Public Reactions to the Qantas Grounding Crisis

Despite a growing number of studies on crisis communication, there is very little research that examines corporate crises from a consumer perspective, particularly for crisis case studies within Australia. Using Yin’s (2002) framework for case study research methods, this research group conducted a qualitative content analysis of 1121 audience comments attached to three news articles on the 2011 Qantas grounding crisis.Using Weiner’s Attribution Theory (1986, 1995) and the qualitative content analysis software; Leximancer, we used these comments to deconstruct audience perceptions of the Qantas crisis and isolate different emotional, attitudinal and behavioural responses. Our first major finding indicated that the majority of audience members attributed the cause of the Qantas crisis to managerial decisions or union action. Working Conditions and Government policy was also found to be secondary factors to the crisis cause.We also found these four causal factors to be st rongly associated with audience’s responsibility judgments. The four key responsible stakeholder groups that emerged from our analysis were Alan Joyce (Qantas Management), Unions, Employees and the Labor Government. Another important focus of this study examined audience’s crisis emotions. Anger was found to be the predominant emotion that emerged from our analysis and was largely directed towards management and union stakeholders.Sympathy also emerged as a secondary emotion but was largely directed towards employees and management. Our final research finding uncovered a number of behavioural intentions within the audience comments. While the majority of these behavioural intentions centre around avoidance and negative purchase intentions, a few increased investment intentions also emerged. Although our Leximancer analysis was restricted by a number of technical limitations, these research findings indicate that Weiner’s Attribution Theory can be successfully ap plied to a real life crisis case study.Despite a growing number of studies on crisis communication, there is very little research that examines corporate crises from a consumer perspective, particularly for crisis case studies within Australia. Using Yin’s (2002) framework for case study research methods, this research group conducted a qualitative content analysis of 1121 audience comments attached to three news articles on the 2011 Qantas grounding crisis. Using Weiner’s Attribution Theory (1986, 1995) and the qualitative content analysis software; Leximancer, we used these omments to deconstruct audience perceptions of the Qantas crisis and isolate different emotional, attitudinal and behavioural responses. Our first major finding indicated that the majority of audience members attributed the cause of the Qantas crisis to managerial decisions or union action. Working Conditions and Government policy was also found to be secondary factors to the crisis cause. We also found these four causal factors to be strongly associated with audience’s responsibility judgments.The four key responsible stakeholder groups that emerged from our analysis were Alan Joyce (Qantas Management), Unions, Employees and the Labor Government. Another important focus of this study examined audience’s crisis emotions. Anger was found to be the predominant emotion that emerged from our analysis and was largely directed towards management and union stakeholders. Sympathy also emerged as a secondary emotion but was largely directed towards employees and management. Our final research finding uncovered a number of behavioural intentions within the audience comments.While the majority of these behavioural intentions centre around avoidance and negative purchase intentions, a few increased investment intentions also emerged. Although our Leximancer analysis was restricted by a number of technical limitations, these research findings indicate that Weiner’s A ttribution Theory can be successfully applied to a real life crisis case study. Abstract Tamara Dorrington (s4177314) | Sarah Natasha Raziff (s4275762) | Jasmine Soriano (s4272997) | Kate Fitzpatrick (s4201686) | Roxanne Lim (s4256084) Supervisor: Lyn McDonald The University of Queensland, 2012Tamara Dorrington (s4177314) | Sarah Natasha Raziff (s4275762) | Jasmine Soriano (s4272997) | Kate Fitzpatrick (s4201686) | Roxanne Lim (s4256084) Supervisor: Lyn McDonald The University of Queensland, 2012 Public Reactions to The Qantas Grounding Crisis, A Qualitative Content Analysis A corporate crisis often poses an unpredictable threat that can have resounding effects on an organization and its stakeholders (Coombs, 1999, 2010). These effects are largely dependent on how effectively the crisis is managed (Coombs, 2010) and upon stakeholder’s perceptions of the crisis cause (McDonald, Sparks & Glendon, 2010).To date there has been very little research on consumer reactions to corpora te crises (McDonald, et al. 2010), especially for crises  outside the United States (Lee, 2004). In order to understand the implications of this research project on crisis communication, one must first gain an understanding of the Qantas grounding crisis. As one of Australia’s leading domestic and international airline brands, Qantas has a well-established reputation for upholding â€Å"excellence in safety, operational reliability, engineering, maintenance and customer service† (Qantas, 2012, pp. 2).On October 2011, the company faced one of the largest corporate crises in its 95 years of history, a crisis that had widespread negative impacts on its reputation. After months of failed negotiations between management and union representatives, around 4000 Qantas employees took part in an organized strike, demanding greater job security, better wages and fairer working conditions. Qantas management responded by grounding its entire domestic and international fleet, lock ing out staff involved in the action and stranding around 68,000 passengers worldwide (Sydney Morning Herald, 2011).The Federal Government also became involved in the dispute, threatening to terminate strikes under the Fair Work Act if negotiations between union members and management proved unsuccessful (new. com. au, 2011) Our case study analysis adds to existing crisis research by analyzing 1121 audience comments attached to three news articles on the Qantas grounding crisis: 734 comments from the Sydney Morning Herald article (Live: FWA orders Qantas dispute terminated, 2011), 171 comments from the ABC article (Qantas grounds its entire fleet, 2011) and 216 comments from the news. om. au article (Qantas crisis: Who won and who's to blame). Using Weiner’s Attribution Theory (1986, 1995) as a theoretical framework, we used the comments from these three articles to deconstructed audience perceptions of the Qantas crisis and isolate audience member’s different emotiona l, attitudinal and behavioral responses. While studies into crisis communication are a popular area of research, much of the existing research has used experimental designs to examine the effectiveness of different types of crisis accounts or apologia.A case study analysis of audience reactions to the 2011 Qantas grounding crisis has many wider implications for crisis management strategies in future. First, by evaluating audience comments, this study provides an insight into stakeholder crisis reactions that may have greater generalizability than experimental studies. Second, knowledge of audience’s attribution processes will help future public relations managers to mitigate negative crisis outcomes and manage brand reputation more effectively. Literature ReviewTo date, there has been very little research on consumer reactions to corporate crises (McDonald, et al. , 2010) particularly for crisis cases outside the United States (Lee, 2004). The majority of existing literature has approached crisis communication from an organisational perspective, using experimental design to examine the relationship between different types of crisis accounts and consumer’s purchase intentions (Lee, 2004). Very little research has taken a content analysis approach, examining audience reactions to real life crises cases.In bridging this gap, it is relevant to examine real life audience perceptions of crisis cause their association with different emotional, attitudinal and behavioral responses. According to Lee (2004), taking a consumer orientated approach should provide valuable insights into how individuals understand and react to organisational crises. Such knowledge would help public relations managers to mitigate negative crisis outcomes and manage brand reputation more effectively.Theoretical Framework: Weiner’s Attribution Theory (1986, 1995) Our research was primarily guided by Weiner’s (1986, 1995) Attribution Theory (WAT), which examines the p sychological process by which individuals understand and react to external events. While WAT was originally used as a theoretical framework for examining interpersonal relationships, it has been successfully applied to the context of company crises (McDonald et al. , 2010). Adapting Weiner’s (1986, 1995) Attribution Theory (WAT) audiences bserve and interpret events, such as the Qantas crisis, making attributions about its cause along two causal dimensions: Locus (whether the cause was internal or external to the company) and Controllability (whether the cause was controllable or uncontrollable). The interpretation of crisis cause under these two constructs leads to a responsibility judgement that, in turn, results in emotions, which then influences behaviors (McDonald et. al. , 2010).Weiner (1995) also suggests that mitigating circumstances or personal relevance may also impact the individual’s responsibility judgement or the strength of their emotional reaction. The relationship between the various components of Weiner’s (1986, 1995) theoretical framework is depicted in the flow chart below. Mitigating Circumstances Mitigating Circumstances In order to successfully apply Weiner’s (1986, 1195) Attribution Theory (WAT) to the context of the 2011 Qantas grounding crisis, we first examined the individual components of this theoretical framework.A)   Attributions of Cause (Locus and Controllability) As previously discussed, Weiner’s (1986, 1995) Attribution Theory (WAT) suggests that audiences evaluate an event and make attributions about its cause along two dimensions. The Locus dimension refers to the location of the crisis cause as being either internal or external to the organisation (Lee, 2004). Controllability refers to whether the crisis cause is within the control of the organisation or not (Lee, 2004). According to Lee (2004) a crisis cause that is within the boundaries of an organisation (internal locus) is also ofte n perceived as controllable.Likewise, a crisis cause that judged to be outside the organisation (external locus) is often viewed as uncontrollable (Lee, 2004). However Coombs (1995) and McDonald et. al. (2010) both hypothesised that crises could be internal and controllable (neglected maintenance), internal and uncontrollable (employee sabotage), external and controllable (failure to comply with government regulations) as well as external and uncontrollable (terrorism sabotage). The graph below represents the causal matrix summarized by McDonald et. al. (2010) | Internal| External|Controllable| Neglected Maintenance| Failure to comply with government regulations | Uncontrollable| Employee Sabotage | Terrorism Sabotage| In the context of the Qantas crisis, this leads us to the following research questions: Research Question 1: What are the audience perceptions of the key contributing factors to the crisis cause? Research Question 2: Are these key factors internal and controllable or external and uncontrollable? According to Coombs (1995) the causal dimensions of Locus and Controllability have a direct impact upon an audience’s crisis response.A study by Folkes (1984) found that locus and controllability had separate effects on customers’ responsibility judgments, emotions and behavioral intentions. Lee (2004) also suggested that, in a crisis context, events that were perceived to be internal and controllable were viewed more negatively by audience members than those that were considered external and uncontrollable (Lee, 2004). Although separating these two constructs was challenging in analyzing audience comments, the following research questions aided us in mapping out ideas for our Leximancer data analysis.Research question 3: What crisis causes are associated with negative and positive crisis reactions? B)   Ã‚  Responsibility Judgment The next step in Weiner’s (1986, 1995) Attribution Theory is the process by which individuals attribu te responsibility. Social psychologists Fincham and Jaspars (1980) noted that, in an interpersonal context, individuals would often go beyond the attributions of causality to make judgments about who should be held accountable for an observed outcome.Likewise, audiences will assign crisis responsibility after a causal attribution (Lee, 2004). The direction and degree of responsibility judgment will therefore depend upon the audience’s attributions of crisis cause (Lee, 2004). Coombs and Holladay (1996, 2002) and Jorgensen (1994, 1996) both used Weiner’s (1986, 1995) causal dimensions of locus and controllability as the foundation for their studies into crisis communication. All found perceptions of crisis cause to be a major determinant of responsibility judgments and subsequent stakeholder reactions.Of particular relevance to our current study, Lee (2004) found crises that were perceived to be internal (locus) and controllable (controllability) were more likely to bri ng about responsibility judgments aimed at the company and its managers. On the other hand, audiences tended to attribute less blame to the company in situations where the crisis cause was viewed as external and uncontrollable, instead reacting with sympathy and support (Lee, 2004).In analysing audience comments through the use of the Leximancer program, we aim to uncover public sentiment and reveal what major stakeholder groups or individuals are held responsible for the 2011 Qantas crisis. This leads us to the following research question: Research question 4: What stakeholder groups are perceived to be responsible for the crisis? C)   Ã‚  Crisis Emotions According to Choi and Lin (2009) there is a strong need to explore a variety of crisis emotions, in particular the impact that crisis emotions have upon attitudes toward the company and upon subsequent behavioral intentions (McDonald et. l. , 2010). Several studies (e. g. Coombs ; Holladay; 1996, 2002, Jorgensen; 1994, 1996 and Lee; 2004) have used Weiner’s causal dimensions of locus and controllability, finding causal attributions to be a major determinant of stakeholder crisis emotions. McDonald et. al. (2010) found that crisis controllability was the single strongest predictor of anger, sympathy and negative attitude while Lee (2004) found that in cases where crises were viewed as uncontrollable, pity was elicited.In McDonald’s (2010) study, internal crises were found to correspond with fear and surprise while external crises were more likely to result in a sympathetic emotion response (McDonald et al. , 2010). These findings validate the concept within Weiner’s (1986, 1995) Attribution Theory that causal attribution precedes responsibility judgment, which in turn affects crisis emotions. This leads us to the following research question for our Qantas crisis analysis: Research question 5: What audience emotions have emerged? D)   Ã‚  Behavioral IntentionsWhile responsibility judgm ent affects emotions, emotions, in turn, impact upon behavioral intentions (Weiner, 1995). Several studies have investigated the relationship between crisis emotion (anger, fear, sadness, joy, surprise) and consumer’s behavioral intentions. A review of previous literature by McDonald et at. (2010) found that anger influences punitiveness (Jorgensen, 1996), negative purchase intentions (Coombs ; Holladay, 2007), negative word of mouth (Coombs ; Holladay, 2007) and indirectly lowers investment intentions (Jorgensen, 1996).Sadness lead to a higher reliance on emotional support while fear was associated with venting intentions or avoidance (Jin, 2009). Coombs and Holladay (2007) also found that dissatisfied customers were more likely to voice negative sentiments about a product or service than happy customers. This leads us to our final research question regarding the application of Weiner’s (1986, 1995) Attribution Theory to audience’s Qantas crisis response: Resea rch Question 6: What audience behavioral intentions have emerged?Based upon the review of existing literature, the current case study examined how Weiner’s (1986, 1995) Attribution Theory can be applied to a current crisis case in Australia using actual stakeholder comments. In particular, we expect to uncover associations between Weiner’s (1986, 1995) causal constructs (locus and controllability), judgments of responsibility, emotions and behavioral intentions within the context of audience comments. Methodology According to Yin (1994), case studies involve a methodical way of looking at an instance or event within its real-life context.It is a process of collecting data, analyzing information, and reporting the results in order to gain a sharpened understanding of why a particular event occurred, and what might be relevant to future research in the area (Yin, 1994). This research project involved the development of a case study analysis that followed a reputation cri sis faced by the Australian national airline, Qantas, in October of 2011. By conducting a content analysis of 1121 audience comments, this group was able to deconstruct the crisis narrative and examine audience’s attribution process during the 2011 Qantas crisis.Yin defined the research design as a sequence that links data to the study’s research questions and findings. In order to address our research questions, this group adopted a variation of Yin’s (1994) case study design, collecting appropriate evidence, analysing the data and reporting on the findings. Step one of Yin’s (1994) case study research methods involved the collection of data for content analysis. Yin (1994) noted that data collection could rely on many sources of evidence, one of which includes documentation such as media articles.Following Yin’s (1994) data collection guidelines, this group collected 1121 reader comments attached to three news articles on the Qantas crisis, inclu ding 734 comments from the Sydney Morning Herald online (Live: FWA orders Qantas dispute terminated), 171 comments from the ABC website (Qantas grounds its entire fleet) and 216 comments from news. com. au (Qantas crisis: Who won and who's to blame). We then inputted the 1121 audience comments into an excel spreadsheet, organising them on the basis of media source and comment characteristics.The second step in Yin’s cases study research methods is data analysis. This involves examining and categorizing evidence that is relevant to the study (Yin, 1994). To achieve this, we conducted a content analysis, aided by the concept association software; Leximancer. According to Hsieh and Shannon (2005) a qualitative content analysis is one of numerous research methods used to analyse text data. Qualitative content analyses go beyond a simple word association and instead involves an in depth classification of language into an efficient number of categories with similar meanings (Weber, 1990).Leximancer is a software program designed to perform this conceptual analyses of text data in a largely independent manner (Smith, 2003). It is able to analyse large volumes of comments and to statistically assess the association between words, identifying emergent themes in the body of text. The basis for Leximancer’s qualitative data analysis is a concept association matrix that is built from frequency data (Rooney, 2005). The result is a visual map and insight dashboard that identifies the relational characteristics of key concepts (Middleton, Liesch & Steen, 2011).However this raw Leximancer data requires further human analysis. By further analysing these Leximancer results we were able to analyse audience reactions to the Qantas grounding crisis under the construct of Weiner’s (1986, 1995) attribution theory. The final phase of Yin’s cases study research methods involves reporting the results and checking their validity. According to Yin (1994) conte nt analyses involve a danger of committing what has been called the narrative fallacy.This fallacy consists of a propensity to simplify data through a preference for compact stories over complex data sets (Yin, 1994). In case study research, the way to avoid the narrative fallacy is no different from any other error: the usual consistent checks for validity and reliability in how data is collected, analyzed and presented. Therefore it was important to conduct a thorough check of the Leximancer results, correlating Leximancer findings with contextual examples within the article comments and providing exemplar samples of audience statements. Research ResultsLeximancer is able to generate two types of sentiment analysis reports: a visual concept map showing a detailed assembly of prominent concepts, and an insight dashboard which provides quantitative rankings of concepts and their associated terms (Middleton, et al, 2011). The insight dashboard generates information about the data set by analysing the frequency, strength and prominence of reoccurring terms within the text. It then organises these terms into ‘categories’, which are groups of recurring sentiments, and ‘concepts’, which are ideas that bear a strong contextual link to these categories (Middleton, et al, 2011).Leximancer also automatically identifies ‘compound concepts’, which are two terms that are mentioned adjacent to one another within the context of a larger category (Middleton, et al, 2011). Leximancer analyses the data set using a default thesaurus which it uses to identify terms as ‘positive evidence’ towards a certain sentiment or category. The user can also adjust the focus of the output results by controlling a number of manual settings within the program. By adjusting these settings, results in answer to our research questions were analysed.Research Question 1 asked â€Å"what are the audience perceptions of the key contributing factors to the crisis cause? † In order to answer this research question, a preliminary Leximancer analysis, examining key causal factors, was conducted. The concept map in figure 1 was generated by inputting all 1121 audience comments into the Leximancer program and adjusting the thesaurus settings to recognise related terms (such as ‘Alan Joyce’ and ‘AJ’). The resulting concept map clearly illustrates the key causal categories and maps their association with surrounding terms.The main causal concepts that emerge from figure 1 are ‘union action’, ‘managerial decisions’, ‘working conditions’ and ‘industrial action’. These four terms appear as prominent categories from which smaller, related concepts stem. Figure 1: Leximancer concept map The concept map in figure 1 forms the foundation for the subsequent graphs 2 and 3, where these key concepts are examined in more depth using related data from the insight dashboard. Examining these four main causal categories and their related terms, we can begin to deconstruct the narrative surrounding the Qantas crisis.In particular, we can begin to analyse audience member’s attribution process in terms of Weiner’s theoretical framework. Figure 2 (below) is a pie chart, isolating the four main causal categories and their associated terms. The terms surrounding each main category represent the associated concepts that appeared with relative frequency and strength under each main causal category. Terms such as ‘pathetic’, ‘appalled’ and ‘abominable’ were linked strongly with Managerial Decisions, while Union Action was associated with concepts such as ‘bloody minded’, ‘bashing’ and ‘dominated’.Industrial Action was positioned within the context of government policy with related terms such as ‘Gillard’, ‘Fair Work Act’ and ‘Labor ’. Finally, ‘Working Conditions’ can be seen positioned alongside key terms like ‘employees’, ‘pay’ and ‘unreasonable’ Figure 2: Four key crisis factors and related terms Figure 3 shows a further breakdown of each of the four main causal categories. Each pie chart was generated using the quantitative data in the insight dashboard, which outlines the strength, frequency and prominence of the four key categories and their related terms.The first of the four pie graphs explores the category of ‘Managerial Decisions’. Here we can see that the two major concepts associated with the managerial decisions category are MGMT (an acronym for management) and Alan Joyce. ‘Brand’, ‘restructures’ and ‘failures’ are secondary concepts that also appeared in association with Managerial Decisions. The second pie graph depicts the breakdown of concepts associated with the category of Industria l Action. Here, industrial action is positioned closely with concepts such as ‘Gillard’, ‘Fair Work Australia’ and ‘Federal Government’.Therefore it is evident that this causal category refers to the impact of government policy on the Qantas crisis. In the working conditions pie graph, the strong association between terms such as ‘employees’, ‘afford’ and ‘earn’ with terms such as ‘pay rise, ‘wages, and ‘salary’ indicate that one of the causes of this crisis involved current pay schemes and unfair working conditions. Finally, ‘Union action’ is also identified as a main contributing factor to the crisis cause. This pie graph explores this category by highlighting some of its key associated terms.In particular, one can see the clear association between ‘unions’, ‘demands’ and ‘striking’. In the context of the Qantas crisis, union gr oups made a number of demands regarding current working conditions and this was responsible for a large majority of subsequent employee strikes. Figure 3: graphs exploring the compound categories of managerial decisions, working conditions, Industrial action, and union action Research Question 2 was concerned with the application of Weiner’s (1986, 1995) causal dimensions of Locus and Controllability.It asked whether the key causal factors in the Qantas crisis (identified in figures 1 – 3) could be classified as internal and controllable or external and uncontrollable. As previously discussed in our literature review, past studies on crisis communication have shown that crises can be either be internal and controllable (neglected maintenance), internal and uncontrollable (employee sabotage), external and controllable (failure to comply with government regulations) or external and uncontrollable (terrorist sabotage). If we adapt our understanding of McDonald et al. 2010 ) we can apply the following attribution matrix to the current Qantas case study. Figure 4: Qantas’ attribution matrix . Research question 3 asks â€Å"what crisis causes can be associated with negative and positive crisis reactions? † Figure 5 addresses this research question by using Leximancer insights to compare the appearance of favourable and unfavourable terms within the context of audience comments. To justify the results, Leximancer’s insight dashboard provides examples of each sentiment with comments directly from the data set.The graph below shows that audience comments carry both favourable and unfavourable connotations towards the concepts of management, industrial action, and employees. The balance of favourable and unfavourable terms for all four causal concepts (managerial decisions, union action, working conditions and industrial action) is consistent with our preliminary sample of audience comments. Figure 5: unfavourable vs favourable terms Fi gure 6 addresses research question 4 (What stakeholder groups are perceived to be responsible for the crisis? by using a Leximancer visual concept map depicting the major stakeholder groups identified in the audience comments. The main stakeholder groups that are identified in this visual concept map are: * Alan Joyce * Employees * Unions * Government * Qantas customers * Australians in general Figure 6: Responsible Stakeholder clusters Based on the information obtained in figure 4, we can take a step further and categorise these major stakeholder groups as either internal or external to the company. As the CEO and head of the Qantas company, Alan Joyce is identified as largely responsible for managerial decisions.Baggage handlers, ground staff and cabin crew are grouped under the stakeholder heading of employees, while the Australian Licenced Engineers Union (ALAEA), the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Australian and International Pilots Union (AIPA) are grouped under the sta keholder heading of unions. Finally, the government is also identified as a responsible stakeholder group, with many audience comments citing the role of Julia Gillard, the Labour government and the Fair Work Act in failing to mitigate the industrial dispute. Figure 7: Responsibility JudgementFigure 8 is a visual representation of the crisis emotion that have emerged from our anlaysis of audience comments. This graph is based on the information taken from Leximancer’s insight dashboard about the strength, prominence and frequency of various sentiments. Anger was the predominant emotion that emerged from the data set and was directed toward all stakeholders, particularly ‘unions’ and ‘management’. While ‘sympathy’ emerged as another primary meotion, it was used to express empathy towards workers’ plights while ‘Sorry’ was used in relation to customers, employees, and industrial action. Support’ was also a prodom inant sentiment that emerged and was expressed toward all parties in relatively equal degrees. Figure 8: Audience emotions Due to the informal nature of comments and the variation in sentence structure, it was challenging to isolate behavioural intentions from the data set using the Leximancer software. However, a preliminary manual analysis uncovered a number of trends in consumer’s behavioural intentions. Major findings indicated that of the 4% of comments that implied a behavioural intention, most were negative, while a small number showed positive purchase or investment intentions.Figure 9 shows a cross selection of comments extracted from the data in response to research question 6. This conceptual depiction summarises the main behavioural intentions that emerged from the Qantas crisis. Figure 9: Behavioural intentions Figure 10 is based on a manual analysis of comments over all three news sites, and shows the frequency of behavioural intentions that have emerged from th e data set. The category ‘miscellaneous intentions’ refers to behaviours such as buying shares, venting action, or switching carriers.Figure 10: Behavioural intentions frequency Discussion This case study analysis uncovered a number of key findings that are relevant to crisis communication research. First, our research found that audiences perceived the key contributing factor to the Qantas crisis to be ‘union action’, ‘managerial decisions’, ‘working conditions’ and ‘industrial action’ with the majority of comments attributing the crisis to managerial decisions and union action.When analysing these key causal factors under Weiner’s dimensions of Locus and Controllability, managerial decisions can be interpreted as both internal and controllable to the company while ‘Union Action’ can be seen as both external and uncontrollable. If we analyse ‘working conditions’ in the context of its r elated terms, we can understand that this cause is about employees’ observations of their working conditions and the resulting strikes.In particular, this casual factor is about employees being unhappy with current circumstances and demanding better working conditions from Qantas management. While employees are internal to the company, their objections to their working conditions and the ensuing strikes can be understood as relatively uncontrollable. Finally, ‘industrial action’ in seen within the context of government policy and work place regulation. While the government is external to Qantas, the company’s compliance with government regulations is certainly within management’s control.Therefore we classify this causal concept as both external and controllable. These findings build upon previous research by Coombs (1995) and McDonald et. al. (2010) – that Locus and Controllability can have separate effects on audience’s attribution p rocess and that crises may not only be internal/controllable and external/uncontrollable but also internal /uncontrollable and external /controllable. The second major finding of this research project linked causal attributions to audience’s responsibility judgements.When audiences identified the major causal factor as ‘managerial decisions’ they also tended to attribute blame to Qantas management, in particular to Qantas CEO; Alan Joyce. The resulting emotions that emerged from this attribution were anger towards Qantas management and support for unions and employees. This sentiment is exemplified in the audience comment â€Å"As a QF F of 20+ years †¦ I wish to register my total support for the staff and crew at QF over their current legitimate and understandable attempts to prevent Management from destroying the airline which I hold so dear. This customer is sick and tired of being exploited by senior management and the board. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (ABC. net. a u, 2011). These findings are similar to those of Lee’s (2004) who stated that crises that were perceived to be internal (locus) and controllable (controllability) would bring about responsibility judgements aimed towards the company and its managers. Another key trend in the data identified ‘union action’ as the main cause of the crisis. These audience members tended to attribute blame to unions and employees involved in striking action.When union action, which we identified as external and uncontrollable, was attributed as the primary cause of the crisis, audience members tended to respond with anger towards unions and employees and sympathy towards the company and its managers. One example of this is conveyed in the audience’s comment: â€Å"Well done Alan Joyce. Striking is the lowest form of human behaviour in my opinion†¦. I hope all these lazy striking staff lose their jobs and are replaced by hardworking people, †¦ who unlike Qantas emplo yees appreciate their jobs, rather than expect that they are their god given right† (ABC. et. au, 2011). The third major finding in our case study uncovered a number of audience crisis emotions. While we anticipated finding negative audience emotions such as anger and helplessness, we also uncovered a number of positive emotions that expressed support and sympathy towards all stakeholder groups. One such comment that expressed empathy towards the Qantas brand was sourced from the Sydney Morning Herald (2011), â€Å"Qantas made the right decision and any company which has a strong union presence should do the same if their future is threatened by them.The Australian dollar is strong and to remain competitive globally, hard decision must be made. † This leads us to our final major research finding. As could be expected, positive audience emotions were found to be associated with favourable behavioural intentions while negative emotions were found to predict negative purch ase intentions. While 81% of behavioural intentions centred on avoidance, complaint and negative purchase intentions, another 14% of the behavioural intentions indicated that the audience intended to continue flying with Qantas, signifying the audience’s loyalty to the brand.An example of such positive behavioural intentions is evident in the following audience comment from new. com. au: â€Å"I have always flown Qantas and always will, and to those who say they will never fly them again, you know you will let all those FF perks go to waste Good on you Mr Joyce. † (News. com. au, 2011, pp. 8). Although the technical limitations of Leximancer restricted our study, our research project successfully applied Weiner’s (1986, 1995) Attribution Theory to audiences’ attribution process in a real life crisis case.These research findings provide valuable insights into how individuals understand and react to organizational crises in the real world. Knowledge of this type will assist public relations managers in creating effective reputation management strategies in the future. Limitations Although our case study can be considered largely effective, we did encounter several limitations that impeded the progress of our research. Most of the limitations we encountered involved the technical capabilities of Leximancer.Of particular relevance to our content analysis was Leximancer’s inability to comprehend tone and colloquialisms. This meant that a comment that Leximancer identified as positive might actually be a sarcastic remark meant as a negative. We also found that the informal nature of comments was problematic, since there were multiple ways of expressing a particular sentiment. The data set too was limited by the individual news site’s comment system. The anonymity of contributors made it hard to clearly identify an audience member’s level of involvement, unless it was explicitly mentioned in the comment.The anonymity m ay have led to audience responses phrased more assertively and argumentatively than they would have been if they were named. The news sites also censor the time frame of the comments. By identifying the time stamp attached to each comment, future studies could examine how audience crises responses changed over the crises lifecycle. This would be particularly important as it would reflect the dynamic nature of audience’s crisis response (McDonald et. al, 2009) – particularly in this study where the online commentary between the audiences is a highly interactive exchange.Conclusion Based on Yin’s (1994) case study research methods and the theoretical framework of Weiner’s (1986, 1995) Attribution Theory, this research project found that managerial decisions and union action were the two key contributing factors to the 2011 Qantas grounding crisis. We also identified the main responsible stakeholder groups to be Alan Joyce (Qantas management), employees, uni ons and the government. Our findings have shown that the primary crisis emotion that emerged was anger, and that this was targeted primarily towards the management and unions.This was followed by sympathy, which empathized with the worker’s plights, and sorrow which was used in relation to Qantas customers. However, contrary to expectations, â€Å"support† also emerged as a dominant emotion and was expressed towards all stakeholder parties involved in the crisis. These findings suggest that, despite the negative sentiment that has emerged from the grounding crisis, there is still an existing group of passengers who remain loyal to the Qantas brand. Qantas should also take a lesson from these findings in order to better safeguard the interests of their stakeholders in future.This may include being mindful of employee moral and considering the plight of the passengers before taking such drastic measures in the future. Acknowledgments Supervisor: Lyn McDonald Course Coord inator: Aparna Hebbani References ABC News. (2011, October 29). Qantas grounds entire fleet. ABC News. Retrieved from http://www. abc. net. au/news/2011-10-29/qantas-locking-out-staff/3608250 Ackoff, R. L. (1981). Creating the corporate future. New York: John Wiley & Sons Colgan, Paul. (2011, October 31). Qantas Crisis: Who won and who’s to blame? News. com. au. Retrieved from

Reading a Book vs Listening to an Audio Book Essay

Now days, most people simply do not have the time to sit down and read a book. More and more are beginning to use a source of recorded audio books to listen to on the go. It really depends on whom one asks whether or not audio books are considered to be the most efficient way to obtain a books content. Various pros and cons come along with either option. Whether or not taking the time to read a book is greater than only listening along is a frequently asked question everywhere. There is a great comparison between the two, both differing in each person’s eyes’. The real question left being is using an audio book just as good as reading it? It is agreeable that it mostly depends on what sort of book you are trying to acquire as to how well the information is absorbed through audio books. Hearing the actual words in your head by reading to oneself tends to be a much better strategy when trying to get into a book instead of only listening. Another disadvantage of using audio books could be that one does not get to interpret the story for them self, the narrator already does the interpreting. Using your imagination is considered to be the best part about consuming a book, which is merely taken away when listening to an audio book. When it comes to actually reading a book, many find it very difficult to take on another task, but seem to finish the book at a shorter amount of time than those listening to an actor recorded on an audio book. Where as, when listening to an audio book, it is quite easy to multitask and your eyes wont ever get tired. Some may argue that it takes away from the reading experience when using audio books, others, that it is still reading either way. It is much more convenient to use an audio book though, being that you can take a music player basically anywhere. Lastly, audio books are usually way higher in price than paperback or hardback books. Some audio books can be presented as podcasts for free so it could possibly be cheaper to go that route. The prices of hardcopy books depend on the popularity of the work and or the publishing date. Our technology now provides a bit reasonable but pricey device called a â€Å"kindle† for those who constantly enjoy reading, that allows the option of one to read and hear the book at the same time, putting an end to all problems that could be if only chosen one. In closing, both hardcopy books and audio books both have their advantages and disadvantages. There is a possible way to solve the wonders of both by spending the extra money on a portable e-book device. In consideration of choosing one way of deception, reading a book provides a more vivid and imaginable story in our minds compared to audio books being seemingly less interesting, but more accessible.

Overview of the Hospitality Industry

Detail Itinerary (Nepal): Day 01: Arrival / Kathmandu (2013/Jan/18) Arrival at Tribhuwan International Airport from Korean Airways. Meet, Greet and assist to transfer to Hotel. Check in to Hotel and free. Evening visit Thamel Area. Dinner at Korean Restaurant and overnight at Hotel, Kathmandu. ( Dinner) Day 02:Kathmandu–Pokhara(01/19) After Breakfast, check out and drive to Pokhara about 200 Kms west. Lunch on the way at Kurintar at Manokamana Cafe and continue drive. Reach Pokhara and check in to Hotel. Free time, Walking around Lake, Boating (if time permits)   etc.. Dinner and overnight at Hotel, Pokhara. B/F. Lunch / Dinner) Day 03: Pokhara – Lumbini(01/20) Wake up early morning and drive to Sarangkot (Hill top) about 15 Kms for Sunrise view. After Sun rise View, back to Hotel. Breakfast at Hotel and check out. Leave for Hydropower Construction site (Andhikhola and Kali Gandaki ‘A’) at Syangja district. Continue drive to Lumbini. Reach Lumbini and che ck in to Hotel Lumbini Garden. Dinner and overnight at Hotel, Lumbini( B/F. Lunch / Dinner) Day 04: Pokhara – Chitwan ( Jungle Safari) (01/21) After Breakfast, leave for half day visit to Birth place of Gautam Buddha and check out and drive to Chitwan.Reach Chitwan and check in to Hotel. Lunch at Hotel. In Afternoon, transfer to Chitwan National Park for Jungle Safari by Elephant Back Ride. After safari, back to Hotel. Dinner and overnight at Hotel, Chitwan. ( B/F. Lunch / Dinner) Day 05: Chitwan (01/22) After Breakfast, transfer to Chitwan National Park for full day jungle activities including Jungle walk, Canoe Ride, Elephant Breeding Centre visit etc. Lunch at Hotel. Evening, transfer to Tharu Culture Dance centre for viewing Tharu Traditional Dance. Dinner and overnight at Hotel, Chitwan ( B/F. Lunch / Dinner) Day 06: Chitwan – Nagarkot (01/23)After Breakfast, leave for Bird Watching to Jungle and back. Check out and back to Kathmandu/Nagarkot   (hill station in Kathmandu) about 200 Kms. Lunch on the way at Kurintar at River Side Spring Resort and continue drive. Reach Nagarkot and check in to Hotel. Enjoy Sunset view from Hotel Premises. Dinner and overnight at Hotel, Nagarkot ( B/F. Lunch / Dinner) Day 07: Nagarkot – Kathmandu (01/24) Wake up early morning for Sun rise view. After the view, Breakfast at Hotel. After Breakfast, check out and drive back to Bhaktapur Durbar (Old Palace) Square and Pashupatinath Temple.Lunch at Korean Restaurant. Afternoon in Kathmandu for shopping. Dinner and Overnight at Hotel, Kathmandu. ( B/F. Lunch / Dinner) Day 08: Kathmandu (01/25) Breakfast at Hotel and visit Patan Durbar Square . Lunch at Chinese Restaurant. At 1. 00 PM Departure for Tribhuwan International Airport. Day 09: Reach Busan (01/26) at the day time. ——————–Tour End————– Cost Includes: 1. Arrival & Departure Transfers 2. 2 Nights stay at Hotel Royal S ingi in Kathmandu 3. 1 Nights stay at Hotel Barahi in Pokhara 4. Night stay at Hotel Lumbini Garden in Lumbini 5. 2 Nights stay at Hotel Parkland in Chitwan 6. 1 Night stay at Hotel Fort Resort at Nagarkot (Upgraded Hotel) 7. Daily Breakfast at Hotels 8. 4 Double / Twin Room and 3 Single Room at Hotels 9. Lunch and Dinner at best available Restaurant 10. Sightseeing in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Nagarkot as per itinerary 11. All Transportation with sightseeing by Non AC Coaster 12. Entrance fees at sightseeing points as per itinerary 13. All Hotel Taxes Cost Excludes: 1. All Personal Expenses, Beverages 2. Tips etc.

Politics of the knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Politics of the knowledge - Essay Example In the book â€Å"Way of Knowing†, the Jonathon Moses and Torbjom Knutsen have described both logics in a simple manner and its effect on human behavior with respect to their social and political domains. Contextually, both logics have constituted strong patterns within the nature of human beings. As described in the book, â€Å"Naturalism† focuses only laws of nature wherein it creates a belief that nature is the ultimate source of living. Accordingly, the reading described these two logics with the help of god and giant. God is represented as â€Å"Naturalism† and Giant is represented as â€Å"Constructivism†. As argued in the book, traditional values and beliefs have altogether made social and political patterns complex and unreasonable for modern society. Therefore, social science can help to break these two logics and make the social and political patterns of modern culture more worthy. According to the stated book, social science can change the socia l and political patterns of traditional culture and develop a modern culture that would further help the philosophers of the social sciences domain to create new patterns. From the above discussion, it can be accordingly comprehended that social science makes the traditional logic more complex for social and political patterns. With the help of modern social science, both logics can be reconstructed that will further make the social and political patterns more worthy for the

Models for Web Based Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Models for Web Based Learning - Essay Example Thirdly, web based learning also helps in small group collaboration. There is also a possibility of using web-based learning as blended learning processes. We can broadly look at web based learning to mean delivery and support to an educational and learning course over the web. Essentially comprising of course materials, quizzes, tests and direct discussions are all made over the web. The course materials created on many occasions are made for contact based learning. When this gets used in web based learning the impact that is realised out of it is limited. Of course, on many situations web based learning would require basic information which can be supplemented by such books. Whereas the requirements of web based learning is different and requires a different style of approach. If they are not employed then the effectiveness of using technology for course delivery is lost. Since most of the technology components are typically asynchronous in nature, delivery has to necessarily go through asynchronous course management. The best way to deliver web based learning might find itself in a multitude of options. It is not possible to arrive at a specific conclusion that would help us in deciding on the right kind of learning processes. ... As AW Bates (1995) says, new technologies such as computers and video conferencing are not necessarily better; it is just that they are different. But then the content of the program and the learning exercise itself is the same old thing and has to be done much in the same way. Web based learning starts from a pure distance learning exercise to a face to face learning system where distance education is used to support the normal program. This is looked at as a continuum and the delivered training depending upon the methods adopted might have varying degrees of personal contact in them (Judie McKimm, 2003). The Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN) is formed in UK to make use of the available technology and to provide quality programs to students across the country specifically in dentistry, medicine and veterinary science. Most of the pure distance learning systems would work towards understanding the individual's requirements; it would ideally provide for the needs of the individuals and tries to personalise them to the extent possible. Figure 1: Teaching Process To some extent web based programs could help in drawing out conventional programs and incorporate web based program features in it to enhance the value of the programs. While conventional distance education programs lack the ease of connectivity and communication between the student and the teacher, web based learning could provide the person the same. The other important aspect of web based learning is the asynchronous nature of the communication. This is both a disadvantage and an advantage. Advantage because the timings of the student and the teacher need not go together. Disadvantage is also the same, since this will mean the

Product Reliability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Product Reliability - Essay Example 56)†. In today’s development of industrial products, reliability concerns are not addressed properly in the prior steps of the process (Prabhakar and Osteras 121). The reliability of the products also depends on two manufacturing items: the technical decisions made in the early stages and the consequence of commercial results in the final stages. An engineer can employ effective methodology for reliable performance and specification in order to make a better decision. Product reliability develops a structure that joins reliable specifications, both design and materials, and product performance in the manufacture of new product products (Prabhakar and Osteras 81). Product reliability depends on the design, material used for a product and the manufacturing process. Design refers to the  act  of creating a layout or convention for constructing an object or system as in architectural blueprints, engineering drawing, business process and circuit diagrams. It may also be d efined as a strategy employed to achieve a unique goal or expectation. Potential Stages for Design Reviews (â€Å"Blueprints for Product Reliability†) ... The term is sometimes used to refer to components with specific physical properties that are used as inputs in manufacturing of products. In this context, materials are the components used to make product – computers, cars, buildings etc. Some applications require a product to have specific types of material properties such as load resistant steels for bridges, cranes or buildings. Cars, for instance, use aluminum as it is light, so the car consumes less fuel, corrosion resistance and aluminum alloys are easier to manufacture and use. Polystyrene with the recycling code 6 or Styrofoam cups, plates, carryout containers is petroleum-based plastics. They can release potentially toxic breakdown products, particularly when heated. Ceramic, glass, paper or safer plastics like numbers 1, 2 or 5 are a better alternative. Using the wrong material can result in a catastrophic failure that can harm life or environment (Chitale 154). Product Life Cycle Cost Impact. (â€Å"Blueprints for Product Reliability†) Manufacturing is the process of producing goods for use sale using machinery, labor and tools. This term may refer to a series of human activity such as handicraft, or high tech, but is most used in reference to industrial production, where raw materials are turned into finished products on a large scale. The finished products can be used  to make  more complex products such as household appliances, aircraft or automobiles, or sold to wholesalers, who in turn sell them to retailers who then sell them to end users. Manufacturing has many categories such as casting for engine blocks, molding for beams, forming as in press for panels, machining for drilling and

Communism And Nonalienated Labor is best Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Communism And Nonalienated Labor is best - Essay Example According to communism, which was highly promoted by Karl Marx, the means of production should be controlled by the state (the state owns everything). Mass production implies producing large amounts of commodities at a cheaper cost. Alienation simply means to segregate things that naturally occur or belong together. An alienated labor implies a worker being separated from his/her products. In division of labor, workers specialize to perform specific tasks assigned to them in production process. Karl Marx (1818-1883), argues that communism and non-alienated labor is the best practice in any society based on the arguments discussed below. Marx in his theory found that there are two groups of people in the capitalist society. On one side, there are the Bourgeois class who owns means of production and wealth. On the other side, there are the Proletarians, who are the working class. The Bourgeois exploit the proletarians. He further argues that the bourgeoisie’s agglomeration of population, centralization of means of production and of wealth in the hands of a few, is not a good practice to the society. It is against the social justice in the society. That, according to Karl Marx, leads to centralization of political power. Regions in a given society tend to be independent though loosely attached. They have different political interest, laws and taxation policies. After centralization, they suddenly become one with a common law, one frontier, one class-interest and similar costs. It is unfair for such a society to exist, given the gap between the upper class (the rich) and the lower class (the poor). Laws governing such a society especially taxation laws and policies might not reflect true scenario on the ground. The bourgeoisie takes advantage of the proletarians since they can easily influence them using their wealth or resources. The working class

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Business law - Essay Example Another person was warned about the same issue. The three employees were Alison, Darren, and Peter. Alison had been with the organisation from the beginning itself. She is coloured (Algerian/French origin) and also suffers from dyslexia. Alison is a case worker and occasionally (and unofficially) doubles up as an accounts secretary though she does not relish the work. It appears that one of her duties in this area is to be in charge of petty cash. Peter who works in the stores department as an assistant clerk had been with the organisation only for the past six months. Peter is also an assistant clerk even though his position or duties are not mentioned here. Alison was also subject to discriminatory remarks by Peter and Darren when they addressed her â€Å"that she is fat, black and blind and should go back to the refugee camp she came from†. It is assumed that Alison has become a citizen of UK since she has been with the organisation for since its inception and that enough t ime has passed for her to obtain one. With regard to a legal angel there are three issues here. The first is that a dismissal has occurred here for two employees. The statutes of the UK Employment Act and the Employment Rights Act 1986 can be valid in this case. The second is that one of the employees (Alison) may be covered under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) because she suffers from Dyslexia. As per the Act, â€Å"Subject to the provisions of Schedule 1, a person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities† (Disability, Part I). David’s’ Cave can come under the preview of the Act because, â€Å"The DDA covers different sorts of situations, for example, employment, goods, services and facilities, transport, education and premises† (What is the DDA). Many managers do not appreciate

News Paper Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

News Paper Summary - Essay Example They further project the net U.S. farm income to fall by 27% to $95.8 billion. The article concentrates on investors who are selling jumble bonds resulting from fears of fresh interest rates and geopolitical turmoil. Borrowers have reacted by delaying debt sales and negating scheduled deals. Investors doubt adding to their holdings resulting from the Federal Reserve winding down the monthly stimulus. According to analysts, investors are not being compensated the risk in high-yield bonds effectively. They further state that investors sell the high-yield bonds because the look expensive and their performance have been weakening. Investors have responded by steering clear of high-yield exchange-traded funds because of rising worries about how they will fare in a slump. Financial firms are planning an exit strategy for Argentina, which is involved in a legal stalemate with some hedge-funds bondholders that intend to rug the country into default. Argentina, Wall Street best client for the past 10 years, is receiving several deals from banks, but none has won the approval of Argentine officials. Banks stand to benefit greatly at a time when revenue is under pressure from soft economic growth, stiffer rules, and regulatory review. Negotiations with banks are on a standstill following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that the country might be on the danger of breaking a clause in its bonds that capacities equal treatment to all bondholders. The officials refused to negotiate with the holdouts claiming they refused to accept the reformations that most bondholders had agreed to. The country faces $14.5 billion claim from bondholders, but the country project to raise billions of dollars through bonds to repay the holdouts. AbbVie seeks to expand its stock in a deal worth $54 billion by acquiring Shire PLC. The firm compares it

HRM Assignment this is a Business degree Report

HRM this is a Business degree Report - Assignment Example This is what had happened to Bolton Wonderers wherein one of their female nutritionist had claimed for an equal pay. The main thrust of this paper is to provide the management team with advices in relation to legal and procedural issues to the claim of their female employee that she is paid substantially less than her male counterparts. Legal and Procedural Issues There is discrimination in the workplace if there is hostility toward an individual based on sex, age, religion, race and even disability (Hoffman, 1999). Legal training program in every organization is mandated by the Federal and state law to avoid any sex biases. The group of women is heavily regulated with so many legislations for them to be protected from discrimination particularly in the workplace. The study of Lockwood (2006) cited that some organizations nowadays are considering woman as one of the talented pools of becoming future employees. In fact, it is suggested that women are capable even in high level special ty careers. Although it’s difficult for them to achieve an equal footing with men in the workplace, the total of women workers is increasing. They are now considered as one of the great contributors in this change in demographics and economic factors. In almost all countries, provisions and legislation with regard to the employment of women are significantly considered because these could only paved the way to equal opportunities in employment. The European Economic Community (EEC) had constructed principles that women are entitled to receive equal pay with his male counterparts, provided that they are doing equal work. â€Å"In 1975, the Council of the European Communities issued the Equal Pay Directive (75/117) which states that all discrimination on the ground of sex in respect of pay should be eliminated† (Littlejohn, 1994). The issuance of the directive obliged members to completely comply with the legislation. It is stated in the regulation that all establishment s should give a woman an equal pay with man if they are doing like work, work rated as equivalent, and work of equal value to that of the man. In addition, it has been specified in the legal procedure revised by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) that an â€Å"employer can only pay a man more than a woman for doing equal work if there is a genuine and material reason for doing so which is not related to sex† (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2003, p.2). A sex discrimination in pay would exist if the employer’s reason is based on higher market value wherein it would regard the job as for male only. In the case of the female nutritionist, she claimed that she has grounds for an equal pay claim over his male counterparts who are the physiotherapists and the coaches. The claim could be considered by the management team considering that it is stated in the law that work of equal value would entitle the women to claim for an equal pay. The Legal Procedure Filing a sex discrimination in pay is a complicated process, and so the law provides a legal procedure for individual who wants to file a suit against their employers for an equal pay claim. If the female nutritionist would take a claim for equal pay with his male counterparts, then the issue should be first introduced to the management team of Bolton Wanderers being her employer. The issue should be first settled between the employee and the employer by applying the company’

Boston Tea Party Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Boston Tea Party - Article Example The Indemnity Act of 1767 served to shield the British government from losing out to tea smugglers who sourced their tea from Holland. Holland did not impose taxes for its imported tea hence Dutch traders supplied it at cheaper rates. After establishing the Indemnity act, the East India Company was able to retrieve the 25 percent ad valorem tax it paid for tea that they exported to British colonies. Part of the act’s outcome was to permit export of tea to other British colonies by the East India Company. In addition to this, the act also reduced taxes paid by domestic consumers of tea in Britain. The overall idea here was to shift the taxation burdens from the homeland to the colonies. The Townshend Act was Britain’s attempt at imposing tea taxes on its colonies. Constitutionally, this precise issue was the long, held bone of contention that drove up resistance from colonists to British authority in the colonial lands. The Whigs, who were a group of political activists in America, laid a case against the Townshend Act. Reason being that it forced American to pay taxes, which had no approval from their local elected representatives. The new taxes brought about by the passing of the Townshend act resulted in massive protests and boycotts from colonists. (Rowe, web). This eventually forced the government to repeal the taxes included in the Townshend Act. In 1772, after the Indemnity Act expired, the government reverted to taxes that they had offset from British people in 1767 (Rowe, web). On the reintroduction of taxes, sales of tea fell short, and there was a large surplus held by the East India Company. As a major driver of the British economy, the company re ceived help from the government. The Tea act finally came as a solution to the crisis. It allowed the East India Company to sell directly tea to Americans at a price of their choosing. This was supposed to help reduce the overdue stock that was still in their warehouses. Because of this, tea prices for America significantly dropped in the hope of driving up sales. The taxes payable on importing the tea were paid, under much secrecy, to avoid reaction such as those that had been encountered before. The Actual Event It was not long before the arrangements to hide taxes were discovered by the American Whigs. The discovery came about while seven ships made their way to American harbors to offload large consignments of British tea. Three of these ships namely the Dartmouth, Eleanor and Beaver, headed for Boston while each of the others went to New York, Charleston and Philadelphia. After the three ships to Boston arrived, American protestors climbed onto them, opened up 342 chests that c ontained the imported tea and threw the tea into the sea (Lepore, web). This took no more than three hours to accomplish, and the colonists had disguised themselves as Indians to be mistaken for workers. The damaged product was worth 10000 pounds, and it would be unsalvageable for authorities to charge duty on it (Lepore, web). The ship’s owners had, however, been warned earlier on to retreat and return the ships to England through a meeting held in Boston with the protest’s leaders. Resolutions and Outcomes The British legislature after receiving news of the event decided to take disciplinary action against the entire populace of Boston. It passed the Boston Port Bill, which Boston harbor closed off until the East India Company had received due compensation for the destroyed tea. In addition, to this Parliament decided to amend the structure of the Massachusetts Council, which was largely elective in nature. They instead had the governor acquire

Historical Theology Essay Example for Free

Historical Theology Essay I. Introduction: As I said in my first Reflection Paper, my knowledge and exposure to Christianity has been somewhat limited. Throughout my life I have been a person who wanted to know â€Å"Why† and have factual proof to support my thoughts and ideas. I have chosen Historical Theology and Fulfilled Prophecy as my two topics. By reading about Historical Theology I am developing a better understanding of some of the essential points of Christian Doctrine. Fulfilled Prophesies provide definitive proof to give my beliefs in Christianity and the Bible a solid foundation. I plan on using both to develop as a knowledgeable and responsible Christian. Since my knowledge of these two topics is in its infancy and I must always keep in mind to crawl before walking and walk before running. II. Part One: Historical Theology a. Historical Theology is described as the study of the development and history of Christian doctrine. While closely related to Historical Theology, Church History should remain separate from Historical Theology. Historical Theology records changes in doctrine that led to divisions and movements within church and Church History is the record of the divisions and movements. b. Luke gives us the Biblical Foundation for Theological History. He began by recording his account of â€Å"all that Jesus began to do and to teach† (Acts 1:1). The book of Acts is the account of what Jesus continued to do and teach through his church. Acts 28:30-31 conclude with, â€Å"For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!† c. While not one of my deepest thoughts, I’ve often wondered why there were so many different churches all claiming to be the one true path to the end goal of heaven. As I progress in my readings of Church History, I am awed by the impact relatively small revisions in doctrine have upon Church History and Historical Theology. A change in wording or different interpretation of a word, phrase or paragraph resulted in â€Å"A new and improved version.† I welcome and value the benefits of the church community, but since becoming a â€Å"Christian† the desire to belong to the right church doesn’t have the same strength as my desire need for salvation. III. Part Two: Fulfilled Prophecy a. The Bible is the Word of God and provides our path to salvation. Fulfilled prophecy provides positive and unerring proof of the validity and accuracy of the Bible. However, while I believe this, there are those who don’t. They use false arguments such as, man wrote the bible and since man is fallible how can the Bible be the Word of God? I have found references that agree there are about 2,500 prophecies of which nearly 2,000 have been fulfilled. That’s 2,000 prophecies fulfilled without error. Man can never achieve a perfect completion rate. A perfect completion rate is God’s territory. The prophecies that remain unfulfilled occur in the future. b. There are two examples of Biblical Foundation that apply to Fulfilled prophecy I’d like to use. First, Moses in Deuteronomy 18:21-22 sets the test for a true prophet. A true prophet’s predictions are 100 percent accurate. No errors. Second, in 700 B.C. Micah predicted the birthplace of the Messiah. (M icah 5:2). That’s an astounding feat. Of all the births that occurred in all the known cities, towns and lands in 700 years it is simply astounding that he predicted Bethlehem as Christ’s birthplace. c. Fulfilled Prophecy has been helpful to my Christian education and growth. People with greater Biblical knowledge and understanding than me have said the Bible is error free. I use internet the to find information about Biblical prophecies and am interested and intrigued by what I find. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and other religious sects all may have written or oral guidance. None of them have, nor will they ever have, the fulfilled prophecies and promise of the Bible. Satan and his helpers have made prophecies. Unlike those in the bible, they are not detailed, but filled with generalities, may fit several situations and never 100 percent correct. Satan’s prophecies exclude a call for repentance, one of the key components in our path to salvation. IV. Conclusion: Inexperience and unfamiliarity with the Bible makes me avoid participating in discussions with the more skilled or better Biblically educated. Rather than participate verbally, I actively listen to identify points/events that I’m unfamiliar with or don’t understand. I research these points/events in order to try and better understand them. Studying Historical Theology helps me understand the history behind the doctrine. I believe the Bible is the Word of God and provides our path to salvation. A Biblical prophecy must contain evidence of divine inspiration. That is the prophecy must contain information the prophet could not have known or been aware of under normal circumstances in effect at the time of the prophecy. Fulfilled Prophecy is an essential element in the argument that the Bible is the Word of God. For me I believe God breathed the Word. That is it. No debate and no argument.

The Manufacturing Process At Almoiz Sugar Mills Marketing Essay

The Manufacturing Process At Almoiz Sugar Mills Marketing Essay Introduction Al-Moiz Sugar Mills Limited incorporated in 2004 as a limited company and certificate of commencement of business was granted in 2005. The Head Office of the company is located at Gulberg III Lahore whereas the factory unit is located on Chashma Road in the D.I.KHAN District Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The company is recognized in the local and international market as a fine quality producer of white refined Sugar, Molasses and also holds a substantial share in the market. The company is also engaged in the export of white refined sugar to Afghanistan and molasses to Euro countries and is contributing to the national economy in the form of foreign exchange. The company has strong corporate clients including Engro and Pepsi. This is the only Pakistani company with state of the art technology and is one of the very few mills in Pakistan that is providing Wapda with electricity. The sugar mills basic plant machinery was acquired and installed by The Heavy Mechanical Complex Taxila (A State Engineering Company). Other equipment such as turbines and gearboxes etc were imported from Germany and United Kingdom. Currently the plant is working at the crushing capacity of 1oooo MTCD and company is keen to increase it to 12000 MTCD. The sugar mill has a state of the art technology which is the latest technology in Pakistan. The mill produces sugar by using both sugar cane and sugar beet as a raw material.The company is committed to invest in IT with an eventual target of implementing ERP system. AL-MOIZ Sugar Mills Limited is one of the significant units of Almoiz group of industries. The company is principally engaged in the business of manufacture sales of white refined sugar molasses (as a byproduct), Crushing of sugarcane, Sugar beet raw sugar in to white refined sugar. Manufacturing Process The manufacturing process at Almoiz Sugar Mills comprises of the following steps Main Competitors Products White refined sugar: Major business of the company is to produce white refined cane sugar of intermission standard and from the erased cane and three different components are achieved that are fibber, pith and moisture. Molasses: This is a by product and it is sold to molasses contractors. One of the allied concerns, reliance commodities (pvt) limited is the main buyer of the molasses of al-moiz sugar mills limited and also the main buyer of molasses from whole the country. Reliance commodities (pvt) limited is the main exporter of molasses in pakistan. Baggase This is also a bye product of the company. Baggase is used as source of energy fuel for sugar industry for juice heating. And also used for making medium density fiber board (mdfb). Baggase is sold to the baggase contractors. Mud Mud is also the by-product of the company. It is sold to the mud contractors. This is used in making chocolates and other products. Electricity Al-moiz sugar mills also produce electricity on large quantity. The mill does not only fulfil its own energy requirements but is able to product surplus electricity which is supplies to wapda. Departments at the Factory Site Departments at the Head Office The strengths and Weaknesses of the company are as follows Strengths Attractive salary packages for employees on the site Top management. The CEO of the company is a Stanford Graduate and is a man of great vision Friendly and cooperative working environment Financial resources Agricultural assistance to the local farmers State of the art technology Corporate Social Responsibility Weaknesses Lack of skilled persons available in the region where the mill is located Shortage of residence available for employees on the site The site is prone to being affected by the flood and has been affected by the floods that occurred in the past Unavailability of modern facilities on the site Number of accidental reports are increasing Turnover rate is high Weak organizational policies Poor GSM services on the site Literature Review Sugar Industry in Pakistan JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited, (2011) described the sugar industry ranked the fifteenth largest globally and the second largest after textile industry with 86 operational factories across the country with an installed capacity of 7.0 million tons of sugar annually. It directly employed over 30,000 personnel. JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited, (2010) described the industry as the driving engine of the rural economy after agrarian economy in many countries. They also stated the sugar industrys cyclical nature as harvesting of sugar cane was dependent on weather as well as the availability of adequate water. Khushk, Memon Saeed described the Pakistan sugar industry as uncompetitive in nature due to low sugarcane yield per hectare and low content of sucrose ranging between 7-9 percent however they also described the sugar industry from a growers perspective as competitive since the growers were of the opinion that the sugar crisis was artificially created by mill owners with the motive of keeping sugarcane prices below support prices and reaping abnormal profits. (Shaukat) described Pakistan as the fifth largest country in the world in terms of area under sugar cane cultivation, eleventh by production and sixtieth in yield. The author also described the sugar industry in Pakistan as the second largest agro based industry with 81 sugar mills with annual crushing capacity of over 6.1 million tons. The author also mentioned that the Sugar industry is mostly located in the rural areas of Punjab and Sindh. A small percentage of total production is produced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Previously, Punjab was partly dependent on supply of sugar from Sindh however after the establishment of some large scale units in Punjab the Province became self-sufficient in the commodity. (Rizvi) described Pakistans sugar industry as mostly owned by politicians. The author also mentions that majority of the sugar mills were setup with the help of Development Financial Institutions normally trapped with the working capital crisis. Consequently, some of the mills were closed and it was feared that some more sick units would close down. The author also mentions the collapse of sugar mill being a loss of national assets, reduction in the sales tax revenue and an increase in unemployment. Awareness of consumers towards branded products Aaker (2000) was of the opinion that brand awareness was a remarkably durable and sustainable asset that provided a sense of familiarity especially in low- involvement products. It also provided with a sense of presence, commitment and substance. It was very vital to recall at the time of purchase. Besides the conventional media there were other effective means to create awareness such as event promotions, publicity and sampling. Chen (2001) stated that though brand awareness was a necessary asset however it was not sufficient for building strong brand equity. In this view a brand could be well known because it had inferior quality. Ramasamy et al. (2005) reported that, the buying behavior was vastly influenced by the awareness and attitude towards the product. Television commercials were said to be the most important source of information, followed by retail outlet displays. Consumers formed an opinion about a brand on the basis of various product features. A large number of respondents laid emphasis on quality and were of the opinion that price is an important factor while other respondents attached importance to image of manufacturer. Purchase Behavior of Consumers Results of the study conducted by Joshi (1993) in Dharwad on food purchasing habits and consumer awareness among rural and urban housewives indicated that majority of the urban respondents purchased sugar (69.00%) on monthly basis. Rural respondents purchased sugar (71.00%) once in week. Both rural and urban respondents purchased groceries (99.00% each) from retail shops. Price, quality and weight of the products were the important factors considered by both rural and urban respondents while purchasing of food items. Nagaraja (2004) opined that, buying behaviour is very much influenced by experience of their own and of neighbour consumers and his family. Above all, the quality of the product and its easy availability were the primary and the vital determinants of his buying behaviour. Consumers were influenced by touch and feel aspect of any promotional activity. Shivkumar (2004) showed that the consumer, irrespective of income groups, was mainly influenced by the opinions of their family members to purchase. Consumers were also influenced by the dealers recommendation, followed by advertisement. Brand Preference Kubendran and Vanniarajan (2005) described the change in consumption pattern a result of change in food habits. If income and urbanization increase among consumers, the percentage of income spent on consumption increased. Branded products were preferred my urban consumers. The major factors influencing buying decisions were accessibility, quality, regular supply, door delivery and the mode of payment. Narang (2006) claimed that, a buyer does not stick to one brand when it comes to purchasing a food item. They should be able recall different brand names when they go for purchase. Repetitive advertising can be used to aid brand recall. The product should appeal to the consumer. Kim-Hyunah et al. (2005) concluded that brand preference and brand image had considerable positive effects on brand loyalty. Thus, the companies should strive to strengthen brand loyalty through building brand preference and brand image. Brand loyalty led to increased customer visits. Low and Lamb Jr. (2000) maintained that known brands tend to exhibit multi-dimensional brand associations, consistent with the idea that consumers have more developed memory structures for more familiar brands. Consumers might be willing to expend more energy in processing information regarding familiar brands compared to unfamiliar brands. Padmanabhan (1999) conducted study on brand loyalty, which revealed that the price of the preferred brand, efficiency of the preferred brand and influence of advertisement significantly influenced the brand loyalty. Factors Influencing Brand Preference In a study conducted by Sarwade (2002) it was observed that the factor which influenced the purchasing decision as against the quality of the product was its price. Another interesting finding was that the company image and brand image were not totally considered by the households. Kubendran and Vanniarajan (2005) described the change in consumption pattern is due to changes in food habits. If income and urbanization increase among consumers, the percentage of income spent on consumption increases. The urban consumers prefer mostly branded products compared to rural consumers. The most significant factors influencing buying decisions were acceptability, quality, regular supply, door delivery and the mode of payment. Vincent (2006) elicited that quality was an important factor that draws consumer towards branded products. Branded products were accepted as good quality products. People do not mind paying extra for branded products, as they get value for money. Media is a key constituent in promoting and influencing brand. External environmental analysis Sugar Industry in Pakistan Sugar is the important sector of Pakistans economy. Sugar industry plays a vital role for development of any countries. In Pakistan this industry play a significant role for economic development. Its share in the large scale industry is 19.25% and in GDP is 1.98%. Sugar industry contribution to the government exchequer in federal excise duty 17.34% History At the time of partition in 1947 only seven sugar mills, existed in the territories of Pakistan, 5 in East Pakistan now known as Bangladesh and only 2 in West Pakistan now known as Pakistan. These two sugar mills namely Rahwali Sugar Mills and Frontier Sugar Mills established in 1936 and 1938 had a capacity of 5000 tonnes each of producing white sugar. During 1954-56 three more sugar mills were established with a capacity of 10000-15000 tonnes. By 1955-56, the sugar production capacity in Pakistan was around 45,000 tonnes. With an abrupt change in the economic activities and urbanization, the demand for white sugar was on the increase. This was attributed to the manufacture of soft drinks, confectioneries and bakery products etc. The number of sugar mills was also on the increase to meet the demand. Major Players in the Sugar Industry The major players in the sugar industry are Current Scenario The sugar industry is the second largest in the country after the textile industry. Currently there are 83 sugar mills operating in Pakistan. In Pakistan normally season starts in November and ends in April. Out of the 83 sugar mills present in the country 76 Sugar Mills are operating having crushing capacity of 361,300 tons of cane per day (TCD). Seven Sugar mills extended capacity but they are unable to utilize. Based on 160 days season these sugar mills have a total crushing capacity of 58 million tons of sugarcane capable to produce 5 million tons of refined sugar and 3 million tons of molasses. Also the weekly sugar production is conveyed to the government via Pakistan Sugar Mills Association. The environmental analysis can be classified into two major types of environments that a firm has to face. They are micro and the macro (mega) environment. These are discussed in detail below. Macro Environment Technological Environment Almoiz sugar mills position as far as the technological environment is concerned is pretty strong as of now. It uses the state of the art technology and can produce sugar using sugar beet as a raw material other than sugar cane. Other than sugar production the firm is also engaged in electricity production and is a supplier of electricity to wapda. Socio-cultural Environment The impact of societal changes, life styles and culture on Almoiz sugar mill is significant. There has been a shift in the life style, for example the type of stores customer prefer to shop from, the type of packaging they prefer sugar in. Consumers are becoming more health conscious they prefer to go for low calorie versions and are very concerned about hygienic conditions of the sugar and the shop that sugar is purchased from. Economic Environment The economic environment of Pakistan is not very stable and it continues to fluctuate every now and then. With the rise in interest rates and double digit inflation in the country, it has practically become impossible for the consumers to buy the same number of products as they used to buy a few years ago, thus the purchasing power of the consumers has sharply gone down. Political Environment The political scenario of Pakistan is the biggest threat to a business. Changing tax rates, rebates, labor strikes and the instability in general makes it difficult for Almoiz sugar mill to cope up with these changes and thus it can hamper future operations and thus profitability of the entire business. Legal Environment The legal system of Pakistan is generally not very strong and in case of a problem, a company can involve itself into years long legal implications and trials. Micro Environment Suppliers Almoiz has divided its suppliers into two zones Factory Zone: 73 % of sugar cane during the cane season is obtained from the factory zone i.e. 640,000 M .Tons Outer Zone: 27% of sugar cane during the cane season is obtained from the outer zone i.e. 240,000 M. Tons. The outer zone comprises of areas including Indus road, Bypass, Bhakkar and Mianwali. Market Demand There is a great deal of demand for sugar in households. Sugar is used in very house it may be directly consumed or may be indirectly consumed in other products such as beverages and Confectionery items such as sweets, lollipops, candy bars, chocolate, cotton candy and other sweet snack items. Competition Almoiz sugar mill has many competitors with Chashma sugar mill and Layyah sugar mill being the its two immediate competitors. The competitors also offer the same range of products with white refined sugar being the core product and several other by product including molasses however there isnt any sugar mill that generates its own electricity as Almoiz sugar mill. Skill Level of Workforce Workforce and the people in the company is the biggest asset of an organization. In the case of Almoiz sugar mill the workforce plays a very important role in the organizations productivity. The location of the factory is in Dera Ismail Khan and due to the instability in the region finding skilled workforce in that area is very hard. Hence attractive salary packages are given to attract skilled workforce from other regions of the country to come and work for Almoiz sugar mill. Marketing Intermediaries Marketing intermediaries are involved especially when it comes to sugar distribution to retailers and wholesalers. A high level of intermediary involvement makes communication difficult and increases the dependence. Porters Five Forces Model http://www.12manage.com/images/porterfiveforces.gif Porters five forces model basically gauges the intensity of competition within its industry. The collective strength of all these forces combined determines the ultimate profit potential of the industry where profit potential is measured in terms of the long-run return on investment of capital. Threat of New Entrants If someone from a political or influential background wants to set up a sugar mill they have the financial resources to obtain the machinery and contacts needed to obtain a license to start up a sugar mill. So entry into the sugar industry is not hard. There are 83 sugar mills in Pakistan out of which 76 Sugar Mills are operating. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Almoiz has a diverse range of suppliers as mentioned earlier. It has separate categories of suppliers based on distance from the factory site. Thus giving the suppliers a low bargaining power. Bargaining Power of Customers Customers have the option of switching to other sugar producers since barely one or two sugar mills have done something to distinguish themselves from other competitors in terms if having a brand name or packaging. People dont even take into consideration the brand or sugar mill name while purchasing sugar they just purchase whatever is easily available. Threat of Substitute Products Almoiz has many direct competitors. Currently there are 83 sugar mills in the country out of which 76 sugar mills are operating. The competitors also offer the exact same range of products with white refined sugar being the core product thus making the threat of substitute products high. Also other substitute products such as canderal are available for consumers who want to go for a sweetener with less sugar content Porters Generic Strategies According to this strategy, in order to cope up with competition, firms adopt three generic strategic approaches to gain competitive advantage. Overall cost leadership entails the firm to make all or possible attempts to achieve the lowest costs in production and marketing. Differentiation approach lays emphasis on achieving class leadership by providing unique characteristics to the product/service. Focus strategy attempts to serve a narrow strategic target effectively and efficiently. Thus, on the basis of these three strategies, Almoiz sugar mill follows the Overall Cost Leadership Strategy. By being the low cost leader, it increases its efficiency at all levels thus gaining a significant market share. An illustration is shown below: External Factor Analysis Summary Opportunities Entering International Markets Expanding corporate clients Technology Government and industrial projects. Minimization of cost by properly utilizing the by-products. Organic sugar Threats Seasonal Variation in sugar cane Political Instability Natural Calamities The region in which the mill is located is very risky in terms of stability Competitors in the same region can attract the skilled resource of the company by offering them a better package External Factor Weight Rating Weighted Score Opportunities Entering International Markets 0.05 3 0.15 Expanding corporate clients 0.15 4 0.6 Technology 0.03 4 0.12 Government and industrial projects 0.13 4 0.52 utilizing by-products 0.07 3 0.21 Organic Sugar 0.14 3 0.42 Threats Seasonal Variation in sugar cane 0.14 4 0.56 Political Instability 0.09 3 0.27 Natural Calamities 0.07 3 0.21 location of factory 0.13 2 0.26 Total 1 3.32 Competitor Analysis The following are the main competitors of Almoiz Sugar mills Layyah Sugar Mills Layyah Chashma sugar Mills D. I. Khan Chashma Sugar Mill (D.I.Khan) The mill was set up by the sponsors of the Premier Group in 1991. Technical and other assistance is provided to the sugarcane growers, in addition to the development of 150,000 acres of land for the cane supply. The mill production stands at 18,000 tons per day, the largest in Pakistan.   In the financial year 2010, the Company was declared a subsidiary of The Premier Sugar Mills Distillery Company Limited, under the directions of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.  . The factory is located in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The company has the following strategic goals Providing Customer Satisfaction by serving with superior quality production of white sugar at lowest cost Ensuring Security and Accountability by creating an environment of security and accountability for employees, production facilities and products Expanding Customer Base by exploring new national and international markets and undertaking product research and development in sugar industry Ensuring Efficient Resource Management by managing human, financial, technical and infrastructural resources so as to support all our strategic goals and to ensure highest possible value addition to stakeholders. Products White Crystaline Sugar White Crystalline Sugar Molasses Molasses Bagasse Bagasse Layyah Sugar Mills (Layyah) Layyah Sugar Mills is a project of The Thal Industries Corporation Limited having its registered office at 23 Pir Khurshid Colony, Multan. The company was incorporated on September 07, 1953 under the companies Act 1913 (Now Companies Ordinance 1984) as Public Limited company limited by shares. Its shares are quoted on Karachi and Lahore stock exchanges in Pakistan. The company is engaged in production and sale of white refined sugar. Layyah Sugar Mills was set up by the Thal Development Authority (Defunct) with a capacity of 1200 TCD in 1954, which was enhanced, to 2000 TCD in 1979-80 and further to 2700 TCD in 1990-91. It was the first sugar mills installed and commissioned in Punjab after existence of Pakistan. After privatization the new management, by taking some drastic measures, enhanced the crushing capacity of sugar mills from 2700 TCD to 3500 TCD in year 2001. In 2002; Company undertook BMR Expansion to add new mills tandem of 4000 Tons Crushing/Day . In 2002-2003; Undertook second phase of  BMR Expansion to increase in crushing capacity and synchronize the process house with the mills house to 6700 Tons Crushed/Day (TCD),  successfully  completed during the crushing season 2002-2003. Due to which  capacity of sugar mills has been increased from 6,700 TCD to 9,300 TCD.   Financial Analysis Liquidity Ratios Year 2011 2010 2009 Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Current Ratio 0.96 0.96 1.12 0.76 0.87 1.08 1.00 0.72 Quick Ratio 0.35 0.22 0.79 0.36 0.52 0.58 0.55 0.22 Inventory to Net working Capital -13.50 -19.63 2.81 -1.62 -2.69 6.08 213.06 -1.80 The  current ratio  is a  financial ratio  that measures whether or not a firm has enough resources to pay its debts over the next 12 months. It compares a firms  current assets  to its current liabilities. The current ratio is an indication of a firms  market liquidity  and ability to meet creditors demands. Acceptable current ratios vary from industry to industry and are generally between 1.5 and 3 for healthy businesses. If a companys current ratio is in this range, then it generally indicates good short-term financial strength. Almoiz has a current ratio of less than 1 for the year 2011 as well as the year 2010 where as in 2009 the current assets of Almoiz are slightly more than its current liabilities therefore the ratio is above 1 in 2009. Out of the three sugar mills the value of current ratio for Layyah sugar mill indicates good financial strength as compared to Chashma and Almoiz sugar mills. Quick Ratio is an indicator of a companys short-term liquidity.  The quick ratio  measures  a companys  ability to meet  its short-term obligations with  its most liquid assets. A higher quick ratio  indicates a  better position of the  company. In the years 2010 and 2011 Layyah sugar mills has a higher quick ratio where as in 2009 Almoiz has a higher quick ratio. Inventory to Net Working Capital measures  a firms  capability  to finance its  inventories  from its available cash. Layyah sugar mill has a better capability to finance its inventories from available cash as compared to Almoiz and Chashma sugar mills. Leverage Ratios 2011 2010 2009 Leverage Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Debt to assets 0.70 0.71 0.81 0.65 0.68 0.80 0.65 0.82 Debt to equity 2.28 2.43 4.22 1.89 2.12 3.94 1.86 4.48 Long Term Debt to equity 1.34 0.83 1.47 1.38 1.35 1.96 1.45 2.30 TIE 1.08 1.37 1.65 0.12 2.16 1.82 0.02 0.68 Debt to Assets is A metric used to measure a companys financial risk by determining how much of the companys assets have been financed by debt. Layyah and Chashma sugar mill have a higher debt to assets ratio as compared to Almoiz sugar mill. Debt to Equity is a measure of a companys financial leverage calculated by dividing  its total liabilities  by  stockholders equity. It indicates what proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets. Almoiz sugar mill has a lesser debt to equity ratio as compared to Layyah and Chashma sugar mill. Long term debt to equity is a way to determine a companys  leverage. The ratio is calculated by taking the companys  long-term debt and dividing it by stockholders equity. The greater a companys leverage, the higher the ratio. Generally, companies with higher ratios are thought to be more risky  because they have more liabilities and less  equity. Overall for all the three years Layyah sugar mill has a higher debt to equity ratio as compared to Almoiz and Chasma sugar mill. Times Interest Earned (TIE) is a metric used to measure a companys ability to meet its debt obligations. It is calculated by taking a companys earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and dividing it by the total interest payable on bonds and other contractual debt. It is usually quoted as a ratio and indicates how many times a company can cover its interest charges on a pretax basis. Failing to meet these obligations could force a company into bankruptcy. In 2009 Almoiz has a very less TIE ratio Chashma and Layyah have higher TIE ratio than Almoiz sugar mill. Profitability Ratios Profitability 2011 2010 2009 Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma GPM 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.03 0.12 0.11 0.05 0.09 NPM 0.008 0.02 0.025 -0.022 0.05 0.018 -0.217 -0.05 OPM 0.106 0.10 0.11 0.013 0.10 0.08 0.005 0.08 ROA 0.006 0.025 0.046 -0.015 0.104 0.040 -0.072 -0.062 EPS 0.16 4.9 12.23 -0.35 10.78 7.9 -7.59 Gross Profit Margin is a financial metric used to assess  a firms financial health by revealing the  proportion of money left over from revenues after accounting for the cost of goods sold.  Gross profit margin serves as the  source for paying additional expenses and future savings. The GPM for Almoiz sugar mill has increased from 2009 to 2011 and in 2011 it is almost the same as Layyah and Chashma sugar mill however in between it dropped down to 0.03 in 2010. Net Profit Margin is very useful when comparing  companies in similar industries. A higher profit margin indicates a more profitable company that  has better control over  its costs compared to  its competitors. Almoiz sugar mill has a negative NPM in 2010 and 2009 since it faced a net loss and in 2011 though it didnt face a loss but the NPM is still less than that of its competitors. Operating Profit Margin is a measurement of what proportion of a companys revenue is left over after paying for variable costs of production such as wages, raw materials, etc. A healthy operating margin is required for a company to be able to pay for its