Employee Engagement Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employee Engagement - Coursework Example 6). It refers to the amount of â€Å"discretionary effort† exhibited by the employees at work, in the form of extra time, brainpower or energy (Towers-Perrin, 2003 as cited in Carter, 2010). What it is not employee engagement is â€Å"staff satisfaction surveys† published by staff survey companies, because employees can give a high rating to surveys but do no meaningful work at al (Gable, et al., 2010). It is more about productivity and performance by a staff inspired to go the extra mile, willingly (Elsworth, 2011, p. 6). The T&D editorial staff concurs in their article â€Å"Employee Engagement Correlates to Career Advancement and Training† (T&D, 2011), where it affirms that â€Å"employee engagement needs to be part of the everyday culture of an organization, not addressed only through annual surveys† (p. 21). ... On the other hand, the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, a project of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), reported in 2009 that only one in every five workers is engaged in their work. Viewed in tandem with the T&D article, then, it appears there has been an improvement in the number of engaged workers, from 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the work force, indicating the effectiveness of government and private sector efforts to encourage employee engagement. On the other hand, the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, a project of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), reported in 2009 that only one in every five workers is engaged in their work. Certain organization responses were undertaken with the corresponding engagement ratios: Engagement Levels by Organization Responses Action Taken % Engaged Layoffs/downsizing 25% Salary reductions 26% Hiring freeze 27% Salary freeze 28% Reorganization/ restructure 28% Postponement of projects 30% New business venture 37% â€Å"Employee Engagement Report, 2011† by BlessingWhite, cited in T&D, 2011 From the foregoing table, it is apparent that the most radical and severe actions were taken in those companies for which the ration of engaged personnel were lowest; as the ratio increased, the action taken was seen to be more tempered and less drastic, creating less displacement for the business. 2. Terms of reference This body seeks to address the following course requirement: â€Å"Employee Engagement was described by one presenter as having a positive impact on their own Company performance. Your Chief Executive is keen for you to critically review the concept and to find evidence as to whether and how such an impact could be achieved.† (1st question). From the statement, it is

How the Rising Cost of Fuel Has Affected Air Travel Research Paper

How the Rising Cost of Fuel Has Affected Air Travel - Research Paper Example This is in the form of efficiency, cutting costs and passing on the costs to travellers. Introduction The rising cost of fuel prices has significant effects on the air travel industry in multiple ways affecting airlines, travellers and other allied sectors. In most ways, the industry has experienced numerous negative impacts as compared to positive impacts. This is to the extent of having some airlines pulling out of certain markets altogether or even quitting the industry altogether. This paper seeks to discuss the impacts of high fuel costs on air travel and its effects to the industry. Recent studies in the airline industry have seen the cost of fuel rise as a result of trends in the world oil prices. As a result, airlines have experienced increased operating costs due to issues of efficiency in fuel consumption and environmental taxes, as well as caps. This way, airlines have sustained increased costs of operation that have affected air travel significantly in regard to the aircr aft acquired and expansion programmes (Cranfield University, n.d). In regard to the acquisition of new aircraft to be used in air travel, the high fuel costs have resulted in improved fuel efficiency. This is in the form of having airplanes with fuel-efficient engines that bring down the amount consumed over a given distance (Cranfield University, n.d). ... Moreover, another field affected in air travel, in reference to the increase in fuel prices, is the expansion of long haul and decline of short haul services (Cranfield University, n.d.). This is following frequent upgrade to aircrafts that have better fuel efficiency as compared to older fleets. Due to the high costs of fuel, the industry is able to adapt accordingly to bring down the costs of operation; and keep up with the ever-rising fuel prices and allowing air travel to cover greater distances with more capacity, and with lesser fuel consumption. Thus, due to high fuel prices, airlines have opted to focus on revenue management strategies to cut all costs of operation. In this case, the high fuel costs have been placed on the traveller to shoulder the burden, in the fare; they pay for the usage of air transport. However, some, instead of passing the cost of fuel directly on to the passengers, they have chosen to have value added services that are optional for the traveller (US B ureau of Labour Statistics, 2012). The services could be in the form of meals offered on board and are gladly accepted and paid for accordingly. In addition, services and costs that cater for fuel are in the form of the service that the passenger would like, such as flying business or economy class and all fees charged for reservation and cancellation of tickets (US Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2012). Thus, the cost of travel has gone high as a result of the levies that are passed on to the traveller. Still on high fares, travellers have, in recent times following high fuel prices, had to pay more for the cost of their luggage. This contributes to the overall cost of travelling by air through charges for hand luggage, overweight luggage and oversize baggage. In