English commentary creative writing Essay

I based the beginning of my story on a physical but also mental journey a man goes on while he is on his own hitchhiking home. I felt this was suitable for the topic journeys and pilgrimages which also liked in with the book Chaucer. As it is the beginning of a story the audience could really be any age. As it is a piece to entertain I would say it is suited better for the young. The purpose of my story was to entertain people, but also informing people about how one man is able to hitchhike. In order for me to write a story about hitchhiking I had to do some research into the topic. I found a book called â€Å"round Ireland with a fridge† by Tony Hawks which really inspired me and helped me grasp the language technique to use in order to entertain. To think in with Chaucer and the way he writes I have used stereotypes in my writing, for example I have does the typical blond as being stupid and naive. I have also used the idea about how the people in Chaucer went on a journey. The man I write about goes on a journey by himself from Lancashire back to Bristol, in which he also finds himself and learns a lot more about the world around him. I wanted to portray the man as a typical Bristol lad, with a slight arrogant edge. In order to do this I had to use a slight sarcastic tone of voice which I hoped would also entertain the readers. I also used phonetic lexis to help create an idiolect of the man. I used a Bristol accent and changed words like â€Å"alright† to â€Å"ite† and also â€Å"ya† instead of â€Å"you†. Which changing his dialect to fit his accent I also done this with other characters in the story, for example the Yorkshire girl he meets. For instance when she says â€Å"Wheor are yee headin† creates a sense of her accent to the readers. The language I used was very informal and personal. It was from the point of view from a man writing himself so the tone was very calm but at times comical. The structure was the usual story telling layout, with several small and large paragraphs, with a wide range of short sentences to add emotion and feeling to the man. â€Å"Okay, maybe not.†(after a line about wanting to fulfil his life) is an example of the idiolect I used from him, and shows the way he comes across as a simple man but with a funny entertaining side. I also linked my writing to The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I did this by using the disaster of the father in the road as a starting point of describing the man and his journey hitchhiking with so little and all by himself.

Fedex Annual Report 2012

to stay ahead, we go beyond FedEx Annual Report 2012 â€Å"I wIll make every Fedex experIence outstandIng. † — The Purple Promise When the going gets tough, FedEx shows the spirit and determination that have always set us apart. FY12 was a year of challenges marked by economic and political disruptions and lagging growth around the globe. To stay ahead, we go beyond — in the way we manage our business, deliver the quality service our customers expect and create solutions for a more sustainable world. A good or acceptable experience doesn’t cut it for us.We share a goal to deliver outstanding FedEx experiences, a commitment we call the Purple Promise. Our team members around the world add up to a powerful advantage for FedEx. One that goes beyond the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary. When We go beyond, our customers and communities thrive. each year we honor the best of the best of our team members with the Purple Promise Chairman’s Award. Meet three of the recipients, from left: Joe Reedy, supervisor, Fedex Custom Critical; Megan hershberger, supervisor, Fedex Custom Critical; William davis, customer advocate representative, Fedex TechConnect. o to fedex. com/annualreport2012 to read their stories. 1 to stay ahead, we lead the way Three things that differentiate FedEx — our people, our strategy and our focused networks — will allow us to achieve this goal. STRATegiC diSCiPline How a business responds during difficult times is a true measure of its resilience and a test of its strategy. In a volatile marketplace, dedicated FedEx team members turned in a world-class performance last fiscal year. Their dynamic, disciplined approach to some pretty stiff headwinds defines FedEx at its best.Our long-term strategies are working, and we believe we will improve our competitive position and our financial performance over the next several years, as a result. To do so, we must take advantage of our scale to improve our efficiency. And second, we must remain nimble and responsive to our customers. We try to manage the critical balance between the two every day. In this regard, our flexibility kept FedEx profitable during the 2008-2009 recession, and we emerged stronger. In the same vein, we recognize many residual challenges are ongoing and require us to run a lean and flexible organization.All companies, including FedEx, face many rising costs they cannot directly control, be it health care or energy. This, in turn, requires relentless focus on quality, which has been embedded in our culture since our first day of operations. Utilizing our Quality Driven Management system, we are confident we can reduce costs while simultaneously improving service levels. To Our Shareowners, FedEx showed real grit in FY12. We committed to a strong performance, and we delivered — no small feat, given the year’s challenges.Our earnings per share increased 40 percent, and annual revenues exceeded $42 bi llion, a 9 percent increase, despite political gridlock in the United States, financial turmoil in Europe, a slowing Asian economy and volatile fuel prices. Despite these issues, we managed and improved yields across all of our transportation businesses, allowing us to continue enhancing the services and technology that make our customers more successful and more productive. FedEx Ground had a stellar year, delivering 18. 4 percent operating margins and accounting for more than half of FedEx operating profit.Online shipments spurred record volumes. More than one quarter of our FedEx Ground lanes are now faster in terms of transit times than the competition, boosting service and customer satisfaction to unprecedented levels. As a result, including FedEx SmartPost, our overall U. S. ground parcel-market share has increased to nearly 30 percent, doubling over the last decade. The rapid transformation of FedEx Freight, which basically reinvented the LTL freight industry a little more th an a year ago, is paying off with a strong eturn to profitability. Revenues grew 8 percent year over year. Offering both priority and economy service options and industry-leading transit times have made FedEx Freight a market share leader, and customers are delighted by our LTL value proposition. Global uncertainty, a slowdown of Asia exports and weakness in the technology sector challenged FedEx Express in FY12. Although U. S. domestic and international priority package volumes were down, yield improvements helped FedEx Express maintain profitability.We’re taking advantage of the flexibility we’ve built into our system to match our capacity to the demand; we’ve accelerated the retirement of older, less efficient aircraft and are replacing them with more fuel-efficient planes; and we are taking other actions to increase FedEx Express margins in the future, despite the low-growth environment. 2 FoCuSed neTWoRkS Our customers’ expectations and needs evolve constantly, and so must we. The Roman statesman Marcus Aurelius summed it up best: â€Å"Nothing happens without change. † That’s why our operating companies relentlessly adjust their networks to meet traffic flows and levels.Each network is discrete so it can optimize its business without compromise. Hence our competitive advantage of speed and flexibility: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight are superior networks with industry-leading service levels. Superior networks translate into superior solutions for customers. That’s real value. Take as an example the global rise of online buying, now growing at three to four times the rate of retail sales growth overall. For FedEx, that means more deliveries, whether a product is purchased or returned. It’s the perfect fuel for growth, internationally and in the United States.Retailers want a range of shipping options that satisfies their customers’ various expectations for cost and service. In t he U. S. we offer express service, customized ground home delivery, and FedEx SmartPost, our most inexpensive shipping option. The low cost of FedEx SmartPost allows retailers to offer free shipping as a marketing tactic. In fact, consumers â€Å"We’re keeping our eye on the ball — loWering costs and improving our efficiency for continued success. † chose the free-shipping option for half of holiday ecommerce transactions last November and December, according to omScore, a firm that analyzes online commerce. As noted earlier, our QDM philosophy and methods are built on the proven premise that higher quality lowers costs, improves service levels, and enhances the customer experience. It’s a three-legged stool that supports our long-term growth strategies. We apply QDM principles to our sustainability decisions, just as we do to our business decisions, because it’s good business and good for the planet. The FedEx Express vehicle fleet is ahead of pla n to be 20 percent more fuel efficient by 2020 than it was in 2005.To support our air fleet modernization program, we have recently agreed to purchase additional Boeing 767 aircraft that are substantially more fuel efficient than the aircraft they will replace. In FY12, we invested about $4 billion in capital expenditures, about half related to modernizing our air fleet. We think such initiatives are an integral part of this year’s No. 6 ranking on fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list and No. 7 on the Reputation Institute’s list of the most socially responsible companies in the United States.FedEx provides the efficient access that businesses of all sizes need to succeed, build prosperous communities and raise living standards worldwide. Just ask a British mother who redesigned a simple handbag. In just three years this FedEx customer turned her product into a $3. 3 million global business called Cambridge Satchel Company. Or talk to the founder of OtterBox, a company that makes protective cases for mobile devices. Thanks to the mastery of global supply chains, he grew his business from $5 million to almost $169 million in just three years, while creating more than 500 jobs in his hometown of Fort Collins, Colo.We believe we can continue to improve FedEx’s financial performance in fiscal year 2013 and beyond based on the strategy and initiatives discussed above. But we understand our achievements rely on the trust of our customers, shareowners, and team members and we will continue to earn their confidence by conducting our business with integrity, dependability, and commitment every day, every transaction. That’s our Purple Promise. Sincerely, WoRld-ClASS SoluTionS Growth in the U. S. and Europe is moderate, but there are positive signs worldwide because of the strength of emerging markets.Countries such as China, India, Mexico and Brazil are quickly becoming consumers as well as producers, driving increased demand. The long-term future for global trade remains solid, and we are committed to providing solutions for businesses — large and small — to effectively compete in this important market. Air express will continue to grow long term as the integration of the world’s economies generate more small shipments moving directly from the point of production to the end user. That’s why the unique capabilities of our Boeing 777Fs are a distinct advantage for us.Their long range and nonstop capabilities provide shippers more time to process shipments each day. Concurrently, air freight shipping is becoming more episodic. High-value technology products make up a large portion of this market these days, and more of these goods are being shipped as part of large new product launches. As a consequence, it often takes a large fleet of wide-body aircraft like ours to quickly flex capacity up and down. If a customer asks us to add extra flights, FedEx can do it better than our competitors because we have the largest all-cargo fleet in the world.These trends are reinforced by improved production scheduling, reliability, and logistics information systems. Better visibility into supply chains allows greater use of ocean transportation to ship customers’ commodity freight, a distinct advantage given higher fuel prices. As a result, we’ve been expanding our FedEx Trade Networks capabilities. Since 2008, we’ve opened 47 freight-forwarding offices worldwide to help businesses reach their markets via ocean or air. It’s a key part of our strategy to provide customers with the world-class solutions they need to compete.Despite the slowdown in Europe last year, our business there continues to grow. To better serve customers, FedEx Express is opening stations across Europe. We’ve also recently completed acquisitions of transportation companies in Poland, France, and Brazil to provide customers in those markets with better domes tic service and improved access to global markets. innovATion AT WoRk As we grow, we know we must continue to connect the world responsibly. It starts with the Purple Promise, which FedEx team members deliver millions of times a day worldwide: â€Å"I will make every FedEx experience outstanding. If the Purple Promise is our heart, Quality Driven Management (QDM) represents our hands — it’s how we do things at FedEx. Frederick W. Smith Chairman, President and CEO MORE > fedex. com/annualreport2012 3 to stay ahead, we change the game As the speed of global change accelerates, the difference between leaders and followers is defined by one word — agility. We not only have the ability to quickly react to changing economic conditions and customer needs, but also the agility to anticipate and effect change. FedEx is redefining our industry as we continually reshape and refine our focused networks to gain speed and efficiency.When we change the game, our customers win . ACCeleRATing ACCeSS gAining SPeed FedEx Express is the largest all-cargo airline in the world and the largest express transportation company. Our long-range Boeing 777F aircraft directly link global markets, speeding customers’ shipments door-to-door. In the last two years, we’ve improved global access by completing acquisitions in India, Mexico, Poland, France and Brazil. To accommodate evolving customer needs, the global offices of FedEx Trade Networks offer end-to-end shipping services, including air and ocean freight forwarding supported by customs brokerage.FedEx Ground continues to delight customers by shortening transit times throughout the U. S. and Canada. Businesses can reach more locations faster than with any other ground carrier. Convenient FedEx Ground home delivery and FedEx SmartPost services support the growing consumer trend to buy online, which grew by double digits in each of the last two years. In the United States, Cyber Monday online sales rose 22 percent, to $1. 25 billion last year — the largest online shopping day ever, boosting holiday shipping volumes to record levels.CuSToMeRS ARe in The FAST lAne thanks to a dedicated Fedex ground team that continually fine-tunes the ground network, much like a race car, to enhance speed, safety and reliability. From left: kimberly Whigham, managing director, vehicle Maintenance; Jeff grimm, managing director, linehaul Planning; brian neal, manager, Safety Process Management; Steve griffin, vice president, linehaul; Rich Sturges, senior manager, linehaul engineering. go to fedex. com/annualreport2012 to read their story. 4 ShiFTing geARS innovATing SoluTionSFedEx Freight is the first carrier to offer less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping customers two choices: priority and economy. In an industry where most shipments are processed manually, we’re automating much of the shipping process, improving customers’ productivity and earning their loyalty. We’ve also made it much easier and faster for shippers to classify freight with Freight Central, our convenient online resource for LTL shippers. Combined with industry-leading transit times, these changes have made FedEx Freight a market leader in the U. S. LTL industry, a $31 billion market in 2011.FedEx Services transforms our superior technology and delivery services into shipping and business solutions for customers. Their choices are based on what’s most important to them today. That’s why our portfolio includes air and ocean freight forwarding solutions to complement our express and air cargo services. Meanwhile, at FedEx Office locations, we installed 8,000 pieces of printing equipment in the last two years. The technology can deliver a variety of signage and over-sized prints for customers ranging from big-box retailers with multiple locations to large corporations to small businesses. uperior netWorks deliver game-changing customer solutions. MORE > fedex. com/annualre port2012 5 to stay ahead, we do what’s right A passion for quality drives FedEx team members worldwide. Our culture of continuous improvement embraces change and drives innovation. In turn, we enhance the lives of our customers and their communities so that our customers remain among the most satisfied and loyal in the industry. Whether it’s the transportation services we provide, the information technology we support or the sustainable solutions we implement, when we do the right thing, we earn their trust.QuAliTy dRiven MAnAgeMenT is how we successfully respond to the pressures of today’s business environment. In a recent improvement effort, we’ve reduced lost and damaged shipments, demonstrating our commitment to service excellence and saving millions of dollars. Global teams also worked on behalf of customers to continue improving the customs clearance process. More accurate clearance documentation, technology improvements and better collaboration amo ng global regulatory authorities give FedEx customers an edge in the marketplace. inFoRMATion about a shipment is as important as the shipment itself.Whether it’s an overnight holiday gift or a supply chain that stretches across the globe, our customers stay in-the-know thanks to our superior technology. The new Colorado Springs Enterprise Data Center is the heart of a cutting-edge IT transformation to hybrid cloud architecture. This innovative technology enables FedEx to be more productive and efficient by accessing computer resources even as data expands at 40 percent per year. The size and scope of the implementation is one of the largest within a commercial real-time system. iF knoWledge iS PoWeR, Fedex customers have a competitive advantage thanks to he Fedex Trade networks team that manages My global Trade data. They’re dedicated to providing the quality tracking and reporting that are essential to managing international freight forwarding shipments. From left: R enee brown, product specialist; Paul kirkeby, senior programmer analyst; Chauntisse Foster, senior product advisor; Alan hunt, iT manager. go to fedex. com/annualreport2012 to read their story. 6 SuSTAinAbiliTy and innovation go hand in hand at FedEx. We call it EarthSmart — FedEx solutions for a more sustainable world.Our customers can now neutralize their carbon emissions when they ship their documents by taking advantage of our new FedEx carbon-neutral envelope shipping. FedEx Express is the first global express transportation company to offer the program to customers at no charge. We’re modernizing our aircraft fleet with Boeing 757s, 767s and 777s, which are delivering significant increases in fuel efficiency and reduced operating costs and emissions. After only six years into our 15-year plan, we have completed 69 percent of our goal to reduce aircraft emissions intensity 20 percent by 2020.Because we’re ahead of plan, our goal is to now reduce aircraft em issions intensity 30 percent by 2020. At FedEx Office, more than 5 million pounds of paper were recycled in 2011, saving tens of thousands of trees. FedEx Office built independent paper-recycling systems into all of its North America locations, because many communities have inadequate recycling or none at all. FedEx is closing in on our vehicle fleet fuel-efficiency goal — making our vehicle fleet 20 percent more fuel efficient by 2020 — years ahead of schedule.Our strategy has been to reduce the number of vehicles that we need by continually making our routes more efficient and then selecting the most efficient vehicle for the job. We’re adding 87 all-electric trucks to the fleet to bring the total to 130 in the United States, Asia and Europe. About 11,000 Sprinter vans will also be added. Each is 70 to 100 percent more fuel efficient than the truck it replaces. MORE > fedex. com/annualreport2012 7 OPERATING MARGIN 2008(4) 2009(3) 2010 2011(2) 2012(1) 5. 5% 2. 1% 5. 8% 6. 1% 7. 5% financial highlights 2008(4) DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE $3. 60 $0. 1 $3. 76 (in millions, except earnings per share) 2012(1) Percent 2011(2) Change 9 34 140bp 40 40 – 17 22 9 (1) (3) 2009(3) 2010 2011(2) REVENUE 2012(1) Operating Results Revenues $ 42,680 $ 39,304 Operating income 3,186 2,378 Operating margin 7. 5% 6. 1% Net income 2,032 1,452 Diluted earnings per common share 6. 41 4. 57 Average common and common equivalent shares 317 317 Capital expenditures 4,007 3,434 Financial Position Cash and cash equivalents Total assets Long-term debt, including current portion Common stockholders’ investment $ 2,843 29,903 1,667 14,727 $ 2,328 27,385 1,685 15,220 in billions) $4. 57 $6. 41 2008 2009 2010 $38. 0 $35. 5 $34. 7 RETURN ON AVERAGE EQUITY 2011 (4) 2008 2009 2012 (3) 2010 2011(2) 2012(1) 8. 3% $39. 3 0. 7% $42. 7 8. 6% 10. 0% 13. 6% OPERATING MARGIN DEBT TO TOTAL CAPITALIZATION 2008(4) 2009(3) 2008 2010 5. 5% 2. 1% 12. 1% 5. 8% 15. 9% 12. 3% 10. 0% 10. 2% 2011(2) 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012 (1) 6. 1% 7. 5% DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE 2008(4) 2009 2010 STOCK PRICE (May 31 close) $91. 71 $55. 43 $83. 49 2008 (3) 2009 2010 $3. 60 $0. 31 $3. 76 COMPARISON OF FIVE-YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN* 120 $110 $100 $90 $80 $70 $60 $50 $40 5/07 5/08 5/09 5/10 5/11 5/12 2011(2) 2011 2012(1) 2012 $93. 64 $4. 57 $89. 14 $6. 41 RETURN ON AVERAGE EQUITY 2008(4) 2009(3) 2010 2011(2) 2012(1) 8. 3% 0. 7% 8. 6% 10. 0% 13. 6% DEBT TO TOTAL CAPITALIZATION 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 12. 1% 15. 9% 12. 3% 10. 0% 10. 2% FedEx Corporation S&P 500 Dow Jones Transportation Average *$100 invested on 5/31/07 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends. fiscal year ending may 31. (1) results for 2012 include a $134 million ($84 million, net of tax or $0. 6 per diluted share) impairment charge resulting from the decision to retire 24 aircraft and related engines at fedex express and the reversal of a $66 million legal reserve initially recorded in 2011. (2) results for 2011 include charges of approximately $199 million ($104 million, net of tax and applicable variable incentive compensation impacts, or $0. 33 per diluted share) for the combination of our fedex freight and fedex national ltl operations and a $66 million reserve associated with a legal matter at fedex express. (3) results for 2009 include a charge of $1. billion ($1. 1 billion, net of tax, or $3. 45 per diluted share) primarily for impairment charges associated with goodwill and aircraft. (4) results for 2008 include a charge of $891 million ($696 million, net of tax, or $2. 23 per diluted share) recorded during the fourth quarter, predominantly for impairment charges associated with intangible assets from the fedex office acquisition. STOCK PRICE (May 31 close) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 $91. 71 $55. 43 $83. 49 $93. 64 $89. 14 COMPARISON OF FIVE-YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN* 8ManageMent’s discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition OVERVIEW OF FINANCIAL SECTION The financial section of the FedEx Corporation (â€Å"FedEx†) Annual Report (â€Å"Annual Report†) consists of the following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition (â€Å"MD&A†), the Consolidated Financial Statements and the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, and Other Financial Information, all of which include information about our significant accounting policies, practices and the transactions that underlie our financial results.The following MD&A describes the principal factors affecting the results of operations, liquidity, capital resources, contractual cash obligations and the critical accounting estimates of FedEx. The discussion in the financial section should be read in conjunction with the other sections of this Annual Report and our detailed discussion of risk factors included in this MD&A. our reportable segments.Our FedEx Services segment provides sale s, marketing, information technology, communications and back-office support to our transportation segments. In addition, the FedEx Services segment provides customers with retail access to FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipping services through FedEx Office and Print Services, Inc. (â€Å"FedEx Office†) and provides customer service, technical support and billing and collection services through FedEx TechConnect, Inc. â€Å"FedEx TechConnect†). See â€Å"Reportable Segments† for further discussion. The key indicators necessary to understand our operating results include: > the overall customer demand for our various services based on macroeconomic factors and the global economy; > the volumes of transportation services provided through our networks, primarily measured by our average daily volume and hipment weight; > the mix of services purchased by our customers; > the prices we obtain for our services, primarily measured by yield (revenue per package or poun d or revenue per hundredweight for LTL freight shipments); > our ability to manage our cost structure (capital expenditures and operating expenses) to match shifting volume levels; and > the timing and amount of fluctuations in fuel prices and our ability to recover incremental fuel costs through our fuel surcharges. ORGANIZATION OF INFORMATIONOur MD&A is composed of three major sections: Results of Operations, Financial Condition and Critical Accounting Estimates. These sections include the following information: > Results of Operations includes an overview of our consolidated 2012 results compared to 2011, and 2011 results compared to 2010. This section also includes a discussion of key actions and events that impacted our results, as well as our outlook for 2013. > The overview is followed by a financial summary and analysis (including a discussion of both historical operating results and our outlook for 2013) for each of our reportable transportation segments. gt; Our financial condition is reviewed through an analysis of key elements of our liquidity, capital resources and contractual cash obligations, including a discussion of our cash flows and our financial commitments. > Critical accounting estimates discusses those financial statement elements that we believe are important to understanding certain of the material judgments and assumptions incorporated in our financial results. > We conclude with a discussion of risks and uncertainties that may impact our financial and operating results. The majority of our operating expenses are directly impacted by revenue and volume levels.Accordingly, we expect these operating expenses to fluctuate on a year-over-year basis consistent with the change in revenues and volumes. Therefore, the discussion of operating expense captions focuses on the key drivers and trends impacting expenses other than changes in revenues and volume. Except as otherwise specified, references to years indicate our fiscal year ended May 3 1, 2012 or ended May 31 of the year referenced and comparisons are to the prior year. References to our transportation segments include, collectively, our FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight segments. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESSWe provide a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services through companies competing collectively, operating independently and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Our primary operating companies are Federal Express Corporation (â€Å"FedEx Express†), the world’s largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. (â€Å"FedEx Ground†), a leading North American provider of small-package ground delivery services; and FedEx Freight, Inc. (â€Å"FedEx Freight†), a leading North American provider of less-than-truckload (â€Å"LTL†) freight services.These companies represent our major service lines and, along with FedEx Corporate Services, Inc. (â€Å"FedEx Services†), form the core of 9 management’s discussion and analysis RESULTS OF OPERATIONS CONSOLIDATED RESULTS The following table compares summary operating results (dollars in millions, except per share amounts) for the years ended May 31: Percent Change 2011(2) 2010 2012/2011 2011/2010 2012(1) Revenues $ 42,680 $ 39,304 $ 34,734 9 13 Operating income 3,186 2,378 1,998 34 19 Operating margin 7. 5% 6. 1% 5. 8% 140bp 30bp Net income $ 2,032 $ 1,452 $ 1,184 40 23 Diluted earnings per share $ 6. 1 $ 4. 57 $ 3. 76 40 22 (1) Operating expenses include an impairment charge of $134 million resulting from the decision to retire 24 aircraft and related engines at FedEx Express and the reversal of a $66 million legal reserve associated with the ATA Airlines lawsuit which was initially recorded in 2011. (2) Operating expenses include $133 million in costs associated with the combination of our FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL operations, effective January 30, 2011, and a $66 million legal reserve associated with the ATA Airlines lawsuit against FedEx Express.The following table shows changes in revenues and operating income by reportable segment for 2012 compared to 2011, and 2011 compared to 2010 (dollars in millions): Revenues Dollar Change Percent Change 2012/2011 2011/2010 2012/2011 2011/2010 $ 1,934 $ 3,026 8 14 1,088 1,046 13 14 371 590 8 14 (13) (86) (1) (5) (4) (6) NM NM $ 3,376 $ 4,570 9 13 Operating Income Dollar Change Percent Change 2012/2011 2011/2010 2012/2011 2011/2010 $ 32 $ 101 3 9 439 301 33 29 337 (22) 193 (14) – – – – – – – – $ 808 $ 380 34 19FedEx Express segment(1) FedEx Ground segment FedEx Freight segment(2) FedEx Services segment Other and eliminations (1) FedEx Express segment 2012 operating expenses include an impairment charge of $134 million resulting from the decision to retire 24 aircraft and related engines at FedEx Express and the reversal of a $66 million legal re serve associated with the ATA Airlines lawsuit which was initially recorded in 2011. (2) FedEx Freight segment 2011 operating expenses include $133 million in costs associated with the combination of our FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL operations, effective January 30, 2011. 0 management’s discussion and analysis Overview Revenues, operating income and operating margins increased in 2012 due to the exceptional performance of our FedEx Ground segment, improved profitability at FedEx Freight and increased yields across all our operating segments, despite moderating global economic conditions. Our results for 2012 include the impact of certain charges and credits as described below, which favorably impacted our year-overyear results by $0. 15 per diluted share, after considering the effect of variable incentive compensation accruals.In addition, our results significantly benefited in 2012 from the timing lag that exists between when fuel prices change and when indexed fuel surcharges automatically adjust. We also benefited from a milder winter, as our 2011 results were negatively impacted by unusually severe winter weather. 26 related engines, as well as six Boeing MD10-10 aircraft and 17 related engines. The decision to retire these aircraft will better align the U. S. domestic air network capacity of FedEx Express to match current and anticipated shipment volumes.Our 2011 results include one-time costs associated with the combination of our FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL operations of $133 million, including $89 million of impairment and other charges. Our results for 2011 reflected the momentum of improved global economic conditions and strong demand for our services, which drove yield growth and volume increases across all our transportation segments, particularly in International Priority (â€Å"IP†) package shipments at FedEx Express. Our FedEx Ground segment delivered strong results through increasing volume, yield and operating ma rgins.The FedEx Freight segment returned to profitability in the fourth quarter of 2011, primarily due to higher LTL yield. All of our transportation segments benefited from our yield management initiatives in 2011. The combination of our FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL operations was completed in 2011. Our combined LTL network increases efficiencies, reduces operational costs and provides customers both Priority and Economy LTL freight services across all lengths of haul from one integrated company.Our 2012 results include the reversal of a $66 million reserve associated with the ATA Airlines lawsuit at FedEx Express. This reserve was initially recorded in 2011 when a loss was deemed probable as a result of an adverse decision in the lawsuit. We reversed this reserve during 2012 when FedEx Express won the appeal of this case and the appeals court overturned the prior ruling (See Note 17 of the accompanying consolidated financial statements).Additionally, our 2012 results inclu de a noncash impairment charge of $134 million due to our decision to retire from service 18 Airbus A310-200 aircraft and 11 management’s discussion and analysis 3,000 3,000 2,603 2,603 2,638 2,638 2,684 (1) (1) FedEx FedEx Express(1) Express(1) Average Daily Package Volume Average Daily Package Volume 2,684 3,000 2,577 FedEx Express(1) Average Daily Package Volume 2,638 2,684 4,100 FedEx FedEx Ground(2) Ground(2) Average Daily Package Volume Average Daily Package Volume 4,100 (2) (2) FedEx Ground( Average Daily ,907 3,907 FedEx FedEx Ground Ground FedEx FedEx Express Express 2,500 2,500 2,500 The following graphs for FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight show selected 3,900 3,900 (in thousands) for the years ended May 31: volume trends Average Daily Package Volume 3,900 Average Daily Package Volume Average Daily Package Volume 2,000 Average Daily Package Volume 2,000 2,000 3,000 1,500 2,500 1,000 3,000 2,000 500 2,500 1,500 0 2,000 1,000 1,500 500 1,000 0 500 0 3,000 2,603 1,500 2,500 1,000 3,000 2,000 2,603 475 500 2,500 1,500 0 2,000 2009 1,000 2,577 2,603 ,100 2,577 FedEx2,603 2,638 Express(1) 2,684 2,577 1,500 2,577 Express(1)2,638 2,684 FedEx Average Daily Package Volume Average Daily Package Volume 523 2,603 2,638 475 575 523 2,638 2,684 575 2,684 559 2,577 1,000 500 559 2,577 475 523 575 4,100 4,100 3,700 3,700 3,900 3,900 4,100 559 4,100 3,500 3,500 3,404 3,700 3,900 3,300 FedEx Ground(2) FedEx Ground(2) 3,700 Average Daily Package Volume Average Daily Package3,907 3,907 Volume 3,523 3,523 3,404 2009 3,523 2010 3,404 3,523 2009 2010 3,404 3,523 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 3,746 3,746 3,500 3,907 3,300 3,907 3,404 ,746 3,746 3,523 0 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 2009 575 575 559 559 523 523 U. S. domestic package 475 475 U. S. domestic 1,500 U. S. domestic package package IP package IP package 500 2009 2010 1,000 0 2009 475 500 0 2009 575 559 575 559 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 523 523 475 U. S. domestic package package IP package IP package U. S. domestic 3,700 3,900 3,300 2011 2012 2009 3,500 3,500 IP package 3,404 3,700 3,700 3,300 3,500 3,300 2009 3,500 3,404 3,300 3,523 2011 2010 3,746 2011 3,746 2012 2012 2009 2010 2) 2011 2012 2011 2012 FedEx2009 2010 Freight2011 FedEx 2010 Freight FedEx2009 2010 Express and FedEx Ground(2)FedEx Express and FedEx Ground2009 FedEx and FedEx Ground(2) 2012 Express 2010 2011 U. S. domestic package package IP package IP package Volume U. S. domestic Total Average Daily Package Volume AverageLTL Shipments Total Average Daily Package Volume Total Average Daily Package Average Daily Daily LTL Shipments 3,300 2012 FedEx Freight Average Daily 7,800 7,600 7,400 7,800 7,200 7,600 7,000 7,800 7,400 6,800 7,600 7,200 6,600 7,400 7,000 7,200 6,800 7,000 6,600 6,800 7,800 7,600 7,800 (2) (2) 7,538 7,6007,538 90. 0 7,538 0. 0 86. 0 86. 0 90. 0 FedEx FedEx Express and FedEx Ground Express and FedEx Ground Total Average Daily7,353 7,353 Volume Total AveragePackage Daily Package Volume 7,4 00 7,400 (2) FedEx Express and FedEx Ground(2) FedEx Express and FedEx Ground7,200 7,200 7,600 Total Average Daily Package 7,538 7,538 Total Average Daily Package Volume Volume 7,002 7,002 7,800 7,353 85. 0 90. 0 80. 0 85. 0 FedEx FedEx Freight Freight 84. 9 84. 9 85. 0 Average Daily LTL Shipments Average Daily LTL Shipments 82. 3 82. 3 90. 0 80. 0 7,000 7,800 7,400 6,780 6,800 7,600 7,200 6,600 7,400 2009 7,000 6,780 7,002 2009 2010 6,780 7,002 2009 2010 6,780 7,002 ,353 7,353 7,000 7,002 6,800 7,538 7,538 7,002 2010 7,353 2011 7,353 2012 2011 6,600 6,780 85. 0 90. 0 75. 0 80. 0 85. 0 70. 0 85. 0 74. 4 90. 0 75. 0 FedEx FreightFreight86. 0 FedEx 80. 0 86. 0 Average Daily LTL Shipments 84. 9 Average Daily LTL Shipments 84. 9 74. 4 82. 3 82. 3 86. 0 86. 0 84. 9 2009 2010 82. 3 74. 4 2010 2011 82. 3 2011 2012 70. 0 75. 0 84. 9 2012 2009 74. 4 82. 3 2012 2009 2010 2011 7,200 6,780 6,800 7,000 6,600 2009 6,780 6,800 80. 0 85. 0 70. 0 2012 2009 74. 4 75. 0 75. 0 80. 0 80. 0 70. 0 75. 0 7 0. 0 74. 4 2009 75. 0 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 74. 4 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 012 70. 0 70. 0 6,600 6,600 The following graphs 2010 FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight show selected yield trends for the years ended 2011 31: for May 2011 2009 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 2009 2009 2009 2010 2010 2012 2012 FedEx FedEx Express Express Revenue per Package – Yield– Yield Revenue per Package (1) (1) FedEx Express Revenue per Package – Yield (1) FedEx FedEx Ground Ground Revenue per Package – Yield– Yield Revenue per Package $9. 25 (2) (2) (2) (2) FedEx Ground ( Revenue per P $70. 00 $60. 00 $50. 00 $70. 00 $40. 00 $60. 00 $30. 00 $70. 00 $50. 00 $20. 00 $60. 00 $40. 00 $10. 00 $50. 0 $30. 00 $40. 00 $20. 00 $30. 00 $10. 00 $20. 00 $21. 00 $10. 00 $20. 00 $19. 00 $21. 00 $18. 00 $20. 00 $21. 00 $17. 00 $19. 00 $20. 00 $16. 00 $18. 00 $19. 00 $17. 00 $70. 00 $57. 81 $60. 00 $70. 00 $57. 81 $53. 10 (1) (1) $56. 08 $53. 10 FedEx FedEx Express Express Revenue per Package – Yield– Yield Revenue per Package $50. 00 $50. 00 $40. 00 $57. 81 $60. 00 $30. 00 $70. 00 $50. 00 $30. 00 $70. 00 $60. 83 $60. 83 $57. 81 $60. 00 $56. 08 $9. 25 $53. 10 $56. 08 $8. 75 $9. 25 $8. 25 $8. 75 $9. 25 $7. 75 $14. 61 2010 $15. 59 $8. 25 $8. 75 $7. 25 $9. 25 $60. 83 $8. 75 FedEx FedEx Ground Ground $8. 77 $8. 77 $8. 5 Revenue per Package – Yield– Yield Revenue per Package FedEx Express(1) FedEx Express(1) $60. 83 $40. 00$60. 83 $57. 81 Revenue$53. 10 Package – Yield– Yield Revenue$53. 10$56. 08 $56. 08 per per Package $16. 21 $57. 81$14. 61 $53. 10 2009 2010 $15. 59 $14. 61$56. 08 $53. 10 2010 2011 $60. 83 $17. 12 $17. 12 $20. 00$60. 83 $16. 21 $15. 59 $56. 08 $10. 00 2011 2012 2012 2009 $9. 25 $8. 25 $20. 00 $16. 21 $57. 81 $60. 00 $40. 00 $10. 00 $50. 00 2009 $30. 00 $8. 75 $9. 25 $7. 70 $7. 75 $17. 12 FedEx Ground (2) FedEx Ground (2) $8. 25 $8. 17 $8. 17 Revenue per Package – Yield– Yi eld $8. 77 Revenue per Package $8. 7 $7. 70 $7. 73 $7. 73 $8. 17 2009 2010 $7. 70 $7. 73 2010 2011 $7. 73 $8. 17 $8. 17 $8. 77 2011 2012 $8. 17 $7. 75 $8. 77 $7. 25 2012 2009 2010 $7. 70 $7. 73 U. S. domestic $17. 12 $40. 00 U. S. domestic package package IP package IP package $17. 12 $20. 00 $16. 21 $16. 21 $15. 59 $14. 61 $15. 59 $14. 61 U. S. domestic package $8. 25 $8. 75 $7. 25 2011 2012 2009 $7. 70 $7. 75 $7. 75 IP package $8. 25 $8. 25 $30. 00 $10. 00 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 2009 $17. 12 $17. 12 $20. 00 $16. 21 $16. 21 $15. 59 $14. 61 U. S. domestic package U. S. domestic package $14. 61$15. 59IP package IP package $21. 00 $21. 0 $10. 00 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 2009 $20. 00$19. 57 $20. 00 $19. 57 U. S. domestic package package IP package IP package U. S. domestic $19. 07 $19. 07 $19. 07 $19. 00 $21. 00 $19. 00 FedEx Freight FedEx FedEx Freight Freight Average Fuel Cost per Gallon Gallon Average Fuel Cost per $7. 25 $7. 25 $7. 73 $7. 70 $7. 70 $7. 73 2009 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 $7. 75 $7. 75 LTL Revenue per Hundredweight – Yield– LTL Revenue per Hundredweight – Yield LTL Revenue per Hundredweight Yield FedEx FedEx Freight Freight LTL Revenue per Hundredweight – Yield– Yield LTL Revenue per Hundredweight $18. 24 $17. 7 $4. 50 $7. 25 $4. 00 $4. 50 $7. 25 2009 $4. 00 $19. 57 $4. 50 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 $3. 80 2012 2012 Average Fuel C 2012 $4. 00 Average Fuel Cost per Gallon Gallon $3. 80 Average Fuel Cost per $3. 04 $3. 25 $2. 69 $2. 66 $3. 25 $3. 31 $3. 50$3. 31 $2. 66 $3. 80 $3. 04 $2. 69 $2. 15 FedEx FreightFreight FedEx $18. 24 $18. 24 LTL Revenue per Hundredweight – Yield– Yield LTL Revenue per Hundredweight $18. 00$19. 57 $18. 00 $20. 00 $19. 57 $19. 07 $21. 00 $17. 00 $19. 00 $20. 00 $19. 07 $16. 00 $18. 00 2009 $19. 00 $17. 00 $19. 07 $17. 07 $17. 07 $18. 24 $19. 07 2009 2010 $17. 07 2010 2011 $17. 07 $18. 4 $18. 24 $17. 00 $19. 57 $19. 57 $16. 00 2011 2012 2012 2009 2 010 2011 $3. 50 $3. 50 $3. 04 $4. 50 $4. 50 $3. 00 $3. 00 $2. 62 $4. 00 $4. 00 $2. 50 $2. 50 $4. 50 $4. 50 $3. 50 $3. 50 $3. 04 $2. 00 $2. 00 $4. 00 $4. 00 $3. 00 $3. 00 $2. 62 $1. 50 $1. 50 $3. 50 2012 $3. 50 2009 $2. 50 $2. 50 $3. 04 $3. 00 $2. 00 $2. 50 $1. 50 $2. 00 $1. 50 Average Fuel Cost per Gallon Gallon Average Fuel Cost per $3. 00 $2. 62 $2. 69 $3. 04 $2. 15 $2. 15 $3. 25 $2. 69 $2. 66 2010 $3. 25 2011 $2. 15 $2. 69 $2. 66 $2. 15 2010 2011 Jet 2010 2011 Jet $3. 25 $3. 31 $2. 50 $3. 80 $2. 62 $3. 31 $3. 80 $2. 00$3. 80 $2. 66 $1. 50$3. 1 $3. 25 $3. 31 2011 2012 2012 2009 Jet $2. 66 Jet Vehicle 2010 $2. 62 $2. 69 $18. 00 $18. 00 (2) Package statistics do not include the operations of FedEx SmartPost. $17. 07 $17. 07 $16. 00 $16. 00 2009 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 $17. 00 $17. 00 (1) Excludes international domestic operations. $18. 24 2009 2010 $3. 04 $2. 15 Vehicle $3. 00 Vehicle $2. 00 $2. 62 $2. 69 $2. 62 $2. 15 2009 2010 Vehicle Vehicle $2. 50 $1. 50 2009 $2. 00 $ 1. 50 2009 2011 2012 Jet 2011 2012 Jet 2012 12 $16. 00 $16. 00 2009 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 2009 2010 Vehicle Vehicle 2012 management’s discussion and analysis evenue During 2012, revenues increased 9% due to yield growth across all our transportation segments. At FedEx Express, revenues increased 8% in 2012 led by higher U. S. domestic and IP package yields. However, U. S. domestic package and IP package volumes declined due to weakening global economic conditions. Revenues increased 13% during 2012 at our FedEx Ground segment due to higher yields and strong demand for all our major services. At FedEx Freight, revenues increased 8% during 2012 due to higher LTL yield as a result of higher fuel surcharges and yield management programs, despite a decrease in volume.Revenues increased 13% during 2011 due to yield increases and volume growth across all our transportation segments. Yields improved due to higher fuel surcharges and increased base rates under our yield i mprovement programs. At FedEx Express, revenues increased 14% in 2011 led by IP volume growth in Asia, as well as U. S. domestic and IP package yield increases. At the FedEx Ground segment, revenues increased 14% in 2011 due to continued volume growth driven by market share gains and yield growth at both FedEx Ground and FedEx SmartPost.At FedEx Freight, yield increases due to our yield management programs and higher LTL fuel surcharges, and higher average daily LTL volumes led to a 14% increase in revenues in 2011. impairment and Other Charges In May 2012, we made the decision to retire from service 18 Airbus A310-200 aircraft and 26 related engines, as well as six Boeing MD10-10 aircraft and 17 related engines. As a consequence of this decision, a noncash impairment charge of $134 million ($84 million, net of tax, or $0. 26 per diluted share) was recorded in the fourth quarter.The decision to retire these aircraft, the majority of which were temporarily idled and not in revenue se rvice, will better align the U. S. domestic air network capacity of FedEx Express to match current and anticipated shipment volumes. Operating inCOme The following tables compare operating expenses expressed as dollar amounts (in millions) and as a percent of revenue for the years ended May 31: 2012 2011 2010 Operating expenses: Salaries and employee benefits $ 16,099 $ 15,276 $ 14,027 Purchased transportation 6,335 5,674 4,728 Rentals nd landing fees 2,487 2,462 2,359 Depreciation and amortization 2,113 1,973 1,958 Fuel 4,956 4,151 3,106 Maintenance and repairs 1,980 1,979 1,715 (1) (2) Impairment and other charges 134 89 18 Other (3) 5,390 5,322 4,825 Total operating expenses $ 39,494 $ 36,926 $ 32,736 (1) Represents charges resulting from the decision to retire 24 aircraft and related engines at FedEx Express. (2) Represents charges associated with the combination of our FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL operations, effective January 30, 2011. 3) Includes the 2012 reversal of a $66 million legal reserve associated with the ATA Airlines lawsuit which was initially recorded in 2011 (See Note 17 of the accompanying consolidated financial statements). Percent of Revenue 2012 2011 2010 Operating expenses: Salaries and employee benefits Purchased transportation Rentals and landing fees Depreciation and amortization Fuel Maintenance and repairs Impairment and other charges Other (3) Total operating expenses Operating margin 37. 7% 14. 9 5. 8 5. 0 11. 6 4. 6 0. 3(1) 12. 6 92. 5 7. 5% 38. % 14. 4 6. 3 5. 0 10. 6 5. 0 0. 2(2) 13. 5 93. 9 6. 1% 40. 4% 13. 6 6. 8 5. 6 8. 9 4. 9 0. 1 13. 9 94. 2 5. 8% In 2011, we incurred impairment and other charges of $89 million related to the combination of our LTL operations at FedEx Freight. In 2010, we recorded a charge of $18 million for the impairment of goodwill related to the FedEx National LTL acquisition, eliminating the remaining goodwill attributable to this reporting unit. (1) Represents charges resulting from the dec ision to retire 24 aircraft and related engines at FedEx Express. 2) Represents charges associated with the combination of our FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL operations effective January 30, 2011. (3) Includes the 2012 reversal of a $66 million legal reserve associated with the ATA Airlines lawsuit which was initially recorded in 2011 (See Note 17 of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. ) Our 2012 operating income increased 34% and operating margin increased 140 basis points driven by higher yields across all our transportation segments due to higher fuel surcharges and our yield management programs. Our results lso significantly benefited in 2012 from the timing lag that exists between when fuel prices change and when indexed fuel surcharges automatically adjust. FedEx Ground segment operating income increased $439 million in 2012 driven by higher yields and strong demand for all our major services. At our FedEx Freight segment, operating income increased $337 million due to higher LTL yield and efficiencies gained from the combination of our LTL operations in 2011. Additionally, our year-over-year comparisons were favorably impacted by several items as described above in the â€Å"Overview† section. 13 anagement’s discussion and analysis FedEx Ground (2) Revenue per Package – Yield Salaries and benefits increased 5% in 2012 primarily due to higher $9. 25 incentive compensation costs and the full reinstatement of 401(k) $8. 77 company-matching contributions effective January 1, 2011. Purchased $8. 75 transportation costs increased 12% in 2012 due to volume growth and higher fuel surcharges at FedEx Ground, costs associated with the $8. 25 $8. 17 expansion of our freight forwarding business at FedEx Trade Networks $7. 73 and higher utilization of third-party transportation providers in interna$7. 0 $7. 75 tional locations primarily due to business acquisitions at FedEx Express. $7. 25 The following graph for our transp ortation segments shows our average 2009 2010 2011 2012 cost of jet and vehicle fuel per gallon for the years ended May 31: Salaries and employee benefits increased 9% in 2011 due to the reinstatement of merit salary increases, increases in pension and medical Average Fuel Cost per Gallon costs and the reinstatement of full 401(k) company-matching contributions effective January 1, 2011. Purchased transportation increased $4. 0 20% in 2011 due to volume growth, higher fuel surcharges and higher $3. 80 $4. 00 rates paid to our independent contractors at FedEx Ground, as well as costs associated with the expansion of our freight forwarding business $3. 31 $3. 25 $3. 50 $3. 04 at FedEx Trade Networks. Maintenance and repairs expense increased $3. 00 $2. 69 $2. 66 $2. 62 15% in 2011 primarily due to an increase in maintenance events, as a $2. 50 result of timing, and higher utilization of our fleet driven by increased $2. 15 volumes. Other operating expense increased 10% primarily due t o $2. 0 volume- and weather-related expenses. $1. 50 2009 2010 2011 2012 Vehicle Jet costs, and increased maintenance and repairs expenses had a negative impact on our performance for 2011. Costs related to the combination of our FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL operations also negatively impacted our 2011 results by $133 million. Unusually severe weather in the second half of 2011 caused widespread disruptions to our networks, which led to lost revenues and drove higher purchased transportation, salaries and wages and other operational costs.Additionally, a $66 million reserve associated with an adverse jury decision in the ATA Airlines lawsuit against FedEx Express was recognized in 2011. Fuel expense increased 19% during 2012 primarily due to price increases. Our fuel surcharges, which are more fully described in the â€Å"Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk† section of this MD&A, have a timing lag and are designed to pass through the price of fu el not included in our base shipping rates to our customers.Based on a static analysis of the impact to operating income of year-over-year changes in fuel prices compared to changes in fuel surcharges, fuel surcharges significantly exceeded incremental fuel costs in 2012. If fuel prices remain at current levels, that effect is expected to reverse in 2013. Our analysis considers the estimated impact of the reduction in fuel surcharges included in the base rates charged for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground services.However, this analysis does not consider the negative effects that fuel surcharge levels may have on our business, including reduced demand and shifts by our customers to lower-yielding services. While fluctuations in fuel surcharge rates can be significant from period to period, fuel surcharges represent one of the many individual components of our pricing structure that impact our overall revenue and yield. Additional components include the mix of services sold, the base pr ice and extra service charges we obtain for these services and the level of pricing discounts offered.In order to provide information about the impact of fuel surcharges on the trend in revenue and yield growth, we have included the comparative fuel surcharge rates in effect for 2012, 2011 and 2010 in the accompanying discussions of each of our transportation segments. In 2011, operating income increased 19% primarily due to yield and volume increases across all our transportation segments. Higher compensation and benefits, including retirement plans and medical Fuel expense increased 34% during 2011 primarily due to increases in the average price per gallon of fuel and fuel consumption driven by volume increases.Based on a static analysis of the net impact of yearover-year changes in fuel prices compared to year-over-year changes in fuel surcharges, fuel had a positive impact on operating income in 2011, predominantly at FedEx Express. Other inCOme and expense Interest expense decr eased $34 million in 2012 due to debt maturities, an increase in capitalized interest related to the timing of progress payments on aircraft purchases and lower financing fees. Interest expense increased $7 million in 2011 due to a decrease in capitalized interest related to timing of construction projects and progress payments on aircraft purchases. nCOme taxes Our effective tax rate was 35. 3% in 2012, 35. 9% in 2011 and 37. 5% in 2010. Our 2012 rate was lower than our 2011 rate primarily due to favorable audit developments. The 2011 rate was lower than our 2010 rate primarily due to increased permanently reinvested foreign earnings and a lower state rate driven by favorable audit and legislative developments. Our permanent reinvestment strategy with respect to unremitted earnings of our foreign subsidiaries provided a 1. 3% benefit to our 2012 effective tax rate.Our total permanently reinvested foreign earnings were $1. 0 billion at the end of 2012 and $640 million at the end of 2011. Our current federal income tax expenses in 2012, 2011 and 2010 were significantly reduced by accelerated depreciation deductions we claimed under provisions of the Tax Relief and the Small Business Jobs Acts of 2010, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, and the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. Those Acts, designed 14 management’s discussion and analysis to stimulate new business investment in the U. S. accelerated our depreciation deductions for new qualifying investments, such as our new Boeing 777 Freighter (â€Å"B777F†) aircraft. These are timing benefits only, in that the depreciation would have otherwise been recognized in later years. The components of the provision for federal income taxes for the years ended May 31 were as follows (in millions): Current Deferred Total Federal Provision 2012 $ (120) 947 $ 827 2011 $ 79 485 $ 564 2010 $ 36 408 $ 444 OutlOOk We anticipate revenue and earnings growth in 2013 despite only modest growth in the global economy. We believe U.S. domestic and global economic conditions will be impacted by the European debt crisis, slowing growth in Asia, and the uncertainty these issues create on the global economy and the demand for our services. These weaker global economic conditions have driven a shift by our customers from premium services to our deferred services, and we expect that trend to continue in 2013. For 2013, we expect our effective tax rate to be between 37. 0% and 38. 0%. The actual rate, however, will depend on a number of factors, including the amount and source of operating income.We also expect our current federal income tax expense will increase in 2013, possibly significantly, due to lower accelerated depreciation benefits than in prior years. Additional information on income taxes, including our effective tax rate reconciliation and liabilities for uncertain tax positions, can be found in Note 11 of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Business aCquisit iOns During 2012, we continued to expand our FedEx Express international network. On July 25, 2011, we completed our acquisition of Servicios Nacionales Mupa, S. A. de C.V. (MultiPack), a Mexican domestic express package delivery company, for $128 million in cash from operations. Last year, FedEx Express completed the acquisition of the Indian logistics, distribution and express businesses of AFL Pvt. Ltd. and its affiliate Unifreight India Pvt. Ltd. for $96 million in cash on February 22, 2011. The financial results of these acquired businesses are included in the FedEx Express segment from the date of acquisition and were not material, individually or in the aggregate, to our results of operations or financial condition.Substantially all of the purchase price was allocated to goodwill, which was entirely attributed to our FedEx Express reporting unit. Our anticipated earnings growth in 2013 is predicated on continued improvement in profitability at our FedEx Freight segment from y ield growth and efficiency improvements and the sustained strong performance of our FedEx Ground segment. International revenue growth and network efficiency improvements at FedEx Express should also contribute to our earnings growth in 2013.However, significant cost headwinds in pension expense will hamper earnings growth in 2013 as a historically low discount rate at our May 31, 2012 measurement date will increase these costs by approximately $150 million. During 2013, we will continue to evaluate actions and opportunities to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and adjust our networks to match anticipated demand. Initial actions were taken in 2012, as we made the decision to retire 24 aircraft and related engines at FedEx Express to better align the U. S. omestic air network capacity to match current and anticipated shipment volumes. In addition, we remain focused on modernizing our aircraft fleet at FedEx Express by adding newer aircraft that are more reliable, fuel efficient and technologically advanced, and retiring older, less-efficient aircraft. As a result of these efforts, FedEx Express is shortening the depreciable lives of the following aircraft and related engines: 31 additional Boeing MD10-10s, 18 additional Airbus A310s, four Boeing 727s (â€Å"B727†) and one Boeing MD10-30.This will accelerate the retirement of these aircraft to align with the delivery schedule for replacement Boeing 767-300 Freighter (â€Å"B767F†) and Boeing 757-200 (â€Å"B757†) aircraft. The accelerated depreciation on these aircraft is expected to total $69 million in 2013, with a partial offset from the avoidance of depreciation related to the aircraft retirements (described in the â€Å"Impairment and Other Charges† section above).FedEx Express is also developing an operating and cost structure plan during 2013 to further improve its operational efficiency. Our capital expenditures for 2013 are expected to decrease to approximately $3. 9 billion , with fewer aircraft deliveries in 2013. We will continue to evaluate our investments in critical long-term strategic projects to ensure our capital expenditures generate high returns on investments and are balanced with our outlook for global economic conditions. On June 29, 2012, FedEx Express entered into a upplemental agreement to purchase nine additional B767F aircraft, exercised ten B767F options available under the December 2011 agreement and purchased the right to 15 additional options. In conjunction with the supplemental agreement to purchase B767F aircraft, FedEx Express converted four B777F aircraft deliveries to equivalent purchase value for B767F aircraft purchased under the supplemental agreement. For additional details on key 2013 capital projects, refer to the â€Å"Capital Resources† and â€Å"Liquidity Outlook† sections of this MD&A.Subsequent to year-end, we completed the following acquisitions: > Opek Sp. z o. o. , a Polish domestic express packag e delivery company, for $54 million in cash from operations on June 13, 2012 > TATEX, a French express transportation company, for $55 million in cash from operations on July 3, 2012 > Rapidao Cometa Logistica e Transportes S. A. , a Brazilian transportation and logistics company, for $398 million in cash from operations on July 4, 2012Based on the timing of the completion of these acquisitions in relation to the date of issuance of the financial statements, the initial purchase price accounting was not completed for these acquisitions. The financial results of these acquired businesses will be included in the FedEx Express segment from the date of acquisition and will be immaterial to our 2013 results. These acquisitions will give us more robust transportation networks within these countries and added capabilities in these important global markets. 5 management’s discussion and analysis Our outlook is dependent upon a stable pricing environment for fuel, as volatility in fue l prices impacts our fuel surcharge levels, fuel expense and demand for our services. Historically, our fuel surcharges have largely offset incremental fuel costs; however, volatility in fuel costs may impact earnings because adjustments to our fuel surcharges lag changes in actual fuel prices paid. Therefore, the trailing impact of adjustments to our fuel urcharges can significantly affect our earnings either positively or negatively in the short-term. NEW ACCOUNTING GUIDANCE New accounting rules and disclosure requirements can significantly impact our reported results and the comparability of our financial statements. During our fiscal year, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued new guidance to make the presentation of items within other comprehensive income (â€Å"OCI†) more prominent.The new standard will require companies to present items of net income, items of OCI and total As described in Note 17 of the accompanying consolidated financial comprehensive incom e in one continuous statement or two separate statements and the â€Å"Independent Contractor Matters† section of our consecutive statements, and companies will no longer be allowed to FedEx Ground segment MD&A, we are involved in a number of lawsuits present items of OCI in the statement of stockholders’ equity. This new and other proceedings that challenge the status of FedEx Ground’s standard is effective for our fiscal year ending May 31, 2013. wner-operators as independent contractors. FedEx Ground anticipates continuing changes to its relationships with its contractors. The nature, We believe there is no additional new accounting guidance adopted but not yet effective that is relevant to the readers of our financial timing and amount of any changes are dependent on the outcome of statements. However, there are numerous new proposals under develnumerous future events. We cannot reasonably estimate the potenopment which, if and when enacted, may have a signi ficant impact on tial impact of any such changes or a meaningful range of potential outcomes, although they could be material.However, we do not believe our financial reporting. that any such changes will impair our ability to operate and profitably REPORTABLE SEGMENTS grow our FedEx Ground business. See â€Å"Risk Factors† for a discussion of these and other potential risks and uncertainties that could materially affect our future performance. seasOnality Of Business Our businesses are cyclical in nature, as seasonal fluctuations affect volumes, revenues and earnings. Historically, the U. S. express package business experiences an increase in volumes in late November and December.International business, particularly in the Asia-to-U. S. market, peaks in October and November in advance of the U. S. holiday sales season. Our first and third fiscal quarters, because they are summer vacation and post winter-holiday seasons, have historically experienced lower volumes relative to other periods. Normally, the fall is the busiest shipping period for FedEx Ground, while late December, June and July are the slowest periods. For FedEx Freight, the spring and fall are the busiest periods and the latter part of December, January and February are the slowest periods.For FedEx Office, the summer months are normally the slowest periods. Shipment levels, operating costs and earnings for each of our companies can also be adversely affected by inclement weather, particularly the impact of severe winter weather in our third fiscal quarter. FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight represent our major service lines and, along with FedEx Services, form the core of our reportable segments. Our reportable segments include the following businesses: FedEx Express Segment FedEx Ground Segment FedEx Freight Segment FedEx Services Segment gt; FedEx Express (express transportation) > FedEx Trade Networks (air and ocean freight forwarding and customs brokerage) > FedEx SupplyCh ain Systems (logistics services) > FedEx Ground (small-package ground delivery) > FedEx SmartPost (small-parcel consolidator) > FedEx Freight (LTL freight transportation) > FedEx Custom Critical (time-critical transportation) > FedEx Services (sales, marketing, information technology, communications and back-office functions) > FedEx TechConnect (customer service, technical support, billings and collections) > FedEx Office (document and business services and package acceptance) 6 management’s discussion and analysis FEDEX SERVICES SEGMENT The FedEx Services segment operates combined sales, marketing, administrative and information technology functions in shared services operations that support our transportation businesses and allow us to obtain synergies from the combination of these functions. For the international regions of FedEx Express, some of these functions are performed on a regional basis by FedEx Express and reported in the FedEx Express segment in expense line i

Revolts in Medieval Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Revolts in Medieval Europe - Essay Example There were many political, economical and social reasons for these revolts, which happened one chasing the other. Europe had been suffering from the three orders of society, ruling class, clergy and common people, for a long time. In some regions and states, it was the ruling class that harassed the poor and in some other regions, it was the clergy. Actually, the religious superstitions were such, that clergy, abbots, papacy got away with unspeakable crimes. The political size and management of states, economic upheavals were the other newly introduced issues. "Since the early fourteenth century new elements had come into play. The growth in the size of states and the increasing number of wars had raised the financial requirements of governments and made the state of inequality, already observable in the thirteenth century, harder to bear," Mollatt and Wolff (p.107). The reasons and problems had accumulated for decades, and while looking at them from this distance, it is surprising that the church leaders and kings failed to recognise them. Unrest was clearly in the air and unfortunately, no steps were taken by either the ruling class, or the religious leaders and every time, the situation was mishandled and reached the inevitable gory end. In the beginning of 14th century Europe came to a grinding halt, due ... In the beginning of 14th century Europe came to a grinding halt, due to popular revolts. It was the time when a series of revolts combined with unfortunate epidemics like Black Death (1348), Great Famine (1315 - 1317) hit Europe with unbelievable mayhem. According to climatologists, it might have occurred because of Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age, and the overpopulation of around a 100 million in Europe. At least half of the population was wiped out in these catastrophes, while the remaining half was terribly troubled by a series of popular revolts. Those were violent and unfortunate times. There was severe unhappiness in the continent combined with continuous wars and skirmishes, social unrest, class struggle, economic depression, and to top it all, religious bigotry. France and England got involved in the most tortuous Hundred Years' War and the Great Schism ruined the arguable unity existed till them in the Catholic Church. German States with diverse identities cropped up and this undermined the Holy Roman Empire, which lost its importance and authority. Those were unhappy and difficult times, crying in need of social reforms and political insight, without being provided. Popular revolts were by peasants in the countryside and by bourgeois in the towns, but the victims were the same, abbots, nobility and kings and chieftains. "The Middle Ages by themselves harshly tested human perseverance, imagination, and spirit. Living conditions were squalid for almost everyone except the ruling elite; most of the riches of Western culture were preserved at best in monasteries and on other continents. Then came the widespread famines, prolonged wars, and plagues that mark Europe's late medieval period as one

Journals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Journals - Essay Example I also never talk about girls or certain topics. With this identity I think that there are certain topics that aren’t appropriate to talk about with my parents and it seems that they agree and don’t talk about certain things with me. Another identity I have is one I use with my roommate. My roommate is very confident and talks about girls and dates all the time. With him I act more like a male concerned with women and sports and typical guy things. We often discuss dates and ways to meet girls. We also argue about sports and things like that. There are certain topics I don’t talk about with my roommate, like the political issues I support. I am not sure his position on all of these things, so when we discuss things like this I purposely make my position vague and try to change the subject. I also don’t talk about books or certain television shows I like, as I know that he doesn’t have the same tastes and wouldn’t care about these things. Sometimes my identities come into conflict with each other. For instance, when my parents visited me and went out to eat with my roommate. The topics of discussion were greatly different than what we normally talk about as I had to balance the situation between my identity with my parents and my identity with my roommate. The situation made me realize that there are many faces we use in the world and how it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The question of what does it mean to be insane is very complex. Many people use the term in regular conversation, not actually meaning the person is crazy. However, when trying to determine if the person is actually legally crazy requires a number of different views. I believe that in large part whether a person is crazy or not is determined by what the society they are in thinks about them. It is possible for a person in one group of people to be considered normal, where other groups of people might think that they are crazy. For example, in Africa many places have made

American History from 1874 to 2000 Research Paper

American History from 1874 to 2000 - Research Paper Example â€Å"Fix it up or do without† became the motto for the young people coming of age during this time in America’s history. And as with all things historic, this would surely influence what has been referred to popularly as The Greatest Generation, as they entered the years of war that came on the heals of the Great Depression. Identifying a cause of the Great Depression is tricky business. Many people look to the stock market crash of 1929 as an easy answer. This actually wasn’t the real cause of the economic problems, but it was a symptom of a desperately unhealthy economy (Davis 2003). The stock market crash was a severe psychological blow to the American public. Writing this during the Great Recession that started over a year ago, some of the actions of investors in the years preceding the stock market crash of 1929 sounds like dà ©jà   vu. The stock market had for years been a place for the powerful elites of America to get even richer. They had access and knowledge of markets. The ordinary working classes steered clear. During the booming 1920’s this changed. The stock prices were rising so dramatically, middle class citizens were borrowing money to buy more stocks. Getting rich quick was the order of the day. The problem started when European investors started to notice the amount of debt American companies and banks were incurring due to speculative stock purchases. Stock prices began to decline and panic set in. People sold their stock, or attempted to before they lost everything. Banks were swamped with customers that wanted to withdraw money, but there was no money because the banks had purchased speculative stocks that were now worthless. The social and economic fallout from the crash was considerable. By 1932, just three years after the crash manufacturing and agriculture was suffering from deflation. The price of goods and commodities

Question 3&4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Question 3 - Assignment Example The Fourth Amendment does not apply in wiretapping there was no seizure and search. The evidence was obtained solely by hearing. Nobody entered the house of the defendant by force. Taft asserts that the words contained in the Fourth Amendment cannot be expanded to include a phone and the wires that leave the defender’s home to different parts of the world. Justice Stewart reasons that private conversations can be made in public. An individual pays for phone services with the expectation that his conversation will not be public. He expects privacy. The intrusion of this privacy via wiretapping is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. Stewart states that listening to phone conversations is equivalent to a search, which has been mentioned in the Fourth Amendment. The Weeks vs. U.S. case presented the courts with the real definition of privacy intrusion. The trial did not accept the violation of the rights of the defendants found in the Fourth Amendment. The ruling of the case stated that the trial court erred by allowing the evidence collected by forceful entry, search and seizure as part of the evidence. The defendant’s home is a personal space that should not be intruded by any government agency. The Weeks vs. U.S. case helped in defining the implication of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment did not affect the evidence that was forcefully seized during the arrest of the defendant. In respect to the court’s conclusion, the Fourth Amendment does not expand to the acts of individuals acting without the push of the federal government. The law is present to control the power of the federal government. The question central to this course is how law written in the 18th century should be interpreted by courts to deal with the technology of the 21st century. Contrast the minority (dissenting) opinions of Brandeis in Olmstead vs. U.S. and Black in Katz vs. U.S. The interpretation of the law is not constant. The law evolves as time and people change.

Human Resources Assignment .. Best places to work

Human Resources .. Best places to work - Assignment Example The search engine, initially named â€Å"BackRub,† was not formalized into the wildly popular company, Google, known today (Google, 2011a). When the company was first created, in what the founders describe as a small garage in Menlo Park, CA (Google, 2011c), search capabilities were only available to users in English. However, in recent years, the computer science students, and their thousands of employees and more than 40 offices globally, have developed a number of web applications and advertising programs, allowing them to offer dozens of widespread services and products in several different languages (Google, 2011a). The Google headquarters, called the Googleplex, is now located in Mountain View, CA, and is referred to as a campus, due its massive size and number of amenities. Employees describe the campus as a curious, creative, and very diverse community. All of the company’s imperative business functions are located at the Googleplex; departments include Human Re sources (HR), Communications, Legal, Sales, and Finance (Google, 2011c). Management and employees alike agree that transparency is the key to the cohesiveness within the company’s working environments.

Role of Social Media in Higher Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Role of Social Media in Higher Education - Essay Example Social media also contains design applications that establish virtual social spaces encouraging interaction, in that way enhancing the appeal of the technology. There has been increased use of social media in higher education and this literature review gives an in-depth analysis of various scientific investigations. In this age where online sites including Facebook, Twitter, Live Journal, Instant Messenger, campus blogs and Web Shots, students in higher institutions of learning are using online sites as the major medium of communication. As anticipated, this medium of communication presents students with ethical decisions on acceptable behavior, self-disclosure, and social propriety. Owing to the fact that the extensive use of social media sites has posted numerous problems for students and administrators, the book seeks to give professional guidance to policymakers and higher education professionals. Online Social Networking on Campus: Understanding what matters in student culture is a certified guide for student affairs administrators and higher education facilities that carefully analyze the use of social media sites and their use to develop relations in the institutions and outside the institutions. More importantly, the book looks into how college students use social media sites to explore and establish their identities. The findings in this book are got from surveys, interviews, and data from focus groups. Furthermore, the text gives an ethnographic perspective on social networking that helps information technology administrators, student affairs administrators and members of the faculty get a better understanding of the use of college media among college students. Students in higher institutions of learning communicate using social media sites more than face-to-face communication.  

A research on the issues of the black urban experience according to steven gregory Essay Example for Free

A research on the issues of the black urban experience according to steven gregory Essay Critical Reading Assignment #3 Chapter 5: Race and the Politics of Place Gregory, Steven (1999) Chapter 5: Race and the Politics of Place, in Black Corona, Princeton, NJ:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Princeton University Press, 109-138. The researchers conducted this study in order to challenge the depictions of the black urban experience in the media, academics, and public policy debates, which the author does frequently throughout the study. In this portion of the study, Gregory focuses on the struggles that black Lefrak City residents to disrupt the lingering stereotypes alluding to race, crime, and space in everyday politics. To conduct this research, Steven Gregory, an anthropologist, uses ethnography methods including open-ended interviews, participant observation in neighborhoods and political meetings, and archival research to collect the data used in this study. He interviews various residents and political members from this area and attends a meeting involving the Neighborhood Stabilization Committee and Community Board 4. The study takes place in the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York, specifically in the Lefrak City are home to many African Americans residents as well as people from many other backgrounds. In this study, Gregory points out the struggles that Black Lefrak City residents had in disrupting the lingering stereotypes about, race, crime, and space in everyday politics. He explains how this area of Corona was viewed as a threat to the quality of life in the surrounding areas, which provides a link to urban decline and crime to black welfare dependency (Gregory 111: 1999). He focuses on struggles in the representation of identity and the meaning of place with the distribution of political power. As evidence, Gregory interviews and observes Edna Baskin, an African American woman eager to get involved and create a political organization to counteract these stereotypes and give black citizens from this area representation in the local politics. She establishes the organization called the Concerned Community Adults, where she would help inform residents of neighborhood issues. She faced many struggles in doing this, however, and was said to be â€Å"rubbing against the grain† (Gregory 118: 1999) while trying to promote her organization and get involved with the Community Board, made up of mostly white participants. Gregory talks about other problems this organizations faced, and the successes it achieved later on. This research has strengths in its overall comprehensiveness of the issues that Gregory is discussing. The topic he tries to tackle is very complex, and he does a good job at trying to try to explain the overall issues of the research. However, Gregory could organize his work in a fashion that is easier to comprehend that helps understand the overall concepts and issues he is focusing on in the research. He also only discusses in depth one example of the struggles that one area of this community faces. I believe that it would be interesting to instead compare the many different struggles that different areas of the community have and relate them to one another. It would be interesting to see the similarities and the differences between the different areas of this community.

Recent Trends in Indain Banking Sector Essay Example for Free

Recent Trends in Indain Banking Sector Essay The economy can be divided in the entire spectrum of economic activity into the real and monetary sectors. The real sector is where production takes place while the monetary sector supports this production and in a way is the means to the end. We know and we accept the financial system is critical to the working of the rest of the economy. In fact, the Asian crisis of the nineties, or for that matter what happened in Latin America and Russia subsequently and also Dubai Crisis have shown how a fragile financial sector can wreak havoc on the rest of the economy. Therefore the banking sector is crucial and we want to express our views to explore how this sector can work in harmony with the real sector to achieve the desired objectives. the b Banking sector has been immensely benefited from the implementation of superior technology during the recent past, almost in every nation in the world. Productivity enhancement, innovative products, speedy transactions seamless transfer of funds, real time information system, and efficient risk management are some of the advantage derived through the technology. Information technology has also improved the efficiency and robustness of business processes across anking sector. Indias banking sector has made rapid strides in reforming and aligning itself to the new competitive business environment. Indian banking industry is the midst of an IT revolution. Technological infrastructure has become an indispensable part of the reforms process in the banking system, with the gradual development of sophisticated instruments and innovations in market practices. IT in Banking Indian banking industry, today is in the midst of an IT revolution. A combination of regulatory and competitive reasons has led to increasing importance of total banking automation in the Indian Banking Industry. Information Technology has basically been used under two different avenues in Banking. One is Communication and Connectivity and other is Business Process Reengineering. Information technology enables sophisticated product development, better market infrastructure, implementation of reliable techniques for control of risks and helps the financial intermediaries to reach geographically distant and diversified markets. The bank which used the right technology to supply timely information will see productivity increase and thereby gain a competitive edge. To compete in an economy which is opening up, it is imperative for the Indian Banks to observe the latest technology and modify it to suit their environment. Not only banks need greatly enhanced use of technology to the customer friendly, efficient and competitive existing services and business, they also need technology for providing newer products and newer forms of services in an increasingly dynamic and globalize environment. Information technology offers a chance for banks to build new systems that address a wide range of customer needs including many that may not be imaginable today. Following are the innovative services offered by the industry in the recent past: Electronic Payment Services – E Cheques Nowadays we are hearing about e-governance, e-mail, e-commerce, e-tail etc. In the same manner, a new technology is being developed in US for introduction of e-cheque, which will eventually replace the conventional paper cheque. India, as harbinger to the introduction of e-cheque, the Negotiable Instruments Act has already been amended to include; Truncated cheque and E-cheque instruments. Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Real Time Gross Settlement system, introduced in India since March 2004, is a system through which electronics instructions can be given by banks to transfer funds from their account to the account of another bank. The RTGS system is maintained and operated by the RBI and provides a means of efficient and faster funds transfer among banks facilitating their financial operations. As the name suggests, funds transfer between banks takes place on a ‘Real Time basis. Therefore, money can reach the beneficiary instantaneously and the beneficiarys bank has the responsibility to credit the beneficiarys account within two hours. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is a system whereby anyone who wants to make payment to another person/company etc. can approach his bank and make cash payment or give instructions/authorization to transfer funds directly from his own account to the bank account of the receiver/beneficiary. Complete details such as the receivers name, bank account number, account type (savings or current account), bank name, city, branch name etc. should be furnished to the bank at the time of requesting for such transfers so that the amount reaches the beneficiaries account correctly and faster. RBI is the service provider of EFT. Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) Electronic Clearing Service is a retail payment system that can be used to make bulk payments/receipts of a similar nature especially where each individual payment is of a repetitive nature and of relatively smaller amount. This facility is meant for companies and government departments to make/receive large volumes of payments rather than for funds transfers by individuals. Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) Automatic Teller Machine is the most popular devise in India, which enables the customers to withdraw their money 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is a devise that allows customer who has an ATM card to perform routine banking transactions without interacting with a human teller. In addition to cash withdrawal, ATMs can be used for payment of utility bills, funds transfer between accounts, deposit of cheques and cash into accounts, balance enquiry etc. Point of Sale Terminal Point of Sale Terminal is a computer terminal that is linked online to the computerized customer information files in a bank and magnetically encoded plastic transaction card that identifies the customer to the computer. During a transaction, the customers account is debited and the retailers account is credited by the computer for the amount of purchase. Tele Banking Tele Banking facilitates the customer to do entire non-cash related banking on telephone. Under this devise Automatic Voice Recorder is used for simpler queries and transactions. For complicated queries and transactions, manned phone terminals are used. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Electronic Data Interchange is the electronic exchange of business documents like purchase order, invoices, shipping notices, receiving advices etc. in a standard, computer processed, universally accepted format between trading partners. EDI can also be used to transmit financial information and payments in electronic form. Implications The banks were quickly responded to the changes in the industry; especially the new generation banks. The continuance of the trend has re-defined and re-engineered the banking operations as whole with more customization through leveraging technology. As technology makes banking convenient, customers can access banking services and do banking transactions any time and from any ware. The importance of physical branches is going down. Challenges Faced by Banks, vis-Ã  -vis, IT Implementation It is becoming increasingly imperative for banks to assess and ascertain the benefits of technology implementation. The fruits of technology will certainly taste a lot sweeter when the returns can be measured in absolute terms but it needs precautions and the safety nets. It has not been a smooth sailing for banks keen to jump onto the IT bandwagon. There have been impediments in the path like the obduracy once shown by trade unions who felt that IT could turn out to be a threat to secure employment. Further, the expansion of banks into remote nooks and corners of the country, where logistics continues to be a handicap, proved to be another stumbling stock. Another challenge the banks have had to face concerns the inability of banks to retain the trained and talented personnel, especially those with a good knowledge of IT. The increasing use of technology in banks has also brought up ‘security concerns. To avoid any pitfalls or mishaps on this account, banks ought to have in place a well-documented security policy including network security and internal security. The passing of the Information Technology Act has come as a boon to the banking sector, and banks should now ensure to abide strictly by its covenants. An effort should also be made to cover e-business in the countrys consumer laws. Some are investing in it to drive the business growth, while others are having no option but to invest, to stay in business. The choice of right channel, justification of IT investment on ROI, e-governance, customer relationship management, security concerns, technological obsolescence, mergers and acquisitions, penetration of IT in rural areas, and outsourcing of IT operations are the major challenges and issues in the use of IT in banking operations. The main challenge, however, remains to motivate the customers to increasingly make use of IT while transacting with banks. For small banks, heavy investment requirement is the compressing need in addition to their capital requirements. The coming years will see even more investment in banking technology, but reaping ROI will call for more strategic thinking. Future Outlook Everyone today is convinced that the technology is going to hold the key to future of banking. The achievements in the banking today would not have make possible without IT revolution. Therefore, the key point is while changing to the current environment the banks has to understand properly the trigger for change and accordingly find out the suitable departure point for the change. Although, the adoption of technology in banks continues at a rapid pace, the concentration is perceptibly more in the metros and urban areas. The benefit of Information Technology is yet to percolate sufficiently to the common man living in his rural hamlet. More and more programs and software in regional languages could be introduced to attract more and more people from the rural segments also. Standards based messaging systems should be increasingly deployed in order to address cross platform transactions. The surplus manpower generated by the use of IT should be used for marketing new schemes and banks should form a ‘brains trust comprising domain experts and technology specialists. Conclusion The banking today is re-defined and re-engineered with the use of Information Technology and it is sure that the future of banking will offer more sophisticated services to the customers with the continuous product and process innovations. Thus, there is a paradigm shift from the sellers market to buyers market in the industry and finally it affected at the bankers level to change their approach from conventional banking to convenience banking and mass banking to class banking. The shift has also increased the degree of accessibility of a common man to bank for his variety of needs and requirements.

Distribution Channel Efficiency in the Hospitality Industry

Distribution Channel Efficiency in the Hospitality Industry Advances in technology combined with its more effective use are generally assumed to be a good trend for the global expansion of trade and commerce. Technological advances are commonly believed to quicken the globalization process with improved economic growth and business profitability is consequently assumed to be the beneficial results. Globalization and the use of improved technology increase the potential for increasing efficiency as the electronic and digital transfer of information and financial transactions means that customers can be gained on a global, regional, or national level. Like most other industries or economic sectors, the hospitality and tourism industries have been affected by the use of and improvements in technology in recent years. Hospitality as will be argued, is an industry like any other that can potentially increase its distribution channel efficiency through more widespread or more effective use of technology. Traditionally the use of technology was conf ined to improvements in the mode of transport available to travellers. Hotels and places of hospitality have been strategically placed for the benefit of travellers. For instance the development of trains, cars, ships, and planes all helped to expand the tourism and hospitality industries as people found it easier, quicker, and more cost-effective to travel further distances. However, it is the use of technology such as television advertising, personal and business computers, and the Internet that arguably has the potential to increase the distribution channel efficiency in hospitality. For the purpose of this essay it would be sensible to remember that the hospitality industry deals with two main types of customer, tourists or holiday -makers alongside business travellers. Whatever motivates people to travel is not as important as the factors that makes pick a place to stay and possibly tempts them to stay there again and again. As will be discussed the use of technology is not the sole factor in distribution channel efficiency in the hospitality industry, yet it can be the decisive factor. To begin with the hospitality industry has always been reliant upon the transport infrastructure available at any given time, the less developed that infrastructure the less likely people are willing to travel great distances or so often. Prior to the onset of improvements in transport and communications technology during the 19th century there were little pressures for the hospitality industry to have Distribution Channel Efficiency. Poor roads and sail powered ships meant that most travellers only went short distances. Only the very wealthy could afford the time and the expense of travelling widely. Luxury hotels existed in small numbers to cater for their needs. More generally hospitality was confined to small hotels and inns, often located on main roads. Without the development of the railways, steam powered ships, and later the car, the modern hospitality industry would not have evolved. The railways made short breaks and day trips affordable for the masses, whilst steam ships r educed the sea voyages from weeks to days (Cooper, Fletcher et al, 1998 p. 395). Transport costs are still a vital consideration for the hospitality industry to consider. For instance the greater availability of charter flights made package holidays more affordable from the 1960s (Vellas Becherel, 1995, p.79). For instance, for a time after the 9/11 attacks higher insurance costs as well as safety concerns reduced the number of travellers (Higley, 2004). The expansion of newspaper sales combined with the invention of the telegram and the telephone made international and national communications quicker and more effective. Such developments meant that hospitality was able to develop marketing and advertising strategies on a national and sometimes an international basis. The need for Distribution Channel Efficiency in hospitality developed in conjunction with the expanded opportunities that resulted from improving technology (Cooper et al, 1998, p.424). Income levels also have an impa ct upon the hospitality industry; people who cannot afford to travel will not be effected by Distribution Channel Efficiency (Vellas Becherel, 1995, p.91). The appropriate use of modern information technology equipment can certainly help improve Distribution Channel Efficiency in hospitality although it does not guarantee commercial success. Individual travellers and hotels can use computers systems and databases to make travel and accommodation arrangements with increasing ease (Outhart, Taylor et al, 2000 p. 16). The use of automated booking and payment arrangements means that customers no longer have to make travel and accommodation arrangements in person or via correspondence. As long as hotels are linked to national and international databases and network bookings can be made at any travel agency, booking office and even online. The automation of the payment process began once the use of credit cards became more widespread, especially in North America, Japan and Western Europe. Credit cards, debit cards, and the use of automated credit transfers allowed transactions to take place anywhere in the world at any time of day. Travel age ncies, transport companies, and hotels have developed booking systems that allow tourists and business travellers to arrange their travel and accommodation more effectively (Killingworth-Baird and Carter, 1996 p. 12). The expansion of automated payment systems has had the greatest impact on hotel reservations, with hotels and booking agencies using computer databases to know the level of vacancies and reservations at every hotel within a local area network or now across the globe. As with other areas of commerce the efficiency and speed of those systems has improved markedly with adaptation of Internet technology (www.gcis.ca). It was developments in the United States that led to the modernisation and expansion of hospitality industry through the invention of computer reservation systems. The computer reservation systems are usually referred to as global distribution system or GDS. The most widely used GDS systems are Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus, and Worldspan. Once compatibility problems were resolved these systems have proved invaluable for the global hospitality industry. For travellers the main benefit of GDS is that it gives them the ability to make their arrangements in advance, provides a good level of customer service and it means that holidays or business trips are efficiently planned. For the parts of the hospitality industry that have fully automated bookings and payment procedures the ability to make bookings in advance is a great help for the achievement of Distribution Channel Efficiency. The companies that pioneered GDS such as Thomson used it to expand rapidly (Outhart, Taylor et al, 2000 p. 16) . The taking of advanced bookings means that hotels can budget for a known amount of income coming in at any given time and set staffing levels accordingly. Hotels have more time to attract more visitors if they know that the hotel will have a higher number of vacancies and therefore offer discounted stays at short notice to hire out as many rooms as possible. Logically the more accurate information that hotels have about the number of bookings already made and the amount of bookings still available then they can make suitable arrangements for extra marketing, discounted room hire and the holding of special events. The development of GDS when combined with the increase in charter flights and package holidays meant the rapid growth of the hospitality industry on a greater scale and fashionable new destinations such as Benidorm in Spain (Outhart, Taylor et al, 2000 p. 149). The hospitality industry had already began to make use of improved Distribution Channel Efficiency before the internet became widely available and dramatically altered the prospects for commerce and marketing. For the hospitality industry the use of the internet has made it possible for hotels to advertise their vacancies and their locations on a global basis. Individual hotels and international hotel chains were quick to realise how the internet could increase the chances of improving Distribution Channel Efficiency through the effective use of technology. The internet allows the opportunity for hotels to advertise and make bookings online, as well as gaining bookings through travel agents as well as being in brochures and tourist information offices. Many customers now prefer to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements online so the hotels have their own websites or can be booked through other websites have a stronger opportunity to increase their sales compared to thos e hotels that cannot be booked online. The internet provides the chance to book hotel rooms as customers can view what the hotel is like without going there in person. Customers can learn about a hotels precise location, transport links to the hotel, and the closeness of tourist attractions or important business sites that could be nearby (www.gcis.ca). The internet is also a great media for showing other features of the hospitality and leisure facilities available at hotels. For instance, hotels no longer just provide somewhere to sleep and eat. Facilities, which can be attractive to customers, include gyms, swimming pools, bars, and restaurants. Customers’ expectations of what hotels should provide them with have also altered due to changes in technology. Whereas travellers would have once been happy with a bed, tea- making facilities with en-suite bathroom, now they would like televisions, mini bars and phone sockets so they can access the internet via their laptops (Outha rt, Taylor et al, 2000 p. 17). For larger hotels and hotel chains the hospitality they provide has certainly changed for the reasons mentioned above. Hotels are no longer about having a bed for the night; they are about having an enjoyable experience, which means the customer will wish to use the hotel company again. It could be argued that providing such services and facilities make the hospitality industry more expensive to run, yet such expenditure could be justified if hotels are able to increase the number of happy guests and keep the loyalty of their customers. The Distribution Channel Efficiency of technology will, if used effectively, prove more profitable to the companies that are prepared to implement changes as soon as they become possible. Keeping pace with technological changes allows hotels and other hospitality providers to improve and maintain their standards of customer service. Hotels are not able to provide their guests and customers with a higher level of service when it comes to providing info rmation about travel and the leisure activities available at the hotel itself or within the surrounding areas of it. It is possible if the hotel or hospitality provider is linked with travel and leisure companies that customers can arrange to pay for all other services not provided by the hotel when they make their hotel bookings. Smaller hotels and hospitality providers might not be able to match all the services provided by a larger or chain of hotels, yet they can still provide their customers with a higher level service than they did before the internet became widely available (Higley, 2004). Improvements in technology do not automatically equate to a better Distribution Channel Efficiency for hotels and other hospitality providers. There are certainly actual and potential drawbacks to the greater use of technology within the hospitality industry. Staff and managers have to have enough training to use new technology properly, whilst not all customers may be able to use new technology and will need to make their hospitality arrangements by more traditional means such as going to a travel agent, booking by telephone, or even by letter. For smaller companies and hospitality providers it might not be cost effective to use every piece of new technology as their income and resources would not be increased by as much as the cost of upgrading their equipment. Smaller hospitality providers have tended to avoid such drawbacks by forming links with the larger companies such as Thomson. The use of GDS suits small operators as the larger companies fill up their rooms, whilst the arran gements suit the large companies as it increases the number of bookings from customers that they can meet (Outhart, Taylor et al, 2000 p. 16). For smaller hospitality providers there is another potential drawback that new technology becomes obsolete too frequently. Once again strong links with the larger tour operators can mean that even with older technology that the smaller hospitality providers can still stay connected to global databases or booking systems such as GDS. It also means that the efficiency of the payments they send and receive is increased (www.gcis.ca). Another drawback that could provide problems for the hospitality industry when it is seeking Distribution Channel Efficiency is that when tour operators and smaller hospitality providers are so busy meeting current demands that they do not plan adequately for the expansion or contraction of tourist destinations. When growth levels in certain resorts are very strong hospitality providers have found it difficult to match demand with actual capacity. Tourism booms that in some holiday resorts may seem destined to last for a long period yet such resorts are prey to the changing tastes or budgets of tourists. Unplanned or too rapid an expansion of holiday resorts could lead to the areas becoming spoilt and burdened with declining popularity and profits. Experience has shown that the decline of popularity in some holiday resorts can be as rapid as previously high levels of tourists staying. Perhaps the classic example of a tourist resort expanding rapidly and suddenly declining in populari ty is Benidorm. For the best part of two decades the demand for bookings was barely met as new hotel construction only just stayed ahead of demand. Rapid expansion had spoilt the original character and attractiveness of the area for tourists and the level of hospitality provided varied greatly across the resort. The popularity of Benidorm fell sharply at the end of the 1980s with bookings down by a third. Expansion is never infinite and the consistent adoption of technology to Distribution Channel Efficiency cannot make people go to certain destinations (Outhart, Taylor et al, 2000 p. 149). The popularity of hospitality providers and holiday resorts can be affected by factors outside of their control such as poor weather, changes in tastes and income, or especially relevant after the 9/11 attacks on the United States by security concerns. Regional conflicts can have detrimental affects on tourism and hospitality as people are unwilling to travel near war zones (Outhart, Taylor et al , 2000 p. 196). American hotels frequently responded to the downturn in business after 9/11 by shelving or reducing company training programmes which arguably affected efficiency and certainly lowered customer services standards. To some extent the availability of online training has addressed some of those training needs (Higley, 2004). To some extent the Internet provides an alternative way of making hotel and travel arrangements. People that use the Internet are in a position to make their own plans, as they are able to bypass travel agents and make bookings directly from travel and hospitality providers themselves. People that want to arrange things independently of other people are using the technology developed by the hospitality providers to do so. The main alternative to the evolving electronic booking and payments systems would be to use older less efficient offline versions although they would still work they would not be as fast or as accurate (www.gcis.ca). Therefore the use of technology can greatly assist the Distribution Channel Efficiency of the hospitality industry. However technology alone does not make or break hospitality operators. A combination of information technology, plus advances in transport, changes in consumer tastes, and effective marketing can make all the difference between success and failure. Technological advances since the 1960s have radically altered the ways in which hospitality is provided, booked, and paid for. The expansion of charter flights and the development of GDS allowed large international travel and hospitality companies like Thomson to flourish and to form links with hotels, airlines, and other transport providers to offer complete travel packages that could be booked and paid for at the same time. Perhaps the most single important technological advance that affects Distribution Channel Efficiency in the hospitality industry is the Internet. On the Internet customers can make their own travel and a ccommodation arrangements by assessing operators deals and taking advantage of the payment and GDS that are part of websites and hospitality networks. 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