Negative Human Resource Practice: Telecommunication in Bangladesh

Letter of Transmittal March 25, 2012 Tarana Aziza Khan Lecturer (BBA Department) Northern University Bangladesh Subject: Submission of a report – â€Å"Negative HR Practice in Telecommunication Sectors of Bangladesh†. Dear Madame, Here is an assignment on – â€Å"Negative HR Practice in Telecommunication Sectors of Bangladesh†. This assignment was assigned to us for the purpose of finding the negative practices in human resource of telecommunication sectors. This report concentrates on the telecommunication sector in Bangladesh’s Perspectives.We tried to gather a collection of information to make our report specific. Through, the procedure of preparing the report we developed a clear understanding of total scenario of the negative practices in HR, of telecommunication sectors in Bangladesh. We tried our level best to make this report as reflective as possible. We appreciate to provide any information or classification if necessary. This assignment w as a great learning experience in present organizational environment. Each aspect is considered and studied as required and as per direction of our course instructor.We would like to thank for assigning us such a responsibility and helping us on different aspects of the assignment. Yours Sincerely, Ariful AlamBBA26090370004Section: 8A| Kamrul HasanBBA26090370025Section: 8A| | | Ariful MalekBBA26090370023Section: 8A| | | Anisha FahrinBBA26090370009Section: 8A| Shipra BhattacharjeeBBA26090370008Section: 8A| Table of contents Sl. No. | Contents| Page no. | 1. | Acknowledgement| 04| 2. | Abstract| 05| 3. | Introduction| 06| 4. | About Grameenphone| 07| 5. | About Banglalink| 08| 6. Graphical and statistical analysis (question by question)| 09-28| 7. | Review of the HR situation and recommendation| 29-30| 8. | Comments| 31| 9. | Conclusion| 32| 10. | Appendix| 33| Acknowledgement The submission of this report of â€Å"Negative HR Practice in Telecommunication Sector of Bangladesh† is a great opportunity for us. The success of this assignment depends on the contributions of number of people especially who have shared their thoughtful guidance, contribution, suggestions and experience to improve this report.This assignment has created a great deal of interest in us. We must thank a few people who help and encouraged us to grow our interest. First of all we would like to thank our honorable course instructor Tarana Aziza Khan for her proper guidance and care. Without her guidance and suggestions we couldn’t have completed this assignment properly. She has instructed us how to prepare a report correctly. Also thanks to Grameenphone and Banglalink Telecom for being patient enough to co-operate with us and completing out the surveys successfully.We obviously would like to give a special thanks to the Almighty for giving us such patience and power for completing this assignment smoothly. Lastly we can say that, we have enjoyed in preparing this assignment an d presented it for kind judgment. Abstract Purpose of this assignment is to analysis the HR situation in telecommunication companies of Bangladesh, from the Survey done with Grameenphone Ltd. , and Banglalink Telecom Ltd. We made human resource questionnaires and got Grameenphone and Banglalink employees to fill them up, and analyzed the statistic with graphs and textually.Because it’s impossible for us to survey all 3500 employees (summing up total employees of Banglalink and Grameenphone), we surveyed 33 employees from both the companies combined. Introduction Our project paper is all about â€Å"Negative Human Resource Practice in Telecommunication Sectors of Bangladesh†. For a long period, Grameenphone and Banglalink are ruling the Bangladeshi telecommunication market. Because, there was a great deal of opportunity is gradually increasing. For all the competitions upcoming there is a great negative impact on this sector.Thus, there are a lot of challenges and oppor tunities today for managers to use HR management. In our project paper we have analyzed the survey reports and statistics, and reviewed them comparatively with the negative HR practices. All the data are collected from the companies, meeting the employees face to face or over personal linkage and the primary data are collected from the interviewed survey. Our sample size is 33 individuals (both male, female entry/mid level worker and managers). We designed our questioner in a contemporary way.Almost 90% primary data has collected from the face to face interview with the respondent. Only a 10% data has been collected through the internet. Before Grameenphone’s inception, the phone was for a selected urbanized few. The cell phone was a luxury: a flouting accessory for the select elite. The mass could not contemplate mobile telephony as being part of their lives. Grameenphone started its journey with the Village Phone program: a pioneering initiative to empower rural women of Ba ngladesh. The name Grameenphone translates to â€Å"Rural phone†.Starting its operations on March 26, 1997, the Independence Day of Bangladesh, Grameenphone has come a long way. Grameenphone pioneered the then breakthrough initiative of mobile to mobile telephony and became the first and only operator to cover 98% of the country’s people with network Since its inception Grameenphone has built the largest cellular network in the country with over 13,000 base stations in more than 7000 locations. Presently, nearly 99 percent of the country's population is within the coverage area of the Grameenphone network.Grameenphone has always been a pioneer in introducing new products and services in the local market. GP was the first company to introduce GSM technology in Bangladesh when it launched its services in March 1997. Grameenphone was also the first operator to introduce the pre-paid service in September 1999. It established the first 24-hour Call Center, introduced value- added services such as VMS, SMS, fax and data transmission services, international roaming service, WAP, SMS-based push-pull services, EDGE, personal ring back tone and many other products and services.The entire Grameenphone network is also EDGE/GPRS enabled, allowing access to high-speed Internet and data services from anywhere within the coverage area. There are currently nearly 2. 6 million EDGE/GPRS users in the Grameenphone network. Today, Grameenphone is the leading telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh with more than 36 million subscribers as of December 2011. Orascom Telecom Bangladesh Limited (â€Å"Banglalink†) is fully owned by Orascom Telecom Holding S. A.E, Egypt, (â€Å"OTH†); the ultimate parent company of the group is Vimpelcom, the 6th largest mobile phone operator in the world. Banglalink was acquired by OTH in 2004, and after a complete overhaul and the deployment of a new GSM Network, its telecommunication services were re-launched unde r the brand name Banglalink. When Banglalink began operations in Bangladesh in February 2005, its impact was felt immediately: overnight mobile telephony became an affordable option for customers across a wide range of market segments.Banglalink’s success was based on a simple mission: â€Å"bringing mobile telephony to the masses† which was the cornerstone of its strategy. Banglalink changed the mobile phone status from luxury to a necessity and brought mobile telephone to the general people of Bangladesh and made a place in their hearts. The mobile phone has become the symbol for the positive change in Bangladesh. This positive change that is quite correctly attributed to Banglalink has become the corporate positioning of Banglalink and is translated in their slogan â€Å"making a difference† or â€Å"din bodol†. Making a difference† not only in the telecom industry, but also through its products and services, to the lives of its customers. This c orporate stance of â€Å"making a difference† has been reflected in everything Banglalink does. Banglalink attained 1 million subscribers by December 2005 and 3 million subscribers in October 2006. In less than two years which is by December 2007, Banglalink overtook Aktel to become the second largest operator in Bangladesh with more than 7. 1 million customers. Banglalink currently has 20. 05million subscribers as of April 2011, representing a market share of 27. 3%. Growth over the last years have been fuelled with innovative products and services targeting different market segments, aggressive improvement of network quality and dedicated customer care, creating an extensive distribution network across the country, and establishing a strong brand that emotionally connected customers with Banglalink. Graphical Analysis Options| Tally| Count| Stressed| IIII III| 8| Relaxed| IIII IIII III| 13| Okay| IIII IIII II| 12| Analytical Synopsis: In the question of how the employees ar e feeling, you can see most of them selected either they are relaxed or okay. 0% + 36% = 76% having the positive respond, we can infer that the work in telecommunication sector isn’t that much stressful, while about 24% of the employees are stressed on a daily basis. Options| Tally| Count| Work| IIII IIII| 10| Personal| IIII IIII| 9| Others| IIII IIII IIII| 14| Analytical Synopsis: In the question of how the employees’ stress level rises, you can see them selecting every option almost equally. However, the stress level rising from their professional life is only 30% from the sample of employees surveyed.Which leads the other 43% + 27% = 70% having the positive respond about their work, we can again infer that the work in telecommunication sector isn’t stressful to the majority. Options| Tally| Count| There is| IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII III| 33| There isn’t| | 0| Somewhat| | 0| Analytical Synopsis: In the question of if there is enough employees for ev ery work in their respective organizations, we can see that there is flawless victory in telecommunication sector for the recruitment count, having recruited enough employee for all the works they would need to be done.A hundred percent of the people that we surveyed have said they are being totally supported by their organizations by distributing their works properly among employees. Options| Tally| Count| Excellent| IIII IIII II| 12| Average| IIII IIII IIII I| 16| Flawed| III| 3| There isn’t any| II| 2| Analytical Synopsis: In the respondents’ feedbacks, majority (49%) of them having selected the communication among all the employees are average; and the 36% of them has rated the communication as excellent, while rest of the minority have rated the communication system of the organization in a negative way.Thus, we can infer from the majority having rated the communication system positively, it’s spot on. The minority probably have lack of interpersonal commun ication skills, causing them not to be able to interact or fit in with others. Options| Tally| Count| Yes| IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII III| 28| No| IIII| 5| Analytical Synopsis: In the question of how the organizations are supporting the employees with the technological support, we can see that there is dominant victory in telecommunication sector for the tech support, being based on full on digital works.About 85 percent of the people that we surveyed have said they are being totally supported technologically by their organizations. The other 15% are likely to be generally frustrated, and blaming it on the organization. Options| Tally| Count| Really high| IIII IIII I| 11| Fair| IIII IIII IIII| 14| No pressure| IIII III| 8| Analytical Synopsis: In the question of how the organizations are pressuring them to reach their monthly target or goal, majority of them have responded with the answer â€Å"Fair†, which means they are satisfied with the amount of pressure given by their res pective organization.However, having a close win over the second highest selection â€Å"Really high† rate of pressure could either be good or a bad thing. It might be good because the organizations are working to make their employee more, generating more productivity out of them. On the opposite end, another close call for â€Å"No pressure† at all is also a win-lose situation. Win, because the employees will be relaxed, and less fatigued, but at the same time, the hard working employees will get de-motivated as their better works aren’t being appraised as good as they deserve.Options| Tally| Count| Yes| IIII| 5| No| IIII IIII IIII I| 16| Unsure| IIII IIII II| 12| Analytical Synopsis: This question basically determines how much the employees know about authority’s way of thinking about the human resource policy. About 36 percent of the employees are not confident about authority’s mindset about human resource, whereas the rest 64 percent have conf idently answered the question with direct yes and no, having the majority in â€Å"yes†, we’ll take it that authority is quite confident about their HR policy being flawless.Options| Tally| Count| Fair| IIII IIII III| 13| Average| IIII IIII IIII II| 17| Flawed| III| 3| Analytical Synopsis: The majority of the employees (52 percent) have responded to it saying that they think the HR Policy is average, and another 39 percent have responded saying it is fair, both on positive account. So they’re most likely happy with the policy the way it is. The rest of the employees think the HR policy is flawed, but for their minority, it’s not a big deal. Options| Tally| Count| No, there isn’t| IIII IIII II| 12| There is| IIII I| 6|Unsure| IIII IIII IIII| 15| Analytical Synopsis: As about 46 percent of the surveyed employees have said there was no biasness in the selection process, 18 percent has confidently said that is biasness in the selection process, and res t 36 percent are unsure of it. There’s a chance for biasness if there’s more people in the critical zone (who think there’s biasness and people who are unsure), than people that are saying there isn’t any biasness. Options| Tally| Count| There is| IIII IIII IIII III| 18| There isn’t| IIII| 5| Somewhat| IIII IIII| 10|Analytical Synopsis: Majority of the surveyed people have let it be known that there’s equity among employees, as far as necessary at least. Although, 15 percent of the employees would beg to differ saying there isn’t any equity among employees. Considering minority level on the negative respondents, it’s probable that the minority could be wrong in some extent. Options| Tally| Count| Excellent| IIII IIII IIII| 14| Average| IIII IIII III| 13| Flawed| I| 1| There isn’t any| IIII| 5| Analytical Synopsis: Training is an important process for development of an employee.So we decided to ask them their opinion abou t the effectiveness of the training process that they had gone through. Majority have responded positively saying the training is Excellent (43%), or Average (39%), and about 15 percent haven’t gone through training yet, and the rest about 3 percent, they think that the training system might be flawed. Options| Tally| Count| Majorly| IIII IIII IIII| 15| Somewhat| IIII IIII| 9| Indifferent| IIII IIII| 9| Analytical Synopsis: This question basically determines how many employees are satisfied with their performance appraisal method.About half the employees of the organizations are happy with their performance appraisal method, and the other half feels the need of better improvising. Options| Tally| Count| Fair| IIII IIII IIII IIII | 20| Biased| IIII II| 7| Flawed| III| 3| Unsure| III| 3| Analytical Synopsis: Just as the selection method question, in this question we have tried to get their opinion about how good their promotion strategy is. 61 percent of them have answered posi tively, 9 percent were unsure, another 9 percent think the method is flawed and needs change, and about 21 percent thinks there’s definitely some biasness corrupting the process.So we can infer, there might actually be some biasness in the promotion strategy, which may not be too widespread though. Options| Tally| Count| Over the top| IIII II| 7| Pretty much| IIII IIII IIII| 14| Indifferent| IIII III| 8| It’s not| IIII| 4| Analytical Synopsis: This question determines the employees’ satisfaction level with their compensation, benefits and their switching tendency. According to the statistics data and results we can infer that around 43 percent of people are happy with their compensations and benefits and another 21 percent are more than happy with their compensations as they hink they’re getting treated better than any company would treat them. Out of the rest, there’s another 24 percent who feel the need to be treated better and are kind of in a c onfused state, where the last 12 percent wouldn’t miss a chance to switch to some other organization because they are really unhappy with their compensations. Options| Tally| Count| No| IIII III| 8| Reasonable| IIII IIII I| 11| Extreme| IIII I| 6| Unsure| IIII III | 8| Analytical Synopsis: The majority (34%) of respondents have said the favoritism tendency among same level employees is in a reasonable extent, while 24% have said there was no favoritism tendency.Also, another 24% is unsure about the idea of favoritism in their respective organizations, whereas 18 percent of surveyed people have said there to be an extreme level of favoritism tendency, which could just be some hoax. Options| Tally| Count| Great| IIII IIII I| 11| Average| IIII IIII III| 13| Indifferent| III| 3| Not much| IIII I| 6| Analytical Synopsis: Most of the surveyed respondents (33+40=73%) have replied in positive way saying there’s great / average opportunity to learn or grow in their organization s, whereas the other 27 percent would like to disagree saying there may not be as much opportunity out there for them.It could be that those employees are just bored at work because of having to do the same kind of work over and over again. Options| Tally| Count| Over the top| IIII | 5| Pretty much| IIII IIII IIII IIII II| 22| Indifferent| IIII | 5| It doesn’t| I| 1| Analytical Synopsis: Majority (67+15=82%) having responded in a positive way, arranges this scenario that the job is completely secured up to their expectation, even 15% among them thinks that it’s even better than their expectation. Another 15 percent of people think that their job security could be better, and are not really much impressed with their job security.Rest 3 percent responded plain negatively. Options| Tally| Count| Over the top| IIII IIII IIII I| 16| Pretty much| IIII IIII IIII| 15| It’s not| II| 2| Analytical Synopsis: From the statistic, we can tell the HR Departments of Telecommuni cation sector doesn’t hold back employees from having the chance to relax and let the stress wear off as, 49+45 = 94 percent of statistical population have responded positively, while 6 percent of the employees are probably for some reason left out, maybe for some biasness or whatsoever. Options| Tally| Count| Always| IIII IIII IIII II| 17| Sometimes| IIII IIII| 10|Rarely| IIII I| 6| Not at all| | 0| Analytical Synopsis: Since there’s 0 percent rate of â€Å"not at all† being reached out to when necessary, there is definitely a lot of support from the authority to their subordinates there, and there’s only 18% of employees have said the authority hears them out, it could possibly be for the reason of too much stuff on going for them, having to plan and implement bigger things. Majority being 52 percent, always having good communication with the authority and 30 percent only reaches them when they have issues in their hands. Options| Tally| Count|People th at added extra comments| IIII IIII I| 11| People that didn’t add extra comments| IIII IIII IIII IIII II| 22| Analytical Synopsis: As one third of the statistical population made comments, mostly positive and a few about problems and suggestions, we might infer that the one third of the population are intellectual, and the majority two third of the statistical population not saying anything to the comment, could either mean that they’re most the time dedicated to their work, or the organization’s HR Policy isn’t giving them enough freedom to speak out, for which reason they are too timid to speak out.Review of the report and recommendations From the above graphical and statistical analysis, we can get a rough picture of the human resource practices in those telecommunication related organizations. The dimensional analysis puts up the following picture up in my mind. Employees are more relaxed than stressed every day, and the source of the stress is hardly work life, which is a success for HR department. Even with that, HR department may take a lot of stress reducing procedures to help ease the stress level and keep the employees keen on their work.The organizations also have good recruitment system, gathering enough skilled recruits to cover all the work as per organizational needs. There might be a little biasness in the selection process and promotion strategy, but it isn’t as bad as in other sectors, as it’s not affecting other employees’ mindset, also because even the worst recruit is skilled there. There’s also enough technical support because the organization wants their employees not to face any kind of frustration not being supported by any way.Authority is very confident about the HR policy being decent, while most of the employees are even aware of it. There’s good employee-to-employee, employee-to-authority, authority-to-employee communication, and most of them have strong interpersonal r elationship, and even the acquaintances are friendly there, having affect on the motivation level, uprising it by a sky high level. There’s pretty much a good level on equity among the employees, there could be exception in some cases but still the rate would be very low.The organization sometimes might push the employee too much to achieve their monthly targets, but most the time the pressure level is reasonable for saying. The training process is quite good and effective but a few employees aren’t taken on any training program, whereas the employees are somewhat happy with their performance appraisal method. The compensation received is pretty much more than good for the employees, even with this highly priced lifestyle in Dhaka.Favoritism tendency is also in reasonable extent, which is not a big problem as all of them are getting the same chance to learn and grow from working in the organization. The employees are very happy with their job security also. Human Resou rce Department might be too tight on them sometimes when they’re speaking out, for that they fear to speak out about the organization most the times. I think the HR department and the organization could use some improvement to make the employee satisfaction level even higher to make the most out of them. Recruits shouldn’t be selected at all in bias conditions. * Promotion strategy needs improvising. * Hear out the employees more often. * Arrange more training for employees to make sure none’s left out. * Increase the compensation of underrated employees. * Less pressure on employees, as pressure might cause stress, which isn’t good. * Appraise performance in more ways. * Take more steps to reduce stress. * Let not the employees fear you, causing them to sit shut still. * Allow employees to speak out. I would rate the telecommunication sector as followings:HR Policy| | Recruitment Policy| | Selection Process| | Communication| | Chance to grow and lear n| | Compensation and benefit| | Job Security| | Freedom| | Support| | Overall| | Comment From the data, we can say that most of the employees are pretty much satisfied with their HR policies and they are happy to work with the organization in both Grameenphone and Banglalink. Yes, they would need some improvement, but who doesn’t? There’s always room for improvement no matter how good you are.In other words, the telecommunication sector has one of the best human resource management system comparative to other sectors of Bangladesh. Conclusion In the end, we can say that negative practice in HR in telecommunication is in very low rate, keeping their employees satisfied with adequate compensation and facilities that they expect. If this situation keeps up, we expect the best for the telecommunication business in the future. Appendix * Grameenphone Ltd. * Banglalink Telecom Ltd. * The Internet * Personal References

World War II Fighter Grumman F6F Hellcat

World War II Fighter Grumman F6F Hellcat Having begun production of their successful F4F Wildcat fighter, Grumman began work on a successor aircraft in the months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In creating the new fighter, Leroy Grumman and his chief engineers, Leon Swirbul and Bill Schwendler, sought to improve upon their previous creation by designing an aircraft which was more powerful with better performance. The result was a preliminary design for an entirely new aircraft rather than an enlarged F4F. Interested in a follow-on aircraft to the F4F, the US Navy signed a contract for a prototype on June 30, 1941. With the US entry into World War II in December 1941, Grumman began utilizing data from the F4Fs early combats against the Japanese. By assessing the Wildcats performance against the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Grumman was able to design its new aircraft to better counter the nimble enemy fighter. To aid in this process, the company also consulted noted combat veterans such as Lieutenant Commander Butch OHare who provided insight based on his firsthand experiences in the Pacific. The initial prototype, designated XF6F-1, was intended to be powered by the Wright R-2600 Cyclone (1,700 hp), however, information from testing and the Pacific led it to be given the more powerful 2,000 hp Pratt Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp turning a three-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller. A Cyclone-powered F6F first flew on June 26, 1942, while the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft (XF6F-3) followed on July 30. In early trials, the latter showed a 25% improvement in performance. Though somewhat similar in appearance to the F4F, the new F6F Hellcat was much larger with a low-mounted wing and higher cockpit to improve visibility. Armed with six .50 cal. M2 Browning machine guns, the aircraft was intended to be highly durable and possessed a wealth of armor to protect the pilot and vital parts of the engine as well as self-sealing fuel tanks. Other changes from the F4F included powered, retractable landing gear which had a wide stance to improve the aircrafts landing characteristics. Production and Variants Moving into production with the F6F-3 in late 1942, Grumman quickly showed that the new fighter was easy to build. Employing around 20,000 workers, Grummans plants began to produce Hellcats at a rapid rate. When Hellcat production ended in November 1945, a total of 12,275 F6Fs had been built. During the course of production, a new variant, the F6F-5, was developed with production commencing in April 1944. This possessed a more powerful R-2800-10W engine, a more streamlined cowling, and numerous other upgrades including a flat armored-glass front panel, spring-loaded control tabs, and a reinforced tail section. The aircraft was also modified for use as the F6F-3/5N night fighter. This variant carried the AN/APS-4 radar in a fairing built into the starboard wing. Pioneering naval night fighting, F6F-3Ns claimed their first victories in November 1943. With the arrival of the F6F-5 in 1944, a night fighter variant was developed from the type. Employing the same AN/APS-4 radar system as the F6F-3N, the F6F-5N also saw some changes to the aircrafts armament with some replacing the inboard .50 cal machine guns with a pair of 20 mm cannon. In addition to the night fighter variants, some F6F-5s were fitted with camera equipment to serve as reconnaissance aircraft (F6F-5P).​ Handling Versus the Zero Largely intended for defeating the A6M Zero, the F6F Hellcat proved faster at all altitudes with a slightly better climb rate over 14,000 ft, as well as was a superior diver. Though the American aircraft could roll faster at high speeds, the Zero could out-turn the Hellcat at lower speeds as well as could climb faster at lower altitudes. In combating the Zero, American pilots were advised to avoid dogfights and to utilize their superior power and high-speed performance. As with the earlier F4F, the Hellcat proved capable of sustaining a great deal more damage than its Japanese counterpart. Operational History Reaching operational readiness in February 1943, the first F6F-3s were assigned to VF-9 aboard USS Essex (CV-9). The F6F first saw combat on August 31, 1943, during an attack on Marcus Island. It scored its first kill the next day when Lieutenant (jg) Dick Loesch and Ensign A.W. Nyquist from USS Independence (CVL-22) downed a Kawanishi H8K Emily flying boat. On October 5-6, the F6F saw its first major combat during a raid on Wake Island. In the engagement, the Hellcat quickly proved superior to the Zero. Similar results were produced in November during attacks against Rabaul and in support of the invasion of Tarawa. In the latter fight, the type claimed 30 Zeros downed for the loss of one Hellcat. From late 1943 forward, the F6F saw action during every major campaign of the Pacific war. Quickly becoming the backbone of the US Navys fighter force, the F6F achieved one of its best days during the Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19, 1944. Dubbed the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, the battle saw US Navy fighters down massive numbers of Japanese aircraft while sustaining minimal losses. In the final months of the war, the Kawanishi N1K George proved a more formidable opponent for the F6F but it was not produced in significant enough numbers to mount a meaningful challenge to the Hellcats dominance. During the course of World War II, 305 Hellcat pilots became aces, including US Navy top scorer Captain David McCampbell (34 kills). Downing seven enemy aircraft on June 19, he added nine more on October 24. For these feats, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. During its service in World War II, the F6F Hellcat became the most successful naval fighter of all time with a total of 5,271 kills. Of these, 5,163 were scored by US Navy and US Marine Corps pilots against a loss of 270 Hellcats. This resulted in a remarkable kill ratio of 19:1. Designed as a Zero Killer, the F6F maintained a kill ratio of 13:1 against the Japanese fighter. Assisted during the war by the distinctive Chance Vought F4U Corsair, the two formed a lethal duo. With the end of the war, the Hellcat was phased out of service as the new F8F Bearcat began to arrive. Other Operators During the war, the Royal Navy received a number of Hellcats through Lend-Lease. Initially known as the Gannet Mark I, the type saw action with Fleet Air Arm squadrons in Norway, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific. During the conflict, British Hellcats downed 52 enemy aircraft. In combat over Europe, it was found to be on par with the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190. In the postwar years, the F6F remained in a number of second-line duties with the US Navy and was also flown by the French and Uruguayan navies. The latter used the aircraft up until the early 1960s. F6F-5 Hellcat Specifications General Length:  33 ft. 7 in. Wingspan:  42 ft. 10 in.Height:  13 ft. 1 in.Wing Area:  334 sq. ft.Empty Weight:  9,238 lbs.Loaded Weight:  12,598 lbs.Maximum Takeoff Weight:  15,514 lbs.Crew:  1 Performance Maximum Speed:  380 mphCombat Radius:  945 milesRate of Climb:  3,500 ft./min.Service Ceiling:  37,300 ft.Power Plant:  1Ãâ€" Pratt Whitney R-2800-10W Double Wasp engine with a two-speed two-stage supercharger, 2,000 hp Armament 6Ãâ€" 0.50 cal. M2 Browning machine guns6 Ãâ€" 5 in (127 mm) HVARs or 2 Ãâ€" 11 ¾ in Tiny Tim unguided rocketsup to 2,000 lbs. of bombs Sources World War II Database: F6F HellcatAce Pilots: F6F HellcatMilitary Factory: F6F Hellcat

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Wester Civilization II paper #1 - Essay Example The Prince by Machiavelli focuses on the dos and don’ts of a prince. According to him, a prince is not a public entity so his activities and life style should never be conventional like his subjects. According to Machiavelli, a prince always needs to build a kind of aura around him so that he can be easily identified someone superior and above the average human lot. The focus on the activity of a prince or the head of the state reshaped the treaty a lot and made the doctrine on one of the most valuable treaties of the political theory and diplomatic strategy. Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ focuses further on the military duty of a Prince. It also deals with the functional and the compositional aspect of the various troops with the special focus on the Mercenaries. The book is also focused on detecting and scrutinizing the reason behind appraisal or criticism of a man and especially that of a prince. The doctrine deals with the theory of cruelty or clemency and decides whether it is better to get love or to be feared. The other three important facets on which the treaty focuses are the way; the world of a Prince should be kept, the process by which he should acquire reputation and the impact of destiny of humans and the way to fight with it. All these theories and diplomatic treaties suggested in the book under any circumstance w ill help a prince to rule his kingdom with full sovereignty and have a stable government in his province. Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ is considered as the most important political work of the period. There is no second opinion regarding the effectiveness of the book but then the book also gained its pinnacle of popularity during the renaissance period because the book reflected largely about the political situation of the period and discussed issues to pacify the situation in Italy and particularly in Florence. Although there were numerous city – states by the beginning of the fifteenth

Danger Of Smoking For The Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Danger Of Smoking For The Society - Essay Example The tobacco products are sources of taxes, and thus the government should not ban smoking. Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of abolition is an important exercise. Smoking affects the health of the smokers and non-smokers. Banning of the cigarette sale and smoking is important to reduce the healthcare cost and financial burden of smokers, as well as, promote a healthier nation that can work productively. Smoking affects the health of the smokers and non-smokers. The World Health Organization report attributes many deaths to smoking (Ash 3). The projections of the World Health Organization indicate that people who succumb to death from the smoking might reach ten million in 2020 (Ash 3-5). Notably, smoking in public affects the health of people and does not discriminate against the age. The children raised by the families, which smoke, have high chances of developing health complications. For instance, such children exhibit health complications such as cardiovascular and neurobiological problems. According to Ash, a study focusing on pediatrics indicated that passive smoking affects the children, and the youngsters have higher chances of suffering from chronic diseases including sickle cell anemia (2-5). In this respect, it is important to ban the sale of cigarettes in order to promote a nation that has healthier children. Smoking increases the chances of contracting medical conditions such as asthma, which consequently retards the mental growth in children. Ash reports about a study in the United States that linked the children’s exposure to the smoke from the cigarette to ill health and poor reasoning capabilities (4). The indication is that the children brought up in an environment that promotes smoking have a high possibility of exhibiting the asthmatic symptoms such as wheezing and pains in the chest.

Effects of Migration Essay Example for Free

Effects of Migration Essay There are a lot of different reasons as to why people migrate, one being forced migration, where people are told to move because they could be at risk because of war or natural disasters. Another is internal migration, where people leave their country either permanently or temporarily, and could also be to escape from natural disasters or for work. Immigration is when people move to another country permanently, and could be because of a number of reasons. There are a lot of people that move from LEDC’s to MEDC’s like Mexico to America, North Africa to Europe and Japan from China, for many of those different reasons. Indonesia is far overpopulated and so the government is trying to ease population pressures on Islands such as Java by spreading out development to some of the more remote islands like Maluku. This means that many people living in Indonesia will migrate away, as overpopulation means there is a lack of resources in that area, such as food, water and even jobs. A lot of pressure is put on the areas they migrate to because over three million people have moved there. A lot of the rainforest in the area has had to be cleared, which has led to soil erosion. This also means that a lot of the land is then not suitable to be used for farming anymore. What makes it worse is that wild animals destroy the crops, which causes a major shortage. A problem that has occurred is that there has been conflict between the migrants and the local population. The trans-migrants receive land as an encouragement to move, and the locals think of this as favouritism. The tension then grows as sometimes the government give areas of land that locals used for shifting cultivation to the migrants. Even though much of Indonesia’s population has migrated away, its population is still rapidly growing, and the scheme to Trans-migrate isn’t working as well as planned. Many trans-migrants are coming back after not having much success following their leave. Transmigration isn’t helping the growing issues of over-population. Depending on the specific circumstance, migration can be either positive or negative in the long run for a country. It could be bad for the country  they’re leaving, as it could leave many jobs with not enough people to fill them, and the decreasing population could then mean the country loses money and end up with less resources. However, it could also mean that there are now enough resources for the population as the country was overpopulated before, and could have had too many jobs for the amount of people living there. The host country also could have a positive impact from the migrants, for example cheap labour and migrants could be willing to do jobs that the local population don’t want to do, and they bring more money into the country. But the country could also be affected negatively, like if that country becomes overpopulated and then there are too many people for the amount of jobs, and then they claim benefits and live off the government, as well as the shortage of resources that would soon follow.

Housing Need Supply And Demand Economics Essay

Housing Need Supply And Demand Economics Essay West Somerset is one of the smallest local authorities within England with a population of 34,675 Office for National Statistics 2012. It is largely rural in nature with two thirds of the area being within Exmoor National Park. The coastal town of Minehead is the largest settlement with a population of 12,084 (Office for National Statistics 2012). 1.3 By far the largest age group within West Somerset are those aged 60 and over making 38% of the total population (Office for National Statistics 2011). This group is well provided for within housing with a large number of sheltered and supported housing schemes and nursing homes both within the private sector and social housing sector. 1.4 Young people aged 20 to 29 make up approximately 9.5% of the total population of West Somerset (Office for National Statistics 2012) however they are one of the largest age groups registered for Social Housing within West Somerset with 23.3% of active applicants (Homefinder Somerset 2012). 1.5 The economy of West Somerset relies heavily on tourism, agriculture and the care industry with the majority of work being found within one of these areas. The largest employer is Butlins in Minehead (West Somerset Council 2011). The majority of work within tourism and agriculture are seasonal resulting in fluctuating benefit claims and relatively low wage levels within the area making affordability of housing a problem. 2 A Profile of West Somerset 2.1 The total population of West Somerset has decreased from 2001 census data to the 2011 data however the proportion of this population that is in the age range 20 to 29 has increased during this time from 7.7% to 9.5%. In England as a whole the percentage population of people aged 20 to 29 in 2011 is 13.7%, higher than in West Somerset. The largest age group within West Somerset is those over age of 60 making a total of 38% of the population in 2011 in contrast to a percentage population of 22.3% for this age group in England as a whole (Office for National Statistics 2012). Table 1 Population of West Somerset Age Range 2011 Population 2011 Percentage 2001 Population 2001 Percentage 19 and under 6 264 18.1% 7 225 20.6% 20 29 3 293 9.5% 2 687 7.7% 30 59 11 925 34.4% 13 442 38.3% 60 and over 13 193 38.0% 11 715 33.4% Total Population 34 675 35 069 Source: Office for National Statistics Table 2 Population of England Age Range 2011 Population 2011 Percentage 2001 Population 2001 Percentage 19 and under 12 712 275 24.0% 12 327 688 24.9% 20 29 7 246 202 13.7% 6 307 052 12.8% 30 59 21 221 173 40.0% 20 584 021 41.6% 60 and over 11 832 806 22.3% 10 230 985 20.7% Total Population 53 012 456 49 449 746 Source: Office for National Statistics 2.2 A large proportion of homes in West Somerset are owner occupied approximately 67% compared to a national average of 63% (Office National Statistics 2012) and the average price of a house in Somerset as of October 2012 is  £160,349 very close to the national average for England and Wales of  £161,605 (Land Registry 2012). The migration into the area by people wishing to purchase retirement homes or second homes has pushed the prices up to very close to the national average. Private rented housing makes up 16% of accommodation with social housing approximately 15% (Office National Statistics 2012). 2.3 Average earnings in West Somerset are  £523.00 per week which is below the average for England of  £609.50 per week (Somerset County Council 2011). The majority of work is within the tourism and agricultural industries and is seasonal in nature and hence low paid. This below average earnings coupled with high cost of housing makes home ownership very difficult for local people and especially for young people. 2.4 In West Somerset social housing is supplied by Housing Associations of which Magna West Somerset holds the largest stock. Of the 1921 properties owned by Magna West Somerset, 1439 of these are general needs properties with the rest being sheltered or supported accommodation. Of the 1439 general needs properties only 161 (11.2%) are 1 bedroom properties. 3 Housing Need, Supply and Demand 3.1 Everyone has a need for housing of some sort, the type and availability varies around the globe. In the UK the need for housing is measured by the local authority using various facts and figures available to them such as number of homeless applications or numbers registered for housing as well as the demographic profile of the area (Lazarus 2012). 3.2 Housing demand can be described as the desire for housing along with the ability to pay for that desire. Housing supply would be described as the amount of housing produced at a price. The demand and supply of housing can fluctuate with various factors influencing both but in the long term, the supply of housing should equal its demand, because price will provide the equilibrating mechanism linking the two (Harriott Matthews1998 p23) 3.3 The demographic profile of an area along with the economic factors will have an effect on the supply and need of housing. Within the West Somerset area the population as a whole has reduced since 2001 however a larger percentage are over 60 requiring specialist housing and also young people who are looking to get onto the property ladder for the first time as homeowners or by renting in either the private or social housing sectors. The need for starter housing by young people has increased however financial pressures often mean that they are unable to own their own home or rent within the private sector. 3.4 Homefinder Somerset is a choice based lettings allocation scheme for affordable housing in Somerset. Within West Somerset in 2012 there were 1363 active applications for housing registered a total of 3.9% of the population. Of these registrations 318 are applicants aged 20-29 which is 23.3% of total number registered, a much higher proportion than those aged 20-29 of the population as a whole (Homefinder Somerset 2012). 3.5 Of the 318 registrations from applicants aged 20 to 29, 109 (33.3%) of these state that they are not living in their own property at the moment and are living with family or friends (Homefinder Somerset 2012). Increasingly young people are finding it more difficult to move out of the family home for the first time due to financial pressures so are still living with parents up to a much older age. 3.6 The Rural Housing Project in Exmoor National Park is an independent project which seeks to help local people to remain living and working in the area (Exmoor National Park 2012). They identify the level of housing need through conducting surveys and also holding consultation events. They then work in partnership with developers and housing associations to deliver affordable housing for local people. 3.7 After a consultation by The Rural Housing Project a need for rural housing in Exmoor National Park was identified for young people. A scheme was developed in the village of Wheddon Cross in June 2011 and consisted of a mix of affordable private housing and social housing. This scheme of 10 properties for social housing included 2 one bedroom properties. Of the 10 properties 9 of these were let to young people and of these 9, six were to young people with no children with 3 of these being let to siblings (Rural Housing Project 2012). 3.8 Funding for building of new properties by housing associations needs to be raised by either loans or from rents. Magna West Somerset, the largest housing association in the area has made a decision to not develop any new properties once those currently being built are finished. This is due to interest rates for loans being unfavourable coupled with the uncertainty of rental income with the introduction of Universal Credit in 2013 when the housing element of benefit will be paid direct to the tenant and no longer straight to the landlord. This means that very few new properties will be developed in the area in the foreseeable future. 4 Economic Factors 4.1 In 2007 the economy in the UK suffered what is known as the credit crunch where the availability of credit and mortgages was severely cut causing a crisis in the housing market and recession and an increase in the demand for social housing (Lazarus 2012). The economy still has not recovered from this completely and although this caused a fall in house prices, the demand for housing within the private sector is also not there as buyers are unable to access finance. Building firms faced financial difficulties and some went into receivership so the supply of housing has also been drastically cut. 4.2 Unemployment levels are high especially amongst young people. Job Seekers Allowance for a single young person under age of 25 is  £56.25 per week and for those 25 and over it is  £71 per week (gov.uk 2012). Although they can also claim housing benefit many young people struggle to finance a home on their own with the rising cost of utilities and food. 4.3 An important part of economic success for an area is the ability to retain young working people. There is a very short supply of affordable housing in rural areas for young people so they either remain at home for longer or leave to seek affordable accommodation in more urban areas (West Somerset Council 2009). 4.4 West Somerset is a predominantly rural area which adds extra expense to living costs. There is very little public transport except along the coastal corridor from Minehead to Taunton with a bus route. The nearest railway station is Taunton and the only railway running within West Somerset is a steam heritage railway. Most people therefore have the added expense of having to run a car. 4.5 A large section of West Somerset is also not served by mains gas, including a great number of social housing properties in Minehead. This means that heating costs are higher due to using either electric or oil heating. According to figures published in 2010 by the Department of Energy and Climate Change 21.5% of households in West Somerset are in fuel poverty (Department of Energy and Climate Change 2010). A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain a satisfactory heating regime (Department of Energy and Climate Change 2012). 4.6 These increased expenses of travel and utilities experienced within rural locations mean that affording housing in these areas is almost impossible for young single people on a low wage or not working. 5 Legislation 5.1 The Welfare Reform Act 2012 will bring in many changes to benefits. One of the main things that will affect young people is from April 2013 any person of working age under occupying a property and claiming housing benefit will have their benefit cut by 14% for one spare bedroom or 25% for two spare bedrooms commonly known as the bedroom tax (national Housing Federation 2012). This is already causing a strain on the demand for one bedroom properties by people who will be affected by this cut wanting to downsize which is causing more competition for these properties with young people wanting to get their first home. 5.2 The Local Government Finance Act 2012 removes council tax benefit and instead puts the responsibility on councils to develop their own scheme called Council Tax Support (Turn2Us 2012). The new scheme will be different in every council area however the government funding for each scheme has been cut which means that each council will have to find savings. Elderly and vulnerable people will be protected so working age people will probably have to pay council tax whether they are in work or not. 5.3 In West Somerset proposals have been put forward which include all working age people who are not working and so claiming Council Tax Support to pay 20% of their council tax bill and also for higher rates of non depended deductions. This will probably preclude young single people who are out of work from being able to afford to have their own home. Those that stay at home or with friends and family if the household is claiming council tax benefit will also find that there is a larger non dependent deduction charged to the household they are staying with (West Somerset Council 2012). 5.4 The government in the Chancellors Autumn Statement announced that benefits will only rise by 1%, a below inflation rise (Brown 2012). This means that benefits for unemployed young people will stay at a low level and with the cost of housing and living increasing the chance of obtaining and sustaining a tenancy is getting harder for them. 5.5 The Localism Act 2011 gives new rights and powers to local authorities with regard to a variety of issues including housing. Before the act almost anyone could apply to live in social housing, whether they need it or not (Department Communities and Local Government 2011 p15). Social housing however is now more than ever in greater demand due to the economic climate within the country. This act gives local councils the ability to agree on policy that can restrict who can qualify for social housing in the area. At this time, Homefinder Somerset the choice based lettings system used by West Somerset has not made any changes to its letting policy with regard to the Localism Act to restrict applications for housing. 5.6 Young people who wish to rent privately within West Somerset if they are on a low wage would be entitled to claim assistance with their rent through Local Housing Allowance. Since January 2012 any single person up to the age of 35 can only claim local housing allowance for a room in shared accommodation rather than a self contained 1 bedroom property. At present this rate is  £66.50 per week in West Somerset. From April 2013 the Local Housing Allowance will only be increased by the Consumer Price Index rather than market rent as previously (South Somerset District Council 2012) so a lower increase will happen each year so making it harder for young people on a low wage to rent privately. In his Autumn Statement the Chancellor then announced that after next April the Local Housing Allowance will only rise by 1% for the next two years (Brown 2012). This will make many private rental properties out of the price range of people on benefits and also those on low wages. 6 Conclusion 6.1 The issues surrounding housing of young people in West Somerset are mainly of affordability and availability. 6.2 The availability of 1 bedroom properties for young people without children is not good especially as these properties are now also in demand from other people wishing to downsize due to welfare reform changes and very little new building taking place. 6.3 Affordability due to low wages or unemployment and of high costs of living due to rising utility costs and food. 6.4 West Somerset Housing Strategy recognises the need to keep young people within the area for a sustainable community however more needs to be done to assist with the low wage base and affordability of housing. 6.5 More affordable housing needs to be provided for young people that is near to employment so that travel costs are kept to a minimum and also that is low cost to run with regard to utilities by using new technology. 6.6 Strategies to assist with training for work and also attracting new business into the area to help increase the number of people in work and the average wage for the area should also be looked at.