Millennial Generation

————————————————- Using the five paragraph essay format, please present your perspective on the following topic. Provide examples to support your response. Include the proper APA citation(s) in your essay. ————————————————- Topic: Organization, time management, and effective communication are key elements to online learning. Discuss how you can use each of these elements toward your professional career. ————————————————- ————————————————- Today’s young Airman comes from the Millennial Generation and believes they inherently understand three important skill sets; organization, time management and communication. In speaking with them, they all point back to their mastery of today’s technology and social media applications as the reason they believe these skill sets come so naturally to them. Leading, managing and training Airmen in today’s Air Force is not only complicated, it can be quite frustrating for those who did not grow up with the technology currently available. The millennial Airman not only grew up with a full range of technology, but considers it a requirement to daily life. Hartman and McCambridge (2011) citing references (Tyler, 2007) describe millennials as those individuals born between 1980 and 2002, characterized as technologically sophisticated multi-taskers, who are accustomed to working in teams and who rely on their parents for guidance as they struggle to make decisions independently. While technology and resulting social media sites can assist us in organizing, managing and communicating, there is no substitute for experience. ————————————————- The Air Force, like most companies, businesses and groups requires organization skills at every level. While military life is full of structure, leadership within internal groups cannot effectively manage without organizing the force. Of the three skill sets discussed, this is where the millennials seem to excel. They eagerly embrace and utilize available tools to quickly accomplish the mission. When grouped and tasked with a project, they will immediately seek out the best tool to map out the plan and track progress, regardless of whether that tool is a white board or Microsoft Office © applications. ———————————————— Unlike their organizing aptitude, time management skills are clearly lacking in the millennial Airmen. Constantly bombarded with text messages and Facebook © updates on their readily available smart phone, they will halt a task just to check updates and st atuses on any number of applications. Hansen and Hansen (n. d. ) in their quintcareers. com article recognized effective and timely project implementation as one of the skills sought most by today’s employers. Not only is timely project completion important, but so is managing daily tasks. Talk with a millennial and you find they place stock in multi-tasking, but get distracted easily, thus failing to complete projects in a timely manner. ————————————————- Finally, effective communication is by far the most important of the three discussed skill sets and where the millennial Airman requires the most training and education. After researching numerous studies, Hartman and McCambridge (2011) concluded that effective communication is directly linked to an organization’s success. While communication comes in many forms (spoken, written, gestured, etc), the millennial tends to fall short in many, if not all. Just review a short email and you will find misspellings and a complete lack of grammar similar to a phone text. The millennial will argue that text messaging is evolving with its own grammar and syntax. While this may be true, an office’s professional correspondence requires effective grammar in order to move the mission forward. ————————————————- The Air Force’s future relies on the many aptitudes its people possess. While the three discussed here are just a sampling, they represent some important areas leaders and managers must concentrate on remain effective. In the book Taking Charge: Making the Right Choices (Smith, 1993), the author has rank-ordered twenty fundamental skills that every leader must possess and continually improve upon. Communication, time management and organization are numbered two, five and nine respectively (pages 2-5). By building upon these and many other skills, an organization will ensure its success and continued growth. With regard to the discussed skill sets, the millennial Airman brings an impressive array of tools centered around online collaboration. While they do not lack enthusiasm, they do require leadership to fine-tune these skills and make positive changes. ————————————————- ————————————————- References: ————————————————- Hartman J. & McCambridge J. (2011). Optimizing Millennials’ Communication Styles. Business Communication Quarterly, 74, 22-43. ————————————————- —————————— ——————- Tyler, K. (2007, May). The tethered generation. HR Magazine, 41-46. ————————————————- ————————————————- Hansen R. & Hansen K. (n. d. ), What Do Employers Really Want? Top Skills and Values Employers Seek from Job-Seekers. Retrieved from http://www. quintcareers. com/job_skills_values. html ————————————————- ————————————————- Perry, S. (1993), Taking Charge: Making the Right Choices. Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing Group Inc. ——————————————â €”—- ———————————————— ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————— ———————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————-

Environmental Hazards

Environmental Hazards Environmental hazards consist of cultural, biological, physical, and chemical hazards (Wright, Boorse, 2014). With a wide array of other hazards in each category there is plenty to choose from and makes one wonder why we continue to survive among so many potential hazards. I will be focusing on one type of hazard from each category to show what threats there are and a way to combat the threat. One example of a cultural hazard is smoking which accounts for over 400,000 deaths each year (Wright, Boorse, 2014).Since smoking is a choice you have control over using It or not. As we progress in life and realize that some choices Ilke smoking, affect more than just the smoker. Laws have come into play to limit the access to cigarettes for minors as well as where you are able to smoke. The website no- smoke. org offers detailed information on laws, bands, and regulations in place to help lower and hopefully eliminate smoking hazards in the future. While smoking is alway s a choice some hazard such as biological cannot always be avoided.As technology progresses we are better equipped to deal with bacteria and viruses. In spite of these advances In medicine and technology, â€Å"pathogenic bacteria, ungi, viruses, protozoan, and worms continue to plague every society† (Wright, Boorse, 2014). One such problem responsible for over 3 million deaths in 2008 alone Is acute respiratory infections. † (Wright. Boorse, 2014) according to Christine DIMarla and Matthew Solan â€Å"the immune system of children and older adults are more at risk of getting an acute respiratory Infection† (DIMarla & Solan, 2012).They continue to say that most infections are not treatable, but prevention in the form of hand washing, covering your sneezes in your arm or tissue, and avoiding touching your face can be beneficial (DiMarla & Solan, 2012). Some environmental hazards cant be controlled or prevented and the best example of that comes In the form of phys ical hazards. Such hazards come In the form of ‘natural disasters' including: hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, forest fires, earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions (Wright, Boorse 2014).

Assignment B wk3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assignment B wk3 - Essay Example It is biblically that God is a God of truth and His reverence must be in observance with that truth. To worship refers to demonstrate honor and respect to God, and at what moment in his physical presence, that denotes to prostrate oneself in a way in which one demonstrates his supremacy over oneself (MacArthur, 1983). Worshipping in truth is to show adoration to him in human nature through the actions. The concept of praising God in spirit and truth generates from Jesus’ discussion with the lady at the well in John 4. In the discussion, the lady was talk about places of worship with Jesus, claiming that the Samaritans worshipped at Mount Gerizim while the Jews prayed at Jerusalem. Jesus had just demonstrated that He understood about her numerous spouses, also the fact that the present man she stayed with was not her spouse (MacArthur, 1983). This made her uneasy, so she tried to sidetrack His attention from her private life to issues of religion. Jesus did not get distracted from His session on right worship and got to the core of the issue when he said that the hour was coming, and it was already time, when the true worshipers would adore God in truth and spirit, for God needs such to worship Him in John 4. The overall message concerning worshipping God in spirit and truth is that adoration of the Father is not to be restricted to a solitary geographical site or essentially controlled by the temporary requirements of bible law (MacArthur, 1983). With the presence of Christ, the severance between Gentile and Jew was no longer pertinent, nor was the site of worship as the temple. With the Christ, all of God’s believers gained equivalent admission to God through Jesus. Worship became an issue of the spirit, not outside actions, and bound for by reality rather than ceremonial. True worship ought to be in spirit that

Unions in China and Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Unions in China and Germany - Essay Example The essay "Unions in China and Germany" talks about the time when Hitler ruled in Germany and the union between Germany and China. Under the rule of Hitler, Germany saw a transformation into a dictatorship from a republic through the coordination process. After 1934 August, it became a totalitarian state.The ACFTU is the only legal organization of trade unions. It is structured to suit the requirements of a socialist power economy. With the start of liberalization in China in 1978, the ACFTU experienced a turning point as it was fed by the peasant economy’s surplus labor. On the other hand, in Germany, Hitler realized that unions exercised more power than he could over the workers. Although he needed the workers to back him, he did not wish the unions to have so much power and, therefore, all unions were banned and the state assumed their roles. The German Labor Force deliberately masked in patriotism, replaced all unions. To gain the workers’ support, they were offered improved lifestyles and subsidized holidays, but the right to strike was taken away. Strikes became illegal. Leadership was from top to down, with the working class having no power of say. In China, the trade unions’ National Congress is the highest level of decision making, together with the ensuing ACFTU Executive Committee. It is worth noting that although only the ACFTU is legal, power is transferred to it from the top and distributed among other democratically elected offices. The unions at the grassroots allow dual leadership.; from the national level and at the local level. The National Congress holds a meeting after every five years and when it goes into recess, its powers are exercised by the Executive Committee, which takes charge of the unions. Through the Executive Committee, elections are conducted to choose a chairman, several vice chairmen and members of a Presidium, who form the Presidium that convenes the Executive Committee’s plenary session annually . When the Executive Committee goes into recess, the Presidium takes over power and holds plenary sessions quarterly. A Secretariat is created under the Presidium and it consists of a first secretary and a number of other secretaries who attend to the daily business of the ACFTU. Headquartered at the ACFTU is an auditing commission together with 12 other functioning departments ranging from finance to technical and legal. In the Federal Republic of Germany, associations for employers were reestablished with the founding of the republic, but did not achieve their status of power before the 1950s economic boom. Unlike China, several unions exist in Germany. Presently, there are a few hundred associations for employers and they are grouped under the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), Federation of German Industries (BDI) and German Industrial and Trade Conference (DIHT). The BDA is the labor unions’ negotiating counterpart in collective bargaining situations, while the BDI and DIHT influence the economic policy of the government. Labor in Federal Germany is further organized in three key centralized associations. They are the German Federation of Civil Servants, the German Union of Salaried Workers and the German Confederation of Trade Unions. The German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) is the largest by far. It represents the interests of its eight individual trade union members which, in turn, represent over six million workers. The position of the confederation pertaining to

Commercialism And Advertising On The Internet Essay

Commercialism And Advertising On The Internet - Essay Example The bombardment of advertisement makes the users lose focus of their real intention of work on the internet and annoys them by frequent reinforcement messages. The younger internet users get awareness regarding inappropriate merchandizes and services, such as alcohol, adult bars etc. Online commercialism is aggravating the concepts related to materialistic ideas since these advertisements cannot be ignored by internet users. The Internet has made the whole world come onto a single platform where businesses have the opportunity to access their local, as well as international clients with ease. The attraction of reaching a greater segment of customers on a global scale attracts the companies to prefer the online medium of advertising. According to an article in Business Wire by Goldberg and Silber, the first half of the year 2011 saw an increase of 23.2% in the internet ad revenues which amounted to approximately $15 billion. This figure identifies the inclination of companies towards the online commercialism and the degree to which it is increasing. The cheapness of online advertisements has given way to extensive forms of commercialism on the web. Such instances may result in making the user lose focus from his work and may simply waste his precious time. The problem does not end at the point of being annoyed by the frequent emergence of advertisements; it becomes a data storage issue for some users sinc e they receive hefty emails regarding ad campaigns and promotional messages on their personal email addresses. It is due to such constant spam that people may not receive important emails since their inbox might reach maximum storage capacity.

Dynamic Regression A Simulation Exercise Math Problem

Dynamic Regression A Simulation Exercise - Math Problem Example From the chart it is also the drop is also evident in the market and MOTOR returns and this shows that a drop in the market returns will also signify a drop in the returns of the stocks in the market. Finally from the chart it is evident that there was a decline in the market returns in 1987 showing that returns for the other stocks also declined. We use 120 0bservations to estimate the model estimate the model rjt = j + jrmt + Ujt for both stocks, we use MOTOR return data for the year 1976 to 1985, after estimation sung the TSM software the results show that rjt = 0.00255 + 0.7193 rmt the above model means that is we hold all factors constant and the market return level is equal to zero then the MOTOR stock return will be 0.00255, also if we hold all factors constant and we increase the market return level by one unit then the MOTOR stock return level will increase by 0.7193 units. ... The above model means that is we hold all factors constant and the market return level is equal to zero then the GPU stock return will be 0.00063, also if we hold all factors constant and we increase the market return level by one unit then the GPU stock return level will increase by 0.4297 units. The R squared for this model is 0.0854and this means that 8.54% of deviations in the dependent variable are explained by the independent variable. The correlation of determination R squared value for this model depicts a weak relationship between the explanatory variable and the dependent variable. Hypothesis testing: We test hypothesis for the estimated coefficients in the two models, MOTOR model: rjt = 0.00255 + 0.7193 rmt MOTOR model Constant: Null hypothesis: = 0 Alternative hypothesis 0 Standard error: 0.00737 Coefficient: 0.00255 T calculated = 0.00255 / 0.00737 = 0.34599 T critical at 95% level of test = 1.95996 When the T calculated value is less than the T critical value we accept the null hypothesis, in the above case therefore we accept the null hypothesis that = 0 and therefore the constant is not statistically significant at 95% level of test. Motor Model Slope: Null hypothesis: = 1 Alternative hypothesis: 1 Standard error: 0.12481 Coefficient: 0.7193 T calculated = 1- 0.7193/ 0.12481= 2.249 T critical at 95% level of test = 1.95996 When the T calculated value is greater than the T critical value we reject the null hypothesis, in the above case therefore we reject the null hypothesis that = 0 and therefore the constant is statistically significant at 95% level of test. GPU model: rjt = 0.00063 + 0.4297 rmt GPU model Constant: Null hypothesis: = 0 Alternative hypothesis 0 Standard error: 0.00841 Coefficient: 0.00063

Analysis of Aiding Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Aiding Violence - Essay Example Any foreign investor with an African dream must look at the tragic events at Rwanda, before planning to set his foot on the African soil. People can build a country and people can break it--how the latter course takes shape-- Rwanda is the latest example. When negative forces rule the roost in a country, a host of issues crop up, some are excavated from the history, some react to the current conditions. Rwanda stood engulfed in inequality, exclusion, and humiliation and those enterprises which established themselves in Rwanda, with the hope of doing something constructive for the people, were bewildered and utterly failed, overwhelmed by the ruthless violence. They were frustrated and defeated and all developmental and welfare activities came to a dead end. Killing each other flourished as the predominant industry! What were the factors that lead to the inner-humiliation of Rwanda, and the unprecedented genocide, which the world watched as if it had no concern? Developmental activities, even in a peaceful and well-governed country, create heartburning and severe tensions. The impact of materialistic civilization make the people believe that they are in a competitive race and they must win, even if that means trampling the interests of others. Any developmental project must be preceded by a program to educate the people, through the print and electronic media and ground realities explained to them as for the intended purpose of the project and its benefits as a whole to the Nation. This was not done in Rwanda. The inexperienced rulers played in to the hands of the developmental agencies, and conflicts began to take shape. The conflicts ignored over a period, lead to the mass conflagration. In this 1994 genocide, 1,000,000 lost their lives. It was not one country attacking the other country. It was a civil-war, even though indirect support to various factions fighting could not be ruled out. But the basic question is, why this happened in the 20th

In this task, you will use selected resources to research and report Paper

In this task, you will use selected resources to and report on the lifestyles, values, mores, and other characteristics of at least two minority cultures living in your state - Research Paper Example The ethnic heritage of Mexican nationals is primarily defined by a mix of European and Native American (as in native to the American continent) origins, thus providing a tie between those of Mexican descent and those of Native American descent (Gutierrez, 1999, p. 7). In an examination of Mexican Americans and Paiute Native Americans in Nevada, an interesting comparison can be made between cultures and heritage. The Mexican American population comprised 73% of the Latino population in the year 2000, and by 2006 increased to 78% (Timko, 2007). The Mexican American population makes up 14.3% of the total population of Nevada and in 1998 over 1 million businesses in Nevada were owned by Mexican Americans (Stacy, 2003, p. 583). According to Miranda (1997), the Mexican American population in Nevada is not oppressed by the same kind of discrimination that other border states tend to assert over their Mexican American populations (Nevada is not directly on the border, but within very close proximity). While this may have shifted a bit since the rise in the last ten years of immigration buzz word politics, the cultural acceptance of the Mexican American populations most likely has remained at the core of the way in which Nevada determines its position. There is an economic connection that is very strong between Nevada and Mexico. In 2001 Mexico imported the second largest number of goods produced in Nevada, thus tying the success of the state to the economic stability of Mexico. Nevada exports electrical equipment, lime, salt, plaster, and cement to Mexico as a result of the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) from 1994 (Stacy, 2003, p. 583). In the 1990’s there was a significant increase, however, of immigrants from Mexico into Nevada due to the economic downturn of 1991, thus creating a trend of an increasing population that has continued into the 21st century (Miranda, 1997, p. 209). There was a time

The Monkeys Paw Essay Example for Free

The Monkeys Paw Essay What is that sound? she said. Herbert! she was screaming. As the knocking grew louder, the more she screamed. It is a rat honey. I said. No hope, she just kept screaming. As she headed down the stairs, I pictured my son all destroyed. I could not bear to see him that way. I loved my son more than anything but if it meant to bring him back all torn up and tortured, then I would rather him be dead. If it is one thing that I learned from the monkeys paw is that in order to gain your wish you first lose something you love more than anything. Nothing, not even money is worth losing family over. I had to stop my wife before it is too late. I grabbed the monkeys paw and headed downstairs after my wife. I watched desperately as my wife turned the door knob to reveal the figure I only knew so well standing there. I felt tears coming down my face as I realized that figure was my son. My son Herbert was standing at my doorway. Only something was very different. I knew something was off. He was perfectly healthy and in perfect condition. He was not moving. He just stood at the doorway staring. I could tell he was in pain. He was weak. I knew he was not meant to be here. It was as if he sent me some kind of telepathic message telling me it is time to move on. It just was not meant to be that he should be brought back to life. I grabbed the monkeys paw and once and for all made my last wish. I watched as my wifes relieved face turned pale as she watched Herbert disappear into thin air. I knew from then on that nothing would ever be the same again. It is unbelievable how a monkeys paw could ruin someones life. Before it came into my life, everything and everyone were perfectly fine, no matter what we thought. I could hardly bear watch my wife drop to the floor and scream. I wish that my wife would never have to experience this. My wifes pain in itself kills me. As I lay in my bed trying desperately to fall asleep, I started to think about how much I really had and never appreciated it. I never needed two hundred pounds. My life was perfect. Nothing needed to change. If I had one true wish it would be that people should have the ability to appreciate what they have before it is too late. It does not have to be that something bad has to happen for people to realize that everything they have is enough and just because someone else has something they do not have it does not mean they need to have it too. I was woken up the next day by the smell of my wifes cooking. This has to be the way she is coping because she has not cooked anything since Herbert died. As I walking down the stairs I heard a familiar voice. It cant be. I ran as fast I could into the kitchen. Herbert? I said as my eyes started to fill with tears. Hi father, did you sleep well? he said. I went up to him and gave him the biggest hug I have ever given anyone. Oh Herbert, it was a dream. It was dream. Everything is going to be okay. I cant even begin to think of a time that I was so grateful for dreams. Umm okay. he said. Oh Herbert, I only wish you wouldyou know what? Never mind. You and your mother being alive, well and here is all I could ever wish for. As I let my hold on him go, I noticed my son and wifes confused faces. I did not care. All I cared about was that my wife and son were here. They will always be here

Southwest Airlines Essay Example for Free

Southwest Airlines Essay Southwest Airlines has employed unique operational strategies, incorporating industry revolutionizing methodologies, while developing and sustaining a strong corporate culture that has allowed Southwest Airlines to be profitable for a phenomenal 30 straight years and capture the Airline Industry Service Triple Crown five years in a row from 1992 to 1996. Southwest Airlines own success threatens whether it can maintain the strong corporate culture responsible for its prosperity while growing and adding additional routes. More pressing than the long-term strategy however were the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 that created uncertainty in the general environment of US economic trends and the task environment coping with new government security regulations that challenges whether the business model Southwest Airlines was founded on needs to adapt to continue to provide profits to stockholders. Southwest Airlines Organizational Structure Culture Southwest Airlines began in concept in 1967 and took its first flights in 1971 connecting three underserved metros in Texas: Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. Founding members Rollin King and Herb Kelleher pursued a strategy that focused mainly on cost-leadership (goal to make flight less expensive than driving between destination points) and niche strategies (business and pleasure fliers with simple itineraries and short trips) while also offering differentiation (high frequency departures to destinations via point-to-point flights) that did not demand a premium from the customer. The founding strategy drove decisions that resulted in Southwest revolutionizing the industry. Although the aviation industry is considered highly technological, much of Southwest’s organizational design dimensions reflect conscious choices to reduce complexity, partially as a result of regulatory constraints the company faced early in its existence. Southwest was first limited to intrastate routes when it began and following deregulation of the industry in 1978 Southwest was only allowed to fly directly to adjoining states from it base at Love Field in Dallas. Southwest chose to standardize on one type of jet airliner, the Boeing 737. The choice of the 737 allowed for routinization of parts ordering, inventory control, maintenance tasks, and training, significantly reducing expenses. Southwest also chose not to incorporate the hub-and-spoke system intended to increase available seat utilization. The point-to-point route system allowed Southwest to turnaround flights much more quickly gaining greater seat utilization. Other factors reducing complexity included the decision not to serve meals and limiting checked-in baggage on short flights. Early job descriptions in union contracts were not highly formalized; ground crews, flight crews, and boarding personnel were not required to adhere to subdivision of tasks and instead were asked â€Å"to do whatever else might be needed to perform the service† to get a flight off. Agents, or liaisons, with a great deal of autonomy and wide variety of resources to bear on the flight servicing process were incorporated also. Southwest broke away from the conventional boarding system of pre-assigned seats using colorful boarding passes given to patrons on a first-come, first-serve basis encouraging early arrival of customers and preventing mediation of an accidental double assignment to a seat. In yet another innovation, after being kicked out of all the major ticketing and reservation systems except Sabre in 1994, Southwest created the first â€Å"ticketless† travel program and leveraged internet technology to become the first airline to establish a home page to sell tickets on the Internet. Currently Southwest Airlines management is organized as a team minimizing horizontal and vertical differentiation. In addition to founder and chairman, Herb Kelleher, the management team also includes, Jim Parker (CEO), Colleen Barrett (COO), plus three executive vice presidents responsible for operations (Wimberly), customer service (Conover), and corporate staff services (Gary Kelly). The top management members spend a great deal of time together and serve as a cross-functional team making decisions as one. Within Southwest there is minimal hierarchy of authority although the locus of power is centralized within this team. In contrast to highly vertical organizations, the team has a wide span of control since Southwest is more heavily staffed with mangers responsible for coordinating functions at the front-line operating level. Although the organizational structure and design of Southwest Airlines are key factors to Southwest’s success and longevity, probably the most important factor is the culture that has been nurtured and firmly established by its charismatic founder Herb Kelleher that gives Southwest Airlines its sense of identity. Throughout the organization stress has been placed on the value of â€Å"family† and affects everything from the way new recruits are hired to the way union contracts are negotiated. Southwest Airlines has a very strong â€Å"Club† Organizational Culture that incorporates at least six of the seven elements of culture: innovation (first frequent flier program, ticketless flight, first Internet home page), orientation toward people (partnering with unions, acknowledgement of exceptional employees by the culture committee), results-orientation (efficiency and adherence to 15% growth strategy that maintains a strong balance sheet to manage for bad times), easygoingness (jeans for corporate attire, Texas greetings, hugs), attention to detail (winning Airline Industry Service Triple Crown 5 years in a row), and collaborative orientation (team turn-arounds, nobody saying â€Å"it’s not my job†). Clear adherence to the core values of profitability, low cost, family, fun, love, hard work, individuality, ownership, legendary service, egalitarianism, common sense, good judgment, simplicity, and altruism are expected and reinforced through rites, ceremon ies, symbols, and myths. Just being hired at Southwestern Airlines is a rite in itself that Kelleher once described as â€Å"a near religious experience†. Candidates for entry-level positions were interviewed in groups of 30 and monitored for signs of interest, concern, and empathy for the presenter. Frequent fliers were even included in the interview panel to ensure Southwest would hire people who fit in with the â€Å"Club†. Passing the six-month probationary period is one rite of passage while being nominated to the Culture Committee was definitely both a rite of passage and a rite of enhancement providing a high amount of exposure to the corporation management and employees. Advancing to the position of operations agent is a definite rite of enhancement since it could position an employee to be a prime candidate for other front-line management jobs. Ceremonies reinforcing the cultures and values of Southwest Airlines are the responsibility of the Culture Committee and it is tasked to create the Southwest Spirit and Culture where needed; to enrich it and make it better where it already exists; and to liven it up in places where it might be ‘floundering’. The annual awards banquet is the biggest companywide event of the year for which employees from all over the system are brought to Dallas and honored for their length of service. Southwest Airlines emphasis on personal relationships keeps the employee turnover rate hovering around 7%, further ensuring that â€Å"graybeards† are around to help enforce the values and culture of the corporation. In Dallas, at the corporate headquarters, employees find walls lined with pictures of other employees receiving awards for community service activities. The pictures serve as strong symbols that reinforce that the Southwest Airline culture inspires extra-role performance, specifically organizational citizenship behaviors such as altruism. No doubt the awards ceremony also provides an opportunity for many of the legends of Southwest to be told that solidify the â€Å"we vs. them† mentality derived from the Southwest’s organizational experience fighting court battles just to survive and other unique events such as organizational founder Herb Kelleher arm wrestling a competitor for the legal rights to use an advertising logo. The organizational structure and design of Southwest combined with the organizational culture that has been nurtured has served Southwester Airlines well. Southwest Airlines success is evidenced by 30 straight years of profits and being able to grow to become the fourth largest U. S. airline (in terms of domestic customers carried). However, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 resulted in a dramatic drop in airline customers and the issuance of over 200 industry regulation directives in the span of 60 days. The directives had a huge impact on the task environment Southwest and the other airlines operate within. Almost overnight, in an effort to win back airline customers, all of Southwest Airlines competitors became low-fare carriers temporarily negating one of Southwest’s marketing advantages. Security issues made the handling of passengers, baggage, and other matters more complicated and time consuming. Additionally many of Southwest’s best customers (business travelers), who due to their â€Å"last-second† arrivals at the gate, fall into the terrorist profile requiring that they be searched before being allowed to board the flight, further causing delays and threatening the validity of Southwest’s corporate motto, â€Å"you are now free to fly about the country†. Other airlines have added additional time into their flight schedules to manage perceptions of a key industry statistic that is very important to potential customers when purchasing a flight ticket; on-time arrival percentage for the particular airline. These factors have reduced profits, almost ending Southwest’s string of 30 consecutive years of profit, and placed Southwest next to last amongst major US airlines in percentage of on-time arrivals. At this point management is pondering whether changes in the fundamental business model are necessary to protect the bottom line and increase on-time performance. Proposed Solutions Analyzing post 9/11 performance in the airline industry convinces us that Southwest Airlines business model of frequent departures, unassigned seating, point-to-point flights, equipment standardization, strong family culture, and managed growth is sound. Amongst major US Airlines only Southwest and JetBlue were profitable between first quarter 2001 and first quarter 2002. In fact, cost/seat mile for Southwest has decreased in the period and revenue should increase as the US becomes more convinced of airline security and other airlines are forced out of the low-fare segment to try and earn profits. Management may be caught up in comparing its net income to its own past performance when they should be comparing it relative to its competitors who are doing far worse. Changing the business model in an environment of uncertainty would be disastrous resulting in employee turnover (feeling they no longer fit the company), huge hiring and retraining costs, and additional costs associated with attracting a new type of customer. Southwest’s business model displayed its resilience and daptability, when Southwest made the decision to increase schedules, after 9/11, and to continue to add Norfolk to its list of cities served. The decision allowed Southwest to increase market share in passenger miles flown from 7. 5% in first quarter 2001 to 7. 8% in first quarter 2002. Increased market share should increase revenue and profits when security regulation stabilizes and customers return to the airlines. The on-time arrival percentage is a skewed inaccurate statistic being manipulated by Southwest’s competitors. Although turnaround times have grown from 24 to 27 minutes this is still far superior to the industry average which is twice as much. However, to ensure last minute arrivals are boarded quickly we believe Southwest should go ahead and hire or pay for additional security in the gating areas in the short-term. Eventually new security equipment, such as high resolution x-ray scanners, will be deployed upstream of the gating areas by the US government, mitigating the need for preboarding searches. Southwest’s employees, with their strong sense of company ownership, will serve as the alarm to tell management when the added expense of federal security agents is no longer needed in the gating areas. Adding time to flight schedules increases the likelihood that a reduction of one flight departure from each city could be necessitated at a great reduction in profit ( 56 cities X 96 passengers X 500 miles avg. flight. X $. 8 profit cents/mile = $750,000 using 2002 profit data, = $3,494,400 using 2001 profit data of $1. 30 cents/mile). In order to continue growth, Southwest should first pursue adding the long flights, similar to the Oakland to Baltimore route, connecting highly serviced cities. The high seat utilization coupled with low per-flight labor costs will increase profits without requiring additional labor expenses that would be incurred if new cities were added to the service list. JetBlue is making a handsome profit on these longer flights. When the market has stabilized Southwest should once again pursue adding new cities to their service list while continuing to add longer flights. Finally the inaccurate perception by industry analysts, and potentially future customers, that Southwest service levels are declining should be aggressively attacked using one of Southwest’s legendary strengths, humor in advertising. The culture committee should be recruited to brainstorm advertising ideas pointing out that competitors cannot beat them in service levels so they have to cheat to beat the system. After all, Southwest Airlines continues to be #1 in fewest customer complaints for the last twelve consecutive years. Ads could humorously depict travelers boarding competing airlines in summer vacation attire, being passed in mid-flight by hot air balloons and hang gliders, and deboarding during blizzard conditions. The ending tag line would reassure current and future customers, â€Å"You are still free to move about the country†.