Indian & European Relations in the 1600s Essay Example for Free

Indian European Relations during the 1600s Essay Spain in North America 1560s: Spanish surrender look for Indian gold. Concentrate on shielding their realm from English (who were ravaging fortune boats and Caribbean ports) and French Protestants (who started to settle in Florida however the Spanish had just guaranteed the land). Spanish build up fortress at St. Augustine, Florida (1565) to ensure course of the fortune armada. They additionally slaughter French Protestants. Strikes by Native Americans clear out military stations and strict missions. 1573: The Comprehensive Order for New Discoveries says that evangelists, not conquistadors, need to conciliate the land. Franciscan monks set up missions in Nuevo Mã ©xico (New Mexico) and assault Native Americans. Local Americans do constrained work. 1680: Popã © drives revolt, slaughters 400 Spaniards and powers staying 1500 to escape to El Paso, and wrecks Spanish missions (Pueblo Revolt of 1680). Spaniards return, Native Americans make an arrangement that lets them practice their own religion and end constrained work, however they need to support the Spaniards. Result: Spanish neglect to change over Native Americans, Santa Fe left helpless. In Florida, assaults by English leave St. Augustine helpless. French in North America 1608: First lasting settlement, Quebec, is established 1662: King Louis XIV transforms New France into an illustrious settlement, attempts to get individuals to move there. Can't get enough individuals. New France turns into a territory for exchanging hides. Ascent of the Iroquois: French present sicknesses that slaughter numerous Indians. Indians get weapons from hide exchange, which prompts war. The Five Iroquois Nations beat the competition, have control of the hide exchange Quebec (with the French) and New Amsterdam (with the Dutch). French Jesuits attempt to win Indian proselytes. They don't misuse the Indians, and they come to comprehend their way of life. They in the end win changes over by adjusting Christianity to the necessities of the Indians. Result: Despite endeavors of the Jesuits, French hide exchange causes obliteration through sickness and loss of Indian culture. Iroquois warriors murder many, however they also are hurt: French consumed their towns and slaughtered numerous warriors in 1666 and again in 1690. Dutch in North America Dutch set up a hide exchanging post (Fort Orange) along the Hudson River. West India Company has imposing business model on the hide. Afterward, Dutch established New Amsterdam and made it the capital of New Netherland. Settlement didn’t flourish: little populace made it powerless. Stronghold Orange prevails as a tranquil and effective hide exchanging post. Dutch close to New Amsterdam are progressively forceful towards Indians. 1640: war. After the war, West India Company disregards New Netherland, centers around slave exchange. 1664: Dutch fall leveled out of the English under the Duke of York 1673: Dutch ambush quickly recovers the province Edmund Andros takes control, in reprisal forces English law and requests faithfulness. Result: Dutch, who had once been prevailing, are currently a subject people. Part 6: Making War and Republican Governments (1776-1789) Nationalists request that pioneers join Loyalist or Patriot side †can't remain nonpartisan. Nationalists have bit of leeway to get supporters b/c they control nearby governments. Nationalists make armed force, and Patriots urged individuals to help the military by playing a progressively dynamic job in govt. Character of legislative issues changes when everyday citizens apply impact: just armed force dispatches time of republican upset. Americans compelled to withdraw, Britain pushed back Americans into PA. At the point when winter comes, Britain ends their crusade and Patriots find them napping, winning little triumphs. Armed forces and Strategies Howe doesn’t need to crush Americans, simply needs them to give up and bargain. Howe can't win conclusive triumph, Washington stays away from rout. Washington’s handicaps: Fights just protectively, has unfit enlisted people, Radical Whig Patriots accept armed force is danger to freedom. American Victory at Saratoga Britain’s objective: disengage New England North’s frontier secretary Germain’s plan: assault Albany from 3 sides. Burgoyne, St. Leger, and Howe will assault. Howe’s diverse arrangement: assault Philadelphia (home of Continental Congress), end insubordination w/single triumph. Howe utilizes his arrangement gradually. Mainland Congress escapes to PA’s inside. Howe’s moderate assault straightforwardly prompts annihilation of Burgoyne’s armed force. Burgoyne’s activities: battles, at that point slows down. Americans drove by General Gates eases back Burgoyne’s progress. Burgoyne’s armed force stuck in Saratoga, NY. Beaten back while attempting to strike VT. Has troops w/attracted to support Howe. In the mean time, Gates’ powers develop. October 1777: Burgoyne compelled to give up. Defining moment of the war. Social and Financial Perils English maritime bar causes disturbance in New England angling industry, and British occupation causes decline in household exchange and assembling. Individuals move out, decline in populace. Chesapeake states: barricade cuts tobacco sends out. Short gracefully of products = armed force begins getting supplies from the individuals. Ladies and Household Production Ladies: 1 Increase yield of homespuns 2 Participate in farmwork Notwithstanding this, merchandise stay scant and costs rise. War additionally made hardship, dislodging, and demise. War isolates networks b/c of Patriots’ savagery. Budgetary Crisis State govts are powerless, don’t make new duties. Making of fiat cash, Continental Congress and colonies’ economies disintegrate. Valley Forge Starvation and disorder for Americans throughout the winter in Valley Forge, yet Baron von Steuben raises spirit. Mainland armed force becomes harder and better trained. The Path to Victory, 1778-1783 1778: Continental Congress partners w/France. Union gives Continental Congress cash, supplies, and later soldiers. Likewise goes up against Britain w/global war that challenges control of Atlantic. The French Alliance Collusion begins w/mystery credit to states to retaliate for France’s loss of Canada to Britain. Later transforms into a conventional partnership. Arranging the Treaty American ambassadors guarantee settlement indicates that French help can't end until the United States is free. Union restores settlements and Continental Congress. The British Response War is getting disagreeable in Britain. Some British help Americans and crusade for household changes. George III at first dedicated to squashing defiance, yet after British annihilation at Saratoga adjusts his perspective. Attempts to forestall American and French partnership (Parliament repeals Tea Act, Prohibitory acts, and repudiates option to burden states). War in the South French and Spanish (who joined the war against Britain in 1779) plans cause British to move focal point of the war toward the South. Britain’s Southern Strategy English arrangement: 1 Focus on winning tobacco and rice states (VA, Carolinas, GA) at that point depend on nearby Loyalists to hold them 2 Exploit racial divisions among slaves and Patriot proprietors †get captives to escape at the outset, British are winning. In any case, tide changes. Dutch join battle against British. France dispatches troops to America Fanatic Warfare in the Carolinas General Green battles in Carolinas. Battling goes to and fro. England is debilitated by this war of wearing down, and British choose to surrender Carolinas to Greene and spotlight on VA. Benedict Arnold and Conflicting Loyalties Benedict Arnold changed from American side to British side. Battles for George III in VA. England Defeated Washington and the French armada encompass Cornwallis and his soldiers ashore. Cornwallis is dwarfed, can't escape via ocean. October 1781: Cornwallis gives up in Yorktown The Patriot Advantage Why the Americans won the war: 1 Some British slip-ups 2 Widespread Patriots in America 3 Many Americans bolster war through assessments and joining the civilian army 4 Patriots drove by experienced government officials 5 George Washington Americans won't bolster British armed force, decline to acknowledge occupation by Loyalist powers, and persevere through the expansion brought about by the war. Strategic Triumph Harmony talks start in 1782, yet French and Spanish slow down b/c they despite everything trust in major maritime triumph or regional victory. Disregarding Treaty of Alliance, Americans sign a different harmony w/the British. September 1783: Treaty of Paris. Incredible Britain perceives autonomy of the states. England gets: 1 Canada 2 Rights for dealers to seek after legitimate cases for prewar obligations 3 Americans will urge state lawmaking bodies to return seized property to Loyalists and award them citizenship America gets: 1 Great Lakes and land east of the Mississippi River 2 Fishing rights 3 Freedom of route on the Mississippi 4 British can't hold onto property like slaves 1783: Treaty of Versailles †Britain makes harmony w/France and Spain Part 10: Creating Republican Institutions, 1776 †1787 The State Constitutions: How Much Democracy? Numerous states had composed state constitutions when the Continental Congress encouraged them to in 1776. The Rise of Popular Politics, 1820-1829 Extension of the establishment = most law based image of the Democratic Revolution. Gives conventional men more force than anyplace else on the planet. The Decline of the Notables and the Rise of Parties American Revolution debilitated the respectful society, yet didn’t topple it. Well off notables despite everything overwhelmed the political framework from the outset. 1810: Struggle to grow testimonial started. State assemblies award more extensive democratic rights to diffuse analysis and hinder relocation toward the west. The new voters would not bolster lawmakers that displayed their high economic wellbeing. Equitable legislative issues is degenerate. Martin Van Buren: 1 Created political machine, the Albany Regency. 2 Patronage: gives government occupations to party individuals as an end-result of their unwaveringness. (Corruption) 3 Insists on party discipline, requires chose authorities to follow directs of the gathering assembly. The Election of 1824 Five can

Information Filtering System Based on Clustering Approach

Data Filtering System Based on Clustering Approach A PRIVATE Neighborhood BASED INFORMATION FILTERING SYSTEM BASED ON CLUSTERING APPROACH Unique The amount of web data has been expanded step by step because of quick improvement of web. Presently a-days individuals settle on their choice dependent on the accessible data from the web. Be that as it may, the issue is the manner by which the individuals effectively pick or channel the valuable data from the gigantic measure of data. This issue is alluded as data over-burden. Suggestion System is a steady device to determine the data over-burden issue. It is a piece of data separating framework used to suggest the client dependent on their own advantage, neighborhood closeness and previous history. Community oriented Filtering is one of the well known procedures broadly utilized suggestion framework. Each suggestion framework ought to guarantee security for both user’s neighbor and their information. To defeat the versatility and model remaking issue, a force chart based private neighborhood suggestion framework is proposed to guarantee the user’s security. To begin with, the compacted organize is built and afterward the list of capabilities is separated from the packed system utilizing changed information. The information is changed utilizing half breed change wires head part investigation and turn change to ensure clients protection with precise suggestions. At last the thing to be suggested is anticipated which accomplish preferable execution over the current strategy. MovieLens Dataset is utilized to assess this technique. Presentation Suggestion System is one of the data sifting framework which gives significant data to the clients by separating the data as per user’s intrigue. Customary methodologies of proposal frameworks are collective separating, content based sifting and cross breed Approach. Content Based Filtering (CBF) approach predicts the suggestion dependent on the rating given by the client for the comparable things in previous history. Collective Filtering (CF) suggests the client dependent on rating of that thing by comparable clients. Half and half methodology joins both the methodologies. All the methodologies have their own preferred position and hindrance. CF chiefly named memory based CF and model based CF. Memory based CF initially ascertain the likenesses between the mentioned client and all other client to discover the neighbors at that point compute the forecast dependent on recognized neighbors rating design. Model based strategy originally assembled a model dependent on the inclination of the client. Principle point of the recommender framework is to limit the forecast mistake. The fundamental issues in CF recommender framework are versatility, sparsity and protection. Versatility: Large number of clients and things in the system prompted the expansion in the computational intricacy of the framework. In E-business, versatility plays a significant issue since it contain tremendous number of clients. Sparsity: All the clients dont demonstrate their enthusiasm to rate all the things they interface private, which will prompt information scantiness in the framework. This won't give careful proposal to the searchers. Cold Start: Lack of data for new things and clients in proposal framework will prompts erratic things in the framework. Security: Users may give bogus data inorder to ensure their own data. This prompts erroneous proposal. The proposed work mostly centers around two key issues in CF to be specific versatility and security. The main test is the means by which to improve the versatility of CF, on the grounds that these frameworks should look the whole client for finding the neighbors. The subsequent issue is the means by which to ensure the individual clients protection while forecast. Both an issues lead to horrible showing of the framework. So the significant test is to deal with both a circumstance appropriately for better execution. Writing SURVEY Proposal framework causes the individuals to get precise data dependent on neighbors’ design. Surprising development in web based business website makes the online merchants to build up their deals and benefits. They utilize this strategy which proposes item to users’ by their neighbors’ inclination about the thing. Versatility issue in RS fundamentally because of tremendous development in clients will in general decrease in exactness of expectation on proposal. Bunching approach decreases adaptability issue by gathering the comparable clients. Recommender System may request the users’ to open their appraisals to proposal server to give an appropriate suggestion. Be that as it may, uncovering the rating may permit the recommenders to get familiar with the private data about clients. Uncovering rating may likewise direct to do vicious conduct by a few serious companies’. Grouping IN RECOMMENDER SYSTEM A few distinctive bunching techniques are adjusted to decrease the versatility issue in RS. Another bunch based grid tri-factorization is proposed to group the client and thing at the same time to improve suggestion in model based CF. Be that as it may, when the new client enter the framework it is important to modified the entire model again for other client [].In [0] a group based paired tree is worked by parting the dataset and the suggestion is anticipated dependent on the normal rating of bunch. Later [] a consolidated k-implies bisecting bunching is performed to defeat the versatility issue while preprocessing and pseudo forecast is adjusted. Be that as it may, execution isn't vastly improved. Network based bunching model based CF is proposed [] to anticipate the suggestion however it fail to meet expectations on anomalies. Staggered grouping is adjusted to remove the subgraph which is bunched and spread to diminish versatility which improved the presentation than existing meth odology. Yet, it will be progressively entangled when the part of the system increments. In this way it is important to assemble the information in all the perspectives to diminish the adaptability. Security PRESERVING RECOMMENDER SYSTEM In CF, neighbors are distinguished by gathering the data for the whole client. Along these lines the server keep up client inclination, buy, use information and so on which may contain recognizable data may damage the security. There are a few strategies to secure the user’s touchy data []. Introductory technique to guarantee the security insurance in CF was proposed by watchful (2002a, 2002b), for the most part center around total. In this strategy touchy information are accumulated with some normal appropriation. In cryptographic methodology, Individual client information can be ensured utilizing homomorphic encryption to abstain from uncovering of individual information yet it requires high computational expense [5]. In irritation approach, clients veil their information before putting away it in a focal server. The focal server gathers the hidden information rather than unique information to give expectations not too bad precision [18]. In [2] a randomized reaction procedu res (RRT) is proposed to protect users’ security by creating gullible Bayesian classifier (NBC) based private proposals. Another strategy, information muddling was utilized to execute security safeguarding shared separating calculation [16]. In this method, touchy information are muddled through added substance or multiplicative clamor so as to ensure singular security previously taking into consideration examination. The real information can be uncovered in this method by applying figuring out procedure [7]. Delicate data is either disguised or disposed of to examine the information to separate the information in anonymization method. The significant shortcoming of this method is some particular information may prompt the re-ID of information [1]. In proposed work, an adaptable security safeguarding suggestion framework is proposed. First the client to client arrange is developed from the client inclination at that point packed system is shaped dependent on the force diagram approach. At that point include set separated from the compacted arrange dependent on changed rating to guarantee the protection during expectation. At long last the direct expectation model is embraced rather than likeness forecast to improve the precision other than lessens the unpredictability. OBJECTIVE To ensure the individual’s neighbor data while expectation dependent on bunching approach this decreases multifaceted nature of model reproduction. To ensure the individual information utilizing information change strategy. Issue FORMULATION A bunch based methodology is proposed to ensure the individual neighborhood security and mixture information change strategy is proposed to ensure the individual information with exact suggestion utilizing highlight extraction based straight relapse forecast. MODULES Information Transformation Trial is performed utilizing MovieLens Public (MLP) dataset which is the standard dataset to show the better execution of the proposed technique. MovieLens dataset is gathered by the GroupLens Research Project at the University of Minnesota. This informational collection comprises of three distinct records of three unique sizes 10M, 1M and 10K which for the most part contain evaluations of various motion pictures gave by the clients. To assess the proposed technique 1M size dataset is utilized which contains 6040 clients, 1 million evaluations and 3900 things. The rating esteems are on five star scales, with five stars being the best and one star being the least. Information gathered comprise of four properties isolated with twofold colon as the delimiter [userid :: itemid ::rating :: Timestamp]. To assess the proposed work userid, itemid, rating is removed from the dataset and afterward extricated information is changed over into client x thing grid with measurement (6040 x 3952).Un rated things are loaded up with esteem zero to beat calculation multifaceted nature. Information Transformation A cross breed information change strategy which wires Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Rotation Transformation (RT) is proposed to change the information so as to ensure the user’s information. The contribution to the PCA procedure is the rating lattice. This procedure first finds the head com

Its Legit

It’s Legit Because my roommate is in a sorority, she receives a whole slew of informative, interesting, and often inane e-mails. As she does a great job keeping up with her inbox, she is naturally well-informed about the goings-on in the MIT community so much so that I generally find out about things through her. Things like hacks :) It was a matter of some dismay to my fellow freshmen and I when we arrived on campus in August, only to find MITs Great Dome shrouded in white wrappings and the hubbub of construction. Now, at last, the scaffolding around the dorm is slowly coming down. MIT Hackers did a little to welcome the Dome back to the world of sight: (All Hack Photo Credit to Eric Schmiedl) Yup, thats a bandaid. Our beloved dome is all fixed up. But the hackers didnt stop there! Early last Saturday, they transformed the ceiling of Lobby 7 into a massive black hole and even showed a smooshed CERN spaceship being sucked within. This was, as some of you will have already guessed, in reference to the Large Hadron Collider project. Isnt it beautiful? I have no idea how they managed to put this up, but its entirely legit. As legit as my chem professors 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry :) In honor of it being the last chem class for the fall semester, Professor Schrock gave a lecture yesterday titled, How to Win a Nobel Prize hands down, it was my favorite chem lecture of the semester. We got a chance to hear about his work, see his pictures from the award ceremony, and even catch a glimpse of his certificate from up close. At the end of class, everyone swarmed to the front of the room to take pictures and my camera managed to capture this one: I knew it was a good idea to ask for a camera for my 18th birthday :) I only wish studying for the final were as entertaining as class yesterdayIll be taking my chem final next Tuesday the day before EA decisions come out!! How are you guys holding up? The wait is almost over! I wish all of you every bit of luck in the world :)

The Importance Of A Steady Source Of Light - 936 Words

For thousands of years, man had used the sun as the main source of light during the day and fire by night. Light progressed from crude shells filled with moss or animal fat to pottery vessels filled with whale oil2. In 1802, Humphry David placed two wires from a battery to a piece of carbon and created the first electric light. While it did not produce light for very long and was too bright for everyday use, it gave hope to inventors everywhere who believed that a steady source of light could be created3. It was not until almost seventy years and countless hours of research later, that the modern electric light came into existence. This discovery literally changed the world. Thomas Edison recognized the importance of a steady source of light and is credited with the first of several patents on a bulb that used a carbonized bamboo filament. But perhaps his most important contribution was to recognize the future of the light bulb and he went on to invent a method of transporting electric current and tracking electric usage. Other inventors took the light bulb to its next level with the invention of the tungsten filament and how to use an inert gas like nitrogen inside the bulb to increase efficiency4. The first light bulb was called an incandescent bulb. This light bulb was originally produced by hand, but now the manufacturing process is entirely automated and light bulbs are produced in a machine that can produce more than 50,000 bulbs per hour5. The productionShow MoreRelatedA Interview With A Vision And Communicating It At Birmingham City Church1449 Words   |  6 Pagesit to those you are leading. This paper will first explain how the author developed the questionnaire and provide a rationale as to why they chose these particular questions. 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Supply Chain Change at Givaudan Flavors Free Essay Example, 750 words

Choice and Rationale: - Solution A or BFrom a comparative perspective, Solution B is likely to deliver long-run benefits to both companies. While solution A suggests that Tastyco should increase its quantity demanded, it might not be quite a rational step in the short run. In addition, being highly depended on market fluctuations, the strategy shall also be unreliable in the long run. In contrast, solution B emphasizes alignment between the goals and values of the two companies, wherein long term efficiency can be expected from both the ends. Moreover, as solution B aims to deliver benefits to both the companies along with long term benefits, it can be regarded as a better option (Tang and Musa 25-34). Implementation: Tastyco is the largest consumer of Givaudan. Thus, ignoring such kinds of consumers would result in a loss for the company. Perhaps, owing to the reason, Givaudan is spending highly on providing standard flavors to its customers. The quality of service it provides is a lso according to the needs of Tastyco. It is in this context that rather than breaking the alignment Tastyco should identify the disadvantages it might face under such a situation. We will write a custom essay sample on Supply Chain Change at Givaudan Flavors or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now This may, in turn, benefit the company to ensure long-run sustainability and stability in its supply chain operations and channelize the intended change smoothly. In subsequence, the companies will be able to obtain greater competitive advantages from their partnership. Nevertheless, both Tastyco and Givaudan should make attempts to reduce dependency on each other, whereby Givaudan should also understand and respect the changes Tastyco intends to make (Tang and Musa 25-34).

Capsim Business Simulations Free Essays

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Capsim Business Simulations Free Essays

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Principal-Agent Problems Are Caused by Insufficient Oversight by Company Directors free essay sample

Some theories try to put in place â€Å"the best way† to solve all the problems that present to the organizations. These studies suggest to us the following question. Do different interests from the operators cause the organizational issues? Through the expertise of the governance theories we will discuss the issue that exists between the owners and the managers of companies (Principal-Agent). This case study deals about the recent outrage that happened this summer about different cheatings in the Australian sports field. As part of this, Essendon players used banned substances to enhance their performance. This problem was quickly linked, by the experts, to the lack of governance and rapidly became the center of attention. The principal-Agent issues are caused by insufficient oversight by company directors: Lack of control. Discussing this point comes to define the obvious. What is the directors’ control? Do the managers need to have their own liberty? All these questions show how important are the definitions of the relationship between the Principal and the agent. We will write a custom essay sample on Principal-Agent Problems Are Caused by Insufficient Oversight by Company Directors or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The shareholders and the agents. The agency theory discusses this point. Regarding to the work of Jensen and Meckling (1976), â€Å" the agency theory identifies the agency relationship where one part (the principal) delegates work to another part (the agent). † Some issues are related to this self-control theory. In fact, the agents are considered as individuals looking after their self-interest, and not the interest of the company. The Essendon scandal is a good example that shows how the managers can look after their own interest. So the winning at any cost policy became the watchwords. Indeed, The rapidly growing area of sports science was apparently a secret for the boards; even the biggest names in corporate governance that recently joined the Australian sports governance had no idea about these practices. For these reasons it seems normal that the relationship between the board and the managers is connected by contracts. This issue shows how important is the definition of the responsibilities for the agents. The outrage is considered as a lack of leadership and firm governance regulation. If the team had a clear policy against banned supplements there will be certainly not cheatings by taking drugs. Indeed, some players did not do it on purpose. If we consider their situation, we will realize that the drugs offered a simple resolution to their dilemma between enhancing performance and overstep the law. Recently, the Australian sport became very popular and attracts huge amounts of money. The club managers are running for the winning in a big rivalry. Thus, taking enhancing performance supplements shows how important it is for the board to keep a close oversight on the important matters, put on monitoring systems and stay informed. As Smith said: ‘the directors of such companies however being the managers rather of other people’s money than of their own, it cannot well be expected that they should watch over it with the same anxious as if it were their own’. ‘Business of business is business’: the agent serves only the principal’s interests. On the other hand, there is another theory that supports that the agents serve, and well, the principal’s interests: the stewardship theory. Thus, the manager has to maximize the owners’ interests rather than the other actors of the company. Milton Friedman has presented the efficiency perspective of social responsibility. According to him, the business of business is business. In other words, a manager’s responsibility is to maximize profits for the owners of the business. From Friedman’s perspective, managers have no obligation to act on behalf of society if it does not maximize value for the shareholders. For example, one of the issues in the AFL Teams governance is to keep good coaches even if they are not popular or to only focus on the winning. From the efficiency perspective, it is impossible for managers to maximize shareholders’ wealth and simultaneously attempts to fulfill all of society’s need. In most large organizations today, the manager is not the owner. Managers serve as the agents of the organization’s owner (shareholders). Considering this point, we can easily accept that good coaches consideration depend on their popularity (winning average) for the supporters; which grow the benefits for the shareholders. Thus, rather than maintaining a close monitoring of the managers, the stewardship theory give another solution that seems to give more liberty to the agents. By creating a third board independent chair of the CEO to bind between the agent and the principal interests. It will set clear the company expectations. The team for example will look after a best solution to enhance the players’ performance without resorting to doping. The ultimate aim of the company is to maximize the interests of all the members. The Essendon scandal showed that the agents had to make cutbacks in several areas as marketing, administration, finance†¦ to payoff enhance performance scientists huge amounts. As a result, the team had balanced efficiency issues. Did the leaders stay silent or were not skilled to anticipate this issue and its consequences? In summary, the principal can try to rectify the lack of oversight by different means. They can put in place monitoring and surveillance means to keep informed about the agents’ practices. Furthermore, considering immeasurable results. Set up an encouragement system: rewards (bonus, stock, options ) and punishments. But this solution seems to takeout the agents’ liberty and damage the principal-agent relationship. Also, they can involve independent board to stay on the CEO, hich will have as mission to bind the interests of all the actors involved in the company rather than try to keep an oversight of the company businesses. Reference: Corporate Governance, Christine A. Mallin, Jensen and Meckling (1976), Editorial. (2013, Feb 9-10). Sport and the need for governance. Australian Financial Review: Weekend Edition (Sydney), p. 58. Stensholt, J. (2013, Feb 9-10). The sinister sid e of sports science. Australian Financial Review: Weekend Edition (Sydney), p. 20. Nickless, R. (2012, Feb 13). Learn from the AFL scandal. Australian Financial Review (Sydney), p. 1. Smith, P. (2013, Feb 9-10). Its the officials, and not the athletes, who deserve our scorn. Weekend Australian (Sydney), Sport, p. 35. Paterson, J. (2010). AFL club membership: A glorified stadium entry ticket, or a genuine ownership stake in the club? Company and Securities Law Journal, 28, 507-536. http://www. heraldsun. com. au/afl/more-news/drugs-scandal-takes-huge-toll-on-essendon-chairman-david-evans-as-it-is-suggested-he-has-lost-eight-or-nine-kilos/story-e6frf9jf-1226578281236 http://theconversation. com/essendon-scandal-a-symptom-of-australias-sporting-woes-12085

Ethics and Euthanasia Essay Example

Ethics and Euthanasia Essay Example Ethics and Euthanasia Paper Ethics and Euthanasia Paper Euthanasia or mercy killing has long been a debated topic. The question is whether it is humane for a person to choose his own death when it is inevitable and prolonging his/her life would only lengthen his/her suffering. It may be so when the patient still has the capacity to acknowledge the act but in some cases, the patient can no longer respond to any given stimuli. In these special cases, close relatives are given the right to decide for the patient but this should still be subject to some regulation as giving the such decision-making power to another person may lead to abuse. It is important to know the facts behind euthanasia and how it is classified before discussing the moral and ethical issues associated with it. It is classified into four types which are passive and active euthanasia and voluntary and involuntary euthanasia. Passive and active euthanasia are different that passive euthanasia involves â€Å"withdrawing medical treatment† and active euthanasia â€Å"is taking steps to cause the patients death†. They are both classified as a form of euthanasia but the first one is more accepted in an ethical perspective (Pregnant Pause, 2001). An example of passive euthanasia is when a patient is already fully dependent on a life support mechanism to sustain life such as a respirator. In such a case, the patient may choose to disconnect the respirator to die a painless death when he/she wishes to do so. A more classical example of passive euthanasia is a â€Å"do not resuscitate order†. In standard medical practice, when there is a threat to a patient’s life, the medical staff will try to resuscitate him/her but when the medical staff chooses not to do so, this is considered as passive euthanasia. On the other hand, active euthanasia which is the more controversial form of mercy killing involves ingesting into the patient poison which usually is an overdose of painkillers and sleeping pills such as morphine. In comparison, active euthanasia is subject to a lot of debate thus legalizing it would result in much clamor for the religious sector whereas there is not much moral and ethical arguments against passive euthanasia (Pregnant Pause, 2001). Euthanasia is also categorized as voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia means that the patient has consented in the termination of life-support or medical treatment while involuntary euthanasia is euthanasia in the absence of a consensus from the patient. This may be due to the inability of the patient to make decisions for himself in whom close relatives are given the right to decide for them (Pregnant Pause, 2001). Assisted suicide is another form of killing although it is difficult to determine whether it classifies as a form of euthanasia or not. In this method, the doctor gives the patient access to ways to end his/her life. The doctor has no direct involvement because he will not administer the drug to the patient. The patient then has to make the decision if he/she would use the provided means to end his/her life. This is assisted suicide (Pregnant Pause, 2001). Now, looking at the moral and ethical aspects, euthanasia, depending on how it is performed and the circumstances when it is performed determines whether is right or wrong. If the euthanasia is passive or voluntary, then, there is not much issue because the patient is aware of the consequences and he has consented but when euthanasia is active or involuntary, many ethical issues may be encountered such as the value of life which troubles many religious groups. For involuntary euthanasia, the patient has not consented and the relatives are the ones that made the decision for them. The fear here is that the relatives might make the decision that the patient would not naturally want. This is a highly controversial topic also considering the financial implications of the death of the patient (Pregnant Pause, 2001). The use of morphine drips has always been associated with mercy killing. Morphine is particularly used as a pain reliever and its side effects include respiratory depression. Many believe that the use of morphine shortens the life of a person and many also fear its addictive properties. It is also perceived as a normal instrument for inducing euthanasia. A proper dose of morphine is not a big deal but in bigger doses, its medical components are being used to peacefully kill someone (Esolen, 2006). There are many possible scenarios wherein morphine drips can be used to help people who are in great pain. Technically, instantly increasing the dosage to potentially fatal levels, morphine drips may be considered as active euthanasia for those who have not developed a tolerance for the drug. However, on one aspect, this is better than passive euthanasia wherein you just let the patient writhe in pain as the medical staff do nothing to help. The use of morphine drips may be recognized as a humane way of mercy killing because morphine eliminates pain and ensures that the patient dies a painless death (Esolen, 2006) According to Dr. Thomas Preston,the use of morphine drips â€Å"is undeniably euthanasia, hidden by the cosmetics of professional tradition and language†. Continuous injection of morphine into the bloodstream will eventually lead to death due to cessation of the breathing function. Preston also indicated that the use of morphine drips is the â€Å"societys wink to euthanasia†. He also attested that euthanasia is now a widespread practice in spite of the existence of laws that prohibit such (When Death is Sought, 1997). If done intentionally, significantly increasing the dosage of morphine will undeniably cause death but characterizing morphine drips as a â€Å"covert form of euthanasia† is inaccurate. The relation of morphine drips and patient deaths has no clear relationship. Due to the fact they people rapidly develop a tolerance to the drug, doses may be increases and as long as the drug is properly administered, there seems to be no tolerance limit. The claim that morphine drips hastens the death of the patient who have not developed tolerance bears no ground (When Death is Sought, 1997). Euthanasia should not be much of a moral issue; instead it should be regarded as an opportunity to be able to help people. Sometimes, it is much better to die in comfort than to live in pain. Patients should be given the opportunity to choose between the two available options. If morphine drip is a viable and effective way to attain such, then, it should in no manner be banned from use. It is true that life is of utmost importance but when there is extreme pain and suffering, plus the fact that the patient would not be living long enough because of a terminal disease, ending life to end suffering is never a bad alternative. Euthanasia should be done when the patient requests it. It should also be recommended in medical practice whenever viable instead of providing false hopes. Some argue that as humans have a right to life but they also have a right to death. References Pregnant Pause. 20 November 2001. Types of Euthanasia. Retrieved April 14, 2008, from pregnantpause. org/euth/types. htm Anthony, Esolen. 18 January 2006. Lethal Drips. Retrieved April 14, 2008, from http://merecomments. typepad. com/merecomments/2006/01/_in_the_matter_. html The New York State Task Force on Life and the Law. 1997 April. When Death is Sought. Retrieved April 14, 2008, from http://wings. buffalo. edu/faculty/research/bioethics/suppl. html

Conjugate the French Verb Entendre (to understand)

Conjugate the French Verb Entendre (to understand) Entendre  is a  regular -re verb  that follows distinct, predictable conjugation patterns. All -er  verbs share the same conjugation  patterns in all tenses and moods. Generally speaking, there are five major categories of verbs in French: regular -er, -ir, -re; stem-changing; and irregular. The smallest category of regular French verbs is  -re verbs. Entendre  Is a Regular er Verb To use  -re verbs, remove the  -re ending from the infinitive, and youre left with the stem.  Conjugate the verb by adding the -re endings shown in the table below to the verb stem. The same applies to entendre. Note that the conjugation table below includes only simple conjugations. It does not include compound conjugations, which consist  of a form of the auxiliary verb avoir and the past participle entendu. The Most Common -er Verbs These  are the most common regular -re verbs: attendre  Ã‚  to wait (for)dà ©fendre  Ã‚  to defenddescendre  Ã‚  to descendentendre  Ã‚  to hearà ©tendre  Ã‚  to stretchfondre  Ã‚  to meltpendre  Ã‚  to hang, suspendperdre  Ã‚  to loseprà ©tendre  Ã‚  to claimrendre  Ã‚  to give back, returnrà ©pandre  Ã‚  to spread, scatterrà ©pondre  Ã‚  to answervendre  Ã‚  to sell Entendre:  Meanings   The most common meaning of the French verb  entendre  is to hear, but it can also mean:   to listen toto intend (to do something)to meanto understand (formal) In the pronominal form, sentendre  means: reflexive: to hear oneself (speak, think)reciprocal: to agree, to get alongidiomatic: to be heard/audible, to be used Entendre: Expressions   Entendre is used in many idiomatic expressions. Learn how to hear about, intend to, attend mass and more with expressions using  entendre. entendre parler de... to hear (someone talking) about...  entendre dire que...  Ã‚  to hear (it said) that...entendre la messe   to hear / attend massentendre raison   to listen to reasonentendre mal (de loreille gauche/droite)  Ã‚  to not hear well (with ones left/right ear)entendre les tà ©moins  (law)  Ã‚  to hear the witnesses lentendre,   tentendre,   vous entendre   to hear him/her talk, to hear you talk qui veut entendre   to anyone who will listendonner entendre ( quelquun) que...   to give (someone) to understand / the impression that...faire entendre raison   to make someone see sense / reasonfaire entendre sa voix   to make oneself heardfaire entendre un son   to make a soundse faire entendre (dans un dà ©bat)   to make oneself heard (in a debate)laisser entendre ( quelquun) que...     to give (someone) to understand / the impression that...Ce quil faut entendre tout de mà ªme  ! (informal)   The things people say!Entendez-vous par l que... ?   Do you mean / Are you trying to say that... ? Faites comme vous lentendez.   Do what  you think is best.Il / Elle nentend pas la plaisanterie. (old-fashioned)   He / She cant take a joke.Il / Elle nentend rien ...   He / She doesnt know the first thing about...Il / Elle ne lentend pas de cette oreille.   He / She wont accept that.Il / Elle ne veut rien entendre.   He / She just wont listen, doesnt want to hear itIl / Elle ny entend pas malice.   He / She means no harm by it.Il / Elle va mentendre !   Im going to give him / her a piece of my mind!Jai dà ©j entendu pire !   Ive heard worse!Je nentends pas cà ©der.   I have no intention of giving in.Je vous entends.   I understand, I see what you mean.On entendrait voler une mouche.   You could hear a pin drop.Quentendez-vous par l ?   What do you mean by that?  Quest-ce que jetends ?   What did you say? Did I hear you correctly?... tu entends !   ... you hear me?!sentendre (faire quelque chose)  (formal)   to be very good at (doing something) sentendre merveille   to get along very well sentendre comme larrons en foire   to be thick as thieves (to be very close, get along extremely well)sy entendre pour (faire quelque chose)   to be very good at (doing something)cela sentend   naturally, of courseEntendons-nous bien.   Lets be very clear about this.Il faudrait sentendre !   Make up your mind!Je my entends ! Il sy entend  ! etc.   I know what Im doing! He knows what hes doing!Tu ne tentends pas !   You dont know what youre saying! Simple Conjugations of the Regular French -re Verb Entendre Present Future Imperfect Present participle j entends entendrai entendais entendant tu entends entendras entendais il entend entendra entendait nous entendons entendrons entendions vous entendez entendrez entendiez ils entendent entendront entendaient Pass compos Auxiliary verb avoir Past participle entendu Subjunctive Conditional Pass simple Imperfect subjunctive j entende entendrais entendis entendisse tu entendes entendrais entendis entendisses il entende entendrait entendit entendt nous entendions entendrions entendmes entendissions vous entendiez entendriez entendtes entendissiez ils entendent entendraient entendirent entendissent Imperative (tu) entends (nous) entendons (vous) entendez

Operations manager at John lewis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Operations manager at John lewis - Essay Example The researcher resorted to the review of several management principles such as Kotter’s 8 step change management model, Mintzberg’s management theory and Black Mouton managerial grid. The theories served as a strong foundation thereby enabling the researcher to identify the extent to which the managers in John Lewis effectively emulated the management principles in order to establish a better work environment which enables them to focus on both the welfare of the employees and the productivity of the organization. The management of John Lewis believes in a simple principle and that is any development within the employees will have a direct or indirect contribution to the development of the business. That is why the managers introduced a management development programme in order to ensure that the employees perform at their peak. The training program is designed to provide employees with ample scope for personal development. This will help the employees to identify their areas of strengths and work accordingly to achieve personal as well as organizational goals. The managers of John Lewis focus more on the development of personal and technical skills (John Lewis Partnership, 2015a). They follow a training and development plan based on three pillars depicted in figure 1. The managers emphasize on training the employees in three dimensions: experience (characterized by on the job training), exposure and exchange (characterised by knowledge, information and skill sharing between employees at workplace) and education (training based on theoretical learning). The training and development programme in John Lewis is designed to impart skills to employees belonging from all departments. The management framework in the company is identical to the Mintzbergs Management Roles theory. While conducting the training and development program the managers play an instrumental role in managing the new recruits. They have to change their roles

To what extent has the CCTV camera reduced the crime in the uk Essay

To what extent has the CCTV camera reduced the crime in the uk - Essay Example proponents of this technology; with an approximated 1.9 million CCTVs in 2011-which easily translates into 1 camera for every 32 UK residents-with this number rising daily. Estimates also claim that the average Briton is normally caught on CCTV 300 times every day. This paper aims at exploring the effectiveness of CCTV in crime reduction in UK (Fenwick, 2012). The use of CCTVs in tackling crime in UK has greatly grown over the past decade. No official figure exists for how many cameras are currently in use, although on the basis of academic research, a 4.2 million figure has been frequently cited. Whereas the underlying principle for use of CCTV has been that it aids in prevention of crime, numerous studies have queried the assumptions behind this claim; drawing attention to a complex variety of factors that must be considered when evaluating the effectiveness of CCTVs. A 2007 Campbell Collaboration report stated that CCTV has a â€Å"modest but significant desirable effect on crime†, however its usage must be more closely targeted than it is at present (Siegel,2015). The beginnings of CCTV usage for public places in UK dates back at the start of 1980s. From then, CCTV system usage has gradually, but considerably expanded. The initial systems were financed in a few places by the local businesses or the police, however, in most of cases local authorities via what were referred to as Safer Cities or City Challenge Initiatives. Successive Government financing assumed the shape of CCTV Challenge Competition between 1994 and 1999, whereby 38.5 million pounds was availed for about 585 schemes throughout the country. Consequently, between 1999 to 2003, core investment was started in public space CCTV via the Home Office-funded Crime Reduction Programme (CRP).Thus, a sum of 170 million pounds of capital financing was availed to local authorities after a bidding process. The coming to an end of the Crime Reduction Programme indicated the finishing of a devoted central

History and Analysis of Singapore International Airlines

History and Analysis of Singapore International Airlines Introduction SIA traced its roots to an organization called Malayan Airways that offered its first commercial passenger service in May 1947. Today, SIA is Singapores best-known company, and rated consistently as Asias most admired company(Asian Business, 1997,p. 24). Its smiling, willowy cabin attendant, outfitted in tight batik sarong kebaya designed by renowned fashion house Pierre Balmain, and marketed as the Singapore Girl, is now a well-known international service icon. In 1994, the year she celebrated her 21st birthday, the Singapore Girl became the first commercial figure to be displayed at the famed Madame Tussauds Museum in London. Madame Tussauds had unveiled the waxwork of the SIAs global marketing icon that year to reflect the ever-growing popularity of international travel. SIA is widely reckoned by those in the airline industry, travellers as well as its competitors, as one of the very best airlines in the world, judging from the numerous industry awards it has won. According to the Business Traveller Asia Pacific, SIA has become the standard by which all other international airlines are judged (Business Traveller Asia Pacific, 1997a, p. 3). SIA also consistently leads the industry in profitability and rides through rough and turbulent times much better than most of its rivals. It has had an impressive and continuous profit streak since it took to the skies some 25 years ago; a track record almost unheard of in the brutally cyclical airline industry (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). On 1 May 1997, SIA turned 50 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee Anniversary in grand style. It was a far cry from its humble beginnings in 1947 when it started life as part of Malayan Airways. The International Airline Industry The airline industry had traditionally remained fragmented primarily due to the limiting effects of national and international regulations. Enforced in the form of landing rights and associated competitive constraints, even large airline companies had only been able to develop dominance over their own regional markets at best. With the exception of the United States, dominant national flag carriers, typically owned by the national governments, had remained the only international representatives of their countries. However, the competitive dynamics in this industry had started to change dramatically in recent years. Deregulation, privatization, and the advent of new technologies have started to reshape the industry on a global level. The United States deregulated its airlines in 1978 and had since witnessed heightened competition and aggressive jockeying for market position. Europe entered the throes of a similar escalation of competition following the creation of the European Union a nd the disbanding of country-specific barriers to free market competition among air carriers. In Asia, deregulation occurred in fits and starts with some major regions allowing greater access to foreign carriers. For example, India, a regional market of some significance, announced that it would privatize its state-owned airline company. It had already allowed its traditionally domestic airline to compete against its international air carrier in many of the regional markets comprising neighboring countries. Japan made major strides in deregulation after selling off its shares in the then state-owned Japan Airlines and permitted All Nippon Airways to serve international markets. In Latin America, many of the smaller national flag carriers were privatized. Countries such as Mexico and Argentina infused significant levels of market competition in their airline industries by removing anti-competitive barriers and privatizing their national airlines Mexicana and Aerolineas Argentinas. The trend seemed certain to gain further momentum and open skies might be closer to reality than ever before. The major European nations were already in discussions with the United States to implement an open Trans-Atlantic market area where landing rights would be determined by free market forces rather than regulatory policy. Open skies agreements are bilateral agreements between countries that agree to provide landing and take-off facilities for air carriers originating in any of the partner countries. Such an agreement does not have the typical restrictions related to landing rights that are determined on a city-pair basis. For example, Singapore and the U.S. had signed an open skies agreement under which a Singapore carrier could travel to any destinati on city in the U.S. and vice versa. The twin trends of privatization and deregulation resulted in an increasingly global approach to strategic positioning in this industry. Although most large carriers still retained their regional dominance, many forged alliances with other leading carriers to offer seamless services across wider geographic areas. These alliances made most of the larger airline companies de facto global organizations. With increasing geographic reach and decreasing regulatory barriers, many of the regions were witnessing acute competition often in the form of fare wars. Consumers in general became much more price sensitive than ever before. In attempting to keep up with the competition, many carriers upgraded their service offerings contributing to declining yields in a price-conscious market. Chronic excess capacity worldwide only exacerbated this situation. Not surprisingly, there was a decline in passenger revenue yield in all geographic regions and the airlines were fighting an uphill battle to ex tract higher levels of efficiencies from their operating structures. For example, passenger yield dropped by 1.9% and 2.5% in 1998 and 1999, respectively, in Europe and 0.8% and 1.5% in North America during the same period. The drop was far more geographic region-wise summary of key trends in passenger traffic, growth potential, and major players follows. (Source: Annual Reports and HSBC Research.) Asia-Pacific Region By 1999, traffic in the Asian region had become quite important to the overall success of the air transportation industry. Collectively, this region represented 24% of worldwide revenue passenger kilometers. The ICAO estimated that the Asia-Pacific region had grown annually by 9.7% over the last ten years. This upward trend was expected to continue albeit at slightly lower levels, moderating between 6%-7% until 2001. Trans-Pacific traffic was expected to grow at 6.6% and intra-Asia-Pacific traffic by 5%. Some analysts predicted that Asia would play a key role in over half of the top twenty international markets ranked in terms of revenue passenger miles by 2002 The aviation market in Asia, while similar to Europe of the pre-EU era, did indeed have some dominant players. Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines were the clear leaders and together accounted for 40% of the market share. The second tier included Cathay Pacific, Thai, and Korean Air, which comprised 33% of the market. Asian carriers in general had significantly lower operating costs compared to their American and European counterparts. For example, in 1998, according to Warburg, Dillon Read, personnel costs for North American carriers accounted for approximately 32% of total revenues. For European carriers, it was 21%. However, for the Asia-Pacific carriers, it was only 17%. Most of the Asian carriers also had much higher labor productivity levels and lower unit labor costs than airlines in North America or Europe. This location-specific advantage was a primary reason why carriers from other regions were setting up significant hub operations in the Asia-Pacific region. While the y ields for many carriers such as China Airlines, Korean Air, Thai, and Malaysian, the second and third tier competitors, were much lower than international levels, the top tier carriers such as Japan Airlines, and Singapore Airlines had yields consistent with their North American and European counterparts. The avenues for differentiating airline services in this region were shrinking. The elite carriers who had built a reputation for superlative service such as Singapore Airlines were now facing stiff competition from carriers such as Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific who had geared to deliver similar services. Thus, differentiation was becoming much more demanding and difficult to sustain Singapore International Airlines: Country and Company History and Culture of Singapore Singapore had witnessed bountiful growth and become the envy of many neighboring countries as it entered the new 21st century. Its per capita GNP increased by a phenomenal 75% between 1990 and 1999 and currently stood at S$39,724. This meteoric rise could be directly traced to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the most powerful Prime Minister in Singapores history. He was able to tap the patriotic spirit of his people when he announced his intent to develop Singapore to rival Switzerland in terms of standard of living. His emphasis on superior education standards, a controlled labor environment, significant outlays for training and development, all helped to enhance the quality of human capital. At the end of 1999, Singapore boasted a literacy rate of 93%, among the highest in the region. Singapores Confucian work ethic dovetailed very well with his ambitions. It emphasized responsibilities over rights and placed enormous value on attributes such as hospitality, caring and service. As a result of th ese efforts, Singapore, today ranked among the best countries in terms of human capital and was often rated among the worlds friendliest places to do business. Rising standards of living meant higher wages .Coupled with the small size of the local population and a very low unemployment rate (3.2% in 1998), the availability of labor was seen as a potential stumbling block in the drive toward further growth. Many of the larger companies already depended on a sizable number of expatriates from neighboring countries as well as the West to staff positions. A staunch believer in free trade and internally driven growth, Mr. Yew made it clear from the start that the world does not owe Singapore a living. For example, in the air transportation sector, Mr. Yews government declared that SIA, although the national carrier, would not receive any subsidies, protection, financial assistance, or economic benefits from the government. It would have to sink or swim based on its own resources and ingenuity. Singapore literally adopted a free skies approach whereby foreign flag carriers from other countries were welcome to serve the city-state without any restrictions. This meant heightened competition for SIA right from the start. However, the free market philosophy also resulted in sharper rates of market growth. For example, roughly 35% of the equity base of Singapore was foreign in origin, and foreign investors owned 17% of all companies in the country, both testaments to the successful programs that attracted foreign capital and commerce to the island nation. The tourism industry played a very significant role in the overall development of the country. Handicapped by the small size and the lack of natural resources, Singapore had to rely on service industries such as tourism and finance to generate growth. It had always enjoyed an enviable status as an important geographic hub dating back to the pre-British Colonization era. During its history as a British colony, Singapore provided an important stop-off point for travelers from Europe and Britain to the outlying colonies of Australia and New Zealand. Building on this historical reputation, Singapore evolved into an important Asian tourist hub The common origin and shared history of SIA and MAS In 1947, Malayan Airways was established and operated services between Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Ipoh and Penang, using its fleet of twin-engined Airspeed Consuls. In May that year, when Malayan Airways first took to the skies, there were only five passengers onboard its twin-engined Airspeed Consul. With the flight crew having to attend to the flying of the plane, passengers had to help themselves with the only refreshment available onboard then a flask of iced water. In 1963, it was renamed Malaysian Airways Limited. In 1966, both the Malaysian and Singapore Governments acquired joint majority control. The following year, it was renamed Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) Limited. On 26 January 1971, both the Malaysian and Singapore Governments agreed to set up separate national airlines, and on 1 October 1972, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines ceased operations. In its place, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysian Airlines System (MAS) took to the skies. SIAs initial growth and expansion The split of MSA on 1 October 1972 saw MAS taking over all the domestic routes while SIA took over the international network and all the Boeing jets in the MSA fleet .SIA was government-owned, and the Singapore Government viewed the airline as an investment in a portfolio held by the republic. Although SIA was a state-owned enterprise, it paid taxes, like any other company in Singapore, and was expected to be competitive and profitable. Without any domestic routes to monopolise, SIA had to strategise to survive. Soon after the split, SIA embarked on an aggressive growth and aircraft and equipment acquisition programme. It acquired Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets, which went into service in 1973. In that same year, subsidiary Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd (SATS) was set up to provide ground services. In 1977, in conjunction with BA, it introduced the supersonic Concorde on the London- Bahrain-Singapore route. The maiden flight was on 10 December 1977. After three flights, however, disputes over airspace delayed regular Concorde service until early 1979. On 1 November 1980, the SIA/BA joint Concorde service between Singapore, Bahrain and London was, however, terminated. SIA began cargo service from Singapore to San Francisco via Hong Kong, Guam and Honolulu in 1978. Passenger service on the route commenced the following year. In 1979, SIA took the unprecedented action of trading in the B-747s purchased just a few years earlier for more advanced, fuel-efficient versions of the same aircraft while simultaneously expanding the fleet in a record-setting S$2.1 billion order with Boeing Aircraft. By 1979, it became the ninth largest airline in the world, up from the 57th position prior to the parting of ways with MAS, achieved on the back of a continuous average annual growth rate of 46 percent over its initial seven-year period (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIA shares were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange on 18 December 1985, and a new corporate identity was unveiled on 28 April 1987. On 14 December 1989, SIA concluded a major world-wide alliance with SwissAir and Delta Airlines, covering wide-ranging co-operation and eventual exchange of equity. An MOU with Cathay Pacific Airways and Malaysia Airlines was signed on 22 December 1992 to form a joint venture to develop and operate a frequent flyer programme. Passages,the frequent flyer programme, was officially launched on 1 July 1993. On 22 June 1994, SIA placed a US$10.3 billion order for 22 Megatop 747s and 30 Airbus 340-300E aircraft. The following year, on 14 November 1995, it ordered 77 B777 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines worth US$12.7 billion, including spares and spare engines. SIA turned 50 on 1 May 1997. It had by then grown into a diversified group, totally transformed from its humble beginnings 50 years ago. On 7 May 1997, less than a week following its 50th birthday, it took delivery of its first Jubilee B777-200, which touched down at Changi Airport. Symbolically, this ushered in another new and challenging era for SIA. The power of an idea: a most successful product/service differentiation strategy Within a year of the launch of SIA following the split of MSA on 1 October 1972, SIA began looking for new ways to differentiate itself. In 1973, SIA had in its service, some of the worlds most modern aircraft. Its maintenance operations were generally recognised to be on a par with those of the worlds major airlines. All its pilots and engineers were proficient and experienced, as there were no restraints from the unions on hiring Western crew members if SIA thought they were better. The product/service differentiation strategy that SIA finally decided upon was based on in-flight service. The strategy, as summarised by its then SIAs advertising manager, who later became its manager of in-flight services, was: What we needed was a unique selling proposition. Happily, we found it. Or perhaps I should say we found her, because the Singapore Girl has become synonymous with Singapore Airlines. SIA is an Asian airline, and Asia has a long tradition of gentle, courteous service. The Asian woman does not feel she is demeaning herself by fulfilling the role of the gracious, charming and helpful hostess. What we hope to do is translate that tradition of service into an in-flight reality (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIA was thus strategically positioned in the premium service, quality and value market segment of the international airline industry. SIA capitalised on Oriental charm with stewardesses of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian ethnic backgrounds. By 1997, this resource pool within Singapore had, however, expanded to include Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. In 1997, a third of its 5,800-strong cabin crew were non- Singaporeans (The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3) SIA stewardesses were costumed in a specially designed version of the graceful Malay sarong kebaya, designed by renowned fashion house, Pierre Balmain. Passengers were treated to some of the best food on any airline, which is served with lots of warm smiles, warm towels, and attention to details. It provided first-class, business-class and economy-class passengers with cocktails, fine wines, and in-flight motion pictures at no extra charge. Since its inception, SIA has always subscribed to a policy that once a passenger pays for his or her ticket, there should be no more charges on the aeroplane. SIA now spend S$20 million a year on wines, with about 60 to 80 bottles of wine consumed per flight. International consultants who specialise in French, American and Australian wines are contracted to do wine-tasting twice a year for SIA, and they advise the airline on what to buy for its first, business and economy class passengers (Straits Times, 1997a, p. 22). According to SIA, the airlin e even receives letters from passengers asking for the names of wines that they took on SIA flights, with some asking where they can buy them (Straits Times, 1997a, p. 22). Service became the raison detre for SIA, and at the heart of its service reputation was the Singapore Girl. Slogans like A standard of service that even other airlines talk about and SIA: you are a great way to fly were used regularly in its marketing. SIA has always been of the view that the key to its success was its value or quality for the money. SIAs corporate philosophy of the airline industry since the late 1980s is best summed up by: The airline industry is, by its very nature, a service industry. In a free market, the success or failure of an individual airline is largely dictated by the quality of the service it provides (Joseph Pillay, Chairman SIA, Harvard Business School, 1989b). Most had to confront the apparent contradiction between cutting costs and prices, on the one hand, and maintaining customer focus and delivering customer service, on the other. It was a challenge many found most difficult. Into the 1990s SIA had developed a very strong market position. While keeping an eye on costs, its quality and service-enhancement strategy allowed it to command a relative market price premium position through premium service, value and quality. Its enviable position can be summed up as follows: If others resort to cutting fares, we can certainly do the same and we have a far better financial strength to cut fares and last longer than anyone else. But we ask ourselves first whether it is necessary to do that . . . So far, we have no need to do that (S. Dhanabalan, Chairman SIA, 1997, The Sunday Times, 1997b, p. 32). On competition, S. Dhanabalan reiterated SIAs long-standing strategy: Strong competition is not new to SIA. Every now and then, some airline, in an attempt to gain market share, will resort to senseless heavy discounting. It is a short term phenomenon. We take such competition in our stride (The Sunday Times, 1997b, p. 32) The Singapore Girl, the idealised version of the SIA cabin attendant, was the centrepiece in SIAs marketing strategy. Very high-quality photography was used in SIAs advertisements, and the Singapore Girl was always the central feature of the advertisements. The advertisements portrayed her in a number of settings and used a variety of themes to good effect. The Singapore Girl strategy proved to be a powerful idea and turned out to be a phenomenal success. International Research Associates (INRA), a firm which conducted surveys (covering the area of advertising recall) in the Asia Pacific area triennially, found that SIAs advertising enjoyed steady increases in unaided recall in the three successive INRA surveys in advertisement recall it conducted in 1973, 1976 and 1979. The SIA advertisement recall was 21 percent in 1973. It rose up to 32 percent in 1976, and shot up to 50 percent in.The average advertising recall of about 40 airlines studied over the same time period was only 9.6 percent (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIAs market research up to 1997 continues to attest to this: Around the world the Singapore Girl remains a very positive marketing icon. She evokes the very best in Asian charm and hospitality (Director, Market Research, SIA, The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3). Although there were initial protests in some Western quarters in what was perceived to be sexist overtones in the advertisements, not everyone took offence at the advertising image. In a 1979 Fortune magazine article, Flying high with the Singapore Girls, it was noted that far from being repelled by the notion of becoming a `girl, about 7,000 young Singaporean women applied last year for 347 openings in the hostess ranks of SIA (Harvard Business School, 1989b). In the West, its acceptability in recent years had changed quite appreciably. In 1997, it was noted that: Her popularity in the West is such that it would be quite risky for SIA to attempt to change the image at a time when people there are getting used to her (Analyst, Goldman Sachs, The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3). Customer focus, innovation, creative service and service excellence On an SIA flight in 1996, a Chinese couple travelling in first-class with their children and nanny had refused the food served. When asked, the man of the family replied: We are just not used to these and would prefer a bowl of instant noodles. Since then, every SIA flight carries a supply of instant noodles for those customers who find in-flight cuisine not quite to their taste (Asian Business, 1996, p. 40). In addition, first-class and business-class passengers flying out of Singapore can now pre-order certain Singapore local fare prior to their flight to be served to them onboard. These are just some examples that illustrate the constant drive by SIA to introduce new ideas to improve customer service, in its customer focus to win customer satisfaction and even delight. There is of course nothing high-tech or sophisticated about instant noodles nor Singapore local fare, but these examples highlight the creative customer service even in simple things that has won SIA wide praise (Asian Business,1996, p. 40). This has become a hallmark of SIAs service excellence. In 1972, SIA was the first airline to introduce free food and alcoholic drinks on its flights. SIA has recognised that in this highly competitive market, any advantage gained by one airline over others will be short-lived, and ideas that are new will become commonplace in a matter of months. However, it noted that the important thing is to always stay in the forefront both in service and in technology (Asian Business, 1996, p. 40). This strategy of SIA focuses primarily not on reducing costs, but on enhancing quality or service and preventing customer problems from arising. SIA has succeeded most uniquely with this type of strategy in the airline industry, a strategy commonly employed in service businesses that command premium prices with high margins, businesses in which there is a high degree of repeat business, with word-of-mouth praise by customers as a most important marketing channel. It has been argued by some that an organisation should be conservative in its promises regarding service excellence to prevent customer expectations becoming too high. High expectations, so that argument goes, increase the potential for customer dissatisfaction. Such prescriptions, however, serve only companies with modest ambitions. In SIAs case, it was very different. It had a bold strategic vision and aspiration of being a top airline, not just any ordinary good airline. Through its careful market positioning and delivering its service promise, SIA could be said to be the very first airline in the international airline industry to have succeeded in developing such a powerful and enduring image of quality service that has resulted in its acquiring a sustainable competitive advantage. Its ability to sustain this advantage, even as its competitors seek to develop comparable service capability, had been buttressed by the fact that it was the first to earn and attain the quality-servic e position and image in the market and in customers minds. High service quality standards need to be developed systematically over time. Although sustaining a competitive advantage based on service quality is possible, this requires unrelenting effort on the part of an organisation to continually improve its service. This was achieved in SIAs case. As part of SIAs strategy to differentiate itself on the basis of superior customer service, it was able successfully to generate a vision of service excellence throughout the organisation. Such an organisation-wide energizing vision of service excellence is a powerful source of competitive advantage in top class service organisations. Such strength can be the bedrock of a quality and service-based sustainable competitive advantage. A service organisation that does not have such a shared vision and culture of service excellence will have a tough task acquiring it, as it cannot be bought. It must be built, as in SIAs case. In SIAs case, setting exceptionally high customer service standards generated a positive spirit and culture that had many follow-on results. Customer servicewent beyond the mechanics involved in efficiently providing a service onboard. Pride, zeal, and motivation were some of the positive service hallmarks that flowed from the shared vision and culture of service excellence, and the results were impressive. Unlike robots or machines, where differences in performance are largely rooted in technical specifications, human beings are subject to major performance variation. The SIAs vision and culture that hold exceptionally high customer service standards as a strategic objective to be attained were a most important factor accounting for its exceptional performance. To support this service excellence strategy, SIA adopts a most rigorous quality control system and process for staff recruitment and selection, as well as a rigorous training and service policy (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). For example, SIA has one flight attendant for every 22 seats, the highest in the world and well above the industry average. Cabin crew must be under 26 and are employed on a five-year contract after making it through a very selective three-stage interview process that includes a social function Previously, all cabin crew would complete a six-month training course before they could be allowed to serve a customer. However, this has now been compressed into an intensive four-month course, which is still considered to be the longest and most comprehensive programme of any major airline. In comparison, Cathay Pacific, for instance, conducts only a seven-week intensive training programme on technical, safety and interpersonal skills. The aim of SIAs training is to provide gracious service reflecting warmth and friendliness, while maintaining an image of authority and confidence in the passengers minds. Each month, thousands of young ladies would apply for the airlines rigorous course that emphasizes safety training and encompasses beauty tips, discussions of gourmet food and fine wines, and the art of conversation. SIA is also at the forefront of service innovation through technology. For instance, it introduced Electronic Ticketing for flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Penang (and vice versa) on 1 October 1997. About two weeks earlier, on a flight from Singapore to Tokyo on 15 September 1997, it had launched a revolutionary innovation in in-flight entertainment with the introduction of the WISEMEN system, offering passengers full control over their viewing and listening options. With WISEMEN, passengers will be able to choose from 15 movies, 20 short features and about 50 CDs. This is over and above the current SIAs in-flight entertainment system, Krisworld, which already had 22 video channels, 12 audio channels and ten games channels. Internet check-in for First Class, Raffles Class and PPS Club Members flying out of Singapore was introduced on 20 November 1996. SIAs profitability track record Just as well-known as its product/service differentiation strategy, as well as its creative service and service excellence, but certainly less familiar, is SIAs profitability track record. Since its inception in 1972 some 25 years ago, SIA has had an uninterrupted profit track record. Asian Business Review, in an article piece on Asias Great Companies, noted that its financial track record is almost unheard of in the brutally cyclical airline industry, and touted it as the Worlds most profitable airline (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). Its profitability track record is even more astounding considering that it is the national airline of a small country that is essentially just a city, of only 647 square kilometres and 3.6 million populations, with no domestic routes to monopolise. Yet, despite this it has managed to consistently deliver profits in one of the worlds most cyclical industries. SIA has an established practice of keeping its fleet young and modern (Singapore Airlines, 1997b, p. 5). This, made possible by the airlines strong cash flow position, has allowed it to maintain a fuel-efficient fleet that averages just over five years of age without resorting to heavy borrowing or costly leasing deals. The fleets of most other international carriers are more than twice as old as SIAs. SIAs fleet is in fact the youngest in the world, not taking into account the couple of small regional airlines that have just started up. For SIA, this strategy which entails heavy capital costs, however, translates to significant savings through minimising aircraft downtime and minimizing maintenance costs. Newer aircraft are also faster and more fuel efficient, and are perceived by passengers to be safer. For instance, the B747-400 is 10 percent more fuel efficient than its predecessor. For SIA, this means a significant saving as about 15 percent of the companys expenditure is on fuel (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). Most airlines use a combination of different financing schemes for their aircraft with the core fleet usually on long-term leases to minimise interest costs. SIA History and Analysis of Singapore International Airlines History and Analysis of Singapore International Airlines Introduction SIA traced its roots to an organization called Malayan Airways that offered its first commercial passenger service in May 1947. Today, SIA is Singapores best-known company, and rated consistently as Asias most admired company(Asian Business, 1997,p. 24). Its smiling, willowy cabin attendant, outfitted in tight batik sarong kebaya designed by renowned fashion house Pierre Balmain, and marketed as the Singapore Girl, is now a well-known international service icon. In 1994, the year she celebrated her 21st birthday, the Singapore Girl became the first commercial figure to be displayed at the famed Madame Tussauds Museum in London. Madame Tussauds had unveiled the waxwork of the SIAs global marketing icon that year to reflect the ever-growing popularity of international travel. SIA is widely reckoned by those in the airline industry, travellers as well as its competitors, as one of the very best airlines in the world, judging from the numerous industry awards it has won. According to the Business Traveller Asia Pacific, SIA has become the standard by which all other international airlines are judged (Business Traveller Asia Pacific, 1997a, p. 3). SIA also consistently leads the industry in profitability and rides through rough and turbulent times much better than most of its rivals. It has had an impressive and continuous profit streak since it took to the skies some 25 years ago; a track record almost unheard of in the brutally cyclical airline industry (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). On 1 May 1997, SIA turned 50 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee Anniversary in grand style. It was a far cry from its humble beginnings in 1947 when it started life as part of Malayan Airways. The International Airline Industry The airline industry had traditionally remained fragmented primarily due to the limiting effects of national and international regulations. Enforced in the form of landing rights and associated competitive constraints, even large airline companies had only been able to develop dominance over their own regional markets at best. With the exception of the United States, dominant national flag carriers, typically owned by the national governments, had remained the only international representatives of their countries. However, the competitive dynamics in this industry had started to change dramatically in recent years. Deregulation, privatization, and the advent of new technologies have started to reshape the industry on a global level. The United States deregulated its airlines in 1978 and had since witnessed heightened competition and aggressive jockeying for market position. Europe entered the throes of a similar escalation of competition following the creation of the European Union a nd the disbanding of country-specific barriers to free market competition among air carriers. In Asia, deregulation occurred in fits and starts with some major regions allowing greater access to foreign carriers. For example, India, a regional market of some significance, announced that it would privatize its state-owned airline company. It had already allowed its traditionally domestic airline to compete against its international air carrier in many of the regional markets comprising neighboring countries. Japan made major strides in deregulation after selling off its shares in the then state-owned Japan Airlines and permitted All Nippon Airways to serve international markets. In Latin America, many of the smaller national flag carriers were privatized. Countries such as Mexico and Argentina infused significant levels of market competition in their airline industries by removing anti-competitive barriers and privatizing their national airlines Mexicana and Aerolineas Argentinas. The trend seemed certain to gain further momentum and open skies might be closer to reality than ever before. The major European nations were already in discussions with the United States to implement an open Trans-Atlantic market area where landing rights would be determined by free market forces rather than regulatory policy. Open skies agreements are bilateral agreements between countries that agree to provide landing and take-off facilities for air carriers originating in any of the partner countries. Such an agreement does not have the typical restrictions related to landing rights that are determined on a city-pair basis. For example, Singapore and the U.S. had signed an open skies agreement under which a Singapore carrier could travel to any destinati on city in the U.S. and vice versa. The twin trends of privatization and deregulation resulted in an increasingly global approach to strategic positioning in this industry. Although most large carriers still retained their regional dominance, many forged alliances with other leading carriers to offer seamless services across wider geographic areas. These alliances made most of the larger airline companies de facto global organizations. With increasing geographic reach and decreasing regulatory barriers, many of the regions were witnessing acute competition often in the form of fare wars. Consumers in general became much more price sensitive than ever before. In attempting to keep up with the competition, many carriers upgraded their service offerings contributing to declining yields in a price-conscious market. Chronic excess capacity worldwide only exacerbated this situation. Not surprisingly, there was a decline in passenger revenue yield in all geographic regions and the airlines were fighting an uphill battle to ex tract higher levels of efficiencies from their operating structures. For example, passenger yield dropped by 1.9% and 2.5% in 1998 and 1999, respectively, in Europe and 0.8% and 1.5% in North America during the same period. The drop was far more geographic region-wise summary of key trends in passenger traffic, growth potential, and major players follows. (Source: Annual Reports and HSBC Research.) Asia-Pacific Region By 1999, traffic in the Asian region had become quite important to the overall success of the air transportation industry. Collectively, this region represented 24% of worldwide revenue passenger kilometers. The ICAO estimated that the Asia-Pacific region had grown annually by 9.7% over the last ten years. This upward trend was expected to continue albeit at slightly lower levels, moderating between 6%-7% until 2001. Trans-Pacific traffic was expected to grow at 6.6% and intra-Asia-Pacific traffic by 5%. Some analysts predicted that Asia would play a key role in over half of the top twenty international markets ranked in terms of revenue passenger miles by 2002 The aviation market in Asia, while similar to Europe of the pre-EU era, did indeed have some dominant players. Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines were the clear leaders and together accounted for 40% of the market share. The second tier included Cathay Pacific, Thai, and Korean Air, which comprised 33% of the market. Asian carriers in general had significantly lower operating costs compared to their American and European counterparts. For example, in 1998, according to Warburg, Dillon Read, personnel costs for North American carriers accounted for approximately 32% of total revenues. For European carriers, it was 21%. However, for the Asia-Pacific carriers, it was only 17%. Most of the Asian carriers also had much higher labor productivity levels and lower unit labor costs than airlines in North America or Europe. This location-specific advantage was a primary reason why carriers from other regions were setting up significant hub operations in the Asia-Pacific region. While the y ields for many carriers such as China Airlines, Korean Air, Thai, and Malaysian, the second and third tier competitors, were much lower than international levels, the top tier carriers such as Japan Airlines, and Singapore Airlines had yields consistent with their North American and European counterparts. The avenues for differentiating airline services in this region were shrinking. The elite carriers who had built a reputation for superlative service such as Singapore Airlines were now facing stiff competition from carriers such as Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific who had geared to deliver similar services. Thus, differentiation was becoming much more demanding and difficult to sustain Singapore International Airlines: Country and Company History and Culture of Singapore Singapore had witnessed bountiful growth and become the envy of many neighboring countries as it entered the new 21st century. Its per capita GNP increased by a phenomenal 75% between 1990 and 1999 and currently stood at S$39,724. This meteoric rise could be directly traced to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the most powerful Prime Minister in Singapores history. He was able to tap the patriotic spirit of his people when he announced his intent to develop Singapore to rival Switzerland in terms of standard of living. His emphasis on superior education standards, a controlled labor environment, significant outlays for training and development, all helped to enhance the quality of human capital. At the end of 1999, Singapore boasted a literacy rate of 93%, among the highest in the region. Singapores Confucian work ethic dovetailed very well with his ambitions. It emphasized responsibilities over rights and placed enormous value on attributes such as hospitality, caring and service. As a result of th ese efforts, Singapore, today ranked among the best countries in terms of human capital and was often rated among the worlds friendliest places to do business. Rising standards of living meant higher wages .Coupled with the small size of the local population and a very low unemployment rate (3.2% in 1998), the availability of labor was seen as a potential stumbling block in the drive toward further growth. Many of the larger companies already depended on a sizable number of expatriates from neighboring countries as well as the West to staff positions. A staunch believer in free trade and internally driven growth, Mr. Yew made it clear from the start that the world does not owe Singapore a living. For example, in the air transportation sector, Mr. Yews government declared that SIA, although the national carrier, would not receive any subsidies, protection, financial assistance, or economic benefits from the government. It would have to sink or swim based on its own resources and ingenuity. Singapore literally adopted a free skies approach whereby foreign flag carriers from other countries were welcome to serve the city-state without any restrictions. This meant heightened competition for SIA right from the start. However, the free market philosophy also resulted in sharper rates of market growth. For example, roughly 35% of the equity base of Singapore was foreign in origin, and foreign investors owned 17% of all companies in the country, both testaments to the successful programs that attracted foreign capital and commerce to the island nation. The tourism industry played a very significant role in the overall development of the country. Handicapped by the small size and the lack of natural resources, Singapore had to rely on service industries such as tourism and finance to generate growth. It had always enjoyed an enviable status as an important geographic hub dating back to the pre-British Colonization era. During its history as a British colony, Singapore provided an important stop-off point for travelers from Europe and Britain to the outlying colonies of Australia and New Zealand. Building on this historical reputation, Singapore evolved into an important Asian tourist hub The common origin and shared history of SIA and MAS In 1947, Malayan Airways was established and operated services between Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Ipoh and Penang, using its fleet of twin-engined Airspeed Consuls. In May that year, when Malayan Airways first took to the skies, there were only five passengers onboard its twin-engined Airspeed Consul. With the flight crew having to attend to the flying of the plane, passengers had to help themselves with the only refreshment available onboard then a flask of iced water. In 1963, it was renamed Malaysian Airways Limited. In 1966, both the Malaysian and Singapore Governments acquired joint majority control. The following year, it was renamed Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) Limited. On 26 January 1971, both the Malaysian and Singapore Governments agreed to set up separate national airlines, and on 1 October 1972, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines ceased operations. In its place, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysian Airlines System (MAS) took to the skies. SIAs initial growth and expansion The split of MSA on 1 October 1972 saw MAS taking over all the domestic routes while SIA took over the international network and all the Boeing jets in the MSA fleet .SIA was government-owned, and the Singapore Government viewed the airline as an investment in a portfolio held by the republic. Although SIA was a state-owned enterprise, it paid taxes, like any other company in Singapore, and was expected to be competitive and profitable. Without any domestic routes to monopolise, SIA had to strategise to survive. Soon after the split, SIA embarked on an aggressive growth and aircraft and equipment acquisition programme. It acquired Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets, which went into service in 1973. In that same year, subsidiary Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd (SATS) was set up to provide ground services. In 1977, in conjunction with BA, it introduced the supersonic Concorde on the London- Bahrain-Singapore route. The maiden flight was on 10 December 1977. After three flights, however, disputes over airspace delayed regular Concorde service until early 1979. On 1 November 1980, the SIA/BA joint Concorde service between Singapore, Bahrain and London was, however, terminated. SIA began cargo service from Singapore to San Francisco via Hong Kong, Guam and Honolulu in 1978. Passenger service on the route commenced the following year. In 1979, SIA took the unprecedented action of trading in the B-747s purchased just a few years earlier for more advanced, fuel-efficient versions of the same aircraft while simultaneously expanding the fleet in a record-setting S$2.1 billion order with Boeing Aircraft. By 1979, it became the ninth largest airline in the world, up from the 57th position prior to the parting of ways with MAS, achieved on the back of a continuous average annual growth rate of 46 percent over its initial seven-year period (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIA shares were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange on 18 December 1985, and a new corporate identity was unveiled on 28 April 1987. On 14 December 1989, SIA concluded a major world-wide alliance with SwissAir and Delta Airlines, covering wide-ranging co-operation and eventual exchange of equity. An MOU with Cathay Pacific Airways and Malaysia Airlines was signed on 22 December 1992 to form a joint venture to develop and operate a frequent flyer programme. Passages,the frequent flyer programme, was officially launched on 1 July 1993. On 22 June 1994, SIA placed a US$10.3 billion order for 22 Megatop 747s and 30 Airbus 340-300E aircraft. The following year, on 14 November 1995, it ordered 77 B777 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines worth US$12.7 billion, including spares and spare engines. SIA turned 50 on 1 May 1997. It had by then grown into a diversified group, totally transformed from its humble beginnings 50 years ago. On 7 May 1997, less than a week following its 50th birthday, it took delivery of its first Jubilee B777-200, which touched down at Changi Airport. Symbolically, this ushered in another new and challenging era for SIA. The power of an idea: a most successful product/service differentiation strategy Within a year of the launch of SIA following the split of MSA on 1 October 1972, SIA began looking for new ways to differentiate itself. In 1973, SIA had in its service, some of the worlds most modern aircraft. Its maintenance operations were generally recognised to be on a par with those of the worlds major airlines. All its pilots and engineers were proficient and experienced, as there were no restraints from the unions on hiring Western crew members if SIA thought they were better. The product/service differentiation strategy that SIA finally decided upon was based on in-flight service. The strategy, as summarised by its then SIAs advertising manager, who later became its manager of in-flight services, was: What we needed was a unique selling proposition. Happily, we found it. Or perhaps I should say we found her, because the Singapore Girl has become synonymous with Singapore Airlines. SIA is an Asian airline, and Asia has a long tradition of gentle, courteous service. The Asian woman does not feel she is demeaning herself by fulfilling the role of the gracious, charming and helpful hostess. What we hope to do is translate that tradition of service into an in-flight reality (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIA was thus strategically positioned in the premium service, quality and value market segment of the international airline industry. SIA capitalised on Oriental charm with stewardesses of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian ethnic backgrounds. By 1997, this resource pool within Singapore had, however, expanded to include Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. In 1997, a third of its 5,800-strong cabin crew were non- Singaporeans (The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3) SIA stewardesses were costumed in a specially designed version of the graceful Malay sarong kebaya, designed by renowned fashion house, Pierre Balmain. Passengers were treated to some of the best food on any airline, which is served with lots of warm smiles, warm towels, and attention to details. It provided first-class, business-class and economy-class passengers with cocktails, fine wines, and in-flight motion pictures at no extra charge. Since its inception, SIA has always subscribed to a policy that once a passenger pays for his or her ticket, there should be no more charges on the aeroplane. SIA now spend S$20 million a year on wines, with about 60 to 80 bottles of wine consumed per flight. International consultants who specialise in French, American and Australian wines are contracted to do wine-tasting twice a year for SIA, and they advise the airline on what to buy for its first, business and economy class passengers (Straits Times, 1997a, p. 22). According to SIA, the airlin e even receives letters from passengers asking for the names of wines that they took on SIA flights, with some asking where they can buy them (Straits Times, 1997a, p. 22). Service became the raison detre for SIA, and at the heart of its service reputation was the Singapore Girl. Slogans like A standard of service that even other airlines talk about and SIA: you are a great way to fly were used regularly in its marketing. SIA has always been of the view that the key to its success was its value or quality for the money. SIAs corporate philosophy of the airline industry since the late 1980s is best summed up by: The airline industry is, by its very nature, a service industry. In a free market, the success or failure of an individual airline is largely dictated by the quality of the service it provides (Joseph Pillay, Chairman SIA, Harvard Business School, 1989b). Most had to confront the apparent contradiction between cutting costs and prices, on the one hand, and maintaining customer focus and delivering customer service, on the other. It was a challenge many found most difficult. Into the 1990s SIA had developed a very strong market position. While keeping an eye on costs, its quality and service-enhancement strategy allowed it to command a relative market price premium position through premium service, value and quality. Its enviable position can be summed up as follows: If others resort to cutting fares, we can certainly do the same and we have a far better financial strength to cut fares and last longer than anyone else. But we ask ourselves first whether it is necessary to do that . . . So far, we have no need to do that (S. Dhanabalan, Chairman SIA, 1997, The Sunday Times, 1997b, p. 32). On competition, S. Dhanabalan reiterated SIAs long-standing strategy: Strong competition is not new to SIA. Every now and then, some airline, in an attempt to gain market share, will resort to senseless heavy discounting. It is a short term phenomenon. We take such competition in our stride (The Sunday Times, 1997b, p. 32) The Singapore Girl, the idealised version of the SIA cabin attendant, was the centrepiece in SIAs marketing strategy. Very high-quality photography was used in SIAs advertisements, and the Singapore Girl was always the central feature of the advertisements. The advertisements portrayed her in a number of settings and used a variety of themes to good effect. The Singapore Girl strategy proved to be a powerful idea and turned out to be a phenomenal success. International Research Associates (INRA), a firm which conducted surveys (covering the area of advertising recall) in the Asia Pacific area triennially, found that SIAs advertising enjoyed steady increases in unaided recall in the three successive INRA surveys in advertisement recall it conducted in 1973, 1976 and 1979. The SIA advertisement recall was 21 percent in 1973. It rose up to 32 percent in 1976, and shot up to 50 percent in.The average advertising recall of about 40 airlines studied over the same time period was only 9.6 percent (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIAs market research up to 1997 continues to attest to this: Around the world the Singapore Girl remains a very positive marketing icon. She evokes the very best in Asian charm and hospitality (Director, Market Research, SIA, The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3). Although there were initial protests in some Western quarters in what was perceived to be sexist overtones in the advertisements, not everyone took offence at the advertising image. In a 1979 Fortune magazine article, Flying high with the Singapore Girls, it was noted that far from being repelled by the notion of becoming a `girl, about 7,000 young Singaporean women applied last year for 347 openings in the hostess ranks of SIA (Harvard Business School, 1989b). In the West, its acceptability in recent years had changed quite appreciably. In 1997, it was noted that: Her popularity in the West is such that it would be quite risky for SIA to attempt to change the image at a time when people there are getting used to her (Analyst, Goldman Sachs, The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3). Customer focus, innovation, creative service and service excellence On an SIA flight in 1996, a Chinese couple travelling in first-class with their children and nanny had refused the food served. When asked, the man of the family replied: We are just not used to these and would prefer a bowl of instant noodles. Since then, every SIA flight carries a supply of instant noodles for those customers who find in-flight cuisine not quite to their taste (Asian Business, 1996, p. 40). In addition, first-class and business-class passengers flying out of Singapore can now pre-order certain Singapore local fare prior to their flight to be served to them onboard. These are just some examples that illustrate the constant drive by SIA to introduce new ideas to improve customer service, in its customer focus to win customer satisfaction and even delight. There is of course nothing high-tech or sophisticated about instant noodles nor Singapore local fare, but these examples highlight the creative customer service even in simple things that has won SIA wide praise (Asian Business,1996, p. 40). This has become a hallmark of SIAs service excellence. In 1972, SIA was the first airline to introduce free food and alcoholic drinks on its flights. SIA has recognised that in this highly competitive market, any advantage gained by one airline over others will be short-lived, and ideas that are new will become commonplace in a matter of months. However, it noted that the important thing is to always stay in the forefront both in service and in technology (Asian Business, 1996, p. 40). This strategy of SIA focuses primarily not on reducing costs, but on enhancing quality or service and preventing customer problems from arising. SIA has succeeded most uniquely with this type of strategy in the airline industry, a strategy commonly employed in service businesses that command premium prices with high margins, businesses in which there is a high degree of repeat business, with word-of-mouth praise by customers as a most important marketing channel. It has been argued by some that an organisation should be conservative in its promises regarding service excellence to prevent customer expectations becoming too high. High expectations, so that argument goes, increase the potential for customer dissatisfaction. Such prescriptions, however, serve only companies with modest ambitions. In SIAs case, it was very different. It had a bold strategic vision and aspiration of being a top airline, not just any ordinary good airline. Through its careful market positioning and delivering its service promise, SIA could be said to be the very first airline in the international airline industry to have succeeded in developing such a powerful and enduring image of quality service that has resulted in its acquiring a sustainable competitive advantage. Its ability to sustain this advantage, even as its competitors seek to develop comparable service capability, had been buttressed by the fact that it was the first to earn and attain the quality-servic e position and image in the market and in customers minds. High service quality standards need to be developed systematically over time. Although sustaining a competitive advantage based on service quality is possible, this requires unrelenting effort on the part of an organisation to continually improve its service. This was achieved in SIAs case. As part of SIAs strategy to differentiate itself on the basis of superior customer service, it was able successfully to generate a vision of service excellence throughout the organisation. Such an organisation-wide energizing vision of service excellence is a powerful source of competitive advantage in top class service organisations. Such strength can be the bedrock of a quality and service-based sustainable competitive advantage. A service organisation that does not have such a shared vision and culture of service excellence will have a tough task acquiring it, as it cannot be bought. It must be built, as in SIAs case. In SIAs case, setting exceptionally high customer service standards generated a positive spirit and culture that had many follow-on results. Customer servicewent beyond the mechanics involved in efficiently providing a service onboard. Pride, zeal, and motivation were some of the positive service hallmarks that flowed from the shared vision and culture of service excellence, and the results were impressive. Unlike robots or machines, where differences in performance are largely rooted in technical specifications, human beings are subject to major performance variation. The SIAs vision and culture that hold exceptionally high customer service standards as a strategic objective to be attained were a most important factor accounting for its exceptional performance. To support this service excellence strategy, SIA adopts a most rigorous quality control system and process for staff recruitment and selection, as well as a rigorous training and service policy (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). For example, SIA has one flight attendant for every 22 seats, the highest in the world and well above the industry average. Cabin crew must be under 26 and are employed on a five-year contract after making it through a very selective three-stage interview process that includes a social function Previously, all cabin crew would complete a six-month training course before they could be allowed to serve a customer. However, this has now been compressed into an intensive four-month course, which is still considered to be the longest and most comprehensive programme of any major airline. In comparison, Cathay Pacific, for instance, conducts only a seven-week intensive training programme on technical, safety and interpersonal skills. The aim of SIAs training is to provide gracious service reflecting warmth and friendliness, while maintaining an image of authority and confidence in the passengers minds. Each month, thousands of young ladies would apply for the airlines rigorous course that emphasizes safety training and encompasses beauty tips, discussions of gourmet food and fine wines, and the art of conversation. SIA is also at the forefront of service innovation through technology. For instance, it introduced Electronic Ticketing for flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Penang (and vice versa) on 1 October 1997. About two weeks earlier, on a flight from Singapore to Tokyo on 15 September 1997, it had launched a revolutionary innovation in in-flight entertainment with the introduction of the WISEMEN system, offering passengers full control over their viewing and listening options. With WISEMEN, passengers will be able to choose from 15 movies, 20 short features and about 50 CDs. This is over and above the current SIAs in-flight entertainment system, Krisworld, which already had 22 video channels, 12 audio channels and ten games channels. Internet check-in for First Class, Raffles Class and PPS Club Members flying out of Singapore was introduced on 20 November 1996. SIAs profitability track record Just as well-known as its product/service differentiation strategy, as well as its creative service and service excellence, but certainly less familiar, is SIAs profitability track record. Since its inception in 1972 some 25 years ago, SIA has had an uninterrupted profit track record. Asian Business Review, in an article piece on Asias Great Companies, noted that its financial track record is almost unheard of in the brutally cyclical airline industry, and touted it as the Worlds most profitable airline (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). Its profitability track record is even more astounding considering that it is the national airline of a small country that is essentially just a city, of only 647 square kilometres and 3.6 million populations, with no domestic routes to monopolise. Yet, despite this it has managed to consistently deliver profits in one of the worlds most cyclical industries. SIA has an established practice of keeping its fleet young and modern (Singapore Airlines, 1997b, p. 5). This, made possible by the airlines strong cash flow position, has allowed it to maintain a fuel-efficient fleet that averages just over five years of age without resorting to heavy borrowing or costly leasing deals. The fleets of most other international carriers are more than twice as old as SIAs. SIAs fleet is in fact the youngest in the world, not taking into account the couple of small regional airlines that have just started up. For SIA, this strategy which entails heavy capital costs, however, translates to significant savings through minimising aircraft downtime and minimizing maintenance costs. Newer aircraft are also faster and more fuel efficient, and are perceived by passengers to be safer. For instance, the B747-400 is 10 percent more fuel efficient than its predecessor. For SIA, this means a significant saving as about 15 percent of the companys expenditure is on fuel (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). Most airlines use a combination of different financing schemes for their aircraft with the core fleet usually on long-term leases to minimise interest costs. SIA