Actors in Long Life Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Actors in Long Life Learning - Essay Example The global economy is highly influenced by transitions and adjustments challenges at the social, business and cultural levels. Knowledge is not just the power, but a property to highly be marketed and commercialized. Lifelong learning is considered to be a vehicle that can enable immigrant community to adapt the challenges of new global economy. Human brain is perceived to represent a new ‘grey capital’ as it is set alongside the familiar economic resources such as land, labor and finance (Field, 2006, p. 9). This piece of research work presents the concept of lifelong learning and analyzes how this can help immigrants improve their personal and professional development and as a result improve the economic prosperity of country they migrated to. This paper investigates the role of lifelong learning in contributing to the economic and social prosperity and reflects on the personal experiences of lifelong learning in terms of personal and professional development. Lifelong Learning and implication on immigrant community In today’s competitive knowledge economy, lifelong learning has become a critically important strategy to make people highly competitive and productive. (World Bank, 2003). Lifelong learning is a human process and a metaphor to describe societies, regions and organizations. Lifelong learning is described as an ideal goal for better education (Parson, 1990), as a human process (Parson, 1990), as a product (Hatton, 1997) and moral duty of people (Wain, 1991). Learning is a human process and it requires consciousness and the capacity to utilize their knowledge. Lifelong learning is a continuous learning throughout one’s life directed by the individual needs and intentionality mediated by the capacities and interests (Billett, 2010, P. 402). World Bank (2003) explained that lifelong learning refers to learning throughout the lifetime including formal, non-formal and informal education and training. Formal education and training are structured programs recognized by formal education system. Non-formal education is structured education system but not recognized by national systems. Informal education and training are fully unstructured education or training systems that can take place anywhere such as home, organizations, workplace etc. Lifelong learning aims at positively influencing the inexperienced people in changing their career targets and making them highly demanded individuals by taking the self-responsibility of their learning and education. It thus assists them in developing their own learning skills (Uzunboylu and Ursen, 2011, p. 450). Technology in modern society plays significant role in lifelong learning. Distance or online-education facilitated by colleges and universities can be considered as examples for how modern technology assist lifelong learning.

Statistic paper Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Statistic paper - Statistics Project Example A significant correlation was observed between days and charges, r(287) = .80, p Hospital managers bear the overall authority over the running of the hospital. However, their authority is usually curtailed when administrative duties come into play. This is due to the overpowering roles of physicians. Physicians control a significant portion of hospital costs and the length of time that a patient stays in a hospital. They also determine the drugs used in treating a patient and determine the suppliers. Despite these crucial roles, the physicians are not employees of the hospital. At times, hospitals give individual physicians admitting privileges and periodically review their performance. However, the hospital’s influence over various expenditures remains at the minimum. On the other hand, the revenues of the hospital are largely dependent on the patient’s insurance coverage. This insurance coverage may cater for a more or less fixed amount and is classified using the diagnosis related group (DRG) system. It may also cater for a percentage of the hospital bill. The performance of a physician is crucial to the general well-being of a patient. An outstanding performance

Biology 4(plant and society)b Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biology 4(plant and society)b - Essay Example It is a plant which is used also for medicinal purposes as analgestic narcotic for the treatment of lower to relentless pain (Papaver Somniferum, n.d.). The cultivation of opium poppy was first initiated in the south-east region of Italian Peninsula, for past 2500 years, according to the archaeological evidences which also emanate from the Neolithic and Bronze Age (Merlin, 2003). It can be stated that opium poppy is not extensively cultivated in various regions around the globe. It is a domestic plant and has been cultivated mostly in areas of Europe, Australia, Japan North and South America and Northeast Africa among others. Moreover, the distribution process in the current status can be observed on the basis of the World Drug Report presented in 2010, which states that Europe holds the highest percent of consumption rate of opium which is around 9% as of 2008 (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2010). The opium plants are used as medicinal herbs as well as multipurpose plant s which include Cannabis, and are required for production of fibre. It is also used for cult (Merlin, 2003). In terms of the psychoactive principle of the opium plants, it can be observed that there is a strong relation amid human beings as well as the psychoactive plants as these plants are considered for offering the ceremonial issues. People are very much conscious regarding religious experiences. Nevertheless, according to a few of the classical authors, human beings use these plants as a drug. Moreover, it is also considered as a plant which was originated in the Neolithic Age and is offered to the ancestors or gods by human beings for establishing direct communication. The physiological effects comprise relaxation, reduction in alertness, anxiety relief and pain, which depends on the chemical nature of the substance. Overdosing of opium could lead to coma, stupor as well as death (Opiumaddiction.Com, 2012). In this essay, the hypothesis presented by Merlin i.e. â€Å"humans h ave a very ancient tradition involving the use of mind-altering experiences to produce profound, more or less spiritual and cultural understanding† will be argued for or against based on a plant i.e. opium poppy. Arguments For or Against the Hypothesis In the context of mind-altering organisms, the relation between the plant and human beings comes from the very ancient period. In those days, it was used in the ceremonial offerings and was extensively related to the spiritual world. Moreover, it was used as an organism of offering to the ancestors as well as god in the ceremonial offerings. In the modern day context, it is used in medicinal uses as well as applications in the secular aspects. It is also used in making capsules for curing certain diseases from various herbal plants. In non-industrial societies, these products or herbs are used to a great extent. It can be evidently observed that these plants were traditionally used by the people across diverse cultural societies for religious offerings. According to the survey conducted by Merlin, it can be stated that out of 488 societies, 437 were culturally involved in the usage of these plants in various industrial societies. It can be argued with reference to the evidences presented by several authors that consciousness altering plants such as opium poppy rendered the inspiration with regard to ancient

The Importance of Communication in Business

The Importance of Communication in Business Communication is the lifeblood of a business organization; no organization can succeed or progress, without effective communication. We can build good relationship within or outside the organization, build organizational image etc, through effective communication In any business, the communication of information is an essential part of three key business activities: Management decision-making (without relevant, timely and accurate information, decision-making at any level becomes quite tricky!) Co-ordination of departments, teams and groups e.g. making sure that marketing, production and administration know what each other is doing, when and why Motivation of individuals A program that focuses on general communication processes and dynamics within organizations. Includes instruction in the development and maintenance of interpersonal group relations within organizations; decision-making and conflict management; the use of symbols to create and maintain organizational images, missions, and values; power and politics within organizations; human interaction with computer technology; and how communications socializes and supports employees and team members. (Source: U. S. Department of Education) Process: Communication is a dialogue, not a monologue. In fact, communication is more concerned with a dual listening process. For communication to be effective, the message must mean the same thing to both the sender and the receiver. Directions: Horizontal/Literal Diagonal Vertical Horizontal/Literal Communication: Horizontal communication normally involves coordinating information, and allows people with the same or similar rank in an organization to cooperate or collaborate. Communication among employees at the same level is crucial for the accomplishment of work. Horizontal Communication is essential for: Solving problems Accomplishing tasks Improving teamwork Building goodwill Boosting efficiency Diagonal Communication: Less common; this involves interdepartmental communication by people at different levels. A good example would be a project team drawn from different grades and departments Vertical Communication: In a organization, vertical communication is communication between those who are on different levels of authority within the company. Examples are: manager to employee, general manager to managers, foreman to machine operator, head of the department to cashiers, etc. It includes Top-Down and Bottom-Up communications. Top-Down Bottom-Up Top-Down Bottom-Up TOP-Down Communication: A flow of communication from higher management to the lower level in the form of Orders, Instructions, and Plans. Information flowing from the top of the organizational management hierarchy and telling people in the organization what is important (mission) and what is valued (policies). Downward communication generally provides enabling information à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ which allows a subordinate to do something e.g.: Instructions on how to do a task. This type of communication is needed in an organization to: Transmit vital information Give instructions Encourage 2-way discussion Announce decisions Seek cooperation Provide motivation Boost morale Increase efficiency Obtain feedback Bottom-Up Communication: A flow of communication from the lower level to high level in the form of suggestions, feedback, and information. Upward communication is the flow of information from subordinates to superiors, or from employees to management. Without upward communication, management works in a vacuum, not knowing if messages have been received properly, or if other problems exist in the organization. By definition, communication is a two-way affair. Yet for effective two-way organizational communication to occur, it must begin from the bottom. Upward Communication is a mean for staff to: Exchange information Offer ideas Express enthusiasm Achieve job satisfaction Provide feedback Top-Down Vs. Bottom-Up: External Communication External communication covers how a provider interacts with those outside their own organization. This may be with the public, employers, community organizations, local authorities, job centres, careers offices, funding bodies, specialist agencies and other training providers. External communication is equally important as internal communication to provide a link between the employees and the shareholders and other third parties. As a matter of fact, external communication is considered as lifeblood of the modern business. External communication can be arranged by oral or verbal communication as well as through written media. Television Telex Telephone Tele printer Transmitters NWD ISD and other modern sophisticated communication technologies can be used for external communication. Written media like letters, circulars, Jl1emos, notices, legal notices, newspapers, magazines, manuals, periodical reports, pamphlets etc., are also used towards external communication. External correspondence is mostly in written form except in extraordinary circumstances resorting to telecommunication services. Internal/Organizational Communication Internal communication involves the communication that exists within a company and can take many forms. Key to the success of an organization is communication from within. In order to effectively engage in two-way symmetrical relations, (the goal of public relations practitioners), communication is essential internally. With increased use of e-mail, managers substitute face-to-face communication with email. Medium of internal Communication Employeesà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Handbook House Magazines and Newspapers Memos/Letters Reports Bulletin board notices Posters Computers/e-mail/Fax Functions of Internal and External Communications. Technology has rapidly expanded the types of internal and external communication available to organizations. The diagram illustrates the vast array of internal and external communication available. Combined together internal and external types of communications allow various sectors of the local, national and international community to interact, liaise and conduct business. Communication Policy Communication policy defines and controls the process of communicating information in order to make relation with other institutions, professional bodies and within organization. It also helps in making relation with the public through internet, publications and events. It gives us guidelines and restrict us in order to share information. Communication policy defines controls the process of communicating information Relations with other institutions, professional bodies, and within organization Relations with the public through Internet, publications and events; and Relations with the media. Protecting Sensitive Information: Information technology (IT) security is indispensable to an organizationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s ability to conduct business and achieve its objectives Security requirements affect almost every business process and system, and successful security measures help protect a businessà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ brand value, stakeholder confidence, risk management strategies, and compliance status. Requirements vary among industries, geographies, and regions, but the need to protect privacy, retain important data, and facilitate e-discovery are common to all For example: Once we initiative the activity in our office. We feel as we are not having Privacy Data confidentiality must also include intellectual property and other company-sensitive data to protect stakeholder interests and brand reputation. Data Retention Requirements Data retention requirements are mandated in support of right-to-information acts or in securities trades, which may be investigated years after the fact Data retention laws vary across geographies but have the common theme of specifying that certain types of data be stored for specific periods of time Privacy Pervades e-Discovery and Data Retention Requirements Tamperproof with an audit trail (data integrity) Only viewable by authorized parties (access control) Protected from viewing by unauthorized parties (confidentiality through encryption) Conclusion Developing a communication strategy and its implementation in an efficient and effective manner is quite beneficial for an organization. You need to be transparent about your goals and values. Consistency has to be maintained. You need to adopt comprehensive persuasive methods for that. All this needs a long term focus. The importance of communication in business The importance of communication in business In our daily life, communication is a tool that uses to maintain the relationship in between people surrounded us, and there will be no different in business environment. Business firm used communication tools or channel to start or maintain a good relationship with their shareholder and stakeholder. From the separate understanding, business is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦any goods and services that sent into the market for purpose of exchanging benefits or profits (Dictionary.com). Communication is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a process that involves exchange of information, thought, idea and emotion from sender to receiver through one or two way deliveringà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Buzzle.com). So business communication can be defined as a process or tools that helps business to show, promote and present their companys latest products/ services, current promotion, their market positioning, and situation. For example, Digi telecommunication will compare their product is better that others in their promotion catalog. Source: DiGi Prepaid Campus Plan Rate, 2010. By having a good communication system, it will lead the business to success. Business communication is divided in to two types that are internal and external. Internal communications is the communication system that used inside the company and it has function of building up a good relationship in between the company and their staff and it give the opportunity for employees and employer to develop strategy for improvement and setting goals together. Internal communication is also a fundamental element for maintaining an organization, improving employees morale value, promoting a vivid message and reducing errors in communication. In the other side, external communication is functioned form outside of the company. It involved goods and services production, advertising of the company, public relation, and the business negotiation. External communication is important because it exchanged the information or messages in between the organization with other firms, groups, which linked to pro fit making. Besides that, external communication main task is to make the organization cooperate smoothly with the public/stakeholder such as suppliers, investors and stockholders and also to promote a bright image on their goods or services to current and new potential customers. Business communication is an important tool for the company which will help every company to improve and also develop themselves. Context There are certain channels of communication that helps business to promote them, which are Internet, Print (Publication) Radio, Television, Ambient Media, Outdoor and words of mouth. Internet First of all, as the technology is kept on innovating, Internet has become a common tool to communicate and information transfer. By using Internet, people can communicate easily and efficiently, thought internet people can communicate with their friend and family around the world at anytime. From this perceptive, Internet has attracted people to do business through it. When goods and services sell through online, the market is global wide means thats the goods or services can be purchase by the people around the world. The internal business communication system in Internet is thats the employees can communicate and deliver important notice through email to their superior or subordinate. There are many company have their own email system for prevent their important file or data spread to the outside world and also to make their employees work more easily. For example; Eastern Oxygen Industries Sdn Bhd has their own email system for their employees to keep update on the situation of t he production and also let them done their works easily when they are not in the office. Image from: http://mymail.eox.com.my/mail/index.html. In other side, the external influences of business communication tools are usage of the internet advertising and promotion to attract the attention of potential customers. Normally, marketers/firms will choose the high hits website to invest in, such as YouTube, Amazon, Lelong.my, EBay, and etc. By putting their advertisement banner at the website, the firm can save time and costs. Because consumers can come across the product randomly at anytime that they are convenient as long as they surf the Internet. Another advantage of promoting through Internet is it does not require any specific product and consumer groups. All products can be promoted regardless of the type of product and the targeted consumer groups. Resource from: Amazon.com Besides promoting through website banner, marketer will also keep updated with their consumer by sending them the latest promotion or deals through email. Marketer will use their existed data base to create the business opportunity. This method is often used by software firms such as Megaupload, cyberlink, brothersoft and others to ensure that their customers are aware on their promotion and allowing them to purchase cheaper software product than other consumers. This will make the customers feel prioritized and appreciated by the firm. The image: Cyberlink Promotion through e-mail. Publication Print (Publications) Publications are another tool that business used to communicate with public. Its included all the product of books or other written material thats available in the market to anyone who interested through distribution or offer for the purpose of selling or other monetary exchange. (Thefreedictionary.com) Publications involve all information that is made to public through printing distribution such as newspaper, brochures and magazines. Advertising in newspaper is one of the most common forms and effective way to promote products because people will read the newspaper every day. Normally newspapers have two types of advertisement. First is text advertisement, it normally used as vacancy and small retail advertisement. It is a communication tools that help the company to sending massages to the external environment of the company and help them to find new members. For example, when a company advertise a hiring advertisement in newspapers, people that had read this advertisement will know this company is lacking of employees and they will intro their friend that are qualified to have a try on that position. Another type of newspaper advertising is display advertisement, these advertisement are normally use by commercial firm. It helps the firm to promote their goods and services, and also help them to attract new customer group. Magazines are another type of publication thats used by marketer to promote products. There are different types of magazines such as business magazines, mobile magazines, schools magazines, and etc. The advertisement are made depends on the target market of the goods and service. For example; Ring tone supply firm will do their advertisement in Mobile phone magazines such as e-ring, Sogi and others. Besides advertising on the companys goods and services in magazine, business magazines are also important to the business for seeking new investor to the company. These business magazines will interview the high potential company and analyze the company future movement for the reader. Sometimes business firm will also announce their company new project or upcoming plan to the magazine, and reader will able to know the company current and follow this information to do invest. Example of business magazines are Forbes, Times magazines, Business Week, The Edge TM and others. Radio Radio is another channel of business communication that helps business to communicate or deliver information to customer or stakeholder. Radio advertisements are only transmitted orally but it can reach a wide range of consumers because we normally use car or others transport to our destination and when we had stuck in the traffic jam we will turn on the radio. From this perspective, the radio advertising is targeted on the driver so the advertisement needs to be very specific and full of sense of humors. There are some disadvantage on advertising through radio thats are the advertisements does not have any visual or text, so it might fail attracting youngster especially students and young adults because they like visual stimulus more than oral stimulus. Television Television advertisement is an effective way to promote product and attract customers to purchases the product. The factor of television advertisement is different and more success than radio advertisement is because of it contains vivid motion and picture to promote the product. Besides that, it has interesting description and creative presentation that gave the products or services the chances to gain audiences attention and make them got the desire to buy or own the products. There are also some factors that firms need to consider when promoting their product through television. First, the advertisements fees of television are very costly; the firm needs to consider the time, way and contents to be broadcast. A research done by eHow.com, said that the estimated average cost of producing a 30-second commercial advertisement in the Super Bowl are coasted around $2.4 million, so the business need to fully utilized the costs to reach the targeted consumer group. The second factors that need to be considered are related to the demographic of the target market. Marketer need to follow the demographic of their potential consumers to fix in the broadcast time of their advertisement. For example, toys products advertisements need to broadcast on the time that kids were watching cartoon. By following these ways, business firm will be able to spend more efficiently on attracting their targeted consumer groups. Words of mouth The last business communication channel is word of mouth. Word-of-Mouth is the most efficient communication tools but it also a high risk utility. Word-of-Mouth is the informal communication between consumers of particular goods and services (Neal et al, 2004). If the firm used word of mouth as the tools to promote their product, they need explain the product clearly to ensure that the listener can fully understanding about the information because the listener might spread the false or blur information about the product to their friends or relatives if they didnt understand clearly, and this will cause the business to have a bad images/reputation on their product although it is a good product. Normally, the people who run the Word-of-Mouth tools are the opinion leader of any group. Opinion leader is defined as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦an individual who has a greater long-term involvement with a product category than the non-opinion leaders in his or her groupà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Neal et al, 2004) The characteristic of an opinion leader are they can interpersonal communicate with their follower and observe the followers consume behaviors, have the similar demographic characteristics with the follower and have involvement with a product category than the non-opinion leaders in his or her group. So marketer will targeted these opinion leaders when they are using Word-of-Mouth as the business communication tools to promote or attract to purchase their goods and service. Examples of opinion leader are CEO, parents, and etc. For example, when the parents are using Maxis as the telecommunication tool, then their children will follow them. Conclusion As a conclusion, business communication is the key to success as the business wont succeed without communication. The reason of business communication is a fundamental element to business is because it helps the company to communicate with their employees and help them to motive, satisfy, and fulfill their employees need and wants. In another side, it also helps the employees to understand the company target goals, future achievement, the company policies and authority, and etc. Besides that, business communication tools also help the business to promote their goods and services to the public through all kind of advertising path. But advertisements are very costly for the business so the types of advertisement are the main issue that the company needs to consider. The company needs to follow their products and target market to choose their advertising tools. For example, if the company is selling toys and their target market are kids so they need to do advertisement in television on cartoons channels. Besides that, business communication tools also help the company to communicate with the public. For example, the vacancy advertisement in newspaper has sent the information to the public thats the company is lack of employees so those who want to find job can go this company for an interview. However, business communication has also disadvantages but it depends how the business utilize it. APA Referencing Consumer behavior: implication for marketing strategy, Neal, Quester and Hawkins, 2004, Australia: McGraw-hill Australia Pty Limited. Dictionary.com, 20 march 2011 1312 hours, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/business Buzzle.com, 21 march 2011 1520 hours, http://www.buzzle.com/articles/communications/ Ehow, Fenell, 22 March 2011 1436 hours, http://www.ehow.com/about_5448301_average-cost-tv-commercial.html Thefreedictionary, Farlex, 30 March 2011 1444 hours, http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Print+publication

Joan of Arc Essay -- Essays Papers

Joan of Arc Jeanne d’Arc, or La Pucelle, the Maid of Orleans became a national heroine and patron saint of France in the fifteenth century. She was born to Isabelle de Vouthon and Jacques Darc, small peasant farmers in the town of Domremy, near Champagne. She was the youngest of five children, and grew up learning to attend in the fields and housekeeping duties. She was quite skilled in sewing and spinning. Although illiterate, Joan was taught about religion and was known to be a pious child who spent a lot of time in prayer and petition, often kneeling in the church in quiet humility. People in her community thought of Joan as exceptionally advanced and mature for her age and had the reputation of being a tender hearted individual, especially to the poor. At around the age of thirteen, Joan became conscious of these voices or â€Å"counsel† that she heard. These voices were supposedly those of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret, believing that they had been sent by God. At first, she reported just hearing a voice, later, the voice(s) were accompanied by a figure. She was somewhat reluctant to speak of these voices. It was these voices that revealed her saintly â€Å"mission† gradually, that it was her divine mission to free her country from the English, aid the dauphin gain the French throne, and became certain that she was to go and help the King. It was then she felt urged to present herself to the commander of the King for a neighboring town, Robert Baudr...

Beauty Therapy Essay

Salon Reception Duties – Produce A Guide Recording Appointments And Messages Accurately It’s important to record appointments accurately so that the therapists know what clients they have at what time. If you fail to record an appointment accurately then you could cause a real problem when a client comes into the salon to find out there not on the therapists schedules which could of been avoided by doing the job properly. You could also lose clients by not paying enough attention and giving them the wrong times and days as they won’t think your salon is reliable. You also need to make sure all the therapists get a lunch break between clients and also time to set their equipment up, you don’t want to book clients to close to each other, otherwise the client may feel as if the therapist is rushing them and won’t be satisfied with their overall experience. It’s important to record messages accurately when working in a salon so that the therapist s no if anyone would like them to ring them back or if they have a query. Also, you may not be certain on what a client wants so say you’ll take a message, when doing so you need to make sure you take their full name and contact number and whatever the message is their giving. You should also get them to repeat their name and number to make sure the information you have is correct otherwise when you or a therapist is calling back you may not be able to get through to them, again losing a client. If the message is urgent and they need to be contacted ASAP you need to make sure it’s clear that is it and put it in a separate place to the non urgent messages. Dealing With Client Enquiries Promptly And Politely Whether it’s an internal or external enquiry you should always try to answer it with little or no delay and you need to be polite, it might not just be a client who’s calling or that has come into the salon, it could be someone who is just buying your products and you should see to them in a punctual manner. By doing this they ’ll want to come back, if you show no interest in what there enquiring you’ll lose custom and reputation. It could even be someone who supplies your products ringing for your salon to stock up, if you’re ever unsure of what someone is enquiring and how to answer you would need to refer the enquiry to another member of staff or the manager. Other internal people who may enquire you include of current clients or a member of staff, other external people include of new clients, suppliers of products you don’t have or even people wanting to market your salon. Dealing With Confidential Client Information Under The Data Protection Act If you handle personal information about individuals, for example, a consultation form, you have a number of legal obligations to protect that information under the data protection act. It gives rights for any client to have a copy of their personal data and to block, erase or destroy anything that is incorrect about them. It’s important to keep all confidential information in a locked file away for their personal comfort and to prevent unauth orised access, alteration or accidental loss. You should never talk about any ones personal information people outside the salon or in front of other clients in the salon.

Swot Analysis of It in Ryanair

RYANAIR by: Simon Schuster 08707031 BAHTM Since its beginnings in 1985, Ryanair has created a niche market for a ‘no frills’ airline based upon the model they adopted from Southwest Airlines. Ryanair is now the most popular (in terms of passenger traffic) low cost airline in Europe. Ryanair’s primary model is low cost and IT has been influential to this. Today, 99% of Ryanair passengers check-in online (the other 1% being a small number of self-check-in kiosks in Stansted) and the same ratio applies to sales, 99% of which are acquired through www. ryanair. om. We are going to conduct an analysis of the implementation of IT in their strategy. The analysis tool being used will be SWOT. Strengths One of the strengths Ryanair have with regards to IT is their website. It accounts for almost the entirety of their sales. As well as this it provides a wealth of data on where people travel? How often? How many bags? These are all instrumental pieces of information that hel p manage operation. Using this information will allow Ryanair to boost the accuracy how it distributes its fleet across their destinations.Another use of this information would be how they control queues for passengers checking-in luggage as they would have the exact data from the online booking. As of August 2011, www. ryanair. com was the most visited airline website in Europe. This statistic shows that the website has a distinct advantage above their competitors in acquiring revenue from advertisements. As well as this, it shows a trend that travellers visit their site the most whether they go directly there or are referred to it because of their cheap prices.Aside from their website, they operate a single model fleet comprising of 275 Boeing 737-800s. This makes repairs and diagnostics universal which allows them to use the same scale to track and monitor the performance and safety of their aircrafts. This again would considerably lower costs. Weaknesses Ryanair’s website has often come in for criticism because of its misleading prices. They regularly advertise ‘promotions’ or ‘offers’ at rock bottom prices, however they don’t include the related charges and ‘optional’ fees.These charges and fees being, using any payment method other than Ryanair credit. Another possible weakness is their reluctance to adopt the mobile boarding pass. As many other airlines have this facility as another way to aid their customers’ experience, Ryanair seem to think less of it with Michael O’Leary saying â€Å"If you’ve printed out your piece of paper from the website, what does the mobile phone do for you? Nothing. †. I can only presume this is because it will decrease the amount people being charged for the many fines Ryanair have in place for their customers.A further weakness is the fact they have decided to charge â‚ ¬2. 99 to download their app for iPad and iPhone. This is in contrast to other airlines who released their apps well in advance of Ryanair but chose to offer it free to customers with similar or more functionality like the mobile boarding pass mentioned above. Opportunities Ryanair has many opportunities to grow through IT. Being the most visited airline website, advertising is a huge opportunity to gain revenue.As well as this, it presents an opportunity to combine flights with other components of travel like hotels and car rental. They currently have a relationship with Hertz and also have a hotel booking function through www. ryanairhotels. com. As well as this they have relationships with other travel accommodation providers. There is an opportunity there to offer a package deal where customers will be able to purchase a holiday in full from Ryanair. This would be useful to customers as well as Ryanair.Ryanair tested the use of mobile phones during flights which were received well by passengers as well as the airline themselves. However, they failed to reach an agreement with communications company OnAir. This is something that certainly will be the norm in years to come and I’m sure Ryanair would like to get there first as profits from high margin calls and texts could be lucrative. Because of a long relationship with Boeing, as well as using the same model planes across their fleet, Ryanair can provide Boeing with large amounts of valuable data.Data that would help develop Boeings future models and in turn would provide improvements for Ryanair’s new planes. There is also a possibility Ryanair could install monitors on their planes that display sponsored advertisements for the duration of the flight. These ads could be related to the planes destination as well as Ryanair’s own adverts. Threats Ryanair’s biggest threat, among all airlines, is the rising price of fuel. Aside from this, they could face sanctions for their misleading adverts on their website.Another threat of theirs is hackers, who co uld interrupt their website causing loss in revenue as well as customer dissatisfaction if online check-in was unavailable. An extreme case of this would be terrorists hacked into aviation authorities and caused an international threat. There is always the threat of more and more low cost airlines doing business, however even with others developing better apps and having higher standards of customer relations, Ryanair seem unfazed as they are ruthless in their low cost model and continue to be the cheapest. SummaryIn conclusion, Ryanair’s IT strategy and how they implement it on their business is working well for them. The key asset being their website, through which almost all their revenue comes from. Even though competitors may have slight advantages in other IT components, Ryanair has the most efficient model and their brand as the ‘no frills’ airline is evidently the most recognisable across Europe. With a website with such high traffic and putting the major ity of the pre-flight responsibility on the customer, it’s clear to see how they use IT to their advantage. References