By Whom And How Are Air Freight Rates Calculated?
The pricing of air freight is governed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) who continues to provide an “Official Rates Policy” which they publish under the title of “The Air Cargo Tariff” (TACT) along with their rules governing transportation. The air freight rates are generally derived from meetings that are held between IATA Regional Tariff Committees and which are subject to international inter-governmental agreements on rate levels by route or country. Those air freight companies who wish to introduce or apply a new rate require the permission of IATA and these rates can often be subject to the relevant country’s government approval. But now generally they are used as guide lines and often no attempt is made by either IATA or governments to enforce their use.
However today IATA tariffs are being increasingly ignored by the many air freight companies on the major routes because there is so much competition, but they still continue to provide a general guideline for those lesser developed markets around the world. Often where most commodities are concerned an air freight rate of a charge per kilo of cargo is applied (and discounts are provided for volumes over 100 and 500 kilos).
Although there are specific commodity rates available these are the exception and are lower than normal rates as they are designed to encourage certain types of cargo to be air freighted on specific trade routes. What would happen is a given commodity and its rate would be filed by the air freight company to IATA and they in turn would obtain permission to apply that commodity rate on a given route to the relevant countries’ government.
Also in addition to the specific commodity rates there are class rates which are for such commodities as human remains, live animals and perishable cargo (fresh food etc) and there are specific rules that need to be applied for calculating the charges for each type of commodity that is shown under this list. But generally the rules are based on the country of origin, were the goods are destined for and what type of product it is.
There are also air freight handling rates which are based on weight for non unit load traffic and per unit for unit loads and these rates used to be set by IATA but more often than not are now set between the handling terminals.
However the majority of air cargo leaving the UK uses “net” airline buying rates and these are confidential air freight rates and these rates follow a similar structure to the IATA rates in that there is a rate per kilo but they are subject to a minimum charge.
Is It Really Liver Pain?
Liver pain is on the right side, mostly right under the rib cage, and up. There can be free fluid around the liver in the abdominal cavity which will produce pain in the right shoulder. It probably hurts to breathe in, or cough. Sometimes people describe the feeling as a swollen full feeling or cramping under the rib cage.
Liver pain symptoms are often dismissed because it is a general belief that organs don’t hurt. If you are experiencing any of these sensations, don’t give up, and don’t think you are making it up. Liver Pain can be real. Rheumatologists, nephrologists, family practitioners, all have been known to dismiss liver pain as patient complainings.
Sometimes it feels like your liver just doesn’t fit under your rib cage. One person described it as feeling like a brick was tucked under their right rib. Sometimes the feeling is connected to a pain in the back as well.
Pain caused from a swollen liver is not necessarily sharp. Most of the time ‘liver pain’ is just a dull ache. Sometimes the sensation is wrongly attributed to fibromyaliga.
The cause of Liver Pain may be more easily identified by identifying other symptoms, such as fatigue, itching, swollen testes, difficulties breathing, eating problems, or even shoulder pain.
There can be many reasons for liver pain. Blood and urine tests help to identify problems in the liver, but don’t rule out the effects of barrage of pollutants and toxic substances in today’s environment. While the liver was designed to detoxify and rid the body of foreign chemicals, it may not be equipped to handle the barrage of pollutants and toxic substances in today’s environment. So, while you are checking for possible causes of the pain associated with the liver, it would be a good idea to check your body for chemical overload as well.
Individual reaction to toxic overload can vary greatly. The most common symptom associated with toxic overload is fatigue. Other symptoms include headache, muscle and joint pain, irritability, depression, mental confusion, gastrointestinal and/or cardiovascular irregularities, flu-like symptoms or allergic reactions including hives, stuffy or runny nose, sneezing and coughing which is not usually associated with liver pain, but can actually be the cause.
Like all other pain symptoms in the body, liver pain should be taken seriously.
A List Of The World’s Best Modern Fighter Jet Plane In 2011
A fighter jet plane is a military jet plane configured mainly for air-to-air fight with other jet plane, as contrary to a bomber, which is configured mainly to approach ground targets by firing bombs. Fighters are fast, small and maneuverable. Several fighters have secondary ground-attack abilities, and a few are dual-rolled as fighter-bombers; the term “fighter” is also sometimes used conversationally for devoted ground-attack aircraft. Fighter jet planes are the basic means by which armed forces acquire air superiority over their opponents in combat.
Modern Fighter Jet Planes:
Modern fighter jet planes are predominantly powered by one or two turbojet engines, and are furnished with radar as the basic technique of target acquisition. Armament consists primarily of air-to-air missiles with cannon as backup armament (usually between 20 to 30 mm in gauge); however, they can also often employ air-to-ground missile, as well as guided and unguided bombs.
List of main fighter jet planes currently being used by several armed forces is shown below;
EF 2000 Typhoon
F-117A Night Hawk
F-15C Eagle
F-16C Falcon
F-18E Super Homet
F 22A Raptor
Harrier GR9
Mirage 2000-5
SU 27 Flanker
Tornado ADV Mk3
The Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor is fast, has a long range, and is more maneuverable than any other jet in the sky.
The World‘s Best Modern Fighter Jet Plane
The F-22A Raptor is a fifth generation modern fighter jet plane which employs stealth technology of fourth generation. It was earlier projected as an air superiority fighter for use against the Soviet Air Force, but is furnished for electronic warfare, signals intelligence roles and ground attack as well.
Features
First view/first kill in all surroundings- A combination of improved sensor capability, improved situational awareness and improved weapons allows first-kill chance against the threat. The F-22 owns the advanced suit of sensors that allow pilot to chase, identify, and hit the threat before it finds the F-22. Important effort is being put on cockpit figure and avionics fusion to improve the pilot’s situational knowledge. Sophisticated avionic technologies provide the F-22 sensors to accumulate merge and display necessary data in the most valuable format to the pilot.
Decreased observables- Progresses in less-observable technologies allow importantly improve lethality and survivability against ground to air and air to air threats. The combination of F-22′s decreased observability and supercruise emphasis the advantage of surprise in tactical surroundings.
Ultrasonic persistence- Especially in the military (non-afterburner) power, the F-22 engines create more drive than any current modern fighter engine. This feature provides the F-22 to expeditiously cruise at ultrasonic airspeeds without utilizing afterburner (supercruise). This ability greatly booms the F-22′s controlling envelope in both range and speed over current modern fighters jet planes which must use afterburner to control at ultrasonic speeds.
Expanded maneuverability- The F-22 has been broadly tested, refined and designed aerodynamically on the demonstration and validation process and paired with high-maneuver capability. The advanced F-22 aerofigure and high thrust to weight allows the capacity to outmaneuver all projected and current threat aircraft.
Improved battle radius on interior fuel- To check the F-22 allows air superiority for rich-interdiction aircraft, it functions at medium and high elevation at ranges superior to modern generation air superiority aircraft.
Increased survivability and lethality- The above features provide an interactive effect that assures F-22 casualty against sophisticated air threat. The combination of supercruise drastically and reduced observability shrivels ground-to-air combat and downplays threat potentialities to occupy and hit the F-22.
Air to ground ability- The F-22 has another purpose to attack ground targets. The fighter jet will use on-board avionics for navigation and weapons delivery support and will be able to bearing 2 x 1,000 lbs Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) inwardly.
Book Review: A History of the World in 6 Glasses
World History is a long and complex topic. Though many accomplished authors such as Bill Bryson and H. G. Wells have attempted to condense history into a single book, very few have succeeded. There is just too much of it. Attempts to boil down the last 10,000 years have resulted in either superficial books with very little depth, or great textbook like tombs too inaccessible for the casual reader.
Happily, A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage succeeds where others have failed. Standage’s book does this by sacrificing the breadth of every possible topic for an impressive depth and focus. Instead of trying to sum up the complete history of man, this book spotlights a single topic, in this case beverages, and then takes the reader on a journey through time to see how his topic interweaves the past. Standage is a delightful writer, mixing his light hearted style with exceptional historical savvy not just on the topic of drinks, but throughout.
Despite my now positive opinion of this book, I have to confess that when I first picked up A History of the World in 6 Glasses, I did not expect to enjoy it. Not only am I skeptical of any book claiming to sum up the antiquity of man in 300 pages or less, but I myself do not drink any of the 6 beverages this book discusses. As such, learning the history of these drinks did not sound immediately appealing. However, what I quickly learned is that this book is not a history of 6 drinks, but rather just as the title states, a history of the world, told through the story of 6 drinks. As the book points out in the introduction, second only to air, liquid is the most vital substance to man’s survival. The availability of water and other drinking sources have “constrained and guided humankind’s progress” and “have continued to shape human history”. Throughout time, beverages have done more than quenched our thirst; they have been used as currencies, medicines, and in religious rites. They have served as symbols of wealth and power, as well as tools to appease the poor and downtrodden.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses is broken down into six sections, one for each drink, the first of which is beer. Man’s first civilizations where founded on surplus cereal production, much of which was brewed. Ancient day beers were high in vitamin B, a vitamin previously only obtained through meat. This allowed the population to focus their nutrition efforts more and more on cereals, effectively ushering in the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers. Additionally, because early beers were boiled (to convert more starch into sugars), the beer was significantly safer to drink than water. This significant improvement in lifestyle “freed a small fraction of the population from the need to work in the fields, and made possible the emergence of specialist priest, administrators, scribes, and craftsmen.” Not only did beer nourish man’s first civilizations, but in many ways, made them entirely possible.
Wine, the next beverage in the book, played a major role in the flourishing Greek and Roman cultures. As wine did not originate from the Mediterranean, the Greek’s desire for this drink opened up vast seaborne trade, which spread their philosophy, politics, science and literature far and wide, and still underpins modern Western thought. A History of the World in 6 Glasses points out how these advancements originated and grew at formal Greek drinking parties, called symposia. The Romans, who absorbed much of Greek culture, continued the strong use of wine. As the book notes, if you trace the wine drinking areas of the world on a map, you will find you have traced the Roman empire at its height.
After a thousand years of hibernation, Western civilization was awakened by the rediscovery of ancient knowledge, long safeguarded in the Arab world. However, in an attempt to circumvent this Arab monopoly, European monarchs launched massive fleets into the sea. This age of exploration was greatly enhanced by the Arab knowledge of distillation, which made a whole new range of drinks possible. A History of the World in 6 Glasses describes how these condensed forms of alcohol (namely Brandy, Whiskey and Rum) were so popular, especially in the new American colonies, that “they played a key role in the establishment of the United States.”
The fourth beverage presented in this book is coffee. Because of its sharpening effect on the mind, coffee quickly became the drink of intellect and industry. Replacing taverns as the sophisticated meeting place, the coffeehouse “led to the establishment of scientific societies and financial institutions, the founding of newspapers, and provided fertile ground for revolutionary thought, particularly in France.” A History of the World in 6 Glasses goes on to recount the intricate effect coffeehouses had on Victorian culture, going so far as to dedicate an entire chapter to what the book calls “The Coffeehouse Internet”.
Even though the inception of tea date back many thousands of years, it didn’t take hold upon western culture until the mid-seventeenth century. Once established as England’s national drink, the importing of tea from first China and then India led to trade and industrialization on an unprecedented scale. A History of the World in 6 Glasses describes the immense power of the British East India Company, which “generated more revenue than the British government and ruled over far more people”, wielding more power than any other corporation in history. This imbalance of power had an enormous, far-reaching effect on British foreign policy, and ultimately contributed to the independence of the United States.
Like most of the drinks discussed in A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Coca-Cola was originally devised as a medical drink. More than any other product, Coca-Cola has stood as the symbol of America’s “vibrant consumer capitalism”. Rather than shrink at the challenge, Coca-Cola took full advantage of the challenging times it found itself in, gaining ground through the depression, and then traveling alongside our soldiers into WWII, becoming a global phenomenon. According to the book, Coca-Cola still accounts for “around 30 percent of all liquid consumption” today.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses makes it clear that the history of mankind is a history of our consumption. Whether we are drinking “liquid bread” in Mesopotamia, pondering revolution in a Coffeehouse in Paris, or throwing tea leafs into the ocean in Boston, these drinks have had a profound impact on who we are. As Standage says in the introduction to his book “They survive in our homes today as living reminders of bygone eras, fluid testaments to the forces that shaped the modern world. Uncover their origins, and you may never look at your favorite drink in quite the same way again.” I highly recommend this book to anyone thirsty for knowledge about the world around them… or even if they’re just thirsty for a good drink.
How to Get into The Air Force Academy
Getting into the Air Force Academy requires a commitment, and a difficult admission process. Your chances of getting into the Academy aren’t good – fewer than one candidate in 50 gets admitted. What follows are the stumbling blocks that stop most candidate applications from succeeding, and how to address them.
We are assuming that you’re reading this as a high school junior. If you’re starting this process in your senior year, you’re starting late, and may have to transfer into the Academy from another four year college.
The first stumbling block is fitness. Each year, the Air Force Academy requires all cadets to do a times 1.5 mile run, and the generalized physical fitness test of pull ups, standing long jumps, sit ups and pushups, with a 600 meter run all in 15 minutes. In particular, this test has to be done in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which is at high altitude. Unless you’re doing athletics in high school, the odds that you’ll pass this test the first time are pretty slim.
Related to this, the Academy looks for candidates who participate in team sports, and in athletics in general. This shows that a student is willing to work, work hard, and work within a team to achieve group goals, and to use controlled aggression to their own aims. Basketball, football, track, trap shooting and fencing are sports the Air Force grades high in candidate application processes.
Like any college admission program, academic performance is important. It’s more than just having a straight A average. The difficulty of the classes you take matters as well. The Air Force puts more weight on the difficulty of the course load (taking calculus rather than refresher math, for instance) than it does on perfect GPA requirements. If you’re weak academically, the time to find out about it is at the beginning of your junior year in high school, where you should focus on study habit improvement and boosting your GPA. GPA in the last two years of high school will count for more than your early GPA.
The Air Force puts lower weighting on standardized test scores. While most four-year colleges use standardized test scores to differentiate between students with near identical academic records, the Air Force treats them somewhat as a pass-fail test. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, while not a substitute for the SAT or ACT, is a good adjunct. Be sure to take it as well as the other tests.
The biggest filter for candidates trying to get into the Air Force Academy is character. Character can be difficult to determine objectively, so the Academy requires candidates to get letters of recommendation from their community leaders, and teachers, and employers, and the coordinators of any volunteer organizations they belong to. Focus on getting the best positive letters of recommendation you can get. When you write your admission essay, focus on events that showcase places where you exerted leadership, or showed strength of character. This is the place to shine if you’re worried about your academic performance.
Malaysian Airlines
Malaysian airlines offers one the ability to fly anywhere with the fabulous offers that they have on board. The cabin crew has been voted amongst the best and customer- centric. There are several bargains on offer at Malaysian airlines which can be availed no matter what your purpose of travel, business or leisure. There are several exotic places to fly to for less when you fly Malaysian airlines.
No matter what the destination that you plan to fly to, it will be made possible in the easiest and convenient of fashions. This is the place wherein you will get to experience the best of hospitality and at the best of prices. You can fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Europe and America. They offer business, economy and business class with airfares that are extremely competitive.
For instance there is a direct flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur which can be booked for AUD 848 to 980. London to Kuala Lumpur flight ticket can be booked for AUD 627 to 980.The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney costs AUD 2140.
This is the airline that offers the best of travel and puts smiles on every customer’s face. The latest of aircraft, along with the most wonderful of ambience right from the time that you check in to the airport to the time that you board the airplane! You can avail of the very best of TV shows, movies, music and sports and news channels. There are several games to play and loads of entertainment of varied kinds to keep you occupied. When you travel by you get to experience the best of signature dishes along with the meet the chefs and the special meals. The airlines have won several culinary awards for its most wonderful cuisine served in the skies.
Malaysian airlines allow you to stay in touch with your loved ones even when you are thousands of miles in the sky. You will be able to keep in contact with your loved ones or business partners in the same way as though you were on ground. This makes it an extremely coveted service from Malaysian airlines. You can send and read emails whilst in the air and all of this is possible because of the high end technology that is always used at Malaysian Airlines. Whilst you are waiting for a flight for Malaysian Airlines the lounge is so designed to make your wait a real breeze. You can dine and relax and use the communication facilities that are specially earmarked for Malaysian Airlines passengers. These are exclusive lounges wherein you can take advantage of the exclusivity and allow yourself to be pampered like never before. This is one place that you can rejuvenate yourself and feel refreshed once again as you sink into the most luxurious of chairs and taste the best of mouthwatering of cuisine from around the world. This can only be experienced when you fly Malaysian Airlines.
Southwest Airlines Operations – A Strategic Perspective
Background:
Southwest Airlines is the largest airline measured by number of passengers carried each year within the United States. It is also known as a ‘discount airline’ compared with its large rivals in the industry. Rollin King and Herb Kelleher founded Southwest Airlines on June 18, 1971. Its first flights were from Love Field in Dallas to Houston and San Antonio, short hops with no-frills service and a simple fare structure. The airline began with one simple strategy: “If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time, at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline.” This approach has been the key to Southwest’s success. Currently, Southwest serves about 60 cities (in 31 states) with 71 million total passengers carried (in 2004) and with a total operating revenue of $6.5 billion. Southwest is traded publicly under the symbol “LUV” on NYSE.
Facts:
* The first major airline to fly a single type of aircraft (Boeing 737s)
* The first major airline to offer ticketless travel system wide including a frequent flier program based on number of trips and not number of miles flown.
* The first airline to offer a profit-sharing program to its Employees (instituted in 1973).
* The first major airline to develop a Web site and offer online booking. In 2001, about 40 percent ($2.1 billion) of its passenger revenue was generated through online bookings at [http://www.southwest.com]. Southwest’s cost per booking via the Internet is about $1, compared to a cost per booking through travel agents of $6 to $8.
Key competitive advantages:
* Low Operational costs / High Operational Efficiency
* Award winning customer service
* Human Resource practices / Work culture
Operations Analysis – Competitive Dimensions:
Southwest clearly has a distinct advantage compared to other airlines in the industry by executing an effective and efficient operations strategy that forms an important pillar of its overall corporate strategy. Given below are some competitive dimensions that will be studied in this paper.
1. Operational Costs and Efficiency
2. Customer Service
3. Employee/Labor Relations
4. Technology
1. Operational Costs and Efficiency
After all, the airline industry overall is in shambles. But, how does Southwest Airlines stay profitable? Southwest Airlines has the lowest costs and strongest balance sheet in its industry, according to its chairman Kelleher. The two biggest operating costs for any airline are – labor costs (approx 40%) followed by fuel costs (approx 18%). Some other ways that Southwest is able to keep their operational costs low is – flying point-to-point routes, choosing secondary (smaller) airports, carrying consistent aircraft, maintaining high aircraft utilization, encouraging e-ticketing etc.
Labor Costs
The labor costs for Southwest typically accounts for about 37% of its operating costs. Perhaps the most critical element of the successful low-fare airline business model is achieving significantly higher labor productivity. According to a recent HBS Case Study, southwest airlines is the “most heavily unionized” US airline (about 81% of its employees belong to an union) and its salary rates are considered to be at or above average compared to the US airline industry. The low-fare carrier labor advantage is in much more flexible work rules that allow cross-utilization of virtually all employees (except where disallowed by licensing and safety standards). Such cross-utilization and a long-standing culture of cooperation among labor groups translate into lower unit labor costs. At Southwest in 4th quarter 2000, total labor expense per available seat mile (ASM) was more than 25% below that of United and American, and 58% less than US Airways.
Carriers like Southwest have a tremendous cost advantage over network airlines simply because their workforce generates more output per employee. In a study in 2001, the productivity of Southwest employees was over 45% higher than at American and United, despite the substantially longer flight lengths and larger average aircraft size of these network carriers. Therefore by its relentless pursuit for lowest labor costs, Southwest is able to positively impact its bottom line revenues.
Fuel Costs
Fuel costs is the second-largest expense for airlines after labor and accounts for about 18 percent of the carrier’s operating costs. Airlines that want to prevent huge swings in operating expenses and bottom line profitability choose to hedge fuel prices. If airlines can control the cost of fuel, they can more accurately estimate budgets and forecast earnings. With growing competition and air travel becoming a commodity business, being competitive on price was key to any airline’s survival and success. It became hard to pass higher fuel costs on to passengers by raising ticket prices due to the highly competitive nature of the industry.
Southwest has been able to successfully implement its fuel hedging strategy to save on fuel expenses in a big way and has the largest hedging position among other carriers. In the second quarter of 2005, Southwest’s unit costs fell by 3.5% despite a 25% increase in jet fuel costs. During Fiscal year 2003, Southwest had much lower fuel expense (0.012 per ASM) compared to the other airlines with the exception of JetBlue as illustrated in exhibit 1 below. In 2005, 85 per cent of the airline’s fuel needs has been hedged at $26 per barrel. World oil prices in August 2005 reached $68 per barrel. In the second quarter of 2005 alone, Southwest achieved fuel savings of $196 million. The state of the industry also suggests that airlines that are hedged have a competitive advantage over the non-hedging airlines. Southwest announced in 2003 that it would add performance-enhancing Blended Winglets to its current and future fleet of Boeing 737-700’s. The visually distinctive Winglets will improve performance by extending the airplane’s range, saving fuel, lowering engine maintenance costs, and reducing takeoff noise.
Point-to-Point Service
Southwest operates its flight point-to-point service to maximize its operational efficiency and stay cost-effective. Most of its flights are short hauls averaging about 590 miles. It uses the strategy to keep its flights in the air more often and therefore achieve better capacity utilization.
Secondary Airports
Southwest flies to secondary/smaller airports in an effort to reduce travel delays and therefore provide excellent service to its customers. It has led the industry in on-time performance. Southwest has also been able to trim down its airport operations costs relatively better than its rival airlines.
Consistent aircraft
At the heart of Southwest’s success is its single aircraft strategy: Its fleet consists exclusively of Boeing 737 jets. Having common fleet significantly simplifies scheduling, operations and flight maintenance. The training costs for pilots, ground crew and mechanics are lower, because there’s only a single aircraft to learn. Purchasing, provisioning, and other operations are also vastly simplified, thereby lowering costs. Consistent aircraft also enables Southwest to utilize its pilot crew more efficiently.
E-Ticketing
The idea of ticketless travel was a major advantage to Southwest because it could lower its distribution costs. Southwest became electronic or ticketless back in the mid-1990s, and today they are about 90-95% ticketless. Customers who use credit cards are eligible for online transactions, and today Southwest.com bookings account for about 65% of total revenue. The CEO Gary Kelly thinks that this idea would grow further and that he wouldn’t be surprised if e-ticketing accounted for 75% of Southwest’s revenues by end of 2005. In the past, when there was a 10% travel agency commission paid, it used to cost about $8 a booking. But currently, Southwest is paying between 50 cents and $1 per booking for electronic transactions that translate to huge cost savings.
2. Employee and Labor Relations
Southwest has been highly regarded for its innovative management style. It maintains a relentless focus on high-performance relationships and its people-management practices have been the key to its unparalleled success in the airline industry.
Mission Statement
To Our Employees
“We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.”
The Southwest mission statement shows that the company has a strong commitment to its employees. The company affords the same respect to its employees that is provided to its customers. The Southwest mission statement is unique in that it recognizes the importance of its employees within the broader business strategy, which emphasizes superb customer service and operational efficiency. The employees reciprocate the respect, loyalty and trust that Southwest demonstrates. Southwest employees are known for their loyalty, dedication, attitude and innovation. The employees are the distinguishing factor between Southwest and the rest of the airline industry.
Hiring
Southwest hiring policy is unique not only within the airline industry, but also more broadly, and revolves around finding people with the right attitude that will thrive in the Southwest culture. Extensive procedures are employed to hire for positive attitude and dedication. Those who do not posses those qualities are weeded out. Colleen Barrett, a non-operational officer at Southwest, states that
“Hiring is critical, because you cannot institutionalize behavior. Instead, you must identify those people who already practice the behaviors you are looking for. Then you can allow Employees to be themselves and make decisions about Customer service based on common sense and their natural inclinations.” 1
Recruiting and interviewing at Southwest is a two-step process. The first step is a group interview, conducted by employees, where communication skills of potential candidates are evaluated. The next steps in this process are one on one interview, where the candidates’ attitudes and orientation toward serving others are evaluated. These hiring criteria apply to all job functions since all Employees at Southwest play a customer service role. A critical part of Southwest operational strategy is that every job at Southwest is a customer service position, whether it directly applies to the customer or whether it is internal.
The table below shows that even though Southwest is the most heavily unionized airline, at approximately 80%, that contract negotiations between the unions and Southwest are much shorter in duration than of the other major carriers. This shows the quality of relationship that Southwest has with its employees and with the unions that represent them.
Culture
Southwest was created as a different kind of company and from its beginnings a unique culture was nurtured. In 1990 Colleen Barrett formed the Southwest Culture Committee. This is unique within the industry and among all large companies. The committee also has a mission statement:
“This group’s goal is to help create the Southwest spirit and culture where needed; to enrich it and make it better where it already exists; and to liven it up in places where it might be “floundering”. In short, this group’s goal is to do “whatever it takes” to create, enhance, and enrich the special Southwest spirit and culture that has made this such a wonderful Company/Family.”
It is this unique approach to company values that has created a culture that differentiates itself from others. Southwest’s culture is the reason why it is successful.
3. Customer Service
The Mission of Southwest Airlines
The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.
Approach
Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest, has been quoted as saying that “We’re in the Customer service business; we just happen to provide airline transportation”.2 Award winning customer service is a distinguishing characteristic of Southwest and it is referred to internally as “Positively Outrageous Service”. It means that from the top to bottom everyone does whatever he or she can to satisfy the customer. This includes Herb Kelleher, who has been known for helping out baggage handlers on Thanksgiving. It is through emphasizing the customer and employee that Southwest is able to differentiate itself from others in the airline industry. On a more technical level, each employee or group within Southwest has his or her own customer. This means that every employee ‘serves’ in one way or another despite not being directly involved with the passenger. The mechanic’s customer is the pilot and the caterer’s is the flight attendant.
Results
It can be said that the “Positively Outrageous Service” that is unique to Southwest “is not the result of a department, or a program, or a mandate from management. It is not secondary to the product; it is the product.” This approach creates the conditions where Employees are more likely to treat customers in ways that distinguish the company from others. There are numerous accounts of passengers who have received exceptional treatment from Southwest employees.
The question that needs to be answered is how Southwest’s customer service is different and why? Is it common for customers of other airlines to rave about their special service? The answer is that it is not. While Southwest does not have a monopoly on people who are kind and who are willing to go above and beyond to satisfy a customer, such behavior is nurtured at Southwest to a much greater extent.
It can then be concluded that the customer service that is inherent to Southwest is a part of its culture. This culture is supported through employee encouragement to do the extra to satisfy the customer. This approach inspires people who would ordinarily only on occasion go out of their way to help someone, to become consistent performers that offer exceptional service all the time. Southwest employees are what differentiate its customer service from the other airlines.
4. Technology
Southwest utilizes technology in many ways to fulfill its business objectives and maintain its efficient operations. According to its CEO, technology equals productivity. Launched in 1996, ticketless travel was first introduced by Southwest. On May 1st 2000, Southwest Airlines introduces “SWABIZ,” a portal that assists company travel managers in booking and tracking trips made through its web site [http://www.southwest.com]. There are many new technology initiatives being undertaken currently and some are in the pipeline.
Bar codes in Boarding Passes
Southwest Airlines has invested $12 million during the past three years to standardize corporate and terminal operations on about 10,000 Dell OptiPlex desktop and Latitude notebook computers according to its company executives. Southwest wanted to replace its well known, brightly colored plastic boarding passes with an electronic system with bar-code paper boarding passes. So it installed about 350 touch screen ticket readers powered by Dell OptiPlex desktops. The bar code gives Southwest more information to automatically reconcile the number of boarding passes with the number of passengers that actually board the plane.
Although the technology will help Southwest Airlines remain efficient by consolidating passenger information for the company’s 3,000 daily flights, there were concerns it could lengthen the time to get travelers on board. However it was found that scanning each bar code on the boarding passes didn’t increase or shorten boarding schedules, but it did take minutes from administrative processes, such as looking up customer records. The new paper bar code system is giving Southwest ticket agents the ability to match a customer record within having to scroll through and log into multiple software screens. The process is much more automated. Once the bar code on the boarding pass is scanned at the terminal gate it checks off the person from the passenger list in real time.
The old process was manual that involved finding the information, scrolling through several software screens from reservations to check-in to boarding. The bar code hardware to scan the boarding passes has been deployed. The company is in the process of replacing customer service back-office equipment at airports including at its headquarters in Dallas.
Software Upgrades
Software applications, such as those used by clerks to check in passengers, are being replaced. Southwest Airlines‘ internally written “Airport Application Suite” is expected to rollout next year as the company transitions from green screens to Window-based user interface. Similar to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Southwest Airlines believes in developing in-house the software that runs its operations. The company uses very little off-the-shelf software. There are between 75 and 100 projects in the works each year supported by approximately 900 IT employees.
RFID
Radio frequency identification technology, a favorable alternative to bar-coding for luggage identification, is also on Southwest’s radar. It plans to test RFID technology sometime in 2006. Even though, Southwest is playing a little catch-up with other airlines such as Air Tran, Alaska and Champion Airlines, in many cases they are able leapfrog to more sophisticated applications easily having waited longer.
Challenges:
Southwest has emerged very successful, despite the most troubled times in the airline market. However, it faces new challenges in the face of increasing competition from other low fare airlines such as JetBlue, ATA airlines, America West.
Reserved Seating
Due to increasing security guidelines since September 2001, Southwest would need to prepare for assigned (reserved) seating to track its in-flight passengers. This change will involve large technology investments and may impact its gate operations negatively since the current way of unassigned seating has helped in quick gate turnarounds.
Passenger Demand
The keep-it-simple philosophy has served Southwest well. But as its own business grows and grows more complex, with plans to purchase dozens of new aircraft and an expected upsurge in passenger traffic to about 80 million boarding’s a year, the simplicity strategy that has been reflected in the airline‘s IT philosophy is evolving. The CIO Tom Nealon says that “It’s time to adapt our business processes for efficiency. As our airline scales for us to provide the same kind of high-touch customer service, we have to automate a lot of things we’ve been able to do without technology previously. The challenge is doing that without conceding the customer touch.” Southwest is also aggressively pursuing customer relationship management (CRM) techniques and has applications to get insight into customer’s wants and dislikes. According to an interview with its CEO Gary Keller, Southwest has its focus on improving in two areas – customer’s airport experience and in-flight experience.
In-Flight Entertainment
In an overall effort to improve customer’s in-flight experience, in-flight entertainment is something that Southwest is currently evaluating and which JetBlue has been very successful at already because of its introduction in its long-haul flights. In comparison, Southwest has 415 airplanes to consider and that represents an investment decision at a whole new dimension. Additionally, Southwest has to consider how things may fit into their environment. At this point, 60% of its service is still very short haul. Southwest needs to be mindful of the fact that a certain approach that has been successful for its competitor may not be necessarily work to its advantage.
Summary:
Southwest has long been regarded as a benchmark in its industry for operational excellence. Southwest Airlines is a fine example of a company that is committed to its core competencies – efficient operations to drive its low cost structure, outstanding delivery of customer service and innovative HR management practices. We hope this paper provided a good insight into Southwest operations, as part of its overall strategy, to achieve success and gain competitive advantage.
References:
1. [http://www.southwest.com] (Southwest airlines official web site)
2. “Southwest keeps it simple” – Air Transport World, April 2005, Pg 36
3. “Around the World on $48 (or So): How High Can Discount Airlines Fly?“ Strategy Management – Knowledge@ Wharton Newsletter Oct 5, 2005
4. TechWeb – [http://www.techweb.com/wire/ebiz/173601227]
5. “Southwest’s Strategy for Success: Consolidate!” – Oracle Magazine (Sept/Oct 2004 edition) http://www.oracle.com/technology/oramag/oracle/04-sep/o54swest.html
6. “Southwest Airlines: High Tech, Low Costs” – Eweek.com, April 2005
7. “Jet Fuel Hedging Strategies: Options Available for Airlines and a Survey of Industry Practices” – Kellogg School of Management Research Paper, Spring 2004
8. Winning Behavior: What the Smartest, Most Successful Companies Do Differently, Terry R. Bacon and David G. Pugh, 2003
9. Time Magazine, Oct 28th 2002 issue, Vol. 160 Issue 18, p. 45
10. “Wings Of Change”,Information Week, March 28, 2005,
11. Labor Contract Negotiations in the Airline Industry, Monthly Labor Review, July 2003, page 24
The Challenges of Human Resource Management
Introduction
The role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their human resources.
With the increase in competition, locally or globally, organizations must become more adaptable, resilient, agile, and customer-focused to succeed. And within this change in environment, the HR professional has to evolve to become a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organization. In order to succeed, HR must be a business driven function with a thorough understanding of the organization’s big picture and be able to influence key decisions and policies. In general, the focus of today’s HR Manager is on strategic personnel retention and talents development. HR professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organization’s members and their loyalty. The HR manager will also promote and fight for values, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality within their organizations, especially in the management of workplace diversity.
This paper will highlight on how a HR manager can meet the challenges of workplace diversity, how to motivate employees through gain-sharing and executive information system through proper planning, organizing, leading and controlling their human resources.
Workplace Diversity
According to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workplace diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience.
The Challenges of Workplace Diversity
The future success of any organizations relies on the ability to manage a diverse body of talent that can bring innovative ideas, perspectives and views to their work. The challenge and problems faced of workplace diversity can be turned into a strategic organizational asset if an organization is able to capitalize on this melting pot of diverse talents. With the mixture of talents of diverse cultural backgrounds, genders, ages and lifestyles, an organization can respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively, especially in the global arena (Cox, 1993), which must be one of the important organisational goals to be attained. More importantly, if the organizational environment does not support diversity broadly, one risks losing talent to competitors.
This is especially true for multinational companies (MNCs) who have operations on a global scale and employ people of different countries, ethical and cultural backgrounds. Thus, a HR manager needs to be mindful and may employ a ‘Think Global, Act Local’ approach in most circumstances. The challenge of workplace diversity is also prevalent amongst Singapore’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With a population of only four million people and the nation’s strive towards high technology and knowledge-based economy; foreign talents are lured to share their expertise in these areas. Thus, many local HR managers have to undergo cultural-based Human Resource Management training to further their abilities to motivate a group of professional that are highly qualified but culturally diverse. Furthermore, the HR professional must assure the local professionals that these foreign talents are not a threat to their career advancement (Toh, 1993). In many ways, the effectiveness of workplace diversity management is dependent on the skilful balancing act of the HR manager.
One of the main reasons for ineffective workplace diversity management is the predisposition to pigeonhole employees, placing them in a different silo based on their diversity profile (Thomas, 1992). In the real world, diversity cannot be easily categorized and those organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base.
The Management of Workplace Diversity
In order to effectively manage workplace diversity, Cox (1993) suggests that a HR Manager needs to change from an ethnocentric view (“our way is the best way”) to a culturally relative perspective (“let’s take the best of a variety of ways”). This shift in philosophy has to be ingrained in the managerial framework of the HR Manager in his/her planning, organizing, leading and controlling of organizational resources.
As suggested by Thomas (1992) and Cox (1993), there are several best practices that a HR manager can adopt in ensuring effective management of workplace diversity in order to attain organizational goals. They are:
Planning a Mentoring Program-
One of the best ways to handle workplace diversity issues is through initiating a Diversity Mentoring Program. This could entail involving different departmental managers in a mentoring program to coach and provide feedback to employees who are different from them. In order for the program to run successfully, it is wise to provide practical training for these managers or seek help from consultants and experts in this field. Usually, such a program will encourage organization’s members to air their opinions and learn how to resolve conflicts due to their diversity. More importantly, the purpose of a Diversity Mentoring Program seeks to encourage members to move beyond their own cultural frame of reference to recognize and take full advantage of the productivity potential inherent in a diverse population.
Organizing Talents Strategically-
Many companies are now realizing the advantages of a diverse workplace. As more and more companies are going global in their market expansions either physically or virtually (for example, E-commerce-related companies), there is a necessity to employ diverse talents to understand the various niches of the market. For example, when China was opening up its markets and exporting their products globally in the late 1980s, the Chinese companies (such as China’s electronic giants such as Haier) were seeking the marketing expertise of Singaporeans. This is because Singapore’s marketing talents were able to understand the local China markets relatively well (almost 75% of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent) and as well as being attuned to the markets in the West due to Singapore’s open economic policies and English language abilities. (Toh, R, 1993)
With this trend in place, a HR Manager must be able to organize the pool of diverse talents strategically for the organization. He/She must consider how a diverse workforce can enable the company to attain new markets and other organizational goals in order to harness the full potential of workplace diversity.
An organization that sees the existence of a diverse workforce as an organizational asset rather than a liability would indirectly help the organization to positively take in its stride some of the less positive aspects of workforce diversity.
Leading the Talk-
A HR Manager needs to advocate a diverse workforce by making diversity evident at all organizational levels. Otherwise, some employees will quickly conclude that there is no future for them in the company. As the HR Manager, it is pertinent to show respect for diversity issues and promote clear and positive responses to them. He/She must also show a high level of commitment and be able to resolve issues of workplace diversity in an ethical and responsible manner.
Control and Measure Results-
A HR Manager must conduct regular organizational assessments on issues like pay, benefits, work environment, management and promotional opportunities to assess the progress over the long term. There is also a need to develop appropriate measuring tools to measure the impact of diversity initiatives at the organization through organization-wide feedback surveys and other methods. Without proper control and evaluation, some of these diversity initiatives may just fizzle out, without resolving any real problems that may surface due to workplace diversity.
Motivational Approaches
Workplace motivation can be defined as the influence that makes us do things to achieve organizational goals: this is a result of our individual needs being satisfied (or met) so that we are motivated to complete organizational tasks effectively. As these needs vary from person to person, an organization must be able to utilize different motivational tools to encourage their employees to put in the required effort and increase productivity for the company.
Why do we need motivated employees? The answer is survival (Smith, 1994). In our changing workplace and competitive market environments, motivated employees and their contributions are the necessary currency for an organization’s survival and success. Motivational factors in an organizational context include working environment, job characteristics, appropriate organizational reward system and so on.
The development of an appropriate organizational reward system is probably one of the strongest motivational factors. This can influence both job satisfaction and employee motivation. The reward system affects job satisfaction by making the employee more comfortable and contented as a result of the rewards received. The reward system influences motivation primarily through the perceived value of the rewards and their contingency on performance (Hickins, 1998).
To be effective, an organizational reward system should be based on sound understanding of the motivation of people at work. In this paper, I will be touching on the one of the more popular methods of reward systems, gain-sharing.
Gain-sharing:
Gain-sharing programs generally refer to incentive plans that involve employees in a common effort to improve organizational performance, and are based on the concept that the resulting incremental economic gains are shared among employees and the company.
In most cases, workers voluntarily participate in management to accept responsibility for major reforms. This type of pay is based on factors directly under a worker’s control (i.e., productivity or costs). Gains are measured and distributions are made frequently through a predetermined formula. Because this pay is only implemented when gains are achieved, gain-sharing plans do not adversely affect company costs (Paulsen, 1991).
Managing Gain-sharing
In order for a gain-sharing program that meets the minimum requirements for success to be in place, Paulsen (1991) and Boyett (1988) have suggested a few pointers in the effective management of a gain-sharing program. They are as follows:
A HR manager must ensure that the people who will be participating in the plan are influencing the performance measured by the gain-sharing formula in a significant way by changes in their day-to-day behavior. The main idea of the gain sharing is to motivate members to increase productivity through their behavioral changes and working attitudes. If the increase in the performance measurement was due to external factors, then it would have defeated the purpose of having a gain-sharing program.
An effective manager must ensure that the gain-sharing targets are challenging but legitimate and attainable. In addition, the targets should be specific and challenging but reasonable and justifiable given the historical performance, the business strategy and the competitive environment. If the gain-sharing participants perceive the target as an impossibility and are not motivated at all, the whole program will be a disaster.
A manager must provide useful feedback as a guidance to the gain-sharing participants concerning how they need to change their behavior(s) to realize gain-sharing payouts The feedback should be frequent, objective and clearly based on the members’ performance in relation to the gain-sharing target.
A manager must have an effective mechanism in place to allow gain-sharing participants to initiate changes in work procedures and methods and/or requesting new or additional resources such as new technology to improve performance and realize gains. Though a manager must have a tight control of company’s resources, reasonable and justifiable requests for additional resources and/or changes in work methods from gain-sharing participants should be considered.
Executive Information Systems
Executive Information System (EIS) is the most common term used for the unified collections of computer hardware and software that track the essential data of a business’ daily performance and present it to managers as an aid to their planning and decision-making (Choo, 1991). With an EIS in place, a company can track inventory, sales, and receivables, compare today’s data with historical patterns. In addition, an EIS will aid in spotting significant variations from “normal” trends almost as soon as it develops, giving the company the maximum amount of time to make decisions and implement required changes to put your business back on the right track. This would enable EIS to be a useful tool in an organization’s strategic planning, as well as day-to-day management (Laudon, K and Laudon, J, 2003).
Managing EIS
As information is the basis of decision-making in an organization, there lies a great need for effective managerial control. A good control system would ensure the communication of the right information at the right time and relayed to the right people to take prompt actions.
When managing an Executive Information System, a HR manager must first find out exactly what information decision-makers would like to have available in the field of human resource management, and then to include it in the EIS. This is because having people simply use an EIS that lacks critical information is of no value-add to the organization. In addition, the manager must ensure that the use of information technology has to be brought into alignment with strategic business goals (Laudon, K and Laudon, J, 2003).
Conclusion
The role of the HR manager must parallel the needs of the changing organization. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change directions, and customer-centered. Within this environment, the HR professional must learn how to manage effectively through planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human resource and be knowledgeable of emerging trends in training and employee development.
The Importance of Father-Daughter Relationships
In Today’s busy world, Fathers find very little time to get involved in the nurture and development of their children. “Fathers bring a unique presence, a special strength to raising children,” says a clinical psychologist Ray Guarendia, in her book “Back to the Family.”
How true this is in the bringing up of daughters! Just as there is a special bond between mothers and sons, the relationship between fathers and daughters is unique. Fathers therefore cannot afford to remain remote characters in the lives of their daughters. Parenting is a joint venture, with fathers just as active participants as mothers.
There are various reasons why paternal involvement becomes limited.
o Ambitious and over worked Dads put their jobs before the welfare of their families. They come home too tired to spend quality time with their children. Often the children are asleep when they return, and leave for school before Dads are awake.
o Absentee Dads: Those with traveling jobs like airline pilots, sales representatives, businessmen or long distance truck drivers may be away from home frequently, sometimes for long stretches.
o Divorced Dads with limited visiting rights also cannot spend sufficient time with their children.
o False notions that girls are to be brought up exclusively by mothers or women in the house, make men distance themselves from their daughters. They feel awkward to show affection, and so miss out on the little intimacies they could share with their daughters.
The word “Dad” is of a universal nature. It conjures up qualities of responsibility, protection, love, and discipline. Being a father can be a rewarding job, and a man who abdicates his responsibility is falling short of his God-given role. John Rosemond a Family Counselor, wrote in one of his articles that a father must not only be present but be ‘actively involved’ and ‘a vigorously interested participant’ in the child rearing process.
Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime Minister of India, spent long spells in prison during the struggle for Indian independence. He sorely regretted his separation from his beloved daughter Indira, but he kept in contact with her through letters, which were later compiled into a book “Glimpses of World History.” These letters express his deep love for her and the ease with which he expressed it.
“Priyadarshini, dear to my sight but dearer still to my heart…..”
“I think of the day when we shall all three meet again, and the thought of it lightens and cheers my heart.”
In spite of being absent, he kindled in her an interest in World history, Science and Politics, which contributed in no small measure to the moulding of her character.
Or who can forget Dad William Jackson Smart who raised six children single handedly in rural Washington and his daughter Senora Dodd, who fought for Fathers’ Day, as a dedication to dads like him.
To be a good father, one must needs be aware of a few essential requirements.
o Show Love. No father should feel embarrassed to show affection to his daughter. A touch, a hug, a special smile, and three little words “I love you” are tangible ways of communicating love. She learns to reciprocate that love. This is her first male-female relationship with her father, and will influence her behaviour with her husband in later life. The earliest reflection of herself as female comes from her dad. How does he regard her? Does he accept her without reservations? Or does he treat her as inferior to her brother? When he shows respect she feels worthwhile as an individual. When he ignores her or is too critical, she begins to feel that she is worthless.
o Show love and respect to her mother. A good and loving relationship between parents is the foundation for her evolution into a happy, well balanced child. It gives her a sense of security, and a good opinion about marriage.
o Shared Activities: A good father will show interest in his daughter’s activities. He will make her feel good about her abilities and achievements. He will find something to praise. A father should be his daughter’s cheer leader. Doing things together like reading, walking, playing games is time well spent. He will also learn to see things through her eyes as she walks him through her wonderland. Time is a very precious gift.
o Communication: Listening and paying attention to what a daughter says is a way of showing love. What may seem silly to an adult may be bothersome to a child. She should be encouraged to talk of her school problems, peer pressure, studies or any other conflict situations. A good father will help her find solutions to her problems. He will teach not blame. She will be free to voice her opinions and be open to advice.
o Respect: A girl child is to be regarded as a person and not as a possession. Her right to privacy and her space to grow must be respected.
o Honesty: Being honest with his child will make a father trustworthy in her estimation. Her questions should be answered sensibly. She should be taught to distinguish between right and wrong, honesty and dishonesty. She should not be forced to do what she doesn’t want to do by offering inducements, or threats or emotional blackmail.
o Discipline: “Discipline is one of the most loving, durable gifts a parent can give to his child,” says Gaurendi. It should be consistent, fair and administered with love. When training a child in the way she should go, the father should make sure he goes that way himself. The task of parenting is overwhelming. It is exciting to see men who take family responsibility seriously, and are caring and compassionate. The way a father speaks, the words he uses, the tone of his voice can be encouraging or discouraging. Dependability and Integrity which she learns from her father will prepare her for ‘the school of hard knocks’ she must pass through on her trek towards adulthood.
The relationship between father and daughter reaches a very delicate phase when she is in her teens. This period must be negotiated with tact and efficiency. She must be assured that he values her as an intelligent and independent person. Becoming aware of his daughter’s sexuality makes many a father uncomfortable. Suddenly he feels demoted in her list of priorities. So far, he was the centre of her universe. Now her eyes begin to rove and get focused on other boys. She wants to dress differently and behave differently. Some fathers cannot handle these changes well. They might react by being overprotective or overbearing.
o Overprotective: In a society which does not value modesty or sexual purity, Dad becomes afraid that his precious girl may go astray. He feels it is his duty to impose rules about dating and whom she will date, or how she will dress, or what company she will keep. This ‘paternal neurosis’ is unwelcome. The girl feels restricted. On the one hand it may make her feel insecure, as though she is incapable of taking care of herself. On the other hand, she might want to escape from this ‘smother love’ before it stunts her emotional growth.
o Overbearing: Daughters tend to rebel against dictatorial fathers. When rigid rules are imposed which she thinks unnecessary, when he restricts her activities she might begin to fear him or hate him. There is a distinct inclination to rebel. A father must be sensitive to the growing needs of his daughter and make allowances appropriately. He should negotiate fairly, allowing her to gain confidence and pride in her choices. But he must also impress upon her that choices have consequences.
A daughter considers her father a gauge by which she will estimate the worth of other men. If he is well behaved, dependable, honest and loving, she will look for those qualities in other men. He must be a praying father too as he reflects the unconditional love of God our father. Child psychologist Phyllis Bronstein says that while a mother teaches nurture and caring, a father teaches physical competence, self confidence in asserting opinions, and adventurism. Children with good fathers get on well with other people and are achievers. Whereas those who are neglected by their fathers show lower IQ, poor performance in school, and delinquency.
When fathers are abusive, hot tempered, irresponsible or alchoholics, this too has an adverse impact on daughters. They look for similar traits in husbands or lovers. Irrespective of the damage it does to them physically, psychologically and emotionally, this ‘father hunger’ compels them to seek such men, hoping that eventually things will change. One father said, “If I screw up, she will spend the rest of her life with a ‘screw up.’ I don’t want that to happen.”
Too much of molly coddling is unhealthy and can lead to ‘father fixation.’ This kind of wrong parenting can be the cause of the Electra Complex – a psychological term for a girl’s romantic feelings towards her father, and anger towards her mother. Carl Jung called it the “Female Oedipus Attitude.” This could even lead to incestuous relationship between father and daughter.
An anonymous poet has this advice for fathers:
“Take stock of yourself and consider your child,
Your time and your thoughts are her due;
For how would you answer the Lord if he asks
What kind of a father were you?”
7th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas
7th grade science fair project ideas are likely more involved than the projects you’ve done in previous years. The science fair at your school is likely more competitive for your age group and there’s a good chance your peers will be putting a lot more time and effort into their projects than they have in previous years, so you’ll want to do the same for your 7th grade science projects.
One interesting idea might be to see which type of cheese mold will grow on the fastest. This is a great project because it’s interesting, but still fairly simple. Another idea for a project might be to see if you can grow a plant without soil. You can try placing seeds in various things such as a wet paper towel, grass clippings, coffee grounds, etc to see if they will grow. Be creative!
You could find out whether the presence of smoke in the air affects plant transpiration. Perhaps you could look into whether or not there is ever acid snow, we all know there is acid rain, but what about snow? You can find this out by testing the PH level of the snow and comparing it to the PH level of acid rain. Obviously this particular project only works in the winter months. There are many great topics out there for your 9th grade science project, it’s just a matter of finding one that interests you, researching and testing it out and presenting it in a professional manner.