Thursday, January 30, 2020

The Ideal Ruler for Goldings Island Essay Example for Free

The Ideal Ruler for Goldings Island Essay * In chapter one, Ralph was given sole responsibility of chief on the island, with Jack becoming his hunters. Throughout the novel, we see things gradually begin to break up on the island, and much of this is down to Ralphs poor leadership and assertive skills. Alone, Ralph was a very poor leader, leading to the break-up and ultimately the destruction of the island. However, if the leader had all of Ralph, Jack, Piggy and Simons qualities, things could have been very different. * The first quality that an ideal chief should have is intelligence and knowledge. Ralph has never been shown as having much intelligence, or knowledge of the wider world. An example of this is where he is trying to reassure the boys of being rescued and says that the Queen has a huge map and his father in the Navy will be able to rescue them in no time. Piggy has intelligence of adult things, for example he knows what a conch is, and also about rock pools. Jack however has knowledge of practical things, such as how to gut and kill a pig. Both the scientific knowledge that Piggy has, and the practical knowledge that Jack has would help to create a perfect leader * To be a good leader, you must have a lot of assertiveness and be able to enforce the rules to people even when they do not want to follow them. Ralph was not capable of this, and an example is when Jack tried to undermine his authority by saying the conch doesnt count on this part of the island. Instead of standing up to Jack, and continuing to enforce the rules, he just accepts this. Jack however does have this quality, and this great ability to keep people in their places is shown by the twins Samneric staying rigidly in their places as Ralph tries to talk to them and bring them back to his camp. * Simon and Piggy are both very caring towards the littleuns. These qualities would be very useful in building the perfect leader, as they can do vital work towards the island as well. It is also better to keep all the people n the island happy, no matter how big or small. * To be a good leader, you must recognise other peoples strengths and find a way to use them. Ralph here makes a good leader as he can see other peoples strengths. An example of this is where he says that Jack and his choir can be hunters. Although this undermines his authority, he can see that Jack does have potential that will help the island. He could also see that Piggy had great knowledge, and although he wasnt very good at physical work, Ralph used Piggys vast knowledge to his advantage. * Simon is a very kind, gentle boy who is in touch with nature. He is willing to get on with hard work, and does not expect thanks. This would be very useful, as the world does not want leaders that need to be praised and thanked for everything they do. The world needs leaders which can get on and show that they love the world and people without constantly needing attention and thanks, as we see in Jack with his hunters saluting him after anything he says, * Simon and Ralph both hold good life-giving values. An example of this is how Ralph wants the boys to stay clean, and not wear war paint and to tidy their hair. As a leader, values are implied and so it is vital that these values are ones that will help the island to thrive. * To be an effective leader, the leader must be able to communicate. Jack is very charismatic, and is able to put a good spin on things to be able to convince his peers that his ideas and values are the correct ones. Ralph also has this ability, but begins to lose it, as we see from where he cannot make speeches without stopping and pausing, and therefore he does not communicate well towards the end as he is stumbling. On the world stage, Golding was trying to show that a world leader must be able to communicate and have charisma to get themselves out of bad situations, such as * Planning and organising is a vital part of becoming a good leader. Ralph has very good planning skills, as we know from where he plans out each part of his speech to make sure that it is effective. When they first came onto the island, Ralph also organised the signal fire and the construction of the shelters. This quality would help to form a perfect leader as the organisational skills to be rescued. On the world stage, Golding was trying to show that someone with the planning and organisation skills to be a good leader would be necessary, as often sticky situations, such as an unnecessary war arise from poor organising, such as failing to obtain the necessary evidence which would have prevented it. * In the novel, we know that Ralph and Jack are two halves of a perfect person. They both have incredible charisma, however Ralph is very concerned with organisation and planning and Jack is very concerned with hunting to provide for himself and other hunters. Piggy has so much knowledge, and is the voice of reason between the group. This quality would help to create the perfect leader, as disputes between other people on the island/in the world need to be sorted out by someone who can see reason. However he is not good at communicating, and this would need the skills of either Ralph or Jack to sort out the dispute. Simon is very spiritually aware, and is capable of getting on with a task with receiving no thanks. This quality would be very useful on the island/to the world as you often need a right hand man to help instruct the main leader who receives little or no thanks. * Looking at these points, we can see that combined, Ralph ,Jack, Piggy and Simon would all form the perfect leader if we drew only on their strengths and put aside their weaknesses. On the world stage Golding was trying to show that if we all pull together, and each draw on everyones good points but forget the bad points, we will have perfect leaders and the world will be able to get on in harmony.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

The Story Stuff Essay -- Environment, Corporations, Consumerism

In the essays that we have been reading, there is a consist theme that has been occuring. This consist theme has been that there are people who are in power, and that their conscience has been covered by hot iron, becuase their minds are being controlled by their love for money, and that they have screwed up the way that the world works in the pursuit of money. The first assignment that we had was to watch the â€Å"Story of Stuff† and then had to talk about it. In the â€Å"Story of Stuff†, the main idea was that corporations cared about one thing and one thing only, making the most money, even if that meant destroying human lives and destroying the planet. In the next assignment, we had to read Naomi Klein’s essay â€Å"No Logo†, in which she tells us that the corporations found that they could make money without making any products, instead they made something called â€Å"brands†, which were nothing but concepts that did not require them to make the actual products. So instead they had several companies that treated their workers without any respect, but could make the products for the corporations at cheap costs. And in the essay â€Å"Iron Maiden† written by Jacobson and Mazur, the authors tell us about how the media has created an environment in which women honestly believe that only when they buy â€Å"brands† and torture their bodies to the horrors of unnecessary cosmetic surgery. And all of this is because there is a group of people, who have their morals controlled by their love of money, and that they have a race for who can own the most things and that nothing can get in their way, and all of this is shown by the essays that we have been studying. In the first assignment that we did as a class,which was watching the movie "The Story of Stuff", ... ...ke unneccary surgey that "may cause immune-system and death"(Jacobson and Mazur 214). And why is the media telling women this evil image of the "Iron Maiden", it is becuase of their love for money and the fact that their consciences have been sealed shut with a piece of hot iron, and because they have fallen for their own lie. The lie that "if you don’t own or buy a lot of stuff,you don’t exist"(Leonard 4). In conclusion, everything that we have learned this quarter has shown the truth about the current state of consumerism. That it is a state that has been created by a lie, and has grown with lies, and it is a state of existance that stomps on the human race each day with a huge iron toe boot. And I believe that this state will be changed into a perfect state of being, a state that will not view humans as expendable resources, but as living and breathing people. The Story Stuff Essay -- Environment, Corporations, Consumerism In the essays that we have been reading, there is a consist theme that has been occuring. This consist theme has been that there are people who are in power, and that their conscience has been covered by hot iron, becuase their minds are being controlled by their love for money, and that they have screwed up the way that the world works in the pursuit of money. The first assignment that we had was to watch the â€Å"Story of Stuff† and then had to talk about it. In the â€Å"Story of Stuff†, the main idea was that corporations cared about one thing and one thing only, making the most money, even if that meant destroying human lives and destroying the planet. In the next assignment, we had to read Naomi Klein’s essay â€Å"No Logo†, in which she tells us that the corporations found that they could make money without making any products, instead they made something called â€Å"brands†, which were nothing but concepts that did not require them to make the actual products. So instead they had several companies that treated their workers without any respect, but could make the products for the corporations at cheap costs. And in the essay â€Å"Iron Maiden† written by Jacobson and Mazur, the authors tell us about how the media has created an environment in which women honestly believe that only when they buy â€Å"brands† and torture their bodies to the horrors of unnecessary cosmetic surgery. And all of this is because there is a group of people, who have their morals controlled by their love of money, and that they have a race for who can own the most things and that nothing can get in their way, and all of this is shown by the essays that we have been studying. In the first assignment that we did as a class,which was watching the movie "The Story of Stuff", ... ...ke unneccary surgey that "may cause immune-system and death"(Jacobson and Mazur 214). And why is the media telling women this evil image of the "Iron Maiden", it is becuase of their love for money and the fact that their consciences have been sealed shut with a piece of hot iron, and because they have fallen for their own lie. The lie that "if you don’t own or buy a lot of stuff,you don’t exist"(Leonard 4). In conclusion, everything that we have learned this quarter has shown the truth about the current state of consumerism. That it is a state that has been created by a lie, and has grown with lies, and it is a state of existance that stomps on the human race each day with a huge iron toe boot. And I believe that this state will be changed into a perfect state of being, a state that will not view humans as expendable resources, but as living and breathing people.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Play Critique Essay

The play being discussed in this critique will be Metamorphoses written and originally directed by Mary Zimmerman. The URI Theatre department produced its own version directed by Steven Raider-Ginsburg. It was performed between the dates of February 21-March 3, 2013. Costume design was by David T Howard, Scene design by Patrick Lynch. Lighting design was handled by Christian Wittwer and Sound design was by Michael Hyde. This production shows students continuing their development as actors thru the form of Theatre. Metamorphoses is a play that is staged as a series of vignettes. It was originally based on the poem by the Roman poet Ovid. He uses ancient Greek Mythology to explain the events happening in the vignettes. Gods like Poseidon, Hermes Americo Lanni. Or Hades and Midas played by Brandon Gailliard. Zeus and Bacchus were played by Benjamin Hill. Who could forget Aphrodite played by Catherine Poirier. Metamorphoses is not a conventional arrangement and has a non-linear point of view. A linear dramatic action may be set as with the following steps, one- A state of equilibrium, two- An inciting incident, three.- Point of attack of the major dramatic question, four- Rising action, five- Climax, six- Resolution and seven- New state of equilibrium. First one event, then the next and the following one after that and so on and so forth. Metamorphoses does not follow this laid out set of steps and no single analysis can make it follow this formula. However each of the separate stories embedded within the play is in itself a â€Å"well-made play† within a play. Each story can be easily followed and analyzed through a look at the seven parts already established. An example that can easily demonstrate and lay out the structure is the story of Erysichthon described within Metamorphoses. When it comes to the actual production of the play there are several differences between individual performances of this play. The original play was done on water, I understand that would not be possible here. The lighting however did work for most of the play. The one part in particular I didn’t like was for the lightning strike, maybe make the lighting fixture in the shape of a lightning bolt? Set design was another area I took particular attention to during the play. When it got dark in between scenes that’s when I knew changes were being made but I can honestly say I never was able to see anyone making changes even though you knew they were there. The costume design for this play was also another challenge to create I saw. The play tended to jump a couple centuries at a time with leads to vastly different wardrobe changes. Like in the beginning they were wearing very basic white sheets, yet underneath you could notice the other layers they would be needing for later. The sound however was probably the biggest drawback for this play. Maybe it’s because the speakers aren’t the greatest but it seemed at times the special effect sounds were quitter than the actors, you couldn’t even notice it at times when you were supposed to. Overall this was a very satisfying Theatre performance for me to see. It was my first but probably will not be my last, I look forward to enjoying more.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Jaws Shark and Water - 1699 Words

Jaws (1975) Media Coursework Peter Benchley wrote Jaws the novel before it was made into a film directed by Steven Spielberg. Jaws is a thriller/horror with the main aim being to build up suspense and tension. When making the film Jaws Steven Spielberg had to face the challenging task of translating Benchley’s popular novel into a hit movie whilst still maintaining the suspense created through the many textual devices used by Benchley, such as language techniques and sentence structure. Spielberg managed use different camera angles and shots alongside lighting effects to create atmosphere and tension to pretty much the same effect. In the background he uses music and sound effects to add to the dramatic visual images he creates.†¦show more content†¦Another interesting point is as Chrissie is removing her clothes while running it is almost as she is leaving herself exposed to potential danger and making herself more vulnerable. At this point as the viewer sees Chrissie isolated in the water they realise that she is facing danger only limited by their own imagination. As Chrissie continues swimming, the frame changes to a point of view shot, accompanied by the same music as in the opening shot. The audience’s thoughts change immediately from the images of the cheerful beach party to the earlier reference of the shark in the opening sequence. This provides a very effective contrast. The audiences expectations are realised when Chrissie feels a sharp pain, and then begins splashing about in the water as she is attacked. The unseen shark thrashes her around in the water, and she eventually clings onto a buoy, making its bell ring, in a vain attempt to alert the nearby community. After a final grasp for breath, she finally disappears under the surface of the water leaving the viewers with the burden of her death. The second victim of the shark is a young boy named Alex, this time the scene is set in along the beach, crowded with people enjoying the long Independence Day holiday. Also on the beach is police chief Brody with his own family. Sunbathers lie on the packed beach. This is a very unlikely place and time for an eventful scene. Again theShow MoreRelatedTerrifying Events in the Ocean in Steven Spielbergs Classic Film, Jaws1388 Words   |  5 Pagesof Steven Spielberg’s classic film Jaws paints quite a mental picture for its viewers with many possibilities. Along with the title, the original film poster used to promote Jaws was visually colorful and terrifying all at the same time. The poster indicates an oversized great white shark lurking in the dark depths of the sea, looking up towards the surface at a swimmer. Waiting and watching, the imagery of the poster gives the viewer the feeling that the shark is waiting for just the right momentRead MoreSymbolism in Theater and Cinem a658 Words   |  3 Pagesmovie Jaws? Would I still feel the same way about sharks and the ocean? These are some of the questions I feel a lot of people can ask themselves after they have seen Jaws. What does this mean? Can the shark in Jaws represent or symbolize something more than just being a hungry shark? I remember watching Jaws as a kid, as you can imagine I was pretty scared. I think I was eleven at the time, and was living in San Diego. So going to the beach looking for seashells and swimming in the water was aRead MoreEssay Suspense in the Film Jaws1592 Words   |  7 Pagesin the Film Jaws In this essay I will be analysing the film Jaws. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg whose other works include Indiana Jones and E.T. Jaws is a fascinating and entertaining film mainly because of its interesting and diverse plot. The people of Amity Island used to live a peaceful and quiet life in the small summer resort town in America. Now however, the people of the small town have become victim to a man-eating Great White Shark. The town officialsRead MoreEssay about Terror in Spielbergs Jaws1429 Words   |  6 Pagesin Spielbergs Jaws The film ‘Jaws’ exemplifies the statement ‘Sublime terror rests in the unseen- the ultimate horror’. Some people would say that dismemberment and gore is needed to terrorise an audience, but this only shocks and disgusts viewers. A horror film should therefore make the audience imagine the terror in order to maximise the fear factor. Many horror films nowadays use similar techniques to those used by Spielberg in the film ‘Jaws’. They use techniquesRead MoreEssay on Jaws: A Bite Out of Reality1603 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"I am a nice shark, not a mindless eating machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends, not food (Finding Nemo).† This childs movie has some accuracy in the sense of a sharks image must be changed in order for the â€Å"mindless eating machine† label to be taken away. There is one movie that deserves all the blame for this inaccurate labeling of sharks, and that movie is â€Å"Jaws.† Released in 1975, Steven Spielberg directed a movie that changed the minds of oceanRead MoreMarine Biology Project Is The Great White Shark1358 Words   |  6 PagesThe topic I choose for the final marine biology project is the Great White Shark. The reason I choose this topic is because sharks have always been in the back of my head and would really like to learn more about them. People are usually scared to go into the ocean at the beach and I would like to know more about the creature that caused this. The Great White is very important to Marine Biology and to the marine environments because it is at the top of the food chain. The Great White does not haveRead MoreSteven Spielberg s Jaws And Jurassic Park984 Words   |  4 PagesSteven Spielberg is a director who has made many movies including Jaws (1975) and Jurassic Park (1993). Both Jaws and Jurassic Park show animals behaving in the way that nature intended them to behave. However, in Jaws the animal finds himself trapped in an unnatural environment, an inlet where humans swim. In Jurassic Park, animals that became extinct millions of years ago, dinosaurs, also find themselves in unnatural environment occupied by humans. I want to compare these two movies because IRead MoreThe Ecology Of The Deep Sea Species1522 Words   |  7 PagesThe Ecology of the Deep sea Frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) The off-shore marine environment changes intensively with the change in the ocean depth. There is three distinctive zones that can be classified the Epipelagic which extends from the sea surface to a depth of 200 meters, the mesopelagic which extends from a depth of 200 meters to a depth of a 1000 meters and then the Deep sea which extends from a depth of a 1000 meters to the sea floor (Castro Huber, 2010). The Deep sea canRead MoreMovie Analysis : The Film Jaws 1483 Words   |  6 Pagesthe classic summer blockbuster Jaws, your heart immediately picks up and instantly visions of a massive, man eating shark pop into your head. In 1975, Jaws terrified beachgoers everywhere with the bone chilling thought of a vicious great white shark lurking just below their feet, threatening to attack every person it came in contact with. Swimmers were haunted by the image of the film’s poster, which displayed a swimmer just within reach of the colossal beast’s jaws. The poster did its job in conveyingRead MoreEssay Horror Films: The Haunted Castle by George Melies1616 Words   |  7 Pagesmore frightening and influential than that of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Each a product of horror’s 1970’s and 80’s golden era, the films have a reputation of engulfing viewers in fear, without the use of masked killers, vampires, or other clichà ©s. Instead, Kubrick and Spielberg take a different approach and scare audiences on a psychological level. The Shining and Jaws evoke fear through the use of three different film aspects: the use of a â€Å"danger† color, daunting

Saturday, December 28, 2019

The Impacts of the Internet on Journal Publishing

Introduction The Internet has transformed the way in which knowledge is disseminated, discoveries are shared and traditional business model of academic journal is operated in the electronic environment. At the same time, Internet as a medium also construct a completely new model of knowledge learning and distribution, which is the Open Access, funded by author-pay, institutional sponsorship, advertising, etc. As a result, the full text of content is free to all the readers around the world. However, negative impacts are brought to both readers and authors simultaneously. For example, authors have the responsibility to pay the publication fee and academic journals are incentivized by the OA to publish more journals, which will affect the overall quality and thus, the whole publication infrastructure of the OA model is not sustainable in the long run. Though not denying these impediments, this essay concentrates on the positive impacts of the Internet on journal publishing from the viewpoint of aca demic journals. Drawing the work of various scholars and taking Wiley Open Access as a case study, this essay identifies the impacts of the Internet on academic journal publishing by examining dynamic changes in practices and behaviors of readers and authors. I seek not to cover all the aspects, but to paying particular attention to scholarly communication. Impact of the Internet on journal publishing Academic journals have remained outstandingly unchanged in terms ofShow MoreRelatedMcsweeney s Publishing : An American Non Profit Publishing House1211 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction McSweeney s Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers in 1998, based in San Francisco. McSweeney s initially published only the literary journal Timothy McSweeney s Quarterly Concern, a literary magazine that only published work rejected elsewhere. It has since grown to include four print literary magazines (McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Wholfin, Lucky Peach, The Believer), a web humor magazine (MsSweeney’s Internet Tendency), a scholarshipRead MoreThe Production Of Books Changed Over The Last Twenty Five Years Essay1692 Words   |  7 PagesResearch Question and Objectives How has the production of books changed over the last twenty-five years? The focus of this paper is exploring the environmental effects of book production, the impact of the literary revolution, the changes in popularity of genres and authors, well known publishing companies and changes in book usage. II. Thesis Statement With multiple advancements in the production of books over the last several centuries, the era of book digitization is our most currentRead MoreHow Can We Bring Public Health For All Policies? Strategies For Healthy Societies?803 Words   |  4 PagesL. Daniel (Ed.), Annual Editions: Health, 36th Edition (pp. 35-37). McGraw-Hill Publishing: New York, NY. Berg, R. (2010). Bed bugs: The pesticide dilemma. In E. L. Daniel (Ed.), Annual Editions: Health, 36th Edition (pp. 155-158). McGraw-Hill Publishing: New York, NY. Bert, F., Giacomo, S., Gualano, M. R., Siliquini, R. (2015). How can we bring public health in all policies? Strategies for healthy societies. Journal of Public Health Research, 4(393). doi:10.4081/jphr.2015.393 Cherry, J. D. (2010)Read More The Legitimacy of Electronic Scholarly Publishing Essay example3539 Words   |  15 PagesThe Legitimacy of Electronic Scholarly Publishing At most institutions of higher learning in the United States and worldwide the emphasis is placed on the depth and breadth of the institutions research, at least as far as the institutions reputation and renown are concerned. An institution that does not produce much scholarly research in the form of conference activity or publication activity will not carry the same high regard as an institution which is much more involved inRead MoreAdvances And Development Of Tourism : A Literature Of Review1476 Words   |  6 Pagesthis literature review is the advances of technology in tourism. The purpose of this literature review will explore the major opportunities for tourism service providers. The literature gathered from a variety of resources in particular areas of Internet and social media, innovation of technology in multimedia and hotel design, and transport technology. Role of Technology in Tourism Nowadays, the use of technology has grown rapidly in the world. Technology has come and has improved the mode of transportationRead MoreInformation Security, Minor Assignment1575 Words   |  7 Pages3 Introduction 3 Profile of Threat 3 Profile Completion 4 Situational crime Prevention 4 Law 6 International scope 6 Conclusion 7 Reference 8 â€Æ' Summary Computer security is the security applied to the computers and their networks including the internet. Physical security and information security are the two types of computer securities which prevent theft of equipment and data. (Man, 2015). Security vulnerabilities can be defined as an unintended flaw in the system that leaves opportunity for unauthorizedRead MoreClothing Stores E-Commerce Implementation: Case Study1439 Words   |  6 PagesThere are several ethical dilemmas that come with e-commerce in all businesses (Powell, 2011). For instance, ethics affect all aspects of the business including the brand image; sales, marketing, and also advertising principles which have a major impact on the company. These ethics affect the employees too, and the work they do online. Some of the questions asked entail who to trust online. This is a serious problem because there are many scammers online whose work is to commit frauds. Another questionRead MoreUse of Information Technology in Medicine817 Words   |  4 Pagesextends well beyond its most obvious manifestation, the internet. It consists of an enormously diverse set of technologies for transmitting and managing health information for use by doctors, other healthcare providers, patients, payers, researchers and various other stakeholders with an interest in healthcare. Today, the internet is the dominant medium for obtaining all types of information. Patients are increasingly consulting the internet about their health needs, both before and after consultingRead MoreProject Management Concept Worksheet Essay1043 Words   |  5 Pageslack of planning. While issues arose regarding vendors, the issues only pointed to Harrison-Keyes failure to truly grasp the necessity of building in contingency plans. The disaster of those around the company should never have an equally devastating impact on the company. While Harrison-Keyes has thought about contingency planning, their lack of solidifying plans is truly their biggest error. It is imperative to note that some plans should have been more involved than others. A simple list and communicationRead MoreInformation Storage and Retrieval1290 Words   |  6 Pagesrepresentation of knowledge and the retrieval of information relevant to a specific user problem (Mandhl, 2007). Information retrieval technology mostly used in universities and public library to help students or information users to access to books, journals and other information resources that they needed. It also applies at organizations which having large collection of documents or information. In â€Å"The Seven Ages of Information Retrieval† article written by Michael Lesk, mentions the idea of information

Friday, December 20, 2019

Social Theories of Karl Marx and Maw Weber - 789 Words

There are many sociological issues in the world today that can relate back to the concept theories that Karl Marx and Max Weber formed many years ago. Although there are too many for us to go further in depth on, I chose to primarily focus on Racism and Classism. With the perspectives of these theorists in mind I can explain how Racism, Classism, in conjunction with Feminism are among the largest social problems human beings face in the world today. Both theorists have different theories of the social concept Classism, however they are not that much different from one another. Karl Marx utilizes the term â€Å"proletariat† to refer to the working class. Marx views the members of each class as sharing their own distinctive culture. Max Weber†¦show more content†¦This allows us to raise our brows to the problems with socialism, and where the government is failing us. Marx used the concept of â€Å"class consciousness† to refer to a subjective awareness held by members of a class regarding their common vested interests and need for collective political action to bring about social change. According to Marx, class is qualitatively different from gender and race and cannot be considered just another system of oppression. Globally racism and sexism differs depending on the situation, but in nature produces the same issues. Racism is a major social problem in more than just one part of the world. There is not a connection between certain races and how they are treated in similar countries, there is a drift among racially divided cultures. For example, 1/4 white men who use coke are caught for it while 1/17 black men who use it are caught. The number of white to black users are the same, however the conviction rate is very different. Feminism is another social problem troubling human societies all over the world. Feminism is an issue of Dominance of Men over Women around the world. The feminist theory is a result of the general movement to empower women worldwide. According to Weber feminism can be defined as a

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Principals of Financial Markets Management

Question: Discuss about the Principals of Financial Markets Management. Answer: Introduction: The following piece of assignment focuses on conducting a top down analysis of airline industry operating globally as well as on the domestic grounds of Australia. The researcher has undergone an extensive analysis of the airline industry and the research outcome has thoroughly been discussed. The researcher has also provided a substantial judgment for the changes that have occurred in the profit generating capacity and working procedure in these companies. For the purpose of highlighting the changes the researcher has further done the bottom up analysis of the two major airline companies operating in Australia that are Qantas Airways Ltd and Virgin Blue Ltd. On the analysis of these two companies, the researcher has found out the changes that have occurred in the working structure of the companies and the ways through which the profitability of the same were affected. The researcher has done a detailed analysis of the finances of the companies to justify the changes. Top-down Analysis: In the global economy the recent times have witnessed a phase of increase in the operational cost of the airline industry and the deterioration in the same. According to Snider and Williams (2015),it has also been analyzed that the airline industries around the economy is in a state of complete chaos via an extensive research of the industry. Here, the micro perspective of the airline industry comprises of the general economic environment that the firms operate in or will be operating. As stated by Zhang et al. (2013), in order to ascertain the existing available environment for the proper functioning of the firms, pestel analysis forms to be one of the essential tools. In this context, the industrial economic analysis of the working overall environment has further been described as follows: Industrial Economic Environment In the process of understanding the industrial economic environment the GDP, interest rate and currency value of Australia is evaluated. In the second quarter of 2016 the country witnessed a GDP growth of 3.3 % annually compared to the 3.1% registered in the March quarter. In 2015 the economy of the country stood at GDP of AUD$ 1.62 trillion. The interest rate is decided by the Reserve bank of India and also known as cash rate stood at 1. 5% in August 2016 and it is lowest rate compared to the average rate that stands at 4.86%. On the other hand the currency rate of AUD can be expressed as 1AUD is equivalent to 0.758 USD or 0.68 or 0.58 GBP. Thus 1 USD is equal to 1.33 AUD. The airline industries all over the world are under the supervision of the political measures which may not be favorable for the economic working environment of the airline industry. In the words of Dai et al. (2014),as per the rules of the political regulation, the passengers hold more importance in comparison to the airline companies. In addition to the above, the intensive competition among the airline companies along the regulatory political measures are compelling the firms to occur at a situation where in the consumers or passengers take the lead in controlling the price of the tickets and the other various amenities and taking it to a lower level. However, the trading policies of the airline companies operating in Australia are good. According to Chen and Chen (2012), the prime focus of the trading policy in Australia is to break down the barriers of trade through the implementation of the regional, multilateral as well as bilateral trading policies. In this context, the two biggest airline companies operating in Australia namely Qantas and Virgin Blue are mainly concentrating on providing its services to the business travelers that are frequent and are in large number of quantity from all over the world. Here, it is mandatory for the companies to follow the factors listed in the Corporate Social Responsibility scheme. As opinioned by Borenstein and Rose (2014), the Australian airline companies also require considering the international issues to avoid the chances of damage to the culture and breaking of the international laws. As per the current political atmosphere of Australia, the working environment for the airline companies is adequate because the country is not engaged in war like situations with the other countries. According to Bilotkach and Lakew (2014), the following adequacy for the working operations provides an opportunity to the airline companies to serve the business class travelers all around the globe along with the leisure trip travelers that may help the companies to gain more sales as well as profits. Due to the stability of the government in a country like Australia, the political intervention is minimal on the working procedures of the airline firms. In the words of Sivrikaya and Tun (2013), most of the developed countries around the globe have been dealing with the outcomes of recession which has also laid an impact on the airline industry. The lowering of the rate of economic growth along with the constant fluctuation of the oil prices have been the largely contributing factors towards the stagnant development of this particular industry. According to Johnston and Ozment (2013), The leading issues that the airline companies are dealing with comprises of hike in the prices of fuels, increase in the demand of labors, rise in the cost of maintenance and an increment in the cost of operations along with the reduction in the quantity of consumers and intense competition from the rival firms serving the customers at apparently lower prices. Besides, the incidence of the disappearing airplanes that is the Malaysian airplane has further added to the difficulties to be faced by the other airline companies globally. As stated by Baker (2013), on account of a lower rate of unemployment in the country, the demands of the workers have increased leading to a crisis of trained and fully skilled workers for conducting the works of the airline firms. Hence, the companies require finding out the alternative ways of having an access to the maximum number of skilled employees. However, an increased rate of export of Australia works in favor of the airline companies by generating opportunities of serving the frequent travelers of the freight transfer. As per the words of Merkert and Cowie (2012), Australia has also witnessed significant changes in its social environment due to increment in the quality as well quantity of service of the consumers. The firms require steadying their costs in order to serve the rising demands and derive the maximum revenue. The literacy rate of Australia is high due to which the customers have a more economical approach forcing the airline firms to adopt the approach of being a consumer friendly business firm. In the view of Misopoulos et al. (2014), the recent technological advancements have reduced the need of one to one business conferences and meetings that has further lead to a decrease in the demand of business class tickets. As stated by Hansen et al. (2013), owing to the rise in the excessive competition among the airline companies, there is a need to develop new technological procurements that may lure the customers bringing in more revenue to the companies than their rival firms. These technological advancements may also cut down the fuel requirements and minimize the cost of operations as well. This may also lead to an increased work efficiency of the employees along with the companies. In context of the reports published by the International Air Transport Association the demand of the airline industry displayed an increase of 6.5 percent than the proceeding year in 2014. In the view of Brueckner et al. (2015), a lower rate of fair charges has been determined to be the major reason for this increase in demand. As per the reports, the annual revenue generating capacity of the companies increased to a percentage of 5.6. Hence, it may be said that the airline industries have derived the strongest results in the year 2015as compared to the previous five years. The domestic airline industry operating in Australia has also portrayed a similar response. An increase of 6.3 percent has been seen in the business growth of such companies. As observed by Zhang et al. (2014),these companies are dealing with a restricted profit margin that may be overcome given the companys focus on lowering down the excessive operational costs and increasing the revenue growth via attaining maximum satisfaction of the consumers. As stated by Akbar et al. (2014), the economic health of a particular country speaks aloud about its industrial growth. The economic indicators of the industrial wellbeing help to determine the economic status of that particular industry. These economic indicators mainly consist of the gross domestic product or GDP, per capita income, industry production, disposable income, scale of business along with the consumer satisfaction and confidence. According to Ramdas et al. (2013), the continuity of fluctuation in the fuel prices also plays a major role in the profitability of the airline companies. In this regard, it may be said that the economic growth of the origin country and the economic growth of the industry operating in the same country are very closely associated. Therefore, the economic indicators and the rising and falling trends of it lay a significant impact on the numbers of passengers along with the magnitude of freight. Bottom-Up Analysis: In the words of Lawton et al. (2013), the basic purpose of conducting a swot analysis is to focus on the business organizations micro perspectives. The main aim of this analysis is to establish an association between the objectives of the organization and the strategic planning of the same. According to Sancho-Esper et al. (2016), the analysis further helps to define the unique features of the particular business firms that makes it different from its rival firms and thereby helps to gain a competitive advantage simultaneously. Besides, the weak points of the business entity can also be determined through this analysis and thus may help to improve the working process. In this context, the researcher has thoroughly discussed the changes that can be witnessed in the profitability and financial ratios of the two major airline companies operating in Australia that is Qantas Airways Ltd and Virgin Blue Ltd. Financial Ratios and Growth Profitability of Qantas Airways Ltd Key Ratios - Profitability Years 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Margins % of Sales Gross Margin 73.77 56.83 55.77 55.24 55.62 51.72 54.6 49.83 54.01 Operating Margin 6.9 5.83 1.39 -1.55 -0.63 -6.6 1.28 -26.19 4.92 Profitability Asset Turnover (Average) 0.78 0.8 0.73 0.67 0.7 0.71 0.77 0.81 0.89 Return on Assets % 3.71 4.93 0.59 0.56 1.23 -1.17 0.02 -15.16 3.2 Liquidity/Financial Health Current Ratio 0.87 0.74 0.89 0.93 0.9 0.77 0.82 0.66 0.68 Quick Ratio 0.82 0.67 0.78 0.81 0.78 0.65 0.7 0.58 0.6 Financial Leverage 3.17 3.44 3.5 3.35 3.39 3.6 3.4 6.05 5.09 Debt/Equity 0.68 0.62 0.86 0.86 0.89 0.92 0.88 1.84 1.39 Efficiency Receivables Turnover 11.64 11.2 11.69 12.43 13.59 13.95 12.49 11.52 14.41 Inventory Turnover 15.45 34.34 27.64 20.94 18.45 19.25 19.51 22.33 22.36 Fixed Assets Turnover 1.23 1.28 1.19 1.08 1.1 1.07 1.14 1.25 1.46 Asset Turnover 0.78 0.8 0.73 0.67 0.7 0.71 0.77 0.81 0.89 The given table of profitability and financial ratios of Qantas Airways shows that the gross margin of the company have been decreasing in the preceding years whereas it has subsequently shown an increase in the recent years. According to Brueckner and Picard (2013), the gross margin of a firm may be calculated by subtracting the amount of revenue from sales from the cost of the goods sold. On the contrary, the operating margin of a firm consists of the revenue collected after the operating expenses have been deducted from the total revenue generated. It is evident from the given table that the Qantas Airways Ltd has experienced an improvement in the recent years than the earlier years. In the words of Zou et al. (2014),a higher rate of economic growth is associated with the rate of improvement of the operating margin of a business entity. As opinioned by Rosenthal et al. (2013),the capability of a business entity in paying off the liabilities of the same with the company assets help s to understand the status of the companys current ratio. The assets by which the liabilities may be paid off mainly consist the cash balance of the company, its accounts receivables, the inventories as well as market securities and similar other things. In addition to the above, it can also be analyzed from the given table that the current ratio of this airline company has also improved in the recent years. This in turn indicates that the company has become more efficient in paying off its liabilities. In the words of Wang et al. (2016),the efficiency of the company in generating the maximum amount of credit and the collection of debts based on that credit is depicted through the receivables turnover ratio of the Qantas Airways Ltd. The growth of this ratio makes it evident that Qantas Airways lends cash and also collects cash on credit for the purpose of funding its business purposes. Besides, the ability of the company to assist the sales based on the capacity of the assets of the same determines the strength of the asset turnover ratio of Qantas Airways Ltd. In order to facilitate this, the firm will require comparing and drawing a conclusion of the net sales of the company with that of the average total sales of the same. A slow rate of growth of the asset turnover ratio is depicting the stagnant development of Qantas Airways due to the disability of the firm in increasing the number of sales. Financial Ratio and Growth Profitability of Virgin Blue Ltd Key Ratios - Profitability Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Margins % of Sales Gross Margin _ _ 71.2 _ 72.28 73.33 71.77 71.91 74.68 Operating Margin 14.76 6.09 -7.58 2.87 -1.5 1.56 -3.43 -8.86 -2.41 Profitability Asset Turnover (Average) 0.94 0.82 0.78 0.82 0.85 1 0.95 0.95 0.9 Return on Assets % 9.36 3.46 -4.77 0.59 -1.76 0.58 -2.33 -7.81 -2.12 Liquidity/Financial Health Current Ratio 1.1 0.88 0.53 0.76 0.65 0.65 0.54 0.64 0.69 Quick Ratio Financial Leverage 3.1 3.61 5.83 4.15 4.15 4.3 4.26 4.46 5.37 Debt/Equity 1.02 1.28 2.68 1.65 1.52 1.53 1.46 1.52 2.16 Efficiency Receivables Turnover 39.09 34.45 28.91 26.41 22.52 24.24 23.14 20.83 20.51 Inventory Turnover _ _ _ _ 177.65 104.38 50.38 36.68 30.87 Fixed Assets Turnover 1.52 1.23 1.04 1.1 1.19 1.42 1.38 1.51 1.63 Asset Turnover 0.94 0.82 0.78 0.82 0.85 1 0.95 0.95 0.9 In the year 2015, as can be seen in the above table, the gross margin of Virgin Blue has increased tremendously as a result of the reduction of the revenue of the company from the cost of the goods sold by the company. Here, the operating margin of Virgin Blue is considered to be the outcome achieved after the revenue has been deducted from the cost of the goods sold by the company. The liabilities of the company are to be paid by the assets of the company that constitutes of the current ratio of the firm. However, as depicted in the above table, Virgin Blues current ratio has improved reflection upon its efficiency in paying the liabilities. The previous years were consequently suffering from a lower current ratio that has steadily become stable in the year 2015. The current ratio of a firm is helpful in the determination of the abilities of the company of using the assets in disposing the liabilities of the company. According to the profitability and financial ratios table of Virgin Blue, the fluctuation of the receivables turnover among the given years reflects that the company has been facing few difficulties in generation of credit and lending of money for the business purposes. As stated by Pearson et al. ( 2015),the ratio of assets turnover shows the sales that the company is able to generate from its assets. Besides, the given table also displays from the changes in the assets turnover that the sales of the company are largely affected all through the stated years. The given table also shows the quantity of financial leverage and the debt equity ratio of the Virgin Blue, Australia. According to Reynolds-Feighan (2013), the term financial leverage explains the debt taken by the company to use it in the purchase of assets and the debt equity ratio helps a company to measure the financial leverage of the same. The amount of debt may not necessarily be equal to the shareholders fund. An increase in the debt equity may not be favorable for the company in the long run. The investors may also be reluctant to invest in a company with high debt equity as it would lead to chances of bad debts. This further illustrates that the companies demonstrating high debt equity may not be able to attract the investors. Conclusion On the completion of the following piece of research work was aimed analyzing the Airline industry on a global platform as well as on the domestic platform of Australia. The researcher has undergone a top down analysis in order to understand the cause of the changes that are taking place in the Airline industries all around the globe. The stated few changes have led the airline industries to experience a reduction in the demand for their service which in turn hampers the profitability and subsequently decreases their productivity. The major reason of choosing this industry is that very less amount of research has been done in this regard which provided an opportunity to the researcher to enlarge the scale of research work. Further, the findings of the current research work may also prove to be beneficial for the airline companies in identifying the reasons behind the occurrence of these changes and take remedial measures for the same. In addition to this, the researcher has further done a detailed analysis of the profitability and financial ratios of the two major airline companies operating in Australia. The prime reason for conducting this analysis was to understand the effect of the causes on the workings of a company in a better way. In order to justify the stated outcome the researcher has also provided the profitability table of both the companies. The researcher has also made use of subsequent references from different journals and authors to support the given research work. Based on the analysis of the two airline company namely Qantas Airways and Virgin Blue, Australia by conducting top down analysis and bottom analysis using the pestle and swot framework it is evident that the company is exhibiting a decreasing trend in the sales margin and profitability. This is mainly attributed to the economic recession faced by the world economy in the recent tome coupled with the growing competition and rising operation cost of the airline industry. The financial ratio and growth profitability of both Qantas Airways and Virgin Blue is able to improve in terms of gross margin, operating margin and profitability in the last financial year 2015. It shows a positive sign for the industry. Recommendation It is recommended based on the reversing trend in the airline industry in the last year that the company should focus on customer loyalty program to improve the customer retention and improve the sales margin and profitability in the future. It should also promote service differentiation as the selling point to differentiate from the low cost players to attract the potential customers. Reference List: Akbar, Y., Nmeth, A. and Niemeier, H.M., 2014. Here we go again the Permanently Failing Organization: An application to the airline industry in Eastern Europe.Journal of Air Transport Management,35, pp.1-11. Baker, D.M.A., 2013. Service quality and customer satisfaction in the airline industry: A comparison between legacy airlines and low-cost airlines.American Journal of Tourism Research,2(1), pp.67-77. Bilotkach, V. and Lakew, P.A., 2014. On sources of market power in the airline industry: Panel data evidence from the US airports.Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice,59, pp.288-305. Borenstein, S. and Rose, N.L., 2014. How airline markets work or do they? Regulatory reform in the airline industry. InEconomic Regulation and Its Reform: What Have We Learned?(pp. 63-135). University of Chicago Press. Brueckner, J.K. and Picard, P.M., 2013. Airline alliances, carve-outs and collusion.Review of Network Economics,12(2), pp.211-227. Brueckner, J.K., Lee, D.N., Picard, P.M. and Singer, E., 2015. Product unbundling in the travel industry: The economics of airline bag fees.Journal of Economics Management Strategy,24(3), pp.457-484. Chen, C.F. and Chen, S.C., 2012. Scale development of safety management system evaluation for the airline industry.Accident Analysis Prevention,47, pp.177-181. Dai, M., Liu, Q. and Serfes, K., 2014. Is the effect of competition on price dispersion nonmonotonic? evidence from the us airline industry.Review of Economics and Statistics,96(1), pp.161-170. Hansen, M., Ryerson, M.S. and Marchi, R.F., 2013. New methodologies for airport environmental impact analysis.Modelling and Managing Airport Performance, pp.145-169. Johnston, A. and Ozment, J., 2013. Economies of scale in the US airline industry.Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review,51, pp.95-108. Lawton, T., Rajwani, T. and Doh, J., 2013. The antecedents of political capabilities: A study of ownership, cross-border activity and organization at legacy airlines in a deregulatory context.International Business Review,22(1), pp.228-242. Merkert, R. and Cowie, J., 2012. A quantitative cross-modal analysis of transportation firms transaction costsAre airlines any different?.Journal of Air Transport Management,22, pp.3-8. Misopoulos, F., Mitic, M., Kapoulas, A. and Karapiperis, C., 2014. Uncovering customer service experiences with Twitter: the case of airline industry.Management Decision,52(4), pp.705-723. Pearson, J., Pitfield, D. and Ryley, T., 2015. Intangible resources of competitive advantage: Analysis of 49 Asian airlines across three business models.Journal of Air Transport Management,47, pp.179-189. Ramdas, K., Williams, J. and Lipson, M., 2013. Can financial markets inform operational improvement efforts? Evidence from the airline industry.Manufacturing Service Operations Management,15(3), pp.405-422. Reynolds-Feighan, A., 2013. Comparative analysis of air freight networks in regional markets around the globe. InHandbook of Global Logistics(pp. 325-366). Springer New York. Rosenthal, P., Pfeiffer, L., Mller, N.H. and Ohler, P., 2013, June. Visruption: intuitive and efficient visualization of temporal airline disruption data. InComputer Graphics Forum(Vol. 32, No. 3pt1, pp. 81-90). Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Sancho-Esper, F.M. and Mas-Ruiz, F.J., 2016. Spanish Domestic Airline Market Structure and Incumbent Cost Response to Market Entry: Direction and Magnitude of Response.Journal of Transport Economics and Policy (JTEP),50(3), pp.223-244. Sivrikaya, O. and Tun, E., 2013. Demand forecasting for domestic air transportation in Turkey.The Open Transportation Journal,7(1), pp.20-26. Snider, C. and Williams, J.W., 2015. Barriers to entry in the airline industry: A multidimensional regression-discontinuity analysis of AIR-21.Review of Economics and Statistics,97(5), pp.1002-1022. Wang, J., Bonilla, D. and Banister, D., 2016. Air deregulation in China and its impact on airline competition 19942012.Journal of Transport Geography,50, pp.12-23. Zhang, Q., Yang, H., Wang, Q. and Zhang, A., 2014. Market power and its determinants in the Chinese airline industry.Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice,64, pp.1-13. Zhang, X., Zhao, M., Kuang, S.M. and Du, Q., 2013. Research on airline company fuel-saving model based on petri network. InAdvanced Materials Research(Vol. 616, pp. 1107-1110). Trans Tech Publications. Zou, B., Elke, M., Hansen, M. and Kafle, N., 2014. Evaluating air carrier fuel efficiency in the US airline industry.Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice,59, pp.306-330.