Risk Assessment And Decision Making Of Adult Protection

Risk Assessment And Decision Making Of Adult Protection This essay gives an overview of the risk assessment and decision making in adult protection. The main purpose of this essay is to bring a more clear concept of risk; meaning of risk assessment and risk management decision making in adult protection and further it will examine existing based on upon research and evidence finally, it will critically analyse national and local reports which are related to risk assessment. It also contains a section dedicated to the specialized agencies in social assistance and their role in helping vulnerable adults, by creating procedures meant to assure the proper protection and care, offering them security, assistance and guidance to create a normal life. Identify a series of definition of risk and risk management for better understanding the concepts that are aiming to develop. Next, it will connect the existent literature review on this topic to own research. Furthermore, it will present the risks that the adults with disabilities are exposed to, t hat can cause their injury, or even death, as we will understand from a presented case study. Discussing about risk management, risk assessment, it can automatically presume that are referring to a situation in which something might go wrong. According to Hope and Sparks (2000) risk assessment may only able to identify probability of harm or danger, consider the impact of risk on individuals key and pretence intervention strategies which may reduce the risk or minimize the harm. However, assessment does not prevent risk. Risk level (or simply risk) should be seen as a continuous probability statement, rather than a dichotomous variable (risk or no risk) since risk levels are often not stable but fluctuate over time and context, estimates of risk should be in the form of ongoing assessments rather than one-time predictions. The above definition speaks about the fluctuations of risks in time and in different contexts. It recommends that risk should be continuously monitored. Further, in their study, the authors refer to clinical risk assessment, a more related issue to this study. A frequent suggestion for improving the validity of clinical risk assessment is to take into account predictor variables reflecting the environmental or situational context in which violent behaviour is likely to occur, in addition to measuring dispositional, historical, or clinical factors. (Monham and Steadman 1994, p. 8) A more precise definition of the term is offered by Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (2010, p.1) the act of identifying possible risks, calculating how likely they are to happen and estimating what effects they might have. Risk is closely linked to dangerousness, resulting in harm which seems to be agreed means harm to self or others and extend of harm which constitutes a risk in various situations especially adult with learning disabilities. Brown (2005) states assessment of risk for adult with learning disabilities which should be evolutionary in nature constantly informed and shaped by changes of circumstances upon service users needs. The practice of risk assessment and management is the process of data collection, recording, interpretation, communication and implementation of risk reduction plan (Brown, 2005). According to Kemshall and Pritchard (2001) every human being becomes vulnerable during their lifetime for many of reasons they all respond differently to events that happen to them because of who they are and the lack of support that they have For the risk of learning disability, clinical model of risk assessment have become the norm. There are two kinds of risk that are relevant to work people with learning disabilities, risk of unnecessary exposure to undesirable events or experience, and risk of negative consequences when possible benefits and desirable experiences are perused (William et al, 2006). Further present a series of acceptance regarding the risk management concept. Risk Management aims to facilitate the exchange of information and expertise across countries and across disciplines. Its purpose is to generate ideas and promote good practice for those involved in the business of managing risk. (Palgrave-journals, 2011, p.1.). In this definition, the risk management is perceived as a discipline, moreover, as a business solution meant to ease the communication flow and to propose a model for the risk management practice across countries and business areas. The concern of this study is not so general. Main focus is upon the risk management in the protection of vulnerable adults. Increasingly responding to the risks of others, preventing risks to vulnerable adults or running risks to themselves is all in days work for the busy practitioners and manager in the field of social care (Brearley, 1982). Adult with learning disabilities are subject to risk all time due to their vulnerability they sometimes abused by those who have control over them or by those who realize that they are vulnerable because of their disabilities they often find it very much more difficult to assess risk the way most of social carer and services do. According to Vaughn Fuchs (2003) adult with learning disabilities they always find this difficult and also fail to recognize any risk at all as they cant explain due to lack of communication. Nevertheless, take risks because they feel vulnerable to a point approaching hopelessness (Fischhoff et al., 2000). In either case, these perceptions can prompt adults to make poor decisions that can put them at risk and leave them vulnerable to physical or psychological harm that may have a negative impact on their long-term health and viability. According to Kemshall and Pritchard (2001) there has been much debate about a welfare model or a criminal justice model should be adopted. Alaszewski (1998) states that, risk is used different ways. It is possible to identify a narrow common sense definition of risk which risk is equated with danger and the negative outcomes of events. Kemshall and Pritchard (2001) indicate that, adults vulnerable protection systems are likely to come under close scrutiny. Protecting Vulnerable Adults, Valuing People (2010, P. 93) states: People with learning disabilities are entitled to at least the same level of support and intervention from abuse and harm as other citizens. This needs to be provided in a way that respects their own choices and decisions. Vaughn Fuchs (2003) state that, the difficulty for a person with learning disabilities is that carers often do feel often they are expected to make these choices for them. The law of negligence often can appear to inhibit decision making personal freedom and choice sit uncomfortably next to the concepts of duty of care and professional liability. Above the study and definition, it needs to identify the risk that a vulnerable adult was exposed to. However, it will not be able to make precise mathematical calculations to exactly identifying the risk factor that the vulnerable adult was submitted to. These studies are mostly concerned with the risk assessment that a mental disordered person can cause to others and to himself/herself. An orientation towards the abuse that other people or the society, through its system, can cause to a disordered person is not clearly presented. The murder of Steven Hoskin has been rendered cold bloodedly by a five peoples in St. Austell, Cornwall on July 6, 2006 (BBC, 2007; Daily Mail, 2007). Hoskin was a 39 years old man with an IQ level equal to a six year old child and living lonely in bedsit when the perpetrators made friendship with him to accomplish their brutal task (Society Guardian, 2007; BBC, 2007). Darren Stewart, the ring leader of the gang, along with his accomplices arrived at his apartment during the night of 5th and 6th July, 2006 (Daily Mail Online, 2007; BBC, 2007). Soon they started torturing and burning his body with cigarettes out of their hate toward his learning disability (Daily Mail Online, 2007). Later on, they coerce him to swallow more than 70 pills of Paracetamol which severely damaged his liver (BBC, 2007). Then they dragged him to the nearby viaduct where he was again stamped on and lashed out by the felons (BBC, 2007; Daily Mail Online, 2007). He was then forced to jump from a 100 feet tall b ridge (Daily Mail Online, 2007). Later on, he was found dead in the river (BBC, 2007). The crooks were later arrested and penalized by the court (BBC, 2007). The question arises here is that why this event occurred in the first place? Why the concerned authorities failed to protect him from the perpetrators even after the fact that some agencies (e.g. adult social care) know about his mental condition (Ahmed, 2007) and let him die helplessly? This is the subject of next discussion. It was found in the investigation report of multiagency that Hoskin has cancelled his contact with the adult social care unit some days before his death (Society Guardian, 2007; BBC, 2007). This unilateral suspension was not taken seriously by the authorities and did not bother to inquire into the matter seriously (Ahmed, 2007). It was also found that he tried to contact many emergency service agencies nonetheless the matter was considered as a routine and over looked by the officials (Ahmed, 2007). Cornwall Adult Protection Committee (2007) report, before his death Steven Hoskin gave up his social care protection. Hoskin was placed in a bed-sit by adult social care in April 2005 and he was allocated two hours of help each week, but he chose to cancel the service in August and by September the council closed his case (Community Care, 2007, p.1). The institutions involved in investigating Hoskins death and the reasons for which the specialized social cares agencies failed to prevent his death, didnt searched on how and why did the man gave up his rights of social care. The multiagency report further indicated that every single agency (i.e. Police, the housing association, emergency ambulance and adult social care etc.) did posses some piece of information regarding the conditions of Hoskin owing to the complaints of his neighbours or of himself (Ahmed, 2007). On the other hand no one of them has the complete information that can be used to see the big picture of the situation at hand (Ahmed, 2007). Each one of them was analysing the matter in an isolated environment (Ahmed, 2007). Perhaps, this can be better understood by following the jigsaw approach (Aronson, 1990). In this approach, every member of the group has some minor but important piece of information, nonetheless to make the whole picture complete, every ones contribution is essential (Aronson, 1990). Likewise, in the case of Hoskin, every agency has some minute but important pieces of information about him that can be used to make out what is actually going on with him and help can be la unched to stop the danger approaching toward him (Aronson, 1990). For example, police knew that Darren Stewart, the main murder of Haskin, has already criminal record nonetheless this information was hidden to the adult social care which has the information that Stewart is now being seen with Hoskin (Ahmed, 2007). If these two pieces of jigsaw put together, it is very easy to conclude that Darren Stewart may be planning to do something wrong to the vulnerable Hoskin. Hence, it is clear that the lack of integration was the first drawback found in the previous setup. Second main problem was that there was no mechanism to assemble discrete complaints from the same address several times at the emergency helpline service (Cornwall Adult Protection Committee, 2007). In the multiagency report, it is found that police and ambulance services visited the resident of Steven several times however, these individual complaints were not considered sufficient to alert an authority (Cornwall Adult Protection Committee, 2007). At the call centre, each time when a person in emergency calls, the phone is picked by some random person and the information remain isolated from the other people. There was no such system in place that can assemble the complaints from a unique address which can be used to raise alert (Cornwall Adult Protection Committee, 2007). Third important problem was the lack of effective communication within an emergency service agency (Ahmed, 2007). For example, Carol Tozel, the director of adult social care, was unaware of the death of Hoskin until June 2007 (Ahmed, 2007). Carol Tozel was taken aback at the extreme lack of intra-communication in her department (Ahmed, 2007). Moreover, she was not provided any risk assessment review regarding the unilateral suspension of adult care services by Hoskin (Ahmed, 2007). This may be due the absence of any alert which her agency failed to raise for Hoskin or the common red-tape problem prevalent in governmental agencies almost all over the world. Another significant issue was the reduction in the budget of social care services agency for disabled and old aged (Forder and Fernà ¡ndez, 2010). The politicians have played a prominent role in the reduction of budget for this purpose (Forder and Fernà ¡ndez, 2010). It is sorrowful to know that there are millions of pounds available for buying bombs to through at Iraq and Afghanistan however there is little money available to spend on the social care services of helpless and disabled persons. Steven Hoskin was a vulnerable man who did not receive the professional help that he ought to. The specialized institutions mistreated the case and because he had no protection, the man was brutally murdered. Only after Stevens murdered his case considered and in addition identified as a vulnerable adult. The agencies responsible for social care did not make the clear connections to determine the man a vulnerable adult while he was still alive. According to the Adult Protection Act.(1989 p.1) R.S., c. 2, s. 1 an adult in need of protection means an adult who, in the premises where he resides, (i) is a victim of physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental cruelty or a combination thereof, is incapable of protecting himself therefore by reason of physical disability or mental infirmity, and refuses, delays or is unable to make provision for his protection therefore, or (ii) is not receiving adequate care and attention, is incapable of caring adequately for himself by reason of physical disability or mental infirmity, and refuses, delays or is unable to make provision for his adequate care and attention. After learning the atrocities that Hoskin was exposed to, there is no doubt about the fact that he was a vulnerable adult, in need of protection. According to a report issued by Devon County Council (2007, p.1) an abuse to a person in need is also when he/she is neglected and specialized authorities failed to act upon his/her problem. Hoskins problems were long time ignored and through the end of his life he did not benefit of the protection guaranteed by his rights as an adult in need, also because of the bureaucracy of the social care system, which at the time implemented a ration of the time and resources. Hence, because the man was not considered a vulnerable adult (his needs criteria were established within low to low moderate), the authorities just pulled him out of their system (An independent management review, cited in Community Care, 2007). From the Community Care website we find out that social care representatives are being investigated for failing to prevent the abuse upon Steven Hoskin. According to the online publication Community Care (2007), the agencies in charge with protecting Hoskin missed more than 40 opportunities to help the man and to prevent him being killed. As keep on investigating this subject, other interesting facts about this case are being revealed. According to Health Service Journal (2008, p.8) the man who took advantage of Hoskins mental state, into living with him, was also a mental disordered person. His own history was chaotic: from being a runaway child, he became a violent and self-harming young man, leading a nomadic existence and making frequent suicidal gestures. He had convictions for arson and assault. Here is another case of authoritys incompetency. Because of the repeated calls to hospital, the ambulance service representatives acknowledged the fact that Steven Hoskin was sharing his accommodation with Darren Stewart, who was no stranger to them. They even called police to join them in several actions, to Stevens apartment, because they knew that Stewart, who shared the bed-sit with Steven, was a very dangerous man (Health Service Journal, 2008). Evan so, because neither the police nor the ambulance service communicated this fact to the social assistance institutions, the case was further neglected. Further discuss about some procedures that the social care institutions need to follow for avoiding cases like Steven Hoskins to happen. Actually, Hoskins case was the base of many new regulations for the social care institutions: No Secret refers to this case. Created in November, 2003 the Adult Protection and Decision Act. Provide a rate of tools to assist adults (19 and older) who have some diminished ability to make their own decisions (Health and Social Services, 2010 p.1). The No Secrets (2000) guidance refers to the adult being any person of 18 and older. According to Health and Social Services (2010), the tools refer to decision making and representation agreements, guardianship appointed by court and adult protection for persons who are unable to look out for them and to search for help when abused or neglected. Hence, the Health and Social Services (2010) definition of a vulnerable adult, the adults who need protection are the ones who are not able to make their own decisions Studying Hoskins case; we learnt that the man cancelled his social care assistance. Knowing these facts, an interesting question arises how was Steven Hoskin allowed to cancel his social care program if he was acknowledged as a vulnerable patient, incapable of taking decisions and to protect himself? Unfortunately there have no evident information to understand the context in which the man gave up his social care rights and what authority and on what grounds approved the mans request, as these issues were not investigated. The single information that have for this issue, was found in the Community Care article (2007), which presented Ray Jones (former social service director Cornwall Council) findings on the case. The Cornwall Council was, at that time, limited to adult care with critical needs. As seen above, Hoskin was considered a low to medium low case, so his was dropped, according to Ray Jones. This is the only statement that we found regarding Hoskins cancellation of his social assistance rights. No Secrets (2000) sates that, guidance defines the term abuse as a violation of an individuals human and civil rights by any other person or persons. (2:9). Cornwall Adult Protection Committee (2007) presents in its serious case review study the measures created in order not to neglect adults with mental disorders and to prevent them of being harmed. A first recommendation would be to identify the disabled adults who live in a certain community (within conferences and meetings between multi-agencies meant to discover the persons who abused the ambulance or police services and that neighbors identified as problem-makers or disordered persons; by enhancing the communication between the social care institutions through trainings and communication conferences; by improving the information sharing across the statutory agencies; by raising community awareness and understanding about the identity and the possible behavior of vulnerable adults). The No Secret (2000), guidance also imposes procedures for the statutory agencies to follow, when dealing with a case of vulnerable adult abuse. It is needed to indentify the responsible and relevant agencies (3:14). This is a very serious concern, because in order to understand how a vulnerable adult should be taken care of, one needs to understand which the institutions are involved in offering protection and support to vulnerable adults. Among the statutory agencies, such as commissioners of health and social care services, providers of sheltered and supported housing, police, regulator services, the guidance also specifies other actors as relevant agencies: voluntary and private sector agencies (3:14). The guidance also suggests creating a multi agency management committee, which should consist of the leaders of the appointed agencies, in charge with identifying objectives and setting priorities, coordinating activities between agencies, creating training programs, monitoring and reviewing the progress of the institutions responsible for the vulnerable adults welfare. (3:15). From studied case, Steven Hoskin was also the victim of the agencies negligence. The specialized institutions who were in charge with the mans health status did not communicate amongst each other the reactions that they observed his behaviour. Other actions established in the No Secrets (2000) guidance frameworks, to identify roles and to appoint authority; to develop procedures that need to be followed by the agencies involved in the social care system. To protect the vulnerable adults confidentiality, as much as possible (the act specifies that a disabled persons identity should only be communicated on need to know basis); to involve the local authority in this matter (for instance, local police should work closely to the directly appointed agencies by communicating their observations) and all the actions that the multi-agency management committee undertake should be submitted to an annual audit in order to establish if its policies and strategies were correctly applied (No Secrets 2000,3 : 15, p 17, 18). The Adult Protection Committee (2007) serious case review, also proposes an induction procedure, as part of the training policy, which is to be undertaken every three years. Within the training plan, as part of the supervision, there is also included a day to day supervision. (Cornwall Adult Protection Committee 2007, p.16). These procedures are followed in Cornwall district but this seems to be an effective model that could be established in the social care system, in general. Following these rules and suggestions, the risk assessment is supposed to decrease. Just by communicating certain observation that an institution makes upon a vulnerable adult, this could bring many changes. Should a care assistant observe certain reactions at a disabled person and he/she doesnt assure that the monitored observations are treated with the proper gravity, the treated vulnerable adult can suffer greatly, because his/her symptoms were not detected on time (Adult Protection Committee, 2007). This is why, all the social care workers should be trained and their tasks and completion of their work to be daily supervised. This requires a more complex system, in which there should be included different levels of co-ordination. Within such a bureaucratic system, another risk factor interferes, the long communication flow which can cause information losses or redundant data (Adult Protection Committee, 2007). This also encounters a beneficial factor the different interpretation forms of certain information. According to Adult Protection Committee (2007), as in the case of a common work of different specialized social care institutions, the agencies can interpret differently a communicated problem related to the vulnerable adults monitored problems. Consequently, inter-communication and the information exchange between multi-agencies are so important. If certain information regarding the disabled adult might seem unimportant for a care institution, one other specialized care agen cy might find it crucial. Like in the case of Hoskin, the police and the ambulance service didnt consider very important the fact the that man made so many phone calls to hospitals and neither the fact that he was living with another disabled man seemed to be reflected as a problem for the police or the ambulance. If these facts would have been further communicated to the social care specialized agencies, the mans live could have been saved. According to Sellars (2002) risks change constantly and people grow, change, and develop. It is important to review risk assessment regularly, and aim always to increase choice and freedom for the people with learning disability. The presented and analyzed case is a serious, sad and unwanted example for understanding that the social care agencies, and other departments involved in the protection of vulnerable adults did not properly did their jobs. After studying the reports and the publications that treated Steven Hoskins case, conclude that the man was the victim of the institutional abuse. His problems were not treated with seriousness, even more; the man was considered a danger to his community because of his lout outburst and violent behaviour. Hoskins case is a clear prove that the institutions didnt take into consideration the mans repeated outburst, obvious factors of risk assessment: his repeated calls to hospitals, requiring ambulance services to his home; the polices visits to his bed-sit (in many occasions required by the ambulance service, aware of the fact that Hoskin was leaving with a dangerous, ex-convicted man, the noisy visits that the neighbours identified with a few months before Steven Hoskins death, coming from his apartment). All these examples were neglected by the agencies responsible for Hoskins case. Actually no institution took into consideration that the man was vulnerable. He was known to have severe learning problems, having the IQ of a six year child. These are serious facts which prove that the man was a vulnerable adult, not able to make decisions for his own welfare and not able to take care of himself. The authorities involved in Hoskins case didnt properly manage the mans life. They didnt ev en properly investigated the mans abuse and the reasons that brought him in the situation that caused his death (what determined him to cancel his social assistance program, or did he really cancelled it, who approved this, how did Hoskin come to share his bed-sit with one of his murderers, months before his death).

Operation and Strategy management for Ryanair Essay

Introduction The company chosen in this report is Ryanair in the airline industry. Ryanair is a low cost budget airline travelling across 1600 routes from 57 bases connecting 180 destinations in 29 different countries (Ryanair.com). Ryanair first started its operations in 1985 between Ireland and London. The first year it commuted around 5000 customers but the company really took off in 1990 when Michael O’ Leary was appointed the CEO of the company. The company was envisaged by its CEO Michael O’ Leary and adapted the Southwest airline model from America and brought it to Europe and since then the company has also embraced a no frills, low cost model where it plans to get their customers from A to B at the cheapest rate possible. This has revolutionised the travel industry and made travel cheaper and reliable within Europe. Ryanair has a strong hold on market in most of the countries Europe with 44% in Ireland where its headquarters are, followed by 23% to 21% in Poland, Italy and Spain (centreofavaiation.com). In the UK the company holds a modest 16% of the market with its overall customers estimated at 81.5 million for the year 2014. The company gets a stiff competition from Easyjet, Lufthansa, Aerlingus and Alitalia. These airlines try to follow the same model as well but Ryanair has been the leader by far  generating revenues of â‚ ¬3.789 billion for the fiscal year 2013 with profits of â‚ ¬374.6 million. Figure 1: Market share of different airlines ( Source: Centreofaviation.com) PEST Analysis Political Factors: The political factors tend to affect the airline industry the most if they are flying from one country to another. In case of Ryanair, it only flies within the EU, thus there is no question of arising uncertainties. One factor which has helped the airline sector grow is deregulation. In 1978 the United States removed government control over many aspects of air travel, including fares and routes, in the Airline Deregulation Act (Liberty of Economics and Liberty). This shifted the power to the market sphere. Following the success of this, Europe completed their own faze of deregulation by April 1997. This allowed passenger planes to fly between member states freely. Ryanair added several new routes to their repertoire after deregulation, taking the opportunity to add routes to new parts of Europe and Scandinavia. A further form of deregulation came in March of 2008 when the EU and United States agreed to let any city within each other’s territory fly between each other. This was called the Open Skies Agreement. Although Ryanair have still to take full advantage of this, they have announced their desire to start transatlantic flights at a very low cost to the consumer (RTE, 2007). This unprecedented step could shake the air flight market, increasing the volume of passengers able to fly more freely across the Atlantic and could have a knock on effect with Ryanair’s transatlantic competitors, forcing a change in the market. In 2012 a new law was introduced where all flights coming to and from the EU had to buy their CO2 emission allowances, whereas before they were exempt from the Emissions Trading Scheme. Many airlines have expressed their anger at their inclusion in the scheme, pointing to the fact that only 2% of global CO2 emissions are caused directly by air traffic. Many airlines have increased ticket prices to cope with the extra costs incurred. Ryanair have passed on the cost to customers in the form of a 25c charge (Irishtimes.com) Economical: During a deep recession Ryanair has flourished, recording a +18.71% 1 year return in 2012 ( Bloomberg, 2014) and announcing that it is Europe’s leading scheduled airline. In comparison to other airlines that are cutting jobs and have planes grounded, Ryanair are experiencing high demand and adding extra flights, creating new jobs for many sectors in their business, from pilots to sales and marketing people (RTE, 2007) One of the upmost problems facing the airline industry is the fluctuating oil prices. To compensate the rising oil prices most airlines have to put ticket prices up, which directly affects their customers. However, under the exceptional leadership of Michael O’Leary, Ryanair has addressed the problem through hedging. Hedging could be termed as an agreement between the oil companies and the airlines where oil prices are agreed in advance. In Ryanair’s case they have increased its fuel hedging capacity to 90% of its requirements (Centre of Aviation). This exceptional thinking by Ryanair gives them a cost cutting advantage over its competitors and thus still being able to offer its customers the same low fares which have been Ryanair’s forte. Social: The airline industry as per any other industry has to comply with the customer’s requirement to sustain in the market. A very god example that could be stated in this case is that of Ryanair, whereby, during the recession times when the unemployment grew to almost 15% and thus people did not have much money to spend, Ryanair gave its customers cheap flights to commute from one place to another taking away all the inflight luxuries. This has helped the airline grow even in the toughest times the economy has faced and thus also creating new jobs. But also to with stand the competition by other luxury airliners, Ryanair would offer its customers to book their cars and train tickets while booking their flights as it mostly flies to secondary airports. This, therefore not only attracted middle class customers but also people on business. The airline industry especially in Europe has had a last few troublesome years due to natural disasters that have cost the company extensive amoun ts. To point out a few, the ash cloud in 2010 cost the company 29.7 million Euros (Irish times, 2011) and these are huge costs for the airline to bear and thus, to compensate these compensation chargers Ryanair now chargers a â‚ ¬2 levy to compensate these claims in the future (Irish times, 2011). Technological: In the current climate technology plays an important part in the airline industry. Firstly, with the increasing fuels costs, fuel efficient aircrafts can save the companies a substantial amount of money. Another way is the internet; with the growth of internet all the companies’ use online advertising to push the sales and television advertising is also second to none. The internet is also a medium where people look for cheap airline tickets. In the case of Ryanair, the company makes the utmost use of technology to cut the human involvement out and thus keeping the costs down. It has a very good online ticket booking system where 85% of its tickets are booked (Ryanair.com). In 2009, Ryanair introduces the self-service kiosks whereby the passengers can check in using the machine and thus taking the human element out of the equation. This service was already available for passengers travelling without luggage but it was now developed for the customers travelling with check-in lu ggage. This was a chip and pin service developed in collaboration with Ingenico and thus gave the company a competitive advantage over its competitors and thus delivering low price flights for its customers (BBC News, 2009). Value Chain Analysis: A firm’s competitive advantage could be determined by the value chain analysis. The value chain consists of primary and support activities. Understanding the company’s linkage between the primary and secondary activities gives the company’s business model and helps one understand the secret of withstanding the competitive advantage. Figure 2: Value Chain Analysis model In the case of Ryanair, a clear linkage could be made between the inbound and outbound logistics in the primary activities to the Technology development in the support activity. Now, to obtain a clear understanding of this model, inbound logistics are the deals that the company is able to acquire from its suppliers on the promise of higher volumes. These include food, drinks, duty free goods, fuel which have to be delivered, stored and controlled on time as to avoid any delays for the aircraft. Ryanair, also puts a great deal of  effort in its operations as it promises its customers a 25 minute turnaround period which could be one of its core competencies and for the company to do so all the inbound logistics should be delivered on time. This 25 minute turnaround period also, gives the company the advantage of flying two extra flights on the same route compared to its competitors and enables high aircraft utilisation. The company also offers nonstop direct services to its destinati ons and does not link with any other airline, thus giving them a timely departure from the airport and also avoiding the costs for through services for its passengers and does not have to rely on other flights coming on time to schedule their departures. This has helped them gain a competitive advantage over its competitors as 95% of Ryanair’s flights are on time compared to 88% that of EasyJet. Ryanair also uses the standard Boeing 737 model of aircraft and thus, the company manages to get maintenance services and spares at a very minimum cost. This also reduces the cost of staff training and offers flexibility in scheduling aircrafts and crew assignments. On the outbound logistics, Ryanair operates to the secondary airports and thus have to arrange onward journey for their customers. They have teamed up with certain vehicle companies to give its business customers the advantage of that service however some of the routes are so obscure that these services cannot be provided constantly, a prime example are some of the Scandinavian routes. Thus, Ryanair has certain limits when acquiring the market share. On the contrary, Ryanair’s competitor EasyJet does the opposite and flies to major airports and cities and thus paying higher landing charges which are then reflected in the fares for their customers. The advantage of flying to secondary airports is that Ryanair pay fewer chargers and they are also in a position to bargain with the airport authority and get a deal that favours them and the secondary airports are less congested and thus turnaround times are much faster (Centre of Aviation), 2014). The inbound and the outbound logistics are coupled nicely with the technology to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. Ryanair has tried to eliminate the human element as much as they can. They have introduced kiosks at the check-in desks for customers to check-in themselves at their own leisure. Thus, reducing staffing costs which is then reflected in the prices they charge their customers. The company doe s not invest much in advertising as well, the main advertising is  done through its very own website and 90% of the tickets are booked through the website as well( Ryanair.com). It only uses ticketing agents when they’re opening new routes and trying to venture into unknown markets; otherwise it is the website that people book their tickets through. The company constantly monitors its planes minute by minute through its own website and thus, keeping the human element out and using its website for mainly everything saves them on an average â‚ ¬6 million a year (BBC news, 2014). Amongst all the competitive advantage the company have, the one that has not been mentioned is the good leadership of Michael O’ Leary and his ability to create a vision for the company. He has successfully managed to adapt to the change as and when required and adopt different model to envisage the change for the betterment of the company which has helped the business to grow. Conclusion: To conclude this report, Ryanair has emerged as a successful company since it was established in 1985. It had a few hiccups on the way for the first 5 years but since Michael O’ Leary took the reigns over in 1990 as the CEO the company has gone from strength to strength. Its success has been helped by the conducive nature of the industry and the external elements within the airline industry. This industry has its threats but since the de regulation act and the expansion of EU, there have been a lot of commuters within these countries for business and leisure, thus this higher demand and low costs have helped Ryanair emerge as a low cost budget airline. Just because the company operates all its routes within the EU, it does not really have to deal with changing political factors and that it has always used them to their advantage. Ex. De regulation act and the open skies act even though the company has not started its flights to the US as of yet. The changing oil prices are a c oncern for every airliner but Ryanair counteracts through a process call hedging and uses the most advanced technology to remove the human element to curb the costs down for its customers and another reason for its success even during recession is because it gave the customers cheap flights to commute taking the luxuries out which were the demands at that time. Ryanair has a competitive advantage by the virtue of its inbound activities and the outbound activities combined with the technological  aspect of it. It uses the same standard Boeing so the costs are less and also, flying at secondary airports mean less landing charges and they’re also in a position to get a favourable deal for themselves from the airport authorities. The turnaround time is only 25 minutes as well and thus giving their customers more daily flights from the same destinations compared to its competitors. Refrences: Belobaba, P., Odoni, A., & Barnhart, C. (2009). The global airline industry. Hoboken: AIAA, Inc Helm, C., & Jones, R. (2010). Extending the value chain: A conceptual framework for managing the governance of co-created brand equity. The Journal of Brand Management, 17(8), 579-589. McCormick, T. (2010). Understanding costs using the value chain a ryanair example. Dublin: Institute of Chartered Accountants In Ireland. Research and markets: European low cost airline industry continues to prosper.(2004, Business Wire, pp. 1. Research and markets: European low cost airline industry continues to prosper.(2004, Business Wire, pp. 1. Research and markets: PEST analysis.(2003, M2 Presswire, pp. 1. RTE 2007. http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2012/q1_2012_doc.pdf[Accessed 20 March 2014]. http://www.ryanair.com/en/about/ryanair-and-the-environment[Accessed 20 March 2014]. Aviation, C. C. (2011, May 25). CAPA Centre for Aviation. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from Ryanairearnings up 26% but change in tack for 2012: http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/ryanair-earnings-up-26-but-change-in-tack-for-2012- http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0112/breaking26.htmlEdwards, N. (2012). http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=27620789 accessed on 2/04/14. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22659822 accessed on 1/04/2014 http://www.air-passenger-rights.co.uk/tag/the-irish-times/ accessed on 5/04/14 http://wwwnews.live.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23487106 accessed on 10/04/14

Boundaryless Organizations

In deciding issues such a distribution of authority, reporting relationships, span of control and centralization/decentralization, the structure of the organization will result. It is worth noting that the current tendency is to move to flatter organization having fewer hierarchical levels and more flexible reporting arrangements. This is what a boundaryless organization is about. As a different view of organizational structure, it is not defined by, or limited to, the boundaries imposed by a predefined structure. Boundaries in this context can be external and internal in nature.Internal boundaries are horizontal boundaries imposed by work specialization and departmentalization and vertical boundaries that separate employees into organizational levels and hierarchies. The external boundaries are those that separate the organization from its customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. The boundaryless organization breaks down the artificial boundaries created by a design such as dep artmentalization and hierarchies, and the external boundaries separating the organization from its suppliers, customers and other stakeholders.General Electric’s former chairman, Jack Welch, coined the term boundaryless organization to describe is idea of what he wanted GE to become (Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick and Kerr (1995). It has been called by different names since: the 21st century network organization, modular corporation, the new corporate model, the new corporate architecture or virtual corporation, to name a few. And because it relies heavily on information technology, some have turned to calling this structure the T-form (or technology-based) organization.Industries and Organizations Suitable for a Boundaryless Organizational Structure From its foundation, more than one hundred years ago, the learning of organizations has rested on a single conjecture: that there is and/or should be a sole ‘right’ structure of organization. This ‘one-size-fits-allâ⠂¬â„¢ thought still keeps on until today. What is offered as the ‘one right’ business structure has altered on more than one occasion, but the exploration for the one-size-fitting-all organizations continues these days.Probably the most suitable organization for a boundaryless organizational structure is manufacturing companies which operate on a global scale. However, it may be noted that no one structure meets all the business requirements under all conditions. It is always important to periodically evaluate the organization structure to determine whether it is still appropriate to the changing needs. The decision maker should list the strengths and weaknesses of each structural alternative and also develop business priorities for attributes such as cycle-time reduction or scale/scope of manufacturing, etc.Then the choice of structure can be made to meet the top priorities. Advantages In recent years, many organizations have attempted to become more boundaryless by ma intaining flatter structures and allowing a more free flow of communication and influence with customers and suppliers. As an example, a boundaryless organization might encourage the contracting of services across functional or product-line boundaries. With such contracting comes closer contact and natural development of customer-supplier relationships between previously separated groups.One specific example increasingly common in recent years involves the contracting of human resource services between an HR department and other units of an organization. The boundaryless organization aims to do away with pecking order, have unlimited span of control, and substitute units with empowered teams. The breaking down of boundaries between an organization and its external customers has also caused those customers to take a more active role toward the organization and its management.For example, in service settings that have adopted boundaryless orientations, external customers increasingly become more involved in the design and delivery of the company’s HRM practices. By taking away vertical boundaries, the management evens out the chain of command. Status and rank are minimized and becomes flexible and responsive. Another advantage is that it dissolves temporal, geographical, hierarchical, legal and economic boundaries.The extent to which an organization has attempted to reshape its boundaries structurally toward boundarylessness coincides with the appropriateness of 360 ° degree feedback. For example, a flatter structure would increase the need for upward appraisals and feedback, as managers attempt to gauge the effectiveness of their leadership behaviors. Disadvantages Any discussion of the benefits or transcendence of the boundaryless organization should, however, consider the limitations and disadvantages of this new structure.These may include lack of control due to the increase in its span, communication difficulties due to personality and cultural dif ferences, stifling of innovation, ambiguities in the nature of relationships, asymmetric commitment, conflict in control, loss of autonomy and security, time lags, managing complexity, structural constraints, narrow managerial perspectives, manipulation and ulterior motives, mismatched or incomplete knowledge and competence, increased dependencies and so on. Also, the fact that people are motivated by different things and in different ways is something that managers are constantly conscious of.Thus, there are times when delayering and the flattening of hierarchies can create insecurity and lower staff morale (Peters, 1992). During the process, employees usually feel that they are being stripped off their responsibilities, interpreting it as lack of trust on the part of the management. Creating a Boundaryless Organization Picot, Reichwald and Wigand (2008) observed that there have been copious cases of businesses delayering their organizational structures in recent years. According t o advocates of the structure, one of the most effective ways of building responsiveness into organizations is to eliminate layers of management.The benefits gained from delayering could be fully realized only through a number of significant accompanying organizational changes. Looking more into internal training to meet the firms’ needs, citing cost pressures to cut back on spending for occupational training and outsourcing, which pushes the costs of training lower down the supply chain, often onto small and medium size enterprises which are in no position to finance such training are a number of ways to overcoming any problems that the delayering process creates.The managers’ and leaders’ role into this process, since they are the management people coming in closest contact with the employees, is to communicate, consult and plan on the measures that need to be taken in order for the delayering process to become beneficial to the organization as a whole.Cross-hi erarchical teams (which includes top executives, middle managers, supervisors and operative employees), participative decision-making practices, and the use of 360-degrees performance appraisals (in which peers and others above and below the employee evaluate his or her performance) are examples of what a boundaryless organization should be doing to break down vertical boundaries. Conclusion Many factors have contributed to the rise of the boundaryless organization. One is the need to respond to rapidly changing, highly competitive global markets.Another factor is new technology, such as computers and telecommunications that permits organizations to work more effectively. Employees then have a vast amount of information at their fingertips through an intranet. This idea may sound odd, yet many of today’s most successful organizations are finding that they can operate more effectively in today’s environment by remaining flexible and unstructured: that the ideal structur e for them is not having a rigid, predefined structure.WORKS CITED Ashkenas, R. , Ulrich, D. , Jick, T. & Kerr, S. (1995). The Boundaryless Organization: Breaking the Chains of Organizational Structure. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Peters, T. (1992). Liberation Management: Necessary Disorganization for the Nanosecond Nineties. London: Macmillan Picot, A. , Reichwald, R. & Wigand, R. (2008). Information, Organization and Management. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

Choices - 905 Words

Choices The concept of choices and their role in a character’s demise is explored in both the plays Antigone and Oedipus through the characters Creon and Oedipus. These characters are faced with many paths that they may choose and their decisions, in the end, affect everyone around them. While some may attribute these plays tragic ending to fate, the fact is each character was given choices and these choices shaped their very existence. Choices made by Creon and Oedipus are similar in the sense that their repercussions cause the downfall of themselves and those around them; but, differ in terms of the motive behind them. At first glance, it appears that Creon is totally responsible for the tragedy that befalls him and that Oedipus has†¦show more content†¦His actions are motivated by selfish reasons and he disregards all family ties focusing only on the state. Creon states, I say to you at the very outset that I have nothing but contempt for the kind of Governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State; and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare, - I have no use for him, either†¦ No one values friendship more highly than I; but we must remember that friends made at the risk of wrecking our Ship are not real friends at all (Antigone, Scene 1 line 18-27). In this passage he overtly explains that he will under no circumstance risk the public good for that of maintaining a relationship. Creon’s stubbornness and refusal to grant mercy unto Antigone comes from his need to be in control. On the other hand, Oedipus makes his choices based on his denial of situations and in order to protect individuals he cares about. Oedipus moves away from his home in order to protect his parents and stop the prophecy from being fulfilled; in no way are his actions selfish in action or do they come from a hunger for power but more from ignorance. We can draw from the text that Oedipus makes his decision with good intentions when he says, Apollo said through his prophet that I was the man/Who should marry his own mother, shed his father’s blood/With his own hands. And so, for all these years/I haveShow MoreRelatedChoices Commercial871 Words   |  4 PagesThe Nutrigrain Choices commercial begins with a woman getting off the subway and moves to her working in her office. The screen splits and two scenarios are set forward: one where she chose to eat a Nutrigrain bar on the left and the other where she chose a donut on the right. There is a voice-over about one decision leading to another. The woman on the left is shown eating a burrito, brownie, and pasta as the commercial continues. On the right, we see her choosing a salad, a cup of fruit, and vegetablesRead MoreThe Paradox of Choice1827 Words   |  8 Pagesit better when you have more choices or when you have fewer choices? Most people would answer more choices as they would feel less limited because it is common to associate having more choices with havin g more freedom and having more freedom with having more welfare. In fact, this is not always correct as you may not have enough knowledge to know which may be the most beneficial to you in the long run. This is turn relates to what is best known as the paradox of choice because we may think we haveRead MoreThe Paradox of Choice Essay1705 Words   |  7 Pagesevery day they encounter numerous choices. The way they decide and the outcomes of their decisions define their lives. Their day to day life essentially revolves around the choices they make. As a whole, a community benefits or suffers from the outcomes of its choices. Freedom of choice is the grant to an individual or community to make its own choices out of free will and without restrictions (Pereboom,2003). This is essay will discuss that though freedom choice leads to variety in life, it doesRead MoreChoices and Consequences in â€Å"aP†749 Words   |  3 PagesChoices and Consequences In â€Å"AP†, the author John Updike demonstrates the importance of choices and their consequences. It is important that someone considers everything that could occur before making a decision. Updike uses the characters of Sammy, the three girls in bathing suits, and Lengel in the story to show how important it is to carefully contemplate the consequences of their choices. All of the main characters in the story make a choice and must endure the consequences. Sammy, the cashierRead MoreFree Will And Free Choice1122 Words   |  5 Pagesday to come. The freedom you have always known permitted the choice, your free will grants you this privilege. Or does it? Free will is a false concept often confused with free choice. Free will does not truly exist, the limitations set by nature and the influence of other people hinder the ability to choose without the impact of past experiences. As Barbara Smoker, a British Humanist activist and freethought advocate stated, â€Å"Free choice means you are not forced by other people or what is outsideRead MoreConsumer Society and Choice1317 Words   |  6 Pages 2009). As our relationship with consumerism has changed so too have the choices available of why, when, where and how we consume. The first part of this assignment will look at the characteristics of a consumer society, the choices available and identify the divisions created from unequal choices. The second part will consider the role of the Big four supermarkets (TESCO, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrison’s) in providing choice to people. The term consumer society goes beyond the mere act of shoppingRead MoreChoices In The Giver, By Lois Lowry1243 Words   |  5 PagesLife is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you. – John C. Maxwell. In the novel The Giver, Lois Lowry shows the reader how choices in life are important, and should be made by us, not for us. Lowry uses characters such as Jonas and the giver to illustrate how choices should be made by us. She uses other characters such as Jonass father to reflect how people are often blinded by the standards of society and do not realize they can actually make their own choices. With these charactersRead MoreEssay on Choices in the Epic of Gilgamesh1308 Words   |  6 PagesChoices: The Journey of Life The story of Gilgamesh expresses the idea that all of the life choices we make throughout this journey are ours and ours alone. It is through these choices that determines how we live our lives from day-to-day. It is within the beginning of this story that one is introduced to the life choices of Gilgamesh. He is the King of Uruk-a ruler full of vanity, selfishness, and materialism. His arrogance has no bounds by day or night. Every choice that he makes is basedRead MoreChoices with Regard to the Process of Consumption1657 Words   |  7 PagesConsumer choice refers to the decisions consumers make when considering the products and services they want to purchase. Presently, in this post-industrial society, many analysts believe that social strata in many parts of the world have led to the emergence of â€Å"consumer society† (Smart, B 2014). Reasons for this are because individuals are being portrayed as having a wide range of choice as they are being presented with a wide range of products and services. As Ellis at al. (2012) notes, privatizationRead MoreLife Is Made Up Of Choices1404 Words   |  6 Pagesis choices. Life is made up of choices. I believe life is just a series of decisions we make, and depending on our choice, must live with the result of that decision. The choices usually consist of a multitude of possibilities and, whether real or imagined, we must recognize that in some way the decision will change our life forever. Therein lies the rub. Because there are so many factors involved with our decision-making and with its unknown result, many of us hesitate to even make a choice, thinking