Mc Donald’s and the Health and Tick Approval

At the advent of problems, McDonald’s is torn between choices of actions.   Finally, it learned to adopt to change and impose innovation in its system which in turn brought positive effect on the company.   Upon the advice of the Public Relations agency, the company made necessary action to counteract against bad publicity; and the most important among the strategies is the Heart and Tick Approval.IntroductionGlobally, McDonald’s offers what people need in this period of globalization.   The American culture of fast food chain as a place for people who could not afford to prepare foods at home since both parents are working began to penetrate Asian culture.   In the same thought, McDonald’s became a place to celebrate birthdays and to engage in conversation.   Generally, fast food chains like McDonald’s is a good place to go for busy people who seek the comfort of living.   Mc Donald became part of the culture of the modern times.Mc Donald†™s after the controversial ads â€Å"the Super Size Me† of Spurlock had come up with a strategy to regain their control of the market in terms of fast food at least to create a positive image on their company as being concerned with the health of its patronage. This particular strategy which they had adopted was the Heart and Tick Program that tests the product from unhealthy ingredients that may harm the product and the consumers as well.   The program uses the symbol heart which means that the food is heart-friendly.For some, this symbol on the label of every product of McDonald’s is a kind of exploitation because they use it as their promotional strategy.   The heart of the Foundation itself gives a subconscious message that stirs the mind of the consumers trying to deceive them by telling that McDonald’s product are good when they are not.Though in previous years, McDonald’s had been perennially successful, yet due to the decline of its shares a nd sales in 1998, had devised a strategic plan that brought change to the company’s perspective in response to the controversy.   This leads for the introduction of the Health choices and the tick approvals known as the Heart Foundation.The changes that have been taken by the company are the result of the many controversies that challenged the popularity and sincerity of McDonald in its ethical obligation to environment and to its consumers.   This is because the company is resistant to any forces that may alter change.Generic Change Tools or Solutions AppliedThe â€Å"Super Size Me† ads brought a big controversy on McDonald’s everywhere in the world and the media identified it or linked it to ‘obesity.’   Therefore, the company had finally decided to impose innovation to counter bad public publicity of the McDonald’s and adopted changes in their menu offerings.   In a forum organized by Liberal Senator Guy Barnett, Mr. Peter Bush, th e CEO of McDonald’s Australia, explained that their company takes on a new food offerings that will absolutely health-friendly (Burton, p. 30).   The writer further emphasized that McDonald’s added a new range of salads to their meal, with the cutting of sugar content in the buns and less calorie count from all the foods.   It has also lessened its advertising by sixty percent every hour.The particular solution to this controversy is giving in to the public demand which is related to obesity that is associated with other illness common to people nowadays such as high blood pressure and heart failure. The company itself adopted the principles of the Tick Program of the Heart Foundation.   In Australia, The Heart Foundation Tick is the solution to the growing obesity rates among children and adults.   Healthy choices of food became the consumers’ demand in many industrialized countries like Australia.   In a latest survey, 93% of Australians food had the greater role in producing overweight children and adults (Heart Foundation).Modified or abandoned to suit organizational requirements.Robert Dransfield explained in his paper that the strategic planning that McDonald’s had undertaken is a response to all the challenges that the company is facing including its competitors in the burger business (p. 460).   This is very important because competitive advantage is created by combining strengths which means Mc Donald can exploit competencies and advantage at different points in the value chain to add more value in different ways.   In other words, the value of the product which McDonald’s produces such as hamburger, drinks, fries and other food products, is the perceived benefit that customer would be kept coming back. It also means that value comes from product differentiation, product cost, and the ability of McDonald’s to meet clients’ demands.The writer also noted that strategic planning is very criti cal because it shapes the future of the organization as it must meet the customers’ demands and needs.   Dransfield emphasized that McDonald developed competitive strategies that differentiate it from its rivals (p. 461), in which it recognizes the need to respond to the greater demand to increase competitive gap by: â€Å"adding greater value through innovation, making the process of visiting a McDonald’s less routine and controlled, and enhancing the overall in-house experience† (p.461).In particular, McDonald’s provides appropriate solutions such as â€Å"(a) providing a more balanced offering that includes fruits, sugar-free fruit drinks for children and more chicken products, and (b) by creating an Extra-Value Meal and a McChoice menu offering that provides excellent value for money† because price is critical to decision making (p. 461).McDonald’s has to strategically cut the prices of their product as a respond also to the â€Å"bur gers wars† with the Burger King’s attack.   Thus, McDonald’s â€Å"sought worldwide leadership on the global fast food market through low cost production of a standardized menu† (Grant, p. 1117).   Robert Morris Grant explained that McDonald’s strategy is founded on a central belief that is to be willing to cut price in order to boost volume growth.Another strategy which McDonald’s undertook was using the persona of Ronald McDonald that looked lovable and laughable to children.   This figure as a part of Public Relations strategy of McDonald’s conveys a marketing motivation.   According to Bob Burton, the clown suit means: â€Å"Ronald loves McDonald’s and McDonald’s food† (Burton, p. 34).This quotation indicates â€Å"that you should do everything you can to appeal to children’s love Ronald and McDonald’s† (p. 34).   The clown is also used in charitable activities of the company; it is seen in many hospitals across Australia and other charitable places.   Burton emphasized that in one of McDonald’s document, the overall objective of the company is not simply to give something back to the community but also to help differentiate McDonald’s from its competitors (p. 34).Alternative Strategies and Change ToolsThere are plenty of strategies that McDonald’s company had take into consideration and its tools are Public Relation and mass media.   The strategies such as the price reduction, affiliation to Heart Foundation, and using the clown Ronald McDonald became effective in bringing back the positive image of the company.   There are other strategies that were employed but these three are very important factors in the process.Its Public Relations group – the Golin/ Harris Communications -played an important in the overall task. They figured different strategies and brought McDonald’s closer to its consumers once again.   Thi s event in the life of McDonald’s is the turning point for it to become once again a giant in business and at the same time responsible enough in its obligation to public.   The mass media made things possible for McDonald’s for bringing all promotional activities to the public in a split of a second.ConclusionChange or innovation is very important in a company in order to adapt to the demand of the customers.   Change may be planned or unplanned, but any problem would beget another problem if not attended to.   This is the case of McDonald’s has learned its lesson; it should not remain confident in many challenges but be ready always for the challenges.   Organization such as this must adopt new strategies and employ change from time to time.   Innovation and creativity are the words that can help the company moving and growing.Work CitedBurton, Bob 2007. Inside Spin: The Dark Underbelly of the PR Industry. Australia: Allen and UnwinDransfield, Robert 2004. Business for Foundation Degrees and Higher Awards. Heinemann Educational PublishersGrant, Robert Morris 1998.   Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Blackwell Publishing.National Heart Foundation of Australia 2006http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/document/NHF/Tick_Brochure_FINAL_2006-11-02.pdf

How Did the Constitution Guard Against Tyranny Essay

Have you ever wondered what the US would be like if our government was a tyranny? Well, thanks to our founding fathers for creating a strong constitution, we don’t have to worry about that. The constitution was written in 1787 in Philadelphia. The problem was that the existing government that was under the Articles Of Confederation wasn’t very successful. Therefore, the fifty-five delegates representing twelve out of the thirteen states came together to tweak our constitution to create a strong government without allowing one person, or group of people to have too much power. The framers used the Constitution to protect against Tyranny in three ways federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances. One way that the framers protected against Tyranny was through federalism. â€Å"The different governments will each control each other, at the same time will be controlled by itself. † (Document A) By separating the two different governments ,it creates a double security to the rights of the people Commentary, and the two control each other and itself. Read more: Tyranny constitution essay This guards from a tyranny because it keeps the power completely separated between central and state government but keeping the power even at the same time, so that one doesn’t inherit too much. Document A states that powers given to the central government include: regulate trade, conduct foreign relations, provide an army and navy, declare war, print and coin money, set up post offices, and make immigration laws. Powers given to the states include: set up local governments, hold elections, establish schools, pass marriage and divorce laws, and regulate in-state business. The two different parts government hold their own different powers and responsibilities that are both limited and shared to keep it fair. This guards from tyranny because it splits up the rolls between the central and state government but still keeps them even. Federalism is one of the main ways framers used to protect against tyranny. Another way the framers used the Constitution to protect against tyranny was separation of powers. â€Å"(L)iberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct. (Document B) For our government to be successful we much create three main levels of government where powers are distributed. This guards from tyranny because it makes sure that no branch has more power than one another because they check each other. Document B states that in the Constitution article 1 section 1, article 2 section 1 clause 1, and article 3 section are about the three separate branches in our government and what responsibilities that each o ne holds. With our government having three different branches each one has its own limited powers that make a democracy possible. This guards against tyranny because no branch overpowers each other, nobody gets too much power, and the powers are evenly distributed. Separation of powers is one of the main things framers used to protect against tyranny. A third way that the framers used the Constitution protects against tyranny was checks and balances. â€Å"†¦ The constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that they check on the other†¦ The main goal is to make sure that each of the three branches have control over each other but still separated. This protects against tyranny because each branch has powers the control one another. In document C it states how each level of government limits and balances each other out to keep the powers even, and how our government is constitutional. Each different part of the government has three separate branches t he uses the Method checks and balances to keep power even and to have control over each other. This guards from tyranny because by keeping all of them limited with what they can do and in control of each other keeps it from one branch getting more power than another. Checks and balances is one of the main things the framers used to protect against tyranny. Federalism, Separation of powers, and checks and balances were the three ways that the framers used the constitution to protects our government against a tyranny. Paragraph 1 came from document A stating how federalism played a part in protecting against tyranny by creating double security for the people. Paragraph 2 came from document B stating how the separation of powers played a part in protecting against tyranny by creating three branches of government with separate powers. Paragraph 3 came from document c stating how checks and balances played a part in protecting against tyranny by making sure each branch had certain powers and also controlled each other at the same time. The founding fathers took advantage of the holes in the Articles of Confederation and used their knowledge to create a stronger constitution that today still guards from tyranny affecting our government.

Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Personal Statement Example I honestly believe that the skills and competencies to be gained in this field of endeavor would immensely assist in the degree course that I intend to pursue. There are various expectations one could assert from a university education. For one, I am sure that the advanced and specialized theoretical frameworks that a college degree would provide are essential to be applied in my future career. In addition, a university education would enable inculcating the needed skills set that are crucial in the profession. For a business marketing graduate, the prospects for professional growth for the next five to seven years have been reported to be fast, averaging about 12%, as reported in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). Graduates from reputable universities, such as AUS, would provide core competencies that would facilitate finding appropriate employment in contemporary global organizations that accord lucrative financial returns. In addition, the network of friends, instructors, affiliates, and colleagues from the university would assist in referring me to future organizations that require my personal skills, qualifications, and knowledge gained from AUS. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014, January 8). Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers. Retrieved from Occupational Outlook Handbook:

Outline Reid v. Covert Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Outline Reid v. Covert - Case Study Example Most importantly, this case pits the Constitution of the Unites States against international treaties. In this case, Mrs. Clarice Covert killed her husband, a sergeant in the United States Air Force, at an airbase in England. At that time, she was living with her husband on the base. Despite her being a civilian, she was tried by a court-martial for murder under Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Mrs. Covert’s counsel attempted to plead temporary insanity on her behalf but she was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Air Force Board of Review, 16 CMR 465, affirmed the judgment but it was reversed by the Court of Military Appeals, 6 U.S.C.M.A 48, as it had suspected some prejudicial errors concerning the defense of insanity. Mrs. Covert was being held in England as she awaited her retrial by court-martial in the District of Columbia. After a writ of habeas corpus was petitioned by her counsel, the District court held that Mrs. Covert could not be tried b y court-martial and ordered to release her from custody. The case was then argued at last term and it was held that Mrs. Covert’s court-martial was constitutional. ... They discarded the fact that the Congress had actually never provided for such trials in the Constitution. If it is not in the Constitution, it is not a rule or law. The Articles III,  § 2 and the Fifth and Sixth Amendment are directly applicable to this case. Article III,  § 2 lay the rule that, â€Å"The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury, and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.† This means that the trial, for a crime that is committed abroad (not within any State), must be held in such place where the Congress has directed. Since the inception of this section in the Constitution, it has always meant to be followed without any exception. The Fifth Amendment provides that, â€Å"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; . . .† The words â€Å"No person† are very important since they obliterate any exception for civilians. Although it is very clear that it excludes the soldiers and officers of the Armed forces, there is no inclusion of their dependents either. Their dependents are civilians and when the Fifth Amendments says â€Å"No Person† shall be deprived of the right to be tried in the civil court, it includes them. The Sixth Amendment declares that, â€Å"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and

Divorce as One of the Main Social Problems of Every Country Research Paper

Divorce as One of the Main Social Problems of Every Country - Research Paper Example The divorce rate in Canada is %. Four in ten marriages are ending in divorce which is a rate much higher than the past decades (CBCNews). The main reason is the economic downturn and inflation in prices, which has led to stress among spouses. Both the spouses are expected to earn; otherwise, making both ends meet becomes difficult. Debt and poverty are also on its rise due to the economic recession. Men are working for longer hours. This makes them spend less time with families and partners. Education rate is increasing, as Employment and Social Development Canada (para.2) suggests: â€Å"In 2012, about 53.6% of Canadians aged 15 and over had trade certificates, college diplomas and university degrees. This was an increase of 20.9 percentage points since 1990.† Also, the average age at first marriage for men was 31.1 years in 2008, and for women, it was 29.1 years. The divorce rate is %. Kelsey states that infidelity is no more the primary reason for divorce in the UK, as grow ing apart or out of love is becoming the biggest reason why people separate. Other reasons include domestic abuse, incompatibility, getting bored, lack of communication, children, high expectations, mental health, low socio-economic status, and less money. The age of marriage is also lower. â€Å"The mean age at marriage in 2012 was 36.5 years for men and 34.0 years for women (Office for National Statistics). Education level is high, with 77% of adults aged 25-64 possessing the equivalent of a high-school degree (OECD). Divorce is on its rise in all the three countries listed above. It is recommended that couples seek marriage counselling before deciding for divorce.

Wading Through the Thicket, Stemming Abuses Essay

Wading Through the Thicket, Stemming Abuses - Essay Example In theory, a director, holding as he does a position of trust, is a fiduciary of the corporation . As such, in cases of conflict of his interest with those of the corporation, he cannot sacrifice the latter without incurring liability for his disloyal act. The fiduciary duty has many ramifications, and the possible conflict of interest situations are almost limitless, each possibility posing different problems. There will be cases where a breach of trust is clear, as where a director converts for his own use funds or property belonging to the corporation, or accepts material benefits for exercising his powers in favor of someone seeking to do business with the corporation.  In many other cases, however, the line of demarcation between the fiduciary relationship and a director’s personal right is not easy to define. The law has attempted at least to lay down general rules of conduct and although these serve as guidelines for directors to follow, the determination as to whethe r in a given case the duty of loyalty has been violated has ultimately to be decided by the court on the case’s own merits.   What is clear, however, is that shareholder conflicts are prevalent in virtually all jurisdictions and the law has to formulate appropriate channels of redress in order to resolve these conflicts. As Miller   said: There is no surfeit of examples to demonstrate how minority shareholders and their interests can be prejudiced by the director or those with controlling interests in the corporation.

Investment Theory, Rational and Irrational Essay

Investment Theory, Rational and Irrational - Essay Example For example, a man may instantly fall in love with a woman and propose to marry her, solely moved by the physical beauty of the woman; but this same man wouldn't invest in a company solely inspired by looking at the rich and luxuriant office premises of that company. He would definitely make further enquiries before he decides to take any step. In economics, or while making any kind of profit and loss decisions in general, we see men at their rational best. Nonetheless, human beings are still good old Homo Sapiens and the much anticipated rise of Homo Economicus never really took place. We make mistakes, we come under the sway of our emotions, we give in to our momentary whims often enough and later come to regret them as often enough. There are differences between person to person of course. Some of us are more intelligent, practical, cool-headed and experienced while arriving at decisions, while many others may not be as rational and practical. All in all, though, there has been fo und out to be a significant degree of irrationality and inconsistency at play when people make economic decisions. A hybrid branch of economics and psychology called behavioural finance has evolved to study the element of irrationality in the process of decision making; it endeavours to better understand and explain how emotions and cognitive errors influence people when they are making investment-related or other kinds of monetary decisions. But, in fact, behavioural economics consists of theories and empirical investigations into human response to risk, and as such its insights are relevant to any field where decision making is involved and a significant aspect of risk is present. A basic, and almost commonsensical, finding in this field of study is that people tend to be generally more risk-averse than generally thought of. In 1979, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky propounded their "Prospect Theory," studying human behaviour in relation to risk. In essence what they have found out was that, contrary to the dictates of logic that were taken for granted in the standard expected utility theory of neo-classical economics, people placed different weights on gains and losses and on different ranges of probability. Translated in simple terms, this means that individuals are generally much more distressed by prospective losses than they are happy by equivalent gains. To give a more concrete measure to this rather subjective tendency, some economists have arrived at the conclusion that the difference is almost twice, i.e., people perceive the loss of 1 twice as painful as the pleasure derived from the gain of 1. But there is an interesting twist to this observation. I t has been found that faced with a sure gain, individuals become risk-averse, while faced with a sure loss they become more willing to take risk. For example, between a situation of winning 10 for certain, and winning 20 or nothing each with a 50% chance - it has been shown that most people would go for the former. In a real-life situation, faced with a sure gain of 10, people become risk-averse and are less likely to go for 20 with only a 50%

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 61

Case study - Essay Example It may be difficult tocontrol the employees in the company if the recruiters fail to consider the interests of the company in their recruitment exercise. As a staffing professional in the human resources department, it is very important to represent the organization’s interest. It should be noted that each organization has its own culture and this determines factors such as behaviour of employees, their performance as well as basic values that describe the organization. Basically, â€Å"organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by the members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations,† (Robbins, 1993, p. 602). In a bid to achieve its set goals and objectives, it can be seen that there are certain key characteristics that the organization values. These shape its culture and they become entrenched it its operations. The other aim of representing the organization’s interests when hiring employees is that it helps the HR personnel to make sure that the right people are hired. The staffing officers are in a position to assess the competencies of the candidate and ascertain if they will be compatible with the organization’s culture and work ethic. Each organization has its own goals and objectives and there are different strategies that can be implemented in order to achieve these. However, this can only be possible if the organization has a clearly outlined culture that shapes the behaviour of the members within the company. There are certain values that are expected to be followed by each person in the organization and these should be represented from the onset through the recruitment and section process. The other significance of recognizing organizational culture is the element of group emphasis. This refers to the degree to which work activities are organized around groups rather than individuals (Robbins, 1993). This explains why it is important to represent the interests of the organization. Group cohesion is

Monism Philosophy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Monism Philosophy - Research Paper Example It follows the main formula which depends on the target and the unit. Monism is the opposing concept of pluralisms and nihilisms, because these concepts are focused on the importance of plurality in the nature of things (Scaffer â€Å"Monism†). The objective of the paper is to present a perspective on materialistic monism, one of the main types of the concept. Due to the numerous types of monism, one can surmise that any individual can have one of his or her own but the pressing question is which one is the most applicable to be used and to be prioritized. Materialistic monism is the feasible paradigm that can justify the interrelatedness of entities in nature. Supporting Evidences of Monism There are different concepts in the historical and contemporary knowledge that can be used to support the connection between natural phenomena and materialistic monism. One of the main evidences in that of the biological realism specifically the manner by which the brain works. The human b ody is one of the examples of entity in nature. Monism explores the manner by which different entities exist as one. It can be translated that the different matters are composed of similar units. The human body as that of nature is composed of units that can be considered related to every other component of matters and entities in nature. ... In this scenario, it is needed to be pointed out that the process of the mind cannot be separated from that of the brain, thus, the functions of the organ can be perceived in the holistic sense (Fingelkurts, Fingelkurts & Neves 264-68). Another evidence in relation to monism is related to the blobject, which is a concept related to the oneness of the matters in the universe. It defines the concept of materialistic monism (Scaffer â€Å"Monism†). Materialistic monism had been defined as God and nature. It is the law of substance as presented by William James (Worthen, Ellis & Kinkead-Weekes 179). Based on Spinoza’s work entitled Ethics – â€Å"Except God, no substance can be or be conceived† – which means that the entities in nature just transform through reorganization of components and not made. In addition, at a particular point, the components cannot be divided anymore but can only be defined as part of a whole (Bachli & Petrus 65). These concept s can be considered as the main evidences in the thesis of the interrelatedness of entities in nature, both living and non-living matters. According to the basic view in environmental science by Earnst Haeckel, he advocated the monism in nature which was defined as the unity in the mind and body. The main examples are the living matter and their basic components which if analyzed are also similar as that of the non-living things in the surroundings. Basically, the main point of the proposition regarding monism is the fact that every natural occurrence can be attributed to and be supported by the principle of monism. Even the transfer of energy from one matter to another reflects the interrelatedness of entities

ASIC v Adler Essay Example for Free

ASIC v Adler Essay The case of ASIC v Adler is very unique as well as complicated since it involved several breach of duties in the Corporations Act 2001. The HIH collapse was caused by very bad corporate governance. Such breach of duties are, section 9 (director’s duties), section 180 (duty to act with care and diligence), section 181 (duty to act in good faith and for a proper purpose), section 182 (improper use of position), section 182(2) (business judgement rule), section 183 (duty not to improperly use information) and section 260A (financial assistance). All of these contraventions under the Corporations Act 2001 will be discussed in detail below. Section 9 – Who Is A Director And Their Duties Under section 9, a director of a company is defined as a person who is appointed to that position such as a director or alternate director, regardless of what name it is given to that position. Section 9 also includes certain people to be directors even though they are not properly appointed. Such people can act as a director even though without proper appointment of director position. This is where they act in the position of a director (which can be also known as de facto director) or the directors are used to act in accordance with the person’s instructions (which also known as a â€Å"shadow director†). Directors’ duties need to be existed in order to protect shareholders from the risks of directors giving harm towards the company. Shareholders basically have risks such as fraud, where the directors took control over the assets belonging to the company by using it for their personal interest, and mismanagement, whereby directors made an incompetent decision with the financial standing of the company. Furthermore, section 9 also defines the â€Å"officer of a corporation†, which basically includes company executives who held senior positions in the board  level. Such persons can be identified in certain situations where that person (the executives) makes or joins participation into making decisions in which affects the whole or substantial part of the company’s business activities or, the person who has the authority to affect in a significant way towards the company’s financial standings or, basically the same definition of a â€Å"shadow director† where the person are acting towards the instructions given to them to act. In the case of ASIC v Adler, the court held that Adler, the director of HIH, was also an officer of wholly-owned HIH subsidiary which can be related under the section 9 definition of directors. This applies to Adler even though he was not properly appointed as a director or an officer of the subsidiary. Since he has the role of director, the subsidiary holding company and also a member of HIH investment committee, this has showed that he participated in the decision making of the company’s business in which affected it the whole or substantial part of the business. As Santow J gave his judgement on this case, he gave a good summary of principles applicable to directors’ duties. Some of it are; a director must continuously kept informed of the activities of the company, they must be familiar with the fundamentals of the business whereby the company is doing. Section 180 – Duty To Act With Care And Diligence In the section 180(1), it provides that a director or other officer of a company need to exercise their powers and discharge their duties with a standard of care and diligence in which a reasonable person will do if they were the director or officer of a company due to company’s circumstances (section 180(1)(a)) and occupied the office and had the same responsibilities in the company as the director or officer (section 180(1)(b)). Executive directors are full time employees of the company who involved in the day-to-day management of the company. They have special responsibilities with their position and have a high knowledge of daily operations of the company. Non-executive directors, on the other hand, do part-time and have regular involvements in the company. In the case of ASIC v Adler, Williams who was the managing director for HIH and HIHC as well, contravened section 180(1) as he failed to ensure there were proper safeguard before HIHC gave the loan to PEE. Fodera, who was the finance director of HIH, contravened section 180 as he failed to discuss a proposal to give $10 million loan to PEE to the HIH board or its investment committee. As the executive directors of the company, both Fodera and Williams failed to carry out their role properly without informing the HIH board of their intention. Section 180 (2) – The Business Judgement Rule In the section of 180(2), the section provides that a director or any other officer who makes a business judgement rule, will not be held liable in respect of the judgement under the statutory, common law or equitable duties of care and diligence, in which all of the elements can be shown. Such elements are, the judgement was properly made in good faith and for proper purpose, there was not material personal interest in the subject as of the matter of the judgement, the directors and the officers informed themselves about the subject matter of the judgement to the extent they appropriately believed to be reasonable and also the judgement was believed to be in rational in the best interest of the whole company. All of these would be reasonably justified unless any other person in such position thinks that it is completely unreasonable. The business judgement rule basically gives the directors with a â€Å"safe protection† from a personal liability in the relation of the business judgements that they take are valid which is in a good faith and in the best interest of the company. This is because some of their business decisions may turn out to be profit-making or a total loss in honest and rational way. Some of the main reasons for the business judgement rule defences are risk taking and activities in entrepreneurial activities will be encouraged since directors are aware of the specific legislation that if they act honestly,  they will not be punished or personally liable as a result of adverse judicial review. Another rule defence is that better business judgement will be made as a result of removing of some uncertainty of liability under the statutory duty of care and finally, the shareholders interest are better provided by engaging risk taking activities. To make directors be liable for such small erro rs of decision will promote risk-adverse decision-making with contrast effect on the economy. If the directors or other officers are able to satisfy the above requirements, they will have â€Å"safe protection† which makes them to be protected from liability for any breach of their duties of care and diligence. This means that their business judgement in such situations will be reviewed by court. Under section 180(3), the business judgement is defined that any decisions to take or not to take action with respect to matter that is relevant to business activities of the company. This only refers to business decisions that has made relevant to the business activities. It does not include any decisions made in the position of directors powers such as the power to issue shares or pay dividends. By referring to the case ASIC v Adler, the court held that all three Adler, Williams and Fodera breached their statutory duty of care as stated in section 180(1). They also, however could not rely on the business judgement rule as their defence. Firstly for Adler, the business judgement rule did not applicable for him since he cannot satisfy the section 180(2)(b) since he had a conflict of interest in the relation of his decision to invest the $10 million payment from HIHC in PEE. Secondly for Williams, the business judgement rule did not apply to him because of his failed to ensure the correct safeguards were enforced was not business judgement for the purpose in section 180(3). However, even this was a business judgement, since he was a major shareholder of HIH, he basically has material personal interest as in the section 180(2)(b). Other than that, Williams also failed to present any evidence that his judgement was done in good faith for the proper purpose as stated in section 18 0(2)(a). Finally, Fodera cannot rely on his business judgement rule as he failed to refer the transaction of PEE to the HIH board or its investment committee. This was not a business judgement as  stated in section 180(3). Section 181 – Statutory Duty To Act In Good Faith And For A Proper Purpose Under section 181(1), it says that a director or other officer of a corporation to exercise their powers and discharge their duties in bona fide (good faith) for the best interest of the company and also for a proper purpose. The section 181(1) can be contravened if the director thinks that they are actually doing their duties for the best interest of the company in which any other director, in that situation, thinks that is clearly unacceptable approach to do it. This may be happen when a director have a conflict of interest personally with the interest of the company they are handling. In the case of ASIC v Adler, it can clearly be seen that Adler, had contravened the section 181(1) to act in good faith by properly excising his powers and discharging his duties for the best interest of the company. This is because, the transactions that occurred in the HIH, HIHC and PEE had been improperly used, for the sake of his personal interest. Section 182 – Improper Use Of Position Under section 182, the section states that it restricts officers or the employees of a company from improperly using their power to gain advantage for themselves or for any other persons to the company. In the case of ASIC v Adler, the court held that Adler had contravened the section 182 due to the arrangement of $10 million loan from HIHC to PEE which was then to be used to acquire HIH shares on the stock market. This transaction was merely done for the purpose of supporting the HIH shares to increase the price and thereby selling the HIH shares owned by Adler Corporation before PEE could sell off their HIH shares. Because of this transaction, PEE had incurred a total loss of investment by reselling on the HIH shares. In regard of this transaction, Adler was held that he had improperly used his position as a director of HIH, officer of HIHC and director of PEE to gain advantage for the Adler Corporation. The court also held that Williams, also had breached his duties as a director for both HIH and HIHC under section 182, to help gaining advantage for Adler Corporation. This is because Williams, used his position improperly by authorising the $10 million load payment without proper approval from the HIH’s investment committee, which he was required to disclose under the HIH’s investment guidelines. Other than that, the court also held that Adler improperly used his position as a director in the PEE transactions of acquiring a number of unlisted capitals at the cost price from Adler Corporation without obtaining independent valuations of these ventures. With these transactions successful, Adler and Adler Corporation was able to exclude himself from these commercially unviable business operations. Adler basically knew that each of those businesses were having major cash flow problems and each had a significant risk that they would ultimately collapse. Adler, however, failed to disclose his personal interest to the HIH board other than Williams and Fodera. Section 183 – Improper Use of Information As stated in section 183, a person who gets information because they are or are not director, officer or employee of a company, must not misuse the information just to gain advantage for themselves or to any other person whereby causing failure in the company. Section 183 also applies towards resigned or retired directors, officers and employees as well. Informations such as insider information can be taken as an advantage by any person in order to gain benefit by using it to themselves or by giving to other person. In the case of ASIC v Vizard, the court held that Vizard involved in the contravention of section 183, whereby he gained the insider information as he was the non-executive director of Telstra. He misused the information in order to gain advantage for CTI, Brigham and himself as well whereby based on the information that he receives (Telstra board’s decision to acquire  other company and selling their interest on another company), he would act accordingly to buy or sell off his shares ahead of Telstra. S260A – Financial Assistance In section 260A, the section states that it forbids a company financially assisting a person to obtain or acquire shares in the same company of its holding company. However, if some of the conditions are met then the company may proceed to do such transaction. Some of the conditions are, giving the financial assistance will not materially prejudice the interest of the company, its shareholders or the company’s ability to pay its creditors (under section 260A(1)(a)), the financial assistance is validated by the shareholders (under section 260B) or the financial assistance is relieved or exempted (under section 260C). Financial assistance is can be basically referred to where a company is lending money to a person to buy the company shares. This means that the company gives a certain amount of money to a person so that the person buys some of the company’s shares. Another example is where a company gives a surety or guaranteed a person’s loan in which the sum of the loan will be proceeded to buy shares in the company. The company is basically providing a loan to a person for the sake of buying back its own shares off the stock market. Another example is where the company is giving its own assets as a security to a person’s loan in which the loan money will be used to buy the shares of the company given its assets as security. The section 260A clearly states that a company is restricted from giving financial assistance to a person to buy its own shares in the stock market as it will cause material prejudice. By analysing the case of ASIC V Adler, it can be seen that Adler, who was controlling PEE, was clearly contravened the section of 260A by which giving financial assistance to PEE through HIHC, a subsdiary of HIH, which is also a company controlled by Adler. This financial assistance given to PEE, was then used to buy the HIH shares on the stock market. This transaction gives a false impression over the stock market as well as its investors that Adler was supporting the falling share  price of its company, HIH, by buying the shares personally. However, the court found out that Adler does not have the intention to make easy profit and reselling the HIH shares. The real purpose was to increase the HIH share price in benefit of Alder Corporation Limited as substantial shareholding in HIH. The actual evidence is that when PEE went to sell off the HIH shares, it was done only after Adler Corporation decided to sell off its HIH shares in which leads to total loss for PEE’s investment. The Supreme Court of New South Wales held that the main intention of the transaction was that HIHC gave PEE financial assistance in order to acquire the shares in HIH which is HIHC’s holding company. Due to this transaction, according to Santow J, both HIHC and HIH suffered material prejudice, which therefore, contravening section 260A.

Emirates Airlines Pest Analysis Tourism Essay

Emirates Airlines Pest Analysis Tourism Essay In 1985 Emirates Airlines was established by Dubai Government with just two aircrafts. Today Emirates has 83 aircrafts files to 78 destinations in 55 countries worldwide. It has a large number of cabin crews from 95 nationalities. It recently made an aircraft orders worth more than $ 26 billion for 45 Airbus A380, which makes the company the worlds largest purchaser of Airbuss super-jumbo. (About Emirates) Emirates Airlines recently becomes one of the fastest growing airlines and the fifth-most-profitable airline in the world. It has been growing by more than 20% a year since the last 17 years making a profit of $637 million in 2004-05. (BBC News) Emirates Airlines is committed to achieve its mission, namely offering consistently high-quality value-for-money service and to be the best airline on all of its routes. Accordingly, it is known as an innovative and customer-oriented provider of advanced services, such as offering personal entertainment system in all classes, 18 TV channels, 22 audio channels and online booking service which enables customers to book, search for flights and choose seats. (About Emirates) Because of that excellence, it gained over 280 international awards, such as the prestigious CAPA airline of the year award 2005 by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. The airline industry is affected by political situations, namely wars and terrorism. For instance, terrorists activities in different areas globally, namely USA (11th Sep), UK, Lebanon and Qatar made the regions unattractive for tourists and business travellers and reduce the passengers traffic. The political instability affected businesses between airlines in Middle East and the world by facing a difficulty to join any international alliances with any of the airlines leaders such as American Airlines. (Growth phenomena, Nora Byman) Economical factors One of the factors behind any success airlines is having modern airports supported with latest technology to meet customers requirements. UAE for example plans to invest in developing its main airports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The UAEs total investments on airport development over coming 20 years will exceed Dh 71 billion. The benefits of developing airports are: enhancing economy, reducing depends on oil revenues by moving into new sector (tourism), increasing tourists number and thereby driving profits to airline firms. Globally, alliance is considered as the main factor of many airlines companies success as it reduces the operation costs. Social factors Some of those factors are: increasing worlds population, tourists and number of educated people. For instance, the population is growing globally, in UAE the population in 2002 was 3,754,000 people and reached to 4,320,000 in 2004, this is because UAE is a multicultural country. As the number of expatriates is increasing, airlines firms profits will increase, because those expatriates need to travel to their homeland sometime. Additionally, many diseases influence the population in many courtiers, like Bird Flu, those killer diseases affect airline industry since they reduce populations level. (Economic Development) Technological factors The new technology affected airline industry negatively and positively. For example, the technology of teleconferencing reduced the need for face to face business meetings which affects on the number of business travellers and on the sales of business tickets. However, e-booking system makes the reservation easier and save many expenses such as reducing the printed tickets. (Current State) There is a growth in internet usage worldwide. In the UAE, internet accounts are likely to grow from 251,000 in 2001 to exceed 600,000 accounts by 2006. Thus, local airlines industry should provide online services to get competitive advantage ex. Emirates Airline. (UAE to remain on top in Arab Internet market) Internal Environment SWOT analysis Strengths Member of the Arab alliance, known as Arab Air Carriers Organization promoting cooperation, safety standards among Arab airlines (Arab Air). First airline in Arab World that offers online booking service. Offering long-haul flights, like from US to Dubai. Offering self check-in service for customers at Dubai airport (Emirates expands). At Dubai Air Show 2005, Emirates made an aircraft order of 45 Airbus by 2012 making it the worlds largest purchaser of Airbuss super-jumbo. Providing employees with training, rewards and performance programs, thus reducing labour costs and increasing employees loyalty (People). An official sponsor of 2006 Fifa World Cup, which will increase its brand awareness. It has its own Frequent Flyer Program known as Skywards Miles that shared with Sri Lankan Airways. It has recently chosen Dexterra Mobile Platform to enable front-office mobile solutions that will enhance customer service interaction (Unisys). It offers training service to other airlines in Middle East which increase its profit. Weaknesses High Operation costs due to huge investment on buying aircrafts and implementing new technologies. Known of its high prices of tickets comparing to other airlines. Not a member of any global alliances (UAE). It doesnt have a hub in Abu Dhabi airport (capital of the UAE). Young airline that was established in 1985 Opportunities The income per capita is growing in UAE. Lots of investments will be made by the government of UAE for developing main airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. There is an overall growth in the population of the world and in UAE. World Travel Tourism Council forecasts that there will be an annual growth in the number of UAE tourists. There is an expected growth in internet users worldwide and in UAE. Aviation events such as Dubai Air Show promotes for Middle East airlines among other participates worldwide airlines and show the growing of aviation industry in Middle East. Threats It is located in politically instable region and the terrorism activities have been increased in Middle East recently. Increase of aviation security costs and insurance which increase the operational costs of airlines. The increase of the fuel prices which raise the operational costs. The airline industry might face losses of around $ 3 billion if the oil prices did not reduce (IATA). New entrants and the raise of low cost airlines. The e-ticking system can be abuse by the hackers or it might be crashed by viruses, this will damage the company database and will cost a lot of money. Passengers can be a threat to the company, as they have a strong power in the airline industry. The natural crises such as the earthquake and hurricane. As mentioned by Al-Arabia channel, Dubai is threatened by an earthquake (2005). This will affect the tourism in this region, which will reflect in the Emirates airline. There is a possibility of rapid spread of new acute diseases such as SARS and Bird Flue that affect tourism and airlines. Strategic planning models There is no one perfect strategic planning model for each organization. Each organization ends up developing its own nature and model of strategic planning, often by selecting a model and modifying it as they go along in developing their own planning process. The following models provide a range of alternatives from which organizations might select an approach and begin to develop their own strategic planning process. An organization might choose to integrate the models, e.g., using a scenario model to creatively identify strategic issues and goals, and then an issues-based model to carefully strategize to address the issues and reach the goals. The following models include: basic strategic planning, issue-based (or goal-based), alignment, scenario, and organic planning. Model One Basic Strategic Planning This very basic process is typically followed by organizations that are extremely small, busy, and have not done much strategic planning before. The process might be implemented in year one of the nonprofits to get a sense of how planning is conducted, and then embellished in later years with more planning phases and activities to ensure well-rounded direction for the nonprofits. Planning is usually carried out by top-level management. The basic strategic planning process includes: Identify firms purpose (mission statement) Select the goals your organization must reach if it is to accomplish your mission Identify specific approaches or strategies that must be implemented to reach each goal Identify specific action plans to implement each strategy Monitor and update the plan Model Two Issue-Based (or Goal-Based) Planning Organizations that begin with the basic planning approach described above, often evolve to using this more comprehensive and more effective type of planning. Organizations that begin with the basic planning approach described above often evolve to using this more comprehensive and more effective type of planning. Summary of Issue-Based (or Goal-Based) Strategic Planning (Note that an organization may not do all of the following activities every year.) External/internal assessment to identify SWOT (Strengths and Weaknesses and Opportunities and Threats) Strategic analysis to identify and prioritize major issues/goals Design major strategies (or programs) to address issues/goals Design/update vision, mission and values(some organizations may do this first in planning) Establish action plans (objectives, resource needs, roles and responsibilities for implementation) Record issues, goals, strategies/programs, updated mission and vision, and action plans in a Strategic Plan document, and attach SWOT, etc. Develop the yearly Operating Plan document(from year one of the multi-year strategic plan) Develop and authorize Budget for year one(allocation of funds needed to fund year one) Conduct the organizations year-one operations Monitor/review/evaluate/update Strategic Plan document. Model Three Alignment Model The overall purpose of the model is to ensure strong alignment among the organizations mission and its resources to effectively operate the organization. This model is useful for organizations that need to fine-tune strategies or find out why they are not working. An organization might also choose this model if it is experiencing a large number of issues around internal efficiencies. Overall steps include: The planning group outlines the organizations mission, programs, resources, and needed support. Identify whats working well and what needs adjustment. Identify how these adjustments Model Four Scenario Planning This approach might be used in conjunction with other models to ensure planners truly undertake strategic thinking. The model may be useful, particularly in identifying strategic issues and goals. Select several external forces and imagine related changes which might influence the organization, e.g., change in regulations, demographic changes, etc. Scanning the newspaper for key headlines often suggests potential changes that might affect the organization. For each change in a force, discuss three different future organizational scenarios (including best case, worst case, and OK/reasonable case) which might arise with the organization as a result of each change. Reviewing the worst-case scenario often provokes strong motivation to change the organization. Suggest what the organization might do, or potential strategies, in each of the three scenarios to respond to each change. Planners soon detect common considerations or strategies that must be addressed to respond to possible external changes. Select the most likely external changes to effect the organization, e.g., over the next three to five years, and identify the most reasonable strategies the organization can undertake to respond to the change. Model Five Organic (or Self-Organizing) Planning Traditional strategic planning processes are sometimes considered mechanistic or linear, i.e., theyre rather general-to-specific or cause-and-effect in nature. For example, the processes often begin by conducting a broad assessment of the external and internal environments of the organization, conducting a strategic analysis (SWOT analysis), narrowing down to identifying and prioritizing issues, and then developing specific strategies to address the specific issues. Another view of planning is similar to the development of an organism, i.e., an organic, self-organizing process. Certain cultures, e.g., Native American Indians, might prefer unfolding and naturalistic organic planning processes more than the traditional mechanistic, linear processes. Self-organizing requires continual reference to common values, dialoguing around these values, and continued shared reflection around the systems current processes. General steps include: Clarify and articulate the organizations cultural values. Use dialogue and story-boarding techniques. Articulate the groups vision for the organization. Use dialogue and story-boarding techniques. On an ongoing basis, e.g., once every quarter, dialogue about what processes are needed to arrive at the vision and what the group is going to do now about those processes. Continually remind yourself and others that this type of naturalistic planning is never really over with, and that, rather, the group needs to learn to conduct its own values clarification, dialogue/reflection, and process updates. Be very, very patient. Focus on learning and less on method. Ask the group to reflect on how the organization will portray its strategic plans to stakeholders, etc., who often expect the mechanistic, linear plan formats. Managing risk Risk management is a process used to avoid, reduce or control risks. Some risks can be insured against, others cannot. Organisations deal with their insurable risks but can be applied to all risks. Ignoring the risks which apply to hospitality and tourism business activities or the events business have planned could impact on the following: the health and safety of employees, customers, volunteers and participants reputation, credibility and status public and customer confidence in the organisation financial position plant, equipment and the environment A systematic approach to managing risk is now regarded as good management Practice. Following is the best example from International Hilton Group (IHG). Process and framework IHG has an established risk management process and framework embedded in all regions. The long-term strategic goals are aligned with the IHG core purpose Great Hotels Guests Love and include these key elements: safety and security of guests, employees and other third parties brand strength supported by operational excellence in risk management at all hotels and corporate locations Maintenance and promotion of the reputation of the Company. Our approach has been to enable and support hotel owners, staff and corporate functions to manage risk effectively. This is accomplished by giving them a systematic approach and framework to follow and by providing them with tools to do the job. The Risk Management function aims to share specialist knowledge and capability globally. Safety and security in hotels A strategic framework for hotel safety and security has been designed for owned and managed hotels and is illustrated below showing the identified groups of risks and describing the management activities carried out to mitigate the risks. The red wheel illustrates the groups of risks which IHGs risk managers around the world work on with IHG general managers and their management teams in order to minimise the risks and keep the hotels safe. Over the years we have developed risk management strategies to assess and treat individual types of risk. This has involved developing policies, standards and guidelines, raising awareness levels, training staff on the controls and systems which have been developed for their use and reviewing and reporting upon progress and continued risks. These management activities are represented by the purple wheel.Hotel safety framework Security risks, particularly the threat of terrorism, have increased. In recent years, IHG has developed an increasingly sophisticated response that is intelligence-led and risk-based. The security risk environment is highly dynamic and needs to be managed both centrally and locally in hotels. In common with all risk strategies, there are three elements that must be developed and maintained: physical and technical systems, people capabilities and processes and procedures. Corporate risk management The management activities shown above are being adapted and applied to manage corporate risks. This initiative is led by the Executive Committee, facilitated by the Risk Management function and integrated with quarterly strategic reviews. IHGs Risk Management function has recently reviewed the way in which corporate risk and the major risks to IHG are managed and are seeking to develop a framework to improve risk management capability further, represented diagrammatically below:Corporate risk management Each year, risk identification workshops are run with the senior IHG management. The output is a Group Risk Register, divided into areas of accountability for each member of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee uses the findings to identify the major areas of risk for IHG and to assign accountability for cross-functional leadership between them. The Executive Committee prioritises and co-ordinates efforts to optimise the management of major risks to IHG. Risk owners then identify existing controls as well as the ability, benefit and cost to improve them. This work is documented in Risk Action Plans that support the risks that are reported in the Group Risk Register. Executives review the risks at quarterly strategic reviews as part of their business review with the Chief Executive and strategy team. Global Risk Management also submits periodic incident reports and two major reports each year to the Executive Committee and the Board on hotel safety and security as well as a further report on the major risks to IHG. The Internal Audit function is separately responsible for providing assurance across the Group. They report their findings to the Audit Committee. This ensures separation of duties between the Risk Management and Internal Audit functions and hence supports good governance. The Board is ultimately responsible for the Groups system of internal control and risk management and for reviewing its effectiveness. In order to discharge that responsibility, in 2008 the Board considered the most recent Major Risk Review which involved extensive consultation throughout the business. Strategy and ethics The hospitality industry is made up of many companies who are run by business people. Business people who put short-term profits ahead of concern for the long-term health of the company or who make additional profits by failing to spend the money necessary to handle toxic waste or pollution resulting from the manufacturing process, are not professionals and harm the reputation of the industry as a profession . The scandalous behaviour of some business leaders in the past decade has damaged the reputation of business with the community. The former what is good for business is good for the country has been replaced with a virulent distrust of big business. Corporate social responsibility requires organizations to demonstrate responsible business conduct that does no harm in the marketplace, in the workplace, in the community they operate in, and to the natural environment. The actions of business impact the local, national, and global community, so businesses have a responsibility to ensure that the impact is positive. Corporate Social Responsibility also involves achieving commercial success in ways that honour ethical values and respect people, communities, and the natural environment. There is no universally accepted definition of CSR, but most of the definitions have to do with business having a positive impact on the community and meeting or exceeding public expectations of good corporate citizenship. Ethics in Tourism   Ethical principals apply to all individuals, communities and societies; they also apply to all the bodies in tourism in their respective specific roles. This entails both rights and responsibilities. Concrete and specific ethical standards for behaviour and practises in tourism must follow the broad principles as outlined here. Solidarity with those who are directly and strongly affected by tourism and who suffer from unjust structures connected with tourism, and solidarity with those who need material or political and philosophical support in defending their interests and rights which are threatened by tourism development or which are ignored in decision making processes; Justice in a world tourism order, an aim which intends to change all structures of injustice that exists in the fields of economics, politics, social and cultural life; Respect of diversity in the various areas of life societies, environment, cultures, religions and politics which calls for sensitivity to difference and the practice of tolerance. Authentic information for all people involved or interested in tourism. Such authentic information is a basic need for a just world tourism order. This places a particular responsibility on the media to be objective, fair and truthful when reporting on tourism. Professionals engaged in tourism education should also promote need for authentic research and information to develop sensitised and aware personnel in tourism. In order to improve the present situation in tourism and to minimize its negative impacts, firms must urge all (nation) those involved to contribute the best of their knowledge, abilities, and skills towards a tourism that is in line with these ethical principles. The tourists board must involve the governments, other public authorities, decision makers and professionals in the field of tourism, public and private associations and institutions whose activities are related to tourism, tourists and local communities to adopt the realistic principles and work towards the mutual objectives. Strategic VS operational conflicts Just like any other business, Tourism Business planning always have a strategic and an operational element to position the strategies. In order to make the intangible and highly sensitive industry firms must be able to balance the different roles and utilize strategic and operational plans. A Strategic Plan is an organizations summary of the development process and the presentation of core directions An Operational Plan is an annual work plan explaining how the goals of the strategic plan will be implemented and what budget and processes are required. Strategic planning helps the organisation to pull back the lens, get a big picture view and consider future scenarios. It gives you the best opportunity to maintain control, avoid serious pitfalls and capture opportunities. Thinking strategically about business involves creating a vision for where you want to be in 2, 5 or 10 years, Strategic planning is not just for big companies and has benefits no matter what the goals. The defined goals might include increasing the sales or market share. Goals may also include environmental and sustainability targets or to sell the business. Operational planning focuses tightly on the day to day operations with no more than a 12 month cycle. Depending on the farms activities, the manager might want to further break things down to daily, weekly, monthly or seasonal active. Operational planning focuses on adjusting and developing controls, increasing efficiencies and reducing time and investment. Conclusion and Recommendation The airline industry is a huge market as there are 900 airlines companies internationally with total of nearly 22,000 aircrafts, nevertheless it has a low growth rates as it is in its mature stage of life cycle. (The economic social benefits of air transport). For any new entry the airline industry is considered to be unattractive, because the demand is low, the competition is strong and the operation costs are increasing. However, for Emirates Airlines it is attractive as its strategy and market position creates a good defence against its competitor. For example, it created a strong brand name and customer loyalty in the market by implementing the latest technologies in its services to be positioned as a pioneer in the airline field. It also achieves high profits yearly as it focuses proficiently to enhance its market position by differentiating in its strategies that would be used to attract customers such as flyer frequent program. Also, it has many chances to overcome with all the obstacles that might occur and affect the airline industry such as political or economical problems, etc. as it is a member in Emirates Group which enables sharing resources and reducing the companys expenses, thus leading the company to protect its position in the market. Overall, Emirates has a great market position plus its a profitable airline which is measured as a competitive advantage, since it has the opportunity to compete and expand its business to gain higher profits. Emirates Airlines adopts differentiation generic strategy to gain a competitive advantage amongst its competitors by offering the highest quality services in order to be the best company in the market and differentiates from its competitors. For example, Emirates airlines was the first airline that offered TV screen for all aircrafts classes. Also it was the first company in the Middle East to serve the e-ticketing. In addition, it gained a competitive advantage by focusing in new segments in the market. For instance, it provides another airline companies such as Qatar Airways with training courses by using the most modern machines, called plane simulator to be the only company in the Middle East that offers such service. The aim of such changes is to be the leader in industry by increasing the brand name awareness regionally and internationally which will increase the demand and the profit as well. As the Airline industry is in the maturity stage, there is a strong competition between airline firms. Each firm should use offensive strategies besides doing analysis for internal and external factors that may affect its position. The research and analysis for Emirates airlines address following recommendations: The operational cost is increasing due to huge investments of Emirates on aircrafts and services and increase in fuel prices. Emirates should reduce the costs by making operational improvements, namely improving maintenance processes, maintaining high aircraft utilization and making effective flight scheduling. It could also be reduced by investing technology in distribution channels to reduce labour costs. In response to the threat of low cost airlines, Emirates shouldnt lower its fares after years of offering advanced services, instead it has to offer new low cost brand as a subsidiary of Emirates group serving economic travellers who are now customers of new low cost airlines, thus expanding the market share. Extending routes is recommended especially there is a growth in tourism UAE. There are main regions in the world that Emirates do not have routes in, namely Canada, It has to extend destinations worldwide (especially attractive areas). Joining a global alliance enables increasing its destinations, offering more fare options for customers helping to solve problems of new low cost airline. Investigating technology is recommended for improving customer service and Emirates has to sign contract with an e-business company that offers airlines technology solutions. Generally, Emirates should do analysis for internal and external factors and its competitors and develop new strategies to stay competitive in the maturity stage.

Case study on the Hoover Dam :: essays research papers fc

Before Hoover Dam After By- Balaji.T.K, CE02B011 CONTENTS No  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Description  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page no 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hoover dam –an Introduction  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Requirements posed by structural design  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Requirements posed by other details  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Type of Concrete  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Guidelines for Mix design  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  9 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fabrication and Installation  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Formwork  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  11 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cooling of concrete  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Temperature control of Mass Concrete  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 10.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quality Assurance  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13 11.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bibliography  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hoover Dam- an Introduction! It still stands tall as an engineering marvel high above the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada. Hoover Dam attracts over 7 million visitors from around the new world every year feeding vast tourism into the Las Vegas Nevada and Arizona economy. The building of Hoover Dam took the brilliance of over 200 engineers to pull-off what many deemed as almost impossible. And it was the fortitude of over 7,000 dam workers that endured amazingly harsh conditions and extreme dangers to complete Hoover Dam almost two years ahead of schedule The Mission of the Dam: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Flooding along the Colorado River as it made its way to the Gulf of California had to be controlled. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The water-flow had to be harnessed to provide much needed water to the fertile, yet arid agricultural areas of California and Arizona. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hydroelectric energy was to satisfy the requirements of millions and millions of people in adjacent regions. Some Statistics About the dimensions of the dam: Hoover Dam is 726 feet tall and 1,244 feet long. At its base, Hoover Dam is 660 feet thick which is 60 feet longer than two football fields laid end-to-end. Combined with its top thickness of 45 feet, there is enough concrete (4.5 million cubic yards) in Hoover Dam to build a two-lane highway from Seattle Washington to Miami Florida. Or imagine a four-foot wide sidewalk around Earth at its equator. A scenic by-product of Hoover Dam is the gigantic reservoir of Lake Mead, a stunningly beautiful water recreation wonderland. This boating, sailing, fishing and house-boating paradise attracts over 10 million visitors a year. Lake Mead covers 550 miles of majestic shoreline and 247 square miles of area which is twice the size of Rhode Island. Its capacity of 1 1/4 trillion cubic feet of water would cover the entire state of Pennsylvania one foot deep. Requirements for concrete posed by Structural design: The Hoover Dam is an arch dam. Arch dams transmit most of the horizontal thrust of the water stored behind them to the abutments by arch action and hence thinner cross sections are sufficient (compared to the massive cross-sections of the gravity dams). Narrow V-shaped canyons(just like the Black canyon where the Hoover dam was constructed) will be suited for locating arch dams since they can withstand the thrust produced by the arch section.

Homeless Children Essay -- Child Homelessness, 2014

Introduction In the United States, 1.5 million children are homeless. 1.5 million children are without adequate shelter, nourishment, healthcare, or education. When a child is homeless, it is not just a house that they are without. They are more likely than other children to experience hunger, constant illness, mental disorders, and developmental delays.1 Being homeless negatively affects a child’s overall welfare and ability to thrive within their community throughout their childhood and into their adulthood. It impedes their ability to live a healthy life and gain an adequate education, as children who are homeless face far more obstacles, such as increased health risks and lack of educational opportunities, than children who aren’t homeless. They are less likely to be able to contribute to society, as less than a quarter of homeless children graduate or receive well-paying jobs, making them trapped in a life of poverty. Child homelessness is the perfect portrait of poverty. Chil dren are deprived of their basic needs – shelter, food, safety, and other resources – which are required for any individual to rise out a lifetime of poverty. In the United States, it is every individual’s human right to have their basic needs fulfilled; the government and the U.S. community need to ensure that those rights are being applied to all people in order to create a more flourishing and prosperous society. In an effort to solve the problem of child homelessness, the U.S. government has implemented legislature to provide funding and support for services to the homeless, including provisions under the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. However, it is not enough. To help homeless children overcome the obstacles of homelessness, such as poor healthcare and education, and put an end to child homelessness the United States government must actively ensure that the problem of child homelessness is being answered. By implementing and following through with the provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which increase the services and funding as included in the McKinney-Vento Act, the U.S. will be making greater strides towards ending homelessness all together. The legislature must also pass the HEARTH Act of 2009 as the reauthorization of the amendment of the McKinney-Vento Act and consider the Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2009 and other legislation... ...ition for the Homeless. June 2008. 5 Apr. 2009 . "Education Pays..." Bureau of Labor Statistics. 6 Mar. 2009. United States Department of Labor. 29 Apr. 2009 . Hart-Shegos, Ellen. Homelessness and its Effect on Children. Ed. Anne Ray. Dec. 1999. Family Housing Fund. 5 Apr. 2009 . p. 4. Homeless Youth. June 2008. National Coalition for the Homeless. 29 Apr. 2009.   . McKinney-Vento Act. National Coalition for the Homeless. June 2008. 6 Apr. 2009.   . McKinney-Vento Reauthorization. Apr. 2009. National Alliance to End  Homelessness. 29 Apr. 2009 http://www.endhomelessness.org/section/policy/legislature/mckinney_vento>. "Summary of the HEARTH Act, as Passed." Homeless Assistance Reauthorization: National Policy Update September 2008. 21 Oct. 2008. National Alliance to  End Homelessness. 23 Feb. 2009 . Path: PDF File. Homeless Children Essay -- Child Homelessness, 2014 Introduction In the United States, 1.5 million children are homeless. 1.5 million children are without adequate shelter, nourishment, healthcare, or education. When a child is homeless, it is not just a house that they are without. They are more likely than other children to experience hunger, constant illness, mental disorders, and developmental delays.1 Being homeless negatively affects a child’s overall welfare and ability to thrive within their community throughout their childhood and into their adulthood. It impedes their ability to live a healthy life and gain an adequate education, as children who are homeless face far more obstacles, such as increased health risks and lack of educational opportunities, than children who aren’t homeless. They are less likely to be able to contribute to society, as less than a quarter of homeless children graduate or receive well-paying jobs, making them trapped in a life of poverty. Child homelessness is the perfect portrait of poverty. Chil dren are deprived of their basic needs – shelter, food, safety, and other resources – which are required for any individual to rise out a lifetime of poverty. In the United States, it is every individual’s human right to have their basic needs fulfilled; the government and the U.S. community need to ensure that those rights are being applied to all people in order to create a more flourishing and prosperous society. In an effort to solve the problem of child homelessness, the U.S. government has implemented legislature to provide funding and support for services to the homeless, including provisions under the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. However, it is not enough. To help homeless children overcome the obstacles of homelessness, such as poor healthcare and education, and put an end to child homelessness the United States government must actively ensure that the problem of child homelessness is being answered. By implementing and following through with the provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which increase the services and funding as included in the McKinney-Vento Act, the U.S. will be making greater strides towards ending homelessness all together. The legislature must also pass the HEARTH Act of 2009 as the reauthorization of the amendment of the McKinney-Vento Act and consider the Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2009 and other legislation... ...ition for the Homeless. June 2008. 5 Apr. 2009 . "Education Pays..." Bureau of Labor Statistics. 6 Mar. 2009. United States Department of Labor. 29 Apr. 2009 . Hart-Shegos, Ellen. Homelessness and its Effect on Children. Ed. Anne Ray. Dec. 1999. Family Housing Fund. 5 Apr. 2009 . p. 4. Homeless Youth. June 2008. National Coalition for the Homeless. 29 Apr. 2009.   . McKinney-Vento Act. National Coalition for the Homeless. June 2008. 6 Apr. 2009.   . McKinney-Vento Reauthorization. Apr. 2009. National Alliance to End  Homelessness. 29 Apr. 2009 http://www.endhomelessness.org/section/policy/legislature/mckinney_vento>. "Summary of the HEARTH Act, as Passed." Homeless Assistance Reauthorization: National Policy Update September 2008. 21 Oct. 2008. National Alliance to  End Homelessness. 23 Feb. 2009 . Path: PDF File.

Guerilla Warfare Essay -- essays research papers

Guerrilla Warfare The term guerrilla (Spanish, â€Å"little war†) originated in the early 19th century during the Peninsular war when, after the defeat of Spain’s regular forces, Spanish irregulars and civilians rose up against the French occupying forces. The practice of guerrilla warfare, however, dates from antiquity; for example, the Bible tells of the Israelite conquest of Canaan, led by Joshua, involving harassment and ambush of the enemy. Later Jewish resistance to foreign rule was expressed in the series of fierce guerrilla operations against the Romans in the 1st century AD; led by the Zealot sect, this revolt was climaxed by the seizure of Masada and the massacre of the Roman garrison there in AD66. Lacking the numerical strength and weapons to oppose a regular army in the field, guerrillas avoid pitched battles. Instead, they operate from bases established in remote and inaccessible terrain, such as forests, mountains, and jungles, and depend on the support of the local inhabitants for recruits, food, shelter, and information. The guerrillas may also receive assistance in forms of arms, medical supplies, and military advisers from their own or allied regular armies. The tactics of guerillas are those of harassment. Striking swiftly and unexpectedly, they raid enemy supply depots and installations, ambush patrols and supply convoys, and cut communication lines, hoping thereby to disrupt enemy activities and to capture equipment and supplies for their own use. Because ...

Life should be taken care

By looking at the above premises I reach to a solid conclusion; that no one should be allowed to ride in the truck of truck unless they have taken the necessary precautions, e. g. , having attained the proper age, or when the truck is but the only means of transport in a family and the speed at which the truck is traveling must be in agreement with the traffic rules.Life should be taken care of, people must be willing to avoid accidents and injuries if they can be avoided, I truly look at riding at the back of a truck a mere way of inviting trouble. In cases where trucks (pickups) were involved in accidents and overturned the riders at the back were thrown out, this way permanent body injuries and/or death were inevitable. No-one should be allowed to ride in the back of a pick –up.There are always risks associated to this type of traveling and in the USA; this is one of the leading cause of deaths in accidents on the road. There are various ways by which this can be made a lit tle bit safe but all in all it should really be banned. Think of a person below the age of 18 riding at the back of a pick up and see the possibility of falling off. Riders especially Kids who traveled in the back of a pick up more than often suffer from monoxide poisoning.It is so uncomfortable to ride in the back but teenagers find this as a way of having fun, rebelling, and teenagers will take advantage of this especially if the driver of the truck is not the owner and also when their parents are not near the scene. It is obvious that in case of an accident involving the pick up those at the back will get more injuries and even sometimes death may take place. If the pick-up rolls those at the back will be ejected out! It could then roll over them. The manufactures of these pick had the obvious reason for cargo transport not people.Traffic laws state that those who ride at the back of a truck should be above the age of 18, that a certain speed should be observed if a truck has peo ple riding in its back but sometimes these laws are violated and for this reason it should be banned completely that for whatsoever there should be no – one riding at the back, I know that sometimes this may not apply as there are times that this may be the only way of transport for certain people but it is banned they will get alternatives as it is better to have a transport problem than try to heal injuries and/or encounter death.

Barriers Of Critical Thinking Essay

Three barriers that influence your thinking are fear, laziness, and stubbornness Fear: Overcoming fear is one of my biggest challenges there are several ways I have learned to try and overcome that fear is stop doubting myself when it come to taking on a new task. Always keep a positive attitude even when I think negative. Because of my fear unfortunately I have missed out on several opportunities that could have been very positive. What I have also learned about overcoming fear is never be afraid of opportunity. Learning how to face your fears head on is a great way to overcome fear as well. Once you overcome fear it can be life changing. Laziness: Overcoming laziness in critical thinking is to understand that research is very important and not always wanting to the easy way out of things. Taking the time to sit back and analyze and consider different point of views and also opinions. Always be willing to put in hard work when it comes to critical thinking. Critical thinking plays a critical part in our everyday lives and being able to make quick decisions is very important. Sometimes information is not easy to access and in some cases this where research and critical thinking play a major role in quick decision making. Stubbornness: Overcoming stubbornness in critical thinking is being able to accept another person opinion also being open to changes. Not always thinking about what’s in it for me stop always saying I can’t or I want just because a change may come. Being able to think of change in a positive way in everyday living there is always change some we may like some we may not however as a human being you have to be able to accept and live with change. Employers have constant change and as an employee we have to be able to adapt and keep an open mind in every aspect.

Kant, irrationalism and religion Essay

Abstract Kant is a philosopher, which dealt with human recognition. He has been considered as an irrationalist. Many philosophers think that he used the irrationalism to justify the trust in religion and to protect the religion from the science. In this paper I shall take a view to the philosophy of Kant on recongition and to the question if Kant is an irrationalist or not. Did he use the irrationalism to protect the religion from science? This paper shall show that Kant wasn’t an irrationalist, but he simply tried to determine the limitations of the recognition and to distinguish between what we recongize and what we simply believe. His philosophy of recognition didn’t aim at protecting the religion from the science. He tells us in some pasages of the book â€Å"The critique of pure reason† that when his theory would be accepted, the men wouldn’t concluded of what they couldn’t know really, and maybe the religion would have some benefits from it. But I think that he meant the trials to prove either the existence of God or the non-existence of God. Kanti, Irrationalism and Religion Kant was firstly influenced in his philosophy by Leibnitz and later by British empiricism. By Locke and Hume he came to the conclusion that recognition stems from the senses and he also received from Leibniz’s belief that although the mind does not have any idea born, she has the innate abilities that give shape to the experience brought to it by the senses. Fundamental problem that Kant raised was on how to reconcile the absolute security that gives us mathematics and physics with the fact that our knowledge comes from the senses? Kant’s goal was to build the foundations of a new rationality that would be incontestable. In efforts to achieve security he assumed that the mind has three skills: 1. Reflection 2. Will 3. Feelings and he devoted a critique to each of them. Kant’s critique created for both rationalists and empiricists a method of transcendent or critical method, by which he meant a study of its reason, an â€Å"investigation of pure reason† to see if its judgments have universality beyond human experience and again, are necessary and related to the human experience. The logic involved in these trials may be absolutely safe and can also be applied to the world of things. Kant believed that the thought, feeling and the will are forms of reason and he decided the transcendental principles of the reason in the realm of thought, the transcendental moral principles to the will and the transcendental principles of beauty in the realm of feeling. In this paper we will try to treat if Kant is an irrational that used irrationalism to justify the religion. To clarify this we must first demonstrate his theory of knowledge and whether Kant was indeed irrational and then if he used this irrationalism to make room for faith in religion. Kant says that his goal of writing the â€Å"Critique of Pure Reason† was to put Metaphysics on the basis of sound and to transform it into a science. In the first entry of â€Å"Critique of Pure Reason† he writes: Our age is the age of criticism, to which everything must be subjected. The sacredness of religion, and the authority of legislation, are by many regarded as grounds of exemption from the examination of this tribunal. But, if they on they are exempted, they become the subjects of just suspicion, and cannot lay claim to sincere respect, which reason accords only to that which has stood the test of a free and public examination. † (Kant,2002 pg. 7,) Kant sought for the metaphysics to achieve the security of mathematics and logic. He was not a skeptic who saw the world as mere sensory appearance, but quite the contrary he was prompted to write this book as a response to the skepticism of David Hume. Kant aims to determine whether it can reach a metaphysical knowledge, and if so whether it can be arranged in a science and what its limits are. The main aim of th Pure Critique is to demonstrate how the answers to these questions can be achieved, provided that the subject is reviewed under a new angle. Kant’s own words regarding this are: â€Å"â€Å"This attempt to alter the procedure which has hitherto prevailed in metaphysics by completely revolutionizing it . . . forms indeed the main purpose of this critique. . . . It marks out the whole plan of the science, both as regards its limits and as regards its entire internal structure† (Kant,2002). â€Å"The critique of pure reason . . . will decide as to the possibility or impossibility of metaphysics in general, and determine its sources, its extent, and its limits—all in accordance with principles. . . . I venture to assert that there is not a single metaphysical problem which has not been solved, or for the solution of which the key at least has not been supplied† (Kant, 1998). Kant divided metaphysics into two parts: the first part deals with problems that are knowable by experience such as causality, while the second part deals with the whole in general and as such we do not refer to an object that we are able to perceive, because we cannot perceive the universe as a single thing. According to Kant we can have confidence only in the first part of metaphysics (general metaphysics) and it may have scientific certainty because its facilities are given in experience and is subject to verification. On contrary, the metaphysics of the second part (special metaphysics), which is so abstract that it overcomes any kind, cannot achieve scientific safety because its concepts are ‘blank’. In the first part, metaphysics deals with everything within the universe and that it is accessible to the senses, while the metaphysics in the second half deals with the universe as a whole and undetected by the senses. Of the first questions can get a correct answer while the latter not, even though these questions is well to be made. Kant was primarily interested in clarifying whether metaphysics is possible as a science or not. He was convinced that mathematics and natural sciences were true science. But is metaphysics a science? What Kant must do to achieve a scientific metaphysics was to identify the criteria for a science and then to produce metaphysical conclusions that met these criteria. Kant believed that the first criteria of a true science were that its conclusions were both necessary and universal, as much as judgments in mathematics, and geometry are. To have such universal judgments, it’s necessary to find out how they are produced, and to do this we need to see how mathematicians and scientists achieve this. When Kant asks how metaphysics is possible, he is asking how a science of everything that exists can reach the safety of pure mathematics and natural sciences. To understand this we must understand what the concept of science is and what its elements to Kant are. We must understand the use of this concept as the standard for determining whether metaphysics in both its parts is a real science. Kant conceives the science as a system of real judgments in a specific field of research. All judgments Kant divides into two types, empirical and a priori. An empirical judgment is the judgment coming from experience and can be verified by the observation itself. Kant calls all not empirical judgments as a priori. Example of an a priori judgment is: ‘All triangles have three angles â€Å". We verify this by observing not all triangles, but by analyzing what the subject to the judgment ‘triangle’ means. We find that the real concept of the ‘triangle’ is already incorporated to the concept of triangle, which is predication of our judgment. It would be contradictory to deny that the triangle has three angles. A trial verified in this way is called by Kant analytical; predicate simply explains the concept of the subject without adding anything new to him. All analytic judgments are a priori known without recourse to any particular type of experience. If all a priori judgments are analytic is another matter entirely. On the other hand we get judgment â€Å"the apple is red†. Analysis of the concept ‘apple’ is not leading us to the concept ‘red†. We need to see the apple to understand the subject. This is an empirical judgment and all empirical judgments Kant called synthetic, because they connect the subject with the predicate of the ways that are not analytical, the predicate adds a new recognition of the concept of the subject. All empirical judgments are synthetic; the survey supports the connection between subject and predicate. If all synthetic judgments are empirical-in other words if the observation is always the one that provides the link for the synthesis- is from Kant’s view of a very different matter. If metaphysics is a science consisting of judgments, these judgments are empirical or a priori? First they need to contain any existence as such, so they must be universal and necessary. For example, let’s look at a judgment of metaphysics in the first part: â€Å"everything has a cause†. We cannot allow any exception to this judgment. The opposite of it would be contradictory. Let’s see a judgment that belongs to the metaphysics of the second part: â€Å"the universe is eternal†. Even this judgment does not allow exceptions. This means that any empirical judgment is not metaphysical. They are a priori, but are they analytical? Let’s see once more the judgment â€Å"every event has a cause. † Predicate here is not included in the concept of the subject. Let’s see another judgment: ‘the universe is eternal. ‘ Even here the predicate is not included in the subject. So the typical judgments of metaphysics are synthetic and a priori. Even though they are necessary and universal, their predicates are not related to the subjects either by empirical observation or by logical connections. What makes them universal and necessary? What relationship may exist between subjects and predicate that comes neither from the experience nor is conceptual? How are synthetic judgments possible a priori? To explain the a priori synthetic judgments Kant introduces the notion of pure intuition and differentiates it from the thought. He declares that there are two basic skills of human consciousness, intuition, which is directly aware of a specific individual unit, and the thought which is indirectly aware of things through their abstract types. Each of these skills is to recognize conditions that are a priori limitations on what you can know and what cannot know from their use. A priori conditions of intuition are time and space. A priori conditions of thought are, first, a priori conditions of valid conclusions, and secondly, the conditions a priori to think about objects, forms of judgment and categories. Kant claimed that he had managed to put metaphysics of the first part in the way of science. As for Kant metaphysics is the study of everything in general, it is the study of everything that can be recognized. In this way, its findings will be a priori synthetic judgments applicable to anything that can be recognized. Kant called these researches for these a priori synthetic judgments â€Å"transcendental investigation ‘, while he is in search of conditions for recognition of all. To discover these terms means to discover to what extent is metaphysics possible as science. In the first part of metaphysics we seek transcendental conditions, universal and necessary knowledge of all things, and we are committed to stay within the limits of possible experience. The knowledge in this area consists of a final judgment S is P. We are dealing with things or objects and therefore judgments cannot be simply concepts and hence must be synthetic, adding to our knowledge. Our goal in the first part of metaphysics is to bring these items under the categories. But the categories are in themselves as empty files. They can be filled only if we look them by experience. How can one give to an abstract concept an experiencing filling? It is easy to illustrate with a first empirical content. Kant states: â€Å"The possibility of experience is . . . what gives objective reality to all our a priori cognitions. Experience, however, rests on the synthetic unity of appearances, that is, on a synthesis according to concepts of an object of appearances in general. Apart from such synthesis it would not be knowledge, but a rhapsody of perceptions which would not fit into context according to rules of a completely interconnected possible consciousness. . . . Experience, therefore, depends upon a priori principles of its form, that is, upon universal rules of unity in the synthesis of appearances. (Kant 1998). Have we arrived at the essence of metaphysics of the first part? Since the categories are a priori concepts that apply to each item, the corresponding rules for their application should be a priori rules with sensory content, unlike empirical content, a rule whose application is a retrospective sensory content. Kant is fulfilling his promise by providing us metaphysical principles which are synthetic a priori. Since all our perceptions are temporarily connected to each other, rules of application of the categories will be expressed in terms of different temporary connections that we know are a priori possible. Each of these predications, Kant calls the schema. The Schema of the category of reality is ‘being in a specified time. ‘ The Schema of substance category is ‘consistency of real in time. ‘ The result is vindication of metaphysics in its first part and the production of current metaphysical conclusions in this discipline. Kant believed that he had found the conditions that make possible empirical knowledge of things in general, and furthermore to show that metaphysics is possible as a science in the first part. But, what about the constituency for metaphysics in the second- in other words the study of all things considered collectively? This includes rational cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole, rational psychology, the study of the soul as something which refers to any possible knowledge, and rational theology study of the Creator and manager of everything. Kant argues that the attempt to demonstrate each of these issues is pointless. The major difficulty is that we cannot have an intuition of the universe as a whole, of the soul or God as a whole. Consequently, there is no possibility to connect the subject with the predicate in a synthetic judgment about these things, no way to verify or refute them. His conclusion is that although we may have certain knowledge in the first part of metaphysics we are excluded from the recognition in the second part of it. He reached this conclusion from a general argument, but he gives particular argument against the possibility of recognition in the second part of metaphysics. All of the alleged evidence for or against the thesis of the so-called science lead to logical absurdities. The whole universe, God, soul, his own free will and immortality can be thought of, but cannot be recognized, and the same can be said about things in themselves. All these things are noumena or simply understandable. Kant made the distinction between phenomenal and the noumenal reality. There is a difference between things we perceive and those that really do exist. The things we perceive he calls a phenomenon, while those that actually exist he calls noumena. Not only a phenomenon can be addressed to two different noumena (when two different things look the same) but also two different phenomena can be addressed to a single phenomenon (when the same thing looks different in different perspectives). Noumenon is a physical object and the phenomenon is how it looks. We cannot have any idea, what noumena are. We cannot know what is behind appearance, behind the information we receive from our senses. We cannot talk about what exists, if we don’t refer to phenomenal reality. We cannot know neither where nor noumena are, if they exist. We do not know for sure, if there is any different reality outside the reality we perceive. We cannot ever have real knowledge about noumenon in Kant’s opinion. Kant uses the word â€Å"knowledge† to refer more to what we know about the phenomenon than what we know about noumenon. This may seem like a contradiction: should not recognition be for real things, rather than simply for their appearance? But, the recognition for real things is impossible according to Kant, because we have no transcendental insight. We can think about real things, we can form beliefs about it, but we cannot have any knowledge about it because our knowledge of the world has only one source: the sensory data. (There are also other types of recognition but they do not apply to the world but only on the concepts and abstractions as mathematics. ). Since all our knowledge about the world is created by the sensory information and the sensory data are all phenomenal, then all our knowledge about the world is knowledge about the phenomena and not about noumena. I think Kant meant that although the phenomenon may be reason to talk about how something really is, only phenomena are not sufficient to show that something exists because the existence is the only feature noumena. To tell the truth one cannot have certain knowledge to show that something exists, we can only have faith that it exists. This means rocks and trees, as well as means God and the soul, but the difference is that for the trees and rocks it is not important if noumena actually exist. Even if a stone is nothing but a phenomenon, it kills again if someone hits with it, so I have to bow to avoid. Ultimately even my own head is also a phenomenon. No matter what is beyond what we know, because everything we have in the physical world are only phenomena, and this is what really counts. What can we know about things in themselves and other noumena as: God and soul? It is possible to know something about things in them, that they may not be space-time or be recognized by the application over to the categories. But this does not tell us how they are. Kant thought that we have a secure knowledge of things in themselves, that they exist, that they affect the way they affect the senses and contribute (help) content as opposed to the empirical form of recognition. We know that they exist by the fact that it would be absurd to talk about appearance if would not be out of something. We don’t know anything else about noumena. We do not know whether God exists or if everything is fixed or if we have free will, etc.. This does not mean that these concepts do not have a function. The concept of the universe as a whole, the concept of a legislator to the concept of rule and power over the universe, even though unverifiable, can serve as ideas of reasoning – as Kant calls them, that are regulatory to unify all knowledge into a system. Let us assume that we cannot know anything about noumena: is there any justification for believing that they exist or have this or that feature? By doing this question Kant did the distinction between belief and verification of a justification to accept it. The verification provides a full justification for accepting a belief and a refutation provides a justification to reject it. As long as we can prove or retort, the theoretical knowledge prevails and we are justified in accepting its results. But Kant thought he had shown that there are some things that cannot ever be prove or rejected. Then a question is arisen: is there any justification for believing than knowing? Kant said that once to the theoretical reason is given to what is up, the priority of practice asserts its interests. Where theoretical reason is concerned with what is, practical reason is concerned about what should be. The theoretical reason could not give us knowledge about subjects that go beyond the experience, therefore we should deny all its claims in this area and give these practical reason issues to the people. Kant says, â€Å"I must, therefore, abolish knowledge, to make room for belief† (Kant, 1998). Deny the knowledge and no reason, for practical reason is part of the reason, and because it limits the confidence in the minimum of required arguments, in Kant’s view, it is done to protect the morale -existence of God, freedom and immortality. Kant condemns the faith based on religious feelings. If we understand Kant upon his words, it will be said that he was defending the Enlightenment, the reason and the warning of disaster to come, if these will be abandoned in the name of â€Å"feeling†. Kant doesn’t deny the recognition, it is not a irrationalist. Kant raises a theory of knowledge, which wants to create a scientific metaphysic, rather than makes room to believe in God (religion); he tells us what we can know and what is beyond the scope of human knowledge. Kant had understood that his method would help religion. He writes that once one accept his theory, people will not disclose to unjustified conclusions on things that they cannot recognize and that religion would benefit from this, but I think he meant this as attempts to validate the idea that God exists or to prove that God does not exist. What Kant tells us is: we cannot ever know for sure that God and soul exist because we cannot have accurate knowledge of the noumenal existence. This is not an expression of irrationality, but quite the contrary, is an attempt to use rational thinking in order to distinguish it from what we know and what we simply believe. References Kant, I. (2002). Kritika e mendjes se kulluar. ( Ekrem Murtezai, Trans. ) Prishtine. (Original work published 1787) Kant, I. (1998). Critique of pure reason. (J. M. D Meiklejohn, Trans). Electronic texts collection. (Original work published 1787) Kant, I. (2002). Kritika e gjykimit. ( Dritan Thomollari, trans. ). Plejad. Bonardel, F. (2007). L’irrazionale. (Lucias della Pieta, Trans. ) Mimesis edizioni. Sgarbi, M. (2010). La logica dell’irrazionale. Studio sul significato e sui problemi della Kritik der Urteilskraft. Mimesis Edizioni(Milano-Udine)