Tourism management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tourism management - Essay Example Smallness of state can be a source of comparative advantage and this has been proved in the case of two states like Dubai and Bermuda. Destinations that enjoy an international monopoly on a given tourism attraction are said to have absolute advantage (Vellas, 2007). This can be in the form of natural resources or historical heritage sites which cannot be enjoyed elsewhere. This is absolute advantage but at time in smaller destinations the absolute advantage is difficult because of poor economic development. Comparative advantage on the other hand refers to the conditions for producing tourism services. Many countries have abundant workforce and low labor costs. Since the tourism sector is labor intensive any countries enjoy comparative advantage as they can offer tourism services at competitive rates. This enables them to increase their share of world tourism market. If a country has an absolute advantage in relation to another in products that both commercialize in, then if one country chooses to specialize in one product in which it has a comparative advantage, then this country stands to gain. The development of tourism has been a boon for small economies and in some cases the sole source of comparative advantage of small island economies (Mehmet & Tahiroglu, 2002). Bermuda emerged as a tourism sector as it could successfully exploit the ability to take advantage of the climate and location. It attained rapid development and prosperity through tourism. It does not have any regional trading link or industrial capacity but it has proximity to the rich markets in North America. This advantage helped it to gain the strongest comparative advantage in the region. There are other Caribbean islands endowed with similar climatic and locational advantages but they could not achieve the gain that Bermuda could. Bermuda is not a part of the Caribbean but an island which is an overseas territory of the UK. Its dramatic coastline stretches

Personal Leadership Plan Essay Example for Free

Personal Leadership Plan Essay Aspiring to be a Life Coach upon receiving my degree in Human Services, I have chosen to write about the roles of Life Coaches and a projected practice I aspire to one day develop or be a part of. Throughout this personal leadership plan, I will include keys points of interest of a Life Coach; objectives, values, and ethics I personally feel should be incorporated, as well as the role ethics play within the profession of Life Coaching. Coaches work in a variety of specializations (such as personal/life and corporate/business) in order to help their clients. Coaches are specifically trained in coaching through a school or mentor coach, and use/incorporate their individual life experience in their practice. Although each coach measures their progress differently, achievement is always measured by progress made by the coaches’ clients. Due to the personal nature of most coaching relationships, this Ethics Code provides the framework and values upon which professional coaches, base their practice. The purposes of this Code are threefold. First, it provides the broad principles and values to which coaches subscribe. These include confidentiality and the utmost concern for the welfare and success of the client. Secondly, it provides rules for coaches to use in many of the specific situations that a coach might encounter. Finally, this Code is meant to serve as a building block for the ethical and moral standards of coaches. While each individual coach agrees to follow this Code, they are encouraged to supplement and add to it in order to build a lifelong commitment to building an ethical workplace and profession. -Objectives- The primary objective of my life coaching practice would be as follows: 1. Provide a means for individual students and clients to evaluate their own ethical standards and behaviors and make adjustments if necessary to meet the established standards. 2. Provide a means for participants of the life coaching practice programs to evaluate the standards and practices used by their students and clients and to validate that participants are receiving professional and ethically soun d training  and development. 3. Provide a means for the life coaching practice to evaluate the standards and behaviors of students and clients to ensure a high ethical standard is being met. 4. Provide a means to educate the public and to promote the high ethical standards practiced by members of the life coaching practice. -Values- The profession of Life Coaching holds respect for the worth, dignity and capability of every human being as its primary value. Therefore, my life coaching practice shall not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, color, language, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, physical and mental ability, economic condition or national ancestry. Furthermore, they shall work towards preventing and eliminating such discrimination in rendering service, in work assignments and in employment practices. The profession of Life Coaching affirms that all people have the right to well-being. In addition, all people have the right to learn the skills necessary for the development of human relationships and that each person has the right to self-determination with due regard to the rights of others. -Purpose for Code of Ethics- †¢ To define accepted/acceptable behaviors; †¢ To promote high standards of practice; †¢ To provide a benchmark for visitors, members and students to use for self evaluation; †¢ To establish a framework for professional behavior and responsibilities; †¢ As a vehicle for personal identity; †¢ As a mark of personal maturity; -Responsibility of Confidentiality- The commitment to confidentiality fosters open communication and is essential to effective Life Coaching work. Concerns about privacy and confidential matters can arise throughout the entire professional relationship. -Responsibility to Self- In private life or professional activity, an individual of the Life Coaching practices behavior reflects upon the profession as a whole. -Responsibility to Group and Individuals- Life Coaches should recognize their primary professional responsibility under all circumstances is to the  group and individuals they are serving. Life Coaches should recognize that they bear a considerable social responsibility because their recommendations and professional actions influence the lives of others. -Responsibility to the Profession- The Life Skills profession has a public responsibility to provide competent coaching services. Therefore, individual Life Coaches are encouraged to support and uphold ethical standards and behavior.   -Responsibility to the Community- As Life Coaches are viewed as role models in the communities in which they live and serve, their integrity and behavior reflect upon the profession as a whole. In closing, the profession of Life Coaching is one in which is rich with ethical and moral influence. It should be the Life Coaches primary concern and intent to deliver the utmost level of ethically, morally, and lawfully driven and derived advice and assistance to each and every client he/she works with. It is important to remember, that all lives deserve and have the right to receive the same level of value and respect. It is also vital to remember everyone is an individual, and should be treated as such. Each client as well as the past and present situations they have/are experiencing are unique, therefore there is not just one way to coach all clients.

How to Achieve World Domination :: Process Essays Dominating Essays

How to Achieve World Domination Are you tired of the grind? Do you long for easier days? Do you grow weary of lesser people who have struggled to the top and are now telling you what to do? Are you out of high school or soon will be? Are you mad all the time? If you answered yes to these questions you may be ready to embark on the job of a lifetime, a no holds barred quest to fulfill your every desire. But wait! It's not just a job; it's complete and total control over a select group of people. In this high tech fast paced rewarding career you not only get to subserviate those around you into whimpering masses, but also get to see your dreams come to fruition through long and complicated acts of deviousness. Beautiful buxom women will flock to you and your new-found power. You'll have confidence, no stress and the perks of dealing harshly with what bugs you will lead you to a life of fulfillment and relief and many nights of peaceful slumber knowing that those who you once held in disrespect you now hold in the palm of your hands. What is this hallowed of hallowed jobs that will prove once and for all who is the alpha male? What is this rewarding path that will show you the country and get your demands met at the same time? The push of a button could reap you millions in cash. Leaders will tremble at your name. If you have what it takes: an iron fist, a will of steel or even buns of cinnamon, you too can be a part of the booming field of brand new despots. Act fast, uproot your life and follow these tips, and you too can become AN EVIL OVERLORD! GETTING STARTED Lesson one- Do it for yourself! You may have seen recent movies in which actors have portrayed "Evil" doctors, leaders, and even flat out thugs. But as all things out of Hollywood, these stories are tainted with the capitalist greed that makes for a good movie. Strangely the very people who are giving us these "outlandish" characters are the people whom we can turn to for prime examples of underhanded dealings and a lack of decency which all-good evil leaders posses. They are right, their characters are wrong. These film villains are always beaten; they usually lack an air of class, and furthermore are many times out for simple money or a bleeding heart special cause.

“Aladdin” Positive And Negative Essay

Would you want your child to see a film like â€Å"Aladdin,† that may be just a harmless cartoon or a dangerous brain washer? There are positive messages and negative messages about each gender, some of the messages may get mixed together in a child’s mind making right versus wrong confusing for the young child. A positive example for men is when genie tells Aladdin to tell the truth. An example of a negative message about men is when Aladdin is trying to act â€Å"macho† as the prince. For women a positive message is to stand up for your self. A negative message is the exaggerated body figures and sizes. With all the positive and negative images from â€Å"Aladdin† in a young child’s head it may be hard for he or she to figure out what is good or bad. In â€Å"Aladdin† there are messages that children should see because they promote a good idea. For example, when Aladdin decided to use his last wish to free Genie it shows that men can show affection to other men. Nowadays, you always see men fighting and battling, but never showing any love for each other it is good to see that they are showing little children it is okay to have love. It shows children that it’s okay to act â€Å"soft,† you don’t always have to wear the tough guy image. Another good message is when Aladdin finally tells the truth to Jasmine, the message is that honesty is the best policy. It tells kids that lying and lying makes it even harder to finally tell the truth. It is one of the classic lessons that says telling the truth is always best because it saves you from more trouble in the end. A great message about men in â€Å"Aladdin† is that men should respect women, like when the first thing Aladdin mentions when describing Jasmine is her smarts not something shallow like her attractiveness. It shows kids that there is more than just looks in a human being you have to go deeper than the skin to find true beauty. It teaches children that caring for people regardless of looks or appearance is important. The positive messages give a good image for children to remember to tell the truth, or treat someone with respect. With the positive messages of men there are also confusing negative messages about men for young children. When Aladdin lies to everyone about being a prince it doesn’t help him in his relationships because everyone loves him as a prince. Children believe that to get what they want all they need to do  is lie. Children will not understand that lying can get you in more trouble than telling the truth. Another negative message is when Aladdin tries to play the â€Å"cool, tough and confident† prince. It shows kids that if you really want to be something cool you must act like something you aren’t. It seems hard enough for children to find their own identity and this message doesn’t help because it gives them the idea that cool is a certain thing. One of the most absurd messages is that Jafar is shown tall, thin, dark and has a very deep voice. This is bad because kids may think that all dark people are evil which is a horrible idea of racism. Children should not see the color of an evil but just as the evil, skin color should not be related. Although there are positive messages there are negative messages about men. For the women in â€Å"Aladdin† there are positive messages that young girls should see. For example, Jasmine chooses not to marry any prince that her father, the sultan, brings to her. This shows that girls can stand up for themselves and hold their own when faced with critical situations, like forced marriage. In cartoons you usually see the women dependent on a rich male, it is good to see that in cartoons women are shown as strong characters. Another example of a positive message for women is when Jasmine trusts Aladdin and Aladdin as a prince. It shows how women are trustworthy and can be trusted. It also shows that trust is an important aspect of love. When Jasmine refuses to marry any rich handsome man that is brought to her it shows she is not shallow. This shows how a women can make a living on her own with out the help of a huge paycheck and a man. It also shows that there is more to love than good looks, there are deeper attractions than only looks. The positive mes sages are good for young girls to see. Although there are positive messages about women in â€Å"Aladdin† there are also dangerous messages. When Jasmine is to help Aladdin get the lamp back from Jafar, she uses very seductive and sexual movements to try and succeed in doing what she wants. It is scary to think that in a child’s cartoon there are messages of selling your body to get what you want. This is dangerous because a girl may begin acting sexually at a very early age and unknowingly. Although Princess Jasmine stood up for herself she is also dependent on men during certain situations. After all these years women  should be shown separately from men as individual humans. A young girl may think that the only way for her to succeed is with a man to help her. All throughout the movie all of the â€Å"pretty† girls are big eyed, have tiny feet, have full chests and are skinny as their necks while the â€Å"ugly† girls are shown gigantic. A girl always wants to be pretty and if by being pretty it means extremely skinny, then she may associate ugly with food and eating disorders may develop. This message seems as though it was made to discourage children and they may become very saddened over something that is not their fault. With all the different messages given to children through the carton â€Å"Aladdin you can see how it may be confusing to the child about negative and positive. This film shows positive messages and negative messages about men and women. Because the movie has so many descriptions of good and bad the child may get confused about what to do in real life situation.

Media Coursework Of Mice & Men Essay

Of Mice & Men is a very poignant, appealing and insightful novella as well as film. It is a very powerful and emotional piece, which studies the themes of nature, dreams, violence, friendship, suffering, loneliness and more. The author, John Steinbeck, produced this fascinating novella in 1937, yet the film which was produced by Gary Sinise (who played George), was published in 1992. In America, in 1929, The Wall Street Crash occurred which led to The Depression in 1930. Both the novella and film are based around those two events, as John Steinbeck used his experiences from life in California, as background for Of Mice and Men. For example, Of Mice and Men is set in the farmland of the Salinas River, where Mr. Steinbeck himself was born. Using information from not just only my knowledge, I will illustrate the differences between the film and novella of this popular piece. The novel is told from the point of view of a third-person, who can access the point of view of any character as required by the narrative. Chapter one begins by unfolding the setting near Salinas River, the place in which the novella takes place. As a reader, you are introduced to the beautiful atmosphere that is exemplified by the writer. Mr. Steinbeck immediately describes the scenery and the animals in their natural surroundings. He uses illustrious description for the audience to imagine that they are present in this peaceful area. Many literary terms are used within the text such as a 3 part lists: â€Å"molted, white, recumbent limbs..†, poetic imagery: â€Å"golden foothill slopes† and â€Å"the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them† as well as different tones: â€Å"hillside†¦deep and green†, â€Å"twinkling†¦yellow sands†. Steinbeck refers to the colour green as it represents nature, and yellow as it refers to light; this type of text is used to show the readers how idyllic the setting is. Intrigued by how lovely the atmosphere is, readers don’t take notice of the absence of people. As the writer gives us an idea of how the animals express themselves, and how they live in this serene place they call home, we are suddenly introduced to the two main characters of the novel. In beginning his novel with such emphasis on the setting, Steinbeck accomplishes numerous goals. He sets the tone and the atmosphere of the story’s location, introduces his two main characters, uses imagery which has been previously stated, and foreshadows later events in the novel. The attention to his choice of words and repetition are just two examples of how he accomplishes his goals such as: drawing the reader’s attention, intriguing them, wanting them to continue reading. For example, the setting is a few miles south of Soledad, California, near the Salinas River. â€Å"Soledad† is a Spanish word that translates into ‘solitude’ or ‘loneliness’, a reference to one of the novel’s main themes. Steinbeck also shows the relationship between George and Lennie, and the attitude in which they behold, by the use of effective descriptive writing. In terms of the style of narration, third-person omniscient is used to provide us, the readers, with information, including all actions that take place within the novel. By way of contrast, the first shot of the film is very dramatic. It begins with George vividly emerging from a dark spot on the train, due to flashing lights. This is shown from a close-up shot. Not long after, shot two begins with a land appearance. A woman who is unknown to the audience emerges, running and screaming with all her might through a field, as she seems appallingly frightened. This gives the audience a sense of contemplation, questioning the condition of herself, as well as her predicament. At the same time, you start to see both George and Lennie, the two main characters, rapidly running away from a group of men, some on horses’ backs and others on foot having dogs by their side. The camera shot used within those scenes was crosscutting. In this case, it is the edit of two shots combined. The advantage of crosscutting is that the tension within the audience is increased. Viewers would continue to question what’s going on, as they are not aware of subsequent events. Although a close up and crosscutting scene is applied in the beginning, within the film, a consistence of mainly straight-on angle shots is visible. Unlike the novel, the film shows the viewer what things look like from the characters point of view, visually, rather than having to imagine everything. Due to less emphasis on written language, the film eliminates many characteristics of the novel. The continuation of viewers watching the film depends on the visualized picture; the action, the suspense, the music, ect. Throughout the beginning, heart-racing types of melodies begin to play. Percussion and string instruments are heard within the music to give an â€Å"I wonder what’s going to happen now†- effect. The atmosphere becomes tenser as a build up is developed and the music volume rises. The camera gradually zoomed back and forth during the film to focus on the character or background. Although it is merely only the opening of the film, as shown by these two extracts, there could already be a tense atmosphere within the audience’s perspective, as well as their attention span being drawn towards the film in a stronger manner. Evidentially, you can see that both the film and text differ immensely. Personally, I believe the film producer chose to differ the opening of the novella, to attract the audience making them intrigued, wanting to watch the film and wonder what happens next. The display of George being on a train with no meaning to the viewers in his first appearance, or the screaming from the mysterious woman, captivates the audience. In my opinion, the film gives more of an effect to the audience, simply because the novella only creates images in a person’s mind, while the film gives an unsolved, puzzled thought. The movie would attract individuals who like a bit of mystery and suspense, unlike the novella which would draw attention more to the civil, passive type of audience.

Diffusion Essays - Membrane Biology, Cell Biology, Diffusion

Diffusion Essays - Membrane Biology, Cell Biology, Diffusion Diffusion 1. a) Bulk movement is the overall movement of a fluid. The molecules all move in the same direction. Diffusion however is the random movement of molecules which usually results in a fairly even distribution. In other words the movement is not guaranteed to move in one direction but the probability that it will move in the lower gradient is greater. Osmosis is similar to diffusion but is differentiated by the membrane's behavior. The cell membrane does allow water to move from higher to lower concentrations but does not allow solutes do that. b) Water potential is the capacity of water to move to a from a region where there is high water potential to low water potential. This action happens without the affect of outside forces. When outside actions due occur and they give water a high potential energy than the water will move to the region where less potential energy is. Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure required to stop water the movement of water. This is a method of measurement. The osmotic potential is the measure of tendency of water to move through a membrane which contains a solution. This occurs when a cell does not allow a hypertonic solution to leave the cell membrane. The cell begins to increase with water but the cell membrane can not release the solution and thus the water potential within the cell increases. This causes the water to no longer enter the cell. c) Hypotonic is less solute to a certain amount of water. Hypertonic is more solute to a certain amount of water. Isotonic is the equal amount of solutes in two different solutions. d) Endocytosis is the inward bulge causes by incoming molecules. Exocytosis is the expelling of a material outside a cell. e) Phagocytosis is the process where the cell obtains solid matter. This is different from the pinocytosis where the cell obtains liquid matter. These both are endocytic processes. Receptor-mediated endocytosis is the process where there are interactions between a material and receptor sites on the cell. In this process the cell accepts the material if it matches with the receptor sites. f) Coated pits are areas which peripheral proteins indent the membrane. This is where the vesicles for certain materials are formed. The vesicle which is formed is called the coated vesicle. g) Plasmodesmata are the links which hold two adjacent cells together. Gap junctions are the channels which allow materials to flow between cells. 2. The concentration gradient is the difference in the density of a material from one region to another region. The concentration gradient affects diffusion by allowing the substance to flow from high concentration to low concentration. The concentration gradient affects osmosis by the same manner it does in diffusion. The cell does not allow the solution to exit the cell when water is entering. This keeps the solution in the cell making the concentration high and thus no further penetration of water. 4. Diffusion is more rapid in gases because they are less dense than liquids. They repel each other more resulting in faster diffusion. Diffusion is greater at higher temperatures because of the greater kinetic energy among the molecules. They push each other more making them less dense. 5. The concentration of the solute is 1%. This happens because a 1% sugar solution is isotonic with that of the 1% sugar solution in the tubes. The 2% sugar solution was increased because the substance was hypertonic. The membrane did not allow the hypertonic solution to exit because the pressure from the hypotonic solution was forcing water in. This later reached an equilibrium when the hypertonic solution was gaining water potential and the water stopped rising. The vice versa happened in the distilled water solution.

The Inspection Of Marriott Hotel Property In Anaheim Tourism Essay Essay Example

The Inspection Of Marriott Hotel Property In Anaheim Tourism Essay Essay Example The Inspection Of Marriott Hotel Property In Anaheim Tourism Essay Essay The Inspection Of Marriott Hotel Property In Anaheim Tourism Essay Essay We are group two who did the review of Marriott Hotel belongings in Anaheim, California. The group consists of three members instead than five because of the deficient sum of pupils. Our group member names are Jake Kim, Jason Nam, and Parda Anthony Phung. This Marriott Hotel was a Convention Hotel that provided largely for concern groups, convention events, and leisure travellers they still provided hospitable service. The individual we made an assignment with was the director of the Human Resources Department, Karen Kretschmer. The day of the month she provided us to run into at was March 4th, Friday 2011 at 10:30 A.M. In our meeting, Karen gave us a elaborate circuit of how the hotel was organized and how it functions, get downing from the check-in desk to the belowground behind-the-scene sections of technology, accounting, and wash, etc. Besides, she was nice plenty to take us up to the 19th floor to demo us the hip ( as Karen would state ) and neatly fashioned suite that happ ened to be fortunately available that twenty-four hours. Not merely did the Marriott seem like a ace topographic point to remain for the dark, but the environment, whether it be employees or other invitees provided a comfy and safe ambiance. My statement is proof that Marriott is wining in their mission which states: To win in service by proactively offering clients the most valuable aid, information and support in a uniquely warm and lovingness mode. Introduction- Marriott International John Willard Marriott was born at Marriott Settlement, Utah, on September 17, 1900, the second of eight kids of Hyrum Willard Marriott and Ellen Morris Marriott. As a kid, J.W. Marriott helped his male parent run his household s farmstead raising sugar Beta vulgariss. By the age of 13, J.W. Marriott went into concern for himself raising boodle on a few estates on his household s farm. His first summer crop brought in $ 2000. Upon graduating Weber Junior College and the University of Utah, J.W. Marriot opened up a nine-stool root beer base with his wife-to-be, Alice Sheets in 1927. The root beer bases in which they subsequently called The Hot Shoppes was built in Northwest Washington D.C. A After his concern launched, J.W. Marriott went back to Utah to get married his lover Alice Sheet on June 9, 1927 in Salt Lake City. A The Hot Shoppes began to spread out around 1934, and in 1937, the Airline catering concern begins at Hoover Field where the Pentagon is presently built on. The division was named In-Flite Catering and served Capital, Eastern, and American Airlines ( Marriott ) . A It was nt until 1945, that the Hot Shoppe Cafeteria landed its first authorities feeding contract, and In-Flite Catering landed its first airport terminus food-service contract at Miami International Airport. A During World War II, the Hot Shoppes feeds 1000s of workers who move to the state s capital to work in the defence industry ( Marriott ) . In 1957, Marriott opens its first hotel, the 365-room Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Marriott Food Service lands its first institutional and school eating contracts at Children s Hospital and American University ; Marriott s Highway Division opens several Hot Shoppes on the New Jersey Turnpike ( Marriott ) . Around that clip, Marriott s stock was opened to the populace at a rate of $ 10.25 a portion, which sold out in a clip span of two hours. Around 1964 and 1965, J.W. Marriott Jr. was made the President, and the Marriott Foundation was established. A Somewhere in between 1967 and 1969, the corporate name was changed from Hot Shoppe Inc. to the Marriott Corporation ( Marriott ) . A The company so opened the Fairfield Farm Kitchens, which was a nutrient production and buying installation in Beaver Heights, Maryland. The In-Flite so opened a installation in Venezuela, and Marriott acquired Camelback Inn, which was its first resort belongings. A The Marriott Found ation besides bought Bob s Large Boy Restaurants, and the Marriott s 1st international hotel opened up in Acapulco, Mexico. In the 1970 s, J.W. Marriott Jr. was made the CEO the Marriott Foundation, and obtained its first hotel-management contracts. In 1975 and 1976, the company opened its first European hotel in Amsterdam, and besides opened up two subject Parkss, both called Great America, located in Santa Clara, California, and Gurnee, Illinois ( Marriott ) . In 1977, the company celebrated in 50th day of remembrance, and the new corporate central office was built in Bethesda, Maryland in 1979. By the 1980s, the company began to boom significantly. The Marriott Foundation opened its hundredth hotel in Hawaii, and besides opened its 1st Courtyard hotel. The company acquired Host International Inc. in 1982, and entered the holiday time-share and senior-living markets in 1984. 1985 was a sad twelvemonth for the company because it was the twelvemonth that J. Willard Marriott Sr. passed off. In the same twelvemonth, The Marriott Distribution Center opened in Savage, Maryland. By the late 80s, The Company acquired the Residence Inn Company and entered the lower-moderate housing section with Fairfield Inn. They besides opened their five-hundredth hotel in Warsaw, Poland, which was merely eight old ages after their hundredth hotel opened. In the same twelvemonth that the five-hundredth hotel opened, the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities was established. By the 1900s, the Marriott Foundation began to spread out significantly. During the early 90s, the Marriott s Welfare to Work Program was established, but in 1993, the company spitted up into the Marriot International and the Host Marriott Corporation. In 1995, the Marriott acquired the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and in 1997, the Marriott acquired the Renaissance Hotel group, and introduces TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Suites, and Marriott Executive Residences trade names. 1998 was a large twelvemonth for the Marriott because it opened its 1,500th hotel, and its gross revenues reached $ 8 billion. Besides in 1998, The Sodexho Alliance acquired the Marriott s nutrient service and facilities-management concerns, and the Marriott acquired 98 % of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. By the terminal of the 90s, the Marriott acquired the ExecuStay Corporation lodging company. In the twelvemonth 2000, the 2,000th Marriott belongings opened in Tampa, Florida. In 2002, the Marriott celebrated its seventy-fifth day of remembrance, and by this clip they owned over 2,300 hotels, 156 Living Services Communities, 200,000 associates, and operations in 63 states and districts with one-year gross revenues of $ 20 billion ( Marriott ) . In the same twelvemonth, the Marriott announced the sale by-product of its Senior Living Services Communities and Marriott Distribution Services. The Marriott opened its five-hundredth extended-stay hotel, stand foring a sum of 400 Residence Inns and 100 TownePlace Suites and the Fairfield Inn besides opened its five-hundredth hotel in Arkansas. Besides in the twelvemonth 2002, the Marriott opened its 2,550th hotel worldwide, and completed the 950-room Desert Ridge Resort A ; Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. By this clip the Marriott had increased its North American market by 8 % . In 2003, the Marriott grosss totaled $ 9 billion in 2003 and $ 476 million in gross net incomes. Marriott added more than 31,000 suites and timeshare units in 2003, conveying the planetary system to 2,718 hotels and timeshare units of 490,564 suites ( Marriott ) . In the same twelvemonth, the Marriott completed the sale of its Senior Living Service Communities and Marriott Distribution Services. The Courtyard opens its five-hundredth hotel in Minneapolis Downtown, and the SpringHill Suites opens its hundredth hotel in Dallas-Addison, Texas ( Marriott ) . In 2004, the Ramada International opens two-hundredth hotel in Amsterdam, Marriott grosss totaled $ 10 billion in 2004 and $ 594 million in net income, added more than 24,000 suites and timeshare units in 2004, conveying the planetary system to 2,632 hotels and timeshare units. In the same twelvemonth, the Marriott ExecuStay hits the 30-market franchise grade, and broadens reach through new understandings in Southern California, St. Louis, and Wisconsin ( Marriott ) . Ramada International besides opened it two-hundredth hotel in Amsterdam, and the 500,000th room opened in London, located at the West India Quay Marriott Hotel in the Canary Wharf territory of London. The Marriott besides rewarded and besides welcomed their 20,000,000th member and the Marriott Vacation Club International celebrated their twentieth day of remembrance. In 2005, Marriott announces the sale of Ramada International hotels, and Marriott and Whitbread completed the dealing, organizing a 50/50 joint venture to get Whitbread s portfolio of 46 franchised Marriott and Renaissance hotels of over 8,000 suites ( Marriott ) . Marriott so took over direction of the hotels, and the joint venture sold them to new proprietors subject to long-run Marriott direction understandings. January 2006 began with the Residence Inn opening its five-hundredth hotel, and the first Residence Inn in New York City. Courtyard opened its 700th hotel, the Courtyard Washington Capitol Hill/Navy Yard, in Washington, D.C. , and unveiled the paradigm of the new Courtyard in Europe with the gap of the Paris Courtyard by Marriott Colombes ( Marriot ) . Marriott.com celebrated 10 old ages of running the online web site by establishing new one-stop services for invitees. The Marriott designated April as the first one-year Environmental Awareness Month to advance activities to continue natural milieus and cut down resource ingestion. In September, all belongingss in the U.S. and Canada became smoke-free ( Marriott ) . In 2007, Marriott celebrated two of import mileposts in Marriott s history: the eightieth day of remembrance of the initiation and the fiftieth day of remembrance of the entry into the hotel concern. On January 8, Marriott.com set a record by bring forthing more than 55,000 reserves in one twenty-four hours, posting a record 55,109 reserves and bring forthing over $ 17 million in gross gross ( Marriott ) . Get downing in February, there were eating houses at more than 2,300 Marriott hotels throughout the U.S. The Marriott was honored with the 2007 Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company was good on its manner to run into at that place end to cut down nursery gases by 6 % per invitee room by 2010. There are many different types of Marriott subdivision categories such as the Luxury subdivisions, the life style and dress shop subdivisions, the signature subdivisions, and the choice service and extended stay subdivisions. In each of these categories there are different types of cabals such as the luxury subdivisions that consist of the Ritz Carlton which has a sub-branch called the Bulagari Hotels A ; Resorts, and the J.W. Marriott Hotels A ; Resorts. The Lifestyle and Boutique subdivision has the Renaissance Hotels A ; Resorts. The Signature subdivision has the Marriott Hotels A ; Resorts, and the Select Service A ; the Extended Stay has the Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn A ; Suites by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, the Resident hostel, and the Towneplace by Marriott. The figure of units and the figure of suites that the Ritz Carlton provides is 77 units and 22,502 suites whose mark markets are a leisure invitee and upscale invitee who like to go in luxury hotels. The figure of units and the figure of suites that the J.W. Marriott Hotels A ; Resorts provides is 46 units and 20,713 suites. Their mark markets are guest who is going for leisure, conventions, and concern. The Marriott Hotels A ; Resorts provides 505 units and 181,500 suites. Their mark markets are a invitee who is going for household leisure and invitees who are going for conventions. The figure of units and the figure of suites that the Renaissance Hotels A ; Resorts provides is 143 units and 50,437 suites. The mark markets of the Renaissance Hotels A ; Resorts are the invitee who is going for concern, leisure, and conventions. The Courtyard by Marriott has 883 units and 129,634 suites, and their mark markets are travellers who are at that place for concern or leisure. The Fairfield Inn A ; Suites by Marriott serve the invitee who is going for leisure, but fancy upper-moderate grade units. The figure of units and the figure of suites that they provide is 657 units a nd 59,663 suites. SpringHill Suites by Marriott leisure houses travellers who are going for leisure and invitee that prefer Extended Stay. There figure of units and suites is 272 units and 31,896 suites. The Resident Inn services invitees who are on long concern trips. The figure of units and suites that they provide is 610 units and 73,849 suites. Last is the TownePlace by Marriott. The figure of units and figure of suites that they provide is 192 units and 19,320 suites. Introduction- Anaheim Marriott Anaheim Marriott s hotel located in Anaheim at 700 West Convention Center Way Anaheim, CA 92802, one block South of Disneyland Resort, and following to the Anaheim Convention Center. The hotel has been a landmark in Anaheim since 1981, and renovated all kiping room in 2000, and front entryway, anteroom, and saloon Reconstruction was completed in 2001. The type of ownership of the hotel is a corporate manages and the entire figure of employees is about 650. The hotel mission statement is to supply echt attention, demoing empathy and compassion and ever transcending the outlooks of our invitees. Last twelvemonth, the hotel mean tenancy rate was 60 per centum, mean day-to-day rate was $ 159, and gross per available room was $ 71.92. Anaheim Marriott is a 3-star full service hotel that attracts invitees runing from convention invitees for an event in the Anaheim convention centre, little concern invitees for usage of their meeting suites or dance halls, and leisure invitees for the visit Disneyland resort. The hotel entire meeting suites infinite is 82,000 sq ft. which includes 44 meeting suites, and 6 dance halls. The meeting suites offer audiovisual equipment, event catering, and high velocity wireless cyberspace. And the hotel consists of 990 regular invitee suites and 40 suites located in three edifices. Room amenities include air-conditioned, marble bathroom, shower/tub combination, hair drier, dismay clock, 24 hr room service, java shaper, LCD telecasting computing machine work Stationss, and etc. The hotel offers Hertz rental auto, FedEx Kinko s concern centre, fittingness centre, an out-of-door splash pool and watering place bath, and etc. The chiefly mark markets for the hotel are the convention invitee, and secondary mark markets are leisure travel. The information about mark markets was based on an interview with Human resources director Karen Kretschmer. The hotel offers two a La menu eating houses, one fast-food concatenation, which is Pizza Hut, one saloon, and Starbucks with a market place. The two hotel eating houses are JW s Steakhouse and Cafe Del Sol. The JW s Steakhouse open merely dinner and offers premier meats and world-class vinos. Another eating house is called Cafe Del Sol. It offers fresh California culinary art and other household friendly dishes, and open for breakfast, tiffin, and dinner. The hotel Starbucks offers all the Starbuck s java, tea, and a assortment of pastries, with a separate counter offering fresh salads, sandwiches, and sweets. It opens for breakfast, tiffin, and light dinner. The hotel saloon is called Degrees ; it offers indoor and out-of-door tabular array seating, big screen Te levision, and poolside service. The hotel check-in starts at 4:00pm and check-out clip is noon. The ego parking fee is $ 24 per twenty-four hours, gentleman parking fee is $ 28 per twenty-four hours, and RV parking fee is $ 30 per topographic point per twenty-four hours. For a day-to-day rate of $ 12.95, the undermentioned characteristics are available in the guestroom: high-velocity cyberspace entree, limitless local phone calls, and limitless long distance calls within the state, non available in all markets. Organizational Structure Anaheim Marriott s executive commission consists of many different sections with their ain particular directors. To get down off, the General Manager is Bill Gunderson. The General Manager is fundamentally the superintendent of every section including the sections of Engineering, Finance/Accounting, Gross saless A ; Marketing, Food A ; Beverage, Market Strategy ( shared service ) , Human Resources, and the Resident director. He is responsible for all of the facets of the operations such as from giving the concluding mandate to engage an employee to implementing policies and processs and guaranting that they are carefully followed. The general director is the anchor to a successful company. The Director for the Engineering Department is Tracy Tomasek with its Chief Engineer, Juan Lopez. The manager controls the internal and external factors of technology activities such as undertakings or technologic thoughts that would supply to the demands of clients. When undertakings are finished, the manager overlooks it to guarantee criterions are met. The Chief Engineer s occupations ranges from keeping the outside of the edifice ( including parking batch and common countries ) , carry oning monthly safety reviews, driving the bird coach when needed, and looking over his work country ( employees ) and studies everything that happens to the manager. In the Anaheim Marriott organisation, there are merely two executive employees in the technology section and other hourly employees. The section of finance consists of Bob Attianese who is the Sr. Director of Finance. The section of finance s end is to help proactively with cost containment, gross sweetening, net income betterment chances and safeguarding of the company s assets. This section oversees the accounting section ; responsible for organizing and pull offing all maps refering to general leger, gross, paysheet, and histories collectible and receivable. Then, the manager reports all seasonably and meaningful intelligence to the General Manager. Under Bob Attianese ( the Senior Director of Finance ) is the Director of Finance Rebecca Salyard and under her is Brian Johnson who is the Senior Assistant Controller. They assist and report fiscal intelligence and informations to the Senior Director who finalizes everything. The Rooms Operations organisation consists of the Resident Manager, Chad Sitkowski. Under him are the two managers: Marcus Borman ( Director of Rooms Operations ) and Arthur Dennis ( Director of Loss Prevention ) . The Director of Rooms Operations is responsible for guaranting the smooth operation of invitee services. There are two executive directors under the Director of Rooms Operations. One is the Front Office Manager. This director is responsible for oversing all responsibilities of the forepart desk. Another director is the Assistant Director of Services. And the Director of Loss bar is responsible for describing and deciding affairs in the country of safety. The Housekeeping Manager is besides under the suites operations organisation. The director is Judith Torres, and he is responsible for telling and stock list cleansing supplies, engaging and developing new employees, and puting employee agendas. The gross revenues and selling section includes the Director of Marketing, the Market Catering Executive, the Director of Gross saless, the Senior Gross saless Executives, and the Senior Catering Executive. The Director of Marketing is a caput of this section, who is Rhanda Richardson. She works with sellers that provide selling, and publishing stuffs to advance and market the hotel. Under her is the Director of Gross saless and under her is three Senior Executives. They are helping the Director of Gross saless, word to construct relationships with possible invitees, and most likely to assist a hotel stay profitable. Last, the Market Catering Executive is Patty Stuckmeyer. She is pull offing providing gross revenues and service for events at the hotel. The section of the Food A ; Beverage consists of John Josberger who is the Director of F A ; B. He is responsible all nutrient and drinks mercantile establishments, storage, and proviso countries. Under him are the Executive Chef and the Director of Restaurants. First, the Executive chef is David Dulkis. He is responsible for guaranting that quality of nutrients is served on agenda and to see that any jobs that arise are rectified. Second, the Director of Restaurants is Mark Sladky. He is supervising all nutrient service activities of the eating houses operation. Under David Dulkis ( Executive Chef ) are the Senior Sous Chef and the Senior Banquet Chef. And under Mark Sladky ( Director of Restuarants ) are the Starbuck s director, the Beverage director, and Room Service director. Probably the biggest group in the organisational construction of Marriott Hotel is the Event Organization. The organisation consists of the Resident Manager, Chad Sitkowski. Under the Resident Manager are the four important-role managers: Tammi Chaabani ( Director of Event Operations ) , Tony Rivers ( Director of Event Technology ) , Peter Gunther ( Director of Event Catering ) , and Nick Valdez ( Director of Event Planning ) . Each manager is in charge of commanding their squad. First, the Director of Event Operations puts together a squad for an juncture. The squad can dwell of cooks to Usshers and interior designers. The leader is in charge of the budget and must hold accomplishments in negociating for pricing with other locales. Occasionally, this crew is responsible for marketing the event. Second, the Director of Event Technology takes attention of the audio/visual/lighting for an event. There are merely the manager and the director in this class with several employees under di rection. Third, the Director of Event Catering intent is to offer catering services and gross revenues for an event in the cordial reception industry. They besides frequently see an event from its planning phases into completion, assisting to be after the nutrient service, planing and functioning the bill of fare, and cleaning up after the event. Events like a nuptials, birthday, or party are occupations normally for this group. This group consists of the Director of Event Catering, Senior Event Catering Manager, and the Event Catering Manager. As others groups, the Senior and Manager have their responsibility to describe to the Director about any intelligence. Since an event happens merely with proper and timely planning, the biggest sub-group is the Event Planning group. They answer the of import inquiries of who, what, when, where, and why and organize a contract with the consumer. This group branches in four other executive staffs: Senior Event Planning Manager, Senior Event Pla nning Manger, Senior Event Planning Manager, and the Event Manager. These functions exist so that the event planning will continue swimmingly and successfully. The Human Resources Department consists of merely two executive employees, Tony Hewes ( Director of Human Resources ) and Karen Kretschmer ( Human Resources Manager ) . Some major duties include enrolling and staffing, policy development and certification, employee safety, public assistance, and wellness/health. Karen Kretschmer was the lady who we had an assignment with for our inspection/tour so I believe it is safe to state that the Human Resources Department besides deals with clients who would wish to hold entree to the construction of an organisation ( in our instance, we sought out the cognition of Marriott Hotel ) . The Revenue Management Organization is a shared service that is responsible for the rates of the hotel s rates for every dark, looking for ways to maximise their day-to-day gross. In the Marriott Hotel organisation, executive rubrics consist of Brenda Ciampa ( Director of Market Strategy ) , ramifying into Maritza Luoni [ Director of Revenue Analysis = gt ; subdivisions into Josh Coy ( Function Space Inventory director ) ] A ; Evan Bailey ( Director of Group Strategy ) . The selling group is in charge of marketing research, selling merchandise, and/or service to clients in a professional manner. The Director of Revenue Analysis analyzes informations about revenue/RevPAR. The bifurcate Function Space Inventory Manager ensures stock list is allocated and restricted decently to maximise gross and net incomes. The Inventory Manager builds all rates, bundles and hotel gross revenues scheme information in the hotel ( s ) stock list systems. Last, the Director of Group Strategy oversees the enforced or strategic enterprises and supervises possible progressing schemes offered by the bifurcate staff members. Observations A ; Analysiss There were many things that our group observed during our site visit. One thing that we did non anticipate was the half indoor half out-of-door pool. We took some images of the pool country because it was really nice. Another thing that we noticed was the big convention wing of the hotel that had a sum of 6 Ballrooms. The hotel had a sum of three different subdivisions of the hotel. The first was the Garden Wing, which surrounded the pool. The second was the Oasis Tower, which was late built 20 old ages ago. The last was the Palms tower, which was the chief tower. The dance halls were split into two classs, the California meeting suites ( smaller suites ) and the Main meeting suites. The dance halls late expanded in 2008. Since we did non anticipate the hotel to be located in the Disneyland country, we were surprised to see a adult male selling Disneyland tickets in a booth following to the Concierge desk. Another great thing that we noticed was that the hotel was really dimmed in so me parts of the hotel. Karen explained to us that the hotel did this to salvage money during the season of the twelvemonth in which they have small concern which we thought was a wise determination. The last thing that shocked our group was the size of the nutrient storage in which Karen referred to as the food market shop of the hotel. There were many things that we observed in each section. The Front Office had Senior directors and Assistant directors, and besides provided the Valet Service, the Concierge s desk, and the Front Desk. What we noticed about the Concierge s Desk was that it was little. What we noticed in the Food and Beverage section was the multiple kitchens. There were 3 kitchens, one large kitchen which was the chief kitchen, a smaller kitchen called the Banquet kitchen, and a preparation kitchen which was besides used for excess infinite. Karen told us that the Banquet kitchen was non used frequently, merely when there were big parties in the meeting suites. Und erground was the staff member s cafeteria, which was non truly a large room, but the nutrient smelled antic. There was a saloon that could be seen in the chief anteroom, which served guest tiffin. There were besides two eating houses, the Cafe De Sol, and the J.W. Steakhouse. We did non acquire a opportunity to walk into the J.W. Steakhouse, but we did acquire to walk in to the Cafe De Sol which was a really nice eating house. There was a Pizza hut, and a Starbucks. Karen told us that the Starbucks was besides known as the Market Topographic point because it provided sandwiches and other nutrient like french friess and drinks like sodium carbonate and H2O. Karen informed us that the bakeshop produced 90 % of staff of life and pastries made from the hotel. She informed us that the F A ; B section neer washed their dishes by manus, but alternatively had a whole room designated for all the dish lavation machines. The Marriott besides provided Room Service. Another thing we noticed o n the chief floor was the Fitness Center, which had all new equipment.The chief floor besides had a gift store, and surprisingly had a FedEx Kinko s Office. One cool thing about the Meeting suites was the Air-walls which made each room capable of widening its size. The Human Resources Department, which was the first section where we met up with Karen, was really little, and merely had two people working that twenty-four hours. There were besides two more desks, but Karen explained that they were non working that twenty-four hours because concern was slow. We did non acquire a opportunity to walk in the Gross saless A ; Marketing Department because the Gross saless employees were busy working difficult, but we did acquire to see the country they were in, which was located in the belowground degree. The accounting and Engineering A ; Maintenance Departments were besides belowground. Now the largest section was the Housekeeping Department. There was a laundry room, but Karen informed us that instead than making the laundry in-house, the hotel sent out the wash to a laundry company called Radiant. We were non lucky plenty to run into the General Manager, but we were able to run into the Head Managers of the Human Resources Department, who was Karen, and the caput of the Food and Beverage Department, and the Housekeeping Department. We were really impressed with the Anaheim Marriott s cordial reception in comparing with the J.W. Marriott at L.A. live because they non merely transferred me to different sections that led us nowhere, but they besides failed to reacting to multiple phone calls and electronic mails that we left them. We were non disappointed with any facets of the hotel, but we would urge that the hole the asphalt around the pool country because there were some clefts, and some parts of the floor were different colourss. We were besides disappointed about the parking construction monetary value which was $ 24 dollars, we found that really hideous, and chose to park in a residential country a twosome of blocks off. The failing that the Marriott had was that it was across a Hilton Hotel which looked much nicer and more suites available. The Strength that the Marriott had was that it was located right following to the Anaheim Convention Center. Karen informed us that concern was slow because of the recession, the Hilton and the Marriott would work together to increase their gross. This worked out because they would rede a invitee to travel to the opposing hotel when they wanted a good eating house to eat in when invitees did non desire to eat at the same eating houses twice. It was non a immense addition in concern, but it still benefited both hotels none the lupus erythematosus. Recommendations and Decision

Robert Frosts Acquainted With the Night

Robert Frost's 'Acquainted With the Night' Robert Frost, the quintessential New England poet, was actually born thousands of miles away in San Francisco. When he was very young, his father died and his mother moved with him and his sister to Lawrence, Massachusetts, and it was there where his roots in New England were first planted. He went to school at Dartmouth and Harvard universities but did not earn a degree and then worked as a teacher and editor. He and his wife went to England in 1912, and there Frost connected with Ezra Pound, who helped Frost get his work published. In 1915 Frost  returned to the U.S. with two published volumes under his belt and an established following. The poet Daniel Hoffman wrote in 1970 in a review of The Poetry of Robert Frost:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"He became a national celebrity, our nearly official poet laureate, and a great performer in the tradition of that earlier master of the literary vernacular, Mark Twain.† Frost read his poem The Gift Outright at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in January 1961 at the request of Kennedy. A Terza Rima Sonnet Robert Frost wrote a number of  sonnets - examples include Mowing and â€Å"The Oven Bird.†   These poems are called sonnets because they have 14 lines of iambic pentameter and a rhyme scheme, but they do not exactly conform to the traditional octet-sestet structure of the Petrarchan sonnet or the three-quatrains-and-a-couplet shape of the Shakespearean sonnet. â€Å"Acquainted With the Night† is an interesting variation among Frost’s sonnet-type poems because it is written in terza rima- four three-line stanzas rhymed aba bcb cdc dad, with a closing couplet rhymed aa. Urban Loneliness Acquainted With the Night† stands out among Frost’s poems because it is a poem of city solitude. Unlike his pastoral poems, which speak to us through images of the natural world, this poem has an urban setting: â€Å"I have looked down the saddest city lane...... an interrupted cryCame over houses from another street...† Even the moon is described as if it were a part of the manmade city environment: â€Å"... at an unearthly height,One luminary clock against the sky...† And unlike his dramatic narratives, which tease out the meanings in encounters among multiple characters, this poem is a soliloquy, spoken by a single lonely voice, a man who is quite alone and encounters only the darkness of night. What Is the Night? You might say â€Å"the night† in this poem is the speaker’s loneliness and isolation. You might say it is depression. Or knowing that Frost often wrote of tramps or bums, you might say it represents their homelessness, like Frank Lentricchia, who called the poem â€Å" Frost’s quintessential dramatic lyric of homelessness.† The poem uses the two lines forward/one line back form of terza rima to realize the sad, aimless gait of the hobo who has â€Å"outwalked the furthest city light† into the lonely darkness.

Carbon Capture Technology Not Ready to Limit Carbon Emissions Essay

Carbon Capture Technology Not Ready to Limit Carbon Emissions - Essay Example ective system is needed for the proper and flawless storage of Carbon Dioxide if this technology is to be used globally on large scale (Al-Fattah & Duncan, 2011). Storage Issues The storage of CO2, along with the capture, on the other hand, is a relatively a new concept and hence not very effective as yet. This makes CCS inefficient because there is no point of capture if there is no storage mechanism available for the technology. More recently, Carbon capture tanks have been developed and they are employed for storage but they are very expensive and not easy to develop, use and maintain (Hester et al, 2010). Energy consumption Issues Another reason for CCS’s not being ready for usage yet is the energy that it requires to run. The capture and compression of CO2 requires a lot of energy, and this result in raising the running costs of CCS-equipped power plants. The process results in the increase energy needs of a plant by about 10-40%. This extra consumption of energy has rais ed many eyebrows in industrial world because with this new technology, instead of improvement in their produce, they have to invest even more in this extra consumption of fuel. This is a very important obstacle that has kept industrialists from employing this technology in their systems (Hester et al, 2010). Cost related issues of the technology CCS is a very expensive technology and this is also a reason why it is not ready for usage on large scale. As this technology is in its experimental stages, it is not very economical. The equipment and plants made for CCS are very expensive both in building and in later usage. With the passage of time, this obstacle may be removed by employing cheaper techniques and materials for building and running CCS equipments but so far it is not possible and this... In a nutshell, CCS is a very novel technology and as yet it is not flawless. There are many flaws in the system and operation of CCS and that is why it is not ready for use on large scale. With high fuel and energy consumption it becomes a very expensive technology. This makes it inefficient for large scale usage. Concerns regarding its role in promoting pollution have contributed towards making this development a controversial issue. For this reason, more effective and cost-friendly equipment should be developed aimed at reducing pollution in the environment. When effective technology is available, legislation to enforce application of this technology at industrial level may increase its demand on international level, so much so that the cost of equipment may get reduced. This will allow greater acceptability of the technology by industrial sector; thus contributing towards a healthier and green environment globally. It should be kept in mind that any technology in its nascent stage s is far from perfect; as human knowledge evolves, the technology becomes a masterpiece.

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 16

Management - Essay Example e world has changed and in the 21st century corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices are important elements that should be an integral part of a company’s strategy. This paper analyzes and studies business sustainability in order to determine if the subject should be included in future business textbooks as an important business discipline that students should educate themselves on. Sustainability are the policies and processes which enhance the financial, environmental, societal, human and other resources on which the company depends for its long-term health (Economic Intelligence Unit). It involves a major commitment from a company in order to satisfy the needs of its internal and external stakeholders as well as placing a high level of importance in mother earth. The practice can not be applied through a single linear approach, since in order for sustainability in the business world to be effective a company must apply an integrated approach throughout the enterprise. The globalization movement made companies around the world located in different location and societies realized that the actions of companies affect the global economy. Since the turn of the century companies have made sustainability a priority. Executive are utilizing a strategic approach called corporate responsibility in order to attend the sustainability issue. Corporate responsibility is the continuing commitment by businesses to behave ethically and contribute to the economic development while improving the quality of life behind the workforce (Corporate-responsibility). Sustainability can help companies increase their profitability and shareholders value. The principles of sustainability state that the long term results are more important than short term gains. An example of how the principle of sustainability affects the corporate the case of Nike apparel. Nike Corporation in the late 1990’s incurred in unethical human labor practices in developing nation by

Case Study on ToyEdu. Creating Business Opportunity Essay

Case Study on ToyEdu. Creating Business Opportunity - Essay Example The company believes that their newly launched product will be a trend-setter in the toy industry. Its unique features will create attraction among the children in the initial stages. ToyEdu feels that the more the children can learn the basic educational tips, the more successful the company can be. ToyEdu’s objectives are very clear. It believes that the creative line of products waiting to be launched in the market of the United Kingdom will be the key to success. They wish to adopt strict financial controls that will reduce their operational cost, thus, enhancing their marginal cost. Furthermore, the company wishes to have a unique team of research and development, which will enable them to respond to the customer’s feedback and develop their products accordingly. The business plan that has been outlined in the proposal consists of the marketing and promotional strategy of the company to inform potential clients about the product. It includes few opportunities for t he business clients in toy industry who may be interested to buy the patent right of the product. The operational plan has been designed in such a way that will be suitable to meet the demand of both the segments, namely the individual consumers and the business clients. ... Traditionally, toys were considered as an equipment of amusement for the children. However, in the recent times, toys have been linked with education for creating the view that learning is fun. Thus, ToyEdu is initially targeting the UK markets, before spreading their businesses globally. Consisting of a handful of employees mostly in the manufacturing department, ToyEdu is looking forward to increase its client base all over the United Kingdom. The company claims to have a unique line of products which will be able to attract customers from different age groups. The financial strength of the company is not that strong compared to the competitors. Therefore, ToyEdu wants to see their company on the stock markets of the UK and establish its image as a renowned manufacturer of educational toys in the global markets. Market Requirement Analysis United Kingdom’s market for toys has been growing gradually. Lots of toys are being imported from the Asian countries especially from mai nland China as well as Hong Kong (Alibaba.com, 2012). Thus, the potential growth of a company producing toys in and around the UK is assumed to have an impact in the markets comprising of individual consumers and wholesalers. Therefore, a launch of products is intended to be made concerning both the segments. The company believes that their products will be able to attract the individual consumers who are the parents, grand parents and other near ones of a particular child. Additional to the individual consumers, the company also wants to target their products to the wholesalers such as schools, day-care centres and companies who are in the toy industry. It has been decided that traditional approach of

Brand description 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Brand description 4 - Essay Example In the UK and broader European marketplace, there are a substantial amount of competitors, creating difficulties in achieving brand loyalty and differentiating the product in a way that makes it outperform other fragrances. â€Å"Consumers show less brand loyalty to fragrances than other cosmetics† (Min, 2004, p.44). When the marketplace is saturated with different competitors and consumers often defect from one brand to another, attempts at gaining loyalty would require concentrated promotion as part of an integrated marketing communications campaign. Two main competitors, Prada brand and Christian Lacroix brand, are both high-cost perfumes in the UK and will be two main forces which can take market share away from this new brand: Invigo Arturo. Prada’s main communication strategy involves its reliance on past successes with its brand in product placement in a highly-successful American import movie entitled The Devil Wears Prada. At the online company Amazon, â€Å"their Devil Wears Prada-themed shop has sold out† (Friedman, 2006, p.6). This particular film and its product placement efforts brought much higher brand exposure to international audiences, thereby boosting sales of its perfume line. Unlike many other of Prada’s perfume competitors, they do not have to rely on excessive promotional communications since the brand is receiving a high consumer following in the luxury target markets. Prada does not cater to niche markets, but essentially uses mass marketing concepts to reach their desired demographic: The affluent, female luxury goods consumer. In relation to perfume advertising, â€Å"A lot of what is seen in our culture is based on sex† (Newman, 2006, p.50). Prada, in its print advertisements, uses light sexuality when attempting to position its product among competitors. (See Appendix 1 for an illustration of Prada Perfume advertising). Prada appeals to the consumer, rather

Emergency Response Effort Directed To a Major Aircraft Mishap Research Paper

Emergency Response Effort Directed To a Major Aircraft Mishap (Aircraft Crash and Emergency Management) - Research Paper Example The Sioux Airport after recognizing the situation informed the entire rescue agencies to reach the place immediately where flight had landed. Following the crash, the rescue members had performed effectively to save the passengers. The fire fighters had performed efficiently to fight the disaster. Despite huge challenges, the emergency plan was operated in an effective manner as the airport emergency facility had already planned to combat if there was any occurrence of disaster. 1.0 Introduction United Airlines Flight 232 had left for Chicago on 19 July of 1989. The three hydraulic systems of the airplane had failed to operate after covering a certain distance. Sudden explosion had occurred which had shook the entire airplane. Finally, it was determined that one of the engines of the flight had failed. Due to the imbalance of such parts of the airplane, disaster occurred (Bibel, 2008). In this study, entire events that had taken place before and after the crash have been discussed. The role of emergency plan and that of the firefighter during the incident of the crash have been included. The problems that were faced by the rescuers during rescue are identified. The processes and the steps have been determined that had been adopted and implemented by emergency plan throughout the rescue process. The role of fighters in extinguishing the fire and the way they rescued the passengers is included. The paper also explains the role of emergency rescue in improving the rescue process of the passengers. 2.0 Events Leading To Before and After  Wreck United Airlines Flight 232 had no problem in its ‘tail mounted engine’. It was checked properly one year before the crash. However, on 19 July, 1989, a sudden problem raised in that part of the airplane causing catastrophic failure due to prolonged exhaustion pressure. A sound of crash was heard from the mounted en gine of aircraft’s tail. At that time, a failure had occurred in the engine fan assembly which had broken the fan blades into sharp pieces and sent the parts of the engine by means of right horizontal stabilizer. Crew at that moment identified that the hydraulic system that controls the aircraft was out of control. The captain tried to land the flight immediately at the nearest airport named as Sioux City Gateway Airport (Conroy, 2005). The first as well as second hydraulic systems were split with the first outburst of engine. The gashes of the hydraulic lines as well as missing parts of the systems lost pressure and hydraulic fluid entered in the entire systems. After the explosion had taken place the hydraulic fluid had totally drained out (NASA, 2008). In-flight emergency, after receiving information about the flight, sent five ARFF (Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting) vehicles. The vehicles determined that the aircraft could not reach the airport and might crash. It was re cognized that aircraft might land on runway 31 and as a result ARFF vehicles took their positions in

Brand description 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Brand description 4 - Essay Example In the UK and broader European marketplace, there are a substantial amount of competitors, creating difficulties in achieving brand loyalty and differentiating the product in a way that makes it outperform other fragrances. â€Å"Consumers show less brand loyalty to fragrances than other cosmetics† (Min, 2004, p.44). When the marketplace is saturated with different competitors and consumers often defect from one brand to another, attempts at gaining loyalty would require concentrated promotion as part of an integrated marketing communications campaign. Two main competitors, Prada brand and Christian Lacroix brand, are both high-cost perfumes in the UK and will be two main forces which can take market share away from this new brand: Invigo Arturo. Prada’s main communication strategy involves its reliance on past successes with its brand in product placement in a highly-successful American import movie entitled The Devil Wears Prada. At the online company Amazon, â€Å"their Devil Wears Prada-themed shop has sold out† (Friedman, 2006, p.6). This particular film and its product placement efforts brought much higher brand exposure to international audiences, thereby boosting sales of its perfume line. Unlike many other of Prada’s perfume competitors, they do not have to rely on excessive promotional communications since the brand is receiving a high consumer following in the luxury target markets. Prada does not cater to niche markets, but essentially uses mass marketing concepts to reach their desired demographic: The affluent, female luxury goods consumer. In relation to perfume advertising, â€Å"A lot of what is seen in our culture is based on sex† (Newman, 2006, p.50). Prada, in its print advertisements, uses light sexuality when attempting to position its product among competitors. (See Appendix 1 for an illustration of Prada Perfume advertising). Prada appeals to the consumer, rather

DESCRIBE A RESTAURANT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DESCRIBE A RESTAURANT - Essay Example As is shown consistently by the Esquire Tavern, in order to succeed in hotel business, five values are principal and indispensible: harmonious coexistence with serene environment, hygiene, high value customer care and exemplary culinary skills. One of the factors that made me fall in irrevocable love with the Esquire Tavern is its close touch with serene environment. The perpetually popular restaurant is marooned in a tacky stretch of River Walk. Impeccably pruned trees and flowers, a large swimming pool and well kept lawn grace the restaurant’s surroundings. The aforementioned beautiful trees and flowers aerate the Esquire Tavern’s environment and gentle breeze help pleasantly soothe client’s sense of smell. The restaurant is located at least 400 meters from traffic, thereby guaranteeing clients serenity while rendering Esquire Tavern an oasis in the desert of the noise and the rough and tumble of the outside world. Inside the restaurant, the large swimming pool which is compartmentalized in its own yard easily complements the usefulness of the scorching high noon sun. The vastness of the Esquire Tavern provides customers with the power to choose between eating from the many spacious hotel rooms or from outside. Any client who has visited the Esquire Tavern will often testify of having been confused like a termite in a yo-yo when it comes to choosing a table. This is because, contrary to popular opinion that open air tables are more comfortable, the Esquire Tavern’s hotel rooms are equally appealing. Aesthetically stamped tin ceilings, an evocative wallpaper and 100ft-long wooden bar greet all clients who walk into the Esquire Tavern reception and hotel rooms (Trip Advisor, 1). In a closely related wavelength, the Esquire Tavern has constantly and consistently endeared itself to its customers by serving them with cuisine tasty enough to tickle anyone’s taste buds. At the Esquire Tavern, devilled eggs get studded with flowery pink peppercorns, while

The Life of the Buddha Essay Example for Free

The Life of the Buddha Essay Question 1- Select, describe and explain the events in the life of Siddhartha Gautama, which illustrate his religious development There are generally many events in the life of Siddhartha Gautama, which illustrate his religious development, but personally, I have planned to look at specific events very carefully. It can be said that the events contained specifically within the past lives of Siddhartha Guatama illustrate his religious development. There are, most evidently, the Jataka tales of the Pali Canon, which are supposedly stories of his actual rebirths. First of all, there is a most fundamental event, which occurs at around 100,000,000 aeons ago, where Dipuncena makes the crucial Bodhissatva vow to devote a life for the help of others. Now, after this, we see many stories of compassionate actions done by the 547 reincarnations of Dipuncena in the form of animal, god, and man. For example, one is the courageous story of Prince Vessantra, who gives up everything that he owns, even his wife and children out of compassion. The fact that he did this, giving everything and not expecting anything in return, portrays Dana, which is the idea of charity, and is a fundamental quality that is essential to be on the way to the Bodhissatva Path. There is also the story of the young prince, who slits his own throat in order for a starving tigress with seven hungry cubs, might live by eating his own flesh1. In terms of religious development, this is clearly showing the Bodhisattva Concept as it is displaying extreme compassion, or Karuna. A clear favourite, is of the loving, and righteous monkey king, and how he, by bridging himself, saved his fellow monkeys, but died while being bridged. This shows the Bodhisattva Concept again as he died to save his fellow monkeys and therefore delayed his enlightenment to help others. He developed the religious virtue of patience (Kshanti) as an ascetic in a previous life where he felt no hatred, only pity, for the evil king who cut his body into pieces, bit by bit. These stories all exemplify how the Bodhisattva developed all the qualities and characteristics of someone on the Bodhissatva path (according to Mahayana), and also, it shows the Bodhissatva concept, as his own enlightenment is delayed purely for the sake of others enlightenment, but on the other hand, he religiously develops himself to bring his spirit and mind even closer to attaining the ultimate enlightenment, and fulfilment of his vow. The most obvious and clear event, which shows his religious development, is the four sights. Here, upon leaving the palace with a charioteer, he sees an old man, a sick man, a dead man, and a holy man. Certainly in the first three, he realises that everyone grows old, everyone may face disease and everyone has to die. This is actually very moving for Siddhartha Gautama, as it increases his religious, and therefore Buddhist development, but more importantly, his awareness of life. However, a deeper analysis of his situation concludes that this impact of shock was even more penetrating, as his father had shielded Siddhartha from the natures of suffering. These sights he sees at the age of 29 while riding with his charioteer set him thinking about the issues now central to Buddhism (key to religious development) which lead him to realise that there is no release from suffering. After this critical and indeed, pivotal moment, Siddhartha could now no longer enjoy any of the luxuries which had been set out for him, as he was conscious of the fact that none of these could save him from age, disease, or even death. However, he finally sees the fourth sight, the holy man, i.e a person truly devoted to spirituality. Now, this consequently leads him to decide that he too, can go and seek after the unborn, unageing, unailing, deathless, sorrowless, undefiled supreme surceases of bondage, nibbana2. So, he decided that he too would leave home to seek a cure for the worlds suffering3. He had felt so uneasy about human suffering that he thought by becoming an ascetic; he would understand and comprehend everything there is. Therefore it can be said that these sights led him straight onto the path of religious development, and especially on the road to understanding Dukkha (all life is suffering). One of the most evident parts of Siddhartha Gautamas religious development, was when he was enlightened. After receiving an alms bowl, Siddhartha Gautama left the hardship, and arduousness of the ascetic life. Upon doing this however, he left himself with no friends from his past, but nevertheless, was strongly assured by what he was doing, since he had evidently found the middle way (the reality between luxury and poverty). Hence this was because he had discovered neither had given him real satisfaction.4 Now, in spite of this departure, Siddhatha was determined to reach enlightenment, in such a way, that he sat under a Bodhi tree (pipal tree) determined to sit until he had reached divine reality and knowledge. As he sat in a meditative state, Mara tried to cast him away with his temptations, however they were futile and seemed to reflect of Siddhartha, since he had such a strong concentration and determination to fulfil his aim. Mara even tried to deny him the right to be enlightened, but yet again, Siddhartha called upon the Earth goddess as witness, and eventually, upon realisation that Siddhatha would not be beaten, Mara backed down. Then the real enlightenment took place, in the form of the four watches. The first watch began with Siddhartha recalling past lives with unbelievable detail and understanding. The second watch took place with Siddhartha watching people and animals passing into and out of existence, and crucially at this point realising constant change. The third watch was the realisation that all suffering is caused by a constant continual cycle of craving, and realised the way to overcome suffering. Finally, he was enlightened and blessed with Nibbana and showered with supreme knowledge and understanding, beyond belief. This represents his huge step into the known, and into the aspects of life in which we do not understand. This was all the result of determination, and specifically effort to fulfil the Bodhisattva vow, and was the final hurdle of the Bodhisattva Path, and after enlightenment, the BUDDHA could now teach, and help others more supremely than ever before. After a life of purity and sincerity of teaching, the life of Siddhartha Gautama, had come to an end. His death marked the end of religious development for him. He died at Kushinara at the age of 80 from food poisoning, and his last, and severely crucial, words, were , remember, all things are subject to decay, so be mindful and vigilant in working out your own salvation 5. Here he sends out his message, that all things are subject to change, even him. He died in an obscure place which shows his humility and desire for people to listen to his message rather to make a fuss about his person.6 The main point though, is that the Buddha didnt want to increase fame, or celebrity status, he only wanted people to care for him for what he did. He subtly died while in the jhana of meditation, and this critically shows the extreme emphasis on the fact that he was not a god, but a man, and even he would eventually die. His death, is extremely significant, and specifically illustrates his religious development, as it represents him entering parinibbana, and enlightenment beyond death. So, hence, consequently, an escape of Samsara (cycle of rebirth) occurs, and he has obtained total bliss. As a religious teacher, here he had reiterated and emphasised one of his most important teachings, and died in the highest form of concentration and meditation there is. Overall, at this point, religiously, he had reached the highest place and thus, the peak of his religious development. 1 Denise Cush: Buddhism (1994) pp 25 2 Denise Cush: Buddhism (1994) pp 20 3 S. Clark M. Thompson: Buddhism: a New Approach London, Hodder and Stoughton 1996, p10 4 S. Clark M. Thompson: Buddhism: a New Approach London, Hodder and Stoughton 1996, p11 5 Denise Cush: Buddhism (1994) pp 25 6 Denise Cush: Buddhism London, Hodder and Stoughton 1995, page 23

Entering the Fast Food Industry

Entering the Fast Food Industry Introduction Pull open the glass door, feel the rush of cool air, walk in, get on line, study the backlit color photographs above the counter, place your order, hand over a few dollars, watch teenagers in uniforms pushing various buttons, and moments later take hold of a plastic tray full of food wrapped in colored paper and cardboard. The whole experience of buying fast food has become so routine, so thoroughly unexceptional and mundane, that it is now taken for granted, like brushing your teeth or stopping for a red light. Eric Schlosser from the book Fast Food Nation The food that people always eat or dont it was always determined by some economical and environmental forces. And the big growth of the Egyptian fast food market occurred according to some main changes in the Egyptian society. One of the main changes was the huge entering the women the workforce, which increased the request on some service which women usually do like cooking, cleaning, and child care. And now you can see the double income of the household which make an increase of the requested fast food. Socially, these fast food chains created many changes within the Egyptian behavioral patterns as well. Cleanliness and quality allowed families to feel safe and comfortable, permitting their children to go out on their own. A cheerful atmosphere and fun promotional items and gifts available at these chains attracted children and the younger generation began to frequent them more often, meeting friends and planning parties. It gave the Egyptian youth a safe acceptable place to go to. From here was born the concept of home delivery, a hugely profitable business today. Now, one can order virtually any consumer product by telephone for delivery and thousands of young people are employed in this sector. As consumers became frequent customers, the database developed into a very important asset. Promoting sales and keeping information classified was a must, not to mention boosting an already-escalating competitive environment. Entering the fast food market can be done in several ways that each one of them differs from the other. There are two main choices; first is acquiring a franchise license from an international-branded fast food chain, the second is to create a new brand that is developed locally and independently. Each one of them has their own advantages and disadvantages, and choosing an entry strategy heavily depends on several factors which will be analyzed in this paper. Before choosing an entry strategy the market has to be assessed extensively and to do so Porters Five Forces and the PEST (Political, Economical, Social Technological) analysis models represent the perfect harmony in analyzing the heavily saturated and very competitive Egyptian fast food market. Office of government commerce, (2006) Definition of alternatives Before proceeding with the market analysis we have to understand clearly what is meant by each one of the entry strategies to avoid any misunderstandings; According to (Treas, 1973) franchising can be defined simply as a business relationship between two entities; the seller (franchisor) and the license buyer (franchisee). The franchisee buys a royalty license from the franchisor to have the permission of doing business and opening fast food chains under the brand name of the franchisor. However, the franchisees are still independent and the chains are under full supervision and management by them but they have to abide to certain quality standards and regulations set by the franchisor to help them maintain and save the brand image of their trade mark. (Treas.1973) (Kaufmann Dant, 2001) On the other hand, opening an independent (locally branded) fast food chain is the total opposite of franchising. Instead of buying a franchise license from a well known established brand, the founder decides to create a new novel brand enduring all of the associated costs and taking the risk of creating a new brand image that requires time to gain the desired reputation. Some of the successful franchises in Egypt could be: McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC, Burger King, and Sbarro. While Successful examples of independent in Egypt could be: Cook Door, Smileys, Momen, Amo Hosny, Bon Appetite, and Prego. Porters five forces analysis Michael Porter in this analysis suggested a frame that industry influenced by five forces. These forces can determine the competitive intensity and therefore the attractiveness of a market and attractiveness means the overall industry profitability. These forces represent the micro-environment side which is more specific than the more general macro-environment one; they consist of those forces close to a market that affect its shape and stability. (Figure 1: Porters Five forces Model) (Michael E. Porter 1980: 31) Rivalry among existing competitors The first component of the five forces analysis focuses on the competitive rivalry. Competitive rivalry is one of the key areas for an industry, because in many cases it may determine the marketing strategies that will be developed and implemented. The purchasing power of the Egyptian consumers is quite strong and naturally those consumers have high expectations. That is the reason why fast food chains constantly compete for better products and more attractive promotions. For instance, McDonalds was the first fast food chain in Egypt that offers toys and games with meals to trigger childrens interest and this was hugely successful where most of the children buy McDonalds happy meal in order to get the offered toy. Rivalry can be found in many familiar forms such as advertising campaigns, price discounting, new product introduction and service improvement. The more the degree of rivalry the more it becomes an obstacle for profitability, and the degree of rivalry is determined through the intensity of the competition and on how they compete. The intensity of rivalry is influenced by the following characteristics: Large number of competitors: The huge existing numbers of food chains makes the competition more intensified where they have to compete for the same customers and resources in order to gain more market share. The market includes two main categories of chains; local branded fast-food chains which include (Momen, Smileys Grill, Cook Door and El-Shabrawy), and international branded fast-food chains such as (KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and many more) Slow market growth: If the market growth is slow the fast-food chains will fight more for the existing market share. On the other hand, if the market growth is fast, the fast-food chains will be able to improve revenues simply because of the expanding market. Egypt is considered the largest in both Africa and the Middle East in the fast-food service industry where it represents US $7 billion and is expected to reach US $10 billion over the next five years (Schaefer 2008: 1) and due to this the fast-food market in Egypt is very fast growing. Highly perishable products: Food products is considered highly perishable where it urges the seller to sometimes lower the prices and sell the product while it is still consumable, thus it intensifies the rivalry. Low switching costs: When a consumer can freely switch and choose from one product to another there is a greater struggle to capture consumers and since most of the fast-food chains meals prices are nearly similar the threat for competitors is high where consumers can switch to another competitor at any time and this creates a pressure on the fast-food chains to create a competitive edge. Low levels of product differentiation: The low levels of product differentiation tends to increase the levels of rivalry thats why fast-food chains tends to increase their brand identification to maintain their market share since they are all serving relatively the same target customers with relatively similar products. Industry shakeout: The growing market of the fast-food industry and the potential for high profits encourages new competitors to enter the market and the existing competitors to increase their size. A point is reached where the industry becomes crowded with competitors and demand cannot support the new entrants and the resulting increased supply creating a situation of excess capacity with too many goods chasing too few buyers. Exit barriers included the issue of asset specialization which can determine how easy a fast food chain can exit the market without having difficulties in liquidating its assets. Due to the fact that most of the fast food chains require some tailor-made equipments that serve their specific needs and helps in maintaining their brand image throughout their products, the degree of asset specialization is quite high in the fast food market which subsequently creates many exit barriers. (Edward 2010) (Yacoub 2010) (Hamza 2010) When a rival acts in a way that draws out a counter-response by other competitors, the rivalry intensifies. The intensity of rivalry is commonly based on the chains aggressiveness in attempting to gain an advantage. In pursuing an advantage over its rivals, a fast-food chain can choose from several competitive moves: Changing prices: Raising or lowering prices to gain a temporary advantage, and many chains try to offer money saving combo meals that sounds more economically to the consumer. Improving product differentiation: Providing innovative and new products and improving the production process itself. For example, Pizza Hut has recently introduced interesting new types of pizzas that helps them to build a strong product differentiation. Using new channels of distribution: McDonalds was the first fast-food chain to introduce the drive-thru chains that conveniently have suited many consumers helping them to co-op with the fast paced lifestyle. Threat of substitute products or services Porter describes substitute product as it is another product that can be chosen as a substitution of the required product. The elasticity of demand could be affected by more than one variable like the price, quality, availabilityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The consumer buying decision can be changed to substitute products according to the change of the price, this change increase the demand on the substitute products. Also the consumer behavior now increased to healthy food which will affect the fast food market negatively. The threat of substitutes is increased if: The substitute product offers more convenient price or performance rather than the fast-food industry because consumers always choose the alternative that offers him greater value. For example, many consumers could choose eat-in restaurants because it can provide them with more food quality rather than the fast-food chains but eating in a restaurant can be more expensive. The switching cost is low and minimal, the threat of substitution becomes higher and the consumer has the ability to switch between alternatives easily with no extra charge and this is the case in the fast-food market Bargaining power of buyers There are several types of buyer power. The first is related to the customers price sensitivity. If each brand of the fast-food chains is similar to all the others, then the consumer will base the purchase decision mainly on price which will increase the competitive rivalry, resulting in lower prices and lower profitability. For example, some consumers would choose McDonalds rather than Burger King for being cheaper. Also the more number of substitutes is available for the buyer, the more powerful he becomes. The other type of buyer power which is not strongly relevant to our market analysis is the negotiating power where larger buyers tend to have more leverage to negotiate prices. Bargaining power of suppliers The fourth part of the five forces analysis focuses on the power of the suppliers and how is it easy for them to drive up prices. This is driven by the number of suppliers available for each key input. The uniqueness of their product or service and the cost of switching from one to another determine how powerful they are. Powerful suppliers can squeeze profitability out of an industry that is unable to pass on cost increases in its own prices. The supply power in our case is represented through the people who provide materials used for the fast-food production such as bakery, poultry, vegetables and packaging. To determine how much the suppliers are powerful we have to asses several aspects; The supplier will become less powerful if he depends heavily on a certain buyer for revenues. For example, Farm Frites-Egypt supply McDonalds for their French Fries, and McDonalds represent a major revenue resource for them where they cannot afford to lose such a strong customer, and this is the case for most of the fast-food chains in Egypt where the suppliers for the materials depend heavily on fast-food chains willing to offer convenient prices for them to become his exclusive supplier for a certain material. (Aly 2010) (Eslam 2010) Changing suppliers for fast-food chains have relatively high switching costs because choosing a supplier comes after several quality tests and approvals by the fast-food chain. Also most of the fast-food chains require exclusive materials and products to be made especially for them like for instance the packaging. (Edward 2010) The supplier will become more powerful if there are no substitutes for him, but in the fast food market in Egypt each key entry has several substitutes that a fast-food chain can choose from. As mentioned before, McDonalds depends on Farm Frites-Egypt to supply them with French Fries, but at the same time McDonalds has the option to choose another supplier with the same standards of Farm Frites such as UniFood. (Aly 2010) Barriers to entry/ Threat of entry It is not only the existing rivals that represent a threat for competitors in the fast-food industry; the possibility that new firms may enter the industry also affects competition. In theory, any competitor should be able to enter and exit a market. In reality, however, there are several aspects that can represent an obstacle for entry and these are called entry barriers. Entry barriers are unique industry characteristics that define the industry; it can reduce the rate of entry new rivals, thus maintaining a level of profits for those already in the industry. These barriers arise from several sources: Government creates barriers Present days, the procedures a fast food chain under-go to open a new outlet is very excruciating, time wasting and requires lots of paper work. This includes; safety regulations, health inspections and taxation procedures. And due to the high levels of bureaucracy in Egypt, the task is never easy. (Aly 2010) (Edward 2010) (Eslam 2010) In the past, the regulatory authority of the government in restricting competition is evident in Egypt during the era of Gamal Abdel Nasser in the sixties, most of the consumer products where locally produced by governmental companies. For example, consumer durables where locally produced by the Ideal national company. Anwar El-Sadats shift of alliance from the Soviet Union to the western world in the early seventies was followed by the Open door policy, or privatization at the expense of the public sector state monopolized large scale industries. The shift from Nassers State capitalist era to full integration into the world capitalist system went hand in hand with encouraging consumerism and franchising activities in Egypt.(Oweiss1988:73-76) b. Patent rights Ideas and knowledge that provide competitive advantages are treated as private property when patented, preventing others from using the knowledge and thus creating a barrier to entry. KFC has their own patent rights for the chicken recipe which positions them aside from other competitors as the leading fast-food chain serving chicken making it hard for competitors to compete in the same market. (Hamza 2010) c. Customer switching costs It becomes harder for new entrants to enter the market if the switching costs are high because it makes it harder for the consumer to switch their decision, and since switching costs between different brands of fast-food chains is low, then it is easy for consumers to switch their decision, thus, making it easy for new entrants to enter the market and gain market share. d. Capital requirement. Since entering the market requires huge financial capital requirement therefore the new entrants will decrease. Capital may be necessary not only for fixed facilities but also to extend customer credit, build inventories and fund start-up losses. There can be two types of start-up costs in our case; the first one is the cost of starting a locally branded fast-food chain, the other one is the cost of franchising an existing internationally branded fast-food chain which sounds easier than starting a locally branded one but can be more costly. Further details will be discussed when comparing between the two market entries alternatives. PEST Analysis. While starting the franchising or broadly speaking starting an international business the new market that the company wants to start business in should be analyzed to make sure that the company operations would work effectively in this market. One of the important tools that companies uses in the analysis process is the PEST analysis which analyze the market considering four factors Political, Economical, Social and Technological factors. In the coming words the four factors will be discussed. Office of government commerce, (2006) (Figure 2: PEST Analysis Model) The Times100 (2008) PEST Analysis of Egypt. 3.1. Political factors Examining the political factors is a very important task any company should do before entering a new market while focusing on the Egyptian case we can find that Egypt is politically stable compared to many countries, however sometimes companies faces some political issues there are many incidents that we can find people trying boycotting specific company because of the home country of the brand as for example USA, In many times there are people boycotting American restaurants therefore we can find many companies as for example McDonalds building on the local identity of the brand by producing a product locally as for example McArabia, McFalafel, etc and that helps in building the feeling that it is a local brand. Waguih (2002) 3.2. Economical factors As mentioned previously the change in the economy in the period of Sadat to his open door policy and globalization helps franchisors to work in Egypt because it is a healthy economy. While starting the business franchisors were used to import every ingredient, but after several years of success, they began in building food factories licensed by the international brands. Consequently, factories became so efficient in the production of quality goods that after fulfilling the local demand, they began exporting their products to countries throughout the Middle East and Europe. Aboul Fath, (2008) In the past few years there were a growth in the Egyptian economy the figure 3 below shows the increase in the GDP per capita which shows that economically the market is attractive for investments. Ministry of Finance Macro Fiscal Policy Unit (2008) (Figure 3: Annual Percent Change %) Ministry of Finance Macro Fiscal Policy Unit (2008) The Egyptian government has identified foreign investments as a critical component to sustained economic growth. As a result, investors are given special exemptions and incentives. However, several barriers to investment remain including a high level of bureaucracy, complex tax systems and customs procedures. To overcome these obstacles, the Egyptian government is currently directing its effort to increase privatization and fiscal transparency, and to improve tax regulations thus encouraging foreign investments and easing the path for franchising. Aboul Fath, (2008) 3.3. Social factors Demographics The group of consumers in Egypt consist of low income families, middle and high income this may secure the success in Egyptian fast food market. In addition to that there is about 50% of Egyptian population young consumer which presented in figure 4. That may make an opportunity for the fast food chains as their young group becomes more targets to the American and European chains. There is also the percentage of the working age where they representing the purchasing power are nearly 62% showed in figure 4 below. The middle aged is seeking fast food as a solution for a ready meal. Awad, Zohry (2005) Shaefer(2008) (figure.4: Egyptian Population by Broad Age groups 1950-2010) Awad and Zohry (2005) Fast food expenditure and consumption patterns: In a study conducted by Fabiosa and Soliman (2008) they focused on explaining the impact of income changes on the expenditure behavior for the households, . Another study by Fabiosa (2008) shows the household food-away-from-home (FAFH) expenditure pattern in Egypt. When reviewing the life style of Egyptians, we can find that Egyptians eats three main meals, traditional Egyptians meals is made of rice or pasta and vegetables. Meat is also included depending on whether they can afford its cost or not. However in the past decade there were rapid increases in the interest of the Egyptians in the fast food especially in the American and European food. However, high class families usually are aware about healthy food and may choose products with lower fat and cholesterol. Fabiosa and Soliman, (2008), Fabiosa (2008) Average income families usually can afford to eat once a month outside, although dining outside of home is increasing in popularity among many consumers. More well-off households and single people may eat out more than once a week. The young consumer segment, especially wealthier segment, typically eats out more than it cooks at home and the consumption can reach as much as four or five times a week. Fabiosa, (2008) 3.4. Technological factors The several advancements in technology have allowed the food production to grow massively and at much lower costs than it used to be. Now, there are several ways a person can order his food; through telephone, internet, and drive-through fast-food chains. All of these ways are of course available beside the traditional way of ordering fast-food which is take-away. Due to technological advancements, buying fast-food is one of the easiest tasks a person can do nowadays. Technological advancement also reached the food itself, now with the increased health awareness, fast-food chains try to focus on producing healthy food and reducing all the harmful ingredients. For instance, KFC announces that they are using Trans-Fat free ingredients which raised many health concerns among consumers. Also technology offers wide array of flavors that can be added to make food more appealing to consumers. A.Hamza, (Branch Manager Hardees Restaurants. Personal Interview. 1st of Feb, 2010). 4. The Egyptian fast food sector Entering the fast food market in Egypt can be successfully done in two main ways according to the successful stories in Egypt which will be explain later; first is acquiring a franchise license from an international-branded fast food chain, The second is to create a new brand that is developed locally and independently. Opening an independent (locally branded) fast food chain is the total opposite of franchising. Instead of buying a franchise license from a well known established brand, the founder decides to create a new brand enduring all of the associated costs and taking the risk of creating a new brand image that requires time to gain the desired reputation. Aboul Fath ,(2008) 5. Franchising as an international business tool Internationalization became one important way of doing business allover the world.1980s shows the increasing in distribution number of international retailers. The retailers were acquired and forced to move and enter international markets as the domestic market gave them a limited option to distribute their products or services. By this increasing numbers of distributing in international markets which continued in 1990s the retailers considered developing themselves to enter new markets outside, Quinn Alexander, (2002). To enter a new market there are three main ways which are first is independent as to invest in the new market and work directly from there. On the other hand there is two ways which are distributorship and formal relationship and these two ways are to work throw another party which could be in many ways, figure 1 briefly explain this ways. Entry modes Independent Distributorship Formal relationship Joint venture Acquisition Franchising Licensing (Figure 5: Modes of entry) Distributorship theory which is having a relation with the supplier, the distributor buys in bulk quantities and sell in smaller quantities, this independent distributor can work with many suppliers and he may not receive training or support from the supplier and the relation simply is to buy the product from the supplier no more. Formal relationship: Elaborating more on the facts showed in the chart, there are other options in this case is to join another party as acquisitions, joint venture, licensing and franchising. 5.1. Franchising Concept Many people think that fast food restaurants like KFC, Pizza Hut, MacDonalds or Burger King are the only examples of franchising but already there are many types of franchising and as Mr. Sidney J. Feltenstein the chairman of international franchising association says one out of every three dollars spent by Americans for goods and services is spent in a franchised business. Homes we buy can be throw franchised business, cars we buy clean or cared also can be through franchised business. We can travel from country to another through franchised business transportation firms so there are many types of franchising. (Beshel, 2000). Beshel, (2000) defined franchising as an agreement between two parties or two independent persons which give that: one from this two parties (franchisee) get the right to trade or to work by the trade mark of the second party (franchisor) Franchisee gets the right to use the operating system of franchisor and his obligation to pay fees to the franchisor. Franchisors obligation to provide rights to support franchisee. So franchise is a continuing relation between the franchisor and the franchisee. This relation depends on the franchisors experience, history, image and success. Also franchisor technique in doing business is important point to be consider when use franchising. The agreement of franchise can be made using several arrangements. It can be by fixed fees, percentage of sum of sales or the franchisee purchasing the product from the franchisor. Rothenberg, (1976). Independent vs. Franchised Comparing between the two routes for analyzing the effectiveness of franchising on food market in Egypt, some points considered to show that. To gather such in-depth information, interviews were conducted with several fast food chains managers and supervisors (franchised and local) to help us compare and choose the most appealing strategy for market entry. 6.1. Start-up Capital To acquire a franchise license is a very difficult task, the reason is that the franchisor expects from his franchisee to be withholding a respectable amount of monetary resources that can enable the franchisee to be up to the franchisors expectations and standards. For instance, the franchisee can be subject to some strict conditions set by the franchisor asking him to open a minimum number of chains with certain quality standards or else the franchise contract will be voided. Kaufmann Dant, (2001) (Calhoun 1975) A.Aly. (CEO of Target Franchises. Personal Interview. 11th of Feb, 2010) On the other hand, starting up an independent local fast food chain can be much easier and much less in terms of cash resources required. You can start small and then expand and grow gradually without having the limitations and strict conditions of a franchise contract that can be in terms of: Huge initial franchise fees Previous experience Quality standards Size vs. time frame available for growth Thus, keeping up with the franchisors conditions and standards require huge capital investments at the beginning which can be a drawback for choosing the franchise route as an entry strategy for the fast food market. But in some cases, financing a franchise can be easier because are sometimes more likely to offer loans to buy a franchise with a good reputation. O.Eslam, (General Manager of Target Franchises. Personal Interview. 11th of Feb, 2010).H.Anis( Founder of Harris Cafà ©. Personal Interview. 28th of Feb,2010). 6.2. Established Name A franchise opportunity provides its franchisee a well established and internationally recognized brand name and image that can acquire customers. In other words, buying a franchise can be like buying a business with built-in customers. Franchising a brand also doesnt carry the same risk as building a new one because when considering the option of entering the fast food market with an independent brand chains, founder will be struggling at first to achieve a good reputation and strong brand image that can earn the trust of consumers without having any doubts related to health or quality issues because one of the most difficult things to do when starting a business is to develop a recognizable presence with customers. This usually only happens over time and franchises eliminate this obstacle which saves both money and time. Also the franchisees will capture the benefits of the parent companys national marketing campaigns and advertising. A.Aly. (CEO of Target Franchises. Personal Interview. 11th of Feb, 2010) S.Edward, (CEO of Future Franchises. Personal Interview. 13th of Feb., 2010). O.Eslam, (General Manager of Target Franchises. Personal Interview. 11th of Feb., 2010). M.Yacoub,.( Branch Manager of Cook Door. Personal Interview. 25th of Feb., 2010). (Peterson Dant, 1990) 6.3 Access to Technology and Training When buying a franchise, the franchisor gives you support usually including training and orientation to help setting up the business and they provide you with manuals telling you how to run the business and ongoing advice. Also, most of the times the franchisor provide you with all the equipment, supplies and materials needed to conduct the business so you dont have to worry about acquiring assets that include state of the art machines and equipments like you do when opening an independent new chain. (Peterson Dant, 1990) M.Telleb,. (Branch Manager Starbucks Cafe. Personal Interview. 28th of feb, 2010). 6.4 Operating cost The franchisee will be able to acquire all necessary supplies at much lower costs because the prices are negotiated by the company with the suppliers in behalf of all the franchise units. Because of the size and regular occurrence of orders, the franchisor is able to get huge discounts on supplies. This gives an advantage compared to the route of entering the market with a new local independent brand. M.Yacoub,.( Branch Manager of Coo