The Importance Of Accuracy And Fluency

The Importance Of Accuracy And Fluency Accuracy and fluency are two key components of second language acquisition. In todays world, it seems that learning the usage of grammar and focusing on accuracy are emphasized by many language students over fluency. This topic of accuracy and fluency has been a controversial issue that has been discussed for many years. Although some formalists argue that learning a language means learning forms and rules, some activists take a different view and claim that learning a language means learning how to use a language (Eskey, 1983). Thus, this essay will argue that accuracy is not necessarily more important than fluency. It depends on learners needs and the purpose of instruction in second language acquisition. In order to demonstrate this, this essay will first focus on the importance of accuracy and fluency in English learning and show that they are both essential by looking at two different teaching methods. Second, it will turn to discuss both accuracy and fluency in term of learner goals, learner variables and instructional variables. Third, it will suggest what language teachers should do to deal with the issue and find the right balance between them. The importance of accuracy and fluency In this section, it will be argued that both accuracy and fluency are needed in second language acquisition. There has been much discussion about these two components, with arguments put forward in support of either one of the other. However, it will be shown that neither component is useful without the other. Early teaching methods promoted accuracy over fluency. For instance, the Grammar-Translation Method has been used by language teachers for many years. It is the traditional style of teaching method emphasizing grammar explanation and translation (Cook, 2001). In such a method, it is important for students to learn about the form of the target language. The role of the teacher is the authority. Students merely do what the teacher says and learn from the teacher, and many students consider that correct answers are essential. If they make errors or do not know an answer, it is the teachers duty to supply them with the correct answer. However, accuracy cannot be regarded as enough in language learning. According to Larsen-Freeman (2000), in the Grammar-Translation Method, the language that is used in class is mostly the students native language. In this case, there is much less attention to second language speaking and listening. When it comes to speaking and listening skills, fluency needs to be taken account in language learning. For this reason, other methods have emphasized fluency in language learning. It is clear that these approaches are built on learning the use of language not on learning the usage of it. For example, compared with the Grammar-Translation Method, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) emphasizes the process of communication rather than just focusing on language forms (Larsen-Freeman, 2000). Since the concept of CLT places an emphasis on fluency, errors of form can be seen as a natural outcome of the development of communication skills. Another argument in favour of fluency is the implementation of language in an authentic environment. In the real world, language is mostly used to express feeling and thought (Eskey, 1983). When there is a purpose to exchange meaning, fluency is the key element during communication. While communicating with each other, foreign language learners often encounter the difficulty, that is, what they know how to say does not achieve their communicative intention. In order to bridge the gap of such discrepancy, learners may use communicative strategies, such as prediction to make the communication successful. This is because if communicators are in the same context, one may predict what the other is going to say next. For example, before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, taxi drivers in Beijing were trained in order to obtain English speaking ability so that they could communicate with foreign tourists fluently. In this situation, although the taxi drivers were poor at grammar rules, they still can communicate with foreigners. This is because the driver can predict where the foreign passenger will go since their destination may be related to the Olympic Games. In this case, although some grammatical errors exist, communicators can still understand each other because they are in the same context. When listeners can not understand what speakers mean, they usually predict the following conversation and provide immediate response with speakers in the process of meaning negotiation. However, it must be remembered that the achievement of this level of communicative competence does not mean an equal one of grammatical competence (Eskey, 1983). As Eskey (1983: 319) claims, fluency in a language is no guarantee of formal accuracy. A realistic concern is that focusing on fluency may cause the significant effect on accuracy. According to Eskey (1983: 319), rewarding a learners fluency may, in some cases, actually impede his or her achievement of accuracy. For example, in order to get meaning across, language learners find the words, but they either pronounce them wrongly or put them together inappropriately. Such problem happens due to the fact that they can speak English continually but express themselves poorly. Thus, although accuracy is not enough by itself, it is still considered as necessary in language learning. Although learners can still communicate the message to make sense without correct form, it can not be denied that in order to use the language, learners still need to be able to convert linguistic forms into the ability to actually use then. Therefore, when using CLT approach, correcting for accuracy will still be offered by teachers. Although prediction in communicative context may benefit successful communication, fluency is not enough in this circumstance. Without accuracy, misunderstanding may occur because of misspelling, poor pronunciation and grammatical structures. It is therefore clear that as language teachers, both fluency and accuracy must be equally concerned in teaching students to use a language. The elements towards focusing on accuracy and fluency As the first section has mentioned, both accuracy and fluency are needed in the process of language learning. In this section, it will be argued that although these two components are equally necessary, there are three elements that may influence focus on them. The first element to consider is learner goals. It is suggested that many ESL teachers facilitate their students to develop communicative competence to really use the language for authentic purpose. Nonetheless, what students learn from the teacher may not be the outcome that the teacher supposes them to acquire. For example, if Thai children learn English in a rural Thai village, the outcome of language achievement may not all be positive. This is because these children do not need to use English as a tool in their daily life. In contrast, if Thai children learn English in order to sell products to foreigners, then there may be concern about a purpose for communicative competence. Moreover, if they want to pursue higher education in England, accuracy needs to be focused in language learning. Therefore, it seems that the need for accuracy and fluency relates to what goals learners want to achieve. It is considered that learner variables are also a key element which influences the focus on accuracy or fluency. According to Celce-Murcia (1985), a strategy guideline is provided to assist teachers in determining what degree they ought to focus on form in their own classes. In his study, learner variables include age, proficiency level and educational background. It is noted that every individual learns in different ways. Compared with adolescents and adults, young children seem to be more holistic in learning a concept instead of doing apparent analysis. This is because they are too young to analyse the structure of a language. Therefore, if young ESL learners are taught, it is most likely that little grammar instruction is needed. However, if the students are adolescents or adults, focusing on form may be more important. It is also suggested that education level is relevant to focus on accuracy or fluency. This is because teaching learners with preliterate level differs from teaching ones with literate level. If adults are at the level of beginners with little formal education, then focusing on form will be less important while fluency is the top priority. On the other hand, if the learners are at the intermediate or advanced level and are well educated, accuracy may be required and it may be necessary for the teacher to provide some feedback relating to form correction in order for them to make progress. Therefore, focusing on accuracy is not enough, fluency still needs to be concerned in terms of learners age, proficiency level and educational background. Moreover, instructional variables can be seen as the third element, which includes skill, register and need. It is suggested that the need of focus on accuracy and fluency also changes according to the purpose of the instruction. For instance, according to Celce-Murcia (1985), when the teacher is teaching receptive skills, such as listening or reading, the emphasis on form will be less important, since these skills require competence primarily in word recognition. Nevertheless, this does not mean accuracy can be neglected, because when knowing grammatical structure, learners can build up logical connection between sentences, which facilitates both listening and reading comprehension. On the other hand, if the teacher is focusing on productive skills, such as speaking and writing, then formal accuracy will become an essential concern. In addition, it has to be remembered that fluency is still needed for communication purpose. This is because if the teacher is offering a conversation class which purpose is for learners to really use the language to communicate with others, then fluency will be emphasized. Furthermore, if the learners immediate need is survival communication, formal accuracy is less focused. On the other hand, if the learner wants to use the language in a professional field, such as writing an academic essay or being a diplomat, then a high degree of formal accuracy is essential. The higher the stakes, the more likely that accuracy will be important (Eskey, 1983: 318). Therefore, it is clear that both accuracy and fluency are needed and whether focusing on accuracy or fluency depends on learner needs and course objectives. Approaches of finding balance between accuracy and fluency a) Course design and needs assessment Based on these three elements mentioned above, it is suggested that teachers should find the right balance between accuracy and fluency. Eskey (1983) argues that: Teachers must be prepared to deal with students who know grammar rules but can not speak the language fluently; likewise, they must also be prepared to deal with students who are fluent but not accurate (Eskey, 1983). In order to balance accuracy and fluency in language learning and teaching, it is suggested that both these components need to be taught in the process of learning situation. Thus, in this section, it will suggest methods of keeping a balance between accuracy and fluency in term of course design and needs assessment. It has been argued that many language learners have learned grammar rules, but when they want to express themselves, they do not have enough authentic experience of using languages (Celce-Murcia, 1985). Such result may be due to the fact that teaching materials does not provide learners with the context relevant to the communicative situation. In order to solve this problem, Celce-Murcia (1985) suggests an integrating grammar instruction into a communicative curriculum providing purposeful task-based discourse samples. For example, for the general purpose language learners, their beginning level course may start with teaching grammar-meaning correspondences, such as present tense versus past tense. By giving the time frame, students can easily distinguish the difference between these two tenses. After that, students are then taught grammar-function correspondences, such as the tone of must is stronger than need to. As soon as these two basic levels have been established, the teacher can offer discourse-level grammar, such as use of conjunctions. In this case, students not only acquire the grammar rules which focus on accuracy but also apply it for purposeful discourse which focuses on fluency. By this course designed to integrate form, meaning and content, it is possible for learners to balance accuracy and fluency in the communication (Celce-Murcia, 1985). However, there is a simple question about why learners need to balance accuracy and fluency. The answer to this question relates to English for specific purpose (ESP). According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), courses should be designed to meet learners needs. This may suggest that language teachers should note which learners need more attention on accuracy or fluency. To achieve this goal, for instance, teachers need to gather information about learners needs on accuracy and fluency and identify their target situation by using questionnaires, interviews, observation and informal consultations with learners before a course. Having done this, teachers analyse strategies required to cope in target situation, and then create syllabus which is a document saying which aspect needs more effort on accuracy or fluency. After that, select and design materials to focus on these strategies in syllabus. Finally, after teaching the materials, teachers establish evaluation procedures to test lear ners acquisition of accuracy and fluency (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). b) Evaluation and feedback In this section, it will be argued that course design and needs assessment are not enough. The evaluation and feedback afterwards from learners can also help teachers find the right balance between accuracy and fluency. Evaluation can be defined as a whole process of action which begins with decision of information gathering and ends with change in current courses or influence on future ones (Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998). According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 145), an ESP course, after all, is supposed to be successful. This is because it is designed for particular learners to achieve particular objective with language level of accuracy and fluency. There are two levels of evaluation. The first one is learner assessment. Students performance is assessed at strategic points, such as at the beginning and at the end of the course. This is because ESP concerns with the necessary skills for particular learners to carry out communicative tasks. This kind of assessment enables teachers to determine how much focus on accuracy and fluency is needed (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). As ESP teachers, they need to consider if the objectives are too ambitious for learners. If so, the learners initial language competence may be overestimated. For example, a teacher designs a syllabus by analysing students needs. Students are expected to present written work and make an oral presentation in accurate English. After teaching, the teacher may find that serious weakness in grammar leads to unclearness of students oral presentation. Although the course contains the objectives of achieving certain level of accuracy and fluency, perhaps students achieve more on either one of them, and then students will require more specific help by teaching both accuracy and fluency used in the context relevant to their needs. The second one is course evaluation by learners. This helps teachers to demonstrate how well the course actually meets a particular educational aim. Therefore, evaluation not only reflects learners performance on accuracy and fluency during the process of learning but also shows how effective students feel the course was. In this case, if they feel the ESP course fails to meet their goal, then there must be something wrong with course design or methodology. It is therefore clear that both learner and course evaluation have a similar function in providing feedback on the ESP course (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). Moreover, the feedback of the learning outcome is essential not only for students but also for teachers. This is because feedback reflects students learning achievement on accuracy and fluency and the effectiveness of teaching. Therefore, how to evaluate learning and teaching to obtain feedback is important to teachers. In order to find the balance between accuracy and fluency, evaluation and feedback are essential not only at the beginning of the course but also after the instruction. Conclusion In conclusion, although accuracy has been emphasised by many language students, as the three sections mentioned above, it can clearly be seen that both accuracy and fluency are important at different needs for different people of different priorities. Despite the fact that some arguments show that accuracy is essential for learners to acquire linguistic form to produce the language, this is not enough. Fluency is still needed considering the language implementation in an authentic environment. This essay has suggested that both accuracy and fluency are needed in second language acquisition. Whether to focus more on accuracy or fluency depends on learners needs and course objectives. Therefore, language teachers can find the right balance of accuracy and fluency by using an ESP approach to design courses relevant to the needs and objectives. Thus, these courses can maximise the effects of teaching and learning through evaluation and feedback. Although ESP can solve this problem, teachers ability to design the course should be taken into consideration. Therefore, it is suggested that teacher training program is certainly necessary and the real development may be made in the future.

Ryanair External Analysis

Ryanair External Analysis Ryanair is an airline company which is well known for its low cost airline service in Europe. Ryanair was founded in 1985 by Christy Ryan, Liam Lonergan and noted Irish businessman, Tony Ryan. It has its head office in Dublin Airport in Ireland. The company which was running in loss was restructured in 1991 by Michael OLeary with no-frills, low-cost service which yielded profits to the company. It operates more than two hundred and twenty Boeing 737-800 aircrafts from 40 bases all over Europe, which is the largest airline company that carries millions of passengers every year. Revenue where raised from $231million in 1998 to $843 million in 2003.It showed considerable profits from  £48 million to  £239 million over the due course. The company yielded revenues of  £ 2,713.8 million during the financial year which ended March 2008, which is an increase of 21.3% compared to year 2007.The other revenue provide to Ryanair where car hire, travel insurance, etc which account to 16% of the total revenue. So the major vision of the company is to be the leader in the low fare airlines in Europe. The objective of the Ryanair airline company is to be the number one company in terms of customer service. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS: In the environmental scanning process we are going to see the external analysis. The PESTEL is an macro environmental scanning tool. The PESTEL which is known as Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Leagal. Let us discuss the factors in detail. (P)olitical Factors: The major political factors that affect the Ryanair are the pressure which is caused from the trade unions especially Pilot trade unions. The act of terrorism is another major political factor which will affect the airline service with increased time delays for security services. The landing charges is another important factor which influences politically. Due to the high landing fee in Stansted, Ryanair has decided to move routes from the Stansted to Gatwick (which is providind lower landing charges). Also the EU which has abolished the sales of duty-free items also causes major impact. (E)conomic Factors: The major economic factor is the unstable conditions in the fuel prices which affects the airline companys growth. Ryanair estimated that fuel bill is set to increase  £732m (in the financial year 2008) to  £1.01bn which had affected the profits down to  £235m between 2008 and March 2009.Further the weakening of the Pound value(GBP) also influences a lot on the growth of Ryanair. The recession and increase in the inflation rates have also affected the growth. The taxation issues are a very important factor which affects the economic growth of the company. (S)ocial Factors: The major social factors is the increase in travelling lifestyles of the people which affects the business of Ryanair .There are a variety of people who will prefer different ways of travelling and comfort. The increasing population which will be focusing on the health and fitness safety measures provided. So this will make the company spend a lot on the security service. Further the ageing population needs more leg space and health safety measures implementations. (T)echnological Factors: The new bigger planes with good modern technologies are required for the huge passenger traffic. So this in turn affects the economy of the company. The other important factor is the internet. The online ticket booking has increased from the year 2001 which made the company invest more on the outsourcing of these operations. Further the new technology planes with less fuel consumption are very important focus to buy in the situation where the fuel prices are increasing. (E)nvironmental Factors: The most important environmental factor which affects the companys revenue growth is the carbon emission and green house issues. So this makes the company to upgrade its existing planes to less carbon emission and less noise producing new technology planes. Further the carbon emission schemes differ between countries which in turn increase the taxing policies, so this also affects the economy of the company. (L)egal Factors: These include the EU regulators and the regulations which in turn reflects in the companys growth. The health and safety measures are also one of the legal factors in which case the passengers might sue the company for any accidents occurred . Further the landing charges varies between the countries which causes the company to pay more for landing in some bases. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE: For the industrial analysis we use the Porters Five Forces. In this picture L-LOW M-MEDIUM H- HIGH Considering this porters five forces the bargaining power of customers and the suppliers will be low because the airfare is already low which is quite reasonable. The threat of the substitutes will be medium which might depend on the relative price and quality of the substitutes. The threat of new entrants and the competitive rivalry is very high. For example the major competitor for Ryanair is the EasyJet airline which offers low price airfare with good customer service. This is described as below Market Segmentation Positioning Of Ryanair: Ryanair targets the people belonging to the middle class. It offers best low airfare with attractive packages. Even Ryanair offered free carriage of skis and snowboards to passengers flying to the Alps on September 2009. This even made people more happy to choose Ryanair for their travel, whereas their rival British Airways stopped their passengers from carrying their skis Positioning Of Ryanair: 1. Premium 2. Premium/ Competitive 4. Competitive 5.Competitive/ Leader 1. Excellent 2. Excellent/ Average 4. Average/ Acceptable 5. Acceptable 1. Original 2. Original/ Customized 3. Customized 4. Customized /Basic 1. Restricted 3. Restricted/ Selective 4. Selective/ Universal 5. Universal 1. Prestigious 2. Prestigious/ Respected 4. Respected 5. Respected/ Functional 1.Comprehensive 2.Comprehensive/ Standard 3. Standard 4. Standard/ Minimal PRICE QUALITY FEATURES AVAILABILITY SUPPORT REPUTATION Resource Resources of Ryanair: The resources are known as the tangible and intangible assets that a firm uses to choose and then implement them in strategies. The capabilities are the skills that the firm uses in order to bring its resources to bear the ongoing things. The Resources of the Ryanair are Physical Resources Ryanair operates a fleet of 232 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Ryanair has 41 bases and more than 1100 routes across 26 countries, which is connecting 153 destinations. Even the company has ordered 82 new flights which will be delivered within 3 years of time. This shows the companys rapid growth and expansion. Financial Resources The major financial resource like the number of flights that the company yielded is from the low cost airfare. The financial resources of Ryanair is quite strong when compared with its rival Easyjet which is shown in the table below Human Resources Ryanair currently has a crew of around 7000 people and carries around millon more than 58 million people in the year 2008.   Capabilities Of Ryanair: The capabilities of the Ryanair are the lowest airfares and the quickest turnaround time. Their innovative strategies on the cost reduction and the principle of No Frills are also an added advantage. They also focus on particular segment of market with some clear offers. They also have the large brand awareness. Ansoff Strategic Direction Matrix: The Igor Ansoff direction matrix helps the firms to decide on the possible ways to grow the business in the existing or new products , in the existing or new market. In this way we get four possible combinations. They are: Market Penetration Product Development Market Development Diversification These are describes in the picture below So by using the combinations from Ansoff , the Ryanair company seems to have successfully penetrated into the airline market by offering its customers with a very Low Airfare . Here the product which means the various services offered by Ryanair in the flight . The most significant one is the Low Airfare pricing offered to the passengers. Hence their market penetration is very strong and successful and also their product developed very well because of the low pricing of the air tickets. So naturally this made the company to become the largest low fare carriers across the Europe . This also influenced the development of the company in the airline market with the purchasing of many Boeing aircrafts with modern facilities. Further the company has expanded its routes to more than 1100 in more than 26 countries with 153 destinations. This is the major development in the airline market which attracted more customers. The company recorded the largest passenger carriers with 58 million pass engers travelling during the year 2008. This expansion made them to be more popular internationally which in fact required the divergence of employees and culture. So these have diversified the management and people they operate and made them to successfully unite them together. This is the major factor which made them to further penetrate and result in the product development to the existing and new markets. Hence the Ryanair here maintains B2C which yields them more profits. This also helps them to make a good customer relationship and also give them a reliable low priced air tickets. This makes the company Ryanair to be the leading Low airfare carriers among the European airline companies. Hence the low pricing strategy of Ryanair have targeted on the middle class people but with very basic services. Cost Reducing Strategy: The Ryanair follows the most effective strategies which is the cost reducing strategies. This cost reducing strategies helps the company to achieve the desired targets of low cost airfare. These are achieved by five major aspects. They are: Fleet Commonality Contracting the services to third parties The charges in airport and route policy Managing the staff and productivity costs Managing the marketing cost Fleet Commonality: The Ryanair has only the new Boeing 737 flight models which help the company in reducing the costs spent on maintenance such as obtaining the spare parts and also the training costs .This is the major advantage to the company to maintain single model of the air fleet which even increases the travel line security with new technology flights. Even these will help the company to save the fuel consumption and these flights are more fuel efficient and also maintain good safety. This also helps them in scheduling the fights and assembling the crew members. Contracting the services to third parties: The Ryanair has outsourced the services to third parties. They made deals with Hertz car rentals and hotels. So in this fast moving world people prefer to go for these good services along with their trips in order to save time and money. In this way they earn ancillary revenue of 16% of the profit. Further apart from the Dublin airport where they have their crew members to serve, the remaining airports they have contracted to the third parties to serve the ticket handling. In this way they also escape from the direct exposure of the potential disputes. The charges in airport and route policy: Since the Ryanair sells the tickets on its own, there is no activity of the agents required most often. So there is no necessity for the agent commission. So the company saves upto 15% on the agency commission. In order to reduce the airport landing fees, passenger landing fee, etc the company select the secondary and the regional airports which in turn increases the passenger throughput. Managing the staff and Productivity cost: The Ryanair follows the principle of paying the salary to their employees based on their performance. This is one of the best practices the modern companies are following these days to increase the work force performance and which in turn bring good revenue to the company. Hence they follow the modest salary policy. This in turn increases the productivity. Further most of the pilots are recruited when they are young pilots cadets which makes the company to train and make short term deals with them. Even the cabin crew should pay for their uniforms to be clean. Managing the marketing cost: The Ryanair in order to reduce the marketing costs it makes most of the marketing on its own without the travel agents. So it saves a lot in the agent commissions. Further the company spend a reasonable amount of money in advertising. The advertising tools used are like the newspapers, company website and also television. Porters Value Chain: The porters value chain is a chain with various activities for the company operating in a specific field. It has various varies Primary activities like the Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing sales, Service. The other part is the support Activities which consists of administration infrastructure, Human Resource Management, Technology part and the Procurement. These values are very important for the company to maintain its performance and get a good profit in turn. Here the very important value is the no frill service and which makes the company to offer a low cost airfare. The various value drivers and their costs are identified for each of the value activity. Hence here for the Ryanair airline company the following are the identified values using the Porters Value Chain. Porters Generic Strategies: Michael Porter categorised the three general strategies that are to be used by the business firms in order to achieve competitive advantage. Hence these three strategies are defined in two different dimensioned they are the competitive scope and the competitive strength. The various generic strategies that the Ryanair company has chosen are the cost leadership, differentiation, cost focus, differentiation focus. The cost leadership is the major strategies used by the Ryanair which still makes it to the leading airline companies in Europe. The Ryanair maintains the low cost policy which is an advantage for its good market existence. Further it has made the people to choose the option of low airfare even in the existing market competition. Differentiation here is that it made their customers to be more satisfied regarding the low pricing airfare. Hence there it still retained the long run customer satisfaction regarding the airfare cost. The cost focus is mainly targeted on the people choosing low airfare travels. So the company has chosen the no frill strategy which still makes it more profitable in the markets. Even it has very cheap advertising concept which even adds more advantage. The reduced turnaround time and the various corporate partnership offers are also the competitive advantages of the company. The outsourcing of services in various international airports is also helpful to main tain its low cost airfare. Further the Ryanair follows the In-house marketing which also helps it to focus on low cost airfares. Even the company focussed on the narrow customer segment which will be including the Irish and the UK passengers who cannot afford to fly in expensive airlines. So the major goal of the company Ryanair is to provide the people with no frill service and low cost airfare all time. So Ryanair is the only company which has not yet revealed its strategic position. It has tried to mix up the focus and cost leadership together. So finally in 1997 the cost leadership strategy was being chosen by the company. This made the company more successful in its campaign. Hence the cost leadership is the best chosen strategies which make the company to be the leading one in the European airline industries. Hence this is the major competitive advantage the company has pursued. Conclusion: Hence from the above analysis the Ryanair proved to be the low cost airline which is confident of competing with its competitors in pricing. It is recommended that it should increase its services in the web which will yield more revenue these days. The Ryanair will surely make its successful way in Flying people withlow cost airfare. Critical Reflection: From the above discussed strategies the Ryanair airline company has achieved its goal of low cost airfare through no frill services. But still there are some areas that the company still need to improve in the strategic aspect. So based on the analysis we strongly recommend Ryanair to consider the airline expansion which is specifically the atlantic routes which is having the worlds 60% of air travel. Hence if it is moving on to the new market with this low cost airfare with some added services , then it will yield more profits compared to the present level. Further I recommend the Ryanair company to focus more on the following fields to improve its performance and which also yield good revenue to the company. Merging and Acquisitions Better reforms in human resource management Improving the market planning strategies Additional third party services Merging and Acquisitions: The merging and the acquisitions has become one of the major corporate-level strategies in this new millennium. Since the Ryanair is continuing to grow , it should make mergers or acquisitions with the companies in other countries which will rapidly increase its revenue. Even this will improve its capabilities and will also acquire more competitive advantage. Better reforms in human resource management: Since from the moment Ryanair started following its low cost airfare, it has sacrificed all its basic services. The company Ryanair does not seem to be valuing its people. Even it charges for the people for using the toilets. This made the pilots to oppose against this rules. There is a belief that the competitive advantage is also dependent on the human resource of the company. So there should be proper reforms in the human resource management .In this technological world the human resources are the only resources which will be bringing the sustainable competitive advantage. Improving the market planning strategies: The Ryanair should provide good customer services which in turn will yield good revenue to the company. So it should offer good airfare packages and promotions to the customers. This is the best way of improving the Core competence and will maintain its levelling in the competitive advantage. Further the company should also work out in holding the important air routes which will increase the revenue of the company. Further the expansion strategies are more important among the competitors. Further the Ryanair can give good low cost airline packages according to the various passenger population from different countries. This will helps the company to maintain a stable competitive advantage. The company should also provide the onboard entertainment services, Internet services and satellite television services. In online it can also sell some products with its brand name which is a good advertising strategy and also it will generate revenue. It can also reduce the charges imposed on over weight and extra luggages. The advertising strategies also should be made as digital marketing because the usage of internet has increased and people are more interested in booking tickets through online. So this digital marketing should be more effectively carried out which would increase the revenue of the firm. Additional third party services: The Ryanair outsourced the services to the third parties. Even still there are complaints from the passenger for the catering services in the plane. The company doesnt offer food free of cost inside the flight for the passenger. So it can also consider these recommendations to serve the passenger with food at a minimum charge. This will place the company more stable position among the competitors. Further the company can out source this catering service to a third party which also help the company to offer good service to the passengers.

Jerry Springer Compared To Oprah Winfrey :: essays research papers fc

Springer vs. Winfrey   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the world of entertainment, TV talk shows have undoubtedly flooded every inch of space on daytime television. Many of us have seen and heard the often recycled topics found on such veteran shows as Geraldo and Sally Jesse Raphael. Anyone who watches talk shows on a regular basis knows that each one varies in style and format. One might enjoy watching the sometimes trashy subject matter found on Jenny Jones, while someone else might prefer the more serious and light-hearted feel of the Maury Povich show. But no two shows are more profoundly opposite in the content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and Oprah Winfrey shows.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of â€Å"trash talk.† The topics on his show are as shocking as they come. For example, the show takes the ever common talk show themes of love, lust, sex, sexuality, adultery, cheating, guilt, hate, conflict and morality to a different level. In a vintage Springer show, one finds women who cheated on their boyfriends and are ready to confess. But the boyfriends are in for an even bigger surprise when they find out who their girlfriends have been cheating with. As the secret lovers are patiently waiting back stage, the girlfriends confess that they have been cheating on their men with other women. Another episode seemed reminiscent of the John and Lorenna Bobbitt case, only more twisted. A man cuts off his own genitals because he claimed that his homosexual neighbor was stalking him. Shocking, indeed, but the list of talk material goes on from dangerous love triangles, broken homes, pregnant strippers, teen age prostitutes, adult film stars, devil worshippers, and the always popular rates booster, the KKK. Clearly, the Jerry Springer Show is a display and exploitation of societies moral catastrophes; yet people are willing to eat up the intriguing mishaps of other people’s lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oprah Winfrey was once a follower of the trash TV format, but her long running popular TV talk show has since been reformed. Like Jerry Springer, the Oprah Winfrey Show takes talk TV to its extreme, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction. Oprah’s show is probably the most immaculate talk show there is. It is unlikely that you will find guests on Oprah that have committed adultery, or have sold their souls to the devil. Instead, the show focuses on the improvement of society and an individual’s quality of life.

Is College an Activity or a Lifestyle? :: Personal Narrative School Essays

Is College an Activity or a Lifestyle? Nikaurys and I became fast friends in the kindergarten Sunday school class at our Mennonite church. We used to beg our parents to let us spend Sunday afternoons together so we could play all the games we dreamed up. Our Sunday friendship continued throughout junior high and high school. Today I am sitting in a dorm room in northern Indiana, looking at walls covered with pictures of Nikaurys and I playing house under the coconut palms in her yard, the two of us at church camp, and our fifteenth birthdays. I have not seen Nikaurys since I went home for Christmas break last year. As time goes by, I feel like I am becoming more distanced from her because now that we are both in college, our experiences are very different. Yet I know that when I see her again, we will be able to talk about the common aspects of our college experiences, regardless of culture. My college experience in the United States is very different than Nikaurys'. When I go to dinner, the food service attendant greets me by saying "good evening, Elisabeth," as she reads my name off the I.D. card that she is scanning the value of another meal from. I smile, and politely ignore the fact that no one calls me Elisabeth. The Marriott cafeteria is busy with the 5:30 p.m. rush, so I wait in line behind at least twenty other people. Dinner tonight is a choice of soup and sandwich, mashed potatoes and gravy, or a salad. I load my antiseptic-looking plastic tray with chili and a grilled cheese sandwich and casually scan the crowd at the tables while I fill my glass with root beer. When I spot my roommate and a few of my friends talking animatedly at a table by the window, I carry my tray over to join them. The table is already full, but people stack their trays together so I can fit in. As I bite into my sandwich, the topic of conversation turns to whether we have set a record for the number of people around a table at the Marriott or not. Someone claims that the record number is thirteen, but after several minutes of loud arguments, we decide that it would be impossible to fit that many people in. At her home in Santo Domingo, my friend Nikaurys' dinner is much quieter affair.

Romeo and Juliet: Impulses and Restraints

Romeo and Juliet’s impulses and self-control used in Romeo and Juliet. In the play of Romeo and Juliet, many characters show how they cannot handle the pressure that they are faced with which leads to impulse and action which is taken without thinking it through. Many of the characters show a lack of self-control and exaggerations which leads to broken-hearts and many unfortunate situations which result in deaths and miscommunications. Over the course of Romeos love life, he tends to act on an impulse whenever he sees a girl that he likes based on her looks. Romeo can go from depressed and unhappy because a girl does not love him back, to very happy because he meets another girl that he instantly likes. Before Romeo enters the Capulet’s party, he spills his heart out and tells Benvolio all about how he's feeling about Rosaline because he is very heart-broken that she doesn't love him back. Romeo himself has never spoken to Rosaline and has based his â€Å"love† on her looks. â€Å"What doth her beauty serve but as a note/ where I may read who passed that passing fair? / Farewell. Thou canst not teach me to forget. † (Act 1, Scene 1, 228-230) Romeo keeps saying that he will never forget someone like Rosaline and that she is the one and only that he could ever be with. But then he sees Juliet and forgets all about Rosaline. Romeo compares Juliet to a jewel that is hanging off an Ethiop's ear meaning that it stands out. He says that she is the most beautiful girl in the world and that she outshines all the other women like a white dove in the middle of a flock of crows. Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night As a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear-, Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear: So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, (act 1, scene 5, 43-47) Juliet acts on a rash impulse and decision when she sees Romeo at Capulet`s party and she instantly falls in love with him but when she is on the balcony, she shows a little bit of restraint in deciding to marry him. When Romeo finally approaches Juliet at the party, they talk for a bit then share a kiss twice with each other. Once the two parts their ways, Juliet knows she has fallen in love with Romeo right away and she is already making haste decisions on a relationship with Romeo. But when Juliet is on the balcony, she is very upset because she had found out from the nurse that Romeo is a Montague and since she is a Capulet, they cannot be together. â€Å"Deny thy father and refuse thy name. / Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, /And I’ll no longer be a Capulet† (Act 2, Scene 2, 34-36) Juliet just wishes for Romeo to swear that he loves her because then she will stop being a Capulet. Once Romeo comes out of the bushes from hiding, both Romeo and Juliet begin to talk about making plans to get married even though they just met. They would do the wedding in secret without anyone knowing. Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow By one that I’ll procure to come to thee Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite, And all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay And follow thee my lord throughout the world. (Act 2, Scene 2, 144-148) Juliet would want Romeo to send her a message saying where they would get married if Romeo`s intentions were actually true. She said to Romeo how she would lay all her fortunes at his feet and follow him all around the world. But before Juliet agrees to get married to Romeo, she demonstrates some restraint at first asking Romeo if them getting married isn’t too fast. †It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden, / Too like the lightning, wh-ich doth cease to be / Ere one can say â€Å"It lightens. † Sweet, good night. † (Act 2, Scene 2, 118-120) Juliet referred to their decision as being too rash and fast as lightning because they haven`t done much thinking through with their decision and they`re making an impulsive conclusion to get married. Romeo acts on a reckless and foolish reaction towards Tybalt when he witnesses him kill his best friend Mercutio. Mercutio and Tybalt get into a brawl because Romeo was supposed to fight Tybalt but instead, Mercutio does it for him, so when Romeo steps in between the two, Tybalt thrusts Mercutio with the sword under Romeo`s arm killing him. Romeo gets very mad and immediately acts on his quick and careless emotions and impulsively goes at Tybalt to kill him. And fire-ey'd fury be my conduct now† (act 3, scene 1, 120) Romeo said this when he went after Tybalt which meant that Romeo didn't care from now on what happened because he just wanted to hurt Tybalt for killing Mercutio as revenge. After Romeo finally got to Tybalt he stabbed him and killed him which led to him getting banished by the Prince. This causes a conflict because he is not allowed to be in Verona anymore which means that he wouldn't be able to see Juliet anymore. Romeos impulsive reaction has not only acted against him now, but for Juliet as well because they just got married and they won`t be able to see each other from now on. Throughout the play, not only did Romeo and Juliet show acts of impulse and restraint, but other characters like Mercutio did as well which attributed to how others reacted as well. This resulted in broken-hearts and fatal events which affected everyone. The characters lack of self-control without thinking resulted in difficulties throughout the play which led to many problems that had to be later faced with.

The Media: Misinterpretation of reality

The media has a significant influence over the public since it was first established as an institution. Particularly the news media, media has had its influence in setting a nation’s agenda, focusing the attention of people to specified issues as well as shaping the public’s opinion are among the well documented influences rendered by the news media1. Aside from feeding the public information about public affairs, the media do best in its ability to dictate people which issues are supposed to be important. The media does this by placing emphasis on specific issues.In a more concrete setting, newspapers teach readers which issues are to be significantly regarded by placing stories in designated places. Top stories or cover stories are placed to be the most significant issues while other stories placed after it are simply rendered as less important or significant than the front page stories. Newspapers provide a multitude of cues about the salience of the topics in the da ily news rendered in the daily news. For the television scene, the emphases on which stories are supposed to be important are manifested in the length of time devoted to the news story.With the amount of power an institution as the media has, there is to question whether this power is taken advantage of. In the competitive world of news media, gaining readership is a tedious task. With issues on investment returns and the case for readership, there are arising doubts as to whether the news media really feeds people with the essential information or they manipulate the stories to able for readership and even capital gains. In this paper, we shall put focus on evidences that suggest that the news does not reflect reality but obscures it.A look at media sensationalizingOne of the evident manifestations of media’s tendency to obscure reality and true stories lies in its nature of sensationalizing2. This could be drawn from the 2004 elections. According to Mackin, the media experi enced quite frenzy in attempting to stay updated for the election3. Assessing the performance of the media, it did not quite fairly cover the elections well. The media has a tendency to focus on the scandal and personalities involved that it forgets to look and delve into the real issues. This is one of the manifestations that news could obscure true stories. The media has a tendency to just highlight parts of the story without being able to render other sides of the story which may give clearance and understanding to the issue.Essentially there are always more issues needed to be reported on, however, the media has its own biases when it comes to the coverage of a news event or issue. The media fundamentally has two types of biases3. The firs type of bias is when the media does not focus on the more important issues. The second is that the bias which is geared towards objectivity.Media is biased when it comes to veering away from the real issue in way that it does not clarify issue s as intensively as they should be. If accusations are directed, the media does not render to investigate more in the issue. The focus of the media is to present to the public the accusations made and the personalities involved. 2Joyce Milton, The Yellow Kids: Foreign correspondents in the heyday of yellow journalism, Harper & Row, New York, 1989. 3 Mackin, Meaghan, Media sensationalizing 2004 election, 2008.There are occasions where the root cause is not as heavily mentioned as they should. Media tends to sensationalize focusing more on the conflicts created rather than the causes. During the 2004 elections, the media were more focused in bringing the latest on polls, character and appearance of the candidates. They did not bring too much focus on the covering the issues which are supposed to be addressed during elections. The nature of the media to sensationalize issues adheres to the argument that news has a tendency to obscure reality than presenting it as it is. The media in th is case is driven to present issues highlighting on scandals and personalities.Although the institution is driven by the demand reflected upon the people, the essence of what a mass media should in the first place is lost. The media more than presenting the latest public affairs to the people should also be responsible in looking more and analyzing factors underlying the issues. As people demand for the latest headlines come the need to be rightfully informed as well. An individual not rightfully informed would be able to participate rightfully in with the issues at hand.Since the media is the venue where people gather information, the expectation ranges too high with the credibility and truthfulness of the news or information. However, certain cases prove that news portrayed by media were inappropriate to the specific setting it must be relayed. Being a powerful venue to generate feedback and to build opinion through information dissemination and education to the larger scope of th e population, news portrayed by media, in some cases unfortunately bears unfruitful information. Furthermore, news to some extent does not guarantee its veracity and reliability at all time. For instance, such circumstance in untruthful reporting is present to the portrayal of Western mass media to Africa.Being the cradle of human kind, it appeared to achieve its negative height due to news about savagery the people were engaged into. These consequently gave the continent a face which every people worldwide mocked off and defamed. Depicted as â€Å"Dark Continent†, Western people are encouraged to think that nothing good will ever emerged in its soil. Many in the West bought this negative impression due to the misdealing of reportage to the continent and to the African people.According to Iyinbo4, the Western reportage is always directed to the portrayal of Africa as having a single entity discouraging the heterogeneity of tribes and cultures enriching the continent. For inst ance, the depiction of AIDS epidemic (Southern and Eastern Africa); wars, drought and starvation (Central and Eastern Africa); oil disasters (Niger-Delta, Nigeria); Muslim extremist (the North and Horn of Africa); bombings in Kenya and Tanzania (East Africa); â€Å"The Great Migration† (Kenya) all boil down to a continental issue disregarding the specificity of them to different parts of Africa.Although mass media impacts greatly in resolving crises happening in the continent, more issues were put into wrong perspective which apparently discouraged more problem-solving strategies. Under the current dispensation, the consequences of their [mass media] misrepresentation of Africa and Africans are dire: belittling the people, undermining their accomplishments, destroying their self-esteem and heritage. It does also, albeit inadvertently, provide â€Å"arms† to bigots (on all sides). It does not augur well to incense the situation with mis- and disinformation all in the na me of profits or ratings5.4 Iyinbo, O., Misrepresentation of Africans and the role of Western media. The Informed Constituent, 2007.5 Iyinbo, O., 2007.News and Reality 5Moreover, the present connotation to mass media especially in news reporting becomes increasingly negative since many media stations offer only entertainment and gives biased and untruthful news6 (Loud, 2006). This trend defeat the purpose of new reporting as it veers away to the responsible information gathering, interpreting and disseminating. The conflict arises when the most popular news stations claim that they are unbiased and are often times not. As a defence, they tend to reason-out that unbiased reporting is near impossible.Another problem with the news reporting practiced nowadays falls grimly to the misinterpretation of facts by news reporter and personnel. There are some intentional misinterpretations committed by news reporters for the purpose mainly of reporting safe and evading conflict regarding a spe cified issue. This can be best explained on the case of reporting about the pressing and present condition about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).Considering the belaboured scientific research of researchers and scientist to credence AIDS more detailed including its various symptoms and realities, media conveyance tend to discourage such intents. As it is presented and described in a subtle manner, the portrayal of its real grim is avoided to be known by the mass populace.In 2007, a Kaiser survey returned results that showed a mere 15 percent of those polled were personally concerned with becoming HIV positive (a 9 percent drop since 1997). Where once men and women considered AIDS a reputable and serious risk, they now consider the threat to be outside of their realm. This major shift in the perception of the AIDS threat, as many academicians worried, will only exacerbate the problem.6Loud, C., What's Wrong with the Media?, 2006.News and Reality 6It can be argued that this change in perception is directly related to scientific advances in the field. AIDS previously was considered to be a death warrant for anyone who managed to contract HIV in one way or another.However, it is also arguable to say that this change of perceptions is the consequence of the recent depictions of HIV/AIDS in mass media. Media tend to reinforce the idea that the disease can be beaten and would not kill those who contract it. This misinterpreted depiction given the risk and seriousness of incurable HIV/AIDS was manifested in the hit play Angels in America.Although it was turned into an HBO mini-series which was highly-acclaimed, the subject matter greatly failed to educate and inform many on HIV or AIDS. Its timeliness magnificently hit American popular culture in telling accurately the history of AIDS it did not instil any sense of education to the viewer since it only dealt with the idea that   Instead, it human will battle anything—even the physical.Another examp le of romanticized strategy to attack AIDS is when portrayal o the disease came with a major Broadway blockbuster entitled RENT. It only portrayed Bohemian New Yorker in 1980’s that having the expense of AZT (a popular drug which fights HIV’s attack on the body) can make the victim manageable to sing without a sense of real urgency or impending doom. Although it portrayed during the time that AIDS is incurable, the viewers were left with the same massage of hope that the disease played no urgent risk to the populace.   The reality of the disease is downplayed despite it almost being a character unto itself in the film.The more recently examples can be seen in a few commercials and ad campaigns made such resurgence of interest in the AIDS charity. In contextual American popular culture,  throwing a celebrity fighting against AIDS through charity in the news is presumed to be the very best solution to counter AIDS.Even grander campaign bearing the slogan â€Å"If on e of us has AIDS, all of us have it.† or popularly known as the â€Å"We all have AIDS campaign.† gave only an appealing look to the impending death disease. The memorable yet ineffective way of the campaign is viewing the action in a bold statement composed largely of celebrities, politicians and religious leaders.Essential to consider is the fact that AIDS’s portrayal to mass media only resulted to the exploitation of celebrity and commodification of the disease. The misleading market tool manages to earn through the portrayal without the benefit of necessarily spreading awareness or education. Instead of placing a knowledgeable person who is living with the disease in front of the camera, marketers commodify the disease to earn fame and eventually to establish a profitable market. This consequently appeals only to the public to give donation to a random charity disregarding the idea of better information about their own risks or how to protect themselves.Even more blatant commodification is the creation of special garments and gadgets by organized charities/companies just to take the opportunity of selling them while some profit will go to an AIDS charity. Based in the United States, this massive campaign makes the money exclusively reserved for African AIDS causes which shifted the public perception by implying subconsciously that HIV/AIDS is no longer an issue in the US.Since people cited that television is their most immediate and important source for information concerning AIDS (Research Unit for Health and Behavioural Change), a deeper analysis of media messages is important in understanding the sociological impact of AIDS and  advertising as a means of educating. However, AIDS portrayals in advertisements are always misconstrued which leaves the people pretty sitting. It is also pointed out that the bulk of HIV/AIDS advertisements are vague, confusing, prejudiced and manage to perpetuate many misconceptions about AIDS that have t he potential to spread the disease even further. It is due to this lack of true representation that the true cultural meaning of AIDS is pushed out of sight, causing vital health education messages to get lost or become misconstrued in the process.According to Jenny Kitzinger’s work titled â€Å"Audience understandings of AIDS media messages: a discussion of methods†, that the meanings of media messages do not merely lie in just the content of the messages but more likely in the readings different audiences bring to the metaphorical discussion. It is therefore argued that such messages are read based on social context and personal experience.To compensate this shift of public perception regarding the cultural importance of HIV/AIDS, we must change the way it is represented in the media by pointing out that AIDS is much serious than twitchy comedians and house hold celebrity names.References:Joyce Milton, The Yellow Kids: Foreign correspondents in the heyday of yellow j ournalism, Harper ; Row, New York, 1989.Loud, C., What's Wrong with the Media?, 2006, Retrieved 20 April, 2008, .

Jefferson Wears A Tie

The story Jefferson wears a tie is about a man called Jefferson. His occupation is that he works as a sales administration manager at a firm. He is quite good and skilled doing his job and got quite the potential. He is a creature of habit in what he does, and driven by his routines. He struggles to work hard and to finish his deadlines but all that changes. He starts to put less time in his work and lacks that determination he once had. He shows up late for work and acts differently during the day and quickly people at his work start to notice this sudden change and noticing him a bit more than usual.That starts a bit of a chain reaction at work, people starts to talk about him behind his back and the rumor about him getting that promotion is closer than ever. One day when the managing director shows up he confronts him with a possible promotion wearing only pajamas where it’s questioned if he even wanted the promotion.2.Characterize Jefferson and his developmentJefferson see ms to be a rather reasonable man that sticks to himself; he got somehow a few routines that he like to do such as, getting that cup of tea and doing that small talk on his way to the office. A man that has a relative important role in the form, that means he got work on his table and need to make sure the quality of his work is in top notch quality, you could say that he takes a certain pride in his hard work. As the story progresses he develops different personalities, initially he cares a lot about his work and don’t have the need to socialize during work hours. But now he begins strategically different towards have himself noticed by his superiors.It’s now that he begins to socialize more, and enjoy reading the news with a cup of tea before he starts his work. He starts to feel less appreciated at work, feels that he is better than most of his fellow employees. Suddenly he chooses to rebel against his habits, his pattern changes and people quickly begin to notice hi m. It’s not only by work they can notice him it’s also his appeal as he starts to dress differently. This ongoing pursuit for a better position at work slowly decreases and he starts to think that his job is meaningless, so by other words he starts questioning his current position. It’s an admirable process that our main character goes though. He starts from being quiet and dissatisfied to evolving into a confident man that does  whatever he pleases.3.Comment on the environment at Jefferson’s workplace.The environment seems to be a quite common workplace in an office. A place also where nothing really matters in a way, there are all these fancy job titles and the boss has clearly no idea about what his employees are doing, or how they are doing it. The social aspect seems to lack in this place and judging by there are a few that talks and dreams about vacations to get away from the place.4.In a short essay (150-200 words) discuss why some people rebel a gainst the norms and others conform to the rules. Relate your discussion in the text. The reason I think why the most people adapts to the norms it’s because, it’s actually the easiest thing to do. But then, it’s hardest for the person to fall out from these norms because you risk being judged by other people. It’s also a good way of laying of the responsibility that you got for yourself, just obey orders like Jefferson and do what pleases other. People tend to be stuck at doing things their way, some people does not necessary embrace change into their life. They are at their comfort zone, safe doing the things they do, so why change it?People also seem to tend to rebel against some of the norms because some feel the urge to break free from the rules, it can be a fantastic feeling to be also true to yourself and not being â€Å"chained† by these norms. For example, Jefferson starts questioning his life and by that he takes more control of it than e ver. It’s also being said that sometimes you have to think outside the box, I believe this saying is perfect to this since you can achieve greatness other ways than following the path that already has been laid out for you.