Plato vs. Aristotle Essay Example for Free

Plato vs. Aristotle Essay Numerous experts in modern time regard Plato as the first genuine political philosopher and Aristotle as the first political scientist. They were both great thinkers in regards to, in part with Socrates, being the foundation of the great western philosophers. Plato and Aristotle each had ideas in how to proceed with improving the society in which they were part of during their existence. It is necessary therefore to analyze their different theoretical approaches regarding their philosophical perspectives, such as ethics and psychology. This paper however will mainly concentrate on Aristotles views on friendship and how it impacts todays society. The main objective in Platos philosophy is a creation of a perfect society. He constructs a foundation for a utopian society in his book The Republic. The purpose of his thought process was to cleanse his society of the woes he felt plagued it and construct a new one. Plato lived during the Peloponnesian War, which consequently lead to the end of the Athenian democracy. He had eyewitness account of his mentors (Socrates) trial and execution. Bitter and angered by the political corruption that gripped the Athenian democratic government, he disengaged from participating in politics. He strongly felt that neither a moral individual nor a state that is rational could be established in a democratic environment. Plato felt that the common man wasnt intelligent or capable of dealing with concepts that influence the state such as economics, policy of foreign affairs and other relative matters. He viewed political incumbents in Athens government as being elected for matters that were irrelevant to main factors that affected the state. Another danger was that excessive liberty for the people of the democratic society could potentially lead to anarchy. In Platos perfect society, he forged ahead to eliminate the disease (pluralism of friendship) that plagued the human character and society (Class Notes). Essentially, Plato wanted to establish the perfect form of society, linked by one single entity. Aristotle, unlike Plato, was not focused or concerned about the idea of a perfect society, instead he wanted to improve upon the one that he was part of during his existence. Rather than develop a framework for a society that is perfect, he suggested that society should, in it self, strive to utilize the best system it can attain. He felt that utopia was abstract and superficial. It wouldnt allow for realistic problem solving solutions. He felt that Platos view of a strict overhaul of society in general wasnt necessary. He believed that society was at its optimum and you can only improve upon the existing one. Platos perfect society would consist of three basic groups, which are Guardians (Gold), Auxiliaries (Silver), and the Artisan (Bronze). The highest of these classes are the gold people, which consist of rulers and non-rulers. Those that are rulers are societys decision policy makers and non-rulers occupy levels of civil servants. The fundamental prerequisite to becoming a genuine philosopher is to have knowledge of forms, thus enabling you to know the truth. Platos theory of the forms is partly logical and part metaphysical. Armed with the truth, he believed that philosophical ruler will always make the right decision, and rule with total wisdom, justice and virtue. The rulers, he felt, wouldnt posses any money or property, they would be free of desires, excesses, and vices. The Auxiliaries (Silver) are people of strength, courage, and military capacity; they occupy a small sector of society. All auxiliaries would be subjected to a series of tests, which will check their powers of resistance to self-interest, pleasure and other temptations. The last level, Artisan (Bronze), are the workers which might be composed of farmers and artist, essentially non-skilled workers. They would produce all the consumable and non-consumable goods deemed necessary for consumption and the continued economic viability of the society. Plato whole-heartedly felt that if ever the bronze or iron people rule the state would collapse (Class Notes). He sought to establish the concept of the gold class having wisdom, thus they should be wise and good rulers. It was imperative that those who rule be philosophers and skilled in areas that pertained to the interest of the state. Aristotles disagreed with Plato in regards to allowing one particular class to govern the state politically for indefinite period of time. He felt that to not allow interaction among the various classes would inhibit those who posses the ability to engage in political life, an injustice. He feels Platos structure of classes is politically incorrect for the state. He quotes It is a further objection that he deprives his Guardians even of happiness, maintaining that happiness of the whole state which should be the object of legislation, ultimately he is stating that those who rule (Guardians), sacrifice their happiness for control and absolute power. Those who are of the gold class, lead such a rigid life, that it will become necessary to impose the same strict way of life on those being governed. He places the idea of moderation on a high pedestal. Many individuals come to favor the concept of moderation because it is flexible, part liberal and part conservative. Platos ideal society is so difficult to conceive that Aristotle believes that no human being can achieve its rudimentary requirements. He decided to express in the Republic how men should conduct it self in a perfect society and what attitude they should posses. In retrospect, Aristotle felt by using real world experience along with real people, he can see first hand how and what way can he improve society. Plato and Aristotle both agreed on justice and viewed it objectively; that is it controls the belief a life of good nature would be provided for all people no matter their ranking in society. Aristotles states In democracies, for example, justice is considered to mean equality, no oligarchies, again inequality in the distribution of office to considered just. Plato views the idea of law and justice as what sets the standard for societys behavior in a state. Aristotle puts emphasis on the institution of the polis or civilized community. The polis was structured to allow the average individual in society to participate in political matters. This institutional forum is not the city-state or the community, but merely the larger of the two entities. It is rather a partnership between households, clans, and villages for the sake of a fully developed and self-sufficient life. The polis enables those individuals who naturally posses moral intellect and wisdom an opportunity to rise to higher positions (Class Notes). Justice is the political good within the polis, and it must promote the common interest of the people of the state. What is seen as good must be distributed and regulated through out the state. The law is also the regulating factor that arises from equal and free people in civil institution. The well being of a society is solely based upon the connection between the effort in which the citizens of the state adhere to the law of the land. A good citizen of the state will posses prudence, moderation, and justice, and above all to rule and be ruled. His belief contradicts Plato theory of one controlling class, governing the political matters and decisions that effect the state. The Theory of Democracy that Aristotle states is that democracy is a perversion form of government of polity (Class Notes). He clearly states The people at large should be sovereign rather than the few best. Plato on the other hand, wouldnt permit citizens to engage in public participation concerning governmental issues, as Aristotle would have enjoyed. Plato also felt that public judgments of disapproval and approval were based on emotional belief, instead of factual knowledge. He believes that if a revolution occurred it would happened within the corridors of the palace, hence palace revolution. This type of revolution happens when there is a transmission of power from one holder of power to another. Aristotle perceives such an event occurring between the wealthy and less fortunate in society. He feels to prevent such actions, one must participate in them. Plato thinks that in a utopia a disgruntled group of Guardians will emerge and disengage themselves from the ruling law of the state. He feels that an oligarchy two things may initiate a possible revolution: the first one is the ruler and their offspring would grow to be weak, sympathetic, and second is that the number of poor individuals will grow larger and there for be taken advantage of by the ruling class. Aristotle states that to know the factors that caused the revolution, which destroys the constitution, is to also know the principal of effect, which in turn ensure its preservation. Aristotle and Plato also have contrasting views on ethics, psychology and metaphysics. In regards to ethics, Aristotle believes that virtue is necessary for happiness, while Plato says virtue is enough for happiness. The psychological difference between the two is that Plato feels the body is a prison for the soul; body and soul are two different entities, capable of maintaining independence from one another. As for Aristotle, he claims that the body and soul are two different things, one consisting of matter the other form. He sees everything in the universe being composed of matter and form, so its not surprising that he perceives human being are too. To him form is simply the way matter is arranged. For example, a cat is composed in a feline way; thats what makes a cat. Human being for that matter, have a unique method of structure, too; thats their form. In fact, Aristotle strongly feels that nothing in existence can be without form and matter. If you eliminate its structure and form you have nothing left. So for Aristotle, the concept of soul without body or body without soul is incoherent. In regards to form, Plato expressed how things should be through utilizing vague language and poetry. In respect to friendship, I firmly believe that Aristotles views on friendship holds value in todays society. First we will touch on the various points that Aristotle makes regarding friendship, then expand on his main principle in connection to modern time, if possible. Aristotle distinguishes between three types of friendship: friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure and friendships of virtue. The idea behind friendship of utility is that it is founded on the idea of usefulness. The interaction among friends is only valued if there is usefulness between the two individuals. An example of this would be any automobile dealer and car buyer. Factoring in that they know each other, both need what the other can provide. The bond that unites the two people is based on usefulness. As long as they each can provide what the other needs, it satisfies the friendship. The second concept would be friendship of pleasure, which is basically the amount of pleasure generated between the participants. An example of this would be two people engaging in a social event, such as an outdoor festival. Each of the participants enjoys the others company. They are friends because of the pleasure they bring to themselves. The last kind of friendship is the friendship of virtue. This friendship is special and unique, such that it can only be between two people. Rather than utility and pleasure, where it can establish a group of people, this type of friendship is connected solely between two people. This type of friendship is also unique based on the fact that it can only hold any true value if both individuals are of the same virtue. People in general might regard these definitions of friend objective. Some believe that doing something for someone is solely based on the act of self ? fulfillment. Aristotle, I believe is not incorrect in stating that the idea in friendship in utility and pleasure is for our own sake, and the concept behind friendship of virtue is for the sake of the friend. These three categories are arranged in a certain format that there are influenced by the next level. These bonds of friendship can arise from various forms of potential fraternal groupings. Present day possibilities can include: various college organizations, union members, national communities and any other form of groups that people find a common denominator. For Aristotle Aristotle is more philosophically inclined than Plato; he tends to get rid of ideas that are irrelevant, and he believes that the concept of forms existing separate from matter is somewhat superfluous. He dives right into the heart of the matter. You can see Aristotle as someone who believes the world in which he occupies very satisfying just the way it is. His main focus is always connected with things that are consistent with ideal experience, without introducing unnecessary notions of concepts that cant be proven. Platos vague, poetic language in metaphysics and physics didnt stimulate inspiration; it made him uncomfortable. Both Plato and Aristotle were two men who envisioned methods on ways to improve their existing society. Plato, the political philosopher, was basically in pursuit of philosophical truth. Aristotle was more concerned with citizenship and institutional politics. They both had developed ideas and concepts to improve society as a whole. Aristotle and Plato have had a tremendous impact on political scientists of today. In Aristotle case, he was responsible for developing various democratic ideas. Even in modern democracies like our own Aristotles ideas hold true. When we vote in the election of the ruler of our country we, theoretically, are voting for the single most excellent citizen of our nation. That is we are voting for that citizen who can do the best job of working toward our common interest. The citizen of a state who has the greatest ability to work towards the salvation of the constitution has a great gift that can benefit all citizens. It only makes sense to allow that particular individual to lead the rest of the citizens in working towards the common interests of the state. In conclusion, these men were great thinkers. Their opinions on society and its function were quite different, but they both had the same concern, to build a better way of life for their societies they in lived in and for the societies that would come to be in the future.

Identify Various Approaches To Workload Planning Management Essay

Identify Various Approaches To Workload Planning Management Essay Workload planning and work allocation is described within London University of Art Estate as a way to ensure an equitable and transparent approach to allocate work activities across estate staff. Approach to work planning and decision are solely on the senior management within the UAL which require a number of critical decisions in relation to the model design and parameters. These decisions include: Scenario planning- How unit of activities be achieved, recorded and measured. Demand forecasting- the type of future activities and level of detail skills required to achieve these unit within SLAs. Action planning activities to measure inputs and plans to achieve these activities such as training, promotion and recruitment. There are numerous benefits from the principles use in successful workload planning and allocation for any organization. Whether a senior manager, a planner or a member of the finance team, workload planning will help you to: understand what you want to achieve with workload planning identify the best approach for your institution get the most out of your workload planning data implement workload planning effectively across the organisation The success of any workload planning is essential for any organization. This can be done by considering certain factors during planning and allocating work for staff. These factors are: The availability of resources in terms of staff skills and if necessary recruit using head hunt, agency and advertisement. Also tools like spreadsheets, software and common sense. Understand the business priorities, goal and future development. Workload planning; using the resources available to achieve the business goals. Continual regular review to meet the changing environment On the other hand, any organization where workload planning is not a priority finds it business operation not meeting the business goals and even if it does, there are factors that slow the business operation. These factors may include: Staff not sure what they are working on day by day and may or may not succeed Wasting time on a single project hence missing dead lines Wasting resources on a single structure Organisation which becomes affected by such factor loses it business client and customer relationships and in a long run will be out of business. 1.2 Evaluate their effectiveness within the context of an organisations overall strategy London University of the Arts (UAL) Estates Departments mission is to deliver high quality facilities services which are fit for purpose and cost effective and fully meet the Universitys present and future needs. To achieve these goals, the estate has a set system in delivering, measuring and monitoring service delivery which meets stakeholders satisfaction. The IT platform is a system constantly in used for work planning, allocation and training and development. This system has a time limit for job to be completed. Measurement is by the time the job is responded; log off the system, monthly group meeting and debriefing. Where target are not met and our customers lodge complain (which is used in measuring performance and time wastage) the issues are assess and the reasons are corrected. Non-productive are the time we not working on projects that led us closer to our goals. Example time spent chatting with two friends, reading emails not related to work, and reading internet marketing news not crucial to the business. To calculate non-productivity in percentage form; is time not working divided by the total time available to complete the job. The training and development plays a key role in updating skills that are mandatory for services delivery, improve wasted time, job satisfaction and also personal development using both internal and external professional. The system has made job completion promptly and effectively within the facilities team across the UAL campuses in London. 2.1 Evaluate the extent to which an organisations process enables the Facilities Manager to recruit the right people with the right skills, experience and approach for the role in question Recruitment is the process of identifying and attracting a group of potential candidates from within and outside the organization to evaluate for employment. This means collecting, measuring, and evaluating information about candidates qualifications for specified positions. Organizations use these practices to increase the likelihood of hiring individuals who have the right skills and abilities to be successful in the target job. Recruitment in the UAL Estate department takes a longer time due to the involvement of professionals within the estate and agency consultants. Detail job creation specifications involve the site manager (AFM), senior manager (SFM), head of the estate (HFM) and the Human Resources (HR). The need for a staff is raise by the college FM then is discuss with SFM and HFM. Depending on the position and skills the college FM/SFM is/are looking for; staffs are normally source from outside. The key person needs to have hands on experience, be ready to learn, contribute to the team and able to understand the culture of both estate and the university. The Job is then advertised on the university website, Facilities Management worldwide, total jobs and the agency website. Potential candidates are short listed followed by sites visits then interviews. Although this system of advertisement maybe expensive, it attracts people with different experiences from the diverse and also serves as equal opportunity of employment for all. 2.2 Analyse and develop selection criteria to ensure the right people are recruited within facilities management Selection is the process of collecting and evaluating information about an individual in order to extend an offer of employment. Such employment could be either a first time position for employee or a different position for a current employee. The selection process is performed under legal and environmental constraints and addresses the future interests of the organization and the individual. Once candidates are identified the process of selecting appropriate employee(s) for employment begins. There is a choice to be made between the selection methods but the process used should be fair to all. Poor selection can lead to significant cost for the organisation in terms of financial cost of rehiring, indirect cost in poor performance, additional training, de-motivation and absenteeism and also legal cost if it goes to industrial tribunal for unfair treatment. It is therefore important to make sure that proper procedures are followed, the person specification meets both job and business requirement in terms of: Relevant qualifications: example BIFM, Degree, NEBOSH Relevant experience: years of experience and what they will bring to the position Skills: technology, innovation Attribute Essential role requirement: basic knowledge and understanding of the job Beneficial role requirement Required approach to work. Within the UAL facilities department, selections of the right candidate for job involve the following process; application forms, interviews and reference. After the consultant has advertised the job and has received enough candidates for the position and short listed. The short listed are invited for initial interview with the consultants in charge of that recruitment to select the best among the candidate. They are then pass on to the estate professional team including the site FM, SFM and HFM or director of estate management for final recruitment process and job offer for the right person(s). 2.3 Analyse the strengths and weaknesses in the recruitment process and make recommendations for change The strengths and weaknesses of the recruitment process can have a direct bearing on the employers ability to achieve its business goals. The analysis should cover the reputation of the organization, pay, employee benefits, working conditions, security of employment, training and development. (Micheal Amstrong, 2003). Although people will do anything to earn ends meats, they do have preference and do a lot of consideration during job application. Employers should therefore consider what will attract or prevent the right candidate in very cost effective way. The strength in the recruitment processes could include: The pay structure Employee benefits Working condition Security of the job Opportunity to develop Systems in place Style Skills Professionals within the UAL and consultants from agency are use when the best candidates are selected for staff. A larger interview panels are convene because  there are number of parties interested in the selection decision. The only advantage of selection board is that  they enable a number of different people to have a look at the applicants and compare notes  on the spot. The disadvantages are that the questions tend to be unplanned and delivered at  random, the prejudices of a dominating member of the board can overwhelm the judgements  of the other members, and the candidates are unable to do justice to them-selves because they  are seldom allowed to expand. It is always advisable to clearly define the terms and conditions of the jobs in terms of pay and benefit and think about the job, to attract good candidates so that the most can be made in the advertisement. Consider also what might put them off, example the location of the job, in other that objections can be anticipated. Analyse previous successes and failures to establish what does or does not work. Last but not the least ensure induction process is planned and appropriate and given enough attention. 3.1 Analyse appropriate theories, principles and practices for motivating and retaining staff. One of the most important factors affecting human behaviour and performance is motivation. Different writers have defined motivation in different ways these include: Rensis Likert- motivation is the core of management Stephen R. Covey motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly Dwight D. Eisenhower- Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it. From the sample definitions above, the term Motivation is a broad concept used to explain the inner psychological forces and processes in an individual which arouse and give them the desire to act or not to act in a particular way. It is now generally accepted that, an increase in global competitiveness within different organisation no longer lies in the products and technology they use but the willingness of the employees to render their services to the organisation. It is only through the employees that creativity, diversity and energy that bring the company to it best. For all these to be done, the people need to be empowered, appreciated and acknowledge for their good work done. Arnold et al (1991) determined that there are three components of motivation namely: Direction Effort Persistence The theory of motivation involves the processes that describe why and how human behaviour is activated and directed. There are different categories of motivation theories but the question is; What motivates people in an organization most? Findings from different researchers argued that the theories are affected by country, time and circumstance. But all these theories base their attention on the basics of human needs, which differ considerably. Among major theories propose by writers includes: Taylor: Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1917) proposes a theory with an idea that employees are motivated mainly by pay. Taylor developed his theory of scientific management as he worked his way up from a labourer to a works manager in a US steelworks. From his observations, Taylor made three key assumptions about human behaviour at work: Man is a rational economic animal concerned with maximising his economic gain; People respond as individuals, not as groups People can be treated in a standardised fashion, like machines Mayo Elton Mayo (1880-1949) believes workers are not just concern about money but also their social needs met when at work place. Based on his well-known Hawthorne experiments conducted in Western Electric Company in Chicago, Mayos management theories grew from his observations of  employee productivity  levels under varying environmental conditions. Mayo management theory states that employees are motivated far more by relational factors such as attention and camaraderie than by monetary rewards or environmental factors such as lighting, humidity, better communication, team work and management involvement. Maslow Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) along with Frederick Herzberg (1923-) introduced the Neo-Human Relations School in the 1950s which focus on the psychology needs of employees. According to Maslow, various needs of human beings are put in hierarchy determine the most pressing needs. The hierarchy of needs means the order to satisfy the needs with the basic needs have to be attained before the others can be reached. In the pyramid hierarchy it can be seen that the lower four layers of the pyramid refers to deficiency need. The order of the pyramid from Maslow is as below: Physiological à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Safetyà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Socialà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Esteemà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Self actualization Principles of Motivation and Practices: Motivation can be put into two groups. These are the: 1. Pull- bonuses and sharing vision, 2 Push- threats and fear. Every one of us is motivated by different things and a majority of these factors are not money related but rather incentive that offer personal recognition and achievement. In this case management should determine what motivate individual at work place. Examples of motivation strategies that can be put in practice include: Pay Managing Induction Performance management process Family and friendly HR practice Job design Training and development Fundamental practices that can be use in motivating Staff include: Give incentive Regular feed backs Training and development Share company goal with staff and making sure they understand 3.2 Apply appropriate theories, principles and practice to motivating and retaining staff and review their effectiveness Every employee is unique in their own way hence what will motivate one worker will not be the same for the other. It is therefore the responsibility of the employer and manager to find out what works well with individual in the team and must be equitable and transparent. From 3.1 we can conclude the following are some examples that will motivate and keep staffs in employment. Pay: this should be structured, equitable, transparent and understandable. Induction: this should be put in place during recruitment to prevent lower retention or early exit. Training and development: although many employers see training and developing as equipping their staff to leave the organisation for more challenging roll elsewhere, it can also be a strong support for a worker to commit to the organisation as they self develop. Job design: this should be practical to motivate individual satisfaction and also the company perspectives, not an opportunity for individual to redesign a job but to vary skill and task. Performance management: regular appraisal is put in place to monitor performance management process between line manager and employee Management in the UAL use these methods to motivate employees for better job satisfaction. Job enlargement- this involves doing more work of a similar but difference in operations at the same time to what employee already does. Empowerment- give the employee the opportunity by delegating reasonable work to them to make their own decision in solving problem. Job Enrichment- giving responsibility of higher order this will lead to higher morale. The following can be use to review the effectiveness of management processes in a work place. Using job performance statistics Client feed back Improved morale Staff feedback Reduced turn over 3.3 Evaluate the application of the dynamics of reward and recognition within facilities management function Internal and external motivations are both important components in motivating employee in the workplace. Most often people get confuse with reward and recognition. Reward are mostly financial or physical benefit when behaviour has been demonstrated whiles Recognition is a psychological benefit after a specific behaviour has occurred. Programmes that reward employees for upholding the organisation values and goals within facilities department of Universities of the Arts, London are generally focus on recognition. The PACE Awards Good Performance exist in the UAL. However rewards and recognition may have some advantage and disadvantages which includes Benefit: Different people are motivated by different things, e.g a young health person will prefer gym membership than private medical hence blend of both should be considered. Pension: this tend to attract some employees at some stages of their career hence positive for others and not so for others. Education and training: this appeal to a lot of employee especially those beginning their career in facilities but unfortunately the university training are tailored to suit the job you are employed for. This has effect on good workers who also want personal development hence they turn living for where their personal development will be met. Genuine appreciation: human in general feel sense of belonging when they are appreciated for a good job done. The university do well in recognising good and extra-effort from employee saying thank you the magic word. Time/flexible time: this helps in time of family issues, studies With all the different forms of motivations in the organisation, the essential component is maintaining it to all staff both part time and full time. Motivation increases as people aim for and achieve recognition and for that matter incentive that focus on team work should be encourage, equitable and transparent. These factors will help staff work hard and will enjoy coming to work. 3.4 Evaluate the extent to which they are successful Many organizations have recognized the competitive edge achieved by more effective recognition and reward to employees. Recent studies by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement, have found a direct link between engaged workers and satisfied customers, and between satisfied customers and profitability. Any one who shows the ability to self develop within UAL receives the support. An attempt to achieve knowledge and personal growth using the available resources example the internal training for managers like project management will be supported, example while this program is directed to managers, junior member that show interest are allowed to take part in the course. This helps staff by taking regular extra responsibility (e.g co-ordinating projects and managing contractors) aside main duties. While receiving tangible rewards for my commitment, the recognition received helps to perform duties and the extra responsibilities.   The success of reward and recognition in any organisation is the ability of the employer or organisation to willingly encourage the processes that will not only motivate the employees but also the employer. Frustration sets in when the employees realise they have no value even if they are trying harder in the company hence seek employment somewhere. Other incentives include addition holiday for all staff and free vouchers for team achievement. 3.5 Analyse ways to develop staff Development can be defined as the learning opportunities within organisation designed specifically to help the employee grow while Training is required to cover essential work-related skills, techniques and knowledge. Development is not necessarily skill oriented but rather it provides general knowledge and attitudes which will be helpful to employees in higher position. A survey carried out for Investors in People UK in 1996 showed that todays young generation appreciate training and development opportunities over pay and incentives. Efforts towards development often depend on personal drive and ambition. Some examples of development and it benefits include: Coaching: This is first step to  improve employee performance. Coaching is part of the day-to-day interaction between a supervisor and an employee daily operation. This often provides positive feedback for employee contributions but also, regular coaching brings performance issues to an employees attention when they are minor. Mentoring: This is a formal or informal relationship between experienced, knowledgeable employee and inexperienced or new employee either selected by the employee or appointed by the company. The purpose is to help the employee to quickly absorb the organization cultural and to personal develop. A possible limitation is that the individual depends on one person for support which will cause alienation from other source of expertise. Internal and external training: using external trainers to develop course specifically for the organisation or using the internal expertise to train in specific topics which is more cost effective than the external e.g BIFM and PM although they are costly. Self development groups: these are group of like mind people acting in their own interest. They may appoint a facilitator who will guild them till are well established. Topics of their interest work related issues. There is little or no financial cost but when the meeting are held during work time it indirectly the cost of the organisation. Project management and work experiences: employees should be giving a task to self manage and the opportunity to try new things in the organisation without altering their responsibilities. This will increase their sense of motivation and reduce boredom from the same job 3.6 Analyse ways to promote a learning culture within an organisation The objective is to see the value and encourage learning and understand its importance in developing individual, team and the whole organisation. Creating a learning culture environment in an organisation is a step ahead of obtaining the skills that you need to deliver product and services. Being a learning organisation is the sacrifice any employer has to make in accepting the attitude, values and practices that support continuous learning in the organisation. It empowers the staff to achieve results and targets as it helps them to: Easily adapt to changes Actually anticipate change Be more responsible Grow by innovation and inspiration Learning culture is not only considered to be great motivator for staff but also way a company can maintain increase advantage in the ever changing environment. This can not happen in a sudden way hence the following key point need to be considered. Commitment by senior management and Directors Learning should fit and be line with business goals and strategies Regular employee feed back to determine progress of the culture Clear objectives implementation should be set Learning should be in appropriate environment that can flourish and where self learning is encouraged and knowledge shared. Measurements that help develop and improve a learning culture in UAL estate include; Reward learning via promotion and acknowledgement through news letters Offer training and opportunity to transfer skills Encourage feedback from those opportunities Appraisals which include personal development plans Coaching and mentoring programme 4.1 Analyse the reasons why staff leave and review implications. In recent years there has been a mismatch about staff leaving and reality hence there is nothing like job for life. There has been a debate why staff leaves for other employment and some common reason include following: Poor management: uncaring and unprofessional managers; overworking staff; no respect, putting people in wrong jobs; poor manager selection processes. Lack of career growth and advancement  opportunities: no perceivable career paths; not posting job openings or filling from within; unfair promotions. Pay: paid under-market or less than contributions warrant, pay inequities, slow raises and favouritism for bonuses. Lack of recognition: that says it all. Poor leadership at strategic apex of the organisation: not listening, not  investing  in employees; unresponsiveness and mixed messages. Lack of training: superficial training, nothing for new staff to move up. Excessive workload: doing more with less; sacrificing quality and customer service for numbers. Since employees has eye on better opportunities it is important for any organisation to provide system to find out what really makes staff leave for other employer. In view of this, exit interview will be ideal for staff leaving. This can be formal or informal with standard questionnaire. Although there is no entire honesty from the employee, it will serve as a guide for future. The following can be included during exit interview could: What is the main reason for leaving? What are the other reasons for leaving? What do you feel about the organisation? What has been your difficult moment in time us? What can you say about our motivation, appraisal and your development with us? Are you happy to say where you are going? What particular about them that makes you want to join them? If possible could you be persuaded stay and possibility of staying? Although some employee departure is more welcome than others, employers should adopt methods to address employee turnover problem. Staff turnover rate varies from one organisation to the other but the following rules can help reduced the rate. These rules are: Employers should ensure equitable and transparent pay structure if possible use bands Job design should maximise variety of skills, opportunity to learn and develop Ensure selection and promoting procedures are appropriate for all Induction should be well planed and implemented during and after recruitment process Remove unpleasant working condition including bullying and harassment and monitor stress The above systems of approach can be enhancing further by developing a learning culture in the organisation. Hence the practices can assist to improve retention through: Regular performance review Personal development plans Open recruitment policy Mentoring Shadowing Development and training 4.2 Investigate the application of succession planning including its benefits. Succession planning is planning the future of the business or organisation in terms of finding someone within the organisation to replace the key people. Through succession planning process, you recruit superior employees, develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities and prepare them for ever more challenging roles. It is a long term thing that a company need to see into before action is taken. CIPD defined Succession planning as a process for identifying and developing potential future leaders or senior managers, as well as individuals to fill other business-critical positions either in short-term or long-term. Beside the training and development activities, succession planning should include the provision of practical tailored work experience that will be relevant for future key role. Having this process in place help in the success of the organization because the individuals identified in the plan will eventually be responsible for ensuring the company is able to tackle future challenges. These high potential candidates must be carefully selected and then provided training and development that gives them skills and competencies needed for tomorrows business environment. It is best practice to grow ones own that is developing internal staff for the position. It also important to consider certain fundament point before the person(s) is/are selected. A formal succession planning process is used together vital data regarding the potential candidates from different source. Point to be considered should include: Are there enough potential successors- individuals who are experience and that has shown potential leadership Are these people with sufficient quality in terms of must and desirable characteristics Do they have the right attitude, skills and competencies for the business future The benefits of a succession planning process include: Staff motivation- everyone can see there is a progress in their career as they are giving the chance to develop and also appreciated for their contribution. Work load planning- shadowing successors to assist their development which in turn give them more insight of the business or organisation goals and future plans Continuity- identified candidate can be part of the management team for the business future in the changing environments 4.3 Investigate skill transference within the working environment including its benefits Skill transference is the ability for an employee to use an acquire knowledge in another position. In other words it is where competencies in performing a specific job can be used in another job. It is a valuable asset particularly in a tight economy such as now. Example of skill transference: Interpersonal skills- e.g team work Planning-time management, being organised, able to research and think ahead Communication- it should be two way, giving and receiving instruction Self awareness- appreciate your strength and weakness Commitment and motivation Decision making In the current economy people with more transferable skills are luckier to be kept on job or hired than those with one or no skills. These multi-skills individual are able to carry out different jobs especially the small businesses. The benefits of skills transference include: Staff training and development- Gains new knowledge and skills by performing a different job that requires new skills and provides different responsibilities. Staff relations: learn and understand new group of co-workers and managers. Succession planning- the organisation will have a pool of potent

Are You a Rebel? Or are You Just another Sheep following the Non-confor

Are You a Rebel? Or are You Just another Sheep following the Non-conformity Flock? â€Å"It's like living on the outside of society and seeing what a crock of shit it is, but then approaching it again with a sense of humor. I mean, when you're able to see society as this sort of funky, funny illusion, it makes it easier to deal with it because there is no rhyme or reason to the way it works.† RuPaul, on fringe culture (Genre, March '99) Rebellion. *It's about articulating that little inner voice that's in all of us, the voice which resists being assimilated into the mass conformity that is American society. The quality of our interaction has diminished so much that we barely recognize each other as human. The â€Å"American way of life† has destroyed our individuality while pretending to cater to it, and the natural interdependence of society has been compromised by the shrieks of mass media and the cubicle farms they call workplaces. We are all gearing up for some heavy shit, all around the world. The yuppies are putting together their silly stock option plans, the Pakistanis are aching for jihad against India, the major labels are trying harder than ever to saturate our culture with Limp Bizkit bullshit and kill Napster while they're at it. To me, it fits together like a puzzle. It's all related. This is more than a complaint about social differences. It's about human nature. Stick around; I think I can pro ve this. The hippie and freak hordes would have us believe than they are the sole bastions of non-conformity and acceptance left in America. They are not. I really dislike stories like Hans Christian Anderson's The Ugly Duckling. Not all ugly ducklings turn into swans. Some of us turn into ugly ducks. We need to learn to accept it, and to find that being an ugly duck isn't really necessarily all that bad, because going with the flock isn't always the best or most satisfying way to go, even if it does seem like the easiest. I was never one who "fit in" with my peers. From the day I began school at the age of five, it was obvious that I was somehow different from the rest of them. Since I was hyperactive, kind of shy, and too intellectual to be popular, I rarely had many friends, and at times found myself a subject of ridicule, mocking, and outright abuse. My first ploy, which lasted for a number of years, was to attempt to conform. This was very muc... ...tandards, but these standards were made by conformity. The union itself is some form of rebellion. By being apart of that group, he conformed to the â€Å"rebel’s† standards. A cultural movement is a cultural movement; be it hippie, skater punk, raver trash or otherwise. Nobody wants the whole world to live in peace as one big happy family. It's contrary to instinct. We all want to be the bottisavatta in the flowing robes who dictates the gospel to the rest of the world. And that's not the way things work. This world has winners and losers, geeks and popular kids. Junior high repeats itself until you are dead. So what's a rebel to do? I don't know. Try reading. Jack Kerouac is not still a best selling author because of his cool Gap khakis. A nation of people didn't follow Lenin into almost 80 years of collectivist silliness because of his natty goatee and adorable accent. Or try remembering these simple rules: 1.)  Rebellion is free. 2.) Rebellion does not come in six different colors. 3.) Rebellion does not have a soundtrack and a movie deal in the works. 4.) Rebellion is not found in a piercing store, tattoo parlor, drug store, hash pipe or a Quentin Tarrantino movie.

Epic of Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

?Justification for the Abandonment and Solitude of Beowulf Beowulf is the classic tale of a mighty and heroic Geat leader who comes to an unpleasant and seemingly early end. Throughout his life, Beowulf had been an excellent leader and had led his army to many victories over many foes, of his land and of many others as well. At his peak, Beowulf was the mightiest warrior on all the earth: â€Å"There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful.† (297-298). Eventually, Beowulf would come to be ruler over many people. During this time he would defeat many enemies, two of which being Grendel and his mother. After their defeat, Beowulf and his people experienced a time of peace and prosperity which was enjoyed by all. He remained undefeated until the bitter end when he was defeated by the dragon in the underwater hell-like grave. Beowulf’s death marked the end of not only his reign, but also of the safety know by hi s people, and also the end of his kingdom. The reasons for his abandonment of his people and his insistence to fight alone are not clear, although many have theories as to why the great warrior chose the fate he did. The first topic at hand is why Beowulf chose to fight by himself, especially in the case of the dragon. Beowulf was a very valiant warrior who fought his greatest battles alone, or at least single-handedly. First of all, his battle against Grendel was brilliantly maneuvered in that he awakened from a complete slumber to slay the mighty Grendel and mutilate his body. Secondly, Beowulf battled against Grendel’s mother (who was excessively disturbed about the death of her beloved son) and won a triumphant battle. In both battles, Beowulf won by his own means and was very victorious in each occasion. The question could be raised as to why he chose to fight alone as opposed to having many skilled warriors to help him in his plight to defeat the evil in the world. One possible theory is that it is much more valiant to be the victor of a battle which you yourself have fought and won. This way, there is only one person who is capable of receiving credit for the battle which could help in later times as to the correctness of the tale. Epic of Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays ?Justification for the Abandonment and Solitude of Beowulf Beowulf is the classic tale of a mighty and heroic Geat leader who comes to an unpleasant and seemingly early end. Throughout his life, Beowulf had been an excellent leader and had led his army to many victories over many foes, of his land and of many others as well. At his peak, Beowulf was the mightiest warrior on all the earth: â€Å"There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful.† (297-298). Eventually, Beowulf would come to be ruler over many people. During this time he would defeat many enemies, two of which being Grendel and his mother. After their defeat, Beowulf and his people experienced a time of peace and prosperity which was enjoyed by all. He remained undefeated until the bitter end when he was defeated by the dragon in the underwater hell-like grave. Beowulf’s death marked the end of not only his reign, but also of the safety know by hi s people, and also the end of his kingdom. The reasons for his abandonment of his people and his insistence to fight alone are not clear, although many have theories as to why the great warrior chose the fate he did. The first topic at hand is why Beowulf chose to fight by himself, especially in the case of the dragon. Beowulf was a very valiant warrior who fought his greatest battles alone, or at least single-handedly. First of all, his battle against Grendel was brilliantly maneuvered in that he awakened from a complete slumber to slay the mighty Grendel and mutilate his body. Secondly, Beowulf battled against Grendel’s mother (who was excessively disturbed about the death of her beloved son) and won a triumphant battle. In both battles, Beowulf won by his own means and was very victorious in each occasion. The question could be raised as to why he chose to fight alone as opposed to having many skilled warriors to help him in his plight to defeat the evil in the world. One possible theory is that it is much more valiant to be the victor of a battle which you yourself have fought and won. This way, there is only one person who is capable of receiving credit for the battle which could help in later times as to the correctness of the tale.

The First Generation Of Computers :: essays research papers

The First Generation of Computers The first generation of computers, beginning around the end of World War 2, and continuing until around the year 1957, included computers that used vacuum tubes, drum memories, and programming in machine code. Computers at that time where mammoth machines that did not have the power our present day desktop microcomputers. In 1950, the first real-time, interactive computer was completed by a design team at MIT. The "Whirlwind Computer," as it was called, was a revamped U.S. Navy project for developing an aircraft simulator. The Whirlwind used a cathode ray tube and a light gun to provide interactively. The Whirlwind was linked to a series of radars and could identify unfriendly aircraft and direct interceptor fighters to their projected locations. It was to be the prototype for a network of computers and radar sites (SAGE) acting as an important element of U.S. air defense for a quarter-century after 1958. In 1951, the first commercially-available computer was delivered to the Bureau of the Census by the Eckert Mauchly Computer Corporation. The UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was the first computer which was not a one-of-a- kind laboratory instrument. The UNIVAC became a household word in 1952 when it was used on a televised newscast to project the winner of the Eisenhower- Stevenson presidential race with stunning accuracy. That same year Maurice V. Wilkes (developer of EDSAC) laid the foundation for the concepts of microprogramming, which was to become the guide for computer design and construction. In 1954, the first general-purpose computer to be completely transistorized was built at Bell Laboratories. TRADIC (Transistorized Airborne

Marketing Management UBER Analysis Essay

1. Introduction Application software has been very popular as distribution platforms since 2008 due to rapid spread of smartphones all around the worldwide. According to a marketing research done by Gartner (2013), there is an increasing trend in mobile apps usage worldwide, He indicates that 21.58 billion dollars of  revenue has been made by mobile apps in 2013. Uber was established in 2009 as a digital platform that connects cab drivers and customer, by downloading the online application. Uber determines the location of customers and shows the location of the cabs nearby. Once the customer accepts to get a ride with push of a botton, the application is then authorized to take the payment based on the credit card information that has been registered under the customer’s name, without any further exchanges. Uber was established in San Francisco and has become the world’s most valuable startup in the past five years. Uber’s latest market value has been determined as 18.2 billon dollars in June 2014. However, as a disadvantage of developing markets, the entrance of Gett and Hailo in the UK market, decreased Uber’s market value. The major advantage of Gett in this compà ©titive market against Uber is charging flat fees unlike Uber. Uber has a surge pricing strategy depending on the demand, weather and distance, which is not a cost efficient way for customer. Therefore Uber it is not the cost leader in the UK e-hail market. On the other hand surge pricing has persuaded more driver to work for Uber, as it is more in their favor so that, they will not have to go through bad weather conditions or give rides in the rush hour with the usual flat fares. 2. Audit 2.a Organizational environment The increasing trend of smartphone usage especially in younger generation, technological improvements and increasing value for time perception established Uber’s increasing value. 2.b Uber’s business model Uber employs driver after they and their cars have been screened by Uber to  ensure comfort and safety of customers, Drivers are also given an iPhone once they have become a member of Uber. Uber drivers have higher income compared to traditional taxi drivers also they do not have to pay for the taxi license and the taxes that black cab driver are obligated to pay. On the consumer side, after downloading Uber, they can track the car as it approaches them on their as well as having some information about their driver before arrival such as previous reviews and ratings and their photo. Uber ‘s pricing strategy is based on the demand, distance and the car type, incase of high demands or bad weather conditions customers may have to pay a higher fee for their journey or depending and the type of car they request prices are different. Payment is done by the credit card information that the customer is registered the app with. Transactions are totally safe and secure. Uber splits the ride receipts with the driver. Uber originally used to take 20% margin of the transaction between the customer and the driver, which is now reduced to 15% due to high compà ©titions with Gett and Hailo. Uber covers its Research and technology developments, marketing and employees expenses by the percentage they take on each transaction. Another advantage is that Uber does not own a fleet of cars so they are much less costly than their competitors, This low cost business model enables Uber to keep the large percentage of it’s revenue as profits. Uber grows by reinvesting in R&D and acquisitions rather than investing in cars or expensive infrastructures. In the spotlight of this information, it is possible to say that Uber’s business model is low inventory, high transaction and high margin. Moreover, its business model is receiving the majority of funding from Google Venture. 2.c External and internal analysis of Uber Analyzing Uber from the resource-based view is crucial to understand competitive advantages of it in London taxi hailing app market. Constraints imposed by environment can have a big impact on Uber’s strategic planning and marketing. Therefore, six external conditions (Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Economical and Legal) will be examined in relation to Uber’s business situation by using PESTEL analysis. Political factors effects transport services external environment in terms of CO2 emissions and climate change. Even though Political factors are more in favor of public transport in order to decrease CO2 emissions and help with the climate. Uber however is providing a superior service comparing to their competitors for instance Uber is offers hybrid cars, which is low in emissions and makes it easier for Uber to have some advantage when it comes to the political factors. Environmental factors such as weather conditions can affect Uber for instance higher demand due to bad weather conditions is evident. The price of the  journeys also increases when the demand is higher. Social factors including the change in lifestyle and high percentage of younger population using smartphones, indicates the customer needs, which brings them to the market. Technology developments have a major impact on Uber’s business. Increasing role of Internet in people’s life is also crucial for Uber to make innovations. Economical factors such as recessions influence directly the customer’s budget, therefore their buying power. On the other hand volatile fuel prices can have a huge impact on pricing and they are also quite unpredictable. Legal constraints also have a direct impact on Uber. Governments have the possibility to ban Uber, which is already the case in Germany, or even set new regulations for Taxi hailing apps such as Uber which can affect their performance in the market. In the next section we under take a SWOT analysis in order to analyze Uber’s Capabilities, which enables us to determine the company’s Strengths and Weaknesses as well as pointing out Threats and Opportunities. It is essential in a competitive market to be aware of the weaknesses and threats in order to be able to find solutions for them and also use the opportunities to gain more of them market share and hence increase the revenues. Figure 2: Presents SWOT analysis Strengths; which consist of internal capabilities, Uber was first in the market which creates a competitive advantage by high consumer awareness. One of the strengths of Uber is that, it has different alternatives for different customers. For example, Uber POP and UberX car alternatives are available for a cheap and fast drive, whereas if the customer is searching for quality it offers them the Uber Black Car and Uber SUV. Another strength  of Uber is that it has spread worldwide starting from USA. It has expanded through 200 cities worldwide. Moreover, the transactions are easy, safe and trustworthy. It offers a convenient way of travelling for costumers. Weaknesses indicate the areas that could be improved internally. The major point that is considered as a weakness for Uber is that they do not charge flat fees whereas Gett, which is their main competitor, offers flat and predictable prices. Moreover, Uber drivers do not have a taxi license, which can cause legal problems by time. However it operates in many cities, Uber does not operate in rural areas, which can be considered as a weakness. One of the complaints that Uber is facing is the poor consumer service. Uber offers a surge pricing for its drivers and do not hire them, but find them through agents. Analyzing the opportunities in depth we can determine that the most influential aspect in Uber’s business model is the fact that it’s a service rather than a product hence they do not have the high sunk costs that their competitors have to deal with. Moreover, being a mobile platform and not having a fleet of taxis, which is highly costly, has enabled the firm to turn most of its revenues into profits. These revenues are made from transaction costs rather than production cost. Uber does not employ drivers, which in this case allows the drivers flexibility also permit Uber to employ more drivers. The most important external threat for Uber in UK e-hail app market is the decreasing market share due to competitors such as Gett. The flat prices of Gett and some other competitors are creating a disadvantage for Uber. Not having the proper taxi license is another disadvantage for Uber. aside from that, there have been many protests by taxi companies in Germany, France, England and other nations accusing Uber to be illegal due to the fact that their driver are not paying the same tax rates as other taxi drivers, and other taxi companies accuse Uber of compromising passenger safety, and undermining legislations which exists for them. Competitors: According to the statistics of market shares of taxi hailing apps in London, Gett with 20-30% of market share is the market leader, Uber with 20% shares is the market challenger and Hailo with 10% is the follower in the market. Uber as the challenger is in a position where they can undertake some of the facilities and services that Gett is already providing for their customers in order to be able to improve their service, gain more customer and consequently gain more market share over time. Outlining the competitive landscape is important to appraise competition and indicating the strengths of the competitors can give the company objectives on what can be improved and examine weather they can be implemented by Uber. According to national statistics from department for transport, it is estimated that there are 78 thousand taxis and 153 thousand licensed private hire vehicles in England. The fÄ ±gures present that the number of PHV are twice the number of taxÄ ±s operatÄ ±ng in England. 31% of total licensed taxis and private hire vehicles in England are in London from which we can assume that private hirÄ ±ng is a popular choice for Londoners. Analyzing Gett-Taxi as the market leader we can imply that some of their most influential advantages are: Competing with flat and predictable prices: People who take taxis are not usually loyal to a specific brand and most people would choose the cheaper option and Gett has the advantage by having predictable prices without surge pricing. Enables Advance booking: Unlike Uber, Gett offers advance booking 2 weeks prior to journey whereas Uber has failed to implement this feature in their app. Offers 24 hours customer service for driver and customers: Uber has proven to be quite poor at following through with customer enquiries. On the other hand the only major advantage of Hailo that we came across is the fact that they are the only company, which has a real taxi license for all their cars. 3. Strategic Options: According to Porter, competitive advantage is derived from the value a firm  is able to create for its buyers that exceeds the firm’s cost of creating it. Utility of Uber can be increased by the following three categories: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Service: Reducing the time to reach customers when they need the service can enhance Uber’s service. The cab and the driver have to be reliable and can provide modern and comfortable cabs for service. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Personnel: service can be provided with professional drivers, drivers must be trained to provide personalised customer service. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Image: Advertising, promotions on special days and to first users. Porter’s Generic Strategies: Porter called the generic strategies has three direction where the market can be segment or focused on particular path. They are 1. Cost Leadership, 2. Differentiation 3. Focus The Focus strategy has been subdivided into two parts: â€Å"Cost Focus† and â€Å"Differentiation Focus†. (Refer below figure) The Cost Leadership Strategy This strategy will help to gain competitive advantage through two main methods such as maximising profits by declining costs while selling for average price in the particular industry or growing market share through selling for lower prices, although still producing a even-handed profit on each sale as you’ve focused on lowering the cost. The Differentiation Strategy This strategy involves in creating your goods or services different from others and more eye-catching for your customers as well as to your competitors. Differentiation strategy can be achieved in a success way through good exploration about the goods or services, expansion and innovation of the goods or services, and the ability to provide superior quality products or services. This will create an inimitable image in the particular industry and alongside some scopes will lead to be valued by consumers. The Focus Strategy The Focus strategy is concentrating on specific niche markets through considerate the associations of that specific niche market and the  exceptional needs of consumers in it. This can be exclusively low-cost or well-specified goods or services on that particular industry. This will construct strong brand loyalty among consumers. This will lead the market segment to be less attractive to the competitors. Uber’s marketing strategy is to provide a premium service at premium price and have loyal customers. It aims at hip, tech-savvy customers whose time is valuable and who are willing to spend money for convenience. The campaign of Uber focuses on the service. The ice cream campaign in NYC is an example of the difference in convenience and experience. Where else could you have an on demand ice cream truck pull up in front of your house delivering ice cream for few people? The focus is on providing an extraordinary experience for the customer and let them do the talking about the brand and the unique service. Uber is having partnerships with Virgin America, which offers Uber’s points to its flyer members which increases awareness and credibility to their service. And Trulia is a real-estate company provide prospective renters a discount for up to three apartment visits as long as they registered for this promotion. Potter’s Five Forces Analysis states that business can be affected by some facts which are determine the competitive power of the business to drive in reality. The fact can be classified into five important forces. They are Supplier power, Buyer power, Threat of substitute, Threat of New Entry and Competitive Rivalry. 1. Supplier Power: the number of suppliers involved determines the supplier power in the particular business and the exclusivity of their goods or service, their business strength and power over your business, and the cost of swapping from one supplier to another. UBER’s suppliers power is high because UBER don’t employ drivers, free-lanced drivers get register with UBER and get the training and the guidelines before start their self-employment. 2. Buyer Power: the number of buyers involved determines the buyer’s power in the particular business, the cost to the buyer to swapping from your goods and services to someone else. UBER’s buyer power is high because it’s a  mobile platform and customers have different alternative services like Gett and Hailo. 3. Competitive Rivalry: the number of capability of your competitors determines the competitive rivalry. When the business has more competitors, and if the competitor can offer equally attractive products and services, then the competitive rivalry is high. UBER’s competitors are Gett and Hailo, they provide service in lower cost and they have their own drivers. 4. Threat of Substitution: the number of alternative options of your customers determines the threat of substitute. When the service or the goods has more substitute, then the threat of substitute is high. UBER’s threat of substitute is high because in London there is many substitute such as tubes, trains, buses, and black cabs. 5. Threat of New Entry: the capability of other business can enter into your market space by starting up a similar business like you is the threat of new entry. If the startup cost is low in terms of capital, time, and technology the new competitor can enter in to your market easily. Uber’s threat of new entry is very high because entering to taxi service business is very easy because the new business needs a simple mobile application and some free-lanced drivers. Alternative Market Directions for Uber Diversification strategies/path: Uber can focus on Event specific marketing like special events such as Valentine’s Day, Harvesting day, Children’s Day, Christmas and New Year days. Uber can provide special offers or promotions for its loyal customers. Personalised Car/Cab with the special trained driver for business people, celebrities and high-class tourists. Market development Strategies/Path: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Expand the market with average pricing in nearby small cities and rural areas to attract more new customers. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long term partnership with local hotel chains and airport local travel unit to provide transport service such as site seeing, and airport pic & drop to  their customers. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long-term partnership with local schools to proved service for their students. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new business wing/unit for disable people to accommodate their transport need with the special features they need. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long term partnership with courier service organisations like Royal Mail, DHL, and FedEx to provide their delivery service to their customers. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Initiating and developing new long term partnership with local manufacturing companies to support their logistic service such as transporting to shipping, delivering goods to their customers, and transporting their raw materials for their production. 4. Marketing Strategies Uber focuses on hiring local drivers in each city. They are trying to localize the company in each city in every aspect they see. The effect of that is building a trust between the company, the drivers, and the customers all together. After hiring local drivers, Uber give these drivers trainings and guidelines to teach them the â€Å"Uber Way†. They also provide their employees with a global chat room that they interact in, talk, give ideas and suggestions, and best practices are shared across the company. So by cultivating collaboration and building trust internally and externally, Uber is trying to gain a competitive advantage in order to increase their market share, therefor increasing revenue. Uber likes to surprise and delight their customers. For example they delivered kittens and ice cream in New York. This is on of Uber’s ways to allow customer actions to go viral on social media and offline to try to send their message to new markets in order to gain new opportunities. Uber uses a unique way in serving their customers. They have a special team whose mission is to make sure customers get their taxi when and where they need them in no more than 9 minutes. They created a referral program integrated in the Uber app. It gives customers the ability to share a special code between their friends, and in that way Uber can track how many shares made, which indicates the percentage  of Uber’s customer’s acquisition. Uber’s Marketing Objectives: 1. Offer Better Service. 2. More Reliability. 3. Improve Customer Support. 4. Unique Style. 5. Provide Comfort. 6. Reduce Frustration. 6. Critical Analysis: The SMART analysis indicates that Uber can have many ways to improve every aspect in the company. Their objectives are not time-oriented. On the other had, their objectives are all achievable and relevant to the company’s mission. The analyses also show that most of the strategies and suggestions given are specific, achievable, and relevant. That indicates that Uber has many opportunities that they can benefit from in order to gain more competitive advantage and to operate better in the market. 7. Conclusion: Overall market share of Uber in e-hailing market can be increased by implementing some strategies.The report shows that Uber has many opportunities to increase their market value, market share and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Looking at the analysis we realise that Uber has a very high potential in achieving their objective about gaining customers and eventually increase their revenue. Along the side of improving some of their services, following some of the strategies mentioned above and solutions suggested by us, proves that Uber has a high potential and can use the first mover advantage. Distribution channel of Uber can be improved by targeting other parallel industries and move customers into greater contribution. Branding image of Uber can increase its value by providing good service and the operating areas can be increased to reach a higher volume of customers. Moreover, the opportunities discovered by using the analysis might be considered as a useful w ay of taking Uber to a higher position in the e-hail market in London. 10. References: Anon, How is Uber different from a standard taxi? Available at: https://support.Uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201968463-How-is-Uber-different-from-a-standard-taxi- [Accessed November 13, 2014a]. Anon, The Business Co-Founder. Available at: http://businesscofounder.tumblr.com/post/34572063959/lessons-from-Ubers-marketing-strategy [Accessed November 13, 2014b]. Damodaran, A., 2014. A Disruptive Cab Ride to Riches: The Uber Payoff.Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/aswathdamodaran/2014/06/10/a-disruptive-cab-ride-to-riches-the-Uber-payoff/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Department for Transport (2013) ‘Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics: England and Wales 2013’. Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics: England and Wales 2013. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-statistics-england-and-wales-2013 (Accessed: 20 November 2014). Ferrell, O., Dibb, S. and Simkin, L. (2005) Marketing: Concepts and Strategies. United States: Houghton Mifflin Company. Ferrell, O. and Hartline, M. (2011) Marketing Strategy. United States: South-Western Cengage Learning. Winer, R. and Dhar, R. (2010) Marketing Management – 4th Edition. United States: Prentice Hall. GURLEY, B., Above the Crowd. Available at: http://abovethecrowd.com/2014/07/11/how-to-miss-by-a-mile-an-alternative-look-at-Ubers-potential-market-size/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Hill, H. (2009) London Chamber. Available at: http://www.londonchamber.co.uk/docimages/2519.pdf (Accessed: 20 November 2014). Kell, J., Berlin bans Uber app, citing passenger safety concerns. Available at: http://fortune.com/2014/08/14/Uber-berlin-band/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. MACMILLAN, D., The Wall Street Journal. Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/03/14/Uber-and-lyft-insurance-now-covers-drivers-between-rides/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Mathieu, F., Francois Mathieu shared: Taxi War: Uber vs Hailo. Available at: http://quibb.com/links/taxi-war-Uber-vs-hailo [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Palmer, S., 2013. GetTaxi – Some Real Competition for Uber in NYC T. H. Post, ed.Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shelly-palmer/gettaxi–some-real-compet_b_3743958.html [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Think, B., 2014.How Uber Disrupted an Industry, with Karan Girotra, How Uber Disrupted an Industry, with Karan Girotra. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfA8wzWP02Q [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Uber, 2013.How Uber Moves Your City Forward with Innovation | Uber, How Uber Moves Your City Forward with Innovation | Uber. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2M0RD7bhYY [Accessed November 13, 2014]. WOHLSEN, M., Uber’s Biggest Danger Is Its Business Model, Not Bad PR. Available at: http://www.wired.com/2014/08/the-peril-to-Uber-is-its-business-model-not-bad-pr/ [Accessed November 13, 2014]. Porter, Michael E., â€Å"Competitive Advantage†. 1985, Ch. 1, pp 11-15. The Free Press. New York.

Friends and Family

Friends are biggest value in people’s lives. I have many friends. Most of them are my neighbors, but also I have schoolmates. I can go out somewhere with them and feel comfortable. I know that friends of mine will help me anytime and anywhere. I can trust them. I have one best friend. I may pin his faith. Friendship between a friend of mine and me is firm and intense. He always helps me solve problems and treats me with respect. A friend of mine has never lied to me. It is better to say home truth that sweet lie. If I am upset, my best friend will jolly up me. He is caring, cheerful, trustworthy, outgoing and good-tempered. He is younger than I am. I think that age is not important for a friendship if you can come to an understanding and respect each other. I have friends among people of a different generation. I like younger mates because I can be child . Older people are serious and calm. They care about their studies or jobs. They have less free time. However, I like them because they can teach me something and share their experience. Older friends may help me to do my homework and explain me what I cannot understand. Friends are one of life treasures so that we have to treasure our friendships. It is not easy to make friends nowadays. The true friend should be honest and trustworthy. Without these characteristics, you cannot have a friendship with anyone. Person must be sociable, tolerant, conscientious, and good-tempered if he wants make friends. Furthermore, he must understand other person’s feelings and moods and always help him. If person wants not to lose old friends, he should care about them. He should call them and ask how they are. We should safe our relationships. If we break friendship, it will be hard to recover it. I suppose that friendship is a state when you feel important and you know that you can do something helpful or needful to your friend. Sometimes you see somebody for the first time and that is strange when you feel you are friends for ages. My ideal friend has to be himself. I don’t think, I should name any of his/her (later on: he) character features. It’s even doesn’t matter when he has something, what doesn’t exist in rules of ideal man – e. g. unpolitness. It’s better when the social mask is not worn and you can talk to your friend and be absolutely ensured that he is not lying and he will help not every time, but only those times, when he could. I believe that’s very important. I don’t agree also to the idea that friends, having in common only external personalities are bad ones. I don’t think that it’s good to have a friend for a life. After some years you feel kind of exhausted and the light of the friendship begins to go out. People with external similarities can also be very good friends and the ones only with internal sometimes even can’t talk – e. . when he thinks right the same way, i think, it’s not interesting for me to talk with him, because i know how he thinks and i want to know more different people and to hear different oppinions. So, I must disappoint you, but I needless to say, having some internal common points. You don’t have to have a friend (like the po em, we read, says) but having one makes your life, your steps through the life much more easier and funnier. Nowadays often debated theme is the choice between a family and friends. For me a family is more important than friends. There are some thoughts about this lemma. Firstly, I think that a family is more important than friends, because when you are born you fall into a family not into your friends’ circle. First people with whom you get acquainted after your birth are your faSecondly, when we are teenagers for us it looks like that our family members are our enemies. We try to run from our family to our friends, but if it happens a really big problem, we come back to our family, because family is our most immediate and precious people. In our hearts we know that if nobody helps us, we can always rely on our family. But if we look at the another side of the coin, we can see that sometimes there are such problems in a family that parents can’t take care of their own children. In such situation we can trust just for our friends help, because family can’t help us. Finally, I think that not just family members have to help us. Sometimes we must help our family. Maybe then we will be able to say that our choice is family. In conclusion, I can say that we should never forget our nearest realatives. We should never forget and abandon our family. mily members. With no-one else, but just with your family help, you get known the world. Friends and family are important in our lifes, but the question is – which, friends or family, are more important for us? I believe that family is more significant then friends. In the first place, we can always trust our family’s members. When we have a trouble and we need some help, who will help us first? Of course, our family’s members. In addition, family supports you materrialy. Everything what you are wering, all notebooks, pens and other things you need at school and not just here are bought by your parents ( If you are still child ). Who else if not they buy you all these thinkgs abd help you tu survive? On the other hand, some people think, that friends are more important for their lifes. However, most of them forgot that friends are with you just while everything is good. Unfrotunately, when something bad occurs to you and you need their help, most of them turn their backs. Finally, I believe that family is the biggest support in our lifes, that’s why they are more imposrtant.