Sunday, May 17, 2020

Singapore Airlines An Organizations Vision, Culture,...

This thread will examine and discuss Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) will be four-fold. The first section will discuss SIA’s eight ingredients of success - in light the organization’s vision, culture, and value of customer service, which have made SIA into an organization of global renowned and continuous change. After the eight elements have been dissected and investigated, the excesses aggression to vulnerabilities will be addressed. The second section will also provide examples and rationales of the difficulties SIA faces in maintaining both its leadership and culture continual improves. The forth section will discuss practices and principles which will enable other world class organizations to implement improvement and continuous change processes. SIA Ingredients of Success In today’s competitive environment Singapore Airlines (SIA) has consistently displayed excellence within the ever-changing field of service aviation. SIA’s success can be attributed to their eight principles or ingredients, which have served as evolutionary catalysts of continuous change within the organization (Jick, Peiperl, 2011). The eight elements address differing sections and aspects of organizational life, but all of the elements have one common theme - they promote the creation and cultivation of innovation by constantly seeking a new level and higher standard of organizational and individual performance (2011). The first major ingredient of success is the organization’s â€Å"policy for steadyShow MoreRelatedAsian Cultures And American Cultures Essay2452 Words   |  10 PagesCulture: Earth is bigger than what most people think; it consists of 7 continents, 7 seas, and 196 different countries. Taking that into consideration, our earth currently is supporting over 7 billion people worldwide. That is 7 billion people who are different and individuals who share different thoughts, ideas, backgrounds, and cultures. Cultures are very unique as they are different from country to country. Some adopt cultures that society accept as the norm, while others adopt different typesRead MoreAsian Cultures And American Cultures Essay2460 Words   |  10 Pagesbackgrounds, and cultures. Cultures are very unique as they are different from country to country. Some adopt cultures that society accepts as the norm, while others adopt different types of cultures; cultures that not many people, especially those outside of the country, can see eye to eye and would sometimes find them rather ‘extreme’. When comparing Asian cultures and American cultures side by side, we can easily identify the many differences between the two. For one, Asian cultures are less openRead MoreManagement and Leadership Paper1591 Words   |  7 PagesManagement and Leadership Paper Charles Lee University of Phoenix United Airlines presently manages nearly 3,000 flights daily on United, and United Express. This includes more than 200 domestic and international flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Denver. United is recognized as one of the largest international airlines in the United States, enjoying global air rights in the Asia-Pacific area, in Europe, and in Latin America (United Air Lines, 2009). United’sRead MoreHrm in Aviation10615 Words   |  43 Pages Concordia University, Canada Abstract The civil aviation is an extremely competitive, safety-sensitive, high technology service industry. People, employees and customers, not products and machines per se, must be the arena of an organization’s core competence. The implications are vast and pervasive affecting no less than the organization’s structure, strategy, culture, and numerous operational activities. Human resource management (HRM), the management of people within the internal environmentRead MoreMarketing and Qantas2726 Words   |  11 PagesQueensland in 1920, being the second oldest airlines of the world. Today, the airways provide flight services across a network of 182 destinations in 44 countries covering all over the world with approximately 35,700 employees with 93 per cent of them based within Australia. The Qantas group also offers subsidiary businesses such as budget airlines, Jetstar, and other businesses in specialist services: Qantas Catering and Qantas Holidays (Qantas, 2010). â€Å"Our vision is to be one of Australia’s great businessesRead MoreChange Management in British Airways Essays2860 Words   |  12 PagesINTRODUCTION British Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. It has grown by its own leadership qualities and unique culture. Bob Ayling, Chief Executive implemented changes in the organization without getting support from its employees. He thought a change is necessary, even when BA was making record profit, because in the long run some decision has to be made. On one side he tried to raise staff morale by reinventing training programmes and by building a hotel at HeathrowRead MoreManagement Leadership Paper - United Airlines1954 Words   |  8 PagesManagement and Leadership Paper United Airlines United Airlines currently operates nearly 3,000 flights per day on United, as well as United Express. This amounts to more than 200 domestic and international destinations from hubs in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and Denver. United is known as one of the largest international airlines that is based in the United States, with global air rights in the Asia-Pacific area, in Europe, and in Latin America. (United Air LinesRead MoreAirasia Analysis4375 Words   |  18 Pagesevaluate the organization’s responses †¢ In relation to technological change, analyze how it influences policies and decision making, critically evaluate the effectiveness of the organization and recommend areas for improvement in response for the organization. The company has been analyzed using the aforementioned procedures and tools; and conclusions and recommendations have been reached from these tools. 3. Background to AirAsia 3.1. Organization Definition A ‘no-frills’ airline is defined asRead MoreAirasia Analysis4362 Words   |  18 Pagesand evaluate the organization’s responses †¢ In relation to technological change, analyze how it influences policies and decision making, critically evaluate the effectiveness of the organization and recommend areas for improvement in response for the organization. The company has been analyzed using the aforementioned procedures and tools; and conclusions and recommendations have been reached from these tools. 3. Background to AirAsia 3.1. Organization Definition A ‘no-frills’ airline is defined asRead MoreQantas Market Analysis2589 Words   |  11 PagesTable of Contents Introduction: Error! Bookmark not defined. Background 2 Business description Error! Bookmark not defined. Vision 2 Swot Analysis........................................................................................................................... Strength.......................................................................................................................... Weakness..........................................................

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

My Relationship With Family Reunions Essay - 1714 Words

I was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with very few sets of family members that lived close enough to visit. However, I was aware that my family was sizable and I had the opportunity to see a handful of them when we would visit Buff Bay, Jamaica for family reunions. Hundreds of us would gather from all over the world to enjoy each other’s company for the time we could spend together. My family attended these reunions every two years until I was in fourth grade. As my mom transitioned to a new job, it was clear we did not have the finances to attend again. I appreciate those family reunions now more than ever, as I know they gave me a respect for community and relationships. It is interesting how my family could spend two years away from each other, but one event could bring them together and they were able to pick back up right where they left off. My absence from the reunions caused me to give a greater priority to my relationship with my cousins who lived nearby, and I cherished our relationship because it seemed more permanent. I was recently reminded how temporary it could be as my cousin was diagnosed with cancer during my sophomore year of college, but thankfully he is in remission and we hope that he will remain in good health. I have also been blessed with the opportunity to provide medical care to Buff Bay, Jamaica during my collegiate years, and I could not be more grateful. The CAMEO team is led by Dr. Keen, who was a close friend of my mom when sheShow MoreRelatedAmerican Traditions: The Reunion Essay1435 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican traditions, how they are established and preserved. Specifically, I discuss traditional gatherings known as family, class, and school reunions and review ways in which they are augmented by social networks. I remind the reader of the role reunions play in the perpetuation of memorie s and transference of collective knowledge. It is believed that attendance at family reunions had dwindled in the 90’s but is experiencing resurgence (Baxter, 2005); this is due in part, I believe, to social networkRead MoreA Family Reunion: Personal Narrative941 Words   |  4 PagesHead: A Family Reunion A Family Reunion Introduction The topic selected for narrative essay is family reunion. The paper will highlight the prewriting strategies in the first paragraph and the narrative essay will be given in the second paragraph. In order to compose the essay, free writing style strategy will be adopted. This strategy is used to think about the main events in relation to the certain event of family gathering. Main and random points in relation to the event of family gatheringRead MoreThe Last Game vs. Reunion Contrast Essay1411 Words   |  6 PagesThe Last Game And Reunion Stories of Contrast What is a father? A father is someone who is more than just a person who created you. A father is a person who should be a mentor to you and helps guide you through life. What isnt a father is one who simply puts their children aside to live their own lives and have no part in their childrens life and growth. The stories I will be contrasting are The Last Game, by Jan Weiner and Reunion, by John Cheever. My first reason of contrastRead MoreHow Social Media Helps Maintain And Grow Friendships1091 Words   |  5 PagesFrequent interaction helps maintain and grow friendships. However, the demands of a career and/or raising a family might leave little time for visiting with friends. A change in geography (for such reasons as health, career, or school) might result in excessive time passing between get-togethers. Social media helps maintain the bonds of a relationship by facilitating communication and can establish new friendships. Circumstances can prevent face-to-face interactions. Waiting until we see someoneRead MoreLiterary Analysis : A Literary Analysis Of Essay1749 Words   |  7 Pagesit than a father and son relationship. Although it’s a different type of bond of friendship that you can ever have with anyone else; that helps you shape into the person that you are or becoming to be and you’ll never have to look up to anyone else but him. Although they’re some poor father and son relationships in our society that can affect anyone’s emotional heath, which can lead onto a major lead factor into their growth throughout the teenage years and so on. One of my favorite singers of allRead MoreFather Son Relationship in Reunion Essay809 Words   |  4 PagesFather-Son Relationship in Reunion As children we look up to our parents as role models, it is universal that we have the need to have them in our lives, to feel loved by them. They are the people who should be responsible for our upbringing and in molding the way we are to be as adults. The role of a parent is not just providing food and shelter but also providing a good example. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. There are parents who for one reason or another are not there forRead MoreFamily And Family Development Perspectives Essay749 Words   |  3 PagesEnduring Families Over the past few decades the rapidly growing trend has been a debate between whether families are declining or enduring. In my opinion families are enduring through massive changes they go through based on influences such as ecological and family development perspectives. The interactions between the nuclear family and the extended family have grown over the years. Most people that I know, their families have â€Å"family reunions† in order to re connect with distant loved ones andRead MoreMy First Family Reunion - Original Writing853 Words   |  4 Pagesperfect family photo, they imagine a family with fancy clothing, a bright sunny day, green grass and faces that have been enhanced. When my family takes photos they are not quite that picture perfect family that’s advertise but a family that goes deeper than perfection. I come from a fairly large family with five sisters, one brother and that includes my parents four grandchildren and one son-in-law. My sisters are in the middle row off to the left side, my brothers hand is wrapped around my motherRead MoreSinking Cost Effect On Life1260 Words   |  6 Pagesdecision is based on future costs and benefits alone. It is an investment that has already been made and cannot be recovered. Therefore, it is the hard money we made and paid for to risk the chances of enjoying it or not. I paid $350 to go on a family reunion in Norfolk, Virginia. When we got on the bus early that morning, and fell all sleep quickly as we began to ride. Our first stop at the convenient store turned into a disaster. We found out that the AC on the bus was not working, and was forcedRead MoreMy Life From The Age Of Five Essay1285 Words   |  6 PagesReflection When I reflect on my life from birth to the age of five, I have very different memories and experiences than most. I would say almost all of the students in this class reflect upon a happy childhood, which wasn’t the case for me. My mother was an alcoholic and my father was an alcoholic and drug user. I am very glad that I don’t remember everything that happened, but I do remember some pretty key moments in my life. The first thing that I remember was my brother and I being left unattended

Performance Analysis and Simulations Performances Decision Making

Question: Describe about the Performance Analysis and Simulations for Performances Decision Making. Answer: Overview of Report This report examines Erie, a sensor manufacturing companys performance and decision-making. It includes the core objective of the company to become a market leader by applying cost effective production system and providing good quality products to its customers. This report also includes how well the company deals with its customers, competitors and market trends. The company deals with its customer on the buying criteria of different products. This shows that company deals with its customers in an effective way as it has divided product segments as per customer needs. Thus, the company offers seven products, namely, Eat, Ebb, Echo, Edge, Egg, Eqi, and Expres under five categories, viz. traditional, low-end, high-end, performance and size, respectively. On the other hand, Company also deals with its competitors in a successful way because the market share of Erie is highest among its competitors in all rounds. Erie is effective in dealing with market trends that helps to grab more op portunities for growth in the future. Moreover, this report includes identifying the degree of success that company had in achieving its stated goals. The degree of success depends on various factors including share holders value, sales, profit, and market share. These factors are effective indicators of better performance and prospects of the company. All the factors reflect the success of company in achieving its goals throughout all the rounds. Furthermore, this report includes analysis about business-decisions that have been taken as manager for achieving the goals of company. If decisions are taken in an effective manner, then it leads to increase in productivity and profitability for the organization. Therefore, this report effectively highlights the performance of different departments which helps to identify that which decisions were good and which were poor. Effective customer awareness and customer accessibility of Erie as compared to its competitors shows that the marketing decisions of company were successful. This leads to increase in sales and profitability of the company. Moreover, the financing decisions of company were identified as poor because of ineffective utilization of shareholders money and assets of the company. But in respect of providing dividend to its shareholders, financial decisions play an effective role. This report also includes effectiveness of company in taking production related decisions which are helpful in increasing profitability of the company which is reflected from reduction in direct costs throughout all the rounds. Apart from marketing, finance and production department, this report also highlights the importance of TQM and RD. Both of these factors are important for increasing profitability and maintaining sustainability of the business by increasing quality and efficiency in availability of the products to its customers. In addition to this, Eries investment in RD and TQM helps to create log-term benefits for the company which is reflected in all the rounds. Analysis of Companys Performance Company Goal Erie is a sensor manufacturing company that manufactures sensor devices for cameras, biometric devices and labs-on-a-chip. The goal of this company is to become a market leader. It wants to maximize the profit using cost effective production system and provide highest quality product to the customers. The company wants to create a strategy to analyze the market and to coordinate activities. Strategy The company uses differentiation strategy, wherein it manufactures 7 different products to meet the requirements of different category of customers. Under this strategy, company differentiates its brand from others. It seeks to make the product more attractive by its unique qualities as compare to other products of the competitors (Ferrell Hartline 2010). This strategy can provide some entry barriers to competitors as a result of the loyalty of customers. Successful product differentiation can provide a competitive advantage to the seller. Company performance Customers: Throughout all rounds, overall performance of the company is good. Firstly, company analyzed the customers of the company based on different criteria like price, needs, performance, size, and many more. Company dealt with the customers according to the buying criteria of customer for different product. Eries products have been divided according to the different segments such as traditional, low end, high end, performance and size. For example- each segment customers has different price expectation like low end segment customers try to find reasonably priced product. However, high end segment customers, who need best product, are willing to pay high price for product. Moreover, each segment has different age expectations, which is length of time. Traditional segment customers prefer technology that has been in the market for few years while high end customers want brand new technology. MTBF (mean time before failure) of a product predicts number of hours that a product is expected to operated before it fails (Smith 2011). Performance segments customer are interested in better MTBF while low end customers are satisfied with low MTBF. In addition to this, combination of size and performance segment is called positioning. From the above discussion, it has been analyzed that company deals with the customers in an effective way, because company divided its products according to the need of customers. Competitors: Throughout the rounds, Eries competitors have been described according to the market share of the company. There were 6 companies in sensor market including Erie. Throughout the all rounds market share of the company was more as compared to its competitors. Company was always a market leader over the rounds. Hence, the company fulfilled its objective. Moreover, it can be said that company deal with its competitors in a successful way. Market trend: To take decision that how well or not Erie dealt with the market trend, it can be decided through the analysis of dividend paid by company to the share holders. In the round 1 company paid divided of $1.00 that is lower than its competitors. But over the round 2 to round 8, dividend paid by Erie was $3.00 to $20.00 which more than its competitors (Appendices 4). Market trend analysis helped the company for the identification of opportunities. Degree of success: Firstly, Erie had to determine its goals and objectives to determine its degree of success. Company wanted to become the market leader and maximized its profits. On the other hand, company was provided highest quality product to the customers with the effective production system. For achieving these goals different factors such as share holders value, sales, profit, and market share has been considered, which determined the degree of success of the company. Sales: To determine the degree of success, sales of the company plays crucial role for achieving its goals. Companys sales were directly affected by the demand of the product. Demand of the product depended upon the awareness and accessibility of the customer for different segment products. Over the rounds, accessibility and awareness for Eries product by the customer is effective. That means product was easily available to customer nearby their area so the sales between the round 1($165,269,201) to round 8 ($353,245,256) was increasing (Appendices 2). Figure: 1 Profit: Profit plays an important role to determine the success of the company. Throughout the rounds, company achieved maximum profit. Over the 6 rounds, profit of the company was continuously increasing but after the round 6, profit of the company was marginally reduced from $41,577,712 to $34,054,022, the reason behind this was direct cost (Appendices 3). Direct cost and profit directly related with each other. The cost of the company was increased in the round 7 and 8 so profit of the company has decreased. Although, profit of the company was reduced, the company was able to maintain its position as market leader. It can be said that company had successfully achieved its goal of profit maximization. Figure: 2 Market share: Market share of the company increased continuously that was helpful in achieving the goals of the company. Market share of the company has been determined according to sales and competitors. Generally, market share is calculated by measuring sales of the company. Over the round 1 to round 7, sales of the company were increasing so that market share was continuously increased from 23.37% to 25.06% (Appendices 1). Erie has good market share as compared to its competitors that means company became a market leader and it fulfilled its objective. Figure: 3 Shareholders value: Shareholders value is helpful in determining the success of the company. In this company there were different factors such as dividend, yield, and earnings per share that determine shareholders value. Dividend is known as total return of the investor on their investment. Dividend plays very important role in the creation of wealth. Over the round 1 to round 8, dividend paid by Erie was continuously increasing from $1.00 to $20.00 so that shareholder invested more in the company and it helped to maintain the market share (Appendices 4). In addition to this, earnings per share for Eries shareholder were increasing throughout the rounds from ($0.10) to $4.04 (Appendices 4). Earnings per share are a useful measure of the profitability, when it is compared with its competitors. It shows the management performance that how much money company was making for its shareholders. Over the rounds, EPS of this company has been increasing, which means market price of share has increased. This was helpful to analyse the earning capacity of company. On the other hand, higher EPS is the indicator of better performance and prospects of the company. This has helped in achieving the goals of the company. Furthermore, yield is another term to analysis the performance of company. High yield attracts the relative yield generating instrument so the investing habit of the shareholders will be increased. Over the round 1 to round 8, yield of the companys shareholder increased from 10.2% to 26.3%. It indicates the effective performance of the company. Yield was depended upon the profit of the company, if yield was increased that means company fulfilled his goals of profit maximization. Figure: 4 Important Factors of Company Performance TQM and RD were the major factors that have contributed in the performance of the company. TQM strategy focuses on the customer satisfaction, which has a positive impact on the performance of company (Roberts 2010). It refers to the quality improvement approach for improving the performance of overall company in terms of quality, productivity and customer satisfaction. TQM was implemented from the 1st round and its benefits were reaped by the company until round 8. In addition to this, material costs were reduced up to 11.40% over the 8 round. Demand of the product was increased from 3.01% to 14.09% between round 2 to round 8. Furthermore, there were some other factors in the company, which was reduced due to the implementation of TQM such as labor cost, RD cycle time and admin cost. RD refers to a tool for growing and improving the business. It involves the research of the customers and market need and new and improved technology products and services that fit the needs of these. In addition to this, if a company has the research and development strategy then it has a greater chance of success rather than its competitors (Shiu et al 2013). Erie was investing more in research and development strategy so the quality of product was increased throughout the all rounds. This research was helpful to find the needs of customers. The RD department of the company re-invented existing products for better performance and reducing their costs. With the help of RD strategy, the MTBF (mean time before failure) of the companys products has increased and it is also affected by the cost of material and automation level of the company. Evaluation of Decision-Making During the rounds, the manager was required to take various decisions that can effectively lead to growth and profitability of that company. In addition to this, taking appropriate decisions can lead to enhancement of quality and productivity in the organization. Therefore, decisions related to marketing, finance, production, human resource, total quality management, and research and development were taken. From the analysis of all rounds, it was identified that the marketing decisions that were taken for the company were appropriate as they effectively contributed for the success and growth of the company. It was analyzed that company was effective in creating customer awareness over the years and it was increasing from round 1 (2017) to round 8 (2024). On the other hand, customer accessibility was also increasing over the years (rounds) which help to maintain greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. This shows that, the marketing strategies, which were applied, proved successful for the company. Moreover, it was also identified that, the manager has made effective prediction of customer demand that is reflected from the customer survey data, which was far better than that of companys competitors. Apart from this, it was also identified that financial decisions of Erie were poor in context of ROE. ROE indicates that how a company generates more profits without utilizing outsiders funds. It also leads to value creation for the company (Pratt 2010). In the first round, the companys ROE was -0.4%. However, initially the company was functioning better as it was generating good ROE from round 2 (11.8%) to round 5 (20.6%), but, from round 6 (17.3%) to round 8 (9.5%), the ROE of the company started to fall. This indicates that the company was unable to utilize its shareholders funds in an efficient way in some years, which led to decline in ROE. In addition to this, it was analyzed that the investment decision of company was weak because assets were not efficiently utilized to generate sales. This was reflected from the decreasing asset turnover of Erie from round 2 to round 8. Asset turnover reflects the decision-making efficiency of companys management in utilizing its assets to ge nerate sales. The various decisions that were taken play a crucial role in long-term success of the company. The marketing decisions which were taken proved effective in creating greater customer awareness, accessibility and loyalty, which is necessary for any business organisation. On the other hand, financial decisions were not too appropriate due to ineffective use of shareholders capital. Moreover, great efforts have been made to improve production related decisions of company, which lead to creation of profitable position for the company. Afterwards, it was identified that production related decisions of company has improved over the years, which was reflected from the companys increased profits and highest market share among its competitors. The profit were affected due fluctuating direct cost over the years, which was a result of ineffective production related decision-making during initial rounds. However, after few rounds, this aspect of decision-making improved, thereby allowing reduction in cost that successfully increased the revenue of the company. This also shows that, company has made optimum utilization of resources effectively. In addition to this, effective financing decisions led to improved profitability of company as compared to its competitors. This in turn allowed company to make effective payment of dividend to shareholders and investors. Company has paid dividend on regular basis but the dividend that was paid in round 1 (2017) was comparatively less due to unavailability of sufficient profit but a fterward the dividend payment rate was increased over all the rounds. Learning The most important learning from this activity was that effective management of activities is required in all departments to become an effective market leader. In addition to this, coordination between all departments is necessary for increasing productivity and profitability of the organization. It helped in understanding that all departments of organisation are equally important for achievement of organisational goals. Thus, effective management of production processes is necessary for effective utilization of resources that leads to decreased cost and increased profitability of the company. This further helps in increasing the efficiency of financial and human resource decisions of the company. Moreover, effective marketing department helps to create better customer awareness and customer accessibility, which ultimately leads to increased sales of company. Individual learning after completion of this activity relates to creation and effective implementation of business strategy that leads to growth and profitability of the company. A sound strategic planning enables to hold a degree of control and supervision on the activities, which are necessary to become successful. It helped in application of theories and knowledge to effectively coordinate companys activities, analyze market conditions and competitive products of company and those offered by competitors. It promoted an understanding of the fact that good strategic planning aid in taking right decisions and achieving desired goals. Moreover, in order to perform at higher levels, strategic planning process allows putting business challenges into perspectives along with minimizing risks. Other important factors in decision-making Apart from marketing, finance, production and HR department the RD and TQM department were important factors that influenced decision-making. RD plays an important role for the success of a business and it also effectively contributes to the sustainability of business. Erie has made investments in RD that promotes creativity and innovation in the organization (Dachs et al 2014). Additionally, it also leads to creation of competitive edge of Erie over its competitors. Effective RD decisions were helpful for Erie to develop products to meet technological needs of its customers. As a result, Erie was able to introduce two new products, namely Eqi in high segment in round 4 and Expres in performance segment in round 5. Moreover, TQM is important management tool that is used to enhance quality and productivity that effectively leads to creation of profitability and competitiveness of organizations (Spenley 2012). Therefore, investment made in TQM proved fruitful for the company. This created various benefits for the company like increased demand as compared to its competitors, along with reduction in material cost, labour cost and administration cost. Additionally, TQM led to creation of long-term benefits for an organization. This was reflected through the companys data that even if company had stopped investing in TQM from round 5, the benefits that Erie has attained were much higher than its competitors. References Dachs, B Strehrer, R Zahradnik, G 2014 The Internationalisation of Business RD. UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Ferrell, O, Hartline, M 2010, Marketing Strategy, Cengage Learning, US. Pratt, J. 2010 Financial Accounting in an Economic Context. 8thedn. US: John Wiley Sons. Roberts, H 2010, Quality Is Personal: A Foundation For Total Quality Management, Simon and Schuster, US. Shiu, M, Jiang, C, Tu, H 2013, Quality Strategy for Research and Development, John Wiley Sons, US. Smith, J 2011, Reliability, Maintainability and Risk: Practical Methods for Engineers including Reliability Centred Maintenance and Safety-Related Systems, Elsevier, Netherlands. Spenley, P. 2012 World Class Performance Through Total Quality: A practical guide to implementation. Germany: Springer Science Business Media.