Personal Life and Hobbies Essay

One of the biggest problems of human kind is time. Although after retiring from their job people usually dedicate their time to an activity, which they enjoy. An activity that people enjoy doing in their free time is called a hobby. People in general have several hobbies, even if they think they have none, or no spare time at all. Some of them are fond of normal sports like: football, tennis, basketball, hockey or gymnastics; and some people like extreme sport, for instance snowboarding, roller-skating, bungee jumping. Sports are not only hobbies people have. The bug of watching TV all day bites many persons, and some are found of listening music, cooking, reading books and newspapers or even eating. We can say that the pleasure id the most important purpose of a hobby. Hobbies have many advantages like relaxation that can help you get rid of stress; and you can learn new things. A hobby can give you energy, happiness, personal accomplishments and willingness. In spite of these advantages, some disadvantages of having a hobby can appear. A hobby can be a real waste of money. Hobbies can turn into a kind of dependence like for instance a person who watches too much the TV is becoming a couch potato. All in all, if you are a rational person it is a very good thing to have a hobby because you’ll be able to distinguish the good and bad parts of a hobby. I have many hobbies like: playing chess, going out whit my friends, going camping, listening to music, watching sports like football, tennis, formula 1 and others. In conclusion hobbies are very important and we must let them be a part of our life because it will make it more beautiful.

Aaliyah – original writing on the life of the singer

â€Å"I don't think about my success. I'm happy that the work I've done in the past has been very successful. All I can do is leave it in God's hands and hope my fans feel where I'm coming from. I took the time to give my all.† – Aaliyah Haughton. As I sit listening to the infectious, sensuous harmonies of Aaliyah's smooth R & B, I wonder why it had to happen. Why did someone so young with such amazing talent, strength and the potential to carry on rising higher and higher, have to be taken from us? The lyrics swirl around in my head, saying more about the real Aaliyah than any media report could ever attempt. Her tragically shortened life followed the message from within one of her most famous songs, â€Å"If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again.† Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16th, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York. Her Grandmother would tell stories of how she was special straight out of the womb; born with a full head of hair. Aaliyah lived in Brooklyn for five years until, together with her parents and older brother, she was moved to Detroit where they could be closer to family. Her devoted mother gave up her teaching job to care for Rashad and Aaliyah full time. Aaliyah was introduced to music at a very young age; her mother would play Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and other such legends while she worked around the house. It wasn't long before Aaliyah was joining in, having learnt all the words off by heart. She was just six years old when her talent for singing was recognized by her mother. Before she even started school, the services of a voice coach had been secured for her. Aaliyah spent most of her pre-teen years between singing in school plays and auditioning for various small television projects. At the tender age of only eight or nine she was charming people all around Michigan with her sweet, angelic voice, belting out songs during weddings. Aaliyah sang the very songs she listened to at home, while people sat in awe, eagerly anticipating the time her voice would mature to its full potential. Her first downfall came when she was just eleven years of age. Aaliyah landed a spot on the nationally syndicated talent show, Star Search. She chose to sing ‘My Funny Valentine†, a soul classic that she had often heard her mother singing, ‘That was my Mommy's song and I wanted to be like my Mommy' she said, remembering the experience during an interview. The high hopes she and her family had for victory where shattered when Aaliyah lost, and was ripped apart just as any other child would have been. However, without any falls no lessons could be learnt. With lots of encouragement from her mother, Aaliyah began to understand a prospect of great importance, one that would guide her through not only her musical career, but every aspect of her life. Never give up. It was only a matter of months before the bright, upcoming star was on the rise again. At the time her uncle, Barry Hankerson, was married to Gladys Knight. Some people slated Aaliyah for this, claiming she only got onto the music scene because she knew the right people, but without her outstanding talent, none of her future success would have been possible. Hankerson took his niece to perform with Gladys Knight for five nights at Bally's Las Vegas Casino. Here, the two would duet on Believe In Yourself and Aaliyah would sing solos. Remembering she was still only eleven at the time, she was nervous and hardly moved on the first night. Her aunt helped her, teaching Aaliyah how to work a crowd and loosen them up. Two years later came the meeting that would set Aaliyah's career on fire. Barry Hankerson introduced his niece to R. Kelly, a performer he was managing at the time. Kelly fell in love with her beautiful voice, going on to become her mentor. He ended up writing and producing all the tracks on her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number. And it wasn't – not many people can boast a completed album at just thirteen years of age. The process of selling the album began but, once again, expectations of Aaliyah were not fulfilled. Many record companies passed on the album – a setback very hard to take at such a vulnerable age. Her confidence was dented but her strength was not; Aaliyah was prepared to give things another go. Hankerson created his own label, Blackground Records especially for his niece. There was no way he was going to give up on her; she was far too special to let go. In 1994 the album was released, catching the world's attention. Her first single, Back And Forth reached number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, dethroning her mentor. Other singles followed including At Your Best (You Are Love), Down With The Clique, and the adulterated title track. Her sound was new and fresh to the music world, her unique mystique captivating listeners. The artist herself liked to describe her music as ‘street but sweet'. With the success of her debut album Aaliyah's spirits soared. She had kept information about her age (she was just fifteen at the time) concealed, as she wanted her triumphs to be based solely on her talent. She did not seek any advantages because she was, ‘really good for someone so young'. Unfortunately her decision to withhold such facts was taken in the wrong way. Vicious rumors arose, slowing down album sales and threatening to thwart a prosperous career. The provocative nature of Age Ain't Nothing But A Number combined with a little bit of media imagination and the mystery of her age sparked a frenzy of stories about a relationship between Aaliyah and twenty-five-year-old R. Kelly. Tales of marriage and even pregnancy were spread. All were denied. The storm settled and three years passed, leaving many wondering what Aaliyah's next project would be. She teased fans with numerous guest appearances, singing songs from soundtracks and building them up for the time she would truly return, stronger then ever. Aaliyah left R. Kelly behind to prove, more to herself than to anyone else, that she had grown as an artist and could make it without him. Perhaps the rumors that had at one point looked like they could destroy her had in fact been a Godsend. Would Aaliyah have made this choice if tales of something more than a good friendship and working partnership between the two hadn't sprung up? Whatever her reasons, the change was for the best. She teamed up with the then unknown Missy Elliot and Timbaland and, between the three, a new sound was created, once again irresistible to fans. They blended rough Hip-Hop beats with Aaliyah's silky, laid-back vocals, the voice of an angel. The result was a sassy, sexy, sophomore album, One In A Million. The album went double platinum, putting her among the superstars of the music industry and silencing critics in their questions as to whether or not she had been just a ‘one hit wonder.' The first single from the album, If Your Girl Only Knew, went straight to number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, followed by four other singles including the number one radio play title track. Aaliyah never let the fame go to her head. Between all her musical commitments she still found time for her family, friends and schoolwork. In June 1997 Miss Haughton graduated from the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing arts, just one A-grade away from a perfect grade score. She had always set her sights so high and her determination paid off. She worked hard through hard times as well as the good, and brought her dreams to life. She truly was one in a million. It was time for Aaliyah to turn her attention to Hollywood. She began by sticking to her music, recording Journey To The Past for the Anastasia soundtrack and then the contagious, Grammy nominated, number one hit song, Are You That Somebody, from the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack. With that track, she really got a taste for the mainstream and took a hiatus from the music world to team up with Joanne Baron, an acting coach. With Baron's help, Aaliyah's talent for acting was revealed and, by 1999, she was flying to Vancouver to shoot her debut film, Romeo Must Die. She starred alongside Jet Li in the adrenalin-stoked/Hip-Hop action flick, in which she was the executive producer of the soundtrack. From this came Try Again, the song that followed the story of her life. The lyrics came straight from her heart, from the lessons she had learnt. These qualities took the single all the way, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, the first single ever to do so based on Airplay a lone. Romeo Must Die sparked rave reviews and her acting skills were soon sought throughout Hollywood. Her next film was the novel-based Queen Of The Damned. Baron recalls the memory of Aaliyah during the audition process, ‘She put her heart, her time, her love and her life into it. She just ripped it out.' It was her second starring role in just her second motion picture, displaying to the world she was more than just a crossover singer/actress. So much more. The release of the completed film was fervently awaited. Little did anyone know that Aaliyah wouldn't be there to witness its success. Whilst shooting Queen Of The Damned, Aaliyah simultaneously recorded her third, self-titled album. She was not put off or daunted by her doubled workload, choosing instead to put her all into both projects, as she had always done. Aaliyah was well aware of her presence, or lack of it, in the music world; it had been five years since the release of One In A Million. She released the dark, feisty, first single, We Need A Resolution, warming fans up, preparing them for what was to come. Aaliyah was released on July 17, debuted at number two in the charts and, in it's first week alone, sold over 200,000 copies. Blackground Records planned to release Rock The Boat and More Than A Woman as back-to-back singles; they were getting heavy rotational airplay and already an awesome response from listeners. It seemed nothing could stop her. It was August the 25th, 2001. Aaliyah had just finished shooting the island themed video for Rock The Boat in The Bahamas. Another video completed; another accomplishment. The set was laid-back and, together with the film crew and dancers, Aaliyah was enjoying herself, chatting, laughing and winding down. Her work done, Aaliyah decided to head home a day early, anxious to be with her beloved family before heading back to promote the album. Her parents and brother had always been there for her and it had been a while since she had managed to get back to them. The arrangements were made; she would leave that day along with eight others. The small Cessna 402 departed from the Marsh Harbour airport, bound for Opa-locka, Florida. It had been airborne for only a short while when, suddenly, it crashed. Six of the eight were killed instantly. Aaliyah was among them. Nobody knows just what it was that made the plane crash that day. Nobody could understand why it had to happen. Why Aaliyah, why someone so talented, so determined, so beautiful? There were so many questions and so few answers. At just twenty-two years of age Aaliyah, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a star, was gone. Disbelief, anger and, most of all, a great sense of sorrow and grief spread with the news. She had lived her life like an angel, fallen from the heavens. Through her life she rose and fell and now she had risen for the final time. We can only hope that, when the time came, she knew how much she was loved. Aaliyah will never be forgotten. Through her music and her memory, she will live on. The album in the CD player draws to a close. It is an album that she never saw released, an album that wouldn't even have been put together if she was still with us; a tribute to Aaliyah, I Care For You. Visions of her float by with the music and songs take on a whole new meaning now she's gone. When Miss You is played, instead of thinking of the singer's lost love, we think of ours, Aaliyah. Every note she sang was a part of her and with every song we understand more about her. She was a star in every sense of the word and I believe she continues to be so even now; still a star, shining brightly down on us. There is no doubt in my mind that this angel lived up to the true meaning of her name, ‘The highest, most exalted one.' The best. Aaliyah.

Healthcare and Communication Essay

Abstract Healthcare is a continuous growing field, within this field you are faced with many diverse cultures that have different values, beliefs, practice and customs of a special group. Among the many challenges facing healthcare is the role of language and cultural barriers that can affect health care and the quality of care that a patient may receive. Healthcare provider interactions, preferred treatment of care are some of the cultural behaviors that are encountered in the daily decision making process. Cultural behavior and the value can affect such use in preventive health care, health related lifestyle, and sources of health related knowledge. The challenge in healthcare today is the number of the patient population that is diverse from the usual United States population. Effective Communication The growth of the culturally and linguistically diverse population has led to many efforts to encourage or ensure that health care systems respond to the distinct needs of culturally and linguistically different patients by becoming â€Å"culturally competent† Just as with the concept of culture, there are many definitions of cultural competency. However, most definitions are derived from one developed by mental health researchers who defined cultural competence as â€Å"a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or amongst professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations† (Cross et al. 1989, cited in Brach and Fraser 2000: 182). Effective communication between patients and physicians who are culturally and linguistically different implies the employment of strategies to provide culturally competent health care. At a minimum, effective communication means that all participants in the communication comprehend and understand the content of the communication. Beyond this minimum, effective communication implies subjective feelings such as trust, empathy, and mutual satisfaction with the communication. In the case of patient-physician verbal communication during a clinical encounter, effective communication  means that both physician and patient. As a provider of healthcare you must be able to understand the content of each other’s spoken communication thoughts related to the encounter, leaving no questions and thoughts unexpressed. You must have the patient feel that sufficient time is available for speaking and listening, and the overall satisfaction with the communication was successful. Language Barriers Environmental, socioeconomic characteristics and perceptual contexts have a vast impact on communication. Researchers have taken surveys of micro groups of culture and Latinos as well as Hispanics have shown that due to the lower access of health care language barriers have had an adverse impact on patient appointments, how providers explain symptoms, and the understanding of terminology. Language and cultural barriers can be added to health behavior models to illustrate their effects on access to medical care. For example, limited English proficiency and cultural unfamiliarity with the U.S. health care system can both be considered inhibitors or barriers in accessing medical care. The healthcare belief model shows the effects of f cultural differences on health care use are similar to those of language. Cultural differences often translate into cultural barriers that lower access to health care. However, the research on cultural barriers on access or use of health care is not as extensive as research on language barriers. Language and culture are used interchangeably so that the effects of culture may not be distinguished from those of language. Skill in a language does not necessarily bring with it cultural familiarity and competence. Providers can choose to learn a second language, let us say, Japanese, and become sufficiently proficient that she is ilingual in English and Japanese. She may still lack cultural knowledge of Japanese culture, including values and beliefs about health and illness, traditional health treatments, and the experience of being a immigrant in the United States. Overcoming the language barrier is a major step in effective communication with Japanese speaking patients, but cultural differences can still affect the doctor patient relationship. Healthcare High and Low Context Providers in general need to be more empathetic when dealing with high and low context cultures, the quality of interaction is very important. High text cultures tend to have a more moderate or suppressed expression of negative or confrontational messages, unlike the low context culture. In the low context culture silence and pauses are often misunderstood as the patient agreeing with the situation. Responsibility of communication lies with the provider, to be clearer of the information that is being transposed through provider patient relationship. To improve the quality of care providers must be able to recognize patterns and body language, and take an emphasis on listening, and take note of response and speech. With the acknowledgement of these patterns providers and staff are able to reduce the amount of error that can occur in health care. Healthcare Stereotyping Stereotyping is a behavior used when there is uncertainty; providers may apply this type of treatment when faced with medical decision making. Individual often harbor negative associations in relation to various groups. African American patients have been viewed as less educated, and less likely to comply with the providers instructions. Providers are often unaware of here bias decisions. One stereotype is that of Black Americans are less cooperative when it comes to medical procedures, this is called automatic stereotyping. To beat this type of treatment is vital that the provider communicates with patients; understand the environmental state of these patients. Many patients who don’t receive proper care is due to the cost of health insurance, lack of finance, and communities that are lacking proper physician care. Patient care must be treated as an equal. Conclusion The healthcare field as been viewed as a field that has overcome many barriers, unfortunately that’s untrue, many providers suffer from the lack of communication, and understanding why it is important to break cultural barriers. Perception and disparities in health care are often stereotype those without health insurance, how well a patient speaks English, and lastly patient gender. As health care providers it is very important to understand the quality of care that is expected among cultures. Communication among the patient and physician can make or break the organization values. References Neulip, J. W. (4th Edition 2009). Intercultural Communication. In J. W. Neulip, A Contextual Approach. Sage Publications. Singleton, K., Krause, E., (Sept. 30, 2009) â€Å"Understanding Cultural and Linguistic Barriers to Health Literacy† OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol.

Advantages of trade liberalization Essay

During these last decades, the world economy has experienced rapid growth. This growth has been fueled in part by the more rapid growth of international trade. Trade growth, in turn, results from both technological developments and concerted efforts to reduce barriers to trade. Some developing countries have opened their economies to take full advantage of opportunities for economic development through trade, but many are those who abstained. Trade barriers that persist in industrialized countries are concentrated on agricultural products and manufacturing intensive labor, for which developing countries have a comparative advantage. The pursuit of trade liberalization, particularly in these areas, both industrialized and developing countries, help the poorest out of extreme poverty while also benefiting the industrialized countries themselves. Policies that open economy to trade and investment around the world are essential to sustained economic growth. For several decades, no country experienced economic success, demonstrated by the substantial increase in living standards of its people, without being open to the rest of the world. Conversely, opening to trade – as well as foreign direct investment – was an important element in the economic success of East Asia, where over the last 20 years the average import duties fell to a level of 30 % to 10 %. China for example, remained closed in 2003 based on the undivided power of the Communist Party and its black market exchange rate premium, which averaged 36% between 1990-1999 (Easterly and Sewadeh, 2002). In addition, China had a relatively high average tariff rate, 31%, between 1990-1999. Today, we can  admit that China is perhaps the best example of the positive connection between openness and economic growth. Reforms in China transformed it from a highly protected market to perhaps the most open emerging market economy by the time it came into the World Trade Organization at the end of 2001 (1). The opening of their economy to the world market is the key factor that has enabled many developing countries to develop comparative advantages in the manufacture of certain products. In these countries that the World Bank called â€Å"new globalists† the number of people living in absolute poverty has declined by more than 120 million people (14% ) between 1993 and 1998 (2). There is a considerable number of facts showing that countries that are more open to the outside tend to consistently grow faster than those which are closed onto themselves (3). In fact, we can see that the benefits of trade liberalization can be more than ten times higher than its Cost. Countries that have opened their economies in recent years, including India, Vietnam and Uganda, have experienced faster growth and a more pronounced reduction of poverty (4). On average, those developing countries that have strongly reduced their tariffs in the 1980s have grown faster than other growth during the 1990s. Trade liberalization often particularly benefits to poors. The increased growth resulting from trade liberalization tends to increase the incomes of the poors in general at the same proportions as those of the entire population (5). New jobs are created for unskilled workers, enabling them to enter the middle class. Generally, inequality between countries has been declining since 1990 , reflecting the fastest economic growth in developing countries, which is partly due to the trade liberalization. Trade liberalization reduces the cost of living. For example, in the EU Member States, services such as transport, energy, postal services and telecommunications have previously been provided by national organisations with exclusive rights to provide a given service. By opening up these markets to international competition, consumers can now choose from a number of alternative service providers and products. Opening up these markets to competition has also allowed consumers to benefit from lower prices and new  services which are usually more efficient and consumer-friendly than before. This helps to make the economy more competitive (6). The elimination of the remaining trade barriers is likely to provide significant gains. Gains from the removal of all barriers to merchandise trade are estimated between 250 and 680 billion dollars per year. Approximately two thirds of these gains accrue to industrialized countries. But the amount for developing countries would still be more than two times higher than the support they currently receive. Further trade liberalization would benefit more, as a percentage of their GDP, to developing countries than to industrialized countries because their economies are more strongly protected and they face higher barriers. Although an improved access to the markets of other countries has advantages, liberalizing their own market is the most profitable to the countries. For industrialized countries, the main benefits come from the liberalization of agricultural markets. Developing countries benefit equally to liberalize their manufacturing and agriculture. Sources 1. http://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/bert-hofman-chinas-economy-7-favorite-number For China’s Economy, 7 Is a Favorite Number, video April 24 2014 https://www.imf.org/external/np/apd/seminars/2003/newdelhi/lardy.pdfTrade Liberalization and Its Role in Chinese Economic Growth, Nicholas R. Lardy, New Delhi, November 14-16, 2003 2. World Bank : Globalization, Growth, and Poverty : Facts, Fears and an Agenda for Action 3. Example: Jeffrey Frankel et David Romer, â€Å"Does Trade Cause Growth?†,American Economic Review, juin 1999 4. David Dollar, â€Å"Globalisation, Inequality, and Poverty since 1980†, World bank 5. David Dollar and Aart Kraay, â€Å"Trade, Growth, and Poverty†, World bank 2001 6. http://www.wto.org/french/thewto_f/whatis_f/10ben_f/10b04_f.htm La libà ©ralisation des à ©changes rà ©duit le coà »t de la vie, Organisation Mondiale du Commerce http://perso.univ-rennes1.fr/denis.delgay-troise/CI/Cours/REI111.pdf L’à ©volution des à ©changes internationaux

Career Preference

Career is a job or occupation regarded as a long-term or lifelong activity, the general path or progress taken by somebody where he is trained in a particular occupation for his entire working life while preference is the selection of something rather than other choices, it’s the power to choose on what you desire or what is desirable in your part. Socio means society, human society is a best example to understand its meaning because you can understand easily what you observed on it.Socioeconomic is relating to or involving money or financial matters. The above mentioned are the factors affecting the students who aren’t able to finish Bachelor of Science in Criminology in its allotted duration in to finish it. The Bachelor of Science in Criminology or Criminal Justice is a 4-year college degree program intended for individuals who wishes to have a career in the fields of law enforcement, security administration, crime detection and prevention or correctional administrat ion.It aims to foster the values of leadership, integrity, accountability and responsibility while serving fellowmen, community and the country. BS Criminology does not require any special skills, except general skills for the course. Many students would classify the field of study as interesting and not too difficult at all but the course includes several intriguing subjects, even the Practicum is highly anticipated by the graduating students due to its social relevance.Practicum is a non-academic performance; it is performed outside the school, from the time the interns are turned over to the different agencies and offices particularly on PNP divisions and sections they are divided into groups and do the activities they were required to do. They will apply what they learned on the major subjects like when they’re are assigned on traffic section they will apply what they learned on traffic Management and Accident Scene Investigation a major subject of the course.On HPG unit they are lectured to acquire knowledge on patrolling techniques, on BJMP they will learn more about Jail Management and apply some of what lessons on Institutional Correction Administration also a major subject, on the other hand they are also assign on offices like in Mountain Province Police Provincial Office (MPPPO) and in Bontoc Municipal Police Station wherein they observe the jobs/works of officers assigned on offices. The group performs their duty 8 hours a day excluding weekends which is the requirement of the practicum.After accomplishing all the above mentions the graduating students can apply for graduation. Our country suffers from multicrisis such as socioeconomic and financial crisis which is greatly affected by global economic crisis, despite of all this crises, Filipinos are imaginative, creative and courageous to surpass these obstacles of everyday life. Every one of us has a great responsibility lies on our acquired knowledge and skills when we engage into a job an d acted as one of the enforcement in industry that would further improved the depleting economy of the country.All of these come first from wishes and aspirations that arises during childhood years that someday we will become a professional to ascend into poverty. This factors that serves as preference of student in choosing a career in college includes childhood aspiration, family and relatives, peers or friends an anticipated problems they encounter are presumed to affect the student preference of their career. Career preparedness will help the student become more effective and successful in life with his chosen job but there is an external factor such socioeconomic status which changes their aspiration in life.Such when a student wants to become a law enforcer which he always dreamed to be but because of his family’s economic status he has to change his aspiration and take another course, his interest get less concentrated because it’s not suitable for him. Some gra duated high school students gradually stop in pursuing their college career because they lack money, financial sustainability plays a major role in alterations of career life. Some students need to work in order to sustain their studies, as well to help their family about expenses.Another prime factor is attitude, the personal view of something, opinion or general feeling about something which either promote or demote academic performances among students, for example a student says, â€Å"I study hard on examinations but I don’t try hard during quizzes, I cheat on my notes during quizzes in order to get a passing grade â€Å", clearly a bad attitude that a student has already practiced to do which when he don’t do the same in some times he will fail other activity. Attitude plays a major role in attaining ones aspirations because it affects our performances. Review of LiteratureAccording to Webster, career preference is free opportunity to select a desired career. It is also a decision-making in a confusing situation which occurs during the senior year (3rd and 4th) of high school level. According to Tiedeman, career development unfolds within general process of cognitive development as one resolves ego- relevant crisis. He cited the factors in choosing a career e. g. , when one is confused in choosing a career, he relies on his friends and relatives, he was confused in the sense that he cannot make his own decision because he’s not yet ready to get into a college.External factor such as parents’ choice of what course their child to study, this affect s the child’s interest to study, they may go to school but it’s for compliance because they are not interested on the course they are studying. He further noted out that decision-making is a continuous process in which individuals will change their courses of career action, generally by leaving an environment such as when a student is dis-oriented in his course he have been taking that will result in decreasing eagerness on that particular field.He decides to transfer in another school or to shift another course that he thinks it will fits his own interest. Another is, when one is unstable in making decision, these dis oriented strategy may be repeated until he achieve a bachelor’ degree but it took a long time which is supposed to achieve in four years. Based on Ap- apaway (Official Student Publication of MPSPC Main Campus) Bachelor of Science in Criminology in MPSPC Bontoc campus, the course has the highest population in the institution highest number of enrollees contributing 37.63 percentage of the total population of the institution, a total of 1,519 criminology students.The department has increased its population by 8. 29% from 1,393 of the previous semester SY 2013-2014 and being the highest number of enrollees it has also the highest number of graduates during graduation, even on October, end month of the first semester there are no t less than 100 students who take their practicum, termed as criminology internship. According to its population it is the most preferred course of student of the Mountain Province and other nearby province who came to study here.As mandated by CHED (CMO no. 37 series of 2010) normally the course takes 4 years to complete. On the job training/ internship takes 1 semester or 540 hours. Graduating students are required to take practicum for 1 semester on the fourth year of the program. It is designed to provide practical experience for graduating students to work on the five pillars of the criminal justice system. During these periods, the students taking practicum are allowed to observe and assist, but not to perform actual operations that may compromise their safety.Conceptual Framework This study researches on the three basic factors that affect the students who aren’t able to finish the four years duration of the course. Career preference as previously explained is one majo r factor which affects the performance of the student, the selection of course to study rather than other course, the students should enroll the course they prefer because they are the only one which is aware of their capabilities and what profession they want to have in the future as their life-long activity.Some students choose to enroll the course because they are interested but they are not good in performing the activities and requirements of some subjects of the course, which will affect the students’ interest to continue their study. Some students thought criminology is very interesting but as they start to study they found out the hardship of some subjects and they will tend to drop the subject and enroll it to the next semester or summer which will make the time of studying longer.Economically, parents tends to let their child to stop studying for a while or let them shift into another course if they came into a point that they no longer afford to pay the course†™ fees. In the other hand, attitude of the student a prime factor on the cause of not finishing the course in the allotted duration, it affects how the students behaves and perform required activities. In this study it conceptualized that the student can overcome the factors affecting the problem. The college needs effective, competent and full time instructors that can balance the applications of some subjects.The course can be understood more if we have adequate facilities and equipment in the institution, especially in our department it must require that all faculty members be actively involved in criminology research in their respective field of interest in order to deliver enriched learning through their practice. Statement of the Problem This study aims to help criminology students to finish the study on the allotted duration of the course. Specifically the study seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What are the possible actions of the students that they can do that m ay lessen the effects of the factors affecting the problem?1. 1 Can the students avoid the factors affecting the problem? 2. Scope and delimitation of the study Importance of the study Operational definitions of terms Career-a job or occupation regarded as a long-term or lifelong activity, the general path or progress taken by somebody where he is trained in a particular occupation in preparing for his entire working life. Preference- the selection of something rather than other choices, it’s the power to choose on what you desire or what is desirable in your part. Socioeconomic- relating to or involving economic and social factors

Philip Morris Ethical Issues Essay

The Philip Morris founded a cigarette company in 1847 London. They specialized in hand-rolled cigarettes and were very much a small, family ran business. In 1902 the company moved to New York City and had a new demographic in a new country. The company remained small and was actively only the sixth largest tobacco company in the United States. With the famous â€Å"Marlboro Man† advertising campaign the company gained popularity and in 1983 Philip Morris was the largest cigarette company in the United States. From there, the company began to expand into other businesses expanding on its international market. Philip Morris acquired Miller Brewing Company in 1970 and General Foods in 1985. The same year Philip Morris Companies was incorporated as a publicly traded company. Philip Morris continued their expansion with the takeover of Kraft in 1988 and the merger between South African Breweries with Miller Brewing in 2002. Philip Morris Companies changed its name to Altria Group Inc. in 2003 and spun off Kraft Foods in 2007. (4) They then gained the international business of Philip Morris as a separate company and acquired U. S. Smokeless Tobacco Company. The holding company owns Philip Morris USA, U. S.  Smokeless Tobacco Company, Philip Morris Capital Corp and Nu Mark, a new company that produces Nicotine Lozenges. Company Success and Campaigns Today Philip Morris is still top in the cigarette market. The company’s cigarette brands have about half of the cigarette market in the United States. The other Philip Morris brands include Parliament, Virginia Slims, Merit, Cambridge, and Basic. The majority of the company success comes from their genius advertising in the 1950’s. (4) Widely regarded as one of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time the â€Å"Marlboro Man† helped Philip Morris bring itself to the top of the industry. Marlboro used the image of a rugged cowboy enjoying a cigarette on horseback quickly adapt men into enjoying their brand. Released in 1955 the success of the advertisement was incredible. In 1954 Marlboro sales accounted for $154 million in cigarette sold. From there the campaign expanded into other professions including sports stars, racing drivers, and other â€Å"manly-men† to boost bran recognition. (6) The campaign continued through 1999 and is still widely recognized in today’s pop-culture. A lot of Philip Morris’s success can be attributed to the fact that their product is addictive. Having customers with a physical dependency to their product makes customer loyalty an easy thing especially when demand is high. Tobacco Regulation and its Effect on the Company While Philip Morris enjoyed uncontested financial success throughout the latter half of the 20th century it appears trouble is coming. Through the 60’s smoking was a lifestyle in the United States. It was associated with a life of glamor and practically had everyone smoking. By 1963 American adults were smoking an average of 12 cigarettes per day. In 1963 the Surgeon General released the linking of cigarette smoking and cancer. Since then the tobacco industry has only become more regulated. A year later the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act was passed which required all cigarettes sold to carry the Surgeon General’s warning. As research into the negative effects of smoking grew stronger the regulations and bans began. In 1990 smoking was banned on buses and domestic flights the first movement in the prohibition of smoking and its dangers to others. With these regulations came lawsuits against the industry from individual smokers and various parties. The tobacco companies settled in 1998 to gain immunity from future lawsuits from government groups in return for $246 billion to be paid out over the course of 25 years. (4) While big tobacco was able to avoid these trials general concern for health caused sales to fall. At first Philip Morris and other tobacco companies publicly disclaimed any link between lung cancer and smoking but this was not enough. To combat these health claims cigarette companies released filtered cigarettes that claimed to limit the amount of dangerous particles in tobacco smoke. The filtered cigarettes were in fact just as harmful as regular cigarettes because consumers would take bigger drags to make up for the lack of smoke. In 2006 the District of Columbia District Court ruled the tobacco companies had made many offenses including lying about health risks and marketing to children. (8) As a result tobacco companies are now required to remove misleading statements about filtered cigarettes being safer and to provide more insight into company procedures. Increased regulation has had Philip Morris dealing with a constantly increasing tobacco tax. The government directly taxes cigarettes in all state owned property. These taxes have led to the drastic increase in cigarette prices. Philip Morris and other companies push the tax down towards their customers. The current state of the tobacco industry is not what it use to be but Philip Morris remains profitable with their large involvement in all markets. (4) Despite a clear public understanding of health risks millions of addicted smokers continue their habit. As Philip Morris continues to make money off a product that is addictive and damaging to its customer it is easy to question the moral roots of the company. An Ethical Look on a â€Å"Evil† Company With full speculation as corporations go Philip Morris is certainly on the list as a â€Å"Evil company. The fact is that the company sells a harmful addictive products that kill almost 20% of Americans each year. In addition the company has long known about the dangers of smoking despite repeatedly denying the medical claims. Although these accusations Philip Morris is taking steps to change their business outlook. The steps to gain a more favorable public opinion shows that the company is not acting unethically. When the reports about health issues came along with smoking Philip Morris made an unprecedented decision. Instead of targeting the health problems and looking to manufacture â€Å"safer† cigarettes Phillip Morris began marketing to the younger crowd. (6) While not necessary breaking the law by physically selling to minors it is clear that the company believes that targeting a younger more impressionable crowd is the solution. It’s hard to pinpoint the moral beliefs of Philip Morris. The company is still extremely successful and their success comes with the expense of the well being of their customers. Philip Morris and Positive Ethical Behavior Philip Morris a company speculated for its concerned about its stakeholders has also still had initiatives that benefit society. Unlike most of its smaller competitors Philip Morris has never manufactured flavored cigarettes. Other tobacco companies came under serious fire for flavored blends like Twista Lime, Mandarin Mint, Beach Breezer. These flavored cigarettes provided a way to appeal to a younger crowd. Philip Morris has never engaged in this kind of behavior and in some cases has made an effort to even deter minors from smoking. Since 1998 the company has spent a self reported $1 billion on youth smoking prevention including its â€Å"Think Don’t Smoke† campaign that was started in the 2000’s. (3) The Philip Morris website is packed with information on the dangers of smoking and the company even supported FDA regulation of tobacco which was eventually allowed by the Tobacco Control Act in 2009. Most recently Altria was listed on Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 most admired companies of 2011 for positive business behavior. In the Socially Responsible category they ranked fourth. The company donated $54 million to multiple nonprofit organizations including the Red Cross, the Smithsonian, and the United Negro College Fund. Looking at the company they engage in parts of an ethically sound corporation that values the impact it can have on society. However once the nature of the business that Philip Morris is engaged in is known only then will the company be hindered. Company Views and the Utilitarian Approach There is no doubt that Philip Morris’s public relation division are hard at work. Despite their social outreach its intention is misguided. The company’s social agenda is arguably just another operating cost to help improve the reputation of Philip Morris as the best of the worse. The company’s support of FDA tobacco regulation might have seemed like a moral move but FDA regulation of tobacco ends up helping Philip Morris. FDA regulation makes it much harder for smaller cigarette companies to survive. Only Philip Morris has the supply chain and brand recognition to remain profitable as cigarettes become more regulated. Additionally FDA regulation makes the industry unattractive heightening the barriers that Philip Morris’s has gaining a competitive advantage. (1) Applying the Utilitarian approach provides an interesting insight into the ethical breakdown of the company. The Utilitarian thinking is the ideal society that starts in an original position where everyone is equal. From there changes in equality should be open to everyone and the changes in equality are to everyone’s advantage. Essentially this approach with an unequally high proportion of wealth, assets, or abilities would have an affect on this type of company. With an equal chance to have an unequal proportion of wealth, assets, or abilities every individual would fight to make unequal distribution to benefit society. Looking at Philip Morris through the Utilitarian approach shows that the company is not acting fairly. Philip Morris engages in many business activities to help maintain their competitive advantage including supporting FDA regulation that would kill their competitors. On a more broad scale the inequality of wealth that Philip Morris has amassed over the years has not been to the advantage of society as a whole. In fact the success of the company has come at the expense of the health and well being of society. While it’s apparent that Philip Morris does not abide by this approach it is hard to blame the company. The Fact of the Matter for Philip Morris Because the negative effects of smoking are widely known and well supported the right to a healthy life falls on the individual to uphold in this situation because smoking is known to be detrimental to that right. That being said the addictive properties of nicotine make this argument known. Philip Morris for years repeatedly denied claims about the health issues of smoking and released filtered cigarettes that claimed them to be healthier. In many ways avoiding helping to deprive people of their right to live healthily would have been directly in opposition of their business. This makes Phillip Morris an interesting situation. Tobacco has been in western culture for around 500 years and for the majority of that time it was a large part of culture and was celebrated as a luxury. It helped bring the colonies money. Today tobacco is frowned upon and the companies that were once so wildly successful and respected in America are being asked to limit business. To ask Philip Morris to act completely ethically would be asking them to shut down operations completely. They sell a product that takes years off of lives and is responsible for 440,000 deaths each year. (4) While they can continue to pursue â€Å"healthier† forms of smoking and ingesting nicotine there is no way for the company to operate without harming someone. What makes tobacco an anomaly in the business ethics debate is the willingness for their customers to purchase products that will end up harming them. When we think of business ethics it is normally thought of as creating negative actions in the environment. In the case of Philip Morris the negative actions fall on the company’s customers who willingly accepts them. The solution to this problem does not lie in the hands of Philip Morris or any of the other tobacco companies. In Conclusion While in the past the company has made unethical business decisions like covering up health concerns or trying to convince the public that their cigarettes are safer the industry is at a point now where they are acting as ethically as possible.  They are simply providing a product that has strong demand. It is within our government’s duty to protect citizens when they are incapable of making smart decisions as individuals. From this report the real danger here is nicotine the addictive substance in cigarettes. This matter should be controlled by the FDA and needs to be limited. Until then tobacco and its and its suppliers will always be contested and Philip Morris will continue doing what they have been doing.

How significantly does a democratic political system impinge on the Essay

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The issues of the women's status in society in The Breadgivers by Anzia Yerzierska - Essay Example As the mother, she gives protection to the divine reproductive force, male or female! In most of the societies, the ground reality is, a female child is victimized at every step of life, from the moment of birth, notwithstanding the fact that it is she who sacrifices at those interventions. This is the general backgrounder information about the life of the female, in societies all over the world. But in this modern materialistic era, the woman finds herself in complex situations. Alice Kessler-Harris, in her foreword to the book, â€Å"The Breadgivers,† points out, â€Å"Her woman’s voice found a universal audience in a generation that sought to locate its own identities more firmly and mined memoir and biography for the larger meaning of a materially laden world.†(xii) The problem is further aggravated for an ambitious woman. Harris continues, â€Å"†¦as the young woman yearning to find a place in the world; as the aspiring intellectual trying to figure ou t what to give back; as the isolated adult searching for community.†(xvii) To get uprooted from one country under forced and tragic circumstances and to establish from the scratch in a new country to find an identity is a tough asking. The â€Å"Breadgivers† by Anzia Yerzierska (1889-1970), a Polish Jewish immigrant, is the story about one such individual. Through her trials, tribulations, duty and beauty of life she tries to find out assiduously its real meaning. She confronts the normal challenges in the life of a woman and succeeds in finding the answer for the special challenges too. The important themes dealt with in the book are-- the perils of dependence, the pressure of family obligations and individual independence, and the evergreen theme of human life—the elusive happiness. These themes need to be understood from the perspectives of life of women of the era to which the author belonged. 2. Poverty is a curse and abject poverty on the verge of starvatio n is a double-tragedy for any family. The Smolinksy family is placed in the latter category. The daughters Bessie, Mashah and Fania are unemployed and Mashah is addicted to beauty-aids. Their father, Reb Smolinsky is engrossed in reading holy books and doesn’t work but faithfully does the work of a Jewish father—managing his daughter’s wages. Mrs. Smolinsky, with the onerous responsibility of managing the family, expresses her displeasure over the state of affairs. The situation improves as Sara begins to sell herring and other sisters find jobs. Mrs. Smolinsky rents out the second room of the apartment which helps to further consolidate the family budget. The cupid’s arrow strikes Bessie. The youth of her choice is Berel Berensterin. On invitation, he arrives for dinner one night. When the issue comes to the notice of Reb Smolinsky, he exercises his right on the wages of Bessie. In addition, he demands that Bessie must own the entire wedding expenses and finance him to set up business. Earlier Berel has indicated that he will marry without accepting any dowry. Berel is enraged at the unreasonable demand and counsels her to defy her father and marry him. She doesn’t dare and Berel is engaged to another girl, crushing Bessie’s spirit. The love entanglements of his two other daughters Marshah and Fania are also broken due to the obstinacy of Reb Smolkinsky and his rigid stand on issues. He arranges the marriages of all his three daughters that end up in failure and frustration for them. Sara watches all these

Self harm problem in prisons. What initiatives have been implemented Essay

Self harm problem in prisons. What initiatives have been implemented by the Prison Service to reduce the likelihood of self harm - Essay Example The staff also provides advice and assistance on the support available to prisoners. The staff also provides the company of a safe person as a cell mate or a person who can listen to the woes of the disturbed person or a staff member extents assistance to find a solution. In extreme cases, the prison staff observes the prisons and engages in conversation during specific intervals of time and the reason for being in prison is explained to the prisoner. Prison Service employs a well planned system known as ACCT to recognize and assist prisoners who are like to commit suicide or self harm. ACCT (Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork) is practices in all prisons from April 2007. This method is in replacement to the old F2052SH system with flexibility and the support of multi disciplinary action to evade prisoners from self harm. The method gives confidence to staff to extent their assistance and personalized care to distressed inmates, to assist neutralize a probable suicide attempt and to assist prisoners with long term requirement (when the person has repetitive history of self harm) to decrease their distress. The ACCT method makes sure that all prisoners participate in the process. Prisoners are required to undergo an interview with an expert Assessor who will then chart out personalized care plan. Prisoners are also encouraged to participate in timely Cases Reviews for the support and care provided to them. In addition to Prison Services there are several assistance mechanisms and agencies that work for prisoners in crisis. Peer assistance schemes are operated in most of the prisons. The Listeners schemes is one such systems where inmates are given training by Samaritans and learn to hear to the problems of other prisoners by maintaining confidentiality in case emotional assistance is required for some reason. Other assistance available to prisoners in the prison premises are assistance for substance misuse,

Art Appreciation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art Appreciation - Essay Example It had a gabled roof, which was over 100 feet at the centre. The atrium of Old St. Peter's Basilica was known as the "Garden of Paradise." It had five doors leading inside the church. The atrium was added in the 6th Century. ("Old Saint Peter's Basilica," Wikipedia 2007) The nave ended with an arch holding a mosaic of Constantine and Saint Peter. The walls had 11 windows and were decorated with frescoes. The Basilica contained the tomb of St. Peter in the apse of the church. The most significant architectural element was the 'transept,' which marked the cross axis to the nave. "The cross axes of the nave and transept allowed for the concentration of attention on the tomb of Peter." ("The Romanization of Christianity," 2007) The Hagia Sophia, built as the new cathedral of Constantinople by Emperor Justinian in 532 to 537 A.D., is supposed to realise the "ideal" Byzantine model. ("Hagia Sophia," Great Buildings Online 2007) "It combined a longitudinal basilica and a centralised building, with a huge main dome supported on pendentives, and semi domes on either side." ("Hagia Sophia," 2003) This was the first instance of the use of pendentives, which "enable the round dome to transition gracefully into the square shape of piers below." ("Hagia Sophia," Wikipedia 2007) The building itself measures 102 feet by 265 feet along its main floor. The central space is a 100 feet square, which is extended to 200 feet by adding two "hemicycles" covered by semi domed "exedras" to the east and west of it. These are extended further with three minor apses eastward and two to the west. The main dome is 102 feet in diameter, and 184 feet high. It contains a corona of 40 arched windows, which reflects light into the interior of the nave. "Flanking the nave on the north and south are side aisles, with galleries over them." ("Hagia Sophia," 2003) Their massive vaults are carried at both levels by monolithic columns, thus receiving the weight of the dome and its arches. The Dome of the Rock This is the earliest architectural monument of Islam. It was constructed to cover the Noble Rock, in 691-2 A.D. in the old city of Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock is octagonal shaped. It consists of a Dome which is 20m 20cm in diameter and its height is 20m 48cm. The dome rises to a height of 35 meters over the Noble Rock. The Noble Rock is surrounded by inner circular and outer octagonal arcades. Each side of the octagon has a door and 7 windows. ("Dome of the Rock," Islamic Architecture Org 2007) Common Structural Elements The Old St. Peters Basilica and The Dome of the Rock are, both, built in the shape of a Byzantine "Martyria." A martyrium is used for the housing and veneration of saintly relics. ("Byzantine Architecture," Wikipedia 2007) In the former case, it is the tomb of St. Peter, and in the latter the Noble Rock, venerated by Christian, Jews, and Muslims alike. The church of Hagia Sophia and the Old St. Peters Basilica, both follow the basic Roman architectural design of a longitudinal basilica. But, a central or circular type of structure is also found in the Hagia Sophia, and it is very similar to the domed circular structure of the Dome of the Rock. The windows on the main dome of the Dome of t

A review of three models of communication and group behaviour and Essay

A review of three models of communication and group behaviour and their application to practice in a class room - Essay Example Usually, it is not only depended on the sender to depict the meaning of any communication, the receiver plays a major role in the out come of it. The message send by the sender may not be interpreted the same way it was intended. Hence communication or expression goes a great way towards determining how the expressions are interpreted. Flaw in communication or incomplete communication may affect the purpose of communication and can result in damaging the consequences. Karl Popper said about this issue, â€Å"it is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood.† Thus, effective communication is important in every walk of life be it professional, personal or social. Not everyone is able to express themselves and in this manner and the significance of communication should not be ignored. The communication process includes the following components: sender, message, encoding, receiver, decoding and feedback. There are different models which describe the basic p rocess of communication. All such models of communication aid to elucidate the kind of interaction and serve as a valid means for illustrating the findings related to research (Narula, 2006). Such models are a tool by which researchers, practitioners, and students can demonstrate their ideas about what they believe to be the most essential features of communication. A brief appraisal of these communication models will help to get a better understanding of their applicability in the classroom setting. The Transmission Model of Communication is a highly acclaimed model of communication developed by Shannon and Weaver (1949). It is a model of communication which reduces message to a process that transmits information. The model includes five elements; a source of information, the transmitter, a channel, receiver and a destination where the message arrives (Flensburg, 2009). According to Daniel Chandler(2007) this model is not the best example for communication as it does not include a two way communication rather is based only on getting the message across to the receiver which can result in technical problem such as uncertainty of how accurately has the message been transmitted. Another problem which can be faced in this model of communication is the semantic error that means how precisely the meaning of the message is covered. Above all the problem, of effectiveness is really important; the sender would not be able to confirm that how effectively the message has affected the behavior of the receiver. This model is definitely one of the simplest models of communication but it carries around the major issue of â€Å"one way model†. It brings uncertainty to the sender of the purpose of the communication being served or destroyed. The whole concept of communication revolves around the feedback; which is a two-way communication model. If we analyze this model in a class room scenario, it is impossible for a teacher to give the lecture to students without know ing that whether her message has been understood by the students or not. She might even face the transmission error considering that the students are unable to understand her language. Chances of semantic error are very much possible in a classroom session as the teacher might be explaining to her level best

Recent cancer research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Recent cancer research - Essay Example Li C, Heidt DG, Dalerba P et .al (2007) has found that stem cells cause cancer in blood, breast, brain, prostate, ovary .The recent findings on the role of stem cells in causing cancer in pancreas also been stated in the study. In order to determine the mode of therapeutic intervention, it is quite critical to understand and define the specific stem cell where the cancer has originated. The study by Clarke, Michael F., Becker & Michael W (2008) has explained the potential of the stem cells in turning malignant and serves as the root of the cause of cancer. Further it has been stated that the stem cells promotes the growth of new cancer cells, and are considered as the origin of malignancy itself. In this regard these cells are termed as cancer stem cells. The study has also suggested the chances of these cells being normal stem cells at the origin or premature stage and they undergoing a malignant transformation in the growth stage. The authors urge the need for an accurate understanding on the transformation process in order to target the precise cancer stem cells in the process of cancer treatment or prevention. It is quite important to characterize and differentiate the normal human stem cells and the cancer initiating cells in order to have further knowledge on cancer therapy. A number of studies have evaluated the role of a number of antibodies on the Normal Stem Cells and the Malignant cells which is capable of Initiating Cancer. Donald J. Vander Griend, Wouter L. Karthaus, Susan Dalrymple, Alan Meeker, Angelo M. DeMarzo and John T. Isaacs have studied the role of the antibody CD 133 in Cancer. The study suggested that Androgen Receptor expressing prostate Cancer-Initiating Cells (CICs) is derived from malignantly transformed intermediate cells. (Donald J et. al, 2008). The importance of identification of stem cells has been asserted by Tuch, Bernard E. The study summarizes that the

Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Supply Chain Management - Essay Example Extensive research shows that a considerable percentage of the overall budget of any given company emanates from the costs of flow of materials, and it is upon which companies are rated (Maloni & Brown, 2006, 68). This paper delves into SCM by centering on some of the underpinnings associated with it to ascertain its prominent features that are involved in the improvement of flow of materials from producers as raw materials to end user as finished products, and its involvement in the reduction of costs associated with supply chain. Integrated supply chain In such a situation of Lauritzen Bulkers, a suitable supply chain will be that which identifies vividly the important information systems as well as material flows, and should be aimed at meeting the needs of the customers. This is because a customer play a significant role in the supply chain, and it is upon the management team to ensure they are satisfied with the products and services. This is why any disruptions that may occur i n one mode of transportation may have an effect on the supply and demand for goods world over. This is, in addition to, the globalization that is deep rooted in today’s world, where technology has managed to bring products, services, and people so close that businesses are happening far and wide with transactions made online (Arnseth, 2010, 27 ). This means that an incorporated supply chain should be in force to cater for the big fleet of ship as well as the people involved, for this will ensure the working together of everyone involved towards an appealing proposition of mutual benefit to all the parties concerned. Therefore, it is the relatedness of supply chain progression that offers an enhanced potential that can be seized to achieve a competitive advantage. This is, in addition to, its importance in holding onto that promise of ensuing success. Lauritzen Bulkers Company has achieved this through employment of youthful employees who are at prime performance of their life . This translates to increased productivity in an industry whose success depends on the energy and the flexibility of employees. Moreover, purchases of new vessels that are aiding in the effective transportation with no delay are significant. Therefore, what the company needs on top of these energetic employees as well as new vessels is s good management team that should strive to make the best use of the accessible resources, for the betterment of the company. This should, thus be evident at all the supply chains to ensure that there is no break in the communication flow, which however small it may seem, is capable of disastrous end results. Information systems and management across the chains It is factual that management of logistics and technology come out as a success when costs related to logistic operations are controlled as well as an alarm for information technology whose success relies on selection, exploitation and incorporation (Arnseth, 2010, 25). Therefore, the informa tion systems available are capable of granting a company to decide on what the right supply chain strategy and the mode of transportation of goods. If faced with the same responsibility, I would opt for an efficient delivery system that is home delivery to ensure that the right products land into the rightful owners with certification. Road transport is fine for it is cheap, fast and reliable for it can be found

Memo 1-follow intructions below Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Memo 1-follow intructions below - Case Study Example According to an email sent, there were examples of adjustments made as a result of budget cut. It is better to understand these adjustments were not done intentionally but as a result of drastic change in Budget cost. Lake Clarke National Park offers services which everyone would look forward to enjoy. The mail was not written without the right consent. The relevant individuals had tried all they could squeeze the park’s budget in the new reduced budget. It is at times impossible to shift to a new budget line. Low service-adjustment caused by changes in reduced Budget cost can close down the company’s operations. Lake Clarke National Park was forced to lower some services it offered to its customers. Poor financial situation of the park led to changes in services it offered. My intention is to make the park’s customers understand the financial position of it. The mail used had good means to reach the

Organisational Behaviour Individual Case Study Assignment

Organisational Behaviour Individual Case Study - Assignment Example It helps in perceiving ideas about organization, groups and individual employees involved in the organisational structure. Thus, the concept is often considered as a parameter pertaining to the explanation, understanding, forecasting and calculation of human behaviour in an organization (Pomsuwan, 2007). In order to access the individual or group performance in an organization, certain areas are primarily focused which include personality, perception, attitudes, job satisfaction, group dynamics, politics, leadership, job design, culture, communication chain, stress of work, and decision-making power that tend to influence the employees’ behaviour at large (Rollinson, 2008). This paper intends to present an understanding of the concept of organisational behaviour and its influences on the employees in case of mergers and acquisitions. Based on a case study scenario of David Orton and Cost Wise, the discussion in this paper also aims at identifying the various issues faced by th e organizations and its employees due to structural changes as a result of acquisition. 2.0. Methodology Organisational behaviour is also known as organizational science which encompasses a prearranged study and cautious relevance of knowledge about how people operate in an organization. ... s which are considered in this regards are employee morale, job satisfaction, absenteeism rate, salary issues and various other inter as well as intra organisational conflicts. The approach considered for this project tends to be purely qualitative based on an objective-oriented research design. The data collected for this study majorly includes journals, books, articles related to the research issue and similar other relevant secondary sources. In order to gather primary data, interviews were conducted with the former employees of Cost Wise and the management personnel of David Orton. Observation technique was also used to identify the various dimensions of the work culture within the organisation from September 2011 to November 2011. In addition, staff visits have also been considered in this study to support the views of the other staffs associated with a similar industry. As often noted by researchers, mergers and acquisitions not only affects the organisational structure and the financial operations, but also influences the employees’ needs at the basic level (Salame, 2006). To conclude on this prediction, the analysis of the data collected will be based on the Maslow’s Need Hierarchy so as to determine the gap between the employees’ interest in these two companies before and after the merger. 3.0. Findings 3.1. Motivational States of Cost Wise Employees Motivation is typically referred as the forces that account for the arousal, selection, direction and continuation of behaviour. These forces act as foundations for enhancing both individual and organizational needs and can be better described by Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels. The first four levels are

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 10

Report - Essay Example empts to analyse the challenges facing an organisation like the United Nations (UN) and the manufacturing / service businesses represented by the General Motors (GM), Norwich Union (Aviva) and Imperial Tobacco. For the UN, the political conflict challenges, for GM, the energy and economic challenges, for Aviva, the climate change challenges and for Imperial Tobacco, the socio-political challenges will be analysed and appropriate recommendations will be presented in this report. The UN took its birth in the aftermath of the 2nd World War and is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining peace and order among nations. However, it is faced with diminishing status even as political conflicts and wars rage around the globe. This is a leadership issue in conflict resolution for the UN. For example, while there was global consensus for war on Afghanistan in the light of the overwhelming evidence, the same was missing in respect of the US war against Iraq. Iraq ignored UN resolutions and Global challenges for business management 2 US ignored mainstream European opinion against the Iraq war. The situation is not different even in the case of the on-going conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza region, who ignore UN pleas for ceasefire – even the UN relief camp in Gaza is on fire! These are only two examples of the many such events. The issues involved in these conflicts generally revolve round geo-political interests, cultural and religious differences, dominance of few over many, etc. Conflicts and wars impact businesses adversely and to that extent will make the task of achieving Millennium Development Goals set by the UN, more difficult. Important elements of this plan that are to be achieved by 2015 are poverty elimination, universal education, women empowerment, healthcare, disease control, environment sustainability and global partnership for development (UN, Millennium development goals report, 2007). Political conflicts can be also

Hotel and Information Systems Essay Example for Free

Hotel and Information Systems Essay It has been accepted for inclusion in Communications of the Association for Information Systems by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact [emailprotected] org. 102 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 OUTRIGGER HOTELS AND RESORTS: A CASE STUDY Gabriele Piccoli School of Hotel Administration Cornell University [emailprotected] edu ABSTRACT This case describes the history, strategy, and current information systems infrastructure of a midsize, privately owned hospitality firm. The case is designed to provide the substantial background information needed to engage successfully in setting direction for IS resources and their use at Outrigger Hotels and Resorts headquartered in Hawaii. It enables students to analyze the firm’s strategy thoroughly and to assess its current use of information systems resources. With this assessment as a starting point, students can develop an appropriate IS vision, IS architecture, and a strategic IS plan for Outrigger Hotels and Resorts. The case was originally designed to use the process of setting direction for IS resources as described by Martin and colleagues [2005], but is flexible enough to adapt to the structure of other approaches to planning for information systems use. Keywords: IS planning, IS assessment, IS visioning, infrastructure, hospitality. Editor’s Note: A teaching note is available from the author to faculty so requiring it that are listed in the MISRC-ISWorld Faculty Directory. I am involved with every decision that senior management takes. They look to me for an IS slant to it – whether an IT solution can capitalize on opportunities or eliminate threats. They also expect my team to independently develop an IS strategy that will further the business. Joe Durocher, Senior Vice President CIO Every manager must have an IT strategy. You can’t delegate to technologists and only worry about your allocated cost or what training your employees need. You must understand how to be master of your own destiny and make IT work best for you. Too many managers still don’t get that. Rob Solomon, Senior Vice President Sales Marketing Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 103 I. INTRODUCTION Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, a mid-size lodging firm focused on leisure travel to the Hawaiian Islands and the South Pacific, uses Information Technology (IT) in numerous aspects of its operations and therefore must carefully engage in the information systems planning process. After analyzing Outrigger’s strategy and assessing the firm’s current use of information systems resources, we can develop an appropriate IS vision, IS architecture, and a strategic IS plan for Outrigger Hotels and Resorts. On Black Friday, September 13, 1929, Roy C. Kelley arrived in Hawaii with his wife Estelle. An architect by training, Mr. Kelley joined the firm of C. W. Dickey and was responsible for designing many of Honolulus landmark buildings, including the main building of the old Halekulani Hotel and the Waikiki Theater on Kalakaua Avenue. Nine years later Kelley set out on his own, building numerous homes, apartment buildings, and hotels on the island of Oahu. In 1963, Kelley took over the land occupied by the old Outrigger Canoe Club. Outrigger Hotels then became a reality with the mission of bringing the dream of a vacation in Paradise within the reach of the middle-class traveler. Included in the agreement were leases on three Waikiki lots that later became the Outrigger East, Outrigger West, and Coral Reef hotels. The Outrigger Waikiki Hotel was built on the site of the old canoe club, arguably the prime spot on Waikiki beach, in 1967. Throughout the next two decades, Outrigger Hotels Hawaii, as the company was named, continued its expansion in Waikiki. When in the 1970’s the zoning authority put a cap on new construction in Waikiki, Outrigger began to expand through acquisition rather than construction, ultimately becoming the largest chain in the State of Hawaii, with over 7,000 rooms and a total of 15 properties concentrated in Waikiki. Thanks to its clustered configuration, with all of its hotels located within one square mile, Outrigger was able to maintain a centralized management structure fitting Mr. Kelley’s ‘management by walking around’ style. In 1989, Outrigger Hotels Hawaii, now under the leadership of Roy Kelley’s son Dr. Richard Kelley, took over management of The Royal Waikoloan Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii. When hurricane Iniki, heading for Waikiki in 1992, barely missed Honolulu and ravaged the island of Kauai, it provided further impetus for Outrigger’s geographical diversification strategy to and beyond neighboring islands. The firm, expanding into management agreements with third party owners, added properties on Maui and Kauai and ultimately grew to a total of 26 locations in the Hawaiian Islands. In 1996 the firm made its first international foray, opening the Outrigger Marshall Island Resort on Majuro Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Through partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions, and new developments the firm continued to grow internationally, adding properties in Guam, Fiji, Tahiti, Australia, and New Zealand. While growing geographically, in 1990 Outrigger Hotels Hawaii began to diversify its product portfolio by adding condominium resorts. Because of ts geographical and product diversification, in 1995 Outrigger Hotels Hawaii changed its name to Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, and in 1999 re-branded fifteen of its hotels in Waikiki to launch a new hotel brand called OHANA Hotels of Hawaii. We had an identity crisis because the market moved up, we upgraded the onbeach properties where we had higher demand and bought some nice properties in neighboring islands. But we had huge variation in the portfolio—if you stayed at a budget property vs. a beach front property, you’d be very confused as to what an Outrigger was. President and CEO, David Carey Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 104 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Figure 1: Outrigger Properties in Waikiki Figure 2: Outrigger Properties in the Hawaiian Islands Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 105 Figure 3. Properties Managed by Outrigger Hotels and Resorts (International) The on-beach properties became upscale full-service hotels under the Outrigger brand. The condos, also typically on-beach upscale locations, maintained the Outrigger brand. Conversely, the OHANA brand was positioned to cater to the budget traveler looking for value on off-beach properties. Condominiums represented an increasingly important share of the total portfolio of properties, even though the firm stumbled upon the opportunity that condominiums offered. Condominiums appealed to independent travelers who would do much research and planning on their own. Condominiums were also complex, non-standard products that travel agents and wholesalers found hard to sell. Because condos were rarely built as business ventures, but rather were designed as primary or vacation homes for the tenants, they offered little office or staging space for management companies to operate in. They also lacked many of the typical hotel services and departments such as food and beverage, room service, laundry, and daily maid service. These difficulties notwithstanding, Outrigger found the condo business appealing because it provided a means for expansion through management contracts without the need to acquire expensive properties. By 2005, Outrigger was a sizable firm, with about 3,600 employees (of whom about 230 were at corporate headquarters), a portfolio of properties exceeding US $1. 4 billion, and approximate revenues of US $45 million [Hotel On-Line, 2003]. But at the heart of its strategic positioning a commitment remained to providing a ‘sense of place,’ an experience attuned to the culture and the characteristics of the destination, and to avoiding a cookie cutter approach. Our business is really about being a â€Å"window† to an experience, not the experience itself. We are the enabler through which people can engage in the leisure experience they desire. We don’t try to export Hawaii when we go elsewhere, but we do honor the same values in the places we operate hotels and resorts. David Carey Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 106 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Outrigger’s senior management believed that its key competencies resided in providing hospitality to guests visiting their properties and marketing those properties successfully through leisure distribution channels. To complement these basic competencies, Outrigger’s management developed what it believed to be a superior capability to manage in a multicultural environment, including multicultural and multilingual employees and guests. Aided by a turnover rate in the single digits and an average of 25 years of employee tenure with the company, Outrigger managed to be a mostly non-union shop in the heavily unionized Hawaii labor market. We operate properties that have good locations, we have a strong travel distribution network, and our employees really provide hospitality from the heart. That creates a differentiated product making price less important. David Carey Outrigger was wedded to the success of its destination markets and to the well-being of airlines serving its destinations. If Hawaii does well, so do we. I spend a lot of time working with local tourism authorities to improve the appeal of the destinations we operate in. But airlines can be a bottleneck. We may not have available lift at times when we need it. If the airlines are full or they have decided in their yield model that they are going to only sell their top fares, there is nothing we can do. From purely the hotels’ perspective, the best thing for us is an airline price war to Hawaii. David Carey III. THE HOTELS AND RESORTS INDUSTRY As the 21st century dawned, the global lodging industry was estimated to exceed $295 billion in sales (about 11% of the world’s economic output) and employed more than 250 million workers [Encyclopedia of Global Industries, 2003]. The leisure travel segment accounted for about 45% of total volume [Horwath International, 2002]. THE HAWAIIAN HOTEL MARKET In the Hawaiian market, which was Outrigger’s traditional stronghold, 2004 data showed performance levels above the average of the global industry. Being quite isolated from any large population pool, Hawaii was a classic destination market with an exclusive fly-in customer base. The major feeders were U. S. westbound traffic and Japanese eastbound traffic. These markets were thought to yield very high return rates1—estimated by some to be around 50% westbound and over 65% eastbound. This trend made for a very location-savvy customer base. Peculiar to this market was also the trend of multi-island stays, with guests visiting more than one destination during the same trip. Table 1. Performance of Hawaii Hotel Market Occupancy Avg. Number of rooms Average Daily Rate2 Revenue* * Amounts per available room 72. 1% 706 $198. 41 $78,488 In the hotel business, return rate is used to refer to the percentage of visitors who come back again for more than one visit to the same location. 2 Average Daily Rate (ADR), is the average of all rates charged on a given date for all rooms sold that day. A yearly ADR can be computed by averaging ADRs for all days of the year. 1 Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 107 PRICING Because the Hawaii and Pacific Rim markets were exclusive destination markets, the use of packages – including air and accommodations – was pervasive. Historically, packages were assembled and sold by wholesalers and tour operators who purchased both air and hotel rooms in bulk and re-marketed them to the traveling public. With the widespread adoption of the Internet, a new type of package was emerging under the leadership of large online travel agencies: dynamic packages. A dynamic package was one that enabled the guest to choose air, hotel, car rental, and even activities, ticket them independently, and then price them out as a bundle. Dynamic packages were appealing to suppliers because the price of each item was not disclosed, making price comparison difficult and alleviating commoditization fears. They were appealing to prospective travelers because they increased choice and fostered flexibility. Finally, they appealed to online travel agents because they built upon their value proposition—customer choice—and could potentially improve their margins. COMPETITORS As a mature destination, Hawaii had been entered by many of the larger branded hospitality and resort companies. The largest hospitality firms, such as Marriott International, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, and Starwood, developed a significant presence with eight, five, and eleven properties respectively. But the largest operators in Hawaii were geographically- and leisure-focused players such as Outrigger, ASTON Hotels ; Resorts Hawaii (with twenty-eight properties), and Marc Resorts Hawaii (with eleven properties). IV. OUTRIGGER CUSTOMERS AND THE COMPETITION THE OUTRIGGER HOTELS AND RESORTS CUSTOMERS Outrigger’s original mission was to bring the opportunity for a vacation in Paradise within the reach of middle-class families. As the firm began to diversify its portfolio, the profile of its customers and the competition also changed. The typical guest staying with the premium brand – Outrigger – was often a multigenerational customer with a sense of loyalty to the brand (about 25% of guests were returning to Outrigger) and an annual income exceeding $75,000. Outrigger guests were almost exclusively leisure travelers. This customer base created seasonality, with winter and summer being the high seasons when properties like the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach reached an ADR of $260 and an overall occupancy around 90%. Our customers are independent-minded and look for an experience that is more regional and attuned to the destination, but still within their comfort zone. They may stay with big brands in their road warrior capacity, but that’s not what they are looking for in a tropical destination. Rob Solomon Table 2. Outriggers Portfolio and Sample Competitors Location Properties Rooms Lowest Rate * Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Waikiki 2 1,383 $160 Starwood Hotels and Resorts Waikiki 4 4,132 $150 Marriott International Waikiki 1 1,297 $209 Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Waikiki 1 1,230 $210 Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Guam Fiji 2 895 $203 Starwood Hotels and Resorts Guam Fiji 3 995 $145 Hilton Hotels and Resorts Guam 1 587 $110 *Rates for comparable rooms as they appear on the company website, December 2004, for January 2005 stays Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 108 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Competing for these customers, Outrigger went head-to-head with major brands that enjoyed name recognition amongst the traveling public, a flow of customers redeeming points, available capital, and availability of programs for employees such as discounted travel beyond Hawaii and the Pacific region. In response, Outrigger leveraged its assets: some of the premier locations in the markets in which it competed, strong name recognition, long-term relationships with the travel distribution network, a strategic focus on vacation destinations, a deep local knowledge and community ties, and good employee relations. THE OHANA HOTELS CUSTOMERS The typical OHANA guest was a value-minded and Hawaii-savvy leisure traveler with income below $100k a year. Typically, OHANA guests had visited Hawaii multiple times, stayed longer than average, and visited more often. Business travel was mainly military personnel and employees of corporations who operated on multiple islands. Groups accounted for less that 10% of OHANA’s overall traffic. We have about 50% return guests. Your first trip you want a beach front hotel, the atmosphere, the ambiance—you want the full Hawaii experience. When you come more often, you still want the experience, but you look for more value and instead of spending $250-$300 a night for a beachfront you can stay longer offbeach for $70-$80 a night. Chuck Shishido, OHANA Hotels VP of Operations With seasonality similar to that of the full service Outrigger Hotels, OHANA Hotels typically achieved an ADR around $66 and approximate occupancy levels of 75% over the year. A number of small regional chains (such as Marc Resorts and Castle Resorts) and many off-beach independent hotels existed in the Waikiki market. Pricing for off-beach properties was much harder to manage because of the commodity nature of the hotels not enjoying a premium location. OHANA was the largest operator in Waikiki and the largest Hawaii-owned operator. Table 3. OHANA’s Portfolio and Sample Competitors Location Properties Rooms Lowest Rate * OHANA Waikiki 13 4564 $76 Marc Resorts Waikiki 4 314 $74 Castle Resorts Waikiki 6 N/A $75 * Rates for comparable rooms as they appear on the company website, December 2004, for January stays CONDOMINIUMS CUSTOMERS Two types of customers typically stayed at the condominiums. On the low end of the $90,000 to $160,000 income bracket were families visiting during school breaks, looking to control expenses, and control their vacation experience. They valued the full kitchen – a standard in every unit – and the two bedrooms and two baths. This assessment was substantiated by the fact that condos had four times as many reservations coming direct from the Internet and tended to recover faster after a soft economy. On the upper end were ‘newlyweds’ and ‘nearly dead’ couples who liked the privacy and space afforded by a condo. Because of the need to convince individual owners to join the pool of Outrigger managed units, the firm competed with small local management companies and individual owners’ beliefs that they could do a better job alone. This idiosyncrasy of condominium operations amounted to dealing with two customers—the unit owners and the guests. The guests were unaware of the workings of condo operations and looked for the same level of service they would receive at a resort. On average, a condominium with mostly two bedroom units would achieve an ADR around $175, while properties with mostly studio and one bedroom units would go for around $140. Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 109 MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION Outrigger operated a Central Reservation Office (CRO) in Denver, Colorado with anywhere from 40 to 70 reservationists (FTEs), mainly depending on the volume of business. A corporate marketing staff of 12 people, allocated about 6% of revenue, was responsible for managing the brand and for going to market. An additional 2% of revenue was used to fund reservation and other distribution costs. Reservations were centralized for all properties in Hawaii; beyond Hawaii reservations were only taken at each property. Outrigger’s executives believed that distribution was a cornerstone of the company’s success, with about 50% of the business coming from wholesalers. Consumer direct (via voice or the Web), travel agents, government and military, and corporate clients made up the rest. For international properties, the source of business percentage from wholesalers was close to 80% and almost all reservations were faxed to the property. V. OUTRIGGER’S ORGANIZATION Outrigger Hotels and Resorts was a management company wholly owned by a holding corporation called Outrigger Enterprises. Reflecting its real estate development roots, Outrigger Enterprises also owned a real estate ownership company called Outrigger Properties. Figure 4 shows the Outrigger organization. Figure 4. Organization Chart Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 110 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Outrigger Properties wrote and managed real estate contracts with third party owners and supervised the owned assets (accounting for about a third of all properties in the Outrigger portfolio), as well as the development, acquisition, and sale of properties. Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, the operating arm of Outrigger Enterprises, was responsible for the writing of new management contracts, and for overseeing property renovations and operations of the managed hotels, resorts, and condos. Outrigger Properties generally negotiated a base rent and a 3 percentage of revenue with tenants; revenues from leased space were assigned to the hosting property’s own PL. Room revenue made up the bulk of each property’s revenue. Income from leased space ranged from as low as 5% in hotels with little retail space to as high as 20% in some of the most appealing locations. Other more marginal revenue was derived from parking, in-room entertainment, telecommunications, and kids’ clubs operations. Outrigger Hotels and Resorts historically maintained a highly centralized organizational structure. As the firm grew in size and geographical distribution a more distributed structure emerged, but, reflecting its roots, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts remained consolidated where possible. We have centralized services – accounting, IT, finance, engineering, purchasing, special projects – that support all the properties on Oahu, as well as indirectly the neighboring islands. There is also one executive housekeeper in charge of all properties. We run the OHANA Hotels like a 4,200 room distributed hotel. It is very efficient. Chuck Shishido As the firm expanded internationally it became more decentralized, with resorts in the Pacific Rim working much more like independent operations and organized like traditional resorts. Recognizing the significant advantages offered by its centralized structure, Outrigger was looking at the possibility of integrating its international resorts better. However, distance presented new challenges: We need a reservation solution for Australia, a real-time coordination with a central reservation service. They are operated as individual hotels; the central 800 number today is just switched to the correct hotel. A centralized system would offer tremendous value because we get drive-in business and substantial potential cross-property traffic. Executive VP and COO Perry Sorenseon, VI. OUTRIGGER IT INFRASTRUCTURE Joe Durocher, the CIO of Outrigger Enterprises, was hired by David Carey in 1986. Mr. Roy Kelly was a hands-on manager. He once told me he hated two things: computers and vice presidents. As the VP of IT, I had two strikes against me. Yet, in 1986 I was brought in to overhaul Outrigger’s IT infrastructure and we built Stellex—our integrated CRS/PMS. At the time all our properties were in Waikiki, within one square mile of each other. Joe Durocher In this type of agreement the landlord receives a fixed payment plus a percentage of the total sales made by the tenant business (e. g. , restaurant, shop). 4 The CRS, Central Reservation System, is the computer system used by a hotel chain to support call center operations and, generally, its web site. The CRS holds chain-wide inventory and allows reservationists to sell room inventory at all the hotels affiliated with the chain. The PMS, Property Management System, is the â€Å"brain† of hotel operations. It is the computer system that is used to manage the inventory of hotel rooms at an individual property. 3 Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 111 Figure 5. Timeline of Major Infrastructure Developments at Outrigger OUTRIGGER’S SOFTWARE Stellex, to which Durocher refers, was introduced in 1987 as a COBOL application that guaranteed complete redundancy and 24 x 365 uptime. These two properties are particularly important in the hotel business, which depends on being able to make reservations at any time during the day and wants to make sure that its computer system is always operational. For the technically minded, the application ran on a Tandem NonStop platform and a proprietary Enscribe database management system. 5 In 1992, Outrigger introduced its first major update to Stellex, Stellex 2. 0, which ran on a Sun Microsystems UNIX platform and provided revenue management functionality and reservation center support. Because of its unique need for substantial wholesale interaction, Outrigger engaged Opus, a software company specializing on revenue management systems,6 to build their revenue management module for Stellex 2. 0. Outrigger retained control of Opus’ source code7 and over the years made substantial enhancements, mainly to manage wholesale relationships. Outrigger implemented JD Edwards ERP as the cornerstone of its back-office operations in 1990, years before the ERP craze swept the business world. JD Edwards ran on an IBM AS 400—widely considered to be a mature and stable platform. The firm felt that its centralized IT infrastructure was a source of competitive advantage. Durocher discussed the trade-offs associated with centralized IT: Decentralizing IT would decrease our capabilities while increasing overall costs. But centralized IT creates friction at times. When a hotel is sold for example, the IT allocation may increase for other properties. 8 Joe Durocher Stellex provided the anchor to which all other operational systems connected, including telephone switches, call accounting, and in-room entertainment. All of the properties in the Hawaiian Islands had access to Outrigger’s centralized IT systems, served from the Honolulu-based data center, through the firm’s proprietary Wide Area Network. Stellex, for example, was accessed using an ASP model by all the properties in the Hawaiian Islands, the firm’s Denver-based Central Reservation Office, and the Portland, Oregon-based Web servers, thereby greatly simplifying the achievement of single image inventory, disaster recovery, and overall IT management. This configuration enabled the properties to operate with PCs (as few as 12 in a 5 Tandem Computer Systems was bought up by Compaq in 1997. Compaq, in turn was purchased by HP. Enscribe is still in business in December 2004. 6 Opus was subsequently bought by Micros-Fidelio, the dominant hospitality-focused software company. 7 ‘Source code’ refers to the original, human readable computer program. By owning it, Outrigger could change it as they saw fit. Note that Microsoft, for example, guards its source code jealously so that others can’t change Microsoft’s programs. 8 In many companies, such as Outrigger, IT costs are allocated to users, such as hotels, on an annual basis. IT cost is relatively fixed and not affected much by the number of units it supports. If a property is sold, the fixed cost allocated to all other properties must therefore go up. Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 112 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 Figure 6. Outriggers IT Infrastructure typical 500-room property) and networking equipment. The Point of Sales (POS) systems9 were not centralized, since Outrigger leased retail and restaurant space. This state of affairs generated some friction at times: The POS is the computer software used to support retail and restaurant operations. It enables operators to keep track of sales and accurately bill customers. Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 113 We offer to interface their POSs to Stellex and pay for interfaces to automate room charges. But many of those POS ar e old and can’t interface, they must be upgraded first. Restaurants have to write a manual charge voucher and walk it to the front desk for input. It’s not a popular or efficient way to do it. VP of Property Technology, Allen White Due to the need for local support, the high telecommunication costs to and from Hawaii, and the unacceptable reliability of international networks, Outrigger did not extend this centralized model to its operations in Australia and the Pacific. The properties in Australia and New Zealand, all condominiums, used a highly specialized PMS particularly well suited for their condominium properties and their unique tax code requirements. None of the properties in Hawaii has a server on property. In the outer regions we have standalone PMS’s and on-property reservations. We don’t even try to keep Stellex in sync, they just open and close. If a date is getting full, they issue a stop-sell. Reservations that are taken centrally are automatically emailed. Joe Durocher APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT Beyond maintaining and upgrading Stellex, Outrigger’s IT professionals engaged in minimal application development—mainly writing customized reports, and configuring and interfacing offthe-shelf applications. The use of outsourcing was limited to the Web site, developed and hosted by a third party in Portland, Oregon. Yet, in order to maintain the integration of direct channels, Stellex served as the booking engine behind Outrigger’s Web site. A key initiative for Outrigger was the development of electronic interfaces with wholesalers. These interfaces were customdeveloped by the firm’s IT group using XML. 10 With many wholesalers we have real-time electronic interfaces—they can check availability and we get their reservations instantaneously. Without the interface, if they create a reservation six or three months out, we don’t see it until reporting time, ten days out, when we receive a fax and manually input it. It is virtually impossible to revenue manage like that. Many big brands have great revenue management systems, but don’t have real-time wholesaler data. Moreover, we can write wholesale contracts brand-wide. Joe Durocher Outrigger felt that its electronic interfaces afforded it a competitive advantage and preferential treatment from interface-enabled wholesalers, a relationship that proved particularly important during slow periods or a soft economy. Electronic interfaces generated substantial efficiencies, including automatic billing and invoicing without human handling, lowering estimated costs for these functions to $0. 75 from an estimated $10 for manually handled ones. But not all wholesalers were able or interested in automating reservation processing. This lack of interest was particularly true for small operations or those for whom Hawaii and the Pacific represented a small percentage of business. The industry is a mess from a connectivity standpoint. We are fortunate that we have the in-house expertise and the recognition from senior management of how important this is. Even the big companies often don’t understand the conditions for success. The dirty little secret of the travel industry is that the fax machine still rules. Rob Solomon 10 XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. It is a language used to create a protocol enabling computer applications of partnering firms to exchange information easily. Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli 114 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005) 102-118 I spend 30-40 hours a week working with wholesalers on interfaces. There are many legacy systems out there; the fax is state of the art. We have made great progress with the more advance wholesalers or those that upgraded recently. Alan White Outrigger found the Open Travel Alliance (OTA) XML standards, specifying common message format and common content, of great help. But being able to pick the right partner, and avoid costly failures, remained the major challenge. While Outrigger felt it had been successful to date, with an estimated 33% of total reservations received electronically through the various channels, it still handled more than half a million faxes a year—about eight hundred a day from its largest wholesaler alone before that wholesaler migrated to the electronic interface. The firm felt that it had been able to capitalize on the use of technology to increase distribution efficiencies in the face of ever rising labor costs. Conversion rates at the Central Reservation Office improved from 20% to 45%-50% with widespread consumer adoption of the Internet. The firm estimated that as much as 60% of callers had already researched the Outrigger website and made a purchase decision but, as Solomon put it, â€Å"had one more question. † In an effort to provide support right on the website, the firm introduced live chat functionalities and offered email confirmation for significant savings in labor and postage costs. DATA MANAGEMENT In 2001, Outrigger acquired business intelligence software, a data mart, and analytical tools from 11 E. piphany running on a Windows 2000 platform. The data mart held detailed data for three years, enabling analysis down to the individual guest folio. Data were consolidated afterwards, enabling only aggregate analyses. While E. piphany was a recent purchase, Outrigger had been disciplined in collecting data for some time. We had 10 years of high quality data from Stellex; we are very rigid about data capture standardization like room category, naming conventions, request codes, [and] what goes where. For example, postal and country codes are mandatory fields. Our employees’ long tenure helps, and peer pressure is a great asset— nobody wants to be the one that ruins the value of these reports for all. Alan White The data collected by Stellex, including source of business, stay information, and consumption, were extracted every night by load programs that scrubbed (i. e. , cleaned) them, and transferred them to the JD Edwards ERP system for accounting and to the E. piphany system for analysis. Feeding historical data and forward looking availability and reservation activity, Outrigger learned to harness the analytical power of E. piphany to do forecasts and generate business intelligence both at the source of business and at guest levels. We want the marketing data. It is stupid to have a treasure trove like that and not use it. We mine it. We send thank you letters to recurring guests, we can give you history on who visited, how they got here, what in-flight magazine we should hit. We sold a resort once and they figured they would have to hire 3 people to achieve manually what our reports gave them automatically. They even set their rates based on E. piphany forecasts. Alan White The IT group served as custodian of the data, but any user with security clearance had access to E. piphany data though a web interface; the data was used for marketing and operational analysis (e. g. , analysis of call patterns to evaluate the appeal of Voice over IP solutions). Incorporating the information into daily operations was more challenging. Definitions of technical terms such as Business Intelligence, Data Mart, Data Mining, and many others used throughout this case study can be found free of charge at http://www. whatis. com. 11 Outrigger Hotel and Resorts: A Case Study by G. Piccoli Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2005)102-118 115 Outrigger found it hard to justify a frequent guest program—with an average repurchase cycle for returning guests of three years, a once a year purchase was considered very high in Hawaii resort operations. Speaking about recognition programs, Individual properties have their own customer database and a strong informal recognition system. We haven’t been able to justify the investment technologically to do it brand wide. It would be a natural extension of the recognition we give our return guests, but it must be cost-effective. Perry Sorenson If a guest did not tell us he is returning when making the reservation, our current system does not have a database with guest history. Many times we recognize our frequent return guests only at the door, or during check in at the front desk. We have special programs (e. g. , for honeymooners, wedding anniversaries), but we need to know their history to appropriately acknowledge these returning guests. VP of Operations for Outrigger’s Waikiki Beachfront Hotels Kimberly Agas, a 20 year veteran with the company, IT STAFFING AND ORGANIZATION Outrigger’s IT staff consisted of 26 full time employees. Of these, 4 data entry operators and 3 developers were housed in a separate limited liability company to help Outrigger take advantage of tax incentives offered by the state of Hawaii.