Nightmare Cover Art Essay

Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. The band was formed in 1999. Presently, they consist of Matt Shadows(Vocalist), Johnny Christ(Bassist), Zacky Vengeance(Rhythm Guitarist) and Synyster Gates(Lead guitarist). Matt Sanders(M. Shadows); the lead singer of the band is one of the original founding members. He came up with the band name on being inspired by the fourth chapter in the Book of Genesis. It involves God asking Cain where his brother, Abel was. Cain answered that he didn’t know, when in fact, he had killed Abel. â€Å"†¦ whoever kills you will suffer seven times the vengeance.† (Genesis 4:15, International Standard Version). Jonathan Seward(Johnny Christ) is the fourth bassist, and joined the band while he was still in High School in the year 2003. He is the youngest and shortest in the band. Zack Baker(Zacky Vengeance) is the band’s left-handed rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist. Zacky was a self-taught guitarist and would play his dad’s right-handed guitar upside-down by watching his favourite bands play and other people he knew that played, and practised as much as he could. Brian Haner Jr.(Synyster Gates) plays the lead guitar, and does backup vocals for the band. His father is Brian Haner. He also plays in some Avenged Sevenfold tracks. He mostly plays acoustic guitar solos that duel back and forth with Synyster’s electric guitar and also helped his son write â€Å"So Far Away†, a track on the band’s latest album that Brian had finished writing in memory of his late best friend and band-mate, Jimmy â€Å"The Rev† Sullivan. The Rev was known to the world as one of the greatest drummers of all time. He passed away on 28th December 2009, due to an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. Avenged Sevenfold kicked off with a metalcore sound on their first album ‘Sounding the Seventh Trumpet’, which included a lot of screaming vocals and heavy-metal guitar riffs. They then changed their style on their third release, ‘City of Evil’, which featured more of a mainstream hard rock style. They have still retained their heavy metal feel by using blazing guitar solos and blistering double-bass drumming patterns, while keeping their musical aggression at a minimum level compared to their earlier work which makes their music all the more appealing to the larger crowd. â€Å"The Rev ‘Seized the Day’ to conquer the ‘City of Evil’ in ‘Bat Country’, and forced the ‘Beast and the Harlot’ to ‘Scream’ their ‘Unholy Confessions’. He left them ‘Trashed and Scattered’ and ‘Blinded In Chains’ with the ‘Strength of the World’. He found it ‘Almost Easy’ and became a ‘Sidewinder’ and slithered to ‘A Little Piece of Heaven’ in his ‘Afterlife’, now he is ‘M.I.A.’ and his ‘Nightmare’ has come to pass. RIP Jimmy â€Å"The Rev† Sullivan, you’re gone but NEVER forgotten!† Sevenfold, A. (n.d.). Quote by Avenged Sevenfold. Retrieved December 10th, 2012 from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/308559-the-rev-seized-the-day-to-conquer-the-city-of This meaningful quote is a tribute to the late legend and also uses quite a few of Avenged Sevenfold’s track names as characteristics of the quote to convey a very important message about The Rev’s personality. Avenged Sevenfold has released five studio albums, fifteen singles, and one live album/compilation. The album artwork of their latest album ‘Nightmare’ deeply reflects on the music and the band’s life without their beloved friend, The Rev. The musicality has advanced since their emergence and this is their most technically advance album yet. At first glance, it’s no doubt that the band is Avenged Sevenfold. Not just because of the text stating the obvious, but because of their signature symbol that they have made known all over the world as the â€Å"Deathbat†. It was originally designed by their high school friend named Micah Montague. The Deathbat is the key element in almost any Avenged Sevenfold image or poster and has also appeared on every album cover, many of which were done by Cameron Rackam, a close acquaintance of the band. Another key element in this album’s artwork is the noticeable highlighting of the alphabets ‘REV’ in the word ‘Forever’ on the tombstone. There is a pretty deep connection through whic h emotions play a major role as to how the overall message is being conveyed, which in this case is the fact that The Rev; who was by no doubt a great person and who was loved by the whole world; has moved on into his afterlife and that his memories will be treasured in everyone’s hearts and minds ‘foREVer’. With regard to color theory, it’s safe to say that Nightmare’s album art is analogous in nature. Ranging from the green(dark; leaves) end to the blue end of the color spectrum wheel. In terms of temperature, this artwork has been designed to incline more towards the cooler half of the spectrum as it can be easily inferred because of its blue sky, especially at the point where the smoke is lighter in colour, in turn providing a chilled and cold effect. The girl’s pale skin is also a sign of fear which is a marvellous combination of taking the word ‘cold’ both, literally as well as metaphorically. The fonts used are pretty spooky too. The frequent uneven thickness in certain parts of different letters in ‘Avenged Sevenfold’ makes it the most noticeable component of the art. Also, as it is white in colour, it stands out from the rest of the contrasting colours. The red ‘Nightmare’ is the only warm colour used in the entire cover. It must be so because the artist was trying to convey feelings of passion and love towards their late friend. But also since the font has more edgy feel to it, it could have slight traces of anger and anxiety too. The deathbat here is no longer just a floating skull with small wings. The symbolism used here shows that the band has grown in maturity as well as musically; hence the large deathbat with a cloak covering its presently unknown body. The album is titled ‘Nightmare’ as it is a dark word that sends shivers down one’s spine. They’ve used a good combination of the cold environment in the picture along with the hot portrayal of the album-name(red in colour). It is called so because on the day they completed writing the record’s lyrics, The Rev admitted that he was totally excited and eager to record this album. But sadly, he passed away three days after that. This came as a shock to everyone and was a nightmare to the band. Hence they dedicated this album to him. Every time I look at the cover while listening to any of this album’s songs, it feels as though a story is being told. Every song is a reminder of The Rev and that was another reason why this album topped the billboard charts, standing at #1 in the first week itself. This album really connected to all Avenged Sevenfold fans.

Review Your Own Role and Responsibilities and Boundaries as a Teacher

The teaching/training cycle is an invaluable model that should inform the practice of any teacher, of any subject. The beauty of it is that it provides a structure so that both teachers and trainers can assess and refresh their practice and, at the same time, review their role, responsibility and boundaries. By following the training cycle, teachers should be able to instill greater understanding of the course that is being taught and to afford students greater enjoyment and satisfaction. At the beginning of the cycle is the assessment. The teacher’s role in this case is that of an assessor and a reviewer. Assessing entails finding out the students’ preparedness in terms of t any learning disabilities heir existing knowledge; their literacy and numeracy level; their preferred learning style any also learning disabilities. This initial assessment will be invaluable for the planning of the course and for catering for all participant students. The initial assessment can take up to three weeks however, some colleges / institutions may interview students before the beginning of the course to ascertain their suitability etc. Irrespective of prior assessment, teachers should do a proper assessment when they meet with their students and continue throughout the teaching cycle. During the assessment process teachers may find a whole host of needs that need to be catered for, or barriers to learning. They could range from physical needs such as disability or dyslexia, to social needs deriving from the inability of interacting with the student community or intellectual stemming from the lack of previous academic experience or from the length of time required to process information, and include cultural needs too, expressed in terms of beliefs and values. In this first stage teachers needs to be sensitive and respectful of the needs of the students who may not wish to divulge information about themselves, which they consider private. At the same time teachers must ensure that confidentiality is kept. Having assessed the class, teachers’ second role is that of a planning according to needs, researching any unknown and organizing timings, material etc. Teaching should meet both students’ needs and course requirements, particularly if leading to an exam. There may already be a syllabus in which case it needs to be adapted or the teacher may need to write a new one. In both cases the learning outcome must be clearly defined so that time, resources and delivery / assessment methods are carefully selected. If courses are leading to a qualification then teacher need to be also aware of the requirements of the awarding body and make sure that all outcomes are reached within the time frame provided. Due consideration should also be given to health and safety. In the third element of the cycle teachers may take on board many roles; from lecturer to mentor, from coach to listener, from assessor to presenter, all the while maintaining their professionalism. This goes from their day to day behaviour to (i. e. ) dressing appropriately and maintaining a distance that allows for trust and respect) to being a good communicator and being prepared for the session. Each lesson should be well planned with a beginning (introduction and objectives), a middle (main body of lecture) and an end (drawing conclusions). Teachers have also the responsibility of keeping records of students and of their own lesson plans and reflections. The delivery of the material should be varied and take into account the number of learners and their learning styles. With the forth role the teacher becomes an assessor but also a marker and a provider of feedback. Teachers should set the assessment in line with the objectives of the course / lesson and make sure that the level is appropriate for the students. Teachers have a great responsibility to monitor the progress of their students throughout the course and also at the end. The assessment methods should be fair and valid for the session and the course. Teachers should also make sure that students are aware of the assessment requirements and that they are ready to meet the criteria. The feedback should be constructive and timely, making sure that any criticism is accompanied by praise. All feedback / assessment should be formally recorded. The last phase of the cycle is the evaluation. In this phase teachers continues to be assessors and reviewers but add an element of research dictated by the need to act upon any changes. Teachers need to review continuously the effectiveness of their teaching both in terms of content, delivery and esources. All teachers should complete an evaluation at the end of each session highlighting strength and weaknesses and areas for development for future sessions. They should also ask students to assess the session(s) verbally or otherwise although students’ achievements should give a good indication of how effective the teaching is. All feedback should be incorporated into the following sessions however, changes should be made only if they benefit the majority of students and if they are in line with the awarding body or the institute’s policy.

Poetic Devices Used by Seamus Heaney in Blackberry-Picking Essay

Blackberry-picking is a retrospective and recollecting poem by Seamus Heaney. In it he mentions one of his childhood incidents. The poem is sensuous and appeals to the five senses. He uses various poetic devices to depict a memorable picture in our minds. Usage of the five senses is very important to the success of treating a picture in our minds about what the experiences of blackberry-picking must have been like for Heaney. He writes about the sight of the blackberries, the fell of then, how they tasted, the sound of the blackberries when they hit the bottom of the cans and finally the smell of rot when the blackberries go rotten. These uses of the senses are used very well, so well in fact that you can imagine being there with Heaney. There are many uses of senses in the poem, for example he uses sight more than smell and touch. A few examples of the uses are when Heaney use sight at the start of the poem describing the blackberries as ‘a glossy purple clot’. This describes the color of the berry and is referring it to a blood clot which is quite gleefully gory and imaginative and therefore childlike. He also described the shape of the blackberries like a clot, and possible the fell of it too, rather soft and juicy. Heaney also describes the berries taste in these lines, â€Å"You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet, like thickened wine; summers blood was in it†. In these lines Heaney, describes the taste and color of the berries by using the simile, â€Å"like thickened wine† and metaphor, â€Å"summers blood was in it†. The impressions of the taste is very sweet and fleshy, you can almost imagine the juicy fleshy berry in you mouth, tasting the sweet flavor. Heaney also describes the sound of the berries as they hit the bottom of the tins he describes the sound as ‘tinkling’ using onomatopoeia, another poetic device. Then Heaney goes on to describe the feel of the juice on his hands by saying, â€Å"our palms sticky as Bluebeards†. He was comparing the berry juice to the blood on Bluebeards hand. Bluebeard used to be a murderer and his hands would have been sticky with the blood of his victims. Heaney ends the poem by describing the smell of the berries once they have gone rotten by saying, â€Å"juice was stinking too† and â€Å"lovely canfuls smelt of rot†. When describing the smell he is very blunt and basic and he has chosen to do this to sort of show his disgust of how the berries have spoiled. Along with onomatopoeia, Heaney uses other poetic devices to help us create a picture on our minds about the experience, Heaney uses similes and metaphors like â€Å"like a plate of eyes†. Here Heaney is describing how the berries look, as they lay oiled up in the tins, looking like a plate of eyes, again, his thoughts quite childish and gory. Heaney use of metaphors is good as well. He says, â€Å"Like thickened wine, summers blood was in it†. Heaney is describing the sight of the berry, red like wine. He also may be comparing the taste of the berries to the taste of wine. The over all effect of the poem is quite impressive and appealing. The colorful recollecting memories of childhood give and impression of nostalgia of the poet.   Heaney uses a variety of poetic devices, metaphors, similes, personification, onomatopoeia, word choice and rhyming to create a vivid image of his childhood experience of blackberry picking as a child, this makes the poem. Works Cited Seamus Heaney: Blackberry-Picking: Accessed on April 04, 2008 from http://www.eliteskills.com/c/5597

Vulnerability Analysis and Network Architectures (Homeland Security) Essay

Vulnerability Analysis and Network Architectures (Homeland Security) - Essay Example Despite the fact that power failures may last for some hours, crude oil pipelines destruction could deny refinery service for days, while a fire explosion could result to longer damages, for instance months. This means that the probability as well as cost for each occurrence will vary short of any known certainty. Replacement of refinery may cost over one billion dollars and the production loss of 500 barrels every day something that may result to severe revenue implications and shortages leading to increase in price in gasoline stations. Critical nodes within the supply chain storage components happen to be large capacity clusters that are located within major transport nodes. Most deliver 95 million gallons every day in average, gasoline, home heating oil, national defence fuels, kerosene as well as diesel oil (Kingsley, 2011). Their estimated market share of 20%of national supply, as well as boast the world’s major network of petroleum distribution. Their carrying capacity makes them very vulnerable. 2. IT-IASC or the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Centre, was founded in the 2001 January by 19 prominent companies in the IT field including IBM, Computer Sciences, Oracle and EDS. The main role for IT- ISAC is serving as the central respiratory for information related to security. The purpose of the group is he sharing of information for each company that is about security attacks as well as vulnerabilities amongst all the members. The member organizations are expected to report any information that concerns security problems they have or the resolutions that they have discovered with regard to such problems. In accordance to FBI, IT-ISAC is supposed to increase the levels of security as well as reduce the monetary losses for the members. This during a time when the company can incur $400,000, as cost for an average attack (Rouse, 2014) In May 1998, President Clinton issue the presidential directive 63,

Women of Color at the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women of Color at the Workplace - Essay Example Today, the community comprises almost one-fifth of the workforce in the United States. Research indicates that major developments have happened regarding the recruitment of women of color in the recent past. The enlisting of each segment of women looked into such as Black American, Latino, Asian and Aboriginals, increased in the recent past (Amott and Matthaei 157). More females from all the categories are absorbed as officials and key members of the executive teams in the industrial sector. This paper examines how women of color used feminism to increase their power in the workplace. Statistics According to Amott and Matthaei (53) â€Å"Native Americans struggling for tribal autonomy and for the recognition of broken treaties have also had to confront corporate greed †¦Ã¢â‚¬  This implies that women of color have achieved tremendous gains, in terms of population at the workplace and the statuses of workplace environments, though not easily. Despite the progress made, there ar e still a number of stubborn occurrences which require more concern. Quite a large number of women of color tend to prefer particular industrial sectors and seem to have concentrated in insignificant occupational positions. Statistics indicate that â€Å"Native American women’s labor force participation rates rose sharply between 1970 and 1990, from 35 percent to 55 percent† (Amott and Matthaei 59). Nevertheless, in the recent past, they have achieved the smallest returns regarding total absorption into jobs and positions of significance, far smaller than the level of growth of Latinos and Asians. In the meantime, black women surpass their work force percentage as sales employees, clerical officers and those in the service sector. Notably, the Nursing and Residential Care Facilities sector absorbs the largest proportion of Black American women vis-a-vis the greatest proportion of women in general. Replacing men during World War I Whereas the chance for the women to ext end their careers came into fore during the First World War, there were several grounds why women of color transformed their principles to occupy the new job opportunities left by men. The main reason behind more women power at the workplace was inspired by patriotism factor. The then message from the government summoned women to support the country. Equally linked to this patriotic call was the need to engage in something more fascinating and different, and an issue which would enhance the combat effort. Higher remuneration, also partly contributed, as did the prevailing shore up in social status, though a number of women of color took up the opportunities in the workplace out of absolute need, because of the government program, which differed by country and eventually rooted for only the families of absent military officers did not meet the shortage. Unions and strikes Although, the war resulted in many new options for the women and job opportunities, it did not normally impact an increase in the earnings of the women, which were traditionally much poorer than men’s. In the United States, for instance, rather than offer a woman what a man would have pocketed, according to government policies on equal regulations, recruiters divided responsibilities down into less significant tasks, employing more women of color for each task and offering them peanuts for carrying out the responsibility. This increased the bureaucracy of the women, but shrunk their earnings. During the World War I, women organized strikes citing meager pay, developments that lasted days or several weeks as the war transpired. Amott and Matthaei (56) indicate that in 1980s, â€Å"American Indian women continued to form pan-Indian women’s organizations for self-determination and against sexism.†

Answer the questions provided with 1-2 paragraph answers. It is about Essay

Answer the questions provided with 1-2 paragraph answers. It is about Edmund Berke and his book - Essay Example Do they all say the same thing? Burke is saying that order must be maintained in a civilized society. This is particularly true when concerning assets. He felt that giving people assets they had not worked for would cause confusion. Burke’s phrase ‘good order’ means law and order. This is not to say the Burke thought the French should accept tyranny, but he advocated going about resisting within the French law, not a revolution. (142-143) Burke stated ‘Nobility is a graceful ornament to the civil order. It is the Corinthian capital of polished society.’ Noblesse oblige means that royalty and nobility have certain social responsibilities toward one’s subjects. 7. What are the limitations placed upon (or the fences around) the British House of Commons? Why does it need to be fenced in like that? (38ff. and pages 164/165) And how is this different from the French National Assembly after the Third Estate declared itself as the whole of the Assembly and the other estates/strata accepted that fact? Before that what were the three orders/estates in French society? ‘After all, if the House of Commons were to have a wholly professional and faculty composition, what is the power of the House of Commons, circumscribed and shut in by the immoveable barriers of laws, usages, positive rules of doctrine and practice, counterpoised by the House of Lords, and every moment of its existence at the discretion of the crown to continue, prorogue, or dissolve us? The power of the House of Commons, direct or indirect, is indeed great; and long may it be able to preserve its greatness, and the spirit belonging to true greatness, at the full; and it will do so, as long as it can keep the breakers of law in India from becoming the makers of law for England. The power, however, of the House of Commons, when least diminished, is as a drop of water in the ocean, compared to that residing in a settled majority of your National Assembly. That

The standard policy of new technology applied in distribution power Essay

The standard policy of new technology applied in distribution power network - Essay Example not merely includes within its ambit, interlinked transmission systems, but moves ahead to encompass all the aspects of energy industry that is energy generation, transmission, distribution and consumption (Saint 2009). It includes within its scope, the energy related technicalities at the household and industrial level. It is a pity that in the last few years, much stress has been laid on developing efficient household and industrial complex distribution and transmission models; a commensurate enthusiasm was not shown in developing smart distribution networks. In this context, the concept of Smart Grid is path breaking and ingenious. There is no denying the fact that the US Energy Policy and Security Act of 2007 is a trail blazing strategy that has laid down the framework for standardizing policies pertaining to new technologies in the distribution power networks (Saint 2009). The strategy enshrined in this document not only aspires to achieve maximum reliability and obliterating an y barriers to the development and deployment of Smart Grid, but also intends to gain in terms of energy savings and making cost effective investments in the realm of Smart Grid (Saint 2009). The standard policy towards energy distribution in the developed countries around the world tends to encourage the modernization of transmission and distribution systems, while making way for dependable, fool proof and reliable power infrastructure that can adjust to and accommodate any future alterations in demand and technology. The crux of the Smart Grid is to facilitate a demand response that is in consonance with the ethos of free markets and economies, and also enables the consumers to have a proactive role in adjusting their energy needs to the changing prices (Saint 2009). At the same time it intends to exploit all the possible power generation and storage options, by it the wind, solar or bio energy (Saint 2009). The eventual idea is to forge such an approach towards energy generation and

Law TL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Law TL - Essay Example First, the volume of requests would weigh down an already stagnate Congress. Secondly, the nine exemption of the FOIA act would have to be suspended as well. National defense, geological records, personnel files, and more would be fair game to request. This could possibly cause the country to fall in a war. While a reporter might have only wanted an email between McCain and his wife, national security could be breached in other emails or phone calls. The nine exemptions were put into place to avoid these problems. 2. Do you believe that the federal government should be able to create whatever laws it deems to be in the countrys best interests, or do you believe that individual states, like New York and Texas, should have more control over the laws within their own boarders?   When is it appropriate for the federal government to override the states?   Are there instances where the federal government should leave matters to the states and, if so, what kind of matters are best left to states? Personally the thought of ‘states’ rights’ in 2015 is offensive. The Civil War determined that that Federal rights supersede states’ rights in order to keep the United States whole. States’ rights need have a guideline to follow due to the fact all states must recognize laws from other states. This is why the Supreme Court decides issues like abortion, gay marriage, and so forth. If states’ rights were more important, gay marriage would not be legal in some states, but normal in others. States have the flexibility to make laws within Federal guidelines. For example, the death penalty is legal in Texas, but not in Iowa. It is up to the Supreme Court to interpret the laws passed by Congress, states, and other judicial rulings. On-line anonymity has been both a blessing and a curse.   The ability to state an opinion without having to reveal ones identity has allowed for greater

Short and Long Term Affects on Fetal and Child Development When Essay

Short and Long Term Affects on Fetal and Child Development When Exposed to Cocaine in Utero - Essay Example Short and Long Term Affects on Fetal and Child Development When Exposed to Cocaine in Utero Another aspect of self regulation is heart rate: â€Å"Specifically, HR is predictive of later cognitive development and may impact reactivity to external stressors. An elevated resting HR is indicative of a higher level of physiological arousal which impacts both the quality and quantity of infant responsiveness to stimulation† (Schuetze 2006). Clearly, an elevated infant heart rate can be indicative of over-stimulation and a precursor to later cognitive developmental delays. Other aspects of self regulation or homeostasis that are thought to be affected by cocaine use in utero are respiration, blood pressure, sleep patterns, and body temperature. Studies have also indicated that cocaine use by pregnant women reduces blood flow to the placenta and causes fetal vasoconstriction. The placenta is the virtual nutrient source for the fetus. Adequate blood flow to the placenta and overall placental health are critical to fetal health. Cocaine is responsible for inducing the release of certain body chemicals called serotonin and/or epinephrine. The release of these two chemicals has a direct affect on vascular tone and therefore affects the vascular health of the fetus as well as the placental blood flow. Fetuses which develop in utero with a less than healthy placenta experience both short and long term developmental effects as well as defects.

The contribution of black women to the African American freedom Essay

The contribution of black women to the African American freedom struggle between 1865 and 1940 - Essay Example Gates et al. (2012; p.492) state that â€Å"political participation has been a fundamental constant in the lives of African American people† and this statement is verifiable by the great testaments of the struggle for freedom and justice that black men and women have portrayed and displayed with relentless and enduring determination in the past. Sheriff et al. (2011; p.432) observe that the beginnings of the African American struggle are outlined in the people’s quest for independence from dominance, supremacy of the other and slavery. Certainly, the role of black women in carrying this vision, guiding it towards its realization and ensuring that the struggle for independence evolves into the achievement of equality has been critical and of immense importance. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the contributions of black women to the African American freedom struggle by directing specific focus towards the analysis of the period lasting between 1865 and 1940. The discussion in the succeeding sections of the paper aims to establish a critical view of the role that black women played in achieving the aims that were advanced by early writers, journalists, historians, leaders and freedom fighters between 1865 and 1940. ... The adoption of this framework throughout the progress of the analysis essentially enhances the comprehensiveness and depth of the research by suggesting that the actions of a human being cannot be understood in their entirety unless the fundamental role that various systems, entities and organizations play in dictating those behaviors and decisions is fully acknowledged and realized (Gates 2012; p.493). Therefore, in comprehending the actions of black women that were fundamentally motivated by their desire for freedom, equality and independence their intersectional positioning within the wider context of society is of the utmost importance. Consequently, by implementing the foundations of this approach the one-dimensionality and generality of exclusively assessing a single individual is removed such that the individual does not essentially depict the true story of the black women’s role in the African American struggle for freedom and the hardships they had to suffer during t he course of their journey. In accordance with the observations of this framework of analysis the foundations of black women’s historical role in the political advancement of African American agenda is said to be an amalgamation of racism and sexism (Gates 2012; p.494). Collier-Thomas and Franklin (2001; p.2) suggest that even though, stories which reflect the selfless participation of African American women in the civil rights movement have only come to light by writers and researchers in recent decades these assessments have provided a comprehensive view of the state of black women in various epochs which is indicative of their tremendous progress to the present day. The foremost aspect in the critical evaluation of the contributions of black women in the African American freedom struggle

Financial Performance Analysis Essay Example for Free

Financial Performance Analysis Essay This project work has not formed the basis for the award of any degree/ diploma by Bangalore University or any other university. Name of the Guide: Mr. Jagdish Designation: Place: Bangalore Date: Guide’s Signature. This is to certify that this project work title â€Å"A study on the financial performance of the Aamp;S Inc. † is based on an original project study conducted by Monisha Tirkey (07JJC08051) of BBM under the guidance of Mr. Jagadish K. K. This project work is based on original and has not formed the basis for the award of any degree / diploma by Bangalore University or any other university. Monisha Tirkey hereby declare that this project work titled â€Å"A study on the financial performance of the Aamp;S Inc. † is based on the original project conducted by me under the guidance of Mr. Jagadish K. K. This has not been submitted earlier for the award of the award of any other degree / diploma from Bangalore University or any other university. Student Name: Monisha Tirkey Registration Number: 07JJC08051 Place: Bangalore Date: The successful completion of this project would not have been possible without the guidance, help and timely assistance from a number of people. I should at the very outset express my gratitude to the almighty God for his wonderful plan that brought me into this institution for my studies and for helping me throughout the project. I also thank HOD, Mr. Surendranath Reddy, who encouraged me to undertake this project. I express my sincere thanks to Mr. Jagdish, my guide, for the valuable help he extended in carrying out this project.

Do pure monopolies exist Essay Example for Free

Do pure monopolies exist Essay â€Å"No firm is completely sheltered from rivals; all firms compete for consumer dollars. If that is so, then pure monopoly does not exist. Do you agree? † (Brue, McConnell, Flynn, 2010). I would have to agree with this statement. I do not believe that there is such a thing as a pure monopoly. There are always alternatives or substitutes available when choosing to purchase products or services from firms. Pure monopoly exists when â€Å"a single firm is the sole producer of a product for which there are no close substitutes† (Brue, McConnell, Flynn, 2010). There are less pure forms of monopoly and near-monopolies, but not totally pure monopolies. There are several main characteristics that must be present in order for a pure monopoly to exist. These are: single seller, no close substitutes, price maker, and blocked entry. A pure monopoly is an industry in which a single firm is the sole producer of a specific good or the sole supplier of a service. Their product is unique in that there are no close substitutes, therefore, consumers who decide not to purchase the monopolized product must do without it. Many people will argue that electric companies are pure monopolies. I disagree because there are alternatives available: oil, propane, natural gas, solar, and wood are substitutes that can be used as sources of light and heat. The pure monopolist controls the total quantity supplied and as a result has considerable control over price; it is a price maker. The pure monopolist confronts the usual downward-sloping product demand curve and can change its product price by changing the quantity of the product it produces. A pure monopolist faces no immediate competition because certain barriers keep potential competitors from entering the industry. Those barriers may be economic (economic of scale), technological, legal (patents and licenses), or of some other type. In a pure monopoly entry is totally blocked. All firms compete with rivals for product sales, whether they control the entire market for a product or not. The control over a market and product does not necessarily mean there is not competition. Even if one single firm were to control an entire market and their product, there is always another firm that can produce a product that holds the same qualities and is closely related to the other. The post office is usually our first choice when we want to send a letter or package, but it also has competition from FedEx, UPS, and DHL. If there were a situation where there was a market that did not have to compete with another market over product sales, there would always be competition when it comes to the amount of money they need to bring in. Many characteristics must be present to classify firms as pure monopolies. There may be less pure forms such as: the water company, the cable TV company, and the local telephone company, and near-monopolies such as: Intel, First Data Corporation, and De Beers, however, I do not believe that pure monopoly exists. All firms compete with rivals for product sales, whether they control the entire market for a product or not. When choosing to purchase products or services from firms there are always alternatives or substitutes available even though they may not be our first choice. References Brue, S. L. , McConnell, C. R. , Flynn, S. (2010). Essentials of Economics (Ashford Custom 2nd ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Introduction And Project Methodology Management Essay

Introduction And Project Methodology Management Essay As firms grow the role of the founder needs to change (Burns 2007, p242). For the growth of a firm as well as for the behaviour of its entrepreneur-cum-leader, academic and business knowledge offers numerous simplistic models and frameworks. A key question is not only whether these models from two different subjects growth model on one hand and leadership model on the other hand fit together, but whether a certain industry with certain entrepreneurs demonstrates behaviour different to theory. In this project, the group will explore how different entrepreneurs with different leadership styles and personality can still be successful in taking their creation through different stages of business growth for the same product/ service and how they can continue to maintain the differentiation. In the assignment, we will also test our findings (matching patterns and exceptions) with what we have studied in this module. Greiners five phase growth model and five stages of a business growth have been used (and sometime interchangeably) by us to test patterns from practice with theory for the low cost airlines (LCC low cast carriers). Project Methodology First, we did a group discussion to familiarise with the topic of growth stages and leadership approaches based on material of the MBA modules Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management and Perspectives of Leadership. Section 2 gives a brief overview of the groups understanding of leadership approaches from academic knowledge and experience to be linked with practical evaluation later. As from the second step the focus was from practice to theory which is covered in Section 3. We decided for the Low-Cost-Carrier Industry to be evaluated. Third, we defined which LCC Airlines to be evaluated and compared to each other and which features would be evaluated. Second and third stage of the project methodology is covered by Section 3.1. Fourth, we collected primary and secondary data through intense research in press, internet, articles, personal interviews, etc. and bundled them into a template (see Appendix 2). Fifth, we evaluated and compared the collected data for analysing as result (section 3.3). Sixth, the results were interpreted to derive key messages and to test models (with what we have learnt in the MBA module on Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management) (section 3.4). At last, we felt responsible to use our findings for recommendations for the future of the LCC organisations and its entrepreneurs (Section 3.5). A conclusion covers the project groups lessons learned based on this project (section 4). 2. Groups Understanding and Theoretical Background Academic research and general knowledge gives us frameworks to investigate practical examples of entrepreneurs concerning the development of their business and of themselves as leaders. Hence it is important to point out what kind of understanding the group has in terms of business growth models as well as entrepreneurial personality and leadership. 2.1. Growth Models Our groups understanding of business growth is definitely not that growth is the shortest connection between the starting point and the current point of time. Growth demonstrates phases of business increase as well as of decrease, stability, crisis, and changes. One of the most used growth models was developed by Greiner (1972) who pointed out alternating phases of evolution (creativity, direction, delegation, coordination, collaboration) and of revolution (leadership, autonomy, control, red tape). Each phase of growth is followed by a crisis that necessitates a change in the way the founder manages the business if it is to move on and continue to grow (Burns 2007, p210). Churchill and Lewis (1983) developed a growth model covering five stages of existence, survival, success, take-off, and maturity. Very close to this is the five-stage model proposed by Scott and Bruce (1987) embracing the stages of inception, survival, growth, expansion, and maturity with focus on top management role, management style, and organizational structure. At least Burns (1996) suggested a four-stage model covering stages of existence, survival, success and take-off and summarizing the main business imperatives as a firm grows in terms of the orientation of the firm (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) (Burns 2007, p218). After an evaluation of several models the project group decided to consider Greiners five phase growth model and five stages of business growth as the theoretical framework to compare our findings. 2.2. Leadership Our group understanding of leadership is that it is a relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of other people. For our investigations on entrepreneurs we are aware that there is a difference between leadership and management. The 7-S framework used in strategic management provides a distinction that managers rely on strategy, structure and systems whereas leaders are concerned with the soft Ss of style, staff, skills and shared goals. A key questions discussed in this group was Is an entrepreneur a manager or a leader? At least he is both in one person. Hence it is valuable to consider both of an entrepreneur his managerial role as well as his leadership approach. Mintzberg (1990) classifies the activities of organized sets of behavior associated with a position based on formal authority and status. He points out ten managerial roles divided into three groups which are linked to the evaluations of this project in section 3.4. Regarding general approaches to leadership, we face in real business life, there is no mutual exclusiveness. Hence contemporary entrepreneurs may demonstrate several leadership approaches in one person. For this project, main leadership models of historic and contemporary research were to be considered, such as leadership as a behavioral category, the styles of leadership approach, the situational approach of contingency theories, the transformational leadership approach and inspirational or visionary leadership. 3. From Practice to Theory 3.1. Frame of Evaluation We decided that to ensure valuable evaluation, the industry of choice should be a young industry and it should provide industry and market growth within the last ten to thirty years, several start-ups associated with single entrepreneurial idea, and some industry consolidation. To bring in domain knowledge, we discussed that the whole group should be familiar with the industry either as customers or as managers working in that industry. At last we decided on the Low-Cost-Carrier (LCC) Industry since we all are frequent customers and one group member is in charge of a full service airline in a leading management position. 3.1.1. The Low Cost Carrier Industry A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (also known as a no-frills, discount or budget carrier or airline) is an airline that generally has lower fares as compared to full service airlines like British Airways, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, American Airlines, etc.. To make up for the revenue lost in decreased ticket price, the airline may charge for extras like food, priority boarding, seat allocation, baggage etc.. The key characteristics of LCCs are multiple frequencies on a short/mid haul sectors, quick turnaround, secondary/tertiary airports, offerings in economy class only, usage of web/call centre based reservation system and not the GDS (Global Distribution systems), no food and rarely any loyalty programme. Low-cost carriers should not be confused with regional airlines that operate short flights without service, or with full-service airlines offering some reduced fares. The reasons why LCC airlines came up in practice dates back to 1960s. Until late 1960s, travelling by air was restricted to the higher classes of the society. Only from 1960s, it percolated to the upper middle class, as costs came down and the fuel prices were low. There was increased demand for the huge middle class to travel by air if the same became cheaper. This underlying need was captured by the entrepreneurs in the form of Low Cost Carriers which was pioneered by Southwest Airlines in USA and was replicated in different ways all over the world. The momentum gathered steam with the increased globalization and integration from 1980s onward. The regulatory regime defined by agreements between countries or regional groupings became more liberal and the frequencies of flights increased bringing the overall cost platform down. Further, the cost of the aircrafts and air travel came down due to the technological improvements leading to lower cost at higher volume. The technological strides in ICT (information and communication technology) brought the booking system of the airlines at the doorstep of the passenger. He could be sitting in his environment, book a ticket, choose his own seat and print a boarding card. This reduction in costs due to technological innovations opened up an opportunity for LCC to establish its foothold by cutting on costs at different steps of its supply chain. According to Vesper (1990) the LCC industry demonstrates execution of two business entry strategies. Firstly, the strategy to develop a better product or service which is appropriate because of unsatisfied demand in terms of cheap flights providing no frills. The established competitors on the carrier market such as British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa etc. reacted against these new entrants but more or less very late. Hence some LCC airlines already established their own operations. Second, the strategy to meet supply shortages, particularly on the short-haul marke t, there was a market parallel to the railway industry. Currently, in spite of demand and supply in balance, some LCC airlines maintain their competitive advantages and continue to drive the market. Since there were numerous LCC airlines operating globally (Appendix 1), considerations in deciding for LCC airlines to be investigated were to ensure diversity over different geographical markets to emphasise on a whole industry in terms of entrepreneurial behaviour and availability of information. We decided on 5 airlines as mentioned in table 1. (Please refer to Appendix 2 for data). Table 1: Companies and entrepreneurs to be investigated 3.1.2. Key Evaluation Features Burns (2007, p30) points out four different influences on owner-managers and entrepreneurs. Whereas culture of society and situational factors are not the focus of this project, personal character traits and antecedent influences were investigated to draw a picture of the individual background of the entrepreneurs. In addition we looked at individual leadership approach. In terms of organizational development and business growth we focused on five milestones (Table 2). Table 2: Key features to be evaluated on chosen entrepreneur and his LCC airline. Derived from the collected data based on the key features described above, three main issues were investigated to ensure a solution on growth models and associated leadership approaches in the LCC industry at least: Why did they succeed whereas so many after and before them failed? Development of the culture in the organization if any Recommendations for the future 3.2. Data Please see Appendix 2 for the secondary data that were gathered through research on internet, press and media, newspapers, and television. 3.3. Results The key question for description and interpretation of the results is Is there any pattern or consistency over all evaluated LCC airlines or not? In terms of the investigated background and leadership of the founders Burns describes antecedent influences on an entrepreneur which are most likely to result in them successfully growing their business (2007, p45): Well-educated: Two (Air Berlin and Ryan Air) of five investigated entrepreneurs do not have any academic graduation whereas the other three entrepreneurs have diverse degrees from Bachelor to Honorary PhDs. But all of them already had broad and in-depth managerial and professional experience at the point of time of idea generation. Starts business because of positive motivations. All entrepreneurs had positive motivations towards their own idea and were convinced strongly that their business will be successful and will grow. Leaves managerial job to start business: This was found to be different. Although all entrepreneurs had managerial experience before, their prevailing last step before becoming an entrepreneur in LCC industry was distinct. One was unemployed (Air Berlin), two had their own business (Southwest and Easy Jet), one was manager in the same LCC organization (Ryan Air), and one (Air Asia) was manager in a different industry. Middle-aged (or very young?): We found a range between 28-40 in the age of the entrepreneurs for the point of time of the businesses starting point. They were 28 (Easy Jet), 30 (Ryan Air), 37 (AirAsia), 40 (Air Berlin), and 40 (Southwest) years old. Obviously no one entrepreneur was close to retirement and no one was very young (begin of twenties or even younger). Willing to share ownership of business: All entrepreneurs shared ownership from the very beginning but in different ways and it is not obvious whether they had a general inclination to that or whether it was needed, e.g. to collect enough money for their start-up. In terms of personal character traits all of the following were founded as high in every investigated entrepreneur: Commitment, determination and opportunity obsession. Tolerance of risk, ambiguity and uncertainty. Creativity, self reliance and ability to excel. Most of the entrepreneurs pioneered the LCC model for their home market as first mover and developed LCC business models later. Control and rewards. We saw very strong control by the entrepreneur in all investigated organizations mostly aiming to bring down costs. In terms of values, ethics, beliefs and norms all of the entrepreneurs worked very hard (Everything for the company) and expected a similar inclination from their staff. In daily business they appreciate each resource and hence aim to be most efficient. Concerning leadership all entrepreneurs provided an autocratic and patriarchic style with strong control, centralized decision-making and high closeness to their employees. A vision is part of their leadership approach as well derived more or less obviously from their individual targets for their life. Honesty, reliability and action as an example are further aspects; they all practice what they preach. This remains even during the growth of their businesses but the entrepreneurs developed different leadership styles. Some tried to keep the autocratic style whereas others tended to be more participative but all of them kept strong control. According to a major research study of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, the most effective leader provides four common characteristics: Delegation of authority and avoidance of close supervision; interest and concern in their subordinates as individuals; participative problem-solving; high standards of performance. Except t he former and the latter we found all aspects in later stages of growth but not consistently and not whilst the inception stage. Regarding the motive for entrepreneurship, it is obvious that there is consistency in the way of idea generation. In all of the five airlines, idea for LCC was generated by individuals. For Southwest and Ryan Air, there were more people involved in implementation in addition to idea generator. Two of the promoters (Air Berlin and Air Asia) were forced to choose entrepreneurship due to professional circumstances. There has been a considerable variance in the duration of the inception phase/ start-up. For example this phase in the case of Air Asia lasted for a year but for Air Berlin it took about ten years. But generally the other airlines exhibited a period of around five years. All organizations were run by the promoters except Ryan Air which had Michael Leary as its head due to the losses at Ryan Air. Financials were pooled by the promoters themselves but there was a variance in the financial capabilities from deep pockets to just enough money to make operations run for a year. Two of the entrepreneurs (Easy Jet and Ryan Air) had strong financial backing. In terms of environmental factors (PESTER) each airline had a different set of compelling factors. Due to the dismantling of the Berlin wall, airlines had a new segment opening up which was tapped by Air Berlin (political). Low fares attract more customers; try to wean away customers from other modes of transport tapped by all the LCCs (economic). The target consumer base for budget airlines was enormous: 500 million people live within three hours of Air Asias hubs in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, more than Western Europes entire population (social). Ryan Air started when there was a partial de-regulation changing the way the airlines flew (regulation). Consistency in all LCC airlines was evaluated in terms of delegation (highly centralized with all the major decisions being made by the promoters/funders), coordination (there was a very high level of coordination in three airlines while high coordination in two them), and control (in Air Berlin there was very high level of control, while in the other airlines it ranged from medium to high). For all the airlines the survival and growth stage has been a pretty long time except for Air Asia which has achieved tremendous growth in the few years of its start-up. In this stage the LCC airlines demonstrated some small distinct behavior. The delegation level increased during this phase of the business except in the case of Air Berlin which followed low delegation. Coordination was medium in Easy Jet while was high in the remaining four. Control was very high in Air Berlin, high in Southwest, Ryan Air and AirAsia, and was medium in Easy Jet. In four of the airlines original founder and management team are in place. The only exception is Easy Jet which had a CEO right from its start-up in 1995. This could be because the founder of Easy Jet had been a business man before this start-up and knew well how to delegate and where to focus. Clear patterns of consistency can be seen in that all the airlines went for IPO in this phase, thus showing the willingness of entrepreneurs to share the growth of the firm. Furthermore, all LCC airlines took equity stakes and formed alliances with other airlines. For example Air Asia formed a partnership with Shin corporation in Thailand, Easy Jet purchased a 40% stake in Swiss charter airline TEA Basle. The reasons were two fold one to take care of certain regulatory issues in their markets and secondly to help grow faster. In addition all airlines initiated cost cutting techniques to take on the competition. In the maturity stage the delegation level decreased for two of the airlines (Ryan Air and Southwest) in view of the precarious business model while continues low for Air Berlin. For Easy Jet and Air Asia the delegation level remains high. On the other hand coordination and control are on high level in all airlines. All the founders maintain a very high level of control on the overall strategy and functioning of the airlines. The external environment factors like the financial crisis, high oil prices, etc. have had the effect on the management structure and control mechanisms for majority of the airlines. There also have been roll backs on the investment plans. The promoters continue to hold power. Diversified equity base in terms of type of shareholders, further additional finances were raised through debt. We perceive a clear distinction in terms of strategy and business models. Except for Air Berlin and Air Asia which have a hub and spoke model, all the airlines offer a point to point service. All LCC carriers have the same configuration of aircraft but Air Berlin differs on this aspect too. LCCs achieve breakeven at much lower level of load factors (seat occupancy) than a Full Service Carrier. It has been observed that in all the LCCs, the primary focus is to have high load factor in order to make good profits. All the LCCs evaluated have a high on-time performance, offering customer the facility to make a reservation through web and call centre. Most of them have no prior seating arrangement and have additional charges for check-in baggage. Meals on board are charged and no refund is applicable in case of a missed fights. All the LCCs are deriving good revenue from ancillary service offerings like hotels, cars and other packages through their website. All LCCs except Ryanair do worry about customer complaints and feedback. Ryanair has a bad name in terms of customer service and misleading statements to gain publicity. Loyalty in their targeted segments is driven by the overriding need for cheap travel, good timings, multiple frequencies and lower expectations in terms of customer service. Few LCCs like Southwest Airlines, Air Berlin provide a rudimentary loyalty programme in terms of facilities and privileges to its members when compared with a Full Service Carrier, but it is enough for the targeted segments expectation We can summarize all the above LCCs on a continuum which depicts a pure LCC on the left side and a Full Service Carrier on the extreme right. Figure 1: Continuum of LCC Airlines 3.4. Derivations There is clear differentiation in the development of culture in the organization. Air Berlin exhibits an autocratic culture which is represented through its boss. Air Asia exhibits the culture of its boss too, open and cheerful. Southwest and Easy Jet exhibit a less hierarchical structure, full of freedom to the employees while Ryanair exhibits a culture in between the spectrum. Ryanair is process driven organization with little freedom to employees for decision making. Important decisions are highly centralized. It has grown so much that if he centralizes any further, the structure cannot sustain it. Hence there is no consistent pattern among these airlines from cultural perspective. However, we can definitely say that culture in these organizations is a reflection of the leadership behaviour of the founder entrepreneur. Nevertheless all the evaluated LCC airlines did succeed so far whereas so many after and before them failed. Reasons for this can be seen in this project work. During inception stage there is consistency in high level of delegation, coordination and control. All entrepreneurs had been able to recognize and to deal with the most important and influencing environmental factors on their home markets. All the airlines focused on cost leadership as a competitive advantage and made concrete efforts to mitigate the risks. Air Berlin formed subsidiaries to do away with labor unions. Air Asia formed a JV in Thailand with the Thailands Prime Minster family business to keep the political risk in check. The use of standard aircrafts to the extent possible and internet check-in as the model of bookings were part of the scheme to reduce costs. Hence the evaluated LCCs can be depicted as follows on five stages of business growth. (Figure 2). Figure 2: Five Stages of LCC Business Growth With reference to figure 2, we can consider that LCC is a product being sold by these airlines. There has been no basic RD on this product by any of these airlines. What they have done is to do applied research on the basic model of airline travel, to bring out LCC. Southwest Airlines pioneered this in the USA followed by modified versions of this by other airlines in other geographies. The trend in the figure 2 demonstrates that the growth of LCC has followed five stages of business growth, with the corresponding time taken by them for each phase and how the efficiency has changed. However, they are at different stages for example Southwest, Easy Jet and Ryan Air are in the expansion stages hitting the maturity stage in the current model, while Air Asia and Air Berlin seem to be in Growth/ expansion stages. Now the LCC carriers are facing competition from the full service airlines. This is because, full services play airlines are planning certain percentage of their seats at low p rices to compete with LCCs. Hence the efficiency of the LCC product sale for our sample airlines has reached a plateau. Now the time has come for the LCC carriers to apply development RD to give an S curve to this trend to modify the features of the product LCC. Different LCC airlines are doing this in different ways, e.g., Ryan airlines are cutting all possible costs, Easy Jet has targeted business passengers, Air Berlin wants to do everything possible for a good customer services, etc. This fits with the assertion of Schumpeter (1950), in that the technological progress can be seen as a continuous process in which capitalism constantly demands better value. Figure 3: LCC Airlines in Greiners Five-Stage Model of Growth (source: Greiner 1972) When we try to review (figure 3) the leadership and management styles within these five airlines vis-à  -vis, our finding is that it largely reflects the leadership style of the founder entrepreneur than the stages of Greiners five phase growth model. For example, Easy Jet and Southwest demonstrate collaboration in their management style, while Air Asia is in between the control and collaboration stages. Air Berlin and Ryan Air has high level of control and less delegation. Figure 4: Key Resource Factors in the Stages of Growth for LCC With reference to figure 4, we have reviewed the resource requirement of the five LCCs. All the five airlines display that they had the resource requirements (financial, business, system and personnel resources) for different phases of growth as shown in this figure. For example, airline being an asset intensive business, they all had huge capital requirements at the start-up. They used a combination of models to meet their requirements leasing aircrafts to purchasing them during start-up and survival phases. But in subsequent stages, they all followed the same strategy owning aircrafts. To reduce on cost, Ryan Airlines had purchased old aircrafts also which was criticized by Easy Jet as cutting corners on safety aspects which could hit the LCC industry in case there were any problems to happen. With regard to figure 5, we see that there is a commonality between what was practiced in different environments globally and the typical 5 stage growth model linked to leadership. Initially, in the start-up stage, everything is centralized and business and personal goals are the same for entrepreneurs which get decentralized, delegated and a formal structure coming in at the expansion and maturity stages. The financing is done primarily through personal resources initially which later on is internally generated and additionally through tapping of the stock markets and taking on debt from banks. As most have avenues for growth, they do not follow an active dividend policy and reward shareholders through capital appreciation Figure 5: Key Management Factors in the Stages of Growth for LCC Derived from our evaluation the entrepreneurship model on antecedent influences, personal character traits, and leadership approach can be illustrated only for the stage of idea generation and inception (see Figure 6). Figure 6: Model of entrepreneurial antecedent influences, personal character traits and leadership approach in the stage of idea generation and inception for LCC Most important is that the autocratic leadership approach (Tannenbaum and Schmidt 1973) is dominant which is in close relation to McGregors supposition of Theory X (boss-centered leadership) in contrast to Theory Y (subordinate-centered leadership). The contingency model of leadership by Vroom and Yetton (1973) covers the evaluated leadership behaviour as Autocratic I and II. Bass (1985) points out four basic components of transformational leadership. First, idealized influence (leader charisma, respect of followers), second, inspirational motivation (display meaning and challenge to the work of followers), third, intellectual stimulation (new approaches for solutions, creative problem solutions), and fourth, individualized consideration (leader listens and provide concern to needs and development of individual followers). For the last two points the autocratic style of LCC airlines seems to be a contraindication. Yukl (2006) formulates some guidelines for transformational leadership which cover the results of our investigations: Articulate a clear and appealing vision, explain how the vision can be attained, act confident and optimistic, express confidence in followers, use dramatic, symbolic actions to emphasize key values, and lead by example. This is very close to inspirational or visionary leadership. Here the focus is on leaders skills of motivating and inspiring people aiming to bring together goals and values of the organization and individual needs and values. Particularly in the stage of idea generation and in the inception stage the entrepreneurs took all ten managerial roles which Mintzberg (1990) pointed out. The entrepreneurs took a figurehead role (the manager as a symbol who represents the organization in terms of formality), a leader role (demonstrating responsibility for staffing, motivation and guidance of subordinates) and a liaison role (with focus on horizontal relationships between manager and individuals/groups as well as the organizations environment). In terms of informational roles we found the entrepreneurs in a monitor role (the manager receives formal/informal information from internal/external sources and develops an understanding of the working of the organization and its environment) as well as in a disseminator role (the manager as centre of information who transmits external information through his liaison role (see above) to the organization and internal information through his leader role amongst subordinates) and in a spokesperson role (the manager as a formal authority communicating to distinct stakeholders). And even in terms of so called decisional roles all en trepreneurs were very active. Here we saw the entrepreneurs in an entrepreneurial role (he is expected to initiate and plan controlled change by exploiting opportunities, solving problems and taking action for improvement of an existing situation and he may play a major part in aiming improvement and delegate responsibilities to subordinates), in a disturbance handler role (the manager reacts on involuntary and unpredictable situations and he is expected to correct a situation in case of unexpected disturbance), in a resource allocator role (the manager makes choices about resources allocation) and least in a negotiator role (this role arises from managers authority, credibility, access to information and responsibility for resources allocation and the manager participates actively in negotiation with stakeholders, e.g. works council). 3.5. Recommendation for the Future We clearly see that future growth in LCCs will be through collaboration with other LCCs and full service carrier. In other words, Southwest will grow collaborating with full service carriers like United, American, and Lufthansa and vice versa. Though the early stages of growth were in different segments , having established in their own markets, both LCCs and full service carriers are moving towards the middle of the continuum and we will see increased collaboration between them in future. Also the majority of the airlines are deliberating entering the lo

First Impressions of Clytemnestra in Euripides’ Electra :: Euripides Electra Essays

First Impressions of Clytemnestra in Euripides’ Electra      Ã‚  Ã‚   The play begins with the dreary-eyed watchman, scared stiff ("old comrade, terror" 17) of the Queen ("that woman - she manoeuvres like a man" 13) and her tyrannical rule. He says that he cries   "for the hard times" that he endures.   We are very sure from what he says that the House of Atreus is in cruel hands and he clamours for the return of his "loving" King. Clytemnestra is never mentioned by name, as the sentry is afraid of punishment for saying too much ("I never say a word"). Her influence is all around, even if she herself is not present.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Chorus sing as Clytemnestra moves around the stage, lighting fires and unmoved to their appeals for news. Their song tells the history of the Greek expedition's problems as they set off for Troy. It would seem that, whilst uplifting the name of Agamemnon ("with the power of Zeus" 47) they also describe the death of Iphigenia with great pity ("gentle curving lips... her glance... wounding every murderer"). They describe his heartache ("pain both ways" 212) between both courses of action, whether to obey the oracle or save his daughter. But undeniably, the Chorus does not approve with what he did ("cause of all our grief" 222) and tell with great sorrow a flashback of Iphigenia singing at the feasts to Zeus ("transfixed with joy" 246). It is with this in our mind that we finally talk to Clytemnestra, the mother of the slaughtered child.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Chorus is indeed reverential ("we respect your power" 259) but is it her power or the power she holds? It appears that they are dutiful to Agamemnon's wife, not to Clytemnestra ("the warlord's woman" 260). As the leader and Clytemnestra exchange information about the fall of Troy, we see that she is very quick to anger by his words ("sends you into raptures" "No one takes me with visions" 274-5). Whether the Chorus is being rude or she is merely quick to offend is in the balance. The Chorus after all don't regard her beacons very highly ("real of just a dream" 481). I would argue though, that it is Clytemnestra who is looking for any sign of disloyalty in them even if there is little to see ("we're loyal... never blame your silence" 263). Her recount of the beacon relay to bring her word of the fall of Troy is told in arrogant ostentatious fashion ("my commands.

Fear :: essays research papers

FEAR ?@   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recently, earthquakes have hit many places like, Kobe, Greece, Turkey and Taiwan. Moreover, some scientists predict that a huge earthquake will hit the Tokai area and it will have enough power to destroy the Tokyo area. I fear earthquakes for 3 reasons: anticipation of disaster, being on the point of death in the rubble, and becoming injured or sick. First, when any size earthquake hits, even a small one, I feel fear because my mind says, ?gSomeday there will be huge earthquake?h. Actually, a huge earthquake has not come yet, but psychologically I feel fear. For example, a few days ago an earthquake hit Tokyo. It was small but my heart beat so quickly during and after the earthquake that I could not do anything because I was so scared.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When a huge earthquake such as the Kobe earthquake occurs, many buildings and houses will be destroyed. At that time, I give full scope to my imagination that I will be buried under rubble. Actually, being buried under rubble is most frightening to me because I could become weaker and weaker and finally die. I am frightened not only of being buried under rubble but also of being surrounded by fire or poisonous gas. Being surrounded by fire or poisonous gas, I could feel heat or breathe with difficulty and could know I am going to die. If an airplane crashes or a bomb explodes most people will die instantly, so people usually do not feel pain or fear. However if I am buried under rubble or surrounded by fire and poisonous gas I will feel pain or have difficulty in breathing and I will not die quickly. So it is an agonizing death filled with fear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the earthquake happens, many problems will occur; for example, there will be a problem of supply with goods or temporary dwellings. However, the most frightening problem is disease. After an earthquake, there are sanitary problems. If some diseases spread among the people, it will be difficult to cure the diseases because there will be almost no medical supplies and almost no food.

Les Miserables, Theme (forgiveness, Self Sacrifice, And Courage) :: essays research papers

â€Å"It is precisely of him that I wished to speak. Dispose of me as you please; but help me first to carry him home. I only ask that of you.† Upon examination of Les Miserables, it is clearly evident that the elements of Forgiveness, Self – Sacrifice, and Courage are only a few of the main themes Hugo wanted to develop. First off, is the element of forgiveness. In a book of mistrust, poverty, and hate†¦forgiveness thrives in the world of Les Miserables. The first example of this was at the very beginning, when Jean Valjean stayed with the bishop. Valjean stole his silver†¦and ran off. He ends up being caught by police, but when the police questioned the bishop, he claimed to have given the silver to Valjean. Jean was confused†¦and the bishop claimed that with the silver, he had purchased the convicts soul, and had given it to God, and from that day forward, Valjean must be a good man. Another example of forgiveness goes two ways. Javert, in his relentless pursuit of Valjean, is captured by revolutionaries. In reward for saving the lives of a few of these revolutionaries, Valjean asks for, and gets, permission to take Javert outside, and kill him. Once outside, a small monologue occurs†¦and Valjean releases Javert, and lets him go free. Valjean just wanted to be left alone in peac e, and hoped this act of kindness would change Javert, and make him realize that Valjean was no longer the man he was. The second way†¦is that in the end, after Javert finally captures Valjean, he lets him go. Since Javert had broken the law†¦ that he loved so dearly, he kills himself shortly thereafter, by jumping into a river. Secondly, we come to the element of Self-Sacrifice. This is also another widely used theme in Les Miserables. One such example of this element is with Valjean. He lets Marius and Cosette marry, and for a while, he seems all right with that fact. Later on however, he goes to Marius, and confesses to his past. He tells Marius his whole story, and thinks it best if he never sees Cosette again. Marius agrees†¦but allows Valjean the occasional visit. Only at the end, does Marius realize what a good man Valjean is†¦and by then it was too late. Valjean dies shortly after Marius and Cosette visit him to ask him to come back and live with them. Les Miserables, Theme (forgiveness, Self Sacrifice, And Courage) :: essays research papers â€Å"It is precisely of him that I wished to speak. Dispose of me as you please; but help me first to carry him home. I only ask that of you.† Upon examination of Les Miserables, it is clearly evident that the elements of Forgiveness, Self – Sacrifice, and Courage are only a few of the main themes Hugo wanted to develop. First off, is the element of forgiveness. In a book of mistrust, poverty, and hate†¦forgiveness thrives in the world of Les Miserables. The first example of this was at the very beginning, when Jean Valjean stayed with the bishop. Valjean stole his silver†¦and ran off. He ends up being caught by police, but when the police questioned the bishop, he claimed to have given the silver to Valjean. Jean was confused†¦and the bishop claimed that with the silver, he had purchased the convicts soul, and had given it to God, and from that day forward, Valjean must be a good man. Another example of forgiveness goes two ways. Javert, in his relentless pursuit of Valjean, is captured by revolutionaries. In reward for saving the lives of a few of these revolutionaries, Valjean asks for, and gets, permission to take Javert outside, and kill him. Once outside, a small monologue occurs†¦and Valjean releases Javert, and lets him go free. Valjean just wanted to be left alone in peac e, and hoped this act of kindness would change Javert, and make him realize that Valjean was no longer the man he was. The second way†¦is that in the end, after Javert finally captures Valjean, he lets him go. Since Javert had broken the law†¦ that he loved so dearly, he kills himself shortly thereafter, by jumping into a river. Secondly, we come to the element of Self-Sacrifice. This is also another widely used theme in Les Miserables. One such example of this element is with Valjean. He lets Marius and Cosette marry, and for a while, he seems all right with that fact. Later on however, he goes to Marius, and confesses to his past. He tells Marius his whole story, and thinks it best if he never sees Cosette again. Marius agrees†¦but allows Valjean the occasional visit. Only at the end, does Marius realize what a good man Valjean is†¦and by then it was too late. Valjean dies shortly after Marius and Cosette visit him to ask him to come back and live with them.

News paper reading

The first article (July 4) is about the growing dangers of Kuwait work trucks that travel on roads while being severely overloaded with logs, iron rods, furniture, and water. There are several reasons why these vehicles have become veritable road hazards responsible for numerous accidents. Reckless driving was cited as one of the highest cause of road accidents involving these trucks. Some citizens attested to instances showing drivers’ utter lack of consideration for pedestrians even to those who have physical disabilities. One man recalled an incident involving his cousin who was a cripple, who died after being run over by a lumber truck. Others cite poor vehicle conditions as another primary cause of accidents.One British expatriate living in Kuwait narrated how water tankers usually have bad brakes and how being overburdened with water makes it more difficult for truckers to maneuver. He also narrated about one instance of recklessness wherein the truck driver suddenly cut in front of him, almost killing him was he not able to step on his brakes. Another hazard was trucks with loose fastenings of furniture or iron bars. Such objects fall from the truck and cause trouble for motorists behind the truck.The article’s reporter discussed an incident about how he himself experienced one such incident. Safety measures taken to prevent hazards from vehicles on the road are vague. There are certain periods of time where the law prohibits trucks from driving inside the city but such laws are often violated by truckers and Kuwait’s local police seem to be inadequate in preventing such violations.This issue is clearly a violation of Article 3 of the Declaration of Human rights which seeks to protect the life, liberty and security of all persons. The truckers’ lack of discretion with regards to the pedestrians that they interact with constitutes an utter disregard to Article 3 which should be addressed by the Kuwait government, especially sin ce the usual victims of such accidents are those who are disabled.The second article (July 5) is about how the Kuwait Parliament gives ardent attention to the needs of disabled individuals. The Parliament has released an order calling on state agencies to provide specialized services to people with special needs. Kuwait National Assembly member Saad al-Sharia discussed in the 4th Arab Parliamentary Symposium on Disabled Persons’ Disabilities how due attention should be provided to people with special needs especially in the aspect of integrating such people into society as productive individuals. The Parliament member gave emphasis on investing in the use of human resources in nation building and service.This move by the parliament is in respect of human rights. The parliament hopes to incarnate the deeper meaning of humanity and humanitarian causes towards the development of its civilization. Specifically, parliament aims to create specialized educational institutions to add ress the needs of special children who are not able to learn through conventional means. Parliament aims to establish more centers for rehabilitation research. It also aims to modernize such institutions that currently exist. The project will also create clinics and entertainment utilities that can cover people of all ages and of all physical, mental and psychological disabilities.The third article (July 6) reports the strengthening of the Kuwaiti resolve to provide better governmental services. It discusses how the state is funneling ample finances and gathering substantial human resources to raise public awareness of special needs in its continuing advocacy for human rights. In an interview with Secretary of the Arab Parliamentary Caucus of the National Assembly Jamal Al-Kandari, it was revealed that Kuwait has already â€Å"mapped out† specific plans for disabled individuals to be properly integrated into the society and assume roles that will be both productive and fulfil ling.In the ongoing symposia for disabled individuals, legislation for the protection of the human rights of disabled individuals was also put into focus. Much emphasis was given on the current dangers that face disabled individuals in different parts of Kuwait. Dr. al-Shuraye’s lecture, he discussed that as these people are not as mobile as normal individuals, they are more prone to becoming victims of accidents especially on the road. It was concluded by the article that the Kuwaiti delegation will arrive at several useful recommendations to serve the interests of handicapped individuals in Kuwait.The fourth article (July 7) narrates how the Farwaniya Hospital in coordination with Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior has made the announcement of building a security kiosk at the entrance of the hospital. The move was made after several alarming actions taken by several individuals that threatened to harm both patients and doctors inside the facility. Several weeks prior to t he announcement, it was reported that the hospital received an anonymous terrorist threat due to some of the relatives of the patients who were unhappy with hospital  management. Other instances involved violence perpetrated by relatives of patients who died while inside hospital care.The relatives of the deceased patients felt that the doctors were responsible for their relatives’ deaths and took matters into their own hands. Although no incident of serious injury has yet to be recorded inside hospital premises, hospital officials nonetheless became concerned with preempting any such possibilities from actually occurring. This prompted hospital officials to set up meetings to solve growing problems in securing hospital premises. It was brought up that the lack of means for proper visitor identification is the biggest risk that the hospital has of intrusion. This led to the forwarding of the idea of setting up a security kiosk that would be able to properly identify individ uals visiting patients inside the hospital so as to secure hospital patients and personnel.The last article (July 8) discusses how Kuwait officials and concerned groups currently feel about Kuwait’s move to give emphasis to the human rights of disabled individuals in the region. Dr. Fahad Al-Wardan, the ministry’s Nursery Department Director stated that the government moves aimed at encouraging the disabled to exert more efforts in developing themselves educationally and morally. He said that this was also the aim of the movement for the general public; to have them well informed about the current issue of physical, mental, and psychological disabilities and in the process gets them to be involved in the government project. Dr. Al-Wardan discussed several findings with respect to research on disabled individuals, citing that both literature and actual research suggest that such individuals still have considerable potential to serve society.Dr Al-wardan also made refere nces to the existing government efforts on improving disabled individuals’ lives prior to the government announcement, stating that it was a fulfilling activity both for the recipients and the volunteers. He expressed satisfaction in the current progress of the movement in the country, and anticipation at the recently announced project of the Kuwait Parliament to give emphasis of disabled individuals’ well-being.Dr. Al-Wardan hoped that included in the parliament’s proposed plan was to increase the pay scale for social workers who are currently one of the lowest paid sectors in society. He emphasized on the role of social workers in providing guidance and assistance to the disabled. He also gave due credence to the major role that donations from private organizations have made to the overall effort of helping disabled individuals.The five articles are linked together with respect to their relationship to upholding human rights. In the first article, the dangers to individuals by the recklessness of certain groups in society were discussed as a violation of the tenets of article 3 in the declaration of human rights.The second article provides a possible response of government, the main protector of the human rights of a particular citizenry, to uphold such rights of a disenfranchised group in society identified as the disabled individuals. This was strengthened by the 3rd article which gave in extensive detail the proposed government plan to alleviating the plights of disabled individuals. The fourth article saw a similar plight related to the article  3 of human rights. This was the right to security that both doctors and patients in the hospital in question required. The government acted on that right by helping the hospital set up security measures to prevent future incidents from occurring. Finally, the last article reaffirmed the human rights of disabled individuals in the perspective of current actors in the movement.In conclusion, it can be said that although the prevalence of human rights violations can still be seen in the area of Kuwait, government is doing what it can to solve the issue. Government should always work hand in hand with the private sector, concerned individuals and volunteers, and disenfranchised groups themselves in order to detect societal problems involving violations in human rights and provide for the appropriate means for these problems’ eventual alleviation.

John and Mable Ringling Review

China Now; De Voss Banners; Expressive Bodies: Works from the Ringing Permanent Collection; and Appalachia LISA. Some of the artwork displayed here are created by major artists like Diego Veil;squeeze, II Greece, Anthony van Deck, Paolo Everyone, Giovanni Battista Topple, Thomas Johannesburg, and Peter Paul Rueben. The collections that this museum illustrates provide particular themes and highlight particular time periods. The most celebrated items fall under the collection of European and American Art.However, according to the museum, the collections are ever changing and not all pieces are available for viewing at all times. The Ringing museum is built around the styles of classical, medieval, renaissance, and baroque, and features rare antiquities as well as creations from various old and modern artists. Because museum collections and exhibitions display a variety of ethnic heritages and integrate multicultural media, they allow society to understand history and how art has change d as well as learn about culture diversity.It is important to study the creativeness of different periods because the rough time, man's view of the world and human existence has changed. Obtaining information on the artistic legacy of he past gives knowledge and value about the complexity of art and its relationship with history, religion, philosophy, and sociology. Furthermore, preserving creative works of art in museums also display the connections of different cultures and how they influence one another, changing, and shaping art into what it is today. Particularly, an artist known by the name Rueben was a master of Renaissance, Flemish, and Baroque style.His art became famous in a time period known as the â€Å"Baroque Period† which occurred through the sass and sass. In one of his paintings, The Triumph of Divine Love, the baroque heartsickness are obvious with the use of vivid color, physicality, and overlapping figures. This painting is one of many, found in the premie r collection Of European and American Art featured in the Ringing museum. Currently of Rueben, there is The Triumph of the Eucharist Series, which is a set of cartoons for tapestries that was commissioned by Isabella Clara Eugenia in 1625.Isabella was a member of the royal Spanish family and wanted Rueben to paint 21 tapestries for her, 1 1 consisting of oil paintings on canvas so she could hang them in her palace. This series relates to the elaboration of the Eucharist, explores scenes from the lives of the saints, and promotes the beliefs held by the Counter-Reformation throughout Europe. Providing that, Martin Luther set off a movement called the Protestant Reformation because of his criticisms of the Catholic Church.As a result of this, the church attempted to clean up the corruption and clarify its teachings and beliefs. By doing so, the Counter-Reformation was established which then led to the Council of Trend. According to Brett and Kate McKay, â€Å"The Council of Trend dec lared that art should be used to explain principles by Ewing direct, emotionally persuasive, and powerfully designed to fire the spiritual imagination and inspire the viewer to greater piety' (n. P. ). Moving on, this section of the paper will discuss two particular pieces in The Triumph of the Eucharist series.The first work of art is The Four Evangelists. Related to the painting discussed in the following paragraph, this painting represents figures in motion. Furthermore, to gain an understanding of this painting and the time period around it, it is imperative to understand that the Catholic Church believed bread and wine represented Christi body and blood. In the painting to the far left is Saint Luke with his symbol, the ox. This beast symbolizes sacrifice because in the beginning of his Gospel, is the sacrifice of Zachary.Next to Luke is Saint Mark, featured holding his Gospel under his arm and next to him, the lion that represents the resurrection of Christ. Saint Matthew in t he green cloth and the angel are in the center of the piece where the angel points towards heaven, like Saint Thomas Aquinas in The Defenders of the Eucharist. To the far right is Saint John who appears to be the youngest of the group, and is looking up towards the eagle. His mannerism is supposed to capture his vision of the apocalypse. The cup he is holding in his hand with the snake refers to poison that John drank, in order to prove his faith.While in the bottom of the painting are various symbolic objects that relate to the Gospels such as the cockleshell, cornucopia of fruit, and the dolphin. The second painting is The Defenders of the Eucharist made in 1625 by Rueben was done with oil on canvas. In this companion piece to The Four Evangelists, Rueben incorporated six doctors and a woman, all figures from early church history. On the far right is Saint Jerome dressed in a red robe, eating his translation of the Bible into Latin because that is what he is famous for.In front of Jerome is a great, German philosophical figure named Norte, dressed in a cream colored robe. Then, in the center stands the Dominican monk, Saint Thomas Aquinas, holding a book of his writings and pointing towards heaven; this gesture can be compared to Saint Matthews' in The Four Evangelists. While next to Saint Thomas, is Saint Clare who is seen holding a great monstrance. It is important to understand that women were not allowed to touch the monstrance. Furthermore, the features of Saint Clare are actually those of Isabella, the woman paying for the painting.

Come a-knocking on Death’s door Essay

The Ode is used as a poetic form for philosophical contemplation. Compare two odes by Keats in the light of this observation How much do you agree with the statement: John Keats was unfortunate in his upbringing to some extent? On one hand there was a chance for a budding surgeon but he gave that away to his literary awakening which drew him to write odes such as the ones I am going to analyse. Personally, learning about his life prior to literature, I feel that the situations he dealt with, at such a young age were remarkable but perhaps had he not faced those decisions, he wouldn’t have come to write such poetry brimming full with philosophical contemplation. John Keats was born on the October 31st, 1795 in Finsbury Pavement, near the centre of London. He learnt to deal with death from an early age as his father died in an accident when he was only eight years old. Seventeen years later in 1810, his mother died due to consumption, leaving John in the care of his grandmother. Subsequently, under the care of guardians he left school to become an apprentice to a surgeon. Unfortunately, before the completion of his apprenticeship, John had a quarrel with his master and therefore left to pursue a stronger path in literature, deftly in the company of his good friend Cowden Clarke. Three years of receiving scarce and negative feedback on his sonnets and poems, John was once again in the presence of a dying man: this time it was his brother. Tom Keats was also taken by consumption in 1818. Though by this time, distinct signs had begun to show in the decent of Keats’s own health. Keats himself was fighting illness and death in his latter years. Despite the fact of his deteriorating wellbeing, Keats continued to delve deeper into love and time. His mental understanding of what lies beyond was perhaps something that I could never even begin to contemplate. His dying wish was to have the words: â€Å"Here lies one whose name was writ in water,† on his gravestone when he died on 23rd February, 1821. Writing his most famous odes in his dying years was a sign of great character; I think that being able to face such a prospect of dying young, his mind matured faster than that of others. Increasingly throughout the odes, I can see that John has indeed spent many thought provoking sessions in front of the artefact he describes. He sees, he feels, he waits and then he writes. The form of poetry which Keats was most celebrated for was the Ode. This style of elaborate and stately lyric poem was lengthened or shortened at the whim of the poet. However, the basic arrangement of the stanzas was patterned in sets of three – a strophe and an antistrophe, of which both had an identical metrical scheme, and an epode, which had a structure of its own. Dating back to the Greek choral songs, the ode has appeared in many centuries over the world. Roman poets such as Catullus took the form of poetry to their own meaning. The ode was generally used to express strong emotions that flooded the poets mind at the time, the poet would be transfixed onto the idea and he would try to convey his meaning through the literary form.

Economics of All You Can Eat Buffets

The notion of paying one set cost for ‘unlimited' quantities of a good or service is certainly appealing, and that appeal is exactly what all-you-can-eat (AYCE) restaurants take advantage of. Gobi Brighton, an all-you-can-eat barbeque restaurant in England, offers unlimited servings of Asian and Middle-eastern foods for one fixed price of 12 pounds. Of course, no customer will actually eat an infinite quantity.Taking this factor into account, and given the various costs the restaurant must pay to deliver the service, this fixed price that consumers pay is determined such that the restaurant will profit in the long-run despite the quantity customers individually eat. Andy and George, however, two middle-aged men who frequently visit this AYCE restaurant, were recently kicked out and banned from Gobi Brighton because, according to the manager of the restaurant, they were â€Å"[eating] the restaurant out of business† (Dartford 2012).While it is certainly possible that busi ness may not be so great for Gobi Brighton these days, whether two customers can be blamed for it or not is another question. This paper will analyze the economic principles of AYCE restaurants and determine if it was possible for Andy and George to have been actually eating Gobi Brighton â€Å"out of business† with their appetite for Asian and Middle-eastern food. Buffets, or AYCE restaurants, can be very profitable because costs paid by the restaurant are much lower compared to those of an a la carte restaurant.Customers are given plates and head to the food counters to get whatever they like instead of ordering from a menu. Consequently, these restaurants have little need for waiters, and thus have less demand for them compared to other restaurants. Furthermore, because food is prepared in large quantities at a time as opposed to being prepared non-stop and on-demand, there is also a lower demand for cooks. On the other hand, buffets require continuous upkeep to ensure foo d safety and presentable aesthetics.Overall though, labour costs for AYCE restaurants are much lower compared to those of other restaurants. Because buffets have reduced production costs, they can afford to charge less to consumers if it means getting more business. Some restaurants use this strategy, but most choose not to because it doesn't lead to profit-maximizing results. Instead, AYCE restaurants take advantage of the law of diminishing marginal utility and how it plays a key role in any customer's ability to consume at a buffet.The manager knows that each additional plate of food provides less utility, or less satisfaction, than the one before. As a result, most people will eat only until the utility derived from an additional serving of food is slightly lower than the utility gained from the first dish. Buffets generate a profit by charging a price which is above the price of the food that the average customer consumes. This strategy assumes that, before the customer consume s a quantity of food where the total cost to the firm is greater than the price of the buffet, their marginal utility will be zero.This expectation was not met in the case of Andy and George. People who go to buffets usually fall into one of two categories of AYCE customers. One group eats regular portions and does one, maybe two trips to the buffet station. These customers are unlikely to eat a value equal to or above the fixed price they paid for the buffet, and thus contribute the most to the accounting profits of AYCE restaurants. The second group of buffet customers consist of over-eaters. They enter a buffet with the intention of getting their value's worth, if not more, of food.These customers are usually familiar buffets and their own capacity for food, and are confident heading into the restaurant because they are certain that they are getting a good deal. These kinds of buffet customers are more likely to consume a quantity of food that is of greater value that of the buff et price. It is here that we find Andy and George, the two over-eaters that were eating Gobi Brighton out of business. After Andy and George paid their 12 pounds, they sat down and each downed five bowls of stir fry before getting kicked out.If the manager was being honest when he said these two customers were putting him out of business, that would mean that those five bowls of stir fry caused the restaurant to go from making accounting profits, where revenue exceeds production cost, to making no profits whatsoever, where revenue equals production cost. Is it possible for ten bowls of stir fry to put this restaurant out of business? One bowl of stir fry these days never costs more than 5 pounds to the producer (Taste 2011).Since Andy and George collectively consumed ten bowls of stir fry, we can assume that up until they were kicked out of the restaurant, the business of the two men cost the restaurant fifty pounds. Beforehand, they each paid 12 pounds for the buffet service, so th e restaurant received 24 pounds as revenue. Consequently, without taking other production costs into account, Gobi Brighton was making a negative accounting profit of 26 pounds. This means that before Andy and George even entered the restaurant, Gobi Brighton was at least 26 pounds away from being unable to sustain its own service.If Gobi Brighton was a perfectly competitive firm in a perfectly competitive industry, then the restaurant has little say in the price because they take whatever price is established by the market equilibrium, and this would explain the poor business (see Figure 1). Raising the price, even by a little, would result in the customers going elsewhere and they would lose all their sales, as shown in point A. Lowering the price to point B, would also be ineffective because they can only sell as much as they can produce, which is a fixed quantity.They would lose even more capital, especially for a buffet service where, theoretically, an infinite quantity of food is being offered. Thus, in a perfectly competitive industry, Gobi Brighton would be forced to continue selling their buffet service at a market price of 12 pounds. Perfect competition could explain how Gobi Brighton was going out of business because of these two men, and thus had to resort to kicking the men out of the restaurant. The fact is, however, that Gobi Brighton is far from being a perfectly competitive firm in a perfectly competitive industry.Buffet prices are not fixed, not all buffets are the same, and buyers and sellers do not have complete information about service. In fact, according to Yelp, Asian and Middle-eastern restaurants are not that common in England, so the restaurant could have raised it's price for a short while, or tried reducing costs by laying off a worker or two since business was clearly not doing so well to begin with (Yelp 2012). Gobi Brighton is an all-you-can-eat restaurant located in Brighton, England that recently kicked out two customers for e ating too much and claimed they were putting the restaurant out of business.Not only does common buffet pricing strategies suggest it is very unlikely that two over-eating customers alone could do this, but Gobi Brighton could have improved business a number of ways since it isn't a perfectly competitive firm. Perhaps instead of marketing itself as an all-you-can-eat restaurant, Gobi Brighton may want to consider switching to an a la carte service, especially if they feel like their business is threatened by the very demographic that buffet restaurants appeal to most.