Thursday, November 28, 2019

Bharti Airtel Swot Analysis Essays

Bharti Airtel Swot Analysis Essays Bharti Airtel Swot Analysis Essay Bharti Airtel Swot Analysis Essay Strengths * Bharti Airtel has more than 65 million customers (July 2008). It is the largest cellular provider in India, and also supplies broadband and telephone services as well as many other telecommunications services to both domestic and corporate customers. * Other stakeholders in Bharti Airtel include Sony-Ericsson, Nokia and Sing Tel, with whom they hold a strategic alliance. This means that the business has access to knowledge and technology from other parts of the telecommunications world. * The company has covered the entire Indian nation with its network. This has underpinned its large and rising customer base. Weaknesses * An often cited original weakness is that when the business was started by Sunil Bharti Mittal over 15 years ago, the business has little knowledge and experience of how a cellular telephone system actually worked. So the start-up business had to outsource to industry experts in the field. * Until recently Airtel did not own its own towers, which was a particular strength of some of its competitors such as Hutchison Essar. Towers are important if your company wishes to provide wide coverage nationally. The fact that the Airtel has not pulled off a deal with South Africas MTN could signal the lack of any real emerging market investment opportunity for the business once the Indian market has become mature. Opportunities * The company possesses a customized version of the Google search engine which will enhance broadband services to customers. The tie-up with Google can only enhance the Airtel brand, and also provides advertising opportunities in Indian for Google. * Global telecommunications and new technology brands see Airtel as a key strategic player in the Indian market. The new iPhone will be launched in India via an Airtel distributorship. Another strategic partnership is held with BlackBerry Wireless Solutions. * Despite being forced to outsource much of its technical operations in the early days, this allowed Airtel to work from its own blank sheet of paper, and to question industry approaches and practices for example replacing the Revenue-Per-Customer model with a Revenue-Per-Minute model which is better suited to India, as the company moved into small and remote villages and towns. The company is investing in its operation in 120,000 to 160,000 small villages every year. It sees that less well-off consumers may only be able to afford a few tens of Rupees per call, and also so that the business benefits are scalable using its Matchbox strategy. * Bharti Airtel is embarking on another joint venture with Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular to create a new independent tower company called Indus Towers. This new business will control more than 60% o f Indias network towers. IPTV is another potential new service that could underpin the companys long-term strategy. Threats * Airtel and Vodafone seem to be having an on/off relationship. Vodafone which owned a 5. 6% stake in the Airtel business sold it back to Airtel, and instead invested in its rival Hutchison Essar. Knowledge and technology previously available to Airtel now moves into the hands of one of its competitors. * The quickly changing pace of the global telecommunications industry could tempt Airtel to go along the acquisition trail which may make it vulnerable if the world goes into recession. Perhaps this was an impact upon the decision not to proceed with talks about the potential purchase of South Africas MTN in May 2008. This opened the door for talks between Reliance Communications Anil Ambani and MTN, allowing a competing Inidan industrialist to invest in the new emerging African telecommunications market. * Bharti Airtel could also be the target for the takeover vision of other global telecommunications players that wish to move into the Indian market. Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, Indias largest integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual strategic business units (SBUs) Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services Enterprise Services.

Monday, November 25, 2019

The Buraku - Untouchables of Japan

The Buraku - Untouchables of Japan During the Tokugawa Shogunates rule in Japan, the samurai class sat atop a four-tier social structure. Below them were farmers and fishermen, artisans, and merchants. Some people, however, were lower than the lowest of merchants; they were considered less than human, even. Although they were genetically and culturally indistinguishable from other people in Japan, the buraku was forced to live in segregated neighborhoods, and could not mingle with any of the higher classes of people. The buraku was universally looked down upon, and their children were denied an education. The reason? Their jobs were those designated as unclean by Buddhist and Shinto standards - they worked as butchers, tanners, and executioners. Their jobs were tainted by their association with death. Another type of outcast, the hinin or sub-human, worked as prostitutes, actors, or geisha. History of Burakumin Orthodox Shinto and Buddhism consider contact with death unclean. Therefore those in occupations where they are involved in slaughtering or processing meat are avoided. These occupations were considered lowly for many centuries, and impoverished or dislocated people may have been more likely to turn to them. They formed their own villages separated from those who would shun them. The feudal laws of Tokugawa period, starting in 1603, codified these divisions. Buraku could not move out of their untouchable status to join one of the other four castes. While there was social mobility for others, they had no such privilege. When interacting with others, burakumin  had to show subservience and could not have any physical contact with those of the four  castes. They were literally untouchables. After the Meiji Restoration, the Senmin Haishirei edict abolished the ignoble classes and gave the outcasts equal legal status. The ban on meat from livestock resulted in an opening of slaughterhouse and butcher occupations to the burakumin. However, the social stigma and discrimination continued. Descent from the burakumin could be deduced from ancestral villages and neighborhoods where the burakumin lived, even if individuals dispersed. Meanwhile, those who moved to those neighborhoods  or professions could themselves be identified as burakumin even without ancestors from those villages. Continued Discrimination Against the Burakumin The plight of the buraku is not just a part of history. Discrimination is faced by descendants of buraku even today. Buraku families still live in segregated neighborhoods in some Japanese cities. While it is not legal, lists circulate identifying burakumin, and they are discriminated against in hiring and in arranging marriages. Numbers of burakumin range from an official tally of around one million to over three million as assessed by the Buraku Liberation League. Denied social mobility, some join the yakuza, or organized crime syndicates, where it is a meritocracy. Approximately 60 percent of yakuza members are from burakumin backgrounds. Nowadays, however, a civil rights movement is having some success in improving the lives of modern-day buraku families. It is disheartening that even in an ethnically homogenous society, people will still find a way to create an outcast group for everyone else to look down upon.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Outline the development of Britain's relationship with the Essay

Outline the development of Britain's relationship with the Commonwealth and discuss whether this organisation still has any relevance today - Essay Example Except Mozambique and Rwanda, all of the Commonwealth member countries were once part of the British Empire. The Commonwealth member states operate within a framework of common values and goals like the promotion of democracy, human rights, better governance, individual liberty, free trade, etc as outlined in the Singapore Declaration. Even though the member countries have diverse social, political, economical, and cultural backgrounds, all members enjoy equal status in Commonwealth. Even Britain enjoys the same status only like the other member states even though, as a courtesy, the member states give the opportunity to inaugurate commonwealth events to the British monarch. It should be remembered that the recently concluded Delhi commonwealth games 2010 was inaugurated by Indian president and the British monarch, Charles jointly. Commonwealth activities were carried out by the commonwealth secretariat headed by a secretary general. Even though Britain and its allies succeeded in winning the second world war, the after effects of that war was so profound so that the British empire started to show signs of exhaustion. Anti-Colonial movements and their agitations against Britain attained momentum after the Second World War. India, the largest colony of Britain succeeded in getting independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Apart from the Asian region, Britain forced to give independence to the African countries also in the 1960’s. The granting of independence to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) in the 1980’s marked almost the end of the decolonization process started after the Second World War. The British national identity started to exhaust after the decolonization. Earlier, British people have shown immense pride of ruling the world, in their approaches, attitudes and dealings. After decolonization, they have realized that Britain has not much role in the global

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Marketing Plan about Gu Puds on UK Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Plan about Gu Puds on UK - Assignment Example This report stresses that the company thrives on its brand image which was developed after lengthy and careful and analysis. It emphasizes greatly on its looks which was also developed after long and hard thoughts about what they aimed to stand for and what exactly keeps them going. The merging of the two brands resulted in rapid growth for the company. This was complimented with some of the tempting new packaging which featured their mysterious new characters The GÃ ¼ Decadents and also a manifesto for having a more indulgent life. The project considers development of the SMART objectives crucial and the foremost priority for the company as it helps to present the objectives in a well defined manner. SMART objectives are presented as the set of objectives which are specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic and time/cost limited. Smart objectives help in the removal of all kinds of conflicts between the client and the internal stakeholders regarding the project. Gu Puds must ensure that all stakeholders of the company agree upon the projected objectives. This would especially applicable for the workers who are associated with the production unit of the company. Since the company seeks to enhance its sales by 10%, this would have to be agreed upon by the producers of the products who would be directly accountable for the increased production of the product. The increased sales must have adequate resources for complementing the strategy. This would help to prevent cost or schedule overruns. The present strategy for the company would require an enlarged and

Monday, November 18, 2019

An exploratory paper arguing both sides using past and present major Research

An exploratory arguing both sides using past and present major issues of gay marriage. Explain them through summaries and - Research Paper Example This essay examines the issue of gay marriage through positions on the right not to marry, the right to marry, and civil unions. One of the prominent positions on gay marriage is what has come to be referred to as the right not to marry. In regards to this position one considers that the institution of marriage affords a number of benefits, predominantly in government tax incentives. In this way individuals that marry have specific rights that place them at an advantage over non-married individuals. The right not to marry then has constituted a perspective that provides a counter-point to the benefits gained through marriage. Polikoff notes that if the right to marry is considered a right then, â€Å"– the right not to marry – should likewise be fundamental. Revived proposals to condition poverty assistance on marital status, as well as tax benefits and burdens based on marital status, would require strict judicial scrutiny† (Polikoff). In this way Polikoff has c onsidered both the benefits gained through marriage and the perspectives on marriage as a fundamental right. She is arguing then that if the courts establish the right to marry a fundamental right for all people, including gays and lesbians, there should be a concomitant right not to marry. Ultimately, this right would benefit not only gays and lesbians, but individuals that choose to forego marriage. Another prominent position in the debate on gay marriage is the notion of the right to marry. The right to marry has long been a prominent issue, not only in gay and lesbian marriage concerns, but also in broader civil rights perspectives. In this way some of the most prominent right to marry controversies emerged during the civil rights era of the 1960s when there was significant debate over interracial marriages. Still, in the 21st century the most prominent right to marry issues have surrounded concerns over gay marriage. In this way there has been significant disparity of opinion o ver the extent that the constitution guarantees the right to marriage and to which groups of people. In large part this issues has been addressed at the state level. Currently, the majority of states restrict gay marriage based on the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. Undoubtedly the belief against a blanket right to marriage for same sex couples has been influenced by prominent religious perspectives in the country. One considers that Christianity, the dominant Western religion, has opposed gay marriage; there is additionally scripture that indicates marriage should be between a man and a woman. In this way a great amount of American citizens continue to object to gay marriage based on moral reasons. Recent polling data have attested to this, noting that the highest percentage of people that oppose gay marriage have strong religious affiliations; over 77% of Protestants oppose gay marriage, and 71% of people who attend church services more than once a week oppose g ay marriage (PewResearch). While religious groups are not the only sect of people that oppose the right to marry, they constitute a major oppositional position within the country on the issue. The restriction of the right to marriage, however, has been challenged in a number of notable situations. One of the most prom

Friday, November 15, 2019

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE ANALYSIS

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE ANALYSIS Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right thing Peter F. Drucker A leader is a person who guides others toward a common goal, showing the way by example, and creating an environment in which other team members feel actively involved in the entire process. Leadership remains a very important factor to successful organizations. Ensuring that effective leaders are selected, trained and developed is of significance importance to todays organizations. Three major types of organizational leaderships have been presented throughout the years; transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and charismatic leadership. Each type of leadership contains a certain number of attributes which distinguishes it from the others, however many theories converge into the position that each type can be used separately or in conjunction with the others. In transformational leadership the leaders motivate their followers to perform beyond expectations by fostering a climate of trust and by creating and representing an inspiring vision of the future. In charismatic leadership, leaders differ from others by their ability to foster an impression that they and their mission are extraordinary. As such, individuals choose to follow such leaders in management settings not only because of formal authority but out of perceptions of extraordinariness. However in some extent transformational and charismatic leadership are similar and compatible. On the other hand transactional leadership is complementary to the other two types of leadership and is based on an exchange process in which the leader provides rewards in return for the followers effort and performance. In this paper we are going to define what transactional leadership is and then we are going to present the attributed behaviours that transactional leaders have and how these behaviours affect the organizational identification, the organizational commitment, trust and organizational citizenship behaviours of the followers. TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP: All research and studies that have been conducted throughout the years about transactional leadership have accepted the definition given by Bass (1985) that transactional leaders clarify for their followers the followers responsibilities, the expectations the leaders have, the tasks that must be accomplished and the benefits to the self-interests of the followers for compliance. Transactional leaders usually operate within the boundaries of the existing system, emphasize process rather than substance as means of control and are effective in stable and predictable environments. The primary factors of transactional leadership model include contingent reward, management-by-exception and laissez-faire. The leaders, who engage in transactional behaviours, focus mainly on low order construct such as broad performance goals due to the absence of experience which is required in order to focus on higher level organizational visions. In cases when the leaders confront these kinds of situations, they engage in strategic processes so as to find a novel way to encourage their subordinates to work towards that vision. However, in most cases they emphasize on specific goals and performance outcomes such as increase in team productivity and establishment of effective working relationships within the groups. Additionally, transactional leaders expect their followers to have attributes such as commitment to goals, expectancy of goal attainment, expectancy of rewards and need for role clarity. In order to achieve the highest subordinate performance, these leaders use rewards and punishments as tools. For a given performance failure, transactional leaders are likely to make an attribution to lack of goals or lack of expectations of a reward from the side of the follower and therefore they respond with goal setting, instruction and training, work assignment and reward or punishment. Finally, transactional leaders focus on environmental conditions in which they are able to interact with the followers to increase motivation through goal setting, increase action-to-action and outcome-to-outcome expectancies, and influence follower skills and abilities through training. Such conditions may include increasing resources, technology, social support and equipment. However, it is very important to determine whether all the above attributes that transactional leaders possess are adequate enough to affect the followers and increase their performance. EVALUATION OF TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP: There are two ways for an employee to determine if he/she has been treated fairly in his/her job; distributive justice which is related to the fairness of the outcome an employee receives and procedural justice which is related to the fairness of the procedures used to determine those outcomes. Transactional leaders are more likely to motivate and persuade the employees who are concerned about the fairness of the outcome because their relationship with their leaders is based on the rewards they receive in exchange for their efforts. Since one of the main attributes of the transactional leader is to make rewards contingent on performance and specify the outcomes that the individual can expect in exchange for good performance, job satisfaction will be increased when these conditions will be satisfied. On the other hand in environments where procedural justice is the main way to determine the fairness of treatment to subordinates, the leader-employee relationship is outside the economic contract. In that case interpersonally fair treatment is very crucial. However, as we mentioned earlier transactional leaders are based on the exchange procedures to motivate their employees and less on interpersonal relationships. Therefore, in these cases transactional leadership might have no positive effect on job satisfaction. Additionally, transactional leadership directly affects the organizational commitment of the employees. Despite the fact that emotional attachment is the major characteristic of organizational commitment many subordinates consider organizational commitment an important instrument to obtain rewards and recognition. Therefore, leaders who use economic exchanges to appraise good performance are more likely to increase the commitment of their employees. On the other hand transactional leadership does not affect the relationship of trust between the leader and the subordinates. As we mentioned transactional leaders emphasize on specific goals and performance outcomes by requesting from their employees commitment to goals and expectancy of goal attainment. The feedback that they provide to their subordinates for their performance is either a reward or a punishment. This kind of interaction does not affect the feeling of trust from the side of the employees. This can be enhanced by the fact that transactional leaders focus on low order constructs such as broad performance goals and not on organizational visions which require the trust of the subordinates to successfully achieve these visions. Finally, under certain conditions transactional leadership can play an important role in the organizational identification which affects the effectiveness of the company, increases the organizational citizenship behaviours and reduces turnover. As organizational identification we define the perception of belongingness to an organization, of which the person is a member. Since transactional leaders provide the employees with useful information about their roles in the organization and about what is expected of them in their work, they help them to understand what the organization stands for and what it is like to be a typical member of it. However, the effectiveness of this type of leadership will also depend on the subordinates identity level. In cases where the employees are characterized by individual identities, transactional exchanges such as performance evaluations through rewards and punishments will overemphasize the individual contributions against the organizational goals an d therefore will not increase the organizational identification. Therefore, transactional leadership will only have an effect on employees who think and behave in ways that emphasize collaboration with the others. Additionally, despite the fact that transactional leaders provide clarity, direction and sense of security to their employees they are not able to convince employees who experience feelings of stress and anxiety to establish a strong connection with the organizational collective. This can be explained by the fact that transactional leaders do not use inspiration and mentoring to heighten the followers sense of belongingness. IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE ORGANIZATIONS: According to the previous paragraphs, transactional leadership is the type of leadership in which the leaders emphasize in the clarification of roles and task requirements and provide followers with material or psychological rewards contingent on the fulfilment of contractual obligations. In order for the managers to apply this type of leadership in their organizations first they must discuss with their followers what is required and clarify how these outcomes are to be achieved and the reward they will receive in exchange for their satisfactory effort and performance. This can be done by clearly defining the job descriptions of each employee, and the rules regarding work duties and then by using performance appraisals. Therefore, when the leader assigns work to its employee, it is the responsibility of the employee to see that the assigned task is finished on time. If the assigned task is not completed on time or does not have the optimum result then the manager will have the right to punish his/her employee for the failure. But if they accomplish the task in time then the followers will receive the rewards for successfully completing the task. Furthermore, the managers must provide rewards in cases where the followers exceed the requested expectations. Through this policy the transactional leader can increase the job satisfaction and the expected performance of his/her employees. PERSONAL OPINION: As concerns my view I believe that transactional leadership can be potentially applicable and effective only in certain organizational situations. The conditions which favour the emergence of transactional leadership are characterized by stability. In stable predictable environments, organizations tend to be strictly controlled and formalized. Such organizations favour the elaboration of certain rules and regulations and determine specified performance measurement systems and hierarchical distribution. In these environments transactional leaders can emerge and become effective by emphasizing on specific goals, processes and performance outcomes. However, there are conditions that require a leader with characteristics more than those of the transactional leader. In cases when tasks are not analyzable, standard operating procedures are not helpful, and progress cannot be easily measured, employees are likely to be frustrated and discouraged, and transactional leadership might not be applicable. The only way for a leader to motivate its members under such conditions is to infuse their tasks with an ideological meaning and purpose. Additionally, as mentioned in the previous paragraphs transactional leaders do not focus on organizational visions but they stick on the accomplishment of specific goals. Therefore, in situations where the conditions dynamically change it is likely to be difficult for them to provide a feasible solution. For example in cases of crisis where performance goals cannot be easily specified and where leaders cannot link rewards to individual performance, employees tend to follow the person who has a vision, and novel ideas. In that case the leader must be able to establish relationships of trust and respect with its employees in order to inspire them and convince them that he/she is capable of providing inspiring strategic and organizational goals for the future. As a conclusion I believe that a leader must combine the characteristics of transactional leadership with the characteristics which are applied in the other two types of leadership; charismatic and transformational. Therefore, he/she must be able to recognize the conditions that emerge in each situation and try to implement the right type of leadership in this situation so as to proceed with the optimal solution.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Free Essays - Achilles Moral Dilemma in Homers Iliad :: Iliad essays

Achilles' Moral Dilemma in Homer's Iliad The question "was Achilles' anger justified" brings up issues that seem to have little or no relevance to the war. In time of war I would expect the leaders to prioritize the groups interest for the sake of unity and cooperation rather than being entrenched in achieving their own personal goals. But my expectations are those of a modern day literature student, I'm inclined to think that the Greeks who first read this epic valued different things than myself. Another relevant question might be "were Achilles' actions justified". Anger can be easily justified, but the actions that anger might lead you to take are not as easily justified. Again I am not an ancient Greek and my opinions are irrelevant unless I open my mind to different viewpoints. Therefore I am striving to look into this issue through ancient Greek eyes where the principle of sacrificing ones own interests was apparently not valued, but maintaining ones honor, on the other hand, was greatly valued. In the fo llowing paragraphs I will attempt to answer these two aforementioned questions. The facts of this conflict are all pretty straight forward and by recounting the facts I hope to bring to light the truths that justify Achilles' anger. First off Agamemnon had distributed the booty fairly and all the more powerful Achaeans had gotten a concubine, Agamemnon just happened to choose the daughter of one of Apollo's priest. When Apollo sends a plague to the Achaean camp Achilles' concern for his comrades leads him to call an assembly with the purpose of interpreting the plague and taking necessary action. Agamemnon reluctantly agrees to return his concubine to her father if he is repaid another concubine by one of the other powerful Achaeans. At this Achilles stands up for himself and the other Achaeans, he insults Agamemnon by saying that Agamemnon claims his greatness. When Agamemnon takes Achilles' concubine, Achilles probably expected the other Achaeans to stand up for him as he had done for them earlier. But he is left alone. His honor insulted by a man that he had served loyally. Humiliated, by a group of people to whom he owed nothing. A great sense of betrayal overcame Achilles.