Devolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Devolution - Essay Example Regional or local governments who get the power of home rule may also get some legal powers to have their own legislative framework and legal rules which they can apply to their region exclusively. In the United Kingdom, a case of devolution in seen in the 1997 referenda in Wales and Scotland when a devolved or regional government was created and this was followed by the establishment of Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, Northern Ireland Assembly and Greater London Assembly in 1999 (see O'Neill 2004; Trench 2004). The proposals for a devolved state in Wales and Scotland were made in 1979 although the actual implementation of such a proposal could only be made two decades later. However there have been no devolved governments or devolution within England as the Labour government faced defeat in their proposals for a devolved regional government in North East England in 2004. Since then there have been no successful plans of devolution or formation of local and regional governments within England and all are failed plans. Apart from Wales and Scotland, there has been a system of home rule in the US as District of Columbia represents a regional and devolved government and is under the sole control of the United States Congress and the district government was created by statute. ... Fothergill discusses three government reports to argue that the new directions set by the Labour government do not take account of the accumulated knowledge or even the long history and background of the UK regional policy, Thus the regional policies which are already existing have serious lessons to impart which the new approach of Labour government seems to be overlooking or ignoring. The paper further states that, 'The new approach (of Labour) also prioritizes the devolution of decision-making over positive discrimination from the centre in favour of less prosperous areas'. Thus devolution has become not just a means of constitutional settlement but a dynamic process of change with possible uncertain consequences. In the later part of the analysis we will consider the process of devolution using case studies, examples and research reports. Implications of Devolution Even following devolution, there are many issues and concerns that are applicable to devolved governments. Elliott et al (2005) write that public sector pay is of critical concerns to governments of Westminster and Edinburgh. Public sector pay accounts for the major part of the government's expenditure and when not controlled by the central government, may have to be controlled according to budget in case of regional or devolved governments. The quality and range of services provided by the public sector is largely dependent on this pay controlled by the government. Within the UK, there is a national rate of pay that may not be sensitive to labour market conditions. However many recent changes have been made and consequently in Scotland there have been pay scale revisions and "public sector

Retail Marketing and Logistics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Retail Marketing and Logistics - Case Study Example This paper will identify several theories and concepts on the subject of retail marketing and logistics. The focus of the paper is on one of the biggest international retail stores - 7-Eleven. The company, 7-Eleven, has a worldwide chain of convenience store in different countries. It is a leading operator, franchisor and licensor of convenience stores with 34,800 stores in 17 countries. The name of the company was derived from 7am to 11pm, its operating hours during the early stages of its existence. Today, the convenience stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The company started its humble beginning in Dallas, Texas on 1927 when an enterprising dock employee began offering milk, bread and eggs aside from its core business of selling blocks of ice. The first store was opened during Sundays and evenings; a time when grocery stores were closed. The business idea of an entrepreneur regarding convenience retailing was widely accepted by satisfied customers and became profitable through increased sales. Ironically, the story of 7-Eleven can be considered as the story of convenience shopping because it is the company that pioneered and invested on the idea. In 1991, two Japanese companies invested millions of dollar to finance the company in order to emerge from bankruptcy. As a result, 7-Eleven became a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven Eleven Japan Company which controls 70% of the company's stocks. The convenience stores in US and the rest of the world are mostly operated through licensees and affiliates. The paper will tackle the current positioning strategy of the company worldwide. 7-Eleven is positioned as a convenience retail store of consumer goods with diverse products and services that provides easy access to end-consumers. It is in the marketing strategies of the company and its brand name in the market that alleviated the market leadership of the company in convenience stores industry segment. The paper will also explore the competitive environment of global retailing industry where 7-Eleven plays as well as the different business strategies that the company employs in order to be recognised as the world's number one convenience store. At the end, the paper provides several recommendations for the company in order to sustain its growth in the retail industry. Identified opportunities for the company includes further geographical expansions and investment in private label brands as well as natural, organic products. Current Positioning Strategy 7-Eleven stores are positioned as low price general merchandise store that operates for consumer's convenience shopping. The convenience stores are saturated in high income and large traffic locations in order to exploit consumer spending. The strategy of the company is to become the preferred convenience store of consumers anytime anywhere. Retail Marketing Mix - Lauterborn's 4 Cs Consumer wants and needs The relationship marketing strategies of 7-Eleven follows the first C of retail marketing mix. The company identifies the customer's preferences and tastes as well as its buying trend through an integrated information system and in depth analysis of data. As discussed later on the paper, the layout of 7-Eleven store is carefully evaluated and is changed several times a day in order to respond to the buying

Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 6

Operations Management - Essay Example SPC is also found to provide a new insight of relationships between quality and productivity performance measures (Colledani and Tolio, 2009). In addition, by the use of statistical methods, SPC can be a powerful technique for monitoring, managing and analyzing and improving process performance (Chen et al., 2008). Knowing these significant views of SPC and its linked benefits primarily in a manufacturing industry is a foundation of the idea that perhaps, this technique can also be employed even in way beyond the bound of manufacturing industries, especially if those industries have the intention to enhance or improve quality, cost, productivity, human resource management, and customer relationship. Regarding this, the work at hand builds a report substantiating the idea that SPC can also be useful in service industries. There are major claims that are presented in this report that are backed by existing research studies that have important link with the importance of SPC in the serv ice industries. ... Undeniably, services have become integral components of the industrial goods, as manufacturing goods and providing services have come in a package as a notable trend (Johansson and Olhager, 2006). Johansson and Olhager found that the common ground between manufacturing and service operations can be observed within the need to analyse volume, variety, and process issues. In other words, one important connection between service and manufacturing activities is found within the actual operation. The actual operation in the real world is wider in its scope, but this does not deny the idea that every firm operation may it for manufacturing or service industry must require a certain process. To consider productivity, the issue of volume or variety cannot be overlooked. In fact, both service and manufacturing activities have certain target goals to obtain certain level of productivity output. However, this does not stop with the consideration of productivity alone. Profitability is another c oncern of every firm that is either a part of the manufacturing or service industry. In the case of firms manufacturing or selling goods, after-sales services are found to affect company’s profitability, customer retention and product development (Saccani et al., 2007). This finding reveals the thought that services can be the integral components of a manufacturing activity, and these two activities can therefore work to complement or support the other. Based on the cited information above, Saccani et al. would want to imply that in order to obtain profitability in the manufacturing industry, the need to consider after-sales services is a must. This is of great consideration, because establishing high-value for customers must

Aircraft Fleet Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Aircraft Fleet Planning - Essay Example Understanding the fundamentals of all these factors are essential to successfully managing the operations of an airline (The Global airline industry program, 2009). Tendency of fleet planning is becoming more market oriented as the airlines are placing more emphasis on the financial matter other than technical side of business. Aircraft acquisition planning is more challenging now than earlier with more new models on the market and countless pre-owned aircraft and refurbishment packages to choose from. So, airlines have mainly focused on following factors while implementing their fleet planning strategy. Costs: As like in other industries, in aviation also cost is a major factor towards a company’s success. The knowledge and control of the costs provided by the latest aircraft models, engines and fleet universality are the important aspects in the assessment of future fleet necessities. Along with fuel price hike airlines are also encountered with high input costs. Increasing manpower costs due to shortage of trained and skilled technical personnel exerts more burdens on aviation. Management has to provide high salaries and other benefits to employees to retain talented employees which cost more on them. The cost levels incurred by the airline will affect the ability to achieve profits from the operations and will determine the service level provided to customers, depending of the airline model. Officials have to take all these costs into account while planning their flight strategies. Price: Many airlines are applying low cost strategy in their fleet planning. Because, passengers preferred  low fares  than other facilities.  Low cost carriers  making available the air travel to people who were unable to travel by plane in the past. Pricing reflects the high levels of competition of the market. Demand: Demand is another factor where the strategy makers considered at the time of aircraft fleet planning. The demand by the customer regarding the ser vices provided and the fares offered would be the main aspect in ascertaining the appropriate fleet for a company. Capacity: Seating capacity  and its utilisation would also to be looked upon by the companies. The seats available for each route would be depending on the demand, frequently offered the type of aircraft to be deployed and specific characteristics of the routes. There are some regulatory issues which could reduce the capacity of an airline to operate on certain routes between two countries. These are implemented by respective countries in order to protect their national carriers or strategic routes. After evaluating all these factors, a reasonable profit earning fare would be fixed by the airline companies. They base their evaluation on a  cost benefit analysis  based on these factors when comparing the different available options for the fleet planning. At last, costs and revenues play their major role in deciding their strategy (Paul Clark, 2007). When adding mo re aircraft of the same The biggest revenue/cost saving of adding more aircraft of the same type is the compatibility and similarity. For example, The Boeing 777-200 is a long range jet airliner, and the world’s largest twinjet having a seating capacity of over 300 passengers. The Boeing 777 aircraft has

Black Swan Report Essay Example for Free

Black Swan Report Essay Unreliable narrator is a narrator who can’t be trusted, because of a bias point of view, ignorance or self-interest. In the other hand, a reliable narrator is trustworthy, impartial, and most of the times omniscient. I loved the point of view of this movie because it all happened from the point of view of Nina, the protagonist. If you have some general knowledge about psychological disorders you will suspect of Nina having schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder. Nina is not a reliable narrator, because her point of view of reality is altered. I believe that Nina doesn’t die at the end. We can’t trust her as a narrator. If she suffers schizophrenia, probably the scene in which she breaks the mirror and attacks Lily isn’t truth; therefore she couldn’t have stabbed herself. I also find it hard to believe the fact that she danced with a big blood spot the whole presentation and no one in the crew or crowd notice and she never fainted while dancing because of the loss of blood. I don’t believe the ending is real. I think the ending is symbolic and Nina â€Å"dying† as the white swan is actually Nina accepting that the world is not that good and she’s losing her innocence. Another thing can be that she lost her rational side and became totally insane. About the film, I believe some of the scenes were not necessary; they could have been less explicit. It was a great film and I loved the theme.

Nonprofit and charity organizations

Nonprofit and charity organizations Why are Volunteers Important? For many nonprofit and charity organizations volunteers are the life-blood that keeps the organization working and performing to its true purpose and goals. Without these unpaid volunteers the charity or nonprofit organisation would not be able to function because costs of employing paid workers would probably make it unviable. For any organisation that uses volunteers recruitment can cause a big headache. It is tempting to think that if someone is prepared to give up their time for free then that is all that is needed. This is a mistake. It is important to find the right people for the tasks that need doing but those people will need to have or be prepared to learn the required skills. Shared Values and Purpose Volunteers will also need to fit into the organization so they will need to have the beliefs and attitudes that the organization sees as being important in the role it aims to fulfil in society. This means an organization will need to have clear values and purpose and look for people who share them to recruit as volunteers. When selecting and recruiting volunteers consideration needs to be given as to why the organisation needs volunteers. It is likely that the financial considerations will be an important factor with the economy of unpaid volunteers favouring setting on paid staff. At the same time it is important to recognise that some members of the organisation may well need to be paid employees Them and Us Sometimes a them and us or volunteers and employees scenario may develop which may not be healthy for the organisation. It may be necessary to emphasise that paid employees are an essential part of the organisation and that volunteers will probably be the lifeblood. Rewards for Volunteers People rarely do something with out some kind of reward or return whether it is monetary, training, gaining experience, or for personal satisfaction. Volunteers will need to feel they are contributing and receiving. Ways will need to be found to ensure that both employees and volunteers feel they are valued and have a proper place within the organisation. Defining Boundaries It will be necessary to define the roles and boundaries within the organisation for employees and volunteers and define and communicate clearly what the organisation needs and expects from both which may differ. It will also be necessary to decide what the organization will give to the volunteer. This may be satisfaction and a sense of doing good work, training, experience, a good reference for future employees or perhaps something else. Whatever it is it will need to satisfy the volunteers expectations. To help ensure the nonprofit or charity organization gets the right person in the right place at the right time there will need to be an understanding of what roles are required and the type of people needed to fill them. Job Descriptions and Contracts It is a good idea to create a separate Job Descriptions and contracts for employees and volunteers. This will help define the boundary between employee and volunteer. This is important because some volunteers have been known to claim that they are employees with employees rights which can have serious legal implications. Also some employees may try to claim some of the volunteers perks, rewards or working conditions. The role, or roles, that the organisation want filling will need to be clearly defined to ensure that candidates are interviewed for the right position. An organisation may have several different roles it want to fill and it will be a waste of time interviewing a person who does not have any administration skills or interest in learning them for a role in administration. It is essential to define the role and then decide what skills the candidate will need to either have, or learn. Person Specification. It will be necessary to identify the characteristics and personal qualities and beliefs of the volunteer and their motives for volunteering to ensure that they are right for the organisation and in sympathy with the aims and mission of the organisation. A good idea is for an organization to decide the kind of person they will be looking for and decide what characteristics, attributes and skills are essential or desirable. Separate Recruitment Procedures and Policies The organisation will need to have a separate recruitment procedure and policies for employees and volunteers. This will be necessary to protect the organisation and also offer best protection for employees and volunteers. The organisation will need to comply with the law. Finding Volunteers When the organization has defined the role of the volunteer, created Job Descriptions, Contracts and Personal Specifications and knows exactly what sort of people they are looking for how do they find them? Word of mouth can be an effective and cheap way to find volunteers depending on the role of the volunteer and the numbers of recruits required. This can be effective for some organizations with employees, existing volunteers and their friends and neighbours spreading the word, or service users and their families doing the same. There are also various forms of advertising that can be used to help recruitment. Television, radio, internet, newspapers magazines can be expensive but reach a great number of potential recruits. Cheaper ways of advertising such as putting up posters in local shops, or leaving flyers in public places such as libraries can also work well as can simply handing them out in busy shopping centres. |What ever way the organisation decides to advertise the advertisement will need to have certain information displayed clearly. The name of the organisation and the nature, purpose and values needs to be made clear. It will also be important to display the role of the volunteers and the benefits they will receive. To make it easy for potential recruits the advertisement will need to display clearly how to apply, where to apply or get further information. A contact name, postal and email address and telephone number will help and encourage potential recruits to apply or ask questions. Information in the advertisement should be clear and simple, concise and inoffensive. It should stand out but for the right reasons. Once the method or methods of advertising have been decided and advertisements placed the next stage is to send out application packs with the Job Description, Person Specifications, Application Forms and any other information the organization wants to send or is required to send by law. The organization may decide it wants to keep to assign a date for the return of applications or it may decide to leave it open. Either way it should advise the potential recruit as well as advising them on how or when they will be informed if they are accepted for interview. Interviews The interview should give the organization the chance to access the candidates potential and consider how they will fit in. The previous work done on producing a Job Description and Personal Specification will be a big help in this. Before the interview takes place the format of the interview needs to be decided. For example, will it be a group interview, will there be tasks or tests, or it will candidates be interviewed individually? Decide who and how many people will interview candidates, what questions are going to be asked and how the answers will be rated. All candidates should be treated equally and fairly. When these points have been addressed then a timetable can be scheduled taking in advertising, closing dates, time to consider applications and sending out invitations. With all the preparation work done the interview should give the organization a good idea of if the candidate is suitable for them. Candidates need to be informed as soon as possible. Successful candidates should be informed first just in case they turn down the offer for some reason. An offer can then be made to the next best candidates if deemed suitable. It can also be useful to keep unsuccessful candidates details on file just in case a more suitable position comes up in the future This will save the need to advertise. It should be made clear to successful candidates that any offers are subject to suitable references, qualification checks and any legal checks that may need to be done. It may be necessary, depending on the role offered, for some, or all of these checks to be done before a starting date can be arranged. Getting the Right Person in the Right Place. Finding the right volunteers for a required role can be very difficult and time consuming and expensive. An unsuitable volunteer may cost the organization or charity a lot of money or cause damage to their reputation so it is essential to recruit the right people. If all of these points are considered and taken into account the nonprofit organization or charity will stand a very good chance of selecting the right volunteers for the right role at the right time.

The Argument Of A King By Martin Luther Religion Essay

The Argument Of A King By Martin Luther Religion Essay While Martin Luther King Jr.s audience, the white clergymen, accused him of his protests being unwise, untimely, and extreme, he effectively constructs an acceptable Christian definition of just and unjust laws, as well as what nonviolent direct action should entail by the use of an assortment of rhetorical techniques. In his inspirational literary piece, Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King addresses not only the 8 white Alabama clergymen, but also a larger array of citizens, explaining his views on the evils of segregation. He was aware of the clergymens lack of interest in how civil rights activists were breaking laws instead of handling the matter in a lawful, controlled manner. This led him to devising a more brilliant strategy for his rebuttal rather than an aggressive confrontation. He also knew that his words would be ignored, because all white clergymen and most religious non-supporters saw him as an inferior human being. Too often, arguments fail to bring about any type of understanding to the opposing side because each group has an assortment of important ideas that circle the basis of an argument from two different ends of the spectrum but very rarely tie together. Dr. King, therefore, realized that he must relinquish the role of an anti-segregationist and instead write in such a manne r that would portray him as a righteous man with similar views and characteristics with that of his target audience, which, in this case, were the clergymen and other white members. He employs Aristotles three means of persuasion, ethos, pathos, and logos, to accomplish this task. Discussing whether or not a law should be followed on the grounds of its virtue requires the individual to be one whom is worthy of explaining such matters. Rather than coming out directly and arguing that the clergymen were wrong, which would illustrate King in the same likes as other anti-segregationists, he takes a much more sensible approach to his opponents to show his readiness of discussing these matters in good nature and maturity. Dr. Kings effective use of rhetorical technique begins with the opening line. He states, My Dear Fellow Clergymen (King 213). This form of salutation completes two objectives. Firstly, it addresses the men who he disagrees with in a warm, welcoming fashion. The use of the word Fellow also creates a bond between King and his addressees, instead of separating them and making his letter seem quite offensive. The two aforementioned methods of using an affable type of welcoming set Kings letter up to be a logical discussion, rather than a customary disp ute in opposition to the clergymens views. King employs this method further into his letter when he identifies the men as men of genuine good will (King 214). King states that he understands their viewpoint on the subject at hand and acknowledges them as men with good intentions before he explains why he disagrees. If King instead accused these white clergymen, who happen to be heavily influenced by religion, of any act of sinfulness, he could have potentially lost their interest and respect exceptionally early in his letter. Another remarkable strategy used in Kings letter, also found in his opening excerpt, is the following: While confined here in Birmingham city jailà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (King 213). Rather than being interpreted as a meaningless introduction, it illustrates the readers interpretations of a cold, isolated, and unfeeling jail cell. Constructing this idea early into the minds of his addressees reminds them throughout the entire letter of where King is expressing these dee p, emotional feelings from, while they correspond from a significantly relaxed atmosphere. Having the foundation of his argument set in place, King begins to explain the hardship of African Americans in the South, and how despite their repeated efforts, they continuously fail to achieve recognized civil rights. He discusses the unjust laws keeping African Americans from the rights that they long to attain. Further into the letter, King introduces the reader to his assertion that unjust laws should not be obeyed faithfully; he explains, Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue (King 216). Using the phrase Southern lands, rather than explaining that it is the African American community experiencing these troubles, effectively directs the reader into realizing that the hardships are not only felt by a small group of people, but rather the entire South. The aforesaid passage builds a strong logical appeal: if, in a specific populace, a persons opinions are heard and acknowledged, then the possibility opens up of the laws in that region being unjust and in need of alteration. King is delicately persuading his addressees to concur with his impending arguments toward, what were at the time, the current segregation laws. Doing so will successfully rid the reader of any disagreement barrier when he writes You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern (King 218). Dr. King strives to display a mellow comprehension on a matter in which he lived to fight for, while simultaneously sympathizing with the sentiment of his opposition. The logical and emotional appeal displayed in Kings thoughtfully planned out reasoning attracts the reader further into wanting to consider the remains of his argument. A major occurrence in Kings letter that signifies his use of logical persuasion is seen with his quote from St. Augustine, an early bishop of the Christian Church who deeply influenced the spirit of Christianity for many centuries, where he explains, an unjust law is no law at all (King 218). Before delving into the subject of just and unjust laws, however, King mentions that he strongly agrees with obeying just laws. Doing so creates another ethical bond with his addressees, which happen to be the men in charge of protecting laws, showing them that he also happens to be an individual with good intentions. This quote also draws a connection between King and St. Augustine, almost explaining that if the Saint were still alive, he would support Kings endeavors. This is an important passage to note due to the fact that Ki ngs addressees were strongly influenced by religion at the time, therefore, making connections through religious correspondence was a legitimate form of communicating his ideas. The use of several occurrences when Christians broke unjust laws and resisted unreasonable rules because of their belief in God attempts to make a connection between Kings actions and those of early Christians. This effectively portrays Kings ethical characteristics to his audience; placing him above the standards of what many white readers would see him as. Bringing religion into his argument forces the clergymen to re-evaluate their statement about the impropriety of disobeying segregation laws because it would be out of the question for them to argue against Kings biblical correlations. Although there appear to be a large display of literary techniques used by Dr. Martin Luther King to gain respect and approval from his addressees, one may argue against many of Kings ideals. One of which would be his main argument; the use of nonviolent direct action. The concern of the efficacy of nonviolent direct action arises, and ideas begin to develop on whether or not violence is actually needed in order to communicate ones viewpoint. As with anything else in the world, no action is guaranteed to work every time. Although nonviolence does have its drawbacks, as seen in Burma and China, it has a relatively strong effectiveness. There have been dramatic improvements in civil and political rights over the past two decades, and nonviolent action has played a crucial role in this transition, including the downfall of dictatorships in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Nonviolent struggles in recent decades have not only led to significant political and social reforms advancing the cause of human rights, but have also even toppled repressive regimes from power and forced leaders to change the very nature of their governance. As a result, nonviolent resistance has been evolving from an informal strategy associated with religious or ethical principles into an insightful, even institutionalized, method of resistance. One may also argue against Kings religious references, stating that these analogies wouldnt apply to those persons who were not as heavily involved with religious, or, happened to be a part of a group aside from Christians. In such case, King emotionally appeals to every true American when he finishes his letter off discussing World War II. He reminds the reader that everything Hitler did was considered lawful at the time, and that aiding the Jewish civilians in German-controlled regions was deemed unlawful. This example from King is one that touches the hearts of many, since at the time WWII had recently ended yet still rested in the thoughts of every American. Drawing such a comparison was an extremely effective, however delicate, way for King to emotionally persuade, and show that, religious or not, the act of killing another human being can never be established as lawful. King was quite aware of the white clergymens use of several caustic messages of altercation underlying the very sophisticated words that were used to compile their public statement that inspired him to write this letter. He therefore took it upon himself to strike back with a similarly professional tone, addressing both what the clergymen claimed and the implications they overlooked in their views. His ability to compose a logical, even-tempered, argument, with such anger and frustration hidden deep in his heart, truly gains him the respect of the reader. With this acquired respect, he therefore is able to justifiably express his views on just and unjust laws. His addressees, who have already been swayed both expressively and plausibly, are pushed even further into creating a whole-hearted bond with a man who many considered an inferior human being. It is by this extraordinary display of writing and technique that King is able to communicate his viewpoints in a way that is both ratio nal and nonviolent.