1/2011 @en – Communication Today

The Impact Of Restructuring On The Airline Performance: The Case Of Garuda Indonesia

Roberto Akyuwen — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 10:23:37 +0000

Garuda Indonesia is an airline company owned by the Indonesian Government. The airline has been vastly developed since being established in 1950. Remarkable growth has been achieved mainly due to the fact that in the early years there was minimal competition in the airline industry in Indonesia. Being the ﬁ rst Indonesian airline, Garuda Indonesia monopolised the commercial air transportation services. This situation allowed more than reasonable company performance for many years. However, since the government introduction of an open domestic airline industry in 1990, Garuda Indonesia started to face difﬁ culties. Garuda competed against a number of private airlines, which possessed expansive strategies in developing routes as well as increasing the numberof aircraft. The performance of Garuda Indonesia gradually decreased to a low when operational proﬁt and cash ﬂow reached negative ﬁ gures during the period 1993 to 1997. Further, the seat load factor and on time performance were also worsening. To overcome these problems, restructuring was ﬁ rst undertaken during 1998 to 2001. The ﬁ rst restructuring was quite successful in reinventing the performance of Garuda Indonesia, indicated by positive operational proﬁ t and improved cash ﬂ ow. Unfortunately, Garuda Indonesia’s performance decreased once again after the appointment of new management in 2002. The new management tended to be inconsistent in implementing company business strategies. Operational proﬁ t gradually decreased from 2003 and this continued to 2005. By 2005, the ﬁ nancial and operational conditions of the company were considered to be worse than the previous problems faced in 1997. To improve the performance, new management was appointed again in 2005. This new management then started the second restructuring of Garuda Indonesia. The effort was once again quite successful in bringing Garuda Indonesia to a turnaround phase in 2007. Since then, company performance has gradually improved until today. The purpose of this research paper is to analyse the internal and external factors inﬂ uencing the success of Garuda Indonesia in improving its performance through two restructuring processes. Both primary and secondary data were used in the analysis. 185 of 385 managers (57%) were selected from Garuda Indonesia businesses. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 35 respondents, 23 were from the top management and 12 from the selected respondents. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed. The ﬁ ndings suggest that both external and internal factors have signiﬁ cantly inﬂ uenced the performance of Garuda Indonesia. The most appropriate indicator to represent the performance of Garuda Indonesia is the improvement of operation management followed by the improvement of corporate culture and costumer relation. The economic condition is considered to be the most valid variable of external factors in inﬂuencing Garuda Indonesia’s performance. The next most valid variables are competition among airline companies and fuel prices. As for internal factors, it is found that the strategic ﬁ t, leading change, and entrepreneur orientationare the three variables which had the biggest impact on the performance of Garuda Indonesia. The most valid indicator in representing the strategic ﬁ t variable is the company positioning indicator followed by environmentadjustment and company value improvement indicators. The leading change variable is represented by the motivated leader, anticipatory leader, and inspirational leader. The most valid indicator to represent the entrepreneur orientation variable is the capacity to manage risks and problem solving. The second most valid indicator is the initiative capacity and risk taking bravery behaviour, while the last indicator was the self conﬁ dence and working spirit.

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Development Of Cultural Frameworks In Radio Broadcasting In Slovakia

Viera Lehoczká — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 09:06:23 +0000

In August 2010 there elapsed 84 years from a successful start of regular radio broadcasting in Slovakia, under the brand “Radiojournal”. In the process of cultural-historical development in our country, the Slovak Radio has established itself as a representative of the unique cultural and artistic values in the line of mass media communication to overcome the complex evolution, whereas it has lost no importance not even under the inﬂuence of competing forms of mass media (modern press, television and Internet). Its fruitful history started with its foundation as a part of the Czechoslovak Society Radiojournal, later continued as an institution of the independent Slovak State in World War II, and then in the socialist Czechoslovakia too, and ﬁ nally it established itself as a considerable public-service institution after 1990. At present, since January 2011 it has been operating and broadcasting in a merged public-service institution RTVS in a common body with the Slovak Television.The Slovak Radio in a line of its forerunners has gradually created conditions for the nationwide providing of audio-acoustic services for public in the sphere of radio broadcasting in the sense of a national, independent, informational, cultural and educational institution. Inﬂ uence of the Slovak Radio, which contributed to the cultural and civilization development, may be in this connection understood as a speciﬁ c cultural phenomenon in the sense of emancipation anchor attaching of the radio in the culture as expression of cultural reference to life. During more than eighty years of its existence, the mission of the oldest Slovak electronic medium was changed and amended, particularly by broadening its technical capabilities and programme forms. In its broadcasting, it systemically and comprehensively surveys the cultural events in its entire scope, where the expressive potential of high quality music and a literary word of sound-modulated communication have its irrecoverable position. A signiﬁ cant phenomenon of the Slovak Radio as a part of the current culture during its historical development has penetrated very intensively into the society, and even now it affects all spheres of social life, and opens the fundamental question of synchronizing them with the cultural past and national speciﬁ cities in the context of moral and ethical responsibility and also high value criteria. The historical development of broadcasting has created supporting pillars for a balanced cultural tradition of public service in national and European level. In terms of cultural and historical signiﬁ cance the Slovak Radio played a dominant role with music and dramatic ensembles, but not only as disseminators of culture, but also as signiﬁ cant components of increase of audience. Culture and art keep their positions in radio communications just through SR broadcasting. During eighty years of its existence, the public-service Slovak Radio built a gradual transformation of its own wide-ranging backstage and creative broadcasting centres, whether dramatic ensembles or musical groups, in a course of program content production systematically implementing various genres and forms of broadcasting. Inﬂ uence of the Slovak Radio contributed to the cultural and civilization development and in this context it can be understood as a speciﬁc cultural phenomenon ﬁ rmly integrated into a cultural competence for life. High-quality and successful program structure of the Slovak Radio stays on the use of long-term programming experience of Slovak radio-broadcasting and on the tradition of the predecessors and is destined to balanced offer of programs in relation to majority and minority groups of listeners. Reaching and acquiring the young population is one of the latest trends in the public-service Slovak Radio practice. Importance of the Slovak Radio for its listeners is its value orientation for culture and education above all regarding a commercial offer at dual radio market in Slovakia. At the Slovak market, the Slovak Radio maintains a distinct cultural-mediation position as a broad area for the time-tested quality of the broadcasting.

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Difficulties with identity – art of self-creation and problem of recognition

Ondřej Roubal — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 09:06:21 +0000

A discourse of the term identity is very unambiguous in social sciences. However, there is a prevailing opinion that identity is a social construct which is characterised by plurality of identiﬁ cation relationships. Identity as a non-variable and stable quality of a man is in question and, on the contrary, it is understood as an ongoing process of constructing, deﬁ ning and re-deﬁning in the interaction of a man with the outer world. From the perspective of constructivism, the identity can be understood as the art of self-creation performed in concrete conditions of a social-cultural environment. In the era of late modernism the art of self-creation is being more signiﬁ cantly performed in the atmosphere of growing insecurity. Insecurity causes problems when building self-conﬁ dence, which complicates the process of creating a human identity. We, as consumers, experience certain insecurity when having to choose from a wide range of consumer goods and services. Uncertainty calls for a demand for the trust. Trust causes reduction of insecurity and supports self-conﬁ dence as a presumption of creating identity. In the world of consumerism and consumption signiﬁ cance, there is also a growing signiﬁ cance of trademarks and of sellers as possible sources of trust. These sources become an important part of consumers´ self-creation and they become a symbol of social recognition. The inability to participate in the consumers´ world and in the commercial entertainment may cause frustration and humiliation leading to unwanted socially pathological behaviour.

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Does Media Education At Schools Develop Student´s Critical Competences?

Dana Petranová — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 09:06:00 +0000

Media education in formal education in Slovakia is the compulsory part of school curricula. One of the basic goals of media education is to teach pupils how to subject the media contents to critical analysis, in other words to develop their critical thinking abilities. The history of efﬁ ciency research and conﬁ rmation of the necessary inclusion of media education to schools does not have a long tradition. That was the reason for us to carry out the research and try to answer the question what is the relation between passing the course of media education and development of critical thinking competence. The study also offers information pointing to present-day limitations of formal media education in Slovakia; its ambition is to bring suggestions improving the current conditions.

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Destination Branding And The Impact Of Perceived Quality And Image On The Loyalty

Artur Bobovnický — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 09:05:39 +0000

The importance of country brand image has been assessed and based on the reviews of recent developments in nation branding worldwide. To evaluate the loyalty of the visitors the impact of satisfaction and brand image has been evaluated.Quantitative data from Czech Republic have been utilized and PLS modelling was used to evaluate the relative impact of satisfaction and brand image.

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Risks Caused By Assimilation With Abnormal Social Environment And Determined By Communication Stereotypes Among Convicts As Factors Of Social Pseudo Levelling

Jozef Tinka — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 09:05:28 +0000

By using the long-term empirical observation method and on the basis of sociolinguistic principles, we analyzed the interpersonal communication of the convicts with the purpose to expose their communication stereotypes as determinants of assimilation with abnormal social environment and with the aim to highlight the potential to at least partially eliminate the risks of negative environmental inﬂ uences on personality formation with a practical importance for the corrections of the reeducational system.

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Phenomenon Of Amusement And Role Of Stereotypes In Production And Acceptance Of Media Culture

Hana Pravdová — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 08:55:34 +0000

The paper deals with the issue of amusement phenomenon and function of stereotypes by production and acceptance of media culture. The goal of submitted text is the analysis of complex row of primary and secondary factors, on the ground of which, the author deﬁ nes the initial ideas and conclusions. The paper is divided into four, logically ordered and mutually connected ideas and conclusions. The ﬁ rst part was by the author called „Amusement phenomenon reﬂ ection from interdisciplinary points of view. “ There are drafted out some views of key disciplines-philosophy, aesthetics, social and cultural anthropology, cognitive psychology, sociology and methodology on ontological origin of amusement. The author comes to conclusions that the phenomenon of amusement in human culture is the result of need, resulting from mental and physical dispositions of individuals. The need to be entertained is culturally related and deﬁ ned as well. The amusement phenomenon has its formal and content related expression too (verbal, motional, written, symbolical, genre etc.), which takes into consideration and respects given cultural issues (symbols, language, norms, values). There is some speciﬁ c emotion connected with the acceptance of amusement-fascination that signals the intensity of living by an individual-something unexpected, surprising, shocking, wonder, feelings and states of ﬂ ush, thrill, etc. The amusement consumption in mass media leads to fantasy escapes from reality to imaginary worlds and to loss of interest in the relevant social questions.

In the second part, „Mental corridor“ of contemporary society – fascination and phenomenon of amusement,“the author allocates the implications of secularized amusement acting in purviews of processes of progressive infantilism,juvenilization, voyeurisms, carnival show, individualization, reduction, narcissism and hedonism of individuals, who live in funny, humorous, spectacular or adventurous society. She also analyses the phenomenon of mass and pop culture in the context with cardinal changes of society. She comes to the following conclusions:

The phenomenon of amusement ﬁ lls several functions-hedonistic, escapic and therapeutical. The contemporary man is fascinated by media amusement, because it enables him distraction, short-lasting reality escape, change of lity for the others, etc. On one hand, in the theoretical reﬂ exion of the issue, the authors point at fatal inﬂence of media amusement on an individual and society, and on the other hand they praise its ability to recover the energy, inform, educate and bring up in a non-violent, interesting way. The success of American general popular mass culture in global dimensions proves the global human interest in love, sex, violence, mysticism, hedonism, possessions, as well as the abilities of American commercial companies to use this interest in their advantage.

The fascination by amusement enhances the way of self-presentation of recipients, sets the favourite free-time activities, lifestyle and reinforces the effort to liberate from responsibility for the others. The individuals identify themselves with amusement, which offers them various kinds of consuming, exciting show of disparate pictures, rhythms, exotic fads, erotic etc. They act under the media pressure of two antagonistic tendencies. On one hand, they live in the frame of mass culture which offers uniformity, standardization, homogenization,“hyperconsum.“

On the other hand, their pop-culture resistance leads to extreme individualism, to an effort to differentiate from the others, exhibition of narcissistic superego and ﬂ ashy self-presentation.The next part called „Dominant position of television in the spectrum of media amusement“ is dedicated to impact of television on the most important and most watched mass media in the ﬁ eld of amusement production in various types of programmes. The most favourite and watched types of amusement in contemporary TV production are so called easy dramatic genre.

The author states that the amusement became the base building principle of other programmes and genres as well, including news or news-documentary genres. The primary duty of TV production is to drag the viewer into the story, which is usually set in some realistically perceived frame. The media content does not usually bring any speciﬁ c message but simple, not complicated, easy-to-understand amusement, the goal of which is to offer the imagination, dramatic actions and emotions to people. This world is typical for the news and documentaries, which started to be created in the spirit of trivial infotainment. The trend of co called infotainmentization proves it. This trend is the result of public service news being changed into commercial one. Infotainment makes the happening easier, completes, edits according to its own images, dramatizes or changes the authentic events and afﬁrmations about them entirely. The last part, „Problem of stereotypes in the context of television infotainment,“ deals with mediated and mass media stereotypes in the process of creating speciﬁ c media reality. According to the author, the stereotypes are present in the frame of creating news service, where the speciﬁ c elements and methods of infotainment are applied to large extent. She emphasises that when identifying individual elements creating the stereotypes in contemporary TV news service it is necessary to take into consideration the specialities of infotainment and trends, when processing given event, which have been applied mainly in commercial televisions.TV news service in Slovakia has several expressive components and features: infotainmentization (variety and ranking of topics, way of their processing in the way of show), celebritization (extreme personiﬁ cation), exercitation of sharp graphic, dynamic cut and comment elements in news service texts. The author came to a conclusion that TV news service in the context of infotainmentization offers own versions of media reality and in it included media stereotypes.

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