First Crusade Military Perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

First Crusade Military Perspectives - Essay Example 72). At the beginning of 1113 A.C., Baldwin, the King of Jerusalem, raided into the seigniory of Damascus. Unable to oppose him single-handed, Toghtakin, the Lord of Damascus, invoked the assistance of Moudud of Mosul (Irwin 1998, p. 75). In July 1113 the combined forces of the Lords of Mosul, Damascus, Sinjar2, and Maridin marched into Palestine. In a battle near Tiberias, the Franks were routed with terrible loss, and a large number of them were drowned in the lake and in the Jordan. In June 11193 they were again defended at a place called al-Balat by Ilgazi, the Lord of Maridin. Even the Egyptians won some successes on the sea coast (p. 77). But the Crusaders had the whole of Europe at their back; the reinforcements which poured in for them from all parts of Christendom, the assasincation of Moudud, who was stabbed by a Batinia after the battle of Tiberias, and the division of the chiefs, all helped them to recover their grounds (p. 78). Sultan Muhammad died in 511 A.H., and this death was not without effect on the fortunes of the Muslims and Christians. He was succeeded in the over-lordship by his brother Sanjar, the last hero of a heroic race, and in the succession of his private dominions of his son Mahmud. In 516 A.H. Zangi obtained from Sultan Mahmud the city of Wasit as an appanage, and the post of Commissary4 at Basra. Four year later the government of Mosul and Upper Mesopotamia was conferred on him, with the title of Atabek ("Prince Tutor"5), and he was confirmed in this dignity by the letters patent of the Caliph (p. 80). In 1128 A.C., on the invitation of the people of Aleppo, who had suffered terribly from the depredations of the Crusaders6, he took possession of their city. Hamah followed the example of Aleppo (p. 81). The following year Zangi routed the Crusaders under the walls of al-Asarib, and captured the castle after a stout resistance. A short truce between Joscelin, the Count of Edessa, "the greatest demon of them all"7, enabled Zangi to take part in the inevitable civil was which broke out on the death of Sultan Mahmud (p. 85). Atabek Zangi did not long concern himself with the troubles in the East. His great work lay in Syria. The Crusaders were again in ferment; they had received large reinforcements from Europe, and had been joined by a Greek contingent under the personal command of the Emperor John Comnenus. They captured Buzaa, put the sword all the male inhabitants, and carried into captivity the women and children. They they marched upon Shaizar (Casarea), a day's journey from Hamah. The castle of Shaizar, the birthplace of Usamah8, was almost impregnable (Philip 2000). Usamah's works offer a mesmerizing counterpoint to Christian stories of their own conduct and the responses of their opponents. Actually, Usamah's amity with a number of the Franks set him aside to recover from revengeful insult, and his expressions on the inquisitive thoughts and behavior of the Franks remain a precious resource. Mystifying are the workings of the Maker, the Creator of everything! When one comes to relate cases about the Franks, he cannot but praised God

Cost of the Good Life Essay Example for Free

Cost of the Good Life Essay Overall wellbeing, an extravagant lifestyle, and wealth all come to mind when I ponder the good life but what does the good life actually cost? At first glance, this seems like a loaded question that requires multiple dissertations in order to answer. I even contemplated whether or not the good life had a cost at all. Breaking the good life into separate topics relieves much of the stress when it comes to giving an answer. In terms of consumerism, the good life is damaging to the environment, places too much emphasis on money, and it dwindles the importance of non-market values. According to Annie Leonard’s â€Å"The Story of Stuff†, our current materials economy is a commodity chain in which goods go from extraction, to production, to distribution, to consumption, and finally to disposal. The system sounds stable but it is actually in crisis. Anyone with a simple understanding of mathematics can tell you that you cannot run a linear system on a finite planet in the real world. In order for us, the consumers, to get all of our fancy products and up-to-date technologies, a process that we turn a blind eye to takes place. At the source of the process, there is natural resource exploitation. â€Å"We chop down the trees, blow up mountains to get the metals inside, use up all the water, and wipe out all the animals.† As consumers, we are running out of resources because we have too much stuff! In the past three decades alone, one third of the planet’s natural resource space has been consumed. We are undermining the planets very ability for people to live here. In the United States, less than four percent of our original forests are left and forty percent of the waterways have become unsanitary. When the resources start to deplete, we do the same thing to third world or lesser developed nations. The erosion of the local environments of these nations and economies ensures a constant flow of natives that rely on the little money they can earn while working in factories. We have become a nation of consumers largely due to planned and perceived obsolescence. Planned obsolescence is the art of designing products that don’t last a long time but last long enough for someone to buy the product again. Perceived obsolescence is changing the design of things to follow trends and keep up with the times. The number one example that people can relate to is the iPhone. If you don’t have the newest and  greatest iPhone, you are a social outcast. While this might be a tad over exaggerated, it’s not too far from the truth. In all actuality, polls show that our national happiness is declining even though we have more stuff than ever before. This is because we have less time for the things that truly make us happy like friends, family, and leisure time. At the cost of our planet and environment, are we really even living the good life? Fritjof Capra of â€Å"Qualitative Growth† said that â€Å"human needs are finite, but human greed is not. The major problems of our time cannot be understood in isolation; they are all interconnected and interdependent.† In our current economy, we have put currency on a pedestal that is far too high for us to reach anymore. Most of the goods that are produced and sold are often unneeded and therefore are essentially waste. Even still, demographic pressure and poverty form a vicious circle that lead to fewer jobs and wider poverty gaps. These are the costs of the good life. Our current global economy is a system striving for unlimited quantitative growth and is manifestly unsustainable as previously stated. Looking again from an ecological standpoint, the bad growth resulting from this system leads to externalizing social and environmental costs, is based on fossil fuels, involves toxic substances, depletes our natural resources, and degrades the Earth’s ecosystems. Harvard professor Michael Sandel adds what I believe to be the most interesting cost of the good life when it comes to affluenza. He argues that over the last three decades, we have drifted from having a market economy to becoming a market society. Although these two seem to be synonymous, they are actually quite different. A market economy is a valuable and effective tool for organizing productive activity while a market society is a place where almost everything is up for sale. By doing this, we have created a way of life in which market values â€Å"seep into almost every sphere of life and sometimes crowd out or corrode important, non-market values.† One of the examples that professor Sandel uses is congressional hearings in Washington D.C.. Lobbyists want to attend these hearings and because the seats are limited, line-standing companies have arisen. Line-standing companies hire homeless people and pay them an hourly rate in order to wait in line just  before the hearing. According to the professor, this is wrong for two reasons. â€Å"In a democratic society, everyone should have equal access to representative government. The other reason it’s wrong is that it demeans representative government.† When it comes to the point where almost everything in our public life is sold off to the highest bidder, something is lost. Money matters more and more in our society. And against the background of rising inequality, money takes a toll on the commonality of our civic life. In other words, we lose a part of ourselves. Do we go so far that we are cheapening important social goods and civic goods that are worth caring about? Society will eventually become a place of narcissistic opportunism where people will be buying their way into and out of positive and negative situations. What is the good life worth? I’ve been struggling with this question a great deal lately. You may or may not be familiar with the term first world problems. They are frustrations and complaints that are only experienced by privileged individuals, typically used as a comedic device to make light of trivial inconveniences. Not having the latest gadget and the newest clothes from a particular store are just a few examples. When I bought something, I failed to realize what I was actually paying. I now know that these consumer goods cost natural resources, valuable money, and so much more. The simplest way I can put it is that the cost of the good life: priceless.

The Modern Evolutionary Synthesis and the History of Its Development :: Evolution Science Biology Research Papers

The Modern evolutionary synthesis is combination of Darwinian evolutionary theory and Mendelian genetics. It is impossible to understand the theory and it's importance to the scientific community unless one understands the history behind the theory. From 1902 to 1953 major publications in the areas of systematics, developmental biology, botany, population genetics, and paleontology sucessfully integrated Darwin's four postulates and Mendelian genetics into a reformation of evolutionary theory. The new theory is referred to as the Modern Synthesis, Evolutionary Synthesis, or the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis. These terms can be used inter-changeably. Before one can understand the Modern Synthesis and this analysis there a few defintions that must be explained in order to grasp the concept, espically if a person is not familiar with biological terminology. This list of definitions does not have to be read fully but is provided to refer to when a biological term is not understood... of course maybe not every term that isn't understood, but the majority. -Allele-one of a pair, or series, of alternative forms of a gene that occur at a given locus (location) in a chromosome. -Fitness-the number of offspring left by an individual, often compared with the average of the population or with some other standard, such as the number left by a particular genotype. -Gene-a hereditary determinant of a specific biological function; a unit of inheritance (DNA) located in a fixed position on a chromosome. -Genotype-the genetic constitution (gene makeup) of a an organism. -Phenotype-The observable characteristics of an organism. -Chromosomes-darkly staining nucleotide bodies that are observed in cells during division. Each chromosome carries a linear array of genes. -Mutation-a change in DNA at a particular locations in an organism. The term is used loosely to include point mutations involving a single gene change as well as a chromosomal changes. -Variation-in biology, the occurrence of differences among individuals. -Taxon (plural: Taxa)-any named group of organisms. -Macroevolution-large evolutionary change ,usually in morphology; typically refers to the evolution of differences among populations that would warrant their placement in different genera or higher-level taxa. -Microevolution-changes in a gene frequencies and trait distributions that occur within populations and species. -Inheritance-the hypothesis that phenotypic changes in the parental generations can be passed on intact, to the next generation. -Population-for sexual species, a group of interbreeding individuals and their offspring; for asexual species, a group of individuals living in the same area. -Natural Selection-a difference, on average, between the survival or fecundity of

Virgils Aeneid as Roman Propaganda Essay example -- Aeneid Essays

Virgil's Aeneid as Roman Propaganda  Ã‚   Rome was experiencing a great deal of internal turmoil during the period when Virgil wrote the Aeneid. There was somewhat of an identity crisis in Rome as it had no definitive leader, or history. With the ascension of Augustus to the throne, Rome was unified again. Still, it had no great book. The Greeks had their Odyssey, giving them a sense of history and of continuity through time. A commonly held view is that the Aeneid attempts to provide the Romans with this sense of continuity or roots. There is a great deal of textual evidence to support this interpretation. Virgil makes numerous references to the greatness of Rome through "ancient" prophecies. Clearly, the entire poem is an account of the founders of Rome. In some sense, this does make the Aeneid seem as a piece of propaganda. However, upon closer examination, there is another idea that Virgil presents. War is painted as a vicious and bloody, not some glorious event. The image of war condemns the concept of Rome as the all-p owerful conqueror of other nations. Not only that, but the strong emphasis on duty is frequently mocked. These underlying ideas would seem to run contrary to the theory that Virgil was simply producing a synthesized history of ancient Romans. In order to determine the true intent of the Aeneid, it is important that both ideas presented be examined. "I sing of warfare and a man at war†¦Till he could found a city†¦the high walls of Rome." (Book I, 1-12) There can be no dispute that the Aeneid is an account of the history of Rome. There are several items which with Virgil links the story of Aeneas to the Rome of his time period. Probably the most obvious of these is the surplus of predictions concerning Rome’... ...many readers today still are). No one can be entirely sure of Virgil’s true intent in writing the Aeneid. Perhaps he meant it as a glorification of Rome that had some discrepancies in it. Perhaps he meant it as an attack upon the character of Rome with some inconsistencies. Either way, it does not work well. Whatever Virgil’s argument, he compromises it by playing up the opposite argument. If Virgil meant to attack Rome, he failed in some respects. Likewise, if he meant the Aeneid to be a work of Roman propaganda, he was ineffective. Works Cited and Consulted Horsfall, Nicholas, ed. A Companion to the Study of Virgil. Leiden, New York, and Kà ¶ln: E. J. Brill, 1995. Putnam, Michael C. J. â€Å"Anger, Blindness, and Insight in Virgil's Aeneid.† Apeiron 23 (1990): 7-40. Virgil. Aeneid. Dover Thrift Edition. Trans. Charles J. Billson. New York: Dover, 1995. Virgil's Aeneid as Roman Propaganda Essay example -- Aeneid Essays Virgil's Aeneid as Roman Propaganda  Ã‚   Rome was experiencing a great deal of internal turmoil during the period when Virgil wrote the Aeneid. There was somewhat of an identity crisis in Rome as it had no definitive leader, or history. With the ascension of Augustus to the throne, Rome was unified again. Still, it had no great book. The Greeks had their Odyssey, giving them a sense of history and of continuity through time. A commonly held view is that the Aeneid attempts to provide the Romans with this sense of continuity or roots. There is a great deal of textual evidence to support this interpretation. Virgil makes numerous references to the greatness of Rome through "ancient" prophecies. Clearly, the entire poem is an account of the founders of Rome. In some sense, this does make the Aeneid seem as a piece of propaganda. However, upon closer examination, there is another idea that Virgil presents. War is painted as a vicious and bloody, not some glorious event. The image of war condemns the concept of Rome as the all-p owerful conqueror of other nations. Not only that, but the strong emphasis on duty is frequently mocked. These underlying ideas would seem to run contrary to the theory that Virgil was simply producing a synthesized history of ancient Romans. In order to determine the true intent of the Aeneid, it is important that both ideas presented be examined. "I sing of warfare and a man at war†¦Till he could found a city†¦the high walls of Rome." (Book I, 1-12) There can be no dispute that the Aeneid is an account of the history of Rome. There are several items which with Virgil links the story of Aeneas to the Rome of his time period. Probably the most obvious of these is the surplus of predictions concerning Rome’... ...many readers today still are). No one can be entirely sure of Virgil’s true intent in writing the Aeneid. Perhaps he meant it as a glorification of Rome that had some discrepancies in it. Perhaps he meant it as an attack upon the character of Rome with some inconsistencies. Either way, it does not work well. Whatever Virgil’s argument, he compromises it by playing up the opposite argument. If Virgil meant to attack Rome, he failed in some respects. Likewise, if he meant the Aeneid to be a work of Roman propaganda, he was ineffective. Works Cited and Consulted Horsfall, Nicholas, ed. A Companion to the Study of Virgil. Leiden, New York, and Kà ¶ln: E. J. Brill, 1995. Putnam, Michael C. J. â€Å"Anger, Blindness, and Insight in Virgil's Aeneid.† Apeiron 23 (1990): 7-40. Virgil. Aeneid. Dover Thrift Edition. Trans. Charles J. Billson. New York: Dover, 1995.

Selective Reasoning

When the simulation was first assigned, I really had no idea what to expect. I assumed that my group members and I would be creating various written documents, which was clearly not the case. After selecting a group composed mainly of my close friends, we began to read through the various materials given to us to help us successfully complete the simulation. After watching a few of the videos from our customers and reading the given document about Minnesota Mircromotors, we began the simulation.Before the simulation started our group decided that we wanted to put customer atisfaction as our top priority, over market share and profit. After our first quarter, we began to panic because every satisfaction arrow was in the red. Immediately we made changes to everything we did before, restoring us back to equilibrium in the second quarter. From there on out, the simulation ran a lot more smoothly. In our first attempt at the simulation, we played around with the price of the product a lot , trying to keep it lower for Customer D, while also sometimes bringing it up to help increase profits.By the time I took the simulation individually, I realized that playing with the price was a waste of time. What I found best was to keep the price at $142 or $143, ignoring was Customer D wanted. I found over time the discounts to be much more important. We as well as l, always gave Customer D the largest discount, followed by Customer A, Customer B, and finally Customer C. This gave us the highest customer satisfaction while keeping the price relatively the same. For the distributor discount, we kept it relatively constant throughout, but increased it towards the end in order to keep the customers happy.For the sales force emphasis pie chart, we tried a lot of different methods to try nd get the best result. The first few times through the simulation we focused our attention on Customer A and C over B and D. This worked throughout fairly well, but wasn't ultimately the best solut ion. During my last individual attempt, I completely cut out customer D, while giving half of my attention to Customer. Roughly the remaining half was split between A and B, but it fluctuated a little throughout the simulation. This confguration of the pie chart ended with me getting a much larger score than previous attempts.During the group simulations, we put a lot of time into figuring out the best way to plit up spending on large/small customers, as well as retaining those same customers. We argued a lot about which should get more emphasis and which did not. I found that no matter what I did, that the small customers seemed to always be very satisfied. Because of this, what I found to work best was to keep both spending and retaining large customers Just slightly about the small. I kept this relatively simulation, and gave me the best score in the end.Sales force was another aspect of the simulation our group argued a lot about. Half the group thought the sales force was very important, while the other half hought it would be better to use that money in order to enhance our physical product. What I found that worked the best was to leave the sales force at 1 1, but if I really thought it was necessary to get rid of them then to Just do it for one quarter. I noticed that each time I dropped a few for a quarter that my total budget would sometimes increase by $100,000.For that reason alone I did this several times in order to have as large a budget as possible. During the group stages my budget only got up to $800,000, which we thought was very good. When I took the simulation individually I got the budget to increase to $1. million. I feel that managing my sales force correctly played a key role in obtaining more total budget. The first time we took the simulation, we tried getting rid of market research for the very last quarter. This ended terribly for us and caused us to lose a customer satisfaction star from every customer.From then on out I left mark et research at the required $50,000 Just to stay safe. One of the most important parts of the game I found was spending on IMC. After the first quarter as a group, when we did very poorly, we found that putting money into IMC was the best way to increase our profit nd market share. What I found that worked best regarding IMC, was to basically put all additional budget into it. Almost every quarter I did this, my profits would continue to rise. When I did the simulation individually, every time I gained more money in my total budget that money would address IMC first.IMC was definitely the key to the game for me. The single most argued part of the simulation for our group was the distribution of money in Power-To-Size Ratio, Manufacturing, and Thermal Resistance. At first it seemed that no matter what we did as a group some customer would complain about something. No customer complained more than Customer B complaining about wanting more thermal. Our group found ourselves always argu ing over how much money to put into which of the three categories. We never really did a great Job doing so because there was always an unhappy customer.What I found to be the best method was based on sure luck. I really wanted to take some relatively large risks in my last attempt at the individual simulation so I cut out Manufacturing Efficiency Improvement entirely. After two quarters of making a huge profit, I kept that up until the end. This gave me more money to put into important things like IMC, Power-To- Size Ratio, and Thermal Resistance. This kept the customers satisfied for the most part. After being the CEO of Minnesota Micromotors, I found that my ideals before I started the simulation were a lot different from how I feel now.Before the simulation started, our group really wanted to focus on customer satisfaction. For the most part we kept the customers very satisfied and satisfied. I now feel that market share and profit are what were the best ways of achieving a high score. With high profit and market share I was given more budget to work with. This trend kept accumulating ntil both profit and market share were higher than during the first couple simulations. The difference was that my customer satisfaction for my final simulation scores of 55, 60, and 60.My final score was a 75. Taking risks was something I wasn't too fond of at the beginning of the simulation. I thought being conservative was definitely the way to go. Because of this I was really conservative at the beginning with my group, as well as myself. I did the best when I took some risks. I am really glad I took a chance in my last simulation because then I really grasped the fact that sometimes you have to focus on the customers that help ou the most instead of focusing on pleasing all of the customers.Overall, I am really glad we got he opportunity to participate in the simulation. We really got a hands on experience of what we learned in class. I'm glad we got to apply our knowled ge, and I believe I learned a lot from doing the simulation. Although I did a lot better individually, it was very helpful to work in a group at first. We did fairly well compared to the rest of the class, and work as a team really helped with that. I would recommend this simulation to any marketing student because it is exactly how I picture the real world working.

How to Find the Phoenix Constellation

How to Find the Phoenix Constellation The Phoenix constellation is a southern-hemisphere star pattern. Named after the mythical bird, Phoenix is part of a larger grouping of southern-hemisphere constellations referred to as the Southern Birds. Finding Phoenix To locate Phoenix, look toward the southern region of the southern hemisphere sky. Phoenix is located between the constellations Eridanus (the River), Grus (the crane), and Horologium, the clock. Parts of the constellation are visible to northern hemisphere observers south of the 40th parallel, but the best view is reserved for those living well south of the equator.   Phoenix constellation is a galaxy-hunters delight, with a number of galaxies and clusters. Click to enlarge. Carolyn Collins Petersen The Story of Phoenix In China, this constellation was considered part of the nearby Sculptor star pattern and was viewed as a fish-catching net. In the Middle East, the constellation was called Al Rial and Al Zaurak, the latter of which means the boat. This terminology makes sense, as the constellation is located nearby to Eridanus, the river constellation. In the 1600s, Johann Bayer named the constellation Phoenix and recorded it in his astronomical charts. The name came from the Dutch term Den voghel Fenicx or The Bird Phoenix. French explorer and astronomer Nicolas de Lacaille also charted Phoenix and applied Bayer designations to the brightest stars in the pattern.   The Stars of Phoenix The main part of Phoenix looks like a triangle and a lopsided quadrangle stuck together. The brightest star is called Ankaa, and its official designation is alpha Phoenicis (alpha indicates the brightness). The word Ankaa comes from Arabic and means Phoenix. This star is an orange giant located about 85 light-years away from the Sun. The second brightest star, beta Phoenicis, is actually a pair of yellow giant stars in orbit around a common center of gravity. Other stars in Phoenix form the shape of a boats keel. The official constellation assigned by the International Astronomical Union contains many more stars, some of which appear to have planetary systems around them. The constellation Phoenix as shown in the official IAU charts. IAU/Sky Publishing Phoenix is also the radiant for a pair of meteor showers called the December Phoenicids and the July Phoenicids. The December shower occurs from November 29 until December 9; its meteors come from the tail of comet 289P/Blanpain. The July shower is very minor and occurs from July 3 to July 18 each year.   Deep-Sky Objects in Phoenix Located in the far south position in the sky, Phoenix is far from the Milky Ways abundant star clusters and nebulae. Nevertheless, Phoenix is a galaxy hunters delight, with numerous types of galaxies to explore. Amateur stargazers with a decent telescope will be able to view NGC 625, NGC 37, and a group of four called Roberts Quartet: NGC 87, NGC 88, NGC 89, and NGC 92. The quartet is a compact galaxy group about 160 million light-years away from us.   The Phoenix Cluster galaxies seen in x-ray, visible light, and ultraviolet wavelengths. X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/M.McDonald et al; Optical: NASA/STScI; Radio: TIFR/GMRT Professional astronomers study these galaxies in an effort to understand how such giant associations of galaxies exist. The biggest one in the area is the Phoenix Cluster: 7.3 million light-years across and located 5.7 billion light-years away. Discovered as part of the South Pole Telescope collaboration, the Phoenix Cluster contains a highly active central galaxy that produces hundreds of new stars per year. Although it cant be seen with amateur telescopes, an even larger cluster exists in this region, too: El Gordo. El Gordo is comprised of two smaller galaxy clusters colliding with each other.

Cross cultural differentiation on hospitality and tourism management The WritePass Journal

Cross cultural differentiation on hospitality and tourism management Cross cultural differentiation on hospitality and tourism management Introduction: Marketing strategy of Beach House Maldives: Management style:Reputation Management:Cultural Diversity:Definition of culture and organization culture:National culture and Subculture:Theories of cultural issues:Cross cultural management employee performance and benefits:Problem Analysis:Recommendation or suggestion: Conclusion: Reference:Related Introduction: In a rapidly changing environment and continuing insights into organizational effectiveness, tourism industry, as most other organizations thought about that what they do and how they can create and accomplish their goals and objectives. Once goals are defined is culture that is necessary to advance these goals and objectives and ensure the successful implementation of the necessary changes. In addition, the organizational effectiveness literature has been increasingly emphasizing the importance of culture in motivating and maximizing the value of its intellectual assets, particularly its human capital.   And it can be say that-   (1) Culture is essential for both successful organizational change and maximizing the value of human capital (2) Culture management should become a critical management competency, and (3) While the right culture may be a necessary condition for organizational success, It is by no means a sufficient condition. An important challenge for managers is to determine what the most effective culture is for their organization and, when necessary, how to change the organizational culture effectively. The Beach House Maldives has joined Waldorf Astoria Hotels Resorts. The resort was renamed by the name of ‘The Beach House Maldives. The Beach House is located on the pristine, lagoon-ringed Haa Alifu Atoll which is fringed by powder-white beaches and has un spoilt leafy jungle at its centre, the 35-acre resort comprises 83 Maldivian-style villas, three restaurants, four bars and a luxurious spa. Each villa comes complete with a private pool and butler. In 2007, this independent branded hotel has built a solid reputation for world-class luxury and quality that epitomizes the Waldorf Astoria name. The Maldives remains one of the most sought-after luxury leisure destinations in the world and it has delighted to be able to offer its guests the unique experience of Waldorf Astoria Hotels Resorts on the beautifully private and breathtaking island of Manafaru. Since 2009,1st July Hilton Worldwide management team has been in situ at the resort which has overseen a number of key developments as part of the US$58 million renovation project and now the restaurant are becoming the first Waldorf Astoria property in Asia Pacific. Their restaurants and three bars have been redesigned to incorporate local heritage and ingredients with global influences. Including over-water fine-dining restaurant Saffron, a Tapas and Sangria bar with a Maldivian edge at the Mediterranean-themed Salt Water and martinis and cocktails inspired by Waldorf Astoria properties around the world that are experience offers a local twist. Source: www. maldives beachhouse.com. They also introduced a new art gallery with a cafà © serving traditional Maldivian High Tea and also offers 30 degrees private dining in a glass floored over water pavilion. The new spa programmers, upgraded villa and restaurant interiors from UK which are based on Aromatherapy Associates, Ayurvedic philosophies are also join in this place with developments to the Kids club, and new designer boutiques. The opportunity of this hotel has always tried to introduce their tradition and their history. That’s why; the     history of the Maldives will be on offer with excursions to the nearby island of Utheem which is famous for home to a Sultan’s Palace. The resort has also been improved with a direct 75minute seaplane transfer that they offered as an alternative to a domestic flight and boat transfer. The first ever property of the Waldorf Astoria in the Asia Pacific could be found nowhere but in the Maldives. In March, 2010, The Beach House Maldives was renamed The Beach House Maldives the collection of The Waldorf Astoria. The Beach House Maldives has affiliated with legendary Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts and in celebration to the newly upgraded resort‘s debut, guests from different parts of the world were invited to join its inauguration ceremony and became part in a chapter of the resort‘s exclusive history. Marketing strategy of Beach House Maldives: There is a marketing principle that states that a company cannot survive in the market without its clients. Therefore, the company always destined their significant resource to the design of innovative promotion strategies aimed at attracting new clients. The development of communication systems, especially the internet, has made it possible for products from millions of companies to reach all kinds of audiences in almost every corner of the world. Increasingly innovative and attractive web pages advertising countless products and services appear every day. A Hotel is a company and their guests are its main clients. High occupancy rates must be achieved to ensure success. Many hotels have developed unique products whose high quality standards have contributed to increasing retention and loyalty rates. Customized services offer the possibility of achieving high quality standards, generating positive overall satisfaction levels by turning the stay into a fulfilling experience in itself . All of us have been tourists in one way or another. After a pleasant experience, we have felt the need to share our trip with our family and friends. This is where one of the most important ways of promotion starts: word of mouth. Word of mouth continues to be, according to experts, the most decisive factor when it comes to choosing the destination and the place of stay. One of the main advantages of this kind of promotion lies in its low cost, as it is the guest who bears most of it: the time consumed and the interest in communicating his/her experience to a group of people who might be in turn motivated to go through it themselves. Another advantage is its high impact, as the level of credibility that a member of the family or friend has cannot be matched by any other promotion strategy, thus turning it into a powerful tool. The expectations of the new guest who chose the hotel on the basis of this kind of promotion shall be determined by the level of satisfaction experienced by the person who recommended the hotel the expectations of the new guest (real or imaginary) regarding the experience promoted. If, before the arrival of the new guest, the identity of the person who recommended the hotel is known, it is possible to determine, through the analysis of the guest’s profile, his/her level of experience and, particularly, the means by which it was attained, so that it can be reproduced or adapted to the new guest, thus ensuring the same level of service or even a better one. Therefore, the expectations of the new guest can be satisfied, turning him/her into another guest who will in turn attract more guests. There are several means by which hotel employees may obtain the identity of the guest who recommended the hotel by word of mouth: from direct questions on the on- line reservation form, polls-questionnaires or through the hotel butler while assisting the guests. This information is valuable for the hotel, as it primarily allows creating custom er valuation policies aimed at stimulating the guests’ need to share their experiences after the trip. If a guest checks out from a Hotel feeling that all his/her expectations have been met and even exceeded, he/she will become one of the company’s best allies, as his/her positive comments will attract new guests who are willing to go through the same experience themselves. Tactics and strategy which should have to be practice for managerial success in hospitality and hotel management across in a cross cultural diversify environment: Management style: In international business, culture is a critical factor in a global economy. In that case manager should need to engage in learning processes to develop international cultural competence. That’s why today’s manager has use behavioral approach. From the way managers design motivating job to work with employee teams to way they use open communication. In addition, the system approach on decision and actions taken in organizations and managers coordinate the work activities of the various part of the organization are working together so that the organization’s goal are achieved. Reputation Management:   Ã‚  Online reputation plays a huge role in the level of success achieve the majority of travelers. Today use   the internet to make travel plans, and say the reviews they read from other guests influence their buying decision Reputation management begins by   listening to what people are saying about online.   Ã‚  . Use tools like Google Alerts, Technocratic, and Radian 6 to track praise and criticism Monitor all important terms for example     hotel name, any old hotel names, restaurants, the names of manager and concierge. Review sites such as Trip Advisor, Yelp, and Qype allow management responses, and this is a good chance to participate in the conversation. A recent survey by Trip Advisor/Market Matrix found that 85% of hotels have no guidelines on how to handle negative guest reviews published online. Developing  Ã‚   response policy ahead of time, and make an effort to follow up with all feedback Complaints can be an excellent opportunity to improve hotel servi ce. If you get legitimate negative feedback,     thank the reviewer for pointing it out†¦ and explain the steps     taking to ensure it never happens again Trip Advisor: The most important thing a hotel can do to improve rankings is provide a great experience for their guests. Effective online reputation management   is more than just playing defense – it’s all about proactively building a positive buzz. Social media is a great way to begin doing this.(ISSUE HOSPITALITY MALDIVES 022 ISSUE 26). Email: Email may have taken a backseat role to social media hype, but it’s still a very powerful tool when used correctly. It is the cornerstone of permission-based relationship marketing. Email usually has higher psychological value than other types of online communication. Email is an effective branding tool for creating top-of-mind awareness Email drives action and profits Messages don’t always have to be sent to guests and customers. Build systems to nurture partner relationships. Fairmont Hotels sends nearly half of their newsletters for other business partners. You must create your lists organically with the explicit permission of your prospects. Always provide a strong benefit for the person signing up for your list. Receiving updates (marketing messages) alone isn’t usually a very strong offer. Exclusive discounts also preferred for attract the customer. Customs and cultural difference: Maldives is a place of very hospitable for visit. Here people are always take care to avoid religious offence. They are always concern about religion and culture, they learn about local rules and values even they also keep knowledge about some of language. In a word they are so much sensitive to cultural difference. Their patience, friendliness, and courtesy have won the respect and confidence to the customer. In this hotel, people come from different countries and they discover the beauty and harmony of the country because their staff and manager are always most welcoming. Entertainment: The Beach house of Maldives has its own restaurant, bar, water sport facilities, health club, and spa. The hotel also organizes the Maldives traditional folk music and dance. Environmental Responsibility: Global warming and increase the sea level pose are great threats for this island people. This hotel management always concern about this issue and that does why they play a role in National Environmental action plan for protect the nation’s coral reefs, marine life, and its land surface. Government policy: The Maldivian government has strict anti drugs policy. Alcohol is only permitted only one the resorts island and not in the other inhabited island. Food and Drink: Maldives beach house is offer spicy blend of Arabic, Indian, Sri Lanka, and oriental flavors with fish, mainly tuna a favorite dish. This resorts usually have international cuisine and their local dishes as a part of their buffets. Language and Religion: The Republic Maldives is a Islamic state and their language is Dhivehi. But English is also widely by the Maldivians to make easy for communicate with visitor. In this beach house staff speaks several other languages including French, German, Italian and Japanese.   Research OBJECTIVES: I propose to review  Ã‚   how managing diversity can create a competitive advantage, with a focus on human resources, marketing success, creativity and innovation, problem-solving quality and organizational flexibility. These six dimensions of business performance are directly impacted by management of cultural diversity. In this review the following goals and objectives are achieved- Critically evaluate theories of leadership and motivation. Critically evaluate theories relating to managing cultural diversity, how these theories apply to the chosen organisation and what can be import end/changed in the light of the theories. Cultural Diversity: Definition of culture and organization culture: There are verities of definitions of culture. According to Sathe(1984;68)†culture is asset of a important understandings that members of a community share in common.† Organizational culture refers to a pattern of beliefs, values, and learns with experience the course of a organization’s history and in behavior of its members. National culture and Subculture: National culture defines by that people from different countries may be influenced by cultural difference in their work environment. It is important to understand people’s different cultural backgrounds. Subculture can be identified as understandings, behaviors and culture forms that characterize as distinctive group within an organizations (Trice,1993;85). In tourism sector, the company motivates each subculture to develop its own cultural life to understanding other cultural grouping so that the subcultures are developed. Theories of cultural issues: Culture presents the biggest challenge to businesses working internationally shared by beliefs, norms and values. Culture influences management also including negotiation tactics, decision making, and rewards and recognition programs. According to Geert Hofstede, culture is more often a source of conflict than sof synergy. Cultural differences are nuisance at best and often a disaster. In that case, such dimensions do explain the behavior with respect to how cultural differtiation interact with this tourism business. Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions (source: Greet Hofstede cultural dimension website, greet-hofstede.com) Culture dimension   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Value Definition Power distanceIndividualism Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity/Femininity The degree of equality, or inequality, between people in the country’s society.Degree to which a society reinforces individual or collective achievement and interpersonal relationship. The extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have created institutions and beliefs for minimizing or avoiding those uncertainties. The degree to which â€Å"masculine† values like performance, success, and material things and â€Å"feminine† values like quality of life, caring, service, personal relationship. Maldives work values: The Individualism is low and collectivism is high in Maldives culture. Hofsted indicates that a positive relation between individualism and per capita GNP( Gross Nation Product). Individualism may be increase in Maldives. Uncertainty Avoidance, this dimension define when the workers are respective to different ideas and opinions or feel threats. This dimension is too clear in Maldives because they are traditionally been ruled by men rather than the rules. In Maldives the uncertainty Avoidance with strong desire to maintain social order. Masculinity/Feminists, this dimension describes how assertive and acquisitive worker were in a materialistic sense In Maldives. Hofsted studies had medium score for this dimension. For example, Maldives managers score high in masculinity. With high power distance countries like Maldives, managers should make autocratic decisions and they have business structures that are typified by close control of operations and fairly weak work ethic. However, the biggest problem of this organization is cultural awareness which may cause of problem. If service managers are unaware of core cultural expectations of customers it will result in a gap in performance of service. Role of Manager  in Beach House of Maldives: Managers are expected to provide instruction, guidance, advice and encouragement to help taem members to improve their performance. The managers in this beach house are always be alert about their duty and they know that their job is specially to guide the employees in order to fulfill their responsibilities and to adjust to the new cultural and physical environment. Managers are concern and respond that handling the uncertainties. They have also ability to checking quality of the product and transferring technical knowledge about product. Cross cultural management employee performance and benefits: Beach house Maldives usually involves service and dealings with consumers from different cultures. The organization has tended to keep a culture alive and measure the cultural fit between the organization and its employees. The human resource practices such as section, performance, training, and career development reinforce the organization’s culture. Beach House of Maldives beliefs also tend to influence the work norms, and communication practices.   This research indicates that cross culturally aware management provide their culturally diverse service. They are able to provide their serving styles to meet the needs of their foreign customers. To provide best service for customer they associated the following steps- Free training programmes for members Marketing and promotion and implementation of quality. Management should effort much on different cultural staff and train the staff to hospitalized the guest. Problem Analysis: What’s the suit ion being create if the tourism and hospitality related Hotel Company not familiar with a foreign culture? We know about that how   American mega-investor Kirk Kerkorian sued DaimlerChrysler for after their German chairman, Jà ¼rgen Schrempf had bragged in a Financial Times interview that the merger between the two companies are officially promoted as a ‘merger of equals’ was really no more than a takeover.   The case is still in court but a similar class-action suit by other investors has already been settled by the company for $300 million. Technically, the issue was a legal one but however, what got DaimlerChrysler into trouble was that Schrempf lacked the cultural sensitivity and experience to realize that in the US, they won’t get away with that of their two faced-behaviors.   The same act would expectably have much less dramatic consequences in his home country. Microsoft reported losing several millions of dollars in India, the Arab world, and in South America because of cultural mistakes in some versions of their Windows program.   Incorrect maps, poor translations that introduced offensive language, and other inappropriate material offended locals and in some cases led to government action.   The company had to recall the affected versions, replacing huge quantities of its software packages.   A spokesman admitted that some of our employees, however bright they may be, have only a hazy idea about the rest of the world.   As a consequence, Microsoft now sends their staff to dedicated training classes. A large high-tech corporation lost more than $10 million in development costs and missed market opportunities when they set up two of their international teams, one in Israel and one in Japan, to directly compete with each other in the same project, developing an important new product.   What the division’s manager was not aware of was that in many cultures, such an approach sends a message to the team that it is incompetent and cannot be trusted.   Rather than serving as a motivator as it might have in the U.S., the decision led to low morale, increased turnover, and poor results in both countries.   The project had to be stopped and re-initiated. Fortunately, most cross-cultural blunders are less severe, or at least less costly, then in these examples. Nevertheless, the list still goes on and on about how businesses waste money and miss opportunities because of a lack of international experience or preparation. What Goes Wrong There are three fundamental ways in which hospitality and tourism hotel business interactions and engagements fail or become more costly these are following in below- Failure to cross the culture gap: The interaction falls because the parties involved are unable to make a relation the culture gap between them.   Many negotiations end at this stage.  They asked always too much and expect to optimum service or keep a statement that never trusts others because they lived up their promises. These statements might be provides the end of such failed attempts.   Most of the time, these negotiations may be fall in the trace back to poor mutual understanding and faulty initial assumptions rather than bad intentions on either side. â€Å"Competition†:   The cross-cultural interaction limps along, but the parties involved fail to communicate effectively and to build sufficient trust between them.   As a result, the competitive element outweighs the cooperative one, introducing issues over contracts terms, intellectual property, budgets and payments, and so on.   This case is both more common and more devastating than the previous one.   Rather than adding value to a company’s global business strategy, such an engagement can become a major distraction from its key objectives and cause a lot of damage. Limited collaboration:   The parties have to involve with each other the ways of communicate and interact. However, they never fully trust each other.   In many foreign cultures, people will not make any major business commitments unless a strong business relationship has been established and they feel that the partner can be fully trusted.  In this beach house hotel may be more at ease here because its culture encourages a competitiveness that maintains an element of rivalry business partners are used to.   Dealing with foreign partners thus represents a bigger challenge if the goal is to achieve extensive collaboration. Recommendation or suggestion: Common Causes Six elements can be identified that make or break the success of a global business in tourism and hospitality sector.   All of them are ultimately linked back to people’s to understand the issue of cross culture. 1. Strategic Objectives Objective is the main power point for any company. However, many international business interactions suffer from poorly defined objectives.   Strategy, goals and approach all need to be set with the target in mind about culture. Culture’s values, strengths, and preferences can be a long term strategic objectives and tactics if it being realized that they are well aligned with others culture. 2.Approach Like any other running business, the properly planning approach has gain a success in cross-cultural interactions. Strategic objectives need to be translated into a plan of action that defines steps, timing, roles, and responsibilities.   That plan must also take into account the specific preferences and sensitivities of the targeted culture.   Ad-hoc approaches in foreign countries have a very limited chance of success. 3.Negotiation Negotiating in a different cultural context is one of the most difficult and toughest challenges in international business.   What is really effective and what is the most considered inappropriate varies greatly between countries.   At the time, the stakes are usually high and make any mistakes which approach costly. Finding someone best and most skilled negotiators won’t help much unless they are well-prepared.  If they lack a thorough understanding of the other culture, the company may be in for a business disaster. 4.   Leadership Once a cross-cultural engagement the leadership are more focused because behind this visionary leadership becomes pivotal.   Leaders will need to consistently demonstrate that they are serious about the situation and willing to work through the cultural differences. They have to take a strong commitment as well as they have to need the accurate skills to identify the sensitive areas and have to act appropriately to build and maintain trust. Executives or middle managers who maintain an â€Å"us-versus-them† attitude can cause huge damage.   Extensive communication both within the own camp and with the foreign side is also essential and requires constant leadership attention. 5.   Facilitation The importance of relationship and trust building triggers a need for proper facilitation throughout the engagement.   While early in the interactions senior leaders often drive the progress, they may have to become less involved once the engagement is under way.   At that point, it becomes essential that a facilitator be assigned who continues to build the relationship.   Sending an expatriate who lives in the foreign country can be very effective, but only if he or she is sensitive and well familiar with the specific culture.   Companies not paying attention to this aspect frequently find their employees inadvertently triggering confrontations that hurt the business relationship. 6. Team Preparation Well-defined strategy and good leadership are not enough to make global business interactions successful.  It also essential to get support and help from all team member because they are involved in business and they have taken a important part in hotel business sector. Without proper preparation for the engagement, cooperation will likely be poor and concerns may prevail.   The objective has to be to get both sides into the right mindset, opening up to the engagement as an opportunity rather than viewing it a threat.   Again, it will be very important to understand and address any cultural differences.   Aspects such as how to motivate a team can differ significantly and may dictate a new approach in a foreign culture. Organizational culture must now take into account: â™ ¦ The organization must be proactive, not just reactive. â™ ¦ The organization must influence and manage the environment, not just adapt. â™ ¦ The organization must be pragmatic, not idealistic. â™ ¦ The organization must be future-oriented, not predominantly present/past oriented. â™ ¦ The organization must embrace diversity, not uniformity. â™ ¦ The organization must be relationship-oriented, not just task-oriented. â™ ¦ The organization must embrace external connectivity, as well as promote internal integration. These fundamental assumptions are key to eliminating obstacles that will inhibit the kinds of internal and external organizational adaptations necessary for future success. They are not, however, sufficient. They must be reinforced by values, behavioral norms and patterns, artifacts and symbols, as well as accompanied by a particular mission, set of goals, and strategies. Conclusion: As Globalization accelerates business around the world, companies are realizing that proper preparation for international business is a mandatory step that has a strong positive impact on the bottom line.   Effective communication and trust building are the primary factors in making a foreign engagement successful.   They are influenced by several elements that take careful planning and orchestration.   While this requires significant efforts, it is critical to the business success, and the tradeoff between costs and benefits is clearly favorable. Hospitality and Tourism industry grows globally, as the managers are exposed to more and more cross cultural dealings, as the workforce become more and more diverse, then the cultural values increase, as the customer become more knowledgeable about the environment around them, it all generates challenges for the managers. So managers should recognized and acted upon for the success of business. Reference: Alan M. Rugman and Richard M. Hodgetts,(2003). International Business.3rd ed. Pearson education ltd. Calori, R Sarnin, P.(1991). Corporate   Culture and Economic performance: A French study, Oganization Studies,12(1);49-74. Chatman, J. A. Jehn,   K. A.(1994). Assessing the Relationship between Industry   Characteristics and Organizational Culture: How Different Can You Be? The Journal of Management,37:522-553. Deal, T.E Kennedy, A.A.(1982). Corporate Cultures. Menlo Park: Addition Wesley publishing Co. Geof Lancaster and Lan Waddelow,(1998). Strategic Marketing Planning. Journal of Marketing management.14.853-878 Hamel, G and C.K Prahalad,(1994). C ompeting for Future Boston: Harvard business school press. Schien, E. H.(1992). Organaizational Culture and Leadership, 2nd Edition. San Francisco; Jossey-Bass. Stephen P. Robbins/ Mary Coulter.(2004-2005). Management.8th edition. Pearson Education LTD. WWW. Maldives beach house.com. [/level-freee-rstricted]

Ocean Acidification Definition

Ocean Acidification Definition The oceans have reduced the effects of global warming for thousands of years by absorbing carbon dioxide. Now the basic chemistry of the oceans is changing because of our activities, with devastating consequences for marine life. What Causes Ocean Acidification? Its no secret that global warming is a major issue. A main cause of global warming is our release of carbon dioxide, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels and the burning of vegetation. Over time, the oceans have helped this problem by absorbing excess carbon dioxide. According to NOAA, the oceans have absorbed nearly half of the fossil fuel emissions weve generated over the past 200 years. As the carbon dioxide is absorbed, it reacts with the ocean water to form carbonic acid. This process is called ocean acidification. Over time, this acid causes the pH of the oceans to decrease, making ocean water more acidic. This can have drastic consequences on corals and other marine life, with cascading impacts on the fishing and tourism industries. More About pH and Ocean Acidification The term pH is a measure of acidity. If youve ever had an aquarium, you know that pH is important, and pH needs to be adjusted to optimal levels for your fish to thrive. The ocean has an optimal pH, too. As the ocean becomes more acidic, it becomes more difficult for corals and organisms to build skeletons and shells using calcium carbonate. In addition, the process of acidosis, or buildup of carbonic acid in body fluids, may affect fish and other marine life by compromising their ability to reproduce, breathe and fight diseases. How Bad is the Ocean Acidification Problem? On a pH scale, 7 is neutral, with 0 the most acidic and 14 the most basic. The historical pH of sea water is about 8.16, leaning on the basic side of the scale.The pH of our oceans has fallen to 8.05 since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. While this may not seem like a big deal, this is a change greater in magnitude than any time in the 650,000 years before the Industrial Revolution. The pH scale is also logarithmic, so that slight change in pH results in a 30 percent increase in acidity. Another problem is that once the oceans get their fill of carbon dioxide, scientists think the oceans could become a carbon dioxide source, rather than a sink. This means the ocean will contribute to the global warming problem by adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Life The effects of ocean acidification can be dramatic and far-reaching, and will affect animals such as fish, shellfish, corals, and plankton. Animals such as clams, oysters, scallops, urchins and corals that rely on calcium carbonate to build shells will have a difficult time building them, and protecting themselves as the shells will be weaker. In addition to having weaker shells, mussels will also have a reduced ability to grip  as the increased acid weakens their byssal threads. Fish will also need to adapt to the changing pH and work harder to remove acid out of its blood, which can impact other behaviors, such as reproduction, growth and food digestion. On the other hand, some animals such as lobsters and crabs may adapt well as their shells become stronger in more acidic water. Many of the possible effects of ocean acidification are unknown or still being studied. What Can We Do About Ocean Acidification? Lowering our emissions will help the ocean acidification problem, even if that just slows the impacts long enough to give species time to adapt. Read the Top 10 Things You Can Do to Reduce Global Warming for ideas on how you can help. Scientists have acted swiftly on this issue. The response has included the Monaco Declaration,  in which 155 scientists from 26 countries declared in January 2009 that: Ocean acidification is accelerating and severe damages are imminent;Ocean acidification will have broad socioeconomic impacts, affecting marine food webs, causing substantial changes in commercial fish stocks and threatening food security for millions of people;Ocean acidification is rapid, but recovery is slow;Ocean acidification can be controlled only by limiting future atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. The scientists called for intense efforts to research the problem, evaluate its impacts and cut emissions drastically to help curb the problem. Sources: Fabry, V.J., Seibel, B.A., Feely, R.A. and J.C. Orr. 2008. . Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes. ICES Journalof Marine Science, 65: 414–432.Feely, R.A., Sabine, C.L, and V.J. Fabry. 2006. Carbon Dioxide and Our Ocean Legacy. (Online) NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Science Brief. Accessed March 7, 2009.McAuliffe, K. 2008. Ocean Acidification: A Global Case of Osteoporosis. (Online) Discover. Accessed March 7, 2009.Monaco Declaration. 2008. Monaco Declaration on Oceans. Accessed July 21, 2015.Smithsonian Ocean Portal. Ocean Acidification.  Accessed July 21, 2015.

Robots Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Robots - Essay Example lfunction resulting to great losses, they have also been used in the warfare leading to deaths of innocent civilians as well as leading to artificial relationships, which could result to negative psychological effects. The paper looks at one of the key merits of the robot as well as three key problems resulting from the same. One of the key advantages of the robots is the fact that it has improved human life in various ways and has made it better than when the robots were not used. The robots, for instance, has facilitated education to disabled students with chronic heart disorders as well as lung diseases and who are unable to attend school but because of the robots are able to connect to other students at the school with the help of the robots. This has been evident as according to Robbie Brown, a chronic disease student Lexie have been using a robot named as VGo due to his chronic heart disease and has controlled it while at home using a computer while the robot is at school with its fellow students. Other students who have healthy problems and are unable to attend classes have employed the same. Those students could be unable to interact with their classmates as well as fall terribly academically, but the VGos has enhanced both interactions as well as improvement in their academics. Other examples of robots such as washing machines, dry cleaners, and lawn mowers among others have greatly reduced human physical work as well as reduced the time on which a particular item takes to be done thus resulting to an improvement in human life (Brown, 2013).

Proposal for Fish Farm in Yellow stone National Park Essay

Proposal for Fish Farm in Yellow stone National Park - Essay Example The non-native species will be advantageous in attracting more people looking to know more about the different variety of fish that exist. The fish farm set up in Yellow Stone National Park can be used for recreational purposes. A fee can be charged for anyone looking to visit the fish farm. The fee charged can differ between adults and children. However, it should not be so expensive as to deter people from visiting the farm. The fish farm management can work in collaboration with educational institutions as a way of earning money by bringing the children to visit the farm for educational purposes from time to time. In addition, the fish being reared at the farm can be sold to any prospect fish owners looking to start their own aquariums at home (Mosig, 32). The fish reared at the farm can also be sold for domestic purposes, as this can be the quickest source of income for the farmer. The workers at the fish farm need to be well trained on how best to handle the fish in order to ensure that the fish are safe for human consumption. Small shallow ponds make fish easy prey for the predators. However, most predators are less likely to venture into ponds where fish have enough room to escape or go into hiding as this makes their hunting rather difficult. It is recommended that the fish farm be large and as deep as possible, with steep sides. The recommended depth for the fish farm especially for someone looking to keep a variety of fish is of about three to four feet. In addition, it is recommended that the fish far, be strategically located at a point where one can easily view it in case predators choose to attack the fish. Netting can additionally be used to guard the fish farm, especially during the night when the predators are most active. It can also be used during spring and fall since most animals are most active during these seasons. Alarms that can detect animal movement can be set up around the farm with

Motivations and Deisions for Special Populations to Exercise Research Paper

Motivations and Deisions for Special Populations to Exercise - Research Paper Example In addition, there is a decrease in kidney filtration resulting in fluid retention and shortness of breath. If CHF is not optimally treated, a sharp decline in health can occur followed by sudden death. Global treatment of the disease including a proper medication regimen, muitidisciplinary patient education, and regular exercise have been shown to increase functional capacity and quality of life, while decreasing hospital admissions for CHF. A primary treatment of CHF is through a proper medication regimen. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is used to treat high blood pressure, the main contributor to heart failure (Meyer, 2001). Previously, CHF patients were instructed to rest and avoid exercise in order to postpone disease progression and to promote diuresis induced by bed rest (Sullivan & Hawthorne, 1996). However, exercise, although not prescribed for heart failure patients until the late 1980s, has produced positive physiological changes. Regular exercise increases the blood flow to the working muscle, reduces ventilation for each given workload, and improves skeletal muscle overall function (biochemical and histological aspects), causing the neurohormonal activity to normalize (catecholemines) (Parnell, Hoist, & Kaye, 2002). These benefits, incurred from exercise, improved quality of life scores among CHF patients (Oka et al, 2000; Weber et al, 2000). Exercise training is also responsible for producin g significant increases in systemic arterial compliance in just eight weeks, an important contribution to cardiac afterload (arterial resistance encountered by blood as it leaves the left ventricle of the heart) (Parnell, Hoist, & Kaye, 2002). Furthermore, exercise may reduce the risk of death for CHF patients, just as it does for patients who have coronary artery disease (McKelvie, Teo, & McCartney, 1995). In addition, programs which

Apple's Strategy in the PC and MP3 Player Industries Essay

Apple's Strategy in the PC and MP3 Player Industries - Essay Example Apple made the difficult transition by having the chief elements of a successful strategy in place that allowed the company to formulate and execute the right moves: (1) high quality people such as managers, engineers, designers, marketing support, etc.; (2) a solid set of core competencies and competitive capabilities, and (3) the right company structure. These three key elements define Apple as a business organization and account for its success in launching innovative products that were profitable and that grabbed a major share of the market (Thompson & Strickland, 2006). First, Apple’s workers are among the most creative and smartest in the industry. It has managed to attract an overwhelming number of applicants for each job vacancy on the basis of its corporate image and the privilege of working for a corporate icon of the computer industry, a company package that includes CEO Steve Jobs who started the personal computer revolution. The company’s compelling vision of making technology more accessible to the masses by promising to have a beautifully designed quality technology product for almost anybody attracted these workers. Second, Apple has a core set of competencies and competitive capabilities. It has a substantial amount of brand equity, which means that the Apple brand is easily recognizable and associated with a set of attractive features that create an emotional impact on customers. Its blockbuster successes in designing products have given it an edge in product differentiation, allowing the company to command a premium price because it enjoys a first mover advantage that continuously attracts a relatively stable market to buy its products. By coming up first with products that incorporate new technological developments in an elegant and easy-to-use form, such as the graphics user interface, the mouse, the special look and feel that enchants first-time computer users and makes them loyal customers, and now the iPod and its derivative products, Apple shows how it integrates its Research & Development (R&D) function to bring innovations to market in a profitable manner.

Different approaches to performance management Essay

Different approaches to performance management - Essay Example Performance management is using by countries such GDP, organizations and individuals. Performance management is troubled to get the best performance from person, but goes extra in that it also aspire to get the best performance from the team and from the organization as an entire (R. Wayne Mondy). Performance management derives from the human resource management approach as a strategic and incorporated approach to the management and growth of people. The procedure of recognize, evaluating and mounting the work performance of employees in the organization, so that the organizational purpose and objectives are more efficiently achieved, while at the similar time benefiting employees in terms of credit, receiving feedback, catering for labor needs and offering career leadership. This definition emphasizes that performance management is a procedure. We can see the exemplify following: From this definition, we can believe that performance management is worried by means of humanizing not only the performance of the individual, but also the performance of the team and the organization. ... gnificant thing of performance management is set up a system in which individuals and groups take blame for the continuous development of commerce processes, and of their own skills and contributions. 2.2 The Objectives of Performance Management System 2.2.1 Discrimination A manager must try to discriminate objectively between those who are contributing to the achievement of the organization's objectives and those who are not. In other word, a manager must be talented to appraisal an individual's past performance and assess strengths, level of effort and areas to reward and expand subordinates. Here the focal point is on what the employee has really done in the past, and an effort is made to build on the employee's strengths and make development in other areas so that the employee can carry out more efficiently in the future (Dessler, 1999). 2.2.2 Reward For performance to be encouraged, rewards are necessary. When a managers reward a part of subordinates for their past work, other subordinate will recognized they must work harder in the future. Reward is also a useful tool for motivate employees, suing a system like performance-related pay, to best performance at work. 2.2.3 Development The third objective of the performance management is growth. It includes expand person, term and organization. Performance management as a system concerns not only just for the past, but also for the future. When employees reach their full potential, the organization can also benefit fully from their abilities and contributions (Arthur Sherman, 1998, p.323). 2.2.4 Communication As a two ways system, performance management can also construct a kind of feedback flanked by employees and managers. Employee communiqu is a basic part in the system. It is because an effectual performance

Hiring and Firing Professors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hiring and Firing Professors - Essay Example Moreover, the type of school is another point of consideration. A private school and a public school have different working conditions. This may include tenure and security. For private schools, teachers are less secure and are easily dismissed from service. Another cause is the tendency to do research more over teaching because research is more attractive and more interesting for it gives more pay and is counted much more in terms of professional advancement (Etzioni). Amitai Etzioni's "Confessions" gives insights on this question of student participation. According to him: "On the question of hiring, firing and promoting faculty, we favored some student participation." This is through the "fine teaching-evaluation instrument" which is a questionnaire given out to students by semester to evaluate the professor's teaching. He adds that the result must be "given to committee which passes on promotions and renewal of contracts, as a students report on teaching." The student assessment of the teaching performance "would provide some systematic information and thus might increase the reward - and maybe pressure - for good teaching, at least as seen by the students." I agree with the idea of Etzioni that students must have a part in the hiring and firing of professors but limited only on the teaching-evaluation instr... nd promoting faculty, we favored some student participation." This is through the "fine teaching-evaluation instrument" which is a questionnaire given out to students by semester to evaluate the professor's teaching. He adds that the result must be "given to committee which passes on promotions and renewal of contracts, as a students report on teaching." The student assessment of the teaching performance "would provide some systematic information and thus might increase the reward - and maybe pressure - for good teaching, at least as seen by the students." I agree with the idea of Etzioni that students must have a part in the hiring and firing of professors but limited only on the teaching-evaluation instrument, except on rare cases of grave misconduct and abuse of authority of the teacher. There are several reasons why students' participation should be limited to the questionnaire only. One is that students are "transient members of the university community and will not have to live with the consequences of their action." This refers to undergraduate students. For graduate students, the case may be a little different for they stay beyond the four or five years' stay of the undergraduates. Another reason is that "students often have a highly unrealistic idea of what 'the system' can realistically do" such as "much larger faculty staff to provide for more intimate instruction; but they are horrified at any suggestion that students should pay a still higher tuition fees" (Etzioni). In addition, "there are matters that students can have no say - for example, what political views a teacher may have or must not have when hired or retained, what he will teach specifically (as distinct from what areas will be taught), or what specific competence will be required for

The Importance of Loss Prevention, and Security within Businesses Essay

The Importance of Loss Prevention, and Security within Businesses - Essay Example From my earliest involvement in loss prevention and security it held a special interest for me. In part this was due to how closely it aligned with the values that I had grown up with, and in part I was fascinated by the level of detail and observation that was required. Theft is an important issue in any industry or setting, such as within hospitals, bars, schools, retail or manufacturing. As a consequence of this the field of loss prevention has developed and has become important in almost every setting. Since beginning my job at Best Buy I have learned a lot about the role that loss prevention plays in retail, as well as methods of being effective in my role. I am currently the manager of the Security and Loss Prevention department at Best Buy. This role has provided me with many opportunities and challenges and it has allowed me to understand the challenges that are associated with security as well as its importance. I have also had the opportunity to do a summer internship at a County Prosecutors Office and to work part time for them following the internship. This gave me the chance to see the police in action and to understand some of the process that occurs. This essay will examine some of the concepts that I have learned in my role Loss is an important aspect of any business. The term refers to the loss of profits due to a wide range of situations such as credit fraud, shoplifting, internal theft, or package theft where some or all of the contents of a package are stolen but not the package itself. Package theft can refer to stealing the contents of the package within the store, or more organized, broader applications such as stealing small packages from shipping containers. Because of this, within any retail store security is extremely important as a method to minimize loss through this means. Different businesses use different methods and strategies of approaching this, and there is no single, universal method of maintaining security. This is because security can be broken in a number of ways, most notably through credit fraud, corporate corruption, and through theft. Theft can occur in a number of different ways and can be the consequence of actions of either staff or customers. As such it is important to have adequate measures of security in place and to ensure that these remain working at their full functionality. Two important parts of loss prevention are avoiding loss that occurs from customers through theft and decietful behavior as well as internal loss from staff and those that have access to business information. Both forms of loss are important, and as a consequence security is important for the functioning of any business. This essay will examine the use of physical security, security actions plans and internal investigations as means of detecting and regulating theft and fraud. Specific examples of types of theft will be examined, as well as a case example of how security is managed in a large business firm. Losses i n retail contribute to significant decreases in the profit a store is able to make. Theft plays a significant role in this, with $107.3 billion lost globally in 2010 as a result of theft . The National Retail Security Survey in 2009 reported that an average of 1.44% of all sales nationwide are lost as a consequence of shrinkage . The term shrinkage refers to the amount of products that are lost between the point of purchase or manufacture, and the point of sale. This loss occurs in a number of ways such as through damaged products and misplaced items. Store managers and those in authority look at many ways of reducing shrinkage of all forms. In 2008, around 35% of this shrinkage was attributed to shoplifting, while 44% was attributed to theft by employees .

Hiring and Firing Professors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hiring and Firing Professors - Essay Example Moreover, the type of school is another point of consideration. A private school and a public school have different working conditions. This may include tenure and security. For private schools, teachers are less secure and are easily dismissed from service. Another cause is the tendency to do research more over teaching because research is more attractive and more interesting for it gives more pay and is counted much more in terms of professional advancement (Etzioni). Amitai Etzioni's "Confessions" gives insights on this question of student participation. According to him: "On the question of hiring, firing and promoting faculty, we favored some student participation." This is through the "fine teaching-evaluation instrument" which is a questionnaire given out to students by semester to evaluate the professor's teaching. He adds that the result must be "given to committee which passes on promotions and renewal of contracts, as a students report on teaching." The student assessment of the teaching performance "would provide some systematic information and thus might increase the reward - and maybe pressure - for good teaching, at least as seen by the students." I agree with the idea of Etzioni that students must have a part in the hiring and firing of professors but limited only on the teaching-evaluation instr... nd promoting faculty, we favored some student participation." This is through the "fine teaching-evaluation instrument" which is a questionnaire given out to students by semester to evaluate the professor's teaching. He adds that the result must be "given to committee which passes on promotions and renewal of contracts, as a students report on teaching." The student assessment of the teaching performance "would provide some systematic information and thus might increase the reward - and maybe pressure - for good teaching, at least as seen by the students." I agree with the idea of Etzioni that students must have a part in the hiring and firing of professors but limited only on the teaching-evaluation instrument, except on rare cases of grave misconduct and abuse of authority of the teacher. There are several reasons why students' participation should be limited to the questionnaire only. One is that students are "transient members of the university community and will not have to live with the consequences of their action." This refers to undergraduate students. For graduate students, the case may be a little different for they stay beyond the four or five years' stay of the undergraduates. Another reason is that "students often have a highly unrealistic idea of what 'the system' can realistically do" such as "much larger faculty staff to provide for more intimate instruction; but they are horrified at any suggestion that students should pay a still higher tuition fees" (Etzioni). In addition, "there are matters that students can have no say - for example, what political views a teacher may have or must not have when hired or retained, what he will teach specifically (as distinct from what areas will be taught), or what specific competence will be required for

The American Civil War Essay Example for Free

The American Civil War Essay The impact that religion had on reforms from the 1820s to the 1850s can clearly be seen in the effect that it had in contributing to the American Civil War. Religion played a key role in the different positions that the North and the South were going to take with regard to the issue of slavery. The Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist teachings espoused themes of both unity and separation. This was echoed well during the activities in 1837, 1844 and 1845, respectively, when the bond of national unity was broken. Instead of unifying a country, most of the religious influences during this time caused the alienation of most sectors by projecting distorted images. In turn, this led to the establishment of independent sects in a once united country. This rift and sectional independence was sustained by the growing moral outrage that each side felt for each other. The overemphasis of the church, during this period, on individualism failed to provide the leadership necessary to steer the nation through many issues, none more pivotal than that of slavery. An example of this would be the reforms instituted by the Republican Party. These reforms were rooted on a form of Calvinism that was deeply moderated. The southern evangelicals on the other hand, attempted to resist the influence of religion into politics by supporting the confederacy. The opposite reforms that each side was about to take from the 1820s to the 1850s was caused by the inability of religion to collectively and squarely address the issue of slavery. For the north, it was reforms that were rooted on social action while the South focused their reforms on personal piety. While both sides championed the Bible in their quest to resolve the issue on slavery, they each took opposing opinions which eventually took them down the path of one of the most radical reforms in American history.

Junk and Fast Food

Junk and Fast Food Junk and fast food sale should be limited or banned in public schools as these food items have no nutritional value. Regular intake of junk food causes obesity and many other health related problems for children in the future. The main cause for the increase in sales of snacks and junk food is its increased availability and misguidance of nutritional value. Vending machines are installed in public schools which has given a boost to the sales of junk food. This junk food not only lacks in nutrition, but also it is the main cause of obesity in the young population and rise in heart problems in the adolescents. Nutritional Quality of Junk and Fast Food There is a conflict between the education of healthy diets at childs home and classroom and the availability of junk and fast food at lunch such as burgers and chips (Hoerr, 386). Not only the children consume the junk food available but also they consume soft drinks which are an added unhealthy intake. Young teenagers studying in public schools are the heaviest consumers of junk and fast food. They obtain around 25 to 40 percent of their total energy from junk and fast food (Hoerr, 386). The vended junk and fast foods are the least dense in Vitamins, fiber, protein and iron (Hoerr, 386). Type of items that are usually available for sale at the public schools is bakery sweets, candies, chips, biscuits and burgers. All these items are calorie filled with little or no nutrition. Nutritious food helps the child in school to gain energy as well as nutrients such as iron, calcium, vitamins and proteins. These nutrients are good for health of the child and keep the child active. A proper meal in the school allows the child to obtain these nutrients that are necessary for a healthy body and brain. Rise in Demand for Junk and Fast Food The total sale of vended snacks and other fast food available at the public schools increases continually every year (Hoerr, 386). Since the 1990s the sale of junk food and snacks has been predicted to rise every year by the food marketers. Marketers of the fast food and junk items have got a new market to focus on which is the adolescents in public schools. Fast food and vended snacks have become a popular choice for the youngsters, who need readily available food, when they feel hungry, and food which can be consumed easily and quickly (Hoerr, 386). This increasingly popular fast foods and snack items are the main factors which lead to obesity in the young people attending schools. Regular intake of this type of junk food with no nutrients causes obesity in children and other health related problems. According to a survey in New York and Atlanta, of the total 18% of daily fat calorie intake, the junk food contributed to almost half of the fat intake in adolescents (Hoerr, 386). Therefore half of the daily fat intake can be avoided by stopping the intake of junk food and fast food. The snacks marketers are now targeting public schools as their new target markets for increasing their sales of their junk and fast food items. Through the installation of unrefrigerated vending machines in public schools, the marketers were able to increase the sale of junk food products. Not only this, but through the misinterpretation of nutritional value of their products, they are able to make the adolescents consume junk food in place of breakfast. 6% of the youngsters (Hoerr, 386) who were surveyed in New York and Atlanta said they took junk food in place of breakfast. Obesity and Other Health Issues The availability of junk and fast food in public schools allows more calories for each meal (S.B Communications, 95) for the children and youngsters. Physical exercise has been diminished in the schools because of the introduction of new activities such as computer studies and gaming. Our lifestyle has become more and more dependent upon technology. Technology and innovation has given birth to new transport methods which are faster and require less walking to get to your destination. Children used to go out and play for fun and entertainment. The adolescents had other outdoor activities which helped in burning their fat intake, but nowadays the youngsters have other replacements such as computer games, internet and television. These platforms require no physical activity and therefore the fat intake from junk food does not get utilize. These were some of the reasons because of which the youngsters are getting more obese and gaining fat in their bodies. However, the main reason for the increased number of cases in obesity is the rising trend of having junk and fast food in replacement of meals. In the 1970s, a typical child used to watch television for an hour daily but nowadays a child watches television for three hours (S.B Communications, 95). This caloric intake of junk and fast food combined with no physical activities, has caused an increase in obesity rate to 20% from 5% (S.B Communications, 95) since the 1970s. The rate for African American adolescents is even higher and has reached 35% (S.B Communications, 95). The only way to reduce these rates is to restrict or completely ban the sale of junk and fast food in public schools. The regular intake of junk and fast food does not only increase a persons weight but also causes other health concerns. Especially in young adults, the regular consumption of fast food can reduce the ability of the body to fight the germs as there is very less nutritional intake. This causes the bodys defenses to be weak against any germs attacks. Other health issues that the regular consumers of fast food and junk food can experience are cardiac unrest, Coronary Artery Risk Development, increased waist circumference, lower insulin resistance and imbalance between the developments of High-Density Cholesterols and Low-Density Cholesterols in body. Although obesity causes some of the above mentioned diseases and health issues, but the person consuming junk food regularly is bound to have some or all of these health problems. Most of the junk foods have high sugar contents, which reduce the resistance of insulin to produce controlled sugar for the body. The adolescents and children in public schools can develop these diseases at a very early stage because of junk food intake. Hence junk and fast food items sale should be banned or at least restricted in all the public schools to protect the youngsters from developing these diseases and falling prey to obesity. Junk Food and Education on Nutrition According to a faculty member of Department of Nutrition, University of Nevada, the children and youngsters should be taught the basics of nutrition and how important it is to get involved in physical exercise (Omaye, 108). According to this member of faculty, labeling food as junk and trying to get it out of the schools is not important (Omaye, 108) as education on basic nutrition and exercise is. I would strongly disagree to the view point of this faculty member and would support the suggestion of US Dept. of Agriculture which has defined â€Å"competitive foods to be those other than the ones served in the school lunch/breakfast program and offered at schools† (Omaye, 108). The US Dept. of Agriculture has suggested that alternatives to the current fast food should be developed and offered at public schools. This competitive food will be more nutritious and healthy than the junk and fast foods available for sale at the public schools nowadays. On the other hand, the faculty member in University of Nevada, Department of Nutrition, has suggested not to restrict the sale of junk food in public schools instead the children should be taught about the nutritious foods and importance of exercise. This is very similar to suggesting that drugs should be available for sale to the children but they should be taught about the adverse affects of abusing drugs. We should understand that most of the children and the adolescents are not mature enough to think about the adverse affects of the junk food and fast food. They like the taste of the junk food and the convenience of having fast food whenever they feel hungry. Trends towards Nutritious Snacks According to the research conducted by Hoerr and Louden in 1993, there is a demand for healthy and nutritious snacks in public schools (Hoerr, 389). In their research, they placed vending machines labeled ‘healthy snacks near to the junk food vending machines in a number of public schools. They recorded more sales from the vending machines selling healthy and nutritional snacks than the one selling junk food. This clearly shows that the youngsters have a preference for nutritious snacks over junk and fast food. Although some nutritious snacks are available in the market, but they have not been able to eye the competent junk and fast food brands in the market. One reason for the poor success of nutritional snacks is the unavailability of vending machines at the places where junk food vending machines are placed. Another reason for their failure is that not many nutritious snacks have been developed for unrefrigerated vending machines (Hoerr, 389). Conclusion According to a study conducted by Marcia Dadds, almost one third of the school children in New York are overweight (Dadds, S63). Most of the students did not like the lunch offered at school and spent $3 to $7 (Dadds, S63) on fast food meals. Although most of the students know about the health, appearance and weight problems that the junk and fast food cause but still they are unable to give it up because of the established taste. Because of the problems the fast food and junk food cause to the health of children and because of no nutritional value, it should be available in a restricted manner or completely banned from public schools. Other alternatives such as nutritious snacks should be embraced by the public schools for the betterment of health and future of the children.

Europe And The New World :: essays research papers fc

Europe and the ‘New World’ Tutorial Question: Why were the ‘westerners’ (Spanish, English, Portuguese’s, French etc) able to displace the native people’s of America with, seemingly, relative ease? Was this evidence of a superior ‘civilisation’? Many believe that there is a great difference between ‘westerners’ and the native people of the lands they conquered. The truth is, that there is not great distinction, except in the minds of white men. ‘Westerners’ such as the French, Spanish, English and Portuguese have always believed in their own superiority. This confidence gave them the strength to displace the natives and also the justification for doing so. The civilized world seemed to grow, and change with new directions being mastered all the time, the ‘non civilized’ world seemed to stand still in a era recognized by Europeans as unprogressive and primitive. The Europeans viewed the Native Americans with mixed opinion, in many ways they despised their ignorance, while at the same time being in awe of their innocence. Despite this, leading opinion was that the native people of the new world were inferior to the Europeans and would have to become domesticated if they were to survive in the ‘new world.’ However was this triumph over the inhabitants of the land evidence of a superior civilisation? How does one define ‘Civilisation’? For if we are to discuss what is a superior and an inferior race then understanding of the term ‘civilisation’ is critical. The term ‘civilisation’ is used everyday and is understood by everyone, yet a proper definition is more difficult to pin down. The oxford university dictionary defines civilisation as: ‘a developed or advanced sate of human society.’ This is helpful, yet the question of how developed or how advanced is still relevant. Others have said that a civilized society is different from an uncivilized society because of certain attributes such as writing, cities, building etc. But agreement is difficult, it is much more safer not to rely on a single definition, instead look at examples of what everyone has agreed to call civilisations such as Greek or Rome . However, the term ‘civilisation’ still seems to be from a western point of view, for natives are not seen as civiliz ed because they do not fit into any definition mentioned above. The Native Americans were not advanced, they did not have buildings or cities and their lifestyle and customs had hardly resembled that of Greece or Rome.