Wheel Invention Essay Example For Students

Wheel Invention Essay The invention of the wheel was a miraculous invention, along with the airplane,and the telephone. All the inventions that have ever been created werent justsomething that was already drawn out on a piece of paper for the inventors. Theyhad to think. They had to imagine the masterpiece before it was even a physicalobject. These people werent just thinkers or inventors. These peopleThought Outside the Box. The writer Sarah Susanka, the author of TheNot So Big House, once said that The ability to think creatively,responding to needs and wishes, not to preconceived ideas of what somethingshould look like, then the problem will be solved. What I think shemeans by this is if you are going to make something or do something for thepeople of the world, dont assume or pretend you know what they want. Go out,ask them, figure it out and then when you have completed the finished product itwill be successful. Many people who try to invent something are not successfulbecause they are afraid to bre ak the confines of the outline. What I mean bythis is that the people are so accustomed to thinking like everybody else, theyare afraid to explore the possibilities of their mind. They cant picturesomething that already isnt there. Often a person will see something that wasinvented and wonder why they never thought of something so simple. The answer isvery uncomplicated they didnt break the confines of the out line. We will write a custom essay on Wheel Invention specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Normally, when people do a puzzle, they will have to think about the answers,sort of like a maze. If what they first try doesnt work then they have to tryanother direction to see if something else will work. Those people, even thoughthey dont know it have just thought outside the box. They have decided thatrather than quitting, they are going to keep trying, and see if they can findanother way to do it. Even though the answer was right in front of them, theystill had to think and look for it. One great thinker is Werner Heisenberg. Heinvented Matrix mechanics. It was the first version of quantum mechanics. He didnt invent the concepts of matrix algebra; however, focused attention ona set of quantised probability amplitudes. The matrix mechanics wasfurther developed in a three-author paper by Heisenberg, Born and Jordan,published in 1926. Heisenberg published The Physical Principles of QuantumTheory in 1928. In 1932 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for this work. Although he was awarded the Nobel for his matrix mechanics, he was much betterknown for his Uncertainty Principle that he discovered in 1927. Heisenberg wasquoted in 1969 as saying the following about the Slovay Conference in Brusselsthat he attended in 1927 : To those of us who participated in the developmentof atomic theory, the five years following the Slovay Conference in Brussels in1927 looked so wonderful that we often spoke of them as the golden of age ofatomic physics. The great obstacles that had occupied all our efforts in thepreceding years had been cleared out of the way; the gate to an entirely newfield, the quantum mechanics of the atomic shells stood wide open, and freshfruits seemed ready for the picking. Around the year 1925 Heisenberg wasworking on a new description of matter. His ruminations led him to assert a newprinciple that has become a Hallmark of quantum theory. This descriptionof matter is now known as matrix mechanics. It is the complete mathematicaltheory of the behaviour of atoms and their constituents. It is a very difficultfield to study, but with the help of Born and Jordan, the study was a success. .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 , .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 .postImageUrl , .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 , .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168:hover , .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168:visited , .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168:active { border:0!important; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168:active , .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168 .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u2e7c0aa67a8f358c2426dc6f2dc32168:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Face Off: Rice vs Muscle EssayThe matrix mechanics is a part of mathematics known as the quantum mechanics. Sothe quantum ideas work. They are developed from the concept that matter iswave-like in its behaviour. The quantum mechanics remained mysterious until1927, when Heisenberg -following conversations with Bohr and Einstein ?discovered the uncertainty principle. Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principlesaid that it is impossible to find out exactly where an object is and how fastit is moving at the same time. If you were to try that process then you wouldhave to stop the object to see where it is at that speed, or at that point intime. This is fine but as soon as you stop it yo u no longer have to speed andmomentum to the object. There is no guarantee that you can just say that becausethe object was moving a certain speed that obviously it still will have the sameresults. This is because there are many things that can effect your result. Ifyou were to try to find out both of them at the same time all your informationwould become impossible to understand. Because of figuring out such aninformative theory Heisenberg has been awarded many time. He received thefollowing awards: The Nobel Prize in 1932, and the Follow of the Royal Societyin 1955. Another of Heisenbergs great moments in life was during the SecondWorld War. Here he headed the unsuccessful German nuclear weapons project. He worked with Otto Hahn, one of the discoverers of nuclear fission, on thedevelopment of a nuclear reactor but failed to develop an effective program fornuclear weapons. Whether this was because of lack of resources or a lack of adesire to put nuclear weapons in the hands of the Nazis is unclear. After thewar he was interned in Britain with other leading German scientists. However, hereturned to Germany in 1946 when he was appointed director of the Max Planckinstitute for physics and Astrophysics at G?ttingen. In 1958 the Institutemoved to Munich and Heisenberg continued as its director. This man was verytalented and had many other interests. Such as in the philosophy of physics, andbecause of this great interest he wrote Physics and Philosophy in 1962 andPhysics and Beyond in 1971. Virtually every person has ThoughtOutside the Box at one point in their lives or another . . . I can remember,about four years ago when my parents were re-modelling the upstairs, where mybedroom was loca ted. My father was trying to figure out some way to convertthree bedrooms into two, while keeping a nice square landing that is rightoutside the doors. Well with the way that the upstairs was shaped there was muchdifficulty. Finally one day, I was sick of seeing my father stressing out oversomething like that. So I took a pencil and a piece of paper and I drew theoutline of the upstairs. Then rather than drawing a straight line right acrossthe middle of where the bedrooms would be I drew a diagonal like that still leftspace for closets and when it angled down back towards the stairs (the wall). This allowed my dad to have the nice even square landing right out side thebedroom doors I was very proud of myself, and I now have the honour of sayingthat I designed my bedroom can you guess whos room was larger? I guesswhat I am trying to say is that all a person has to do is apply themselves andthey will have the ability to Think Outside the Box. It isnt somethingthat is extremely easy to do. It is like most things in a persons life, theymust practice and learn. Some people dont even realize it when they are doingit, which is great. But if only they could recognise this ability, apply it tosomething, and improve life for all!

Genetics In Life essays

Genetics In Life essays Genetics is the study of the patterns of inheritance of specific traits (Poretto). This knowledge could be used to alter the course of a future human life. This knowledge could even be used to stop a potentially painful life before it starts. Genetic engineering, like any other science, is a tool. Like any other tool Genetic Engineering is neither inherently positive nor inherently negative. Genetic engineerings benefits outweigh the potential negatives, and in spite of some people fearing that it is immoral; genetics needs to be continually developed. The first step in eliminating superstition about a topic is to understand that topic. The origins of genetic history lay in the ancient techniques of selective breeding to yield desired characteristics in offspring. This is a form of genetic manipulation by "employing appropriate selection for physical and behavioral traits" (Gert 2). The work of an Austrian monk by the name of Gregor Mendel established the quantitative discipline of genetics using garden peas. Mendel's work explained the inheritance of traits can be stated by factors passed from one generation to the next; in other words, genes. The complete set of genes for an organism is called its genome (Congress 3). Traits are inherited through single or multiple genes. The development of these traits can be explained by environment variables (Congress 3). Mendel also correctly surmised that two copies of every factor exist and that one factor of inheritance could be dominant over another (Murphy). The next major step in genetics was deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. DNA, as a part of genes, was discovered to be a double helix that encodes the blueprints for all living things (Congress 3). DNA is made of nucleotide chains made of four bases. Any ordered pair of bases makes a sequence. These sequences are the instructions that produce molecules and proteins for cellular structure and biochemical fun...

European Union Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

European Union Law - Essay Example Such provisions thus create room for conflicts of interests thus prompting the creation of specific laws to govern the interaction between the member states (Weiler)1. European Union The European Union functions through several super national institutions formed through consensus and participation of the member states. Such institutions include the European commission, the European council, the European parliament, the European central bank and the court of justice of the European Union. Chalmers et al. stated that these institutions coordinate the operations of the body with the view of safeguarding the interests if each member state thus creating a unified platform for political and economic development. Created after the end of the Second World War, which typified the differences among the countries in Europe, the body sought to bring all the nations together by addressing their common interest amicably thus safeguarding the continent and the entire world from such unwarranted agg ression2. However, such an agreement to unify several sovereign states was likely to present administrative challenges, as the countries would have to change their constitution among other supreme laws to integrate the dictates of the European Union3. ... The three help interpret and apply the laws and treaties of the European Union within the member states. (Greenwood & Richard)4. The doctrine of supremacy Supremacy is therefore a fundamental legal and administrative provision, which commands compliance from all the member states. Bomberg and Peterson wrote that in most cases, the member states would infuse the European Union laws into their constitutions and laws thus eliminating the previously conflicting legal provisions in the country5. This way, the administration of justice becomes easier especially when the conflict includes citizens from different countries. However, membership into European Union is voluntary. Most of the member states joined owing to the viable economic opportunities a common market would present. This implies that the inclusion of the European laws into the existing local laws is equally voluntary. By the virtue of registration into the international body, the doctrines of supremacy begin to apply thus dem anding compliance with the existing European Union laws (Walsh)6. According to Glendon the European Union has a detailed constitution developed from the numerous treaties that resulted in the creation of the body. Additionally, the European Union has an effective legal system comprising of both the courts and the laws to enforce the implementation of the agreements7. Besides the two, the union further has the capacity to implement its legislations throughout the member states. The European Union law versus Member’s States Laws In the first case of its kind, the Van Gend en Loos v. Netherlands case that was decided in 1963 at the Netherlands Supreme Court in regards to the direct effect of the EU treaty provisions and the extent to which individuals can rely on such

European Research Center for Information Systems (ERICS) and its Compe Essay - 1

European Research Center for Information Systems (ERICS) and its Competitors - Essay Example In the current systems of globalization where information spread fast, the choice of institution one can join is determined by a number of factors. How an institution structures the systems determines its competitive edge in a highly dynamic market. In this case, ERICS faces competition from such institutions such as PSB Academy in Singapore. PSB is an internationally accredited institution, operating out of two campuses, the Henderson and Delta, Singapore. It was established in 1964 and has seen its name grow taking 30, 000 students annually in Degree, post-graduate and corporate levels programs. For educational programs, this is conducted through its School of Engineering, Business, Information Technology and Physical Sciences. In addition, the institution owns Center for Foundation Studies and Center for English Languages Studies that offer varying programs to cater to the needs and interests of the students. Just as like ERICS, PSB Academy centers in Information Technology with Business, Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics. The infrastructure and lecturers with a vast wealth of experience have kept the institution in high regards. The graduates from the institution have recorded a high absorption rate in the market than any other institution of higher learning in Singapore. The institution is a worthy competitor to the ERICS. PSB Academy has hugely marketed itself through the world of mouth from the high intake of the graduate in the job market. The employers are well versant with the institution from the student who joins the market. The graduate is trained and skills and offer a strong marketing solution for the campus. For instance, in 2014, the institution recorded 95 % employment rate. 85 % of the graduates gained employment within the first 6 months and 3.1 on average manage to find a job (PSB, 2014). These statistics speaks volume of the quality of  education in PSB Academy.  

The current strategy of Sony Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The current strategy of Sony - Essay Example As such, it can be said that Sony aims to become the leading global provider of networked consumer electronics and entertainment which is to be attained by strengthening its core businesses, enhancing network initiatives; and leveraging international growth opportunities to build for the future and drive further growth and profits for the company. Since innovation is at the heart of Sony’s business model, Sony intends to enrich its strengths with external expertise by accelerating the efficiency of R&D, as well as by enabling the company to effectively respond to rapidly changing customer needs and preferences in the network era. Thus, through the creation of new user experiences, strengthening core businesses, driving innovation, and minimizing the environmental impact of its operations, Sony strives to achieve not only sales volume, but also sustainable and profitable growth. Furthermore, Sony believes that the key to achieving such goals lies on accelerating and aligning its business operations. In this light, two business groups were formed during the formation of this strategy: the Network Products and Services Group and the New Consumer Products Group. The Network Products and Services Group is comprised of Sony Computer Entertainment, personal computers, mobile products including the Walkman, and Sony Media and Software Services. Through this group, Sony aims to bring new technologies to the market and increase the pace of innovation. Along with the introduction of new technologies, Sony also created digital services that tie together all of its products, thus, sustaining profitability and maintaining a cohesive corporate culture. On the other hand, the New Consumer Products Group is composed of television, digital imaging, home audio, and the video business. Through this Group, Sony targets to achieve profitability and growth through product innovation, as well as to improve efficiency and speed of operations. In between these two groups are two teams that help in software development and render logistical support. The first is called Common Software Technology Team. It develops and implements integrated technology and software solutions. The second one is called Manufacturing/Logistics/Procurement team that ensures efficient supply chain solutions for the aforementioned business groups. With this, a brief look at the financial report of Sony in 2008 reveals that there is a substantial increase in terms of its net income as driven by the increase in sales. Thus, such figure can be attributed to the growth in sales. Summarizing all the gathered information, it can be claimed that the strategy of Sony banks pri marily on the internal alignment and reorganization of its primary business units in order to increase production efficiency while minimizing costs. Q2. Evaluate the strategy being adopted by Sony to regain lost market share. Reference to the material presented in book Strategy for Business, which theory/concept that the current strategy of Sony was based on. You need to critically justify your argument  The business strategy of Sony, which banks on strengthening the coordination among its core business through the creation of

Future Trends in Operations Management

Future Trends in Operations Management A key feature of the current business environment is the idea that supply chains compete, not companies It has become commonly recognized that a companys survival is primarily a question of its competitiveness. At the heart of it is the constant need to rapidly grow and capture the leading market positions. Modern economic conditions force businesses to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction by performing perfect consumer service, delivering a wide variety of quality products in shorter lead time and at a reasonable cost. This creates incredible opportunities for individual consumers and puts great pressures on companies to seek for the new ways to appeal consumers. Other that that, contemporary business environment brings a huge level of uncertainty to managers of all levels and urges them to be able to sense all the changes and implement the right and timely measures to be successful. This uncertainty may come from government decisions, customers and consumers, shareholders that demand increased return from what they invest into business. This is how Dennis McCarthy and D r. Nick Rich describe current business situation in their book on business-led changes called Lean TPM: The new competitive conditions are far removed from those of the past and challenge strategies such that we can no longer assume that: Past business success is a guarantee of future survival; Product patens will protect a manufacturer from competition; Buying the latest technology will provide a means of defense against competition. Technology or products by themselves are not enough to guarantee survival (McCarthy and Rich, 2004). Clearly, as a result of the new trends and new economic realities managing operations and supply chain has become extremely complex and challenging. We believe that the list of the key pressures that these authors outline in their book to describe modern economic conditions not only perfectly well describes challenges facing the world today, but also gives a good insight into how these may effect supply chain in particular, including its design, management and future business integration. According to McCarthy and Rich they include: 1. New and emerging manufacturing economies with low labour costs are  attracted to mature Western markets where they can exploit their cost  advantage. The power of the internet in purchasing materials and components on a global scale and therefore access to alternative suppliers has increased exponentially. As such, power has shifted to the customer/consumer. Deregulation of world markets has resulted from international trading agreements and this has liberated trade and increased competition for manufacturers. Corporations have the ability to switch production. Pressure groups and lobbyists seeking to lower prices or convince the manufacturer to improve their performance in areas such as environmental management. Shareholders who expect a year on year improvement in the returns on their money invested and constantly compare these returns with what their money could earn elsewhere. Customers expect product variety, continuously improving quality levels, lead time reduction and want their stocks reduced (McCarthy and Rich, 2004). Benita M. Beamon also adds to this list extreme climate change as one of the essential factors that will also effect future world business configuration since its change would threaten transportation infrastructures, natural resources supply including the constrained supply of natural energy and raw materials as such, and would change overall human behavior patterns which as a result will drastically influence the ability to supply worldwide (Beamon, 2008). Although operations and supply chain management is often seen as merely routine activities, it is indeed very sensitive to almost all business changes and, therefore, fairy regarded now as one of the critical business concerns and has the priority in managing the organization. This is why we chose to reflect on the above mentioned trends to study their effect on the supply chain and operations and, thus, track current and future challenges in this area. 1. It is now obvious that the world economy has faced large structural changes in recent years on the way to bring businesses to more international basis. There can hardly be found now any operation that does not sell to or buy from foreign markets. Globalization of businesses has significantly accelerated, resulting in new challenges for companies on the global market. Sixth annual survey performed by PRTM Management Consultants showed that respondents consistently rank acceleration of supply chain globalization as a top priority over the next several years concluding that the primary shift of manufacturing and assembly operations has been to low cost country destinations including China, India and Eastern Europe (2008). It can be summarized that expansion of operations supply chain to cover the whole world still stays number one trend due to its cost reduction opportunities and, therefore, puts additional challenges to cope with these increased pressures. With that in mind, product quality and safety as well as supply chain delivery and security become the main concern for organizations globalizing their supply chains, thus, providing additional business risks. 2. Number two trend logically follows from the business expansion to improve global performance and flexibility companies seek for the alternative ways to control operations, fasten processes, and simplify procedures. Increased pressures are also put on them to improve coordination and achieve overall integration with suppliers and customers. Internet, e-commerce, e-procurement and other web-based applications offer major cost savings and advantages. Simon R. Croom studied the positive effects of e-business strategy implementation on supply chain management. In his research Supply Chain Management in the E-Business Era the following advantages were outlined: New e-business infrastructures offer a wider range of activities within supply chain, e.g. electronic marketplaces including larger numbers of buyers and sellers; Increased use of electronic methods for searching and sourcing which reduces coordination costs and increase the proportion of economic activities coordinated by markets, companies are encouraged to use more out-sourcing, low coordination costs will also enable companies to buy goods and services less expensively; Information processing is reduced; Additional opportunities provided by the use of E-procurement. Its advantages include: greater visibility of the procurement process, improved management of maintenance, repair and operating supplies, improved stock management, better information for purchasing decision-making, supply base reduction followed by the change of the supply chains structure, significant efficiency gains with the attention to the role and development of purchasing as a core capability of the organization, it also provides a powerful platform from which to exploit the organizations strategic leverage and undertake major total supply chain cost improvements (Croom, 2001). 3. Number three trend, we believe, is another logical result of the two mentioned above rapid growth of new information technologies raised the issue of accumulated information and knowledge management. Accumulation of knowledge relates to both customer relationship formation and product innovation process. At the heart of this concept is the recognition of the fact that knowledge is the key driver of the value-adding processes. It has been fairly noted by the theorists of operations management that the way in which products or services were created was not random; they were the product of a whole collection of decisions and actions based on an even larger collection of knowledge (Slack, Chambers, Johnston, 2007). So, it is obvious that the concept of knowledge management will significantly influence the future development of operations and supply chain management as it provides the expertise that underpins companys competitive advantage. 4. Trend number four, that needs to be discussed in more detail, from our point of view, and should be grouped into a separate trend is that of the future integration of the supply chain and future development in such areas as business-to-business, business-to-customer and customer-to-customer relationships. It is indeed evident now, in the new era that the supply chain has become more connected and integrated that ever before due to the rapid growth of new information technologies, web-based applications and other alternative communication means. Companies constantly seek for developing new creative ways to communicate with suppliers, customers and consumers. It especially relates to service-based and product-based supply chain. On-line ordering, availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week, great variety of products and services, no issues with transportation and so on, all this has drastically improved the efficiency of the supply chain. Customers are also encouraged to communic ate with each other by means of widespread social networks: blogs, forums, portals which allows instant information sharing. All this, we believe, will keep on changing the way in which the supply chain operates towards increased capacities and efficiencies of the supply chain. 5. Another trend that can not be mentioned with all reflected earlier is the problem of environmental responsibility and sustainability or green supply chain. Opinions of researchers differ here in weather it will be the result of the state legislation compliance and customer requirements or it will be one of the effective ways to improve companys image and reputation. Our consideration is that it will be both. No need to deny that the pressures from the legislation are increasing which urges almost all companies to put in place relevant environmental management. The concept of waste management has also gained popularity in recent years as it implies waste reduction that in all its forms significantly saves cost for the organization which conventionally coincides here with environmental responsibility. We can already see that companies have started large campaigns towards recyclable materials application, new product design to consider their life cycle beyond their traditional shelf- life to extract more value from precious natural resources, reduction of energy and water consumption, use of alternative fuels and many other. It is obvious that the concept of environmental responsibility will take the key role in day-to-day operations management decisions and every day practices due to its great economic potential for the firm. We think that this list can be continued with more and more trends and business challenges, however, from our point of view these 5 give the fullest picture of what to expect from the environment in which we exist. It reflects the key processes that both companies and each of us as a consumer is involved on the daily basis. We have identified some of the challenges and complexities that are characteristic of operations and supply chain today and have attempted to analyze these to possibly see their future development. It is obvious that uncertainty and complexity will still be the main characteristics of the global business environment in the future. However, managers will have the advantage of the emerging information and communication technologies that will provide real time data to support operational decision-making and will help to improve efficiency of processes in the area of the use of resources, materials handling and product design. Question 2 In the second part of the assignment I will compare the company that I work for with the performed literature review and based on this comparison will outline its main competitive advantages. I have been working for Nestlà © for 6 years, starting from the small water factory just acquired by the Company. I worked as an Interpreter then, being heavily involved in the translation of the Group policies, specifications, guidelines and instructions, which the factory was going to implement to meet worldwide Nestlà © standards. I believe it is an excellent example that reflects all challenges and perplexities of the modern business conditions. With its headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland Nestlà © was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlà © and is today the worlds leading nutrition, health and wellness  company. It employs around 280  000 people and have factories or operations in almost every country in the world. The list of products includes over 127000 items of different types and sizes. This complexity, therefore, is the main characteristic of its supply chain. Managing thousands of supply chains in many countries, controlling invoicing of customers and collecting payments, predicting demand and tracking stocks all this at some point put the Company in a very risky situation which required such a solution that would put order in all this variety. So, the Company, had undertaken steps towards the implementation of GLOBE, or the Global Business Excellence model aimed at creating a single system to simplify and unify the way to manage supply chain and operate such functions, like purchasing and invoicing. The imp lementation of this model has provided not only an excellent tool to optimize operational cost, but also has served as a key driver for generating business value by creating a culture of continuous excellence, collaboration and support both cross functionally and between various operations worldwide. It is indeed true that the implementation of GLOBE taught the Company to operate as a global market player. Another thing that the Company claims that has helped it to sustain in the times of turbulence and uncertainty is its strict compliance with the Company Corporate Business Principles that say: Nestlà ©s existing products grow through innovation and renovation while maintaining a balance in geographic activities and product lines. Long-term potential is never sacrificed for short-term performance. The Companys priority is to bring the best and most relevant products to people, wherever they are, whatever their needs, throughout their lives (Appendix, 4). It is always stressed, however, that the Companys main business principle is the conviction that to have long-term success for their shareholders, all the operations not only have to comply with all applicable legal requirements and ensure that all the activities are sustainable, but additionally have to create significant valu e for society(Appendix, 2). Other things that the Company claims to be the basis of its culture and is considered to be the essential part of its long-term established reputation are of course its quality assurance and product safety. The quality policy says: Nestlà © strives to create value that can be sustained over the long term by meeting consumer needs for nutrition, enjoyment and Quality they can trust (Appendix, 7). This is achieved through no waste attitude and continuous improvement of the quality standards delivered to consumers. Adequate recourses, equipment, procedures and systems, trainings and teamwork play the major role in the implementation of high standards and achievement of excellence and competitiveness. All functions across the Value Chain are fully responsible for observing mandatory principles, norms and instructions, for maintaining agreed Quality standards and for constantly improving them is another essential postulate of the Quality Policy (Appendix, 7). Consumer communication is also considered within the Company as the key indicator of all ongoing activities. All opinions, complaints and shortcomings are analyzed and serve as a tool for immediate correction and improvement if needed. Nestlà © Consumer Communications Principles state the Companys commitment to responsible, reliable consumer communication that empowers consumers to exercise their right to informed choice and promotes healthier diets (Appendix, 3). It is fair to note that supplier and consumer relations are an important part of the Companys vision on creating shared value. Doing business in the way that requires from the Companys contractors, subcontractors and their employees to demonstrate honesty, integrity and fairness; in the same way that the Company itself is demonstrating its commitment to its consumers. Supplier Code specifies these principles and helps their implementation within all suppliers and their community. By accepting these, suppliers take the responsibility of being compliant with the core principles of business integrity, sustainability, labor standards, safety and health, environment and other. Implementation of the vendor data base has helped to track and manage its suppliers in accordance with the Company principles and values. One other concept that has been in focus in recent years is that of environmental management and sustainability aimed at improvement of environmental performance, operations activities in this area, risk and cost reduction, long-term availability of raw materials and water. In its Environmental Policy the Company states: At all stages of the product life cycle we strive to use natural resources efficiently, favour the use of sustainably-managed renewable resources, and target zero waste(Appendix, 6). Target areas for improvement initiatives include: application of a life cycle approach with systematic assessments of all activities across the Value Chain, effective water resources management to provide a common mythology to measure water footprint of products, processes and organizations, reduction of gas omissions from its operations through proper energy consumption management, switching to renewable sources and transport and distribution initiatives with focus on green fleet and op timization of the distributions schemes and packaging, elimination of wastes in all operations through the Value Chain with the goal of zero waste and full recovery of unavoidable by products (Appendix, 6). The list of initiatives that Nestlà © has undertaken can be much longer that these. However, we believe that these are the main ones that reflect the Companys vision on doing business and on the way it adds value to all its activities to finally sustain and prosper in times of uncertainty and risk. As it is seen from our study it closely coincides with the literature review that we performed to define the major challenges and future trends in operations and supply chain management. This study proves the fact that constant development and applications of advanced information and communication technologies, focus on the development of relationships with both consumers and suppliers, expansion of the social responsibility with attention to environmental issues, social activities will be the main value-adding factors and efficient tools against business risks and uncertainties. REFERENCES Beamon B.M.(2008). Sustainability and the Future of Supply Chain Management. Industrial Engineering, University of Washington. Christopher M. (1992) Logistics and Supply Chain Management. First edition. London: Financial Times Croom S.R. (2001) Supply Chain Management in the E-Business Era. An investigation into Supply Chain Strategies, Practices and Progress in E-Business Adoption. McCarthy D., Rich N. (2004) Lean TPM. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Sixth Annual Survey (2008). Global Supply Chain Trends 2008-2010. Driving Global Supply Chain Flexibility through Innovation. Available at http://www.prtm.com (Accessed: September 2010). Slack N., Chambers S., Johnston. (2007) Operations Management. Fifth edition. Pearson Education Limited. Steinert-Threlkeld T. (2006) Nestlà © Pieces Together Its Global Supply Chain. Available at http://www.baselinemag.com (Accessed: December 8, 2010)

Compare the theme of seduction in To his coy mistress and The Essay exa

Compare the theme of seduction in To his coy mistress and The seduction The poem â€Å"to his coy mistress† was written by Andrew Marvell between 1621 and 1678. However â€Å"The seduction† (which was written by Eileen McAuley-a woman) was written much later, in the 1980’s. Both poems are about a man trying to persuade a woman to sleep with him. In â€Å"THCM† the man uses flattery and persuasion â€Å"For lady you deserve this state.† In this poem however we never actually discover if he was successful in persuading her. In â€Å"The seduction† he seduces her using alcohol in the hope that she will sleep with him if she is drunk. In this poem we do discover that he is successful as the girl becomes pregnant. In â€Å"THCM† the male is narrating for example â€Å"our† and â€Å"we.† In â€Å"The seduction† neither of the characters narrates. It is written in third person â€Å"He lead her to the quite bricks of Birkenhead docks.† Throughout the entire poem no names are used â€Å"he† and â€Å"she.† I think this symbolises that the situation is quite common. In both poems our sympathies are with the women. We sympathise with the women in â€Å"The seduction† because she becomes pregnant and truly regrets her actions â€Å"So she cried that she had missed all the innocence around her.† In â€Å"THCM† our sympathy is also with the woman as she is being pressurised into to having sex even though she might not want to. The men in both poems are similar in one way as they are both seducing the woman in the hope that she will sleep with them. However they both act very different. The man in â€Å"THCM† is more romantic as he takes the time to admire and appreciate the woman â€Å"An hundred years should go to praise Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze.† Whereas in â€Å"The seduction† He doe... ...of nicotine.† I think this definitely comes across during the poems, and is a clear difference. In conclusion it is clear that both are poems are about a man seducing a woman in the hope that she will sleep with him. I believe the biggest difference between the poems is to do with the date when they were written. Both time eras had completely different attitudes to sex, which is why the men go about a different way to seduce the women The poem that I find more persuasive and effective is â€Å"THCM† because the man actually loved the lady †I would love you ten years before the flood† and his intentions were slightly more pure it seems, compared to the man in â€Å"the seduction† who simply took advantage of the woman and didn’t care for her one bit. I also think that it is very cleverly written and is interesting how each stanza represents a different time frame.

Adoption Of ICT In The Tourism And Hospitality Industry Essay

Abstract Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have revolutionised the travel industry in the last decade. eTourism reflects the digitalisation of all processes and value chains in the tourism, travel, hospitality and catering industries. It emerges as a term describing the entire range of applications of ICTs on tourism and the implications for the tourism value chain. Major opportunities and challenges have emerged and need to be addressed by all industry players. However, the level of eTourism developments varies between regions, countries and continents. The tourism sector is experiencing an acceptance of ecommerce to the extend that the whole industry structure is changing .The web is used not only for information gathering but also for ordering services .A new type of user is emerging one who acts as his or her own travel agent and build a personalised travel package .This research focuses on evaluating the current status of Meikles Hotel Zimbabwe in order to study the adoption of ecommerce applications on the hospitality sector. 1. Introduction Mathieson and Wall (1982) created a good working definition of tourism as â€Å"the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to their needs.† The tourism industry requires a diverse range of information and lends itself well to the support offered by developing multimedia, communication technologies and information systems .The internet provides an extra ordinary connectivity and the ability to communicate efficiently and effectively directly with customers at a reasonable cost .Its potential to generate more revenue is not questionable but is acknowledged as something the tourism industry in developing countries needs. According to the World Tourism Organization 2002, Tourism in many developing and least developed countries is the most viable and sustainable economic development option, and in some countries, the main so urce of foreign exchange earnings. Implications of the Internet and other growing interactive multimedia platforms for tourism promotion are far reaching and alter the structure of the industry. This research aimed to explore the impact of ICTs and the  Internet in particular for the future competitiveness of the tourism and hospitality industry. This paper explores the current state of eTourism development and examines the use of the Internet in the sector. The rapid development and commercialization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for the travel and tourism industry has prompted hotels and other enterprises in this sector to increasingly adopt these technologies. This is based on the expectation that the new ICT based technologies and processes would lead to an improvement in their operating efficiencies and customer service levels. Buhalis, D. (2003: 77). The ICT based products and processes help the hotels to enhance the operating efficiency, improve the service experience as well as provide a means to access markets on a global basis. Brussels, 2005. Says ‘The use of ICTs is a relevant opportunity for growing and strengthening a local tourism industry, and for the development of destinations economies overall. Specifically ICTs have the potential to increase destination incomes for financing economic and social development’. While ICTs were used in the hotel industry from the late seventies in the f orm of Computerized Reservation systems and Global distribution systems, it was only in the 90s that the ICTs began to make a difference in the hospitality sector. Nowadays the internet has turned into an informative channel providing both individuals and organisations with different types of information making them aware of new tourism and old travel opportunities and offers enabling them to compare the offers, have online purchases and provide feedback. It has also turned into a source for travel agencies and organisations to promote their services and products to their potential customers. As the internet is being used worldwide it was important for Meikles hotel to implement hence the creation of its web site www.meikles.com Meikles Hotel Meikles Hotel is situated in the heart of Harare and overlooks the historic landmark and colourful flower gardens of Africa Unity Square. According to Experience Zimbabwe, Meikles is consistently voted as one of the best hotels in Zimbabwe, Meikles Hotel is a proud member of The Leading Hotels of the World, a prestigious hospitality organisation which represents some of the world’s most acclaimed hotels, spas and resorts. Established in 1928, the organisation exists to meet the needs of discerning travellers and for a  hotel to be recognised by this body, it needs to exceed every expectation and achieve exacting standards of excellence. Executive chairman Mr Onias Makamba says ‘Meikles Hotel has won the prestigious Association of Zimbabwean Travel Agents (AZTA) award for Best City Hotel in Zimbabwe for an astonishing 15 consecutive years’. This award is voted on by AZTA members and is based on feedback given to travel agents by their many clients across the worl d. Problem Definition There have been a lot of changes in the rapid growing world of technology. Changes in the technological world have made organizations to change the way they conduct their day to day business in order to provide satisfactory services delivery. Effective delivery of service is defined by Martin (2004) as providing products and services that bring utility to users and customers. E-tourism is offering significant benefits for organizations that integrate the technology into their organizational information systems. This versatile technology improves information quality and accessibility, increases operational efficiency (service delivery) and enhances effective management (Maamar, 2006). Despite these highly perceived benefits of e-tourism its adoption has been relatively slow in Zimbabwe. Currently, there are no studies which have been carried out in Zimbabwe to identify the benefits and challenges of adopting ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry. Hence it is the ideal time to ca rry out an investigation on the adoption of ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry. Objectives The key objective of this research has been to examine the Adoption of ICT in the tourism industry mainly looking at Meikles Hotel in Zimbabwe .In particular the research examines the level of ICT diffusion in tourism enterprises. Another objective is to Identify the factors affecting E-tourism in Zimbabwe The paper also assesses how eTourism concepts and techniques can contribute towards the improvement of the Zimbabwe tourism competitiveness. RESEARCH QUESTIONS I. At what rate is ICT being adopted in the tourism and hospitality industry in Zimbabwe? II. What factors are encouraging or discouraging the adoption of ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry of Zimbabwe. 2. Literature  review Literature review is a â€Å"systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating and interpreting the existing body of recorded work produced by other scholars† (Khan, 2008, p.41). The literature review focuses on the impacts of ICTs on tourism and the eCommerce developments in Zimbabwe. It also includes a brief section on Tourism in Zimbabwe which provides the contextual environment that determines the requirements for eTourism in the country. 2.1 ICT Developments and eCommerce in Zimbabwe There are various factors that have affected the adoption of ecommerce in Zimbabwe, these include : Software development tools are still evolving .It is difficult to integrate Internet and e-commerce software with some existing (especially legacy) applications and databases .Special web servers are needed in addition to the network servers, which add to the cost of ecommerce. The Standard June 5, 2011 says the adoption of the multiple currency system in 2009 presented a strong opportunity for the growth of e-commerce in Zimbabwe. It said Zimbabwe now had a chance to catch up with the rest of the world if the financial and retail sectors took the lead. Internet accessibility is still expensive and or inconvenient .Powertel Communications, a government owned internet provider, is one of the 12 POTRAZ licensed Internet Access Providers in Zimbabwe. In June 2014 Powertel mobile broadband price were $50/month .The price of the modem $45.Every Zimbabwean cannot afford these prices. The Fin ancial Gazette 3 Oct 2013 states Despite the growth of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in the country, which has seen internet penetration rising from five to 47 percent in the past five years, the cost of accessing the internet still remains high. The improved internet penetration is largely credited to the ICT Strategic Plan crafted by the then ministry of ICT under Nelson Chamisa. Customers’ attitudes towards online shopping remain skeptical, mainly because of worries about product quality, product delivery, and security and privacy issues (Ghazali et al., 2006; Scott & Scott, 2008). People do not yet  sufficiently trust paperless, faceless transactions .Payment security and privacy concerns are one of the major non technological barriers that prevent consumers from completing transactions online Lack of trust in e-commerce and in unknown sellers hinders buying. Online fraud is also increasing. Some customers like to feel and touch products. They are afraid that if they purchase without actually touching the products they might not get exactly what they ordered. Also, customers are resistant to the change from shopping at a brick-and-mortar store to a virtual store. The lack of stand ­ards in technology and its applications eventually increases the cost of system integration for effective and efficient management in distribution, operation and communication worldwide. Large hospitality corporations have invested to transform their systems into a total netware system; however, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMEs) struggle to integrate the systems due to a shortage of financial sources Factors Determining the Adoption of ICTs In Zimbabwean Hotels There are a number of factors that affect the adoption of ICT in hotels these will be discussed below. In the hotel industry, the geographic location of a hotel has a major impact on its operations and profitability. The geographical location of a hotel would greatly determine the profile of its visitors, the size of its market and the level of competition that it has to face. A hotel will therefore be more inclined to adopt ICTs if it expects the ICT based facilities to either provide greater competitive advantage or to blunt the advantage enjoyed by its competitors considering the characteristics of its customer profile, its market size and the intensity of competition that it has to face. Thus based on the profile of a hotel’s visitors, the size of the market, or the intensity of competition, hotels may differ in their levels of ICT adoption propensity. The market size, in terms of the number of tourists who visit the location, will also be a significant factor that affects ICT adoption , since hotels  in smaller underdeveloped destinations may need to use the internet and other ICT based technologies to a greater degree to reach out to the global population than hotels located in developed destinations. According to Bajaj and Nag (2005) a range of advanced ICT systems such as Decision Support System (DSS) can be applied to gain substantial benefits on practical levels not only by large organisations, but also by small and medium-sized business organisations as well. Bajaj and Nag (2005) argue that DSS integration by small and medium-sized organisations can assist management by generating a set of alternative solution options to management problems of various levels complexities The competition level among the hotels in a location, can also influence the adoption of ICTs. The general occupancy rate in the location is an indicator of the competitive intensity among the hotels in a location. High levels of occupancy rate at a location imply that the competition is low, and the hotels can expect to get their rooms filled with relative ease while low levels of occupancy point towards higher levels of competition to attract customers between the hotels in the location. High levels of competition may prompt the hotels to aggressively use ICT based technologies both for attracting customers as well as to increase the efficiency of its operations. The size of the hotel has an important effect on ICT adoption. Effective adoption of several ICT technologies requires a substantial investment of resources. Lack of resources may affect the inclination of small hotels to adopt costly ICTs and therefore large hotels can be expected to be more inclined to ICTs. Further the risky nature of investing in new technologies may prompt small hotels to wait till the technology has stabilized before investing in it. Another aspect of the hotel size that can influence adoption of ICTs is the inclination to change within the organization. Large hotels have been found to be more resistant to change than small firms. This fact tends to suggest that large hotels are less inclined to adopt ICTs than small hotels as long as the investment required is not a consideration. The scope of activities that the hotel is engaged in can also influence adoption of ICTs. Since ICTs enable an effective integration of activities of an organization, hotels with varied lines of activities would find more use in the adoption of ICTs than hotels with a relatively lesser span of activities. 2.2 Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the Tourism sector The internet has become a key application in the tourism industry. Tourism providers have been using the internet to communicate, distribute and market their products to potential customers worldwide in a cost- and time-efficient way. In fact, the individual company website had become the most important platform for e-commerce, followed by electronic markets. The main focus of e-business processes in the tourism industry has been on customer facing activities and services, i.e. primarily e-marketing and e-sales. Online booking and reservation services were widely accepted among consumers and business travell ers already in 2005. Similarly, online purchasing had become a relatively well-used application in the tourism sector. Parsons and Oja (2013) mention online reservations systems as one of the greatest impacts of ICT on tourism and hospitality sector. Tourism has closely been connected to progress of ICTs for over 30 years. The establishments of the Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs) in the 1970s, Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) in the late 1980s and the Internet in the late 1990s have transformed operational and strate ­gic practices dramatically in tourism .The tourism indus ­try at first focused on utilizing computerized systems (e.g., CRS, GDS) to increase efficiency in processing of internal information and managing distribution. Nowadays, the Internet and ICTs are relevant on all operative, structural, strategic and marketing levels to facilitate global interaction among suppliers, intermediaries and consumers around the world. In this section, we will provide the concepts and definitions of the key terms related to the Internet and ICTs. 2.2.1 Electronic tourism (e-tourism) It is the application of ICTs on the tourism industry (Buhalis, 2003). Buhalis (2003) suggests that e-tourism reflects the digitisation of all processes and value chains in the tourism, travel, hospitality and catering industries. At the tactical level, it includes e-com ­merce and applies ICTs for maximising the efficiency and effectiveness of the tourism  organi ­sation. At the strategic level, e-tourism revolutionises all business processes, the entire value chain as well as the strategic relationships of tourism organisations with all their stakeholders. E-tourism determines the competitiveness of the organisation by taking advantage of intranets for reorganising internal processes, extranets for developing transactions with trusted partners and the Internet for interacting with all its stakeholders and customers. The e-tourism concept includes all business functions (i.e., e-commerce, e-marketing, e-finance and e-accounting, eHRM, e-procurement, e-production) as well as e-strategy, e-planning and e-management for all sectors of the tourism industry, including tourism, travel, transport, leisure, hospitality, principals, intermediaries and public sector organisations. Hence, e-tourism bundles together three distinctive disciplines: business management, information systems and management, and tourism. II.2.2 Computer reservation system (CRS) The 1989 CRS Regulation51 defined a ‘computerized reservation system’ as a system for reserving and booking seats on commercial flights electronically, as well as storage and retrieval of itineraries. Several airlines own and market such systems, which are used by travel agents. A few include: Sabre (produced by American Airlines), Amadeus, and Worldspan. It is a database which enables a tourism organisation to manage its inventory and make it accessible to its partners. Principals utilise CRSs to manage their inventory and distribute their capacity as well as to manage the drastic expansion of global tourism. CRSs often charge competitive commission rates while enabling flexible pricing and capacity alterations, to adjust supply to demand fluctuations. Airlines pioneered this technology, although hotel chains and tour operators followed by developing centralised reservation systems. CRSs can be characterised as the â€Å"circulation system† of the tourism product . II.2.3 Global distribution systems (GDSs) The business dictionary defines a global distribution system as a worldwide computerized reservation network used as a single point of access for reserving airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related  items by travel agents, online reservation sites, and large corporations. The premier global distribution systems are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan. They are owned and operated as joint ventures by major airlines, car rental companies, and hotel groups. Also called automated reservation system (ARS) or computerized reservation system (CRS).Since the mid 1980s, airline CRSs developed into GDSs by gradually expanding their geographical coverage as well as by integrating both horizontally, with other airline systems, and vertically by incorporating the entire range of principals, such as accommodation, car rentals, train and ferry ticketing, entertainment and other provisions. In the early 1990s, GDSs emerged as the major driver of ICTs, as well as the back bone of the tourism industry and the single most important facilitator of ICTs globalisation (Sheldon, 1993). In essence, GDSs matured from their original development as airline CRSs to travel supermar ­kets. Since the late 1990s GDSs have emerged as business in their own right, specialising in travel distribution. 2.2.4 Intermediaries Intermediaries (brokers) play an important role in commerce by providing value-added activities and services to buyers and sellers. The most well-known intermediaries in the physical world are wholesalers and retailers. Traditionally, intermediaries of the travel industry have been outbound and inbound travel agencies and tour operators. However, the Internet restructured the entire touristic value chain, forcing the existing intermediaries to take up the new medium and to develop corresponding business models. 2.2.5 e-Travel agencies ICTs are irreplaceable tools for travel agencies as they provide information and reservation facilities and support the intermediation between consumers and principals. Andreas Papatheodorou – (2006) Travel agencies operate various reservation systems, which mainly enable them to check availability and make reservations for tourism products. Until recently GDSs have been critical for business travel agencies to access information and make reservations on scheduled airlines, hotel chains, car rentals and a variety of ancillary services. GDSs help construct complicated itineraries, while  they provide up-to-date schedules, prices and availability information, as well as an effective reservation method. In addition, they offered internal management modules integrating the â€Å"back office† (accounting, commission monitor, personnel) and â€Å"front office† (customers’ history, itinerary construction, ticketing and communication with suppliers). Multiple tr avel agencies in particular experience more benefits by achieving better coordination and control between their remote branches and headquarters. Transactions can provide invaluable data for financial and operational control as well as for marketing research, which can analyze the market fluc ­tuations and improve tactical decisions Hotels use ICTs in order to improve their operations, manage their inventory and maximise their profitability. Their systems facilitate both in-house management and distribution through electronic media. ‘Property management systems (PMSs)’ coordinate front office, sales, planning and operational functions by administrating reservations and managing the hotel inventory. Moreover, PMSs integrate the â€Å"back† and â€Å"front† of the house management and improve general administration functions such as accounting and finance; marketing research and planning; forecasting and yield management; payroll and personnel; and purchasing. Understandably, hotel chains gain more benefits from PMSs, as they can introduce a unified system for planning, budgeting and controlling and coordinating their properties centrally. Hotels also utilise ICTs and the Internet extensively for their distribution and marketing func ­tions. Global presence is essential in order to enable both individual customers and the travel trade to access accurate information on availability and to provide easy, efficient, inexpensive and reliable ways of making and confirming reservations. Although Central Reservation Offices (CROs) introduced central reservations in the 1970s, it was not until the expansion of airline CRSs and the recent ICT developments that forced hotels to develop hotel CRSs in order to expand their distribution, improve efficiency, facilitate control, empower yield management, reduce labour costs and enable rapid response time to both customers and management re ­quests. Following the development of hotel CRSs by most chains, the issue of interconnectivity with other CRSs and the Internet emerged.This reduces both set-up and reservation costs, whilst facilitates res ­ervations through several distribution channels 2.3 Tourism in Zimbabwe In the past, tourism contributed significantly to the GDP of Zimbabwe, and created many employment and business opportunities for locals in the 1990s. But it has faced a great decline since 2000. A number of Zimbabwean tourist attractions are marketed online by South African companies and they have created an impression to some international tourists that they are located in South Africa. E-tourism has always seemed like a no-brainer for Zimbabwe, as money can be paid direct to hotels and suppliers. But obstacles like the lack of access to communication in remote areas, uncertain electricity availability, high cost of bandwidth, the lack of integrated, real-time reservation systems and local online payment gateways have thus far stymied progress. However, with the arrival of voice and data-oriented telecommunications in some remote tourist areas, there is more access to information via websites by foreign tourists looking for a good holiday resort. In other parts of Africa, arrival o f cheaper bandwidth has lessened the barriers to communication and the world’s Online Travel Agencies like Expedia are showing a real interest in the continent. Ten years ago no-one was talking about online tourism. The tourism trade tended to focus on going to big trade events like World Tourism Markets, with brochures and doing support advertising in key markets. The travel agents tended to suggest where people went and to some extent picked the destinations. As a result, a great deal of the revenues went to large, international hotel chains and not much of the money was retained locally. According to The Zimbabwean (22 June 2011) 56% of travel globally is booked online and the rise of the Online Travel Agents has been unstoppable. These OTAs, as they are known in the trade, include Expedia, Travelocity, Lastminute.com and Bookings.com – who have significant market share in Africa. Expedia has actually opened an office to focus on Africa. It goes on to say In 2005, less than 2% of tourism revenues in Africa came from online booking. In 2010, buoyed by the World Cup, that percentage rose to 5% and looks set to go to somewhere between 15-20% by 2016. The World Cup may have been a one-off boost but it accelerated the growth of online tourism in South Africa. 50% of Americans read an online review before booking internationally and that’s usually  either Trip Advisor or Facebook. (Trip Advisor is now owned by Expedia). Most in ternational travellers have credit cards and increasingly expect to be able to book online for anything from the smallest travel lodge to the largest hotel chain. So what are the barriers? The missing piece was e-commerce. There used to be no route for doing online transactions in other countries in Africa including Zimbabwe. Online distribution by the OTAs requires a reservation system that offers real-time availability. OTAs won’t do business with you unless you have that. In Zimbabwe there are few tourist resorts offering e-commerce reservation and booking services. Shearwater Adventures in Victoria Falls offer online booking and payment services, which have attracted a large number of tourists over the years. The second missing piece was the ability and tools to do online marketing. The companies needed marketing skills, especially with social media. Today’s tourist wants to hear from other travellers (through Facebook and Trip Advisor) and are not that interested in what the hotel has to say. For example, hotel chains Africa Sun and Cresta Hotels have invested in websites and Facebook groups where reviews are easily accessible to prospective tourists. Now that the data oriented communication and cheaper bandwidth is slowly becoming available throughout the country, telcos and ISPs need to focus specifically on those industry sectors that are most likely to make the online transition fastest. It must be possible in the near future for a herita ge site in Binga to be marketed online to the world and attract visitors. 3. Research Methodology To fulfil the objectives of this research a number of methods were used. Both primary and secondary data were therefore essential. Given the dynamic nature of the subject area, multiple primary research approaches were adopted, including both qualitative and quantitative methods (Phillip, 1998). Bryman (1998) explains that the two methods are complementary rather than competing, especially for exploratory research. The researcher made use of the internet and some library books to carry out the research and establish the solutions to the research objectives .First a qualitative approach was adopted in order to enable the appreciation of all aspects of the subject and to develop a set of the most critical variables  to be included afterwards into a questionnaire. The main objective was to objectively establish the level of eCommerce and the on-line representation of Zimbabwean tourism. The second stage involved semi-structured interviews aimed to elicit critical issues and to explore the key factors that determine the development of eTourism in Zimbabwe. In-depth interviews are considered as the most appropriate method to obtain information about perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. Judgmental sampling was employed and interviewees were selected as pioneers in eTourism in Zimbabwe, as determined by their online presence assessed in the previous phase of the research. Owners and marketing managers of organisations that run innovative web sites, as demonstrated by the methods used to interact with their clientele, were targeted and an interview was requested. The sample was chosen to include interviewees who would be informed, reflecting their particular experience and outlook on the research area. Twenty five telephone contacts were made and 28 interviews were finally conducted, which resulted in a 51% response rate .The reasearcher also made use of the questionnaires. The questionnaires designed by the researcher had both open ended questions thus allowing a respondent to fully express the answer and closed questions which only provided simple choice of answer such as yes or no. Questionnaires were used by the researcher because they saved time and they were an inexpensive way of surveying a cross section of people. Questionnaires allowed the researcher to guide the respondent along the lines regarding the topic under study and responses obtained from closed ended questions are easy to analyze. Questionnaires allowed the respondents to give freely the confidential information since the respondents were not required to disclose their identity. The researcher favoured the use of questionnaires because the analysis of data from close-ended question was easy. However data collection through the use of questionnaires required a significant commitment, expertise, time and material resources. The researcher also noted that questionnaires were highly inflexible as they gave no room to rephrase questions, furthermore, some questions remained unanswered and it affected the research findings. The researcher used simple wording in the questionnaires so that the respondents would not fail to understand the questions, that is, the researcher used simple wording to elaborate the meanings of what was being asked and required. The researcher also used face to face interviews. The researcher employed structured interviews to obtain detailed and specific information from the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Mr Mzembi. The questions presented to the Minister sought to determine the factors affecting adoption of ICTs in Zimbabwean hotel and also how far Zimbabwean hotels are in terms of adoption of ICTs. The interview also sought to discover challenges to implementing ICTs and compliance at different hotels. The interview process proved time consuming and required persistence since the honourable Minister was a busy person and he was not easily available. The actual interview session had a length of 15 minutes due to the Minister’s busy schedule. To avoid inconveniences, an appointment via e-mail and telephone call prior to interviewing visit was made. Goodman (2003) states that certain biases exist due to the tendency by the interviewer to ask wrong questions and be supplied with answers he expects to get. The researcher eliminated such errors by avoiding leading questions and taking a listener approach instead of providing suggestions. Probing was only applied as a means of seeking clarifications. This technique was used because interviews are highly flexible and the researcher was able to rephrase the questions to make the respondent understand better. Dennis (2003), states that an interview is whereby the researcher and the respondents discuss verbally with each other either face to face, over the phone or over the internet. Interviews allow probing on open ended questions, clarifications on ambiguous questions and sequencing of questions is easily changed. However, the researcher noted that interviews were costly to run in terms of money and they are time consuming because the interviewee was a busy person hence the need of an appointment and the need of a telephone call reminding the interviewee about the appointment before the  time. The researcher also noted that the interview failed to give anonymity to the respondent, hence, there was a greater chance of being given biased information. RESULTS Eight hotels participated in the survey Meikles hotel, Holiday inn (Bulawayo), Victoria falls, Regency Fairmile, Kadoma hotel, Midlands hotel. At the outset the author quotes from a number of previous reports, which indicate that ICT has not been implemented effectively in the hospitality industry Evidence from the literature review has shown that there are a number of factors, which affect technology adoption. These factors include organisational readiness, external pressure, internal expertise, support of owner or manager, user participation, efficient and effective use of any external expertise. The barriers which were uncovered by the research: IT management training, dependency on outside experts and size and scale of enterprise are all directly related to the ‘other’ factors which influence ICT adoption. The level of significance of these barriers varies between the tourism sub-sectors surveyed. This study has added new knowledge in terms of the significance of a n umber of further barriers to ICT adoption. They include peripheral or rural location, security concerns, cost issues, lack of capital, and personal background of the owner manager. A closer analysis of findings has revealed that although technology is available, some of it is obsolete or not necessarily functional. Hotels possessed various outdated versions of software packages which did not seem to serve them well. . The mode of Internet bookings is an important determinant of their success. A lot of Internet booking systems generates a booking in email format rather than integrating into the hotel’s reservation system online. This obviously limits the usefulness of these systems. DISCUSSION The adoption of ICTs at Meikles Hotel is proving to be growing fast; this was noted by the stakeholder preparedness to harness it. Meikles hotel being a  five star hotel recognised internationally, this pushes them to move along with technological changes. Meikles hotel is interested in improving in their service provision through the use of e-commerce, and the results of this study show that this is being done at a fast pace. The top management at Meikles hotel are quite literate hence the adoption of ICT is faster compared to other hotels .The C.E.O is a holder of an honours degree in Computer science .Although the use of ICTs has not yet revolutionalised Meikles Hotel’s service delivery; it has changed how some services such as bookings are being done. Meikles hotel has a website developed and maintained by an inhouse programmer .Their website is user friendly and they have all the information that one needs about the hotel. Meikles hotel started offering wireless network services to guest in 2006.They use Fidelio management system which integrates all the information from the reservations, banqueting, finance departments and the restaurants. They use point of sale systems. CONCLUSION It can be noted that the adoption of ICTs at Meikles Hotel is proving to be growing fast and it has been done to a very large extent. Although the use of ICTs has not yet revolutionalised Meikles Hotel’s service delivery; it has changed how some services such as bookings are being done. References Buhalis, D (1998), â€Å"Strategic Use of Information Technologies in the Tourism Industry†, Tourism Management, Vol.19, pp.409-421. Connolly D. J and Olsen M. D(2000) â€Å"An Environmental Assessment of How Technology is reshaping the Hospitality Sector†, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol.3 (1), pp.73 to93. Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Gilbert, D and Wanhill, S (1998) Tourism Principles and Practice, Pearson, Essex. Hoontrakul and Sahadev (2005*) â€Å"Determinants of E-commerce Usage in the Hotel Buhalis, D. (1997) Information technologies as a strategic tool for economic, cultural and environmental benefits enhancement of tourism at destination regions. Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 3 (1), 71-93. Buhalis, D. (2003). eTourism: Information Technology for Strategic Tourism Management. London, UK: Pearson (Financial Times/Prentice Hall). Morrison, A., Taylor, S., Morrison, A., and Morrison, A. (1999) Marketing small hotels on the world web 2 (2), 97–113. O’Connor, P. (2000) Using Computers in Hospitality, 2nd edition. London: Cassell. Peacock, M. (1995) Information Technology in Hospitality. London: Cassell. O’Connor, P. and Frew, A. (2000) Evaluating electronic channels of distribution in the hotel sector: a Delphi study. Information Technology and Tourism, 3 (3/4), 177–193. O’Connor, P. and Horan, P. (1999) An analysis of web reservations facilities in the top 50 international hotel chains. International Journal of Hospitality Information Technology, 1 (1), 77–87.

Literate in a Modern Society

Literate in a Modern Society Human history saw many examples when knowledge meant everything for people because the information and ability and opportunity to acquire it was something more than simply data from books, this was independence in terms of thoughts and the ways of expressing one’s ideas. So, people strove for knowledge, for free access to information, and means of obtaining knowledge.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Literate in a Modern Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The modern world changed greatly and literacy is not associated with ability to read and to write; it has become a method of achieving one’s goals in accordance with the rules typical for modern people. However, literacy can still be perceived as a set of skills that enable a person to read and write because is it a burning issue of modern education. Contemporary society fights for higher literacy level because representatives of modern youth ar e not able to spell their names correctly. Competency of educators is one of the burning issues of this day because the quality of knowledge depends greatly of the level of knowledge and effectiveness of methods applied by educators on different levels of the educational process. However, it can be concluded that educators should not assess their students objectively because students are discouraged by low grades. This vicious circle leads us to the illiteracy of the rising generation and irreversible consequences with regard to future generations. The modern world suggests many options on the ways of acquiring knowledge and gaining experience in different areas of human activity. People should be able to read, write communicate their ideas, and deal with technological innovations that include communication, storage, sharing devices and a great variety of other means of communication and learning. As the level of literacy is not sufficient, it is necessary to analyse the reasons for this. The past generation saw the rise of technological progress and invention of various devices to facilitate human life and work. So, the means used by professionals to accelerate their productivity served as means of entertainment for children that are now students and young specialists. They can read typed texts and write electronic messages. However, the literacy problem is carried to the point of absurdity when it comes to spelling some words and checking the appropriateness level of the word use and other factors that contribute to the overall literacy level.Advertising Looking for article on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More People need literacy skills in all areas of human life and activity though some fields require a higher level of literacy as an option for effective performance of a company. So, if a person cannot write without a word processor that spell-checks the message, he/she can happen to fail in the overall performance within business area, politics, administration, and managerial positions. The community demonstrates an increased level of cohesion and integrity today. Individuals should be able to convey their messages effectively not causing misunderstanding to inform the global community about their goals and means of their achieving. In this respect, international non-profit and for-profit organizations, those engaged into commerce and cultural exchange should gain literacy skills to be able to share knowledge and experience accumulated in their native community. Every individual should be able to read and write to convey messages and share knowledge. While international organizations try to solve the problem of literacy level that seems to fall dramatically, it is necessary to engage the community members into development of methods and techniques suitable for the current situation when a lot of mistakes are made and something should be done to e nable current students obtain knowledge necessary for their adult life as independent qualified employees.

Educating Special Needs Students Essays

Educating Special Needs Students Essays Educating Special Needs Students Essay Educating Special Needs Students Essay Today with so many children being born with some type of disability it is essential that schools are equipped to educate them in regular classrooms. There are many challenges children with disabilities faces and the greatest one is the myth that they cannot learn. With the appropriate instructions provided by certified special education teachers they can learn as well as the ones with disabilities. Their disabilities may range from mental retardation, autism, hearing loss, and vision impairments.Many children have severe or multiple disabilities which will cause them to need accommodations and modification to be a part of a general education curriculum (Hardman et al. , 2009). Mental Retardation Mental retardation is individuals with limited intellectual functions and adaptive behavior which is recognized before age 18. Adaptive behavior is skills that individuals cannot perform alone effectively such as communication, social interactions, caring for them self, using transportation, and counting money. Mental retardation is also called intellectual disability.Intelligence (Intelligence Quotient/ IQ) is defined as an individual overall mental ability, ability to solve problems and to learn. These tests assess a person general knowledge skills, vocabulary and reasoning ability (GCU, lecture 4, 2008). The cause of intellectual disability can include (1) Prenatal factors are to be considered as causes for infant’s developmental delays which include harmful chemical, addiction to alcohol, infections, syphilis, HIV, and environmental exposures. Mothers that do not receive proper prenatal care or smoke can also cause developmental disabilities. 2) Perinatal factors such as premature birth, trauma at birth or infection transmitted during birth (herpes) can cause developmental disabilities. (3) Postnatal factors are infections that occur after the birth such as meningitis, lack of oxygen while injury, of lack of nutrition and result in disabilities for the child (Ambrosino, Ambrosino, Heffernan, Shuttlesworth, 2008). Student with mental retardation is entitled to a free appropriate education through an individualized education program (IEP).Pairing students with other classmates can facilitate cooperative learning in academic and social skills. They should be included in general education curriculum so they can interact and learn with their peers. Some changes may be needed, accommodations and modifications, to help the child in the regular classroom (Hourcade, 2002). Autism Complex developmental brain disorders such as Pervasive Developmental Disorders Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified, Aspergers Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder are associated with individuals with autism.The three symptoms of autism are impaired social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, imagination, unusual or severely limited activities and interests. Parents will notice these symptoms in children during the first three years of childhood. Facts on autism suggest that children with autism have a normal life expectancy. There is no single cause of autism; several factors are involved such as viruses and chemicals, and disruption of normal brain development. Children with autism must undergo interventions, strategies, and therapy. Therapies help the child learn social and language skills.Because children learn better when they are young, it is suggested that therapy should begin early in the child’s life which could have a great impact on brain development. It is believed that certain genetic disorders such as Fragile X, Tuberous Sclerosis, Angelmans Syndrome, and mothers being expose to environmental agents such as maternal rubella or cytomegalovirus or chemical such as thalidomide or valproate during pregnancy has a great impact on children being diagnose with autism (Edelson, 2007). Severe Disabilities and Multiple DisabilitiesSevere disabilities are when students’ disability prevents them from accomplishing certain activities without the help of assistant. Most time mental retardation is included as one of the disability associated with severe disabilities. Additionally, they have medical conditions and physical limitations that affect their movement, such as vision and/or hearing. Individual who are severely disabled can become functional with the skillful help of inventions. Persons with multiple disabilities can also fall under the criteria for severe disabilities, but everyone with severe disabilities does not necessarily have multiple disabilities.Multiple disabilities are defined as individuals that have more than one major disability which affect their cognitive development, their movement and sensory impairment, such as mental retardation with cerebral palsy. This can cause the individual to not be able to accomplish an education because they cannot receive the special education accommodations needed for just one of the impairment which will make learning a challenge. It is suggested by State University that mental retardation is present in 60 to 70 percent of individuals with cerebral palsy.Diagnose for these individuals are mostly done by intelligence test (IQ) and adaptive behavior tests; these tests may include muscle tone, breathing control, and vision and hearing tests. The best source of information to rely on for effective diagnose is the information provided by teachers and parents on the students’ adaptive behaviors, such as how they can take care of themselves, communication with others, and socials skills (State University, 2011). Areas of Curriculum Curriculum for children with low-incidence disabilities is set by the child’s need and not their disability type.Families and friends should be involved in the curriculum planning of the students and the curriculum should meet what the child is able to accomplish. The curriculum should include functional reading which will involve the child being able to recognize sight words and apply them to daily activities and be able to read printed material presented to them. Functional math will be one area they must be able to perform as it will play a major factor in their daily living. They should be able to count money, learn how to pay bills, time management, and simple calculates.It is recommended that these students should be able to accomplish this by second grade but many are not able to do this which will require more instructions. They must be taught community and leisure skills to be able participate actively in the communities to benefit from the knowledge they have received. This is mostly done by involving the students directly in community based instructions. The most important curricula for severe disabilities individuals are home and personal skills. They must master skills such as eating, dressing, using the bathroom, bathing, brushing their teeth, and preparing their food.Without knowing how to communicate will make all the other skills not important. Communication and social skills are taught so the students will be able to communicate and interact with peers in inclusive classrooms (National Center, 2010). At the local school level, Mrs. Nicks stated that in the Hollandale School District they are guided by the same curricula and policies mandated by standards of the state. The basic guidelines for autism, mental retardation, severe and multiple disabilities are as in every other school district.Children with disabilities that prevent them from learning in an inclusive classroom must be given the opportunity to learn as stated by IDEA Amendments of 1997. She stated that the curriculum also include science studies, music, social studies, writing skills and physical education for the students without severe or multiple disabilities. Parents must present or request an IEP for students with disabilities. The IEP will indicate the types of services needed or if they have participated in any of the services before. The student will be tested to document the statue of their disabilities

Coffee Shop Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Coffee Shop - Assignment Example These include principles of impartiality when serving customers of all calibres; fairness in dealing transactions; avoidance of impartiality in all the undertakings; and serving the customers openly. To ensure best practice in handling customers, I came up with various values from which the future staff will be expected to draw at all times. The overall business will believe in offering quality services in an environment of sensitivity while at the same time treating our future customers as equals no matter the differences in any aspect of life. We will be driven by sensitivity for the needs of the customers hence allow a great space for flexibility meaning that we will display courtesy, impartiality, timeliness and promptness in our customer service. The Hawaiian coffee shop will be a corporate entity that will utilize a chain of eateries selling ready to eat foods. The eateries will range from medium sized hotels to fast foods mini-outlets that will be based in the towns of the United States. The stores will adopt a very rich variety of cuisines in preparing their meals hence cater for varied groups of customers. They will offer fast foods and eat-in services depending on the choice of the customers. They will also offer free deliveries of some certain categories of foods to their customers based in or around the city centres near where the stores will be based. The shop will be owned by a group of directors who will also happen to be its founding fathers. The management of the shop will be made of a group of qualified personnel who will work at the various smaller stores to ensure the smooth running of the day to day activities especially the customer care support. The supportive departments will include sales and marketing charged with the role of widening and maintaining the customer base; the customer care department dealing with the concerns of the customers; the clerical department dealing with data management and administration of the chain stores and the culinary department to deal with the preparation, cooking and serving of the foods. The shop will employ approximately 1200 customer service highly trained staff from all its outlets (Mabey and Iles 1995p56). Customer care In order to get a large market for their products, I will come up with a strong sales team to take products as close as possible to the target market. The sales department will be charged with the role of advising the overall management on the best venue to erect more eateries. For the moment, I have suggested areas with very large concentrations of people e.g. near bus terminuses, near institutions of learning, at the railway stations, near open and closed market places, at the centre of the city centres and towns in order to reach a very wide section of customers (Morgan 2001pp61-67). The chain of coffee shops will be designed to thrive on their ability to develop products that stand out from the others in the market because of their creativity. As a way of setting ourselves apart with creations of attractive foods, the culinary

The Use of Sustainable Strategies in the Management of the Hotel Assignment

The Use of Sustainable Strategies in the Management of the Hotel - Assignment Example Sustainable practices can be an essential pillar in the hotel. Apart from helping to build the reputation of the hotel in the eyes of the general public, it can be instrumental in helping to reduce the costs of operations, conservation of the environment for a sustainable growth. To achieve this, I would like to highlight that the hotel has the following options to exploit: Energy is a crucial resource that the hotel cannot work without. With the overreliance on traditional sources of energy such as electricity, many hotels have been spending a lot of money on electricity. In fact, according to the hotel’s records, it spends a total of 19% of its revenues on energy. This means that energy has been very costly to acquire. To minimize its usage, the hotel can choose to adopt various measures. First, stop using high voltage bulbs and tubes and replace them with energy saving ones like Star Light Bulbs and LED lighting. There are revolutionary inventions because they have tremendously reduced the rate of energy consumption. For instance, the use of Star Light Energy saving bulbs has led to the reduction of energy consumption in hotels by up to 75%. Nevertheless, better results can still be attained if the hotel resorts to the installation and use of area sensors in the guest rooms and public resting spaces. Just like electricity, water is a very precious commodity in the hotel. Without it, no meals can be prepared, no cleanliness can take place, and no guests can drink or bathe. After all, it is a costly resource that must just be used for every single hotel facility. Because of this, it should be sustainably consumed. However, one way through which this can be accomplished is through the installation and a consistent use of low-flow showerheads and consumption landscaping.