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Ability Grouping and Tracking in Schools Famous American author Mark Twain once said, â€Å"I have never let schooling interfere with my education† (The Quotations Page). School is sometimes a difficult place to learn. Teachers can’t be expected to give an individualized lesson to thirty students at once. This task increases in difficulty when not all of the students are behaving or when the students are at different levels of learning. Some schools, however, are attempting to make learning easier on both students and teachers. The methods of tracking and ability grouping are revolutionizing the way teachers teach and students learn. Tracking and ability grouping are two separate practices, but they share many similarities. Ability grouping is used most commonly in elementary schools, while tracking is used in high schools. Both practices involve grouping students by their abilities in schools. The main difference between the practices is tracking is between classes, while ability grouping is within individual classes. Tracking, in other words, is different for every subject. Ability grouping is grouping within an individual class (Loveless). The main arguments against tracking and ability grouping deal with the lower-level students. Critics argue that ability grouping can create a "self-fulfilling prophecy" for lower class and minority students, who tend to be placed in the lower-achieving classes or groups (Thompson). Also, some argue that the lower-level classes may not receive the same quality of instruction as higher-level classes, increasing the achievement gap (Sosnowski). To help shrink the achievement gap, teachers will often reshuffle groups when using the ability grouping method. Sometimes, teachers will give t... ...my entire high school career. Ability grouping and tracking are practices that could greatly benefit every school system and every individual student. Lower-level students would no longer feel pressured to learn at an uncomfortable pace. They would have the opportunity to receive additional instruction on concepts that they struggle with. Higher-level students would have opportunities to learn at an accelerated rate, and they would have a chance to explore concepts in much greater depth. These students wouldn't feel like they are constantly waiting for the other students to catch up with them. American journalist Sydney J. Harris said, "The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows" (Sydney J. Harris Quote). Tracking and ability grouping can help transform our generation of mirrors into windows that can change the world with our knowledge.

European Colonization of the Americas and What It Meant

Chloe Chandler European colonization of what would become North America was motivated by various reasons, including the desire for religious freedom, profit, or a chance to start over. The colonies were populated by religious groups seeking freedom to practice their religions without interference from England, indentured servants, debtors seeking a clean slate, settlers hoping to find a profit and people who were brought to America involuntarily as slaves from Africa. The establishment of European colonies in North America meant dealing with the Native American tribes who had already lived in the area for centuries.More often than not, colonists treated the native peoples as lesser beings and savages, and tensions between natives and Europeans led to many inhumane acts and deaths, particularly deaths of the native peoples. English colonization took many trial and error attempts before they were able to establish the famed thirteen colonies that would eventually go on to become the Un ited States of America. Despite the catchy assertion that â€Å"in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue† and became the first person to discover the â€Å"New World†, he was not the first foreigner to set foot in what would become North America.Aside from the native tribes that had already been in the Americas for centuries, there was another group of people to find America before Columbus. The Vikings were the first to discover what would become North America. However, the Vikings did not remain in the area and their discovery of North America became something of a Viking legend. In 1492 an explorer named Christopher Columbus set out to find a new route to Asia in order to maximize the efficiency of the spice trade between Asia and Europe. Instead of discovering a shorter route to Asia, Columbus stumbled across the new world that would come to be known as America.Though his discovery is referred to as the new world, there were countless groups of Native American tribe s who had been living in America for centuries and had their own cultures and ways of life. Columbus did not arrive in the new world with an open mind regarding the native populations. Like many people at the time, Columbus regarded those with a skin color different from his own to be inferior. On Columbus’ second trip to America, he wrote a letter to the King and Queen suggesting that they enslave a large portion of the Native American population. â€Å"Their Highnesses will see that I can give them as much gold as they desire†¦ nd as many slaves as they choose to send for, all heathens† (Columbus’ first letter, 1493) After the monarchy refused this suggestion, Columbus proceeded to enslave the native peoples regardless. 1,200 natives were taken from their homes and enslaved by Columbus. 560 of these natives were forcibly sent on a ship to Spain where 200 of them died of illness during the trip (Weatherford). In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh established the col ony of Roanoke on an island off of present-day North Carolina. Roanoke became the first European colony established in America.The charter to establish Roanoke was granted to Raleigh by the Queen Elizabeth I with the intentions of discovering riches in America as well as having a base from which the privateers she had commissioned could raid Spanish ships. The colony of Roanoke survived for three years before mysteriously disappearing, earning it the title â€Å"the lost colony†. One of the most commonly held beliefs regarding Roanoke’s fate, is that trouble with the native populations led to the deaths of several colonists, while the rest integrated into the Native lifestyle rather than face starvation or death by other means.In 1534 Jacques Cartier, an explorer for France, founded the settlement New France in the area of present-day Canada and the northern US. The French had a better relationship with the native inhabitants than any of the other countries that had, o r would colonize the Americas. The French realized that trouble with the natives could be detrimental and that a positive relationship with them could be beneficial. The French treated the natives with respect instead of viewing them as savages or lesser beings like the Spanish and British did.The French established a polite trading system of fur with the Native Americans. The French’s respect for the indigenous peoples would later be rewarded by the native’s help in the French and Indian War between the colonial French and the colonial British. A group of French Protestants called the Huguenots settled in what would become the southern US, but were eventually killed or driven away by colonial Spain to the south. In 1624, the Dutch settled the area of present day New York and New Jersey. They named their settlement New Amsterdam. The Dutch remained in the area until 664 when the British took over the colonies and renamed part New York and part New Jersey. The British a lso gained the colony of New Sweden from the Dutch, which went on to become a part of present-day Delaware. By the year 1600 the Spanish had established an expansive empire in America from present-day California to present day Florida, and down into Central America. The Spanish sought to expand their empire in the search of a profit and also to spread their Catholic faith. The Spanish obtained this vast empire by destroying the native peoples that stood between them and conquest.The three well-known cultures that were decimated during the Spanish conquest of the Americas were the Aztecs, the Maya and the Inca. In 1565, the Spanish attacked and took the French’s colonial settlement of Fort Caroline, killing 200 settlers. The Spanish then renamed the settlement St. Augustine. The Spanish desire for expansion would later cause tension between colonial Spain and colonial Britain. In 1606, King James I of England sold charters to the Plymouth Company and to the London Virginia Com pany. The charter was divided between the two companies, giving the Plymouth Company the northern half in the current-day Maine area.The colony established by the Plymouth Company did not succeed and was soon abandoned. With their Southern half of the charter, The London Virginia Company established the colony of Jamestown, Virginia which would become the first overseas English colony to succeed. The colonists of Jamestown faced many hardships in their first few years. The settlers of Jamestown arrived in the area at an inopportune time, as the area was experiencing a severe drought that made the cultivation of crops impossible. The lack of food resulted in many colonists dying of starvation.Aside from the drought, the settlers also experienced encounters from the native tribes who did not welcome their presence. Many settlers were killed by the Native Americans in the area, particularly in the long-standing rivalry that ensued between colonists and the neighboring tribes and result ed in the deaths of colonists and natives alike. Many other colonists died of diseases as a result of their malnutrition (Wolfe). When trouble with the neighboring Powhatan tribe finally subsisted, the colonists were introduced to the idea of using tobacco as a cash crop.With the introduction of tobacco as a cash crop the colony was finally able to succeed, though a darker issue arose from this success. As the tobacco trade became more and more successful for the colony, the issue arose of how to work the fields while spending the least amount of money on labor. Thus began America’s dark history of slavery. Several colonies were founded in order to seek religious freedom that was not offered in England. In 1620, a group of Protestants called the Pilgrims settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts.The Pilgrims chose to settle in America in order to be able to freely practice their religion. Nine years later, another religious group called the Puritans established a colony called the M assachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritans were unaccepting of other religions and established their colony in order to be able to practice their religion and also to be able to keep other religions out. In 1681, yet another colony was established for religious regions. William Penn, a Quaker, founded the colony of Pennsylvania in order to create a haven where Quakers could live and practice their beliefs in peace.In 1670, the establishment of the colony of Carolina was funded by a private group of Englishmen who were seeking to make a profit off of the colony. Carolina was settled but initially failed because no one had any motivation to move to the area. The colony of Carolina finally succeeded once farmable land was found in present-day Charleston. The establishment of South Carolina was motivated by the desire for profit, rather than for religious reasons as was the case in some of the other colonies.The motivations of the Carolinian settlers became apparent in their actions. Since t hey were profit-driven rather than being driven by religion as with some of the other colonies, the colonists of Carolina were most interested in how to maximize profits and did not mind if other people were hurt in order for their businesses to flourish. The Carolinian settlers came mainly from the British colony of Barbados, and they brought African slaves along with them. Being profit motivated, South Carolina began a trading relationship with the Caribbean Islands.Among the â€Å"items† traded were Native Americans that had been kidnapped and enslaved by the Carolinians in order to trade them to the Caribbean. Alongside their atrocities committed against the natives, the settlers of Carolina also brought in slaves from Africa to work in rice fields once they decided that slaves were cheaper to maintain than indentured servants. In 1733, the southern colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe in order to separate the colony of Carolina from the Spanish-populated Flo rida area due to tensions between Spain and Britain.These tensions were caused by Spain’s desire to be ever-expanding, and their history of attacking and taking over colonies that were close by. The English helped add to this tension through the practice of English privateers frequently raiding Spanish ships, stealing their gold or supplies and killing anyone in the way. Since the idea of living in a colony created as a buffer between two rivaling areas is not particularly appealing, Oglethorpe did not expect anyone to willingly settle in Georgia. This opened the question of how Georgia would be settled.The answer became a solution to another of England’s issues– what to do with their large number of debtors. At the time in England to be in debt meant to remain in prison until the debt could be paid. James Oglethorpe pitied the debtors who could not pay their debts, and this pity gave him an idea that would solve two problems at once. The colony of Georgia was p opulated by debtors in England who were given the choice of colonization or remaining in prison in England until their debts could be paid. During the time of colonization, as many as 300,000 colonists were indentured servants (US-History. om). An indentured servant was a person whose boat fare, housing and food were all paid by the person who hires them. In exchange, the indentured servant entered into a contract and agreed to work for their master for as many years as it took for their debt to be paid off. Indentured servants worked in fields or as house servants and often were not treated well. While indentured servants did enter into the contract voluntarily, it was only because they could not afford to go to America on their own and they desperately wanted a chance to start over in the new world.As it became too expensive to keep indentured servants, colonists who owned plantations began to look for cheaper ways to work their fields. Between 1500 and 1800, over half of the popu lation of the colonies consisted of African slaves who were brought to America against their will (Brinkley, 18). Many colonists and slave owners viewed African slaves as primitives and hardly regarded them as being human at all. The slaves were not given wages or promised freedom after a set number of years as with indentured servitude, but instead were regarded as the permanent property of the person who purchased them.The colonist’s poor treatment of anyone with a skin color different from theirs was also exhibited in their treatment of the Native Americans. As aforementioned, some colonies such as South Carolina forcibly enslaved the native populations and sold them in order to make a profit. The colonists also encroached on the native’s lands and were eager to expand westward without any regard for the native’s homes or lands. Colonists frequently regarded the natives as savages who were uncivilized and, like the Africans, hardly human. During colonization, several wars broke out between the settlers and the Native Americans.The war between the Powhatan tribe and the Virginians began when the colonist Captain John Smith began stealing food and supplies from the Native Americans as well as kidnapping several of them. Another dispute caused by the mistreatment of the Native Americans was King Philip’s War which began as a result of the natives defending themselves when the English colonists began to demand that the natives be held under the English colonist’s rule (Umass. edu). Another dispute between colonists and natives known as Bacon’s Rebellion began when a native tribe attacked the plantation of a colonist who had not paid them for goods.Colonists then returned attack– on the wrong tribe of natives. Several native chiefs were killed throughout the dispute and some innocent and friendly natives were kidnapped by colonists (nps. gov). In conclusion, the new world was settled by many different kinds of peo ple with many different motivations. Some settled in order to seek religious freedom, while others sought a profit, and some to escape their debt while others were brought to the colonies forcibly as slaves. Several colonies were only able to thrive by depending on the institution of slavery.The colonies also settled without any regard for the Native Americans who had already been living in the area. Many natives lost their lives in war with the colonists and many more lost their lives as a result of unfamiliar diseases brought over by the colonists. It took many failed colonies before the new world was settled by Europeans. After the colonization of Georgia in 1733, the English had established 13 English colonies in North America. They had also developed a successful economy grounded in tobacco, rice, and slavery.Sources: Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New   Ã‚  Ã‚  York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Weatherford, Jack. à ¢â‚¬Å"Examining the Reputation of Columbus. † Understanding Prejudice. Last modified   Ã‚  Ã‚  2002. Accessed February 18, 2013. http://www. understandingprejudice. org/nativeiq/weather. htm. Wolfe, Brendan. â€Å"Early Jamestown Settlement. † Encyclopedia Virginia. Ed. Caitlin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Newman. 13 Feb. 2013. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. 29 Jan. 2013 Columbus, Christopher.Letter, â€Å"The Letter of Columbus to Luis De Sant Angel Announcing His   Ã‚  Ã‚  Discovery,† 1493. Historic Documents. Independence Hall Association. United States History. â€Å"Indentured Servitude. † Accessed February 18, 2013. http://www. u-s-history. com/pages/h1157. html. â€Å"King Philip's War. † University of Massachusetts. http://www. bio. umass. edu/biology/conn. river/   Ã‚  Ã‚  philip. html. McCully, Susan. â€Å"Bacon's Rebellion. † Edited by Jen Loux. National Park Service. Last modified June   Ã‚  Ã‚  1987. Accessed February 18, 20 13. http://www. nps. gov/jame/historyculture/bacons-rebellion. htm.

Individual Assignment: Classic Airlines Marketing Solution Essay

Bryan Spearman July 22nd, 2010 Abstract In the case study of Classic Airline (CA), the paper use problem-solving model to solve CA’s marketing problem. After taking into account of the internal and external pressures contributing the CA’s current crisis, the new objective of implementing strategic market plan to resolve solution is clarified; furthermore, potential issues of implementation is also considered to ensure impact of the plan. The paper will also highlight that implementation of improved CRM which expected to significantly improve the profitability of the organization. Successful implementation requires effective leadership, targeting market group, realizing shared vision among stakeholders and appropriate delivery strategies. Classic Airlines Marketing Solution For every successful organization, a question is often brought forward by the management: What philosophy should guide a company’s marketing efforts? Should organization focus its strength first on the interest of stockholder, the customers or the society? Often times, these interests are in conflict with one another. Since the mid-1950s, the marketing philosophy had shift from product centered â€Å"make to sell† toward customer centered â€Å"sense and respond† philosophy. Thus the questions of marketing are finding the product that fit customer’s need instead of other way around. [ (Philip Kotler, 2006) ] Facing fierce global competition, companies had realized the importance of retaining healthy customer relationship because every companies knows it is far more cost effective to retain a loyal customer than to acquire a new one. According to Plunkett Research Online, the 2009-2010 periods for commercial airlines are expecting some rough ride ahead: consumer budget is tight while companies are cutting down business traveling expenses. To combat with economical hardship, airlines are fighting to cut routes, removing older models of air planes and reduce the fuel cost; at the same time, competing on best price and total service package to the customers. [ (Plunkett Research Ltd. , 2009) ] The Problems at Classic Airline The Classic Airline (CA) is world’s fifth largest airline that operates 375 jets serves 240 cities with over 2300 daily flights. In the last 25 years, the company had grown into an organization of 32000 employees with multi-billion sales. [ (University of Phoenix, 2005) ] Due to the difficulties with increasing global competition, overexpansion within the organization, changes in customers spending, and increased concern with airline security; CA along with its competitors in the industry are dealing with issues of growing stress and reduced financial gain. Increased uncertainty had triggered a drop in stock price; thus CA has seen a 10% decrease in share price. To make the situation worse, the company had also shown 19% decrease in number of reward members and 21% decrease in flights per remaining member. (University of Phoenix, 2005) With rising cost especially in fuel and labor, CA is tight up financially in its ability to compete effectively in the market. Furthermore, the board of director mandated 15% cut in cost or the company will face bankruptcy. A key component of the business model affecting both competiveness and profitability is the structure of the marketing portfolio within the company. In fact, Classic Airlines is struggling with a number of marketing challenges both internally within their corporate culture as well as with their external marketing portfolio. Some senior executives such as newly promoted CEO Amanda Miller believed in focusing organizational resources on operational excellence and financial stability thus gives less attention to marketing. As a result, the shift in priority had caused the firm more vulnerable in this critical time which consumers needs should be valued as most important of all others. Meanwhile, CA’s competitors are learning fast in continuing improvement in customer satisfaction to regain their market share. Opportunity Identification Targeted at the problems at home, also lies opportunity to success. Because the executives of Classic Airline believes that they can turn the things around and improve the current situation, First opportunity is to increase customer satisfaction through the company’s existing program called Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Using this information, CA can determine what it needs to focus on to bring customers back. Though the CMO, Kevin Boyle is a big supporter of this program; he might be facing disagreement with other executives down the road during the implementation process since they don’t have much faith on how marketing department can be benefited from the program Stakeholder Groups and Shared Vision Stakeholder alignment is an important part of marketing planning thus holds a key to the success of implementation of problem solution. The potential of conflict of interest is inherent in any organization. Conflicts may exist whenever a group or an individual is paid to serve and support another from a position of assumed trust and responsibility. † [ (Emlyn Neuman-Javornik, 2006) ] Before any product reaches to consumers, it must connect with all stakeholders in every levels of the organization first because CA’s employees will be affected by these changes and so will their perfo rmance in the future. Can the risk due to the conflict of interest be eliminated once for all? Unfortunately, the answer is no; but the progression of actions that cause potential risky situation escalating to the point of destruction can be and should be prevented beforehand. [ (Emlyn Neuman-Javornik, 2006) ] The key step is management awareness and proactive action taken to minimize the risk factors. An effective risk-management program based on three critical phrases: Creation, Communication and Commitment. Creation is referring the solid cross-companywide statement of policy which states a clear expectation and govern ethical standard of conduct toward the all stakeholders including employee, managers, suppliers and officers; Communication, allows all levels of stakeholder to understand the statement policy and oversee any differences before it progresses; Last and most importantly, the commitment of employees, managers, partners and suppliers to invested in the company’s policy and shared vision as same as they are equally liable for the consequence if violates the policy. (Emlyn Neuman-Javornik, 2006) ] â€Å"The creative difference between reality and the vision is a way of seeing progress and an objective that serves as a motivator for a lot of people. † [ (Senge, 1997) ] Senge also states that the vision should come from all levels within an organization instead of being applied â€Å"top down†. Despite the individual belief and differences, it is vital for Cl assic Airline to establish a shared vision among all stakeholders in order for the organization continues creating value. In addition, the importance of a shared vision is the core of the company which allows teams learning to happen throughout the stages of product cycle. In fact, company that learns faster as a team than its competitor has a clear competitive advantage thus is more flexible toward changes. [ (Senge, 1997) ] In the case of Classic Airline, management had been working hard to maintain a high level of efficiency; however the passive approach has its limitation thus incapable of continuing improving when deals with worse market response. Therefore, the core competency must shift toward customer centered business operation. Employees must be encouraged to know and listen to the consumer’s voices which allow a clear channel of communication. As a result, the info collected from bottom up will help marketing team to shape a clear picture in how to meet market demand with effective strategic solution. In addition, a cross-function communication network must be established which integrated with CRM system to close the communication gap between external and internal stakeholders. Problem Solution An Overview of Customer Relationship Management â€Å"CRM systems can be viewed as information systems aimed at enabling organizations to realize a customer focus. † [ (Bull, 2003) ] Though CRM has gained an increasing popularity in improving and meeting marketing demand; however, the studies had shown a great number of failure in CRM implementation. According to Giga surveys: companies generally underestimate the complexities of CRM, lack of clear business objective and tend to invest insufficient resources into the program; thus Giga survey have estimated 70% of companies are likely to fail. (Whittle, 2001) ] The truth is that CRM system is evolving over the years as market demand changes. Because the leaders oversees not only the internal running of operation but also monitor the external environments changes; and are best positioned to set the vision and strategic direction for CRM project. In addition, the top executive is more cost aware than middle management thus has stronger control over the expenditure of project over the long run. [ (Bull, 2003) ] Classic Airline had earned $8. 7 billion in sales; however, the ineffective CRM system had reduced yields from consumers and failed to maintain loyal customers. The firm suffers CRM integration problem due to unclear direction in dealing with customer relationship. Therefore, a set of priorities must be established to set straight forth the focus of the CRM system which is to identify consumer needs, assisting market segmentation, discover value and cost driver, improving customer retention and leveraging stakeholder feedback. Holistic Market Approach Classic Airline could apply the concept of holistic marketing which based on four components: relationship marketing, integrated marketing, internal marketing and social responsibility marketing. The goal is to have more comprehensive approach that goes beyond the traditional marketing strategies in order to deliver highest value to the customer. [ (Philip Kotler K. L. , 2006) ] In the relationship marketing, the company can update and strengthen the CRM program to collect data required based on the goal to understand the need, wants and demand of the customers; as the same time, integrated marketing enable multiple marketing activities to communicate thus deliver value and maximize each activities’ joint effect. As a result, two objectives that can be achieved: lower the cost of marketing and implement a solid customer service solution to increase sales. [ (Philip Kotler K. L. , 2006) ] Notably, internal marketing must be incorporated into the solution process which to ensure every stakeholders within the organization embrace and participate the marketing principle especially the senior management. â€Å"Holistic approaches to CRM help organization co-ordinate and effectively maintain the growth of disparate customer contact points or channels of communication. [ (Bull, 2003) ] By placing CRM system as the heart of holistic marketing approach, new solution allows company undergoing transformation needed to emphasis on customer orientated business process with higher flexibility and adaptability to market changes. Identification of Right Customer Groups According to Newell, CRM is a useful tool in terms of identifying the right customer groups; in another word, assisting with market segmenta tion in order to provide appropriate service and product to different level of market groups. (Newell, 2000) ] The basic idea of market segmentation is that a company cannot have equally profitable relationship with all customers. By targeting consumer with different product and services according to their lifestyle, individual taste and financial ability will create a win-win relationship in which both parties received maximum benefit from one another. Newell had stated that identifying customer groups is the idea of distinguishing between transaction and relationship customers; which transaction customer are highly volatile thus have less to no loyalty other than obtaining the max benefit per transaction with best price. On the contrary, the relationship customer have far more potential for loyalty as they often prepared to pay a higher price within their financial ability for a range of reliable goods and services. [ (Newell, 2000) ] Generally, relationship customer will less likely to defect once establish a relationship; however, he will expect consistent quality service as a return for his loyalty. Relationship customer is far more cost effective than new customer because they had already understood the process and requires less persuasion; as the same time, he will be able to provide useful feedback to improve quality services of the organization. Delivery of CRM System Another dimension of market problem solution is CA’s ability to deliver the strategy successfully. CRM strategy is only effective if they deliver positive outcome; therefore, customer focused CRM system may not be enough with current consumer demand. Not only CRM will be able to assist the organization to predict future market demand, but keep the organization strong as a market leader. The studies had shown that fundamental goal of CRM is to improve organizational profitability though efficient and effective customer relationship. If the CRM strategy is struggling to impact profitability of organization after the initial implementation period; clearly, the strategy is failed to accomplish its goal. [ (Bull, 2003) ] In the case of Classic Airline, to revise and establish a stronger and effective CRM system: the top executive must clarify the expectation and announce an overarching theme to CA employees. The top executive must assume a strong leadership role within the organization to lead the transformation of the business process and passed down to the bottom level. When employees are more anticipated, the transformation process will be easier to implement. Value is ultimately built on the improved relational variables cultivated between business unit as CA experience learning as a team. As a result, manages and employees’ behavior will help improving the existing organizational culture so all stakeholders are motivated to work toward the common goal. Although the risks associated with transformation is relatively high, CA must utilize CRM system with proactive models to address the challenges/trends that market demand in a timely manner because strategy nd efficiency should always exist alongside each other. Alternative Solution and Benchmarking â€Å"When organizations want to improve their performance, they benchmark. That is, they compare and measure their policies, practices, philosophies, and performance measures against those of high-performing organizations anywhere in the world. † (James Cavanagh, 2000) Southwest Airline i s one of market leader in airline industry which has a reputation of delivering consistently high quality of customer service and employee performance. Southwest airline is reported that 2009 marked as their 37th year of consecutive profitability which proven their immovable leadership within the industry. (Gary C Kelly, 2009) During the period of recession, Southwest Airline had continued to dedicate quality of customer service as their top priority and led the industry with lowest customer complaint ratio. The organization is constantly seeking new opportunity to enhance customer experience. Examples of their initiatives are early bird check-in which encourage customer online-reservation; P. A. W. S that are welcoming customer with pet aboard and last, in flight internet that installing satellite-delivered broadband to onboard passenger. [ (Gary C Kelly, 2009) ] CA should learn from Southwest Airline which is developing strategic planning based on consumer focused philosophy. With new updates and perfected CRM system, CA will be able to establish more stable customer relationship in order to regain the competitive advantage in the market. Conclusion Marketing is the life and breathes of an organization, and the organization must be reminded how its strategic marketing solution should be based on consumer satisfaction consistently. Encompass the body of the paper, it is confirmed that CRM is a complex and holistic concept that requires appropriate business process and integrated systems. After identification of existing problems, alignment the stakeholders’ value and creation shared vision; Classic Airline had come to conclusion that in order for the successful implementation of updated CRM system to impact the profitability, CA need to execute effective leadership and risk management, targeting the right marketing group and evaluation within CRM strategies. The future of CA relies upon a collaborated effort infused with productivity and team work.

Hearing and Visual Impairments Essay

Understanding the struggles that hearing and visual impaired people go through has to be a tough challenge for them. Using their senses and other abilities to comprehend and communicate is truly extraordinary. They live their lives to the fullest and do not want anyone’s sympathy. Learning about how visual impairments take place must not be noted until we find out how a person can see. There are three functions for seeing: optical system, muscular system, and the nervous system, all play a role in how a person uses their vision. According to the IDEA, (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), any human being whose vision is 20/200 or less is considered legally blind (Heward, 2013). The educational definition when referring to learning states, an impairment in vision that disrupts a child’s ability to succeed in educational performance. Damage to the optical, muscular or nervous system can cause a visual impairment. Types of visual impairments include cataracts, color blindness and glaucoma. When it comes to academic achievement students will not be left behind when it comes to visual impairments. For students who are blind the use of braille is the way of reading and writing in which letters numbers and words are in arrangements of raised dots on the book or paper. Computers have special keyboards for students with visual aids so that the use of technology is not taking away from the student. Students with low vision have the options of optical aids where magnification plays a huge role in helping the student see. Hearing Impairments A person has the ability from gathering sounds from the environment and transforms that energy into a form that can be interpreted by the brain  (Heward, Hearing and Visual Impairments 3 2013). Hearing impairments may be the hardest of the five senses to understand. There are factors involved that are not completely understood by scientist and doctors. The IDEA defines hearing impairments as, a hearing loss that is so traumatic, that the child is impaired by understanding sounds and what they stand for, rather with sound or not, and affects a child’s work in school. A person who is deaf cannot hear what a person is saying to them without the use of hearing aids, reading lips, or sign language. People that are considered hard of hearing can comprehend things with the use of devices such as hearing aids. There are different types of hearing impairments that cause hearing damage. Conductive hearing loss has to do with damage to the outer or middle ear. Sensory hearing loss has to do with a disturbance to the cochlea that affects hearing. Neural hearing impairment is damage to the auditory nerve pathway (Heward, 2013). Hearing impairments can be caused by several factors: ear wax buildup, noise exposure, genetic factors, and meningitis. Things that can help students who suffer from hearing impairments in school are being improved every day. Technology such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, television and movie captioning. The thing that I feel is most important to hearing impaired students is the use of sign language. The fact that the use of sign language interpreters in the classroom has increased over the years is a sign that people see the positives in using the interpreters for success. In conclusion, technology has had a big hand in helping the hearing and visual impaired reach astronomical success in the classroom and outside the classroom. Although they still have their struggles in society it has improved a great deal from the early centuries. Hearing and visual impaired do not believe they have a disability and with good reason they should not. They can do anything they set their mind to and with good reason due to the advancements we have made as a society. Reference Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, Tenth Edition, by William L. Heward. Pearson, 2013.

Derivatives Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Derivatives Markets - Essay Example We have already given examples of stock options in an earlier section; we now move on to index options. Stock market indices are well known, not only in the investment community but also among many individuals who are not even directly investing in the market. Because a stock index is just an artificial portfolio of stocks, it is reasonable to expect that one could create an option on a stock index. Indeed, we have already covered forward and futures contracts on stock indices; options are no more difficult in structure. For example, consider options on the S&P 500 Index, which trade on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and have a designated index contract multiplier of 100. On 13 June of a given year the S&P 500 closed at $1241.6. A call option with an exercise price of $1250 expiring on 20 July was selling for $28. The option is European style and settles in cash. The underlying is treated as it was a share of stock worth $1241.6, which can be bought, using a call option, for $1250 on 20 July. At expiration if the option is in the money, the buyer exercises it and the writer pay the buyer the $250 contract the multiplier times the difference between the index value at expiration and $1250. In the United States, there are also options on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ, and various other indices. There are nearly always options on the best-known stock indices in most countries. Just as there are options on stocks, there are also options on bonds. Interest rate options An interest rate option is an option in which the underlying is an interest rate. It has an exercise rate or strike rate, which is expressed on an order of magnitude of an interest rate. At expiration the option payoff is based on the difference between the underlying rate in the market and the exercise rate. Example: Consider an option expiring in 90 days on 180 day LIBOR. The option buyer specifies whatever exercise rate he desires. Let us say he chooses an exercise rate of 5.5 percent and a notional principle of $10 million. Now let us move to the expiration day. Suppose 180 day LIBOR is 6%. Then the call option in-the-money. The pay off to the holder is $10000000(0.06-0.55) (180/360) =$25000 BOND OPTIONS Options on bonds usually called bond options are primarily traded in the over the counter markets. Options exchanges have attempted to generate interest in options on bonds, but have not been very successful. Corporate bonds are not very actively traded most are purchased and held to expiration. Government bonds, however, are very actively traded nevertheless; options on them have not gained widespread acceptance on options exchanges. Options exchanges generate much of their trading volume from individual investors, who have far more interest in and understanding of stocks than bonds. Thus, bond options are found almost exclusively in the over-the-counter market and are almost on government bonds. Consider for example, a U.S. Treasury bond maturing in 27 years. The bond has a coupon of 5.50 percent, a yield of 5.75 percent, and is selling for $0.9659 per $1 par.

Ethics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Ethics - Coursework Example The ethical dilemma I have encountered in the clinical setting is deciding between quality and quantity of life. Some therapy subjected to a patient may affect the quality of life of the patient. The quality of life addresses how good the life of the patient will be, and quantity is how long the person will live. Step 1: Before making any decision, the objective must be identified. Decide whether the therapies will prolong the patient’s life. Step 2 Look into different available choices apart from the therapy that can improve the Patient’s condition. His/her quality and quantity of life (Gastmans, 2012). Step3: Identify the values at stake. If the patient is aware of the possible side effects of the therapy, he/she may choose not to undergo these. Choosing to hide the possible side effects may lead to mistrust by the patient. Step 4: Check whether the decision you are about to make is viable, it must not be a decision that will waste patients time, energy and money without producing good results. Step 5: Give the decision importance and enough time before execution. Wreckless decisions have led to the loss of life and resources (Gastmans, 2012). Step 6: Choose the best decision-making strategy that will guide you in making a better decision.

The Contemporary Hospitality Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The Contemporary Hospitality Industry - Essay Example The diversification within the industry ranges from one-person operations to multinational mega-corporations. In just the accommodations area alone, the offerings within the UK range from small mom-and-pop bed and breakfast operations to huge five-star hotels. The bed and breakfast operations are generally carried on by citizens wishing to keep historical homes in good repair, so they offer, patients during the season to supplement their income. These operations are generally quite comfortable and offer a full English breakfast. They are extremely popular for two reasons: the cost is lower and the service is more personal and offers the opportunity to get to know some local people. The price range of bed-and-breakfast within the UK starts at a low of around 7 pounds per night per person to a rather high 75 pounds per night per room. This last is rather palatial, while the first is generally offered in the lower-cost areas, such as Wales. Due to their popularity, some commercial B & B operations have opened in recent years. Other accommodations range from smaller hotels to very large establi shments, which offer a huge range of services. (William Reed Ltd 2007 )The price range here starts at around 35 pounds per night per person to a high of several thousand pounds per night per suite. Quite a few of these still offer the customary English breakfast, but economics are causing many establishments to phase this out. The second-largest sector of the UK hospitality industry is food. While the UK is not exactly famous for its cuisine, the variety of food service is really quite grand. This ranges from street vendors and tiny one-person quick service places to small chippies, take-aways, fast food chains in local restaurants, too small and large pubs, teahouses and cafeterias, and finally to grand restaurants in scenic locations and large five-star hotels. Good solid food, such as that found in most pubs, is