Undrerstanding & organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Undrerstanding & organisation - Essay Example The existing structure gave a considerable amount of autonomy to the personnel at the operational level to make decisions, whilst each member of staff, depending on their area of expertise, had the power to veto any decisions made by the rest of the personnel. The changes were proposed by the then deputy chair and managing director of the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, who famously claimed that the NHS was devoid of management that can make firm decisions and not always resort to consultation with doctors or senior clinical staff, as was prevalent due to the consensus management style.The following is an analysis of the NHS case with regards to the changes brought about in the general structure of the organisation with the introduction of the concept of general management to exercise control and coordination of activities, as opposed to the consensus management style that existed prior to the changes. The existing structure gave a considerable amount of autonomy to the personn el at the operational level to make decisions, whilst each member of staff, depending on their area of expertise, had the power to veto any decisions made by the rest of the personnel. This was referred to as a ‘lowest common denominator’ style of decision making. Griffith, however, proposed a more management oriented structure, where line managers would be introduced for each unit or hospital, and these managers will carry the sole responsibility of making decisions, applying control measures especially where finances are concerned, and overall coordination of activities within the guidelines provided to achieve strategic objectives. Understanding the environmental circumstances which prompted the need for such changes in a nationalised organisation would provide more insight as to why such measures were necessary, and what these changes have implied for the organisation over the years. One method to study the environment is the PEST analysis, which stands for an under standing of the Political, Economical, Sociological and Technological aspects of the market environment (Johnson et al, 2008; Kotler et al, 2006). The political, economical, and sociological aspects in relation to the NHS case are quite intertwined, as this was a period when Britain was undergoing many changes as a result of the economic recession that started in the preceding years, and the young conservative government under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher was in the process of making many difficult decisions to turn the economy around and to reduce unemployment that hit the three million mark during this time. In addition to this, the Falkland war, albeit won the British public’s admiration of the Thatcher government, resulted in additional expenditure, along with added burden of sustaining existing nationalised businesses, which meant increase in taxes and the resultant inflation. This has caused the government to take stringent measures where financing was concerned specifically for nationalised organisations like the NHS. The government also fully or partly privatised many other initially nationalised organisations to extend some of the burdens to more profitable private entities. It could be that pure observation of how, many private firms have operated profitably during the economic recession, by employing measures of cutting costs, dissolving unwanted business operations, removing redundant personnel etc may have motivated the government to employ similar measures in the nationalised businesses. This seems fitting to the fact that the opinions of an executive from a supermarket chain were taken aboard, and then implemented as in the case of the NHS. The aim, however, was to include a certain degree of competitiveness within nationalised organisations in relation to other organisations in the market, which may result in profitability and expansion, and ultimately creation of new jobs (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,920566-3 ,00.html). Another political factor playing an important role during this period was the influx of immigrants despite the government’s best efforts to curb it. Margaret Thatcher’s government was faced with problems related to incoming immigrants from Asian Commonwealth countries like India and Pakistan, and refugees from other regions, and measures had to be

Textile Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Textile - Assignment Example tant to check the dry cleanability of plastic buttons for a rayon print dress because the plastic may dissolve in the dry cleaning solvent used such as perchlorethylene. The plastic becomes sticky and the buttons may attach to the fabric; hence, staining the print. Consumers should check the dry cleanability of the leather trim on a wool sport coat because the make-up of the coat may entail spandex that is vulnerable to irreversible damage when subjected to chlorine bleach. The 100% cotton whites may appear gray after dry cleaning because the heat and chemical components of the dry cleaning solvent subjected to them weakens the cellulose in the fabric; hence, the color. It is possible to restore the original whiteness by using mild soap and non-chlorine bleach to ensure that harsh chemicals do not compromise the cellulose structure in the cotton. Some garments are best cleaned by laundering and others by dry cleaning depending on the fabric structure. Cotton garments with spandex would be vulnerable to wear and tear if subjected to a chlorinated dry cleaning solvent. A 100% cotton garment may have a ‘Dry Clean Only’ label to protect its make-up from the risk of wear and tear caused by harsh environments created by the washing machine. The cellulose structure may disintegrate due to the heat in the washing machine; hence ruining the

Reviewing Shakespeares Romeo And Juliet Plays

Reviewing Shakespeares Romeo And Juliet Plays Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeares most popular tragedy plays. Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. As the most-filmed of all plays, Romeo and Juliet serves as an example of how cinematic interpreters of Shakespeare have become more liberal over time. The story was long established even when Shakespeare wrote it in 1594 or 1595he was adapting the earlier Italian tale The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet. Love is naturally the plays dominant and most important theme. Sex, drugs, and violence are usually a potent combination, and only William Shakespeare could develop them into a masterful, poetic, and elegant story. Romeo and Juliet also lends itself to modernized, marketable film adaptations because of many of the innovative themes presented throughout the play, which include love vs. hate, light vs. dark, age vs. youth, and fate vs. determinism. Luhrmanns Romeo and Juliet starts with an example of the power of the media, with a television news report. Straight away we see a new and modernistic beginning. There is a very dramatic opening, with dramatic music and quick shots of Verona Beach, skyscrapers, images of war and fighting, flashes of newspapers and magazines, and shots of helicopters and cars, all present day images. We have a voice over giving the audience and introduction to the story. We are then introduced to the characters of the film. The colours used for the different characters are very interesting. For the Capulets the colours used are cold colours like blue and green where as when Mercutio there is a use of soft golden colours. This immediately brings a contrast between the characters and this cinematic technique is used many times through out the film. We are then brought to a gas station where a fight breaks out between the two feuding families. This is scene is very dramatic and a lot of quick imagery is used. We see more modernisation in this scene, we are introduced to guns instead of the commonly used sword and we also have fast cars instead of horses. We see great use of camera angels used in this scene. We see the low angel shot looking at Benvolio from one of the Montague boys and then the reverse with a high angel shot, which is not Benvolios point of view but still gives you the idea of his position. We then have extremely close up shots as we are introduced to Tybalt. Again here we see that Tybalts car is blue. There is a close up of his boots as he gets out of the car and then a close up of his head and hand as he lights his cigarette and again the background behind him is blue. When the fight begins and the tension builds we get close up shots of Tybalts eyes and Benvolios eyes. This kind of shot indicates strong feeli ngs and in Tybalts case we see hatred as he is focused and powerful. When the camera shows the close up of Benvolios eyes he twitches showing fear along with the way that he is not looking directly into the camera. Although we are never shown from a far angle we know that they are staring at each other. When we are fist introduced to Romeo, we hear his mother, father and cousin Benvolio talking about it, which helps us get a feel for his character. The first images we are given of Romeo are him sitting on Verona Beach which soft golden lighting just like Mercutio at the beginning. When we are introduced to Juliet, we see her in a close up shot underwater. She looks like she is a drowned girl; this could link to Ophelia in Hamlet. The way in which we are introduced to her foreshadows her meeting with Romeo and her eventual death. Before the party Romeo talks of his dream, this builds tension with the flash-forward of the final scene of Romeo in Juliets tomb. This makes the audience curious of what is going to happen next even if they have read the play before or not. Romeo is then given a love drug. The effects of the drug on him are depicted brilliantly. As soon as he takes the drug, we see images of fireworks and spinning lights, the music becomes crazy and then mellow. We arrive at the party and everybody is dancing, people become blurry, we have images of Tybalt roaring like a lion and Romeo muttering the words drugs are quick the same words that are used in his final scene of the play. The room begins to spin but the camera is still focused on Romeo which is a great camera angle to show that for Romeo the room is spinning. We then cut to an image of Romeo underwater washing off the effects of the drug. The shot of him under water echoes the image that we saw earlier of Juliet under water. After all the hectic scenes, the music changes to a very slow romantic song to set the scene as the two lovers meet each others gaze through the fish tank. Romeos first few of Juliet is under water. Again we see lighting used here to distinguish the divide between the lovers with the fish tank in between them, almost like an obstacle. On Romeos side of the fish tank the lighting is the golden reds and yellows, colours of warmth to evoke the Montagues and Juliet who we can only see through the fish tank is behind cool blues and greens, the tones of the Capulets. When the party ends the lovers then meet in the swimming pool, another use of the water among the characters. Here they exchange their love. The costumes used in this film are very different from what you would see in a common Romeo and Juliet. All the Montague boys were colourful shirts, a lot of the time they are open showing their free natured spirit. The Capulets on the other hand are more serious and are fashioned with higher class clothes to represent their wealth and power. The costumes that the characters wear at the party are quite interesting. Tybalt is dressed as a devil which reflects his characters evilness but is also ironic as he is very religious. Juliet is dressed as an angel which is exactly how her character is depicted, so angelic, fragile and heavenly. Romeo is the knight in shining armour and becomes the hero in the party and of the film. Religion is a very common theme that can be seen through out the film. We are constantly shown the statue of Jesus through the course of the film. A lot of the scenes take place in the church where there are many religious statues and images on the walls. Holy music is played often and sometimes is shown with a choir singing. Juliets house and room has a shrine where she prays at night. At the very beginning Tybalt is wearing a shirt with Jesus on it and also his gun has a picture of Mary on the handle. Many of the characters have tattoos of religious figures or symbols and one of the main props in the film is Juliets wedding ring which is not only a symbol of marriage and love but also has the religious cross engraved on it. There is constant tension and suspension of what is going to happen. When Romeo and Juliet are married and he goes to kiss his bride, we cut to a scene of Benvolio and Mercutio on the beach and a shot is fired. There is talk of a brawl. Tybalt arrives. There is great use of camera angles here as Mercutio runs at the camera and it pans around to show Tybalt backing away but with short images of him taunting and egging Mercutio on. Tybalt stabs Mercutio with a piece of glass, this is a new adaptation as they do not use swords anymore. This was well thought of as in the play Mercutio follows being stabbed with the lines a scratch, a scratch. There is almost like a stage set up on the beach and this resembles the theatre performances of Romeo and Juliet as we see Romeo and Mercutio on the stage saying lines and the other characters are down below looking up. We are then given more tension with pathetic fallacy that is common in plays, films and novels, when the weather reflects the mood of the play. A storm is brewing and it becomes very windy, we see people lock up their shops and people driving away. The music is also very dramatic. This makes the scene very tense for the audience and makes them curious about what is about to happen. We are then brought to Juliets room with her talking about her excitement and happiness with her new marriage and new love and all of a sudden the camera cuts to a rage filled Romeo screaming and driving extremely fast after Tybalt, there is a car crash and Romeo is standing there pointing a gun at Tybalt. Just as he pulls the trigger and shoots him, the camera cuts back to a shocked looking Juliet as if it was her that was hit with the bullet. This was a great use of imagery as we see just how much of an impact Romeos actions will have on Juliet and many others. This also links in with the line that Romeo say further on as if that name shot from the deadly level of a gun did murder her speaking of Juliet. Romeo is then haunted by hi s actions. As he sleeps he is awoken suddenly by the sound of a gun shot and we see a flash back of Tybalt dying. We see water used again in the next scene as Romeo falls from the balcony into the swimming pool and Juliet looks at him and says Oh God, I have an ill divine soul, me thinks I see thee now, thou art so low as one dead at the bottom of a tomb. Romeo sinks beneath the surface of the water almost as if he is drowning. Romeo is sent to exile and when he hears of Juliets death the panic and fear is represented well with the panic and fear of Romeo returning to Verona Beach. We have the Priest panicking that his letter never reached Romeo. There are helicopters and police cars with the sound of police sirens. The music gets faster and we see fast cars and then there is a bit of a car chase. We feel the hectic panic of everyone through these quick, short, loud and frantic scenes. Romeo reaches the tomb where Juliet is laying. We see the image of him walking down towards her body just as we did in the earlier scene when he described his dream. The slow music and his slow walking are a complete contrast to the last scene. Romeo mourns over his dead wife. The tension here builds for the audience as we known that Juliet is about to wake shortly and we can see her body twitching but Romeo can not. He sits up to take the poison just as we have a close up of Juliets eyes opening. She is awake but does not speak. Romeo has not yet taken the poison which makes the audience want to scream at the screen Dont do it. It frustrates the viewer as well because Juliet does not speak to him, if she did she could have prevented the tragedy. Just as Romeo takes the poison Juliet touches his cheek and we have a very quick reflex from Romeo as he realises she is awake and that he cant go back. Juliet finally realising what is happening begins to panic. The line thus with a kiss I die was rearrange in the scene until after he has taken the poison to make it more dramatic and to have more of an impact on the audience. The silence after the his death makes this scene so tense, then you hear the sound of her crying and the sound of her loading the gun, and the sound of the gun shot echoes. The camera pans back to show the two lovers happy in death and we see a flashback of the night that they met and happy moments that they have shared. This reminds the audience of their troubled but happy relationship and helps the viewer to connect to the tragedy that has just happened. The news report is shown again as the television fades into the background and the film ends, leaving the ending dramatic and heart wrenching. Luhrmann changes in this scene have the effect of changing the focus and theme of the scene from the broader issues of rash youth and social conflict to a narrower focus on the tragic love of Romeo and Juliet. Only having Romeo and Juliet in this scene f ocuses the conflict on the tragic failure of their happiness and love. The audience want to focus on the lovers as it is the point of the story but there are much broader themes to it also. The cast which Baz Luhrmann chose played well into his idea of wanting to broaden the horizons on the audiences that enjoyed Shakespeare. Succeeding in attracting a huge youth fan club, it helped that he had cast the young handsome Leonardo Di Caprio. Having famous people in the film immediately attracts a big audience. Claire Danes plays a beautiful Juliet. Other famous people such as Paul Rudd, who has come increasingly popular, along with Diane Venora, Pete Postlethwaite and many others. Baz Luhrmanns adaptation of Romeo and Juliet does not seem out-dated even though it is 11 years old. It is still referred to as the new Romeo and Juliet. What is so great about this version is how Shakespeares language is untouched but worked in and fitted so magnificently into the modern day life. Luhrmann makes his film into an almost theatrical experience. . The most brilliant aspect of the movie is the urban landscape setting, the lighting, and the cinematography. There is comedy, romance and tragedy infused together in this film. This is a remarkable film, filled with love, passion, hate, power, etc. Luhrmann wanted to entertain his audience with the timeless love of Romeo and Juliet and in my opinion he succeeded in doing so with an unforgettable adaptation of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. Sources Luhrmann, Baz. 1996, William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet

Divine Comedy - Sin and Judgment in Dantes Inferno Essay -- Divine Co

Dante's Concept of Sin and Judgment in The Inferno      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Infidelity, murder, betrayal, and conspiracy all play an integral part in the story of the relationship between Jason and Medea. Jason is guilty of all four acts and Medea involves herself in three. Yet, perhaps, in the eyes of Dante, Medea might fall further into the realm of Dis than Jason. But, should she? And, is Dante's view of Jason and his sentence in Hell appropriate?    From Dante's perspective, crimes of passion or desire are the least abhorrent and consequently deserve minimal punishment in comparison to what he believes are the more serious offenses. These sinners, the carnal, the gluttonous, the hoarders and wasters, along with the wrathful and sullen fall just below the virtuous pagans in Dante's hell. In some way, they represent a loss of self control, of reason gone amiss, as each plunges into a personal world of self indulgence. To Dante, those that succumb to the pleasures of the 'will' deserve an eternity less painful than those who fall into emotional or psychological despair. Yet, like the sins that constitute placement deeper in the bowels of Hell, all represent a punishment equal to or reflective of the sin as it existed in life. For example, the carnal are banished to an eternity of being whirled about by the wind (Dante) forever lusting after what they sought in life. They reach for shadows that were once the bodies they desired. However, in Hell the only thing they feel is the passion they lost.    Next, Dante describes the sinners who dwell within the walls of Dis. Confined to the city of Hell are the heretics and those who commit acts of violence against either their neighbors, themselves, or God, art, or... ...f transgressions, betrayal of one's benefactor, and both deserve to torment each other for eternity in the pit of Hell.    Works Cited  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Dante. The Inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: Penguin, 1954.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Euripides. Medea. Trans. Rex Warner. New York: Dover, 1993.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. New York: Penguin, 1969.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ovid.   Metamorphoses. Trans. A.D. Melville. New York: Oxford UP, 1986.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     

Strategic Analysis for Ryanair to Enter China

Strategic Analysis for Ryanair to Enter China Submitted in part fulfilment of the Master September 2010 STRATEGIC BUSINESS ANALYSIS (ULMS 719) University of Liverpool Management School 17 September 2010 Abstract Ryanair, the leader of low-fare carriers in Europe, will expand its business throughout the world. This report discusses the strategies which Ryanair entre the Chinese market.Through PESTEL analysis and SWOT analysis to have sophisticated understandings of the Chinese market situation and the civil aviation environment, then after a series of considerations, eventually, Ryanair makes the decision to cooperate with China Southern Airlines in the form of a joint venture. Based on this, Ryanair has set up plenty of adequate business strategies that are composed of market targeting strategy, price strategy and marketing strategy in order to successfully enter the Chinese market. Keywords: Ryanair; China; Strategic analysis Table of ContentsAbstract ——— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€-i List of Tables and Figures————————————————————————iv 1. Introduction————————————————————————————-1 2. Overview of Ryanair ————————————————————————-2 2. 1 General introduction of Ryanair———————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€-2 2. 2 Ryanair’s competitive advantages ———————————————————-4 3.Strategic analysis ——————————————————————————–6 3. 1 External environment-PESTEL Analysis ———————————————-7 3. 1. 1 Political ————————————————————————————7 3. 1. 2 Economic———â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ8 3. 1. 3 Social ————————————————————————————–10 3. 1. 4 Technology——————————————————————————–11 3. . 5 Environment——————————————————————————-12 3. 1. 6 Legal ————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€13 3. 2 Internal Environment-SWOT Analysis————————————————-14 3. 2. 1 Strengths ———————————————————————————-15 3. 2. 2Weaknesses———————————————————————————17 3. 2. 3 Opportunities————————————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€18 3. . 4 Threats————————————————————————————–19 3. 3 Summary ————————————————————————————-20 4. Business Strategic——————————————————————————–21 4. 1 Entry Mode Strategy————————————————————————21 4. 1. 1Problems that may cause ————————————————————–21 4. 1. 2 Joint Venture —————————————————————————22 4. 1. 2. 1 Brief introduction of Joint Venture ————————————————22 4. 1. 2. 2 Partner-China Southern Airlines —————————————————23 4. 2 Market Targeting strategy —————————————————————–25 4. 3 Pricing Strategy —————————————————————————–26 4. 3. 1 The level of highest price ————————————————————–27 4. 3. The level of lowest price —————————————————————27 4. 3. 3 The level of average price ——————————————————— —-27 4. 3. 4 Price choice on peak-season and off-season —————————————â⠂¬â€œ28 4. 4 Marketing Strategy ————————————————————————-28 4. 4. 1 Cooperation with Mass Communication ———————————————-28 4. 4. 2 Cooperation with local authorities —————————————————–28 4. . 3 Cooperation with China Southern Airlines ——————————————-29 4. 5 Summary————————————————————————————-30 5. Conc lusion—————————————————————————————-30 References——————————————————————————————-32 List of Tables and Figure Table1. The Development of Civil Aviation in Recent Years——————————— 9 Table2.Ryanair’s SWOT Analysis —————————————————————- 15 Table3. Highlights of Ryanair’s Finances ————————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 16 Table4. Key Statistics Comparison between Railways, Highways and Civil Aviation——19 Figure1. Comparison of Average Fares in four airlines —————————————–16 1. Introduction Low-cost carriers mainly operate high-volume passenger traffic on short-distance routes, use second-level airports, and offer no extra services.Given their sharply reduced costs, normally low-cost carriers offer fares considerably lower than that of traditional airlines. The trend began in America, with Southwest Airlines as the chief representative. Since 1990, numerous low-fare airlines have sprung up on a global scale. Among these, Ryanair’s achievements stand out. As the most profitable airline company in the world, Ryanair is renowned for its low-cost and low fares to travel destinations throughout most Eur opean countries. However, current airline routes and markets cannot meet Ryanair’s long-term development.To achieve its expanding ambitions across a global range, Ryanair decided to start with the Chinese market. Aviation in China is advancing at a staggering rate. Because of improvements in the living standard, more and more customers are willing to spend money on high-fare air tickets to save time and obtain excellent service, whereas the majority of middle-class individuals would rather travel by other vehicles than by plane due to its high price. Without doubt, the low-cost carrier is the only way to satisfy the growing requirements of the market in the next several years.Ryanair sees China’s high-potential market and increasing demands. It must, therefore, address these paramount issues: how to carry out appropriate strategies and combine Ryanair’s own advantages with the framework of international regulations and the Chinese government’s policies. I f Ryanair enters the Chinese market successfully, it will have a special meaning and impact on Ryanair’s sustainable development and will bring about a great change in current Chinese aviation patterns. This study will suggest specific measures for Ryanair to enter the Chinese market.The study first introduces Ryanair’s history, its considerable achievements, and unique predominance. From these aspects, we can have deeper understanding of Ryanair. Then, this study will apply PESTEL and SWOT models to analyze the internal and external environments. Based on environmental assessment, during the entire entering process, some unpredictable problems will be generated. In accordance with these problems, this study will offer relative solutions. More specifically, it offers an entry-mode and business strategy.Last but not least, the study concludes by offering a look at Ryanair’s experiences and improvements during the analysis process, and shows its drawbacks as well. Finally, the study offers suggestions to minimize the risks of entry into and for making profits in China. 2. Overview of Ryanair 2. 1 General introduction of Ryanair Ryanair’s legend dates back to 1985 when the Ryan family set up the company with only ? 1 share capital and 25 staff in Ireland. At that time, the Ryan family mainly operated scheduled passenger airline services between the UK and Ireland. At first, this mini-airline failed to draw the public’s attention.In the meantime, due to blind business expansion, Ryanair opened up new routes and purchased new aircrafts regardless of risk, resulting in constantly increasing expenditures and making huge losses for four years running. The meaningful year for Ryanair was 1990. Under the leadership of a new CEO, Michael O'Leary, Ryanair first introduced low fares and low-cost operation modes, based on the American South West Airline’s successful experience. The move has proven a wise decision. From then on, Ryan air began to make a profit and gradually became the leader in low-fare air tickets in Europe.After more than 20 years of unremitting efforts, Ryanair is recognized as the world’s favorite airline (Ryanair Annual Report, 2009). In addition, in accordance with its latest fiscal year report, Ryanair has developed into the largest low-fare airline, with over 7,000 employees, 43 bases and 1,100 routes between 26 counties (Ryanair. com). Also, Ryanair’s fleet includes 250 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Its number of passengers served reached 66. 5 million, which took the lead in the industry. In the next several years, Ryanair will still enlarge its fleet to deliver more passengers.In recent years, the value of Ryanair shares has gone up more than 10 times compared to 1997 when Ryanair issued shares to the public( Ryanair Annual Report, 2010). This continued, even after the events of September 11, 2001, when global aviation changed dramatically. Although most airlines have bee n largely affected, Ryanair has retained profits for 12 years. In 2003, Ryanair successively merged and acquired Holland’s low-cost airline, Buzz, the budget airline subsidiary of KLM and the Dutch national airline. These moves led to the organization’s overall strengths and risk resistance for further improvement.The 2010 financial report illustrated Ryanair earned â‚ ¬305. 3 million in 2010. In consequence, Ryanair was named as â€Å"the most profitable airline in the world† by The Economist magazine in 2005. Meanwhile Ryanair’s stock share is very popular with investors and shareholders. In addition, one reason why Ryanair continues to achieve milestones is that it has maintained its business philosophy of ‘providing its customers with a lowest price ticket even no fares, on the premise that Ryanair cuts into the whole company’s operating expense and other unnecessary cost† (Johnson, 2004) 2. Ryanair’s competitive advantage s It is universally acknowledged in business that superior enterprises will prosper whereas inferior ones will be eliminated. That is to say, survival of the fittest. The main points allowing a company to gain success are competitive advantages. This is the final goal of the strategic process in management. Competitive advantages were first proposed by Michael Porter in 1990. If a firm is able to generate more economic value than rival firms, it has a competitive advantage.In other words, not only could it bring benefits to customers, but also its opponents would find it hard to imitate and surpass it (Barney and Hesterly, 2007). In the competitive low-fare aviation market, Ryanair gradually created its own competitive advantages. They are as follows: A. Purchasing a single aircraft type: Ryanair only operates Boeing 737 and Boeing 737-800 â€Å"next generation. † Ryanair took good advantage of its own bargaining power and stable reputation to gain favorable contracts. This a dvantage helps Ryanair save costs.At the same time, Boeing aircraft not only suit the demands of European countries but also saves a large amount of maintenance and the costs of repair and staff employment. B. High efficiency in staff work: Employees’ efficiency at Ryanair is relatively higher than those at other airlines. For example, at Ryanair, an airhostess is responsible for service on the plane and for cleaning as well. Productive-based remuneration system is widely applied in Ryanair. It consists of the number of on-board sales of products on the flight and their working hours.To arouse enthusiasm and initiative among staff, Ryanair distributes company’s stock as dividend and rewards. C. Masterful exploitation of second-level airport resources: In some European areas, use of second-tier airports is very low. Therefore, to raise the usage ratio and boost economic improvement, local governments have offered some favorable policies. Based on Ryanair’s large volume of passenger traffic and its rapid growth, Ryanair obtained great contracts and even some subsidies from local areas, leading to a decrease in airport access fees. D.Taking advantage of the Internet: To save agency commission fees and simplify the purchasing process, Ryanair set up online reservations and spent a large amount of money on promoting online implementation widely. The Skylight system offers a platform for Internet users to book and confirm their ticket through Ryanair’s website promptly. Consequently, its Internet operation has significant advanced to reach 99% of ticket sales. E. Reducing expenses and making profits from other aspects: Ryanair no longer provides free meals, and Ryanair cancelled first and business classes to offer more seats.Apart from this, Ryanair limits weight of luggage to decrease fuel consumption. During the entire operation process, Ryanair always puts cost decreases in first place, and also attempt to seek a way to earn more money . For instance, Ryanair supplies different kinds of products and services including food, as well as information in terms of taxi and hotel booking for passengers. Simultaneously, the advertisements for colorful Ryanair’ aircraft and websites for other companies offer major sources of revenue. F.Unique corporate culture: Ryanair’s headquarter was built in a rural area at a small location in Ireland. In the beginning, the entire company comprised only eight administrative workers. At times, the firm’s CEO and department managers would help customers check in and even load and upload their baggage. Every Thursday the company would hold football matches between various company departments. The corporate culture creates a harmonious work environment and makes a success of the business. 3. Strategic analysis The Chinese market is new for Ryanair.There is no denying that the Chinese market has its own unique characteristics. To enter the Chinese market, it is imperati ve that Ryanair have a deep understanding of the external environment. Similarly, Ryanair should grasp if the internal environment is beneficial or detrimental to Ryanair. Only in this way, will Ryanair be able to exploit its own strong points to fulfill its potential and avoid some influences that may give rise to shortcomings. Meanwhile, environmental analysis offers a determinant factor to establish specific strategies. The following steps might be taken. . 1 External environment: PESTEL analysis Johnson pointed out the PESTEL framework as an effective tool for analyzing the macro-environment. Moreover, it helps the company to know what is going on outside the organization and how external factors are likely to change in the future. PESTEL refers to six points: political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal (Johnson, 2008). It is clear that this framework includes all external aspects. Through this framework, Ryanair could get a better understand of the unfam iliar Chinese market.Then, on the basis of this, Ryanair could carry out accurate methods that are suitable for Chinese customers. 3. 1. 1 Political issues The political point is related to political and state systems, policies and regulations. Aviation is an industry that is very sensitive to political changes. In the meantime, aviation is strictly regulated by government. Chinese aviation started late, therefore its laws and regulations have several shortcomings. With the gradual deepening of its economic reforms in recent years, the Civil Aviation Administration of China opened the door for non-state owned enterprises in 2004.After that, a series of loosening policies regarding airline routes have been put forward to provide more chances for low-cost carriers. Up through late 2007, the Chinese government concluded 110 bilateral agreements with foreign states (The Report of Chinese Aviation, 2008). On the one hand, this move indicated that the Chinese aviation industry was at the international stage to seek further development. On the other hand, it means that the Chinese market relaxed rules on foreign ownership of airline. Through corporation, the monopoly concerning a reservation in fuel price, maintenance fees or tickets would be broken up.In addition, there has been a dramatic increase in space resources. As of 2007, Chinese aviation implemented the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) cruising altitude between 8,400 meters and 12,500 meters. RVSM went up from 7 to 13. This implied that space environment would be optimized and flights would be unobstructed. Beyond a new regulation applied regarding airline tickets in 2004, the Chinese government gradually relaxed price control. The measure was of immense significance in long-term development of airlines. 3. 1. 2 EconomicIn 2009, the financial crisis swept through the global, and the world economy has been greatly affected by it. However, even under this circumstance, the Chinese GDP was 33. 5 tril lion yuan, up by 8. 7 percent over the previous year. Fiscal revenues reached 6. 85 trillion yuan, an increase of 11. 7 percent (Report of the Work of the Government 2010). Constant economic growth provides an attractive environment for aviation industry. The following table indicates the development of civil aviation in recent years: Tab1e 1: The Development of Civil Aviation in Recent YearsYear Item| 2004| 2005| 2006| 2007| 2008| Length of Transport Routes (10 000 km)| 204. 94| 199. 85| 211. 35| 234. 30| 246. 18| Total Passengers Traffic (10,000 persons)| 12,123| 13,827| 15,968| 18,576| 19,251| Total Passage-Kilometers (100 million passenger-km)| 1,782. 3| 2,044. 9| 2,370. 7| 2,791. 7| 2,882. 8| Sources from China Statistic Yearbook 2009 As can be seen from Table 1, Chinese civil aviation has maintained a sustained, rapid and sound development. Moreover, the rise in the value of RMB will work to the advantage of aviation.It contributed to cutting down the cost of crude oil import. To some extent, airlines could benefit from it and improve profitability. The financial crisis had a noticeable impact on the fuel market, which is the lifeline of aviation. As a whole, the global fuel price market decreased from $80 per barrel to $74. 07 per barrel. Whereas, in view of the Chinese fuel market monopolized by China National Aviation Fuel and high demand in the domestic market, Chinese fuel prices ran counter to the international situation and had an upward tendency.Hence, this is a big challenge for airlines (Hu,2010). 3. 1. 3 Social Since the adoption of reform and opening policies, China has made headway socially and demographically. In the first place, Chinese people’s living standards have greatly improved. The annual per capita disposable income and annual per capita consumption expenditure of urban households have seen a dramatic increase to reach 15,781 yuan, 11,243 yuan, respectively. After 30 years of arduous efforts, the excessive population growth has been brought under effective control.Furthermore, China’s population has basically accomplished the change-over to the population reproduction pattern characterized by low-birth rate, death rate and growth. Based on statistics provided by the State Statistical Bureau, by 2008, China had a population of 1. 3 billion. In the second place, residence, transportation and communication, as well as recreation, education and culture contributed to the promotion of the continuous growth of domestic consumption. Take 2006 as an example, the annual per capita living expenses of urban residents was 59,370. 3 billion yuan.In comparison with last year, transportation and communication rose by 13. 8%, and the other two items went up by 10. 8%. The major factor that caused the results above was due to changes of the social-cultural environment. Thus, people’s lifestyles, including transportation and travel choices have changed subsequently. In recent years, the rate of tourism had an upward tendency, climbing from 26% in 2001 to 36. 7% in 2007 throughout the whole air transportation market. Moreover, the number of self-funded travelers accounted for 50. 7% in the tourism industry (China Statistical Yearbook, 2009).Last but not least, with close relationships of educational institutions between different nations, the quantity of students who study abroad is increasing year by year. In particular, through a ten-year development period, the number of students in 2008 was ten times higher than that in 1998; it reached 179,800 persons. 3. 1. 4 Technology First, we can acknowledge that advanced technology has resulted in cost reductions for airlines. As a result, as the most famous civil aircraft manufacturing companies in the world, Boeing and Airbus continually issue new economical and practical aircraft, like the Boeing 777 series and Airbus A380.Secondly, simplifying the business program(StB)was proposed by International Air Transport Association in 2004. It i s a new approach that aims to reduce airline expenses and offer better services for passengers. The StB program compromises five parts: bar-coded boarding passes (BCBP), IATA e-freight, IATA e-services, the Baggage Improvement Program and the Fast Travel Program. With the aid of the StB Program, airlines can sell tickets by direct marketing and vending machine or booking tickets via the Internet, mobile phones and land lines.Since 2006, e-ticketing has been implemented widely in the domestic market and is up to 100%. It was estimated that, after implementing e-tickets, the cost of each ticket would decrease by two-thirds, and there is no denying that this measure would bring huge potentials regarding a decrease in operation expense for airlines(Wu,2007) Thirdly, with the rapid improvement of air-traffic management and overall industrial technology and equipment levels, the utilization rate of national airspace resources had a significant rise.In the meantime, increased numbers of ai rcraft have driven the development of the aircraft maintenance market, extending the useful life of civil planes, which endure 25–30 years. Lastly, along with the quick development of civil airlines, the supply and demand of pilots in the transport market is increasingly prominent. With regard to training and recruiting pilots, there is fierce competition between new airlines and existing airlines. As an administrative department, the Civil Aviation Administration of China is cautious about turnover as to pilots.To a great extent, the liberalization of rules pertaining to pilots is still restricted by laws and regulations, thereby hindering long-term development of new airlines (Fang, 2009) 3. 1. 5 Environment In contemporary society, human beings have gradually raised their awareness of saving resources and protecting the environment. Hence, consumers are willing to back â€Å"no-frill,† low-cost carriers. Analysis of the low-cost carrier market in China and the Inves tment Advisory Report, 2006–2007, showed that 79% of customers would accept products provided by low cost airlines.Next, in 2012, the European Union will begin to charge for carbon emission. Obviously, it is not good for high-speed growth but imperfect Chinese aviation. In spite of China vigorously pushing forward energy conservation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, nevertheless, under the current technology and situation, to reduce greenhouse gas emission, it must depend on technology rather than fuel decreases. Because of insufficiency or drawbacks of relevant laws and regulations, at present, China has not formulated a relevant policy in terms of charging carbon emissions.This contributes to more and more foreign airlines paying more attention to the Chinese aviation market of the future (Li, 2010) Finally, through decades of operation and development, Chinese airports have begun to take shape. By 2008, China had 152 civil airports. Beyond that, passenger traffic an d freight traffic achieved great performances: 19,251,000 persons and 4,076,376, tons respectively (The Year book of China, 2009). Currently China is speeding the construction pace. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has announced that by 2020, China will set up more than 97 airports.By then, 80% of the area will be covered, so that 82% of the total population would enjoy airline service (Tan, 2003) 3. 1. 6 Legal Although world aviation has become wired, foreign airlines that would like to enter and operate in China also face a great many difficulties in the aspects of market and technology and, especially, laws and regulations. For instance, according to the General Administration of Civil Aviation Law of China, Article 177 states that it does not allow transportation between any two points in the areas of China for foreign airlines.Besides, foreign airlines’ timetables and flight plans must report to relevant aviation departments in a timely fashion. To some extent, it undoubtedly becomes an obstacle to free development in aviation. In addition, lack of relative facilities results from the immature advancement of aviation in China. Like most cities having only one main airport, the construction of a secondary airport still falls far short of needs of modern aviation. Consequently, this is a big problem that should not be ignored by foreign airlines. 3. 2 Internal environment: SWOT analysisSWOT was first put forward by Albert Humphrey in the 1960s and mainly deals with an enterprise’s internal environmental analysis. It is the method that is used for arriving at deep and comprehensive understanding of a company’s own strategic competence, as well as a business environment before the company works out the adaptation strategy in the new circumstances. SWOT refers to strength, weakness, opportunity and threat. Among these four aspects, ST focuses on company, while OT pays more attention to relevant competitors’ effects.By appl ying this, the enterprise could realize what factors are beneficial to it and then carry forward them in the future. Meanwhile, the organization should find some existing serious problems that would have adverse influence on further development. Then, it should find a solution to the problems or try to avoid them in practice. By this method, the company could make best use of the advantages and bypass the disadvantages so as to attain sustainable development (Johnson, et al. ,2008) The following picture shows a summary in respect of Ryanair’s SWOT analysis: Table 2: Ryanair’s SWOT AnalysisStrength| 1. Powerful brand support2. Low fares3. Low operation cost and high ancillary incomes4. High efficiency, flexible operation| Weakness| 1. Service quality decrease2. Regulation restrictions3. Changes of charges have great impact on Ryanair4. Limited niche market| Opportunities| 1. Tremendous civil market potentials2. Economic downturn3. Ambitious expansion | Threats| 1. High- speed development of other substitutes2. Fierce competition and pressure from other civil airlines3. Excessively depends on jet fuel market and low price| 3. 2. 1 StrengthsAfter 20 years of arduous efforts, Ryanair has already built up an enterprise image and exploited the brand with its own characteristic in the European LCC market. The Economist magazine called it â€Å"the best airline which could earn a large amount of money. † Wall Street Daily considered Ryanair’s stock as the most popular and the most valuable to purchase (Wang, 2008) It has made marked achievements in every respect, as can be seen from the table below in terms of general accomplishments: Table 3: Highlights of Ryanair’s Finances â‚ ¬ Key items| 2010 | 2009| change|Operating revenue| 2,988. 1| 2,942. 0| +2%| Net profit /(loss) after tax| 305. 3| (169. 2)| +280%| Scheduled passengers| 66. 5m| 58. 6m| +14%| Fleet at period end| 232| 181| +28%| Average number of employees| 7,032| 6,369| + 10%| Adapted from Ryanair Annual report 2010 Since its establishment until now, Ryanair has always persisted in the philosophy of business: Let more and more customers enjoy low fare, even for free. A survey of different airlines and their fares follows: Figure 1: Comparison of average fares of four airlines. â‚ ¬ Source: Ryanair Annual Report 2010.Ryanair can in fact issue tickets much cheaper than other airlines. That’s the reason why the total Ryanair scheduled passengers came out to â‚ ¬ 66. 5 million. With such cheap fares, Ryanair can still make profits. The reason is attributed to an emphasis on minimizing operations costs, which includes: aircraft purchasing, daily maintenance and selection of airports, online booking and personnel expense. Apart from these, Ryanair tries to earn more from ancillary service while reducing costs. For example, customers could book cars or hotels, and even some low fare tickets of concerns from Ryanair’s websites easily.Besi des, Ryanair is considered a conspicuous billboard as its aircrafts and even its trays are fully sprayed with different companies’ advertisements. This action brings about considerable income to Ryanair. In 2010, the advertising income reached â‚ ¬663. 6million. Definitely, a highly productive work force also plays a pivotal role in the way to success. It is reported that each Ryanair’s emplyee can serve 9,457 passengers per year. To mobilize the enthusiasm of employees, Ryanair brought out air bonuses and participation in Ryanair’s valuable option project (Ryan air Annual Report 2010). 3. . 2 Weaknesses Due to reduction in Ryanair’s various operation expenses, a variety of free services have been cancelled. At present, customers must pay to use the toilet. Therefore, more limitations are sure to follow, service quality decrease and then, increasingly, customer complaints. The most serious negative issue has been the severe criticism continually releas ed by the news media, and it has harmed the company’s overall image and interest. Ryanair’s target market mainly focuses on leisure-travel customers and short point-to-point routes. Although it does not have higher standards of ervice, Ryanair is extremely sensitive to price. That is to say, once Ryanair raises prices slightly, it will lose lots of customers. Nevertheless, as the company’s scale is constantly enlalrging, costs will go up proportionately. Therefore, limited niche market and increasing cost are not propitious for further expansion of the company. Currently, Ryanair confronts a tough situation, which involves how to balance the company’s benefits and customers’ requirements appropriately. In spite of Chinese aviation advocates; reform and innovation, China is not completely wide open to foreign airlines.Local laws and regulation restrictions are not conducive to Ryanair’s entry. 3. 2. 3 Opportunities Compared with advanced coun tries, although China aviation is advancing rapidly, it still has plenty of drawbacks, particularly in the low-cost carrier area. 2008 Chinese Aviation Report implied that China has a huge market with big potential and wide prospects in civil aviation. However, nowadays, there is only one small-scale, low-cost airline, Spring Airline, in China’s domestic market. Apparently, existing fleets and routes are difficult to satisfy a increase of domestic demand.Ryanair’s entry will fill the low-cost carrier vacancy. Moreover, it has been proved that low-cost carriers can benefit during economic downturn(Kerpen, 2004). lobal recession leads to a sharp fall in public income. Therefore, the public turns to low fares to reduce expenses. A host of customers would rather choose Ryanair, which does not have free services, than general flagship airlines that offer higher standards of service. Apparently, the economic slump brings infinite business chances and generous profits for Rya nair. Ryanair is planing to enlarge its fleet to acquire 200–300 planes by 2016.Due to bulk buying, Boeing and Airbus quote Ryanair the most favourable prices to acquire such big orders. In that case, it not only saves costs but also offers sufficient funds to invest in overseas markets. Ryanair’s ambitious expansion could come true in the near future. 3. 2. 4 Threats Rapid development of Chinese railways and highways in recent years should be a concern for air carriers. Ever since the transportation industry has advanced steadily, railways and highways have held leading positions. Because civil aviation is subject to its own conditions, in freight traffic, t had a very big lead compared with railways and highways. This is shown in the table below: Table 4: Key Statistics Comparision between Railways, Highways and Civil Aviation Items| Year| Passenger Traffic (10,000 persons)| Passenger-Kilometers (100million passenger-km)| Freight Traffic (10,000 tons)| Railways| 2006 | 125,656| 6,622. 1| 288,224| | 2007| 135,670| 7,216. 3| 314,237| | 2008| 146,193| 7,778. 6| 330,354| Highways| 2006| 1860,487| 10,130. 8| 1,466,347| | 2007| 2,050,680| 11,506. 8| 1,639,432| | 2008| 2,682,114| 12,476. 1| 1,916,759| Civil Aviation| 2006| 15,968| 2,370. | 349. 4| | 2007| 18,576| 2,791. 7| 401. 8| | 2008| 19251| 2,882. 8| 407. 6| Adapt from Chinese Statistic Yearbook 2009 As shown in the diagram, from 2006 to 2009, people would rather choose railways and highways than civil aviation. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the statistics of railways and highways far exceed that of civil aviation. In 2002, civil aviation was reconstructed and reorganized. From then on, competition through three airline groups involving Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines has taken shape in the civil aviation market.The three airlines have the market share for 80% in China. There is no denying that these three airlines groups pose a huge threat to Ryanair. They would t ake full advantage of their own strengths to freeze out new competitors. More importantly, Ryanair is famous for its low fares. Jet fuel is a major component of Ryanair’s operations costs. However, as cost of jet fuel has risen, Ryanair’s ticket prices have spiraled up to match them. Therefore, this action is directly opposite to the aim of the company. Ryanair would lost a large number of customers because of its relative high fare compared with privious price. . 3 Summary As discussed in the PESTEL and SWOT analyses above, as a whole, the external environment is conducive to Ryanair’s entry and development in China, specifically, the attractive points were policy relaxation to foreign airlines and high demand for low-fare carriers. However, Ryanair would have to pay more attention to techniques and legal restrictions in certain aspects. Only after analysing the external environment objectively will Ryanair enter the Chinese market smoothly. In the meantime, th e internal environment is equally fundamental.After placing more emphasis on understanding the other airlines and Ryanair itself, then it will be able to fight a hundred battles without danger of defeat as the result of wise decision making and strategic adjustments in a short time. 4. Business strategy 4. 1 Entry mode strategy 4. 1. 1 Potential problems Given that aviation is a sensitive industry, there is no doubt that Ryanair will face some tough problems that could interfere with its entry plans or progress. In particular, the Chinese government puts up all sorts of obstacles, and these factors are concretely revealed by the following.The first obstacle is the imposition of restrictions on setting ticket prices. Civil aviation-transport price reforms state that on the basis of benchmark prices, airlines may set a price which increases 25% and decreases no more than 45% (Wu, 2007). Compared to the previous rule, the government has relaxed controls on prices. Nevertheless, it is s till hard to satisfy the requirements of low-cost carriers, which rely on low fares to gain a larger share of the market. The second obstacle is the control of air-route management rights. So far, there are 115 airports which are completely open.Airlines could freely arrange air route entry and quit based on actual market demands by themselves. However, these airports’ handling capacities are relatively small and the low-cost carrier’s self-potential is subject to it. The last obstacle is the monopoly pattern in civil aviation. At present, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have become three powers of civil aviation. At times, the three-airline group launches its own low-cost tickets in order to develop market share. Ultimately, their positions in the domestic market are strengthened.As a new entrant to the Chinese market, the three-airline group’s low-cost strategy will negatively affect Ryanair. 4. 1. 2 Solution: Joint Ventures As st ated above, the way to enter a new market is not completely clear for new entrants. To avoid some unpreditable factors that would arise in the Chinese market and to lower risks attributed to lack of knowledge regarding market information or market situations, joint ventures are the most convenient and effective solution for Ryanair, especially a minority joint venture. 4. 1. 2. 1 Brief introduction to joint venturesA joint venture is a â€Å"corporate child† that is a new entity given birth and jointly owned by two or more parent companies. (Peng, 2009)Generally, this is a common measure for new entrants to enter unfamiliar environments. That is to say, that Ryanair should seek other partners in the Chinese market. Two parties hold different proportions of equity and also share investment, management, risks and responsibility for profits or losses. At the beginning, owing to the fact that Ryanair stands at a disadvantage, it is imperative that gaining support from domestic fi rms make up the shortage of funds and resources.From all of the above, this measure is acceptable and advocated by local authorities, and they will even offer a preferential policy in the developing aviation industry. Yet it is certain that there will exist some drawbacks during the application of joint ventures. On the one hand, because of differences in background and corporate culture, a new company will be easily split on objectives and interests and even conflicts. On the other hand, sometimes both paties cannot reach a consensus in regard to equity allocation and operational control.At the end, it is often hard to coordinate globally on account of tight controls on a foreign subsidiary (Peng,2009). 4. 1. 2. 2 Partner: China Southern Airlines Based on an overrall consideration of various factors, Ryanair decided to choose China Southern Airlines as its partner. The following paragraphs show reasons why Ryanair mades the decision. First, highlights of China Southern Airlines fol low. Its headquarter is in Guangzhou. The company is made up of 13 branches and 5 subsidiaries throughout China.Futhermore, China Southern Airlines has set up two bases in Shanghai and Xian, and it also owns 54 foreign agencies abroad. China Southern Airlines possesses the highest number of aircraft, 400, the most advanced air route network and the biggest passenger traffic that up to 66,280,000 persons. At present, with Guangzhou and Beijing as major hubs, their air route networks and ranges of business have spread throughout the main cities in the world. In 2008, China Southern Airlines was honoured with â€Å"flight safety five stars† by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Now it still keeps the longest safety records.China Southern Airlines always insists on â€Å"Safety First Principle† On the premise of safety, the firm constantly brings forth management level and technology innovation to improve its strength and international competitiveness. China South ern Airlines is the only airline that fosters pilots independently. Second, in some ways China Southern Airlines and Ryanair are complementary, eventually accomplishing a win-win situation. For China Southern Airlines, in spite of the fact that it plays an irreplaceable position in domestic aviation, the pattern of company management still has gaps compared to other European airlines.By joining Ryanair, China Southern Airlines not only brings fresh blood but also receives advanced management patterning. China Southern Airlines can absorb Ryanair’s rich experience regarding corporate governance and human resoure management to achieve rational resource allocation and high employee efficiency. In the meantime, China Southern Airlines’ business covers the whole country, and transport capacity cannot suit domestic market’s demands. Ryanair’s entry could lighten its burden in some air routes. More importantly, China Southern Airlines has lost in terms of intern ational air routes in recent years.Whilst Ryanair is the pioneer in the low-cost area in Europe. By means of Ryanair’s influence, China Southern Airlines could regulate tactics in Europe and make profits. Similarly, Ryanair can benefit from cooperating with China Southern Airlines. First and foremost, due to application of the joint venture, this it way complies with legal requirements, thereby diminishing entry resistance from the government to a great extent. Then Ryanair could develop smoothly regardless of culture or language differences under China Southern Airlines’ strong brand support and resouce sharing.At last, China Southern Airlines will offer the permission of using its bases and airports and pilots to Ryanair. This measure will reduce the anxiety caused by the shortage of resources. This is the only way that lowers Ryanair’s operation costs and carries on its low-fare business in China. 4. 2 Market Targeting Strategy When it comes to the target cli ents of low-fare carrier service, it mainly focuses on the special group that is characterized by high sensitivity to fare, high-price elasticity and price factor as their first consideration.Southwest Airlines was awared of the chief competitors of airlines are highways and railways. Generally, in short air routes, customers are sensitive to price. Because of short flight time, they do not require high-standard services. As a result, it is difficult to capture more customers through service differentiation. With regard to how to choose a target market accurately, there are three elements to be taken into consideration: First, price factor. Customers who prefer low-cost carriers are distributed into three classes.Initially, self-funded travellers. In general, tourists are customers who visit families and friends in their schedule in advance. They pay attention to low fares rather than immediacy to save travel expenditures. Next, the main character of this group is time flexibility. Finally, general business customers. Due to high air-ticket prices, sometimes they are restricted by unit to take planes. Once low fare are implemented, there is no significant distance between air tickets and train tickets, and they will welcome low-fare air tickets.Another thing is the length of flight time. In the present situation of the aviation market, the majority of flights take 3 hours. In order to decrease costs and raise aircraft utilization rates for low-fare carriers, 2 hours would be preferred. Humans usually select transportation like railways and highways due to cheaper prices, even if they spend a long time on the journey. Low-cost air fares not only save much time but also let more customers have access to comfortable trips and services (Olson and Peter, 2005) 4. 3 Pricing StrategyThere is no denying that low-cost strategy is the lifeblood for low-fare carriers’ existence. In the fierce competition of the aviation marketplace, flagship airlines launch their own ultra-low fare in the off-season. However, as flagship airlines are limited by high costs, offering low fares is only a temporary method to attract more customers. As a low-cost carrier, it is obvious that Ryanair’s fare should be much lower than the level of market. Only in this way can it obtain market share and optimize itself. So how to set its ticket prices? 4. 3. 1 The level of highest priceLow-cost carriers are known for low fares, therefore their highest prices cannot go beyond the full price of economy class of flagship airlines. If the price is quite low, it will affect the company’s profits. On the contrary, high price does not conform to the firm’s low-fare tenet. 4. 3. 2 The level of lowest price In China, owing to price control from the government, Ryanair could not implement its bottom-line price strategy. Hence, on the basis of regulation, Ryanair could properly provide two-thirds low fare tickets in every flight to draw customers.After the c ompany develops and reaches the maturity stage, it could gradually reduce low-fare tickets proportionally. 4. 3. 3 The level of average price On the one hand, the average price must be higher than the average cost to guarantee the firm’s normal operations and profits, ultimately, fulfilling Ryanair’s sustainable development and expansion. On the other hand, the low-cost carrier’s average price should be markedly lower than he average price of flagship airlines to win stable and long-term customers and capture a market share.Through moderate pricing, althought Ryanair’s air tickets are low, it could increase the passenger load factor to improve profitability in every flight. 4. 3. 4 Price choice on peak- season and off-season In peak-season, like holidays or festivals, Ryanair could consider raising the price a little higher than usual in some special and hot routes due to high demands of these days. Likewise, in the off-season, the best way to stimulate c ustomers’ consumption is to provide more low-fare tickets widely (Goddard, et al. ,2005) 4. 4 Marketing Strategy 4. 4. 1 Cooperation with mass commuicationAt the beginning of its China venture, Ryanair could take full advantage of its own aircraft to advertise for other companies through charging for advertisement fees. They could then spend this income on creating advertising compaigns for its low fare by means of newspapers, magazines, and television. Through a lot of press publicity, more and more people would be interested in this new thing. Moreover, people would be willing to get more information about low-cost carrier and they would like to enjoy so cheap price. At that moment, Ryanair could launch some promotion plans to stimulate customer interest. . 4. 2 Cooperation with local authorities Low fares are the lifeline of Ryanair, without this advantage, it is impossible to compete with other airines. So enhancing cooperation with local authorities is necessary. As a ma tter of fact, current price control policy makes it difficult to meet the competitive market’s needs. Indeed, Ryanair should set a good example to abide by regulations, and then lead by example against unfair competition. Once having set up a good relationship with local authorities, Ryanair can obtain more benefits like use of second-level airports at very reasonable prices. . 4. 3 Cooperation with China Southern Airlines For Ryanair, air route selection and pilot demands are two main operation issues. With the help of China Southern Airlines, Ryanair can apply for the hottest tourism routes to carry out point-to-point flights. When the market turns to off-season, Ryanair should timely change its route to some charter flights. For instance, these years personnel, economic and cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Straits have kept increasing. Therefore, setting up regular air service in this route would satisfy demand growth.In the meantime, Ryanair uses single type aircraft, so it can share pilots and aircraft maintenance expense with China Southern Airlines, and this leads to cost decline. Finally, Ryanair could truly implement its low fare and foster a good and healthy company image. What’s more, in order to avoid heavy traffic at hub airports, Ryanair could widely increase the second-level airport utilization rate of China Southern Airlines. This would result in punctual rates and leave a good impression on the customers. Besides, China Southern Airlines also provides Ryanair with its sselling platform: online booking or using agencies all over the country. . 5 Summary To sum up, before Ryanair decides to enter the Chinese market, it should anticipate some problems that may happen during the process. Then, based on an overall consideration of various factors, Ryanair should plan to invest in the form of a joint venture with China Southern Airlines. The next step wold be Ryanair’s market targeting emphasis on self-funded travellers, cus tomers who would like to visit families or friends and general business customers. At the same time, flight time should take two hours. Ryanair must keep an eye on this group’s customers’s demands.After that, it should look to the high level, the low level, average level and different period price principles to set up flexible and appropriate air-ticket prices. As to marketing, Ryan air should coordinate the relationship with mass commuication, local authorities and China Southern Airlines. Only combining the strategies listed above can Ryanair achieve global optimization and obtain long term development. 5. Conclusion The entry into the Chinese market is an essential step of Ryanair’s expansion plan outside Europe.In this way, it is inevitable that Ryanair will face a rare chance for development as well as tough challenges. Therefore, this paper firstly summarized Ryanair’s own competitive advantages and showed why Ryanair possessed the capability to ext end its low-cost business in China. On the basis of this, Ryanair must have a profound and thorough understanding of the new market, for instance: current policies and laws of aviation, Chinese customers’ consumption concepts and behaviours, and the differences between China and other European markets.Hence, the next section objectively amplified on the internal and external environments with SWOT and PESTEL analyses. On the whole, although in some aspects Ryanair is still subject to Chinese aviation regulations and laws, owing to the fact that aviation develops at high speed and given the domestic market’s huge demand, the Chinese aviation environment is suitable for low-cost airlines existence and advancement. In accordance with the environmental analyses, specific business strategies to enter China are proposed.At first, Ryanair should adopt a joint venture to cooperate with China Southern Airline. Only in this way can it reduce entry risks and restrictions from the government. Then, on that premise, Ryanair should set up a market target strategy, pricing strategy and marketing strategy in detail. Ultimately, Ryanair will fulfill its purpose of entering Chinese aviation smoothly and achieving success there. In this study, there still exists a problem to be considered

Operations Management at Rolls Royce

Automobile sector is one of the most competitive and technological driven sector of the world, taking an advantage edge on Innovation and technology the automobile companies such as Ford, Honda, BMW etc. have successfully implemented these changes into its product as well process and introduced differentiated product in the market. To remain competitive, it is important for the organization to focus on its operations and supply management with which they are able to achieve competitive advantage over the other company. The CEO of Rolls Royce has strongly focused on enhancing the operations management in 2006 so as improve on its production. Facilities: In 2006, the company commenced its operations at Derby, Hucknall, Barnoldswick and Bristol. These facilities are equipped with the modern working facilities along with the old repair and overhaul workforce in Montreal. With this the operations and the productivity of the company will improve which will help the company is producing more effective cars in 2007. Inventory: The inventory of the company was increased in 2006 because of the growth and demand of the products. The company needed raw material to build the end product . The inventory is also expected to increase further in 2007 which will help in improving on the productivity of the company. For this it is important for the company to manage its working capital adequately. Information: The company enhanced on technology as well as learning in 2006. The company used its process excellence programme so as to continue to improve on its quality and production. With this the company was able to improve on its quality by 20% in 2006 as compared with 2005. Read also Exam Operations Management With this the company will be able to further enhance quality and productivity of the company. The company also implemented and standardised ERP system to its unit in Europe, this is going to expand to the other units as well in 2007 which will help in improving the operations of the company. The company will be implementing its remaining IT ERP across its facilities which will help in enhancing its global supply chain management. Sourcing: With a strong focus on building supply chain management, the company is able to improve on its sourcing and having low cost production. With the enhancement in the supply chain the company will be able to further improve on its supply chain, operations and cost. Pricing: Even with the increase in the prices of the fuel and some metals, the company has aligned its operations and activities with such a way that it has been able to focus on reducing the overall cost of overhead as well as value activities. The company also increased the number of employees so as to increase the productivity of the company. Even despite of all these measure, the per unit cost of the product is expected to increase in 2007 which might affect the sales of the company.

Abortion is Murder essays

Abortion is Murder essays Abortion is clearly murder, as no one can deny. No one can also deny that it is a murder of the innocent. Medical studies show clearly that a fetus is conscious and is performing all six life processes. Just because a fetus may not have a complete lung formed doesnt mean he or she isnt human. Many people are born without all body organs or limbs. A lot of people who are against the death penalty are in favor of abortion. That is indeed contradictory. It shows they are not about justice but sin. Abortion is one of the worst types of murder because it is the killing of a person who has not committed any sin. Those who practice abortion should receive the same penalty that they give the baby. Even though abortion is now legal, it is still murder, and current abortion laws should be repealed. Life begins at conception, so abortion is murder according to the Ten Commandments. God not only created us, He also considers us His children. Every person, whether born or unborn, is a child of God. Often abortion advocates argue that the word "abortion" is not found in The Bible; implying that we are, therefore, free to make our own rules about abortion. Does the absence of the word "abortion" in The Bible mean that God's laws do not apply to abortion? Of course not! After reading the Scriptures that human life is a gift of God and only God should take life Christians are often convinced that even though abortion is not is not straightly spoken about in the Holy Bible it is often implied, God prohibits mankind from shedding innocent blood: For example he states in the bible, For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb.(Psalms 139:13-18) It is awfully crazy to even think of a woman having the right to choose whom to murder, much less a youth. Yet, women and youth do have choices with abortion. Katie Cochrance of the school of Foreign Service said,...

BOCHK Risk Management and Financial Performance - Smart Custom Writing Samples

BOCHK Risk Management and Financial Performance - Smart Custom Writing Inchoate CrimesInchoate crimes are also referred to as incomplete crimes. They are acts in which one is inclined to commit a crime or one participates indirectly in a criminal offence. These crimes include attempt, conspiracy as well as solicitation. Inchoate crimes also include the act of being an accomplice or an accessory to a crime (Larry , 2006). Attempt is a type of inchoate offence which is regarded as the closest to the actual crime than all the others (Larry , 2006). Attempt involves an intent to carry out an act which amounts to a crime. It also involves the intent to bring about consequences which are equal to a crime as per the law (Larry , 2006). Attempt doesn’t stop at the mere intent but it involves an act that furthers that intent. Policy wise, a person who attempts a crime is punished because a person intending to commit a crime is a socially dangerous person (Schmalleger, 2006). The punishment administered is a bit lenient though than that which would have been administered in the event that the crime was completed (Schmalleger, 2006. Conspiracy is an inchoate offence in which a person collaborates with others to commit a crime (Smith, 1995). Unlike attempt, conspiracy can be charged in addition to the crime itself. For instance, a person who commits murder in collaboration with others can be charged of the murder itself as well as the conspiracy with the others to commit the crime of murder (Smith, 1995). Solicitation is considered a substantive crime on its own. Solicitation involves the inducement of a person by another one to commit a crime (James, 2006). The list of Words that create an inducement is referred to as the list of proper utterances for the crime of solicitation. These words advise, command, counsel, encourage, entice, importune, incite, instigate, order, procure, request, solicit, or urge a person to commit a crime (James, 2006). Elements of solicitation include: mens rea :- the specific intent to persuade someone else to commit a crime while not intending to commit a crime. This involves the act of purposely wanting to persuade a person to commit a crime without the use of casual comments or joking around. Actus reus:- this refers to the utterance of words which that can cause inducement. This utterance can be oral, written or even electronic (James, 2006). Amy can be charged with conspiracy to commit a crime. This is because she collaborates with her husband Hank to break Lisa’s leg by having the husband push Lisa down some stairs. For one to be charged with conspiracy, the intended crime doesn’t necessarily have to be successful. . Hank can be charged with two cases of conspiracy. Firstly, he collaborates with Amy to push Lisa down some stairs so as to injure her leg. Secondly, he collaborates with Tess to hurt Lisa’s leg by a method not specified. He can also be charged with solicitation as he entices Tess with $2000 to hurt Lisa. Tess can be convicted of the crime of conspiracy as he collaborates with Hank to injure Lisa’s leg. She can also be convicted of the crime of attempt as she tries to shoot Lisa in the thigh with a gun at the parking lot though unsuccessful. References James W. ( 2006). Criminal Law and Procedure for the paralegal: a systems approach. London: Routledge. Larry , K. (2006). Criminal Justice in Action: The Core. London: Thomson-Wadsworth Publishing. Schmalleger, F. (2006). Criminal Law Today: An Introduction with Capstone Cases. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall Smith, J. (1995). Some Comments On The Law Commission's Report. London: Routledge.

How to Pay for College Without Parents Help

How to Pay for College Without Parents' Help SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Paying for school is daunting enough when you have the financial support of your family. But for students whose parents can’t or won’t contribute to expenses, figuring out how to pay for college on your own becomes a whole different challenge. In this guide, I'll lay out everything you need to consider about how to pay forcollege without parents and all the steps you need to take. Table of Contents Fair warning: we're going to be talking abouta lotof stuff in this article. So here's a table of contents for you to use as a quick reference: Paying for College On Your Own: Why it Matters What Does College Even Cost? Minimizing Your College Costs: Instructions for Any Cost-Conscious Student Steps to Take if Your Parents Won't Pay What You Should Do if You're an Independent Student Closing the Gap: How to Cover Your Remaining Costs Creative Ways to Fund Your Education Example Scenarios What's Next? Paying for College on Your Own: Why It Matters The most significant sources of student financial aid are need-based. This means that family financial need is the main criterion taken into account when determining aid eligibility. Your finances are not considered separately from your family’s finances when aid sources determine financial need. This is the case even if your parents can't or won't help you pay for college. So why is it such a big deal if you can't count on your family to contribute to expenses? First, it's assumed that your parents are your family’s primary earners. As a student, you likely earn little to no money. If financial need were only based on a student applicant’s finances, everyone would be eligible for financial aid (spoiler art: not everyone is eligible for need-based financial aid). You’re considered a dependent of your parents, which means they’re the ones primarily responsible for funding your education. This is the case even if your parents don’t claim you as a dependent when they do your taxes. This is also true even if you can show that you’re self-sufficient and don’t depend on your parents for financial support, or if your parents are divorced. If families across the country could pay less for college by claiming that their kids are financially independent, financial aid sources would be overwhelmed. The conclusion here? Federal and school-based financial need arebased on your family’s overall finances. If your parents don’t submit their financial information for consideration, you won’t be eligible for most forms of aid. If they do submit their financial info and they’re low-need, you won’t be eligible for most forms of aid. You’d think that aid sources would have different aid eligibility criteria for students whose parents don’t want to pay for school, but this isn’t the case. If your parents refuse topay, the federal and institutional funding sources will likely wash their hands of the problem. This is a frustrating and unfair situation for any student to be in. You may feel you’re at a disadvantage here- and to be honest, you are. But whatever the reason that your parents won’t be contributing to your college education, there are steps you can take to maximize your aid eligibility. It won’t necessarily be as easy as paying for college with familial support, but it’s definitely not impossible. One of the best parts of going to college is the sense of freedom and independence that comes with adulthood. You have options and autonomy here as a young adult- so let’s get started figuring outhow to pay for college without parents. What Does College Even Cost? For the 2018-2019academic year, the average annual cost of tuition and fees was: $35,676at private colleges $9,716for state residents at public colleges $21,629for non-state residents at public colleges The cost of tuition and fees is usually the first expense that comes to mind when peoplethink about paying for college. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to the picture than just tuition costs- there are hidden or implicit expenses associated with spending a year at college. Here are some of the biggest hidden costs you might encounter based on average amounts from 2018-2019: Room and board:averages $12,680at private 4-year colleges, $,140at public 4-year colleges College textbooks:about $1,240 Travel costs:vary widely based where you are and where you're going. For example, if you're going to anurban college, you might be able to take public transportation anywhere you want to go. But if you go to school across the country, you'll probably have to buy plane tickets to travel home over holidays or summer break. Lab fees and supplies:about $50 per class if they're not already rolled into fees Personal expenses:about $2,000,but this cost will fluctuate drastically based on a) the cost of living of your area, b) your budgeting skills, and c) your standard of living. Lumping together all of these expenses (especially if you can estimate travel costs and personal expenses) will give you a school’s real sticker price- also known as the Cost of Attendance, or CoA. It’s pretty easy to get an estimate of a school’s CoA- just google â€Å"[school name] cost of attendance.† To get a more detailed explanation of all these expenses, including tips and strategies for reducing costs, check our guide to what college will really cost you. Just a quick glance at these numbers will tell you that college is probably too expensive for you to cover on your own. What’s more important than sticker price, however, is your â€Å"net price† at a particular school:it’s what you pay after all financial aid is taken into account. This is what you actually oweout of pocketfor a year of college. Want to estimate your net price at almost any college? Just google â€Å"[school name] net price calculator.† Many schools have a tool built into their websites that will give you an estimate of how much you’ll pay out of pocket. These calculators take financial need and sometimes merit-based factors into account. Sometimes, though, the net price is still daunting, especially if you’ll be tackling it on your own. The rest of the post will be focusing on minimizing this net price, starting with smart college application strategies. Minimizing Your College Costs: Instructions for Any Cost-Conscious Student What do you do if you don't have access to a ton of resources? You try to minimize your costs from the start. If you’re applying to schools with price in mind, your strategy should focus on lowest net price, not necessarily lowest sticker price. Naturally, the best way to decrease your costs is to apply to schools that will offer you low netprices. Once you’ve been accepted to schools, you’ll receive official financial aid packages. You can then determine which packages you’re most comfortable with. Here are the types of schools that will give you the best deals. Top Private Schools A lot of well-ranked schools (including Ivy League universities and top liberal arts colleges) have especially generous financial policies. The bulk of financial aid at these schools tends to be need-based, not merit-based, so you may not get much aid if you come from a wealthy background. Notably, the Cost of Attendance (or sticker price) for these schools will likely be higher than those ofpublic schools. You might be wondering what constitutes a "wealthy" background according to these schools. Thevery top schools- think Harvard, Princeton, Yale- sometimes give aid to families who make $150,000 and up. For families who are wealthier than that, Harvard asks them to contribute no more than 10% of total income. The bottom line is that these competitive schools can even afford to help out families who are relatively well-off. This means that even if your parents don’t pay for school, you could still be eligible for generous aid based on your family’s financial situation. Schools That Offer Generous Merit-Based Aid If you’re a high-achieving student but don’t think you’ll qualify for much need-based aid based on your family’s finances, you should look into schools that offer generous merit scholarships. Schools with generous merit-based aid programs often offer scholarships to attract competitive students. If you have a particular talent (e.g. if you're an athlete or musician), or if you have high grades and test scores, you could be offered some pretty large scholarships. If you're interested in a particular school, just google "[school name] scholarships" to see what sort of aid they offer. You can also start bychecking our list of schools with the best financial aid. Public Schools Public colleges and universitiescan be reasonably priced for in-state studentsbut very expensive for out-of-state students. They also offer much less generous financial aid packages than some of the top private schools, although they may offer more merit-based aid to attract competitive applicants. if you’re interested in attending a public university and won’t be getting assistance from your parents, you should definitely apply to a wide range of in-state schools. Steps to Take If Your Parents Won't Pay Here's where we start getting intothe nitty-gritty steps ofpaying for your education. After strategically applying to schools, the most effective way to cover your college expenses is to apply for as much financial aid as possible. Even if your parents don’t want to contribute financially to your college education, there are ways that they can help make financial aid available to you. The bottom line is that more financial aidmeans a lower net price. Like I mentioned earlier, the main sources of financial aid are federal and institutional (i.e. aid from your school). You can still qualify for aid from these sources if your parents won't be paying for any part of your school expenses, but you’ll need your parents’ help in applying. Assuming you’re already using the college application strategies that I’ve discussed above, here are the steps you should take in order to maximize your aid eligibility: Step 1: Submit a FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid This is the only application you'll need to submit to qualify for federal aid. Many schools also use the FAFSA to award their own aid. In order to qualify forthings like the Pell Grant, Perkins loan, or Direct Subsidized loan, you'll need to submit your parents' financial information even if they won't be contributing. For detailed instructions on submitting this application, check out our guide to applying for financial aid or ourguide to the FAFSA. Step 2: Apply for Scholarships You can receive funding for schools through private organizations that offer grants or scholarships. If your family is low-need, apply for merit-based awards;if your family is high-need, you can apply for both merit- and need-based awards. There are so many scholarship programs out there- national, local, big, small. You should do your own scholarship search by looking for awards that are tailored to your interests, background, location, and ethnicity. Start off by checking out our guides to top scholarships for high school juniors and seniors. Once you have a plan for submitting a FAFSA and applying for scholarships, you'll need to talk with your parent or guardians about getting the information you need from them. It's important to start an open dialogue about financial aid with your parents. How to Talk to Your Parents About Applying for Financial Aid If your parents can’t or won’t pay for college expenses, they may be wary about filling out a FAFSA or giving out financial information for need-based scholarships. It's important toassure them that submitting a complete FAFSA with their financial information does not obligate them to help you pay for college. The FAFSA has nothing to do with your bills or college expenses...it’s simply an aid application. Bottom line: if they refuse to help you with your FAFSA, they’re not protecting themselves. They’re just impeding you from qualifying for financial aid. What if, though, they're just overwhelmed by the process of completing and submitting a FAFSA? If this is the case, you can let them know that the FAFSA only takes 2-3 hours to complete. You could even do it on your own if you have your family's financial information handy: Social Security Numbers for you and your parents Alien Registration Numbers (if you or your parents aren't US citizens) Recent federal tax returns, W-2s, and other records or income for both you and your parents Any records of untaxed income The sooner you submit your FAFSA, the better, so don't put off having these discussions with your parents or guardians! What You Should Do If You're an Independent Student If you're classified as independent, you'll be doing things a little differently. If you’re still in high school, chances are that you are a dependent student, and everything I’ve written so far will apply to you. In other words, your family’s finances will be an important factor in determining how much aid you’re eligible for. But not all students who attend college will be considered dependents, and as such, they won’t need to submit their parents’ financial info for consideration when they fill out their FAFSA. Independent students don’t have to pay for college on their own. Parents canhelp if they’d like, but both colleges and the FDOE award aid under the assumption that independents will be paying their own way. This will work to your advantage when it comes to aid eligibility, particularly if your parents are relatively wealthy. If your family’s finances aren’t considered when schools and the federal government determine aid eligibility, you'll likely receive more need-based aid. Who Qualifies as an Independent? You may be considered independent if: You’ll be 24 or older by 12/31 of the school year for which you’re applying for aid You’ll be in school for a post-grad degree You’re married or separated (but not divorced) You have children who receive more than half of their financial support from you You have dependents (besides children or a spouse) who live with you and receive more than half of their financial support from you You were a ward/dependent of the court, in foster care, or both your parents were deceased at any point after you turned 13 You’re an emancipated minor or in a legal guardianship as determined by a court You’re an unaccompanied youth who is homeless, or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless You’re currently serving on active duty in the US armed forces for purposes other than training You’re a veteran of the US armed forces The FAFSA asks all necessary questions to determine independent/dependent student status, so just answer the prompts honestly when you fill out the application. What If You Don’t Meet the Above Criteria? If you don’t qualify as an independent student but strongly feel that your parents’ financial information shouldn’t be considered when you submit your FAFSA, you should look into a dependency override. A dependency overrideis when financial aid administrators change a student’s status from dependent to independent so that they aren’t required to submit parents’ financial info for consideration on the FAFSA. As a result, the student will likely qualify for much more need-based aid. Dependency overrides are very rare, though. 896rxwhat you think may count as an â€Å"unusual situation† may be discounted by federal financial aid administrators. Here are some situations that will not qualify for dependency overrides: Parents simply refuse to pay for any college expenses Parents are unwilling to provide any information on the FAFSA for verification Parents don’t claim you as a dependent for income tax purposes You (the student) demonstrate total financial self-sufficiency Here are some situations that MAY qualify for dependency overrides: An abusive family environment (e.g. sexual, physical, or mental abuse or other forms of domestic violence) Abandonment by parents Incarceration or institutionalization of both parents Parents lack the physical or mental capacity to raise a child Parents' whereabouts are unknown, or parents can’t be located Parents hospitalized for an extended period An unsuitable household (e.g. you’re removed from the household and placed in foster care) Your spouse dies, or you get divorced If any of these situations apply to you, you may need to present evidence or documentation to support your circumstances. Dependency overrides are decided on a case-by-case basis- if you think you might apply for one, you should read more about the process. Closing the Gap: How to Cover Your Remaining Costs You're almost at the finish line. At this point, you should have an idea of whether you're(1) high-need or low-need and (2) dependent or independent. You should also have an idea of the types of schools you'll apply to- for example, top private schools, in-state public schools, schools with generous merit aid, or some combination. After you submit your college applications, you’ll receive financial aid packages from schools with all the federal aid and school-based aid you’re eligible for, including grants, scholarships, and some federal loan options. You’ll decide what forms of aid you want to accept, and which ones you’d prefer not to take. Here, I'll briefly discuss the types of aid you may receive, and which types are better than other. Grants and Scholarships: These equate tofree money. You should acceptthis aid if it’s available to you. Loans: Loans are amounts of money that you have to pay back after you graduate, plus interest charges. Some loans are much better than others, meaning you'll end up paying less money in the long run. Federal loans are generally good options because they often have lower interest rates. There are a lot of important considerations if you're thinking about taking out loans, so it's important to educate yourself! Read more about federal loans like the Perkins, Direct Subsidized, and Direct Unsubsidized. You should also learn more about how to apply for student loans andreducingthe amount of student debt that you have to take on. Financial aid packages often build in a parental contribution based on family’s finances. If your parents won’t be contributing this amount, it becomes your responsibility...and they aren’t obligated to pay it. If you want to be able to register for classes and actually attend college, this amount needs to be covered. If grants and scholarships don’t cover all your college costs, it’ll be up to you to decide how much student debt you're comfortable with to close that gap. In the next section, I'll talk more about how to use student loans to cover your college expenses. Using Student Loans to Pay for School The average U.S. college graduate has about$37,000 in student debt after graduation. If you’re paying for college without the help of your parents, you may end up with more than the average amount of student debt, especially if you are responsible for paying the â€Å"parental contribution.† Student loans aren’t inherently bad, and you’re not a failure if you graduate with student debt (most people graduate with some loan debt). If you’re smart about the types of loans you take out, your debt should be pretty manageable over the long run. "Good" Loans Most federal loans are â€Å"good." They have low-interest rates compared to private loans and come with a built-in grace period (a period after you graduate where you don’t have to make payments). The best types of loans are subsidized, which means they don't accrue interestwhile you’re not making payments, so you owe less in the long run. They also may be forgivable if you enter certain public service careers, so they end up functioning as a grant. "Bad" Loans Private loans usually have less favorable terms than federal loans. For example, they won't be subsidized, and they'll likely come with higher interest rates. Typically, private loans are the last resort in covering any remaining balance that you owe for school. Private loans may be difficult for you to get on your own. Most require a cosigner, another person to sign the loan who takes responsibility for the amount borrowed. If you take out a private loan, then you'll probably need a parent or another family member (with good credit) to cosign. No Loans If you want to try to avoid debt, check out our guide on paying for college without taking on student loans. Without financial help from family members, however, it might be unrealistic in certain situations to try to pay for college without loans. Itmay be possible, though, for students who qualify for a lot of need-based aid. Creative Ways toPay for College Without Parents These ideas may not be revolutionary, but they'll get you thinking outside the box. We have talked a lot so far about the challenges of paying for college on your own, in addition to theways you can minimize your costs. In this section, I'll go over some more creative ways to come up with funds for college after you've looked into the normal financial aid and loan options. Scholarships I've briefly touched on scholarships a bit earlier in this post as a way to come up with funds.There are two main types of scholarships: Need-based: Good options for high-achieving, low-income students Merit-based: Good options for high-achieving students regardless of income Now, scholarships are never a sure bet, but they can cover a good chunk of your expenses if you areproactive about submitting applications and you do your own research about local or targeted scholarships. To get started, check out our scholarship guides on the top awards for high school juniors and seniors. Student Jobs If you get a student job while you're in college, you can potentially put moneytowards your bills for tuition, room, and board. You could also use your incometo cover yourdaily personal expenses. This isn't a great option for everyone, however. If you'reworking so much that your schoolwork starts to suffer, it defeats the purpose of getting a student job. If you canbalance a student job with your academic responsibilities so that you have money to put towards your bills, working might be a good call. Read more about whether it's a good idea to get a job as a student. You know what's even better than getting a job during the semester? Getting a paid internship during winterbreak or summer vacation. In this case, you get professional experience anda chance to put money towards school. It's a win-win! High School Savings If you’re currently in high school and anticipate that you’ll be on your own for college, you might want to consider getting a job now. This isn’t right for everyone (for the reasons I listed above), but if you have the time and the initiative, it could help you build up a nest egg before you head off to college. To get started, read more about the best jobs for teens. Family Support Sometimes support can come from unexpected places. If you're reading this article, your parents probably won't be contributing much to your college expenses. Butdo you have grandparents, aunts, or uncles who may be willing to help you out with college costs? If you feel comfortable bringing this up with family members, it may be a good move to seek financial help from people other than your parents.If you feel uncomfortable asking for funds outright, consider asking to borrow money and then paying it back with student job or post-graduation earnings. You can also ask for funds for college costsfor holidays and birthdays. Example Scenarios You've learned a lot, but now you have to put all this information to the test. This stuff may be confusing to understand at first, so in this section I'll present some example scenarios to demonstrate the concepts we've discussed how to pay for college on your own. These are real-world scenarios, using real schools, to give you a realistic idea of howcollege expenses play out in different situations. Scenario#1: Student From a Low-Income Family As youalready know, students from low-income families may be eligible for quite a few need-based aid programs, especially if they're relatively high-achieving. Student A Information State Residency: California Family Size: 5 Family Income: $50,000/year Academic Status: Strong 3.5 GPA, 1800 combined SAT score Student ACollege Applications Student A wants to tackle her college expenses by cutting costs and seeking out as much funding as possible. She applies to several schools, including an in-state public school (UC Irvine) and an out-of-state private school (Davidson College). Here's what her expenses would look like at UC Irvine and Davidson, based on both schools' financial aid calculators (remember, she has to have her parents fill out a FAFSA in order to be eligible for federal loans): School UC Irvine Davidson Total Cost of Attendance $32,102 $62,894 Estimated Grant Eligibility $22,031 $58,794 Estimated Net Price (Cost of Attendance minus Grants) $10,071 $4,100 Estimated Federal Loan Eligibility $5,500 $4,100 Estimated Out-of-Pocket Costs (Net Price minus Federal Loan Eligibility) $4,571 $0 Based on her estimated out-of-pocket costs, she thinks that Davidson College will be the more financially prudent choice. Still, she wants to work to minimize her federal student loan amount ($4,100). Here are steps she can take to help cover expenses: Get a student job.Student A would prefer not to work during the semester because she plans on being involved in many extracurricular activities. She can still work during summer and winter breaks, though. If she works full time for 10 weeks, bringing home $/hr, she could make $4,400 her freshman year. Amount Earned: $4,400 Apply for outside scholarships.If Student A receives outside scholarship money in addition to earning her own income, she could potentiallybring in more money than she'd spend her freshman year. I bet you didn't think it was possible to make money going to college!She starts by checking out our guide to scholarships for high school seniors. No scholarship is a sure thing, but applying to as many scholarships as possible (even small ones) will increase her chances of earning some money. Let's say that Student A wins a relatively small, $500 scholarship Amount Earned:$500 Student A decides she's able to make Davidson work. Here's a quick breakdown of how she's able to cover her estimated out-of-pocket costs: Estimated Out-of-Pocket Costs $4,100 Federal Loans - $0 (she chooses not to take loans) Scholarship Winnings - $500 Student Job Earnings - $4,400 Remaining Balance + $800 Amazingly, Student A walks away with $800 extra dollars her freshman year, even though she doesn't receive any financial support from her family. The vast majority of her expenses arecovered with need-based financial aid. This wouldn't have happened, however, if she didn't get into a school with a great financial aid program.It goes to show that one of the best things you can do toensure college affordability isto come to your college apps with a strong academic record. Scenario #2: Student from a RelativelyHigh-Income Family Students from high-income families may not qualify for much need-based financial aid (even if they're paying for college on their own), but that doesn't mean they can't get funding from other sources, especially if they have solid grades and test scores. Student B Information State Residency: AZ FamilySize: 4 Family Income: $100,000/year Academic Status: About average 3.0 GPA, 1500 combined SAT score Student B College Applications Like Student A, Student B wants to minimize his costs because he knows he'll be responsible for all college expenses. Heapplies to several schools, including an in-state public school (Arizona State University) and an out-of-state private school (Lesley University). Here's what his expenses would look like atArizona State University and Lesley, based on both schools' financial aid calculators: School ASU Lesley Total Cost of Attendance $27,260 $43,600 Estimated Grants from School $3,000 $8,000 Estimated Net Price (Cost of Attendance minus Grants) $24,260 $35,600 Estimated Federal Loan Eligibility $5,500 $5,500 Estimated Out-of-Pocket Costs (Net Price minus Federal Loan Eligibility) $18,760 $28,700 Based on expected out-of-pocket costs, he thinks ASU will be the less expensive choice. Still, he doesn't think he can come up with $18,760 per year (on top of the $5,500 in annual federal loans) while he's a full-time student. Here are the steps he can take to reduce his costs: Live at home. If he attends an in-state public school, and the school's close enough to his parents' home, he could save a pretty good chunk of change. At ASU, the cost of room and board comes to $10,400. If Student B lives (and eats) at home rent-free, he could deduct that amount from his out-of-pocket costs. He might end uppaying for some or all of his meals, and he might incur extra travel expenses to get to and from school. This could decrease the amount he actually saves. Maximum Amount Saved: $10,400 Apply for outside scholarships.Student B receives a $3,000 grant from ASU, but he knows that applying for outside scholarships could help get him more funding. He starts by checking out our guide to scholarships for high school seniors. It's free to apply for most legitimate scholarships programs, so he wouldn't lose any money bysubmitting applications. Maximum Amount Saved:Indefinite Let's say Student B is able to live at home for free but doesn't win any scholarships. He saves $10,400 of his original estimated out-of-pocket cost, $18,760. He still has to come up with $8,360 to fund his freshman year. Here are the steps he can take to cover his remaining cost: Get a student job. If Student B works an average of 8 hours a week over the course of the year and brings home $10/hr, he could make $4,160 his freshman year. This is a pretty conservative estimate since he could work full-time over the summer or on breaks. Amount Earned: $4,160 Take out private loans. After subtracting his job earnings from his costs, Student B still has to come up with $4,200 to cover his expenses for his freshman year. He decides to take out this amount in private student loans. He knows he'll have to pay this back after he graduates. Amount Earned: $4,200 Student B decides he's able to make ASU work. Here's a quick breakdown of how he's able to cover his Estimated Out-of-Pocket costs: Estimated Out-of-Pocket Costs $24,260 Federal Loans - $5,500 Living at Home Savings - $10,400 Scholarship Winnings - $0 Student Job Earnings - $4,160 Private Student Loans - $4,200 Remaining Balance $0 Now that you've seen how these cost-cutting and money saving tips work in action, you can go ahead and apply these concepts to your own college and financial aid applications. The above scenarios won't apply to everybody, but the thought processes demonstrated above definitely do. What's Next? If you're eager for more information, there are a ton of things you can learn about to help prepare yourself for upcoming bills and expenses. You might start by brushing up on federal financial aid, and programs like the Pell Grant and Perkins loans are key. The FAFSA is an important part of the federal aid process. If you're looking for a broader overview of concepts, you could read our guide to applying for financial aid. While you're at it, check out a list of colleges with the best financial aid programs. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: