Strategic Management of Ryanair Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Management of Ryanair - Case Study Example The increased competition between rivals in the budget airline industry may lead to price wars which will greatly benefit the customers only. "This is why Ryanair has an advantage over other airlines because their policy of bundling low frills and low prices together means that they are competing for the more price sensitive customer." (Sean Brophy and Dominic St. George, 2003) The demand for short haul flights is ever increasing in Europe. Hence it became important that Ryanair had to take all the benefits of the first mover advantages, since there are many airlines trying to copy the services being provided by Ryanair. Davy (2003) believes that "there are only two pan-European low cost operators where first mover advantage and scale and cost efficiencies gave the two largest players, Ryanair and Easyjet, a significant advantage." The fact remains that after deregulation almost 80 airlines started operating at low cost in the similar lines of Ryanair and 60 of them have since become bankrupt. According to Michael O'Leary, Ryanair need not bother about the competitive rivalry since according to him "at the lower end of the market Easyjet and Go don't really compete with Ryanair." Ryanair had a distinct competitive advantage in being the cheapest 'no frill' carrier in the Europe. It was possible for the airline to have the lowest costs as they drove down costs in every possible area. In the matter of competitive rivalry Ryanair has taken away large amount of market share from the rivals Aerlingus and British Airways and to some extent from other airlines. According to Reuters (11th February 2005) "Ryanair also announced it would offer 2 million free seats, a move designed to pressure full-service airlines such as British Airways whose fuel surcharges have widened the gap on fares between budget and traditional airlines. Ryanair is fully hedged until the end of next March and has refused to impose a fuel surcharge, betting that low fares and even free tickets will draw passengers away from rivals." These strategic moves of Ryanair keep a check on the competitive rivalry. Michael O' Leary said"The more we can put pressure on high-priced airlines, the more we can convince them there's no point competing with us (on short-haul European routes)," Bargaining Power of Customers: The customers for the airline industry especially in the budget airline are highly price sensitive. Switching to another competitive airline is relatively easier and simple thanks to the presence of internet and online booking facilities. The switching also does not entail a higher cost. The budget airline cannot

Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor for Diabetic Foot

Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor for Diabetic Foot Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Healing:  A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Author: Lin Jin Background From 1980 to 2014, the prevalence of diabetes among adults aged 18 years and older has approximately doubled from 4.7% to 8.5%, and globally, the number of patients has almost quadrupled during this time period to an estimated 422 million people (1). Diabetic complications can arise if diabetes is improperly treated or left untreated. An example of a complication is diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), which is one of the most significant causes of amputation (2). Approximately 6% of all diabetic patients develop DFU annually (3), and they have a high risk of being infected, requiring hospital attention (4). Additionally, survival prognosis is low amongst patients with DFU, with 3-year cumulative mortality rate of 28% (3); Moreover, this rate almost doubles amongst diabetic patients with amputation (5). There is also a high economic cost associated with the treatment of DFUs owning to the long duration of the condition (6, 7), which often requires long-term hospitalization and results in loss of labour productivity (6). Therefore, DFU is rapidly becoming a growing public health challenge. DFUs are the consequence from diabetes-related vascular disease and neuropathy (8). Hyperglycemia induces several cellular mechanisms and abnormalities metabolic, leading to the endothelial dysfunction and the consequent ischemia and increased risk of ulceration (9). Neuropathy causes the reduction in feeling in the foot (8). Therefore, diabetic patients often do not notice foot injury, which can lead to ulceration. Metabolic abnormalities from Diabetes can result in ischemia of the endoneurial microvascular circulation, which further deteriorates nerves (10). Metabolic control, wound care, pressure relieving casts (11), debridement (12), pressure relief (13), and antibiotics are the rudimentary therapeutic interventions for the control of DFU. Growth factors, regarded as a relatively new therapy, function by activating growth and multiplication of cells while inducing protein production (14). These growth factors are regarded as ground-breaking  technologies in the science and art of wound healing (15). Epidermal growth factor was first isolated by Stanley Cohen from submaxillary glands of adult mice (16). It is a polypeptide that displaces strong mitogenic activity (17). Since its discovery, EGF has been isolated in human glands such as submandibular and parotid (18). It acts as an important regulator of cell growth, influencing both cell multiplication and differentiation, which can ultimately improve wound healing (19). Several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have evaluated the efficacy of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) -related treatment versus control treatment in patients with DFUs. To our knowledge, however, only one systematic review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) has been published summarizing specifically the efficacy of rhEGF for DFU healing (20). This review indicates that rhEGF has a high efficacy in treating DFUs by accelerating wound healing (20). However, it is not comprehensive as non-English publications were excluded (20). It did not inc lude certain eligible RCTs that also meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria (21, 22). In addition, it is prone to the error lack of rigorous assessment of bias risks. Objective In light of the absence of rigorous assessment and conclusive analysis about the efficacy of rhEGF for DFUs healing, we plan to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs evaluating the efficacy of rhEGF for DFUs healing. The proposed systematic review with a broad scope will aim to address the previously noted limitations, and provide up-to-date best available evidence through rigorous synthesis methods, including assessment of the quality of the evidence using the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Methods Sources and searches: The previous review of RCTs failed to include all eligible studies. Therefore, we plan to use the terms diabetic foot ulcer, epidermal growth factor and any relevant terms to perform search in Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE (In-Process Other Non-Indexed Citations), EBSCO CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, to select eligible studies. We will further manually search the reference lists of the included studies in key journals in the field. Study Selection: Randomized clinical studies, reported in any languages and published in any dates, recruiting adults ( >18 years old) with type 1 or type 2 Diabetes diagnosed with foot ulcer. Generally, DFU is classified using Wagner-Meggit (table 1) or University of Texas classification (table 2); and the proposed review includes DFU patients with any ulcer grade based on the two classifications. Trials are eligible for inclusion if the intervention is either topical application and/or intralesional infiltration of rhEGF-based formulation with or without standard treatment, and if the intervention is compared with placebo, or standard treatment. Urogastrone, Heberpro-p, Citoprot-P and Herbermin are the brand names ofrhEGF-based formulation. Standard treatment includes metabolic control, antibiotic therapy, debridement, wound dressing, and pressure relief. We will select main outcomes (patient-important for decision-making) from the Summary of finding table which lists all relevant outcomes. After r eviewing literature from primary studies, other relevant reviews, and clinical practice guidelines, we consider that any eligible studies should report at least one of the following primary outcomes, selected from the main outcomes: low limb amputation (at least one toe) rate, positive granulation response rate and time, complete wound healing rate and time, infection rate and/or ulcer recurrence rate. Main outcomes that are not selected will be taken as secondary outcomes. Exclusion criteria will apply to non-randomized control studies, e.g., case-control, cohort, case series, and other observational studies. Studies evaluating the efficacy of other types of growth factors for DFUs will be excluded.

Silk - Research Method :: essays research papers

Do you know the process that goes into making silk? Many people over look this fine, luxurious garment. When I first heard that we had to do an I-search, I was overwhelmed by the choices. I made many changes before finally settling on this topic. When I first though of how to make silk, I didn't think that it would be that hard with the right tools. Although I knew that the fibers came from the silk worm's cocoon I still didn't know how they got it unraveled. I also thought that they only made silk in China. There are many things that I didn't know about making silk. When I thought of doing this topic I didn't think that it would be to easy either. I thought that I would have to go to more than one source to get the answer.I have one main goal for writing this I-search. That is because it is an assignment. If I wanted to know about this topic I wouldn't spend this much time on it.In the begging I wanted to do the topic "Is biological weapons worth the destruction that they cause on the planet?". Then I thought to myself, "There isn't a really right answer because everyone will have a different P.O.V. Now I had to come up with a better question, on that has a true answer. Then I thought to myself again, "Do you know how monorails work?". I didn't answer myself because then I would be crazy. But the first book I looked in I found the answer, so I dropped that idea. My last and final I-search topic would be, "How is silk made?". I think that that answer may be fairly easy to find, but it's a topic that interested me because my grandma has been to China and has seen that places where they (The Chinese) make the silk. She also showed me the cocoons that they take the thread from. On the first day that I started looking for the answer my English class went to the library. From there I combed the library for the answer. My first stop was an encyclopedia. The first random book that I pulled from the shelf was called Encyclopedia America. That one wasn't much help. It only told me how silk worms are cultivated. That didn't bother me much, because I was confident that I would find the answer still.

Diverse Workforce Essay

The term labor force is a general way to refer to all the people willing and able to work. For an organization, the internal labor force consists of the organization’s workers – its employees and the people who have contracts to work at the organization. This internal labor force has been drawn from the organization’s external labor market, that is, individuals who are actively seeking employment. With the development of the world, the labor force also changes. There are three major trends today in the change in labor force: 1. An aging working, 2. Diverse working, 3. Skills deficiencies of workforce. This report will talk about one of the three major trends in the change of labor force — Diverse Workforce. Diversity workforce refers to the variety differences between people in an organization. That sounds simple, but a diverse workforce consists of so many things, like gender, age, ethnic group, immigrants, physically and mentally disabled people, veteran status, sexual orientation, lifestyle, skill level, function or position within the company and so on. This paper is designed for advantages of a diverse workforce, problems of workforce diversity and strategies can be implemented to overcome the problems. 2.0 Advantages of a diverse workforce For an organization, a diverse workforce is good for it. Diversity is not only beneficial to both associates, but also to employers. Although associates are interdependent in the workplace, respecting individual differences can increase productivity. Diversity in the workplace can reduce lawsuits and increase marketing opportunities, recruitment, creativity, and business image (Esty, et al., 1995). In an era when flexibility and creativity are keys to competitiveness, diversity is critical for an organization’s success. Also, the consequences (loss of time and money) should not be overlooked. An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits. There are two advantages of why the diverse workforce important to an organization. 2.1More creative When employees come from diverse background, but bring individual talents and experience with them. This invariably contributes to an organization’s overall growth. Embracing employees with different skills and cultural viewpoints helps in understanding the needs and requirements of the customers, on a global scale. Diversity in workplace leads to a wide of viewpoints and business ideas. This helps an organization formulate the best business strategy, with its lager pool of different ideas and solutions. It can be more creative. Absolutely, with the world developing, a company need more creative to follow the world, and a diverse workforce can bring different employers, they have different background and experiences. So a diverse workforce is important to organizations. 2.2Increasing sales and earnings For organizations, the most important gold is profit. No one wants them lose money. Workforce diversity can increase sales and earnings. â€Å"Valuing diversity is part of Safeway’s approach to competing with specialty grocers and big-box stores such as Walmart and Target. Safeway invested in programs to attract, develop, and retain its best talent and to position the company as an employer of choice. Although 70 percent of Safeway’s customers are women, male leaders had been the norm in the retail grocery industry. Safeway took initiatives to help women, including women of color, advance into management. The CEO speaks regularly with employees about diversity issue, and employees have access to DVDs featuring interviews with successful employees who are women and people of color. The company ensures that all employees who qualify for its Retail Leadership Program, including those who work part-time and have flexible schedules to juggle work and family responsibilities, have the same opportunities for coaching, development, and advancement. A women’s leadership network sponsors development meetings between promising women and executives who suggest new job opportunities that can help the women advance to next level. With these and other efforts, the number of female store managers has risen a dramatic 42 percent, and financial analysts have concluded that the advancement of women and minorities has increased Safeway’s sales and earnings.† (Noe, el al. p.67) 3.0 Two problems of workforce diversity Although employing a diverse workforce has many advantages, it comes with some problems as well. 3.1 Communication Communication barriers lead to problems in a company attempting to create a diverse workplace. When a U.S. company hires employees of other cultures whose first language is not English, employees and managers may experience difficulties communicating with one another. This can lead to misunderstandings and a decrease in productivity. For example, if a manager gives instructions about completing a certain task to an employee who fails to fully comprehend the instructions, the employee may make mistakes if he tries to complete the task without receiving clarity. Sometimes it helps for companies to hire bilingual employees who can mediate and reduce language and communication barriers. To achieve the advantages of diversity, you must often provide diversity training, which includes cultural awareness and sensitivity training. Communication barriers become a major challenge in a diverse workforce. Employees that come from different cultures sometimes speak different languages, and encouraging communication can be a challenge. This can negatively affect both formal and informal communication and cohesion. It can also cause more errors and conflicts than you would likely find in a less diverse company. 3.2 Discrimination A company may encounter is reverse discrimination. This is a feeling that is associated with affirmative action policies. It is a major argument against such policies. Reverse discrimination is a claim by white males that they have been unfairly discriminated against. They claim they are equally or more qualified for the position, yet were passed over for a minority to receive the job. This can cause lawsuits in some cases, but mostly a sense of rejection by other workers in the company toward the minority who received the position. Although companies often train to avoid discrimination, the more diverse a workplace, the more potential for discrimination. This can create a hostile work environment where employees may fell oppressed if their emotional security is not protected. The company may face possible legal issues if prejudice and discrimination enter the mix and impact the decisions company leaders make. If managers make decisions about employees based on their personal traits, the company and the managers face potential lawsuits for discrimination. 4.0 strategies can be implemented to overcome the problems 4.1 Recognition As a manager or business owner, you must recognize that people have differences, be they physical, generational or cultural, and you cannot pretend that these barriers have been broken down. Instead, celebrate the differences among your employees, and encourage them to let their individualities show. For example, don’t hesitate to ask someone from another culture about their culture’s etiquette practices — their knowledge could prove useful to your business. Do not pigeonhole your employees. An employee’s worth comes from more than his ethnicity or age. 4.2 Fairness Acting fairly and acting uniformly are different, and only one enables you to successfully deal with diversity in your workplace. Don’t be fooled into thinking that by treating everyone exactly the same, you are demonstrating a fair attitude and respecting diversity. Instead, treat people fairly and respect the differences that make them who they are. For example, don’t schedule a mandatory meeting that falls on a religious holiday — it demonstrates a insensitivity and may breed resentment and foster feelings of being left out in any employees that are unable to attend. As a manager, you must fairness, whatever he or she is white or black, do not discriminate them. When the top managers treat the employees fair, the employees and employees can be respect themselves. 4.3 Patience Although employees that come from different cultures sometimes speak different languages, sometimes they cannot know what you say, as a manager or owner, you must have patience to listen to your employees’ suggestions so that it can help you improve yourself. 5.0 Conclusion A diverse workforce is a reflection of a changing world and marketplace. Diverse work teams bring high value to organizations. Respecting individual differences will benefit the workplace by creating a competitive edge and increasing work productivity. Diversity management benefits associates by creating a fair and safe environment where everyone has access to opportunities and challenges. Management tools in a diverse workforce should be used to educate everyone about diversity and its issues, including laws and regulations. Most workplaces are made up of diverse cultures, so organizations need to learn how to adapt to be successful. 6.0 References Esty, Katharine, Richard Griffin, and Marcie Schorr-Hirsh (1995). Workplace diversity. A managers guide to solving problems and turning diversity into a competitive advantage. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation. Lynne, M. D. Advantages & Disadvantages of Diverse Workforce in an Organization, [Online] Available at: http:smallbusiness.chron.com. [Accessed 3 November 2012]. Noe, R. A, et al (2011): Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 4th edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Josh, G. Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions [Online] Available at: http:www.multiculturaladvantage.com/recruit/diversity [ Accessed 7 November 2012] Tom, R. 5 Strategies for Dealing with Diversity in the Workplace [Online] Available at: http:smallbusiness.chron.com. [ Accessed 10 November 2012]

A Comparison of newspaper articles- four editorials Essay

Newspapers have long been a mean of communication between the general public and the world. They usually state facts and opinions about an important event that has taken place in the world, which would be of interest. This news can range from political views to showbiz to world affairs. One thing that we do not do when we read a newspaper is to think for one second that what we are reading is that exactly how it happened. Newspapers are used as a medium for propaganda. Propaganda is used frequently in everyday life to manipulate out thoughts and despite what the majority of us think it does affect our opinions. It’s a proven fact that newspapers are more propaganda than facts as the news are twisted around to support the journalist’s own political views. So in a way all news that we read is not as we interpret it to be because journalists would only write what they feel is right and all of us have different opinions. There are two main types of newspapers, Broadsheets like â€Å"The Guardian† and Tabloids like â€Å"The Mirror. † Tabloids are the most popular type of paper; they are often smaller in size, more colourful and use stimulating images to target a certain age range such as teenagers. They use simple words so they are the most widely read newspapers in the world. On the other hand Broadsheets are generally larger in size, more serious and less colourful. They are mostly concerned with current affairs, political issues and people opinions about the government. They are targeted for a specific audience, which might be people who are involved in the fields of employment that are mentioned in the newspaper, or it could just be ordinary people. This essay will explore different types of newspapers and their effects on the general public. I will be doing this by comparing four newspaper editorials from â€Å"The Sun† â€Å"Daily Star† â€Å"The Guardian† and â€Å"The socialist worker. † All four editorials report on the same thing, which is a fight between Nigel Benn and Gerald McClellan where at the end McClellan was left on a life support machine. I will be looking if the editorials are bias and are they for or against Boxing being banned in the UK and how effective their techniques are. In the first editorial by â€Å"The Sun† â€Å"No one is forced to fight† is a tabloid, the headline is very big and bold as is for the second editorial by † The Daily Star†, which is also a tabloid, called â€Å"They knew the risks. † It catches the readers attention straight away even at a glance. The first editorial by the Sun has two verbs in its headline. The word ‘No one’ is a pronoun that indicates/refers to people in general so by saying this the reader will be curious to find out as to what it stands for thus they will be enticed to read the article. The second article is similar to the first in the sense that the pro-noun ‘They’ is quite general, in order to cause the to look at the article in more detail or stimulate interest. The third editorial by â€Å"The Guardian† â€Å"One pummelling too many† is a broadsheet and already you can spot the difference with the headline. It is not bold or italic it is just normal writing. The word â€Å"Pummelling† is not frequently used by the masses, which would most probably capture a target audience. The fourth headline by â€Å"The Socialist worker† â€Å"Boxing bosses count the cash† is also a tabloid. Unlike the other articles it gives us a clearer picture of what the article is about because it is the only one that mentions the adverb ‘Boxing’ The Sun, Daily Star, and the socialist worker, context are less detail, they have short simple facts about the fight and so therefore is aimed at a very broad audience. The first article starts of with a fact but the writer then goes on to express his own views and therefore it is mainly opinions. For example â€Å"why should boxing be banned when all those sports continue? † and words such as brutal† and â€Å"cruel† are used to describe the event, which affects the reader’s emotions, making an incident where blood was involved come to their minds. On the other hand The Guardian newspaper provides a lot more detail with static’s. For example † Britain’s boxing rules have been tightened for over 300 years since the first bare knuckle fight was recorded†. The Guardian has used longer sentence structure in comparison to the other newspapers, the words are generally long and more than three syllables long for example words such as â€Å"neurological† are used, which is quite typical of a broadsheet newspaper as it has so much facts and uses complex vocabulary that it is only served for the needs of intellectual people. All the other newspapers are tabloids so they have used short sentence structure and short words for example is article two the longest word is â€Å"endeavour† where as that would probably be the longest in a broadsheet. The linguistic structure of the sun/daily star and the choice of words are more dramatic and sensation than the Guardian, for example: â€Å"The Sun† Ban boxing It’s too dangerous †¦ Can cause serious damage to the brain †¦. The fear of injury or even death Of course it is brutal and cruel Few of us would dare try it â€Å"The Daily Star† The fight was ferocious, brutal, bloody The end was tragic †¦. Plunge him to purgatory Everyone who watched this fight will never forget it â€Å"The socialist worker† is more concerned with human values than with Boxing itself. It is actually telling us how people have power over others and how they use and exploit them to such an extent that it leaves them paralysed. For example â€Å"to them [managers] boxers are little more than dogs† but than it goes on to give the writers own thoughts â€Å"but those in the ring are prepared to risk their lives because they see it as their only chance of achieving a better life. † The first article does not follow a balanced argument and is biased, what it does is it makes the reader think by using retheriotical questions. For example â€Å"how many jockeys are seriously injured falling of horses? † â€Å"How many rugby players are paralysed with broken necks? † â€Å"Why should boxing be banned when all those sports continue? † it lets you come to your own conclusion but then straight after that it says, â€Å"You cannot nanny people, however tragic the consequences of their actions might be. † Which then makes the reader completely lose track of what he was thinking and accept that what is written is true. This article is against Boxing being banned. The second article is clearly biased and in favour of boxing. If you take one glance at it you will notice that straight away in bold it says, â€Å"they are grown men free to make their own decision. † This article does not let the reader have any thought it is constantly trying to stimulate the readers mind into believing that to box is not a crime. In its last sentence it seems like the author wants people to be involved in committing acts of violence â€Å"don’t let the do-goodders diminish an heroic battle. † The third article is by the Guardian and is also biased and as you would of expected it to be it has used a lot of static’s and facts to persuade their audience that boxing should be banned. The fourth article appears biased that it inclines towards the winner because it is only the winner that counts the cash. On the other hand one could say that the bosses are yearning for their boxers to win so that they can get the money. This article is more about how the society is run than boxing itself because it says â€Å"boxing is a multi-million pound business† but its not the only sport where you can make a million pound. This author wants the class-dive system changed as he clearly outlines it in his last sentences â€Å"The real question is not whether boxing should be banned but whether we can rid of the system which creates it. † Coming to a conclusion I would say that the best newspaper which is more likely to make people think is â€Å"The Socialist Worker† as it would than be a need for one to understand the importance of society and how our we exploit it. After that has been done, than, you could start thinking about different other issues. My own opinion is that boxing should not be banned even after knowing the tragic consequences. I think that if you were to ban boxing there would a lot of unrest and protests so therefore the best way of preventing that is to allow boxing. If people are sane they will know the consequences of boxing and yet if they still want to continue we cannot stop them they have free will but they were warned. So if you allow boxing this way the decision is theirs (boxers) not anyone else’s and only they can be blamed for their actions.