Analysis of Southwest Airlines Essays

Analysis of Southwest Airlines Essays Analysis of Southwest Airlines Paper Analysis of Southwest Airlines Paper Analysis of Southwest Airlines Module: Business Management Vanessa Eelma Alyssa Julianna Farkas Thomas Schillinger Peter Lukacs Attila Radvanszki Adam Radvanszki 29th November, 2010 Word Count : XXXX Contents 1. Introduction3 2. Literature Review4 2. 1General Introduction of Theories Used4 2. 2SWOT Analysis4 2. 3External Factors4 2. 4Organizational Structures4 2. 5Hofstede’s Theory5 2. 6Cultural Elements5 2. 7Motivation5 3Analysis of Southwest Airlines5 3. 1Industry5 3. 2Company’s Overview6 3. 3SWOT Analysis7 . 4External Analysis8 3. 5Organizational Structure8 3. 6Hofstede’s Theory9 3. 7Organizational Culture9 3. 8Motivation10 4. Conclusion and Recommendations11 5. References11 6. Appendices13 1. Introduction The chosen company for the analysis is called Southwest Airlines. It’s operating in the tourism industry, providing air travel. The company’s main differentiating attribute from its competitors is the main reason for our choice. The business is known for its cabin crew and outstanding customer service. This is proven by numerous prizes and awards that the company has won in the last three decades. In 2008, TIME. com ranked the company as the #1 Friendliest Airlines. According to their website their aim is: â€Å"To get the passengers to their destination safely and comfortably with a laugh or two along the way†. It is their attitude that caught our attention and encouraged us to analyze it in a deeper matter. The organization allows their employees to be innovative and individual with their daily tasks and duties. This ensures a pleasant work environment for the employees who then provide a good service to the customers. One of the qualities of Southwest airlines is „to do things differently†- meaning for example the explaining of safety regulations is made more entertaining by the cabin crew’s rapping while the customers are clapping along with the beat. A clip on Youtube of the described scenario got over 300  000 views and put the Southwest Airlines in the media light. This shows how outstanding organizational thinking and great human relations in treating the employees as individuals and letting them contribute with innovation can create an authentically friendly image and trough that, differentiate from the competitors on the market and achieve success. We believe that Southwest Airlines is a very successful company in its industry, and will continue being it if the organization’s management sticks to this spirit and open minded way of thinking. 2. Literature Review 2. 1 General Introduction of Theories Used To strategically analyse an organization, there are certain analytical techniques that come in handy. Firstly, we have chosen the SWOT analysis to evaluate the internal and external components. More closely, we look into the details of the external factors to see how the business is affected by them. Secondly, we decided to get insights into the company’s structure and decision making process. Thirdly, we decided to analyse the cultural effects and factors through Hofstede’s theory. We also go into more details to comprehend the company’s national culture. Last but not least, we decided to see what kind of motivation systems are used in this company. 2. 2 SWOT Analysis According to Tatum (2010), the SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool that includes external and internal factors and is utilized by businesses and other organizations to ensure that there is a clear objective defined for the project or venture, and that all factors related to the effort positive and negative are identified and addressed. The process of SWOT involves four areas of consideration: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 2. External Factors External factors of a business organisation can be divided into two parts: Macro-environment and Micro-environment. Macro-environment factors are the SLEPT factors: Social, Legal, Economic, Political and Technological. These factors affect the decisions of the managers. Micro-environment factors are much less controllable. Certain industries are also affected by Porter’s â€Å"Five Forces† model (especially the air travel industry). 2. 4 Organizational Structures This refers to the way an organization arranges its employees and jobs in order to meet their goals. If the group is very small and there is active communication, a formal structure is often not necessary. However, if we are dealing with a larger organization, it is often harder to make decisions and therefore, there must be established procedure for tasks and responsibilities’ allocation. 2. 5 Hofstede’s Theory Hofstedes research gives us insights into other cultures so that we can be more effective when interacting with people in other countries. It includes areas, such as Power Distance, Masculinity, Individualism, Uncertainty Awareness, and Long-Term Orientation. . 6 Cultural Elements According to Bauer and Erdogan (2009), culture may not be immediately observable, identifying a set of values that might be used to describe an organization’s culture helps us identify, measure, and manage culture more effectively. The organization culture profile described by Bauer and Erdogan includes 7 main dimensions – innovative, aggressive, outcome-oriented, stable , people-oriented, team-oriented, and detail oriented ( (Please see the Appendix 1 for visual information). 2. 7 Motivation Motivation consists of internal and external factors that stimulate the desire and energy in people to be interested and committed to a job. They put persistent effort into their jobs in order to reach the goals. 2 Analysis of Southwest Airlines 3. 8 Industry The recent economical and financial downturn severely impacted the airline industry in 2009 and brought only small increases in 2010. The recession negatively influenced the discretional income of travellers. More precisely, the leisure travellers’ and business travellers’ budget changes resulted with a sudden decrease in their demand. Therefore, corporate policies tightened and generally the demand for travelling decreased. On the other hand, demand for substitute products, such as video conferences and surface travel, has increased. As a result, many airlines, including Southwest Airlines, responded with capacity cuts and fare discounting. On the other hand, Southwest used the opportunity also to further expand and because of its low-fare services, it could enter new markets as well. 3. 9 Company’s Overview Southwest Airlines is described on the NASDAQ profile as â€Å"a major passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the US†. The company primarily serves short-haul routes, but over the recent years they have expanded their services to medium and long-haul routes as well. Their unique feature is that it only operates with Boeing 737 as it is a domestic low cost carrier company and it was necessary to have aircrafts that are easy to maintain and repair. If a company only uses one type of aircraft, the technical issues are easy to minimize. It is important to mention that according to its annual report (2009), its low fare system and point-to-point service, despite the overall decline in the aviation industry in the 2009 recession; Southwest expanded by opening four new routes ( New York, Minneapolis, Boston and Milwaukee). Based on the most recent data available from the U. S. Department of Transportation, it was the largest air carrier in the United States (measured by the number of originating passengers boarded). Today, the company’s headquarter is in Dallas, Texas and employs 34,726 people. Based on the company’s NASDAQ profile and according to the annual report of Datamonitor, Southwest recorded revenues of $10,350 million during the financial year ending in December 2009, a decrease of 6. 1% compared to 2008. The operating profit of the company was $262 million during 2009, a decrease of 41. 6% compared to 2008. The net profit was $99 million in 2009, a decrease of 44. 4% compared to FY2008. Their New York Stock Exchange ticket is LUV, which is cleverly used also in their internal and external marketing as well, connecting it as an easy going way of saying LOVE. 3. 10 SWOT Analysis Strengths Applying Herb Kellehers unorthodox leadership style, which executes a different hierarchical framework to solve the customer problems more efficiently. Employees can ask for advice more flexibly because if necessary they can go around the direct superiors. * Unique features: â€Å"Bags fly free †promotion,â€Å" Ding desktop gadget for tickets and an â€Å"Online T ravel Guide Community† feature. * Providing point-to-point, and low cost service. Which results in the optimizing the key assets (aircraft, gates, and employees). * Specialâ€Å"In-Flight Entertainment† as product differentiation. * Saving maintenance expenses by using the same air carrier. Using SWABIZ a free online reservation tool specifically designed for business travellers. * Executing a remarkable fuel hedge strategy that saves the airline vast number of costs every year. Weaknesses * Not using the usual â€Å"Reserved Seating† and seat scaling of different classes. * Being dependent on a single manufacturer (Boeing) * Onlyon domestic market. Opportunities * Room for expansion still exists (national and international markets). * Rapid growth of Hispanic population could serve as the basis of a new marketing campaign targeting the Hispanic youth as their future target segment. Offering private flights designed for business travellers, Southwest could reach out to a very profitable segment. * Investing in technology could increase the company’s profitability by reducing costs or by offering more unique services. Threats * Satisfying the passengers’ demand of different classes without scattering the image. * Since the pilots’ average fly ing hours were above the industry’s hours and the flight attendants are cleaning the planes, employee dissatisfaction could increase and result in lower customer service. Constant updates on competitors’ online ticket reservation systems. * The economic phenomenon of fuel price fluctuation. * The security issues after 9/11. * The appearance of legal regulations that might impact the use of Boeing 737 (noise reduction policies etc. ) To correctly interpret the above data, it is important to realise that Southwest has much less weaknesses than strengths, both external and internal. In addition, if we carefully observe those weaknesses, they are actually the characteristic features of low cost carriers. Therefore, they are not considered as real weaknesses that could ultimately be solved in the future. Moreover, the unique fuel hedge strategy they have protects them from most external threats. The organizational culture they have developed protects them from most internal threats. 3. 11 External Analysis In case of the Airline industry, this is the most important force nowadays, since the market is completely oversupplied. However, Southwest has performed extremely well in recent years but the new low-cost entrants remain as potential threats. 3. 2 Organizational Structure The organizational structure of Southwest is a typical hierarchical structure – centralized and formal. According to Rivera et al. (2003), only the Executive Vice Presidents and top managers have the task of reporting directly to the CEO and they are also the ones who are responsible for making strategic decisions that are significant for the future of the organization. It seems that the CEO and top managem ent team trust the middle managers. Moreover, the top managers make themselves available to employees on the front line. Southwest has a „Loose tight design† (Buller 2006). Employees are encouraged to try new things because they have an informal job description. In addition, they are also given the freedom to innovate as long as they keep the necessary safety standards. They do what is necessary in order to satisfy the customer needs. Besides the customer awareness system the company provides â€Å"room to grow†. The top management team develops leadership and communication skills for lower level management, and 90% of supervisory positions are filled internally. Therefore, it follows both a mechanistic model and an organic model. The first model is used on the upper level (corporate office and cabin crew) and the organic model is used where safety and time is not of high priority. 3. 13 Hofstede’s Theory * Power distance: Employees have informal job descriptions and are encouraged to be innovative. We can say the less powerful members of the organisation accept that power is distributed unequally because they are satisfied how they are treated. * Uncertainty avoidance: It’s quite low because employees are not afraid of ambiguous situations. Roles are less written down than among other competitors. Employees use their image and knowledge. * Individualism: Team work is an essential requirement at Southwest. However, the evaluation of employees is based on individual performances (e. g. collecting compliment cards from passengers can result in promotions). * Masculinity: Southwest Airlines is a feminine company. Cooperation plays significant role; the atmosphere is friendly and the stress level is low. * Long-Term Oriented: They have a way of thinking and acting that it is better to move at a slow pace and do it well. The proof of that is the fact how many restrictions they had in the beginning yet made it to the level they are at today. 3. 14 Organizational Culture Southwest Airlines has a very team-oriented culture. They cross-train their employees so that when there is any need, they can help each other. Furthermore, the company emphasizes on the importance of intact work team. They have daily meetings twice a day („Morning overview meeting† and „Daily afternoon discussion†). In those meetings, they try to understand the problems and potential solutions as a team. Moreover, when the company hires people, one of the key characteristics that they look for is being a team player. If the candidate doesn’t fit those criteria, he/she is not hired. This is a great culture, as the interpersonal relationships in the company are much less tense and less competitive, which eventually creates a positive work atmosphere and employee loyalty to the company. Not only is there a good attitude among the employees, but also among the workers and their managers. Even though Service is not included in those dimensions, Southwest Airlines is very strong in that area too. This means that the employees are taught to serve the customers well (â€Å"The customer is the king†). Employees have the power to decide to solve issues with the customers – they decide on the right course of action as they have direct contact with the customers (Please see Appendix 2 for more details). 3. 15 Motivation Southwest Airlines is a perfect example of how the employees are motivated to such high degree that they „Luv† their job. The employees can come to work dressed in shorts, sneakers, and polo shirts. They’re encouraged to be positive and joke around (hence the name „Fun-in-the-sky airline†). The CEO, Herb Keller, believes that a company is stronger if it is bound by love, rather than fear. Southwest Airlines has become one of the most loved companies in the world and even their mission explains why – „Employees are our first customers†. It makes sense – if you treat the employees well, they treat the customers well. They send cards to all of their employees on their birthdays, anniversary of employment, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Furthermore, they have fun competitions held regularly (e. g. Halloween costume contest, Thanksgiving poem contest, an Annual Chilli Cook-off). They have also received awards for being the best for on-time performance and baggage handling and the least complaint receiving, which also motivates the employees. The employees are also rewarded and recognized if they have performed outstandingly. 4. Conclusion and Recommendations Alyssa 5. References 1. Southwest Airlines (Internet) Available from:†¹ southwest. com/about_swa/why_fly_southwest. html †º [Accessed on November 24. 2010] 1. Youtube (Internet) Available from: †¹ youtube. com/watch? v=tnOxvbGOTbM †º [Accessed on November 24. 010] 2. Naylor, J. (2004), Management, Prentice Hall Financial Times, the United Kingdom 3. Bauer, T. amp; Erdogan, B. (2009) â€Å"Organizational Behaviour† Available from : †¹ flatworldknowledge. com/node/28971#web-28971†º [Accessed on November 24. 2010] 4. Nelson, B. (2002) â€Å"Motivation Matters : Southwest Employees LUV their job† Available from : †¹http://meetingsnet. com/corporatemeetingsincentives/meetings_motivation_matters_southwest/†º [Accessed on November 24. 2010] 5. Tatum, M. (2010) â€Å"What is SWOT Analysis? † Available from: lt; isegeek. com/what-is-swot-analysis. htmgt; [Accessed on November 23. 2010] 6. ‘May 2009 Airline Traffic Data: System Traf fic Down from May 2008’ Available from: lt; bts. gov/press_releases/2009/bts039_09/pdf/bts039_09. pdfgt; [Accessed on November 23. 2010] 7. Southwest Airlines (2010) Available from: lt; southwest. comgt; [Accessed on November 23. 2010] 8. (2010) Southwest NASDAQ profile Available from: lt;http://quotes. nasdaq. com/asp/SummaryQuote. asp? symbol=LUVamp;selected=LUVgt; [Accessed on November 23. 010] 9. Southwest Annual Profile (2010) Available form: †¹ datamonitor. com/store/Product/southwest_airlines_co? productid=DEFBDE99-9B78-4A63-BE9C-7EA7568D476E†º [Accessed on November 23. 2010] 10. Heynold, Y. and Rosander, J. (2006) â€Å"A new organizational model for airlines† Available from: †¹https://www. mckinseyquarterly. com/A_new_organizational_model_for_airlines_1700†º [Accessed on November 23. 2010] 11. Unknown Author, â€Å"The Airline Industry And Porter Five Model Forces† (2010) Available from: †¹ oppapers. om/essays/Airline-Industry-P orter-Five-Model-Forces/122555†º [Accessed on November 23. 2010] 12. â€Å"Organizational Culture and Management at Southwest Airlines† (2009) Available from: †¹ docstoc. com/docs/9480710/Organizational-Culture-and-Management-at-Southwest-Airlines†º [Accessed on November 23. 2010] 13. Brews, P. J. amp; Tucci, C. L. (2004), â€Å"Organizational Structure† Available from: †¹ oppapers. com/essays/Airline-Industry-Porter-Five-Model-Forces/122555†º [Accessed on November 23. 2010] 6. Appendices Appendix 1: The Organization Culture Profile Appendix 2:

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOR - Essay Example Having an experience of over 40 years, I had the ability to manage work place diversity because in the marketing section I met a lot of people with different backgrounds. Since employees act as the image of the firm, by properly treating the customers it also promoted the image of Holden Company. Holden’s employees clearly comprehended their individual goals and objectives and how they relate to the greater goals of the company, were found to be naturally engaged in their work. Most firms have to the realization that achievements are associated with their ability to manage, track and communicate goals and aims-informing their employees and connecting reward system with group and individual performance in order to keep them engaged in their work. Since I am also an Australian, I was able to note that the process of setting goals and objectives, aligning them with the corporate aims and tracking them made the Holden Company to easily focus on strategy and greater execution of business. Therefore, there is always a direct relationship between financial and non financial rewards with respect to motivation and employee satisfaction (Bruce & Pepitone, 1999:104-108). This includes both the younger employees like Mike and older employees like me. Motivation is what makes people to have that drive to do something thus the driving force of human behavior. Motivation within an individual accounts for the direction, level, and persistence of the effort expended at work. The level refers to the intensity of effort put forward by a person. Direction represents the individual’s choice when faced with several alternatives. Persistence is determined by how long an individual will stick with a given action. As a result it initiates, guides and maintain the goal oriented behaviors hence motivation it is what drives one to take a cause of action (Laubly,

Volunteer activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Volunteer activity - Essay Example For this reason, continued pollution of an environment aims at altering environment that in turn expose them hazardous conditions. The idea of offering a service to the fewer fortunes struck my mind when I attended the mosque for the prayer service. It was their idea and I thought it could be of extreme importance to the fewer fortunes when implemented. The job was door to door walk with the aim of collecting clothing’s and bedding from the neighbourhood. I was unable to meet the deadline during my first attempt just because I felt ill. Later, I did my inquiry about the location and the name of the local shelter where I could deliver my collections. Fortunately, my inquiry was fruitful. Thereafter, I walked out for the collection from friends and neighbours. I managed to collect several bags of blankets and sleeping bags and approximately three large bags of coats and clothing which I delivered the local shelter. I felt comfortable doing the job and I will not hesitate to do it or activity of a similar kind once

Black People and Affirmative Action Essay Example for Free

Black People and Affirmative Action Essay Please be advised that Assignment One on the printed Tutorial Letter 101/3/2013 on pages 12 14 has a number of both typographical and numerical mistakes. This happened as a result of a number of factors: the initial assignment reading was too costly for the Department to commission in terms of copyright and had to be retracted at the last minute. The reading on Affirmative Action: a losing battle? was then included but with an almost impossible deadline, which resulted in the errors reflected therein. This is regrettable and we apologise for any inconvenience this might have cost you. The corrected version of the assignment is on page 3 and is attached to this TL and again on my UNISA for your convenience. The marks are out of 100 marks 50 for Section A and 50 marks for Section B. NB: Please note that the due date has not changed in any way (4 March 2013). 2 ENN103F/102 8. 4. 1. FIRST SEMESTER ASSIGNMENTS The purpose of this assignment is to teach you how to read an article and to critically engage in academic reading and reflecting on the material in an academic manner by answering the short paragraph questions provided as well as an essay. Assignment 01 will be marked fairly fully and sent back to you. Affirmative action: a losing battle? There are considerable reasons to suppose that this topic, which affects all citizens of South Africa, in particular, seems dated. In some instances it is a policy viewed with hostility as it is said to discriminate against sections of the population, yet in others it is seen as beneficial to women, black people and the disabled. Studies show that in many instances this form of historical redress has proven a hindrance to performance and makes the beneficiaries doubt their abilities when viewed by their superiors. This has a negative effect on an organization since the quality of work is seen as being sub-standard. Equally, there are significant indicators, both in industry and the private sector, that the opening up of previously closed avenues through the policy of affirmative action made companies perform better since the beneficiaries of such workplace selection viewed their work as a challenge. Where beneficiaries claim stigmatization by such a selection process, it means they prefer not to have been selected through such efforts. Either way, the battle seems to go on and on. In the light of this ongoing and divisive debate, the level of debate regarding the policy has not progressed further since comparative studies of the policy have not been seriously undertaken. There has been no systematic study of the developments in how the policy actually proves beneficial as a tool of redress. Part of the reason is that, firstly, there is a lack of monitoring of what goes on in organizations, and secondly, that the regulations are not strictly enforced. For instance, companies will usually ‘front’ a black person, a woman or a disabled person, as a chief executive officer and leave the matter of compliance as a secondary issue. Rarely do such companies face serious consequences even if they do business with the government. The question then is whether a time limit should be placed on the policy and Act or whether it should be declared unconstitutional. Consideration has not been taken, for instance, of measures used in other countries to actively promote privilege. Very few advocacy groups ever mention the Naturalization Act of 1790, the Homestead Act of 1862 or even the Federal Housing Administration Loan Program of the 1930s used by the government of the United States of America to promote racial preference; or that such Acts were also used as models for other racially divided societies. Advocacy groups for and against the policy and Act have routinely made it a point that the policy is unsettling, needless and discriminatory, on the one hand, while others argue forcefully that the amelioration of past injustices justifies its implementation. Whichever side is on the ascendancy cannot take the other side’s viewpoint, and in the end the past divisions are set to continue. 3 SECTION A: Short questions Answer the following questions in short paragraphs. Please note that each question will be marked out of 10 marks: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Is the affirmative action policy morally defensible? Explain. In your opinion, which country has successfully implemented the policy of affirmative action and why did it succeed? In your view, why did the South African government choose to implement the Affirmative Action policy and Act, and was it ever justifiable? Does the policy need to be discontinued after a certain length of time, and why? In your opinion, why is it that people from a different racial group are unemployable in certain sectors of the economy and not in others? [10 X 5 = 50] SECTION B: Essay Write an essay of approximately one and a half page on either of the questions below. Please note that each essay will be marked out of 50 marks: 1) Do you think cultivating an equal opportunity society has helped countries such as South Africa and America to move forward? In a carefully worded essay, show why this is the case or why it is not. OR 2) To what extent do you consider such a policy and act relevant to the needs of any society today? [50 marks] Best wishes The ENN103F Team 4.

Home Schools V.S. Public Schools Essay -- Education Learning Papers

Home Schools V.S. Public Schools How would your life be different if you were home schooled? Perhaps you were. If not though, do you think that you would be on the same academic path that you are on now? In the case of Evenstar Perez, it made her life very different. Evenstar started out going to a public school from first grade through fifth, but it wasn’t until she entered into sixth grade that she began to be home schooled. Evenstar mentioned, â€Å"At first the transition was difficult because I was so used to the public schools system of doing things, but later I became better adapted.† When asked what advantages she felt she gained from her home school experience, Evenstar replied, â€Å"A lot.† She then went on to explain how she got ahead of students her age at public schools; â€Å"I got way ahead in my math classes. While most students in my grade at public schools were taking algebra, I was taking geometry.† Evenstar had the ability to experience both a public school a nd home school educational experience and stated that the home school experience allowed for more personal time and individual attention. She explained, â€Å"There is more time to study, you can work at your own pace, and you can get more done in the home school environment.† It becomes clear through talking with Evenstar that home schooling had a positive impact on her life. Presently in America, there are 1.5 million students who participate in home schooling. This amount constitutes for about 2.8% of all of the students that do not attend either a private or public school for the grades K-12 (Cai 1). It has been, and continues today, to be an ongoing debate over whether home schooling or public schooling offers a better education for a student. Ther... ... (2002): 1-15. Cartland, Jenifer, Ruch Ross, Holly S. Henry, and David B. Adolescence. â€Å"Feeling At Home In One’s School: A First Look At A New Measure.† Academic Search Premier. 38 (2003): 1-12. Eley, Mark G. â€Å"Making the Home School Connection.† Academic Search Premier. 59 (2002): 1-3. Raver, Cybele C. â€Å"Young Children’s Emotional Development and School Readiness.† Department of Education. (2003): 1-6. Ray, Brian D. â€Å"Customization Through Home Schooling.† Educational Leadership. 59 (2002): 1-6. Rivero, Lisa. â€Å"Progressive Digressions: Home Schooling For Self Actulization.† Roeper Review. 24 (2002): 1-12. Ryan, Kevin, and James M. Cooper. Those Who Can, Teach. Boston: Houghton Miflin Company, 2004. Sheehan, Michele. â€Å"Dancing With Monica: Personal Perceptions of a Home School Mom.† Roeper Review. 24 (2002): 1-11. Home Schools V.S. Public Schools Essay -- Education Learning Papers Home Schools V.S. Public Schools How would your life be different if you were home schooled? Perhaps you were. If not though, do you think that you would be on the same academic path that you are on now? In the case of Evenstar Perez, it made her life very different. Evenstar started out going to a public school from first grade through fifth, but it wasn’t until she entered into sixth grade that she began to be home schooled. Evenstar mentioned, â€Å"At first the transition was difficult because I was so used to the public schools system of doing things, but later I became better adapted.† When asked what advantages she felt she gained from her home school experience, Evenstar replied, â€Å"A lot.† She then went on to explain how she got ahead of students her age at public schools; â€Å"I got way ahead in my math classes. While most students in my grade at public schools were taking algebra, I was taking geometry.† Evenstar had the ability to experience both a public school a nd home school educational experience and stated that the home school experience allowed for more personal time and individual attention. She explained, â€Å"There is more time to study, you can work at your own pace, and you can get more done in the home school environment.† It becomes clear through talking with Evenstar that home schooling had a positive impact on her life. Presently in America, there are 1.5 million students who participate in home schooling. This amount constitutes for about 2.8% of all of the students that do not attend either a private or public school for the grades K-12 (Cai 1). It has been, and continues today, to be an ongoing debate over whether home schooling or public schooling offers a better education for a student. Ther... ... (2002): 1-15. Cartland, Jenifer, Ruch Ross, Holly S. Henry, and David B. Adolescence. â€Å"Feeling At Home In One’s School: A First Look At A New Measure.† Academic Search Premier. 38 (2003): 1-12. Eley, Mark G. â€Å"Making the Home School Connection.† Academic Search Premier. 59 (2002): 1-3. Raver, Cybele C. â€Å"Young Children’s Emotional Development and School Readiness.† Department of Education. (2003): 1-6. Ray, Brian D. â€Å"Customization Through Home Schooling.† Educational Leadership. 59 (2002): 1-6. Rivero, Lisa. â€Å"Progressive Digressions: Home Schooling For Self Actulization.† Roeper Review. 24 (2002): 1-12. Ryan, Kevin, and James M. Cooper. Those Who Can, Teach. Boston: Houghton Miflin Company, 2004. Sheehan, Michele. â€Å"Dancing With Monica: Personal Perceptions of a Home School Mom.† Roeper Review. 24 (2002): 1-11.

12 Angry Men: Review 3

In the beginning of 12 Angry Men, they clarify that they had sat through six days of court listening to the case, and were now ready to decide the verdict. After those six days of hearing believed conclusive evidence and no defense from the plaintiff, it seemed to be an assured decision. When I researched on what exactly happens in the Jury Room it said: The first motion of business in a jury room is to select one of the jurors as a foreman. He or she leads the discussion and tries to encourage everyone to join in the discussion.Every juror should have input. The purpose of these deliberations is to have a robust, uninhibited discussion which will lead to a calm, unbiased reasoning. With that being understood, it helped me comprehend and get more of a grasp on what the climate the jury room should have. As we saw in the movie, the jurors entered the room and none of them seemed eager or looked like they had the motivation to sit there and converse. What make’s matter worse was the scorching heat with no air conditioning.They were locked inside a small room with 12 other men; one was sick, and almost all of them were smoking. Absolutely nobody wanted to be there, so the climate is completely negative to begin with. Climate is defined as the atmosphere or environment within a group and is experienced by all members of the group. It materializes and is impacted by communication and can either be supportive or defensive. The frame of mind is set by the irritated baseball fan who tells everyone he has a game to get to and makes it clear that this case has an unambiguous verdict.With this sort of nonverbal confidence he is showing in his decision, it provides confirmation to the jurors in the room that there is nothing significant to discuss. The only thing established is the fact that the jurors have already made up their mind about the boy being guilty without any discussion. To start the jurors meeting, they decided to take a vote of how many feel the boy i s guilty and how many do not. Fortunately for the boy being tried as guilty, there was one juror, Henry Fonda; that had a reasonable doubt about the case and stood against the others.It wasn’t that he had already a made a decision on the verdict; it was that he felt he couldn’t vote guilty and send a man to die until he at least talked about it. The climate in the room became exceptionally negative because they all thought they were going to be able to go home but Fonda stopped them from doing so by not voting guilty. One man wouldn’t stop yelling and others were taking his side making the environment in the room a bit hostile. Fonda was willing to face the ridicule of eleven angry men.He challenged every juror to effectively tell him why they are voting guilty, which promoted deliberation. By standing up to all of the others, he gradually began to gain respect from some of the other jurors who were now ready to hear what he actually had to say. Without being na med the jury foreman, Fonda turned the broken juror room into a proper and productive room. In my opinion, this was a fine demonstration of leadership. When they decided to take turns around the table putting their two cents in, Fonda sat there and listened.Instead of arguing for the sake of not guilty, he simply let the other jurors elaborate on some of the main facts they had in the case, which often became major points of speculation. Just by listening, Fonda was able to hear everyone’s arguments and the other jurors themselves started to second guess themselves because what they believed were based on wrongful facts. When they started discussing more and more about a particular fact or certain evidence, the smaller details became inconclusive. Without listening, none of what they had found out by speculating the facts, wouldn’t have unfolded the way it did.It was from there, they started developing cohesiveness and the jurors started opening their minds and explori ng all of the other possibilities. As they kept their discussions and expatiated on the facts that they can all relate to, clues about the case started to become clear. They started to listen to one another, realizing it was necessary to hear each other’s incite, and they finally began to support each other’s views. This is a perfect illustration of groupthink, which is where group members try to cut down on any sort of conflict by not evaluating, scrutinizing, or arguing with other people’s ideas.However, they had a conflict with one of the jurors. There was no intention throughout the entire movie that this was going to switch his vote because he had personal ties from a family feud he was portraying. He had told us that in the beginning of the movie that he got into a fist fight with his 16 year old son and hasn’t seen him in two years. Once everyone was on the same page, convincing this man to vote not guilty became the name of the gamehttp://www. ala meda. courts. ca. gov/courts/jury/procedure. shtml

Analysis Hard Times by Charles Dickens - 1807 Words

Hard Times as a Social Commentary with Parallels in the Modern Era The novel Hard Times by Charles Dickens is clearly an incitement of the economic and social burden associated with economic and social disparity. The work is set in a small fictional mill town, Coketown, where the challenges of the newly emerging industrial revolution were fundamentally being set at the footsteps of the poor, who had little if any opportunity for upward mobility. During this period the alternatives for those with little money in the way of work were very few and most tasks were menial, dark and difficult. The challenges seen in this work, probably more than any other written by Dickens reflect his own experience as a child laborer during a period of economic unrest in his own family, when he was forced to work at a Blacking Warehouse, pasting labels on bottles with other child laborers in London after his father was arrested and placed in debtors prison. (Hawes 10) Dickens through this experience was given a stark reality check with regard to the life of the poor. Fr om this knowledge Dickens seems to have never really stepped away from this concern and in some way details this social and economic reality in all his works (Clausson 157). Without the economic means there was really no way for the poor to move out of the challenges of poverty as every type of vocational or even classical education costs far more than one could earn as a laborer. As is seen in his other works as well, withoutShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Hard Times By Charles Dickens875 Words   |  4 PagesAntoine Wood Dr. Dolata ENG-460 16 Jan. 2016 In Hard Times one Carefully Observes the Idea of Change and can Incorporate Different Morals as They Coincide and Transcend Today In the story of Hard Times written by Charles Dickens one can clearly tell that the story is set during a time when many believed in stressing the importance of strict disciplinary actions. The story kicks concerning the idea of facts. Within the text one can notice the idea of a few things: the nature of learning, common knowledgeRead MoreAnalysis of the Credibility of Characters in Charles Dickens Hard Times1512 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of the Credibility of Characters in Charles Dickens Hard Times Hard times was written in 1854 by Charles Dickens. Dickens was a prominent Victorian novelist who wrote about the society that surrounded him. He was educated and middle-class but had some sympathy with the way poor people were treated. He was critical of utilitarianism and felt that those in power showed little understanding of the poor. His sympathy with the poor stemmed from his childhood andRead MoreAnalysis of Why Fact and Fancy Are Both Necessary in Charles Dickens Hard Times1362 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of Why Fact and Fancy Are Both Necessary in Charles Dickens Hard Times Fact and Fancy in Hard Times Coketown is a monotonous town of machinery and tall chimneys. There is a sense of sameness in the town: â€Å"It contained several large streets all very like one another, and many small streets still more like one another, inhabited by people equally like one another.† A town so sacred to fact should progress smoothly, yet residents of Coketown â€Å"never knew what they wanted† and wereRead MoreMasterpieces Always Come With Good Reasons And Fantastic1716 Words   |  7 Pagesthose fantacies and make-ups show a writer’s reflection on facts and reasons he or she received, and are extensions of those facts and reasons, rendering the work interesting and even more convincing. In three famous and classic works, On Liberty, Hard Times, and The Communist Manifesto, we can see how writers combine facts with fictions and compose excellent works. I. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill In his work On Liberty, Mill starts from historical facts, analysing facts using his reasons and getsRead MoreVictorian Schools Using Hard Times And Jane Eyre916 Words   |  4 PagesUnfair Treatment (An analysis of Victorian schools using Hard Times and Jane Eyre) The Victorian Era was a time of much turmoil. Through the reign of Queen Victoria there were many aspects of society that took a standstill and some may say, declined. Education is a tremendous example of the stand still in the British society, showing the negative approaches to teaching. Preston Barker wrote about the conditions of victorian schools explaining, â€Å"Children soon learnt to do what the teacher asked, otherwiseRead MoreGreat Expectations1707 Words   |  7 Pagesthe rest of the animal kingdom. The underlining theme of human nature is evident in Great Expectation by Charles Dickens use of his characters. A main characteristic that Dickens displays is friendship. The friendship between Pip and Herbert is strong. Herbert was significant to Pip’s growth in social class and eventual to his revelation. â€Å"Friendship was one of the human characteristics Dickens enjoyed†¦by associating fellowship with good characters and deeds, he made it known that he admires friendshipRead MoreCharles Dickens Utilitarianism Analysis996 Words   |  4 PagesUtilitarianism and Charles Dickens - The Analysis of Impact of Utilitarianism in Hard Times towards Humanity The utilitarianism, is one of the ethical theory genres which greatly affects the western and even world’s development of philosophy. Its originality can be traced back to ancient Greece Democritus and Epicurean Hedonism theory. Jeremy Bentham is considered to be the founder of the utilitarianism theory during the latter half through 18th century in England. Based on the theory of utilitarianismRead MorePip’s Character Change in Charles Dickens Great Expectations1173 Words   |  5 PagesPip’s Character Change in Charles Dickens Great Expectations Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens is a compelling story rich in friendship, love and fortune. The main character, Pip, is a dynamic character that undergoes many changes through the course of the book and throughout this analysis, the character Pip, will be identified and his gradual change through the story will be quoted and explained. The main character, Pip, is a gentle character. His traits include Read MoreCharles Dickens s A Christmas Carol1923 Words   |  8 PagesEnglish author Charles Dickens has written many well known novels such as Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, of which both have a recurring theme: the expectations of society. During the Victorian Era, England was over populated and had terrible living conditions, with an enormous gap between the rich and the poor. Generally, people during the Victorian Era were not allowed to talk about things such as sex and crime, and had to live by strict social rules set by society. With the social disparitiesRead MoreSandwich Factory1688 Words   |  7 Pagesmany - a crowd of insignificant people. This assignment will begin with an analysis and interpretation of the short story â€Å"The Sandwich Factory† by Jason Kennedy. To put the story into perspective the assignment includes a discussion of the text, â€Å"Nice work† by David Lodge and the picture, â€Å"Relativity† by M.C. Escher. The assignment ends with a short essay about the description of Coketown in Charles Dickens’ novel â€Å"Hard Times†. A: The short story, â€Å"The Sandwich Factory† by Jason Kennedy from 2007