Flight

Historically, there has been no better way to prove a nation’s dominance than being able to be the first to publicly show off its achievements for the whole world to watch. That is why when the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite mankind ever released into the cosmos, the US government authorized NASA in order to hastily reestablish their superiority in the great Space Race. Nations have always been in possession of a somewhat unhealthy amount of ambition but rarely do they take time to process the consequences of their endeavors.

Though the possibilities space exploration could facilitate, in both political and social aspects, are endless, it is necessary to delicately balance ambition with calculated precaution in order to ensure the most amount of success with the least amount of unanticipated tragedy. When presented with revolutionary innovations in science, brilliant minds do not hesitate to eagerly dreams. The image of being the next Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin is undeniably tantalizing to the adventurer, and even more so to the voracious government funding for his explorations. Starry-eyed dreamers optimistically envision space exploration as a vessel for spiritual awakening, opening mankind‘s eyes to the trivialities of war and inspiring younger generations to improve life on Earth.

However, one view of our planet’s vast and homogenous landscape does not immediately ensure world peace (Source G), especially considering how space exploration was founded with anti-Communist intentions by the United States. Sending politicians and world leaders into space as a way to “change their perspective” is an indirect and ineffective way to ignore hundreds of years of war, poverty, aggression, and racism. Realistically speaking, it would be financially taxing to fund space exploration for the purpose of making leaders shed tears at the sight of their own celestial insignificance.

This paper addresses the possible causations and engineering failures that led to the demise of NASA’s mars climate orbiter mission in 1998 by summarising and analysing the technical and human factors leading to the incident. The primary fault at hand was the failure to programme and operate the trajectory of the spacecraft in the required manor, causing the space probe to enter a trajectory that took the spacecraft within the minimum altitude at which the spacecraft could survive and operate effectively.

Furthermore, any underlying issues that could have led to failures in the Mars climate orbiter’s mission will be brought to attention as well as if any regulatory actions were ignored or not followed correctly, which if were followed correctly, may have prevented the engineering failures associated with this disaster. This report also identifies the post disaster action taken to prevent similar engineering and communication failures in future projects.

Introduction

The Mars climate orbiter (MCO) was launched on December 11, 1998 and was lost on September 23, 1999. The MCO had unintentionally been projected into a path that took it to an altitude too close to Mars’ surface. Ultimately, the MCO had not been engineered with a structure or with the expensive materials required for it to survive within the planet under investigation’s atmosphere, despite the probe costing $327.6 million to research and produce.  This meant that the spacecraft either disintegrated in Mars’ atmosphere or deflected and re-entered heliocentric space.

The primary cause for the disappearance of the MCO spacecraft was the failure of NASA’s ground teams to use metric units when coding its trajectory paths. English imperial units were implemented into the coding programme used for the MCO’s computers as these were developed by Lockheed Martin Astronautics, who designed and built the spacecraft, provided data in imperial units. Ultimately, this meant the trajectory data was entirely incorrect and post-failure calculations showed that the spacecraft was on a path that would have taken the MCO to within 57 kilometres of the surface of Mars. Previous calculations showed that the MCO was only capable of surviving in altitudes higher than 80 kilometres.

These failures were fatal and should have been a key consideration for NASA before launching the MCO as one of the key objectives of the MCO mission was to Map the thermal structure of the atmosphere from the surface to 80 km altitude, therefore altitude trajectory should have been a key issue when testing its programming, as the MCO needed to be placed at very specific altitudes in order to successfully complete this objective.

Aims of this report

1. To analyse the technical faults that led to this disaster.
2. To analyse the human faults and errors that led to this disaster.
3. To investigate any underlying causes leading to this disaster such as ethical concerns and misconducts.
4. To discuss which factors where most at fault for this disaster.
5. To determine the most significant failure in leading to this disaster.
6. To discuss which new laws, regulations and practices were introduced as a result of this disaster and how significant this event was in terms of future engineering projects.

Analysis of disaster

The first and arguably most significant technical fault that led to this disaster was the fact that the MCO’s programming system incorporated the wrong numerical units for NASA’s use of the product. Also, the fact that there were no conversion algorithms incorporated in the MCO’s computers or displays of which numerical unit system was in use meant that the MCO was bound to be projected into an undesired trajectory with NASA’s American teams controlling the space probe in metric units. The effect of these faults coupled together ultimately caused the space probe to enter an altitude at which it could not operate and would be destroyed or lost in space.

Secondly, another key technical fault was in play leading to this disaster as errors went undetected within NASA’s computer models of how thruster firings on the spacecraft were predicted and then carried out on the spacecraft during its mission. These computational models were also programmed in metric units so when it was discovered that the MCO was headed on the wrong trajectory during the mission, the calculations produced in an attempt to salvage the mission were incorrect.

The teams working on the trajectory path of the MCO requested calculations of how long to fire the MCO’s small thrusters to deflect the path of the MCO away from Mars’ atmosphere. The results of these calculations were given in pound-force seconds rather than Newton seconds, which the software of the probe’s computers incorporated. Ultimately, this meant that when the small thrusters were used, there was not enough force programmed into its software to manoeuvre the MCO away from the atmosphere of Mars, meaning it remained on its incorrect trajectory that led to it being lost in Mars’ atmosphere.

Which is the correct symbol for the stalling speed or the minimum steady flight speed in a specified configuration? C) VS. Longitudinal dynamic instability in an airplane can be Identified by B) pitch oscillations becoming progressively steeper True course measurements on a Sectional Aeronautical Chart should be made at a meridian near the midpoint of the course because thee C) angles formed by lines of longitude and the course line vary from point to point. Regulations which refer to “operate” relate to that person who C) causes the aircraft to be used or authorizes Its use

To act as pilot In command of an aircraft operated under 14 CUFF part 91, a commercial pilot must have satisfactorily accomplished a flight review or completed a proficiency check within the preceding C) 24 months Each required flight crewmen is required to keep his or her shoulder harness fastened A) during takeoff and landing, unless he or she is unable to perform required duties To increase the rate of turn and at the same time decrease the radius, a pilot should A) increase the bank and decrease airspeed. Dashed lines on a Surface Analysis Chart, if depicted, indicate that the pressure gradient is B) weak.

One of the most dangerous features of mountain waves is the turbulent areas in and C) below rotor clouds. Weather Advisory Broadcasts, including Severe Weather Forecast Alerts (AWE), Convective Signets, and Signets, are provided by C) Arts on all frequencies, except emergency, when any part of the area described Is within 150 miles of the airspace under their Jurisdiction. Which Is the best technique for maligning the wing-load factor when flying In severe turbulence? C) Set power and trim to obtain an airspeed at or below maneuvering speed, maintain wings level, and accept variations of airspeed and altitude.

The reason for variations in geometric pitch (twisting) along a propeller blade is that flight. What does good cockpit stress management begin with? A) Good life stress management The conditions most favorable to wave formation over mountainous areas are a layer of C) stable air at mountaintop altitude and a wind of at least 20 knots blowing across the ridge.

Paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a hollow fabric wing whose shape is formed by its suspension lines, the pressure of air entering in the front of the wing and the forces of the air flowing over the outside. Despite not using an engine, paraglider flights can last many hours and cover many hundreds of kilometres, though flights of 1-2 hours and covering some tens of kilometres are more the norm.

By skilful exploitation of sources of lift the pilot may gain height, often climbing to a few thousand metres over the surrounding countryside. Paragliders are unique among soaring aircraft in being easily portable. The complete equipment packs into a rucksack and can be carried easily on the pilot’s back[2], in a car, or on public transport. In comparison with other air sports this substantially simplifies travel to a suitable take off spot, the selection of a landing place and return travel. Paragliding is related to the following activities: Hang gliding is a close cousin, and hang glider and paraglider launches are often found in proximity. [3] Despite the considerable difference in equipment the two activities offer similar pleasures and some pilots are involved in both sports. • Powered paragliding is the flying of paragliders with a small engine attached. • Speed riding or speed flying is the separate sport of flying paragliders of reduced size. These wings have increased speed, though they are not normally capable of soaring flight.

The sport involves taking off on skis or on foot and swooping rapidly down in close proximity to the slope, even periodically touching it if skis are used. • Paragliding can be of local importance as a commercial activity. [4][5] Paid accompanied tandem flights are available in many mountainous regions, both in the winter and in the summer. In addition there are many schools offering courses,[6] and guides who lead groups of more experienced pilots exploring an area. Finally there are the manufacturers and the associated repair and after sales services.

Many airlines operating fixed wing aircraft have adopted a pro active approach to improve operational safety by analyzing flight data on a routine basis to provide better visibility of their operation In flight operations quality Assurance (FAQ) programmer. A simple description of HUMS Is that It Is a system for monitoring the status of technical components, principally shafts, bearings, gears and other rotating components. The level of vibration Is recorded by accelerometers. The data is stored in a data card which is later taken out and brought too ground station for reading off at the end of each flight.

Operational information from the flight thus becomes available from the ground station via a terminal. The list thus printed also informs regarding any limit values that have been exceeded and description of failures in HUMS. Most of the information is analyses manually and this provides valuable additional information during trouble shooting. Advanced helicopter monitoring systems were Implemented In the early sass’s following concern over the alarm worthiness of helicopters and, at the time, technical defects were the mall Issue.

The acronym HUMS, Health and usage Monitoring Systems, was introduced for these systems. With the introduction of HUM systems, the number of incidents relating to the chemical malfunctions decreased and as a consequence the proportions of incident relating to the aircrew error increased. Thus later a need was envisaged of developing a system called HOMO. AIM accepted use in aviation and in context to India Air Force. WORKING The system consists of sensors, computers, software and analytical methods that, when taken together are able to record vibration and other parameters and thus deduce the health of the machine.

The HUMS information is received and processed by the Digital Acquisition and Processing Unit (ADAPT) before being stored on a magnetic card which is placed in the cockpit unit prior to flying. This card is taken out on leaving the helicopter after the flight and data are loaded into a ground station for further electronic processing. A HUMS is like a doctor applying many stethoscopes to a patient continuously and keeping a constant check on his health. Helicopters having more rotating and moving parts, will fall part if not properly maintained, hence their mechanical health is critical to the safety of flight.

The deployment of HUMS as a life saving and cost effective equipment is a boon. There are number of sub systems in HUMS which determine parameters and determines he health of the helicopters. We will be dealing with the most important subsystems in the subsequent paragraphs. In HUMS the wear or damage to the components is identified while in service itself. Inevitably components wear out or fail unexpectedly. The traditional monitoring techniques such as oil debris and engine performances trending are aimed at identifying these problems before they become hazardous.

Techniques using conventional flight data can be used here, for example, engine performance trends can be calculated from engine parameters gathered in flight. Still the traditional Accident Data is usually inadequate for monitoring wear in rotating components and so a host of specialized techniques have been developed to measure the “health” of the rotors and transmission. These rely heavily upon vibration measurement and require special instrumentation and data acquisition systems. A PC based ground station provides the aircraft operator and maintain the simple diagnosis of the aircraft and required maintenance actions.

Advanced mechanical of aircraft monitoring superior to any other monitoring system available. THE SUB SYSTEMS As stated earlier there are number of sub systems which gather information in flight bout the health and usage and wear and tear off the components and can be read over a ground station. Major ones are:- (a) Rotor Track and Balance. Each helicopter main rotor blade should follow one in front and along the same path, and blades should be spaced at equal angles. This track is measured in terms of blade height past a fixed point and the angle between the successive blades.

A photo sensitive device on the nose looks at the blade tips at two points on the either side of the nose. The leading and the trailing edges of the blades can be detected, and the timing of their passes gives the blade eight. The interval between one blade passing over the sensor and the following blades gives the system lead/lag information. Infrared techniques can be used if the helicopter is to be flown at night. (b) Engine Monitoring. Engine Monitoring parameters include vibration, gas temperatures and pressures, and shaft speeds. Engine Vibration can indicate excessive wear on ball bearings or races.

Small changes in the engine vibration signature must be recognized early. Two accelerometers are used to compile a good engine spectrum. The known frequencies of rotating components can first be used o detect simple imbalance. Then they are subtracted from the known spectrum. The remaining spectral lines are analyzed for more subtle defects. Gas temperatures are used to calculate thermal fatigue. High/Low temperature excursions, together with mean temperatures, are used to estimate damage caused by metal expansion and contraction. (c)Gear Box Vibrations.

The importance of gearbox vibration monitoring can not be over estimated. Cracks, broken gear teeth and excessive wear are critical areas that must be caught early. Gear vibrations are revealed by strategically positioned accelerometers. There might be 20 shafts in the gear box but fewer than half this number of accelerometers are needed to monitor them all. The problem is to separate very small signals caused by a single tooth defect from larger signals (d) Oil Debris Monitoring. Any moving metal surfaces in contact with one another will produce debris.

Most of it will end up in oil. Therefore, metal particle detection is a useful means of monitoring wear in the engine and gear box. Particles lesser than ten microns are the result of normal wear and are no cause of concern, unless they are being ground down from larger particles. The presence of metal flecks greater than hundred microns in size indicates a serious wear problem. Particles that size are large enough to cause further damage to other parts of the engine, which in turn leads to creation of more large particles.

Magnetic plugs were originally introduced to capture debris and prevent secondary damage. Today they have become an early warning device for heavy wear. A refinement of this is the quantitative debris monitor, which consists of an electronic metal particle detector used in the place of the magnetic plug. The monitor uses an electromagnetic to attract debris. The debris causes a flux disturbance in the drive coil, which in turn generates a voltage pulse that is proportional to particle size. A processor grades and counts the particles by size.

Crazy things happen when Microsoft, NASA and famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin get together. Crazy, like a new way for anyone to experience Mars like you were actually there.

From now through January 1, visitors to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida can experience something called “Destination: Mars.” It combines high-resolution imagery from NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover with virtual reality to create several real sites on the red planet. Just strap on Microsoft’s HoloLens “mixed reality” headset and consider yourself an honorary space explorer.

Related:

Perhaps the best part is that a holographic rendering of Aldrin serves as your virtual tour guide. In case you can’t place the name, Aldrin is one of the Apollo 11 astronauts who walked on the moon way back in 1969. He’s also an author and an advocate for Mars exploration.

Check out the video above to see what this thing is all about.

Unless you have the money and patience to wait for a real-life Mars expedition — not to mention the spare time to travel the nearly 40 million miles between planets — this looks like the next best thing.

Flight Centre Graham Turner structured the company as families, villages and tribes. The creation of this unique system has also worked to the company? advantage. It provides incentives based on outcomes. The Flight centre? system is based on the idea that people work best in their preferred environment within the larger organisation rather than trying to fit them into the company? mould. The employees believe ? hat gets rewarded gets done.? they are hard workers but also enjoy the many social aspects of the company including buzz nights, award ceremonies and team get-togethers.

This essay would focus on how flight centre has structured with the four aspects of the organisation structure. Explains how flight centre has integrated the Mintzberg? five elements to its structure. This essay would also highlights the roles of functional and social specialization. Finally, the metaphors used by flight centre would be discussed. Structure of Flight Centre The importance of organisational structuring and restructuring to organisational effectiveness cannot be over emphasized.

Effective organisational design or organisational structuring pays immense dividends, no matter how large or small the organisation is (HRODC , 2006). The founder of the Flight Centre Ltd, Graham Turner claims that people are hard wired to work in small groups within larger groups. To understand this unique structure the four aspects of organisation structure, complexity, formalization, centralization and coordination, can be used. Complexity refers to the way in which the organization is divided into different divisions, departments, groups, or individual roles, each with its own tasks and responsibilities.

Vertical differentiation refers to the number of hierarchical levels in an organization (Robbins & Barnwell, 2006). At the Flight centre, the operation level involves retail shops. Each shop involves three to seven people working on one brand which is called a family. The area or a ? illage? involves 7 or 10 families within one geographical region. The tribal country is a set of three or four villages. Each tribe is a different brand, brands include corporate traveler, flight centre and student flights (refer appendix 1).

In horizontal differentiation, different parts of the organization become specialized in different activities to increase efficiency (Robbins & Barnwell, 2006). All shops of flight centre sell similar services even though the names (corporate traveler, flight centre and student flights) are different which makes it easy to coordinate activities and to communicate among families. Moreover, due to the similarities of jobs within a family, there are no differences between the staff.

However, a special horizontal clustered family consisting of HR, IT and marketing professionals, provides administrative services for retail shops. By clustering different types of functions and activities on any one level of the hierarchy has the advantage of application of higher technical knowledge for solving problems and greater group and professional identification (Luthans, 1986). Flight centre has more than 800 shops spatially dispersed. High-rise of overseas shops would increase the number of tribes, villages, families and employees. As a result, it would be difficult to communicate, coordinate and control.

According to Baumard & Starbuck (2006), the members of spatially dispersed organizations seek appreciation within networks of friends and relatives, and they form subcultures that spread across several organizations and that may be more important to them than their focal organization. These communities encompass more aspects of their lives than the strict duties of their work contracts so work and leisure infiltrate each other. Formalization refers to the extent to which rules, regulations, job descriptions, policies, and procedures govern the operation of an organization. Robbins & Barnwell, 2006). Although the flight centre has a flat structure; it has three levels (tribe, village and family) which shows that there is a hierarchy within the structure. Flight centre also follows certain standards to sustain in the business. Flight centre maintain the levels and number of families, villages and tribes. Each family can sell a single service, Entry age to Flight centre is normally 25 years. Managers of the shops can take 10% profit and may own up to 20% of their shop. Some rituals include ? uzz nights? one a month and formal get-togethers.

Centralization refers to the degree to which decision-making is concentrated at one point in the organization. At flight centre, there are no confusions about people’s goals, tasks, style of functioning, reporting relationship and sources of information. The ? ountry? buys services for villages and families. A centralized structure provides people with a clear picture of how their work fits into the organization. The SWOT teams analyze innovations and new ideas. However, at flight centre, there is no centralized control of the head office.

Coordination is integration of activities of specialized units towards the common objective. (Anderson, 1988). Programmed coordination requires advanced planning and is often used where there are a small number of expected occurrences (Argote, 1982). Programmed coordination is common in the flight centre. A head office team coordinates administrative services and marketing. Like wise, SWOT teams direct new businesses. All the retail shops are individually coordinated by the shop managers. Furthermore, get-togethers and Buzz-nights are informally coordinated. Common Elements in Organisation

One framework proposed by Henry Mintzberg suggests that every organization has five parts (illustrated in appendix 2). The five parts of the organization may vary in size and importance depending on the organization? environment, technology and other factors (Robbins & Barnwell, 2006). At the bottom of the organization is the operating core. At the flight centre, it is referred to the members of the family (retail shops), employees who do the basic work of selling or delivering the services. The Strategic apex is charged to ensure that the organization executes its mission.

Flight centre has a unique way of distribution of powers where all authorities are not given to the tribes. However, the tribal country or the regional office is the centre that administrates the brands (corporate traveler, flight centre and student flights) which are retail shops. They also facilitate training and recruitment, buying holiday packages and other employee related services to the villages. Moreover, the head office or the board could also be taken in to consideration because they would be establishing and monitoring the company? visions, goals and strategies.

Each family or the retail shop has a manager who connects the operating core to the strategic apex. Moreover, managers of the administrative families (head office teams) would also be included. They are responsible for implementation and coordination at the departmental level. The technostructure of the flight centre involves the HR, IT and marketing professionals who have the responsibility for effecting forms of standardization in the organisation. According to the flight centre report (1999), due to the recruitment system, they have changed the way they identify and attract the best staff.

Moreover, technostructure would also include the flight centre SWOT teams where they focus on innovations and try new ideas. Support staff refers to the people that provide indirect support services. Support staff of flight centre includes legal Counselors, cafeteria Workers, security guards and peons. In any organisation, one of the above five (strategic apex, operating core, technostructure, middle line and support staff) would be dominant. The organisation is formed according to the dominating element.

When the strategic apex is dominant, control is centralized and it forms a simple structure (Beshears, 2006). At the Flight centre, functions the strategic apex appear to be more dominant than the other aspects. Firstly, the powers of the organisation are dispersed to some level at the flight centre, regional office or the tribal country administrates the brands (corporate traveler, flight centre and student flights) which are retail shops. They also facilitate training and recruitment, buying holiday packages and other employee related services to the village and can be considered as more centrally controlled.

Secondly, the SWOT teams and the administrative teams are specialized; all other families do a standardized work, which involves servicing customers and selling products. The structure of flight centre could also be considered flat because it only has three levels and the operating core reports to their respective managers. Some advantages include clear accountability and flexibility to respond to the issues of the customers. Decision-making at the Flight centre appeared to be limited. The tribal country makes decisions regarding administrative the technical matters.

The tribal country facilitates brands and other employee related services to the villages and families. Moreover, shop managers make decisions at the family level although the travel consultants are empowered. Even though Flight centre have more similarities of a strategic apex it also has a few differences. As the flight centre has more than 800 retail shops worldwide and in each year 150 more shops are adding up, the operations would be complex because it would have more families, villages and tribe which would make communication and coordination barriers.

Furthermore, some authorities are decentralized from the tribal country, such authorities include buying products from wholesalers. Roles of functional and social specialization As organisations become large and physically dispersed, it requires people with specialized knowledge and skills to attend to problems professionally and reduce waste. The main functional areas in the flight centre include HR, marketing and information technology. In the rapidly changing business environment Information technology has becomes a vehicle for helping firms to reach their business goal more effectively.

Flight Centre is well placed to keep pace with industry changes. As the flight centre is geographically dispersed, information technology enables them with quicker and more effective communication and customer support. Social specialization that is required by the IT professionals includes attending to faults 24-hours because flight centre is worldwide organisation where they deal with traveling and ticketing. If an IT personnel is not available, all the operations might come to a halt because tickets and holiday packages are sold worldwide.

In a successful organisation, employees are seen as their primary source of competitive advantage. One of the success factors of Flight centre is that they continuously identify and adopt innovative human resource management policies and practices to sustain that advantage. It also include how they have structured their work and designed their training, performance management, pay, and reward policies to help members of flight centre to succeed in achieving desired outcomes. In other words, they have aligned their HRM policies and practices to reinforce employee behaviors that can best realize the leaders’ strategic intent.

As HR professionals, they would ensure that equal employment opportunities (EEO) are not violated. The marketing department of the flight centre is like the center of a wagon wheel with each spoke connected to other departments (in- and out-side the company) including sales, production, research, advertising, etc. The center of the wheel connects the various parts so they work in harmony. With this analogy, it is easy to see that the main function of marketing is managing relationships in the organization, with outside vendors, and the consumer.

Without marketing there is no consumer and without the consumer there is no use for the product or service the company is producing (University of California, 2005). Standards that are required by the marketing professionals include, caring all stakeholders: customers, employees, suppliers and distributors, local communities in which they do business, society, and the environment. For example, in promotional activities such as advertising, they would respect the host country? culture. Centralizing and Decentralizing Decentralization refers to decision making at lower levels in the hierarchy of authority.

In contrast, decision making in a centralized type of organizational structure is at higher levels. The degree of centralization and de-centralization depends on the number of levels of hierarchy, degree of coordination, specialization and p of control (Luthens, 1986). The main reason that the ? ountry? as a business unit buys services for villages and families is to achieve economy of scale and to reduce waste. If the villages or the families buy services, it would increase the cost and repetition. To reduce complexity and to make coordination easy, a head office team facilitates HR, IT and marketing services.

To follow a certain reporting duty each family is empowered with a manager. It would reduce the volume of day-to-day communication between the tribe and the family and have a clear accountability. Decentralizing the authority to the travel consultants would reduce the probability of information overload and would facilitates rapid response to all customers. It would also reduce the stress and burdens of senior management. As travel consultants, they would have a better knowledge of local conditions affecting their areas of work. This would allow them to make more informed, well-judged choices.

Moreover, motivates travel consultants and can enhance their skill development opportunities. However, decentralizing would reduce consistency in decision-making and some sometimes customers may perceive it as unfair. Advantages of using metaphors To recognize and cope with the idea that all theories of organization and management are based on metaphors that persuades people to see, understand, and imagine situations in partial ways. Moreover, Metaphors create ways of seeing and shaping organizational life. Any metaphor can be very persuasive (Morgan, 1997).

The metaphors that are used at the Flight centre are family, village and tribal country. As all the retail shops are considered as families, it shows the equality among shops, which would create less comparison and competition among families. Moreover, giving uniform service to the customers. As employees are bonded up in small teams like a families, it gives them identity where they belong. It would also create close relationships within families and also gives the manager a clear picture of the capabilities of individual staff. Moreover, makes decisions more effective.

Creating families, villages and tribes in areas of countries would allow flight centre to adjust their services according to the specific culture of the region rather than generalizing to the whole county or state. For example, in Australia a certain area would dominate Indians, so rather than adjusting their services and marketing strategies to the Australian community they could adjust their services to the Indian market. Conclusion This essay has discussed how flight centre has structured with the four aspects of the organisation structure. At the Flight centre, the operation level involves retail shops.

Each shop involves three to seven people working on one brand which is called a family. All shops of flight centre sell similar services. Flight centre has more than 800 shops spatially dispersed. High-rise of overseas shops would increase the number of tribes, villages, families and employees. Programmed coordination is common in the flight centre. A head office team coordinates administrative services and marketing. As the flight centre is geographically dispersed, information technology enables them with quicker and more effective communication and customer support.

Social specialization that is required by the IT professionals includes attending to faults 24-hours because flight centre is worldwide organisation where they deal with traveling and ticketing Decentralizing the authority to the travel consultants would reduce the probability of information overload and would facilitates rapid response to all customers. As employees are bonded up in small teams like a families, it gives them identity where they belong. It would also create close relationships within families and also gives the manager a clear picture of the capabilities of individual staff.

Moreover, makes decisions more effective. Reference: Anderson, C. (1988). Management: Skills, Functions and Organization Performance. USA, Allyn and Bacon. Argote, L. (1982). ?nput Uncertainty and Organizational Coordination in Hospital Emergency Units,? Administrative Science Quarterly (27:3). Beshears, F. (2006). Mintzberg’s Taxonomy of Organizational Forms, Retrieved September 07, 2006, from http://socrates. berkeley. edu/~fmb/articles/mintzberg/ Baumard, P. & Starbuck, W. (2006). Where Are Organizational Cultures Going?. Retrieved September 07, 2006, from http://pages. stern. nyu. edu/~wstarbuc/where. tm Robbins, S & Barnwell, N. (2002). Organisation Theory. (4th Ed. ). Australia, Pearson HRODC (2006). Organisation structure, Retrieved September 07, 2006, from http://www. hrodc. com/ORGANISATIONAL. DESIGN. htm Luthans, F. (1986). Organizational Behaviour. Singapore: McGraw-Hill. University of California. (2005). Public Relations, Advertising & Marketing – What’s the Difference? Retrieved September 07, 2006, from http://career. berkeley. edu/Article/021011a. stm Morgan, G. (1997). Images of Organization, (2nd Ed), Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks. Appendix 1 – vertical differentiation of flight centre