money. China had a drastic change in economy and it happened in a short time. They experienced double digit GDP growth from 2003 to 2007 –hitting a high of 13%. In 2008, the government launched a $586 billion stimulus plan and they lifted millions out of poverty. China was established as the world’s second largest economic power (Rizzi). Once the problems associated with private wealth have been dissolved, the only problem left to worry about is man’s greed. Man in recent times has learned to control his greed and the only reason it was a major reason was because the law authorized it indirectly. Works Cited Karl Marx, Frederick Engels. The Communist Manifesto, in The Two Narratives of Political Economy. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2010. Kumar, Satish. Critique of Capitalism. November/December 2005. . Oracle Education Foundation. â€Å"Oracle Think Quest.† 2008. Communism- The Failure of an Utopian System. . Prybyla, Jan S. â€Å"Economic Problems of Communism: A Case Study of China.† Asian Survey, Vol. 22, No. 12 (1982, Dec): 1206-1237. Rizzi, Warren. China's Economy Dances Between Communism and Capitalism. 23 April 2012. 28 April 2012 ;http://www.policymic.com/articles/7356/china-s-economy-dances-between-communism-and-capitalism/headline_story;. Rousseau, Jean Jacque. Discourse on the originn of inequality . Holland: Marc Michael REy, 1755. Rowell, Katherine R. Essentials of Sociology, A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2006. Smith, Adam. An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of a nations. Pennsylvania: Penn State Electro nic Classic Series Publication, 1776.