The Role of the Air Traffic Controller

The Role of the Air Traffic Controller Air Traffic Controller Redesigning the Job of Air Traffic Controller Introduction Job Design Job design may be referred as a way in which an entire job or a set of tasks is organized. Job design helps in determining the tasks and the way they are completed. It considers the factors that influence the work and arrange the job contents and tasks so that the job becomes less risky to the employee’s life. The administrative areas involved in it are job rotation, job enlargement, task/machine pacing, work breaks and working hours (Gupta, 2007). A soundly designed job encourages a variety of good body positions and helps foster feelings of achievement and self-esteem. Air Traffic Controllers The people who operate the air traffic control system to accelerate and maintain an orderly and safe flow of air traffic are called the Air traffic controllers. They help in preventing mid-air collisions of the planes. The ATC’s apply such separation rules that help in keeping each aircraft at a distance from others in their area of responsibility, thus moving all aircraft efficiently throughout their airspace. Due to the presence of large responsibility on controllers in the course of performing their duty, this profession is generally observed as one of the most complex jobs, and is notoriously stressful. Stress at Workplace There have been drastic changes in the nature of work over the last century and still the changes are undergoing at the speed of a whirlwind. Changes inevitably bring stress. So no professional is untouched by stress, starting from a surgeon to an artist or a sales executive to a commercial pilot. Work stress poses risk to the physical health of the employee and consequently influences the health of the organization (Mathew, 2003). Job stress in the early stages can ‘rev up’ the body and improve performance in the workplace (Prasad, 2008). Though, if this condition is permitted to go free and the body is revved up further, the performance will eventually decline and the persons health will degrade (Gupta, 2007). The symptoms of the stress can be insomnia, loss of mental concentration, anxiety, absenteeism, family conflict, anger and frustration. Job stress may arise due to job insecurity, high demand of performance, technological complexities, personal or family problem and workplace culture (Stress at Work, 2008). The final consequence of this job stress is the high turnover of the efficient and knowledgeable employees (Mathew, 2003). Air traffic controllers are an occupational group who has to manage a highly demanding job, which involves a complex series of tasks. These require a high level of knowledge and expertise, along with a high level of responsibility, with regard to risking lives and also the high economic costs of aeronautical activities. Productivity and Turnover As the flights run throughout the day and round the year, the air traffic control is a 24 hour and 365-days-a-year job. Only because of this reason, the controllers regularly work rotating shifts, including nights, weekends and public holidays. When the controllers are forced to work 40 hours a week instead of 32 hours a week and eight hours a shift without breaks; their efficiency and effectiveness reduces drastically. This also leads to the turnover of the controllers. The most suitable example showing the consequence of the above situation is the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike in 1981 in America. Due to the occurrence of the situations similar to the above, 89 percent controllers left the job before retirement age and about 40 percent of these left to collect disability retirement. Historical Background of the Position and Changes that Took Place over Years The history of air traffic control and the controller way backs to the 1930’s when the commercial air service was developed. The occurrence of some major accidents in the subsequent years reinforced their need. The pilots used to control the flight by just looking out of the window. During the 1920s and 1930s, radio telephony was begun to be used. There was a ‘Wireless Traffic Control’ by ‘control officers’. Marine radio stations were used for the purpose of air traffic communications, which were not operated by the professionals in the way they are operated now. During the 1930’s, a dedicated air traffic services organization came into being. Second World War brought the revolution in this field. With this, the new era of developments in the field of air traffic controlling started. Specific operational techniques were started being used. Controllers used to develop plans for flying with the pilot and made use of radiotelephony for it. The ins trument called radars was developed to trace the existence of the planes in the air. In due course the intensity and power of radar was increased to enable the controllers with specific information to take decision. They used to monitor through highly processed secondary surveillance radar (SSR) data. These data flows are rooted with well-defined controlled airspace and formal rules for controlling minimum separation permitted between aircrafts. Through this SSR, the controller watches call sign, displayed aircraft symbols, and height information, which are passed down from aircraft transponders. The navigation system has stirred to satellite-based aids from point source beacons. Ground-based short-term conflict alert systems are used in UK. This technique helps in warning pilots of the aircrafts coming into close area, thus reducing the work of controllers’ up to a great limit. Nowadays commercial aircrafts carry Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System, which is of great help to the pilots as well the controllers on the ground. As weather plays an important role in controlling the air traffic, weather displaying devices were also provided to them. Now they are provided with more acc urate weather information displays and can ensure a very effective control on the air traffic (Brooker, 2007). Fundamental Problems with the Current Job Design Air traffic control is one of the most stressful jobs. With the single decision of a controller, thousands of airline passengers’ lives can be affected. This results in the ulcers, heart conditions, hypertension and alcoholism among controllers. The chief sources of stress being reported by air traffic controllers are associated to two aspects. They are the operative aspect of their job and the organizational structures. The most important factors in the former case are the time pressure, peaks of traffic load, resolving variances in the use of rules and the limitations and consistency of equipments. The factors, which are related to organizational structure, are chiefly concerned with the unfavorable working conditions, shift schedules (particularly night work), role conflicts and a lack of control over the work (Air Traffic Controller Job Description, Career as a Air Traffic Controller, Salary, Employment Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirement s, Getting the Job, 2008). Job Redesigning Viewing the condition of the air traffic controllers and the difficulties faced by them while performing their task, their job needs to be redesigned. Job redesigning will help in improving the health and safety of the air traffic controllers as well as improve the health of the organization. The steps, which may be undertaken to redesign the air traffic controller’s job, are: holding a stress prevention program on regular intervals and making it a part of the organizational culture. Attendance in this program should be made compulsory for all air traffic controllers. Next step, which can be undertaken, is the improvement in the transportation to work, canteens and sleeping facilities. The other could be to improve the technology and the work organization. Steps can be taken to improve the job planning involved in the job as well as to enhance the reliability of the working systems. The other steps in redesigning the job of the controller can be working time reduction, arrangi ng shift-schedules keeping in mind the social and psycho-physiological criteria, arranging work teams and rest pauses aligned with load of the work and enforcing such approaches that improve the participation of the air traffic controllers in decisions concerning them. Specifically, in the technological field, such computer software can be designed, which assists air traffic controllers. For example, more accurate computer enhanced radar will be beneficial. Such automated system can be designed and made available to the controllers, which once fed with the data relating to flight timings, will display all the further needed information to the controller. Thus, it will reduce the brainstorming exercises done by the air traffic controllers regarding the regular routs and the number of regular flights on the airport. The controllers can be provided with more efficient hearing and other communication devices to enable them transfer clear instructions, thus avoiding any decision fault. Making more use of instrument landing systems, which allows planes to make automatic landings and ensuring that planes are placed in holding patterns when airports are busy. Apart from the above things, special attention is required to be paid in the area of the structure of tasks and workplace, particularly the issues like lighting, noise, micro-climatic conditions and indoor air quality (Brooker, 2007). Impact the New Job Design on the Organization As a result of this, job redesign reduces much of the work load, work pressure, health hazards and turnover of the air traffic controllers. The stress prevention programs conducted by the organization will have a great impact on the performance and efficiency of the controllers and the organization. Extending their facilities of relaxing, canteen, transportation, shift redesigning and team building would motivate them to work with more vigor and efficiency, which would lead to a high organizational performance. The changes in the technology would surely enhance the performance and commitment of the controllers; reduce the stress at the work place; thus reducing the turnover of the controllers from the job (Mamoria Gankar, 2002). Thus, we can conclude that with the increasing pressure on the air traffic, air traffic controllers are facing many job related problems. The only solution to solve these problems is to redesign the job of the controllers. This would improve the working conditions as well as problem of health hazards in the air traffic controllers; thus improving the productivity and commitment towards the organizational goals. References Air Traffic Controller Job Description, Career as an Air Traffic Controller, Salary, Employment Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job (2008). Retrieved April 12, 2008 from http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/814/Air-Traffic-Controller.html Brooker, P. (2007). Air Traffic Safety: Continued Evolution or a New Paradigm? Retrieved April 12, 2008 from https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/bitstream/1826/1967/1/Air%20Traffic%20Safety-Transport%20Risk%20Management%20Lecture-2007.pdf Gupta, C.B. (2007). Hunan Resource Management (3rd Edition), New Delhi: Sultan Chand and Sons. Mamoria, C. B Gankar, S.V (2002). Personal Management (22nd Edition). New Delhi: Himalaya Publishing House. Mathew, M.J. (2003). Fundamentals of Organizational Theory and Behavior, Jaipur: RBSA Publishers Prasad, L.M. (2008). Organizational Behavior (3rd Revised). New Delhi: Sultan Chand and Sons Educational Publishers. Stress at Work (2008). Retrieved April 12, 2008 from http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/psychology/stress/stress-at-work.asp

Standards of Rating Hotels in Russia

Intro  : â€Å"There are no international unified standards for awarding stars to hotels,† said Sergei Korneyev, director for the northwest at the Russian Tourism Industry Union. * Each country has its own system, and it is very inconvenient for tourists, since, for example, Egyptian stars differ from European ones. There have been many misunderstandings.WHAT IS :An hotel ranking is a system, taking into account a full range of factors including quality of accommodation, range of amenities, standards of service, atmosphere and prices as well as customers experience, and feedback in order to classify hotels There are currently about 30 national systems of hotel classification around the world. * Among them are the letters system used in Greece and the crowns system used in the U. K. , though the most widespread system is the star classification * While all hotels in Moscow claim a specific number of stars, there is no reliable, universal system of classification in operation. This can often lead to unrealistic expectations, disappointment, and it may be hard to know what to expect from your hotel in terms of standards, services, and amenities as a first-time travelers to Russia. Suchi Hotels first and then the entire country of Russia * Since July 2010 Sochi hotels were obliged to classify themselves by the demands of the International Olympic Committee (classification as the country gears up to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games). The Governor of Krasnodar region decided to first expand this requirement to the whole region and now to the whole country.As new legislation passes, starting this summer season of 2012 only star-rated hotels were able to accommodate tourists. A little bit of History: * The first attempts to introduce classification standards in Russia were made in the Soviet era. In 1984, a document was drawn up dividing hotels into seven categories. The regulation existed until 1994 and was followed by three more certification documents. Fin ally, in 2005, a new system of state classification of hotels and guesthouses was launched, taking into account European experience. Previously, Russian hotels obtained star-category classification on a voluntary basis, but obtaining certification became obligatory after an order signed in June 2010.* There are 471 officially certified hotels in Russia — about 10 percent of the total number of 4,500 hotels, according to data from the Federal Tourism Agency. From Yesterday to Today: Review of the principal changes * It appears that often ‘stars' in Russia were given after considering formalities and did not reflect real comfort and service level. The main difference between the new and old classification systems is that, now, the expert appraisal and assignment of a Hotel to a particular category will be carried out by special organizations accredited by government agencies * Prior the classification of Hotels in Russia was carried out under a voluntary classification sy stem that was approved by the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rosturizm) in 2005 and largely based on standards and rules that were set back in the 1990s * Many hotels that are located in old buildings will need to invest a lot in engineering infrastructure and additional facilities to get the necessary number of points to obtain the certification and get the stars they want.Hotel Assesment Criteria: Each hotel will be awarded a number of points depending on the number of rooms and the services offered. * The requirements, relate to various aspects of Hotel operations: layout, condition of rooms, range and quality of services offered, etc. * For example: -A standard single room in a â€Å"five-star† hotel must be at least 14 m? in area, and the Hotel must also have a conference room with the relevant equipment. The waiting time for an elevator in four- and five-star hotels should be no more than 30 seconds, or 45 seconds in a three-star hotel. * The classification will be a paid procedure, and mandatory certification is expected to cost less than voluntary classification about ( today $1,500 for three- to four-star hotels with less than 100 rooms) * Hotels that fail to declare their status under the new rules will pay a fine, * Hotels without certification won’t have the right to use their unofficial rating in advertisements, and furthermore, limits may be applied to the activity of such hotels * ————————————————-Certificates will be issued for five years, but hotels will have to reaffirm their status twice a year. Just a few more things to remind: (only on the power point) Luxury Hotels * world-class 5-star hotels * Either  Historic Moscow Hotels  or Moscow branches of well-known international brands at the very top of the hotel market. Deluxe Hotels * executive standard 4-star or 5-star hotels * Must be centrally situated. Superior Ho tels * International 4-star ratings. * If  Superior Hotels  are not centrally located, then they must have good transport links to the city. Standard Hotels * International 3-star standards, including many new or fully renovated Russian hotels.   Standard Hotels are rarely central Tourist Class Hotels * Often built in the Soviet period, hotels of this class may not be fully renovated. * Representing the cheapest accommodation widely available in Russia *International 2-star standards * Situated in modern buildings in the suburbs. Budget Hotels * low-cost accommodation * No services are guaranteed. Conclusion: Classifications under the new system: mandatory or voluntary? * At present, the new classification system is applicable to all Hotels, but is mandatory only for Hotels offering the relevant services within the municipality of the city/resort of Sochi. * We note that the changes to he Hotel classification rules and the mandatory classification procedure for certain Hotels is without any doubt related to the XXII Olympic Winter Games being held in Russia.* We believe that the overall trend for the introduction of international standards in many sectors in Russia is connected with the ambition to join the World Trade Organization. For the Future: What’s next? * The World Hotel Rating (WHR) project, aims at setting international classification standards and rating criteria along the lines of a world star-rating system. * This project will establish an information platform on the hotel industry which will be multilingual and multicultural. * WHR intends to play a key role in the development of quality hotel services

Mystery City Report

Princess Elisabeth Research station (Belgium), Antarctica 71*57’ S-23*20’E. That is exactly where mystery city #7 is located. One of the clues the website journeynorth. com gave us was â€Å"We are located on a continent that is one of the coldest places on Earth. It is also one of the driest, considered to be mostly desert; but don’t expect to see sand. † This clue really helped because it pretty much told us our city was in Antarctica, but now we had to find out where in Antarctica. And clue number 2 kind of helped us with that. â€Å"We are located on part of a nunatak, almost 200 km from the coastline. We see petrels and skuas from time to time. Sorry we can't be more specific about the country we're located in — there are no countries here (or states, or cities)! † This clue really just told us that it was pretty close to the shore. But clue number 3 told us where in Antarctica our city was. â€Å"Down here our location isn't in a state or province, but Norway might say our location is within the boundaries of land which it claimed on this continent many decades ago. † We looked online at Norway claimed Antarctica and then knew where our city was around. The last Clue number 4 was the one that really helped. The clue was â€Å"Our place looks like a spaceship floating in a sea of white. We operate on renewable energy like wind and solar, so we are also green. † And a picture was involved. The picture helped us out so much because what we did was take our guesses and put it in Google images and if the picture matched the we knew we had it. And we did, we found it on our 3rd try. That’s how we found out our mystery city. Our photoperiod for mystery city number 7 increased by 14 hrs and 31 min! And our photoperiod compared to Franklin was actually almost around the same even though our city was in Antarctica. Our city is way far south from Franklin because we know it’s in Antarctica and Massachusetts is in the USA. So you can also tell that our city is in the southern hemisphere because of the latitude and longitude. We knew right away its was going to be somewhere cold because our first data we got was crazy which kind of gave us a general idea of where it was. All in all we have found out the our city is Princess Elisabeth Research station (Belgium), Antarctica and its absolute location is 71*57’ S-23*20’E.

Romeo and Juliet 5 Paragraphs about Love

In case you haven’t coped with the Romeo and Juliet story on your own, do not be in a hurry to read the book. In case you don’t feel like reading the printed text, make sure to watch the Franco Zeffirelli masterpiece with Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. The 1968 version of the Shakespeare’s work of literature impresses even the most skeptical individuals. All in all, it is a really exciting and interesting play that remains highly emotional even in the XXI century. Don’t miss a chance to make an adventurous journey to the past using simple tips provided below. Producing the Romeo and Juliet 5-paragraph-essay requires the following skills: Descriptive (as we know, the love story was created for the stage only, a writer is supposed to develop vivid and colorful images in the reader’s mind); Analytic (for one is supposed to write based on one’s detailed analysis only); Understanding of dramatic techniques (various poetic/literary devices such as the following: irony, soliloquy, sonnet, asides, exaggeration and so on should be analyzed within the essay). When working on the essay on Romeo and Juliet you’re supposed to be armed with technical skills and avoid some approaches: No need to confuse your reader! If the essay is based on the play, make sure you never make it look like a novel. Provide your reader with a feeling of facing a real life drama. It is recommended to write an essay on Romeo and Juliet as if you’re watching it right now in a local theatre (not read a book or watch a movie!). 5 simple steps to quality Romeo and Juliet essay writing: When assigned with the task to analyze the work of literature, make sure to begin with the detailed analysis of the play according to several basic factors: culture, family, society, love, language, etc. Thus, the process of the essay writing will be easier, smoother and more coherent. Ready or not, but you must read the play in order to clarify the subject matter or a theme of the masterpiece – what is it that William Shakespeare is trying to picture within his work? Intro: create a special list of different points that are based on the analysis   provided earlier – find out what is relevant to the theme? Body (3 paragraphs): within these paragraphs you have to clearly and logically explain the most essential points you have mentioned in the introduction. Don’t be afraid to use properly cited quotations, references, examples, etc. Conclusion: here goes the ending assertion about what thoughts and feelings you have about the most dramatic death in the world literature. Link your ideas with the points listed in the intro/body of the essay. And finally, love is a powerful emotion that is brightly pictured within the famous play and writing on it requires respect for the feelings of the people who suffer in its name!