Alaska Airline & Corporate Culture Essay Example for Free

Alaska Airline Corporate Culture Essay A unique cultural characteristic of Alaska Airline would be the benefits they allot their employees. After 90 days of working with Alaska Airline, an employee earns benefits which allows him or her to fly anywhere at anytime with 1 other individual. In addition to this, the employee is given 6 â€Å"buddy passes† each year which allows the employee to give 6 roundtrip tickets to people other than himself or the 1 person he chooses to travel with. The best part about these benefits is that as long as the employee remains in good standing with the company, they are issued indefinitely, even after retirement. Companies can unknowingly cultivate negative culture among its employees and customers. This can happen in numerous ways. If a company were to institute a new policy which applied undue stress to its employees, adopt new prices that are greatly higher than what its customers are accustomed to paying, or allow a top representative to behave in a manner which sharply contradicts the values of the company, it would certainly be cultivating negative culture. While such behaviors may be immediately illusive to the company, some, if not many, employees and customers will notice it, and the company will suffer for it. In order to know specifically how a business corporate culture can be amended for the better, it would be necessary to know which business is being discussed or at the very least, the disposition of it’s corporate culture. While a grocery chain may need to focus on training employees to assist the elderly or the otherwise incapable individuals with carrying and loading groceries into cars, the corporate culture of an electronic store may benefit from having better-educated employees about the products in order that said employees may help customers make better-informed purchases. As far as developing a sense of corporate culture directed at the employees, a company may issue monthly kudos to employees who overachieved or plan celebrations after goals have been reached. Nevertheless, any and all amendments put into effect by a business for the purpose of improving corporate culture must result in an enhancement of customer or employee experience and or perception. There will certainly be a cultural shift in Microsoft as they reorganize to emphasize customer service. Before, the company was not so focused on customer service, and therefore had a corporate culture with its center of gravity more on product development. Now, however, the company must necessarily implement changes ubiquitously, effectively replanting its center of gravity, in order to meet is goal of honing in on customer service. Such a drastic make-over will involve a significant cultural shift. While Jet Blue has experienced much difficult as a result of bad weather which has in fact damaged their culture, it would be hasty to say their culture has been irreparably damaged. There can be work done through public relations and customer appreciative measures to repair its damaged culture. Work Cites 1. â€Å"Work-Life and Benefits- Alaska Airlines.† alaskaair.com. Alaskaair, n.d. Web. 20 April 2011. 2. March, Suzanne. â€Å"JetBlue Airways – Flight Change Fees Waived For Passengers Affected By Bad Weather .† starglobaltribune.com. Starglobaltribune, n.d. Web. 20 April 2011.

How Starbucks Can Reduce Risks Marketing Essay

How Starbucks Can Reduce Risks Marketing Essay Multi National Companies go through severe research process before enlarging their business activities to other countries. By opting the appropriate mode of entry to international market companies can capture the market easily and reduce the risk associated with it. Starbucks, being one of the largest coffee shop in the world has opted Joint ventures, licensing and wholly owned subsidiaries to expand their business globally. They started expanding their activities in 1996 by entering through Joint ventures in Japan and through wholly owned subsidiary in Canada followed by Southeast Asia, Europe and Middle east. These strategies along with product innovations are the main reason for the success of Starbucks coffee globally. They have modified their product line up and offer 30 blends of coffee, bottled Starbucks Frappuccino, Green Tea Frappuccino, curry puffs, meat buns, sandwiches and salads to meet the needs and requirements of the consumers in particular market. Starbucks have opted a better and efficient way to expand their international activities. They expanded their business activities through Joint ventures in huge market of Japan, Greece and other big countries where as they have owned subsidiaries in some of the low risk countries like Canada and Ireland. They have also expanded their activities through licensing in countries like Malaysia and New Zealand. Starbucks studies the market first and then open few stores at trendy places. After successful marketing test and training of brew masters, it also ensures that similar coffee beverages and No Smoking rules are applied all over. They have been growing rapidly from 17 stores in Seattle to 19,972 stores worldwide mainly attracting youngsters. Their expenses on marketing is very less as they mainly rely on word of mouth advertising. They have come up with different kind of services like Starbucks Express, Automated espresso machines, and self service for their customers, which are also the reason for their huge success worldwide. Sources: International Management, Managing Across Borders and Cultures, Sixth Edition, Helen Deresky, ISBN: 0-13-614326 Careful analysis and management of risks not only mitigate losses but also provide superior returns. In the light of this statement do you think Starbucks did not analyze and manage the risks involved in the different markets it entered? Yes, I believe that Starbucks did not analyze and manage the risk involved while operating in different markets. They have mainly focused on increasing the number of stores worldwide to achieve market dominance but ignored the fact that most of their stores are running in losses. They are facing many challenges in US and overseas market by their competitors like Nestle, Tim Hortons and Dunkin Donuts. Starbucks is facing many internal and external issues like change in economic conditions, change in taste and preferences of customers, huge competition, high business development costs, etc. They also have been facing several problems due to economic crisis in several countries and had serious political problems in Middle East, which led in closure of their several stores in Iraq and Israel. Starbucks mainly focused on its expansion and ignored the competitors around them. They are facing stiff competition in Germany and France from local coffee shops. Their prices were high as compared to the local shops offering the same taste of coffee. It is right that they have come up with different range of products for different markets but failed to come up with appropriate strategies for same market. They were not able to analyze properly the opportunities and threats available in a particular market and failed to relate them with their strengths and weaknesses. They lacked product differentiation from competitors thus were not able to capture the target market. Political, Environmental, Social and Technological factors had also its impact on Starbucks internal business activities. Thus I feel, Starbucks could have done better with their expansion strategy If they would have focused on SWOT analysis and PEST factors influencing their business activities. They have to do immense research on market growth and market share of their future projects and opt for the beast available option. Sources: International Management, Managing Across Borders and Cultures, Sixth Edition, Helen Deresky, ISBN: 0-13-614326 Question 3 A company faces diverse set of risks in international markets. What were the risks faced by Starbucks in its international operations? Explain how Starbucks can reduce risks in its international business. Companies operating on international level faces several risks while doing business. Starbucks, being one of the largest chain of coffee shop is also facing several problems in home as well as in abroad. Although Starbucks has expanded enormously during its earlier stage is facing now stiff competition from its competitors. They also have employees disappointment and are not able to provide satisfaction to them. Payments made to the employees does not match with the work load they have to suffer at work. Due to their aggressive marketing strategies they have grown their rivalry and lost potential customers. Japan, which was the largest overseas market for Starbucks followed by United Kingdom started facing decline in their profit rates. The main reason for the declining profit rate for Starbucks is due to mismatch of their policies with customers expectations. Starbucks thinks that they can increase their profit by increasing their stores day by day but they fail to provide customers satisfaction. Their prices are still high than of the competitors and they failed to satisfy the newer generation. According to me Starbucks have to adjust its policies and reposition its product line up according to the market in which they are dealing. They also have to come up with new and better line up for customers as their taste and preferences keeps on changing. Starbucks have to try to increase the level of employees satisfaction by increasing their salaries, providing initiatives, bonus and other allowances. They have to study the controllable and uncontrollable factors that they face while entering global market. Innovations and Investment are the key factors for them in the long run. Through study of PEST and SWOT analysis can be very effective in maintaining their leadership worldwide. Sources: International Management, Managing Across Borders and Cultures, Sixth Edition, Helen Deresky, ISBN: 0-13-614326

Change in Sheilas Character throughout An Inspector Calls Essays

Change in Sheila's Character throughout An Inspector Calls J B Priestly ‘s ‘An Inspector Calls’ is set in 1912 and was first performed in 1945. This mean there is Dramatic Irony over Birling ‘s comment about war. The plot concerns Eva Smith a working class girl who commits sucide. She used to work in Birling ‘s factory and every family member affected her life. An inspector comes to their house for investigation. Priestly message to the audience is that everyone in society is responsible for their own actions and the way in which they affect others. At the beginning of the play, Sheila is a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited. She is getting married to Gerald Croft. â€Å"Oh – it’s wonderful! Look Mummy – isn’t it a beauty? Oh darling (she kisses Gerald Hastily)†. After the inspector arrives she wants to know what is going on and when she founds out she is shocked. â€Å"Oh how horrible! Was it an accident?† Sheila accepts that she is partly to blame for Eva ‘s sucide because she got her fired from Milwards shop. The audience fee...

Comparing Archtypical Fathers in Henry IV and The Chrysalids :: comparison compare contrast essays

Archtypical Fathers in Henry IV and The Chrysalids      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An ideal father is one who is both caring and understanding. To fit this mould, one must express these characteristics. The outlook and actions of King Henry IV (Shakespeare, Henry IV Part 1) and Joseph Strorm (Wyndham, The Chrysalids), suggest characters who do not match the mould of the archetypical ideal father.    King Henry IV was a father who thought not much of his son. He sees his son as a riotous, irresponsible young man. King Henry tells Westmoreland that he is envious of Lord Northumberland's son, Hotspur, and that he wishes he could be more honorable. It shows King Henry's lack of trust and grasp of his son through conversations with others. The King has a serious discussion with Prince Hal in act three, where he tells him that he is starting to behave in the same way as King Richard, and since he is acting this way, the people will not want him to be the King. The King has his own ideas on how he thinks that the Prince should live, and for that reason has made the relationship between them very difficult. If only the King would have been more accepting, the Prince could have lived more like himself. Joseph Strorm is a father with very strict rules. He cares more about the physical make up of a person than he does about the actual personality of the person. In the story a very cold side of Joseph Strorm is shown; he never gets close to his son at all. The only conversation shared between Joseph and his children are harsh and is often punishment. The way Joseph responded when David jokingly wished for a third arm showed that he cared more about his image and purity than he did for his own child. Both King Henry and Joseph Strorm lacked the ability to look eye

The Vietnam War :: Vietnam War Essays

The Vietnam War The Vietnam War is truly one of the most unique wars ever fought by the Unites States of by any country. It was never officially declared a war (Knowll, 3). It had no official beginning nor an official end. It was fought over 10,000 miles away in a virtually unknown country. The enemy and the allies looked exactly the alike, and may by day be a friend but by night become an enemy (Aaseng 113). It matched the tried and true tactics of World War Two against a hide, run, and shoot technique known as "Guerrilla Warfare." It matched some of the best trained soldiers in the world against largely an untrained militia of untrained farmers. The United States' soldiers had at least a meal to look forward to unlike the Communist Vietnamese soldiers who considered a fine cuisine to be cold rice and, if lucky, rat meat. The Vietnam War matched the most technically advanced country with one of the least advanced, and the lesser advanced not only beat but humiliated the strongest military in the wo rld (Aaseng, 111). When the war was finally showing signs of end, the Vietnamese returned to a newly unified communist country while the United Stated soldiers returned to be called "baby killers", and were often spat upon. With the complexities of war already long overdrawn because of the length of the war it is no wonder the returning solders often left home confused and returned home insane. Through an examination of the Vietnam War, in particular an event know as the My Lai Massacre, and the people involved with both, it can be proven that when the threshold for violence of a person is met or exceeded, the resulting psychological scarring becomes the most prominent reason for war being hell. Although officially, the Vietnam Conflict had neither a beginning nor an end, for the purpose of this paper it can be best examined through the decade the United States was involved: February 6, 1965 - August 30, 1975. During World War Two the French had been a major ally to the United States in the defeat of Adolph Hitler and the Axis Powers. France occupied and claimed the small coastline country of Vietnam in Indochina. In this region there had been recent Communist uprisings funded by the USSR The Vietnamese were willing to accept Communism in return for what they had been fighting for over 2000 years: self rule.

Problems of the Working College Student Essay

I work thrity-five hours a week at a warehouse in Ontario California. When I first registered for college classes, I figured college would be fairly easy to fit into my schedule. After all, I thought, college students are not in class all day, like high school students are. So, I assumed the twelve hours a week I’d spend in class wouldn’t be too much of a load. But I was in for a big surprise. My first semester at college showed me that students who work while going to college face problems at school, at work, and at home. First of all, students who try to juggle job and school responsibilities find trouble at school. Early morning classes, for example, are particularly difficult for me. Because I work every week night from six to midnight, I don’t get home until 1:00 a. m. , and I can’t fall asleep until 2:00 a. m. or later. Consequently, I am too tired to pay attention in my eight o’clock class. Once, I even fell asleep in that class and my Professor asked me to leave for the day. Not only was this an embarrassment for myself, but it also cost me to miss the day’s assignment not to mention being marked as absent for the day. Sometimes student’s work hours create other conflicts. For instance in my experience they cut into my study time, so I have little time to do all the assigned reading and homework. I get behind in the assignments, and I never seem to have enough time to catch up. As a result, my grades are not as good as they could be. To avoid these kind of experience’s students have to be organized, and have time management or they may get overwhelm in their daily schedule. Because students both work and go to school, they can have problems doing well with their education. But work can also suffer when workers attend college. Students can bring school into the work place. I’ve been guilty of this practice and have paid the price. One night I tried to study at work, but my supervisor caught me reading my college textbook at my work station this was a problem, and after the supervisor asked me to put my book away and get back to work I was reprimanded, and now my supervisor doesn’t trust me. Sometimes students come to work very tired, which is another problem. For example when I don’t get enough sleep I can become rude to fellow co-workers, and then the rudeness can get me into trouble. I remember one particular time a co-worker reported me because I was sarcastic to her. She had spent a half hour complaining about my job performance and I had been too tired to be patient and I lost my temper. Once again, my supervisor reprimanded me and I was asked to leave for the night. Another time, school interfered with my job when I had to leave work early to take a make-up test at school. I know my supervisor was unhappy with me then, too. Arranging a schedule that will fit the needs of schooling is a solution to combat this problem. Working college students can also suffer outside of classes and the workplace. For example my schedule illustrates the conflicts of trying to take on too many duties. Since I work nights during the week, the weekends are a more convenient time that I can study. Because I have to use my weekends to do school work, I can’t do other things. My apartment is a mess since I have no time to clean it. Worse, my girlfriend is threatening to leave me because I have no social life. We never even go out like we once used to now when she comes over, I am too busy studying. However the rewards of earning a college degree in this economy can be the difference between having a job and having a career. Students who have sacrificed their time with hard work and determination are more likely to earn that degree. Students, who have responsibilities at home, work and college can face a cycle of stress. For example, I am constantly racing around trying to manage my time, and I can’t break the cycle. I want a college education, and I must have a job to pay my tuition and living expenses. The only way students can manage is to learn to manage their time. For example after speaking with my supervisor about the quest for a higher education he understands my situation and has rearranged a work schedule to fit the needs of my schooling. Now in my third semester at college, I’ve realized that working students have to be very organized to cope with the responsibilities of college, work, and home.

Dracula by Bram Stoker Analysis Essay

Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, presents readers to possibly the most infamous monster in all of literature. The fictional character Count Dracula, has come to symbolize the periphery between the majority and being an outsider to that group. Dracula’s appeal throughout the years and genres unquestionably stem from his sense of romanticism and monster. Readers no doubt are attracted to his monstrous sensibilities, which provide a sense of looking first at his appearance, personality, and behavior at the beginning of the novel. Readers can easily see Dracula’s blurred outsider status, as he occupies the boundaries of human and monster. Related to this is Dracula’s geographic sense of outsider. The creation of Frankenstein’s Monster experiences this in the Mary Shelley story of the same name, as both characters are truly unable to be defined outside of a physical description which frequently relies on the horrific. For all intents and purposes, Dracula is an immigrant to England, thus placing him further into the realm of outsider. To look at Bram Stoker’s Dracula as solely a monster in the most violent sense of his actions would to be look at a sole aspect of his character, and should be analyzed based on how he interacts with the outside world to genuinely understand him. The purpose of Dracula’s physical description is to place him against humanity and see how he appears. He has various features which obviously make him a vampire, such as a set of sharp teeth, but there are other peculiarities to his description which mark him as being an outsider. For instance, when Jonathon Harker, and by extension the reader, first meets Dracula, he describes him as being, â€Å"a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot† (Stoker 15). At this point, he is a regular looking man, or at least normal enough that nothing elicits a reac tion in Jonathon. Later, however, the aberrant constitution of Dracula comes to the forefront, as he is noted to have massive eyebrows, a cruel mouth, sharp teeth, and pointed ears (Stoker 17). These countenances of Dracula work in tandem to purge him from the human realm and into that of an outsider. These are attributes that one would not discover in a so-called â€Å"normal† human and as such we are able to immediately label him has something monstrous. The numerous references to Dracula’s monstrous physical attributions are the surface when it comes to Dracula’s demonic nature, but it is his vampiric abilities which truly place him as divergent from humanity. For instance, he holds the power of transformation, which in-and-of-itself is an indicator of his inhuman nature. He arrives in England, after maintaining himself upon the crew of the Demeter, in the shape of an, â€Å"immense dog, [which] sprang up on deck from below, as if shot up by the concussion† (Stoker 72). This removal from humanity is such that, if he so feels it, he does not even have to be in the form of a human. Dracula is at this point in time, indefinable, as one cannot truly explain what he is. As a result of this, Dracula casts his lot as a monster. In short, if we cannot adequately explain a phenomenon, we brand it as being something completely different, and likely to be feared. The largest feature of the vampire is ultimately what expunges Dracula’s entrance to the human world; the fact that he must gorge himself upon blood in order to survive. This abhorrent act is the anchor to Dracula’s monstrous persona, as it is simply something that, for the most part, humanity does not abide by. It is this quality of Dracula that ultimately spurs Van Helsing and company to put a stake to his chest and kill Dracula. The description of his feeding upon Wilhelmina Harker (who will later be referred to as â€Å"Mina† in the story), betrays his suave and sophisticated demeanor: The Count turned his face, and the hellish look that I had heard described seemed to leap into it. His eyes flamed red with devilish passion. The great nostrils of the white aquiline nose opened wide and quivered at the edge, and the white sharp teeth, behind the full lips of the blood dripping mouth, clamped together like those of a wild beast. With a wrench, which threw his victim back upon the bed as though hurled from a height, he turned and sprang at us (Stoker 248). His feeding upon Mina is also the instance wherein the reader finally sees Dracula’s true form, namely that as a bloodsucker. While it is alluded to in the past, it is at this moment that we truly see what it entails, namely the grotesque image of Mina, unable to do anything in retaliation and covered in her own blood as Dracula forces her drink his blood from his body. The fact that Dracula is a vampire and as such does those activities which pertain to Vampirism paints him as an outsider in and of itself, but there is another characteristic that places him yet further outside humanity, namely the fact that he exists as an unholy creature, so much so that, â€Å"a sacred bullet fired into his coffin [will] kill him so that he may be true dead† (Stoker 211). Furthermore, when the group of vampire hunters is discussing what tools they have at their disposal in which to attack Dracula, Van Helsing states that, â€Å"then there are things which so afflict him that he has no power, as the garlic that we know of, and as for things sacred, as this symbol, my crucifix, that was amongst us even now when we resolve† (Stoker 211). The fact that Dracula exists separately from religion tells us that he has, within himself, erased the demarcation of human and monster. This paints him as being different, and as such is to be feared. The audience at the time may have either have questioned Christian tenets or put their faith in Science, but they still respected the boundaries of Religion. Beyond the purely physical and spiritual aspect of Dracula, the reader sees that he encompasses the notion of the outsider through geography as well. While he is, in a humanistic sense, not of this world, he is also from a foreign land. We can therefore start t o see Dracula as being an immigrant in a foreign land as being his largest outsider quality. Michael Kane posits the notion that Stoker, â€Å"sought to project a considerable variety of fears regarding the state of England and the English themselves onto the figure of the immigrant ‘foreigner’†¦whose origin is not clearly defined† (Stoker 9). In effect, the reason that Dracula elicits a feeling of fear from the reader is that we do not understand where he comes from. As he is lacking an origin, other than the vague fact that he claims to be a â€Å"Szekely† descended from Attila the Hun, Stoker places Dracula in a position –to prey upon our fears (Stoker 27-28). Further, Dracula’ place of residence is the embodiment of â€Å"outsider†, especially to Jonathon Harker. Dracula himself states that, â€Å"Here I am noble. I am a Boyar. The common people know me, and I am master. But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one. Men know him not, and to know not is to care not for† (Stoker 19). Jonathon’s descriptio n of the castle itself is one that places it as being ‘other’, â€Å"from whose tall black windows came no ray of light, and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the sky† (Stoker 14). Furthermore, the very country where Dracula resides is effectively between continents and the cultures therein, as Transylvania is in an intersection between Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. For all intents and purposes, it is culturally â€Å"other† as it borrows from the various nations that have passed through it, either for trade or for conquering. From this, the reader can easily see that Dracula embodies a sense of â€Å"reverse colonialism†, as his plans are to immigrate to England and infect the population with his plague of Vampirism. Stoker plays upon the fact that England, at this time one of, if not the largest, colonizing countries, is in turn being colonized, not by another country but by an intangible immigrant. Dracula’s intent is not of material wealth or power, but of controlling the people and using them as livestock. We can see this when Dracula tells Jonathan Harker that he, â€Å"[has] come to know your great England, an d to know her is to love her. I long to go through the crowded streets of your mighty London, to be in the midst of the whirl and rush of humanity, to share its life, its change, its death, and all that makes it what it is† (Stoker 19). Kane reaffirms this by contending that Dracula is an example of â€Å"invasion literature†, which acts upon the readers on England by playing with a considerable variety of fears regarding the state of England and the English themselves. Another interesting symbol of Dracula’s reverse colonialism is the fact that he is literally transporting his mother land onto England. He has boxes of Transylvanian earth transported with him upon his attack on England, as he requires these so as to maintain his strength whilst abroad: â€Å"We must trace each of these boxes, and when we are ready, we must either capture or kill this monster in his lair, or we must, so to speak, sterilize the earth, so that no more he can seek safety in it† (Stoker 213). The Vampire Hunters quickly realize that, for Dracula, the very earth itself acts as a conduit of power. He is literally attempting to supplant the English earth with that of Transylvania, so that he can continue with his plans of world domination. It is only when he has displaced the soil of the English with that of the Transylvanian is he able to do so. Ultimately, the fear that the reader feels towards Dracula is the result of Stoker’s ability to place him in the realm of the other. His physical appearance is designed to place him as inhuman, for a human does not have the need to feed on blood in order to survive. Furthermore, Dracula removes himself by taking other shapes and become something that no longer even reveals a human. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, Dracula’s otherness stems from the fact that he is an immigrant from a foreign land, a land that is itself removed from certainty as it is culturally between. This immigrant status first starts out as basic hatred, then turns into a fear as Dracula attempts to colonize England and dominate it. Every part of Dracula’s â€Å"adventure† in England is a reaction to his outsider status, but more so because he attacks the readers, or at least the readers that Stoker was writing for in their native land. When coupling his appearance of unnaturalness with the fact that he attacks the protagonists in their own homes, the reader has the creation of a monster. This monster is one that preys upon both the people and the audience’s fear.