Bombardier Transportation & the Adtranz Acquisition Essay Example for Free

Bombardier Transportation the Adtranz Acquisition Essay Bombardier had evolved from its humble beginnings as a snowmobile manufacturer based in Joseph-Arman an Bombardier’s garage to a global business in which it’s once core recreational products were over shadowed, on a revenue basis at least, by its offerings in transportation, aerospace, and capital. In every segment in which the company operated it was either number 1 or 2 globally. This was not the case for the Transportation group (BT) in Europe, where in 2001 it sat in fourth place behind Alstom, Siemens and Adtranz (AT). However, the AT acquisition presented the opportunity to vault BT to the forefront of the industry. At a price tag of US$715 million (23% of AT’s 2000 revenue) AT was a bargain and an opportunity worth considering for several reasons: Revenue Growth : Unlike all other Bombardier businesses, BT’s revenue was counter-cyclical so growth in the sector would provide better balance to its overall revenue (Figure C1 in Appendix C).With the addition of AT, BT’s annual rail-related revenue could grow to US$7.6 billion in 2001 (up from US$2.2 billion in 2000) with a backlog of US$14.5 billion. 1 While BT was a low margin business it was a cash generator that helped to finance other Bombardier businesses. Geographic Expansion : AT had a presence in a broader range of European markets and the region was viewed as the center of technological development. Asia and South America utilized European engineering and practices so AT provided BT better access to future markets. Completion of Product Portfolio : BT lacked propulsion system and train controls competence. This had been mitigated by outsourcing to competitors and suppliers; however it was a competitive weakness as was exemplified by AT’s exclusion from a key deal in the UK in 2000. AT excelled in these areas, and provided immediate cost synergies and long term strategic strength. Naturally the acquisition was not without its downside. There were many aspects of the deal that warranted consideration: Acquisition Size: While BT had a successfully track record of acquisitions it had never integrated a company of AT’s size. Based on 2000 figures, AT had nearly 40% more employees, just under 50%more in sales, and operated in 60 locales. The differing company structures were also of concern. Financial Performance: AT posted net losses going back 4 years in spite of restructurings. Even at a bargain purchase price, an unsuccessful integration could threaten BT’s income and cash flow. Due Diligence: AT was understandably reticent to let a competitor gain full access to its â€Å"books† should the deal not complete, so BT’s diligence process was not comprehensive. Furthermore BT’s European management had not participated in the deal; only amplifying the potential risks. Customer Loss: The acquisition could trigger the loss of customers or new contracts. Additionally, AT had earned a reputation for poor production and servicing that competitors could exploit. A comprehensive plan would be required to realize the projected synergies, tackle the above noted concerns, and should the deal clear anticipate and address regulator stipulations.

Drama coursework - Response Essay Example for Free

Drama coursework Response Essay Introduction In our group we came up with lots of similarities in our thought showers. A lot of us described the Witches the same as in the green faces, long noses warts spots, and there broom sticks. Some differences that our group came up with is that a few of us thought of modern witches, as in a normal human being look but with witch features, instead of black cats a lot of our group wrote different pet names. Our mind has been influenced about the topic by many things e. g. the media’s outlook on a stereotypical witch, children’s stories also portray witches with the green faces big hats etc. which means movies portray it like this. Also from the image created by our ancestors where the apparent witches were being burnt at the stake. Macbeth extract: focusing on the ‘outsider’ This role-play brought about issues such as how society today fears outsiders. How society today is divided into different groups, such as Goths / punks / gangster and take different paths in life. We fear the outsiders of society because we fail to understand the logic behind their culture / background. This also brings about racism / religion clashes. In the olden days most of the fear was based around witches because they were conveyed as the biggest outsiders. The storyline of our role-play was about a gothic boy who was feared isolated from family school because of being a Goth. We started the role play with Steven (the gothic boy) being in a school photo where is he is isolated from the rest of the school and then we went into his home life where his parents siblings make jokes about his appearance and his way of life. We ended the play with a twist, where Steven was with all his gothic friends and his little brother (Aaron Tovee) walks past Steven and his group of gothic friends and is mocked for being what society would call â€Å"normal† and he is then conveyed as the outsider. We showed isolation in this play from the very first scene. In the first scene we had school photos were Steven (the outsider) was separated a foot away from the rest of the school that were huddled together for the photo. We portrayed an even bigger sense of frustration isolation by this when the photographer asks Steven to step in the photo and the group moves away from him. The photographer blames Steven and again snaps at Steven to move into the photo. We did this to show how normal society blames the outsider, as if it was just easier to do so. We also showed isolation at the dinner table of Stevens’s family-home. We showed this by having all his siblings laugh and snigger at him and make comments like â€Å"drink blood† because of his gothic background. We ended that scene with Stevens father shouting at Steven telling him he’s not welcome in the home for kicking his sibling under the table (for making the comments) and telling him to get out and hang around with ‘his own kind.’ This made the whole idea of isolation seem a lot more effective because even his father, he whom he should be very close with, kicks him out of the house belting abuse at the top of his voice just because he is a Goth. We also ended our role-play with a twist on the sense of isolation where Steven is with a group of his Goth friends when his little brother walks past and his little brother feels isolated and afraid because he is the outsider there. The crucible Some similarities of ideas that we had on the idea of witchcraft from this stimuli went along the lines of how accusations were so quickly thrown around in the courtroom, and how everyone believed someone who was called a witch. Most people also thought that it was a fairly racist time and that’s why if you was black like the maid in the stimuli the blame was easily put on you. Some differences on the stimuli were about how the accused always showed a sense of fear. How society was so gullible and why the lies were started. In our role play we showed the accusation by the same sort of scene as the stimuli. We had it set in a court-room in the olden times whereas the judge’s verdict was the final, and punishment was death / something incorporating pain. We built hysteria in our role-play by levelling up the amount of volume in the courtroom until it was mayhem and chaos with everyone throwing accusations of being a witch to the accused. We marked the moment where the defence is getting shouted at and abused really badly and she gets up and accuses a man from the courtroom audience. We did this by building up the hysteria with everyone standing up shocked, and built up amount of noise slowly to a really loud volume and then when she got up and said â€Å"It’s him!† we silenced the courtroom immediately so it was just a big awkward silence. Studying this stimulus helped us understand the context at the time because it showed how gullible society was at that time period. An example of this is the fact that everyone believed that a person was a witch just by someone else’s word. The stimulus also shows that there was a big thing about racism in that time. An example of this is where the black woman was blamed for being the witch and beat brutally, the accusation was easily accepted by society because of the colour of her skin. Forum Theatre. Our class used forum theatre through studying a news article about a woman sacrificing her two babies to Satan. We then used this as a stimulus and did a whole-class courtroom drama, where we would switch places (defence, prosecution, judge, witnesses etc) This was useful to use because it made you think on the spot about the subject and it also improved your improvisation skills. Using the court-room drama attached with forum theatre was very useful because reading about just the sacrifice gave you a biased opinion about what really happened. But when we used the courtroom drama we had to act as defence as well so you started thinking about both sides of the story, and maybe reasons for why they did it. When playing the witnesses it also opened up that it might not just affect the family it could also affect other people around too. Conclusion My understanding of the topic has developed through studying the different stimuli a lot because you start to realise that witchcraft isn’t all fairytales and children’s books. It can be portrayed through children’s theatre, but also relate to serious events such as when the babies were sacrificed by the mother to Satan and such. Studying the different stimuli in different times and cultures developed our Understanding a lot too because you can see that not along ago was it that people actually were killed for being accused of witches, and everything was done through religion, and people believed in God strongly. You can see that science has developed through the ages and changed the thoughts of people today drastically through things such as the theory of evolution, which puts people in 2 minds about the creation of mankind, and even questions religion. Therefore people aren’t willing to believe things like witchcraft anymore as it has become abnormal for us to comprehend supernatural things.

Vietnam Airlines: An overview

Vietnam Airlines: An overview INTRODUCTION Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam, the country with population of 85 million and 330 000 square meter. It was established in January 1956 by the Government and marked the birth of aviation industry in Vietnam, and served only domestic flights (Vietnam Airline, 2008). After the end of Vietnam War, from 1976, Vietnam Airlines started international flights, including South East Asian countries and China. Another turning point of Vietnam Airlines is year 1993 when this airline became the national flag Airlines of Vietnam. Nowadays, Vietnam Airlines connects 19 cities throughout the country and 42 international destinations (including code-sharing services) in Asia, Europe, US and Australia,. Mission: As a flag carrier, Vietnam Airline wants to be the bridge between Vietnam and other countries in the world and â€Å"bring Vietnam cultural to the world† (Vietnam Airline, 2008). The International Air Transport Association (as cited by Chan (2000)) predicts air travel in Asian Pacific will account for 40 % in 2010. The potential of this airline market increases due to the fact that the attractive of tourism, the emerging economies and the increase number of middle-class. Unlike in Western country, surface transportation, such as railways, highways in Asia is not good and therefore, it can create opportunities for airline transportation as the only and the faster way. Like other countries in Asia, the potential of Vietnam market is high and untapped. In 2007, 4.2 million foreign visitors travelled to Vietnam, 16 per cent more than in 2006 (Sydney Morning Herald, 2008). And according to Sydney Morning Herald (2008), Vietnam is ranked as number 4 by The World Travel and Tourism Council on its list of the worlds fastest growing travel destinations. Vietnams domestic market is also highly potential due to the fact that surface transportation infrastructure is not competitive. It takes more than 30 hours to travel by train, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, much higher than nearly 2 hours of normal flight. Other alternative is coaches which also take time and inconvenient. Although average income per capita of Vietnamese is only 835 US Dollars (in 2007) (General Statistics Office of Vietnam, 2008), lower than other neighbour countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore; the income increases gradually in the last few years increase 7% per annum, shows the tourism potential of this airline in Vietnam market. Moreover, due to high population density and business opportunities in two largest economic hubs of Vietnam: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, travel demand for business purpose is very high. However, aviation service quality in Vietnam is far behind the international standard. It is very easy to find tons of articles of customers complaints about all three domestic airlines in Vietnam: Vietnam Airlines, Indochina Airlines, Jetstar Pacific. Even in Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier and full service airline, service delivery is mainly product-oriented which has set the mind of management board to be far apart from customer-oriented. Customer dissatisfaction varies from booking services, poor catering, the temper of air crew to luggage delivery services. Broad aim of the research: Use SERVQUAL model to assess customer satisfaction and service quality of Vietnam Airlines. Research questions: How can the customer satisfaction with Vietnam Airlines be described? How satisfied of Vietnam Airlines customer with its services? How can Vietnam Airlines managers improve the service satisfaction among Vietnam Airlines customers? The main purpose of this study is to investigate customer satisfaction in airline industry. In the chosen airline, Vietnam Airlines, the author aims to explore what customer satisfaction is in the perceptions of the airline passengers and find the solutions to improve customer satisfaction. By analyzing questionnaires and interview of customers, customer satisfaction degree will be examined and after that, new strategies and recommendations will be given for Vietnam Airlines to enhance service quality. This study aims to help Vietnam Airlines management to better diagnose the customers needs and expectations. It will also play a role in identifying the present situation of this flag carrier and suggest future strategies for better customers service. Conceptual framework: To investigate the service quality and customer satisfaction of Vietnam Airlines, I will use the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman et al, 1985, as cited by Chau and Kao (2009)) which the de LITERATURE REVIEW The importance of customer satisfaction: Thank to good services and customer satisfaction is met, behavioral acts of customer can affect the profitability and market share of a firm through three main behavior: word-of-mouth, repurchase intention and positive feedback. The first customer behavior is â€Å"word of mouth†, defined by Saha and Theinge (2009) as a flow of information about products and services that passes from one customer to other and can be used as trustable source of information to evaluate recommendations (mouth to mouth marketing). In all case, customer satisfaction does not always create mouth-to-mouth marketing but it is a necessity that satisfaction is met for positive word-of-mouth. Research conducted by Babin (2005) shows that not only pleased customers generate world-of-mouth but also extremely dissatisfied customers causes negative feedback and controlling two flows of information is necessary for marketers. Secondly, good services also lead to repurchase intention or customer loyalty. It is very necessary to gain loyalty because it is cheaper to keep old customers than lure new ones from other service providers. Airline carriers often use â€Å"frequent flyer scheme† but it is not often applied for budget airlines due to the high cost. Only by services and affordable price, low cost carriers can maintain the number of customers. Another behavior of customers as mentioned above, customer behavior, refers to transmission of complaints and compliments to service suppliers. Soderlund (1998) shows that dissatisfied customers tends to generate negative feedback than positive one from satisfied customers. The number of feedback cannot be the most precise method for customer analysis but it is useful to forecast consumer trends and improve services. Customer satisfaction in airline industry: Tai and Chan (2002) define service satisfaction as the post purchase evaluation of consumption experience. Unlike material products or pure services, airline service- like other hospitality services is combination of tangible products and quality of service offered to passengers. For example, satisfaction with hospitality service- such as a restaurant meal is amalgamation of the food or drink (material product), the behavior of waiters or waitresses, and the environment of the restaurant (decoration, lighting). In aviation industry, the core products are only physically transport customers and their luggage between two destinations. Other services in a flight, such as making enquiry and booking, seat allocation, in-flight services and baggage handling are only secondary tasks but they can create dissatisfaction if it is performed badly. Service quality and customer satisfaction becomes vital in the sustainability of aviation industry, basing on following criteria: financial data, fares, passenger load factors, service related issues (Sultan and Simpson, 2000). Sultan and Simpson (2000) suggest marketing strategies for airline industry focus on customer satisfaction, rather than company profit. Airline service can also be rated in terms of five dimensions: overall performance, comfort, service, food and website (Rhoades, 2006). On the other hand, Rhoades and Waguespack (2005) points out the operational measures of airline service qualities: the number of flight delays, mishandled baggage, overbooks flights and consumer complaints. Only a few airlines (including Singapore Airlines, British Airways and American Airlines) can establish the reputation of high service quality (Chan, 2000). These airlines are successful in positioning themselves, not by offering the cheapest prices but delivering excellent service quality. Providing consistent service quality is a challenge for all companies in service sector, including airline industry. In these days, to keep the high level of quality standard, mega carriers and small airlines are cooperating rather than competing with others by sub-contracting, code sharing and global marketing network. (Nejati et al, 2008). The formation of these alliances increases the benefit of economies of scale by enhancing flight availability and yield from customers. However, to work in effective way, two airlines must offer similar service level and position themselves in the same way in the market. Customer satisfaction Measurement SERVQUAL -the gap model which is firstly proposed by Parasuraman (1985) (as cited by Nejati, 2008) is a widely used model and has been applied for plenty of service industries: public services (Bryland (2001) and Wisniewski (2001)), police services (Donnelly et al, 2006), heath care (Kilbourne, 2004), mobile communication (Lai et al, 2007), etc. SERVQUAL is based on the assumption that the service quality is measured by the gap between the customers needs and wants of service and the actual service quality that customers receive from service provider (Donnelly, 2006). If the service is over customers expectation, it is assessed as excellent service; otherwise, the service becomes unacceptable. It is a useful method because service quality is assessed from customers perspectives, and by comparing and contrasting the difference between the each customers groups and the differences between the company and its competitors, managers know where they are in the market, how to position the s ervice and which group will be the target customers. Zeithaml (1990) (As cited by Donnelly et al, 2006) identifies five dimensions of service quality management: -Tangibles: the existence of modern equipment and facilities, professional employees, and communication materials. Reliability: performing the service as promised, carrying out the service right at the first time and managing to solve customer services problems. Responsiveness: willingness to help customers, provide prompt service and readiness to customers request. Assurance. The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. Empathy: understanding customers need and wants and giving customers individual attention, convenient business hours. Among the five gaps of SERVQUAL, this research concentrates on Gap 5- the difference between customers expectation and perception. The reason for this limitation of the research due to the fact that it is the only gap that can be investigated solely by the data provided by customers while other gaps need information from management board and the company itself. BIBILIOGRAPHY: Boddy, D. (2008), Management: An introduction, 4th edn, Pearson Education Limited: Essex. Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007), Business research methods, 2nd edn, Oxford University Express: New York. Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2009), Business Research: A practical guide for undergraduate and post graduate students, 3rd edn, Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire. Chan, D. (2000), â€Å"Air wars in Asia: competitive and collaborative strategies and tactics in action†, Journal of Management Development, 19 (6), pp 473-488, EMERALD. [Online]. Available http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0260190602.pdf (Accessed May 25th 2009). Doganis. R. (2001), The airline business in the 21st century, Rouledge: London. Fisher, C. (2004), Researching and writing a dissertation for business students, Pearson Education Limited: Essex. Horn, R. (2009), Researching and writing dissertations: A complete guide for business and management students, Chartered institute of personnel and development: London. Knowles, R., Shaw, J. and Docherty, I. (2008), Transport Geographies: Mobilities, Flows and Spaces, Blackwell Publishing Ltd: HongKong. Hanlon, P. (2007), Global airlines: competition in a transnational industry, 3rd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford. Liu, A.H.(2006) ‘Customer value and switching costs in business services: developing exit barriers through strategic value management , Journal of Business Industrial marketing,21(1), pp.30-37 EMERALD [Online].Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0800210104.pdf (Accessed: 14 May 2009)Mowen, J. (1995), Consumer Behavior, Prentice Hall: New Jersey.Saha and Theingi (2009), â€Å"Service quality, satisfaction and behaviour intentions: A study of low cost airlines carriers in Thailand†, â€Å"Managing Service quality, 19(3), pp 350-372, EMERALD. [Online]. Available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=962B9598F85C1E4B396446804F931677?contentType=ArticlehdAction=lnkhtmlcontentId=1789597history=false (Accessed May 25th 2009). Solomon, M. (2007), Consumer Behaviour: Buying, having and being, 7th edn, Pearson Prentice Hall: New Jersey. Vogel, V., Evanschitzky, H. Ramaseshan, B. (2008), â€Å"Customer equity drivers and future sales, Journal of Marketing, Vol 72 (Nov 2008), pp 98-108, [Online], Available at http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=2hid=6sid=7ab9124a-a6ce-45e3-8f37-f753a51e48ee%40SRCSM2#db=buhAN=34664503 (Accessed May 4th 2009) General Statistics Office of Vietnam (2009), Statistical Handbook of Vietnam 2008 -National Account, [Online] Available at http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=515idmid=5ItemID=8445 Accessed Jun 16th, 2009. . Mitton, R. (2007), Vietnam: Surge in flights to trendy destination, The Straits Times, [online], Available at http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20071203-39379.html (Accessed July 3rd, 2009). http://www.itpc.gov.vn/importers/news/2009/05/2009-05-14.683111/MISNews_view?b_start:int=40set_language=en Sydney Morning Harald (2008), Jetstar targets Vietnam tourists boom, [Online], Available at http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/jetstar-targets-vietnams-tourist-boom/2008/05/26/1211653891044.html (Accessed May 25th, 2009). Vietnam Airlines (2008), Our Background, Available at http://www.vietnamairlines.com/wps/portal/en/site/about_us/our_background (Accessed June 18th 2009).

Cloning :: essays research papers fc

Cloning, as of recent years, has become a very controversial issue. Society is firmly divided on the uses and ethics of cloning. Cloning can rang from producing copies of plants and animals to clones of humans and human organs. But cloning can have several positive effects for the well being of society. Cloning plants can have positive effects fo humans. Scientist can clone plants and alter them to produce healthier food. For example, oranges which contain an abundance of Vitamin C, can be altered to include Vitamin D and Calcium, which is found amply in milk. Cloning can also improve the status of hunger-stricken Third World nations. Fruits and vegetables can be cloned to produce large amounts of food without have to worry about growing season, climate, or any other environmental factor. They can also be alterd to be able to be grown in different environments or to produce more food and for a longer period of time. Cloning animals can have several ramifications. Foremost, is the be nfit of humans. This can be done in two ways. First, cloning animals can help us understand the way our cellss divide, multiply and operate. We can also learn how to fix ceratin disorders, thus leading to tests and research in similar human disorders. For example, sheep have a disease of the brain, called Scrapie, that causes tremors, loss of motion, and eventually death. This disease is very similar to the human disease called Parkinson’s disease. Scientists can try to stimulate new brain cells to divide and regrow damaged areas in the sheep brain first and then try similar procedures for humans. Animal cloning can also lead to better production of food. Ranchers can take one cow, the best out of the whole stock, and clone it. This would improve his sales and our health because we are given a healthier product. Endangered animals can also benefit from animal cloning. For instance, instead of doing lab monitored pregnancies and artificial inseminations for endangered animals, scientists can clone several embryos for the healthiest animal of that species. Working the way up the evolutionary scale leads eventually to cloning human organs and ultimately humans. This is the most controversial area of cloning, but despite the controversy, cloning of human organs and also humans can have some positive effects. To illustrate, kidney tissue can be used to grow a healthy kidney for patients with frequent kidney failures. Cloning :: essays research papers fc Cloning, as of recent years, has become a very controversial issue. Society is firmly divided on the uses and ethics of cloning. Cloning can rang from producing copies of plants and animals to clones of humans and human organs. But cloning can have several positive effects for the well being of society. Cloning plants can have positive effects fo humans. Scientist can clone plants and alter them to produce healthier food. For example, oranges which contain an abundance of Vitamin C, can be altered to include Vitamin D and Calcium, which is found amply in milk. Cloning can also improve the status of hunger-stricken Third World nations. Fruits and vegetables can be cloned to produce large amounts of food without have to worry about growing season, climate, or any other environmental factor. They can also be alterd to be able to be grown in different environments or to produce more food and for a longer period of time. Cloning animals can have several ramifications. Foremost, is the be nfit of humans. This can be done in two ways. First, cloning animals can help us understand the way our cellss divide, multiply and operate. We can also learn how to fix ceratin disorders, thus leading to tests and research in similar human disorders. For example, sheep have a disease of the brain, called Scrapie, that causes tremors, loss of motion, and eventually death. This disease is very similar to the human disease called Parkinson’s disease. Scientists can try to stimulate new brain cells to divide and regrow damaged areas in the sheep brain first and then try similar procedures for humans. Animal cloning can also lead to better production of food. Ranchers can take one cow, the best out of the whole stock, and clone it. This would improve his sales and our health because we are given a healthier product. Endangered animals can also benefit from animal cloning. For instance, instead of doing lab monitored pregnancies and artificial inseminations for endangered animals, scientists can clone several embryos for the healthiest animal of that species. Working the way up the evolutionary scale leads eventually to cloning human organs and ultimately humans. This is the most controversial area of cloning, but despite the controversy, cloning of human organs and also humans can have some positive effects. To illustrate, kidney tissue can be used to grow a healthy kidney for patients with frequent kidney failures.

Free Essays: Antigone and Ismene in Oedipus at Colonus :: Oedipus at Colonus Essays

Antigone and Ismene in Oedipus at Colonus "Behold this Oedipus, --/ him who knew the famous riddles and was a man most masterful;/ not a citizen who did not look with envy on his lot-- see him now and see the breakers of misfortune swallow him!" (Oedipus the King, 1524-1527). Now that Oedipus has lost everything-- his wife, mother, kingdom, and all power-- his existence rests entirely on the aid of his two daughters. However, that dependence is not evenly distributed between Antigone and Ismene. Even though both daughters provide assistance to Oedipus, the relationship that Oedipus has with Ismene is weaker in comparison to the firm and unwavering relationship that he has with Antigone. Oedipus's incompetence is evident from the very beginning of the play, explaining why he relies on Antigone time and again. When they arrive at the sacred grove at Colonus, Oedipus asks Antigone to leave him and find out if anyone lives nearby, and she says that she can see a man approaching. To which Oedipus follows with more inquiries: "Is he coming this way? Has he started towards us?" (I, 30). Even after the stranger leaves, Oedipus cannot tell that he has exited until Antigone tells him so. Antigone also aids Oedipus by warning him that she sees the Chorus approaching. Oedipus, once a great intellectual, is not even capable of responding to a simple request of his name without the aid of Antigone: "My child, what can I say to them?" (ii, 214). Additionally, Oedipus seems to need help with every little move he makes, even for the mere act of being seated: "Help me sit down; take care of the blind man." (I, 21). Luckily for Oedipus, his relationship with Antigone reach es a point where Antigone no longer needs instructions from her father; it is assured that she will help him: "After so long, you need not tell me father" (I, 22). Even though Antigone helps her father with everything, Oedipus's reliance on Antigone seems to weigh greatly on her ability to see for him, emphasizing Oedipus's blindness and impotence, as well as the strength of Oedipus's relationship with Antigone. Oedipus and Antigone have a mutual commitment to each other, supporting the fact that their rapport is greater than the attachment between Oedipus and Ismene.

Compare and contrast the presentation of oppressionin I Am Not That Ess

Compare and contrast the presentation of oppressionin I Am Not That Woman and Still I Rise. The poems I am studying are 'I Am Not That Woman' by Kishwar Naheed and 'Still I Rise' by Maya Angelou, both in the twentieth century. Both poets have based the poems on their own experiences of suppression in their different cultures and they both continue to end with feelings of hope.The poems show the different reactions and attitudes of two very different women who in similar circumstances. In 'I Am Not That Woman', the poet has been oppressed in her culture of the Asian society. By this she has been oppressed by the traditional values of the Eastern culture but especially by her father and husband. She is also trying to overcome this suppression but is not really sure where she wants to go next with her life. In 'Still I Rise', she has been suppressed by the white people of South America but she has overcome this and thinks of herself as superior to the white racists. I will begin by discussing 'I Am Not That Woman'. The main theme to the poem is set in the Asian society, Eastern culture. Although there is a new theme introduced in every verse, they all add to the main theme of oppression. The woman is in the situation of being forced into having an arranged marriage and not having any freedom because of it. The poet seems bitter towards her father and husband. She seems strong because she has got through her problems so far and is angry and resentful about the whole situation. She seems adamant to not let it happen to her for much longer. The poem has no structure and no rhyming scheme, therefore written as free verse. Each verse of the poem is directed towards a certain person in particular - her fath... ...ks around with pride and dignity, with the reference to the oil wells as her acting as if she is rich, with the imagery of her literally having oil wells in her living room. She expresses herself effectively by the repetition of the title, 'Still I Rise' in the poem, where she means she is rising above the white racists. In conclusion I like both poems equally but think that 'Still I Rise' is the more effective poem. I think this because the poet is stronger and more confident in what she has written about. The language used in 'Still I Rise' is easier to understand at first glance than 'I Am Not That Woman' which would also make people prefer 'Still I Rise' because not as much needs explaining or working out. Although I prefer the imagery in 'I Am Not That Woman' such as the 'garden' which was used early on in the poem and then mentioned again later on.

The Nature of Social Theory

Motivating employees to give feedback on goals, objectives and operations of the organization. Developing a worker-advising program that provides ideas for motivating the workforce. Developing tutorial and training programs through dialogue, information sharing and feedback. We discuss the nature of social theory throughout this paper. Here, we simply note its foundational assumption that ‘there is potential for mischief when the interests of owners and 1 For example, many of the criticisms of appraisal interviews focus on the perceptual biases that people bring to them. These include the halo error, the crony effect, the doppelganger effect and the Veblen effect. They are discussed by (Grint, 1993) and (Roberson et al 2007), among many others. We do not suggest that these problems can be explained primarily by the influence of agency theory. 3 those of managers diverge. In those circumstances†¦ managers may be able to extract higher rents than would otherwise be accorded them by owners of the firm' (Dalton,, 2007). As this paper focuses on two types of employees temporary and Permanent. An employment situation, where an employee is expected to remain in a position for a certain period of time. Temporary employees may have the opportunity to achieve permanent employment status after the time period has lapsed; Temporary workers may also be referred to as seasonal employees or temps. Employment term may be based on the completion of a project, the availability of funding, or other circumstances (Bloch, 1995). Many of the studies have different perceptions when defining of temporary employees. For example, temporary employees have been called as â€Å"flexible staffing employees† (Houseman, 2001), â€Å"contingent workers† (Blank, 1998), and â€Å"non-standard workers† (Kalleberg et al., 1997). A study by Feldman (1995) defines temporary employees as persons who are hired for a finite period on a needed basis. Polivka and Nardone (1989: 11) provided more understanding on defining temporary employees: they classified temporary employees as â€Å"individuals who do not have an explicit or implicit contract for long-term employment or have one in which the minimum hours of work can different in non-systematic way†. A permanent employee differs from a term or temporary employee, both of which have a pre-determined period of employment (Gallagher, 2002). Permanent employees, regular employees or the directly employed, work for an employer and are paid directly by that employer. Permanent (regular) employees do not have a predetermined end date to employment. In addition to their wages, they often receive benefits like subsidized health care, paid vacations, holidays, sick time, or contributions to a retirement plan. Permanent employees are often eligible to switch job positions within their companies. (Peck, 2000) Even when employment is â€Å"at will†, permanent employees of large companies are generally protected from abrupt job termination by severance policies, like advance notice in case of layoffs, or formal discipline procedures. They may be eligible to join a union, and may enjoy both social and financial benefits of their employment (Cranford, 2003) Social Exchange Theories According to De Cuyper et al. (2008), there is no available theoretical framework to check the effects of short term employment. ON the other side, general psychological theories offer a good starting point for the analyses, although these have mostly been developed against the scenery of the permanent employment relationship. These can be divided in two main groups: work stress models, and social comparison or social exchange theories. The social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) is the idea that there is a drive within individuals to look to outside images in order to evaluate their own opinions and abilities. These images may be a reference to physical reality or in comparison to other people. People look to the images portrayed by others to be obtainable and realistic, and subsequently, make comparisons among themselves, others and the idealized images. In his initial theory, Festinger hypothesized several things. He indicated that humans are compelled to appraise themselves by probing their opinions and abilities in assessment of others. He further said that the inclination to evaluate oneself with some other specific other person decreases as the differentiation between his opinion or ability and the other's own become more deviating. He also hypothesized that there was an upward drive towards achieving greater abilities, but that there are non-social restraints which make it nearly impossible to change them, and that this was largely absent in opinions (Festinger, 1954). The individuals who are similar were better in generating accurate evaluations of abilities and opinions.Work stress models helps us to explain the consequences of short term employment by defining specific characteristics that make short term workers more vulnerable to suffer work related stress (see De Cuyper et al., 2008). There are three related variables. First, contractual employees are peripheral to the organization, meaning that they are not the main important concern of the employers regarding different aspects such as benefits, wages, promotion or further training. This thought is advanced in theories such as the Flexible Firm model (Atkinson, 1984, cited in Valverde et al., 2000) and the Dual Labour Market model. The resulting bad working conditions for the contractual employees can cause a consequence, a decrease in the worker's welfare and performance appraisal at the workplace (Rousseau & Libuser, 1997). Therefore contractual workers have fewer possibilities for deciding how to perform their work, to use specific skills or to make any other kind of decisions within the workplace (De Witte & Nà ¤swall, 2003). In addition, since contractual employees are new members of the organization, they have to understand processes and aspects of the organization growing another potential source of stress (see De Cuyper et al., 2008). The lack of support from partners, supervisors or even the coworkers (De Witte & Nà ¤swall, 2003) can also be a part of stress and strain to wellbeing. The third component is the lack of control that contractual employees experience regarding the demands of the employer (or employers)2.2 Gap AnalysisBuilt up conceptual model where two impacting components performance appraisal was the independent variable and perceived whereas the dependent variable was organization commitment. They have proposed that relationship of these influencing factors on is researched as empirically/quantitatively. They have utilized case study based approach to create this model. They have proposed that by utilizing the questionnaire on a Lickert Scale, data should be gathered and on the basis of the response from the respondents, results should be analyzed statistically so that the true outcome can be achieved. Research GapShockingly very little examination has been on performance appraisal politics and organizational commitment A little work is done to characterize connection among organizational commitment and performance appraisal politics but work is done on performance appraisal that incorporate fairness element (Linde, 2015). In fast changing environment and economy, performance appraisal is very essential component. Our studies can be conducted on other industries in Pakistan to explore the effects of PAP on OC that attract to understand the employment relationship (Arshad, Masood,Amin 2013). Surprisingly, very a few researches have been done study on how this performance appraisal effects on long term and short term employees. Early studies on performance appraisal were only directed towards the whole employees without focusing on segmentation of both the long and short term employees. 2.3. HypothesesH : Performance appraisal politics has insignificant impact on permanent employee's organizational commitment.H2 : Performance appraisal politics has insignificant impact on contractual employee's organizational commitment.