What Words Come To Mind When You Think Of Continental Airlines Succes

What words come to mind when you think of Continental Airlines? Successful company, preferred airline, good service, on-time airline, top carrier, financially solvent, happy employees. These are all true; however, this was not always the case. Just six short years ago, probably not one of those descriptions would even be said in the same breath as Continental Airlines. In fact, in 1994, Continental was facing its third bankruptcy; that bankruptcy would have been the final blow to take this airline down for the last time. Employees were disgruntled about their work environment, their pay, and their airline; they had even taken pay-cut after pay-cut in an effort to keep the airline afloat. Customers did not think much more of the company, as Continental was considered simply the worst among the nation's ten biggest airlines. Continental Airlines is now recognized as one of Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work for in America," even moving up from the 40th position to a very re spectable number 23 on the list in 1999 (a particularly satisfying award for a company of over 50,000 employees). Continental is also now considered to be a respected airline and company, not only in the airline industry but also across all industries both nationally and worldwide. This metamorphosis came about because of a team of individuals who took a hard look at the condition of the company. They considered where the company had been and where it could go. At that point in time, the possibilities were two; Continental could continue on the road it was on (and probably end up in its third bankruptcy and possibly the end of an airline) or undergo some major changes in the hopes of creating a really great airline. As the story goes, the Board of Directors of Continental Airlines went out on a limb and hired a gutsy, plain-speaking ex-Navy aircraft mechanic who was armed with a few commonsense notions about good management and who possessed the courage to look past the bottom line, managed to motivate his people to bold new heights of excellence and win back this company's long-lost customer base. This person, armed with a down-to-earth basic recipe for turning a company around, was and is Gordon Bethune. Change does not come about overnight, nor does it come easily. As stated by Merriam-Webster, change is "to make different in some particular fashion; to give a different position, course, or direction to; to replace with another; to make a shift from one to another; to exchange for an equivalent sum or comparable item; to undergo a modification of." Management is defined as the "act or art of managing; the conducting or supervising of something (as a business); judicious use of means to accomplish an end; the collective body of those who manage or direct an enterprise." (Merriam-Webster) These things all happened at Continental Airlines beginning in 1995 under the direction of Gordon Bethune. Gordon, as he is known to all of his employees from the second in command down to the newest ramp agent, is a leader who is about his people and his product. He is a feisty, plain-speaking man who fought for the position as Chief Executive Officer. After ten leaders in ten years, the Board of Co ntinental had only wanted someone to be a figurehead for the company. They were not looking for a "leader;" they had had ten of those already. The Board simply wanted someone to "take over." So, they let Gordon take over for the next ten days until the next board meeting; at that point, he would have a chance to address the Board and some decision would be made. What a timeline; what stress. Gordon knew the company needed dramatic change in every conceivable way. His first step was an easy one; he stuck a wedge under the once-locked, video camera monitored doors of the executive suite. This was the equivalent of hanging an "under new management" sign in the window of a restaurant. It was a start, as well as a testament to his style of management and to the culture he longed to see at Continental. Bethune spent the next ten days holed up with Greg Brenneman, then a consultant

Make Your Own Solid Perfume With This Recipe

Make Your Own Solid Perfume With This Recipe Solid perfume is easy to make, plus its practical and it wont spill. It doesnt contain alcohol, which makes this a good perfume project for people who dont want the additive in their perfume. Solid Perfume Ingredients You can find beeswax and oils at most health food stores or craft stores. 1 tablespoon beeswax or petroleum jelly1 tablespoon jojoba oil or sweet almond oil8-15 drops essential oil (fragrance oils used for making perfume)Â  Small clean container (1/2 ounce) to hold your solid perfume If you dont want to purchase a new container for your perfume, look for lip balm tins. Lipstick or Chapstick containers also work well. Make Solid Perfume Melt together the wax or petroleum jelly with the jojoba or sweet almond oil. You can either microwave the ingredients for a few seconds in a microwave-safe container or else you can heat the mixture over a double-boiler.Once this mixture has liquefied, remove it from heat. Stir in the essential oils. You can use a toothpick, straw or even a spoon. Expect your perfume to coat the stirrer, so either use something disposable or else something you can wash (i.e., dont use a wooden spoon, unless you want it to smell pretty forever).Pour the liquid into your final container. Set the lid on top of the container, but leave it ajar. This will help prevent condensation inside your container while minimizing the chance of microbial contamination of the product.Apply the perfume by rubbing a finger on the product to liquefy it, then rub your finger on the area you want to be scented.

Leadership and management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Leadership and management - Assignment Example The leadership skills within the organization was very poor which resulted in arise of various issues. There have been various changes taking place in the HR Management as well as the learning and development functions in the HR Department. As the Learning and development manager of the Hospital Trust, I have been asked to prepare a draft report for the HR Director. The report would reflect the changes that have been proposed followed by the impact of the existing culture, hierarchical structure and power of the doctors on the proposed changes. A set of recommendations would also be provided in order to reduce the impact of the above mentioned factors on the proposed changes. ... Moreover the leadership skill in the top management level was poor. Proposed Changes The new CEO of the trust has decided to start a process of radical transformation which would make the trust outward looking by means of high levels of employee engagement and external and internal customer service. The streamlining of the Human Resource management & Development is taking place by using various assessment centres in order to determine the suitability of these new roles within the organization. This required recruitment of new staffs because the existing managers failed to get back their positions in the downsized trust. The HR Department of the Trust was also organized with eight HR professionals among whom four were new in the Trust. The Hr Director was expecting that this time they could provide quality service to the external organizations as well as the internal customers. The learning & development programs within the organization were also being changed. Impact of the Hierarchi cal Structure on the Proposed Change Process The hospital trust has bureaucratic hierarchy which resulted in the poor management process within the organization. According to Ashkanasy, Wilderom and Peterson (2011) the bureaucratic hierarchy has discouraged the innovation and creativity within the organization. Under bureaucratic hierarchy, the Trust faced rigid controls. In such case it is very likely that the organization will find it difficult in adapting to the change process taking place. Thus it will provide resistance to the change process and can make the process slow and time consuming. This would de-motivate the employees and provide stronger resistance to the change. Impact of the present culture on the Proposed Change Process The culture of