Opera property management system an evaluation report Assignment

Opera property management system an evaluation report - Assignment Example In the past few years information technology has brought a number of changes to almost all the industries. However, it has a serious impact on the hospitality industry. In fact, a large number of people from hospitality industry now consider that the implementation of latest and modern IT tools is necessary not simply to maintain and run hospitality-related functions but also to set up a bridge with potential customers. In this scenario, these varying IT trends in hotel industry force all kinds of hospitality firms to effectively take advantage of any innovative technology that can offer their firm’s substantial excellence in forms of superior customer satisfaction and employee competence. Up till now a large number of researches and studies have been carried out by various researchers to find out the positive effects of IT tools and systems on the hospitality industry. For instance, carried out a research in order to determine the impact of information technology supported sy stems in Australia, which demonstrated that the implementation of information and management systems can play a significant role in increasing the capability of hospitality industries.... The selection of a property management system heavily depends on the nature and size of the hospitality firm. This paper presents a critical review of an information system that is particularly designed for managing and dealing with property related operations. In this paper I am going to review a modern property management system known as Opera Property Management System. This paper will discuss different aspects of Opera Property Management System. Property Management System Before going into the depth of this property management system there is need to understand the importance of using these IT systems in the hospitality industry. As Opera Property Management System focuses on Wi-Fi usage so we will also discuss the use of Wi-Fi technology in the hospitality industry. In their research, (Pandey, 2010) discuss the importance of information technology for the hospitality industry. According to their viewpoint from dealing with guests and customers and developing and presenting food menus to keeping track of their employees, IT tools and systems have not only completely changed but also restructured the way the hospitality firms carry out their tasks in this information technology based era. In fact, the hospitality sector for all time thrash about to find out more ground-breaking tools and applications with the passage of time as they make changes to the format of the hotel and restaurant business (Pandey, 2010). In addition, a large number of researches and studies have concluded that IT tools and applications have turned out to be a key driver of economical growth for the hospitality industry in the past few years. In this scenario, extensive availability of easy to use and state-of-the-art tools and software applications for

Factors Influencing the Increase in Temporary Employment Essay

Factors Influencing the Increase in Temporary Employment - Essay Example Temporary employees subsume all forms of non-standard or contingent employment, including part time and contract workers. Originating early in the 1980s, temporary employment has been on a constant rise not just in the United States, but across Europe and the developed world (Hardy and Walker, 2003 p.141) According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the growth in temporary employment through the 1990s was dramatic (Golden And Appelbaum 1992 p.473). A survey carried out late in the 1990s indicated that approximately 90% of U.S business and about 95% of the Fortune 500 firms employed temporary employees or used the services of temporary employment agencies. This rise in the demand and supply of temporary employment is unprecedented. Though, temporary employment used to be restricted to clerical and office jobs, its growth has now encompassed almost every job type. Areas that have witnessed raid increase in temporary employment includes professional, services and technological corporations. However, companies use temporary employees to fill vacancies caused by employee absentee, special assignments, seasonal work increases and temporary workers shortages. In addition, employers often make use of temporary employee to fill staff vacancies when they do not intend to increase the ir staff strength (Temporary Employment, 2005). The first te... employers often make use of temporary employee to fill staff vacancies when they do not intend to increase their staff strength (Temporary Employment, 2005). Background of problem: The first temporary employment firms began operations in the 1940s. It was not until the 1980s and 1990s, however, that temporary employment grew rapidly. Annual average temporary employment grew from 340,000 in 1978 to 695,000 by 1985, increasing three times faster than total service sector employment and eight times faster than total nonagricultural employment. The temporary employment industry experienced its most explosive growth in the early 1990s, expanding by an average of 17 percent a year. Annual average temporary employment rose to 2.2 million workers by 1996 and to nearly 2.8 million by 1998 with an annual growth rate of about 9 percent. Between 1992 and 1998, 18.4 million non-agricultural jobs were added to the U.S. economy. Temporary employment accounted for 1.4 million of these jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS predicts that the temporary employment will increase by 53 percent by 2006, making it one of the most rapidly expanding indu stries. Overall, temporary employment accounts for about 2 percent of the country's employment. In the late 1990s, temporary employment agencies began investing greater more in training employees for their assignments. A NATSS survey from 1998 reported that temporary employment agencies spent $720 million on training 1997, in contrast to only $260 million in 1995. The survey also indicated that 4.8 million workers participated in the training programs and that about 90 percent of all temporary employment agencies provide training for free. Statement of the problem: This section of the research put the

NCOER EVAL DA 2166-8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NCOER EVAL DA 2166-8 - Essay Example This is due to three reasons. Firstly, the soldier illustrated appropriate military bearing, posture, and also appearance. Secondly, the soldier illustrated adequate mental and also physical capabilities, required for the performance of any successful military project or mission. Thirdly, the soldier maintained satisfactory physical fitness and mental alertness, despite the temporary challenges of back injury and extreme operational tempo. The soldier achieved success ratings in terms of leadership competencies. This is illustrated through three issues. Firstly, the soldier is a proven leader who understands approaches of motivating junior soldiers to effectively and efficiently accomplish missions, with minimal supervision. Secondly, the soldier effectively coached 6 soldiers through initiating study groups. The initiative increased the General technical scores of the soldiers, to more than 110. Thirdly, he enhanced spirit de corps by endorsing SHARP. He thus made himself available to help, through training, the unit victim advocate. The soldier achieved the success score for the training aspect. This is due to effective performance in three major areas. Firstly, he effectively identified more than 7 soldiers who can be competent platoon Master drivers. Secondly, he trained 31 soldiers using 6 military vehicles, and no accident or incident was reported. Thirdly, the soldier successfully trained two soldiers, and hence they passed the APFT after several unsuccessfully attempts. He also taught the significance of individual responsibility to the soldiers, through motivating them to formulate and work towards achieving their goals. The soldier received a score of success, and this is illustrated through three issues. Firstly, he properly managed military commodities and equipments worth in excess of $2.1 million. Secondly, there was no loss, mismanagement, embezzlement or discrepancies

The Borders Group Inc. Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The Borders Group Inc. Company - Case Study Example In addition, the company owned the once drastically growing Borders Books & Music super shops as well as the Planet Music retail shops. All over the nation, the Borders brand was linked with shops that exclusively served all book and song enthusiasts. This was because the company possessed an extensive collection of limited and extinct titles and albums in addition to a significant variety of diverse forms of electronic literature (Aspen, 33). The company outlets, which had grown to 116 by the end of 1996, all offered consumers wide and comfortable sitting and browsing chambers, a informed client care band, and coffee counters that had live leisure activity. Thesis statement: this paper seeks to examine the Borders Company comprehensively. It will expound on its inception, history, and the events that finally led to its collapse in late 2011. In particular, the paper will focus on the role of the company’s top management in its eventual demise from the literature and publishing arena. Introduction The Borders Group Inc. appeared on the scene after breaking off from its mother corporation, Kmart Corporation, in early May 2005. However, the original Borders brand was in existence from 1971. The advent of the Borders name happened due to the ingenuity of two brothers, Tom and Louis, who decided to open a single second-hand bookshop in Ann Arbor, in Michigan. The store’s initial target market was the then growing academic fraternity that schooled at the University of Michigan. In addition, the store enjoyed frequent patrons from the area’s smaller institutions of learning. Within a short time, the shop became popular, both as a literature store and as a hip hangout. As time passed, the store grew, and the brothers managed to acquire two more shops. One was in Michigan, whilst the other was in Indianapolis. Furthermore, the brothers also invested in a promising wholesale venture, which they named the Book In venture Systems (B.I.S.). This venture also caught on well a nd performed well. For a long period, the brothers had been contemplating on starting their own superstore. In the year 1985, they finally started their initial trial superstore. The trial version performed so well that, in combination with the growing level of competition, it revolutionized the retail paperback business, and influenced it to vacate mall-based business and invaded the crowded urban sections. By the end of 1988, the Borders stores had grown in number to five, and their BIS business already had 14 customers. In total, the company was raking in net revenue of $ 1.9 million dollars. This came from its business sales that amounted to about $ 32 million. However, the brothers itched for more (David 209). The 1980s The brothers, in their pursuit of nationalizing their shops, the brothers employed the services of Robert DiMuraldo, who was a Drexel Technology Institute Alumnus, in 1988. In addition, Robert also held a Harvard MBA. Robert had immense experience from Acme Mark ets and Little General Stores

Junk Food Essay Example for Free

Junk Food Essay Hello, my name is Daniela and I am here today to share my opinion about banning junk food, and hopefully I change your opinion, if you disagree with me. Well, junk food is food that’s very high in fat, sugar, and calories. It hardly has protein, vitamins, or minerals. I know it may be very tasty and good, but it’s not so good for your body. Eating junk food can cause your brain to get addicted to it in a way like drugs do. You’ll constantly think you need it, when you don’t. If you go a couple weeks without junk food and you’re use to eating it, you’ll want it even more, which is bad. Poor eating habits as a kid, become worse when you’re an adult. Eating it for years can cause obesity. Over 31. 8% of children in America are obese or overweight. This all leads to heart problems, diabetes, and other health problems. It can also cause cavities and other dental problems. Junk food also has a lack of oxygen, which is what feeds the brain and the rest of the body. Lack of oxygen causes fatigue and lack of concentration. A lot of studies also show that kid’s grades are sliding down very fast, due to being tired and lack of concentration. They can’t keep all the information they’re learning in their head. Parents should monitor their kid’s diet, but at school they can’t. Therefore the school should help the students in deciding what’s better for their nutrition. Kids do what they see other people do no matter if it’s bad or good. They see us eating a lot of junk food; they’ll eat a lot of junk food. They see us being healthy; they’ll want to become healthy. So why teach them that eating a lot of junk food is healthy? At home, maybe some parents may not care what their kid eats; therefore they should at least have one healthy meal provided by the school. Many students like to go and socialize with their friends during lunch since they can’t really talk or see each other any other times during school. Therefore, they’ll want to just grab a quick snack, like a type of junk food, and just leave to go talk with their friends. They aren’t eating a good meal and are just putting junk in their body. It’s much better if the school bans it and replaces the junk food with a healthy snack so at least the person can be eating something good for them. What if the school makes you take P. E. more than you’re required to since they decided to keep junk food? I know many of you hate it. So I don’t know about you, but I rather be eating healthy, than be trying to lose those calories I got from the junk food. I rather not even be taking P. E. another year just because they decided to keep that junk. Also, students are taught in health classes about healthy eating, and if the schools promotes and sells junk food, then the school contradicts its purpose of teaching this. The money you waste on junk food funds most of the cool and new stuff we get for our school. The school board should be paying for this stuff. They’re basically making money off your poor health choices. I hope you see things my way now and think about supporting the idea of banning junk food in school. Thank you for your listening!

Air France KLM Business Report

Air France KLM Business Report Air France-KLM is an international airline company and a member of the skyteam airline partnership. The company was formed on May 2004, following the merger of Air Frances and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), thus creating the worlds largest airline group by earnings and second largest worldwide cargo operator in terms of revenue-tonne kilometers. The company operates under two major networks hubs, Paris-CDG and Amsterdam-Schiphol. The Companys three main businesses are passenger transportation, cargo operations, engineering and maintenance. The company counts more than one hundred thousands employees all over the world. Passenger transports being the major business of the company with more than three hundred destinations worldwide. The majority of the employees are based in France and the Netherlands. Both Air France and KLM continue to operate flights under their distinct brand names as subsidiaries of Air France-KLM. List of Acronyms AF Air France NWA Northwest Airline CSR Corporate Social Response SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats MRO Maintenance Repair and Overall CDG Charles de Gaulle IT Information Technology E M Engineering and Maintenance IMS Information Management System GDP Domestic Growth Product Table of Contents Executive Summary i List of Acronyms ii CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2 Organisational structure 8 CHAPTER 3 Organisational culture 10 CHAPTER 4 -Leadership and management 12 CHAPTER 5 Teamworking and Mentoring 13 CHAPTER 6 Resourcing and Training 14 CHAPTER 7 Communication skills 15 CHAPTER 8 Performance and Motivation 15 CHAPTER 9 Management systems 17 CHAPTER 10 Management of change 18 CHAPTER 11 Future Directions 19 Conclusion and Recommendations 20 References 21 Appendices 22 CHAPTER 1 Introduction AIR FRANCE KLM AIR FRANCE KLM is the combination of two big airlines such as Air France and KLM. Since their merger in 2004, KLM works closely with Air France within the AIR FRANCE KLM holding company. In terms of financial turnover, AIR FRANCE KLM is the worlds largest airline partnership; it also transports the most passengers and is the worlds second-largest cargo transporter. Air France and KLM carry more than 71 million passengers per year. They operate more than 594 aircraft enabling them to fly to 236 destinations worldwide with 2,500 daily flights. The two airlines world networks can be combined, forming a vast network organized around the two major hubs of Amsterdam-Schiphol and Paris-CDG. The head offices are located at Amstelveen and Paris. Alitalia AIR FRANCE KLM and Alitalia agreed to strengthen their partnership in January 2009 by AIR FRANCE KLM taking a minority stake in Alitalia. The agreement gave AIR FRANCE KLM greater access to the Italian market. SkyTeam Alliance SkyTeam is a global airline alliance which includes AirEuropa, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines, , Delta Air Lines, Aeroflot, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air (including Northwest Airlines), CSA Czech Airlines, Tarom and Vietnam Airlines, Aeromà ©xico. Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance. Income Over the fiscal year 2009-2010 the turnover of Air France-KLM was 20.9 billion euros. Together, the two airlines have over 107.000 employees. For more information on AIRFRANCE KLM Finance, please go to www.airfranceklm-finance.com. Shares The Air France-KLM shares are listed in Amsterdam, Paris and New York. Aim Air France-KLM comprises a holding company which controls two airlines, Air France and KLM, each of which retains its own separate identity and brands. The group is the worlds largest air transport group in terms of revenue, second largest in terms of air traffic (in passenger-km) and cargo (ton freight-km), and third largest in terms of maintenance revenue. Both airlines run their own operations from their respective hubs Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol. Passengers Passenger transport is the largest of the groups three core businesses, generating around 80% of its revenues (as of 31 March 2008), with 74.8 million passengers carried. Cargo Cargo was the first fully-integrated commercial activity at Air France-KLM in 2005. Client companies now have a single point of entry, and a full, simplified offering with flights departing from both hubs and benefiting from both networks. Air France-KLM Cargo ranks first worldwide among air freight carriers (excluding integrators). Maintenance The combination of Air France Industries and KLM Engineering Maintenance allows the group to offer a comprehensive range of aircraft maintenance and overhaul services with complementary areas of specialization. Maintaining the two fleets accounts for two-thirds of the groups maintenance operations, further supplemented by maintenance repair and overall (MRO) operations for 150 third-party airlines. Mission and Vision The mission of Air France KLM is to provide its customers a high quality service adaptable to their changing needs. The overall vision is to become the worlds biggest and leading airline company. Company Background Air France Air France founded on 7 October 1933. The background of the company has been striking by a number of milestones, including investing the acquired capital of UTA in early January 1990 and the combination with Air Inter in 1997. Air France and Delta Air Lines joined forces with Aeromà ©xico and Korean Air to launch the Sky Team alliance in June 2000. Air Frances main hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle is Europes number one in terms of connecting opportunities. KLM Meanwhile KLM was first founded on 7 October 1919 being the oldest airline still operating under its original name. The recently background has been marked by the formation of a joint venture with Northwest Airlines (NWA) in 1989 and its achievement of the investment of Kenya Airways in 1996. KLM has Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as its home base. Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have become the largest European airline group Since May 2004 but each airline has retained its individual identity, trade name and brand which mean three businesses, two airlines, and one group SWOT Analysis Mullins (2007) explained that, in order to evaluate the nature of the business environment and its strategic capability an organization may undertake a SWOT analysis focuses on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing the organization. STRENGTHS Strengths are those positive aspects or distinctive attributes or competencies which provide a significant market advantage or upon which the organization can build. Against a backdrop of increased Liberalization which serves to intensify competition, the profitable growth strategy plays to the groups strengths, the following are the air France KLM group strengths. A modern fleet the groups chief asset Guaranteeing energy and economic efficiency and greater safety levels, the groups aircraft fleet is its chief asset when it comes to meeting the challenges of sustainable development. The dual Roissy Schiphol hub and a balanced network The Air France and KLM route networks complement each other extremely well. The dual hub concept is central to group strategy and is designed to make the most of this. The benefit of dual brand strategy Air France and KLM took an original approach to the merger, choosing to retain the two brands while developing a unified strategy. Air France and KLM each enjoy strong brand identities and are extremely complementary. Enhanced competitiveness thanks to cost control To maintain its competitiveness, the group launched Challenge 10,designed to save 1.4 billion euros by 2009-10, through a 3% cut in unit costs. The plan is four-pronged: Process optimization and productivity gains; Fleet modernization, which will generate fuel and maintenance cost savings; Purchasing, and optimizing group synergies; External distribution costs. The development of high growth areas The groups ambition is to seize growth opportunities in countries driving global economic growth, mainly Brazil, Russia, India and China. In the years ahead, the Air France-KLM group plans to grow by 4.7% per year in terms of available seat-km on its long-haul network. WEAKNESSES Weaknesses are those negative aspects or deficiencies in the present competencies or resources of the organization, or its image or reputation, which limit its effectiveness and needed to be corrected to minimize their effect. International economic instability Faced with soaring oil prices, international economic instability, and signs of waning demand, air transport has entered a period of great uncertainty. Our Group can count on its strategic assets, the quality of its fuel hedging and its resolute policy of cost control to meet this challenging period of turbulence and low visibility OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities are favorable conditions and usually arise from the nature of changes in the external environment. The organization needs to be sensitive to the problems of business strategy and responsive to changes. Sustained demands In an increasingly global society, the demand for mobility is also increasing. Air transport is a key factor in a countrys economy. Over the last 20 years, air transport has grown twice as quickly as gross domestic product (GDP). In 2008, the rapid development of emerging countries is stimulating growth in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. This will compensate for the slowdown in the US economy. As for the future, IATA forecasts an increase in global capacity of around 5% per year by 2011. A key contribution to the economy Air transport carries over 2 billion passengers annually. Tons of cargo shipped by air each year represent 35% of the total value of export trade in manufactured goods. By connecting people, businesses and goods around the world, air transport makes an essential contribution to global economic activity. Both directly and as a promoter of growth in other industries. THREATS Threats are the converse of opportunities and refer to unfavorable situations that arise from external developments likely to endanger the operations and effectiveness of the organization. Air France KLM like any other organizations is faced with a number of threats, these includes Increased pressure Growth in European low-cost carriers has been strong for some years and Middle Eastern carriers are planning considerable expansion: Gulf carriers plan 20% seat growth per year for the next three years. This represents stiff competition for European airlines on traffic between Europe and Asia or Australia. Development limited by infrastructures Europe is experiencing air traffic congestion, leading to significant delays, increased costs and CO2 emissions. This is partly a result of the fragmentation of airspace and of the air traffic control process. There is considerable room for improvement. For 10 million flights a year, it is estimated that the actual route flown is 5% longer than ideal. For some routes, such as Amsterdam-Zà ¼rich, it is even 20%. The annual cost of fragmented European skies is estimated at 3.4 billion euros. A sector subject to heavier taxation Air transport is subject to strict regulation, mainly regarding security, safety and infrastructure. The sector is also subject to high charges, among them airport or navigation charges, plus dedicated fees to finance security. Moreover, air transport is the only means of transport to finance soundproofing measures, as it does in numerous European countries. Climate change awareness General awareness of the reality of climate change continued to increase in 2007. This was coupled with local environmental constraints that have always affected air transport activities. Air transport accounts for between 2 and 3% of all man-made CO2 emissions. In Europe, its relative contribution will increase due to growth in traffic and the expected reduction of emissions in other industries. In the past 40 years, the sector has made considerable progress, reducing CO2 emissions per passenger by more than 70%. Summary In spite of its merger Air France KLM is still operating under its identity and brand name with their home bases located at Amsterdam airport Schiphol for KLM and Paris-Charles de Gaulle for Air France. The main core duties of the group are to transport passengers, cargo and engineering and maintenance. As any other organization Air France KLM has the opportunities to grow much bigger and become the first largest airline company in the world. CHAPTER 2 Organisational structure The pattern of relationship between various positions in the organization and among members of the organization is referred as structure. Organization is essentially a group of people with a common objective or goal to archive. The structure can either be formal i.e. documented or informal i.e. unofficial. Mullins (2007) defined, Organization Structure as the division of work among members of the organization, and the co ordination of their activities so they are directed towards the goals and objectives of the organization. It is the relationships among positions in the organization and among members of the organization. It makes possible the application of process of management and creates a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organization can be planned, organized, directed, and controlled. It defines tasks and responsibilities, work role and relationships, and channels of communication. Essentially there are various types of organizational structures depending on the nature of organization, such as centralized, complex, stratified and formalized structures. An effective structure is the one that coordinates various parts of the organization and different work areas. Meanwhile the structure of the organization can either be tall i.e. with a long hierarchical chain of command where the freedom and responsibility of the subordinates is restricted or flat i.e. with a short chain of command, there is more effective between management and workers but employees may have more than one manager. However both of two structures above are highly affected by the number of employees who reports direct to a certain manager that is Span of Control. Hellriegel et al (1998) explained, that span of control refers to the number of employees reporting directly to one manager. When the span of control is broad, relatively few levels exists between the top and bottom of the organization. C onversely when the span of control is narrow, more levels are required for the same number of employees. Although there is no correct number of subordinates that a manager can supervise effectively, the competencies of both the manager and employees, the similarity of tasks being supervised and the extent of rules and operating standards all influence a managers span of control. Consider the Air France and KLM corporate and social responsibility (SCR) organization structure CHAPTER 3 Organisational culture According to Hellriegel et al (1998), the organization itself has an invisible quality a certain style, a character, a way of doing things that may be more powerful than the dictates of any one person or any formal system. Armstrong M (2006) defined, organizational culture as the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that may not have circulated but shape the ways in which people behave and get things done. Values refer to what is believed to be important about how people and organizations behave; norms are the unwritten rules of behavior. To understand the soul of the organization requires that we travel below the charts, rule books, machines, and buildings into the underground world of corporate cultures. Indeed there are several ways in which organizational cultures are formed, maintained and changed. Meanwhile there is a very possible relationship between organizational culture and performance, the relationship between organizational culture and ethical b ehavior, the challenge of managing a culturally diverse work force and finally how organizations socialize individuals to their particular cultures. There are several types of organization cultures, these includes labels of baseball team, club, academy and fortress. Organizational culture represents a complex pattern of beliefs, expectations, ideas, values, attitudes and behaviors shared by the members of an organization. More specifically, organizational culture includes routine behaviors, norms, and dominant values held by organization. Essentially the issue of cultural differences and cultural compatibility in mergers between Air France and KLM has gained much attention among the two companies. Since the two companies operate under its brand name and culture, the effects of cultural clashes on the result of a merger and their employees are numerous. Cultural differences may result to poor or low productive behavior among the employees, such as low level of commitment, trust and cooperation between the groups of employees from the two merging companies. Loss of productivity caused by luck of trust and cooperation is particularly frequent in case of top managers. This is because cultural clash is strongest when the contact between the opposing cultures is greatest; and executives is the people involved in the merger from its beginning till its end. This is a very bad sign for companies, since motivation and commitment of the top managers has a major influence on the motivation of other subordinates. Cultural differen ces mainly influence employees of the merging companies, but perceived cultural distance may also influence potential foreign investors and shareholders who may want to avoid direct ownership because of high information costs and the difficulty in transferring management techniques and values. Organization cultural aspects may be beautiful both for the investors, who find the business models of the foreign partner a considerable advantage and for the managers who expect more opportunities for themselves by working for the partner firm, which they perceive to be high prestige worldwide leader firm and which corporate culture better addresses their expectations. In this situation managers are willing to adopt new culture. Whether cultural differences hinder or facilitate the integration process, their meaning is undeniable. Only some of them notice the complexity of the international mergers where not only two different organizational cultures come together, but organizational culture s which are deeply nested in national cultures. Common cultural differences embrace differences in communication styles, planning and decision making practices, negotiation strategies, and management or leadership styles. All of them are shaped by both national and organizational cultures, considering the role managers play in the merger and post-merger integration process, it is at the top management level that national cultural differences play the most important role in the life of merging organizations. That is why Air France KLM before making any decisions and signing any contracts should conduct an in depth cultural audit of the future partner. It is important to realise that cultural distance and cultural differences do not necessarily have to mean troubles. Cultures do not have to be the same; it is sufficient if they are complementary. Consequently, the major advantage of such a cultural due diligence is that it raises awareness of issues that should be managed during the i ntegration process. CHAPTER 4 -Leadership and management As Hellriegel et al (1998), defines leadership as the process whereby a person influences others to achieve a goal, i.e. is a process of creating a vision for others and having the power to translate the vision into reality. The ways in which leaders attempt to influence others depend in part of the power available to them and in part on their competencies. Leaders draw on five sources of power to influence the actions of others: legitimate, reward, coercive, referent and expert. Vision, empowerment, meaning through communication and self understanding are the competencies that help leaders become more effective. Mullins (2007) defined; management is active, not theoretical. It is about changing behavior and making things happen. It is about developing people, working with them, reaching objectives and achieving results. Indeed, all the research into how managers spend their time reveals that they are creatures of the moment, perpetually immersed in the nitty gritty of making things happen. Air France-KLM is now introducing a new combined executive management structure on a functional basis, replacing the separate management structures in Air France and KLM. In place of the Strategic Management Committee, which had supervised the development of Air France and KLM over 2004 to 2007, the business is being managed from 2007 through an Executive Committee whose members has a group level responsibility and can come from either Air France or KLM while retaining their responsibilities at a company level. CHAPTER 5 Teamworking and Mentoring As defined by Katzenbach and Smith (1993) cited in Armstrong M (2006), A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. For example, after KLM and Air France merged, management decided to create teams of people from both companies to exchange information about particular topics. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢The most valuable part is the intangible part, teaming up the guy from IT with the guy from marketing, with the network planning guy, who normally dont speak together. CHAPTER 6 Resourcing and Training According to Bratton Gold (2007), human resource planning is the process of systematically forecasting the future demand and supply for employees and the deployment of their skills within the strategic objectives of the organisation. Armstrong M (2006) said, people resourcing is concerned with ensuring that the organization obtains and retains the human capital it needs and employs them productively. It is also about those aspects of employment practice that are concerned with welcoming people to the organization and if there is no alternative, releasing them. It is a key part of human resource management. Mullins (2007) explained that, one of the major areas of human resource management function of particular relevance to the effective management and use of people is training and development. Few would argue against the importance of training as a major influence on the success of the organization. Staffs are crucial, but very expensive resource. In order to sustain economic and ef fective performance it is important to optimize the contribution of employees to the aims and goals of the organization. The purpose of training is to improve knowledge and skills and to change attitudes. It is one of the most important potential motivators which can lead to many possible benefits for both individuals and organization. Since the combination of Air France KLM, each company has kept its own set of policies, especially for Human Resources issues, while developing new common policies in some other areas. Air France-KLM rates as the sector leader on human resources issues and actively addresses all of the challenges relevant to its business Overall, Air France KLMs performance on human resources issues remains stable compared to the last rating. Alongside the environment of the recent merger, severe competition and tough boundaries, the major labour relations issues for the company are to develop employability and staff mobility, essentially through training and proactive social exchange of ideas. Other critical issues for the company entail promoting non discrimination, diversity, and equal opportunities, and safeguarding health and safety in the workplace. CHAPTER 7 Communication skills Cook et al (1997) describes that, communication begins when one person sends a message to another with the intent of evoking a response. The effective communication occurs when the receiver interprets the message exactly as the sender intended. Effective communication is essential for the functioning of any organization. Managers need to transmit orders, and polices, build cooperation and team spirit, and identify problems and their solutions. It is believed that managers have traditionally spent the majority of their time communicating in one form or another. Communication within an organizations may take place through several ways, these includes; meetings, face-to-face discussions, memos, letters, e-mails, reports, etc. Recently, however, more and more employees find that an important part of their work is communication, especially now that service workers outnumber production workers and research as well as production processes emphasize greater collaboration and teamwork among workers in different functional groups. Moreover, a sea change in communication technologies has contributed to the transformation of both work and organizational structure. For these reasons, communication practices and technologies have become more important in all organizations, but they are perhaps most important in knowledge-intensive organizations and sectors and, as such, are of great significance to science organizations and to public sc ience management. The study of organizational communication is not new, but it has only recently achieved some degree of recognition as a field of academic study. It has largely grown in response to the needs and concerns of business. The first communication programs were typically located in speech departments, but most business schools now include organizational communication as a key element of study. The study of organizational communication recognizes that communication in organizations goes far beyond training managers to be effective speakers and to have good interpersonal communication skills. Moreover, it recognizes that all organizations, not just business organizations, have communication needs and challenges. CHAPTER 8 Performance and Motivation Armstrong M (2006) defined; a motive is a reason for doing something. Motivation is concerned with the factors that influence people to behave in certain ways. All organizations are concerned with what should be done to achieve sustained high levels of performance through people. Giving close attention to the individuals can best be motivated through such means as incentives, rewards, leadership and importantly, the work they do and the organization context within which they carry out that work. Essentially motivation can take place in two ways; such as people can motivate themselves (intrinsic motivation) by seeking, finding and carrying out work that satisfies their needs and secondly people can be motivated by management (extrinsic motivation) through such methods as pay, praise, promotion and punishments such as disciplinary action. In terms of career management, AF-KLM has put increased emphasis on developing careers for older employees. Extensive means are put in place to deal with health and safety issues, although key performance indicators are not disclosed on a group-wide basis, but separately for Air France and KLM. Air France KLM is one of the few companies who show transparency on how to deal with atypical working hours. Air France-KLM has an above average performance compared to its sector peers on Business Behaviour issues. The Group scores very well on its product safety and security commitments and has thorough commitments and implementation measures on responsible contractual agreements, making its management of client issues among the best in the sector. The Groups performance in terms of passenger satisfaction has been stable over the past three years. Air France-KLMs approach to suppliers issues (embedded in its Procurement Charter for Sustainable Development) and anticompetitive practices is similarly comprehensive, although AF-KLM faced a minor allegation related to anti-competitive employment legislation. Overall, the Groups performance improved slightly compared to last rating, and remains far above the sector average. CHAPTER 9 Management systems Since both Air France and KLM introduced Integrated Management Systems (IMS), which cover quality, environmental management, and food safety concerns. Air France was awarded comprehensive certification for its IMS. The Air France and KLM maintenance business units use their complementary approaches and their multi-skilled workforces to offer customers a unique, customized portfolio of services, in-line maintenance. The constant dialogue with third-party airlines and the combined experience of Air France and KLM ensure that their maintenance departments have in-depth knowledge of the sector and its needs. Customers are also invited to take part in regular satisfaction surveys. Not only that, also Air France KLM promotes environmental friendly solutions which they promote among customers. CHAPTER 10 Management of change Hellriegel et al (1998) explained, many sectors of the economy, organizations must have the capacity to adapt quickly and effectively in order to survive. To a certain extent all organizations exist in a changing environment are themselves constantly changing. Increasingly organizations that emphasize bureaucratic or mechanistic system are ineffective. Organizations with rigid hierarchies, high degrees of functional specialization, narrow and limited job descriptions, inflexible rules and procedures, and impersonal management cant respond adequately to demands for change. Organizations need designs that are flexible and adaptive. They also need systems that both require and allow greater commitment and use of talent on the part of employees and managers. Organisational change can be difficult and costly. Despite the challenges, many organizations successfully make needed changes. Adaptive, flexible organizations have a competitive advantage over rigid ones. Thus managing change has become a central focus of effective organization worldwide. There are so many pressures for change, these includes global market, the spread of information technology and computer networks and changes in the nature of the workforce employed by organizations. Thereby, we conclude for the organization to exist there must be innovation process to constantly integrate with the new technologies worldwide. Air France KLM has managed to cop with those technological changes at various aspects so as to comply with customer needs, these includes the revolution of electronic ground services. Air France KLM satisfied the demand autonomy and transparency expressed by passengers. The company is extending the use of the current technologies, i.e. mainstreaming electronic ticketing, extending check in at self service kiosk. The spread of e service offers the company genuine opportunities to reduce the cost and improv

The Life Of Walt Disney Film Studies Essay

The Life Of Walt Disney Film Studies Essay When he arrived back to the United States, Walt moved back to Kansas City where he worked on several different jobs as a commercial artist and a cartoonist. One of these jobs was a temporary contract with the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio where he created ads for newspapers, magazines and movie theatres. It was at the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio where Walt met Ubbe Iwerks with whom he set up Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists, which Disney soon left and began working at Kansas City Film Ad Company where he made cut out animation commercials. Disney decided he wanted to become an animator, he read a book called Animated Cartoons: How They Are Made, Their Origin and Development through which he learned about cel animation which he found to be much more promising then cutout animation. He was allowed to borrow a camera from work to experiment at home. He recruited fellow Kansas City Film Ad Company employee, Fred Harman as his own first employee and the two secured a deal with local theatre owner F rank L. Newman to screen their cartoons which they titled Laugh-O-Grams. The cartoons were hugely successful in the Kansas City area and from their success Disney was able to set up his own studio also called Laugh-O-Gram and also hire a number of animators including Fred Harman and Ubbe Iwerks. The company soon went bankrupt as the studios profits were unable to pay for the animators high salaries and Walt was unable to manage the money. After the failure of Laugh-O-Grams, Walt set his sights on Hollywood, where he met up with his older brother Roy and using the twos collective funds they set up a cartoon studio. At this stage a New York distributor Margaret Winkler signed a deal for some live-action/animated shorts based upon Alices Wonderland, which Walt had worked on in Kansas City with Iwerks. Walt and Roy had now set up Disney Brothers Studio, a single story building on Hyperion Avenue, LA where the company remained until 1939. The Alice Comedies were quite successful until finishing up in 1927 by which time the focus was mostly on the animated characters in the series rather than the live action Alice, especially Julius, a black cat that resembled Felix the Cat. In 1925, Disney had hired Lillian Bounds to ink and paint celluloid, Walt dated Lillian for a brief time and two got married in the same year. In 1927, Margaret Winklers husband, Charles B. Mintz had taken over her business and ordered Disney Studios to make a new animated series to be distributed through Universal Pictures. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was the new series and was an instant success. Oswald, a character drawn and created by Iwerks became a popular figure. The company was doing so well that Walt hired 4 more animators. In February 1928, Mintz and Disney met to discuss a new fee for the shorts. Disney was looking for a higher payment but Mintz informed him that not only was he reducing the fee per short but that he had taken most of his main animators (except notably Iwerks) under contract and could begin his own studio if Disney did not accept the cuts and that Universal, not Disney, owned the trademark of Oswald the Rabbit so they could continue to make the films without Disney. Disney declined Charles Mintzs offer and lost the majority of his animation staff and his beloved Oswald the Rabbit. After losing Oswald, Walt Disney felt like he needed a new approach to his cartoons and new character to replace Oswald. The new character was based on a mouse that Walt had adopted as a pet while working in Kansas City. Ub Iwerks took Disneys rough sketches of the mouse, making it easier to animate. The mouse was originally called Mortimer, but later christened Mickey by Lillian Disney who thought the name Mortimer was too stiff and convinced him to go with Mickey instead. Mortimer later became Mickeys rival for Minnie. Mickey first starred in two silent films called Plane Crazy and The Gallopin Gaucho, both these films failed to find a distributor. By this time other film studios in Hollywood had began using sound in their movies and after Walt had seen The Jazz Singer, the first movie with sound, Disney decided to make the fist all-sound, talking and music cartoon with Mickey Mouse starring as Steamboat Willie which was distributed by Cinephone (1928). Eight years later, in 1936 c ritics and fans all over the world agreed that Mickey Mouse was the most recognized figure on the planet. It was Walt himself that provided Mickeys voice until 1946. Although he had stopped actually drawing the cartoons himself in 1927, Disney relied on his animators to implement his ideas which included launching many other successful cartoon characters over this time including Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. In 1932, Disney received a special Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. Disneys Success continued to soar throughout the 30s and 40s, with 1937 1941 being known as The Golden Age of Animation. In 1934 Disney began making plans for a full length feature animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with an estimated budget of $150,000 that ended up costing Disney $1.5 million. The studio actually ran out of money mid 1937 and had to show a rough cut of the film to loan officers at the Bank of America who gave them money to finish production. The premiere on the 21st December 1937 was met with a standing ovation. The film was released in February 1938 and earned over $8 million on its first theatrical release, at a time when the average ticket price was 25 cents. On the success of Snow White, Disney was able to build brand new studios in Burbank, which opened for business in December 1939. Over the next four years, Disney produced Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi and Dumbo and early production work had started on Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Although the ear ly forties proved difficult for Disney as many of the top animators went on strike. Personal Politics Throughout his life Walt Disney gave off the perfect public persona, but Walt has had many critics during his life and since his death. In the studios in Hyperion Ave, his employees knew him as Uncle Walt which at the time was a term of endearment and it seemed like a privilege to them not to have to call their boss Sir or Mr. Disney. The animators worked long hard hours to meet Disneys high standard of perfection, Everybody loved the studio, everybody joyfully worked over-time putting in all the hours needed without any pay, everybody liked each other and liked Walt Bill Melendez, animator at Disney Studios 1937-1941. But when the studios moved to the new location at Burbank, Disney introduced a high degree of specialization among his work force transforming animation into a production line process, here at last was the rationally planned factory Disney had dreamed of. Walt showed off the studio is a film called the reluctant dragon in which smiley white coated worked go happily abo ut their day. But reality at the new studios wasnt all that it seemed. The workers had been promised that the move from Hyperion was good for them as well as Walt, but this was not the case, in fact some workers fell that is was in some ways a deterioration in their working conditions. Marie Beardsley was one of the artists who made the move everything was segregated, everything got too big and too impersonal and I think thats where the trouble started. Through using this factory like method in the studio had created a hierarchy of jobs, at the top being the animators, all male and all hand picked by Disney beneath them was hundred of inkers and painters, who coloured in the thousands of pictures that made each scene. They were all women. Marie Beardsley said it probably never even occurred to Walt to put a man in the inking and paintingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ That was demeaning work, she recall supervisors walking around and standing behind and other women to see how well they were inking and how fast they were painting. They were timed to see were they worth keeping on. Bill Melendez recalls Walt saying that women were Ok to be used in a menial capacity because once they reached the age of thirty the hand got shaky so it was time to get rid of them. Things had changed in the new studio and Disneys increasingly tyrannical style of management meant for some that the words Uncle Walt took on a much more sinister meaning. Disney was unusually straight-laced for a Hollywood big shot; Marie Beardsley recalls a memo being sent around to all the girls in inking and painting saying that The married men in Disney were happily married and we want all of the girls to understand that, he disliked any sort of sexuality or even socialising amongst his employees. He and Lillian were together for forty years until his death and no one at Disney Studios recalls him ever showing any interest in any other women. He actually told one of his animators that he loved Mickey Mouse more than any girl hed ever known. On Walts 35th Birthday two of the animators made a film of Mickey and Minnie consummating their relationship, at the end of the film Walt stood up and said that it was great animation, he then asked who had made it, the animators who made it stood up and Walt fired them on the spot. Case Study: Disney Corporation vs Fitzpatrick In 2001, Denise and Francis Fitzpatrick, a young professional couple from Ireland did the impossible and defeated The Walt Disney Company in a legal battle over the rights to the name of their character Piggley Pooh for a TV series they wanted to develop. In 1999 Denise and Francis received a letter from Disney saying that the company was opposing their application for the trademark of Piggley Pooh in Europe because of Disneys character Winnie The Pooh. The Fitzpatricks faced an almost 3 year long battle with one of the biggest entertainment corporations in the world. In which they became emotionally, physically and financially broken. Winnie the Pooh is character from books written by A.A Milne in 1926.in 1930 Steven Slesinger purchased the rights to Winnie the Pooh from Milne for a $1000 advance and 66% of Slesingers income, by November 1931 Slesinger had turned Winnie the pooh into a $50 million a year business. Walt Disney bought Winnie the Pooh off Slesinger in 1961 and was paying twice yearly royalties to A.A Milnes beneficiaries until 2001 when they paid a lump sum of $350 million. The lump sum was spread out between the Royal Literary Society, the Westminster School and the Garrick Club and family of A.A Milne. Winnie the Pooh now raises at least $6 billion revenues for Disney each year. As a young girl on her grandmothers farm in Co Meath, Denise had a fascination with the pigs that were there, she used to visit them every time she was on her grandmothers farm and loved to make up stories about them. The main character in all her stories was Piggley Pooh. Denise says she had never heard of Winnie the Pooh or Piglet or any of the animals in 100 Acre Wood during her childhood in the 1960s and 1970s, like most Irish children she read Enid Blyton and other English wirters. Her imagination ran wild throughout her childhood as to what this marvellous little Pigley Pooh would be getting up to. Denise also had a love for stories from Celtic mythology and old Irish seanchaà ­s throughout her life. This is what she wanted the Piggley Pooh TV series to be based on, a simple story for children, with a moral lesson behind it. Disney were adamant the Fitzpatricks stop the production of the Piggley Pooh TV series, or at least change the name, something Denise was thoroughly against, she would not even hear of having the h at the end of pooh dropped. After the letter in January in 1999, they decided not to let the giant corporation ruin Denises childhood dreams. Piggley Pooh was already a registered trademark in the U.S, but they were objecting to the name becoming a registered trademark in Japan and Europe. Francis met with their Trademark Agents who were quite confident that they has a pretty strong case. Disney were trying to prove that their ownership of the name Winnie the Pooh was being stolen by the use of the word pooh in Piggley Poohs name. In 2000, Denise and Francis flew over to L.A for a meeting with Steve Ackerman, Disneys chief counsel worldwide. After many attempts to postpone their meeting, Francis arrived at the Burbank Studios where Ackerman showed up 40 minutes late for their meeting without a word of apology. Ackerman straight out told Francis that the problem they had was one of theft, they had stolen two names from Disney. Pooh and Piglet. Although they had slightly altered Piglet, they had still put it side by side with Pooh, and hoped to make millions from it. This is what the Disney Corporation thought about Francis and his wife and family and it looked as if they were not going to stop at anything to get their names back. The meeting was a hostile one, with Ackerman claiming that Disney could prove that there were Winnie the Pooh books in circulation in Ireland at the time of Denises childhood. Francis was called a thief many times and an Irish bastard. But things came to a head when Ackerman threatened the Fitzpatricks children Listen Francisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Youre not going to get the better of the Disney Corporation. Nobody gets the better of Disney. We got the recourses. We got the time. We got right on our side. Well go after you all around the world and bankrupt you. Youre a family man. You got children. You need to think again Youve got young childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ You and your wife have to look after them, not waste their future Francis flipped telling the corporate giant never to mention his children again. Telling him that Disney were the thieves in all this, stealing peoples dreams, peoples rights to tell stories and stealing something that had been a part of Denises life since she was a child. After this outburst, Ackerman realised that the Fitzpatricks were serious about this and would not be backing down anytime soon. The two men continued the meeting in a civil manner, with Disney proposing a settlement out of court of $500,000 for the Fitzpatricks to give up the Piggey Pooh name. They refused this offer and met the Disney Company in the European Trademark courts in Alicante, Spain in January 2001 but no oral hearing happened, it was done behind closed doors. Three months later Francis has a phone call from their Trademark Agents telling him it was good news. They had won, Disneys objection had been overruled and they were entitled to registration as owner of the trademark. But this wasnt the end for the battle for the name Piggley Pooh. In March 2002, Royal Bank of Scotland, the bank funding the TV series decided that the name Pooh must come out of the name Piggley Pooh because of Disneys powerful stance in the marketplace was too threatening to the brand of Piggley Pooh. If a Piggley Pooh soft toy were on sale for $10 in childrens shops, Disney would sell Winnie the Pooh for $8. The Fitzpatricks were back to square one. Although they had beat the Disney Corporation in the courts they had not fully won. Out of this Piggley Winks was born and turned into a successful animated TV series.