Organizational Structure of AirAsia

Organizational Structure of AirAsia 1.0 Introduction Nowadays, the use of information technology plays a vital role for businesses to compete and succeed. According to Laudon and Laudon (2010), almost the all firms and organizations use information technology to survive; they invest in information technology and systems because these investments will return a lot of advantages, such as; an increase in productivity, a decrease in costs and an increase in revenue. Information systems provide information for managers which help them to make better decisions and improve operations. This assignment will look at the largest low cost carriers in Asia Pacific region AirAsia Berhad, which is known as AirAsia. In this work we will analyse how organization has successfully used information technology and systems to improve their business. In addition, this paper will look to IT strategies of Air Asia and to some businesses processes within organization where information systems were successfully implemented. Organization background If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. (Pearl Buck) Generally, without past, there is no future and everything in our life has his history. Thus, it is brief Air Asias background: First of all, AirAsia was founded in 1993 by Malaysian government as a second airliner to the major national air company MAS (Malaysian Airlines) and AirAsia started operating after three years on 18th November 1996.During the following 5 years, AirAsia failed every year to bring profit, as a result; AirAsia had a great debt of about USD $ 37 million in 2001. However, this time is the time when the real story of the largest low-cost airlines began. In 2001, Dato Sri Dr Tony Fernandes with partners Dato Pahamin Rejab (former chairman of Air Asia), Dato Kamarudin Meranun, and Dato Aziz Bakar purchased the AirAsia from Malaysian owner HICOM Holdings Berhad (now known as DRB-HICOM Berhad), for a symbolic price RM1 (USD 0.25 cents), and agreed to close the debts of the company. (AirAsia Annual Report, 2008, p.3) They started with an innovative goal to make air travel cheaper and more affordable to people that Now Everyone Can Fly. AirAsia was re-branded and re-launched and started new life with two Boeing B737 planes, approximately 250 staffs and had only five destinations to Kota Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Labuan, Langkawi and Penang. According to AirAsia website, today after 10 years Air Asia has around 100 air planes and flies to more than 60 destinations from 23 countries. Additionally, Air Asia operates more than 3,500 flights a week and has around 8,000 staffs. In 2009 AirAsia ferried more than 22 million passengers and AirAsia is ASEAN (Association of South Asia Nations) carrier. (AirAsia Annual Report, 2009, p.4) It can be clearly seen that AirAsia has made a tremendous success in airline industry and it is interesting to know what and how managers of AirAsia use to achieve this fantastic outcome. It will be described later in following chapters. Organization Vision and Mission. Nowadays every organization has mission and vision statements, which show what organization is (mission) and a view of what organization wants to be (vision). (Harrison and John, 2009) In addition, the mission statement of the organization must be broad because it is an umbrella which encompasses organizations programs and services. (Angelica, 2001) 1). AirAsias Vision: Continue to be the lowest cost airline in every market we serve. 2). AirAsias Mission: To be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family Create a globally recognized ASEAN brand To attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia Maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and enhance service level (AirAsia website) Business Strategies and Success factors. Without a strategy the organization is like a ship without rudder, going around in circles. (Joel Ross and Michael Kami) Air Asia Success factors. AirAsia has achieved a tremendous success since its renovation. Because of some success factors AirAsia gets some competitive advantages in airline competition. By using it AirAsia is the best lowest cost airline company in South Asia. The key point of Airasias success factors is to deliver low fares is to consistently keep costs low. Providing low costs needs the high efficiency in every part of the business. Thus, every part of organization, every system process, everything must incorporate best industry practices. AirAsiaa success factors can be analyzed in the core values of the organization. AirAsia gets competitive advantages and makes their business successful by using these key strategies: Safety First Safety is the most vital criteria in every part of the organization operations; safety is the area where AirAsia will never compromise on. All conditions, which determine by regulators in the countries where AirAsia operates, are complied by the largest low fare airline. Furthermore, partnering with the worlds most renowned maintenance providers to be ensured that AirAsias airplanes always in the best condition. High Aircraft Utilisation The AirAsia airplane captains ability, to make a fast turnaround of 25 minutes which is the fastest in the region, is more convenient for customers to travel. It has resulted in high aircraft utilisation, better airline and staff productivity and lower costs. Low Fare, No Frills Providing to guests to have the choice of buying exclusively prepared meals, snacks and drinks from in-flight service at an affordable price. Streamlined Operations The important key of the AirAsias success is to make processes are simple as possible. Leans Distribution System Offering a wide and innovative range of distribution channels to make booking and travelling easier. Point to Point Network Applying the point-to-point network keeps operation simple and lower costs. Most of the AirAsias flights are short haul (four-hour flight radius or less) which helps to keep lower costs. Company Business Strategy. The Business Strategy of AirAsia is To continue to be the lowest cost short-haul airline in every market it serves, delivering strong organic growth through offering the lowest airfares at a uprofit. This strategy focusing in six main strategic thrusts: Leanest Cost Structure Efficient and simple point to point operationsÂÂ   Attracting and retaining hardworking and smart peopleÂÂ   Passion for continuous cost reduction Maximise Shareholders Value Resilient profit growth through our lower cost baseÂÂ   Expansion of the AirAsia network in a prudent and disciplined mannerÂÂ   Invest and enhance the AirAsia brand to increase investors returns Safety Comply with the highest International Aviation Safety Standards and practices Keep operations simple and transparentÂÂ   Ensure the security of our People and Guests ÂÂ   Passion for Guests Satisfaction Maintain simplicity in every applicationÂÂ   Practice the unique and friendly AirAsia experience at every opportunityÂÂ   Recognize the linkage between guests satisfaction and long-term success ÂÂ   Transparency Transparency in decision-making and information sharingÂÂ   Optimum disclosure higher than industry normsÂÂ   Timeliness in disclosing information ÂÂ   Human Capital Development Invest in both hard and soft skillsÂÂ   Recognize all our People as contributors to our successÂÂ   Reward excellence and individual contributions Maintaining one brand across the Group Analysis of the current Business Environment. Industry Analysis Porters Five Forces Model. 1. Bargaining Power of Supplier First of all, it can be clearly seen that the main AirAsias supplier is the airplane suppliers. Generally the power of airplane suppliers is very strong because of monopolisation in airplane manufacturers; there are only two types of airplanes Boeing and Airbus. The switching cost for airplane suppliers is very high due to expensive needs to change airplanes, for example: it will be very costly for AirAsia to change airplanes and train employees to be used of new airplanes. To be honest, nowadays, only several airline manufactures exist in airline industry, thus the power of airplane suppliers is very fantastic. If we look to other suppliers, such as, fuel, food and other suppliers, it is clear that their power is not so strong because AirAsia can change them and it will not affect to costs. The increase in price can be risky for these suppliers because AirAsia can quit working with them. 2. Bargaining Power of Buyer Generally, the power of customers is always high because there is no any switching cost for customers to change from one airline company to another, however; in this case, it can be thought that the output of AirAsia is very unique and fantastic in South Asia region. In addition, there will be switching cost for customers who want to change AirAsia to another airline company, as a result; the bargaining power of buyers is low. 3. Threat from Substitutes In South Asia region there are several possible substitutes for airline industry, such as; trains, buses, cars or ships. However, the prices for other substitutes are more expensive or at the same level, comfort, time spending and other factors during the travelling are more worse than in irline travelling. Nowadays, air travelling is faster, cheaper and more comfortable, as a result; threat of substitutes is respectively low. 4. Threat from New Entrants Airline industry is very expensive for new organizations to entrance into this industry. New organizations must have a big capital, strong support from government and must correspond for some requirements for airline organizations. There are difficult barriers for new organizations, for instance; cost advantages of existing airline organizations, brand loyalty of customers, high switching costs for customers and government restrictions. Therefore, the threat from new entrants is low. 5. Rivalry Intensity In general, the competition between airline organizations in Malaysia is not very strong. There is only one competitor for AirAsia in Malaysian airline industry is Malaysian Airlines (MAS) which can be considered as a friendly rival. Thus, the intensity of rival is low in Malaysian airline industry. 3.3 AirAsia Competitive Advantage. The strategic positioning has several ways in which the company can achieve competitive advantage. For instance, offering similar benefits for a lower cost to customers or retain cost but offer greater benefits for customers. In the case of Maybank, the strategy used by the company is to preserve the value of banking products and services, while offering great benefits and value, as well as the good quality of their products and services. Focusing on the variety and quality of their products and services, Maybank exercise their competitive advantage. In particular, through its subsidiaries Maybank provides a wide and diverse range of products and services. That allows its customers to use multiple services in one banking group. By entrusting their money to the time-tested bank, whether it be insurance, private banking or assets management. All this, along with high quality services and highly professional staff of the bank create convenience for customers, thereby increasing competitive advantage. One of the important factors in achieving competitive advantage of Maybank is to improve the quality and speed of services through the introduction of information technology. Maybank since its inception is looking for ways to make life easier for its customers, through improving the quality of its services. Information technologies have played an important role in this. Maybank always has been the first to introduce new technologies, thus providing greater benefits and opportunities for its customers. 4.0 Analysis of the Current IS/IT Strategy Environment and IT solutions of Maybank. Yield Management System (YMS) It is also known as Revenue Management System; it understands, anticipates and reacts to the behavior of customer to maximize revenue for the organization. This takes into account the operating costs and aids AirAsia to optimize prices and allocate capacity to maximize expected revenues. The optimization is done on two levels in AirAsia: Seat (Every seat is considered an opportunity to maximize revenue. Seats are available at various prices in different points of time. A reservation done at a later date will be charged more than the one done earlier for the same seat) Route (By adjusting prices for routes/destinations that have a higher demand when compared to others). The effective method however is to combine these two levels for all flights, all routes so that both the seat and the route are effectively priced for all the flights. AirAsia has realized increased revenue (3-4%) for the same number of aircrafts by taking advantage of the forecast of the high/low demand patterns, effectively shifting the demand from low period to high period and by charging a premium for late bookings. Over the past couple of years, AirAsia have actually lowered prices (essential for LCC) as the YMS has given them the window to increase their revenue by offering higher discounts, more frequently during off-peak times while raising prices only marginally for peak times. (Voneche, n.d). Computer Reservation System (CRS) AirAsias CRS (Open Skies by Navitaire) has helped it to grow at a dramatic pace in the past couple of years Navitaires Open Skies technology has truly enabled Airasias growth from 2 million passengers to 7.7 million passengers in less than two years. Open Skies scaled easily to accommodate our growth. Tony Fernandes CEO AirAsia Source: Navitaire (http://www.navitaire.com/res_and_dist/openskies.asp) It is an integrated web-based reservation and inventory system. It includes Internet, call center, airport departure control and more. It is a direct sales engine that effectively eliminates the middleman (travel agents) and the sales commissions that need to be paid to them. Centralized customer data is also maintained by Open Skies and this helps AirAsia to track booking and schedule flight activities with real-time, on-demand reporting feature. The vast booking information that is provided online to the customers acts as a force that brings more customers to use the website thus reducing the customer support costs. An important feature is that Open Skies seamlessly integrates with the already implemented YMS so that the systems can be used in unison for pricing and revenue maximization (by providing information on bookings, schedules etc) and driving down the costs of operation at the same time. This CRS enabled AirAsia to introduce the first ticket less travel option and also pro vides features such as advanced boarding passes in addition to online booking that enabled the growth of AirAsia as these features attracted customers that did not have the time for purchasing tickets from counters and coming in 1 hour early for securing a seat on the aircraft. AirAsia have proposed to implement a Wireless Delivery System (WDS) to expand its reach via mobile phones. With this, potential customers will be able to book tickets via their mobile phones. This is a strategic move for growth as the Asia-Pacific region has a larger population of mobile phone users rather than internet users. Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) AirAsia has recently (May 2005) opted for a full fledged ERP system implemented by Avanade consultants. By implementing this package AirAsia is looking to successfully maintain process integrity, reduce financial month-end closing processing times, and speed up reporting and data retrieval processes. (Microsoft Malaysia) 4.1 IT and IS deployed by Maybank. It can be said that Maybank has been always be on the way to improve quality of their products and services, thereby satisfy all the needs of their customers. In other words Maybank has been always innovated its products and services by implementation of IT. If to look back to the past we can see that Maybank was the leader to introduce new technologies to the market. For instance, Maybank was the first to embark on a computerisation programme, First to implement the use of ATMs and establish a shared ATM network with its subsidiaries, First to introduce Phone banking and First to introduce Internet Banking. In 1981, Maybank was first Malaysian bank to set up Automated Teller Machine (ATM) services.(annual report, 2009). Since that time Maybank increased the number of ATMs, with each year. ATMs give a lot of opportunities and benefits to the customers of the bank. Such as, access to own account 24 hours/7 days a week, fast cash withdrawal, cheque book and statement request, fund transfer between own accounts and funds transfer to third party accounts. Furthermore, Maybank was first domestic bank to implement MAS electronic Ticketing at their ATMs, this enable Maybank customers ticketless air travel in Malaysia on Malaysia Airlines. Later, due to its expansion to the South Asia markets Maybank launch the Maybank RegionLink Service. RegionLink Service allows Maybank customers in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Philippines to access ATM transactions at any Maybank ATM in these four countries. To effectively usage and managing its ATM network as well as to enable their customers to have a be tter service, Maybank uses automated teller machine management software from Diebold Inc. Without a doubt, the Internet is one of the most important technological advances of recent years. The rapid development of information technologies have created vast opportunities for companies to reduce operating costs, increase speed and quality of their services, as well as the creation of additional benefits for their customers. Because of this and to create competitive advantage Maybank launch its Internet Banking. Basically, Maybank launch Internet Banking through its online financial portal maybank2u.com in 2000. This portal bring the convenience of online banking for its customers, who can open an account, check balances, transfer funds, settle bills and shop online via this site, which employs 128-bit SSL security technology. Later in 2001, Maybank launch its E-bills service, which can be used only by their customers. At that time there were 325 business organisations that were able to accept payment through internet banking. Conducting funds transactions over the internet has been convenient and quick. This allowed the company to reach RM 500 million monthly total average transaction. In 2003, Maybank launched Internet Banking Kiosks. It enable their customers to undertake internet banking transactions in provided terminals at its branches. To maintain its leadership position in internet banking services, in 2006, Maybank launch Mobile Banking services in collaboration with Celcom and Maxis. It was the first mobile banking in Malaysia . It allowed Maybank customers to access to the three most popular applications of Maybank2u.com: bill payment balance enquiry and fund transfers. From that time, Maybank customers have the convenience of undertaking selected banking transactions in real time via the mobile phone. In order to improve its efficiency and service MayBank concluded a series of deals with companies such as CSC and Microsoft.The main objective of IT infrastructure outsourcing agreement with CSC was to improve their IT services to position it for global economic growth and, in the case of major disasters, to reduce its recovery time from three days to less than eight hours. The data center was moved from Maybanks headquarter to a secure and modern CSC facility. In addition, CSC set up separate data center for disaster recovery that fully duplicates all of the banks critical data across all platforms. CSC also provide simultaneous connection between bank branches, the main data center and disaster recovery center. This deal allowed the company to reduce response time, to increase productivity and transactional speed. An Enterprise Subscription Agreement with Microsoft Malaysia to adopt a common software toolset for Maybanks desktop applications has given Maybank the ability to promote greater communication among employees and customers and to enhance cost efficiency. One of the results of this agreement was increasing efficiency and productivity of the employees. 4.2 Impact on the usage of IS/IT by Maybank. In general, the use of information technology has a significant impact on the work of the enterprise. Effect of IT can be both at the organization, its efficiency, as well as to clients and their relationship to the company. In the case of Maybank, IT was one of the essential factors of growth and continued leadership of the bank. Maybank always has been a pioneer in the introduction of the use of IT, which allowed the company to achieve certain benefits. These benefits include competitive advantage, achieving the goal of the company, better service for customers and increase profits and market share. Maybank was able to improve their service through the use of information technology and information systems. Provision of banking and financial services through a network of ATMs and internet banking has allowed its customers to access their accounts anytime and anywhere in the world. Also, the IT/IS have an impact on the reduction of transaction costs and the time spending on transaction, that is convenient for customers. Customer relationship management system has been significantly influenced by information technologies. Increasing the ways of interaction between the company and customers, has given Maybank opportunity to increase and improve understanding of the needs and desires of customers. All this resulted in improved service and customer satisfaction, as well as the obvious convenience for customers of Maybank. Paying great attention to the use and implementation of IT, Maybank thus creating conditions for improving efficiency and productivity of their employees, as well as facilitating a repository of knowledge and being able to share this knowledge across the organization. In Maybank firmly believe that effective knowledge sharing is a source of competitive advantage. Also providing new products and services Maybank has a competitive advantage. At the same time, it is a temporary competitive advantage, because competitors can later enter the market with similar products and services. Therefore Maybank is always on the way to improve its service. On the other hand, Maybank as a pioneer in the introduction of the usage of IT has the first-mover advantage. This has a significant impact on enlarging market share. Also, the IT/IS has an impact on the reduction of transaction costs and human capital costs. All this has allowed Maybank to increase profits and market share. Increased profits and market share, competitive advantage and better service has given Maybank an opportunity to achieve its goal. Namely to become a leading banking group in Malaysia, and set the following goal to become a leading regional banking group by 2015. 5.0 Conclusion Technical progress is coming more quickly than ever before, thus, affecting all aspects of a typical company. Today, it is vital to the company to use information technology in order to work. It is become crucial factor for the Maybank to employ IT/IS in order to compete in digital world, where almost everyone use IT. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the most important factor still is the people and companies such as Maybank also need to invest their money in staff training, in order to be competitive enough or even to create competitive advantage. Because it is the people who create it.

Sorority House Ghost Story :: Urban Legend

Sorority House Ghost Story I searched until I heard a story that gave me the chills. It comes from right around the block from where I live on campus, at one of the sorority houses at the University of Maryland. I collected this story the weekend of April 2nd, at my fraternity house. I asked my friend, a junior from Pikesville, if she knows any ghost stories. Her face lit up as if she was dying to tell me this story since the first time we ever met. She asked â€Å"you never heard the story of the ghost in the sorority house?† I replied no. The normally quiet woman demanded my attention away from the TV and went into her story. "Many years ago a bunch of girls in my house [supposedly] were drinking and celebrating a girl’s 21st birthday party.† She went on to explain that drinking in sorority houses is forbidden by the university, and that a sorority would get thrown out of their own house if the university or the police ever found out. My friend told this story very well. I felt like I should turn out the lights and give her a flashlight to hold up to her face. She went on to say that, according to the legend, everyone was very drunk and pushed the birthday girl to keep drinking. It is tradition that the birthday boy or girl takes 21 shots on his or her 21st birthday. Unfortunately for this young woman, she passed out before she made it to her benchmarked 21st shot. The women, terrified that if they brought her to a hospital they would get into trouble for drinking in their house, took the birthday girl to her bed and tried taking care of her themselves. Before midnight (when she would have turned 21), the young woman died of alcohol poisoning. Ever since that night, the sorority house has been haunted. The storyteller told me that a friend she knows once had her keyboard pulled out of her desk in the middle of the night and the keys mysteriously started moving on their own. She said that toilets inexplicably flush and the sinks in the house sometimes turn on without anybody touching them. The storyteller made the legend very believable in the way she described young women who I know who have had ghost encounters.

Female Genital Mutilation Essay -- essays research papers fc

Female Genital Mutilation: Barbaric Custom or Cultural Rite â€Å"I was shaking out of my skin with fear. I sat at Netsent’s head so she couldn’t cry out. The circumciser began to cut with a razor blade. She cut everything: the clitoris, the inner and outer labia. There was so much blood!† This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in Marie Claire in April 2003. The speaker is a girl by the name of Genet Girma, an Ethiopian, describing the conditions under which her sister Netsent was forced to have her genitalia removed. Each year, two million girls undergo the devastating and disfiguring practice of genital cutting (Goodwin 157). Genital cutting, widely known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), is the practice of cutting away parts of the external female genitalia. Although many people may see FGM as barbaric and dangerous, most of those who practice it see FGM as a religious rite and as a deeply rooted cultural practice. The three broad categories of FGM are clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation. The mildest form of FGM, clitoridectomy, is the removal of all or part of the clitoris. Excision includes the removal of the clitoris and the cutting of the labia minora. The most extreme form of FGM is infibulation, the removal of the clitoris, labia minora, and the stitching together of the labia majora. Infibulation leaves just a small opening in the vagina for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid, and requires binding together of the legs until stitches adhere. Often the removal of the stitches is part of a wedding night ritual (Taylor 31). If the terrifying nature of the procedure were not enough, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that FGM is â€Å"normally performed by traditional practitioners with crude instruments, such as knives, razor blades and broken glass, usually without anesthetics.† The invasive characteristics of FGM and the unsanitary conditions under which it is usually performed can have serious consequences. Pediatric Nursing writes â€Å"FGM may cause numerous physical complications, including hemorrhage and severe pain, which can cause shock, even death.† It also writes â€Å"FGM may create long-term complications resulting from scarring and interference with the drainage of urine and menstrual blood, such as chronic pelvic infections, which may cause pelvic and back pain, dysmenorrhea, infertility, chronic urinary tract infe... ...ce (Ahmad). As WHO has stated, â€Å"We have to realize that female genital mutilation is a deeply-rooted traditional practice. As such, it can only be abolished completely when attitudes have been changed† (Taylor 31). As this statement suggests, there has to be a line drawn in the sand when discussing the practice of FGM. On one side, there are Western idealists who believe that FGM is barbaric and should be abolished, with their own hands if necessary. On the other side, there are the people who believe FGM is a tradition and a cultural rite, one that should be continued for centuries to come. And somewhere in the middle there are those that believe that change must come, but must come only when the countries involved are ready. Change cannot be put upon them. Works Cited Ahmad, Imad-ad-Dean. â€Å"Female Genital Mutilation: An Islamic Perspective.† Minaret. 1 May 2003 . English, Veronica. â€Å"Female Genital Mutilation.† Journal of Medical Ethics 27.3 (2001): 203-205. Goodwin, Jan. â€Å"I Said No to Female Genital Mutilation.† Marie Claire 10.4 (2003): 157-159. Taylor, Vivienne. â€Å"Female Genital Mutilation: Cultural Practice or Child Abuse?† Pediatric Nursing 15.1 (2003): 31-34.

The Incomparable Evil in Shakespeares Othello Essay -- Othello essays

The Incomparable Evil in Shakespeare's Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚   Shakespeare?s tragic drama Othello disturbs audiences because of the intense, diabolical evil involved in the plot development. Let?s explore the evil in the play, especially in the character of Iago.    In his book of literary criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, A. C. Bradley gives an in-depth analysis of the brand of evil which the ancient personifies:    Iago stands supreme among Shakespeare?s evil characters because the greatest intensity and subtlety of imagination have gone to his making, and because he illustrates in the most perfect combination the two facts concerning evil which seem to have impressed Shakespeare most. The first of these is the fact that perfectly sane people exist in whom fellow-feeling of any kind is so weak that an almost absolute egoism becomes possible to them, and with it those hard vices ? such as ingratitude and cruelty ? which to Shakespeare were far the worst. The second is that such evil is compatible, and even appears to ally itself easily, with exceptional powers of will and intellect. (216)    H. S. Wilson in his book of literary criticism, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, addresses the character of the general?s ancient:    With such a man everything is food for his malice. There is no appeasing him. His ego feeds upon the misfortunes he contrives for others, and what he feeds on only makes him hungrier. He is proof   against pity and remorse alike, as his last interview with Desdemona and his sullen defiance of his captors at the end only too painfully show us. In short, he is the demi-devil that Othello finally calls him, half a devil and half a man; yet the littleness in each of his components is... ...s Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wayne, Valerie. ?Historical Differences: Misogyny and Othello.? The Matter of Difference: Materialist Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Ed Valerie Wayne. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. ?The Engaging Qualities of Othello.? Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Introduction to The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. N. p.: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1957.   

Dove: evolution of a brand Essay

The aim of this case study, written by John Deighton, is to highlight and explain the revolutionary brand evolution strategy at the basis of the extraordinary Unilever’s Dove results, achieved in 2007. Overview: Masterbrands as part of the â€Å"Path to Grow† strategy Unilever is a leading multinational company active in the food, home and personal care sectors. It has been developing globally during the years, creating several of the most successful brands of the world. Its expansion allowed a geographical diversification but also brought some problems of controls; especially the brand portfolio had grown in an unstructured way and required a change of course. Indeed, in February 2000 Unilever began the so called â€Å"Path to Growth†, a five-year strategic activity which included the reshaping and the reorganization of the brand portfolio. More precisely, the company planned to reduce its more than 1,600 brands to 400 and, among them, select a small number of â€Å"Masterbrands† responsible for creating a clear and global identity to be shared with the range of products, included under each Masterbrand name. In this broad strategy it is situated the outstanding evolution of one of the survived brands, Dove, which was selected to become the â€Å"Masterbrand† for Unilever personal care products, beyond the beauty bar category and including hair care products, deodorants, body lotions etc. Dove Masterbrand strategy development Dove, until February 2000, had always been orienting to meet its costumers’ needs, providing them products, with a scientifically proven functional superiority. As a logical consequence, its advertisements had always been centered in promoting the cited higher functionality, preferring natural-looking women rather than fashion model icon in order to communicate honesty and authenticity. But a marketing strategy to build a unique Masterbrand identity could no longer be based on functional superiority, as explained by Deighton; it should create a meaning for Dove, as a â€Å"Masterbrand†, to be applied to all its products. Pursuing the best way to develop the proper image, the management had to slightly change the approach to the promotion. Elements such as â€Å"client need†, â€Å"scientific research†, â€Å"the employment of natural-looking women† and â€Å"honesty and authenticity† survived as central aspects, but they were reassembled and combined differently to accomplish the mentioned goal. The scientific research was no longer used to prove product functionality; but, it was the starting point of the new strategy: a worldwide investigation led by the global brand director for Dove, Silvia Lagnado, and interpreted with the help of two experts, revealed that women generally perceived aesthetic canons, typically illustrated in the advertisements, as very distant and unreachable. It was found out that most of the women didn’t mirror themselves in the advertised concept of beauty and a further survey showed that only the 2% of the interviewed described themselves as beautiful. Dove experts recognized a cultural issue; the beauty-related belief of average women and the advertised beauty weren’t matching. The misalignment generated frustration in women and, as a relevant consequence for Dove, negatively affected the sales of health and care products. So, aware of women dissatisfaction, of their personality, of their need to feel beautiful and keeping in mind Dove internal goals, the management gave life to the revolutionary strategy and decided that Dove should have stood for a point of view. The management decided that natural-looking women would have had a key role in the campaign, but with a different responsibility: instead of promoting Dove’s products they would have promoted their â€Å"average† beauty, with honesty and authenticity. The campaign for Real Beauty was setup and ready to be implemented. The Aim(s) of the campaign Born from the simply idea of creating a common and clear image to be shared with the Dove Masterbrand products, â€Å"The campaign for Real Beauty† has been then developed and changed as it went forward, pursuing further goals and, at the end, revealing itself somewhat different. As a matter of fact and as declared by Kathy O’Brien, Dove marketing director for U.S, the company wanted to â€Å"change the way society views beauty† and â€Å"provoke discussion and debate about real beauty†. This aim was reflected in the Dove’s mission statement, elaborated for the campaign, and it was enhanced with a relevant aspect: the expected repayment for the company, which was keenly expressed. The statement said: â€Å"Dove’s mission is to make more women feel beautiful every day by broadening the narrow definition of beauty and inspiring them to take great care of themselves†. And here the real purpose of the whole initiative became clearer. With the declared aim to develop the common values for the Masterbrand and to overcome the beauty-related mismatch, emerged from the scientific research, Dove started the campaign. Then, inducing the community to a proactive involvement and to debate on such meaning, the company began in a certain sense the democratization process of the beauty. So, being recognized as the entity responsible of the birth of such a thorny process and as a provider of a clear and rule-breaker point of view, Dove started to be on everyone’s lips. It remarkably increased its popularity and most important, allowed it to captivate a huge number of potential clients: those women to be helped in perceiving themselves â€Å"beautiful every day by broadening the definition of beauty†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and to be inspired â€Å"to take great care of themselves†. Paraphrasing the meaning of the period â€Å"to inspire to take great care of themselves†, the commercial aim of Dove’s campaign for real beauty becomes apparent. What made the campaign effective? The combination of different elements made the design and the implementation of the campaign so successful. As a first element, the campaign has its roots in the setting of a clear brand’s mission, shared on a global level. The structure of the organization introduced by the Path to Growth strategy, which split the responsibility for each brand between two groups, the Brand Development, centralized and global in scope, and Brand Building, decentralized according to the regions in which Unilever was involved and responsible to bring the brand to life in each marketplace, substantially helped in defining a global mission. Once developed, the brand’s mission worked as a benchmark for each initiative; a cornerstone around which, the whole campaign moved and evolved. Furthermore, the settlement of a well-defined mission was crucial to maintain the control over the campaign, once it had been shared with the community and on purpose exposed to its assessment, starting what I called â€Å"the democratization process of the beauty concept†. And exactly this process is the feature that I consider the sharpest and the most effective of the whole strategy. Indeed Dove, proposing and supporting its unconventional point of view, with the aim to provoke discussion and debate, really made people feel part of revolution and, at the same time, outstandingly got the company closer to its potential clients. In order to increase women’s engagement, Dove, at a certain point of the campaign, directly asked them to film â€Å"their own daughters discussing their self-esteem challenges† and later on, â€Å"to create their own ads for Dove Cream Oil Body Wash† and to participate at the contest â€Å"the Real Ads by Real Women†. It extremely helped in creating a strong social interconnection between Dove’s supporters and the company; they were joint forces against stereotypes of beauty. Moreover, the involvement of the community, thought in a more general sense and which spontaneously commented and also criticized the campaign, was crucial to increasing Dove’s initiative range and for its goals fulfillment. This aspect was part of a further successful feature of the strategy, the so-called Media planning, which was revolutionary and tailored as well. Responsible of the strategy and the investments for the campaign diffusion, the Media planning unit, as said, relied on the engagement of the community and of Internet too and so, it centered the investments in creating and expanding the community of the â€Å"real beauty seekers†. It included the purchase of a Superbowl advertising space. Thanks to such investments and to Youtube, which played a key role in the divulgation of the ads, the phenomenon reached an extraordinary dimension and, as a consequence, the debate started to spread all over, acquiring more and more media hype, insomuch as 16 minutes of Today Show were dedicated to one of the campaign initiatives; even Oprah devoted a full show to self-esteem, built around a Dove’s advertisement. Critics, discussions and parodies rose in sequence, did nothing but increased the relevance of the campaign and amplified its range, exactly as planned by Dove. These are the reasons that made the revolutionary and unprecedented Dove’s campaign so successful and helpful for the company in becoming â€Å"one of 10 brands with the greatest percentage gain in brand health and business value in the past three years† and in its $1.2 billion of grow. References: John Deighton, (Rev: March 25, 2008), Dove: Evolution of a brand, 9-508-047 Harvard Business school

Unforgettable Memories of A Weekend in New York

Mum handed my sister and me our passports and boarding tickets, hugged us tightly for what seemed like five minutes, and waved goodbye to us as trickled down her cheeks. It sounds strange to say this but I couldn't stop smiling, and neither could Sarah, my 19-year-old sister who was my guardian for the weekend. She was such a laugh, and always had something funny to say about everything. I knew it was going to be a fun and unforgettable weekend. The plane was due to depart from Heathrow to New York at one that Friday afternoon of the 13th October. As we sat laughing a joking the departures lounge our flight number was displayed on the huge television screen, and next to it the word ‘Boarding' flashed. It was time to leave. We picked up hand luggage and headed towards gate number 13. ‘Typical! ‘ I said to myself in my head, ‘Out of all 50 gates I we have to board through the unluckiest number of them all! ‘ Still, I'm not a very superstitious person; I'm just not that keen on flying. Anyway, I didn't let onto my sister about my nerves, she'd only make me feel worse! We had been sat on the plane for about 3 hours, and only four to go.  Like read about memories? Read also  Flashbulb memory! Everyone sat around us had been drinking and so they were all merry and laughing and joking about, that made me feel slightly more relaxed but I still couldn't wait to get off the plane. I sat in my seat and watched the film ‘Almost Famous' I was amazed by size of the television and how they fitted in the seat, my sister just laughed at me and told me I needed to get out more. Before I knew it, it was time to land. I fastened my seatbelt and began to feel slightly nauseous as the plane began to descend. We finally landed and after around 10 minutes we were allowed to get up and head to the doors. As I stepped off the plane the ice cold air hit me and I wrapped my arms around myself to help stay warm. The pilot had said as we landed that it was around -20C but I hadn't realised how cold that was. We caught a yellow taxi to our ‘motel' and got straight into bed. We had a long day ahead. I woke up at 8 and we walked to a local cafeteria for a bagel and cup of coffee. I was amazed at everything the surroundings, everything was so different from back home. ‘First stop, the Empire State Building, get a good view of the whole place ok? ‘ I replied to my sister with a nod and a laugh as we looked around to see everyone staring. I don't think everyone in the cafeteria was that impressed that she managed to spit out half her bagel as she asked me that question, but I found it amusing and we fell about laughing together. We caught a taxi to the building and entered a lift which took us halfway up the building, we then had to swap to another lift because the building is so tall that having only one lift would cause the cables to snap. Being told this by the guide didn't exactly help with my fear of heights. Finally, we reached the top and the view was just breathtaking. I had never seen anything like it. I stood there speechless for about thirty minutes, and looked out over the city for miles. I t was a surreal experience and views that imprinted my mind. Next up, we had to catch a ferry to Statton Island to see the world-famous Statue of Liberty. I took pictures but I knew the photos wouldn't show the astounding statue that stood for me. We caught a ferry back to the mainland and walked around Time Square. It held a resemblance to Piccadilly Circus, but was somewhat more exciting. We both looked like typical tourists with our huge bags, maps and cameras but everyone around was friendly and helped us with directions. It was getting late in the afternoon and we had been shopping for an hour or so and ended up in a nail bar. We sat there giggling together as we slurped our chocolate milkshakes and had our nails painted. By 9. 30pm we were both shattered but my sister said there was one last thing we had to do. I had no idea where we were going and all I can remember is it is somewhere off Fifth Avenue but we soon arrived at a huge outside ice rink. I was so excited I couldn't wait to try skating. We skated for about an hour, it was even colder being on the ice but we both managed to skate round at least once without falling over each other. We laughed so much and everyone around us laughed at us too but we didn't care. After that we headed back to the hotel. I collapsed onto the bed still dressed in my clothes and was out like a light. I slept like a log and didn't wake until the alarm went off at 7 that morning. We headed to the same cafeteria again for our morning bagel and coffee. Soon after that we hit the shops for some serious shopping. The selection of clothes and gadgets was never ending, each shop we entered I had to buy something. After a good few hours shopping we visited St Patricks's Cathedral, it was a big tourist attraction -there were a lot of English and Irish people around there, but it wasn't really that appealing to us so we didn't stay long. The last place we had left to visit was Ground Zero, we felt that as we were in New York we had to go and pay our respects. The area was devastating and very emotional. The memorial listed all the names of those who had died in the tragedy and I found it really upsetting and felt homesick, even though I had only been away two days. My sister hugged me and said to me ‘Let it make you realise what you've got and don't take it for granted. This is why you have to live life to the full and take every opportunity that comes along. Its not every day you get taken for a weekend shopping in New York is it? † she then smiled at me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She was always capable of putting a smile back on my face, no matter how I felt. My sister had always been known as a joker and so to hear her say something like this really meant a lot. We got back to the hotel mid-afternoon and packed up our bags. Our flight departed at 6 that evening and we were on our way home. We landed at Heathrow at 1 in the morning. I had slept for most of the plane and car journey home. I walked in the front of the door of my house and inhaled deeply, it smelt of home, and I smiled to myself. The holiday was really fun and it had taught me a lot, it brought me closer to my sister and the advice she gave me at ground zero will stay with me forever, and the new experiences will stay with me forever too. I hope to return back there in the near future, to relive my happy memories.

Humanitarian Intervention Essay

The United Nations is an international organization that fights for world peace, and strives to control international law, international security, economic development, social progress, and human rights. In the United Nation’s preamble, it states the organization is â€Å"determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.† However, the U.N. can often be ineffective and it has been an ongoing debate between the world’s leaders whether or not intervention is justified when inhumane acts are committed in foreign lands. Too many human beings have been victims of violence, rape and/or other crimes on the U.N.’s watch all because the organization is not authorized to forcefully intervene in another country. The United Nations Security Council is responsible for preserving peace between nations and even within nations, and when a nation is com mitting atrocious acts against its citizens, the U.N. and other nations should have the right to intervene militarily to end those abuses. Just as if a teenager would take on the responsibilities of providing a home and food for themselves when they move out, a country assumes the responsibility of taking care of its citizens when it becomes independent. When a country proves to the outside world it is not capable of controlling its citizens and maintaining a peaceful nation, blue helmeted U.N. troops may invade these unstable regions. It would be inhumane for the U.N., any country, or any human to witness a population suffering and not try to interfere in some way. To look the other way would be immoral and an inhumane act of itself. When trying to obtain peace in foreign countries, peaceful negotiations are not always successful and other means are necessary. In the past, the U.N. has not been able to aid suffering populations militarily and has failed to protect the citizens from vicious crimes. In a survey taken by the U.N. in 2007, â€Å"which covered a total of 14 countries, plus the Palestinian Territories, [it] found that solid majorities in each of 12 national pools believe that the U.N. Security Council should have the right to authorize the use of military force to protect innocent people from genocide and other massive abuses, even against the will of their own government† (Lobe). Even with the support of the majority of world, the U.N. still does not have the authority to forcefully protect innocent people from cruelty. When tens of thousands of people were being killed in Darfur, and Rwanda, it was the U.N.’s responsibility to step in and save the lives of those living in a country at an unfortunate time. However, by following their rules of procedure, the U.N. troops were not allowed to use force unless fired upon. Since 2003, â€Å"tens of thousands of people have being killed and over one million people displaced† in Darfur and in 1994, Hutus killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis in Rwanda (Spectators to Genocide). â€Å"As a result of the massacre [in Rwanda], there are more than one million orphans† (Rust). But when the blue helmeted troops entered the Rwandan chaos, there was not much they could do to stop the genocides that were taking place right before their eyes. It took the United Nations three years after the United States declared the events taking place in Darfur as genocide to interfere, and even still the U.N. has done nothing beneficial to help those suffering in Darfur. Unable to seize weapons, the blue helmets stand by powerless. Had the United Nations involved itself earlier in Rwanda and Darfur and at full force, millions of people’s lives could have been saved or bettered. If the U.N. involved itself militarily, it is possible that the U.N. may have a few casualties, but the United States Army has lost a good number of soldiers over the years while fighting for causes they believe in. Sometimes sacrifices need to be made, and if a few members of the U.N. were lost in effort to protect the lives of thousands of people and potentially save a population, it would be an admirable sacrifice. It should be the world’s responsibility to defend civilians when its government is guilty of neglecting to â€Å"protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity† (Reeves). Had the United Nations acted quicker when the Hutus began killing the Tutsis, and put an end to the vicious attacks that took place during those days, future genocides could have possibly been prevented. Instead, the word genocide can be heard more frequently and little is being done to stop that. Thousands of lives could have been saved or altered had the United Nations been able to step in and militarily defend the helpless populations of Rwanda and Darfur. Justification of humanitarian intervention is essential in order to protect the lives and rights of those suffering from genocide. The U.N. should want a reputation of not allowing genocides to take place, but instead the organization is being criticized for the lack of effort and aid being lent to those countries in need. Over the years, too many lives have been lost or damaged due to genocide and other inhumane acts. Humanitarian intervention needs to be allowed when a country is not protecting its citizens, in effort to save the lives of populations. The United Nations’ ineffectiveness in the past should be enough of a reason for why humanitarian intervention should be justified. It is imperative that the United Nations be entitled to militarily involve itself when innocent lives are in danger. Works Cited â€Å"Charter of the United Nations: Preamble.† Welcome to the United Nations: It’s Your World. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. . Jim Lobe. â€Å"U.N.: POLL SHOWS BROAD SUPPORT FOR U.N. ACTION AGAINST GENOCIDE. † Global Information Network 6 April 2007 Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. Reeves, E. â€Å"Failure to Protect: International Response to Darfur Genocide. † Harvard International Review 29.4 (2008): 84-85. Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. Rust, Selina. â€Å"RWANDA: REMEMBERING THE UNFORGETTABLE. † Global Information Network 9 April 2010 Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 9 Nov. 2010. â€Å"Spectators to Genocide. † Wall Street Journal 2 Aug. 2007, Eastern edition: National Newspaper Abstracts (3), ProQuest. Web. 3 Nov. 2010.