Locked in the Cabinet Essay Example for Free

Locked in the Cabinet Essay Democracy is a form of government where people have a right enabling them to have a say in everything that affects their lives. However, our government is not a direct democracy, and as such, individuals are not empowered or able to have a say in the inner-workings of their government. Their beliefs are not heard as often as they would like, and they are given little to no opportunities to decide what the government will do. The average citizen has little access to political power, and as a result little influence in the government. But if one individual chooses to change the government, and places that as their goal, then they have a chance of altering the system that governs their lives. If one such as Robert Reich works hard towards their goal, then they can possibly change the government to some degree. Robert Reich was an average man who had strong beliefs, and among those beliefs was the belief that to help people was just. His career in law began as a law clerk to a judge, and he eventually worked his way to the position of Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. All of the time that Reich spent in Clinton’s cabinet was dedicated towards attempting to make his idea’s bear fruit. Although in the book Reich is the Secretary of Labor, he did not start out in this position. He worked his way up from the position of a law clerk, as I have previously stated, to a job that came with some measure of power. Reich attained this place in the government through his own efforts, and by showing that he had ideas suitable to fill in the role of Secretary of Labor. Reich is just one example of an ordinary person with true passion for their beliefs who was able to make a difference in the government. In Reich’s book, he talks about how an average person named Steve Wandner had an idea to reduce unemployment. Reich explains that Steve’s idea was when unemployed people claimed that they were unemployed, that they had to be screened to find out whether or not they were permanently laid off so that they could find new jobs faster. Steve worked hard in order for his idea to be heard, and after being ignored several times, Reich gave him the attention his idea deserved. Later, Wandner’s idea became an official law. Anyone can make a difference in the government if they work hard to reach a position where it is possible. During Robert Reich’s stay a part of President Clinton’s cabinet, he followed a strong belief in â€Å"putting the people first†. He cared deeply about helping the unemployed obtain new jobs and to retrain them in order to have better working skills, and in that same vein, better jobs further down the road. Reich also wanted to raise the minimum wage, show people the inequality of income in America, and much more. Reich’s ideas were not in any way offensive or unfair, he simply wanted to help people first rather than putting full attention on government issues such as reducing the deficit. Because of this, many of his ideas were igored and rejected by the members of Clinton’s moderate administration. For example, during one of his meeting with Bill Ford, chairman of the House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee, Reich tried to explain to him the idea of retraining American workers. Reich ended up being yelled at and his idea rejected. Although many of Reich’s ideas were disregarded by other members of government he continued to pursue his goal of helping the working class of America. Reich was rather successful in performing his duties as Secretary of Labor. One of his successes was helping pass the Family and Medical Leave Act. It allowed working class families to have more time off from work if they were injured or had a child. He was also successful in convincing President Bill Clinton in aiding the people rather than the government. In doing so Clinton decided to pass a law in raising the minimum wage 90 cents. This pleased many of the working class of America. Finally, Reich was also able to set up several reforms in order to help provide more jobs for the unemployed. For example, Reich gave 3 million dollars to a job center helping people trying to get employment. Even though he want able to pass a law to retrain workers, he still managed to work hard and complete some of his goals. Reich was ignored by many government officials during his term as Secretary of Labor, and this greatly hindered his chances of getting his goals finished. But while this may be true, this was not the center of his experiences as the Secretary of Labor. Reich was aiming towards retraining Americans, and he is not the only one who has seen this as a valuable idea. Freddie Ray Marshall was the Secretary of Labor for Jimmy Carter, and he shared many similar ideas with Reich. Both men were working to provide jobs for others, and they both were trying to get workers to be retrained. (F. Ray Marshall) If workers could get more training, they can possibly get better jobs. He also is a teacher, like Reich. However, unlike Reich, Marshall was able to pass many programs and to help reduce unemployment. I would say that some of Reich’s experiences were unique to his time as the Secretary of Labor, and that others were not. In conclusion, Reich was a man who fought all alone for his beliefs, and was more successful in some areas than in others. To call him a failure is a little harsh, and to call him a success depends on your political views. All in all, Reich did what he felt would be best for the people who have little say in the government. Reich can be seen as a prime example of one who worked hard to have their voice heard, and as one who made a difference, even if it wasn’t as big a difference as he would’ve liked. Reich really seemed like he was a kind individual (but then again, he wrote the book) and even if he did not succeed in all his plans, he still changed some things for the better.

Stem-Cell Research and the Media Essay -- Persuasive Argumentative Es

Stem-Cell Research and the Media      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Biomedical technology is getting much press due to the stem-cell debate.   A controversial topic in itself, with the President of the United States taking a stand on the issue for funding purposes, the topic has received even more press over the consequences resulting from President Bush's decision.   With the President's approval rating well over 80 percent since the September 11th attack, those who contest any of his decisions have been receiving feelings of anger from those who support him.   I, however, would like to take a stand and contest Bush's decision to limit the stem cell research funding.   This paper presents two articles that examine Bush's decision in different ways; one looks at the consequences from the point of view of stem cell researchers, and the other presents an avenue for the Presidential administration to defend their decision, which happens to be contradictory to their claim to be concerned with the science behind stem cell rese arch.   While the Janesville Gazette article is supposedly a defense of Bush's decision, analyzing the claims and actual behaviors of Tommy Thompson and President Bush exemplifies their weak argument.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Newsweek article by Begley (2001) conveys information about the consequences of President George W. Bush's decision to limit the federal funding for stem-cell research to the 64 colonies already in existence.   The article does not explicitly state President Bush's decision to limit the funding of the research to the current 64 colonies, but only states that the President announced, "there were scores of stem-cell colonies around the word that federally funded scientists would be allowed to study."   Begley's way of co... ...n's position, a careful analyzer can see major contradictions between his claims to use science to make the decision and his actual decision obviously not being based on science.   By also examining and article which roots itself in the people involved daily with stem cell research, and by capturing their concerns with the President's funding decision, this paper serves as a well rounded critique of Bush's stem cell research funding decision in a time when patriotism does not allow for easy critiques of the current administration.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      References   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Begley, Sharon. (2001, September 10). In search of stem cells: It turns out many of the 64 lines may be unusable.   Newsweek, p. 57.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stem cell decision defended: Thompson" Number of developed lines mad no difference to Bush. (2001, September 7). The Janesville Gazette, pp. A1, A8.   

Jetblue Airways: Managing Growth

Jet Blue Airways; Managing Growth 1. Jet Blue? s Business- level strategy; value and cost drivers Jet Blue uses to create and maintain ist competitive position Founded by the discount airline veteran David Neeleman in 2000, JetBlue Airways has quickly become one of the largest discount airlines in the United States. Starting primarily by serving the East Coast, the airline has since expanded throughout the country and entered the international market.The reasons for its early success are numerous: JetBlue entered the market with one of the largest levels of liquidity of any start-up airline; it met the needs of customers’ whose primary concerns are price and route; and it successfully defined its brand and differentiated itself from competitors by offering an above average customer experience and amenities for a discounted price. They are offering fares with the â€Å"point to point† system. JetBlue? s business-level strategy is therefore a mix of cost-leadership and di fferentiation.David Neeleman’s idea behind JetBlue was to start a company that combined the low fares of a discount airline carrier with the comforts of a small cozy den in people’s homes. His vision involved both business and leisure customers to have cheap and affordable flights throughout the United States and abroad on newer aircraft that are not only comfortable, but are equipped with modern entertainment options, and a customer centric business model which makes customer service a number one priority.In contrast to its competitors, for example, JetBlue offers fares up to 65% lower but added comfort features such as assigned seating, leather upholstery and satellite TV on individual screens in every seat. Moreover, they are practicing a â€Å"get-to-the-destinations-at-all-costs† culture, which makes it their declared aim never to cancel a flight. JetBlue Airways does not operate to a traditional mission statement; rather, it operates to a set of core value s: Safety, Caring, Integrity, Fun, and Passion. 2. Strategic group map of the airline industry; positioning to create a strategic competitive advantage ompany| Routes serviced| Prices| size| Continental | 292| 1,586| 44939| Delta| 587| 1,009| 118856| Southwest| 97| 0,775| 77693| JetBlue| 71| 1,371| 14729| American| 336| 0,186| 745700| United| 180| 1,706| 67000| The biggest and simultaneously oldest airline companies are United, American, Delta and Continental Airline. This is why they are referred to as legacy carriers. Their strategic competitive advantage is the hub and spoke system. In this system, airlines created hubs at specific airports where thousands of passengers were shuttled to their connecting flights, the so called spokes.In doing so, these airlines can ensure to keep costs low and protect market share. Another argument strengthen this strategy is that passengers can travel between numerous destinations without changing airlines. Delta uses this strategy to dominate ge ographical segments of the market, for example Atlanta. Southwest Airlines on the other hand established a completely different strategy. They take passengers direct between cities, which is referred to as point to point. Additionally, Southwest is using secondary airports serving major metropolitan areas.With their different strategic advantage, they are able to attract another target market. Because they offer fares between cities that are often less than 500 miles apart, they targeted customers that would have otherwise traveled by car. In this way Southwest maintains high levels of plane utilization while keeping its operating costs low enough to support its discounted fares. Another part of their strategy is their reliance on a single type of plane, the Boing 737. This allowed them to standardize ground and flight personnel training which decreased the airline? average turnaround time between landing and starting again. Moreover, Southwest focuses on customers whose priority is low-cost, on-time performance. There are no complications for customers, like seat assignments. Therefore, Southwest as well as Jet Blue are considered as low cost carriers (LCC). Jet Blue offers fares up to 65 per cent lower than legacy competitors. Jet Blue Airways positions itself by connecting large, typically northeastern, US cities with warmer cities in the southeast. Jet Blue? s emphasis is like Southwest? s on low fares and point to point transportation.Jet Blue entered the market like Southwest with only one machine, the A320. In this way they could ensure serving a variety of medium- and long-haul routes and numerous overnight flights. Jet Blue could also standardize its training and servicing processes around the aircraft. This allowed them to gain flexibility in scheduling and capacity management. Another feature for customers to make travelling with this airline more attractive are added comfort features such as assigned seating, leather upholstery and satellite TV on individual screens in every seat.Their key principle was that flight cancellation should be avoided at all costs. In 2005, Jet Blue broadened their portfolio in entering the market of medium-sized cities, which was served only by regional airlines. They entered this market using a new midsized aircraft called E190. In launching this new machine, they were able to use synergy of combining the A320 and the E190 profitably while serving now smaller and bigger airports. This portfolio mix gives Jet Blue a yet matchless, strategic competitive advantage compared to the other airlines.Their goal now should be to improve the synergy between the two machines and the profitably run their fleet with the optimum amount of aircrafts. 3. Strategy/ structure needed to support the A320 versus the E190; reconcilable differences? ; opportunities for synergy The new developed strategy of Jet Blue was to acquire enough E190 aircrafts to serve medium- sized cities to provide a steady flow of passengers to fill the seats on the longer-haul routes of their A320 aircrafts. A big advantage of this system was that it also worked the other way around.Jet Blue turned out to have an enormous advantage in comparison to the regional airlines, because the E190 had more seats than the traditional RJ. They could use the best option for efficiently serving medium-sized markets while offering passengers more comfort, because they did not had to face limitations on the size of the planes as RJ did. Therefore, Jet Blue has to overcome some essential problems caused by significant differences between these two aircrafts. On the one hand, the E 190 is operated at 12 per cent greater costs than the A320, therefore 34 per cent less costs than for a typical RJ.The E 190 was a great innovation because it could target a wider range of profitable destinations with a greater seating capacity to feed into A320 flights. This results in higher loads and improved economics for Jet Blue. The breakeven load for the E190 of 75-80 per cent was much lower than for the A320, which made is easier to introduce service into new markets. One of the problems is that it takes up to 40 to 50 airplanes before a company benefits from economies of scale. And while taking delivery of the new E190, Jet Blue continued its purchases of A320 aircrafts.Reasons therefore are that this machine had proven to be an extremely reliable machine, and Jet Blue had standardized its operations around this plane. Another concern is the dual certification for pilots . It was simply not feasible for a pilot to simultaneously obtain enough flights as an E190 captain and as an A320 captain. This means pilots could only fly one of the two machines. This brought up another issue: An A320 captain received higher hourly wage rate than an E190 captain.This is why they had to keep pace with the A320 deliveries. The short-haul routes served by the E190 increased revenues but they also increased costs. The reason therefore is as mor e frequent flights required E190 aircrafts to spend more time on the ground than the A320 for taxiing, loading, and unloading between flights because the processes were not standardized yet. This resulted in a disadvantage in accumulating flying hours for pilots, because they get only credit for time spend in the air.Any time spend on the ground was not included. This affected their whole seniority and income availability, which is tied to the number of airplanes they take. Additionally, the E190 has non-skid flooring on the cargo bins as a safety feature to prevent baggage handlers from slipping on the floor while loading and unloading. Although it was intended to be a good thing, it increased loading time and also increased the potential for strains and back sprains as handlers had to lift bags they previously have slid.Also flight attendants had to make significant adjustments. The E 190 had smaller galleys from which to serve customers. The shorter duration of E190 flights provi ded less time for the attendants to provide the high level of service to which jet Blue passengers had become accustomed. The work of the employees in charge of servicing and maintaining Jet Blue? s fleet also increased considerably. They had now two completely different machines to take care of manufactured by different companies. This created additional operating complexity.This is why they decided to invest in maintenance capabilities. The last and most important group affected by the differences between the two machines is customers. Changes in their behavior and expectations are required. Especially concerning to the carry- on baggage, because the storage bins are from different sizes. This means passengers can take the same baggage in one machine as hand luggage, on the other machine they need to check it at the gate. There are enough opportunities for synergy effects.The system of the two machines working together is still in its introductory phase. Once these difficulties an d maintenance and special level of service for the customers are overcome, the synergy should run pretty well as it was intended to be. 4. Efforts of JetBlue to repair damage to its reputation; successful efforts? Necessary/ successful change in CEO? The Valentine ? s Day crisis that would later be referred to as „the worst operational week in JetBlue? s seven-year history,â€Å" began on February 14, 2007 when flights from JFK were heavily booked.Although the snow lingered longer than expected, JetBlue boarded its flights. As the snow turned to freezing rain the FAA prohibited domestic flights from taking off. This winter storm that enveloped the New York metropolitan region and JetBlue’s hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport left hundreds of the company’s passengers stranded aboard planes on the tarmac, some for as many as ten hours. Hundreds more waited in vain in the terminal for flights that the airline would eventually cancel.The flight disruptions at JFK plunged JetBlue’s entire operation into chaos, forcing the carrier to cancel more than one thousand flights over a six day period. In the morning of this Wednesday, JetBlue? s executives and employees had no idea that an operational catastrophe was about to happen, one that would threaten the company’s financial stability and tarnish its otherwise sterling public image. David Neeleman stepped down after the Valentine’s Day incident in 2007 only because his organization failed to deliver on its principles of excellent customer service.To restore its reputation, JetBlue embarked on a bold and unconventional image restoration campaign that included issuing disarmingly candid public apologies and a radical new covenant between the company and its customers called the â€Å"JetBlue Airways Customer Bill of Rights. † The change of management was instituted to help rebuild JetBlue’s tarnished reputation and to develop innovative strategies which wo uld prevent situations like that from ever happening again. The CEO described the bill of rights as a written covenant between the company and its customers.The bill of rights specified in no uncertain terms the monetary compensation customers would receive if JetBlue failed to meet certain performance benchmarks, such as ground delays after landing. The Bill of Rights, allowed JetBlue to strengthen its brand among loyal customers and even those who were affected in the airline’s operational difficulties at JFK and other airports across the country. Additionally, the announcement of the Bill of Rights served as a powerful introduction to countless other air travelers who had yet to fly with the airline.In addition, the Valentine’s Day crisis taught the Corporate Communications group valuable lessons about using the Web and social media. For example, the corporate communication team arranged for Neeleman to appear on more than a dozen television news and talk show progr ams on February 20, including The Today Show and The Late Show with David Letterman. Neeleman had already starred in videos posted to JetBlue’s Web site and YouTube in which he said he was â€Å"humiliated and mortified† by the company’s failures.Through numerous written and spoken mea culpas, Neeleman begged JetBlue’s customers for forgiveness. I feel that JetBlue? s powerful brand, corporate structure, and agility as a smaller airline should enable it to rebound from the Valentine? s Day crisis in 2007 and beyond. Of course, the events that began at JFK will not soon be forgotten by the public or the organization, but the issuance of the JetBlue Airways Customer Bill of Rights and the apologies demonstrated the airline’s commitment to its patrons over the long term, not just in the days and weeks following the onset of the crisis.

The Ability Of Overcome Degenerative Policy Making Is...

The ability to overcome degenerative policy making is through policy analysis which deconstructs policy designs in order to expose degenerative characteristics and deceptions (Schneider Ingram 1997). Public policy needs to be inclusive and should provide a clear vision of possibilities, explanations of how and why antidemocratic elements are embedded in policy designs, and interpretations of how designs impact democratic life (Schneider Ingram 1997, 207). According to Stone (2011), knowledge tools reduce the need for coercive action or force because in the rational model, information will resolve conflict between actual behavior and desired behavior. Providing knowledge or educating make it unnecessary to incentivize or sanction the target in order to elicit the desired behavior. Instead, lack of information or capacity is the primary barrier, and once the appropriate information is relayed to the target, the desired behavior will follow (Schneider Ingram, 1997; Stone, 2011). However, people use a variety of strategies to help their interests and political goals. Critics of rational choice theory contend that people â€Å"act largely according to prior attitudes and beliefs rather than new information† (Stone, 2011, p. 314). One must be aware of human and social behavior if they are to try and analyze policy. Schneider Ingram (1997) identify some general principles (203-206) to look for during policy analysis. Target groups should be constructed across the lines ofShow MoreRelatedHistory of Glasses3080 Words   |  13 Pagescreated new jobs and related products and have played a key role in the economic shift from a manufacturing focus to a service focus. At the same time, eyeglasses have impacted natural selection and allowed those who would otherwise be weeded out the ability to live and prosper. Eyeglasses unintended consequence of continually degrading human eyesight and poor sustainability diminish the positive economic and social implications and place the future of this dominant technology in a questionable andRead MoreEuthanasi An Argument Against Euthanasia1865 Words   |  8 PagesThe topic of euthanasia is an analysis of jurisprudence and has been a subject of debate and expostulation for many a years. Naturally, any form of discussion on the topic provokes emotional respo nses from the general public and medical professionals alike. In this essay, I shall attempt to argue against euthanasia by discussing the harmful effects on a patients autonomy options pose in regards to euthanasia. My counter arguments for my opinion against this practice will be justified on the basisRead MoreGender Neutral Ground Combat Arms Roles7352 Words   |  30 Pagesthat women are not only qualified, but that they bring a wealth of diverse talents that they should be able to apply across all disciplines within the Armed Forces and in turn, be afforded the opportunity to ascend to more senior ranks. However, policy makers are deliberately ignoring decades of medical research and evidence that strongly counter the logic of such a decision and brings into question their motives. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and present the extensive body of evidenceRead MoreHealth: Sociology and Social Care9095 Words   |  37 Pageshealth and social care settings and its importance for effective service delivery. UNIT ABSTRACT Learners will investigate the communication processes in health and social care settings considering the barriers to communication and ways to overcome these barriers. Learners will explore the process of communication and how effective communication can affect how individuals feel about themselves. In addition, communication systems within organisations will be critically examined and learnersRead MoreChange Management49917 Words   |  200 PagesAnd Change ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE UNIT – I LEARNING OBJECTIVES The student is expected to learn the following concepts after going through this unit. 1. Change 3. Planned Change 5. Unplanned Change 2. 4. 6. Stimulating Forces Change Agents Lewin’s Three Step Model The change means the alteration of status quo or making things different. It may refer to any alteration which occurs in the overall work environment of an organization. When an organizational system is disturbedRead MoreDisenfranchisement: Voting is a Privelege that we Must Not Take for Granted5822 Words   |  24 Pagesmen and women have been reduced to living in the shadows of society. On the other side of the issue, one would argue that we should not extend the privilege of voting to someone who has exhibited horrendous judgment. Why allow the offender the ability to retain their freedom of expression when they might have permanently silenced an innocence’s voice in the conduct of their crime. However, alienating a huge segment of society is a potential pressure cooker. That may manifest itself in the formRead MoreCissp Study Guide67657 Words   |  271 Pagescomponents of a security policy EXCEPT the A. definition of the issue and statement of relevant terms. B. st atement of roles and responsibilities C. statement of applicability and compliance requirements. D. statement of performance of characteristics and requirements. Answer: D Explanation: Policies are considered the first and highest level of documentation, from which the lower level elements of standards, procedures, and guidelines flow. This order , however, does not mean that policies are more importantRead MoreStatement of Purpose23848 Words   |  96 Pagesapplying to the Zoology and Botany graduate programs at the University of Florida asks—tells—applicants that the statement of purpose is very important and they should focus on future experiences, not on past experiences. As you develop topics one through six, also consider the bulleted list of additional suggestions below. 1. Illustrate and explain how and when you became interested in the field: Applicants often include an anecdotal and personal example from their formative years that illustratesRead MoreEssay o n Wireless Electricity14464 Words   |  58 Pagescoils. The main concept of the technology and how it works is based off of a few simple principles. The first step in making it work is that there are two coils required. Each of the two coils provides a separate feature. One coil is used as a transmitter, and the other coil is used as a receiver. Once the two coils are put in place, it requires an alternating current to be passed through the transmitter coil and generates a magnetic field. With this magnetic field generated, it then induces a voltageRead MoreSexually Transmitted Diseases35655 Words   |  143 Pagesintegrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurableevidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. A scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.Scientific researchers propose hypot heses as explanations of phenomena, and design experimentalstudies to test these hypotheses. Steps in the Scientific Method 1.