A Thousand Acres †Summary Free Essays

Major Works Study Form AP Question 3 Title: A Thousand AcresAuthor: Jane Smiley Biographical Information: Jane Smiley was born in Los Angeles, California and later moved to Missouri, where she went to school until college. She went to Art at Vassar College, and then traveled around Europe where she worked on an archeological dig. She returned to America and became a teacher. We will write a custom essay sample on A Thousand Acres – Summary or any similar topic only for you Order Now She had two daughters and a son. Author’s Style: The author’s style is used to display the mysterious and unsettling feeling in the novel. The book is told from the point of view of Ginny. The rape from the father keeps the tone of the book very disturbing and solemn because Jess and Rose want to keep their sister Caroline free of the problems they had to grow up dealing with. Plot Summary: The plot of this book completely parallels Shakespeare’s play â€Å"King Lear†. Larry Cook acts as the King of the novel, and he runs the farm. He has three daughters, Ginny, Rose, and Caroline. In the beginning of the novel, Ginny thinks about the intersection and about the road overall where the farm was. Larry King wants love from his daughters to decide in how he should split up his farm. Ginny and Rose are sexually abused in the novel, but the youngest daughter, Caroline does not partake in this absurd scheme, and becomes a lawyer. She marries another lawyer and lives in Des Moines. Larry is respected by his neighbors and takes on the role of being the advisor but then retires for his children to fill his place. Caroline is cut out of the fathers will because he does not think that he is grateful for everything he has already given to her. Ginny and Rose have to take care of their father Larry, and deal with his rude behavior of drunk driving and wasting his money. Larry goes insane and one day runs out into a storm. The family has to go about their lives trying to cover up their family problems from the public, to make it seem like they are just another normal family. Larry curses Ginny with infertility. The storm in the novel displays the chaos of the family within the book, and the hope after the storm gives hope for the family. Larry goes to the farm of his friend Harold Clarke, where Harold’s son has just returned from a very long journey from. Pete ruins the farm equipment that Larry used, but instead of Larry being blinded, Harold is blinded. Caroline sues the farm, trying to say that they are not farming the right way, and Larry needs to run the farm again. Caroline ends up taking care of Larry as he goes crazy. Ty tries to save the farm from going into debt after Pete dies, but is unsuccessful when Ginny leaves in search of becoming a waitress. Then Rose takes over, but later dies from cancer in more debt than she began with. Ginny and Caroline end up having to sell the farm. Setting (describe each setting and its importance): The farm is the main setting of the novel, which parallels the kingdom of King Lear. Larry Cook owns the farm and raises his children on the land. Another setting in the book is the dump. It is where Ginny and Jess go to hang out, and later use it as a place to have sex. Symbols (describe how they contribute to the characterization, conflict, or thematic pre occupation) One of the biggest symbols of the novel is the dump. It is the place where Ginny and Jess have sex. Dumps in general are grimy and disgusting places, and the sex they had fell along the same lines. The foul act of having sex at the dump symbolizes that instead of having sex in a respectable place like a bed, the random objects in the dump hide their secrets. Another symbol is the white dresses. White dresses represent the innocence of the young girls, which is ironic because they are the opposite of pure. The storm represents the chaos in the novel, and arises during the conflict to parallel the chaos in her family life. Another symbol is the garden. After the storm, when she goes outside to look at her garden, she sees there is very little damage. This provides her with hope for the future, because she connected it to the way that if her precious garden can survive a storm, her family can get through their own storm. A final symbol is the farm, because is the kingdom of Larry Cook. It represents his own area that he owns the way King Lear had control over his own kingdom. Thematic Concerns: One of the main themes is that everything is not what it seems to be. Ginny, Rose, and Caroline all had to keep up the appearance with the farm that everything was normal in their family. In reality, everything was completely chaotic with their family life, but from the outside everything seemed fine. They wore white dresses when they went in public to give off the image that they were pure and clean girls, and kept up the farm so that it always looked neat. They have to try their best to hide their family problems, but ultimately Ginny cannot mask the chaos. Water is usually vital to life, but here the water makes Ginny unable to have a baby, and contributes to Rose’s cancer. Key Quotes: (Choose 3 with Page #) â€Å"While they were cooking, I went out to check my garden. Something that always has amazed me is the resilience of the plants. My tomato vines showed no ill effects from the onslaught of the storm weren’t even muddy, since I had made it a point to mulch them with old newspapers and grass clippings† (197. ) â€Å"Away from the farm, it was easier to think of how people went on from these sorts of troubles; it was easier to see a life as a sturdy rope with occasional knots in it† (248. ) â€Å"I told myself that I had to decide what I really wanted and settle for that- every course of action is a compromise, after all† (308). How to cite A Thousand Acres – Summary, Papers

Song analysis Essay Example For Students

Song analysis Essay 9He abused her love and treated her so bad 10There was not enough education in her world 11That could save the life of this little girl 22She even blamed things on herself 24Nothing was wrong as far as we could tell 25Thats what wed like to tell ourselves 33And maybe next time we could save somebodys life 19Death is abroad. Oh, the black season! A very difficult type of literature is poetry. Poetry is very hard to understand especially when students or anyone is analyzing it under pressure or being forced. When poetry is not being forced to study, it is generally taken more serious and it is easier for poetry to be understood. Poetry can be linked to music in many ways. Some ways can be by the type of genre, lyrics, emotion and pictures. Emotion is the easiest way to relate two pieces of information together. This is the easiest way because no one will feel exactly the same as you. The poem that I have chosen to go with the song is How come, How long by Babyface featuring Stevie Wonder and for my poem is Song be delicate by J. Shaw Neilson. The poem and the song is linked by love, and death. In the poem it says that there should be lovers everywhere, and death is just so open, because you can die in many ways and in the song it says that this girl falls in love with the wrong kind of man and she paid with her life for loving that man. This poem can be interpreted so many ways because the poem uses open words which can be taken in more than one way. The song that I have I think can only be taken one way because it is like a story in a way. In order to show you that a poem can be read in more than one way, I will show you two different treading on the poem Song be delicate by J. Shaw Neilson. Line 1, means that let the words that you speak be gentle and sentimental. Line 2-3 means that there should be happiness every where instead of war. Line 3-4 means that lovers comes out from where they are when there is happiness and no war. Line 5 is the same as line 1. Line 6-8 means that love can be taken seriously and not seriously. It depends o how you take it on the result. If you take it not seriously you will find that you relationship will breakdown and you will be crying if you wanted to take a seriously. Line 9 is the same as Line 5 and 1. This part of the poem means that all different kinds of people can understand different kinds of people can understand different kinds of things. Line 13 is the same as line 9,5 and 1. Line 14-16 means that when the people and go home their love is not appreciated enough, but they feel safe at homes. Line 17 is the same as line 13,9,5 and 1. Line 18-20 means that death is open in many ways that you can die, there should not be no one to be happy about death. Death is a time when you should be thankful for who they were. Line 1 means that the person that you love is being protected. Line 2-4 means that there should be no war in the world so there is lovers everywhere. Line 5 is the same as line 1 means that love can be taken lightly and if so there will not many feelings being hurt as if one person out of the relationship did and the other one didnt. Line 9 means the same as line 5 and 1. Line 10 means that someone that you think is not listening to you could actually be. 11-12 can mean that the people listening to you knows what is going to happen in the next year. Line 13 is the same as 9,5 and 1. Line 14 means that your love one is home for the day. .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da , .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da .postImageUrl , .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da , .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da:hover , .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da:visited , .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da:active { border:0!important; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da:active , .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u3d9d230574d4cea24e523c969464b9da:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Eyes Of The Dragon Essay Line 15 means that all their love that they have is bottled up in their hearts and they feel safe with their loved ones around. Line 17 is the same as 13,9,5 and 1. Line 18-20 means .

Urbanization and Environment

Introduction Urbanization is the process in which â€Å"an increasing proportion of an entire population lives in cities and the suburbs of cities† (Wagner 24). Urbanization is considered to be one of the major outcomes of industrialization. The process of industrialization led to the use of inanimate sources of energy and new tools for production in the pre-modern world economy. Consequently, there were surpluses in the agricultural and industrial sectors of the world economy.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Urbanization and Environment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The producers had to look for markets to sell their surplus produce. This led to the development of marketplaces and small urban areas which eventually became centers of commerce and industrial production (Wagner 27). In this regard, urbanization can be described as the increase in human population in discrete areas, thereby causin g a change in land use in favor of residential, commercial and industrial purposes. According to Warren, nearly half of the world population lived in urban areas in 2008 (105-106). Moreover, 70% of the world population is expected to live in urban areas by the year 2050 (Warren 105-106). In the last three decades, cities and towns have become the main habitats of mankind due to social and economic changes. Even though urban centers cover less than 5% of the total land area on earth, they have significant ecological footprint (Malik and Grohmann 78). This implies that any form of uncontrolled urbanization can have severe environmental effects. The rapid exhaustion of the world’s natural resources is mainly attributed to urban development. Thus, sustainable urbanization can only be achieved if the environmental effects of urban developed are reduced. It is against this backdrop that this paper discuses the approaches that can be used to achieve urban development with minimal ha rmful effects on the environment. Causes of Urbanization Before embarking on an in-depth discussion of how urbanization can be achieved in an eco-friendly manner, a brief explanation of its causes and effects is in order. By clearly understanding the causes of urbanization, city planners and environmentalist can formulate appropriate policies to alleviate the negative effects of urban development. In this regard, the following factors are the main causes of urbanization. First, urbanization takes place as individuals, business entities and governmental organizations attempt to reduce the time and the financial resources that are spent in order to access basic services (Malik and Grohmann 53). Most governments often promote the development of urban centers in order to enable their citizens to access basic services such as education and healthcare. Similarly, business organizations often provide services such as banking, transportation and consultancy in urban areas. Providing these s ervices in urban centers is often cheaper than providing them in rural areas. This is because the consumers of these services are usually located in one area in the urban centers. Thus, reaching them is easier and cheaper.Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Second, urbanization normally takes place as people migrate to cities and towns in search of economic opportunities. In most countries, the rural populations often relocate to cities in order to improve their socio-economic conditions. Most businesses that create well paying jobs are often located in urban centers. Similarly, research and development centers are usually located in large urban areas where electricity, transport infrastructure, security and water are available. Thus, cities and towns tend to have more job opportunities than rural areas (Malik and Grohmann 54). In this context, job seekers often migr ate from the rural areas to the urban centers in order to find better jobs. In emerging economies, people normally relocate to urban centers in order to start or to improve their businesses. The rationale of this move is that the demand for commodities and consumer goods is always higher in urban centers than in rural areas. Consequently, conducting business in urban centers is more profitable than in rural areas. Third, urbanization occurs due to rapid population growth in the rural areas. In the last decade, improved healthcare and nutrition has led to high fertility rates, especially, in the least developed countries. As a result, most developing countries lack adequate land in their rural areas to support agriculture or food production. Consequently, agricultural communities have had to move to cities and towns with the aim of finding alternative economic activities (Wagner 64). In the twenty first century, modern governments have focused on constructing new cities in order to p romote efficient use of the available land. Concisely, cities cover a small land area; however, they can accommodate thousands of people. In this regard, relocating rural populations to cities enables governments to access adequate land in their rural areas for food production. Finally, urban centers are administrative units through which governments serve their citizens (Wagner 72). Most cities in Africa and Asia began as administrative units which acted as the local headquarters of their colonial masters. After gaining independence, most African and Asian countries focused on providing administrative services such as security and registration of persons in urban centers. This system can still be seen in the contemporary society. Nearly every country in the world has a capital city which is essentially the headquarters of its government.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Urbanization and Environment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/pa ge Learn More Environmental Effects of Urbanization Cities and towns contribute over 70% of the greenhouse gases that are emitted in various parts of the world (Williams 217-232). Human activities such as manufacturing goods have significantly increased air pollution through the emission of greenhouse gases. This problem has been exacerbated by the fact that water bodies and vegetation in most cities have lost their capacity to absorb the greenhouse gases. The environmental problems in urban areas have been on the rise due to the increased use of non-renewable sources of fuel for industrial production and transportation. Affluence and consumerism have led to a high demand for consumer products across the globe, thereby increasing environmental pressures (Williams 217-232). In least developed countries, cities are characterized by uncontrolled development and rapid population growth. Consequently, the demand for housing and consumer goods has tremendously increased in these countries. Construction of new houses often leads to the destruction of the vegetation which is expected to absorb the greenhouse gases. These gases are responsible for the climate changes that have been witnessed in different parts of the world. For example, natural calamities such as floods and landslides regularly occur in most cities. Apart from air pollution, most urban areas are characterized by high noise levels. The main sources of noise in these areas include aircrafts, industrial production and construction activities. The effects of high noise levels on city residents include sleep disturbance, stress, loss of hearing and increased anxiety. Energy consumption in urban areas is one of the major causes of heat islands. Heat islands occur due to the fact that the rate at which rural areas radiate heat into the atmosphere is at least twice as high as the rate in cities (Warren 105-106). Thus, cities are warmer than rural areas because they are associated with high energ y consumption and low heat radiation. The use of energy for purposes such as cooking, transportation and generation of electricity in urban areas is much higher than in rural areas. For example, the per capita consumption of coal in Chinese cities is at least three times more than the consumption in rural areas (Li, Liu and McKinnell 354-364). Heat islands usually trap atmospheric pollutants, thereby causing cloudiness and fog. It also causes high precipitation, thunderstorms and hailstorms in cities. Empirical studies show that city residents are increasingly becoming vulnerable to disasters such as floods and landslides due to climate change. Urban development also causes water pollution. Waste management is normally a serious challenge in large cities, especially, in the least developed countries. In these cities, untreated solid wastes are often disposed in dumpsites. Eventually, these wastes contaminate groundwater sources.Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In some cases, industrial wastes are discharged directly into water bodies such as rivers and lakes. These pollutants normally contaminate water, thereby causing the death of aquatic animals such as fish (Williams 217-232). The use of water from the contaminated water bodies often cause diseases such as diarrhea in cities. Finally, urban development usually interferes with the course of rivers and streams. Real estate developers prefer to construct houses along the coastline or river banks. These areas are attractive to most real estate developers due to their scenic features. However, urban developments in these areas usually lead to the destruction of riparian vegetation and alteration of stream channels (Suileman, Aguda and Farinde 213-216). For example, the construction of a dam to supply water in an urban area can alter the hydrology of a river and cause destruction to physical habitats. The environmental effects of urbanization are expected to increase if remedial measures are not taken at the right time. Urban Development and Environmental Conservation The discussion on the causes and the effects of urbanization reveals two facts. First, urbanization is a very important phenomenon in the contemporary world because it drives economic development. In a nutshell, urban areas are characterized with better living conditions and economic opportunities than rural areas. Second, urbanization is associated with severe environmental effects which threaten its sustainability. Consequently, city planners and environmentalists must formulate and implement policies that can facilitate sustainable urban development. In this regard, the following measures can be adopted in order to achieve sustainable urban development and to protect the environment. Land Use Planning Land use planning helps in determining present and future land use patterns in urban areas. The main role of land use planning is to facilitate sustainable consumption of environmental resources, developm ent of infrastructure and maintenance of public health and safety (Suileman, Aguda and Farinde 213-216). In this context, development of infrastructure refers to the construction of facilities such as roads, schools and hospitals, as well as, the process of creating jobs. Environmental resources include parks, watersheds, wetlands and rivers among others. Maintaining pubic health and safety involves taking measures that can help us to cope with the effects of natural disasters such as floods and tropical storms. Urban planners must give priority to the protection and sustainable exploitation of the available environmental resources. Protection of these resources must be given priority due to the following reasons. First, the process of developing infrastructure and ensuring public health and safety mainly depends on the quality and accessibility of the available natural resources. Second, long term damage to the natural environment has already occurred due to past land use decisions . Additionally, these effects are likely to increase in the future (Simonis 919-928). Finally, the implementation of undesirable land use decisions will lead to more environmental damages. The resulting imbalance in the ecosystem and loss of natural resources will pose a serious threat to human civilization. Environmental resources can be protected through the ‘how to’ and the ‘where to’ strategies. The use of these strategies is based on the premise that ecological vision must be incorporated in future development plans in order to achieve sustainable urbanization. The two strategies can be explained as follows. The ‘Where to’ Strategy This strategy is essentially a selection process that enables urban planners to choose the best land for development (Simonis 919-928). This process ensures that areas of ecological importance are protected from urban development. The areas of ecological importance are essentially the places where the environmen tal resources that support various ecosystems are found. The main objective of the ‘where to’ strategy is to enable urban planners, developers and governmental agencies to identify the important environmental resources that require protection from development (Simonis 919-928). The resources can be identified through the acquisition of knowledge about the environmental conditions of the areas in which urban development is expected to take place. A variety of ecosystems can be found in different urban areas. The land use decisions that are made in such areas determine the ability of various ecosystems to provide the goods and services that are needed by the human population. Thus, the need to acquire adequate information about the environmental resources in a place becomes apparent. Such information can help urban planners to make the right decisions in regard to land use and development. The environmental information should describe the topography, geology, vegetation a nd the wildlife of the area (Malik and Grohmann 235). In order to understand this information, a comprehensive environmental inventory must be created. This inventory is essentially a collection of data that highlights the attributes of the environmental resources that can be found in an area that is being considered for urban development. The information that is contained in this inventory must be taken into account when land use decisions are being made. For instance, real estate development or industrial operations must be prohibited in important areas such as watersheds. The ‘How to’ Strategy The ‘how to’ strategy is implemented after the ideal land for development has been identified. It helps planners and developers to identify the best approaches to urban development. The first step of this strategy is concerned with the identification of the measures that must be taken in order to protect essential environmental resources. The second step is concern ed with the identification of the â€Å"types of developments on the available land that respect ecological diversity, environmental security, economic viability, human creativity and the sense of community† (Simonis 919-928). In this stage, urban planners, developers and designers are expected to use different planning approaches and sustainability standards such as smart growth and new urbanism in order to achieve sustainable urbanization. Protecting Environmental Resources Environmental resources must be protected from development. The characteristics of the resources determine the measures that can be applied to protect them. Thus, development can be prohibited completely in some areas. However, controlled urban development can be allowed in some regions. Empirical studies indicate that a slope range of between 0.05 to 3% is suitable for any type of urban development (Malik and Grohmann 315). A slope range of between 20% and 25% is suitable for the construction of houses, whereas a slope range of between 4% and 5% is ideal for road construction (Malik and Grohmann 317). Generally, a piece of land whose slope exceeds 12 degrees should not be used for urban development. This is because such pieces of land have a high risk of soil erosion. Similarly, development should be prohibited on pieces of land that are made up of organic and clay soils due to the following reasons. First, clay soils are associated with drainage problems. Besides, rapid subsidence usually occurs in clay soils. These problems are attributed to the fact that clay soils usually shrink and swell when the soil moisture changes. Second, organic soils should not be used for development because they support various species of plants. According to Williams, water resources such as streams and lakes can be protected through buffer requirements (217-232). A buffer refers to a â€Å"transitional land between the natural resource and the land that is subject to development† (Williams 2 17-232). Generally, streams and wetlands can be adequately protected by a buffer of approximately 200 meters. However, areas that are prone to natural disasters such as floods should not be used for urban development. Similarly, areas that host endangered animal and plant species should not be used for urban development. Types of Development The demand for environmental resources is often influenced by the lifestyle factors of the human population. In this regard, individuals should adopt lifestyles that are in harmony with the environment. In a nutshell, individuals should be aware of the environmental implications of their choices of residential areas, energy sources and production technologies. According to Simonis, controlled development on environmentally sensitive areas should be based on an individual’s choice rather than regulation (919-928). This view is supported by Ogbonna, Amagabara and Ekere who assert that empowered and motivated communities are more likely to p rotect the environment than their regulated counterparts (71-88). Resource Use in Urban Areas Constructing compact cities whose infrastructure and facilities are well designed can help in reducing energy consumption by improving efficiency in transportation and production. The heat island effect is one of the major outcomes of high energy consumption in urban areas. There are several measures that can be used to control urban warming. Heat radiation in urban areas can be improved by changing the materials that are used to construct the roofs of buildings (Warren 105-106). In addition, radiation can be improved by changing the spatial arrangement of buildings. Changing the materials is cost effective since it can be used on existing buildings. For instance, changing the materials that were used to construct the roof a building can eliminate the cost of constructing a new building. Generally, existing roof materials should be replaced with those that have high reflectivity. Water cons umption in urban areas can be reduced through measures that encourage exploitation of alternative water sources and reduction of water pollution. For instance, peak urban runoff can be reduced by constructing water detention ponds. Warren asserts that water detention ponds are beneficial since they eliminate the need to re-engineer city drainage systems in order to manage flash floods (105-106). Moreover, the detention ponds prevent contaminated water from entering into water bodies such as lakes and rivers. A water detention pond with a large surface area can help in reducing the urban heat island effect through evaporation. Furthermore, the water in these ponds can be used for non-domestic purposes such as irrigating flower gardens in the urban areas. This leads to clean water conservation. Urban Development and Environmental Conservation Policies Sustainable urbanization must be based on effective policies that guide development and facilitate environmental conservation. In this regard, the government must collaborate with stakeholders such as developers, urban planners and city residents to formulate policies that guide urban development and conservation of the environment. These policies are likely to be accepted by all stakeholders if they are formulated through consultation and consensus building initiatives. Moreover, the pubic must be sensitized on the regulations that govern urbanization in order to enhance compliance with the existing laws. The policies should specify the type and the scope of the development projects that are allowed in specific areas. According to Warren, the type of development projects that are to be undertaken in an urban area must have the least harm on the existing ecological systems (105-106). In this regard, the choice of development projects should be informed by ethical considerations rather than pure economic rationality. Concisely, residential, commercial and industrial developments in urban areas must be regulated thro ugh policies that facilitate environmental conservation or protection. Urban development policies must be used in conjunction with environmental conservation policies. The main objective of environmental protection policies is to control the behaviors that contribute to pollution and destruction of natural resources. Empirical studies indicate that nearly all governments have laws that promote or encourage environmental conservation. However, most of these policies or regulations have failed to achieve their objectives. This failure is attributed to factors such as poor enforcement, loopholes in the environmental laws, ineffective judicial systems and corruption. In some cases, the high cost of monitoring the activities of urban development agencies discourages the governments from enforcing conservation laws (Sexena, Srivastava and Samaddar 308-323). In response to this failure, Warren argues that conservation laws or policies should be based on the market system rather than govern ment intervention (105-106). This means that the market system should give urban developers the incentive to undertake environment-friendly projects. Moreover, protecting the environment should not compromise urban development. Thus, environmental regulation should be based on the principle that â€Å"polluters pay expenses, while cleaners make a profit† (Sexena, Srivastava and Samaddar 308-323). In this context, developers, producers and city residents are considered to be the polluters whose activities result into undesirable environmental outcomes. The cleaners, on the other hand, are the companies that are responsible for cleaning the environment in order to restore it to its pre-pollution condition. The developers demand cleaning services such as the disposal of the debris which are produced at construction sites or treatment of industrial waste. The pollution purification services are supplied by the cleaners. The price paid by the polluters for the cleaning services is proportional to the amount of emission or waste that is released into the ambient environment. Consequently, the market forces of demand and supply will help in setting the optimum price and level of pollution. In this case, the polluters will have the incentive to minimize pollution in order to reduce their expenditure on cleaning services. In some cases, the polluters are given the option of either cleaning the environment or paying the tax equivalent. According to Wagner, pollution can be reduced significantly through these market based interventions (79). This premise is based on the fact that market based interventions give polluters the incentive to invest in technologies that promote efficiency and reduce pollution. Additionally, implementing them requires little intervention by the government. Thus, their implementation is cheap and easy. Recent studies show that solid waste in urban areas can be reduced by privatizing environment-related industries. Such industries are mad e up of companies that engage in garbage disposal and treatment of solid wastes. Privatization helps in improving the efficiency and productivity of these companies. In developing countries where local governments and municipal authorities lack the capital to clean the environment, private companies should be allowed to provide the cleaning services (Ogbonna, Amagabara and Ekere 71-88). Similarly, promoting foreign direct investments in the environment-related industries can facilitate improved waste management in developing countries. For instance, multinational companies that focus on energy production can transform the solid wastes into electricity. In this case, the benefit will be two fold. First, the country will benefit from a clean and reliable supply of energy. Second, the solid wastes will be eliminated in a cost effective manner. The Role of Technology Sustainable urban development can be achieved through efficient technologies. In particular, the technologies used in con struction, transportation and production must focus on efficient use of the available resources (Keirstead 6-19). Similarly, they must focus on reducing reliance on non-renewable energy sources such as oil (Song, Wang and Jie 5-14). In this regard, there should be a shift from the use of oil propelled cars to hybrid and electric cars. Additionally, efficient trains should be used in order to reduce pollution in major cities. Advanced construction technologies should be used to build high-rise apartments in order to reduce the pressure on the land that is available for development. Furthermore, destruction of vegetation and physical habitats can be reduced by replacing bungalows with high-rise apartments. Food consumption in urban areas tends to be higher than in rural areas. Consequently, most countries have adopted a mechanized agricultural production system in rural areas in order to meet the demand for food in their urban centers. Even though mechanization has tremendously improv ed food production, it has also created new challenges in the urban areas. This is because mechanized agriculture often exacerbates the problem of unemployment in the rural areas. The surplus labor often migrates to the urban areas in order to find alternative economic activities (Malik and Grohmann 211). This form of uncontrolled rural-urban migration is one of the major causes of informal settlements in cities and towns. This problem can be addressed by promoting labor-intensive farming and food production in the rural areas (Simonis 919-928). This policy is likely to be effective in overpopulated countries such as China and India where availability of cheap labor can facilitate high food production. Improving food production in the countryside through labor-intensive agriculture has two benefits. First, there will be adequate food for both the urban and the rural populations. Second, the quality of life will improve in the countryside. The resulting reduction in rural-urban migra tion will slow the rate of urbanization and its negative effects on the environment. Conclusion Urbanization is the process through which an increasing number of a country’s citizens relocate to urban areas such as cities and towns. Urbanization has significantly increased in the last three decades due to rapid industrialization in the contemporary world economy. Generally, individuals relocate to urban areas in order to improve their standards of living. Furthermore, urban areas have become centers of commerce, industrial production and innovation (Malik and Grohmann 114). Most governments provide their administrative services in urban areas in order to reduce costs. Despite these benefits, urbanization has caused severe environmental problems such as pollution, destruction of vegetation and depletion of natural resources. The negative effects of rapid urbanization can be addressed through policies that help us to identify the ideal places for urban development, and the type of projects that should be undertaken in the identified areas. Furthermore, governmental agencies must formulate policies that promote urban development without jeopardizing environmental conservation efforts. In a nutshell environmental considerations must be taken into account in the process of development in order to achieve sustainable urbanization. This can be achieved by minimizing the effects of urban development on the environment. Works Cited Keirstead, Ames. â€Å"Applying Service Niche Indicators to London’s Energy System.† International Journal of Environmental Quality Management 1.4 (2010): 6-19. Print. Li, Baizhan, Meng Liu and Ken McKinnell. â€Å"Impact of Urbanization on Building Energy Consumption and the Role of BEE Design Codes in China.† Property Management 24.3 (2006): 354-364. Print. Malik, Abdul and Elisabeth Grohmann. Environmental Protection Strategies for Sustainable Development. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print. Ogbonna, Daniel, Ge orge Amagabara and Tom Ekere. â€Å"Urban Solid Waste Generation in Port Harcourt Metropolis and its Implications for Waste Management.† International Journal of Environmental Quality Management 18.1 (2007): 71-88. Print. Sexena, Susan, Richard Srivastava and Anthony Samaddar. â€Å"Towards Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management in Allahadad City.† International Journal of Environment Quality Management 21.3 (2010): 308-323. Print. Simonis, Udo. â€Å"Greening Urban Development: on Climate Change and Climate Policy.† International Journal of Social Economics 38.11 (2011): 919-928. Print. Song, Malin, Shuhong Wang and Yang Jie. â€Å"Will Environmental Logistics be Promoted by Changing Industrial Structure?† International Journal of Supply Chain Management 17.1 (2012): 5-14. Print. Suileman, Abdul-Azeez, Akinola Aguda and Tajudeen Farinde. â€Å"Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Urban Growth of Medium-Size and Nodal Towns for Sustainable Management.â₠¬  International Journal of Environmental Quality Management 24.1 (2012): 213-216. Print. Wagner, Luca. Urbanization: 21st Century Issues and Challenges. London: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. Warren, Clive. â€Å"Heat Islands: Understanding and Mitigating Heat in Urban Areas.† Property Management 30.1(2012): 105-106. Print. Williams, Peter. â€Å"Managing Urbanization and Environmental Protection in Australian Cities: Approaches for Integrating Biodiversity and Urban Growth in Sydney.† International Journal of Law in the Built Environment 4.3 (2012): 217-232. Print. This research paper on Urbanization and Environment was written and submitted by user Finnegan Gallegos to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Managerial Statistics Essay Example

Managerial Statistics Essay Example Managerial Statistics Essay Managerial Statistics Essay 1) Suppose that an independent laboratory has tested trash bags and has found that no 30-gallon bags that are currently on the market have a mean breaking strength of 50 pounds or more. On the basis of these results, the producer of the new, improved trash bag feels sure that its 30-gallon bag will be the strongest such bag on the market if the new trash bags mean breaking strength can be shown to be at least 50 pounds. The mean of the sample of 40 trash bag breaking strengths in Table 1. 9 is x=50. 575. If we let u denote the mean of the breaking strengths of all trash bags of the new type and assume that o equals 1. 5: a. Calculate 95 percent and 99 percent confidence intervals for u. b. Using the 95 percent confidence interval, can we be 95 percent confident that u is at least 50 pounds? Explain c. Using the 99% confidence interval, can we be 99% confident that u is at least 50 pounds? explain d. Based on your answers to parts b and c, how convinced are you that the new 30-gallon trash bag is the strongest such bag on the market? (a) (i) 95% confidence interval for ? :n = 40x-bar = 50. 575s = 1. 65% = 95Standard Error, SE = ? /On = 0. 2609z- score = 1. 9600Width of the confidence interval = z * SE = 0. 113Lower Limit of the confidence interval = x-bar width = 50. 0637Upper Limit of the confidence interval = x-bar + width = 51. 0863The confidence interval is [50. 0637 pounds, 51. 0863 pounds](ii) 99% confidence interval for ? :n = 40x-bar = 50. 575s = 1. 65% = 99Standard Error, SE = ? /On = 0. 2609z- score = 2. 5758Width of the confidence interval = z * SE = 0. 6720Lower Limit of the confidence interval = x-bar width = 49. 9030Upper Limit of the confidence interval = x-bar + width = 51. 2470The confidence interval is [49. 9030 pounds, 51. 2470 pounds](b) Yes, we can be 95% confident that ? s at least 50 pounds, since the entire 95% confidence interval lies above 50 pounds (c) No, we can’t be 99% confident that ? is at least 50 pounds, since a part of the 99% confidence interval lies below 50 pounds (d) At 95% confidence level, we can say that the new 30-gallon trash bag is the strongest such bag on the market. But we cannot conclude the same at 99% confidence level. 2) Quality Progress, February 2005, reports on the results achieved by Bank of America in improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty by listening to the voice of the customer. A key measure of customer satisfaction is the response on a scale from 1 to 10 to the question: Considering all the business you do with Bank of America, what is your overall satisfaction with Bank of America? Suppose that a random sample of 350 current customers results in 195 customers with a response of 9 or 10 representing customer delight. Find a 95% confidence interval for the true proportion of all current Bank of America customers who would respond with a 9 or 10. Are we 95% confident that this proportion exceeds . 8, the historical proportion of customer delight for Bank o f America? (a) 95% confidence interval for p:n = 350p = 0. 5571% = 95Standard Error, SE = O{p(1 p)/n} = 0. 0266z- score = 1. 9600Width of the confidence interval = z * SE = 0. 0520Lower Limit of the confidence interval = P width = 0. 5051Upper Limit of the confidence interval = P + width = 0. 6092The confidence interval is [0. 5051, 0. 6092](b) Yes, we can be 95% confident that p exceeds 0. 48, since the entire 95% confidence interval lies above 0. 48.

Rogue Waves Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rogue Waves - Essay Example However, author critiques this factor as "rather unrealistic". Second factor is temporal-spatial focusing which is the result of applying dispersion to a wave group with chirped spatial distribution of frequencies. Author notes that this mechanism can work for the "forced" wavetrains only which can not develop spontaneously. Finally, third factor is nonlinear focusing which produces solitons and so-called breathers as model representations of rogue waves. About real mechanisms of the rogue waves forming in the open ocean, author concludes that 'nobody knows the answer to these questions yet.' My Comments: This paper shows that there are some fields for researches with no direct and clear answers. Real mechanism of the rogue waves forming in the open ocean is yet unknown. Existing mathematical models for explanation of these phenomena are refined but not realistic. Indeed, considered mechanisms for the wave energy focusing are operable only for narrow sets of cases or for unnatural conditions. Details of mathematical notations (especially in Appendix) were not clear for me. Article Summary: This is short but comprehensive introduction to the freak/rogue waves phenomenon. It contains well adjusted set of facts and ideas about rogue waves, namely: informal definition, brief history of observations with examples, discussion about causes of its origin, typical values of the break forces, sea conditions that may create (or accompany) freak waves, etc. There are no formulae at all. This article serves as global pattern for the rogue waves problem whereas numerous articles concentrate upon mathematical details and minor features of this phenomenon. My Comments: As for me, this is one of the best articles about rogue waves. Some facts are just amazing. For example, cases from the article show that freak waves greater than 25 meters in height are real and much more common than expected. Obviously, this phenomenon is far beyond so-called linear model. Than, actual causes and mechanisms of rogue waves are unknown (cf. previous article). Here, unpredictable freak waves are real miracles of the Nature, not mirages. It is important to distinguish freak waves and tsunamis. Then, article contains tremendous facts about the force of a breaking freak wave. It is about 100 MT/m2 for a 12-meter rogue wave which is much more than for wave in linear model. Article reading was easy and fascinating. Article is highly recommended for any scholar at the beginning stage of studying this phenomenon. Source: Proceedings of Rogue Waves 2004 Conference, Brest, France - October 2004. Off the Internet at: http://www.ifremer.fr/web-com/stw2004/rw/fullpapers/haver.pdf Article Name: Freak waves: a suggested definition and possible consequences for marine structures.

Energy from Municipal Solid Waste in the U.K Dissertation

Energy from Municipal Solid Waste in the U.K - Dissertation Example Based on this research energy production is an important practice for the successful running of communities, cities and countries. With the advancing use of technology and other forms of machinery the world over, the use of various forms of energy (power) to run machinery for both domestic and industrial purposes is inevitable. But one critical situation that seems to be developing very fast is the seemingly expensive cost of energy for domestic and industrial use. Studies have however showed that energy would generally be expensive when demand for the product is higher than supply can meet. This means that one important problem that the United Kingdom must be seeking to tackle if it does not want to deal with high cost of energy is to look critically at the making of the availability of energy abundant. To do this, sources of energy must be diverse and easy to come by. It is also important that the cost of production of these energies become highly economical. This is because even i f the source and supply of energy is abundant but its cost of production is high, chances are that the consumer would have to buy the energy at higher price. More to the issue of availability is the issue of environmental protection in the quest of supplying uninterrupted and affordable sources of energy. Indeed, energy sources that are produced with consequential effects on the environment are as hollow as they were not produced at all. This is because the situation creates a typical scenario of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’. ... Basically, such claims have only remained hypothetical with very minimal scientific researches to back them. This is a major problem that needs to be addressed because by addressing the problem, there is every indication that this is going to do a lot of good to science as a subject, mechanical engineering as a discipline and United Kingdom in general. 1.3 Research Aims and Objectives The overall aim of this research is to find out the potential of energy from municipal solid waste over other forms of energy. To do this, there is the need for setting specific objectives. This is because specific objectives are minor goals that need to be achieved before the overall aim can be said to be achieved. Below are the specific objectives that need to be achieved for the overall research aim to be achieved: 1. To critically scrutinise the position of the United Kingdom in tapping the potentials in energy from municipal solid waste by the use of PESTLE analysis 2. To find out how PESTLE analys is on municipal solid waste energy management in the United Kingdom favours of disfavours the country’s potential to maximise the use of energy from municipal solid waste 3. To outline the various solid waste management options available to the United Kingdom as a nation 4. To bring out the waste legislation in the United Kingdom that controls municipal solid waste management and handling 5. To relate the legislation discussed above to how they impede or promote the fulfilment of energy generation from municipal solid waste 6. To establish the environmental impact of energy recovery from municipal solid waste 7. To design a model solid waste energy extraction plant for use at medium scale level 1.4 Significance of the Study The specific objectives outlined

Balance Scorecard for Air India

Balance Scorecard for Air India Introduction Air India is the prime and oldest Airline of India. It is the State carrier which currently connects to rest of the world such as the Americas, Asia, Europe, etc. It is headquartered at Nariman Point, Mumbai in the Air India Building. It is the 16th largest Airline in Asia serves out of two major Domestic hubs in India at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi CST Terminal, Mumbai. The airline started its journey with the Maiden flight from Karachi Airport to Mumbai Airport via Ahmedabad in July 1932. It was founded by JRD Tata and later on acquired by the State. Air India has two subsidiaries and two affiliated carries. Together Air India, Air India Cargo, Air India Express, Indian and Air India Regional form the National Aviation Company of India Limited. It currently serves 11 countries across the globe apart from the various domestic destinations. Air India Cargo It serves as the cargo operator for the airline serving in conjunction with on ground truck-transportation systems and achieving synergies to increase returns. The carrier also is allowed to carry dangerous (hazardous cargo) animals under IATA rules. Air India Regional The airline previously known as alliance air serves the interior small airports domestically to serve the needs of such regions with smaller aircrafts. The hub for this is at the IGI airport in Delhi. Indian It focuses on the domestic touch points for the airline. It serves various destinations in the country with two major hubs at Delhi Mumbai. Air India Express The airline subsidiary was formed in 2005 to serve the low cost space in the South east Asia and the Gulf region. This is a no frills airline which focuses on the low cost travel mind space for its consumers. Tangible Assets Fleet and Material Resources Air India has continuously being trying to improve its Aircraft fleets. It has recently added 17 new aircrafts which include B777s- Long range aircrafts and it has also procured some 15 new airbus aircrafts to serve its domestic destinations. Currently the Air India fleet stands at a strong 136 aircrafts. Air India serves various international destinations such as in the USA which includes Newark, JFK Chicago with its non-stop Boeing Long range aircrafts. The detailed aircraft distribution is as given in the table below: Network Air India operates from various cities across India like Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Jaipur, Varanasi, Tiruchirapalli, Gaya and Thiruvananthapuram in totality 16 cities for its international location flights. The need of boarding flights from metros for international locations has thus ceased thus providing better opportunities to other cities to develop economically and aid in the countrys growth story. The various requirements in terms of customs, etc. are directly done in these cities. Air India also has code sharing agreements with various airlines across the world providing better accessibility to other locations. International Hub: Air India has established its international hub at Frankfurt for better transfers and code shares across the world. It has forged partnerships with Lufthansa and is currently vying for being a part of the Star Alliance. These alliances has strengthened AIs network in the US and Europe to a large extent. Indian Hub: Air India has its domestic hubs in Delhi IGI Airport and Mumbai CST Airport. The firm services 64 Indian cities domestically from these locations. Out of these locations seventeen service to International flights too thereby providing seamless connectivity. The domestic locations are service by Airbus A321 aircrafts with all world class services. Star Alliance Air India is currently in the process for vying to become a part of the International Alliance which will connect it to 916 cities in the world and have code share agreements with 17000 daily routes across the world. Air India club members can enjoy the benefits of International lounges, code shares, loyalty programmes, etc across all the 21 top airlines across the world increasing the service levels to a new height. The alliance is pending at March, 2011. Human Resources Air India has a large base of human resources which makes it one of the poorest in terms of the Human resources quality and performance. The airline pays around 17 per cent of its expenditures as salaries which is much higher than the global average of around 10 per cent. There are around 31000 employees which are serviced by around 14 unions in Air India which creates a huge scope of non-improvement of its current strength of employees. Post the merger the unions have introduced their intent of cooperating with NACIL towards achieving a better way ahead for the airline however issues pertaining to retrenchment and privatization are still serious concerns which the unions take very seriously and are averse to compromise on. The SBU structure which has been brought about in the organization further increases the woes of the Airline as well as the management. The organization has been split into smaller units which are responsible for better management of resources. However the reporting structure is a big catch. A Mumbai Airport Manager is reviewed by the ED of west zone but reports to his SBU head which is in no way related to his performance appraisals. The award of International postings is carried out by a third party who in no way is related to the current chain of reporting and is a commercial director who sits in the HO at Mumbai. Such an organizational structure calls for low performance and lack of accountability from the employees which will lead to non-performance from the organization in the long term. IT Technology resources IT is one of the most critical resources for the success of organizations in the modern times. The merger synergies would have IT as a critical input. One of the major exercises is to have a common airline code which would also help in the eligibility to the Star Alliance. As a measure the airline has contracted the IT serviceability to SITA (Society International Telecommunications Aeronautics) which has had more than 50 years of experience with the airline systems in Air India. The deal worth 845 crores is for a period of 10 years and is aimed at establishing network connectivity at all domestic and international locations for Air India, fare management, baggage tracing and reconciliation system, online booking engines, automated boarding control systems, check-in, air to ground communications, etc. SITA will also provide its horizontal passenger service system. Currently SITA provides its facilities to 140 airlines all over the world serving over 120 million passengers across the world to provide seamless connectivity to Air India to International routes and carriers. It would help to strengthen strategic partnerships for AI across the globe. Air India has also been invited to participate in the SITAs horizon board in India which is a partnership between SITA and airlines to develop the next generation passenger service systems across the globe. All these developments would help AI to establish itself as a brand in the PSS system delivery across the globe. SITA in India works with its strategic partners Mindtree NIIT to implement its technological systems and has a workforce of more than one lac employees. Low Cost Resources Livery The new livery which was launched after the merger has characteristics of both the descendants namely AI and IA both. The livery consists of the flying swan and the Konark chakra placed inside it. The Air India brand is mentioned on the tail of the Aircraft in hindi proudly depicting Indias national language. The aircraft colour is ivory with streaks of red retaining Air Indias colour. Also the red and orange streaks presence on doors signifies the merger of the two giants into one single entity. Maharajah Maharaja is the most reminiscent figure which is associated with the airline. It was designed by the duo of Bobby Kooka, AIs Commercial Director and Umesh Rao, J.Walter Thompson Ltd. Way back in 1946 primarily as a memo symbol; however it has translated into much more than that over the years. The maharajah has won various awards around the globe for its uniqueness and antics. The first word customers associate with AI is the puns and antics of the Maharajah. The maharajah is a unique brand proposition created by the Airline which has served it as a brand ambassador across the world. In- Flight Entertainment Air India has a variety of channels which cater to both the audio and video entertainment of its passengers. The customers have a variety of Indian channels such as popular music, ghazals, bhajans, etc. There is also a variety of English music channels having various genres like rock, pop, jazz, alternative rock , classical , etc. There are also a variety of regional channels available in Indian regional languages such as Malayalam, Tamil, etc. and also movies in similar languages are available for flights connecting the South Indian regions to the Gulf and South East Asia. On Ground Facilities Air India has its own exclusive lounges at Delhi, London, Hong Kong and New York in addition to the one in Mumbai. At other international airports, Air India has tie-ups with other international airlines or local Airports Authorities for lounge facility. There is a lounge for unaccompanied minors as well. Online Booking The quick, easy and convenient way to book AI tickets online through the Air India website. An e ticket will be generated and the details with the e ticket link will be emailed to the passenger. Air India has extensive facilities for Web check in and Tele check in for its passengers to provide ease of facilities. Dining Air India has a variety of menus to cater to a variety of tastes for its passengers. There is a choice of Indian, Continental, Western and Asian cuisines. There are certain special cuisines available on some routes like Japanese cuisine on the Tokyo route, etc. The special requirements of certain passengers also met with a variety of more than twenty six dishes available. There is a large assortment of wines and drinks to choose from giving the passenger a world class dining experience. Balance Scorecard at Air India The balanced scorecard is a holistic design of looking at an organization. It helps align the activities of the business to the vision, mission and the strategy of the organization. It helps improve communication, both internally and externally as well as measure the performance against said goals using proper metrics. Balanced Scorecard concept was started by Dr. Kaplan and David Norton as a means of measuring performances of organization. It was a measurement framework, which for the first time added non-financial metrics along with the traditional metrics that gave managers a better view of the performance of the organization. Over the years, balanced scorecards were refined to become a complete planning and management system for strategy. It helps operationalize vision and mission documents; progress on which can be monitored daily. The airline industry is cyclical in nature. Demand fluctuates seasonally; while planning for capacity and investments have to be done long term. This means that airlines usually go through sessions when they are operating in the red financially. Hence, it makes perfect sense to use a Balanced Scorecard to evaluate the performance of the organization. It gives a better indication of the health of the organization as well as helps create proper milestones for evaluating the progress towards strategic goals. Air India has been facing turbulent times recently. A lot of reorganization, restructuring with regards to the organization, finances and fleet have taken place. The company is deep in the red and there have been calls to divest this white elephant. As Air India struggles through this mess, using a balanced scorecard will give clarity to their goals and help them focus their efforts in achieving the said goals. Balanced scorecard has been implemented in several airlines, the most documented one being the Balanced scorecard implementation at Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airline is a USA based low-cost airline company and is also the worlds largest no-frills airline. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Southwest has among the largest fleet of passenger aircraft among all of the worlds commercial airlines, operating more than 3200 flights daily. Southwest is also a very profitable airline, having posted profits for 37 consecutive years. The balanced scorecard implementation at Southwest airlines has gone through a series of iterations and they are currently in their 3rd generation. We suggest a similar balanced scorecard for Air India. For the balanced scorecard we must have: Vision Mission Core Goal Activities and Outcomes Vision statement is the picture of your company in the future. It forms the lynchpin around which strategy formation takes place. Mission statement is the fundamental purpose of the existence of the company. It clarifies Why do we exist? Core Goal is the goal that is to be achieved by the balanced scorecard. Activities refer to processes that take place inside the organization, that lead to desired outcomes. Activities consists of Internal Processes Learning and Development Outcomes consists of Financial Performance Customer Satisfaction Activities are internal to the organization, while the outcomes in terms of financial outcomes and customer outcomes are visible outside the organization. Also internal processes, Learning and Development are long-term goals while financial and customer outcomes are more short-term goals. However they act as leading indicators of the changes happening in internal processes and Learning and Development. These show that the activities that were internal to the organization has reached a point of maturity that they have started impacting the customer and financial outcomes. As shown in the balanced scorecard given below, activities and outcomes interact with other activities and outcomes and hence no item can be looked at in isolation. The interactions between the strategic goals in each of these four divisions (2 activities and 2 outcomes) have been identified and dwelled upon in the balanced scorecard. The internal processes which must be measured for the scorecard that we identified were: Faster Turnaround of flights Increased Utilization of fleet Adherence to Schedule These will help rationalize workforce, fleets and bring in incremental improvements in operational efficiencies, bringing down costs and making Air India more competitive vis-Ã  -vis low cost carriers. Adherence to Schedule will help Air India rebuild customer confidence in the ability of the Airline to perform. The Learning and Development initiatives that need to be taken up and measured are: Alignment of employees with company goals Cross Functional Training Team work Cross functional Training and teams will increase the efficiency of the organization allowing it to make decisions faster and hence respond more quickly to changes. This is very important for Air-India as the general perception is that the company is slow to change and lethargic in decision making. The financial outcomes from these activities are: Profitability Lower Costs Increased Revenue Fewer Planes The customer outcomes are: Lower Prices On-Time flights Frequent flights Friendly Service Given below is the pictorial depiction of the balanced scorecard for Air India. Resource Based Turnaround Strategy for Air India This part of the report deals with understanding the reasons for the near collapse of Air India and proposing a turnaround strategy for the airline. Since its establishment by the Tata Group and the subsequent takeover by the Indian Government, Air India has seen a lot of issues emerging and changes in the competitive environment in which it operates. These issues and changes have been intensified by uncertain economic conditions, various crises and subsequent recoveries in the European and Asian economies, and a general lack of confidence in professional fields. This has led to a general reduction in the average time available to the organization which seeks to affect a successful turnaround. Also, the rising competition in the field it operates has compounded the problems by making Air India fight for limited resources with players which quite often have people with greater conviction at the top and therefore can allocate a greater part of important resources to the firms operation s. This challenge is primarily faced by organizations which operate in industries that have high technology orientation and companies which typically have high gestation periods where an investment made in any particular area or domain impacts the companys bottom line for a long period. Airlines business being one that is fairly high technology is characterized by factors that include product and/or process sophistication, research and development (RD) intensity, and a large population of technical employees. High-tech firms often encounter rapid changes in technology, demand, and a competition which is overlaid by sharp and unpredictable change. Thus, the AI management must be equipped for change management in line with the changes in the airlines industry environment. Unless this happens it will continue to struggle to remain profitable. This is precisely what has been encountered in the case of Air India. Within this high-velocity context, any turnaround strategy is faced with unique challenges. These have been depicted in the figure below. Business Decline The framework that the group uses in analysing the reasons for Air Indias failure and proposing the turnaround takes a new view of turnarounds by integrating constructs drawn from existing turnaround literature with others from the resource-based view of the firm. It proposes that efficient business operations are based on a combination of factors like key resource availability, germane strategy, and appropriate implementation of that strategy through adequate resource leveraging. In this case the financial and human resource would be the resources AI must look to leverage. Important resources within an enterprise can also act as the base for a turnaround strategy which would foster sustainable competitive advantage. Such resources are often the products of historical strategy and environmental action and are invariably capable to withstand rigorous tests of quality. A list of the key attributes of these resources is provided below: (Refer High-Velocity Environment Trims Time to Act Creating a Framework for High-Tech Turnarounds by Rolph N.S. Balgobin, Naresh Pandit; Nov 1, 2002) Turnaround Strategy Turnaround attempts are often the result of existence-threatening decline, there exists a lot of uncertainty with the origin of the points of change intervention and the role of the new top management. Frequently, a turnaround attempt is initiated after pressure from a significant stakeholder, such as a parent company or strong shareholder group. Air India has witnessed this quite a few times as with the ascent of every new government at the center of Power in New Delhi, the attitude towards the airline has changed. Hence pressure often came from the private players whose bids to take over the airline provided the fillip to the management of the airline to change the scheme of things at Air India. In most cases, the need for the change happens internally, usually started by the management who sees the signals of an impending decline. Also in new age high-technology firms, turnaround need not always be a management driven effort. However, the attitude of managers is just as necessary as having new leadership in getting the turnaround efforts going. The success of turnaround recovery plans are different from the unsuccessful ones in many ways (refer to the points mentioned below). In the cases of turnarounds that are successful, analysis-led understanding of the dynamics of the business is done using a diagnostic review. This provides a clear indication of the turnaround opportunities that are available. These opportunities have to be pursued with the goal of creating a sustainable competitive position in the market. Successful turnaround Plan characteristics Result from a diagnostic review (inductive rather than prescriptive) Profitability is explicitly set as an objective A single turnaround plan rather than competing initiatives or no plan at all Communication with stakeholders to ensure alignment A turnaround team develops and implements the plan Causes of decline are appropriately addressed The Process of Turnaround The frameworks used to portray turnaround are often depicted as a sequential process, which starts with the management initiating the attempt, then retrenchment, consolidating and then returning to a growth stage. But in high tech turnaround process there are four distinct stages crisis development, management change, transformation and stabilization, and return to growth. In the case of Air India, the Crisis Development phase started in the year 2008-2009 when the airline reported financial losses of 5000 crores. Due to this, the airline couldnt pay the salaries of its employees leading to a massive announced by the employees in the summer of 2009. This was one of the biggest human resource crises in the history of Indian business with nearly 30000 Air India employees going on strike. Immediately following this, the disastrous incident of the crash of Air India Express Flight 812 leading to the death of 158 people, happened. The change phase, unlike in the more traditional sectors, change happens not at the top as turnaround starts happening. There is often a change of problematic management, mostly purporting the point of view that a CEOs knowledge and relationships are crucial to a successful recovery. The same happened in the case of Air India. The entire top management of Air India was recast in a period of 30 days by the then aviation minister Mr. Praful Patel. As part of the shakeup, several old time directors were asked to leave and a Professional Chief Operating Officer was appointed under the CMD, Mr. Arvind Jadhav. In the third phase, a lot of actions happen simultaneously; these include cost rationalization, asset rationalization, revenue creation and product and market reorganization. In turnarounds that are successful, organizations should be careful not to lose resources that may be useful to recovery. This happens when they concentrate on surviving rather than on competitive leadership. Reflex cutbacks should not result in loss of key resources in firms successful in turning around their organizations. Instead, the focus should be on reducing costs. Also Air India disinvested some of the less efficient parts of its operations, while retaining the more important and useful ones. After an early emphasis on cost reduction, the focus of Air India then shifted to Structural alterations, joint-venture participation, investment, and the introduction of new products. There is a significant deviation in the experience of firms operations in more stable industries, which suggests that it is the high-competitive environment that demand that the changes occur simultaneously rather than sequentially. But as the transformation takes place, the turnaround of the firm goes through an inflection point that causes a shift in focus from cost and asset reduction to growth of the firm. In the case of Air India this has been characterized by the commitment of the top management to the growth of top line and sales and a conscious effort on the part of the airline to drive up volumes and occupancies of the airlines. The airline plans to reduce its price up to 23% by the end of this year. Industry experts see this as a clear sign of conscious effort on the part of the airline to drive up its volumes and occupancy rates. The last phase of the turnaround is punctuated by the assumption that for survival the focus has to be on growth and acquisition. In high competitive industries, this phase does not usually require that the CEO change or that the management change. Our group expects the same to happen by the end of the nest fiscal year when the economy would have recovered and new opportunities would arrive at the horizon for the troubled airline. Influencing Factors Literature study says that significant differences exist between successful and not so successful cases when they are compared in terms of their contextual and situational factors of turnaround attempts. Factors related to macroeconomic improvement and market growth appear to be assisting turnaround attempts. Though, it also has been seen that these environmental changes are not deterministic. With each organization being a unique collection of resources, external events do not seem to be having a uniform impact. Thus, a rising tide seems to lift only the seaworthy boats. External influencing factors include: Macroeconomic Improvement Market Growth Stakeholders attitude. Interaction of an organization with stakeholders such buyers, employees, suppliers, unions, bankers, the government and the community play a major role in determining the success of the turnaround efforts. When important stakeholders hold an active interest in the business viability of the firm, the chances of success appear to be greater. Internal Influencing factors include: Mission institutionalization Availability of financial resources Power concentration, and Perception of the permanence and controllability of decline. Mission institutionalization, primarily driven by the internal and external expectations of the businesses the firm should be in, can be a major abettor or inhibitor of positive change demanded by an intended turnaround. In cases where the changes required put the firm in a new strategic domain (say that of the low cost carriers), mission institutionalization can often hinder efforts of a swift shift in strategy if a firms constituents instinctively negate or refute out courses of action that are seen to be inconsistent with the vision and mission of the firm or its founders. This in Air Indias case can be explained by the reluctance of the airlines part to move into low cost carriers strategic domain. While this remains a possible strategic domain for the future, the airline showed remarkable reluctance in adopting this as a possible strategy. Maybe the Maharaja cant fly cheap after all. Available financial resources are one of the important requirements for a turnaround attempt, especially if the firm has considerable cash demands. Even then, availability of funds has still not been found to be one of the deciding factors in the outcome of a full-fledged turnaround effort. This is a significant finding as it often is suggested that firms in stress require only a steady input of cash until their products or services regain market acceptance. Also in the case of Air India with the airline being heavily government funded, the opportunity to save money and possible publicize it makes a great political success story and a PR opportunity. Of greater impact on the success of a turnaround attempt is the concentration of power within the organization. Firms with higher levels of power concentration are a lot freer to strategize, develop and also implement successful turnaround plans, while the cases that fail are often constrained or reined in by parent companies, powerful stakeholders like political parties, or internal politics. In non-turnaround cases, the management appears to have far less power relative to that owned by the stakeholders. In the case of Air India, with the creation of a new position of power of CEO, can potentially dilute the power vested in the top management. Yet considerations of operational efficiencies far outweigh the concern for power dilution. Similarly, with the entire airline industry showing signs of recovery with the economy firmly on the path of recovery, the perception of the permanence and controllability of decline is that of impermanent and one that can be managed by suitable strategy implementation. Strategy Implementation Successful firms reduce their resource base in those areas which are no longer core activities. Failed firms are more far likely to dispose or sell off on otherwise lose valuable resources than those that might support a recovery attempt. In the successful cases, the remaining resources are often realigned and augmented with the resources which are borrowed through joint ventures, development agreements, or outright acquisitions. This is depicted in the diagram as shown below. Resource Leveraging diagram As a rule, the successful turnaround cases concentrate a majority of their critical resources on a single and consistent turnaround plan, emphasize on a few improvement areas at a time, and focus on a few critical performance levers. They have a strong feedback mechanism to instill new learning deep into the organization. In the case of Air India it would be taking the voice of customers very seriously and trying to create a culture which cares for the people the firm serves. Firms which go through very successful turnarounds are also in a position to blend and balance resources to bring in products and services into the market, while unsuccessful firms often have seem to have an imbalance of skills, which neutralizes capabilities that exist elsewhere in the organization. Finally, parsimonious and frugal resource use and the useful ability to implement turnaround plans quickly also form one of the chief characteristics of successful recoveries. Thus, this is the comprehensive resource based turnaround strategy that we propose for Air India.