What Are Canadas Legislative Assemblies

In Canada, a legislative assembly is the body of people elected in each province and territory to create and pass laws.  The  legislature of a province or territory is made up of a  legislative assembly  along with the lieutenant governor. Canadas Constitution originally gave broader powers to the federal government, but over time, the provinces and territories were assigned more responsibilities. Legislative assemblies are assigned powers in generally all matters of a merely local or private Nature in the Province, according to the Constitution. These include property rights, civil rights, and the sale of public lands. Different Names for Legislative Assemblies Seven of Canadas  10  provinces,  and its three  territories  style their legislatures as  legislative  assemblies. While most provinces and territories in Canada use the term legislative assembly, in the provinces of Nova Scotia and  Newfoundland and Labrador,  legislatures are called the House of Assembly. In Quebec, it is called the National Assembly. Though many legislative assemblies in Canada originally had upper and lower chambers, all now are unicameral,  consisting of one chamber or house. How Bills Move Through the Assemblies Bills are required to move through a formal first reading, then a second reading where members can then debate the bill. It then gets a detailed review by committee, where it is examined thoroughly and witnesses can be called. Amendments can be added at this stage.  Once the bill has been voted out of committee it goes back to the full assembly for a third reading, after which it is voted on. If it passes, it goes to the lieutenant governor, who can accept or reject it. Representation by Legislators Representation can range widely. For instance, one member of the legislative assembly in Prince Edward Island represents about 5,000 constituents, while a member of the assembly of Ontario represents more than 120,000, according to figures compiled by a regional councilor. Most, however, are somewhere between those extremes. Party Makeup of  Legislative Assemblies The combined number of seats in Canadian legislative assemblies is 768. As of May 2019, the party makeup of legislative assembly seats consisted of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (22 percent), the Liberal Party of Canada (19 percent), the New Democratic Party (18 percent), and 10 parties, independents and vacant seats making up the remaining 41 percent. The oldest legislative assembly in Canada is Nova Scotia House of Assembly, established in 1758. Other Commonwealth countries with states or territories that use the legislative assembly structure include  India, Australia, and Malaysia.   How Territorial Assemblies Differ Territorial assemblies work differently than their provincial counterparts. In the provinces, assembly members run for office by party membership. Each province has a premiere, who is a member of the party with the largest number of elected officials. But in the Northwest Territories and Nanavut, members run without party affiliation in what is known as a consensus government. They then elect a speaker and a premier from among these independent members. They also elect cabinet ministers. While Yukon is also a territory, it elects its members by parties the same as provinces. The three territories dont have the control over the sale and management of federal land that provinces do. They also cannot borrow money without permission of a governor in council.

Maths 1a Imp Qstns - 3281 Words

WWW.PAPERSHUNT.COM MATHS - FIRST YEAR 1 A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS BY WWW.PAPERSHUNT.COM AND HUNT FOR SUCCESS PUBLICATIONS. LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS Functions : 01. Let f : A ï‚ ® B , g : B ï‚ ® C be bijections. Then gof : A ï‚ ® C is a bijection. 02. Let f : A ï‚ ® B , g : B ï‚ ® C be bijection. Then ( gof ) ï€ ­1 ï€ ½ f ï€ ­1og ï€ ­1 03. Let f : A ï‚ ® B , I A and I B be identify functions on A and B respectively. Then foI A ï€ ½ f ï€ ½ I B of 04. Let f : A ï‚ ® B be a bijection. Then fof 05. Let f : A ï‚ ® B be a function. Then f is a bijection if and only if there exists a function g : B ï‚ ® A such that fog ï€ ½ I B and gof ï€ ½ I A and, in this case, g ï€ ½ f ï€ ­1 Mathematical Inductions : 06. Show that 49n ï€ « 16n ï€ ­ 1 is divisible by 64 for all positive integers n. n(n 2 ï€ « 6n ï€ « 11)†¦show more content†¦The angle of elevation of the top of a tower from the foot of the building is twice the angle of its elevation from the top of the building. The height of the building is 50 meters and the height of the tower is 75 meters. Find the angle of elevation of the top of the tower from the foot of the building. 29. From a point on the slope of a hill, the angle of elevation of the top of the hill is 45 °. After walking 200 meters from that point on a slope which makes 15 ° angle with the horizontal, the same point on the top of the hill, makes an angle of elevation of 60 °. Show that the height of the hill is 100 HUNT FOR SUCCESS ï€ ¨ 6 ï€ « 2 meters ï€ © 30. A pillar is leaning towards East and ï  ¡ and ï  ¢ are the angles of elevation of the top of pillar from two points due West of the pillar at distance a and b respectively. Show that the angle between the pillar and the horizontal is Tan ïÆ' § ï€ ­1 ïÆ' ¦ ïÆ' ¶ bï€ ­a ïÆ' · ïÆ' ¨ b cot ï  ¡ ï€ ­ a cot ï  ¢ ïÆ' ¸ Demoviers Theorem : 2n 2n n ï€ «1 31. If n is an integer then show that (1 ï€ « i) ï€ « (1 ï€ « i ) ï€ ½ 2 cos nï  ° 2 32. If cos ï  ¡ ï€ « cos ï  ¢ ï€ « cos ï  § ï€ ½ 0 ï€ ½ sin ï  ¡ ï€ « sin ï  ¢ ï€ « sin ï  § then show that (i) cos 3ï  ¡ ï€ « cos 3ï  ¢ ï€ « cos 3ï  § ï€ ½ 3cos(ï  ¡ ï€ « ï  ¢ ï€ « ï  § ) (ii) sin 3ï  ¡ ï€ « sin 3ï  ¢ ï€ « sin 3ï  § ï€ ½ 3sin(ï  ¡ ï€ « ï  ¢ ï€ « ï  § ) (iii) cos(ï  ¡ ï€ « ï  ¢ ) ï€ « cos( ï  ¢ ï€ « ï  § ) ï€ « cos(ï  § ï€ « ï  ¡ ) ï€ ½ 0 33. Find all the roots of the equation x11 ï€ ­ x 7 ï€ « x 4 ï€ ­ 1 ï€ ½ 0 34. If n is a positive integer, show that :3: mail us @ huntforsuccess@gmail.com , cell: 798 3699 456 , Our books are available in selected book shops in andhra

Early English Law free essay sample

Early English law sought not only to deter crime and immoral behaviour but to exert social control, particularly over the lesser mortals, nothing changes. Crimes committed in early England are not much different to the crimes committed today, although the punishments given are very different. Our methods today for punishment no longer use barbaric methods such as hanging, stoning, burning, drowning, decapitation and the breaking of the neck for serious crimes nor do we amputate , blind, scalp and brand for the lesser crimes committed. Instead we send offenders to prison for the serious crimes and fine/community service for the lesser crimes committed. Abduction, murder, rape, robbery, damage to property and assault are still punishable today but adultery and slaves are no longer offences due to society changes. To exert social control early English law stated â€Å"any person who tried to escape pursuit or to act in self-defence could be cut down irrespective of the magnitude of the suspected offence or the age or sex of the suspected offender† this can be said for today if a suspect were to run from a crime. We will write a custom essay sample on Early English Law or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In Aethelbert’s codes that all men were not equal before the law, and even less so in the case of women does not extend to today as far as the law is today, all men and women are equal regardless of colour, race, age or gender. Early English law did not have prisons and fines were determined by social status, the higher up the person was the less they had to pay. The king did not have the expense in maintaining prisons as as far as he was concerned compensation rather than incarceration was eminently satisfactory method of dealing with crime. Substantial proportion of fines and confiscations were claimed by him, crime did pay as far as the crown was concerned. Today, fines could not be considered for crimes such as rape and murder. Another method of early English law social control was that of hanging, stoning, burning, drowning, decapitation and the breaking of the neck these would be done in public and people would come to watch the executions. Also, mutilation of limbs carried scars and offenders would have to live with this for the rest of their lives. This helped to exert social control as the executions and mutilations would act as a deterrent in that no one would want this to happen to them. None of these methods are done today. It is clear to see that there are no real comparisons to early English law and the law today. Today we have prisons and use fines to exert social control. We no longer use barbaric methods to enforce the law. Sentencing, fines and community service today should be enough to discourage from people offending although in all societies offences do happen as they did back in early England but today we tend to help the offenders by counselling, fining and giving back to the community as in community services, whereas early England the punishments were grotesque. Death, mutilation and maiming were acceptable methods of punishments and social control.

Professional Development Need of an Individual-Sample for Students

Question: Discuss about the Professional Development need of an Individual. Answer: Professional Development Need for the role of Marketing Manager Good communication skills is imperative for a marketing manager. A marketing manager has to convince the clients regarding the services and different kinds of products and hence convincing power is of crucial importance for a marketing manager. A marketing manager would be able to convince his clients with the help of persuasive communication skills. Good organizational along with planning skills is also important for a marketing manager. The organizational skills will help the marketing manager in managing the personal needs within that of the office. A marketing manager has many responsibilities and organizational skills will help him to prioritize the different tasks in the office. It will help him in the perfect organization of the tasks and help him in the arena of time management (Javadzadeh, Mazidi Aghaei, 2016) Meeting the deadlines will require the setting of that of incremental goals that can help in moving a project in the forward direction. The ability of developing the products along with that of pricing strategies is another objective of the marketing manager. The evaluation of the marketing strategies should be on the basis of the market characteristics and this is another important arena of the marketing manager (Brink Costigan, 2015) Analytical skills is essential for a marketing manager as it can help him in monitoring the trends prevailing in the market. It can help him in assessing the needs along with desires of the customer. Specific Plan in meeting the Development Need Evergreen College is a college that prepares the professional for that of the real world. It offers different kinds of certificate along with diploma programs. In-class learning along with practical learning is of great importance for the professional world. A particular arena related to which I would like to develop are my communication skills. The classmates in our college suggested that a training can be organized that can help in improving the communication skills of the students (Moss, 2017). The communication skills training will require a person who has already been successful in his profession. The General Manager of Manulife which is the largest insurance concern within Canada will be brought in for conducting the training. It is of vital importance for the insurance employees to manage multiple relationship and this makes communication skills of great importance in this profession. Connection with a new client is an important part of this profession who can have different q uestions in relation to the insurance product. The professors in our college were communicated about our plan and with the help of the principal of our college the General Manager was contacted who would be able to enlighten and provide training to the students regarding how to build up good communication skills. Partnering with the Education Office of Lakeland College helped in bringing in the General Manager of Manulife who would provide the much necessary training at the premises of our Evergreen College. The students of Lakeland College would also come to our College to take part in the Training that would help the students in developing communication skills that would help them in their professional development People who can help in achieving development need The communication skills is an important trait of the marketing manager. Listening is an important aspect in relation to the communication skills. People have a deep desire of knowing that they are being heard and listening to the sayings of other people can help in forming a good impression. Listening is more important than formulation of a response and it can be of great help in avoiding misunderstandings. The professors in Evergreen College can help me in sharpening my skills related to communication. The group discussions can help in sharpening my communication skills and they can prove to be beneficial for the social skills of the student (Walker, 2017). It can help in enhancing the critical thinking and can help people in understanding an important concept. My class mates in Evergreen College will help me to enhance the communication related skills that can help me in adjusting perfectly to the work environment at a later stage of life. There is a study group in my neighbourhoo d in Ontario and we meet once in a week to discuss about the problems that we are facing pertaining to our studies (Megginson Whitaker, 2017) This study group can also help in enriching my vocabulary and we can discuss about a topic that will make everyone speak up. It will force an individual to get rid of the shyness and make them more confident individuals. The reading of newspaper on everyday basis can provide us with ample topics on which we can debate on. Self- evaluation of Professional Development Plan by making use of SMART criteria Specific- I would like to learn regarding how a message can be delivered with more clarity and regarding how one can speak in optimistic terms. It will also help me regarding how to give constructive and not destructive criticism. The training will help me handling difficult people along with that of difficult conversations. Meaningful- The plans that have been set can help me in achieving my professional goals. The training held in the College along with the support from the professors in my college can help me in the progression of my career (Liang et al., 2015 Practical knowledge would be delivered to me with the help of the training courses and the group activities in the neighbourhood that would help me in achieving my objectives. Achievable- The goals are feasible and attainable. They are based on different kinds of practical activities like taking part in the training, group discussions and participation within that of the study group that can help me in my career. Realistic- The achieving of the goals would be helped with the help of professors in College and my classmates. It would involve a lot of self-study and can hence be said to be realistic (Rubens et al., 2018). Time-bound- The training would be completed within a week and it would provide me with skills that would help me in my professional development. The group discussions along with that of the co-operation from the self-study group can help me in reaching my aims. References: Brink, K. E., Costigan, R. D. (2015). Oral communication skills: Are the priorities of the workplace and AACSB-accredited business programs aligned?.Academy of Management Learning Education,14(2), 205-221. Javadzadeh, S. A., Mazidi, A., Aghaei, A. (2016). The Relationship between Effective Communication Skills of Managers and Creativity of Staff.Journal of Management Sciences,2(5), 274-277. Liang, X., Collins, L. J., Kruse, S., Lenhart, L. A. (2015). Information is not implementation: Fidelity to a statewide professional development plan.Academy of Educational Leadership Journal,19(3), 195. Megginson, D., Whitaker, V. (2017).Continuing professional development. Kogan Page Publishers. Moss, B. (2017).Communication skills in health and social care. Sage. Rubens, A., Schoenfeld, G. A., Schaffer, B. S., Leah, J. S. (2018). Self-awareness and leadership: Developing an individual strategic professional development plan in an MBA leadership course.The International Journal of Management Education,16(1), 1-13. Walker, K. (2017). Why continuing professional development is so important.IQ: The RIM Quarterly,33(2), 4.

The Effectiveness of Motivation Theory Essay Example

The Effectiveness of Motivation Theory Essay Running head: Motivation Theories: A Literature Review Motivation Theories: A Literature Review - Motivation Theories: A Literature Review Motivation is an important concept for managers to understand. Motivation affects direction, intensity and duration (Locke Gary, 2004). High task motivation has been found to correlate with high firm growth (Miner, Smith, et. al. , 1989). Berman and Miner (1985) studied CEOs, COOs, executive VPs and group VPs and found that those â€Å"who reached the highest levels of large business firms [had] higher motivation to manage than individuals with less achievement† (377-391). There are many things that affect motivation, such as personal preferences, job satisfaction and organizational factors (Wherry South, 1977). According to Locke and Gary (2004), most people are in situations; particularly work related ones, due to their own personal choices. Latham and Pinder (2005) found that â€Å"goal-setting, social cognitive and organization justice theories are the three most important approaches to work motivation to appear in the last 30 years† (485). Self-efficacy significantly impacts motivation. Lindner (1998) also supports this. Wabba (1974) discusses behavioral choices and motivation. Personal faith also plays a role in motivation. I Corinthians 10:31 states, â€Å"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God† (NASB). We will write a custom essay sample on The Effectiveness of Motivation Theory specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Effectiveness of Motivation Theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Effectiveness of Motivation Theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Bible consistently gives examples of those motivated by their belief and faith in God. When Peter and the disciples were threatened with imprisonment for spreading the gospel, Peter responded with â€Å"we must obey God rather than men† (Acts 5:29, NASB). Their desire to follow God overshadowed concern for physical or earthly consequences. Dysfunctional thinking also can affect motivation (Locke Gary, 2004). Dysfunctional thinking is basically irrational overgeneralizations and it comes from automatic thoughts. Locke and Gary (2004) also suggest that managers learn how to help employees copy with these automatic thoughts in order to identify the irrational nature of their thoughts so they can process them in a way that is productive and provides greater motivation. Gee and Burke (2001) found that the hope for financial gain as a sole motivator is an outdated idea and not nearly as effective as once thought. There are various motivation theories and some recent changes in motivation trends. Gee and Burke (2001) refer to â€Å"human potential management† as opposed to â€Å"human resource management. This seemingly small change in vernacular reflects changing attitudes. Wood (2000) recommends taking into account social identify theory, motivational traits, procrastination and lateness, proactive role orientations and person-environment fit when evaluating theories. Dye, Mills and Weatherbee (2005) believe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been oversimplified to fit the convenienc e of motivational textbooks and in this oversimplication, the point of Maslow’s theories has been missed. They caution against using the hierarchy of needs chart without the complete context. There are some effective best practices that can be derived from motivation theories. Gee and Burke (2001) found that self-managed teams and telecommuting both increased employee motivation. Tai (2006) and Huang (2001) both found positive correlations between effective training programs and employee motivation. Chapman (2008) discusses the role of team-building activities, workshops, inspirational quotes and positive experiences in building employee motivation. Sodenkamp (2005) found that pay-for-performance systems on employee work groups increased motivation as well. The ACCEL-Team’s (2008) findings support this as well. Fitzgerald (1971) cautions against using irrelevant solutions to try motivate employees without first ensuring the solid foundation of the work system itself. Managerial attitudes and actions also have an impact on motivation. Daniel Goleman gives six distinct leadership styles, â€Å"coercive leaders demand immediate compliance. Authoritative leaders mobilize people toward a vision. Affiliative leaders create emotional bonds. Democratic leaders build consensus. Pacesetting leaders set high standards and expect excellence. Coaching leaders develop people† (Longenecker, Moore, Petty Palich, 2008, p. 474-475). Forsyth (2006) called leadership â€Å"the process by which an individual guides others in their pursuits, often by organizing, directing, coordinating, supporting and motivating their efforts† (p. 376). Invang (2008) the guide to his group members. â€Å"A manager who listens encourages employee growth and career development† (Burley-Allen, 1995, p. 9). Anthony (1989) discusses motivation by example and through involvement and interactions with employees. Wolleat (2007) reviewed Gary Latham’s book, Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research, and Practice and acknowledged its use in presenting motivation theories but Locke and Gary (2004) found that motivation theories do not compete with each other as much as they show different aspects of motivation. The goal of managers, therefore, should not be so much to evaluate motivation theories to select the superior theory; rather the goal of managers should be to use characteristics of different motivation theories to effectively motivate employees. References ACCEL-Team. (2008). Employee Motivation, the Organizational Environment and Productivity. Al-Khalifa, A. , Peterson, S. E. (2004). On the relationship between initial motivation, and satisfaction and performance in joint ventures. European Journal of Marketing, 38(1/2), 150-174. Anthony, J. H. (1989). Therapeutic Leadership. Leadership Abstracts, 2 (13). Berman, F. E. and J. B. Miner (1985). Motivation to manage at the top e xecutive level: A test of the hierarchic role-motivation theory. Personnel Psychology 38(2): 377-391. Burley-Allen, M. (1995). Listening the Forgotten Skill: A Self-Teaching Guide. 2nd Ed. , Canada, John Wiley Sons, Inc. Chapman, A. (1995-2008). Employee motivation theory team building activities, workshops, inspirational quotes, and the power of positive experience. Densten, I. L. (2002). Clarifying inspirational motivation and its relationship to extra effort. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 23(1), 40-44. Dye, K. , Mills, A. J. , Weatherbee, T. (2005). Maslow: man interrupted: reading management theory in context. Management Decision, 43. Fitzgerald, T. H. (1971). Why motivation theory doesnt work. Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Publication Corp. 49: 37-44. Forsyth, D. R. (2006). Group Dynamics. 4th Ed. , Mason, OH: Thomson Higher Education. Gee, C. Burke, M. E. (2001). Realizing potential: the new motivation game. Management Decision, 39. Huang, T. C. (2001). Training practices and organization performance in enterprises. Education and Training, 43(8/9), 434-444. Inyang, J. D. (2008, January). Leaders and Leadership Roles in Relation to Effective Management of the Human Resources, 6 (1). Latham, G. P. and C. C. Pinder (2005). Work motivation theory and research at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Annual Review Of Psychology 56: 485-516. Lemak, D. J. (2004). Leading students through the management theory jungle by following the path of the seminal theorists: A paradigmatic approach. Management Decision, 42. Lindner, J. R. (1998, June). Understanding Employee Motivation. Locke, E. A. Gary, P. (2004). What should we do about motivation theory? Six recommendations for the twenty-first century. Academy of Management Review, 29. Longenecker, J. G. , Moore, C. W. , Petty, J. W. , Palich, L. E. (2008). Small Business Management: Launching Growing Entrepreneurial Ventures. Mason, OH: Thomason Higher Education. Miner, J. B. , N. R. Smith, et al. (1989). Role of entrepreneurial task motivation in the growth of technologically innovative firms. Journal of Applied Psychology 74(4): 554-560. Sodenkamp, D. , Schmidt, K. , Kleinbeck, U. (2005). Self-management of work groups through corporate values: From theory to practice. International Journal of Manpower, 26(1/2), 67-79. Tai, W. (2006). Effects of training framing, general self-efficacy and training motivation on trainees training effectiveness. Personnel Review, 35(1), 51-65. Wabba, M. A. , House, R. J. (1974). Expectancy Theory in Work and Motivation: Some Logical and Methodological Issues. Human Relations, 27 (2), 121-147. Wherry, R. J. and J. C. South (1977). A worker motivation scale. Personnel Psychology 30(4): 613-636. Wolleat, P. L. (2007). An Insiders View of Work Motivation: A Mentor Speaks. PsycCRITIQUES 52(17). Wood, R. E. (2000). Work Motivation Theory, Research and Practice: Introduction to the Special Issue. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49.

The Scientific Basis for Defining Seasons

The Scientific Basis for Defining Seasons Contrary to common belief, modern meteorology recognized that the beginning of any season is the day on which the sun passes over particular latitude rather than how cold or warm the following will be. Hashtag: #FirstDayOfFall Ancient and Modern Meteorology Meteorological phenomena such as storms, lightning, and thunder are often considered dangerous and frightening for many people. The ability to predict their occurrence in the past was valued in many cultures. In fact, there is a large body of literature that spans the ancient period dedicated to the prediction and explanation of meteorological and astronomical events including animal behavior.   The division of the year into seasons enables the ancient culture to select the proper time plowing, sowing, reaping, and harvesting, making voyages with ships, prepare and protect themselves for against the natural severity of the seasons. CAN SCIENCE GO TOO FAR? However, ancient meteorology was largely based on past experience or preservation of the events of past weather and their sequence, speculations on the relation between events and proximate causes, philosophy, appeal to the deities, and belief in personal weather-control and magic.   The practice was only changed in the mid 19th century when a collection of facts has been operated by electric–telegraph and now radiotelegraphy.   Although recording observation and discussing them from a philosophical point of view still remains to this day, meteorologist today have a multitude of facts and records to base their forecast and in creating a weather map. Weather and Seasons Weather maps are important tools for developing and explaining weather forecasts. They vary in scope as there are national, continental, and global weather maps. Surface weather maps commonly contain identified fronts; high and low-pressure areas and temperatures, wind strength and air pressure and often used to provide information on the present weather condition.   Forecast weather maps, as the name suggests, are computer generated maps to predict changes in the weather.   Meteorologist also developed short-term (18-36 hours) and long-term (5 days) maps that are updated daily. However, since weather condition is rapidly changing, the weather forecast may not always be accurate and mere honest guesses of the weather condition for a certain period of time. The above surface map illustrates four different fronts – cold, warm, stationary, and occluded.   Note that these fronts separate different air masses and associated with lower pressure. A meteorologist using this map will likely forecast that weather along the stationary front (points A and B) will be clear to partly cloudy. The weather condition in the cold front (points B to C) will be cold, rainy in green-shaded areas, and snowy in the white shaded areas. Contrary to common belief, modern meteorology recognized that the beginning of any season is the day on which the sun passes over particular latitude rather than how cold or warm the following will be.   For instance, the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere is June 21 or when the sun is at its highest position in the noonday sky or 23  ½ degrees north (N) latitude. Each day past June 21, the noon sun is slightly lower in the sky as 12 hours or more of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere begins to shorten. COMPUTER SCIENCE DIPLOMA THESIS By September 22, the sun is directly above the equator and the astronomical beginning of fall officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere.   Three months after the autumnal equinox, the sun on December 21, is further away from the tilted Northern Hemisphere where days are shorter and nights are longer.   On this day, the sun shines directly above latitude 23  ½ degrees S (Tropic of Capricorn) or the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The first day of spring occurs around March 20 or when the sun crosses the equator and moving northward.

Forensic science expert witnesses should be free to express their Essay

Forensic science expert witnesses should be free to express their opinion as they see fit - Essay Example Whether or not the incidence of human error within the court justice system is intentional or unintentional , miscarriage of justice is considered as a serious social issue that could destroy the ability of the court to promote a fair legal justice system throughout the United Kingdom. To avoid destroying the credibility of UK’s legal system, most of the long list of past and current miscarriage of justice cases are kept unpublished.In case the defendant is not guilty of a crime, Layne explained that miscarriages of justice can occur each time an innocent person is convicted of a crime that was committed by another person . This can happen in times when the defendant has been unfairly convicted because of failure to receive a fail trial. There are also situations wherein the innocent defendants can also be detained in a prison cell even though the innocent defendant has not been found guilty of a crime .... This can happen in times when the defendant has been unfairly convicted because of failure to receive a fail trial. There are also situations wherein the innocent defendants can also be detained in a prison cell even though the innocent defendant has not been found guilty of a crime3. On the other hand, miscarriages of justice can occur in case the judge let go of a guilty defendant. In case the life of a witness or one of the jurors has been seriously threatened, there is a strong possibility for a guilty defendant to be acquitted in a court trial. Extent and Limitations wherein Forensic Science Experts should be Legally Allowed to Freely Express their Personal Opinions as They See Fit Expert witness is referring to professionals with proper education or expertise in a particular field (i.e. psychiatrist, pharmacologists, neurologists, etc.) who could assist in solving a criminal case4. Their main role is to provide scientific-based evidences or testimony based on facts in the court . Over the past decades, expert witnesses managed to help in solving crimes by presenting scientific-based information that are useful in making the members of the jury decide whether or not the defendant is guilty of a crime. Even though expert witness could help the jury solve criminal cases, there are also some instances wherein the information coming from the expert witnesses could lead to miscarriage of justice5. Because of the increasing number of wrongful conviction in UK, several previous cases strongly suggest the need to develop and implement a new â€Å"corrective justice system† throughout the United Kingdom6. This is probably one of the reasons that had triggered the need to determine the extent and limitations wherein the

Problems of Managing Joint Ventures in China Essay

Problems of Managing Joint Ventures in China - Essay Example The enterprises are busy in making their products and services more and more attractive for the consumers all around the world. They make changes in their products and services in order to meet the requirements of their culture and society. The cultural changes, throughout the world, act as a strong challenge to the enterprises. Efficient cross culture management can guarantee flourishing worldwide operation of international enterprises in the multi-culture and region. The worldwide business dealings are also flourishing in Chinese enterprises. Chinese enterprises have made it an aim to progress and make their name all around the world. Chinese enterprises are making progress in their fields of expertise to promote their abilities and talents throughout the world market. Foreign companies have been working in China for many years, frequently by joint ventures with local firms and usually in the more developed coastal areas. Nowadays, however, Government is now developing the areas with poor infrastructure and encouraging investment in those areas. The poor infrastructure, illiterate public and employers with less knowledge about market economy concepts made it very difficult for the firms existing there and even for th e firms making joint ventures to progress. In the central Shaanxi province, fifty four interviews were planned with the managers in twenty four join ventures clearly shows the prospective hazard in the way of a thriving join venture. As Chinese market is becoming the centre of attention of more and more foreign investors the pitfalls of Chinese market, management and hurdles in its way to success are given proper thought and suggestions are made to solve these problems (Ahlstrom et al. 2003; Beamish, 1993; Child, 1994; Goodall and Warner, 1999; Peng, 2000). It is already known that in the previous twenty five years, almost 85 percent foreign firms, located in China, are sited along the Coastal belt of China (SSB, various years). Since late 1990s, the Chinese government is busy in the developmental process of the areas with weak infrastructure and poor growth rate in order to get rid of the local regional differences. "The Great Western Development Strategy (xibu da kaifa)" was commenced in 1999 with a motive to encourage local and international investment in the country. It was a categorical effort to increase investment in those regions of China, mainly in need but least likely to attract support on their own. U nder its persuasion, an increasing number of foreign firms and joint ventures entered in the underdeveloped hinterland. In 2002, 31,822 foreign ventures had been set up in China's 18 interior districts and one municipality (SSB, 2003, p.678). All the regions carry some importance. In the same way, China's interior is of great importance, without development of those regions China wouldn't be able to progress in the international market. All facilities and technologies must be equally provided in the underdeveloped regions. For this reason, under the 7th Five Year Plan (FYP) (1981-1985), China's economies were separated in to three regions, namely, the Eastern region, the middle region and the Western region (Linge and Forbes, 1990, p.68 and Chen, 2000, pp.9-10; Wei. 2000, p. 1). Traditionally, the Middle and the Western areas have been considered as one large part, the interior (Chen, 2000, p. 10 and Wei, 2000, p. 1). As stated in the 7th Five Year

Personal Training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Training - Essay Example Here is the menu: The Biggest Loser’s Diet: It is a 12-week program, containing menu that is loaded with fiber and protein, and so, one stays energized while lowering calorie intake. Total calorie intake will be around 1,200. This is based on four servings of fruits and veggies; three of lean protein; two of whole grains; and one serving of choice. This diet suggests exercise (Zelman, 2003b), which is good for intense training. This plan focuses on healthy eating habits, and thus, the results can prove to be long lasting. Since physical activity is involved in combination with consumption of fruits, veggies, and lean meat, this diet plan is very favorable for intense training. The Caveman (Paleo) Diet: This is a very healthy diet plan. It is â€Å"based on eating plants and wild animals† (Zelman, 2013c). It has many benefits, like reducing blood pressure and cardiac diseases, while maintaining healthy body weight. This diet plan includes consumption of meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, tree nuts, vegetables, roots, fruits, and berries. No dairy, grains, sugar, and oil is involved. Drinks must include only water and organic drinks. Since this diet suggests eating like cavemen did before agricultural revolution, there is increased chance of long lasting and natural results. It also suggests physical activity, so it can be recommended in intense training. There is no fixed number of days, so, it can be used randomly to maintain a healthy weight. Comparison: A comparison of the three diet plans shows that the 3-day diet plan is the worse, since it is the lowest in nutritional value; cannot be taken for intense training; and, the weight comes back soon. The biggest loser diet is better since it suggests physical exercise, and offers a variety of food to be eaten. The caveman diet is the best since it is based on natural standards of eating habits and physical exercise, and does not focus only on burning calories. It also recommends

History and Analysis of Singapore International Airlines

History and Analysis of Singapore International Airlines Introduction SIA traced its roots to an organization called Malayan Airways that offered its first commercial passenger service in May 1947. Today, SIA is Singapores best-known company, and rated consistently as Asias most admired company(Asian Business, 1997,p. 24). Its smiling, willowy cabin attendant, outfitted in tight batik sarong kebaya designed by renowned fashion house Pierre Balmain, and marketed as the Singapore Girl, is now a well-known international service icon. In 1994, the year she celebrated her 21st birthday, the Singapore Girl became the first commercial figure to be displayed at the famed Madame Tussauds Museum in London. Madame Tussauds had unveiled the waxwork of the SIAs global marketing icon that year to reflect the ever-growing popularity of international travel. SIA is widely reckoned by those in the airline industry, travellers as well as its competitors, as one of the very best airlines in the world, judging from the numerous industry awards it has won. According to the Business Traveller Asia Pacific, SIA has become the standard by which all other international airlines are judged (Business Traveller Asia Pacific, 1997a, p. 3). SIA also consistently leads the industry in profitability and rides through rough and turbulent times much better than most of its rivals. It has had an impressive and continuous profit streak since it took to the skies some 25 years ago; a track record almost unheard of in the brutally cyclical airline industry (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). On 1 May 1997, SIA turned 50 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee Anniversary in grand style. It was a far cry from its humble beginnings in 1947 when it started life as part of Malayan Airways. The International Airline Industry The airline industry had traditionally remained fragmented primarily due to the limiting effects of national and international regulations. Enforced in the form of landing rights and associated competitive constraints, even large airline companies had only been able to develop dominance over their own regional markets at best. With the exception of the United States, dominant national flag carriers, typically owned by the national governments, had remained the only international representatives of their countries. However, the competitive dynamics in this industry had started to change dramatically in recent years. Deregulation, privatization, and the advent of new technologies have started to reshape the industry on a global level. The United States deregulated its airlines in 1978 and had since witnessed heightened competition and aggressive jockeying for market position. Europe entered the throes of a similar escalation of competition following the creation of the European Union a nd the disbanding of country-specific barriers to free market competition among air carriers. In Asia, deregulation occurred in fits and starts with some major regions allowing greater access to foreign carriers. For example, India, a regional market of some significance, announced that it would privatize its state-owned airline company. It had already allowed its traditionally domestic airline to compete against its international air carrier in many of the regional markets comprising neighboring countries. Japan made major strides in deregulation after selling off its shares in the then state-owned Japan Airlines and permitted All Nippon Airways to serve international markets. In Latin America, many of the smaller national flag carriers were privatized. Countries such as Mexico and Argentina infused significant levels of market competition in their airline industries by removing anti-competitive barriers and privatizing their national airlines Mexicana and Aerolineas Argentinas. The trend seemed certain to gain further momentum and open skies might be closer to reality than ever before. The major European nations were already in discussions with the United States to implement an open Trans-Atlantic market area where landing rights would be determined by free market forces rather than regulatory policy. Open skies agreements are bilateral agreements between countries that agree to provide landing and take-off facilities for air carriers originating in any of the partner countries. Such an agreement does not have the typical restrictions related to landing rights that are determined on a city-pair basis. For example, Singapore and the U.S. had signed an open skies agreement under which a Singapore carrier could travel to any destinati on city in the U.S. and vice versa. The twin trends of privatization and deregulation resulted in an increasingly global approach to strategic positioning in this industry. Although most large carriers still retained their regional dominance, many forged alliances with other leading carriers to offer seamless services across wider geographic areas. These alliances made most of the larger airline companies de facto global organizations. With increasing geographic reach and decreasing regulatory barriers, many of the regions were witnessing acute competition often in the form of fare wars. Consumers in general became much more price sensitive than ever before. In attempting to keep up with the competition, many carriers upgraded their service offerings contributing to declining yields in a price-conscious market. Chronic excess capacity worldwide only exacerbated this situation. Not surprisingly, there was a decline in passenger revenue yield in all geographic regions and the airlines were fighting an uphill battle to ex tract higher levels of efficiencies from their operating structures. For example, passenger yield dropped by 1.9% and 2.5% in 1998 and 1999, respectively, in Europe and 0.8% and 1.5% in North America during the same period. The drop was far more geographic region-wise summary of key trends in passenger traffic, growth potential, and major players follows. (Source: Annual Reports and HSBC Research.) Asia-Pacific Region By 1999, traffic in the Asian region had become quite important to the overall success of the air transportation industry. Collectively, this region represented 24% of worldwide revenue passenger kilometers. The ICAO estimated that the Asia-Pacific region had grown annually by 9.7% over the last ten years. This upward trend was expected to continue albeit at slightly lower levels, moderating between 6%-7% until 2001. Trans-Pacific traffic was expected to grow at 6.6% and intra-Asia-Pacific traffic by 5%. Some analysts predicted that Asia would play a key role in over half of the top twenty international markets ranked in terms of revenue passenger miles by 2002 The aviation market in Asia, while similar to Europe of the pre-EU era, did indeed have some dominant players. Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines were the clear leaders and together accounted for 40% of the market share. The second tier included Cathay Pacific, Thai, and Korean Air, which comprised 33% of the market. Asian carriers in general had significantly lower operating costs compared to their American and European counterparts. For example, in 1998, according to Warburg, Dillon Read, personnel costs for North American carriers accounted for approximately 32% of total revenues. For European carriers, it was 21%. However, for the Asia-Pacific carriers, it was only 17%. Most of the Asian carriers also had much higher labor productivity levels and lower unit labor costs than airlines in North America or Europe. This location-specific advantage was a primary reason why carriers from other regions were setting up significant hub operations in the Asia-Pacific region. While the y ields for many carriers such as China Airlines, Korean Air, Thai, and Malaysian, the second and third tier competitors, were much lower than international levels, the top tier carriers such as Japan Airlines, and Singapore Airlines had yields consistent with their North American and European counterparts. The avenues for differentiating airline services in this region were shrinking. The elite carriers who had built a reputation for superlative service such as Singapore Airlines were now facing stiff competition from carriers such as Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific who had geared to deliver similar services. Thus, differentiation was becoming much more demanding and difficult to sustain Singapore International Airlines: Country and Company History and Culture of Singapore Singapore had witnessed bountiful growth and become the envy of many neighboring countries as it entered the new 21st century. Its per capita GNP increased by a phenomenal 75% between 1990 and 1999 and currently stood at S$39,724. This meteoric rise could be directly traced to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the most powerful Prime Minister in Singapores history. He was able to tap the patriotic spirit of his people when he announced his intent to develop Singapore to rival Switzerland in terms of standard of living. His emphasis on superior education standards, a controlled labor environment, significant outlays for training and development, all helped to enhance the quality of human capital. At the end of 1999, Singapore boasted a literacy rate of 93%, among the highest in the region. Singapores Confucian work ethic dovetailed very well with his ambitions. It emphasized responsibilities over rights and placed enormous value on attributes such as hospitality, caring and service. As a result of th ese efforts, Singapore, today ranked among the best countries in terms of human capital and was often rated among the worlds friendliest places to do business. Rising standards of living meant higher wages .Coupled with the small size of the local population and a very low unemployment rate (3.2% in 1998), the availability of labor was seen as a potential stumbling block in the drive toward further growth. Many of the larger companies already depended on a sizable number of expatriates from neighboring countries as well as the West to staff positions. A staunch believer in free trade and internally driven growth, Mr. Yew made it clear from the start that the world does not owe Singapore a living. For example, in the air transportation sector, Mr. Yews government declared that SIA, although the national carrier, would not receive any subsidies, protection, financial assistance, or economic benefits from the government. It would have to sink or swim based on its own resources and ingenuity. Singapore literally adopted a free skies approach whereby foreign flag carriers from other countries were welcome to serve the city-state without any restrictions. This meant heightened competition for SIA right from the start. However, the free market philosophy also resulted in sharper rates of market growth. For example, roughly 35% of the equity base of Singapore was foreign in origin, and foreign investors owned 17% of all companies in the country, both testaments to the successful programs that attracted foreign capital and commerce to the island nation. The tourism industry played a very significant role in the overall development of the country. Handicapped by the small size and the lack of natural resources, Singapore had to rely on service industries such as tourism and finance to generate growth. It had always enjoyed an enviable status as an important geographic hub dating back to the pre-British Colonization era. During its history as a British colony, Singapore provided an important stop-off point for travelers from Europe and Britain to the outlying colonies of Australia and New Zealand. Building on this historical reputation, Singapore evolved into an important Asian tourist hub The common origin and shared history of SIA and MAS In 1947, Malayan Airways was established and operated services between Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Ipoh and Penang, using its fleet of twin-engined Airspeed Consuls. In May that year, when Malayan Airways first took to the skies, there were only five passengers onboard its twin-engined Airspeed Consul. With the flight crew having to attend to the flying of the plane, passengers had to help themselves with the only refreshment available onboard then a flask of iced water. In 1963, it was renamed Malaysian Airways Limited. In 1966, both the Malaysian and Singapore Governments acquired joint majority control. The following year, it was renamed Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) Limited. On 26 January 1971, both the Malaysian and Singapore Governments agreed to set up separate national airlines, and on 1 October 1972, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines ceased operations. In its place, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysian Airlines System (MAS) took to the skies. SIAs initial growth and expansion The split of MSA on 1 October 1972 saw MAS taking over all the domestic routes while SIA took over the international network and all the Boeing jets in the MSA fleet .SIA was government-owned, and the Singapore Government viewed the airline as an investment in a portfolio held by the republic. Although SIA was a state-owned enterprise, it paid taxes, like any other company in Singapore, and was expected to be competitive and profitable. Without any domestic routes to monopolise, SIA had to strategise to survive. Soon after the split, SIA embarked on an aggressive growth and aircraft and equipment acquisition programme. It acquired Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets, which went into service in 1973. In that same year, subsidiary Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd (SATS) was set up to provide ground services. In 1977, in conjunction with BA, it introduced the supersonic Concorde on the London- Bahrain-Singapore route. The maiden flight was on 10 December 1977. After three flights, however, disputes over airspace delayed regular Concorde service until early 1979. On 1 November 1980, the SIA/BA joint Concorde service between Singapore, Bahrain and London was, however, terminated. SIA began cargo service from Singapore to San Francisco via Hong Kong, Guam and Honolulu in 1978. Passenger service on the route commenced the following year. In 1979, SIA took the unprecedented action of trading in the B-747s purchased just a few years earlier for more advanced, fuel-efficient versions of the same aircraft while simultaneously expanding the fleet in a record-setting S$2.1 billion order with Boeing Aircraft. By 1979, it became the ninth largest airline in the world, up from the 57th position prior to the parting of ways with MAS, achieved on the back of a continuous average annual growth rate of 46 percent over its initial seven-year period (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIA shares were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange on 18 December 1985, and a new corporate identity was unveiled on 28 April 1987. On 14 December 1989, SIA concluded a major world-wide alliance with SwissAir and Delta Airlines, covering wide-ranging co-operation and eventual exchange of equity. An MOU with Cathay Pacific Airways and Malaysia Airlines was signed on 22 December 1992 to form a joint venture to develop and operate a frequent flyer programme. Passages,the frequent flyer programme, was officially launched on 1 July 1993. On 22 June 1994, SIA placed a US$10.3 billion order for 22 Megatop 747s and 30 Airbus 340-300E aircraft. The following year, on 14 November 1995, it ordered 77 B777 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines worth US$12.7 billion, including spares and spare engines. SIA turned 50 on 1 May 1997. It had by then grown into a diversified group, totally transformed from its humble beginnings 50 years ago. On 7 May 1997, less than a week following its 50th birthday, it took delivery of its first Jubilee B777-200, which touched down at Changi Airport. Symbolically, this ushered in another new and challenging era for SIA. The power of an idea: a most successful product/service differentiation strategy Within a year of the launch of SIA following the split of MSA on 1 October 1972, SIA began looking for new ways to differentiate itself. In 1973, SIA had in its service, some of the worlds most modern aircraft. Its maintenance operations were generally recognised to be on a par with those of the worlds major airlines. All its pilots and engineers were proficient and experienced, as there were no restraints from the unions on hiring Western crew members if SIA thought they were better. The product/service differentiation strategy that SIA finally decided upon was based on in-flight service. The strategy, as summarised by its then SIAs advertising manager, who later became its manager of in-flight services, was: What we needed was a unique selling proposition. Happily, we found it. Or perhaps I should say we found her, because the Singapore Girl has become synonymous with Singapore Airlines. SIA is an Asian airline, and Asia has a long tradition of gentle, courteous service. The Asian woman does not feel she is demeaning herself by fulfilling the role of the gracious, charming and helpful hostess. What we hope to do is translate that tradition of service into an in-flight reality (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIA was thus strategically positioned in the premium service, quality and value market segment of the international airline industry. SIA capitalised on Oriental charm with stewardesses of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian ethnic backgrounds. By 1997, this resource pool within Singapore had, however, expanded to include Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. In 1997, a third of its 5,800-strong cabin crew were non- Singaporeans (The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3) SIA stewardesses were costumed in a specially designed version of the graceful Malay sarong kebaya, designed by renowned fashion house, Pierre Balmain. Passengers were treated to some of the best food on any airline, which is served with lots of warm smiles, warm towels, and attention to details. It provided first-class, business-class and economy-class passengers with cocktails, fine wines, and in-flight motion pictures at no extra charge. Since its inception, SIA has always subscribed to a policy that once a passenger pays for his or her ticket, there should be no more charges on the aeroplane. SIA now spend S$20 million a year on wines, with about 60 to 80 bottles of wine consumed per flight. International consultants who specialise in French, American and Australian wines are contracted to do wine-tasting twice a year for SIA, and they advise the airline on what to buy for its first, business and economy class passengers (Straits Times, 1997a, p. 22). According to SIA, the airlin e even receives letters from passengers asking for the names of wines that they took on SIA flights, with some asking where they can buy them (Straits Times, 1997a, p. 22). Service became the raison detre for SIA, and at the heart of its service reputation was the Singapore Girl. Slogans like A standard of service that even other airlines talk about and SIA: you are a great way to fly were used regularly in its marketing. SIA has always been of the view that the key to its success was its value or quality for the money. SIAs corporate philosophy of the airline industry since the late 1980s is best summed up by: The airline industry is, by its very nature, a service industry. In a free market, the success or failure of an individual airline is largely dictated by the quality of the service it provides (Joseph Pillay, Chairman SIA, Harvard Business School, 1989b). Most had to confront the apparent contradiction between cutting costs and prices, on the one hand, and maintaining customer focus and delivering customer service, on the other. It was a challenge many found most difficult. Into the 1990s SIA had developed a very strong market position. While keeping an eye on costs, its quality and service-enhancement strategy allowed it to command a relative market price premium position through premium service, value and quality. Its enviable position can be summed up as follows: If others resort to cutting fares, we can certainly do the same and we have a far better financial strength to cut fares and last longer than anyone else. But we ask ourselves first whether it is necessary to do that . . . So far, we have no need to do that (S. Dhanabalan, Chairman SIA, 1997, The Sunday Times, 1997b, p. 32). On competition, S. Dhanabalan reiterated SIAs long-standing strategy: Strong competition is not new to SIA. Every now and then, some airline, in an attempt to gain market share, will resort to senseless heavy discounting. It is a short term phenomenon. We take such competition in our stride (The Sunday Times, 1997b, p. 32) The Singapore Girl, the idealised version of the SIA cabin attendant, was the centrepiece in SIAs marketing strategy. Very high-quality photography was used in SIAs advertisements, and the Singapore Girl was always the central feature of the advertisements. The advertisements portrayed her in a number of settings and used a variety of themes to good effect. The Singapore Girl strategy proved to be a powerful idea and turned out to be a phenomenal success. International Research Associates (INRA), a firm which conducted surveys (covering the area of advertising recall) in the Asia Pacific area triennially, found that SIAs advertising enjoyed steady increases in unaided recall in the three successive INRA surveys in advertisement recall it conducted in 1973, 1976 and 1979. The SIA advertisement recall was 21 percent in 1973. It rose up to 32 percent in 1976, and shot up to 50 percent in.The average advertising recall of about 40 airlines studied over the same time period was only 9.6 percent (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIAs market research up to 1997 continues to attest to this: Around the world the Singapore Girl remains a very positive marketing icon. She evokes the very best in Asian charm and hospitality (Director, Market Research, SIA, The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3). Although there were initial protests in some Western quarters in what was perceived to be sexist overtones in the advertisements, not everyone took offence at the advertising image. In a 1979 Fortune magazine article, Flying high with the Singapore Girls, it was noted that far from being repelled by the notion of becoming a `girl, about 7,000 young Singaporean women applied last year for 347 openings in the hostess ranks of SIA (Harvard Business School, 1989b). In the West, its acceptability in recent years had changed quite appreciably. In 1997, it was noted that: Her popularity in the West is such that it would be quite risky for SIA to attempt to change the image at a time when people there are getting used to her (Analyst, Goldman Sachs, The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3). Customer focus, innovation, creative service and service excellence On an SIA flight in 1996, a Chinese couple travelling in first-class with their children and nanny had refused the food served. When asked, the man of the family replied: We are just not used to these and would prefer a bowl of instant noodles. Since then, every SIA flight carries a supply of instant noodles for those customers who find in-flight cuisine not quite to their taste (Asian Business, 1996, p. 40). In addition, first-class and business-class passengers flying out of Singapore can now pre-order certain Singapore local fare prior to their flight to be served to them onboard. These are just some examples that illustrate the constant drive by SIA to introduce new ideas to improve customer service, in its customer focus to win customer satisfaction and even delight. There is of course nothing high-tech or sophisticated about instant noodles nor Singapore local fare, but these examples highlight the creative customer service even in simple things that has won SIA wide praise (Asian Business,1996, p. 40). This has become a hallmark of SIAs service excellence. In 1972, SIA was the first airline to introduce free food and alcoholic drinks on its flights. SIA has recognised that in this highly competitive market, any advantage gained by one airline over others will be short-lived, and ideas that are new will become commonplace in a matter of months. However, it noted that the important thing is to always stay in the forefront both in service and in technology (Asian Business, 1996, p. 40). This strategy of SIA focuses primarily not on reducing costs, but on enhancing quality or service and preventing customer problems from arising. SIA has succeeded most uniquely with this type of strategy in the airline industry, a strategy commonly employed in service businesses that command premium prices with high margins, businesses in which there is a high degree of repeat business, with word-of-mouth praise by customers as a most important marketing channel. It has been argued by some that an organisation should be conservative in its promises regarding service excellence to prevent customer expectations becoming too high. High expectations, so that argument goes, increase the potential for customer dissatisfaction. Such prescriptions, however, serve only companies with modest ambitions. In SIAs case, it was very different. It had a bold strategic vision and aspiration of being a top airline, not just any ordinary good airline. Through its careful market positioning and delivering its service promise, SIA could be said to be the very first airline in the international airline industry to have succeeded in developing such a powerful and enduring image of quality service that has resulted in its acquiring a sustainable competitive advantage. Its ability to sustain this advantage, even as its competitors seek to develop comparable service capability, had been buttressed by the fact that it was the first to earn and attain the quality-servic e position and image in the market and in customers minds. High service quality standards need to be developed systematically over time. Although sustaining a competitive advantage based on service quality is possible, this requires unrelenting effort on the part of an organisation to continually improve its service. This was achieved in SIAs case. As part of SIAs strategy to differentiate itself on the basis of superior customer service, it was able successfully to generate a vision of service excellence throughout the organisation. Such an organisation-wide energizing vision of service excellence is a powerful source of competitive advantage in top class service organisations. Such strength can be the bedrock of a quality and service-based sustainable competitive advantage. A service organisation that does not have such a shared vision and culture of service excellence will have a tough task acquiring it, as it cannot be bought. It must be built, as in SIAs case. In SIAs case, setting exceptionally high customer service standards generated a positive spirit and culture that had many follow-on results. Customer servicewent beyond the mechanics involved in efficiently providing a service onboard. Pride, zeal, and motivation were some of the positive service hallmarks that flowed from the shared vision and culture of service excellence, and the results were impressive. Unlike robots or machines, where differences in performance are largely rooted in technical specifications, human beings are subject to major performance variation. The SIAs vision and culture that hold exceptionally high customer service standards as a strategic objective to be attained were a most important factor accounting for its exceptional performance. To support this service excellence strategy, SIA adopts a most rigorous quality control system and process for staff recruitment and selection, as well as a rigorous training and service policy (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). For example, SIA has one flight attendant for every 22 seats, the highest in the world and well above the industry average. Cabin crew must be under 26 and are employed on a five-year contract after making it through a very selective three-stage interview process that includes a social function Previously, all cabin crew would complete a six-month training course before they could be allowed to serve a customer. However, this has now been compressed into an intensive four-month course, which is still considered to be the longest and most comprehensive programme of any major airline. In comparison, Cathay Pacific, for instance, conducts only a seven-week intensive training programme on technical, safety and interpersonal skills. The aim of SIAs training is to provide gracious service reflecting warmth and friendliness, while maintaining an image of authority and confidence in the passengers minds. Each month, thousands of young ladies would apply for the airlines rigorous course that emphasizes safety training and encompasses beauty tips, discussions of gourmet food and fine wines, and the art of conversation. SIA is also at the forefront of service innovation through technology. For instance, it introduced Electronic Ticketing for flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Penang (and vice versa) on 1 October 1997. About two weeks earlier, on a flight from Singapore to Tokyo on 15 September 1997, it had launched a revolutionary innovation in in-flight entertainment with the introduction of the WISEMEN system, offering passengers full control over their viewing and listening options. With WISEMEN, passengers will be able to choose from 15 movies, 20 short features and about 50 CDs. This is over and above the current SIAs in-flight entertainment system, Krisworld, which already had 22 video channels, 12 audio channels and ten games channels. Internet check-in for First Class, Raffles Class and PPS Club Members flying out of Singapore was introduced on 20 November 1996. SIAs profitability track record Just as well-known as its product/service differentiation strategy, as well as its creative service and service excellence, but certainly less familiar, is SIAs profitability track record. Since its inception in 1972 some 25 years ago, SIA has had an uninterrupted profit track record. Asian Business Review, in an article piece on Asias Great Companies, noted that its financial track record is almost unheard of in the brutally cyclical airline industry, and touted it as the Worlds most profitable airline (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). Its profitability track record is even more astounding considering that it is the national airline of a small country that is essentially just a city, of only 647 square kilometres and 3.6 million populations, with no domestic routes to monopolise. Yet, despite this it has managed to consistently deliver profits in one of the worlds most cyclical industries. SIA has an established practice of keeping its fleet young and modern (Singapore Airlines, 1997b, p. 5). This, made possible by the airlines strong cash flow position, has allowed it to maintain a fuel-efficient fleet that averages just over five years of age without resorting to heavy borrowing or costly leasing deals. The fleets of most other international carriers are more than twice as old as SIAs. SIAs fleet is in fact the youngest in the world, not taking into account the couple of small regional airlines that have just started up. For SIA, this strategy which entails heavy capital costs, however, translates to significant savings through minimising aircraft downtime and minimizing maintenance costs. Newer aircraft are also faster and more fuel efficient, and are perceived by passengers to be safer. For instance, the B747-400 is 10 percent more fuel efficient than its predecessor. For SIA, this means a significant saving as about 15 percent of the companys expenditure is on fuel (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). Most airlines use a combination of different financing schemes for their aircraft with the core fleet usually on long-term leases to minimise interest costs. SIA History and Analysis of Singapore International Airlines History and Analysis of Singapore International Airlines Introduction SIA traced its roots to an organization called Malayan Airways that offered its first commercial passenger service in May 1947. Today, SIA is Singapores best-known company, and rated consistently as Asias most admired company(Asian Business, 1997,p. 24). Its smiling, willowy cabin attendant, outfitted in tight batik sarong kebaya designed by renowned fashion house Pierre Balmain, and marketed as the Singapore Girl, is now a well-known international service icon. In 1994, the year she celebrated her 21st birthday, the Singapore Girl became the first commercial figure to be displayed at the famed Madame Tussauds Museum in London. Madame Tussauds had unveiled the waxwork of the SIAs global marketing icon that year to reflect the ever-growing popularity of international travel. SIA is widely reckoned by those in the airline industry, travellers as well as its competitors, as one of the very best airlines in the world, judging from the numerous industry awards it has won. According to the Business Traveller Asia Pacific, SIA has become the standard by which all other international airlines are judged (Business Traveller Asia Pacific, 1997a, p. 3). SIA also consistently leads the industry in profitability and rides through rough and turbulent times much better than most of its rivals. It has had an impressive and continuous profit streak since it took to the skies some 25 years ago; a track record almost unheard of in the brutally cyclical airline industry (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). On 1 May 1997, SIA turned 50 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee Anniversary in grand style. It was a far cry from its humble beginnings in 1947 when it started life as part of Malayan Airways. The International Airline Industry The airline industry had traditionally remained fragmented primarily due to the limiting effects of national and international regulations. Enforced in the form of landing rights and associated competitive constraints, even large airline companies had only been able to develop dominance over their own regional markets at best. With the exception of the United States, dominant national flag carriers, typically owned by the national governments, had remained the only international representatives of their countries. However, the competitive dynamics in this industry had started to change dramatically in recent years. Deregulation, privatization, and the advent of new technologies have started to reshape the industry on a global level. The United States deregulated its airlines in 1978 and had since witnessed heightened competition and aggressive jockeying for market position. Europe entered the throes of a similar escalation of competition following the creation of the European Union a nd the disbanding of country-specific barriers to free market competition among air carriers. In Asia, deregulation occurred in fits and starts with some major regions allowing greater access to foreign carriers. For example, India, a regional market of some significance, announced that it would privatize its state-owned airline company. It had already allowed its traditionally domestic airline to compete against its international air carrier in many of the regional markets comprising neighboring countries. Japan made major strides in deregulation after selling off its shares in the then state-owned Japan Airlines and permitted All Nippon Airways to serve international markets. In Latin America, many of the smaller national flag carriers were privatized. Countries such as Mexico and Argentina infused significant levels of market competition in their airline industries by removing anti-competitive barriers and privatizing their national airlines Mexicana and Aerolineas Argentinas. The trend seemed certain to gain further momentum and open skies might be closer to reality than ever before. The major European nations were already in discussions with the United States to implement an open Trans-Atlantic market area where landing rights would be determined by free market forces rather than regulatory policy. Open skies agreements are bilateral agreements between countries that agree to provide landing and take-off facilities for air carriers originating in any of the partner countries. Such an agreement does not have the typical restrictions related to landing rights that are determined on a city-pair basis. For example, Singapore and the U.S. had signed an open skies agreement under which a Singapore carrier could travel to any destinati on city in the U.S. and vice versa. The twin trends of privatization and deregulation resulted in an increasingly global approach to strategic positioning in this industry. Although most large carriers still retained their regional dominance, many forged alliances with other leading carriers to offer seamless services across wider geographic areas. These alliances made most of the larger airline companies de facto global organizations. With increasing geographic reach and decreasing regulatory barriers, many of the regions were witnessing acute competition often in the form of fare wars. Consumers in general became much more price sensitive than ever before. In attempting to keep up with the competition, many carriers upgraded their service offerings contributing to declining yields in a price-conscious market. Chronic excess capacity worldwide only exacerbated this situation. Not surprisingly, there was a decline in passenger revenue yield in all geographic regions and the airlines were fighting an uphill battle to ex tract higher levels of efficiencies from their operating structures. For example, passenger yield dropped by 1.9% and 2.5% in 1998 and 1999, respectively, in Europe and 0.8% and 1.5% in North America during the same period. The drop was far more geographic region-wise summary of key trends in passenger traffic, growth potential, and major players follows. (Source: Annual Reports and HSBC Research.) Asia-Pacific Region By 1999, traffic in the Asian region had become quite important to the overall success of the air transportation industry. Collectively, this region represented 24% of worldwide revenue passenger kilometers. The ICAO estimated that the Asia-Pacific region had grown annually by 9.7% over the last ten years. This upward trend was expected to continue albeit at slightly lower levels, moderating between 6%-7% until 2001. Trans-Pacific traffic was expected to grow at 6.6% and intra-Asia-Pacific traffic by 5%. Some analysts predicted that Asia would play a key role in over half of the top twenty international markets ranked in terms of revenue passenger miles by 2002 The aviation market in Asia, while similar to Europe of the pre-EU era, did indeed have some dominant players. Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines were the clear leaders and together accounted for 40% of the market share. The second tier included Cathay Pacific, Thai, and Korean Air, which comprised 33% of the market. Asian carriers in general had significantly lower operating costs compared to their American and European counterparts. For example, in 1998, according to Warburg, Dillon Read, personnel costs for North American carriers accounted for approximately 32% of total revenues. For European carriers, it was 21%. However, for the Asia-Pacific carriers, it was only 17%. Most of the Asian carriers also had much higher labor productivity levels and lower unit labor costs than airlines in North America or Europe. This location-specific advantage was a primary reason why carriers from other regions were setting up significant hub operations in the Asia-Pacific region. While the y ields for many carriers such as China Airlines, Korean Air, Thai, and Malaysian, the second and third tier competitors, were much lower than international levels, the top tier carriers such as Japan Airlines, and Singapore Airlines had yields consistent with their North American and European counterparts. The avenues for differentiating airline services in this region were shrinking. The elite carriers who had built a reputation for superlative service such as Singapore Airlines were now facing stiff competition from carriers such as Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific who had geared to deliver similar services. Thus, differentiation was becoming much more demanding and difficult to sustain Singapore International Airlines: Country and Company History and Culture of Singapore Singapore had witnessed bountiful growth and become the envy of many neighboring countries as it entered the new 21st century. Its per capita GNP increased by a phenomenal 75% between 1990 and 1999 and currently stood at S$39,724. This meteoric rise could be directly traced to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the most powerful Prime Minister in Singapores history. He was able to tap the patriotic spirit of his people when he announced his intent to develop Singapore to rival Switzerland in terms of standard of living. His emphasis on superior education standards, a controlled labor environment, significant outlays for training and development, all helped to enhance the quality of human capital. At the end of 1999, Singapore boasted a literacy rate of 93%, among the highest in the region. Singapores Confucian work ethic dovetailed very well with his ambitions. It emphasized responsibilities over rights and placed enormous value on attributes such as hospitality, caring and service. As a result of th ese efforts, Singapore, today ranked among the best countries in terms of human capital and was often rated among the worlds friendliest places to do business. Rising standards of living meant higher wages .Coupled with the small size of the local population and a very low unemployment rate (3.2% in 1998), the availability of labor was seen as a potential stumbling block in the drive toward further growth. Many of the larger companies already depended on a sizable number of expatriates from neighboring countries as well as the West to staff positions. A staunch believer in free trade and internally driven growth, Mr. Yew made it clear from the start that the world does not owe Singapore a living. For example, in the air transportation sector, Mr. Yews government declared that SIA, although the national carrier, would not receive any subsidies, protection, financial assistance, or economic benefits from the government. It would have to sink or swim based on its own resources and ingenuity. Singapore literally adopted a free skies approach whereby foreign flag carriers from other countries were welcome to serve the city-state without any restrictions. This meant heightened competition for SIA right from the start. However, the free market philosophy also resulted in sharper rates of market growth. For example, roughly 35% of the equity base of Singapore was foreign in origin, and foreign investors owned 17% of all companies in the country, both testaments to the successful programs that attracted foreign capital and commerce to the island nation. The tourism industry played a very significant role in the overall development of the country. Handicapped by the small size and the lack of natural resources, Singapore had to rely on service industries such as tourism and finance to generate growth. It had always enjoyed an enviable status as an important geographic hub dating back to the pre-British Colonization era. During its history as a British colony, Singapore provided an important stop-off point for travelers from Europe and Britain to the outlying colonies of Australia and New Zealand. Building on this historical reputation, Singapore evolved into an important Asian tourist hub The common origin and shared history of SIA and MAS In 1947, Malayan Airways was established and operated services between Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Ipoh and Penang, using its fleet of twin-engined Airspeed Consuls. In May that year, when Malayan Airways first took to the skies, there were only five passengers onboard its twin-engined Airspeed Consul. With the flight crew having to attend to the flying of the plane, passengers had to help themselves with the only refreshment available onboard then a flask of iced water. In 1963, it was renamed Malaysian Airways Limited. In 1966, both the Malaysian and Singapore Governments acquired joint majority control. The following year, it was renamed Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) Limited. On 26 January 1971, both the Malaysian and Singapore Governments agreed to set up separate national airlines, and on 1 October 1972, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines ceased operations. In its place, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysian Airlines System (MAS) took to the skies. SIAs initial growth and expansion The split of MSA on 1 October 1972 saw MAS taking over all the domestic routes while SIA took over the international network and all the Boeing jets in the MSA fleet .SIA was government-owned, and the Singapore Government viewed the airline as an investment in a portfolio held by the republic. Although SIA was a state-owned enterprise, it paid taxes, like any other company in Singapore, and was expected to be competitive and profitable. Without any domestic routes to monopolise, SIA had to strategise to survive. Soon after the split, SIA embarked on an aggressive growth and aircraft and equipment acquisition programme. It acquired Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets, which went into service in 1973. In that same year, subsidiary Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd (SATS) was set up to provide ground services. In 1977, in conjunction with BA, it introduced the supersonic Concorde on the London- Bahrain-Singapore route. The maiden flight was on 10 December 1977. After three flights, however, disputes over airspace delayed regular Concorde service until early 1979. On 1 November 1980, the SIA/BA joint Concorde service between Singapore, Bahrain and London was, however, terminated. SIA began cargo service from Singapore to San Francisco via Hong Kong, Guam and Honolulu in 1978. Passenger service on the route commenced the following year. In 1979, SIA took the unprecedented action of trading in the B-747s purchased just a few years earlier for more advanced, fuel-efficient versions of the same aircraft while simultaneously expanding the fleet in a record-setting S$2.1 billion order with Boeing Aircraft. By 1979, it became the ninth largest airline in the world, up from the 57th position prior to the parting of ways with MAS, achieved on the back of a continuous average annual growth rate of 46 percent over its initial seven-year period (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIA shares were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange on 18 December 1985, and a new corporate identity was unveiled on 28 April 1987. On 14 December 1989, SIA concluded a major world-wide alliance with SwissAir and Delta Airlines, covering wide-ranging co-operation and eventual exchange of equity. An MOU with Cathay Pacific Airways and Malaysia Airlines was signed on 22 December 1992 to form a joint venture to develop and operate a frequent flyer programme. Passages,the frequent flyer programme, was officially launched on 1 July 1993. On 22 June 1994, SIA placed a US$10.3 billion order for 22 Megatop 747s and 30 Airbus 340-300E aircraft. The following year, on 14 November 1995, it ordered 77 B777 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines worth US$12.7 billion, including spares and spare engines. SIA turned 50 on 1 May 1997. It had by then grown into a diversified group, totally transformed from its humble beginnings 50 years ago. On 7 May 1997, less than a week following its 50th birthday, it took delivery of its first Jubilee B777-200, which touched down at Changi Airport. Symbolically, this ushered in another new and challenging era for SIA. The power of an idea: a most successful product/service differentiation strategy Within a year of the launch of SIA following the split of MSA on 1 October 1972, SIA began looking for new ways to differentiate itself. In 1973, SIA had in its service, some of the worlds most modern aircraft. Its maintenance operations were generally recognised to be on a par with those of the worlds major airlines. All its pilots and engineers were proficient and experienced, as there were no restraints from the unions on hiring Western crew members if SIA thought they were better. The product/service differentiation strategy that SIA finally decided upon was based on in-flight service. The strategy, as summarised by its then SIAs advertising manager, who later became its manager of in-flight services, was: What we needed was a unique selling proposition. Happily, we found it. Or perhaps I should say we found her, because the Singapore Girl has become synonymous with Singapore Airlines. SIA is an Asian airline, and Asia has a long tradition of gentle, courteous service. The Asian woman does not feel she is demeaning herself by fulfilling the role of the gracious, charming and helpful hostess. What we hope to do is translate that tradition of service into an in-flight reality (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIA was thus strategically positioned in the premium service, quality and value market segment of the international airline industry. SIA capitalised on Oriental charm with stewardesses of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian ethnic backgrounds. By 1997, this resource pool within Singapore had, however, expanded to include Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. In 1997, a third of its 5,800-strong cabin crew were non- Singaporeans (The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3) SIA stewardesses were costumed in a specially designed version of the graceful Malay sarong kebaya, designed by renowned fashion house, Pierre Balmain. Passengers were treated to some of the best food on any airline, which is served with lots of warm smiles, warm towels, and attention to details. It provided first-class, business-class and economy-class passengers with cocktails, fine wines, and in-flight motion pictures at no extra charge. Since its inception, SIA has always subscribed to a policy that once a passenger pays for his or her ticket, there should be no more charges on the aeroplane. SIA now spend S$20 million a year on wines, with about 60 to 80 bottles of wine consumed per flight. International consultants who specialise in French, American and Australian wines are contracted to do wine-tasting twice a year for SIA, and they advise the airline on what to buy for its first, business and economy class passengers (Straits Times, 1997a, p. 22). According to SIA, the airlin e even receives letters from passengers asking for the names of wines that they took on SIA flights, with some asking where they can buy them (Straits Times, 1997a, p. 22). Service became the raison detre for SIA, and at the heart of its service reputation was the Singapore Girl. Slogans like A standard of service that even other airlines talk about and SIA: you are a great way to fly were used regularly in its marketing. SIA has always been of the view that the key to its success was its value or quality for the money. SIAs corporate philosophy of the airline industry since the late 1980s is best summed up by: The airline industry is, by its very nature, a service industry. In a free market, the success or failure of an individual airline is largely dictated by the quality of the service it provides (Joseph Pillay, Chairman SIA, Harvard Business School, 1989b). Most had to confront the apparent contradiction between cutting costs and prices, on the one hand, and maintaining customer focus and delivering customer service, on the other. It was a challenge many found most difficult. Into the 1990s SIA had developed a very strong market position. While keeping an eye on costs, its quality and service-enhancement strategy allowed it to command a relative market price premium position through premium service, value and quality. Its enviable position can be summed up as follows: If others resort to cutting fares, we can certainly do the same and we have a far better financial strength to cut fares and last longer than anyone else. But we ask ourselves first whether it is necessary to do that . . . So far, we have no need to do that (S. Dhanabalan, Chairman SIA, 1997, The Sunday Times, 1997b, p. 32). On competition, S. Dhanabalan reiterated SIAs long-standing strategy: Strong competition is not new to SIA. Every now and then, some airline, in an attempt to gain market share, will resort to senseless heavy discounting. It is a short term phenomenon. We take such competition in our stride (The Sunday Times, 1997b, p. 32) The Singapore Girl, the idealised version of the SIA cabin attendant, was the centrepiece in SIAs marketing strategy. Very high-quality photography was used in SIAs advertisements, and the Singapore Girl was always the central feature of the advertisements. The advertisements portrayed her in a number of settings and used a variety of themes to good effect. The Singapore Girl strategy proved to be a powerful idea and turned out to be a phenomenal success. International Research Associates (INRA), a firm which conducted surveys (covering the area of advertising recall) in the Asia Pacific area triennially, found that SIAs advertising enjoyed steady increases in unaided recall in the three successive INRA surveys in advertisement recall it conducted in 1973, 1976 and 1979. The SIA advertisement recall was 21 percent in 1973. It rose up to 32 percent in 1976, and shot up to 50 percent in.The average advertising recall of about 40 airlines studied over the same time period was only 9.6 percent (Harvard Business School, 1989b). SIAs market research up to 1997 continues to attest to this: Around the world the Singapore Girl remains a very positive marketing icon. She evokes the very best in Asian charm and hospitality (Director, Market Research, SIA, The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3). Although there were initial protests in some Western quarters in what was perceived to be sexist overtones in the advertisements, not everyone took offence at the advertising image. In a 1979 Fortune magazine article, Flying high with the Singapore Girls, it was noted that far from being repelled by the notion of becoming a `girl, about 7,000 young Singaporean women applied last year for 347 openings in the hostess ranks of SIA (Harvard Business School, 1989b). In the West, its acceptability in recent years had changed quite appreciably. In 1997, it was noted that: Her popularity in the West is such that it would be quite risky for SIA to attempt to change the image at a time when people there are getting used to her (Analyst, Goldman Sachs, The Sunday Times, 1997a, p. 3). Customer focus, innovation, creative service and service excellence On an SIA flight in 1996, a Chinese couple travelling in first-class with their children and nanny had refused the food served. When asked, the man of the family replied: We are just not used to these and would prefer a bowl of instant noodles. Since then, every SIA flight carries a supply of instant noodles for those customers who find in-flight cuisine not quite to their taste (Asian Business, 1996, p. 40). In addition, first-class and business-class passengers flying out of Singapore can now pre-order certain Singapore local fare prior to their flight to be served to them onboard. These are just some examples that illustrate the constant drive by SIA to introduce new ideas to improve customer service, in its customer focus to win customer satisfaction and even delight. There is of course nothing high-tech or sophisticated about instant noodles nor Singapore local fare, but these examples highlight the creative customer service even in simple things that has won SIA wide praise (Asian Business,1996, p. 40). This has become a hallmark of SIAs service excellence. In 1972, SIA was the first airline to introduce free food and alcoholic drinks on its flights. SIA has recognised that in this highly competitive market, any advantage gained by one airline over others will be short-lived, and ideas that are new will become commonplace in a matter of months. However, it noted that the important thing is to always stay in the forefront both in service and in technology (Asian Business, 1996, p. 40). This strategy of SIA focuses primarily not on reducing costs, but on enhancing quality or service and preventing customer problems from arising. SIA has succeeded most uniquely with this type of strategy in the airline industry, a strategy commonly employed in service businesses that command premium prices with high margins, businesses in which there is a high degree of repeat business, with word-of-mouth praise by customers as a most important marketing channel. It has been argued by some that an organisation should be conservative in its promises regarding service excellence to prevent customer expectations becoming too high. High expectations, so that argument goes, increase the potential for customer dissatisfaction. Such prescriptions, however, serve only companies with modest ambitions. In SIAs case, it was very different. It had a bold strategic vision and aspiration of being a top airline, not just any ordinary good airline. Through its careful market positioning and delivering its service promise, SIA could be said to be the very first airline in the international airline industry to have succeeded in developing such a powerful and enduring image of quality service that has resulted in its acquiring a sustainable competitive advantage. Its ability to sustain this advantage, even as its competitors seek to develop comparable service capability, had been buttressed by the fact that it was the first to earn and attain the quality-servic e position and image in the market and in customers minds. High service quality standards need to be developed systematically over time. Although sustaining a competitive advantage based on service quality is possible, this requires unrelenting effort on the part of an organisation to continually improve its service. This was achieved in SIAs case. As part of SIAs strategy to differentiate itself on the basis of superior customer service, it was able successfully to generate a vision of service excellence throughout the organisation. Such an organisation-wide energizing vision of service excellence is a powerful source of competitive advantage in top class service organisations. Such strength can be the bedrock of a quality and service-based sustainable competitive advantage. A service organisation that does not have such a shared vision and culture of service excellence will have a tough task acquiring it, as it cannot be bought. It must be built, as in SIAs case. In SIAs case, setting exceptionally high customer service standards generated a positive spirit and culture that had many follow-on results. Customer servicewent beyond the mechanics involved in efficiently providing a service onboard. Pride, zeal, and motivation were some of the positive service hallmarks that flowed from the shared vision and culture of service excellence, and the results were impressive. Unlike robots or machines, where differences in performance are largely rooted in technical specifications, human beings are subject to major performance variation. The SIAs vision and culture that hold exceptionally high customer service standards as a strategic objective to be attained were a most important factor accounting for its exceptional performance. To support this service excellence strategy, SIA adopts a most rigorous quality control system and process for staff recruitment and selection, as well as a rigorous training and service policy (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). For example, SIA has one flight attendant for every 22 seats, the highest in the world and well above the industry average. Cabin crew must be under 26 and are employed on a five-year contract after making it through a very selective three-stage interview process that includes a social function Previously, all cabin crew would complete a six-month training course before they could be allowed to serve a customer. However, this has now been compressed into an intensive four-month course, which is still considered to be the longest and most comprehensive programme of any major airline. In comparison, Cathay Pacific, for instance, conducts only a seven-week intensive training programme on technical, safety and interpersonal skills. The aim of SIAs training is to provide gracious service reflecting warmth and friendliness, while maintaining an image of authority and confidence in the passengers minds. Each month, thousands of young ladies would apply for the airlines rigorous course that emphasizes safety training and encompasses beauty tips, discussions of gourmet food and fine wines, and the art of conversation. SIA is also at the forefront of service innovation through technology. For instance, it introduced Electronic Ticketing for flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Penang (and vice versa) on 1 October 1997. About two weeks earlier, on a flight from Singapore to Tokyo on 15 September 1997, it had launched a revolutionary innovation in in-flight entertainment with the introduction of the WISEMEN system, offering passengers full control over their viewing and listening options. With WISEMEN, passengers will be able to choose from 15 movies, 20 short features and about 50 CDs. This is over and above the current SIAs in-flight entertainment system, Krisworld, which already had 22 video channels, 12 audio channels and ten games channels. Internet check-in for First Class, Raffles Class and PPS Club Members flying out of Singapore was introduced on 20 November 1996. SIAs profitability track record Just as well-known as its product/service differentiation strategy, as well as its creative service and service excellence, but certainly less familiar, is SIAs profitability track record. Since its inception in 1972 some 25 years ago, SIA has had an uninterrupted profit track record. Asian Business Review, in an article piece on Asias Great Companies, noted that its financial track record is almost unheard of in the brutally cyclical airline industry, and touted it as the Worlds most profitable airline (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). Its profitability track record is even more astounding considering that it is the national airline of a small country that is essentially just a city, of only 647 square kilometres and 3.6 million populations, with no domestic routes to monopolise. Yet, despite this it has managed to consistently deliver profits in one of the worlds most cyclical industries. SIA has an established practice of keeping its fleet young and modern (Singapore Airlines, 1997b, p. 5). This, made possible by the airlines strong cash flow position, has allowed it to maintain a fuel-efficient fleet that averages just over five years of age without resorting to heavy borrowing or costly leasing deals. The fleets of most other international carriers are more than twice as old as SIAs. SIAs fleet is in fact the youngest in the world, not taking into account the couple of small regional airlines that have just started up. For SIA, this strategy which entails heavy capital costs, however, translates to significant savings through minimising aircraft downtime and minimizing maintenance costs. Newer aircraft are also faster and more fuel efficient, and are perceived by passengers to be safer. For instance, the B747-400 is 10 percent more fuel efficient than its predecessor. For SIA, this means a significant saving as about 15 percent of the companys expenditure is on fuel (Asian Business Review, 1996, p. 34). Most airlines use a combination of different financing schemes for their aircraft with the core fleet usually on long-term leases to minimise interest costs. SIA