Tiger Airways Case Study

Tiger Airways Case Study Tiger Airways is an ultra-low cost airline which commenced services on 25 March 2005. It is currently the largest low-cost airline operating out of Singapore in terms of passengers carried. In 2006, the airline flew 1.2 million passengers, a growth of 75% from the previous year. These days, the hottest news pops that Tiger Airways and Thai Airways International will form an airline based in Thailand, where Thai Airways International and Tiger Airways will own 51% and 49% respectively of the newly formed airline. Operations are expected to begin in the 1st quarter of 2011. This paper is based on this information with further discussion the business model and strategies with Tiger Airways and the whole low-cost airline industry. Question 1 a) Discuss why Tiger Airways jointly launch a low-cost airline with Thai Airways. Provide 5 (five) reasons. Tiger Airways and Thai Airways are both infusive airlines in Asia. Tiger Airways jointly launch a low-cost airline with Thai Airways can benefits both two companies to achieve a win-win situation. Tiger Airways based on Singapore, choose to co-operate with Thai Airways could further develop the international market in Asia. Thailand is one of the most famous tourist resorts in the world. Tourism is a major economic factor in Thailand, contributing an estimated 6.7% to Thailands GDP. No doubt, more and more people will choose Tiger Airways to Thailand as it price advantages. This strategic decision will attract more passengers to Tiger Airways. Compare to Jet star, Air Asia and other low-cost airlines, Tiger Airways is still smaller than its rivals. This move could increase the overall strength of the market competitiveness in Asia. Tiger Airways is all along with its low-cost airline business model from the day when it established. This is a superexcellent chance to advertise its business model and corporate image. b) Evaluate whether Tiger Airways decision in the above strategy is considered as a strategic decision. Support with 6 (six) reasons. The definition of a strategic decision is the decision that is concerned with whole environment in which the firm operates the entire resources and the people who form the company and the interface between the two. There are some characteristics/features of a strategic decision A strategic decision has a major resource proposition for an organization. The resource proposition of Tigers decision is to occupy Thailands international airlines which concerned possess a new market of Asia civil aviation. A strategic decision deal with harmonizing organizational resource capabilities with the threats and opportunities. Thai Airways used to be Tigers competitor, this decision change the competitor to its partner contains with threats and opportunities. A strategic decision deal with the range of organizational activities. Tiger Airways plans to increase its fleet to 68 by 2015 and has the same pan-Asian aspirations as its competitors through this co-operation. A strategic decision involves a change of major kind since an organization operates in ever-changing environment. Both Tiger Airways and Thai Airways are low-cost airlines. This move signified that the two companies want to through this co-operation to change the environment of Asia civil aviation. A strategic decision will involve a lot of risk. Thai Airways own 51% of the low cost airline that means they control the scales. If some contradictions between them, this decision will be a big risk for Tiger Airways. A strategic decision is consider both administrative and operational decisions. Tigers decision aim to reduce cost which co-operate with Thai Airways to achieve the airline business in Thailand through its operational decision of cost-saving actions. c) Discuss which 5 (five) macro-environment factors that will most likely affect the low-cost airline industry. Political factors are how and to what degree a government intervenes in the economy. Specifically, political factors include areas such as tax policy, environmental law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability. Eg, if the government wants to increase the airport construction fees, that must can be a big challenge for the low-cost airline industry. Because it will threaten the price advantage which is the biggest advantage for low-cost airline industry compare to others. Furthermore, governments have great influence on the airport infrastructure built, foreign affairs and many other factors that will most likely affect the low-cost airline industry. Economic factors include economic growth, exchange rates and the inflation rate. These factors have major impacts on how air tickets operate and make the price decisions to each low-cost airline industry company. As the low-cost airlines usually between country to country ,the exchange rates and other economic factors will direct influence the costs of goods and the supply and the price of tickets in the low-cost airline industry . Social factors include the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. Trends in social factors affect the demand for the low-cost airlines products and how that company operates. For example, Tiger Airways not only supply the airline services but also supply hotel booking, sightseeing tour and other services. But all these should take different social factors into account. Technological factors include technological aspects such as aerosatsystem, technology incentives and the rate of technological change in this industry. They can determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient service level and influence strategic decisions. Furthermore, technological shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to innovation in the low-cost airline industry. Law factors include the relevant laws affect low-cost airlines. Eg. Tiger Airway Australian only provide domestic service in Australian, because the legal rule of Australian to limit. Question 2 Based on the case study and information on the webpage (www.tigerairways.com/sg), analyze 3 (three) levels of strategy that you can identify at Tiger airways. Corporate and Business level strategy. Operational strategy. Porters Competitive Strategy Model Porter (1980) has described a category scheme consisting of three general types of strategies that are commonly used by businesses. These three generic strategies are defined along two dimensions: strategic scope and strategic strength. Strategic scope is a demand side dimension and looks at the size and composition of the market you intend to target. Strategic strength is a supply-side dimension and looks at the strength or core competency of the firm. In particular he identified two competencies that he felt were most important: product differentiation and product cost Competitive Strategies for Tiger airways In view of the above challenges, low-cost airlines must do three things to ensure their long-term survival. Cost Leadership. Tiger airways maintained a sustainable low-cost advantage over their full-service competitors. Tiger airways ensured that their costs per passenger-km continue to be 50 per cent or more below those of full-service airlines and continuing to reduce their own costs too. Differentiation Strategy. Tiger airways focused on differentiation of their product, that mean they must also offer a product with some frills, which is very highly rated by passengers in terms of value for money. They have draw lessons from the successful model by their competitors like Virgin Blue in Australia and JetBlue in the USA. Virgin Blue was the first carrier outside North America to introduce multi-channel real-time satellite TV to its flights called Live2Air. The strategies of Tiger airways are twofold to take on the legacy carriers and attract higher-yield passengers, and to add points of difference from other low-cost airlines Market Share and Market Segmentation Strategy Tiger airways ensured that on most of their routes they become the number one or number two carriers in terms of market share in Asia. This dominance, combined with their low fares, gives them a very powerful defensive position should new competitors attempt to enter, while also ensuring a strong cash-flow base on which to mount further expansion. Tiger Airways survival and success is due in no small measure to its growth strategy, which has focused on becoming dominant in most of its markets. Operational strategy As mentioned earlier, the chief difference between low cost carriers and traditional airlines fall into three groups: service savings, operational savings and overhead savings. Tiger Airways tend to focus on short haul route. To achieve the low operating costs per passenger, this type of carriers need to have as many seats on board its aircraft as possible, to fill them as much as possible, and to fly the aircraft as often as possible. Tiger Airways want to through its low cost airline affect the traditional airline hub-and-spoke networks poses interesting questions for the airlines industry and policy makers. It means choosing to perform a system of activities differently from that of traditional rivals and providing a coherent set of key activities that reinforce each other to achieve such position in a sustainable manner. Despite the challenges faced, Tigers low-cost model appears to be sustainable in Asia as it has been in the Singapore, Thailand, China and elsewhere. It has a different and substantially lower cost structure than the conventional network model, because the latter imposes higher costs on those who operate network systems. While Tigers network airlines can reduce their unit costs further, they can match those on short-haul routes. Tiger Airways competed for a part of their own traditional markets with low-cost carriers and it will increasingly generate most of their business from the denser, short-haul, inclusive tour markets and from long-haul routes. Within Asia, in South-east Asia and even in Australia, Tiger Airways cleared that low-cost airlines will become the dominant carriers in domestic and short-haul markets. It is not a passing phase. Tiger Airways was here to stay and it will dominate most of the markets they enter. Tiger Airways jointly launch a low-cost airline with Thai Airways was a example to prove. Question 3 a) Using Porters 5 (five) forces model, analyse all the forces in the low-cost airline industry. Buyer power Low-cost Airlines generally have a large number of buyers. Many of these are individual consumers purchasing flights directly from the airline, although there are B2B sales to charter companies, discounters, and similar buyers. In the low-cost carrier market, airlines are competing for the same market segment. The bargaining power of the consumers is increasing as the supply exceeds the demands. Price sensitivity is high; a result of factors such as the growth of online price comparison sites, corporate travel expense policies for business flyers such as Jetstar and Virgin Blue. The consumers are price sensitive. One of the challenges that all the low-cost Airline must face is the lack of customer loyalty in the low-cost carrier arena where passengers easily switch to airlines that offer lower fares. Buyers have no loyalty in low cost airlines such as Tiger Airways as the trip is purchased according to price. Supplier power Low-cost Airlines must enter into contracts when buying or leasing aircraft from suppliers. Breaking hose contracts can often imply a heavy financial cost. Furthermore, Boeing and Airbus effectively form a duopoly of suppliers of new jetliners, not only in the large jetliner category, with planes such as the 747 and A380 but also in small jetliner category with planes such as the 737 and A320. In the market for lower-capacity regional jets and propeller-driven aircraft, companies such as Embraer, ATR, and Bombadier are significant suppliers. The relative lack of alternative manufacturers or substitute inputs increases supplier power. Air Indias passenger fleet consists of 46 Boeing, 78 Airbus, seven ATR, and seven Bombadier planes. Southwest Airlines is the worlds largest low-cost carrier. Southwests successful business model involves not only flying multiple short, quick trips into the secondary airports of major markets but also using only one aircraft type, the Boeing 737. Suppliers offer fuel, labor, airport and security services all with changing prices. Aviation fuel is another vital input. Number of fuel suppliers is still relatively few. However, it is difficult for suppliers to forward integrate. Strategic alliance among airlines for economies size such as code sharing and economies scale such as purchase of fuel and aircraft could reduce the supplier power in some level. New entrants The economic entrance barriers to the not only low-cost airlines but also all the airlines industry is relatively high. For an entirely new company, they include the considerable up-front outlay needed to obtain planes, although this may not be an issue for an existing airline beginning to offer flights to a new country or region. Distribution is not particularly easy, as new players need to establish an online booking system, and relationships with travel agents and other sales intermediaries. It is also vital to obtain airport slots for take-off and landing. There has been a growth in air traffic over recent years which mean that congestion at airports in many countries is expected, especially the major hubs. The time slot given to an low-cost airline is important, and is something all airlines negotiate with airports. Established airlines will already hold the monopoly over slots at certain airports, making it harder for new low-cost airlines to infiltrate. This creates difficulties for a new low-cost airline aiming to negotiate prime slots at busy airports and can result in it being restricted to offering flights only at off-peak times, or having to fly to airports further away from popular destinations. This can be a deterrent to new airlines, as customers may seek more convenient alternatives. For example, in Singapore infrastructure constraints pose as a formidable entry barrier. Because of the intense price war, a new entrant will find it almost impossible to offer rates that are lower than Tiger Airways. The airline industry is highly capital intensive. New entrants are challenged by expensive aircrafts, high cost of operation and war for talents. New entrants also find it very hard to look for suitable airport as airport slots are reserved for established airlines. Substitutes Other forms of transport such as road, rail and marine travel are considered as substitutes to airline travel. Buyers take into account not only the cost of travel but also how long the journey will take on corresponding forms of transportation. In some countries, air travel makes it easier to overcome long distances and has certain benefits such as shorter travel time than rail travel, even including the time to check in. However based on the price advantages of low-cost airlines, rail and road transportation will not becomes more attractive alternatives for a majority of buyers. Furthermore, many consumers are now aware of the environmental impact of air travel, and are turning to rail travel instead. It is possible to travel around much of the world by long-distance bus or train, although levels of service vary and some border crossings may present a difficulty. Rivalry In the airline industry where the market is highly saturated, the rivalry between existing airlines is one of the strongest forces. Rivalry is increased by the presence of low-cost carriers in the market, as these companies can compete more intensely on price. Switching costs for buyers are low. Besides, existing airlines such as SIA will sometimes marketed big promotions which almost has the same price as low-cost airlines, it means that it is easy for them to change to a competitor. In terms of intra-industry competition is also high. Eg. In Asia, Tiger Airways as a new entrant poses as a threat to established low-cost carriers such as Jetstar and Virgin Blue. The competition in the budget sector is very high as all airlines has the same no frills philosophy. Price is the major differentiating factor in the low-cost carrier market, an area where Tiger Airways lead. b) Provide a conclusion and reason on the attractiveness of the low-cost airline industry. No doubt, the biggest attractiveness of low-cost airline industry is based on its great price advantage as it saves money compare to the ticket price of the traditional airways. Besides, it promotes great vacations. For example, Tiger Airways also supply Airways hotels, Travel insurance, Budget accommodation, Car hire etc. With Tiger Airways you would be thrilled because you get to have a great holiday. At the same price compare to other transports ,you do not need to worry anymore about long and tiresome journeys by bus, train or car. This would invariably involve countless days on road, living out of a suitcase and staying in uncomfortable hotels. The flight does away with all this inconvenience. Question 4 Explain value chain analysis. Based on the case and research done through the companys website, analyse the value chain of Tiger Airways. Value Chain Analysis describes the activities that take place in a business and relates them to an analysis of the competitive strength of the business. Influential work by Michael Porter suggested that the activities of a business could be grouped under two headings: (1) Primary Activities those that are directly concerned with creating and delivering a product (e.g. component assembly); (2) Support Activities, which whilst they are not directly involved in production, may increase effectiveness or efficiency (e.g. human resource management). It is rare for a business to undertake all primary and support activities. Primary Activities Primary value chain activities of Tiger Airways include: Primary Activity Description Inbound logistics Tiger Airways based on Singapore, Tiger Airways can attempt to co-operate with Airbus to lower the cost of the airplanes. It can also co-operate with food suppliers to get cheaper and more delicious. Operations Tiger Airways now operates a fleet of 19 Airbus A320-family aircraft and is committed to increasing its fleet size to 68 by December 2015. The airline operates flights to 33 destinations across 11 countries and territories in Asia and Australia from its aircraft bases in three locations Singapores Changi Airport Budget Terminal, Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne and Adelaide Airport in South Australia. Besides it has detail duties, responsibilities and specifications for every position include Flight Dispatchers, Operations Controllers, Flight Safety Manager, Pilots and Cabin Crew. Outbound logistics Tiger Airways of Singapore has agreed to open their operations in various countries. It is also stepping forward to associate with a Global Distribution System company to strengthen its ticketing system to enable travelers to access to more passengers. Marketing and sales The Company recorded an operating profit of $28.0 million and a profit for the year attributable to shareholders of the Company of $28.2 million for the financial year ended 31 March 2010. Revenues grew 28.6% to $486.2 million while operating costs grew only 7.7%, despite the 53.8% increase in passengers compared to the preceding 12 months. Growth in revenues was supported by the combination of passenger seat revenue increasing 19.6% and ancillary revenue growth of 87.4%. Ancillary revenues currently comprise 19.4% of our revenue base, an increase from 13.3% in FY2009. Management continues to be focused on optimising ancillary revenues, with initiatives such as the carriage of cargo being introduced in FY2011. During the last 12 months from 2009 to 2010 the number of passengers reached at 4,872,000 Service Besides online sales and flying services à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Tiger Airways also supply Tiger Airways hotels, Travel insurance , Budget accommodation, Car hire etc. Support Activities Support activities include: Secondary Activity Description Procurement The procurement of Tiger Airways was a low-cost carrier operates a fleet of Airbus A320s. Now Tiger Airways has a fleet of 19 Airbus A320 aircraft and it aim to increasing its fleet size to 68 by December 2015. Human Resource Management The human resource management was organized by its special department in details. Processing of Employment Pass, Airport Pass and Staff Pass Administer Staff intranet database Administer procedures for new hires and resigned employees Compiling of information for surveys requested by its special agencies. Technology Development Around 75% of Tiger Airways seat sales come from the internet, both from the public and agents, while the balance 25% comes from call centers and airport outlets. By these years ,Tiger Airways continue to develop its webs power by co-operate with Facebook, Twiter, Youtube and other media agencies . It also emphasis on advising. For example in 2005, it had an increase of more than 60% in revenue and website visits since it launched its new advertising campaign: Whats New Pussycat? Infrastructure By 16 June 2010, the biggest shareholder of Tiger Airways is Singapore Airline Limited which holds 33.55% of the company shares. Approximately, 31.8% of the companys shares are held in the hands of public. Question 5 a) Analyse at least 5 (five) common cost-cutting strategies adopted by low-cost carriers that directly affect the passengers. 1. Develop creativity. A good example to support this strategy is the invention of Boeing 737. The Boeing 737 is a short-term and lower-cost twin-engine airliner developed by U.S. which influenced the whole low cost airline in the world. With this aircraft, it can save the gas but also narrow the costing of supplier to gain the biggest benefit of airline. Southwest Airline is the biggest low-cost airline in the world which using only this aircraft type to add a batch management to get the cost-cutting. 2. Rational use of resources. The low-cost airlines usual have limit resources, however use it rational become the key to success. After 911 the airline industry in U.S. was decreased. But Southwest Airline remodeled its Boeing 737 , added six more seats to every plane and guarantee will not effect the comfortable of the passengers, which help Southwest gain the profit even the past-911 time. 3. Efficient chick in service. The low-cost airways usually provide short-term service. The fly travel time will not over 2 hours. All the passengers concerned how fast they can chick in and how long they can arrive. The same successful example of Southwest Airline proved that they only need 10-15 minutes from chick in to take off, which usually take 1 hour to do that. This action not only gains the trust of passengers but also save the time. As time is money in business, they gain the efficient cost-cutting. 4. 0 strategy. Every low-cost airline should have a self- orientation of their company. For the low-cost airlines 0 means no luxury fitment, no free-service of food, no provide of TV and ear phone ect. to make a cost-cutting. 5. Effective and efficient operation. The low-cost airlines operate many planes. The key is how to operate them efficient. The biggest successful factor of Southwest Airline is the number 11 in its cost-cutting culture as 11 means they guarantee every Boeing 737 of their airline fly 11 times per day. It gains both the passengers benefit and the max operation of their airplanes. b) Recommend at least 3 (three) future strategies that Tiger Airways could implement to maintain its low-cost strategies. Break-even. A useful method for making expense comparisons is break-even analysis. Break-even is the point at which gross profit equals expenses. In a business year, it is the time at which your sales volume has become sufficient to enable your over-all operation to start showing a profit. It is important for low-cost airlines to remember that once sales pass the break-even point, the fixed expenses percentage goes down as the sales volume goes up. Locating Reducible Expenses. The airlines profit and loss statement provides a summary of expense information and is the focal point in locating expenses that can be cut. Taking cost cutting Action. When the airlines have located a problem expense area, the next step obviously is to reduce that cost so as to increase the profit. A key to the effectiveness of your cost-cutting action is the worth of the various expenditures. As long as you know the worth of your expenditures, you can profit by making small improvements in expenses. Keep an open eye and an open mind. It is better to do a spot analysis once a month than to wait several months and then do a detailed study. Take action as soon as possible. You can refine your cost-cutting action as you go along. Conclusion The low-cost airline revolution has injected a dose of democracy into the travel world. Low-cost airlines have succeeded in taking over a large part of the market. Tiger Airways jointly launch a low-cost airline with Thai Airways provide a new opportunity, a new market and a new business model based on its successful business strategies. Moreover, Tiger Airways get ready to take off more quickly; enabling it as competitive airline to schedule more flights and provide more attractive schedules for passengers. No doubt, there is a bright future for Tiger Airway!

Symptoms of the Life Changing, Psychoanalytical Phenomenon Essay

She rolls over, still completely exhausted from the minimal forty- five-minute sleep, and hits the snooze on the alarm. She can hardly force her jelly-like legs to the chilled floor. Eyes slightly cracked, open enough to see shapes of objects, she throws on the first clothing items she finds on her floor. Breakfast sounds revolting, but she knows she will need something to keep her going through the day, having been awake until six A.M. with thoughts of worry and obsession over problems the day is sure to bring. As she climbs into her car, she hardly notices her jacket is not zipped in the brisk winter air, and should not be driving from lack of concentration. School is the last place she would prefer to be; with no homework done, she begins to worry again about her achievements she has been working towards. Upon arriving to the first class of the day, her eyes are already shutting as if they were automatic doors, and the stress of the babbled lecture tunes her out. After hard ly making it through the day, she crawls into her bed with mountainous amounts of homework. Not caring, or able to motivate herself, she ignores the learning she was once passionate for, therefore, starting the cycle over for the following day. Does this sound familiar? What is being experienced by the student above is generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, and is also experienced by 3.1 percent of the United States population (â€Å"Generalized Anxiety Disorder† 1). This is an example of one of the various types of the growing issue of anxiety amongst humanity. Anxiety can appear in people of all genres, and also takes a varying life within each individual stricken with this mental illness. Though seemingly helpless, there are vast amounts of treatment ... ...n be sought, both seeking professional help as well as oneself. One can turn to therapy, both behavior changing and thought breaking, turning negativity in to positive life living. Along with therapy, medications work wonders on an anxious mind, as well as self help solutions. In all, anxiety should not be taken lightly and needs instant attention to avoid further self-harm. Works Cited Bloomfield, Harold H. M.D. â€Å"Coping With Anxiety- Worry Free Life.† New York: Harper Collins. 1998. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. Comer, Ronald J. â€Å"Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology.† 2011, 2008, 2005 by Worth Publishers. â€Å"Generalized Anxiety Disorder.† Anxiety Disorders Association of America. Web. 6 Dec 2010. Smith, Melinda. â€Å"Anxiety Attacks and Disorders.† November 2010. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. â€Å"Stress and Anxiety.† New York Times. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.New York Times. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.

Higher Nurse-to-Patient Ratios Improves the Quality of Care Essay

The economic impact on healthcare has taken its toll on the reduced number of registered nurses providing direct bedside care to patients compromising patient safety and dramatically increasing the potential for negative outcomes. Studies reveal that several other factors have also played a key role concerning nursing shortages over the years, such as healthcare organizations downsizing, reduced reimbursements, increased workloads, inadequate staffing plans and job dissatisfaction. Currently, mandated minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios have been implemented in several states with many more trying to pass some type of legislation (Chapman et al.331). In other states hospitals opted to form safe staffing committees that include the participation of nurses to assure each unit’s need is met. Regulated safe staffing plans for nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals and other healthcare facilities have been pivotal in reducing the occurrence of adverse patient outcomes, increasin g nurse retention and providing a safer work environment. Skyrocketing medical costs are some of the challenges faced by hospitals today and among their major expenses are nursing labor costs. The burden of reduced spending and managing costs more efficiently is passed on to the hospital finance leaders with the expectancy of reduced reimbursements under the healthcare reform (Sanford 38). Have these ratios affected the quality of care? Healthcare institutions, especially hospitals, argue that reducing the number of registered nurses and diluting the skill mix would not lower care standards (Hunt 18). The argument amongst all sides regarding the best mix and right numbers and the financial impact of applying such ratios is still being debated today. At t... ...rsingworld.org. American Nurses Association. 22 July 2010: Web. 13 Jan. 2011. Rotenberk, Lori. "Nurse Super-Union Sets Agenda, Aims to Get Staff Ratio Law Passed. " Hospitals & Health Networks 83.12 (Dec. 2009): 12. Nursing & Allied Health Source. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. Sanford, Kathleen D. "Nurse staffing: finding the right number and mix." Healthcare Financial Management 64.9 (2010): 38. Academic One File. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. â€Å"Study Shows Increasing Nursing Staff Would Improve Safety, Quality in Hospitals.† Thrall, Terese Hudson. "Nurse Staffing Laws: Should You Worry? " Hospitals & Health Networks 82.4 (Apr. 2008): 36-39 Nursing & Allied Health Source. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. United States. Dept. of Government Affairs. The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2010. Federal Legislation. 2010: H.R. 5527/S 349. American Nurses Association. Web. 13 Jan. 2011

Of Mice and Men: Journey to their American Dream Essay

Achieving the American dream is possible, but the price to get there may be more than most can handle. In Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck shows threw different choices of settings the difficulties of achieving such a dream. George and Lenny, long time friends since childhood have the dream of owning and working there own land. They travel from town to town looking for labor trying to save up enough money. Yet everywhere they go it seems trouble either follows or finds them. The American dream is known by most but achieved by few. Gradually over the years the American dream has become the main staple for up and coming families. Both men and woman strive to have the white picket fence in a private town, near work, and with a good school district. Though many live from paycheck to paycheck portraying as if they have the american dream when in reality its all just an illusion. Young people are greatly influenced by family, friends, and the media. At a young age many are told to go to college, get a good job, and to become successful. It is drilled into the young that owning property and making life as comfortable as possible is the way to go. So this is what we work so hard for, never stopping on our quest to achieve the almost unachievable. Lennie and George’s vision of the American dream is simply owning their very own land. Threw out the book it is implied that you are a respected member of society if you own land and stay in one place. Yet Lennie and George go from town to town working hard trying to make enough money to buy land but never actually stay in one place for enough time to actually settle in one spot and buy it. If they were to have land ownership they would have the pride and respect they always wanted. In their eyes the dream means â€Å"independence and self-sufficiancy, the freedom that comes from owning land. which in turn means enjoying the fruits of one’s own labor.†-( Johnson[->0] 140) Society plays a big role in achieving the dream. Being on the outskirts of society is hard enough along with Lennie always sturring up accidental trouble, society brands them outsiders, unusual, and not safe. Usually they are run out of town by the towns people and not given a chance to save up enough money to be able to by land let alone find land to purchase. After a few times of this happening moral goes down and the dream seems farther and farther away. The migrant life and its effects can take a toll. They searched for casual work wherever they can find it. George and Lennie are known as † seasonal or casual workers, who went from job to job in africulture, industry, or construction.†- (Johnson[->1] 100). Usually they do hard labor that pays very little and don’t stay long enough to get comfortable. This leaves them feeling unwanted and mistreated. Many of the people they work with treat them like they are inconsequential. They are only wanted to do they hard labor no one else would do. Seen to be too weak to even come close to the American dream. Curly’s wife looks at them and rudely says † they left all the weak ones here.†- (Steinbeck). Curly’s wife has some dreams of her own as well. She wished to be a Hollywood actress but can’t beome one because Curly is so protective of her and doesn’t allow her to do anything. If she wants to make her dream come true she would have to leave Curly and all that she is familiar with behind. This would be a difficult and life changing decision not to be taken lightly (â€Å"Mice†). Discrimination is shown often throughout this book, against anyone who is different. Many times they are discriminated against because of their being drifters an not of a certain social standing. Lennie is mentally handicapped and most times his curious and playful side can become dangerous. He likes to touch pretty and soft things but in doing this without thinking others become frightened and disturbed by such a large burly man approaching them and not letting go. Because of this Lennie is constantly called stupid or a fool even by George at times. George is looked at as a fool for befriending someone like that. This deprives them of the hope they need to continue to work hard and reach their goals. George expresses this when he says, â€Å"I seen the guys that go around on the †¦ ranches alone. That ain’t no good. They don’t have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin’ to fight all the time.†(Steinbeck.17) A black man’s perspective can be much the same as a migrants. Even Curly, a black worker, wants to make it for himself but is constantly put down and disparaged because he is black and handicapped. With the mindset of being dumb, stupid and not good enough no one can move forward or accomplish anything. In the beginning and ending of the book Steinbeck uses symbolism in the largeness of the mountains compared to the smallness of George and Lennie showing the contrast between them and their dream (J.Hinds 152). Many ask the question can the American dream really be had? George is not very optimistic about starting up new in another town and in that mindset finds that the worst does happen. George is forced to kill Lennie, in this he possibly realizes this is the only way to achieve his dream of owning land even if it hurts him to do this. George had always felt a certain obligation to sticking with Lennie shown when he says, â€Å"I ain’t got no people†¦. ‘Course Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him.† (Steinbeck 45). In this case George killing Lennie was the only way for either of them to obtain their American dream. â€Å"Of Mice and Men and The American Dream.† 123HelpMe.com. 16 May 2012 . [->0] – /Claudia-Durst-Johnson/e/B000APX61U/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1/187-0392986-1780919 [->1] – /Claudia-Durst-Johnson/e/B000APX61U/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1/187-0392986-1780919

Gsci

DERIVATIVE CASES An Investment Linked to Commodity Futures Professor Richard Spurgin FIN 5310 – 1 Group 1 Zhongyi Qian Hao Cheng Yue Zhao Liuyang Gao Motivation for issuing the security Prior to the Swedish Export Credit Co. issued the security, the performance of the GSCI showed that this index was clearly attractive. First, the increasing-trend cumulative total returns were higher than the returns on S&P 500 and the Treasury bonds, and then it became more diversified with more futures contracts introduced after 1980.Besides, another attractive feature of the GSCI was its ability to act as a hedge against inflation because it had a strong positive correlation with the two most widely used measures of inflation: CPI and PPI. In addition, the investment on the GSCI had the potential to decrease the risk of a portfolio because its returns were negatively correlated with returns on stocks and bonds. We could examine the index performance more specifically. The total returns on th e GSCI consisted of three components, the yield from the collateral Treasury bill, the spot return and the roll yield from the futures.According to the total return of the GSCI prior to 1990, we could find that the contribution of the T-bill yield was substantial and relatively stable while that of the spot return was small on average and extremely volatile and that of the roll yield was positive though somewhat volatile. The primary source of return changed based on different period with different financial environment and weighting strategy. Spot return contributed a lot in the inflationary period while the roll yield contributed more in the isinflationary period. As for the returns after 1991, we consider it reasonable to assume that the GSCI would continue to generate hefty returns. Since the prices of crude oil futures included in the GSCI had been in backwardation 80% to 85%, GSCI generated high roll yield that significantly contribute to the total return during 1981-1990. The refore, we can say that in 1991-1993, with substantial contribution of T-bill yield and relatively high roll yield, the total return of the GSCI would continue to be hefty in short term.As a consequence, the GSCI would get more attractive and hence popularizing securities exclusively tied to it such as notes issued by Swedish Export. In addition, it was true that GSCI was particularly attractive because it had negative correlation with the US stock market. From Exhibit 4, we can obviously find returns of GSCI had negative correlation (actually -0. 32) with returns of S&P 500 and in the meanwhile, generated relatively higher returns than those of S&P prior to 1991. As far as we concerned, it make a lot of sense since it’s a fully collateralized portfolio of commodity futures.As we know, in theory, commodities futures perform well when financial assets perform worse , that is to say, GSCI has a negative correlation with stock markets. Structure of the security It is possible to replicate the GSCI by making a portfolio, which contains the future contracts of the commodities that includes in the GSCI and the futures of each individual commodity can be weighed approximately the same percentage as they are in the current GSCI. When the future reaches to its maturity, the future contract will be rolled over into the next nearest contract just like the way the GSCI was calculated.In this way we can replicate the GSCI index and the return should be also approximately equal to it. As for the tradeoff between buying the structured note and the replicating portfolio, one should compare them in different aspects. Although the nominal return maybe theoretically the same, the actual return of the structured note should be higher than the replicating portfolio because the transaction fees and charges will be charged in the progress of making and keeping the portfolio. To replicate the payoffs of the GSCI, the investor also needs to put a certain amount of money as the frequent margin and/or collateral postings.Besides, if the investor wants to sell what he has for cash, then he will find the liquidity for the structured note is much higher than the replicating portfolio. However, the investors would only get paid 95. 57% of the increase rate of GSCI index from the structure note while they did not have such limitation on the replicating portfolio. On this transaction, Goldman Sachs earned commission fee as 0. 35% of the total amount of the note, which was $350,000, but they got far more than this for creating the index. In addition to the notes described in this case, Goldman Sachs offered a number of other products related to the index.Each of these products would generate a huge amount of commission. For Swedish Export Corp. , they could finance with no fix interest paid and the possibility that the cost of financing was even cheaper than that of issuing company bond directly definitely existed. Investors would like to have this structure note in portfolios not only because the advantages illustrated above, but also because it had a negative correlation with the stock market, so it could hedge the portfolio risk to some extent. How the deal performed over timeTo calculate the total return, we first need to calculate the cash flows (Table 1) by using the formula, Par*[0. 9557 *GSCI End / GSCI Begin], and when at maturity the value investors could redeem is $78781. 54. Thus the total return of security is as below: (78781. 54/100000)^(1/3)-1=-7. 64%; 39390. 77/50000)^(1/3)-1=7. 64% Compared with other alternatives such as Managed Futures Funds, Swap Transaction and CRB Futures Index, it seemed that GSCI was a good investment since all these three alternatives had relatively lower return than GSCI and still in the decreasing trend.However, the total return of GSCI was declining from 1991 to 1994. Besides, the T- bill yield was higher than the GSCI return, which made this investment meaningless. Additionally, we calculated th e yearly return of GSCI and downloaded the return of S&P and Treasury of these four years. Correlations between GSCI return and S&P and Treasury return is showed in Table 2. It was obviously that there were positive correlation between the GSCI return and S&P and also positive between GSCI and Treasury, which meant that this future contract could not decrease risk effectively.Therefore, in retrospect from 1991 to 1994, the GSCI futures contract decreased the overall return and at the same time failed to diversify the risk of the investment portfolio. It was not a good investment for investors. Table 1 Year| Par=100000| Par=50000| 11/1/91| 95570. 00| 47785. 00| 11/30/94| 78781. 54| 39390. 77| Table 2 Year| Return| S&P| Treasury| 91| -5. 46%| 30. 23%| 5. 61%| 92| -4. 09%| 7. 49%| 3. 41%| 93| -8. 20%| 9. 97%| 2. 98%| 94| -7. 64%| 1. 33%| 3. 99%| | | | | S&P and return| 0. 327556756| T and return| 0. 302031481|

Crime Is a Social Construct Essay

Crime is a social construct Discuss. This composition will look at crime and its different criminological interpretations. Crime is an umbrella word which covers a diverse range of issues and is dependant upon the theoretical stand point of the writer. Although the wordings of the explanations differ, the implications are consistent (Newburn, 2007. Doherty, 2005). Mclaughlin et al (2006) seems the most relevant for the purpose. They separate crime into three key constituent parts. These are harm, social agreement and the official societal reaction. There are different theoretical interpretations of crime. The product of culturally-bounded social interaction is crime; which is the violation of the social contract (Newburn, 2007. Young, 1995). Societal responses are different dependant upon the society. Theft in the UK may result in caution or non-custodial sentence for a first offence; whereas in Saudi Arabia the offender would lose a hand. Deviance can be perceived as being actions or behaviour which although may not be criminal in nature are at odds with the social norms of the society. Promiscuity is legal, though is perceived as deviant (particularly in females due to patriarchal societal values). Homosexual behaviour, which was previously illegal, has undergone a shift in the moral attitudes of society. The moral’s of society regarding certain activities is not set in stone and it alters over time. This is the view rule-relativists have of crime, as what is appropriate to the society at any given moment in time and may change due to alterations in societal values. Social constructs are the institutions, agencies, judicial bodies and any other mechanisms that are produced to implement social order. These social constructs are not natural phenomena; they are created by the hegemony. Behaviour or activities that offend the social codes & practices of a particular community. These codes and practices may be different due to cultural differences. Legal and social codes are not always identical. Laws are the mortar that binds societies and implement its norms. A Muslim man may marry more than one wife in certain countries. In the USA a Mormon may also marry more than one wife. He may bring both wives into this country with both having legal rights as his wife. However even though his culture would allow him to marry another wife, in this country he wouldn’t be allowed to. A man in the UK would not be allowed more than one wife. If he did marry a second wife he would be charged with bigamy. This crime doesn’t harm anyone; however it is classed as being against the social norms of British society. A number of crimes are made due to the state acting as a moral guardian to its community. At the present in Indonesia it is illegal to chew chewing gum, conversely in the UK this would not be seen as a reasonable criminal offence. Governments are not beyond contravening their own statutes, as in the case of prisoners that have been transferred to Guantanamo bay and the acknowledgement that water boarding (a form of torture) had been used upon a few of these prisoners. As well as the state justice there are systems which provide social control, such as private security etc. â€Å"They comprise the numerous forms of social control of crime and deviance that are part of group life† (Henry, 1994). There are informal modes of social control from local communities, such as being â€Å"sent to Coventry! The legal standpoint is simply what is enacted by society as criminal. On the issue of harm Lord Denning’s ruling in Donoghue v Stevenson holds â€Å"what would the man on the Clapham omnibus think†. Legally in addition to the criminal act there has to be a guilty mind, mens rea as well as the criminal act, actus reus. There has to be a legal capacity to commit crime, Doli incapax means that thos e less than eleven years of age and those suffering from mental illness are seen as not being capable of committing crimes. There are also mitigating circumstances; reasons why a criminal act may be seen as reasonable. This can be observed as being the contextual component; evidence of this can be seen in the case of the mignonette (Morrison, 2005). The classicist classification of crime is activities which have a negative impact upon the individuals and upon their property of the state’s electorate. Classicists do not take into account that there might be other factions with conflicting aims or moral codes. This can be perceived prior to the break up of the former Yugoslavia, where each faction had separate societal views. The conservative view of crime is that anything that threatens the social order should be criminal. This follows the classicist view insofar as that but they also include crimes which damage the integrity and morals of society. Those dealing with new deviance theory assert that there needs to be two separate parties. One party behaves or commits certain actions that another party who has differing morality categorizes that party as deviant. The factions in society with greater power impose their moral codes (Young, 1995). With new deviance theory the faction with the most power controls the morals; this doesn’t necessarily translate to being the majority of society. The Marxist viewpoint on crime is from of class and the intensification of social control of society. This viewpoint perceives capitalist societies as being breeding grounds for criminal activities. Theorists believe that only socialist societies can have any expectation of being without crime. Sheptycki (2006) states that â€Å"the roots of crime lie in the social structural inequalities of wealth and power. Capitalist societies promote individual interests over social welfare. The radical left criminological theory is that the nature of an advanced industrial society with its class system and its natural patriarchy is the cause of the prevalence of crime. They furthermore view crime as being more of a predicament for the poor. The way laws have been created can be shown in the disparity in sentencing for property theft when compa red to white-collar crime. Positivist criminology views crime and criminal activity as explainable through the natural sciences. Positivist criminologists look for specific causes for crime through scientific methodology. Whether this is because of biological, psychological and sociological disciplines to be able to quantify criminal behaviour. Positivists deem that there is a â€Å"consensus of value in society that can be scientifically ascertained† (Young, 1995). To bring to a close crime is a social construct. Crime is in addition a component of the larger issue of deviance. It is a consequence of social norms which the government has enacted into laws. The state has the infrastructure to enforce the society’s behavioural codes. By means of these criminological schools all of any given states laws can be identified. Having observed these, the new deviance theory was the most rational, building as it does on previous schools of thought. This holds that the faction with the greater societal power holding the reins to society’s moral codes. At the present time this looks to be direction in which western societies are on the face of it is heading. The Iraq war was implemented by the powerful elite of society.

Term Paper Essay Example

Term Paper Essay Example Term Paper Essay Term Paper Essay Name: Course: Instructor: Date: Role of Course in the Miami Plan: This course is one of three tier three course options in gerontology thematic sequence GET 2 (Aging in Diverse Contexts). Students who enroll in GET 2 begin with an overview of the social, cultural, and personal experiences of aging. The second course provides the students with grounding in socio-cultural analyses of the contexts of aging, and the third course is an in-depth exploration of the sources of variation in the aging experience. Students completing this sequence will understand he ways in which the meanings and experiences of aging are shaped by social and physical location, and the ways in which diversity among the older population is produced. Miami Plan Principles: 1 . Critical thinking, which includes integrating and analyzing information from many different disciplines and sources to formulate ideas, and clear oral and written expression of these ideas. The critical article summaries and term paper described below are designed to help you practice your critical thinking skills. 2. Understanding contexts, or the ways in which political, cultural, economic, and demographic factors effect our thinking about aging. The term paper, summaries, and in-class discussion will give you an opportunity to pay attention to the different contexts in which aging unfolds. 3. Engaging with other learners through active listening and sharing ideas with classmates; As a seminar, interaction with the group in our class sessions over the semester is expected for all class periods and required for those sessions in which you are assigned to lead discussion and share your written critical summaries with your classmates. . Reflecting and acting?drawing on the knowledge and skills scribed above, students who complete this course should be better prepared for active and responsible involvement in meeting the needs of our aging population. The paper and class discussion in particular will give you an opportunity to reflect Paper Assignments: As a cross-listed undergraduate/graduate cours e, course requirements are divided as follows: Undergraduate Assignments: Most graded work for this seminar will consist of writing assignments of two types. First, all students will each complete critical summaries of 3 different assigned readings. Students will sign-up for their choices of readings during the first class meeting. Summaries should be about 2 to 3 pages in length. Each student should provide a copy of their summary to all other students as well as the instructor at the beginning of the class period in which the reading will be covered. Students will then lead the discussion on articles which they summarized (Typically, there will be more than one student assigned the same reading and also responsible for discussion). A critical review is a summary and analysis of a particular reading assigned in the course. Second, students will write a term paper (15-20 pages) based on an in-depth critique of a major area in race-ethnic aging research that includes theoretical and methodological summaries and evaluations of the body of literature examined. The term paper will require extensive and intensive reading of outside literature and a theoretical and methodological analysis of a major hypothesis or conceptual framework. Graduate Assignments: First, all students will each complete critical summaries of 6 different assigned meeting. Summaries should be about 3 pages in length. Each student should hen lead the discussion on articles which they summarized (Frequently, there will be Second, students will write a term paper (20-25 pages) based on an in-depth critique of a major area in minority aging research that includes theoretical and framework. Graduate work will be evaluated more critically than undergraduate work with an expectation of higher quality. Grades will be determined by the following distribution: Undergraduate Graduate Readings Summaries Final Paper 24% 54% 36% 56% Class Discussion/Leadership Expectations: You are expected to come to class.