Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Operations Management - Essay Example Higher rates of employee contentment are directly proportional to lower turnover rates. Therefore, keeping employees in the firm satisfied with their careers should be at the top of the priority list of every employer. While employee empowerment and its upsides are well-known facts in management conducts, economic drop downs seem to cause employers to ignore it. Operations managers of most of the organization observe and scrutinize performance data frequently and create challenging yet reasonable targets for the organizational campaigns. Evaluation softwares are used by some of the most efficient managers to check employee performances. In a survey by â€Å"Glassdoor† Google Inc. has been declared as the company with the highest employee satisfaction and productivity for the year 2013. The secret of such an achievement lies in the fact that the company empowers its employees to venture into fields of their talents (Reed, 2013). Google shares rose sharply, from less than $500 a year ago, the stock traded in nearly $600 since mid-July, near to its record high of $707 a share as in 2007 (Schepp, 2013).. It is evident from this fact that Google Inc.’s success in the share market is a productivity marker that may be correlated to the high levels of employee empowerment practices that the company follows Every company requires a system to scrutinize their employees’ performance based upon parameters like employee attendance, projects undertaken, and reviews by immediate superiors etc. Several software tools are available in the market that can help individuals working on performance reviews to visualize and comprehend the data correctly and hassle free. Database tools achieve goals that many Chief Information Officers (CIOs) would like to match: Taking key data for business side or external customers and offering it in an attractive, appropriate way on the internet (McLaughin, 2013). Software vendors like InetSoft

Nationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nationalism - Essay Example An example of this was the call to arms for soldiers, airmen, and sailors. Due to the amount of individuals who enlisted, there was no need to recruit, to include a large amount of United States soldiers who volunteered to join Great Britain against Germany.2 The Second World War was similar in the extent of nationalism, however countries having just started to rebuild from World War I did not have the resources or the capacity to wage war. Because of this, many countries even prior to the onset of war began to ask their citizens to restrict their usage of certain materials and there was soon a national effort in both Great Britain and the United States to recruit individuals of all ages to enlist, and those who could not enlist to help domestically with rationing and manufacturing efforts. The governments used their citizen’s nationalism to increase production and assist in the war effort. Interestingly, it was not only countries utilizing their own citizen’s sense of nationalism, but Germany used French nationalism to turn the French against their previous allies.3 This is one instance where nationalism actually created a divisive culture versus a unifying culture. Overall however, between World War I and World War II nationalism was a positive element of society. The method that many countries used to increase nationalism was the use of propaganda to both enrage and to gain empathy when necessary. An example of how propaganda was used in a negative way was the publications that eventually placed Japanese Americans in work camps in the United States. While the two world wars set multiple countries against each other, the cold war which started soon after the Korean Conflict was one ideology in the form of the United... The Second World War was similar in the extent of nationalism, however countries having just started to rebuild from World War I did not have the resources or the capacity to wage war. Because of this, many countries even prior to the onset of war began to ask their citizens to restrict their usage of certain materials and there was soon a national effort in both Great Britain and the United States to recruit individuals of all ages to enlist, and those who could not enlist to help domestically with rationing and manufacturing efforts. The governments used their citizen’s nationalism to increase production and assist in the war effort. Interestingly, it was not only countries utilizing their own citizen’s sense of nationalism, but Germany used French nationalism to turn the French against their previous allies. This is one instance where nationalism actually created a divisive culture versus a unifying culture. Overall, however, between World War, I and World War II nat ionalism were a positive element of society. The method that many countries used to increase nationalism was the use of propaganda to both enrage and to gain empathy when necessary. An example of how propaganda was used in a negative way was the publications that eventually placed Japanese Americans in work camps in the United States.While the two world wars set multiple countries against each other, the cold war which started soon after the Korean Conflict was one ideology in the form of the United States against another in the form of the Soviet Union.

The Management of Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Management of Innovation - Essay Example .. the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth† (Drucker, 2011). Considering the growing importance for innovation, this paper aims at identifying three organisations from a single industry and to study and analyse the innovation attempts by these companies. Chosen Industry and Companies: The industry chosen here is the IT and Computing Industry. The chosen companies here for this study include a) IBM, b) Microsoft and c) Google. The main reason to choose this industry is the every changing market for these products and services. Also, IBM, Google and Microsoft are multinational companies with a wide presence across the globe hence these are the best companies to be studied for their attempts and approaches towards innovation. Industry Analysis: Several studies have confirmed over the past few years that innovation is becoming an important aspect of the businesses. Almost 90% of the businesses treat innovation as a priority and this has led to a significa nt increase in the innovation and the need and importance of innovation (Shukla, 2009). It has clearly been noted that innovation has a major impact on the strategic planning in the industry and is also a major factor in wealth creation as well. The information technology industry as a whole is an ever changing environment. According to Peter Drucker, a company which is unable to innovate in the current age of necessitating innovation then the company can face decline and extinction. The information technology industry is one where the companies need to be able to be innovative to be able to compete in the markets. A recent issue in the IT industry was where Microsoft has been faced with a high pressure due to the new Apps created by Google. Microsoft owns as much as 33% of the total markets and the company caters to a majority of the market (Vellante, 2010). Studies have also shown that the determinants of innovation and productivity are mainly competition. The IT industry has a hi gh level of competition and everyday one business or another seem to innovate something new, products, services or even new business systems. As very well identified by Peter Drucker, innovation is generally based a few main factors. Each of these has been discussed in brief in relation to the IT industry. Firstly, every company in the IT industry has faced several unexpected successes and failures. These as explained by Drucker is one of the few reasons and also an opportunity for companies to adopt innovation. Secondly, as seen the IT industry is one which has a constantly changing market, demographics and also market structure. Hence when a company is a part of this industry it is crucial that innovation is focused upon. Also, with the current knowledge and information based world, customers are looking for the best and latest options and prefer to have more innovative options rather than the old products and services with no improvements (Luebke, 2010). Hence a company participa ting in the IT industry requires innovating not only to meet these new knowledge needs but also to be able to develop and sustain itself in the industry against the competition. Hence considering these factors and elements, it is crucial to be innovative and to device innovative products and serv

Nationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nationalism - Essay Example An example of this was the call to arms for soldiers, airmen, and sailors. Due to the amount of individuals who enlisted, there was no need to recruit, to include a large amount of United States soldiers who volunteered to join Great Britain against Germany.2 The Second World War was similar in the extent of nationalism, however countries having just started to rebuild from World War I did not have the resources or the capacity to wage war. Because of this, many countries even prior to the onset of war began to ask their citizens to restrict their usage of certain materials and there was soon a national effort in both Great Britain and the United States to recruit individuals of all ages to enlist, and those who could not enlist to help domestically with rationing and manufacturing efforts. The governments used their citizen’s nationalism to increase production and assist in the war effort. Interestingly, it was not only countries utilizing their own citizen’s sense of nationalism, but Germany used French nationalism to turn the French against their previous allies.3 This is one instance where nationalism actually created a divisive culture versus a unifying culture. Overall however, between World War I and World War II nationalism was a positive element of society. The method that many countries used to increase nationalism was the use of propaganda to both enrage and to gain empathy when necessary. An example of how propaganda was used in a negative way was the publications that eventually placed Japanese Americans in work camps in the United States. While the two world wars set multiple countries against each other, the cold war which started soon after the Korean Conflict was one ideology in the form of the United... The Second World War was similar in the extent of nationalism, however countries having just started to rebuild from World War I did not have the resources or the capacity to wage war. Because of this, many countries even prior to the onset of war began to ask their citizens to restrict their usage of certain materials and there was soon a national effort in both Great Britain and the United States to recruit individuals of all ages to enlist, and those who could not enlist to help domestically with rationing and manufacturing efforts. The governments used their citizen’s nationalism to increase production and assist in the war effort. Interestingly, it was not only countries utilizing their own citizen’s sense of nationalism, but Germany used French nationalism to turn the French against their previous allies. This is one instance where nationalism actually created a divisive culture versus a unifying culture. Overall, however, between World War, I and World War II nat ionalism were a positive element of society. The method that many countries used to increase nationalism was the use of propaganda to both enrage and to gain empathy when necessary. An example of how propaganda was used in a negative way was the publications that eventually placed Japanese Americans in work camps in the United States.While the two world wars set multiple countries against each other, the cold war which started soon after the Korean Conflict was one ideology in the form of the United States against another in the form of the Soviet Union.

'An emissions trading scheme is a better policy instrument than a Essay

'An emissions trading scheme is a better policy instrument than a carbon tax in tackling climate change.' Critically evaluat - Essay Example Two of the most widely accepted instruments in this regard are: ‘Emissions Trading Scheme’ and ‘Carbon Tax’ (Van Asselt, 2010, p.126). Both of them are being utilized by the government in order to reduce toxic emission in the natural environment. However, the government has only limited the amount of emissions rather than solving this issue from the roots. Emissions trading scheme allows the industries to release a certain amount of pollutants in to the air. It is basically a market based approach which is supported by economic incentives (Cass, 2005, 38). When a firm successfully reduces its emission of pollutants then it is most likely valued by the government. In contrast to this the carbon tax is a mere pricing strategy according to which households and firms are supported to control pollution with the implementation of various technologies and plantation. In this case the firms have to pay a certain amount of tax because of burning fossil fuels or causi ng gas pollution (Eckersley, 2010, p. 367). This paper aims to critically evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of both the pollution controlling strategies while supporting the claim that emissions trading scheme

Migration phenomenon Essay Example for Free

Migration phenomenon Essay MIGRATION: Migration is a world wide phenomenon that can be viewed in either a modern or historical perspective. Historically speaking, migration has been happening for hundreds of years for various reasons such as racism, war invasions, search for a better life, famine, and poor weather conditions. Modernly speaking, in a great majority of cases, people have poor and developing countries that cant provide good conditions for living and raising a family causing them to migrate to another location to in search of a better life style. Sometimes, in search of better education, one would migrate to another location to fulfill their destiny. Some even migrate in need to find unknown relatives that share the same bloodline as them due to fact there was a disconnection in where the family split through migration. But there are plenty of reasons for migration in where a person just wants to relocate for their specific reasons. Migrations even plays a role in population, and even bringing in a new culture. Today, I will enlighten you about this topic by discussing the migration that occurred through out Barack Obamas and his families life. Also, I will speak upon the Dust Storm that played a role in migration. To add on, I will inform you about he migration that occurred through out my relatives lives. And finally, I will speak upon the migration that occurred through out the movie Scarface that starred Al Pacino that played Tony Montanas role. My parents werent born in the United States, but they were looking for better lives and opportunities, so they migrated from Haiti to the United States. My parents growing up in such a poor country that didnt provide much opportunity for them to be able to live a decent lifestyle forced them to migrate. In search of education, jobs, money, and opportunity, they decided to start a new life in the united States. When waking up not knowing when you or your family are going to have the next meal, are you going to find the money to pay the landlord, can you pay your childrens education, afford medicine for when someone in your family that is severely sick, or any specific cause that revolves around unobtainable cash, can drive a person a stress level very high. In desperate need to escape hardship, hearing about the United States and what it had to offer such as opportunities, free education, and work, it was a done deal, they moved on forward. It was a every day struggle in Haiti for my parents, and they thought leaving Haiti coming to America was the only solution to end the struggle and give them a better life to live. Due to difficult times and hard measures, sometimes it is inevitable to stop yourself from migrating to another location hoping for the better. And also, in search of better education, giving you chances to better opportunities in life, will persuade you to migrate to another location that is willing to provide that. There are various reasons in which someone can migrate and through out reading Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama, Ive consumed particular reasons. In this book, Barack Obama explains his life and the life of his parents. Through out the reading, he elaborates on all the various migrations he has done along with his parents. In Dreams from My Father, President Obama informs us on plenty of migration that occurred through out his family. Barack Obama, the son of Barack Obama Sr. who is from Kenya, and Ann Dunham who is from Kansas, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father and mother had divorced and his mother met Lolo Soetoro, a javanese surveyor from Indonesia. Both Lolo and Baracks mother attended the same university. His mother and Lolo ended up getting married together and his new stepfather moved to jakarta, Indonesia shortly after graduating from the University of Hawaii. Obamas mother graduated from the university as well and decided to move also to go join her new husband. Obama moved to Indonesia leaving Hawaii to live with his mother and he spent ages six to ten there attending school. As years went by, he moved back to hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents. He had earned a scholarship which enabled him to attend a college preparatory school from fifth grade till he graduated high school. His mother got a chance to stay with him for three years along with his sister but he wanted to return to Indonesia to do her anthropology field work, but Obama decided to stay in Hawaii with his grandparents for high school. After graduating high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles to attend Occidental college. During that period of time, he decided to visit his mother in Indonesia, and then after travel to Pakistan and India to visit college classmate families. Later, Obama decided to transfer to Colombia University in New York City where he majored in political science. he graduated from there with a bachelor and received two jobs in New York while he stayed there for a year. he later received a job in Chicago where he moved there and was a director of the Developing Com munities Project. Obama wanted to connect with the black community more due to him being confused growing up half white and black. After, Obama travelled to Europe for the first time for a period of three weeks and then decided to travel to Kenya for five weeks to meet unknown relatives from his fathers side to bond. Later, Obama then decided to attend Harvard Law School moving to Massachusetts. After graduating, he left and went back to Chicago. He later got a job again in Chicago where he got a book deal with the University of Chicago Law School. He later ended up becoming a teacher at the University. With him being a civil rights attorney and all the extracurricular activities he was involved in, that lead him to being state senator. Obama travelled back one to Kenya to trace his fathers foot steps. Through out reading chapter 11: Dust Bowl Odyssey from the book called After the Fact: the Art of Historical Detection written by James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle, this chapter enlightened me a lot about the topic of migration showing me how poor weather conditions can play a big role in causing people to migrate. The dust storms caused people to migrate because of the fact that it brought in famine and unemployment. The poor weather conditions in that area were so horrible, it just caused poor living conditions, which made people have to leave their current location in search of a better life. The Dust storm began May 9, 1934, and by May 11, the dust shifted down to South Atlanta and Boston. Every year on, the storms blew in worst. There were 22 dust storms in total in 1934 and it grew to 72 storms by 1937. The storms were so intense, people thought it was the wrath of god in where when the rain failed them, the crops withered, and the winds hurdled the loose soil across the nation. The crops kept falling, the farmers debts kept growing, and soon the banks repossessed the farmers farms. Several farming states felt the wrath of the storms coming in. After watching the storms effects, statistics showed how California gained more than a million new residents in the 1930s. Mostly affected by the bad weather and the Great Depression was the south west plains. Unemployment in the region hit one-third of all workers. People started assuming moving to California was the answer to everything at the moment guessing that the state could be helpful at the crisis moment. 43% of California which is nearly half of California, were now farmers and laborers. Families walked to California in search of a better life. 95% of all southwestern migrants to California were white. The population in California was growing fast and California didnt know how to control this migration, so billboards started to come up saying things such as no jobs in California, 6 men for every job, no state relief available for non residents, and keep out. Although Californias economy suffered and unemployment,remained serious, the state of california was much better off than most of the nation. The economy of California actually grew during the 1930s. Good Highways, bus routes, and railroads linked the southwestern plains to California. Because the trip was was so manageable, most families did not necessarily see their move as permanent. By 1940, 83% of all men in the city were eligible to wok had found jobs. Only 28% of the dust bowls refugees found their way. Migration was causing farmers to make deficit in profit. This migration caused regular farmers from California to complain about farmer migrators and made foul remarks towards them. The United States has been transformed by a civil rights revolution ever sine the dust storms swept across the south western plains. It has been reminded of its diversity by the renewed tide of immigration in the wake of the Immigration Reform Act of 1964. For example, in the 1983 film called Scarface directed by Brian DePalma which starred famous actor Al Pacino who played the lead role character of Tony Montana in the movie, migration played a major factor in why Tony Montana reached the success he did in he film. Tony Montana was from Cuba and after departing from there in search of his American Dream , he tried to migrate to the United States but was denied by INS officials who seemed to believe he was involved in political criminal activities . So, they detained him and sent him to a camp called Freedomtown under a expressway with other fellow Cubans while the government reviewed their visa petitions. While incarcerated in that camp, Montana was offered a deal to kill a former aide of Fidel Castro called Rebanga for a visa by Frank Lopez (a wealthy, political astute man who dealt cars and was involved in the drug trade) for the simple fact Rebanga tortured Franks brother to death. But in desperate need of that visa, to escape the poor life in Cuba, he murdered Rebanga, and then departed to come to Florida. In Florida, he got involved into the drug trade and got into certain situations which lead him to meeting a drug lord called Sosa. By Tony Montana migrating to Bolivia for Franks personal business purposes, Montana and Sosa make friendship, which leads to Tony taking over the cocaine business in Florida. Even though the story ends very brutal with the death of Tony, migration was the cause of why Tony reached his success illegally due to the fact of him trying to escape poverty and search for his American Dream. As you can see, migration plays a big role in the world that we live. Migration is the cause of population increase and decrease. People migrate in cause of chasing a better life style in which they are trying to escape the bad living. People migrate in search of education, jobs, family, opportunities, escaping poverty, famine, and poor living. Migration is the key to success in some cases, in where finding another location to live can branch them off into great possibilities. Migration can cause reduction in money that used to be obtained regularly due to increase in venture. Migration basically has its ups and downs, should be controlled due to population increase which may have its consequences. But, migration has its pros and cons where it could be beneficial for the migrator or not be beneficial for the people of origin in the location the migrator moved. Work Cited: DePalma, Brian Stone, Oliver. Scarface Obama, Barack. Dreams From My Father 1995 West, James Mark Hamilton. After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection : chapter 11

Impact Of Social Networking In The Airline Industry Marketing Essay

Impact Of Social Networking In The Airline Industry Marketing Essay Social Networking is increasingly emerging as an essential communication tool for the travel industry. The growth of social networking phenomena in the Airline industry initially commenced through sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace since it has been growing with more professionalism with the turn up of new industry specified social networks (e.g., Tripadvisor.com). Without much research on how to engage with potential customers, many airlines have started using Twitter streams. Addressing the customer concerns and complaints is not possible by many airlines on social networking sites since they do not have any defined strategy. (Kirby, 2010). Over 2000 airlines operate more than 23,000 aircrafts, providing service to over 3700 airports in todays Global Airline Industry. The worlds airlines flew almost 28 million scheduled flight departures and over 2 billion passengers were carried in 2006. Over the past 30 years, the growth of air travel has averaged 5% approximately, with annual variations due to the differences in the economic fluctuations and circumstances in different regions of the world. The total revenue for the industry expected by IATA will be about $545 billion in 2010, rise of 13% from $483 billion in 2009. Every corner of the globe has been served by the international airline industry which has contributed in the creation of a global economy. (IATA, 2010a) As many authors have researched about social networking no such book or an article has described social networking impact in the Airline industry perspective. A better understanding of social networking has been brought out in this paper. Evaluation of social networking with the airline industry throughout this research will be an essential platform since most of the companys fear from embracing social networking. The impact of social media on airlines and the directions for successful deployment of social media have been detailed in the report. The aim of this report is to educate and help Airline companies to formulate strategic responses for a brand and distribute opportunities since social networking has being taken into consideration as a marketing tool. Sharing and gathering of exclusive information through social networking helps to decrease the advertising budgets and in return increase the revenue and build brand loyalty. Methodology of the Research The intention of this research is to prove that the Airline industry has a great potential in social networking as it cant be ignored in 2010. As few major airlines such as JetBlue, Virgin America and British Airways have started social networking which has changed their process fundamentally by improving customer satisfaction, reducing costs and increasing brand loyalty. Through an inclusive literature review by following academic literature, white papers, popular media, journal articles and books, the following areas which are associated with social networking on the Airline industry have been explored Critical research about social networking emergence with the purpose to establish the potential impact of it on the Airline industry. To find out how social networking will change the Airline consumer behavior and what should be the strategic response from the industry in response to these changes. What marketing professionals should do to find their feet in the social networking arena in terms of their skills, attitudes and behaviors? In order to ensure credibility, reliability and viability of information which have been used for this article, comparison of that information has been done using different similar sources. Accuracy of that information has been evaluated in the Analysis of Included References (9.0) of this document. Industry Analysis European airline giants such as Cathay Pacific, Emirates, US Airways, Japan Airlines, Air France-KLM and Southwest Airlines have dominated the airline industry. Over 2000 airlines operate more than 23,000 aircrafts, providing service to over 3700 airports in todays Global Airline Industry. The worlds airlines flew almost 28 million scheduled flight departures over 2 billion passengers were carried in 2006. The Airline Industry is an intensively competitive market which was negatively affected by the economic downturn and hike in the oil prices over the past two years. The Airline Industry saw a loss of $16 billion in 2008 followed by $9.9 billion in 2009. According to IATAs most recent financial forecast, carriers are projected to earn $2.5 billion in 2010. (Refer Appendix I for further details) Source: ATW World Airline Report 2010 Figure 1: Revenue/Expenses vs. Net Profits by Year Figure 2: International Passenger and Freight Growth Figure 3: Number of Scheduled International Passengers Carried in 2009 Impact of Social Networking in the Airline Industry Social Networking, incorporating Web 2.0 technologies, has been credited with the ability to expand social contacts, accelerate business processes, improve customer relations, cost-effective recruitment of high-caliber staff and the improvement of morale, motivation and job satisfaction among staff (MessageLabs, 2007a). Is Social Media Evolution or Revolution? Since social networking is emerging and has hit its tipping point, conventional networking sites are cannibalizing and competing with each other for members (Neisser, 2008). Today, Web 2.0 is extremely changing customers expectations and behaviour. Social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, and YouTube etc. will change industries than the Internet since they allow customers to communicate with each other, without the involvement of companies (Boynes, 2008). Figure 4: Growth of Facebook by Country and Top 10 Social Networking Sites Source: Nielsen/NetRatings Report, 2009/2010 Liveliness of Social Networking in the Airline Industry Why? As Social networking in a corporate context will become impossible to be ignored in 2010 most of the major airlines have started using social media to re-invent and enhance their clients facing parts which they were doing on a one to one basis. Most of the airlines have created a Facebook or Twitter fan page in regards to this as a start but no one seems like getting the potential out of it by doing active social networking. Social media reveals many transformative opportunities within the airline industry. The Industry is using social network sites to simplify customer contact and response by proactively monitoring and responding to the online chatter. How? The immediate social media based feedback elevates stress and tension for the flyers who have lost their luggage or missed a flight. UKs low cost carriers such as easyJet has over 45,000 followers on Twitter, where Virgin Atlantic and airBaltic have 8000 and with 8500 followers accordingly (Field, 2008). Facebook has been used as a platform by American Airlines in which they have launched Travelbag where the users are able to share their travel experiences and plans and also set up countdowns for upcoming events or trips. According to the airline, they are trying to differentiate and segment its passengers along with identifying their buying habits. Social Networking the Catapult for the Airline Industry Presently, the entire world is evolving towards technological know-how with continuous improvements in ICTA developments in many industries. Airline/Aviation industry has driven a massive growth in all over the world due to ICTA development which has influenced recently. The 12th annual SITA/Airline Business Airline IT Trends Survey, out of 129 airlines that took part, 56% expected an increase in IT spending next year, with only 10% expecting a decrease. As being recovered from the economic downturn, the survey shows how global cost pressures continue to influence IT strategies. Figure 5: ICTA Spending in Airline Industry Source: The Airline IT Trends Survey. 2010 The above mentioned ICTA trends are evident resources that infrastructure and spending are available to drive the change and impact which has been created by social networking Taneja (2008) Flying ahead of the airplane has mentioned that Social Networking/Media is increasingly emerging as an essential communication tool for the travel industry. The growth of social networking phenomena in the Airline industry initially commenced through sites such as Facebook and Bebo since it has been growing with more professionalism with the turn up of new industry specified social networks. Presently people are looking to complete their activities via their mobile phones. With the arrival of social networking it has become an essential part of their life as they get used to mobile social networking. This is a potential impact for the Airline industry as they have already started online digital marketing such as E-tickets, E-flyers, etc. How Consumers Drive the Fundamental Change With the growth of the internet many firms use online consumer reviews as marketing tools which are also strategically manipulated since it can help the consumers to discover quality products (Dellarocas 2003). According to a survey by an Internet marketing Research Company comScore (2007), 24% of the internet users access online reviews before making payments for services delivered offline. Li and Bernoff (2008) argues that the consumers expect 24 hours customer service capabilities along with broad self-serve online options. Return on Influence would be another suitable theory in the matter of WOM and Marketing should be strategically carried out by influencing and identifying those who have the most influence over others (Brogan and Smith, 2008). Around 60% of the worlds population visit social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace or blogging sites as according to the Nielsen Global Online study. Figure 6: Global Social Network Traffic Source: Nielsen/NetRatings Report, 2009/2010 Traditional behavior before the introduction of social media Before social networking became an intermediate support for the airline passengers, they have been gathering information, planning their trips and reserving their tickets through particular airline companies or travel agents. Customer service was also not regular, identical and reasonable among all passengers. Flight availabilities, delays etc. couldnt be informed to consumers. The places such as blogs, forums and specialized websites were limited to talk about the negative and positive impacts which have been faced by the passengers. Traditional versus Online Consumer behavior Traditional ways of consumer behavior has changed fundamentally by social networking since it has overhauled traditional methods of communication with the use of Word of Mouth method to create a positive effect. WOM was considered as an alternative to the traditional marketing tools by several books. According to (Misner, 1999) it is a least understood strategy but yet effective. Since traditional ways of communication are diminishing, marketers are interested in understanding WOM (Nail, 2005). Presently mobile social networking has emerged to help social networking spread all over the world. According to Nielsen Mobile, the U.K. and U.S. stands ahead of many markets in mobile social networking. Social networks were accessed on phones by 1.6% of U.S. mobile subscribers and 1.7% of U.K. mobile subscribers in December 2007 January 2008 as compared to 0.6% in France, 0.2% in Germany and 0.8% in Spain. Figure 7: Personnel vs. Social Benefit in Social Networking Figure 8: Where Do Consumers Search Info According to a study done by  OTX Research  on behalf of  DEI shows that consumers currently obtain information of brands, companies or products with the use of social media. According to the Nielsen online report, users from each segment visit social networking sites as part of their normal routine activities. The emerge of social networking has exposed particular industry products and services and hence majority of the young users are the key influences and are involved in purchasing decisions rather than depending on their parents who were previously influenced with the traditional method. Figure 9: Use of Social Networking Sites by Age Source: Nielsen/NetRatings Report, 2009/2010 AISAS (AIDA) Model This model was another version of the traditional AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action) model to accurately describe consumer behavior on the internet. AISAS online consumer behavior model concept was developed by the Dentsu Group and it is being used since 2004 to describe online consumer behavior. Figure 10: AISAS (AIDA) Model Source: Concept developed by Dentsu Group How AISAS models Work with Social Networking Social networking sites have the ability to get the attention of consumers by displaying banners, information, etc as they cannot rely on traditional one-way methods of communication e.g. TV and print ads. Interested customers will be searching for more information to take decisions. This helps companies to spread their message for a low cost since interested consumers who are unable to buy the product can still share details through social networking as this model can work in many ways than the traditional AIDA model. In terms of communication it may work in four ways as explained in the above diagram. Social networking can be used to get the initial attention towards a company by publishing photos, videos, advertisements, current affairs and through connecting people. In order to hold the attention of the consumers, news articles, future promotions, travel packages, CSR factors and service information can be sent. Once the interest is built, promotions such as low cost tickets and other offers will make the consumers to search more information before taking decisions. This will enable to create desire and make their service believable and collect reasons to buy. Social networking can do this process predominantly as it can direct the consumers to e-ticket sites or a travel agent who is available online and make a purchase. Positive or negative feedback will be shared as per individual experience. Consumers can upload photos and share experiences with one another. Attention Interest Search Actions Share Consumer Satisfaction effects in Social Networking Airline Industries can increase the customer satisfaction with the help of social networking since it can provide better services, suggest or share ideas to others. Regarding the consumer behavior, companies have given more consideration to satisfaction. Figure 11: Conceptualized Model: Satisfaction effect of the consumer Why Consumers are moving towards social networking sites The passengers can make the best choice and get a clear picture of what to expect from each airline such as services and products E.g.-: meals drinks offered, in-flight entertainment, crew service standards etc. and also share their ideas by uploading pictures, videos and status updates about their personnel experiences on Facebook, Twitter etc. Figure 12: Technographics ladder: Consumer Behavior in Social Networking Source: Forrester Research, 2006 Internet ticket reservation has been accelerated by social media as most of the airline consumers are selling and promoting their tickets using social networks. E.g, JetBlueCheeps: A Twitter stream devoted to last-minute fares sales. There are uncontrollable events which cannot be prevented such as weather delays, union strikes etc. which causes a negative impression on the minds of the customers. Therefore the airline sites should be able to address such situations. E.g., The CEO of JetBlue went on Youtube and addressed the concerns of the people due to Snow storm delays which occurred on the 14th February 2007 which received a positive feedback. Why consumers are involving in Social networking With the availability of many touch points the consumers can make correct decisions with referrals and recommendations. Although there are some voices withholding assents with regards to social media as a marketing tool, social media have essential applications for customer relationship management programs, marketing campaigns and public relations activities. The following diagram describes how the Airline consumers are involving with social networking sites. Figure 13: Airline Consumer Involvement in Social Networking Benefits of social networking to the airline consumers Share their own ideas and plan trips with more ease Travel applications have been introduced by social networks such as TripIt and Dopplr Purchase air tickets at a low rate and get further discounts from social networking sites Disintermediation such as Travel agents More convenience and less time consuming to make the correct decision Get additional information about airline brands Greater expectations of customer service and managing relationships Free availability of valuable information Findings and Discussions Social Media platforms improve reach and promote campaign messages and airline industry activities. Through the research it has been identified it will be able to capture the public mood, emotion and knowledge about airline related issues. This will enable a range of opportunities to tailor messages and engage the public in a conversation about airline promotions with transparency which would improve loyalty and trust. Creating of a Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blog or forum under a company name is not social networking (Hernandez, June 2010). Presently most of the airlines have social networking but apart from few airlines majority are not doing active social networking which means they dont practice social networking components to build their market. Following are the few examples of how some major players actively engage in social networking. October 5th 2010 Malaysia Airlines won the Best Use Of Social Media To Drive Revenue Award at the inaugural Simpliflying-Airline Business Social Media Excellence Awards for Airlines. (Malaysia Airlines, 2010) As per facts/statistics that have been published in the previous chapters, the consumer behavior is changing very rapidly towards social media. In order to cope with these changes airline companies needs to have good strategies and specified skills from their marketing experts. (Please refer Recommendation section for further details.) Besides the famous conventional social networking sites there are airline specific websites, forums and blogs in different languages such as Tripadvisor.com, Flying.org, Aerhub.com, genflylounge.com, and Aircollector.com, etc With the ever shrinking global differences and the ever evolving technology highway, the airline industry has great potential to expand as the global opportunities have increased and the world is becoming a local market for all the businesses. This has paved way to increased travel opportunities, which could be targeted efficiently through the increased use of social media. Summary of the Research Paper According to the literature review, social media plays a significant role in the modern marketing world. Although there are some voices withholding assents with regards to social media as a marketing tool, it has essential applications for customer relationship management programs, marketing campaigns and public relations activities. As most of the Airline companies have not embraced social networking prominently there are potential opportunities which the Airline industry can snatch and make Social media as a marketing tool. With the emergence of social networking and mobile phenomenon behaviors, attitudes of customers are changing rapidly as they are looking forward for more convincing and unique customer services. To facilitate this fundamental change Airline companies must have to build a strong strategic response which can increase their company goodwill, market share and image by attracting more consumers. Special set of skills, attitudes and behaviors needs to be adapted by marketing professionals in the industry to make the best out of social networking. More research is required to articulate the accurate impact of social media on consumer awareness, behavioral change, nature of competition and B2B opportunities. Coordination of social media material and collaboration with airline companies at all levels of the government will become increasingly critical. Recommendations Social networking: Building the Airline industry Market Social networking has been able to revolutionize many industries by helping to build market share and earn more revenue since it can be used as a marketing tool. Airline companies would greatly benefit through social networking since it has a greater visibility into the customer needs and their opinions and facilitate quick and direct interaction. In 2007 the use of social networking deeply became popular among the internet users. (Nilesen, 2009). By the Airline industry, Social media marketing is taking off in a major way with sites like Facebook and Twitter E.g., Westjet have been investing in Facebook and Twitter during the past six months for opening and enhancing communication with the consumers (Field, 2008). Strategic Response to Emerge As a Social Marketing Pioneer Even though majority of airlines havent embraced social networking utterly, components of it such as online advertising is being used since longtime ago. Advertising will not be a good strategic response to emerge social networking in the airline industry. In order to reply to this fundamental macro theme the airline industry must have a proper strategy to get the potential of this which will open up new opportunities. According to a new forecast from ZenithOptimedia (www.zenithoptimedia.com), online-marketing will account for a greater proportion in the global ad sector in 2012 than it does now-17.1 per cent of overall ad spending in two years time compared with 12.7 per cent in 2009. Creating a buzz around services is the requirement for airline companies. It doesnt start from creating a Blog or creating a video, its a social media strategy that encompasses social media and word-of-mouth marketing. There are so many social marketing tools that can be used to fulfill the potential of internet business. Figure 14: Development of Strategies (Sims and Smith, 2003) According to the above mentioned framework when developing a strategy, Airline companies should consider three factors mainly. What Basis?: Every Airline company defines their basis (corporate main purpose) when it has been started such as cost leadership, differentiation, cost differentiation focus according to Porters generic strategy. Which Direction?: As social networking has become a frontier in communication, usage of proper social media can change the direction of Airline companies. According to many authors, consumers are embracing new media experiences with a staggering speed. How?: Airlines need to develop a technological savvy skill in order to drive the growth of social networking in terms of market development. This means that the marketing professionals should develop their skills and behavior in response to the emerged macro environmental theme. (Refer chapter 8.2 for further details) According to the Ansoff Matrix, by becoming a social media leader, Airline companies can develop their market since it is highly penetrated. Figure 15: Ansoff Matrix for the Airline Industry (Ansoffs, 1957) There are so many categorizations with the industry such as budget, low cost, premium, national and regional, etc. Requirements will always be different to each other. Following are the main factors that airlines should consider before compiling a market development strategy. What is the pitch and the strategic intentions Anticipation of the market development initiative (Awareness, sales and loyalty) Current Relationship with the passengers How is the current behavior in terms of social media The ways you are going to address them to build the market Execution and Identifying success Most of the airline companies are using traditional digital marketing steps such as email campaigns, online banners, etc. To get the use of social media they need to use digital marketing moderately in a different way. Figure 16: Change in Online Marketing Usage/Spending in 2009 (Source: Ad-Olgy Research, 2008) New Cynosure for Market Building, Customer Service and Goodwill A Market development strategy should be mainly backed up by social networking components. With this strategy more results with a less marketing budget can be expected than traditional marketing procedures. Many airline companies accept social media as emerging and a proper digital marketing tool. Figure 17: Social Networking Components (The Digital EcoSystem) (Infuz Whitepaper, 2010) How Social Media helps to build the Airline Market Figure 18: Traditional Process vs. Social Networking Process The following section will describe how social networking can be used as a prominent marketing tool to develop the market according to Ansoffs Market development strategy Identification of New Segments: Social networking has been used by many consumer segments which will enable to identify new customer segments other than targeting offline. (Please refer Figure 19) Take advantage: Opportunities to reach an audience would be by Blogging, Twittering and maintaining Facebook fan sites which would ease the decision making process and allow them to share ideas. Spark discussions: With social media, companies can interact with their customers regarding their thoughts about the operations of the company. Channels should be kept distinct: Channels such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook etc. can be used for spreading news, promotions etc. and enable the users to visit different outlets rather than sticking to one. Composition: It consists of the means which the message should be delivered such as channels, digital tools etc. Exposure: Once the digital tools are selected the organization needs to find the ways these tools need to be implemented. Content Ideas: This consists of the process in which the organization ensures that the public receives the message which can be through news feeds, promotions etc. Monitoring and Controlling: Gaining control and continuous monitoring of digital medium activities against set KPIs. Have fun: There should be fun as a team and it should help the company to position them as friendly, customer driven and a convenience Airline. Figure 19: Social Networking Site User Segments (Ofcom, 2008) How the Marketing Professionals Should Adapt to the Change As per the above discussions, social networking is emerging rapidly without any obstacles. Social networking components can be used as digital marketing tools such as online advertising, sharing, blogging, etc to increase the market share and brand loyalty. To keep competitive sales, marketing professionals need to keep their skills up-to-date and effective (Victor et al, 2009). Todays economical condition is extremely different to that of five, ten or twenty years ago. Long complex proposals and contracts are the norm these days. According to Cheverton (2004) there are few important skill types that marketing professionals should acclimatize according to the macro environmental changes occurring rapidly. Those are Communication Skills, Social Skills, Flexibility, Openness to Diversity, Thinking Skills, Personal Development and Learning Skills. Social media marketing will be unsuccessful if it doesnt match with the corporate culture or people are resistant to change. Following are the few of new skills, attitudes and behaviors which requires to be adapted by marketing professionals. Figure 20: Social Networking Skills, Attitudes and Behaviors Marketers should offer various competitive prices, promotions, and tactics in order to build their market. Skill/Attitude/Behavior Description Expert researchers A deep research would provide information for making the correct decisions and overlay a solid platform for doing the required tasks in order to develop a simple tactic or a social media plan. Business acumen The requirement for the growth of the business needs to be figured out and acumen social media tactics will fulfill it. Strategic thinking and planning If the company wants to target the right group of people, it is very essential to think beyond single tactics and instead take all the tactics which can help to achieve the objectives. Strong journalistic writing and storytelling Communication leads to success in social media which in turn creates an opportunity for businesses to share their stories directly with the people. Video/Image production Videos and images should be uploaded on social networking sites to attract consumers. Innovative and Creative Innovative ideas needs to be generated in terms of advertising, networking, connecting people, etc. Relationship development Social media relationship development is all about the value the brand can give to others rather than the benefit others can give to the brand. Experts in social media platforms Expert knowledge in social media should be adapted by marketing professionals to build their company. Self-Directed Learning In order to stay competitive in the market, further learning about social media can be completed by supporting groups and discussions, reading blogs and visiting sales training web sites. Restive Curiosity People in every industry are very curious and restless regarding new developments and are always finding new alternative ways to accomplish tasks. Analysis of Included References Source Description Credibility Reliability Merits Relevance Principles of Marketing This book looks at the major decisions that marketing Managers face in their efforts to balance an organizations objectives Many peer reviews specially from industry experts, CEOs Authors: Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong, Veronica Wong, John A. Saunders (Written by well know masters in the marketing arena) High Marketing in Travel and Tourism This book aims to guide and support readers through the complexities of tourism marketing in the 21st Century. The report has been reviewed and used content for other publications Illustration: 4 Editions Butterworth-Heinemann (well known publisher) Authors: Victor Middleton has been an independent management consultant, academic and author since 1984. Professor at Oxford Brookes University and the University of Central Lancashire. Medium Journal of Marketin