The ONLY goal of the corporation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The ONLY goal of the corporation - Research Paper Example This principle means to say in a nutshell that a company’s sole interest is to maximize profits. According to Milton Friedman, a company should not focus on issues of social responsibility, but should focus on the welfare of the shareholders, as well as its profits. When it tends to concentrate on improving the society in matters such as reducing inflation, it can lead to autocracy. The social responsibility of the business is to use its resources to maximize its profits so long as it does so within the set rules. Milton comes out strongly to oppose any move that would seem to spend the shareholders money in a way that is not in their interest. The reason for this is that the stockholder is not able to decide how the corporate executive spends his money, for which projects and the amount to spend for such projects. Even charitable activities that are not geared towards generating revenue should not be taken up. This view by Friedman suggests that an enterprise should only undertake a certain activity because it is good economically and not because ethics dictates so. Though this view has been criticized by many, it has been taken up by business

Enterprise business continuity and disaster recovery plan Essay

Enterprise business continuity and disaster recovery plan - Essay Example Disasters which shut down the mission of the company crucial applications for any given period of time have bad indirect and direct costs to the company and its performance make Mematech come up with a disaster recovery and business continuity plan essentials. The company’s Chief Information Offer will have an obligation in ensuring that the company’s continuing in that position of emergency. It is therefore, appropriate that the company comes up with steps to prepare before, during, and after the crisis takes place. These planning offers framework of interim mechanism to recover the services of IT after the system has been disrupted. Some of the interim measures that the company will take include; IT system and operations relocation, to an alternative site, and the recovery of functions connected to IT using alternative machines and equipment, executive agreement with entities that are outsourced. This is because Mematech have vulnerable system to various disruptions that range from the minor outages to severe disruptions that involve destruction of equipments from various sources like natural disasters or even terrorist actions. While various vulnerable may be reduces or removed through operational solutions, management solutions, and technical solutions as part of the company’s risk management effort. It is quite impossible to eliminate the risks completely. In various scenarios, crucial resources may dwell outside the company’s control like electric power or even telecommunicat ion). (Fong, 2001). The company might be unable to ensure that it is available. Therefore, effective and efficient recovery testing, planning, and execution are important to mitigate the system risks and unavailability of services. Accordingly, for the disaster recovery to be successful the Information officer of Mematech will ensure that the critical employee must comprehends the information technology disaster recovery and business continuity planning

Learning Organisation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Learning Organisation - Case Study Example In addition to other initiatives, each employee was given '100 towards any (approved) learning of their own choice - inside or outside the organization. Such learning could incorporate ballroom dancing, driving lessons, flower arranging or whatever. This was viewed as being proof of commitment but also as a means of generating "the learning habit". All learning is registered (on a central database) and rewarded (not in financial terms). Employees are given some time within working time to use the open learning centres - but more learning occurs in the employees' own time. Employees are reinvigorated both in terms of evaluating their own learning and in terms of their work -employees on the production line have a "right" to stop the line - at large cost - if they feel something is wrong. Evidence suggests that whenever, as in this case, employees feel cherished they respond accordingly. There is no headstrong stopping of the line. Clearly, this all sounds very simple and naive. Change is never easy - and cultural and attitudinal change is the toughest of all. In the Rover case, the main people were a small number of "change agents" -people with the skills of interviewing, counselling, coaching and convincing - whose role was not to establish the nature of change but to make it happen. They are required at various levels to act as catalysts, sounding boards, motivators, and sources of feedback, monitoring and control. If you can recognize suitable change agents, you are half way to success. They don't have to be people in the line structure - it is possible to ascertain practises which allow them to work outside of the line structure using the "authority" of an overall, senior co-ordinator. Critiques of the Learning Organisation Concept In spite of the extensive interest in the notion of the "learning organisation" as is shown by the proliferation of research literature as well as popular books, it is a difficult concept and, indeed, a contested one (see, in particular, the critiques of Brown and Keep (2003) and Fischer (2003), who provided source material for the Cedra learning organisation project). There is censure among many sociologists and researchers in adult and community education but also in the occupational education and training (VET) community, for example in Germany (Fischer, 2003). They see the idea of the learning organisation as being seated in a normative or prescriptive business-school management concept that is founded on pitiless American/Anglo-Saxon economic principles of organisational effectiveness. They disapprove of the use of sophisticated cultural and psychological theories by modern management to maximise benefits for the company without paying a big deal of attention to ensuring personal learning benefits for employees or workers. This analysis is reinvigorated by a feeling of being disappointed by the non-fulfilment of the hopeful forecasts in the 1980s regarding the emergence of more human-centred workplaces in the post-Tayloristic period that would improve the quality of working life for everybody (see

Development of Aircraft Maintenance Programme

Development of Aircraft Maintenance Programme 1.0 Introduction. The aircraft maintenance scheduling process is very detailed and encompasses the inputs of various departments of an airline. The maintenance programme needs to be efficient and cost effective. To establish a good maintenance programme there needs to be a liaison with the marketing, flight operations, engineering and finance departments so that the regulatory requirements of the airworthiness of the aircraft can be maintained. The objective of this paper is to produce a cost effective and efficient maintenance programme for KalAir. This will be based on one aircraft type operating on the domestic route and another aircraft type operating on the regional/international routes. The study will cover A 10 year maintenance plan. A suitable type of maintenance programme. In-house or outsourcing decisions. Type of skills required and the number of staff The aircraft chosen to operate the domestic route will be the ATR 72-500. The aircraft has the capability to use a propeller brake hence there is no need for an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) when the aircraft is on ground. This will save weight on the aircraft and there will be less component maintenance costs and less spares will be required. The ATR 72 powered by the PW127F engines provides outstanding short field performance even on difficult hot and high airfields and this will be very useful for KalAir as most of its domestic destinations have short fields which are both hot and high. The A318 aircraft is chosen for the regional/international routes because fewer aircraft is required in the first 5 years compared to the E190 and this would save KalAir some money with its upfront capital outlay. Also similar type of aircraft in the A320 family is used in the region, hence more maintenance options and expertise will be available and higher spares availability can be achieved through spares pooling. 2.0 Purpose of Maintenance Maintenance is defined as ‘the action necessary to sustain or restore the integrity and performance of the airplane (Hessburg 2001). This will be achieved by carrying out the necessary inspections, repair, overhaul and the replacement of parts. Maintenance processes can be divided into three different categories namely hard time, on condition and condition monitoring. The hard time process requires the item to be removed and overhauled or discarded before exceeding a set time interval. This time interval can be based on calendar time, flight hours, flight cycles or at check intervals. The on condition process is where the item will be checked and tested periodically to see whether it meets the test standards and deterioration limits before deciding to replace the item. The condition monitoring process can either be a failure based or a predictive maintenance process if there is a trend analysis of the failure rates recorded. Generally condition monitoring components are usually operated until failure occurs and replaced as an unscheduled maintenance item until enough operator and industry experience is built. Maintenance is carried out on aircraft to ensure the aircraft can operate safely at all times. Maintenance is in place to ensure there is aircraft availability at all times to keep the fleet in service. If an aircraft is taken out of service the whole flight schedule will be disrupted and passengers need to be put on alternate carriers or be provided with accommodation to cope with the delay. The airline has to maximise the value of the aircraft by keeping the airframe, engine and components in good working condition by carrying out effective maintenance. Provision has to be made for chance failures like tyre bursts, hard landings and also for deterioration due to the environment and age which might cause corrosion problems, fatigue failure and wear and tear. 2.1 Types of maintenance checks Pre-flight checks are usually done before the first flight of the day and transit checks are carried out when the aircraft is on ground at its destination before the next take-off. These are cursory inspections of the aircraft to look for obvious damage, fluid leaks, and loose panels and to also ensure that oil levels are correct. The letter checks start of with the A check where it involves the opening of some access panels to conduct checks and servicing. Some special equipment will be required to carry out some of the checks like engine boroscope inspections. The C check is a detailed inspection of individual systems and components for functionality and serviceability like flight controls and engine inspections. In this phase of check extensive inspections will be carried out to check for fatigue failure and corrosion. As this check requires a hangar visit for about five to fifteen days this opportunity will be used to clear deferred defects and carry out the embodiment of service bulletins and airworthiness directives. The D check is an extensive structural check of the aircraft where both visual and non destructive test inspections are carried out to check for deformation, corrosion and cracking. As structural checks require a lot of disassembly to gain access for inspection it is very labour intensive and takes about twenty to thirty days on average. Table 1 is an example of the block maintenance and intervals for the different checks that will be used for the A318 aircraft in KalAirs fleet. Type Interval Downtime Main Purpose Daily 36h 2 to 3h General visual inspection (GVI) A Check 600 FH Overnight Servicing, Engine boroscope, GVI C Check 18 Mths 3 to 5 days Operational Check 1C/3C 2 days 2C 3 days 4C Check 5/6 Yrs 14 to 21 days Structural Inspection (Corrosion) 4C 5Y HMV 21 days 5Y only 14 days 8C Check 10/12 Yrs 24 to 51 days Structural Inspection (Corrosion+ fatigue) Table 1: A318 Block Maintenance Source: ATE Lecture notes 2008 Table 2 is an example of the block maintenance and intervals for the different checks that will be used for the ATR 72 aircraft in KalAirs fleet. Type Interval Downtime Main Purpose Daily 24h 2 to 3h Checks and zonal visual inspections A Check 500 FH Overnight Zonal visual inspections, lubrication, servicing and operational checks C Check 4000 FH 3 to 5 days Operational and functional checks on aircraft and powerplant systems Propeller Inspection 8000 FH 3 to 5 days (part of C check) Based on, on wing engine monitoring Structural Inspections 4C Check *2/4/8 Yrs 13 to 27 days Structural Inspection (Corrosion+ fatigue) * based on estimated 5.5FH daily utilisation Table 2: ATR 72 Block Maintenance Source: Adapted from ATE Lecture notes 2008 2.2 Maintenance Systems To carry out the maintenance on the KalAir fleet of aircraft there are two kinds of maintenance systems available. One is the pyramidal system where a set of jobs is planned for a particular interval and another set of jobs is added at the next multiple of this basic interval. The benefits of this system are that a fixed set of tasks are allocated and it can be completed within the time frame without much variation. However in this system the aircraft will be out of service for a long period of time and the workload for the maintenance staff will be subjected to cyclical variations leaving them idle at times till the next aircraft comes for maintenance. The other option available is a progressive or equalised maintenance system where large checks are broken down into smaller checks of equal size and carried out more frequently. The checks can be small enough to be carried out overnight and this will allow the workload for the maintenance personnel to be more constant. Therefore to me et KalAirs tight flight schedule and to maximise the workforce an equalised maintenance programme will be adopted. 3.0 In-house or outsourcing decisions The decision to conduct the maintenance in-house or to outsource the maintenance for KalAir that operates a fleet of three A318 aircraft in the first five years and four A318 aircraft in the next five years together with four ATR 72 aircraft for the whole ten year period is not an easy one. KalAir has not previous experience of operating either of these aircraft types and neither have they operated aircraft that were produced by these aircraft manufacturers. Moreover it would not make economic sense to acquire all the necessary tooling and equipment to maintain three A318 aircraft for the first five years. The capital investment to carry out heavy maintenance cannot be justified but, KalAir needs to ensure that it has adequate capability to handle line maintenance. As KalAir is operating in a region that is in close proximity to the Gulf and Indian sub-continent outsourcing the maintenance for the A318 aircraft would be the best solution. The heavy maintenance, engine overhaul and co mponent repair can be out sourced to maintenance organisations in India as there are about five airlines operating a total of about hundred A320 family aircraft (ATI). An alternative option of sending the A318 aircraft for maintenance in the Gulf is also available but the maintenance costs might not be as competitive as in India and the number of spares available in the Gulf region might be lower considering that less A320 family aircraft operate in that region. KalAir has some experience operating turboprop aircraft like the Antonov An 24 and Fokker F-27 and this experience can be credited towards carrying out maintenance on the ATR 72 aircraft. The systems architecture on turboprop aircraft that are western built and Russian built do not vary very much because of the use of more mechanical systems. Unlike western built modern jet aircraft which have a large amount of avionics introduced. Hence consideration can be made to carry out a larger portion of maintenance of the ATR 72 aircraft in-house. Also the hangar space required would not be very much and the equipment acquired to maintain the ATR 72 would not be a high investment compared to acquiring maintenance equipment for the A318 aircraft. Also the availability of the ATR 72 aircraft is very important as the airfields in the domestic sector are not very well developed and do not have navigation aids. Hence having in-house maintenance capability is quite important. KalAir can establish an in-house maintenance program together with a packaged deal where provisions for engine off wing maintenance, component and line replaceable units can be outsourced to the maintenance organisation in exchange for replacement parts thereby ensuring that the ATR 72 aircraft can carry on with its normal flying schedule as soon as possible with minimal down time. 4.0 Maintenance Engineering Organisation Structure The maintenance and engineering organisation structure of KalAir will be established according to the following areas covering these job responsibilities. The assumption here is based on the previous operating experience of KalAir and that there is already some maintenance capability with adequate hangar space. Technical Services Engineering, publications, planning and training (for both A318 ATR 72 fleet) Aircraft Maintenance Hangar Line (for both A318 ATR 72 fleet) Maintenance Control Centre (for both A318 ATR 72 fleet) Shop Maintenance Structures, mechanical and instrument (for ATR 72 fleet) Material Purchasing and receiving Stores and inventory Quality Quality Assurance Quality control Safety reliability The organisation has to be structured this way so as to ensure that it has maximum capability of handling the ATR 72 maintenance and the ability to handle an adequate amount of maintenance on the A318 so that it would not jeopardise the flight schedule. To ensure this KalAir will need to hold a large inventory of spares. This list of spares to be held will be based on the Minimum Equipment List of both the A318 and ATR 72 aircraft and also ‘AOG spares so that it would not render these aircraft on ground (AOG). Spare engines for both aircraft need to be kept by KalAir so that a Quick Engine Change (QEC) can be carried out and the aircraft replaced with a new engine. The engine that is removed can then be sent to the engine repair facility for repairs to be carried out. The materials planning needs to be done well in advance and the availability of spares and tooling needs to be ensured before the aircraft goes into the hangar for maintenance. 4.1 Manpower management As two aircraft types are operated by KalAir engineers will be type rated on both aircraft. Provisions will have to be made such that maintenance staff are trained to Part 66 standards with certification for Category A, B1, B2 and C for both the ATR 72 and A318 aircraft. KalAir needs to ensure that there is at least one staff with a Category C rating for the A318 and ATR 72 aircraft so that he can sign the certificate of release to service for these aircraft after the necessary maintenance. Though heavy maintenance of the A318 will not be carried out in-house the certification of staff at Category C level might be required for two purposes. One reason is if an AOG team is dispatched to recover an aircraft for a collapsed landing gear for example and the other is for ensuring the continuing airworthiness management of the aircraft during the airworthiness review. The line maintenance team will comprise of two groups of staff on duty one the ATR 72 team and the other the A318 team during the day. Each team will have three to four staff and one of whom will act as the team leader. KalAir will operate a three shift pattern operating twenty four hours. Table 3 shows the shift pattern and the manpower allocation. There is an overlap in the shifts so as to allow a proper handing and taking over between each shift. Shift Time A318 staff ATR staff Manpower 1 0630-1530 4 8 12 2 1500-2330 4 6 10 3 2300-0700 6 6 12 Table 3: Shift pattern and manpower Though maintenance staff will be cross trained on both aircraft types to meet manpower requirements for unexpected incidents a clear distinction between the two teams will be maintained during the normal operations. A higher provision for ATR staff is made for shift 1 because of the increased activity of aircraft at 1000hras and 1400hrs. A consistent number of staff will be maintained for the night shift as the work packages will not vary considerably, if it does the staff strength can be increased or overtime can be introduced. At the maintenance control centre two staff will be present during shift 1 and 2 as that is when all the flying activity takes place and the flight schedule needs to be maintained and the unexpected maintenance will be scheduled for the night shift. The line stations will be manned by Part 66 certified Category A staff to certify the aircraft after transit checks. 5.0 KalAir Maintenance Programme The KalAir flight schedule for an A318 and ATR 72 aircraft combination for year 1 and year 5 onwards is attached in Appendix 1. Based on this flight schedule the flight hours and the flight cycles can be calculated for both the fleets and is shown in Table 4. Year 1 to 4 Year 5 to 10 Aircraft Daily FH Daily Cycles Daily FH Daily Cycles A318 1 15 3 15 3 A318 2 15 3 15 3 A318 3 11.5 2 11.5 2 [A318 4] NA NA 8 2 A318 Average 14 3 12.5 3 ATR7 1 14.3 4 14.3 4 ATR7 2 14 5 14 5 ATR7 3 9.5 3 9.5 3 ATR7 4 3 1 10 3 ATR7 Average 10.5 4 12 4 Table 4: Aircraft cycles and flight hours The scheduling of the aircraft will be planned according to the average flight hours and cycles. Since the flight hours and cycles over time have been obtained, the calendar based and usage based inspections can be scheduled. The hard time maintenance intervals will be designed to be incorporated in the scheduled checks to allow for less down time. The aircraft that has the highest daily flight hours in each fleet will be the first in the sequence when the maintenance is planned. The maintenance schedule for the A318 aircraft will be based on the data available in Table 1 and the maintenance schedule for the ATR 72 will be based on the data in Table 2. The calculations for the A318 aircraft give about 7 A checks in a year. This can be scheduled such that an A check together with a split C check is done at a one and a half month interval carried out throughout the night over six days. Hence the C checks will be similar to a single task oriented maintenance concept except that it would be carried out over a longer time period with less aircraft visits. The 4C check and the 8C check come together with structural checks and heavy maintenance. For year 5 when the new A318 aircraft arrives it can be used as a replacement aircraft over the period of time when the existing A318 aircraft go through their heavy maintenance. A request for an earlier delivery for the A318 aircraft can be made so that the heavy maintenance can be carried out earlier. This will cause a delay in implementing the new flight schedule but it will definitely save KalAir the costs of leasing an aircraft in the interim and it will not disrupt the existing flight schedu le. The 8C check can be scheduled anytime after 10 years but as this will be a heavy maintenance combined with a C check it will take about 21 days. This will leave no alternative for KalAir but to schedule this heavy maintenance back to back for all the three older A318 aircraft after the newest A318 aircraft that came in year 5 completes its 4C check and heavy maintenance. For example A318 1 will undergo maintenance first because it has the highest utilisation, followed by A318 2 and so on from March to May during the period of heavy maintenance. The 4C checks will commence after receiving the fourth A318 aircraft if possible. The other aircraft will then be sent to a third party maintenance organisation for heavy maintenance. This 4C checks for the A318 will be scheduled from March to May of Year 5. This is to allow for stability of the flight schedule and the balance of work load for the maintenance staff as the ATR 72 fleet will return from their heavy maintenance beginning in October in Year 4 till January in Year 5. This is to give an allowance because it has been seen from past experience that when aircraft return from heavy maintenance there is an increased occurrence of maintenance snags. In Year 10 the 8C checks require restoration of main gear and can commence from March to May of Year 10 to synchronise all A318 heavy maintenance during this period. As this can be planned ahead provisions for a leased A318 can be made without being affected by the peak summer periods. If an A318 is unavailable KalAir can wet lease another type of aircraft that has similar capacity and operating capabilities. For the ATR 72 as the maintenance is planned to be carried out in-house. Based on a 500FH interval for an A check it works out to about one check in one and a half months. A C check will be at about a 15 month interval based on the flight hours of the flying schedule. It would not be productive for the ATR maintenance staff to remain idle between the inspection intervals hence the C1 and C3 checks in the first five years will be equalised before the first heavy maintenance in Year 4 which will allow it to be carried out in a shorter time. The C check intervals will be shortened such that each ATR 72 aircraft will undergo a check in a year. The maintenance will be scheduled such that the ATR7 1 has the highest utilisation will undergo maintenance first followed by ATR7 2 and so on. The heavy C checks for the ATR 72s will commence every year in October and last till January the following year. In the first five years it is possible to make a minor change to the flight schedule to free one aircraft so that the other aircraft can spend some time in the hangar for the heavy checks. Moreover this will last during the October to January time frame which is long enough for passengers not to be affected by the minor change in the flight schedule. With reference to the flight schedule in Appendix 1 the third ATR72, AT7 3 can operate to SUZ instead of TOZ at 1400hrs and operate another flight to TOZ departing for TOZ at 1800hrs as TOZ has capability to handle aircraft at night. This amendment to the flight schedule can be done during the October to January time period. From Year 6 onwards it would not be possible to use a block concept for the ATR 72 C checks because it would not be possible to take an aircraft out of the flight schedule. It would be possible to use a single task oriented maintenance concept for the C checks but the aircraft will still have to be out of service during the periods of heavy maintenance where structural inspections need to be carried out. For example the 8C check comprises structural inspections, landing gear replacements and propeller inspections which are huge job packages to be completed over a period of night stops. Hence it would be better to ground the aircraft to carry out this heavy maintenance and the necessary modifications and embodiment of Airworthiness Directives. During this period from October to January another ATR 72 aircraft can be leased to operate the schedule. It is also possible to operate an ATR 42 aircraft if an ATR 72 is unavailable because of the spare parts commonality and cross crew qualifi cation. The assumptions made in creating the maintenance schedule for the A318 and ATR 72 fleet of aircraft are. Aircraft maintenance is performed during the night at KKV The C checks for the ATR 72 from Year 1 to 4 will be performed during the day and night. The maintenance base is located within the vicinity of KKV airport. The heavy maintenance for the A318 is outsourced. The experienced gained on the first aircraft for the checks will allow maintenance staff to complete the same type of work on the other aircraft in a shorter time frame. The scheduled overhaul of engines and components with will be planned to synchronise with the scheduled checks. 5.1 Maintenance Costs The maintenance costs for the A318 and ATR 72 aircrafts are calculated and attached in Appendix 2A to 2D. The average flight hours and cycles from Table 3 are used to calculate the maintenance costs based on these utilisation rates. The assumptions made here are that the average distance travelled by the A318 aircraft is 1000nm and 200nm for the ATR 72, both the aircraft will depreciate to 30% of its original value after 12years and the cost of investment will include spares which amount to about 19% of the aircraft price. The annual maintenance costs for the A318 aircraft is about two million a year. From Year 5 the maintenance costs per aircraft is slightly less because an extra A318 has been acquired and the flight hours per aircraft are slightly lower giving rise to a lower cost per aircraft trip. The maintenance costs for the ATR 72 aircraft is about one million a year and it works out to about one thousand dollars per aircraft trip. The maintenance costs from Year 5 onwards has shown an increase because more flights are undertaken with the existing fleet of ATR 72 aircraft giving rise to a fifty cents increase per aircraft mile. 6.0 Issues to overcome There is a strong need to lease an aircraft for both the A318 and ATR 72 fleet when these aircraft undergo heavy maintenance. This is due to the high utilisation of the aircrafts in the normal flight schedule. There is a need to have an ‘AOG team and necessary spares inventory stationed at KKV in the event that an aircraft becomes stranded at one of the overseas stations. Supplementary work force can be employed from within the region or the Indian sub continent when the ATR 72s undergo heavy maintenance or the situation warrants it. If difficulties arise in carrying out the work in-house KalAir should establish strong relationships with maintenance organisations in India to outsource work as both the aircraft types operate in India and manpower will not be an issue. 7.0 Conclusion Due to its unique location and surroundings KalAir has to build up substantial maintenance capability. It can outsource maintenance work but has to hold sufficient inventory of spares to keep its fleet flying. KalAir cannot afford to have an ‘AOG and keep the aircraft on ground due to the unavailability of spares because of the very tight flight schedule it is operating. As all domestic traffic needs to be carried it also cannot afford to cancel flights and cannot remove aircraft from service to carry out maintenance. As the lessor requires that all aircraft return to base and no night flights can be conducted it gives a good opportunity to schedule all maintenance at night and clear all faults before the first flight the next day. Due to the constraints that KalAir faces it would be more prudent to lease aircrafts in the short term period when the A318 and ATR 72 aircraft undergo heavy maintenance to meet the flight schedule. References Clark, Paul. Buying the big jets: fleet planning for airlines. Ashgate Pub., 2007 Air Transport Intelligence Fleet Search http://www.rati.com/frameset/frameset_f.asp?target=../news/news.asp (accessed 3rd June 2008) Alfares, Hesham. K. Aircraft maintenance workforce scheduling. Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering 5(2), 1999 ATR aircraft website. http://www.atraircraft.com/public/atr/html/products/products.php?aid=506pid=28710 (accessed 3rd June 2008) Hessburg, Jack. Air carrier MRO handbook. New York : McGraw-Hill, 2001. Kinnison, Harry A. Aviation maintenance management. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. S.Yan et al. Airline short-term maintenance manpower supply planning. Transportation Research Part A (38), 2004 1.0 Introduction This paper will look into the regulatory requirements laid down by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisations and then the procedures that need to be taken for a commercial airline based in the EU to meet these requirements. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) was created on 28th September 2003 and endowed with the regulatory and executive tasks in civil aviation safety. EASA has jurisdiction over new aircraft type certificates, design related airworthiness approvals for aircraft, engines and parts. EASA has also developed regulations for air operations, flight crew licensing and has also established common technical requirements and administrative procedures for ensuring the continuing airworthiness of aircraft. European Commission Regulation 1702/2003 of 24th September 2003 is on the airworthiness and environmental certification of aircraft and related products, parts and appliances, as well as for the certification of design and production organisations. European Commission Regulation 2042/2003 of 20th November 2003 is on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks. Annex I of EC 2042/2003 is on Part M Continuing Airworthiness, which lays down the measures to be taken to ensure that maintenance and airworthiness is maintained. It also specifies the conditions to be met by the persons and organisations involved in continuing airworthiness management (De Florio 2006). Annex II of EC 2042/2003 is on Part 145 Maintenance Organisation Approval, this establishes the requirements to be met by a maintenance organisation to qualify for the issue or continuation of an approval for the maintenance of aircraft and components (De Florio 2006). Annex III of EC 2042/2003 is on Part 66 Certifying Staff, this establ

The Neurologist :: Neurology Brain Medical Essays

The Neurologist Language is a vital part of both verbal and non-verbal communication. Each of us uses language everyday in a variety of ways. When our language skills are in jeopardy, it can affect our entire lives. The consequences of a loss of language can be more restricting then that of loss of sight or hearing. Communication is a matter of survival and independence, without it ones life will change drastically. There is almost complete agreement that there are four main language areas in the left cerebral hemisphere of most people. Two of these areas are considered receptive while the other two carry out the actual task. These two receptive areas take on very different tasks, one involving the perception of written language and the other of spoken language. The area that helps to regulate written language is located in the angular gyrus, while the other occupies the Heschl’s gyri. Although language and speech are usually considered synonymous functions, this is not the case in all aspects of their roles. Unlike an impairment of speech, language impairment always occurs due to an abnormality of the cerebral hemisphere. Speech on the other hand may be effected by the same sort of abnormality but it also can be effected by damage to other parts of the brain. Loss of communication and language can be a result of damage to the temporal lobe of the brain. The type of language loss is dependent of what specific area of the temporal lobe has been damaged. Possible types of damage to the brain can be a lesion or a tumor. It is the job of the neurologist to locate the area of damage and to assess the level of impairment. Neurologist use a variety of test to asses the possible damage to the brain or spinal cord including CAT scans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and a wide variety of functional, skill assessments. One of the most popular verbal memory assessments used in the field is the Wechsler Memory Scale, the most recently revised version has been a useful tool for neurologist to determine severity and location of the temporal damage. One of the first signs of a lesion to the temporal lobe is The Neurologist :: Neurology Brain Medical Essays The Neurologist Language is a vital part of both verbal and non-verbal communication. Each of us uses language everyday in a variety of ways. When our language skills are in jeopardy, it can affect our entire lives. The consequences of a loss of language can be more restricting then that of loss of sight or hearing. Communication is a matter of survival and independence, without it ones life will change drastically. There is almost complete agreement that there are four main language areas in the left cerebral hemisphere of most people. Two of these areas are considered receptive while the other two carry out the actual task. These two receptive areas take on very different tasks, one involving the perception of written language and the other of spoken language. The area that helps to regulate written language is located in the angular gyrus, while the other occupies the Heschl’s gyri. Although language and speech are usually considered synonymous functions, this is not the case in all aspects of their roles. Unlike an impairment of speech, language impairment always occurs due to an abnormality of the cerebral hemisphere. Speech on the other hand may be effected by the same sort of abnormality but it also can be effected by damage to other parts of the brain. Loss of communication and language can be a result of damage to the temporal lobe of the brain. The type of language loss is dependent of what specific area of the temporal lobe has been damaged. Possible types of damage to the brain can be a lesion or a tumor. It is the job of the neurologist to locate the area of damage and to assess the level of impairment. Neurologist use a variety of test to asses the possible damage to the brain or spinal cord including CAT scans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and a wide variety of functional, skill assessments. One of the most popular verbal memory assessments used in the field is the Wechsler Memory Scale, the most recently revised version has been a useful tool for neurologist to determine severity and location of the temporal damage. One of the first signs of a lesion to the temporal lobe is

Globalization: Good or Bad Essay

A tremendously contentious issue, globalization has been the center if much discusses and has raised a lot of questions. Some have viewed its procedure as helpful, while many others disagree that it produces adverse results and cost. Though, before the questions and apprehensions of globalization, it is essential to decide or rather describe globalization and all which is concerned. Although Ð ° fairly new term, dating to 1980s, globalization has been Ð ° historical process evident for over the last 100 years. Globalization specially encompasses many aspects for example trade, capital movement, stretch of information, movement of people. (Yager 2004) In the broader definition, globalization promotes effectiveness by utilizing each market and nation’s specialization; nonetheless, allowing people and economies to focus on what they do best. Globalization gives opportunity to each nation to access each others markets as well as to capital flow, technology, imports, exports, politics, and culture. However, as some countries continually reap the benefits and flourish others are falling short. (Guillen 2001) With any global process there are definitely risks and consequences to follow. It is certain that globalization led to Ð ° great economical growth but it is obvious that prosperity is not equal. Already advanced countries are the ones who have benefited most by globalization; nevertheless, this is not to say slowly developing countries have not prospered as well. However, the poorest regions such as in Africa and the former Soviet have not been able to keep up with the worldwide phenomenon. Low income countries have not integrated with the global economy because of policies and outside factors beyond their control. These factors are not fault of globalization; however, there has not been much effort to strengthen these countries financial systems. Globalization is lacking processes in which to increase trade and aid to the poorest countries which would help with integration of all countries-rich and poor. Furthermore, there are not only gaps between the rich and poor countries, but among the rich and poor within the countries which are benefiting from globalization. (Gladwin 2002) Comparative advantage and globalization The theory of absolute advantage was originally proposed in 1776 by Adam Smith. Smith’s theory was the first to explain the benefit of free trade. Smith felt that the hand of the market mechanism, rather than government policy, should determine Ð ° countries imports and exports. Free trade is achieved when Ð ° government does not influence trade through quotas or duties. Theory of absolute advantage, â€Å"†¦suggests that Ð ° country should specialize in producing goods in areas where it has an absolute advantage and import goods in areas where other countries have absolute advantages†. (Sherman, Steingard & Fitzgibbons 2002) The theory of comparative advantage, building on Smith’s theory, David Ricardo advanced the intellectual theory for unrestricted free trade by suggesting that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  it makes sense for Ð ° country to specialize in producing those goods that it can produce most efficiently, while buying goods that it can produce relatively less efficiently from other countries even if that means buying goods from other countries that it could produce more efficiently itself†. In short, the theory of comparative advantage suggests that opening Ð ° country to free trade stimulates economic growth. (Guillen 2001) Heckscher-Ohlin theory is Ð ° refined version of the work of Ricardo. Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin, 20th century Swedish economists’ revealed one of the most influential ideas in international economics. (Brown, David, and Hunter 2004) The Heckscher-Ohlin hypothesis has been one of the most significant hypothetical ideas in global economics. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory suggests that the pattern of international trade is determined by endowments. The theory further reveals that, â€Å"†¦ countries will export those goods that make intensive use of locally abundant factors and will import goods that make intensive use of factors that are locally scarce†. (Stasavage 2005) Factors of Globalization The major drivers of globalization are the decline in barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and capital, technological change, communication, information processing, and transportation technologies. Examples of declining trade and investment barriers that will enable the free flow of goods and services can be seen in the reduction of tariffs and legal blocks which have prevented cross country business. (Gladwin 2002) These barriers were lessoned over the past decades facilitated by the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the move towards free market economies in China and Latin America. Reduction of these barriers has resulted in the current trend toward the globalization of production and the ability to see the world as Ð ° single market. (Yergin & Stanislaw 2000) Examples of technological change can be seen in the major advances seen in communication, information processing, and transportation technology, including the explosive emergence of the Internet and the World Wide We. Arguably the most important development is that of the microprocessor, which has fueled explosive growth increasing power and reducing costs there by exponentially increasing the amount of information processed by individual and organizations alike. (Guillen 2001) In the past three decades global communication has been enhanced by developments in satellite, optical fiber, wireless technologies, the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). Transportation innovations such as the jet aircraft, super-freighters, and the introductions of containerization have simplified shipment from one mode of transportation to the next; thereby increasing the speed and reducing the cost of goods shipped enabling organizations to expand the geographical area to which goods can be shipped. (Osland Dhanda & Yuthas 2002) Pros Productivity To begin with, globalization is creating Ð ° competitive advantage to companies which outsource labor work to cheaper countries hence lowering their costs. In this scenario both countries would be better of since the cheaper country would foreign cash inflows and the outsourcing country would have cheaper costs. (Gladwin 2002) Ð  problem with this practice is creating loss of jobs in the outsourcing country, but that is like saying Ð ° supermarket is laying of specific workers to hire more efficient workers therefore creating joblessness for the laid off workers. The workers will eventually get work in Ð ° field where they have â€Å"comparative advantage† in which is having an advantage among others based on specialization (in the simple sense). (Jepsen 2004) The same applies to Ð ° country as Ð ° whole when unemployment is on the rise; this will probably create Ð ° downward pressure on the cost of employment in the country and therefore having companies going back to hiring locals for the job since they now cost less and would then have the comparative advantage. Ð  second reason why globalization should be supported is that worldwide welfare is increased when each country does what is has Ð ° comparative advantage in, and this should come naturally as each company in Ð ° country individually finds the country to produce in that makes the most economic sense. (Brown, David, and Hunter 2004) This increase in welfare is accomplished because by definition when using comparative advantage each country is working in its specialization therefore each country is producing relatively its highest capacity. One of the greatest evils for the business/economic world is inflation and globalization helps limit inflation and this is due to competition in Ð ° bigger scale (worldwide) rather than just country wide. (Osland Dhanda & Yuthas 2002) Another reason why welfare will increase because of globalization is the fact that countries which have jobs given to them from foreign countries will now have more means to buying products from other countries all over the world therefore increasing the standard of living in all countries involved. Globalization spawns interaction between many different cultures which creates an understanding of populations’ ideologies and values towards one another. (Gladwin 2002) This creates more political stability as misunderstandings are less likely to occur. This can also be Ð ° problem as some extremists might be close minded to interaction and introduction of foreigners into the country which creates Ð ° bit of Ð ° cultural clash and some problems might occur such as revolutions against new policies and, in an extreme situation, war. (Stasavage 2005) Ideas and innovation Although in general globalization is Ð ° positive effect it still has its pitfalls. As previously discussed workers in the outsourcing country loose Ð ° lot of their jobs and unemployment is Ð ° serious problem to every economy. It is been said that one quarter of workers who have lost their jobs to outsourcing would still be unemployed 3 years from the time they were laid-off. (Sherman, Steingard & Fitzgibbons 2002) The workers who have not lost their job will probably be facing survivor syndrome which is the fear of loosing their job after Ð ° huge lay off has made around them and they haven’t been laid-off which has effects on the human’s health(heart problems) and productivity if they think there is no hope and they start lagging of. Exploitation of developing countries by developed countries is one of the major problems of globalization and it exists in two forms. The first type is using the labor force of Ð ° country for an extremely low price, in some cases old woman and very young children were used in the production of various products such as shoes and clothing. (Gladwin 2002) This issue was brought into attention in the late nineties with companies like Nike exploiting young kids to work for close to nothing and in horrid conditions in countries such as Indonesia. The second form of exploitation is when developing countries are forced to sell their products (coffee in the case of Brazil) at Ð ° very low price due to market fluctuations and the desperate need for income. Ð  cut in the production of one product in one part of the world would be highly felt in Ð ° whole different part of the world and that effect is highly substantial in primary products like oil. (Gladwin 2002) Inflation, jobs and outsourcing There are many advantages which Ð ° company could get from outsourcing its distribution functions. Ð  study which has been conducted in 1993 reported that Ð ° company could reduce 9% of its operating costs by outsourcing. When Ð ° company is outsourced its distribution function to world-class provider, it would reduce the cost of this function as the provider would be more efficient and specialist in this function. Also, by outsourcing non-core activities like distribution, Ð ° company could focus on its core activities and increase revenues. . Managers realize that by outsourcing their routine, nonessential operations, they can better focus on the core competencies that truly differentiate them from competitor. (Gladwin 2002) For example, Ericsson one, of the leading companies in the telecommunication industry, wanted to reduce its costs in the supply chain by finding Ð ° solution to its warehouses in Philippines. (Guillen 2001) Ericsson is always trying to reduce costs in different areas of business, this is including, the supply chain so as to save money and focus on Research and development. Therefore, Ericsson turned to Exel. Ericsson has leased the warehousing operation to Exel on Ð ° two years contract. Exel has provided Ð ° flexible service to Ericsson which has resulted in cost saving and made Ericsson concentrate on its core businesses. Before Ericsson has to handle the warehouse operation in-house but it was not the core competencies of the business. (Osland Dhanda & Yuthas 2002) Another advantage of outsourcing is the reduction of the need to invest in non-core business assets such as warehousing and carriers. This will allow the firm to make the capital funds more available for core functions such as research and development in the telecommunication industry. For example, Northern Telecom manufacture enterprise which is operating in 130 countries has outsourced its distribution service to Ryder Dedicated Logistic. The main reason for Northern Telecom to outsource its distribution function, it did not want to invest in non-core activities. (Yergin & Stanislaw 2000) The development and increasing implementation of outsourcing has not been without its problem. The cost escalation and lack of quality of service are two of the more frequent complaints from firms towards the third party, although contractors argue that these problems often stem from firm’s failure to be precise about what they want by outsourcing their distribution service. Clear objectives need to be set by and to achieve this high level of communication and understanding between firm and service provider must be established. (Sherman, Steingard & Fitzgibbons 2002) Cons Jobs loss The risk outsourcing is the impact of outsourcing on those currently responsible for management of the function is fundamental. If the service is outsourced, the management of the provision of the service from within the organization is radically changed from management of Ð ° function to management of the business relationship with Ð ° contractor. The lack of control posed by movement of this function outside of the organization is often seen as the greatest risk of outsourcing. Consequently, it needs to be cautiously planned and managed. In reality, the effect of outsourcing can simply be seen as Ð ° shift in focus from managing Ð ° function to managing Ð ° contractual relationship. Careful planning together with Ð ° contract written to provide for control measures such as performance monitoring, and good contract administration will minimize or negate any lack of control. (Gladwin 2002) Outsourcing now usually includes benefit transfers. Examples are transfers of staff, sale of existing equipment, and/or Ð ° transfer of existing contracts used in the provision of the service. It is common for specialist outsourcing companies to seek Ð ° transfer of existing staff to do the work. An organization can facilitate this process by allowing communication between staff and bidders about options for staff. Many staff views the opportunity to work with an organization that specializes in their field as valuable; others will prefer redeployment or simply Ð ° redundancy. (Gladwin 2002) Sometimes the sale, lease or sublicense of Ð ° site is also involved. It is therefore important that Ð ° complete asset valuation is undertaken as part of the process of defining an organization’s current service and preferred requirements. The organization must know what equipment and other physical property it has, including consumables, what contracts are currently used in the provision of the service and relevant details of those contracts. It is common for specialist outsourcing companies to seek Ð ° transfer of existing staff to do the work. An organization can facilitate this process by allowing communication between staff and bidders about options for staff. All these need to be considering when the company decides to outsource its distribution activities to the external agents. (Jepsen 2004) As noted, there are many advantages for companies who choose outsourcing as Ð ° means of satisfying their logistics need, but just as there are advantages there are also disadvantages. Outsourcing is based upon fundamental principles and, if those are applied at the outset of Ð ° relationship, the parties will most likely have an effective, successful relationship. But if the parties enter into an agreement that is not based on those principles, the result will be an unsatisfactory relationship and, probably, an early termination of the contract. (Karliner 2000)

Should I Add Supplemental Recommendation Letters

Should I Add Supplemental Recommendation Letters SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Maybe you spent the last year interning in a business and know your supervisor could write a stellar letter about your work ethic and passion for economics. Or you have a long term music teacher who can speak to your lifelong dedication to playing the piano. Or maybe you attend a school with thousands of students and feel like you’ve barely said ten words to your counselor or classroom teachers all year long. If any of these scenarios hits home, then you might be considering sending a supplemental recommendation letter along with your college application. Before sending any extra materials, though, you should think hard about whether it’s the right course of action. This guide will discuss when it’s appropriate to send supplemental recommendations and when you’d be better off holding back. To start, what are some reasons students think they should send an additional rec letter? Why Might You Send a Supplemental Recommendation Letter? If you’ve worked closely with someone outside of school, like a mentor, studio teacher, employer, advisor, coach, or spiritual leader, then you might consider asking him/her to provide you with a supplemental letter of recommendation. Before going ahead and making your request, consider what exactly your reasons are. Below, I’ll discuss some good reasons for sending a supplemental rec, followed by some not so good reasons for sending one. If your reasons fall into the former category, then your next step is to find out how your colleges feel about additional recs. Every school is different, which you’ll see in some of the official policies below. Before delving into that, though, take a look at some strong and weak reasons for sending an extra recommendation. Strong Reasons to Send a Supplementary Recommendation These are a few good reasons to consider submittinga supplemental recommendation, if your college allows it. Think about whether any of these reasons apply to you and your extra rec letter. It Adds an Essential Perspective Perhaps the best reason is that this recommendation would provide a valuable and unique perspective on you as a student and person that your other recommendation letters would not. Recommendations should shed light on your personal qualities, goals, and attitude toward learning, so a supplemental rec must be especially meaningful and revealing to justify sending with your application. Some students feel that their application would be incomplete without input from this recommender. For instance, a spiritual leader might be able to discuss the central role that faith and community service has played in your life. A research project advisor could talk about your college-level investigations in the lab. In some way, this person could add something essential that you feel admissions officers need to know. In this case, a supplemental letter could have a positive impact on your application. Want to provide a strong recommendation for your employee, but don't have the time to craft the perfect letter? PrepScholar's new recommendation tool, SimpleRec, takes you from good intentions and a blank page to a fully written and formatted letter of recommendation in under 5 minutes. All you need to do is give us some simple pieces of information about your employee and your experience working with them, and we'll do the rest. Try out SimpleRec risk-free today: You Barely Know Your Academic Recommenders Another reason you might consider adding a letter- assuming you have a special recommender in mind- is to make up for lackluster letters from school officials you barely know. If you attended a huge school with large student to teacher and student to counselor ratios, then it may have been next to impossible to get to know your recommenders well. Perhaps you’re worried that your letters will be generic, impersonal, and vague. In this situation, I would first and foremost recommend setting up appointments with your counselor and teachers to discuss your goals and what you’d like to go into your letter, as well as give them a detailed resume and brag sheet. If you know that your letters will still be insufficient, then adding a supplemental rec from someone who knows you well could be a reasonable course of action. Finally, some colleges actually suggest that you add a non-academic perspective to your application. Your College Suggests It Some colleges explicitly encourage, though don’t require, the submission of a personal recommendation, as from a peer, family member, spiritual leader, or other source. Any time your school encourages that you send something, it’s a good idea to send that material. Now that you have a sense of some good reasons that justify sending a supplemental recommendation, let’s take a look at the flip side. What are some bad reasons for sending an extra letter? Weak Reasons to Send a Supplementary Recommendation Sending a supplemental rec is only a good idea if you really have put a lot of thought and intention behind it. Check out some reasons that don't support sending an extra letter. You Think "More Is Better" If you’re sending one simply because you think it’s a good idea to go beyond what the college requires, think again! Many admissions officers look unfavorably on extra, unsolicited material, especially if it doesn’t add much beyond what’s already there. Requirements are there for a reason; colleges can decide on an application based on what they asked for, and they generally don’t want students to send lots of extra materials and slow down the review process. Again, each college is different, which we’ll discuss in more detail below. But if you’re only sending an extra letter for the sake of sending an extra letter, then that’s not a good enough reason to do so. Or put another way, don’t assume that more is better without first researching your colleges’ policies. In a similar vein, extra material could actually shine a spotlight on, rather than distract from, weaknesses in other parts of your application. You Want to Make Up for Weaknesses in Your Application Another weak reason is that you think an additional letter will make up for other parts of your application. In fact, your supplemental letter could have the opposite effect by alerting admissions committees that you feel insecure about the strength of your candidacy. An extra recommendation won’t necessarily balance out a weak extracurricular section. There’s an old saying in admissions, â€Å"The thicker the file, the thicker the kid.† This saying means that students who send too many additional documents may not have the credentials to get accepted based on the required materials. A bunch of extras could raise red flags, rather than impress admissions officers, about your merit. Your Parents Know the Mayor Another mistake, though not all that common, is that students send a rec from a famous or prestigious person, thinking the name will stand out and impress admissions officers. As discussed above, letters should come from people who know you well and can give you a meaningful evaluation. A famous recommender won't impress the committee on its own; if you don't really know the person, but just have a family connection, it could come off as superficial name-dropping. You Don't Trust Your Academic Recommenders I mentioned above that a supplemental rec can make up for generic academic recommendations. However, this applies if and only if you have a special external recommender in mind. Plus, you should have a strong reason for needing to rely on an outside source, like a huge high school with low teacher or counselor interaction. If you had the opportunity to get to know your faculty, but still feel like strangers, then you should push yourself to connect with them more by participating in class and setting up meetings. If you don't know your teachers or counselor well or don't trust them to do a good job, you should spring into action (those teacher and counselor recs are important!). There are steps you can take to meet with your recommenders and share information that will help them personalize your letter. Again, if this is your only reason for asking an external recommender, but you don’t have a special person in mind, then you’d probably be better off communicating with your teachers and counselors and doing everything you can to help them produce effective letters. Besides examining and evaluating your personal reasons for wanting to send a supplemental rec, you should also research your colleges’ policies. Schools have different stances, but they also repeat some of the samethemes, as you’ll see below. Never a good idea tooverwhelm admissions officers with lots of extra materials. How Do Colleges Feel About Supplemental Recommendations? There aren’t too many colleges that outright prohibit supplementary letters of recommendation, but some advise caution or subtly discourage their submission. A college, for instance, might state that it shaped its requirements intentionally and don’t want applicants to send more or less than what they asked for. Other colleges stress that a supplemental recommendation is only a good idea if it really adds something important and substantial to "the story of you." This stance puts pressure on you to decide whether or not your letter is worth sending. A few other schools, like Emory, actually invite a personal recommendation. Again, any time a school suggests that you do something extra, make sure to do it! Consider it like any other requirement. You may be able to find this information on your college’s admissions website. If not available- some sites are more detailed than others- then give the admissions office a call and ask how the committee feels about supplemental recs. It’s important to do your research on all aspects of your application. To help you out, we’ve compiled some statements from a few schools on supplemental recommendations. Note the frequent emphasis that it must add something substantial to your application to justify sending it along. Select Schools and Their Stances on Supplemental Recommendation Letters Perhaps the students who are most guilty of sending unnecessary extra material are those applying to selective schools. In trying to stand out from the competition, they send additional materials. However, you’ll see that some of these selective schools also want you to be extremely selective about what you send... Yale says, â€Å"If you feel the need to submit extra information, you may ask one additional recommender to write on your behalf. Please do not solicit this additional letter unless you feel it will add substantially to your application. The writer should know you well personally or have mentored you closely in some capacity. For example, if you have engaged in advanced scientific research, you should consider asking your research mentor to write a letter of recommendation for you.† Columbia is more specific about what external source can recommend you (and more explicit about discouraging supplemental recs): "We welcome an additional letter of recommendation if the writer has worked with you in a researcher or college course capacity...The Committee discourages the submission of additional recommendations, as admissions decisions will be based primarily on the required recommendations from your high school teachers and secondary school/guidance counselor." The University of Penn also allows one extra letter: "If an applicant would like to submit another letter of recommendation beyond this requirement, we strongly recommend that it is not from another academic teacher. Examples of an appropriate recommender include an athletic coach, an internship or research supervisor, a boss at a part-time job, or a local clergy member. These additional recommendations are only helpful if the recommender knows the student personally and can write specifically about him or her." Princeton doesn’t exactly encourage supplementals, but it allows them if they provide something novel and meaningful: "We believe that the required teacher and guidance counselor references give us much of the information we need to make thoughtful, well-informed decisions. Additional letters are only helpful if the person writing the recommendation knows the candidate well and can provide new, detailed information." Brown similarly emphasizes that supplementals must go above and beyond the other letters: "In our experience, the required counselor recommendation and two teacher recommendations provide all we need to make a thoughtful, informed admission decision. If, however, someone has unique knowledge of certain strengths or accomplishments that would not be addressed in the required recommendations, you are welcome to have another person write on your behalf." Vanderbilt draws on the same theme in a succinct way, emphasizing quality over quantity: "If students wish to submit additional letters of recommendation from teachers, coaches, employers, or anyone else who can bring something new to the application, they may include those as well. We strongly advise that these extra letters offer additional information about the applicant, and we encourage a â€Å"quality- over- quantity† approach." Are you applying to MIT? Here’s what they have to say: â€Å"Most applicants, and most admitted students, submit no supplemental recommendations. Some applicants and admitted students submit one supplemental recommendation; a few submit two. Submitting more supplemental recommendations will not disqualify you, but it is rarely necessary.† Sensing a theme? Quality beats quantity every time. If you’re sending a supplemental rec, make sure it truly adds something substantial, important, and not to be missed. Does this sound like a tough call to make? Read on for help on deciding whether or not your supplemental rec is worth sending. How to Decide Whether or Not to Send a Supplemental Recommendation As you can tell, you only want to send a supplemental rec if you feel it can truly help your application. Sending one for no good reason could actually leave a bad impression with admissions officers, effectively making your extra work not just unnecessary, but even harmful to your chances of getting accepted. Assuming your school allows you to submit an extra recommendation online or by mail, you should think about your reasons, along with researching your colleges’ policies, before asking your supplemental recommender for a letter. First, ask yourself if this letter adds value and insight to your application that’s not already there. What exactly does it communicate, and why is it important for admissions officers to know this about you? What new dimension does it add- perhaps related to community service, professional work, long term mentorship, or college level research- and how is this side of you relevant to your success at college? By pinpointing your specific reasons for sending this letter, you can make sure it will add to your application in a substantial way. If you have strong reasons for sending it and your college allows it, then a supplemental letter could round out your application and ensure that admissions officers know everything about you that they need to make a well-informed decision. On the flip side, don’t stress if you don’t have that special recommender outside of school! As Brown says, and most schools agree, â€Å"In our experience, the required...recommendations provide all we need to make a thoughtful, informed admission decision.† What's Next? Not only is it important to think carefully about why and who you're asking for a supplemental recommendation, but you also want to put the same planning into who you ask for teacher recommendations. Check out this guide to learn about who you should ask for a letter of rec. Once you're clear on all your requirements, you want to make sure you collect the strongest letters you can. This guide explains what makes a strong letter of recommendation, and what you can do to help your teachers and counselors write the best ones possible. Finally, considering the perspective on the other side will also help you get the most effective recommendation letters for your application. Learn about what exactly admissions officers are looking for when the read recommendation letters, and why they're so important to your application. 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