U.S. Military Aviation Training and Environmental Regulations Research Paper

U.S. Military Aviation Training and Environmental Regulations - Research Paper Example Though in many cases the US military protects the wildlife, noise, air quality and endangered species are issues over which they sometimes dispute with the local communities. This paper is structured around the influence of environmental laws on the US Air Force training activities and inventory. Environmental laws went hand in hand with the lawsuits against the US Air Force. Technological changes brought along an increased use of the airspace. However, laws were based on the ancient Roman law, which was developed at a time when airplanes did not even exist as an idea. Thus, lawsuits preceded the legislation, which will be described in the 1946 the United States vs. Causby (1946) case in particular. Legislation then affected not only the usage of airspace but also of technology and structure of the US Air Force bases. Environmental laws interplay with the current events. Be it endangered species or noise levels, the September 11 attacks changed the dynamics of lawsuits against the US Air Force. It will be shown later on in this paper that recent events, such as the financial crisis, have led to conflicting interests of local communities and local authorities with regard to the US Air Force training activities. Through the interaction of the three interest groups it will be shown how environment is treated by some interest groups as a secondary concern. Military pollution is decreasing and smaller than commercial pollution levels. Utilization of commercial aircraft is higher than for military, standing at 4.7 times per day versus 0.35 respectively (Waitz et al., 2005, p. 334). However, military aircraft are noisier because of the kind of thrust engines employed by these aircraft. Waitz et al. (2005) argued that noise pollution increased from 1960 to 1995 for new military fighter aircraft (p.337). However, because of fleet reductions and a reduction in number of operations, the noise contributions decreased overall on a national level (Waitz et al., 2005, p.329). With regard to emissions, according to Waitz et al. (2005), the US Air Force contributes insignificantly to the overall US impact on the climate, amounting to 1 percent of the total climate impact (p.338). The commercial aircraft fleet burned by 2000 around 7 times the amount of fuel used for military aviation (Waitz et al., 2005, p.337). Moreover, the US military protects wildlife by offering it large, untouched areas. The US military administered over 25 million acres of land in 1994, being one of the largest stewards of federal land (Wheeler, 2006, p.440). However, urbanization pushes wildlife into military bases as cities and suburban areas expand (King, 1996, p.3). Thus, any reduction in training area has not only an adverse effect for the military, but also for the environment (Wheeler, 2006, p. 441). Rand Corporation assessment indicated that the US military is one of the friendliest users of environmental resources (Wheeler, 2006, p.445). Still, the US Air Force has been su ed for decades over endangered species and air pollution. Following paragraphs will provide examples of lawsuits and corresponding legislation. Before the 1960’s, the US law was based on the Roman law maxim cujus est solum, ejus est usque ad coelum, according to which whoever owns the land also owns the airspace above it (King, 1996, p.5). The corresponding law was formulated during the ancient Roman times, when technology was based on horsepower. Airplanes were not discussed as a possibility by the intellectuals of

UPS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

UPS - Case Study Example The last part of the paper will sum up the main points discussed and recommendations will be given with regards to the measures that can be taken in order to effectively deal with the problems discussed. Description of the organization and problem identification United Parcel Service was founded in 1907 in USA and it specifically dealt with delivering an assortment of parcels and goods sent through its office to different clients. It started from humble beginnings where all packages were delivered by foot, street bicycle as well as street car. However, the company re-engineered itself to become a state-of-the-art delivery service when it introduced its first delivery car, a Model T Ford in 1913. The organization witnessed positive developments and went through different stages until 1980 which saw the passage of the passage of Motor Career Act which deregulated the whole trucking industry. The organization even introduced air services as it sought to diversify its activities to counter competition which was intensifying as a result of the deregulation exercise of this industry. However, increased competition as a result of deregulation compelled the organization to allocate large amounts of capital to modernize its data processing department. The deregulation of the freight industry also posed immense challenges to UPS given that the emerging entrants utilized low cost services such as the Federal Express Corporation. As such, it has been observed that data processing operated with poor equipment and the service provided was poor given that it fell beyond the competition that existed in technological and programming capabilities. Up until 1981, the department of information faced unprecedented challenges of technologically more advanced competition from Federal Express and RPS. It was realized that in order for UPS to remain the dominant carrier package delivery service, it had to join the competitors in the age of computer technology. Whilst UPS had the most extensive ground network, it had apparently been left in core areas such as technological innovations which included scanning, radio-dispatched pickups, package tracking, and data-acquisition devices. Despite the mission which was meant to â€Å"to provide management with the information it needs to meet the company’s goals in a responsive manner and at a reasonable cost,† the company fell short of achieving this goal given that it had limited numbers of employees with the requisite skills to execute the information requirements of the company. The main problem facing UPS is that it has to implement changes in order to meet the marketing and technological challenges that have been co mpounded by the deregulation exercise in this industry. It is facing a dilemma particularly in making decisions to hire or recruit talent from within the company or hire experienced people in information systems from outside. The problem with locating talent within the company is that most of the employees have experience in hub and package centers and have less experience in the new dispensation of information and communication technology. On the other hand, the problem related to hiring people from outside is related to re-orienting them to fit in the culture of the organization, training them, matching their expectations and helping them grow to meet the expectations of the organization. Stakeholder analysis The main players in this particular case are the employees who are responsible for executing all the tasks within the organization. Any change to the