Monday, September 30, 2019

Climate Change: Fact or Fiction

Weather can be defined as the state of the atmosphere including movements of energy like wind and precipitation. Climate is the generally prevailing weather patterns of a region. The climate of a region is made up of the different weather patterns. The weather patterns are usually repetitive according to the seasons. Where I’m from in southwest Nebraska it snows in the winter, rains in the spring, and is hot in the summer. The question is, has the weather and climate always been like this in Nebraska? We have proof that climate has changed in the past.Seventy million years ago there may have not been any ice on the North Pole. The region was most likely covered in forest. The amazing part of this hypothesis is that without the polar ice caps the ocean levels would be around seventy meter higher than they are now. Scientist also know that the world was in its most recent ice age about 2. 6 million years ago. If the North Pole went from forest to ice sixty-eight million years, o bviously the world has seen drastic changes before. This raises the question of whether or not this could happen to us again.Could the increases in temperature that everybody attributes to global warming just be a natural cycle of the planets climate? Most people think not. The logical answer for the steady increase in temperature is global warming due to the â€Å"Greenhouse Effect†. The Greenhouse Effect is caused by an increase in the concentration of â€Å"greenhouse gasses† in the atmosphere. Some of the most dominate greenhouse gasses are Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, and Water vapor. Some people might argue that these gasses are found naturally in the atmosphere.The concentration of the gasses could be increasing due to natural factors. The atmosphere may be holding these gasses in for an unknown reason, or the environment may be producing higher concentrations naturally. This theory is unlikely according to data recorded in past years. Ice cores show that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased dramatically since the industrial revolution. It’s no coincidence that global warming started becoming noticeable the same time humans started harvesting fossil fuels.Burning, mining, and processing fossil fuels are the main cause of the increase in gas releases. According to Peter Singers book One World, the scientific evidence that human activities are changing the climate of our planet has been studied by the IPCC in order to provide policy makers with an authoritative view of climate change and its causes. (Pg. 15) The â€Å"Third Assessment Report† released by the IPCC in 2001 found that our planet has shown clear signs of warming over the past century.Since 1960 snow and ice cover has decreased by about ten percent, and mountain glaciers are in retreat everywhere except near the poles. Paralleling the changes in the climate is an unprecedented increase in the concentration of greenhouse gass es in the atmosphere. This increase is produced by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, the clearing of vegetation, and in the case of methane, cattle and rice production. Not for at least the last four-hundred and twenty years has there been so much carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. Pg. 15-16) What will happen if we continue to emit increasing amounts of gasses into the atmosphere, and global warming continues to increase? According to the Third Assessment Report, between 1990 and 2100, average global temperatures will rise by at least 1. 4 °C, and by as much as 5. 8 °C. Although these average rises in temperature might seem small, even a 1 °C rise in the average temperature would be greater than any change that has occurred in a single century in the past ten-thousand years.Moreover, some regional changes will be more extreme and are much more difficult to predict. (Pg. 16-17) If the average temperature of a major agricultural region was to rise 5 °C all the dominant crops in the area may not be suited for the region anymore and major economic downfall could result. Now that everybody in the world is aware of the cause of global warming, the question arises, what are we supposed to do? I believe the best and most effective answer to that question is reduce the amount of energy that we use.The first and simplest step is to reduce your power consumption. Creating power is one of the largest uses of fossil fuels which means the less power made, the less fossil fuels used. Everybody can use less power by simply turning off lights and unplugging appliances when not in use. Most appliances continue to consume power even after they have been turned off, if everybody just unplugged their electronics or switched off the power strip energy would become a lot more sustainable. Another huge problem with the world is automobiles.While most people love their cars and don’t want to lose the freedom to go anywhere their thoughts might be changed when they look at all the negatives cars produce. First, is all the time, energy, and resources used to make a car. Most car parts are made from expendable ores and minerals and then shipped across the globe. This not only uses up mineral reserves in the production of the parts but consumes large amounts of petroleum energy in the transportation process. Then, as everybody knows all these cars consume huge amounts of energy in the form of gas every day, this will deplete our oil supply in no time.Cars also need roads to drive on. Roads are the leading consumer of the United States mineral resources, and the take up very large amounts of space in cities and agricultural areas. People in cities can ride the bus and everybody can ride the train on long distance trips. If we could all cut the amount we drive in half the sustainability of many of the world’s resources would increase dramatically. Turning off your lights and taking the bus aren’t the only way people can reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses they contribute.Factories produce a large amount of pollutants every day. Factory products can also contribute to atmospheric pollution because everything made requires resources to be produced. And after a product is used up it becomes waste and must be disposed of in some way. We can lower the amount of waste that is being put into landfills by buying goods that aren’t over packaged. Many goods are jazzed up with large and fancy packaging but in the end people just throw the package away. If the same product can be purchased in a smaller package it will cost less and take up less space as waste.Consumers should try to buy fresh produce from local stores. While fresh goods are not usually over packaged, buying local also helps to cut down on the amount of transportation and the energy wasted while the item was stored in large warehouses. Another step in the environmental preservation process is to recycle everything possible. This is more easily said than done for most people but it is becoming easier and more convenient all the time. Recycling bins are popping up all over in convenient locations and the incentives to recycle are getting greater all the time.It isn’t that hard to separate easily recyclable materials like cans and bottles in your home and take them to the proper recycling center. Another easy was to recycle is take your plastic shopping bags back for recycling or get a reusable bag. If resources are conserved, then naturally the amount of gasses being released into the atmosphere will be decreased. In conclusion, global warming is a major global problem. If a sufficient remedy isn’t found soon enough the world may never be the same. Finding a means to curve the rise of global warming is easier than most people think.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

External & Internal Factors Essay

Verizon Communications, (NYSE:VZ), formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, is one of the world’s leading providers of high-growth communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with over 137 million access line equivalents and over 34 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the world’s largest provider of print and online directory information. A Fortune 10 company with more than 221,000 employees and $67 billion in 2002 revenues, Verizon’s global presence extends to over 30 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. As a company of this size, corporate planning is a vital function to deal external and internal factors, in which, the company’s goals or objectives are achieved. In addition, a well-defined strategic planning implemented will be the guidelines in dealing with each factor, such as, rapid change, globalization, technology, e-business, innovation, diversity, and ethics. We will break down each factor as how Verizon’s business plans set their objectives in being the leader of communications services. Rapid Change If there are two issues that characterize the challenges twenty-first century corporations face today, those issues can be summarized as â€Å"competition and change.† (Dessler, p. 13) Rapid change is a common factor that most corporations needed to prepare itself, in order, to be competitive. That is, Verizon is implementing a restructure of their lines of business. One of their focuses is constantly providing improvement of customer services for their customers, such as a faster internet connection, bundling of services, or offering more flexible phone service (local & long distance) packages. The downturn of this restructure is management position reduction, in which, approximately 200 managers will be losing their jobs due to departmental merger. Globalization Research in the solid state technology for the improvement of telephony  switching systems made it possible the development of a new kind of electronic device which also helped the rapid evolution of computers. Computers were gradually interconnected through telecommunication lines. Initially they allowed terminals to access the main frame and later they were used to interconnect several computers in the network. In the early nineties these telecommunication networks covered most of the planet with different communication technologies. An era of knowledge had been birth, telecommunication engineering for computer systems. These new systems allowed information to travel at the speed of light. Such information exchange was the bases of a new economic phenomenon called Globalization of the world economy. The new profile will basically require the following, *To be continuously curious and eager to keep updated with everyday change. *To learn and adjust fast to new administrative routines. *To contribute and efficiently work in small teams. *The perseverance and courage to look for new solutions, for technical and economic improvements. *To print one’ own ideas in a clear and objective way. Technology: Verizon Wireless is on the cutting edge of technology. There are several different types of technology such as new DSL lines, dedicated internet access and Integrated T-1 access to name a few. As a growing business you would have a wide variety of choices available to you, in order to build the type of network that you would need to operate in the most efficient way. Verizon also has a variety of services for networks, voice communications, they will also configure, manage and do project management for a business. A lot of customers don’t have a sophisticated network department so in order to have a network that functions to its fullest potential these services would be a great benefit especially to a small business. There are also  several different types of programs for the disabled with a variety of issues such as speech, hearing, mobility and visual disabilities. Verizon has taken the external factors that affect them and have turned it into a positive business decision for all of their customers. E-Business All over the country people are doing more shopping and selling over the internet. The technology that Verizon is developing will enable everyone to have the connectivity that is needed for uninterrupted connections. The Verizon website can take you to the how to of e-commerce. Some of the items that you can find there are how to develop a web site, ways to get your site ready to sell and the what to do and what not to do for your business. E-commerce is such a broad topic, but as the Web evolves more and more companies will start to advertise and sell on the web which will probably cause businesses to downsize some of their departments such as marketing and customer service to name a few. Innovation As Verizon tries to stay on the cutting edge of technology here are some of the things that they are trying to do. There is a huge role out of FTTP which means Fiber to the premise. This will entail households to utilize more with less. The bandwidth on a fiber cable can handle far more traffic than on copper cable. Customers will be able to use their computers, fax, and telephone all on the same line. It is very much like the DSL line that Verizon is also trying to role out. Digital Subscriber Line will allow you to do more with less. The cost factor between the two, DSL is much cheaper to put in than fiber. FTTP will have to all get put in new. From the cable in the ground to the cable at the customer’s premises. DSL can go over the existing copper lines so we will not have that extra added cost. Verizon also just came out with Sametime; it is a way to chat through Lotus Notes. Now many users while emailing one another can also chat at the same time. Diversity Verizon is committed to diversity. They serve a diverse customer population and strive to have an employee body that reflects that diversity. This commitment is extended to their supplier relationship. Their belief is that having a wide range of suppliers is as critical to the company’s success as having employees that relate to their customers, speaking their language, reflecting their tastes and preferences. The idea is to build customer loyalty, stimulate economic growth, and tap into the innovation and entrepreneurship for Verizon to be competitive. By including Minority, Women, Vietnam Era Vets & Disabled Owned Business Enterprises (MW/DV BEs) in their supplier chain, two main goals are achieved. Verizon positions their business for success and contributes to the economic prosperity of the communities they serve. In a speech for the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council Award meeting, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg assured minority suppliers of their commitment: â€Å"The question facing many minority suppliers is: will businesses cut back on their spending with us, when the going gets a little tough? Of course there are no guarantees — for minority or indeed for any suppliers — but I want to assure you that as much as diversity is a business strategy with us, it’s also a moral commitment — an expression of who and what we fundamentally are. In good times and bad, we’re going to maintain the team that courts and cultivates minority suppliers, and we’re going to do our level best to assure that minority suppliers are not disproportionately hurt when things get tight, as they are right now. This is my personal commitment to you, as CEO of Verizon.† Ethic Verizon’s code of business conduct provides a section on resolving ethic questions for the goal of helping them strengthen their connection with business partners and each other. Realizing that not every ethic questions has an easy answer and may require difficult judgment calls, this code of business conduct outlines the following steps to resolve these questions: (a) define the situation (b) consult resources and (c) seek help from others. By defining the situation; one might be able to find an answer to the question such as: Are you concerned about a possible violation of a law,  regulation or Verizon standard? There are three available consulting resources for their employees: Verizon Promise/Code of Business Conduct/Corporate and department policies and procedures. Finally, employees are advised to seek help from their own manager, another manager, or a specific department like Human Resources, Legal, Verizon Security or the Office of Ethics and Business Compliance. In conclusion, Verizon has positioned itself to deal with these external and internal factors. This shows how their management has made strategic planning in keeping with the company’s mission and in achieving their goals. In addition, their services and products are the reasons why Verizon ranks among the top in leadership, service, diversity and innovation. Verizon’s inclusion on numerous ‘best of’ lists in the country is a testament to these accomplishments. Also, Verizon prides itself on the relationships it maintains with business providers, and strives to promote a mutually beneficial business relationship based on the highest business standards of ethical conduct. Works Cited Dessler, Gary. Management, Leading People and Organizations in the 21st Century (2nd ed.), 2001. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. Verizon website

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Thesis Customer Satisfaction

CHAPTER II Review of Related Literature This chapter presents the literature related to this study. This will be conducted with the assessment of related literature to show the relevance of the literature to the study. RELATED LITERATURE Customer satisfaction is the most fundamental requirement for being in business. Therefore, every organization should plan the right strategies for dealing with customers, communicating with them, providing pleasant services and retaining them forever with specially chosen customer contact employees, all leading to their delight.Since most of the quality problems arise due to misunderstood requirements, it is essential to take steps to correctly understand, both the stated and implied requirements of the customers. The organization should not only fulfill the contracted requirements, but also make it appoint to provide unanticipated additional services to delight the customers and retaining them forever. The most important point is that organizations should provide COMFORT to the customers while serving them. Thus, the business should be oriented towards satisfying customers. (Subburaj Ramasamy; TQM-Int’l Edition 2012)Customer satisfaction is the state of mind that customers have about a company when their expectations have been met or exceeded over the lifetime of the product or service. The achievement of customer satisfaction leads to company loyalty and product repurchase. Customer satisfaction measurement must be undertaken with an understanding of the gap between customer expectations and attribute performance perceptions. Clearly defining and understanding customer satisfaction can help any company identify opportunities for product and service innovation and serve as the basis for performance appraisal and reward systems. Kevin Cacioppo; Measuring and Managing Customer Satisfaction) Customer satisfaction has been a popular topic in marketing practice and academic research since Cardozo's (1965) initial study of c ustomer effort, expectations and satisfaction. Despite many attempts to measure and explain customer satisfaction, there still does not appear to be a consensus regarding its definition (Giese and Cote, 2000). Customer satisfaction is typically defined as a post consumption evaluative judgement concerning a specific product or service (Gundersen, Heide and Olsson, 1996).It is the result of an evaluative process that contrasts prepurchase expectations with perceptions of performance during and after the consumption experience (Oliver, 1980). The most widely accepted conceptualization of the customer satisfaction concept is the expectancy disconfirmation theory (Barsky, 1992; Oh and Parks, 1997; McQuitty, Finn and Wiley, 2000). The theory was developed by Oliver (1980), who proposed that satisfaction level is a result of the difference between expected and perceived performance. Satisfaction (positive disconfirmation) occurs when product or service is better than expected.On the other hand, a performance worse than expected results with dissatisfaction (negative disconfirmation). Studies show that customer satisfaction may have direct and indirect impact on business results. Anderson et al. (1994), Yeung et al. (2002), and Luo and Homburg (2007) concluded that customer satisfaction positively affects business profitability. The majority of studies have investigated the relationship with customer behaviour patterns (Soderlund, 1998; Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000; Dimitriades, 2006; Olorunniwo et al. 2006; Chi and Qu, 2008; Faullant et al. , 2008). According to these findings, customer satisfaction increases customer loyalty, influences repurchase intentions and leads to positive word-of-mouth. Given the vital role of customer satisfaction, it is not surprising that a variety of research has been devoted to investigating the determinants of satisfaction (Churchill and Surprenant, 1982; Oliver, 1980; Barsky, 1995; Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003). Satisfaction can be determined by subjective (e. g. customer needs, emotions) and objective factors (e. . product and service features). Applying to the hospitality industry, there have been numerous studies that examine attributes that travellers may find important regarding customer satisfaction. Atkinson (1988) found out that cleanliness, security, value for money and courtesy of staff determine customer satisfaction. Knutson (1988) revealed that room cleanliness and comfort, convenience of location, prompt service, safety and security, and friendliness of employees are important. Barsky and Labagh (1992) stated that employee attitude, location nd rooms are likely to influence travellers' satisfaction. A study conducted by Akan (1995) showed that the main determinants of hotel guest satisfaction are the behaviour of employees, cleanliness and timeliness. Choi and Chu (2001) concluded that staff quality, room qualities and value are the top three hotel factors that determine travellers' satisfaction. Providing services those customers prefer is a starting point for providing customer satisfaction. A relatively easy way to determine what services customer prefers is simply to ask them.According to Gilbert and Horsnell (1998), and Su (2004), guest comment cards (GCCs) are most commonly used for determining hotel guest satisfaction. GCCs are usually distributed in hotel rooms, at the reception desk or in some other visible place. However, studies reveal that numerous hotel chains use guest satisfaction evaluating methods based on inadequate practices to make important and complex managerial decisions (Barsky, 1992; Barsky and Huxley, 1992; Jones and Ioannou, 1993, Gilbert and Horsnell, 1998; Su, 2004).The most commonly made faults can be divided into three main areas, namely, quality of the sample, design of the GCCs, and data collection and analysis (Gilbert and Horsnell, 1998). In order to improve the validity of hotel guest satisfaction measurement practice, Barsky and Huxley ( 1992) proposed a new sampling procedure that is a „quality sampleâ€Å". It reduces nonresponse bias by offering incentives for completing the questionnaires. The components of their questionnaire are based on disconfirmation paradigm and expectancy-value theory.In this manner, guests can indicate whether service was above or below their expectations and whether they considered a particular service important or not. Furthermore, Gilbert and Horsnell (1998) developed a list of criteria for GCC content analysis, which is adopted in this study as well. Schall (2003) discusses the issues of question clarity, scaling, validity, survey timing, question order and sample size. Customers’ requirements for satisfaction are difficult to comprehend. They have different preference when it comes to availing services from providers.Same with hospitality industry – for establishments like Bayleaf hotel of Intramuros there’s a lot of effort to make, creative thinking and strategy to stay in the competition. To be the only hotel in Intramuros, a great expectation among visitors is always present. Unless an organization evolves specific methods for measuring customer satisfaction and quantify the results, it may be difficult to say whether the customers are satisfied or not; whether customer satisfaction is improving or not it also vey essentials to measure customer satisfaction so as to stay ahead of competition.Each business unit has to conduct its business in such a way that it is able to achieve more customer satisfaction than its competitors at all times. Therefore, to face and win the competition, every organization should continue to improve their products and services and attain higher levels of customer satisfaction. Regarding on customer satisfaction, the following statement could indicate that the establishment has a lot of services to offer. Statement of the experienced customers will prove that Bayleaf Hotel can stand in a competition as a boutique hotel yet can provide 5-star experience to its valued customers.According to Dr. Deo Baraan the owner of the website (thegrandeurtraveler. com) â€Å"If you are looking for a new hotel that will show you Manila's rich history, lost magic and inimitable views, nothing would be more perfect than the Bayleaf Hotel. † In addition to what he says, â€Å"Everyone can now have a taste of an upscale accommodation in the heart of Manila's historic district†. When it comes to money issues, Vic Nair of Kuala Lumpur (tripadvisory. com) stated â€Å"Bayleaf is a great hotel with value for money.Excellent service from their young staff members. † Another statement that we got from redheelsinthecity (tripadvisory. com) â€Å"Manila, in general, is a busy, polluted and messy city. Finding a place like this is close to impossible. 9 spoons restaurant has the best food and ambiance. However what I love about the place is the Sky Deck View Bar. Especially on a cold nig ht, having a beer absolutely scratches your stress away. Not to mention you get even more amazed by the view around, very conducive for unwinding.The place can immensely cater a good service especially for occasions. Most of all, it stands in the heart of the old city called Intramuros, which I think is the best location in manila. Service of the staff and management is impeccably wonderful and impressive. â€Å" It is certainly not easy, at least to start with, to compute indices for customer satisfaction. It requires innovative people, a determined management and additional efforts by the organization for this purpose. This will pay for more than itself in the ultimate analysis.Therefore, the chief executive of the organization should be committed and persuasive in measuring customer satisfaction in the interest of the organization and provide resources for this task. A feedback or a complaint criticizing the organization should be taken as a blessing in disguise and in the right spirit. If there is no direct feedback or complaint, then the organization should look for other ways for finding out the same, since feedback is one of the most important triggers for improvement.If complaints are made, the organization should seriously make efforts to see that the complaints are result to the satisfaction of the customers. (Subburaj Ramasamy; 2012) According to Ms. Glenda G. one of the experienced customer of the Bayleaf Hotel â€Å"We booked ; paid the rooms 6 months ago ; requested a queen beds but we got 2 twin separate beds, it's also a terrible service at the roof top restaurant they're so slow in accommodating. We even said give us a wash cloth will clean the tables† Another experienced customer (tripadvisory. om) WWWorkes of Vilnius state that â€Å"All in all, this is a clean, comfortable hotel in a great location – but don't expect to be able to spend any amount of time relaxing in it – it has little to offer and generally doesn't m eet its potential† VIP on Bangkok also commented on the website regarding in his experience on the hotel – â€Å"I like its surrounding and location, but ventilation need improvement to get rid of damp smell in the room. Towels smell too strong chemical† Every complaint should lead to determine efforts by the organization to make improvements so as the result in non-reoccurrence of such complaints in the future.In short, the service provider should have a system to solicit feedbacks and complaints, deal with them dispassionately, rectify the defects immediately, compensate where not possible to rectify and analyze such mistakes to find out measures for their non- reoccurrence and implement the measures strictly. The above is also known as complaint recovery process. Every organization should have a well-defined process and procedure for getting feedback and receiving complaints from the customers and use every complaint as an instrument for improvements. SYNTHESI SChapter 2 is about the review of related literature; it is about the purpose of the review to analyze critically a segment of a published book of knowledge through summary, classification and comparison of prior research studies, reviews of literature, and theoretical articles. We have the foreign and local literature. In foreign literature we based on the research book. What we had is the article of Subburaj Ramasamy, Kevin Cacioppo, Cardozo's (1965), Giese and Cote, (2000), Gundersen, Heide and Olsson, (1996), Oliver, (1980), Anderson et al. (1994), Yeung et al. 2002), and Luo and Homburg (2007), Barsky, 1992; Oh and Parks, 1997; McQuitty, Finn and Wiley, 2000, Soderlund, 1998; Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000; Dimitriades, 2006; Olorunniwo et al. , 2006; Chi and Qu, 2008; Faullant et al. , 2008, Churchill and Surprenant, 1982; Oliver, 1980; Barsky, 1995; Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003), Atkinson (1988), Knutson (1988), Barsky and Labagh (1992), Akan (1995), Choi and Chu (2001),Gilber t and Horsnell (1998), and Su (2004), and those books associates some knowledge and ideas regarding customer satisfaction and hospitality industry.For instance we also got statements from foreign customers who had an experience in staying at Bayleaf Hotel namely; Redheelsinthecity, WWWorkers, and VIP on Bangkok. For local literature we have Ms. Glenda G. and Dr. Deo Baraan, who experienced Bayleaf Hotel as well. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to analyze critically a segment of a published body of knowledge through these articles. INPUT: Bayleaf Hotel, Intramuros as the focus of the study and as a new hotel caters to satisfy tourists within and outside Intramuros.CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK PROCESS: * Surveying through questionaires * Interview OUTPUT: Determine the level of customer satisfaction in Bayleaf Hotel and competitiveness of the establishment. The conceptual framework above shows that the input in Bayleaf Hotel, Intramuros as the focus of the study and as a new hotel ca ters to satisfy tourists within and outside Intramuros. The process of the study is done by giving survey through questionnaire and conducting interview to determine the level of customer satisfaction and competitiveness of Bayleaf Hotel.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Analysis of Creating Blue Oceans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analysis of Creating Blue Oceans - Essay Example The title of the reading, Creating Blue Oceans is effective and relevant since it relates to the reference company. Indeed, authors reckon that blue seas emanate from red seas through the expansion of existing industries as seen in Cirque du Soleil’s marketing strategy (Kim and Mauborge 5). The authors are informative, rational, and unbiased since they address all aspects of the topic. In fact, they introduce the merits, demerits, challenges, and risks of creating blue seas. Moreover, they complete the discussion on a positive note by informing the audience on how to formulate and implement a blue ocean strategy by presenting the principles and analytical frameworks that will guarantee success in creating blue seas (Kim and Mauborge 19-21). The authors derive more understanding on the topic by describing the motivators that drive the need to create blue seas (Kim and Mauborge 8). The reading also explains how companies like Cirque du Soleil moved from red seas by making strategic moves that define the benefits of blue sea strategic moves (Kim and Mauborge 10). Just like in other businesses strategies, the reading recognizes value innovation as the foundation of a blue ocean strategy (Kim and Mauborge 12-14). In fact, the reading offers a clear description of how Cirque du Soleil created a blue ocean based on innovation to gain a competitive advantage in the market. The reading compares Red Ocean and blue ocean strategies to justify why Cirque du Soleil created a blue ocean.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Critique of a research report Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critique of a report - Research Paper Example 193). Due to a variety of factors such as failure to meet academic guidelines, escalating cost of education, and economic crisis, attrition to nurse anesthesia programs requires attention. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2004) recommended advance practitioners such as nurse anesthetist to have Doctor of Nursing Practice as a terminal degree(Burns, 2011, p. 193). In line with this, reinforcing the need for studying different variables in nurse anesthesia programs and academic progression increased. Despite a 20-year review of the literature, only descriptive or outcome studies were found to demonstrate the relationship between preadmission variables and academic progression. The research paper lacks empirical studies and evidences linking preadmission variables, academic progression, and attrition. Thus, limited number of available information and literature reviews requires the need for future researches. The research paper aims to study the relationship between admi ssion criteria, critical care, and academic progression to nurse anesthesia programs.

Nutrition discussion Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nutrition discussion - Case Study Example What happened in the above illustration was that the food ordered in the hospital the previous day could not be provided in time the following day. The patients needed the roast beef, but sixty-five of them ended up not getting lunch. The cooks had to work on the problem first before they began preparing the evening meal. The lateness caused general delays in the hospital as even the nurses had to wait the patients to take lunch. This operation shows how important food production is, relative to patient fulfillment. The production sheet is a record indicating the amount of a food substance and the number of patients who ordered for it. The purpose of the production sheet therefore was to clearly identify whether the problem lay in the patients or the employees. Some patients might have thought of taking roast beef twice thereby causing a shortage. Poor production control generally leads to less consumer satisfaction poor employee morale and increased employee work load. Poor production of food also increases food costs as substitute food services have to be provided and catered

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Evaluation of General Plan (urban planning course) Essay

Evaluation of General Plan (urban planning course) - Essay Example Additionally, the general plan seeks to enhance service delivery to the current residents of the city. The city has a general plan that provides an accurate guideline for ensuring economic development in the city. The authorities plan to improve the workforce, create jobs, maintain local airports, and improve the downtown area. Early this year, the planning and development department of the city of Phoenix developed and updated an elaborative and achievable general plan. The final plan was hugely based on the community suggestion and feedback concerning various economic problems in the city. As a result, the planning commission supported and approved the general plan on January 13, 2015. The city plans to improve on the type of labor force available. According to the article Plan PHX. 2015 General Plan, the economic growth and development sterns from skilled, competent, and qualified workforce in the city (94). Consequently, the expansion and building of more schools and training centers is the foundation for the city’s economic growth. Furthermore, the authorities plan to adequately fund and provide necessary resources in these training facilities. It leads to increase in the number of individuals with recognized credentials and certificates. Such an influx of professionals is a sign of economic gr owth and development. Additionally, the authorities plan to maintain and expand the airports available in the city since it is vital to economic growth and movement of people. The airports in the city are essential and necessary for bringing various businessmen and investors in the city. Furthermore, these airports generate massive revenue for the authorities. The revenues collected from businesses within the airport premises are essential in improving local infrastructure and financial strength of the city. Besides, the presence of businessmen and investors in Phoenix city is a positive and encouraging sign of

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Week 5 disc 2 Can Government Create an Economic Recovery Essay

Week 5 disc 2 Can Government Create an Economic Recovery - Essay Example The economic crisis during his tenure was caused by among other factors; the collapse of the Stock Exchange in October 1929; failure of the banks to cushion customers’ money by insuring the cash; reduced purchasing power; and drought (Robbins, 2007). According to Robbins (2007), President Hoover’s administration announced practical and affordable plans aimed to balance the Federal spending; reform the financial sector; reduce taxes; and increase public works budget. Even though, these steps were gradual they had the potential to turn-around the American economy in the long-run, as opposed to the New Deal under FDR. The Great Depression of 1930s and the Great Recession of (2007-2009) are similar in the sense that they led to massive job cuts and a weakened private sector (Grabell, 2012). The government’s response eight decades ago draws similarities to the current economic stimulus programs aimed at empowering the private sector by creating more job opportunities and bringing the private sector back to life, almost instantaneously. Although, the two programs are believed to have eased budget shortfalls, especially for the private sector as a way of triggering the creation of more job opportunities, government spending is not the most effective way to deal with a major recession. The New Deal was more effective in restoring economy, since it was more

Monday, September 23, 2019

EIC and new ways of waging war Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

EIC and new ways of waging war - Research Paper Example Grotius the VOC jurist The VOC was formed as a private company whose main aim was to counteract the dominance of Portuguese interests in the East and West Indies region, as well as target Spanish interests in the ongoing conflict between the Dutch and the Spaniards. Grotius was appointed by the VOC Company as an advocate to champion the freedom of navigation and free access to markets that were under the strict control of the Portuguese.3 He conducted a campaign whose main aims were to legitimize the operations of the VOC as a body interested in fighting for free trade, the abolition of monopoly, and freedom of navigation in the East Indies waters; all of which the Portuguese were not willing to accept.4 The primary purpose in founding the VOC was so that it could anchor Dutch interests in the East Indies by moving fast to take advantage of lucrative trade routes that were under threat from British Imperial merchants. ... ket requirements.5 As a young philosopher, Grotius laid the foundation for a new understanding of international law and Just War Theory that formed the basis for Dutch arguments towards the legality of their operations in the East Indies. For example, in 1609, Grotius anonymously published Mare Liberum, or the â€Å"Freedom of the Seas,† which was a way to declare war outside the European continent mainly driven by low profits from the West Indies trade, and increasing competition from the English.6 As the main VOC jurist, Grotius advocated for the legitimization of the actions and operations of the VOC, arguing that they were legal and moral. For example, on the issue of extradition, Grotius argued that all nations had the natural right and duty to either extradite or punish malefactors.7 Moreover, Grotius held that subjects of the United Netherlands had a right to sail and trade in the East Indies.8 This challenged Portuguese, Spanish, and English interests in the East Indie s. Mainly, this was argued on the principle that every nation had the right to trade with any nation it pleases.9 Moreover, Grotius’ argued that the Portuguese and Spanish did not have sovereignty over the areas they occupied in the East Indies. Hence to deny the Dutch any trade rights or the rights to passage would be absurd and unjust. This paved the way for increased competition and conflict in the East Indies amongst the European powers. In February 1603, the VOC seized the Portuguese vessel Santa Catarina along the Singapore coast, on the pretext that Portuguese merchants had aggrieved Dutch vessels, and therefore seizing the ship was justified as a form of reparation.10 Grotius argued that the Portuguese had denied the Dutch the natural right of access and trade in Asian markets, that the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Macbeth and Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

Macbeth and Shakespeare Essay This quote â€Å"god defend me from my friends but ; from my enemies I can defend myself† means â€Å"gods help me from my friends but, I have the ability to defend myselfâ€Å". Two stories that I’ve read that support this quote are Macbeth by William Shakespeare and â€Å"The Cask Of Amontillado† by Edgar Allen Poe. I definitely agree with this quote because Macbeths friends thought they were really his friends but, they were wrong. Macbeth by William Shakespeare shows literary devices and they support my opinion of this quote. One is dramatic irony and it proves this quote true for many reasons. It is true because Lady Macbeth shows betrayal against Duncan, the king of Scotland and Macbeth shows betrayal against all his friend, he was really using them and in the end he killed some of his â€Å"friends†. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth wanted to both kill Duncan all along, so they Planned it all out. Betrayal is what happened here, big time. The other literary device from the story that supports my opinion and makes this quote true is, Tradgeic Hero. Macbeth started out as a tradgeic hero and then throughout the story he also â€Å"betrays† all his friends, pretty much the same reason for the dramatic irony. He is just a great example of a tradgeic hero. The other story that supports my opinion is â€Å"The Cask Of Amontillado† by Edgar Allen Poe and the quote â€Å"God defend me from my friends but, from my enemies I can defend myself†. The two literary devices used are symbol and mood. Symbol makes this quote true in this story. This is true because montresor’s coat of arms which is the snake biting the foot that is crushing it. This represents montresor getting revenge on fortunato for his supposed insult. When they both walked through the catacombs , montresor describes his coat of arms in a descriptive way. The other literary device that is used in this short story is, mood. The mood is very important in the story. It has a lot of terror and fear in the setting which connects to the mood. This mood is created because of the setting which is the cave with the bones, dampness and darkness. This set a mood that is not so inviting. These two stories both concluded the meaning of the quote. They both had friends and enemies and betrayal against one another. The setting in â€Å"The Cask Of Amontillado† defiantly showed how they defended themselves. This is why I agree with this quote.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Importance of Star Carr Mesolithic Archaeological Site

The Importance of Star Carr Mesolithic Archaeological Site Star Carr is considered to be an important site for understanding the Mesolithic period. Consider why this situation exists and outline what factors limit the available evidence for hunter- gathers in Britain during this period. To understand Star Carr, we most place the site in context with the larger Mesolithic landscape of Britain. Is Star Carr important and if so why? What evidence does Star Carr show us of Mesolithic hunter gathers, and what does this evidence suggest. Along with these questions we most also look at how much evidence there is for hunter gathers in Britain and what role Star Carr plays in this evidence. Answering these questions along with, why there is such limited evidence in Britain for Mesolithic hunter gathers is what this essay will look at. Star Carr which is located in The Vale of Pickering, Yorkshire, gained the status of ‘Type Site after J. G. D. Clarks excavations which started in 1949. This status placed on Star Carr was mainly for the level of organic preservation, which is unrivalled in any other British Mesolithic site (Hunter Ralston 2009). The preservation could be largely contributed to the wet environment in which a lot of Clarks finds were recorded from. The wealth of finds Clark recorded at Star Carr included: large amounts of flint (both worked and waste), a birch wood platform on the lakes edge and lots of deer antler along with other animal remains. The finds make the importance of Star Carr unquestionable although how theses finds got there and the purpose of Star Carr is a different argument (Clark 1954). Star Carr is arguably the most reinterpreted site in European Prehistory. The main areas of reinterpretation seem to be firstly and arguably the most important, which season was Star Carr actually occupied, winter or summer? Clarks initial interpretation of the evidence led him to believe that the site was a major base camp occupied by four or five families during the winter months. The lack of evidence for fish such as pike at Star Carr which would of been present in the glacial lake Star Carr is situated near could possible show that the site was used during the winter months, as evidence from Europe suggests Mesolithic pike farming was carried out during the summer months. This lack of evidence plus the positive evidence of a large amount of Red deer antlers, approximately 102 mature stag antlers that were recovered from the site is what strongly suggest a winter base camp (Clark 1954). In contrast to this Legge Rowley-Conway (1988) et al suggest that the function of Star Carr ma y have been more specialised, such as a hunting camp and not occupied by a whole family or extended family but by five or six hunters. The second main argument seems to be of the function of Star Carr. Along with the previously mentioned theory by Legge Rowley-Conway, another explanation for the large amounts of antler found at Starr Carr could be that Star Carr was a specialised industrial site working both antlers for tools and tanning hides for clothes. This would suggest that the antlers were brought to the site to be worked and that Starr Carr is not the kill site. In conjunction with this theory, the recovery of rolls of birch bark, which is believed to of been used as a tanning agent would suggest it was a summer camp and not as Clark thought a winter one. The warmer temperatures would aid in the tanning process as well as making the hides easier to work as the deer would be carrying less fat which would need to be removed from the hides by the hunters (Pitts 1979). This theory seems to be a better evaluation of the evidence as if the site was either a base camp occupied by a family or a hunting camp it woul d not be unreasonable to find more evidence of butcher and food preparation. Clark reports evidence for burning of the lake side vegetation. One of the theories for the burning of the lake side vegetation may have been for easy access to the water for canoes. This would enforce the idea of Star Carr as a specialised camp, and the finished goods could have been moved around the lake to other settlement sites (Mellar Dark 1998). If Clarks theory on Star Carr is correct this would suggest that by burning the vegetation the families at Star Carr were encouraging pray animals close to the camp to eat the fresh growth, making them easy targets. The evidence of a birch wood platform at the lakes edge also suggests a hunting platform may be for hunting flocking birds, and this would also give further evidence to Clarks theory of a winter camp (Clark 1954). The importance of the platform at Star Carr is not in question only the purpose it was built. The platform is most of the evidence for wooden artefacts from Mesolithic hunters in Britain (Adkins 2006). The availability of a sustainable food source doesnt seem to be in question at Star Carr. The evidence for: wolf, deer, pig, beaver and even hedgehog were found along with other remains and a large number of birds such as grebes, ducks, cranes and storks (Clark 1954). Although this evidence does suggest a varied and sustainable food source which would go to supporting Clarks theory, it doesnt help with the debate of both which months Star Carr was occupied or the primary function of the site. Along with these main debates other aspects of Star Carr have also attracted differing theories. The duration that Star Carr was in use, plus examining the larger settlement pattern of humans in Mesolithic Britain and the role Star Carr plays in it, as well as the total area of settlement for the site. The debate has been added to since the further excavations that were carried out between 1985 to 1997. One of the most important discoveries of this excavation was to show that the occupation at Star Carr was spread over a much larger area than Clark thought (MellarDark 1998). This evidence plus the differing dates obtained from the new excavation, (10,700 to 10,400 BP compared to Clarks original date of 9488 plus or minus 350 BP) show a difference of a thousand years, do suggest that Star Carr is still not fully understood and will keep posing more questions than giving answers. To look at Star Carr as a part of the larger picture of Mesolithic hunter gathers in Britain and compare the finds may suggest possible answers to some of the questions surrounding Star Carr. The main problem is the limited amount of sites to compare with Star Carr. One possible site is Thatcham in the Kennet Valley in Berkshire. This site may be useful as a comparison to Star Carr as topographically the situations are similar; both sites are based on the margins of ancient lakes. From the range of artefacts recovered from Thatcham some similarities can be seen, red deer, wild pig along with elk and wild bird remains were all recovered from both sites. A major difference between Star Carr and Thatcham is at Thatcham there were very little wooden and antler artefacts found, especially worked pieces with barbed points. This could suggest that whilst these sites are similar in date and situation they had different functions (Hunter Ralston 2009). The limitations for comparisons to Star Carr add to the confusion of understanding Star Carr. Although there are many theories as to why we have found little evidence of Mesolithic hunter gathers in Britain, such as we looking in the wrong places or most of the settlements were coastal and the evidence has been lost due to coastal erosion, I believe by looking at the indidunous tribes of North America may give another possible answer. These hunter gather tribes have existed for centuries leaving little or no evidence on the landscape. There nomadic lifestyle wi9th temporary camps only left the occasional fire pit as evidence they were ever there. The burial rituals of some of these tribes would also not be clearly visible to archaeologists today. The practise of cremating the dead on rocky out crops would leave little structural evidence as the timbers were generally wedged in between rocks and not placed in pits. The evidence of the burning could also be lost through natural erosion of the rock surface were the evidence would of been present. If hunter gathers existed in Bri tain with a similar life style, the possibility of finding much if any evidence other than sites like Star Carr is not likely. This would elevate the importance of existing sites which includes Star Carr in the Mesolithic landscape of Britain. To conclude the elevation of the importance of Star Carr seems in some part to be because of the limited evidence throughout Britain for any settlements of Mesolithic hunter gathers. This fact plus the differing theories on Star Carr itself most place some confusion over the importance of Star Carr in Mesolithic Britain. After saying this, there is no confusion over the importance of Star Carr as a individual site for the archaeological record of Britain, but if Star Carr is a ‘type site we will only know if more evidence is found throughout Britain and if there is ever an agreement over the function of Star Carr.