Bioterrorism Threat Weapons

Bioterrorism Threat Weapons Bioterrorism is a real threat to our country. Its a threat to every nation that loves freedom. Terrorist groups seek biological weapons; we know some rogue states already have them.Its important that we confront these real threats to our country and prepare for future emergencies. -President George W. Bush June 12, 2002 Biological weapons are one of the biggest threats we face today. They are potentially as deadly as nuclear weapons and can leave an area contaminated for weeks. Despite this however, the threat of biological weapons does not seem to be a major priority of our current administration. There seems to be a significant rush to implement counter-terrorism policies that focus on more conventional means of attacks and more specifically those attacks that we have already experienced. Consequently, we see much improvement in the screening of airline passengers and the regulation of traditional explosives, but no further regulation of biological weapons, dispersion systems, or the implementation of better response procedures. Therefore, more should be done to prevent biological attacks and prepare our nation to respond in the event there is one. According to the Terrorism Knowledge Base, since nineteen sixty eight there have been a total of thirteen incidents involving biological weapons with forty-six injuries, and six fatalities. Of these thirteen incidents, nine of them have taken place in the United States, with all of the injuries, and five out of six of the deaths all taking place in the United States as well. If these statistics are examined in a general sense and in comparison to other weapons used in terrorists attacks (bombs, fire, firearms, etc) then the trend of biological terrorism does not seem very important. However, the reality is that the more technologically advanced we become globally, the more efficient biological weapons and their dispersion systems become, and the greater the threat is for an attack. We are currently in an age where scientific discovery, and advances in biology are putting us at risk for an attack from a terrorist group, or even an individual with access to biological weapons and a gru dge. In order to repair our current system, revision of our current policies must be done, as well as creation of new policies and procedures to mitigate the threat. This paper will provide information on our current policies, how the problems with out current policies can be fixed, and a risk assessment of the Brazos Valley with specific emphasis on the Texas AM University System. Current Policies: The following are the policies that have been developed in response to the threat of biological weapons. All polices regarding biological weapons should have two parts: prevention of a biological weapon attack, and response after a biological attack. While each is important on its own, together they make a comprehensive plan to create policies around. Before any suggestions can be made, however, our current policies must be known and judged against the threat we currently face. There are three main policies and plans concerning biological weapons that have come from the White House. They are Homeland Security Presidential Directive 10, Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21, and Project Bioshield. Together these are designed to provide us with maximum protection and response in the case of a biological threat. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 10 (Biodefense for the 21st Century): Homeland Security Presidential Directive 10 has four major goals as outlined by the White House: threat awareness, prevention and protection, surveillance and detection, and response and recovery. Each of these is an integral part of the overall plan. Threat Awareness In order for our government to prepare for a biological attack, we must know the nature of the threat. This is where the â€Å"Threat Awareness† pillar comes into play. This pillar seeks to provide our government with the ability to use technology and intelligence to provide the most realistic appraisal of our current threat. The concept of threat awareness allows us to create functional policies specially designed around our current threat. There are three totals components of the threat awareness pillar: biological warfare related intelligence, assessments, and anticipation of future threats. Biological warfare related intelligence is the name given to the process of using the intelligence community (Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and others) to gather all information pertaining to biological weapons. This would involve overseas missions for intelligence gathering purposes, development of systems to analyze collected data, and the dissemination of that data to all important parties. Biological warfare related intelligence also incorporates Red Teaming, a term indicating the team in a preparedness exercise (similar to a war game) whose role is to simulate enemy tactics. â€Å"Red Teaming efforts are used to understand new scientific trends that may be exploited by our adversaries to develop biological weapons and to help position intelligence collectors ahead of our problem.† (www.whitehouse.gov) Assessments are the second component of the threat awareness pillar. â€Å"The Unites States requires a continuous, formal process for conducting routine capabilities assessments to guide prioritization of our on-going investments in biodefense-related research, development, planning and preparedness.† (www.whitehose.gov) The Department of Homeland Security will be made responsible for gathering information and production of periodical assessments and making recommendations of division of resources based on the assessment. The anticipation of future threats component asserts that the need to stay current with existing technology is of great importance. It enables the government the government to anticipate and prepare for the emergence of new threats (www.whitehouse.gov). How these assessments are to be done and what exactly is to be included in them, is not stated in the White Houses version of Homeland Security Presidential Directive ten however. Prevention and Protection The first component of the prevention and protection pillar is proactive prevention. As stated by the White House, â€Å"preventing biological weapons attacks is by far the most cost-effective approach to biodefense.† This will be accomplished by limiting access of biological agents and dispersal methods to countries, groups, or individuals seeking to develop, produce, and use these agents. (www.whitehouse.gov) This will be accomplished using law enforcement investigative techniques, diplomacy, and export controls. Agencies responsible for prevention are the Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and the intelligence community, but specific duties are not given. The second component of prevention and protection is critical infrastructure protection. The directive explains that protection of critical infrastructure, especially in the case of those that would be important after an attack (public health, food, water, energy, agriculture, transportation, etc.) should be protected. Once again, details as to how this is to be done are not given, only that it should be done. Surveillance and Detection The first component of the surveillance and detection pillar is attack warning. This would entail the development of an attack warning system, similar to severe weather warning systems, â€Å"which rapidly recognizes and characterizes the dispersal of biological agents.† The logic behind this component of surveillance and detection is that an efficient and effective response can be mounted to counter the threat if the biological agent used in an attack is able to be detected and characterized earlier. The second component of surveillance and detection is attribution. The ability to attribute an attack to a particular country, group, or individual can help authorities to deter attacks with the promise of severe repercussions to the group or country that perpetrates the attack. The recently created National Bioforensic Analysis Center of the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasure Center is responsible for the analysis of the biological agent, and interpretation of data to determine responsibility. This concept has been tried for lesser crimes (three-strike laws) with varied degrees of success. Response and Recovery The components of the response and recovery attack are numerous. But this is necessary as the response after an attack is a huge intricate undertaking. This part of the Directive 10 is composed of: response planning, mass casualty care, risk communication, medical countermeasure development, and decontamination. Response planning is the most important part of the response and recovery pillar. Without a reasonable plan of attack, nothing can be accomplished. Evidence of this idea can be seen in the days and weeks following Hurricane Katrina, when recovery efforts were mishandled by Federal Emergency Management Agency due in large part to ill-preparedness. As a part of this component, the plans are also to be tested regularly at the local, state, and federal level. Mass casualty care, decontamination, and medical countermeasure all go together in preventing loss of life after an attack. In order for all of these to occur, there needs to be funding in areas of research pertaining to countermeasures of biological agents, and also funding in the public health arena such that all medical facilities are adequately prepared to handle such an event. This includes stocking medical facilities with countermeasures and keeping them abreast of terrorism activities via a communication network. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 Released October two-thousand seven, Homeland Security Presidential Directive twenty-one in a much more comprehensive version of the response and recover pillar of Homeland Security Presidential Directive ten. It delves into exactly how we go about preparing for the aftermath of a biological attack. The five major priorities / goals when considering preparedness are: preparedness for all potential catastrophic health events; vertical and horizontal coordination across levels of government, jurisdictions and disciplines; a regional approach to health preparedness; engagement of the private sector, academia, and other nongovernmental entities in preparedness and response efforts; and the important roles of individuals, families, and communities. To accomplish these priorities, Homeland Security Presidential Directive twenty-one outlines several actions that must be implemented to mount a successful response to a biological attack. These are mostly the same as those mentioned in Homelan d Security Presidential Directive ten; however, the greatest difference is in the case of Homeland Security Presidential Directive twenty-one, deadlines are established as to when these should be done. Biosurveillance Biosurveillance calls for the establishment of a â€Å"national epidemiological surveillance system for human health.† This would entail an electronic network linking federal, state and local public health assets. This system would also have to protect patient privacy, while giving access to those medical professionals most likely to come into contact with the agents. This network would also include keeping health professionals abreast in what to look for in the way of symptoms. The deadline for this goal was one-hundred eighty days, but only required meetings to examine progress. Countermeasure stockpiling and distribution Countermeasure stockpiling and distribution calls for the creation of a plan to amass a supply of common countermeasures including antibiotics, anti-virals and others. The countermeasure stockpiling and distribution section of the directive mandates that a template or plan for these efforts would be created within nine months of its release date, but once again, does not explain exactly how anything is to be done, only that it should be within nine months. Mass Casualty Care Through a joint effort between the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Defense, Veteran Affairs, and Homeland Security, experts at the state, federal and private levels are to provide feedback on â€Å"high-priority gaps in mass casualty care capabilities.† After this event, there is to be an analysis of the information in order to build a plan for mass casualty care after a biological attack. This plan would call for changes in out public health system specifically geared towards biodefense, and not towards improving our public health system as a whole. Community Resilience Perhaps the most important component of Homeland Security presidential Directive 21, this section encourages engaging citizens in education and risk awareness in the area of biological weapons. Civic leaders, citizens and families are to be educated such that they are able to lessen some of the risk in their respective areas. Project Bioshield The Project Bioshield Act of 2004 was signed on June 21, 2004 by current President George W. Bush. Project Bioshield deals specifically with the development and the procurement of countermeasures from pharmaceutical companies. The signing of the Project Bioshield Act allowed for the production of seventy-five million doses of anthrax vaccines for stockpiling, production of botulinum antitoxin, and production of a safer smallpox toxin. Project Bioshield is not designed to fix all of our problems, but solve a big problem in the lack of response resources. Problems with our current system and policies Our current biological weapons policies consist mainly of Homeland Security Presidential Directives ten and twenty-one and the Project Bioshield Act. Together, they represent the most comprehensive plan we have, but still fall short of providing us with the protection and security from what President Bush describes as a â€Å"real threat to our country.† While our current system provides a good foundation for a biological weapons defense policy, it has several major gaps. Our current policies display one major flaw in our biodefense plan: we know what to do, but not how to accomplish it. In the summary of all three aspects of our biodefense policy, there is no detailed plan of how to repair the holes in our system. Also, despite being released in April two-thousand four, many of the objectives seen Homeland Security Presidential Directive ten, are yet incomplete; particularly in the case of the â€Å"Response and Recovery† objective. What this translates to is we are no t following the plans we have set up to prevent and respond to bioterrorism. In two-thousand one, approximately one-half a billion dollars w as spent on civilian biodefense. Every year since then, the spending has gone up with spending reaching approximately seven and one-half billion dollars. (Schuler 88) We are considerably further than we were in two-thousand one, but still significantly lacking in bio-terrorism security. There are only a few things we currently lack, but they are very important to our security. Firstly we lack a decent public health system. â€Å"The basic needs of bioterrorism preparedness remain the basic tasks of public health- identifying unusual disease events, their cause, and intervening to alleviate the situation† (Avery 284) The federal government is attempting to pump more resources into a flawed system. Without a good public health system, any biodefense plan ultimately falls apart because our public health system is of utmost importance in response efforts. Another big flaw in our system is the lack of talented people. Having great policies and resources but lacking talented employees to put them into practice is unacceptable. Federal agencies are losing potential employees to the private sector when the demand for defense talent will to continue rise by as much as twenty-five percent through the year two-thousand ten. (Partnership for Public Service 224) Policies cannot be put into action without talented people leading them. It is estimated that nearly half of the federal employees in occupations critical to out biodefense will be eligible to retire within the next five years. (Executive Summary 224). An additional significant error with our current system is lack of action. While our current policies are not perfect, they do provide a very good base plan. So why are we not where we need to be? The reason may be budget concerns, or biological weapons are less of a priority than they should be, but whatever the reason, creation of policies without putting them into action leaves us at risk. In Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21, it calls for public outreach and education to inform the general public as to the dangers of biological weapons, and how to reach in the case of the attack, but this has not been done. In Homeland Security Presidential Directive 10, a biosurveillance system is proposed to keep our public health facilities informed as to emerging threats and suspicious events in other parts of the country. While the directive was released in two-thousand four, this has not been accomplished. Proposed Biological Terrorism Prevention and Response Plan Our current policies and recent actions have provided us with a good foundation to build a solid biological weapons prevention and response plan on. However, in order to mitigate the threat more needs to be done. My plan has the potential to fill in most of the holes in our current policy / system. I propose several changes in out current system and policies. My proposed will emphasize all aspects of security (prevention and response). Our current public health seems to be the most important part of the equation, so this is where my biodefense plan will begin. Phase I: In order to mount an efficient response in the aftermath of an attack, we must have a well-organized public health system. This particular part of the plan would call for government-funded upgrades in public health facilities. As stated previously, an analysis of our current public health system shows that â€Å"upgrading public health facilities for broad based-surveillance avoids the threat of tunnel vision that is inherent in the bioterrorism-specific approach.† (Avery 285) Upgrades to our public health facilities should include larger stockpiles of antibiotics, anti-virals, and other countermeasures. According to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21, â€Å"few if any cities are presently able to meet the objective of dispensing countermeasures to their entire population within forty-eight hours after the decision to do so.† These stockpiles should be large enough to aid in the response after most any disaster, and located in such places that they could be sen t to affected areas within twenty-four hours. Proximity to a major metropolitan area should not be a concern in response efforts. This phase would also require coordination with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to coordinate and distribute supplies of counter-measures to several regions in each state. Other responsibilities of our current public health system include vaccination of general public. This would be improved beyond our current status. The next step in upgrading out public health system is personnel training and education. Biological weapons can utilize some of the most deadly bacteria and viruses in the world. Medical personnel should be trained in the recognition and treatment of the most deadly agents. This would necessitate training provided by the Center for Disease Control and other similarly competent private sector facilities and professionals. While many biological agents present with peculiar symptoms, many present with flu-like symptoms and can be easily confused with other less lethal illnesses. All of this information needs to make its way to not only our medical doctors and nurses, but all those involved in public health. The last step of my public health plan is the creation of a centralized network available to all public health facilities. This network would be created and maintained by the federal government with the aid of such agencies as the Center for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health. This network / database would track the progression of illnesses and symptoms throughout the country. It would also serve as a link between facilities. In the event of an attack in one part of the country, all facilities can be put on alert almost instantly. This could lead to significantly less deaths during the aftermath of an attack, and aid in the day to day operations of our countrys public health system. Phase II: Homeland Security Presidential Directive 10 is a general diagram for both prevention and response. While it outlines both aspects, it does not go into great detail as to how its plans are to be accomplished. The same can be said for Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21. Our major policies do not give a detailed picture of what out initial response plan is. We cannot organize a functional response if we do not possess a nation-wide incident response plan for a biological attack. So Phase II would be the creation of a thorough plan that is able to be utilized in all regions of the country. One standardized plan would alleviate any indecisiveness when deciding what to do for a specific region as well as make training much easier. With one standardized plan there is no question of what the local government is to do, everything is planned and only has to be executed. This plan would have three major goals: defining authority after an attack, setup a timeline for when response efforts need to be completed, and provide a basis for training first responders and other charged with response. In the aftermath of an attack authority is always a concern. Because agencies often have different ideas on how response should proceed, authority needs to be defined before an attack ever happens. The two options for authority are federal and state with each having their advantages. Federal agencies have near limitless resources when compared to state agencies. They are usually able to procure and implement necessary resources much faster. State agencies have the benefit of local knowledge. Local knowledge of a particular region and its working is an invaluable asset during times of disaster. Federal agencies cannot possibly all aspects of a particular region and thus this responsibility falls to the state government. State governments also the advantage of being able to react more quickly because of their close proximity to the affected area. So the best compromise between the two would be joint authority shared between the state government (governor, mayors, city managers, etc.), and a representative of the federal government designated by the president. Because a plan will already be in place prior to an attack, the state government would have a definitive game plan within the days following an attack. After the government representative arrives, they can work as a cohesive team to plan the best course of action. Along with defining authority, the national response plan should define timelines as to when certain actions are to be taken. Phase one of this plan would ensure that countermeasures were available in the event of a biological attack. This timeline would establish when these countermeasures are to be given, Phase III Our current president has described biological weapons as a very serious threat. Mitigation of this threat can be achieved, but needs specialized actions from personnel trained in biology as well as investigative techniques. Phase II would call for the creation of an agency dedicated to the threat of bioterrorism. The First step of phase II is finding people with diverse experience (science, investigation, intelligence gather, etc.) to work in this agency. Bioterrorism is a much different threat than most conventional methods of terrorism. To mount a superior defense / offense, it takes a deep understanding of biology, biochemistry, virology, and several other biological sciences. Investigating offenses involving such agents cannot be done without the proper knowledge and practical experience. Most agencies currently tasked with counter-terrorism do not have the requisite personnel with science backgrounds, nor the resources to handle their other responsibilities and the threat from bioterrorism. The need for people with expertise in those areas has been established as is yet unfulfilled. We cannot properly stop a threat if those that are tasked with this responsibility do not know everything there is to know about the threat. The first step would be to obtain the right personnel for the agency. The agency would be made up of doctors, scientists, policy makers, first responders, investigators (law enforcement), security personnel, and any other necessary personnel to mount a comprehensive response. The next step would be to define the responsibilities of the agency. I propose this agency be accountable for investigation of biological weapons threats, regulation of biological agents, working in tandem with intelligence agencies here and overseas, and working with other countries to insure the regulation of said materials there as well. These responsibilities are no small task. They will require countless hours of intelligence gathering, diplomacy, investigation, and law enforcement. The scope of this agency would be extensive, but still well within reach if done properly. This agency would have to utilize techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and many other similar agencies in order to reach such massive goals. Phase IV Phase IV would consist of public education / outreach. The group of people most vulnerable to biological attacks is everyday citizens. If we are to protect the public, then they must be educated as to risks, current counter measures, and what to do in the case of an attack. This is where the educational outreach programs would enter. They would have to be non-invasive as in a pamphlet given out to each patient after a doctors visit, or educational videos provided to employers to be shown at employment orientations. Using this idea could save us billions of dollars in expenditures subsequent to an attack by saving much time and effort in organizing and coordinating public actions. Phase V Phase V would consist of training those people responsible for first response. Our first line of defense is not government agencies, but the people who are closest to the attack; this will always be local law enforcement, firefighters, and local public health staff. Current local law enforcement agencies are unprepared and unknowledgeable about probably biological attacks and they of all responders would be well versed in what to expect and how to react after a biological attack. Phase V would mandate training of all probably first responders at least once a year. This training would include simulated attacks in a simulated environment. All those that would be involved in the response efforts would be trained in what to do, and then using that training to a simulated attack. This training would also help the public rest easier knowing that their first responders are prepared for the possibility of a biological attack. Advantages vs. Disadvantages Advantages: The greatest strength of the proposed plan is its comprehensiveness. This plan covers all aspects of biological terrorism (prevention and response) as well as addressing the current holes in our system. It provides us with the best possible response, along with directing preventative techniques prior to an attack. Agencies dedicated to specific purposes have a long history of effectiveness as can be seen in the Center for Disease Control and other similar agencies. This plan could not work if the responsibilities were placed upon another agency already tasked with other unrelated obligations. Biological weapons are too great a threat to be relegated to one of the many responsibilities of an agency with many other missions. Also in comparison to outsourcing these responsibilities to the private sector, this proposal represent a method of maintaining security, but also maintaining faith in out government. Most citizens want to know that their government is more than capable of protecting them from major security threats. This proposal has the advantage of allowing all responsibilities to stay in house such that there is no division of responsibilities between government and private. This proposal also allows for improvements in out current countermeasure stockpiles, a public more concerned with their own safety, and a standardized response plan such that Disadvantages: The greatest thing working against an agency of this type is cost. As stated previously, biodefense funding has gone up significantly every year since two-thousand one. (Schuler 88) A plan of this magnitude would be costly. Also, creating of another agency has the possibility of making an already confusing counter-terrorism more perplexing. Brazos Valley threat assessment All the problems that plague the nation in reference to a biological weapons threat are compounded in the Brazos valley Area. The main industry in the region is Texas AM University, and this is also could be considered a high value target. Risk assessment: A threat assessment can be viewed as having three components: the threat to a target, the targets vulnerability to the threat, and the consequences should the target be successfully attacked. (Willis 16) In this regard the risk assessment regarding the Brazos Valley is three-parted. Threat to the target: According to the CDC, bioterrorism agents are typically divided into three categories: categories A, B, and C (www.cdc.gov). Category A organisms include biological agents with both a high potential for adverse public health impact and that also have a serious potential for large-scale dissemination. Category B agents are moderately easy to disseminate and have low mortality rates. Category C agents are pathogens that might be engineered for mass dissemination because they are easy to produce and have potential for high morbidity or mortality. Based on information gathered from interviews with Assistant Chief Freddy Komar of the Bryan Police Department and Doctor Garry Adams of the Texas AM University School of Veterinary Medicine, the biggest threat to Texas AM and the surrounding areas is the dissemination of a Category A organism, more specifically one that can be easily ported to an aerosol method of dispersal. With an effective dispersal in a highly populated and confined area o r event like a football game at Kyle Field, the destructive potential is massive. As an agricultural staple, the Brazos Valley Area Targets Vulnerability to Threat: The government of the Brazos Valley operates in a continuous state of alertness according to an Interview with Mr. Bill May. Using the Texas AM University Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), the Brazos Valley trains emergency workers from all over the world at the request of their home agency. TEEX uses a large training facility to provide simulated disasters in order to prepare the trainees for any type of disaster. TEEX is different from other agencies in that it provides the most realistic training found in the country, if not the world. However, this only takes care of the aftermath. The front line of defense is the local law enforcement branches. In speaking with the assistant chief of police, I found that while Texas AM is a veritable hub for disaster training, the first line of defense against bio-terror

Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair Essay

Ryanair was launched at a time that did not seem highly favorable to the airline industry. As a matter of facts, in 1986, the market was still recovering from the aftermaths of the OPEC oil embargo and the 1979’s oil crisis which led to an important increase in the jet oil prices, along with a recession that cut demand for air travel and thus gave an impulse to the aircrafts’ cheaper substitutes, such as trains and ferries. Despite that high bargaining power of suppliers and threat of substitution products that made the external environment unfavorable, the Ryan brothers’ wish to launch their airline did not diminish. The company’s first service was launched in 1985 between the southeastern Irish city of Waterford and Gatwick Airport, located on the outskirts of London. One year later, the newborn company started operating between Dublin and the British capital. Two majors Airlines operated on this latter route at that time: British Airways and Aer Lingus, the Irish flag-carrier company. Moreover, some strong US airlines reached out for new routes into Europe after the deregulation of the domestic US airline industry, which made the pressure of competitors even more intense in the airline industry. Last but not least, charter flights, which thrived during the 1960’s to bypass the European regulations and to tap the increasing demand for leisure travel, were transporting 60% of all European passengers by the mid-1980’s. Despite this high unwelcoming rivalry in the market, Ryanair made the choice to focus on the challenging Dublin-London route, which was reputed to be quite lucrative for both British and Irish flag-carriers. At that time, data showed that three-quarters of a million round-trip Dublin-London travelers opted to use rail and sea ferries rather than aircraft. This information, highlighting the high pressure and threat that the airline industry was undergoing on behalf of the substitution products, confirmed the unattractive character of the local market. In spite of this fact, Ryanair initiated service on the Dublin-London route in 1986, using a 44-seat turboprop during its early stages. Ryanair adopted a launch strategy that differentiated it from its competitors in two main ways. First, it employees would focus on delivering first-rate customer service; second, the company would charge a simple, single fare for a ticket with no restriction, while British Airways was offering a spectrum of ticket prices with varying restriction and the full range of classes of service. The company publicized its first Dublin-London service fare of I £98 dollars, whereas Aer Lingus’ and BA’s least expensive, unrestricted round-trip fares on the route were priced at I £208. At the same time, Ryanair would offer meals and amenities comparable to what Aer Lingus and British Airways provided. Thus, the newborn company benefited from the beginning from a distinctive business model focused on low operational costs and low fares, but which was not undermining the quality of its services. These low operational costs are partly linked to the company’s choice to operate on secondary airports, located outside London. Indeed, Gatwick and Luton airports were charging low landing and take-off charges compared to Heathrow main airport, which allowed Ryanair to keep its overhead costs at a lower level than British Airways, and thus gave it a competitive advantage toward other airline companies. However, this choice of secondary airports could also arise as a weakness of the company, since it prevents it from reaching a broader target of customers who predominately go through main airports such as Heathrow. Finally, British airways’ and Aer Lingus’ tickets for the Dublin-London round-trip were priced at I £153 higher than the cheapest rail-ferry ticket (costing I £55), which may have deterred most travelers of flying the route. When launched, Ryanair charged fares which were only I £43 higher than the rail-and-ferry ones’ for this journey. Knowing that the journey took nine hours by rail and ferry and only one hour by air, the newborn company could therefore tap into a segment of customers who might be ready to pay an additional I £43 for gaining 8 hours while travelling comfortably, which might be a valuable offer. Thus, this pricing strategy could enable the company to gain large shares in the market of these potential customers. (2) How do you expect (a) Aer Lingus and (b) British Airways to respond? And why do you expect each of them to respond that way? Ryanair’s launch is 1986 put a pressure on its two major competitors who are operating on the same challenging Dublin-London route. Indeed, the newborn company, benefiting from low costs, setting low fares, but offering a similar level of quality, would rapidly gain market shares over its competitors. British Airways and Aer Lingus had therefore to respond on an efficient way to retaliate to Ryanair’s entry in the airline industry. a) When Ryanair was launched, Aer Lingus domestic and European routes earned a modest operating profit while its trans-Atlantic flights sustained operating losses for the sixth time in seven year. Despite these difficulties, Aer Lingus, whose main profits where coming from its diversification in the hotel business (among others), was still backed by the Irish government, and aiming at its objectives of providing an air transport service that was â€Å"safe, efficient, reliable, and profitable†. Moreover, for being the only Irish airline before Ryanair, the company, which was touting the many benefits it brought to the Irish community, might have been benefiting from a good reputation and reliability in its local market. Thus, thanks to the state support but also to its reputation, Aer Lingus operations’ were well established in Europe, but also in the United States, where the airline has been operating for years. These resources and capabilities, reinforced by the recent successful introduction of a computer reservation system, therefore gave to the company a – temporary – advantage toward the newborn Ryanair. To retaliate to this latter’s entry, we expect that Aer Lingus reduces its European routes’ fares to match Ryanair’s ones. Thus, relying on its value of â€Å"safety† and â€Å"efficiency†, and implementing a low cost / low fares business model on its European and domestic flights, the company could protect its market shares from Ryanair’s prospective growing success. Besides, it may be all the more attractive to customers since it was spending tens of millions of pounds in renewing its fleet of jets, while Ryanair was just starting to operate with turboprops, and still did not have permission to fly larger jet aircraft on the route. b) As Ryanair started operating in 1986, British airways (BA) had been earning record profits for the last years, and its forthcoming privatization in 1987 was planned to improve these performances. The company’s strategy was mainly focusing on international routes and intercontinental flights. Indeed, BA was operating one of the world’s most extensive airline route networks, serving 145 destinations in 68 countries. This focus is highlighted by the fact that international journeys accounted for roughly two thirds of the seats that the company sold, and nine tenth of its revenues. One of British Airways’ advantages is its establishment in Heathrow airport, a major international transportation hub, through which 80% of the company’s passengers were passing. This focus on London’s main airport therefore arises as a competitive advantage toward Ryanair, whose flights, which are taking off and landing in secondary airports, hamper it from reaching a broader target of customers. Besides, British Airways’ large range of offers, implying from first class to economy tickets, distinguishes it from a low cost company as Ryanair, and may also arise as an advantage to some customers, looking for a better quality of service. As a result of this importance differentiation in service, and from our analysis, British Airways’ reaction to Ryanair entry should not be as thundering as Aer Lingus’ one. Indeed, BA already operates on a different segment than Ryanair, targeting business class and international customers. Since BA is mainly operating on international flights from and to main airports, Ryanair’s new focus on point-to-point flights and minimizing overhead costs should not arise as a threat to the British company. Moreover, with the prospective deregulation of the European airline industry whose foundations were laid by the 1986 Single European Act, British Airways should benefit from a major opportunity to expand to new European routes, relying on its valuable international experience. These forthcoming benefits and growth therefore make British Airways a company which does not â€Å"share the same playground† with Ryanair.

Employee Motivation - 9463 Words

Insights Into Employee Motivation, Commitment and Retention Barbara J. Kreisman Ph.D. Research/White Paper Insights Denver February, 2002 The Leadership Journey is a supervisory, management, and leadership training system consisting of 24 courses delivered on DVD, CD-ROM, VHS, and Online. Call 1-800-541-7872 or visit www.btedemo.com to preview courses. Page 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 W hy Employee Retention and Motivation Is Important†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 Turbulence In The Work Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 At The Root Of The Problem—Demographics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.6 Retention As A Strategic Business Issue†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.6 Calculating The Cost Of Attrition†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.8 Why Employees Become Disengaged and Leave†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.9 The Phenomena Of Intrinsic Motivation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.13 Turnover Is Not A†¦show more content†¦That role is as a catalyst—someone who can â€Å"reach inside each employee and release his or her unique talents and convert them into performance† (Buckingham and Coffman, 1999). To effectively motivate and retain employees, a manager needs to deal with each person one at a time—asking questions of, listening to, and working together one-on-one. A â€Å"good manager† therefore, is one who will help talented people find satisfaction in their work, and â€Å"satisfaction† is key to an employee’s decision to stay or leave an organization. (Buckingham and Coffman, 1999; Kreisman, 2002; Kaye and JordanEvans, 1999). It must be recognized, however, that over the last 10-15 years, most organizations have de-layered and eliminated many middle management positions. Today’s managers often have large numbers of direct reports in addition to individual responsibilities of their own (Buckingham and Coffman, 1999). Very few have the time to effectively make the emotional tie with their subordinates that is really effective. Through use of various training tools and processes, specifically, the Insights Discovery System, the process of communication and understanding between manager and employee can be accelerated. The intent of this research paper is to illuminate numerous employee-retention related issues that are of particular significance to organizations today. It further seeks to demonstrate how the InsightsShow MoreRelatedThe Motivation And Emplo yee Motivation1584 Words   |  7 PagesThe central problem that always employers and employees face is the employee motivation. The workers who put no effort to do their best in their jobs which will lead to low quality of work and give no benefit to the organization are the one who are not motivated (Amabile 1993). On the other side, employees who are apparently to be very intelligent, action oriented, ambitious, autonomous and always put an effort and sacrifice their time to put the organization at the ease are the one who feel motivatedRead MoreEmployee Motivation886 Words   |  4 PagesThis is a dissertation abstract on Employee Motivation: Why study motivation? To state it simple you need to know motivation to be a better leader to accomplish your business goals. Employees are like sheep you need to lead them to accomplish the mission. It is much easier to lead a group of individuals when they have a vested interest to accomplish it. You create that interest through motivation. The key to a successful organization in many ways is motivation. It is one of the most difficult tasksRead MoreEmployee Motivation 1164 Words   |  5 Pages Bauer and Erdrogen (2009) define motivation as â€Å"the desire to achieve a goal or a certain performance level, leading to goal–directed behavior† (p.97). McConnell (2006) argues that true motivation is self motivation. Today, health care organizations place a lot of emphasis on production and performance. However, motivating employees is a common challenge faced by health care managers and Bauer and Erdrogen (2009) state it is also one of the factors that greatly affect performance. McConnell (2006)Read MoreMotivation of Employee2476 Words   |  10 PagesMotivation of Employee People join and work in organization to satisfy their needs. They are fascinated to organizations that have the funds of rewarding their wants. These wealth are called â€Å"incentives (compensation, benefits)† (M. Maccoby, 9) of rewards; organizations use them to initiate people to contribute their efforts on the way to achieve organizational goals. The continued existence of an organization depends on its capability to attract and stimulate people to accomplish these individualRead MoreEmployee Motivation2339 Words   |  10 PagesEmployee Motivation A question often asked by first-line supervisors and managers is â€Å"How do we motivate our employees?† Effectively motivating employees to achieve a desired outcome is one of the most important functions as a supervisor or manager. There is evidence to show organizations are facing challenges retaining employees due to limited opportunities for advancement and the current competitive labor market. It does not appear things will get any better in the future. The loss of employeesRead MoreMotivation Theories And Motivation Of Employee Motivation Essay1517 Words   |  7 Pagesour control and some that are not. Employee motivation is something that can directly affect an organizations production. It is no secret that un-motivated employees equates to un-productive workers, but how can we combat this? In order to better understand this concept we will look at the definition of employee motivation, some of the motivation theories and some motivation techniques that could be useful in our organizations. What is employee motivation? Motivation is a word used quite often in manyRead MoreMotivation And Efficiency Of Employee Motivation Essay2331 Words   |  10 PagesMotivation is defined as â€Å"the process that account for an individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Robbins Judge, 2016, p. 126). It is a flat out need to keep employees motivated in the workplace and boost them to perform beyond expectations. In addressing what elements of employment result in both motivation and efficiency, this paper briefly sketches some of the theories of motivation applied in workforce and analyses how these theories are appliedRead MoreEmployee Motivation And Motivation Theory1878 Words   |  8 Pagesvaluable resources for companies and them could be competitive advantages for modern companies. It is important for modern companies to improve employee satisfaction and performance so that they can improve their organisational performance and competitiveness (Armstrong, 2006). As a result, Employee’s motivation management is significantly for companies. Motivation is a cognitive process to guide, initiate, direct and maintain goal-oriented activities. It can also be defined as the driving forces directingRead MoreMotivation Strategy For Employee Motivation Essay2082 Words   |  9 Pagesthe strength and weaknesses of at least two theories of motivation. With the rapid changes of modern business environment, the competition between organizations becomes more and more fierce. In order to be competitive enough to stand out from the rest, businesses try to enhance their competitiveness by improving different area in the management aspect. In addition to, as service sector has become the most dominant industry nowadays, employee?s performance become more crucial as it can directly affectRead MoreEmployee Motivation Essays1371 Words   |  6 PagesEmployee Motivation What motivates employees today? This is an increasing concern to managers today because the definition of motivation is a very complex. One cannot actually define motivation but can give theories to better explain it. In this paper, I am going to talk about some of the major theories and factors that affect motivation at the job. The first theory is the two-factor theory which was suggested

Commercial Recuperation Essay - 1925 Words

Commercial Recuperation Essentially what Hebdige is saying with his statement is that eventually a subcultures generic trademarks will cross over into the mainstream. This will in tern render the original intentions of subversion diluted pastiches of there former representations. The validity of this statement is interesting in two ways. Firstly are subcultures subversive qualities diluted through popularisation? And secondly and perhaps more importantly in terms of more contemporary subcultural representations; how valid is the statement that what might be considered subcultures are actually subversive in terms of attempted displacement of a dominant ideology. It is these two areas with†¦show more content†¦But more than this was the relevant timing of the punk movement and subsequently, why it is so important as an example within this discussion. The high unemployment rates and the economic uncertainly present throughout Britain where largely to blame. As was the realisation that the promised age of prosperity and utopia promised by the passing generation was never going to come to the present one. As Polhemus puts it â€Å"had Mclaren and Westwood not been around to toss a few sticks of dynamite in the right direction an eruption would have occurred anyway† (1993:90). Punk saw itself as being in direct conflict with the established order it felt had betrayed a generation as John Fisk highlights the main function of conflict sub cultural groups in his article ‘The Popular Economy’ â€Å"The power domain in within which popular culture works is largely, but not exclusively, that of semiotic power. One major articulation of this power is the struggle between homogenisation and difference, or between consensus and conflict† (Quoted in Storey, 1994:511) The movement was just that; a movement. It not only had it’s own music and political overtones in nihilism and anarchy it also had it’s ownShow MoreRelatedSample Resume : Hdfc Bank Essay6659 Words   |  27 Pagesa noteworthy part of RBI s liberalization of the Indian Banking Industry in 1994. The bank was initiated in August 1994 for the purpose of HDFC Bank Limited , with its main office in Mumbai, India. HDFC Bank started operations as a Scheduled Commercial Bank in January 1995. HDFC Bank is headquartered in city of Mumbai. As of March 31, 2015, the Bank s dispersion system was at 4014 branches in a couple of, 464 urban areas of India. Clients crosswise over Asian country are kept up through numerousRead MoreThe Impact Of E Trade Institutional On Trust And Online Buying1224 Words   |  5 PagesOn the other hand, clients frequently choose to leave a supplier in view of deficient reactions instead of for the disappointing issue itself. 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