Night Photography Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Night Photography Research Paper - Essay Example It was John Adams Whipple that has firstly tried the system of daguerreotype into nigh photography. He captured the moon using a telescope. Following this, he then took photographs of the Boston Common using electric lights. This was in the year 1863. Although Whipple has been taking photographs specifically during at night, night photography had only been positively real with the invention of the gelatin dry plate. Earlier photography had used the wet-collodion process. In this process the negatives are needed to be exposed and processed while still damp. However, with the gelatin dry plate process, the plates were more light sensitive and they allow longer exposures. In 1890, Alfred Stieglitz tried testing the limits of the photography when he tried capturing the New York Streets on wintry night. Aside from this attempt, there was no significant attempt for night photography until the 1930s. The two significant people that have contributed to night photography were Brassai and Bill Brandt. Brassai was responsible for publishing a book of black and white pictures showing the streets of Paris. This book was Paris de Nuit. The photos in Brassai's book were patented by atmosphere. They were moody, revealing and even gives the feeling of detachment from its photographers. After World War II, it was Brandt's turn to show the London streets during its black out condition. Brandt's photos also with them a sense of detachment from their photographer. Many photographers followed Brandt into night photography. Then in the 1970s, night photography became formal when it was taught as a course in the collegiate level by Steve Harper. He taught the course on night photography at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. After having taught night photography at the academy, the academy had been known for the legacy of night photography. Then come the 1990s where in Michael Kenna became known for being a successful night photographer that time. His works were mostly set in between duck and dawn. Now with the emergence of new technologies, innovations and developments with cameras used, people have an easier way for venturing into the world of night photography. Yet night photography still has areas or aspects in it which is needed to be understood so as how to create and even develop worthwhile pictures. Glitches in Night Photography Just like in sports and landscape photography, night photography also demand a great deal when it comes to shutter speeds and apertures. In some instances, these technical aspects are taken into extremes. Night photography is subjected to a lot of different constraints just like any other photography. Much like daylight photography, night photography could also be hindered by shutter speeds, apertures and light sensitivity. Often times, night photography as said could demand extremes from these areas. In earlier times, many photographers veer away from night photography because of the problems brought about by taking pictures at night. Night photography requires longer exposures so as to maintain the right and enough depth-of-field. More often, it could result to unacceptable amounts of image noise. Another, night photography also poses a problem with the film called "reciprocity failure". This means that the longer the exposure, the more light is needed to reach the film. This case could lead to diminishing returns compared with shorter exposures. Another problem that was encountered earlier was that, the

Review and Comparison of Different Software Quality Models

Review and Comparison of Different Software Quality Models Muhammad Qasim Riaz1 and Zeeshan Asif2 1,2Department of Computer Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan Abstract Software quality models are one of the best means for the support of software quality management system. Since more than 30 years, several quality models have been offered and used with fluctuating mark of success. To be particular, with the idea of defining the multidimensional content of software quality management system a variety of qualitative models have been presented by which different aspects of this topic have been tried to be investigated properly. By investigating the trends and evolution of software quality models and identifying differences in the approaches and judgment outcomes, the results indicate significant progress in the development of software quality models. Many definitions and models of software quality are studied and a competitive conclusion is drawn. It carries on with a review of the quality models and comparison between them. Introduction The main aspects of the quality at which every software engineer should focus himself are reviewed and compared [4] in this paper. Now a days, in modern age of technology large firms and companies spend millions and billions of dollars at the IT projects to get precise and efficient software services. Our first point is, what is meant by quality [1] in software products. What should we do to a software product to decide it as a quality product, simply a good product or name it as a failed product. Many papers have been published about the causes of project failure e.g. [8]. Several models and many success factors are presented for effective and precise management of projects to make up the quality of products [5]. This paper is taking a review by examining factors and points discussed in different models like Boehm, McCall and many others[9][8]. We also illustrates their impact on quality of the software product. Secondly, many models are presented by different researchers, organizations and scientists. Most of the scientists followed the basic models of software quality presented by the McCall, Boehm, and FURPS. On the basis of these models IEEE and ISO presented new models and also did many additions like ISO 9126. This paper emphasizes all these models of quality factors and explains a comparison between them. How to measure the quality of software and which scales are defined to measure it, are also mentioned in the paper. At the end, effect of quality at the cost and demand of software will also be discussed. We have reviewed and compared the following software quality models in this paper: McCalls software Quality Model Boehms software Quality Model FURPS software Quality Model IEEE software Quality Model ISO 9126 software Quality Model A quality model is mostly stated as a set of characteristics like document clarity, design trace-ability, integrity, program reliability, test integrity and relationships among them which truly provide the foundation for identifying the requirements of quality and calculating quality. It can be identified as defined set of properties that are required for a product to meet stated purposes. The advantage of quality model is determined by the decomposition of main objects like product, process or organization in the list of its properties and characteristics. It is applicable for forecasting, guaranteeing and authenticating the accomplishment of a well-defined goal. Quality Defined As the quality of any object/thing in universe can be defined as: The measure of standard of any object/thing against the other objects/things of same kind is known as the quality of that object/thing. OR It can also be defined as the degree of superiority or inferiority of something as compare to the other things of same type. For example the quality of a computer depends on the speed of the computer, reliability of the computer, consistency of the computer and many other factors like that. Similarly, the dictionary definitions of quality in computing largely concentrated on excellence and improvement in product International Standards(IS) professionals should focus. Quality according to ANSI Standard can be define as Quality is the sum of characteristics and features of a software product or a service that bears on its capacity to fulfill the given needs Quality according to IEEE Standard (IEEE Std. 729-1983) All the characteristics and features of a software product which stand on its capacity to fulfill the particular requirements [6]: for example, follow to conditions. The grade to which software keeps a wanted mixture of features. The mark at which a consumer observes that software meets his mutual outlooks. The multiple characteristics of software that define the unit according to which the software product in use will meet the hopes of the customer. General Kinds of the Models Now a days, most of the quality models are hierarchical models which are based on the basic principles of the quality and related metrics [7]. All of these models are classified on the basis of the means and ways according to which they have been generated. These are categorized into the following three types. The assumed model is based on the hypothesis relationships among variables used. The model based on data-driven by a statistical analysis of related matrix in model. This model is the mutual effect of hunches which are used to determine the simple type of the model and secondly the Data analysis used to formulate the constants of the model along with the variable values. Different Quality Models 4.1 McCalls Quality Model This was the first ever quality model presented by the Jim McCall in year 1977 which is also called General Electronic Model [8]. Before presenting this model there was no any authentic model to review or check the quality of the product. This model provides a set of the basic characteristics to measure the quality of product. Figure 1. McCalls quality model and all of its components Three major perceptions of the McCall model for declaring and recognizing the quality of the product are presented following: Product Operation: The degree of any product that how much quickly and easily it can be understood, it includes, reliability, correctness, efficiency, integrity and usability criteria. Product Revision: it covers the maintainability, testability, changeability, flexibility and debugging of the product. Product Transition: it deals with the adaptability with the environment, portability, reusability and interoperability of the product. 4.2Boehms Quality Model Boehms software quality model [9] offers more attributes and characteristics of product than McCalls quality model. It was presented by Barry W. Boehm in 1978. Boehms model is almost similar to the McCall Quality Model because it also presents a hierarchical quality model designed about high-level, intermediate level and primitive characteristics, each of them plays an important role in the overall quality level. All above stated levels represent the questions of buyer, the quality factor which can affect or represent the quality of product and offers the basis for describing qualities metrics. Figure 2. Boehms quality model and all of its components Almost both Boehms and McCalls models similar to some extent [10].The difference in these two models is that McCalls model mainly centers on the accurate measurement of the high-level characteristics As-is utility. On other hand Boehms quality model is dependent on a broader range of characteristics with a stretched and detailed emphasis on primarily maintainability. 4.3 FURPS Quality Model FURPS model was presented after the McCalls and Boehms model. It was firstly presented by Robert Grady and Hewlett Packard Co. the abbreviation of word FURPS stands for Functionality, Usability, Reliability, Performance and Supportability of the product under development [11]. Functionality: Functionality contains combination of characteristics, security, features and capabilities. Usability: This section covers the factors which affect usability of the product like Human Factors, Aesthetic, material of training and documentation of the user. Reliability: It ensures the reliability and integrity factors like Recovery to failures Time among failures, Frequency and severity of failures. Performance: Enforces conditions on practical necessities like speed, availability, efficiency, throughput, accuracy, resource usage, response time and recovery time. Supportability: This section contains the components like Extensibility, Adaptability, Maintainability, Compatibility, Configurability, Install ability, Serviceability and Localizability. Figure 3. FURPS quality model and all of its components 4.4 IEEE Quality Model Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) [12]. It is an international organization which also provided many standard models for the software product quality and maintenance. It presented, many standards of software quality assurance and verification/validation of the software product. The abstract figure of IEEE software quality models is given forward: Figure 4. IEEE quality model and all of its components This model illustrates several ways for the measurement of qualitative factors and reflects factors like Efficiency, Functionality, Maintainability, Portability, Reliability and Usability. Efficiency: It includes the characters like time and resources. Reliability: It contains the factors and the characteristics which are used to increase and maintain the maturity and reliability by fault tolerance and Recoverability. Functionality: It includes characteristics like accuracy, compatibility, completeness, security and interoperability. Supportability: It helps in maintaining the testability, extendibility and correctability. Portability: It makes the software portable by ensuring characteristics like hardware independency, software independency, adaptability, install-ability and reusability. Usability: It ensures the comprehensibility, communicativeness and ease of learning. 4.5 ISO 9126 Quality Model ISO 9126 [14] [13] is presented by the international standard organization. It is one of the most implemented and used quality model for maintaining the quality of the software product. This modern model is based at the previous models like McCall, Boehm, FURPS and many other old versions of the ISO like ISO 9000 and etc. Figure 5. ISO 9126 quality model and all of its components This version of ISO also takes account of functionality as parameter and include identification of both internal quality characteristics and external quality characteristics of the products. The characteristics new version of this model [15] contains are Efficiency, Maintainability, Functionality, Reliability, Portability and Usability. Efficiency: It contains the characters which affects the throughput in a given time and resources used. Reliability: It includes the Maturity, Fault Tolerance and Recoverability. Functionality: It contains many essential characteristics which are necessary for the proper functionality of the product like suitability, accurateness, interoperability, compliance and security. Maintainability: It helps in maintaining the changeability, stability and testability by using analyzability. Portability: It makes the software more dynamic and portable by ensuring characteristics like adaptability, install-ability, conformance and replaceability. Usability: It makes sour that the learnability and operability of the software product should be easy and simple. 5. Comparison of Models According to the above study and figures we did a comparison between all of the models to justify our competitive study. McCall Model: according to the reference [] and the figure 1 of McCall model we can observe it can say following characteristics are included in this model correctness, reliability, efficiency, integrity, usability, flexibility, maintainability, testability, portability, interpretability and reusability. Boehms Model: As shown in the above figure 2 and the literature the characteristics owned by the Boehms model [] are device independence, self-contentedness, understandability, modifiability, testability, human engineering, efficiency and reliability. FURPS Model: FURPS is the combination of functionality, usability, reliability, performance and supportability these are further classified into security, capabilities, availability, efficiency, throughput, accuracy, resource, response time, integrity, failures, human factors, documentation, extensibility, maintainability, compatibility, install ability and serviceability. All these characteristics are mentioned in reference no. . IEEE Model: As we mentioned above the IEEE model is consist of the external and internal characteristics like functionality, reliability, supportability, usability, efficiency and portability these external characteristics are sub divided into internal characteristics like time, resources, error tolerance, availability, completeness, accuracy, security, compatibility, interoperability, testability, correctability, hardware independence, software independence, installability, reusability, usability, comprehensibility, ease of learning, extensibility and communicativeness . ISO 9126 Model: ISO 9126 is the combination of all the models it includes all the best characteristics which are necessary for building up a satisfactory product. The main characteristics of the ISO model are functionality, reliability, maintainability, usability, efficiency and portability. The derived sub characteristics form those main characteristics are suitability, accurateness, interoperability, compliance, security, maturity, fault tolerance, recoverability, understandability, learnability, operability, time behaviour, resource behaviour, analyzability, changeability, stability, testability, adaptability, installability, conformance and replaceability. 6. Conclusion We have studied several types of software quality models which are different on the basis of their characteristics and methodologies. Really it was a great task and challenge for us to conclude which model is the best and which we should prefer to implement in developing a good software product. In this paper we have also made a comparison table (above) to understand the real differences in the models. This table also shows which features and characteristic a model contains or lacks. We have studied and compared the following models. McCalls Model: In McCalls quality model, the quality is mostly measured on the basis of judgment of the person(s) or the users by answering the questions given in a questioner. (Yes or no questions). Boehms Model: While Boehm concentrates on the levels based upon the characteristics of the product. FURPS: The FURPS quality model is made and stretched to be cast-off in the IBM Rational Software Company. So, it is a special-purpose quality model, which is presented, for the benefits and betterment of that company. IEEE: It is also a good model to implement. It uses different measurement ways and standards like software quality assurance to maintain the quality of the product. ISO 9126: The ISO 9126 quality model is the most useful model it has been figured on the basis of international agreements and accordance from all the countries which are members of the ISO organization. In result of the comparative study ISO 9126 is best model. But it depends at your software product and the organizations that which model is best for use. It is a satisfactory and successful completion we hope it help the new users to understand the quality models properly and easily. Quality Characteristics Models McCall Boehm FURPS IEEE ISO 9126 Stability Integrity Security Maturity Usability Accuracy Flexibility Efficiency Reliability Portability Testability Reusability Functionality Analyzability Modifiability Performance Install Ability Supportability Interpretability Maintainability Fault Tolerance Understandability Time Management Self-contentedness Availability Human Factors interoperability compliance Suitability Replaceability adaptability Device Independence References [1] Khomh, F., Haderer, N. and Antoniol, G. (2009). SQUAD: Software Quality Understanding through the Analysis of Design, Reverse Engineering, WCRE09, 16th working conference [2]Dubey, S.K., Gosh, S. and Rana, A. (2012). Comparison of Software Quality Models: An Analytical Approach. International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering, ISSN 2250-2459, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 111-119. [3]Robson, C. (2002). Real world research: a resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers, Blackwell Publisher Ltd. [4]Sharma, K. and Sharma, K. (2013). Comparison of various software quality products, Proc. of the Intl. Conf. on Recent Trends in Computing and Communication Engineering, RTCCE 2013 [5]Sharma, A., Kumar, R. and Grover, P. S. (2008). Estimation of Quality for software components: an empirical approach, ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes, 33(6), pp. 1-10 [6]IEEE STD 729. (1983). IEEE Standard Glossary of the Software Engineering Terminology [7] Pressman, R. S. (2012). Software Engineering a practitioners Approach 7th Edition. McGraw-Hill, Inc. [8]McCall J. A., Richards, P. K. and Walters, G. F. (1977). Factors in Software Quality, Vol. 1, 2 and 3, AD/A 049-014/015/055, National Tech. Information service, Springfield. [9] Boehm, B. W., Brown, J. R., and Lipow, M. (1976). Quantitative evaluation of software quality, International Conference on Software Engineering, Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on Software Engineering (2nd):592-605. [10]Boehm, B. W., Brown, J. R. and Kaspar, J. R. (1978).Characteristics of software Quality, TRW Series of software Technology, Amsterdam, North Holland. [11]Ghezzi, Jazayeri, C. M. and Mandrioli, D. (1991). Fundamental of software Engineering, Prentice-Hall, NJ, USA. [12] IEEE (1993). Standard for Software Maintenance, Software Engineering Standards Subcommittee of the IEEE Computer Society. [13] ISO/IEC TR 9126-3. (2002). Software Engineering Product Quality. [14]ISO 9126. (2000)E. Standard ISO/IEC, Information technology- Software product quality Part1: Quality Model, ISO/IEC FDIS 9126-1: 2000(E) [15]ISO/ IEC 25030. (2006). Software Engineering: Software Product Quality Requirements and Evaluation (Square), Quality Requirements.

Essay --

Dear President, As you very well know, climate change is one of the biggest challenges of the current age. While few countries in the area are able to work on mitigation and adaption, The Republic of Congo has been diligent in passing laws that can further preserve our planet. I am writing this letter to talk about what positive impacts have come from the recent laws set in place, as well as advise a plan for furthering the mitigation of climate change in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two new laws have been passed stating that the removal of any natural resources from the rainforest, including trees and minerals, is permanently banned. Timber and mining companies may no longer operate in the rain forest. In addition, to decrease the poaching of animals and trees in the rainforest, a drastic increase in the penalties for poaching will be issued and the consequences are up to and including potential life in prison. Also a large increase in the funding of efforts to prevent poaching and capture poachers has been set in place. In retrospect to the new laws put into place, there will be pros and cons of the effect that the law has on the Ba’aka people, the logging and mining workers, the poachers of bushmeat and ivory, and congolese environmentalists. The Ba’aka peoples nomadic lifestyle is less damaging to the rainforest environment because it allows the group to move without over-exploiting the local game and forest resources. Most African forest people spend much of the year near a village where they trade bush meat and honey for manioc, produce, and other goods. In contrast when there was an allowance of poaching and removal of natural resources, the Ba’aka people ran low on the bushmeat and found the forest inhabitable due t... ... due to the law, they can bring about a rich future and help teach the native people how to utilize their resources to the highest ability. The con that this law has on the environmentalists is now they have less funding from the government to support their research because more money is going into the prevention of poaching. This could harm the conservation process of environmentalists because they need funding in order to sustain the ecosystem. I am writing this letter today to ask for your consideration in the funding of environmental conservation in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Please consider the facts that I have laid out, together we have the ability to raise awareness within the community to help lessen the environmental impacts that ultimatley induce climate change. Thank you for your time and attention. Sincerely, Hayley Kievman

The structure Aviation industry

The structure Aviation industry has been changed greatly during the past decades. New regulations and technology forced carriers to introduce new methods of business performance.Deregulatory period which took place between 1978-1983 resulted in changes in economic and organizational structure of full service airlines.   Some companies were unable to see strategies changes as a long-term opportunity and ignored restructuring of business. For a small airline it was necessary â€Å"to have a large proportion of high traffic point-to-point routes, like New York-Miami, with CAB-protected market share and profitability† (Byrnes, 2004).The only opportunity for larger carriers â€Å"was to have a large number of long distance routes, like San Francisco-Hawaii, with high schedule frequency, dominant market share, and a distance-tapered fare structure† (Byrnes, 2004).Most successful full-service airlines changed their service structure and customer support services. The main ch anges were hub systems with schedule frequency, frequent flier programs, reservation system (Byrnes, 2004). It means taking steps to assess and satisfy future people needs and to enhance and develop the inherent capacities of people – their contributions, potential and employability – by providing continuous development opportunities. Scheduling plays a crucial role because it the process in which objectives resource commitments to these team objectives are translated into specific team programs and goals.Traditional structure of full-service airlines was changed in order to meet new market conditions and requirements. For instance, â€Å"limited scope and regional concentration were also defensible† (Byrnes, 2004) after deregulation period.United Airlines decided to increase long-haul routes and decrease unprofitable feeder routes; Delta and Northwest chose a strategy of low operating costs and strong regional hub systems.    Profitability management was the core of airlines allowing the companies to evaluate current situation and find new methods of cost reduction.Changes in technology involve developing a new vision of technology and its impact on all areas of an airline industry, its members and their activities. New technological changes influence the structure of management and include: goods and services; production processes; information and communications; transport and distribution; society, politics and economics (Bassett, 1992).Developments in IT have led to interactive communication tools being used to complement less interactive mechan ­isms such as mail or media advertisements. Internet became the main strategic tool for airlines. Greater access to informa ­tion, growth in self-assisted services, and the widespread change from a sellers' to a buyers' market, are just a few of the drivers of consumer empowerment (Doganis, 2002).This connection between good levels of customer service and good levels of customer satisfact ion and retention underpins the common association of customer service with keeping, rather than winning, customers.Two Ticket Distribution Strategies allow airlines to save costs and attract new customers proposing effective payment system based on high standards. â€Å"Organizations are being restructured, costs cut, networks and schedules rearranged around the hub concept, investment made in yield-management systems to capture the most profitable traffic, and frequent-flyer programs† (Bouvard, Somosi, 1997).Today, many airlines offer full service form a single source. Infrastructure changes and new IT solutions allow full-service airlines to reduce operational costs and improve service quality.   Efficiency and customer service is improved by using IBS’s Passenger Services System Designed to Replace Legacy Technologies (Cendant Travel Distribution Services. 2004).In sum, restructuring and changes in full-service airlines were aimed to improve service quality and a llow companies to compete on the market. Strategic changes and vision of new market opportunities helped many carriers to adapt to severe economic conditions. References1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Airline Deregulation: Lessons for Telecom (2004). Retrieved from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4173&t=dispatch2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bassett, G. (1992). Operations Management for Service Industries: Competing in the Service Era. Quorum Books.3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bouvard, F., Somosi, A. (1997). Europe's Airlines Choose between Two Ticket Distribution Strategies. The McKinsey Quarterly, No. 1, p. 173.4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cendant Travel Distribution Services, IBS Software Services Reach Agreement to Develop And Promote â€Å"iRES†Ã‚  To Global Airline Industry. (2004) Retrieved from: http://www.galileo.com/galileo/fr-ca/news/Press/Releases/iRes+release.htm5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Doganis, R. (2002). Flying off Course: The Economics of International Airlines.   Routledge.6.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   Gujarathi, M.R., Mcquade, R.J. (2003). Sun Airlines, Inc.: Financial Reporting of Point and Loyalty Programs. Issues in Accounting Education, Vol. 18, p. 359.   

Eliminating Global Poverty Essay

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) affirms the right of each individual to a â€Å"standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family† (qtd in Morsink, 2000, p. 146). Health here is to be understood as â€Å"a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity† (WHO, 1946, p. 100). Within the context of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of health, the aforementioned article thereby encompasses the related rights for the realization and maintenance of an individual’s â€Å"physical, mental, and social well-being†. Guinn (2007) notes, The legal imports of this broad definition is that States not only have a duty to prevent or remove barriers to the realization and maintenance of (an individual’s) well-being, they also have the obligation to promote health, social, and related services, along with cultural reform to remedy potential social harms. (p. 56) If such is the case, the implementation of this right requires the elimination of poverty since poverty affects the promotion of this right as well as other rights (Alegre, 2007, p. 37). For the sake of clarity poverty as it is used in this paper should be understood as â€Å"the standard of living far below the mainstream standard of the larger society† (2008, p. 224). Given that this standard is set by the larger society and society in itself is characterize by various forms of income disparities, the question arises as to the corresponding duties and obligations that each individual holds in order to ensure the eradication of po verty. Given that the eradication of poverty stands as a condition for the fulfillment of human rights claims other goals and preferences should stand subordinate to it which leads to the conclusion that it will lead to a competition between preferences, policies etc. However, such is not the case. Poverty may be eradicated through the redistribution of resources within society. Such redistribution, however, does not necessarily entail the drastic change in the economic structure of each society. On the other hand, according to Singer, it entails a reassessment of each individual’s charitable responsibilities. He notes, â€Å"In the real world, it should be seen as a serious moral failure when those with ample income do not do their fair share toward relieving global poverty† (Singer, 2006, p. 58). The basis for Singer’s claim is the assumption that the eradication of poverty stands as each individual’s duty as opposed to a morally optional form of charity. In lieu of this, the task of this paper is to layout and critically analyze Singer’s aforementioned claim as it is stated in his article â€Å"What Should a Billionaire Give-and What Should You? †. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part of the paper outlines Singer’s argument whereas the later part of the paper provides a support of Singer’s view using Nozick’s entitlement theory of justice. The presentation of Nozick’s views aims to show that Singer’s assumption is not only valid on moral grounds but on political grounds as well. In the aforementioned article, Singer claims that human life holds a primary value over other values. If such is the case, â€Å"differences of sex, ethnicity, nationality and place of residence (does not) change the value of a human life† (Singer, 2006, p. 58). In addition to this, he notes that each individual should consider it his duty and obligation to ensure the realization of this value and since poverty affects the realization of this value, individuals should consider it their duty and obligation not only to alleviate but to eliminate poverty. This is possible if individual’s practice â€Å"philanthropy as a means for fighting global poverty† (Singer, 2006, p. 58). However, for Singer, acts of philanthropy are not limited to the rich. He argues that for the ordinary members of society the â€Å"obligations are limited to carrying the fair share of the burden of relieving global poverty† (Singer, 2006, p. 58). By fair share, Singer refers to the percentage of an individual’s income that is not necessary for ensuring the continuance of an individual’s basic necessities (Singer, 2006, p. 8). In a previous article entitled â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality†, Singer states, â€Å"If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it† (1972, p. 233). He supports his argument with the following claims. First, â€Å"our obligation to the poor is not just one of providing assistance to strangers but one of compensation for harms that we have caused and are still causing them† (Singer, 2006, p. 58). These harms stem from developed countries’ acquisition of natural resources from the Third World nations. Singer argues that it is not sufficient to remedy these problems through public policies. Philanthropy is necessary since â€Å"private donors can more easily avoid dealing with corrupt or wasteful governments. They can go directly into the field, working with local villages and grass-roots organizations†. Singer notes, â€Å"Private philanthropists are free to venture where governments fear to tread† (Singer, 2006, p. 58). Second, Singer argues that since â€Å"at least 90 percent of what people earn in wealthy societies† are dependent upon their societies’ social capital wherein social capital refers to the â€Å"natural resources†¦, the technology and organizational skills in the community, and the presence of good government† it follows that the income of an individual is partially dependent upon the society in which he resides in and therefore it is incorrect to argue that individual’s are entitled to their wealth as a result of hard work. In addition to this Singer holds that motives should not be considered in acts of philanthropy. It is important to note that Singer adheres to a utilitarian theory. Within the aforementioned theory, the end has greater value than the means through which the action is performed. If such is the case, the reasons as to why individual chooses to engage in acts of philanthropy does not matter, what matters is whether the end [eradication of poverty] may be met with such actions. As I reckon, the appeal of Singer’s approach on the issue lies on its stand as a moral obligation as opposed to a political obligation. However, it is also possible to be support Singer’s view if it is implemented as a political obligation. Nozick in Anarchy, State, and Utopia argues that obligation ought to based upon consent. Nozick holds that the only legitimate state is the minimal state, whose activities are confined to the protection of individuals and their property and to the enforcement of contracts. This state is unique among social organizations in having the right to force residents to pay for its services whether or not they have consented to do so. Citizens may band together for whatever other purposes they may desire-to provide education, to aid the needy, to organize social insurance schemes. Such schemes however must necessarily be purely voluntary and the state must enforce anyone’s right not to be compelled to contribute to them. Nozick reaches these conclusions by adhering as closely as possible to the idea that, in economic life all valid obligations derive from consent. Since consent alone cannot be theoretically basic something must determine the conditions under which the consent counts as morally binding. In addition, the obligations and entitlements one person acquires through voluntary agreements can affect the alternatives open to others who have not been parties to these agreements. Something must determine when such side effects make an agreement void. In Nozick’s theory, these conditions and limits are set by a skeletal framework of rights derived from Locke. The minimal role allowed to the state, the great scope left to voluntary agreement, and consent in his theory are direct consequences of the particular character of these rights. Nozick’s theory of justice is based on unpatterned historical principles. This theory is an entitlement conception of justice. Its central tenet is that any configuration of holdings that results from the legitimate transfer of legitimately acquired holdings is itself just. Many theories of justice will give some role to considerations of entitlement. Such theories recognize some processes as conferring legitimacy on their outcomes. What is special about Nozick’s view is that it makes entitlement principles the beginning and end of distributive justice. While his principles are not described in detail, it appears that his theory differs from other pure entitlement conceptions chiefly in admitting fewer restrictions on the acquisition and exchange of property. One such restriction [in fact the only restriction] is called the Lockean Proviso. The aforementioned proviso states that any acquisition, transfer, or combination of transfers is void if it leaves third parties worse off than they were in the state of nature. Such a worsening might occur, for example, if someone were to buy, in simultaneous secret transactions, rights to all the available sources of water. The aforementioned restriction [Lockean Proviso] could be substantial were it not for the fact that the baseline for its application is set by conditions in the state of nature. According to Nozick, the productivity of the capitalist system in improving our material condition makes it unlikely that anyone could acquire holdings that would leave others below this standard. Nozick clearly feels that the distinction between historical [un-patterned] principles of justice and end-state [patterned] principles is of fundamental importance. He emphasizes that almost all of the principles of justice commonly offered are end-state and are clearly mistaken. Singer’s proposition for the alleviation of poverty is highly dependent upon an individual’s consent to enact his moral obligation and duty towards his fellowman however if one conceives of his proposition within the context of the Lockean proviso as stated above it is possible to give strength to Singer’s claim thereby allowing the possibility of its transformation into a political duty. Within the context of the Lockean proviso, Nozick claims that morality does not ensure that the right to tend to one’s business [in this context the economic conditions within one’s society] is not affected by the circumstances of other individuals since there exists a duty to ensure the welfare of others.

10 Ways to Render Sentences More Concise

10 Ways to Render Sentences More Concise 10 Ways to Render Sentences More Concise 10 Ways to Render Sentences More Concise By Mark Nichol This post details various strategies for reducing and simplifying sentences. 1. Sentence Combination Avoid consecutive sentences that end and begin, respectively, with the same word or phrase as occurs here: A common way to track the current state of systems is monitoring performance metrics. Performance metrics show how assets are performing at the transaction level. In such cases, replace the period between them with a comma and delete the second iteration of the word or phrase with which: â€Å"A common way to track the current state of systems is monitoring performance metrics, which show how assets are performing at the transaction level.† 2. Condensing by Subordination When a sentence includes two consecutive verb phrases, consider converting one to a subordinate clause. For example, note how the subject of this sentence is followed by two statements of fact: The renowned tea is a symbol of the city’s gracious hospitality and is often served in a glass to display its jade-green color. The first statement can easily be subsumed into the main clause as a parenthetical phrase: â€Å"The renowned tea, a symbol of the city’s gracious hospitality, is often served in a glass to display its jade-green color.† 3. Integration of Clauses Here, an introductory subordinate clause sets up an unnecessarily wordy sentence: For health care entities with similar classes of customers, they may be able to reduce the overall evaluation effort by applying the portfolio approach. The clause is easily integrated into the main clause by omitting for and treating â€Å"health care entities,† rather than they, as the sentence’s subject: â€Å"Health care entities with similar classes of customers may be able to reduce the overall evaluation effort by applying the portfolio approach.† 4. Denominalization Nominalization is the complication of prose by using nouns when employing the verb form of that noun, or revising the sentence to eliminate the need for a noun, produces more clear, concise prose; nouns, of course, are integral to prose but, especially in the case of formal nouns with such elements as -ation, they can be abused in the service of conveying authority. This sentence is not overly formal, but it is wordier than necessary: Furthermore, companies are taking backups of the production applications and storing them for indefinite periods. Denominalization- literally, â€Å"unnaming†- is simply a fancy way of saying â€Å"rephrasing to eliminate nouns.† Note that in this sentence, the noun backups can be converted to a verb, rendering the verb taking superfluous, and the final phrase can be condensed by transforming the adjective indefinite into an adverb, which enables deletion of the noun periods: â€Å"Furthermore, companies are backing up the production applications and storing them indefinitely.† The following sentence is an example of a statement with a double-decker nominalization: Management may find it beneficial to engage in a dialogue on a periodic basis regarding the organization’s policy. As in the previous example, one word easily replaces a phrase- â€Å"on a periodic basis† can be reduced to periodically: â€Å"Management may find it beneficial to periodically engage in a dialogue regarding the organization’s policy.† But further reduction is achieved by replacing the phrase â€Å"engage in a dialogue† with a synonymous word: â€Å"Management may find it beneficial to periodically discuss the organization’s policy.† 5. Employing Terms Rather Than Definitions One strategy to achieve conciseness is to avoid describing something by defining it; note the explanation in the following sentence: He was prone to making embarrassing mistakes in public. Here, the persons behavior can be described with a term that embodies the definition: â€Å"He was prone to committing faux pas.† 6. Deletion of Expletives The expletives â€Å"there is† and â€Å"there are† are poor substitutes for a strong subject; note how the following sentence gets off to a weak start: There are few, if any, finance and accounting departments that are not experiencing some form of extreme change. Expletives need not be excised in every case, but minimize their use by deleting such phrases in favor of the definite noun or noun phrase that follows (and delete the associated that that appears later in the sentence): â€Å"Few, if any, finance and accounting departments are not experiencing some form of extreme change.† 7. Avoiding Tautology Tautology is redundancy or repetition, such as shown here: Could you repeat that again? To repeat is to do something again, so this sentence is equivalent to â€Å"Could you say that again again?† Indicate the action one way or another: â€Å"Could you say that again?† or, more concisely, â€Å"Could you repeat that?† 8. Using Brief Modifiers When modifying a noun to provide more information about it, use a preceding adjective or phrasal adjective rather than an extended phrase following the noun. The following sentence demonstrates use of a verbose modifying phrase: She offered an explanation that was brief and to the point. This sentence can be tightened up by locating the description of the explanation before the noun: â€Å"She offered a brief, to-the-point explanation.† 9. Excising Single Words Sometimes, reducing a sentence by just one word improves it, as shown in the following examples: Rather than assessing all of the contracts, select a representative sample to assess. In the phrase â€Å"all of,† of is generally superfluous: â€Å"Rather than assessing all the contracts, select a representative sample to assess.† How is technology helping to change the way elderly people are cared for? In the phrase â€Å"helping to,† to is extraneous: How is technology helping change the way elderly people are cared for? That is the most annoying error I have ever seen, and also the most prevalent. Also, when it immediately follows and, is redundant: That is the most annoying error I have ever seen, and the most prevalent. 10. Avoiding Prolixity Refrain from florid, verbose descriptions. The following sentence is an extreme example of self-indulgent wordiness, but unless one is deliberately prolix in the service of humor, be vigilant about reining in excessively ornate prose: One might with the utmost confidence essay to prevail in a debate in which one asserts that possessing one’s own means of vehicular conveyance offers one greater flexibility than public transportation provides in the matter of travel to one’s place of learning or employment or to social occasions. Pare such overly complicated composition: â€Å"It’s easy to win an argument that having one’s own car makes it easier to get to school or work or to meet friends than if one uses public transportation.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Royal Order of Adjectives Disappointed + PrepositionCareful with Words Used as Noun and Verb

Carnival Case Issues Essays

Carnival Case Issues Essays Carnival Case Issues Essay Carnival Case Issues Essay SPRING 2013 – GLOBAL STRATEGY AND POLICY MAN4720009_2013S_11202: , Schwartz: Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 to 10:50 AM – LA 331 GLOBAL STRATEGY AND POLICY MAN4720009_2013S_11202 Spring, 2013 Prepared for Professor Harry Schwartz, March 14, 2013 by the following students: Robert OndercikZ8384Finance Ron AbrahamZ4458Accounting Jenna FranzoneZ3483Business Management Tabitha Palmisano Z0857Marketing Jeffrey VonZ7035Accounting Aaron SchneiderZ0653Business Management Sabine BorgesZ7510Accounting 1. Current Situation: CRITICAL CASE ISSUES Human Relations (CI #1) Employee and Labor Lawsuits Employees of Carnival are claiming unfair working conditions with poor compensation. (CI #2) Succession Mr. Arison stepping down in the future, who will run company, third generation Arison or someone else. Operation/Logistics (CI #3) The Costa Concordia Cruise Ship lawsuit Cruise ship laying on side, environmental risk, and lawsuits from crash. (CI #4) The Carnival Triumph dead at Gulf of Mexico Pending lawsuits from this event, leading to more negative publicity (CI #5) US Corporate Tax Congress continues to try to charge Corporate taxes on Carnival, but has failed recently. This could change soon. Marketing CI #6) Serving on 20 % of Americans It becomes expensive for customers to get to ports to cruise, discouraging some customers from cruising. Carnival Corporation plc is currently the largest cruise company in the world and is among the most profitable and financially strong leisure travel companies in the world. Carnival Corporation PLC’s portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia are comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, PO Cruises (Australia) and PO Cruises (UK). Collected, these brands operate 100 ships totaling 203,000 lower berths with nine new ships scheduled to be delivered between March 2013 and March 2016. Carnival Corporation PLC is the only group in the world to be included in both the SP 500 and the FTSE 100 indices. A. CURRENT PERFORMANCE Carnival reported net income for the year 2012 decreased to $1. 3 billion compared to $1. 9 billion for the prior year due primarily to a combination of lower revenues and higher fuel prices. Revenues declined $410 million primarily as a result of the Costa Concordia incident. Net revenue yields declined 2. 5 percent due primarily to lower cruise ticket prices and occupancies for the Costa brand. Excluding Costa, Carnival was able to maintain year 2012 net revenue yields in line with the prior year. Even with the many challenges faced in 2012, Carnival generated $3 billion of cash from operations, more than enough to fund our net capital investments of $1. 8 billion. All of the subsequent free cash flow was then returned to shareholders. Carnivals regular quarterly dividend of $0. 25 per share, combined with a special year-end dividend of $0. 50 per share, resulted in $1. 2 billion of distributions to their shareholders. Carnival also purchased 2. 6 million of the company’s shares in the open market at a cost of $90 million during 2012. B. STRATEGIC POSTURE * Carnival remains dedicated to profitably growing our cruise business and driving returns on capital higher. Carnival will continue to increase their fleet through a measured pace of two to three new ship introductions each year. Some of these vessels are expected to replace existing capacity from the possible sales of older, less-efficient ships * Currently, Carnival has nine cruise ships scheduled for delivery through March 2016. * In addition, Carnival is focused on the growth of developing cruise regions. During the previous five years, Carnival has doubled their guest sourcing fro m up-and-coming markets, a trend Carnival expects will continue in the future. CI #6) * Carnival and its Operating Lines place the uppermost importance on guest health, safety and security. Carnivals objective is to maintain an exceptional health, safety and security record. As well as constantly strive to better our health, safety and security standards and procedures. (CI #3 and 4) 1. Mission â€Å"Carnival Corporation plc mission is to take the world on vacation and deliver exceptional experiences that appeal to a large variety of consumers, all at an outstanding value. † 2. Objectives To our stakeholders, this mean: Consumers | Take the world on vacation and deliver exceptional experiences that appeal to a large variety of consumers, all at an outstanding value| Employees | Recruiting and Retaining Qualified Employees. Carnival considers their employee and union relations generally to be good| Business Partners | Carnival shall communicate with our business partners frequently to ensure that we receive high-quality products and services and that our ships receive the goods and services that they need to operate sustainably. Shareholders| The strength of their people, values, culture and mission has driven superior returns for their shareholders. A dollar invested in Carnival stock 25 years ago would be worth 19 times that today, representing a total return almost twice that of the SP 500 over the same period. | Communities | Carnival strives each and every year to make a difference in their homeports and various regions around the world in need. During the past year Carnival Corporation plc gave nearly $10 million to charitable organizations, including a $2 million donation to support Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. | 3. Strategies * Carnival now has its ships in ports that are within reasonable driving range for a good portion of the country. Galveston, San Diego, Mobile, New Orleans, Charleston, Baltimore and New York all have Carnival ships sailing from their ports, making it cheaper and easier for more Americans to cruise. CI #6) * Identify those managers responsible for implementing health, environmental, safety and security performance and ensure that there are clear lines of accountability. (CI #3 and 4) * Promptly report and properly investigate all incident and take appropriate action to prevent recurrence (CI #3 and 4) * Establish and act upon goals and objectives to continually improve our performance * Continue to publicly report to and maintain open dialogue and cooperation with key stakeholders (CI #3 and 4) * Carnival operates Under Section 883 of the Internal Revenue Code; certain non-U. S. corporations (such as our North American cruise ship businesses) are not subject to U. S. federal income tax or branch profits tax on U. S. source income derived from, or incidental to, the international operation of a ship or ships. (CI #5) * Since defueling on Costa Concordia began until 7 a. m. Feb. 17, a total of 251,492 gallons of fuel have been pumped out of 4 tanks located on the ship. (CI #3) * According to Costa Cruise, a total of 377,237 gallons of fuel is still onboard in 13 tanks. Following the schedule drawn up by the Neri/Smit Salvage experts, if sea and weather conditions remain favorable, all of the fuel still on board the vessel should be removed within three weeks. (CI #3) * Carnival has several defined contribution plans available to most of their employees. Carnival also has single-employer defined benefit pension plans, which cover some of their shipboard and shore side employees. (CI #1) 4. Policies Protecting the health, safety and security of Carnivals passengers, guests, employees and all others working on behalf of the Company * Protecting the environment, including the marine environment in which Carnivals vessels sail and the communities in which we operate * Continue to follow Carnivals Corporate Standards which go considerably beyond the requirements of current environmental law and regulations. * Carnival is primarily a foreign corporations engaged in the business of operating cruise ships in international transportation. (CI #5) Key Executi ves: Mickey Arison: Chairman and CEO of Carnival Corporations David Bernstein: CFO and senior Vice President of Carnival Corporations Howard S. Frank: Vice Chairman and Chief operating officer Alan B. Buckelew: CEO and President of Princess cruises Gerald R. Cahill: CEO and President of Carnival Cruise lines Larry Freedman: Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President-Controller Michael Thamm: CEO of Costa Crociere, S. p. A. Arnaldo Perez: Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Stein Kruse: President and CEO of Holland America Line David Dingle: CEO of Carnival UK Michael Ungerer: President of AIDA Cruises Board Members: Mickey Arison: (Internal) President since 1979 and CEO since 1990 Howard Frank: (Internal) Vice Chairman of the board of directors of Carnival Corporations since 1993, and Chief Operating Officer since 2003. Pier Foschi: (Internal) on the board of directors for Carnival Corporation since 2003. Chairman and CEO of costa crociene SpA. A vice chairman of confitama, the federation of Italian ship owners. Robert Dickinson: (Internal) Director of Carnival Corporation since 1987 and of carnival plc. since 2003. He served as president from 1993-2007 and CEO of Carnival cruise lines from 2003-2007. Jonathon Band: (External) Director of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc. Since 2010. Stuart Subotnick: (External) Director of Carnival Corporation since 1987 and of carnival plc. Since 2003. Richard Glasier: (External) Director at carnival corporation and carnival plc. since 2004. From 1995-2002 he was executive vice president and CFO of royal Caribbean cruises. Arnold Donald: (External) Director of carnival corporation since 2001 and a director of carnival plc. ince 2003. Modesto Maidique Ph. D: (External) Director of Carnival Corporation since 1994 and of carnival plc. since 2003. He also served as FIUs president from 1986-2009. John Parker: (External) Director of Carnival Corporation since 2003 and of Carnival plc. since 2000. He served as Deputy Chairman of Carnival plc. from 2002-2003 Laura Weil: (External) Director of Carnival Corporation and carnival plc. since 2007 Peter Ratcliffe: (Ext ernal) Director of Carnival Corporation since 2003 and director of Carnival plc. since 2000. 003 to 2007 he served as the CEO of PO Princess cruises. Randall Weisenburger: (External) Director of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc. since 2007 Debra Kelly- Ennis: (External) Elected to the committee of the carnival Corporation and carnival plc. in January 2012. Conflicts of Interest: Richard Glasier was once the CEO of Argosy gaming and although no longer the CEO he still is a chairman and major shareholder of the company. Argosy gaming mostly deals with casinos but also operates riverboat gambling cruises. There is a definite conflict of interest because he is not only concerned with the success of Carnival Corporation but also Argosy gaming success as well. Even though he is not the CEO anymore he still converses with the top management of Argosy and is up to date about what’s going on within the company as well as knowing about what’s going on in Carnival too. This means he might have information on the companies such as release dates for new ships or new specials that he cannot share with the board members of the other company and if he did it would be ethically wrong. Therein lies the conflict of interest, if he was not on both board then there would be no conflict. Being on both boards is a conflict of interest because he is not only concerned with the success of Carnival but also Argosy gaming as well. Since 2010, Start Subotnick has been the president and CEO of Metromedia. Metromedia is a holding company that has many subsidiaries that operate in various activities such as restaurants, internet, software technology, and more. The main conflict of interest for Subotnick is that Metromedia develops software for the hospitality industry. Since Carnival uses hospitality software to perform most tasks such as when you get checked at the port to the server on the cruise ship placing your dinner order, it would be in Subotnicks best interest to try to get Carnival to use Metromedia’s software. This is a conflict of interest because it might not be what’s best for the Carnival but it what’s best for Metromedia. Mickey Arison: Mickey Arison, CEO and chairman of Carnival Corporation is #64 on Forbes billionaire list in the United States. His father ted Arison founded carnival cruises in 1972. Mickey started working for the company in sales. He quickly moved up the ranks not just because of who his father was but because he was hard working and had great ideas. In 1979 he became president and finally in 1990 he became the CEO and he currently still holds that position. He turned carnival into what it is today, which is the world’s largest and most successful cruise ship company. Mickey said the best lessoned he learned from his father was to â€Å"hire good people to run your businesses, give them the support they need to be successful, and let them do the job you hired them to do. He is known for his â€Å"hands-on† or â€Å"open door management style. He lets his employees’ do their own thing because he knows that they will do it right and he doesn’t have to be watching over them in order for things to get done because he hired the right people. Micky Arison goes above and beyond what a manager does. He is to say the least a competent manager. His company has been the most successful and r ecognizable cruise line in the world for over two decades. Arison learned the basics of the company from the bottom so he could really understand the company and make better decision for the company as a whole down the road. He directed his company to make many acquisitions, including their most important, the acquisition of the PO princess cruises. Royal Caribbean also wanted to acquire the line so it was not an easy fight. Luckily for Arison they got it and with the acquisition it made them a clear industry leader. David Bernstein: David Bernstein Started with carnival in 2003 as vice president and treasurer. He was then promoted in 2007 to senior vice president and CFO. AS CFO and VP of carnival he overlooks all finance, treasury, insurance, accounting, tax, and investor relations. Howard Frank: Howard frank has been Vice Chairman of the board of directors of Carnival Corporations since 1993, and Chief Operating Officer since 2003. He is responsible for the corporate-wide business strategies. He works closely with all carnival corporation management, especially with Mickey Arison. He provides oversight to Mr. Arison of the companies many worldwide ventures. He also serves as a chairman of the executive committee of the cruise line international association. (CLIA) Partnership Management: Based on the information gathered the Carnival Corporation shows a partnership management model. They have many characteristics of this model. There is a high degree of involvement by top management and an equally high degree of involvement from its board members especially since their CEO is also their chairman and they also have a few other top guys on the board. * This enables the top management and board members’ to work more closely with each other to develop strategies and to co nverse on a daily basis about the many things going on in the company. * Howard frank who is the vice chairman of the board is known for working closely with all management of Carnival Corporation plc, As well as with Micky Arison himself, the CEO and chairman of carnival. When disaster strikes the company’s senior management team and board members take on the responsibility for what’s going on and work together to come up with the best strategy to fix the problem. * Also the board creates committees by matching certain members’ functions to their expertise. For instance, David Bernstein was promoted to senior vice president and Chief financial officer in 2007 because of his expertise in finances. He was the CFO of Cunard line and Seabourn cruise line for five years and before that he held various financial positions at royal Caribbean for seven years. Carnivals board consists of 15 members. 3-A. External Environment: Opportunities and Threats A. Natural Physical Environment: Sustainability Issues 1A. Opportunities a. The climate could be a benefactor since nice weather usually attracts tourism and cruising. 1B. Threats a. When the weather is not pleasant on the coasts of the United States, there may be a negative impact on the num ber of cruise ships sailing since the shipping ports are located in these areas. For example, during the hurricane season, cruises along the Atlantic and Gulf coast do not set sail due to danger the storm may bring. . The weather in places like Europe, is not as threatening when it comes down to storms compared to the United States. This lessens the degree of one threat in the European market for Carnival cruise lines. B. SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT 1. Opportunities Economic: * | Potentially expand their luxury liners which can cause an increase in revenue. (CI#2)| * | Increase their capacity of their cruises by 30-40%. (CI#2) | * | Offer more travel destinations that they currently do not offer, such as China, India, and various countries in South America (CI#2) | Technological: | Improvement of the technology on the cruise. | * | Working on their home web page since millions of people visit this site daily. They can improve their format so that it would be better understood and easier to n avigate by people in foreign countries. | * | Using more technological machines for the cleaning staff; for example, to check off each room that was cleaned or is in need for something, such as towels, toiletries, blankets, etc. (C#1)| Political-legal: * | Avoiding paying some of the taxes that other companies in the same industry pay for. CI#5)Ship waste disposal is highly unregulated; waste is dumped off shore without any consequences from a legal point of view. (CI#5)| Sociocultural: * | The diversity of customers that are traveling with Carnival Cruise Lines for their vacation get-away is very large. (#CI2)| * | Brand name is well known among the society. | * | Reached an agreement with Italys Fincantieri shipyard to build a 2,660-passenger vessel for Holland America and a 4,000-passenger vessel for Carnival. Ships should be delivered by 2015. This will generate more revenue in the future. CI#2)Some people take a cruise with carnival just to gamble in the casino because some sta tes do not have any casinos at all. | 2. Threats Economic: * | Prices of fuel constantly increase. (CI#6)| * | One of the biggest weaknesses that the company and the industry itself are facing is hurricanes and bad weather during specific seasons. Revenues go down, refunds go up. | Technological: * | Technological problems on-board which can be a big threat for Carnival. For example, the latest incidence was last month. Carnival ship was stuck at sea for almost a week because of technological mishaps. This caused many lawsuits, refunds, and a bad reputation for the brand. (CI#1)| | | Political-legal: * | Progressive accumulation in water waste caused the cruise line to pay millions in fines. | * | More regulators are trying to force Carnival and other cruise line companies to pay more taxes. (CI#5)Major law-suits of the sinking Costa Concordia. (CI#3)| | | Sociocultural: * | Seasick; some people can’t take a cruise because they get seasick after a while. People that suffer from this generally do not board lengthy cruises. | * | Most people do not eat at the higher class restaurants because the dining room is complementary. Most passengers are generally not looking to spend more money on a cruise that was already paid for and clearly states that it is â€Å"all inclusive†. (CI#6)| * | For some people cruises can be very pricy. (CI#6)| | | 2. Some of these opportunities and threats are different in other parts of the world because of different climate, economical issues, and different regulations. III. Internal Environment: Strengths and Weaknesses A. Corporate structure 1. Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc operate under a dual listed corporation structure with primary stock listings in the United States and the United Kingdom. Carnival corporate structure is based on the concept of â€Å"profit center. † a. The decision making authority is decentralized. b. The corporation is a fleet organization worldwide. For the most part, most of Carnival business runs in North America and Europe. 2. Carnival keeps telling its employees this phrase: â€Å"do one thing and do it better than anyone else†. Well that could sound very promising, but from a personal experience I enjoyed royal Caribbean a lot more than I did with carnival. Whatever the CEO preaches to the employees does not really justify the truth. To clarify, Micky Arison the CEO of the company quotes: Carnival doesn’t view a cruise the way Procter Gamble would view toothpaste or Dial would view soap. Each of Carnival’s lines has its own personality and corporate focus. (CI#2) 3. The current structure of the company is pretty much consistent with all of its objectives, strategies, policies and programs, as shown and seen in their financial report their profit keeps increasing. (CI#2) 4. The structure of Carnival cruise is very similar to the other cruise companies that strive to succeed and make money. B. Corporate culture 1. Carnival Corporation maintains a friendly, family-like atmosphere on all of its ships. I agree to this based on my previous experience on their ships. ( CI#1) 2. In my opinion, the corporate culture is consistent with current situations of objectives, strategies, policies and programs. They have an â€Å"open door† policy where each and every employee can communicate with upper division managers and let their voice to be heard, and the reason for that is to benefit the employee and potentially even benefit the company. CI#1) 3. â€Å"Unique to the cruising industry is its promotion to protect the environment. The core values include preserving the marine environment and, in particular, the pristine condition of the waters upon which our vessels sail. † This statement is posted on the Carnival website and is the biggest flaw that I have noticed with the company. They are constantly polluting the water, dumping trash into the water, and they contri bute a great deal to air pollution. Therefore the statement above is not accurate. (CI#4) 4. Carnival employs a variety of different kinds of people from various different cultural backgrounds. Many employees that work for Carnival have different ethnic backgrounds but are all being treated equally(CI#1) 5. The company does take into consideration the value of cultures of each nation the company operates in. This is shown in the diversity of Carnival employees and their cultural backgrounds from all around the world. (CI#1) 3-B. Corporate Resources Finance IV. All numbers in millions except for ratios | 2012| | 2011| | 2010| | | Carnival| RC| Carnival| RC| Carnival| RC| Revenues| 15,382| 7,688| 15,793| 7,537| 14,469| 6,753| Operating Income| 1,642| 403| 2,255| 932| 2,347| 803| Net Income| 1,298| 18| 1,912| 607| 1,978| 515| Net Profit Margin| 8. 4%| 0. 2%| 12. 1%| 8. 1%| 13. 7%| 7. 6%| EPS| 1. 67| 0. 08| 2. 42| 2. 80| 2. 47 | 2. 4| OperatingCash Flows| 2,999| 1,382| 3,766| 1,456| 3,818| 1,663| Debt to AssetRatio| 39%| 58%| 38%| 58%| 39%| 60%| V. Financial Analysis The chart above displays a list of relevant figures and ratios for the Carnival Corporation. It is important to highlight that some of these numbers show increasingly negative results each year. If this negative trend continues it would represent a significant problem for the company, as it would become unprofitable. But how does Carnival compare to others in the industry? Two key players dominate the cruise industry. According to a report by Cruise Market Watch, Carnival Corporation controls 48% of the market share, Royal Caribbean controls 23%, while the rest is controlled in small portions by over 30 other companies (Cruise Market Watch). By generating double the revenues of Royal Caribbean, Carnival is clearly the leader in this industry. For the purpose of this section of the paper, we analyzed the financial statements of Carnival Corporation to measure the health of the company. We will also use financial ratios which best allow us to compare Carnival side by side to its smaller but closest competitor, Royal Caribbean. A notable decline can be seen in the operating income. This figure is considered by analysts to be one of the most important on financial statements because it reflects to a great extend the strength of the company and success of its core business operations (Kennon). Operating income is arrived at by subtracting operating costs and expenses from gross revenues. It is the profit that is left to invest, expand, pay debt, distribute to shareholders, and achieve other objectives that a company may have (Kennon). For Carnival Corporation, Operating income declined 27% from 2011 to 2012. Let’s see why. Carnival mainly generates its revenue from the sale of cruise tickets and onboard items and services (Carnival). Although revenue has remained stable in the past years, operating income has been declining which indicates that the company is making less and less profit of the revenue it generates. This could be due to several reasons, but in the case of Carnival Corporation, there are two major factors. One is the rising price of fuel. Cruise companies are heavily dependent on fuel and any change in its price has a significant impact on the company’s financials (Carnival). From 2011 to 2012, the carnival’s fuel expense increased 7% or $188 million. Another factor that has affected profits for the company is accidents. In its annual report for fiscal year ending 2011, Carnival Corporation included a note to its shareholders regarding the tragic event of the Costa Ship (Carnival). It states that the company takes careful measures to prevent accidents such as the Costa cruise incident (Carnival). In the 2012 Income Statement, Carnival Corporation reported $28 million for â€Å"ship incident-related expenses that were not covered by insurance, including a $10 million insurance deductible related to third party personal injury liabilities (Carnival) CI#3. It is safe to expect that in the 2013 financial statements, Carnival Corporation will again report incident expenses not covered by insurance and possibly higher ones due to the â€Å"Triumph† ship incident CI#4. Although Carnival’s decline in operating income is significant, Royal Caribbean’s 56% decline truly is worrying. Even though Royal Caribbean had nothing to do with the Costa ship incident, there were indirect consequences that affected the company. Royal Caribbean had to report a $413. 9 million impairment loss because â€Å"booking volumes and pricing are down substantially in Spain due to the impact of additional austerity measures there, the lingering impact of the Costa Concordia tragedy and other factors†(Royal Caribbean). Now let’s compare the two companies in terms of efficiency generating profit. The profit margin ratio shows how much after-tax profits are generated by each dollar of sales (Kennon). It is a good indicator of how efficiently a company manages its resources and how well it keeps costs under control. Carnival Corporation has an 8% profit margin. In other words, of every dollar that the company receives from sales, only eight cents represent profit. With expenses increasing more than revenues each year, a low profit margin represents another sign of potential unprofitability. However, taking into consideration Royal Caribbean’s 0. 2% profit margin, which means that they keep much less than a penny for every dollar they sell, Carnival Corporation is performing much better than Royal Caribbean. Off course, there are additional expenses that are not calculated in operating income like interest and tax expenses. It is worth mentioning that carnival corporation currently does not pay any U. S. federal income taxes because it qualifies for the benefits of section 883 of the Internal Revenue Code (Carnival). Section 883 basically states that some non-U. S. corporations that generate income from the operation of ships are not subject to federal income tax in the United States (Carnival). However, the closing of this tax loophole could become a potential threat for Carnival, as it would significantly affect their net income in subsequent years CI #5. Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia confronted representatives of the cruise industry in a hearing last year (Walker). Senator Rockefeller questioned why Carnival, a company that sells to many American and extensively benefits from the resources of forty U. S. ederal agencies, gets to pay no federal income taxes (Walker). Let’s analyze the Debt to Asset ratio, measured with total assets and total liabilities. Carnival Corporation has a 38% Debt to Asset ratio which by itself represents an okay picture. More specifically this means that debt was used to finance 38% of the assets. On the other hand, Royal Caribbean has a 58% debt to asset ratio which indicates that the company m ay run into problems borrowing more money in the future. For its debt, Carnival paid $336 million in interest in 2012, a healthy amount compared to the $2. 3 billion operating income (Kennon). Operating income divided by interest expense gives us interest coverage ratio, which indicates problems when it is below 1. 5 (Kennon). But carnival has a 4. 8 interest coverage ratio which means that there is still room for earnings to decrease before the company would default on bonds and loans for not being able to keep up with interest (Kennon). But will Carnival be able to meet short-term liabilities? The current ratio is short-term indicator of the company’s ability to pay its short-term liabilities from short-term assets; how much of current assets are available to cover current liabilities (Kennon). A healthy current ratio is greater than 2, but for Carnival Corporation’s is only 0. 25 which indicates that meeting current obligation could be a problem for the company (Kennon). But again we see that Royal Caribbean may have a bigger of a problem since their current ratio is only 0. 08. Another important factor to point out from the financial statements is that operating cash flows show a declining trend. From 2011 to 2012, cooperating cash flows declined 20%. What this means is that unless the current trends change, the company may start running out of cash and become unable to fulfill its obligations, which could lead the company into filing for bankruptcy. Interestingly, Royal Caribbean’s cash flows also declined 20%. However, it is worth mentioning that cruise companies have the advantage of receiving money for unearned revenues because cruise tickets are generally paid in advance. It’s like getting loans at 0% interest. Another important figure to analyze is Earnings per Share (EPS), which is especially important to stockholders. Carnival’s $1. 67 EPS means that if net income was divided amongst all outstanding shares, investors would receive $1. 67 per each share owned. Although a good EPS does not necessarily represent company strength or weakness, its changes affect the price of a company’s stock and therefore it is one of the most looked at figures by investors (Kennon). Based on EPS only, Royal Caribbean may not be an attractive choice of stock since their EPS is only $0. 08. Corporate Resources Marketing Product (Service) Carnival sells cruise tickets for vacations around the globe. Although Carnival markets the experience on the cruises as the vacation destination, their ships go to hundreds of destinations worldwide. Carnival sells numerous products and services onboard either directly or through independent concessionaries from which a commission is collected. Some of the onboard products and services offered that are not included in the ticket price include â€Å"liquor and some non-alcoholic beverage sales, shore excursions, casino gaming, gift shop sales, photo sales, full service spas, communication services, art sales, a wide variety of dining options and laundry services† (Carnival). Moreover, Carnival offers shore excursions and activities, and depending on the destinations, it owns or has stake in hotels where customers are offered a stay in a vacation package. In addition, carnival owns or leases private islands where it operates â€Å"among other things, beach bars and restaurants, water sports, sky lifts, cabana rentals and a surf rider attraction† (Carnival). Promotion: Carnival’s annual report states that each of its brands has â€Å"comprehensive† advertising programs designed to attract the local market. The principal mediums used for marketing and advertising are television, magazine, radio, outdoor billboards, direct mail, e-mail, online websites, online advertising and social media† (carnival). Social media’s utilized are facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. In 2012, Carnival’s facebook pages reached over five million â€Å"likes†. In addition, Carnival has â€Å"past guest recognition programsâ₠¬  designed to give past guest’s incentives such as reduced prices and gifts in order to create customer loyalty. Price: Through its many brands, ships, and packages, Carnival claims to provide an option for every generation, taste, lifestyle, and off course, budget. The company categorizes their â€Å"cruise experiences† as contemporary, premium, and luxury. A contemporary experience is the cheapest and most casual alternative, lasting a week or less. A premium experience is designed for experienced consumers with an emphasis on quality, comfort and style and lasts from a week to two weeks. The most expensive alternative is the luxurious, which provides high standards of accommodation and service in a smaller cruise. All cruise tickets include dining and entertainment but other options are available at additional prices. Carnival’s brands all offer special promotions, early booking or past guest recognition programs that reduce the regular price of a vacation. But regardless of the type of experience and discounts taken, cruise ticket prices can vary due to many factors including demand and season. To have little bit of an idea of prices we went through the steps of booking a vacation on carnivals website. The first thing we noticed on the carnival-U. S. website was a sale of â€Å"up to $200 off + free upgrades for 3-5 day sailings† or â€Å"up to $400 off + free upgrades for 6+ day sailings. Using this sale, for travel in July and departing from Miami on a cruise to Bahamas, the cheapest alternative per person came out to be $330. On the other hand, high-end vacations can cost thousands of dollars. Place: Consumers can always book their cruise vacation directly on the company’s website. But according to Carnival Corporation, their cruise vacations are sold â€Å"mainly through travel agents, including wholesalers, general sales agents and tour operators that serve our guests in their local markets† (Carnival). Accordingly, the company puts a lot of emphasis on their relationship with travel agents. Carnival provides additional commission incentives to travel agents in order to motivate them to sell more of carnival’s vacations. Carnival also provides agents with educational tools such as training seminars, online courses, and videos for them to better understand and sell Carnival’s products and services (Carnival). . TASK ENVIRONMENT Threat of New Entrants: medium * Economies of scale: expansion of current companies is the greatest weapon against new entrants. The few leading companies, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, ; Disney, purchase or build larger ships or renovate older ships. Carnival, the leading giant of the industry, â€Å"As of January 20 11, the company operated 98 cruise ships with a passenger capacity of 191,464 berths. The company operates through four segments: North America cruise brands; Europe, Australia and Asia (EAA) cruise brands; cruise support; and tour and other. (â€Å"Global hotels†, 2012) * Government regulations: as a global industry, it is very difficult for government of any particular countries to impose regulations. Therefore lack of enforcement or adherence to regulations regarding employment, safety, and health requirements make it less bureaucratic for a new entrant. * Capital requirements: large capital is required to own and maintain a ship. * Product differentiation: many companies offer a variety of theme cruises to attract or cater to different needs or preferences. It is an opportunity for a new comer although quite difficult to grasp. Access to ports cannot be so easily obtained. There are very few ports embarkations in populated cities. Giant companies sometimes share ownership of ports when they financially contribute with state government to build them. Rivalry: medium high * Capacity growth: the cruise industry is driven by capacity maximization; every square inch of space must be utilized to accommodate and maximize the experience of the passenger. * Service characteristics: cruises and ships are designed to cater to the various ‘wants’ and preferences of different demographic around the world. Many cruise lines difference themselves by the amenities or destinations they provide or offer. This uniqueness in the service adds an edge to the competitive field. Creativity is key in designing cruise themes that respond to or attract unexploited market niches. * Rate of industry growth: based on various reports the industry is growing at a much slower pace in North America than Europe and Australia. The slow growth may be because of the economic downturn that we are facing or it may be the result of how difficult it is for the cruise industry to reach the wallets of more Americans. Number of competitors: the industry is somewhat fragmented and few competitors have a hand in multiple niches. Competition is very high in the industry because they are fighting for a bite of a pie that is already small. The companies try to maximize their revenues by offering attractive prices and exotic destinations to customers. (Lester, Thyne, ; Weeden, 2011) * Switching cost: can be high or low ba sed on the type of cruise that is analyzed. Threat of Substitute Products or Services: medium high * Existence of substitutes: land-based vacations are the biggest threat to the industry. The cost is half or one third less expensive, the vacationer has more control in land than over sea, greater sense of security towards land than sea. Although land transportation does not provide the sea experience that a cruise does, it is by far preferred to sea transportation. Also, a cruise is considered a luxury item and can be compared to the purchase or acquisition of luxurious items such as jewelry, high-class automobiles or whatever else discretionary money is used for. A cruise is not a necessity; it is a choice, a reward or a gift to oneself or loved ones. The rating of medium high is mostly due because of the fact that choosing a cruise over a road trip, a flight, a hotel is determined by preference and affordability. * Switching cost: the only cost is the loss of the experience of the cruise. Power of Buyers: medium low * As a luxury item, the cost of a cruise is not negotiable. The expectation of a high cost is lightly brushed with the hope that a cruise will not drain a savings account. The buyer does not have a significant influence on the price. Prices are more inelastic than elastic. Backward integration is quite impossible, the capital necessary to lease or purchase a ship is over tens of thousands dollars. Average passengers cannot afford it. * Alternative suppliers do exist but high product differentiation does not allow the buyer to compare oranges with oranges, more likely the buyer has a choice between grapes or oranges. Moreover, the same company under different names may offer different theme or budget cruise. Cruise com panies own more than one cruise lines, therefore choosing one cruise line over another may not represent a competitor’s advantage. Carnival and Royal Caribbean cater to different income brackets, Windstar offers exotic destinations for adventurers, Disney Cruise Lines are more family oriented. (Deep sea, 2012). * Due to the hefty price of a cruise, the buyer has a high expectation about the service. The demands and expectations of buyers greatly influence the marketing techniques and expansion projects that cruise companies undertake. Brand recognition is a magnet to create and retain customers and helps increase demands. Power of Suppliers: medium high * Supplier dominance: only a few companies build ships, provide staff and services to cruise companies. Forward integration for suppliers is less likely but backward integration for the cruise line industry is highly possible. Carnival uses backward integration to reduce costs and retain control of how its ships are built. * Product and services that the suppliers provide to cruise lines is very unique and specific to that industry; switching cost is high. What t hese suppliers make or produce can only be sold to the cruise industry. * Economies of scale: purchasing industry is very important to the supplier. All the major cruise companies own at least 5 to 10 cruise lines; which strengthen their purchasing power. However, there are not that many suppliers to choose from. Having limited purchasing options, increases the power of the suppliers. Relative Power of Other Stakeholders: very high * Special interest groups: environmental activists voice their concerns to the industry and directing their attention to fuel emissions, waste water dumping and few others. Thousands gallons of sewage and water bathroom water are discharged untreated in the ocean daily. Onboard observers are placed on ships that use ports in Alaska to ensure that wastewater is sanitized before being dumped in the ocean (Klein, 2011). In his article, Klein also indicated in his article that the daily fuel emission of one cruse ship could be equivalent of that of thousands of cars. * Loyal customers: their perception regarding the safety of the industry affects their decision about whether to use discretionary money on a cruise or elsewhere. It also taints their views of the brand recognition. They are less likely to refer that cruise line or to become repeat customers. * Travel agencies: most cruises are sold and advertised by travel agencies. Travel agencies are described by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA, 2011) as ‘the distribution channel offering the best service† to the cruise industry. * Government regulations: even though some of the big companies have headquarters in the USA, they are incorporated in Antillean territories such as Panama, Bahamas, and Virgin Islands. Doting a ship with a flag registered in countries like Liberia and Panama, becomes a convenient avoidance tool that shields the cruise companies from adhering to labor and environmental laws, health and safety regulations, and most importantly avoid paying corporate taxes. Airlines industry: they provide means of transportation to different ports (from one state or one country to another), when airfares are high, it adds to the cost of transportation to a port. To overcome this dependence more ports are being built in areas that can be driven to. * Local communities: when a cruise ship arrives at a destination, the community of that foreign location receives the passengers. How passengers and the cruise line are received affect how the cruise experience is perceived. * Global workforce: many describe the work environment as ‘sweat ship’ and it does not project positively on the companies. In the cruise industry, employees are in contact with passengers 24 hours a day and for several days; an unhappy or miserable employee is contagious. It does affect indirectly the bottom line of the company. Lack of respect, living quarters, rigorous demands of the job, being underpaid, language and culture differences separate the cruise workforce from the visibles and the invisibles. The cruise industry is part of the service sector; an unhappy, mistreated, undervalued workforce does not contribute to a pleasant experience for the passenger (Agaard, Larsen, ; Marnburg, 2012). SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths:1- wide variety of theme cruises Case issue #6 2- largest ship capacity Case issue #63- backward integration4- heavily invest in marketing Case issue #65- experienced managenent Case issue #1, #3 ; #4| Weaknesses:1- Corporate culture regarding ship workforce Case issue #12- PR handling of current sea tragedies Case issue #3 ; #43- HR: employee training and recruitment Case issue #1| Opportunities:1- partnership with travel agencies Case issue #62- leader in environment protection ; safety Case issue #3 ; #43- Adopt a global standard of ethics ; conduct Case issue #14- develop a positive rapport with ship workers Case issue #15- treat labor force as valuable contributors Case issue #1| Threats:1- Extra costs (taxes, cleaner waste water) Case issue #52- slow growth of North American market3- workforce motivation Case issue #14- land-based transportation and hotel resorts Case issue #65- brand recognition mudded by sea tragedies Case issue #3 ; #4| MODIFIED TOWS SO Cross referencing * The capability of backward integration puts Carnival in a better position to build ships that are safer friendlier to the environment while controlling costs. S3, O2 Case issue #3 ; #4 * Experienced management can develop standards that could help improve the workforce environment on board. S5, O3, O4, O5 Case issue #1 * Sharing marketing techniques with travel agents may improve and strengthen their relationship. O4, S1. W2, O2, Case issue #3 ; #4 * Treating employees as valuable contributors helps HR in their recruitment strategy. W3, O5 Case issue #1| ST Cross referencing * Experienced management can use their expertise to create a working environment that empowers and values the ship employees. S5, T3 Case issue #1 * Marketing techniques is the best weapon to weaken the threat of substitutes and ‘clean’ the brand. S4, T2, T4. T5 | WT Cross referencing * When morale is low, ‘the ship may sink’. Employees are the foundation of companies, the weaker the base, the less solid is the company. W1, W3, T3 Case issue #1 * A PR is the voice of the company. After a tragedy, responsibility, reassurance, and compensation is key in re-building confidence. The opposite drills the hole deeper. W2, T4, T5 Case issue #3 ; #4| 5. EVALUATE STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES Alternative #1 Pause/Proceed with Caution Strategy: Proceed with caution until they are able to evaluate how the new tax and fuel regulations will affect the company and how to go about decreasing lawsuits due to employee exploitation and onboard guest safety. (CI #1, 3, 4, 5) Pros: * Customers will continue to do business with Carnival if they feel that they are working to improve the ship’s safety. * Employees put forth more effort if they do not feel as though the company is taking advantage of them and increased motivation from the staff can increase the company’s bottom line. Cons: * Only making small changes gives the competition a chance to catch up. * Nothing can be done to stop new regulations, so the company is bound to lose profits if there is an increase to fuel prices and taxes. Alternative #2 No-Change Strategy: Since Carnival Corporation ; PLC has the largest ship and passenger capacity in the cruise industry with many diverse brands they can continue to do what they have been doing and hope they remain ahead of the competition even with the replacement of Mr. Arison in the future (CI #2). Pros: * Carnival is already one of the most profitable cruising companies with a 47% market share in the UK, 68% in Italy, 51% in Germany and 45% in France, so they are dominating the global market competing mainly with Royal Caribbean. * Doing nothing new gives the company time to fix some of the current issues. Cons: * Competition could pass and take control of market if Carnival sits idly by especially with growing customer concerns about safety of the ships. Profits are already decreasing from previous years so doing nothing new could keep the company from enjoying profits that could be acquired with innovative ideas. Alternative #3 Horizontal Growth Concentration Strategy: Carniva l can increase operations in the current European market as well as reaching out to new regions (CI #6). Pros: * Carnival derives a majority of its revenue (nearly 52%) from US customers which is currently on the decline, so it would be beneficial to tap into other markets around the world. * Carnival already has market presence in Europe, so it would not be as difficult to increase capacity in that region as opposed to starting fresh somewhere else. Cons: The value of the dollar against Euro appreciated from 1. 60 in January 2010 to 1. 53 by April 2010 against the Pound. If the dollar strengthens it would record lower revenue than is actually earned. * The European economy is also faltered, so profits are not guaranteed and an increase in operations could instead cause a company lose. RECOMMENDATION I would recommend that Carnival begin with the pause and proceed with caution strategy for at least 1 to 2 years. This would give them time to get the company back in line with the aspi ration of earlier business days when the safety and satisfaction of customers and employees came before the profits of the corporation (CI #1,3). Once they are back on track I would then recommend for Carnival to go forward with the horizontal growth. It is in their best interest to reach out to untapped markets particularly since there is a decline in the current US regions and they are looking for ways to increase revenues since Carnival is only currently reaching 20% of the total US market (CI #6). Growing horizontally in any market has significant financial implications for a cruise company. Considering that the newest Carnival Dream-class ships cost $740 million each (Shipcruise. org), it is a very expensive strategy to implement. In addition, the company would have to engage in research, planning, training, and marketing activities which can be very costly. Because Carnival’s balance sheet shows $465 million in cash, it will most likely be necessary for the company to borrow money to finance their growth. But borrowing money would not cause any problems for Carnival Corporation because as we analyzed earlier, the company has a healthy interest coverage ratio which measures the ability to pay interest on outstanding debt (Kennon). Although it is costly and risky, investing the money to expand into new and existing markets now, Carnival would have the potential to increase its revenues in the future years to offset the increasing costs. Carnival is already in the process of building two new ships to be entered to service in 2013 and 2014 and estimates that these two new ships will increase their passenger capacity by 19% (Carnival). Also, a continuous growth by the largest company in the industry could drive some of its competitors out of business and capture a larger market segment. 6-A. Implementation After an extensive in-depth review of the Carnival Corporation ; PLC, it is apparent, as with any large corporation it has many strengths and weaknesses. Carnival and its subsidiaries have a dominating; nearly 50% market share and strong support base among its customers. With plenty of loyal customers, and many recognizable and respected brands it would  appear to have few  problems. However, despite all the good attributes, several recent negative events have arisen concerning both  safety and corporate concerns, which have shaken the company and its shareholders. 6-B. What must be done?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1. Shareholder Confidence  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2. Safety Concerns  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. Improvements and New Ship Building Action Steps| Responsibility| Start-End  | Financial impacts| Questions? | Concern:| WHO? | WHEN? | HOW MUCH? | What Must be done? |   |   |   |   | | 1. Shareholder Confidence| Micky Arison (CEO), Upper Management| 4/1/13-Ongoing| Determine Future Earnings|   | 2. Safety Concerns| Upper Management,Howard S. Frank (COO)| 4/1/13- 12/31/13| Cost of Training and current safety assessment|   | 3. Improvements and New Ship Building| Upper Management, Design Team,David Bernstein (CFO)| 4/1/13- 4/1/16| Set budget for cost of research| Shareholder Confidence Over the last 5 years Carnivals stock price has  collapsed. Granted, the worldwide economy has endured one of the worst periods in history, but In 2008 the stock was trading roughly 15% higher than what it is today, and between that time it fell as much as 70% to the 2009 lows. I believe Micky Arison (CEO) should be focusing on how to re-energize and grow the company in the face of some very difficult times. I believe this could be achieved by continuing to expand to new entrant markets in Asia, Europe and Australia. The United States has been saturated for some time, with little growth and shrinking profit margins due to fierce competition. In addition the company must provide a great experience for clientele in order to ensure repeat business, which is essential to Carnivals success. Safety Concerns Over the last couple years Carnival has experienced several bad events and even worse publicity. This has caused many to suspect wrong doings and create concerns over safety. Incidents like the MS Costa Concordia in 2012, which was one of the worst  disasters in modern cruising history, in which 34 people were killed and the ship was a total loss costing nearly 600 million dollars are a nightmare for a cruise line. In a more recent case, the Carnival Triumph endured an engine fire disabling the ship and causing the boat to be stranded at sea for several days. Although no one was hurt, it  caused a severe inconvenience to the passengers and crew. Tales of rotten food and overflowing toilets ran for several days on international media. Safety should always be of utmost concern with any industry. The last thing people want or need is to have a feeling of insecurity  on a vacation. Cruises overall have been very safe for many years but still in the back of many people’s minds the thought of the Titanic lingers. Carnival needs to make sure people know that safety is  the top priority of the Carnival Corporation. Although it shouldn’t be pushed to the point where people get scared, it definitely needs to be continuously addressed. Carnival needs to constantly implement the most modern safety techniques and they must educate the crew how to keep passengers as safe as possible. Improvements and New Ship Building Because of the fierce competition in the cruise industry it is vital to constantly upgrade older ships and build larger and more desirable new ships with more features and amenities. A new trend in the industry over the last couple decades is to build bigger and bigger ships. Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean have been very successful over the last decade by initially building  100,000 Gross Tons ships. Since then the Oasis Class that is well over 200,000 Gross Tons has been put in service. Carnival and its subsidiaries aren’t necessarily building the biggest ships but they are uilding larger ones as well. I believe this is very important because more and more people are going on cruises for the entertainment rather than the ports. Many cruise goers are like the typical individual who want th e newest and the best and this is the reason it is pivotal for Carnival to keep up with the new trends of constant upgrades and services. 6-C. How should it be put into action? Action Steps| Responsibility| Start-End  | Financial impacts| Questions? | Concern:| WHO? | WHEN? | HOW MUCH? | How should it be put in action? |   | Micky Arison (CEO), Howard S. Frank (COO), Upper Management| 4/1/13| Determine budget in conjunction with finance dept. | Concerning safety, it must be a top priority to follow the standard government mandated procedures, which are given to the entire Cruise Industry. Carnival can go above and beyond this by simple measures such as drills and employee training. They can go beyond the recommend amount of life jacket and lifeboat requirements. I believe the biggest concern is to hold top officials such as the Captain responsible for such disasters as the MS Costa Concordia. Carnival is doing a great job in terms of shipbuilding and upgrades. They have kept up with the competition so in my personal opinion I believe the company needs to make security a given so that passengers focus on the amenities of the cruise ship. The company should also take guest recommendations seriously and look at what competitors such as Royal Caribbean are doing in newer ships and follow as well. As for the Shareholders it is important for Carnival to insure that it is strong and well managed, generating consistent profits and growth. This is very important to any shareholder and I believe this can be achieved by expanding to new markets in  Asia, Europe and Australia. Logistics is also important to have available ships to move to these new ports to expand. 6-D. Who should do it and when should it take place? Action Steps| Responsibility| Start-End  | Financial impacts| Questions? | Concern:| WHO? | WHEN? | HOW MUCH? | Who Should Do it and when should it take place? |   | Micky Arison (CEO) Howard S. Frank (COO), Upper Management,  | 4/1/13| Determine budget in conjunction with finance dept. | Carnival and its subsidiaries future expansion and safety goals need to be implemented and enforced at senior management levels in order for the employees to know that it truly is important to the companys success. It takes a strong leader to do what’s necessary for future growth and fend off new fierce competition within the industry. It is important to start as soon as possible because the competitors within the industry will try to take advantage of Carnivals recent problems. I believe safety is a big concern with two major issues within a year of each other. This has brought bad press and will most likely follow up with loss of customers in the future. 6-E How much will it cost? Action Steps| Responsibility| Start-End  | Financial impacts| Questions? | Concern:| WHO? | WHEN? | HOW MUCH? | How much will it Cost? |   | Upper Management,Micky Arison (CEO),David Bernstein (CFO)| 4/1/13| Set budget for cost of research| Modern cruise ships  cost no less then 250 million dollars, with the most expensive costing well over 1 billion dollars. Carnival as well as the rest of the industry has absorbed these costs by constantly upgrading ships every year or two rather then building many ships at once. They also have sold older ships to other cruise lines, or even created new cruise lines with their older ships to cut costs and continue making more money with new locations around the world. As far as safety is a concerned it shouldn’t cost much considering a large amount of the cost of new cruise ships is equipping them with the most modern safety equipment available. It is very important for the employees be able to use and know this safety equipment because it is worthless if the staff doesn’t know how to use such equipment. Work Cited Carnival PLC. (2012, March 03). Carnival corporatoion ; plc 2012 annual report. Retrieved from http://phx. corporate-ir. et/phoenix. zhtml? c=140690;p=irol-reportsother2 Carnival PLC. (2010, March 03). Carnival corporatoion ; plc 2010 sustainability report fiscal year 2010. Retrieved from http://phx. corporate-ir. net/phoenix. zhtml? c=140690;p=irol-sustainability_env Carnival Corporation ; PLC. 2012 Annual Report. Washington, DC. 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