Airasia Vision and Mission Statement Analysis

Airasia Vision and Mission Statement Analysis A vision is practically involves thinking strategically about the future direction of a company. In other words, the vision statement is like a road map leading the route to a company intends to take in developing and strengthening its business. Therefore, create a vision statement is really crucial for AirAsia. And the analysis of the current vision statement of AirAsia is including in the Appendix (Exhibit 1.0). After an evaluation of AirAsia original vision statement, the new vision statement will be revising into: To spearhead flight industry and to be the most recognized low-cost airline company that delivers the best flying experience in Asia. As we can see, the new vision statement that formed is still within its scope, AirAsia remain emphasizing that it wanted to be the largest low-cost airline company in the Asia. When the company grows larger, it will direct more people to recognize AirAsia easily, in other words it brings strong brand identity to the customers. Besides that, in the new vision statement AirAsia interpreted as becoming the leader in flight industry in Asia, and obviously the original vision statement of AirAsia does not including this. Furthermore, in the new vision statement states that AirAsia wants to delivers the best flying experience to the customers, in fact this is another new direction that AirAsia can look into as customers today are concern about the servic es more than the features that the company can provide. As mention earlier, developing a vision statement is a key to direct a company and to help secure the companys future. Conversely, a poor vision statement may mislead a company to the wrong direction. What AirAsia are accomplishing whenever developing a vision is actually expressive AirAsia expectations for its business. Although the new vision will not notify exactly how AirAsia are going to reach the entire destination, it does establish the course for its business planning. For example, being a leader in the industry is particularly new goals for AirAsia to achieve. AirAsia should consider come out with a unique selling proposition that competitors would not duplicate from like having a strong and large customers base, using the latest and advance technology that the competitors does not have, having the safest security aids and so on. In this point of view, AirAsia faced tougher strategic decisions on choosing technology option and so forth. Next, we can see that the new vision statement stated that AirAsia wanted to be the most recognized low-cost airline company in Asia. Being the most recognized low-cost airline company needed a lot of exposure to the public such as advertising, sponsoring and so on. In this case, AirAsia will require making careful strategic decision and actions on the publicity and the sponsorship. For example, if AirAsia does not constantly updating its publicity activities and does not coverage all the target market, then will reduced the customers base and hardly become most recognize Airline Company in Asia. Mission Statement Mission statement is used for defining current business activities, highlighting boundaries of current business. While the analysis of the current mission statement of AirAsia is includes in the Appendix (Exhibit 2.0). After an evaluation of AirAsia original vision statement, the new mission statement is written as: To bring full premier services to the customers yet offering the lowest flight cost. Hence, it fulfilled the now everyone can fly tagline correctly. Next is To have a productive and motivated workforce and build close relationship between employees and the top management. Lastly, is Updating and embracing the technology all the time to meet the goals of AirAsia that is reduced the cost to the lowest. The new mission statement that created to AirAsia is brief and memorable, in other words it is easy to understand by most of the target audience. Besides, it is state clearly the purpose of the particular mission that needed to accomplish in the short period of time. For example, in the new mission statement stated To bring full premier services to the customers yet offering the lowest flight cost has affected the AirAsia to increase the customer value and provide full premier services like the others competitors do. Increasing customer value is not easy as it requires strategic actions and planning by the management. The new mission statement has come out to have a productive and motivated workforce in AirAsia. This simply means that AirAsia needed to keep providing trainings and empower among the employees to make sure the work flow is carrying efficiently and productivity. While building well relationships between employees and top management can be done by organizing team building and applying good working policy to the AirAsia workforce. This mission statement helps guiding AirAsia for shaping its whole organization structure well and flat. In short, the new vision and mission statement that created truthfully can helps AirAsia to go further in the right track and help management to review it as a guideline in making decisions in the future. The analysis of new vision and mission statement do include in the Appendix (Exhibit 3.0 and Exhibit 4.0) AirAsias Resources Strengths and Competitive Capabilities AirAsias major resources are including financial, human, technological, physical, organizational resources and so forth. Those resources can be strength and competitive capabilities that makes the key success factors in the industry. Financial performance is the key to determine the strength or weakness of a company. According to the financial summary analysis in the case, it shows that in the end of 2005, AirAsia has actually earning of US$29.2 million and it is increased yearly. Besides that, AirAsias bank and cash balances are reported up to US$ 86.6 million. This indeed shows a good performance and strength of AirAsia because with the large amount of the bank and cash balances, AirAsia totally can generate internal funds to do any expansion in the future. With this strength as well, AirAsia can meet its key success factors easily in the industry. In fact to has a low-debt-ratio, AirAsia increased its financial strengths too. Next, are the human resources. Human resources refer to employees that working for the company. AirAsias are still capable to keep its employees motivated because AirAsia is extremely supportive and responsive in encouraging and listening to its employee all the time. This made the employees more productive and creative in performing their responsibility. Instead of offering high and attractive salary to its competitors, AirAsia recommend its own policy which are more motivated. For example, AirAsia offered a broad range of incentives that includes productivity and performance-based bonuses, shares and stocks option. In addition, AirAsia implement a sector pay policy rather than hourly pay scale for its pilots. This policy adopted to encourage pilot to enhance flight efficiencies by keeping flight and operating times to a minimum and to cover as much flight sectors as possible daily. All those hard work that AirAsia take not only helped in increase productivity buy also to further st rengthen employees relationships day by day. Moreover, highly skilled employees are also the source of capabilities that AirAsia has that is hardly to intimate by others competitors. Hence, human resources are one of AirAsia strength to match the key success factors. From the innovation resources and product development aspects, at this moment, AirAsia has managed to design its aircraft cabins and this brings to cost reduction to AirAsia. This innovative work helps in increasing AirAsia revenues as the innovation allows for quicker turnarounds between flights. AirAsia also have their own branded credit card and offers corporate travel services. The ability to innovate and come up with unique innovations to lower costs and increase revenues shows that AirAsia possesses substantial quality innovation resources that are valuable. Low cost airline tend to achieve the lowest possible price of the products and services same goes to AirAsia. AirAsia capabilities to reduce cost either fixed or distribution cost is the competitive weapon used in the industry. AirAsia successfully bargained low lease rates for its aircraft, low airport fees and low rates for its long term maintenance contract, allows AirAsia to relatively offer low-cost flights to the customers. This somewhat linked to the physical resources management that is one of the strength of AirAsia. Last but not least, the AirAsia strengths and competitive capabilities that matches the industry key success factors which is the advance and updating, is the technical resources. AirAsia was the first airline company in Asia who apply online-ticketing (e-ticketing) services to its customers. This implementation indirectly helped AirAsia to save up lots of cost, for example the printing cost. To further benefit the customers with technologies help, AirAsia make available for its customers to purchase the tickets at certain hypermarket by setting up a booth there as well as the post office. In short, AirAsia strength is also the capability to leverage on technologies and ahead of its competitors to increase sales and lower cost in the future.

Flanking in a Price War Article Summary Essay -- Economics Prices Econ

Flanking in a Price War Article Summary The article begins by giving a brief analysis of a study that was conducted in Quebec in the early 1980’s involving the grocery industry. It discusses a point of time before the leader in market share, Steinberg, Inc., initiated a price war. One of the authors of the article, Roger J Calantone, was involved in an experiment with one of the smaller grocery chains, IGA. The experiment was designed to see what IGA should do so as to retain profitability if their main competition launched an all out price war. The main premise was that certain goods, if prices were lowered, would have more favorable price demand elasticity than other goods. This would enable the grocer to not have to slash prices across the board, rather only cut prices on specific goods so as to retain profitability during a price war with the other competitors. During this time, the other competitors combined had dominant market share. The piece gives a background of the Quebec grocery market between 1950 and 1983, and discussed the main players in the market in this time period. It specifically discusses Steinberg, Inc. This grocery chain, as previously mentioned, was the market leader for most of this time until 1980 due to some questionable pricing strategies it had implemented as well as some political changes that occurred in the late 1970’s. The next point of the article was to discuss a pricing experiment IGA and the author chose to follow to help combat a price war initiated by its competitors. The premise of the experiment was to ascertain if certain goods were reduced in price, while others maintained or increased price, what would happen to overall demand elasticity as well as specific goods’ demand elasticity. The goods were divided into two key components and these were: stock-up goods (non-perishable items that could be bought in bulk) and nonstick-up goods (perishable items). The method ology and results of the experiment was discussed in this treatment. The results ultimately fell in favor of IGA and thusly they were able to effectively fight and win a price war with its major competitors in 1983. Pricing Experiment Design The experiment used a â€Å"covariance design within a Bayesian decision framework† to determine that stock-up goods have a different demand elasticity than nonstock-up goods. (Calantone, et al, 1989, p.1) Bayes... ...sis. It also learned that given a price war it could even raise prices of nonstock-up goods to offset the lowering of the stock-up goods prices and not affect the elasticity of demand on the nonstock-up goods in a negative way. What Did I Learn? I learned that in an ogopolistic market it might be wiser to collaborate with competitors rather than aggressively attempt to drive them out of the market. The Steinberg grocery chain, due to its aggressive pricing strategy, effectively cost itself market share and profitability. Rather than engage in this type of behavior, Steinberg should have attempted to remain at market equilibrium as it was the dominant player. They should have considered the ramifications of eliminating competition, and what scenarios could potentially occur if they continued on with their current strategies. Bibliography Calantone, R., Droge, C., Litvack, D., Di Benedetto, C. (1989). Flanking in a Price War. Interfaces, 19, 1-12. Wessels, W.J., Economics (3rd ed.) Joyce, J., "Bayes' Theorem", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2003 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2003/entries/bayes-theorem/>.

American Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is a form of administration wherein the government is divided into bureaus or different departments which are headed by non-elected officials. This administration is characterized by a highly hierarchal distribution of authority amongst the offices and is guided by rigidly fixed procedures and rules.Max Weber listed characteristics of modern bureaucracies: (1) the functions of the bodies are rigidly fixed by laws; (2) hierarchal and integrated into a chain of command; (3) administrative policies are properly documented; (4) services require apprenticeship; (5) functions entail full devotion to office; and (6) access to this system is also an access to technology, jurisprudence commercial science and administrative science.The development of the American Bureaucracy is an end result of the division of classes into societies, wherein in the function serves to secure the acceptance of such orders. Thus, according to Lefort, bureaucracy is normally viewed as service of a domi nant class within a specific framework to assure preservation of status for most for the dominant class. Moreover, American bureaucracy is seen to have several negative implications on its government form. Citizens are often concerned on the manner at which principles are being attached to certain issues.It is argued that at most times, people face the imminent danger of being placed at a stand wherein the public good is disregarded due to conflicts from rival parties, and that when the rule of justice and rights of minor party have become overpowered by the force of interested and overbearing majority (Madison, 1787). Thus, it is often said that American bureaucracy has encouraged the splitting of administration into factions, which in turn is an effect of unsteadiness and injustices within the system.These injustices are brought by the government’s influential impact on making judgment towards property sentiments, which at large differ based on the social class – whe rein the inequality to acquire property is possible to equate based on social standing (Madison, 1787). Consequently, the manner of representation in the republic is also in question. The process at which a representative or representatives are elected is based on a certain limited number.Hence it will follow that proportionality of the election of officers for certain republic may render them the greater or lesser probability of representation for the emancipation of the republic that they represent (Madison, 1787). On the other hand, there are also positive views attributed in the establishment of American bureaucracy. The establishment of bureaucracy in US has pushed separate departments to become independent and to act according to their own will.This shall also follow that the members of this department will develop their own sense of authority and responsibility over their areas. But nonetheless, the idea of independence for the established departments has remained untrue so f ar. The independence they posses is only minimal and nominal, because the appointments that are taking place within the system and the process by which orders are done, come strictly from the rigidness of orders from higher authorities.Another thing, this kind of system is highly susceptible to biases and administration corruption, since the appointments made are delivered by higher officials and consequently the works to be done should ought to be addressed to the authority who conferred it to them (Madison 1788). Though the distribution of power amongst these departments is done in such a way that each department serves as checks and balance for the other departments, it still occurs that this distribution of authority, instead of being vigilant to the interest of the public, has rather became a cover up for private interest.And this rhetoric of division of powers which aims to distribute powers equally among different departments couldn’t be in any way possible because it is convenient and not rational to create an equal distribution of power to defend each of their own departments. However, the constitution for the American bureaucracy claims two distinct responsibilities that render this kind of administration rational and beneficial to the society. First, in contrast to bureaucracy, a single republic owes concentration of powers towards one entity, which shall serve as the lone guard against power abuse.On the other hand, in a bureaucratic state, the power is divided between two bodies, thus creating a double security against usurpation of powers by officials. Second, this division makes the interests of the republic more guarded in such a way that the first division guards the society against oppression that may be caused by the other division. Therefore, the two separate departments of the government serve as checks and balance between them (Madison 1788). Thus, bureaucracy does not necessarily entail influence on political and economic regime.N either that its organization has relation to power, rather, bureaucracy administers itself by splitting its powers into divergence (Lefort, 2007) Moreover, the current trend of American bureaucracy is being put into test. The organization of new departments has sprung from the current US government administration, all geared towards increasing their security, customs, immigration and emergency management. According to reports, this reorganization in the US government shall become the most ambitious US reorganization since 1947.The formation of the new Department of Homeland Security shall ideally and constitutionally become the guardian of Americans against terrorist attacks, immigration advocates, and business lobbyists. However, this shall also post a great challenge on coping from the changes that it will allow. The problem shall be rooted on the dilemma of balancing old and new traditions in such a way that this will not disrupt the functions that it is ought to serve for the go vernment and the society (Alden, 2002).Bureaucracy has served its purpose in the American government. Though it varies widely between the positive and the negative feedbacks that it has encountered over its practice, bureaucracy has indeed become an institution in the American government administration. Further, it has its process closely tied to the process of capitalist rationalization. It forms a type of social organization and establishes social strata and dictates a relationship among its members. References Alden, Edward. (22 November 2002) A Battle of American Bureaucracy.Financial Times. Retrieved November 15, 2007, from http://www. globalsecurity. org/org/news/2002/021122-secure01. htm Lefort, Claude. What is Bureaucracy? Retrieved November 15, 2007, from http://www. generation-online. org/h/fplefort. htm Madison, James. (1787 November 22) The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection. Daily Advertiser. Madison, James. (1788 February 6) T he Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments. Independent Journal.

If You Had a Magic Wand Ice Breaker for Adults

If you had a magic wand and could change anything, what would you change? This is an icebreaker that opens minds, considers possibilities, and energizes your group when the discussion is dead. Its perfect for a classroom full of adults, a corporate meeting or seminar, or any group of adults gathered to learn. Ideal Size: Up to 20, divided into larger groups. Time Needed: 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the group. Materials Needed A flip chart or whiteboard, and markers if you want to record the results, but this will depend on your topic and reason for playing. It isnt necessary. A fun wand of some kind to pass around would add to the fun. You can usually find one at a hobby shop or toy store. Look for Harry Potter or fairy princess merchandise. Instructions for Use During Introductions Give the magic wand to the first student with instructions to give his or her name, say a little something about why they chose your class, and what they would wish for regarding the topic if they had a magic wand. Example introduction: Hi, my name is Deb. I wanted to take this class because I really struggle with math. My calculator is my best friend. If I had a magic wand, Id have a calculator in my head so I could do math instantly. Instructions for Use When Discussion Dries Up When youre having trouble getting your class to participate in discussion, get the magic wand out and pass it around. Ask students to share what they would do with a magic wand. If you think your topic should be eliciting creative responses from your students, but isnt, keep the magic on the topic. If youre open to a little fun and craziness to liven things up, open the magic to anything at all. You might produce some laughter, and laughter heals almost everything. It definitely energizes. Debriefing Debrief after introductions, especially if you have a whiteboard or flip chart to refer to, by reviewing which magic wishes will be touched on in your agenda. If used as an energizer, debrief by asking the group to discuss how their magic wishes can be applied to your topic. Encourage wide open thinking. The sky is the limit. Sometimes two seemingly different ideas can be combined to create a great new thought.