Unit 21 P3, M2, D1 Essay - 4964 Words

Unit 21: task 3: P3, M2, D1 In this assignment I will be choosing and describing a service user for my case study and I’m going to explain how some factors such as medical disorders, life style and many more may have influenced their dietary intake. Due to the data protection I will not be using their real name. Service user’s history Aisha Ismail is 35 years old. She is a British African and has been brought up by her grandmother and now she’s living with her husband and 3 children. She is a Muslim and lives in New Parks Leicester. Aisha’s a wife and a house wife. She is not able to go to work due to her sickle cell disorder. Aisha was diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes. This was due to her unhealthy diets of junk†¦show more content†¦This would be a benefit to Aisha as she would not want to make her condition worse and face death, so she will start taking control over her weight. This would benefit Aisha as she would have to cut down on the unhealthy food and therefore have a better balanced diet and better lifestyle as cutting down on unhealthy food would help to minimise the risk to her health. D1: For the recommendation, Aisha totally needs to cut down on the sugary, salty and fatty food that she eats. To be able to reduce the negative effect of her health, first of all she would need to cut down on the amount of sugar she has in her tea. I would recommend her to cut down from 3 to 1 and a half and maybe use semi skimmed milk. This will be able to reduce the sugar and fat intake she has. For her toasts, she could try and use margarine as it has less fat than butter or have plain toast to reduce the fat intake. If Aisha finds it hard to reduce/ cut down her sugar and fatty intake, I would recommend her to get help and advice from specialised people who work with service users who have diabetes. This might include visiting a clinic and asking questions about what food to eat and which ones to avoid in order for him to have a better health. I would recommend Aisha to also reduce her snacking habits of snacks such as cakes andShow MoreRelatedSkills for LAND A1 2015 1978 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿ Module: Unit 10: Skills for Land-based Outdoor and Adventurous Activities Tutor: Nick Young Assignment No: 1 of 1 Title: Land-based Outdoor and Adventurous Activities – The Knowledge, Risks, Participation, Review Development IV’d before Mark Wilson Date 22/4/13 issue by: IV’d: Date 16/4/15 Date 21/5/15 Issued: Due: Feedback Due: 11/6/15 Student Name: ................................................................. 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VoIP at Butler University Free Essays

Butler University identified weaknesses in the existing campus communication systems. Chief Information Office (CIO) Scott Kincaid’s identified the need to upgrade or replace the Centrex system as Butler student enrollment and administrative data communication needs had outgrown its usefulness. Arguments for the Centrex system were that users found the system reliability to be beneficial. We will write a custom essay sample on VoIP at Butler University or any similar topic only for you Order Now Once employees have a system that meets their current needs, some are reluctant to go embrace the next step to enhancing Job capabilities. The majority of students liked having campus rovided email even though 92% had cell phones. Various problems were associated with the existing system but it was not without failure. For no other reason than advances in technology, the current analog system had become outdated and hard to customize. Moving lines was labor intensive with student and administrative shifts. Changes become labor intensive and difficult to perform because not only is the hardware difficult to repair, at a certain point the system will be so antiquated that it won’t be compatible with new vendor technology upgrades outside of Butler. A large amount of administrative time was spent reconciling the current billing system each month showing that again unnecessary labor was a hindrance to efficiency. Changes aren’t without risk and administrative staff viewed merging data and voice networks was viewed as risky. A major concern was regarding the voice quality of VoIP technology. The IT department also knew that network security risks were a concern addressing other data network risk concerns post 9/1 1 . An efficient and flexible integrated emergency notification system was required to remedy this concern. Campus administration also feared virus attacks that commonly affected data networks. Unified communications is a term used to describe a system that integrates call and data communication applications that are interactive and collaborative with real- time and transactional capabilities. Butler hired the Dietrich Lockard Group, a telecommunications-consulting firm, to address the primary issues and needs of the university and to recommend a unified communications solution. To pinpoint the real needs of the university, Dietrich formed an advisory group comprised of dministrative staff from a variety of departments around campus who required a high-level of data usage and accuracy from the system. Those departments were admissions, financial services, student life, facilities management, the libraries, and department faculty. The advisory group and technical staff were taught about VoIP and steps that can be taken to mitigate its risks. The strategic plan involving integrating these five goals: improve student communications, improve handling of callers, leverage new services to assist staff and improve training on these systems, emain competitive with other institutions regarding the level of student services offered, and to provide more immediate access to key Butler personnel. The options presented to Butler were to continue with the existing systems and make no changes. Many people find the system reliable. Another solutions would be to continue upgrading the existing system and equipment. Although expensive, IT staff was familiar with the system and, while difficult, upgrades were possible – at least in the system and integrate and independent VoIP for a few selected offices. This would llow Butler to make a small-scale technology change without compromising the entire communications network. The last and most expensive option is to acquire a new in-house PBX system for unified communications. The concern with this option is if Butler were to invest in a new PBX system would it have a limited life? With Dietrich’s guidance, Butler drafted an RFP and put the project out for bid. Vendor selection would be based on the an analysis of the variables effecting choices, the vendor’s ability meet the universitys needs as defined in the RFP, cost, availability of ocal support once the network was installed, and the vendor’s experience with new VoIP and other enterprise systems. A vendor was selected and a very aggressive implementation schedule was initiated. Staff and students found the changeover simple and the pilot program made training fun. The IT department described the changeover as the â€Å"week from hell†. Phone system registration was labor intensive when each needed to be registered manually. Other problems were malfunctioning equipment, the 2,000 additional phone numbers provided by SBC came up missing nd required a 45-day window to fix the problem and food service and the bookstore didn’t have Ethernet wiring. The biggest problem was that department safety alarm wiring was not compatible with new VoIP and the old system needed to be recreated to make them work. My concern with the alarm system was based on 1970’s technology and should have been updated. I would consider the upgrade to be a wise decision on Butler’s choice. Analog systems are antiquated and had they not made the change now, it may have been more costly in the future. Technology ntegration with outside source such as telecommunications companies and software support for financial and accounting systems. Any department that required data sharing and collaboration, mixed media messaging was at an operational risk had the change-over not been implemented. By converging systems for a unified communication solution, Butler had taken the proactive approach. It wasn’t without unanticipated costs – a new IT staff position was created, and the unforeseen costs to the department alarm system and Ethernet cabling to food services and the bookstore were substantial. What Butler gained was collaborative applications, improved communications and convenience. Having a different call centers around campus, Butler could now examine call records and identify inefficacies within a specific area. The economy of improving these areas will be cost and improved university services. I believe Butler made the correct choice in moving forward with a new system. The only fault I found was in their not revamping the existing alarm system. The problems experienced during the changeover were minimal and solvable without reconstructing the plan. Again, a solid strategic and farsighted plan. How to cite VoIP at Butler University, Papers

Critical Analysis Of Traits - Motives And Characteristics Of Leaders

Question: Discuss about theCritical Analysis of Traits, Motives and Characteristics of Leaders. Answer: Introduction Leadership means the capability of a leader to increase motivation and support among team members who are required to attain organizational goals. Leadership effectiveness indicates achievement of desirable outcomes like quality, productivity and satisfaction in a specific situation. Theoretical evaluation conducted by Dinh et al. (2014) indicated that leadership is not a behavior or trait of a person but a process generated in the communications among people working in distinct work environment. Northouse (2015) stated that leadership relationship has changed in the modern era where people tend to communicate electronically. However, Steve Jobs the leader of Apple Inc has stated that the leaders should not allow the communication technology to block them from communicating face-to-face with the team members. The objective of the essay is to evaluate the relationship between traits, motives and effectiveness of leaders. Moreover, the critical evaluation will offer examples from the p ublic domain and the ways in which these are applied in practice will be explained with assessing ways the relationship between theory and practice is demonstrated. Discussion Personality Traits of Effective Leaders At the time, managers are assessed in terms of leadership effectiveness their traits and personal characteristics are generally scrutinized. Such characteristics are linked with leadership and are classified into categories namely motives, personal traits and cognitive aspects. Certain personality traits contribute to the effectiveness of the leaders in several situations as long as the leadership style fits the situation in a better manner. Personality traits of leaders are divided into two groups namely general personality traits and task-related traits. Steve Jobs of Apple had a definite vision and mission for the brand. The brand emphasized on the production of exquisite electronic goods for elite category of buyers. As such, the brand achieved a distinct brand name and reputation in the recent years. General personality traits are observed both within and outside the working place and is associated with the success and satisfaction in personal as well as work life. General personality traits of the leaders include self-confidence, humility, assertiveness, enthusiasm, optimism, authenticity, assertiveness and core self-assessment. For instance, several successful top leaders like Bill Gates and Charles Schwab are introverts those who turn out to be drained by social encounters and had high degree of emotional stability, agreeableness and detrimental qualities (Nichols Cottrell, 2014). Task-related traits are the ones those are closely related with accomplishment of work. Such personality traits include proactive personality, passion for people and work, courage, adaptability and flexibility. It also includes emotional intelligence of leaders that encompass self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship management. There exist certain examples of task related leadership success in the practical scenario. For instance, Project managers like Frank Lloyd were considered as the greatest American architects of all time. This leader possessed task oriented skills through which he efficiently managed vendors associated with the bills of materials and all the connected project timelines. With such efficient task-based leadership, he designed more than 1000 buildings with great expertise (Nichols Cottrell, 2014). Leadership Motives Efficient leaders are generally being distinguished by their motives and needs. Leaders are observed to have an intense desire to gain a position of responsibility for others and manage them. The desire for needs and motives are evident in four categories including power, efficient work ethics, achievement, drive, resilience and tenacity. In the power motive, the efficient leaders possess strong desire to control resources. Leaders having personalized power motive seek power to increase their personal interest. Leaders with socialized power motive have power to attain organizational goals or vision. For instance, in a research conducted by Delbecq et al. (2013) to evaluate motivations of leaders it was gathered that the US companies required that the leader of the company should have high skills of power in order to influence team members. In drive and achievement motive, leaders intend to work hard to attain their goals. In drive motive leaders have the capability to put forth superior energy towards attaining goals and remain persistent to apply such energy. This generally needs huge amount of fitness and physical energy. In achievement motive, the leaders have the propensity to find joy in goals and vision attainment. For instance, researchers such as Gilmore et al. (2013) revealed that leaders of such motive might motivate team members in conduct that is associated with gaining revenue, growth and organizational culture objectives. The followers might follow brainstorm techniques for enhancing communication between departments to attain enhanced organizational culture. Such leadership activity facilitates team to attain departmental tasks, which converts into organizational goals. In resilience and tenacity motive, the leaders with tenacity multiples are considered to be vital for the organization as it does not take a great amount of time for them to implement a new program or to consummate an innovative business deal (Boyatzis et al., 2012). Tenacious leaders are deemed to be resilient at the time they rebound from a delay from their regular efforts. The Relationship Between Traits, Motives and Effectiveness of Leaders Leadership traits, motives as well as effectiveness is an important part of the decision making process. However, these characteristics can be developed to execute consistent business performances over a period. Through these factors, leaders acquire the necessary business skills and aptitude that are required to built brand reputation and goodwill in the market. As such, the vision as well as the mission of the organization is built through these leadership characteristics. These attributes shall have an influence on the business performance of the enterprise and shall lead the organization towards productivity in the enterprise. Kim et al. (2013) mentioned that leadership traits and motives shall have an impact on the ability and the effectiveness of the leaders to guide the organization towards an intensively competitive market. Therefore, a leader must offer guidance to the business entity to lead the organization to lead the organization in the times of crisis. These three factors play an important role in bringing about innovation in the workplace. According to Lussier and Achua (2015), the innovation is an essential part of leadership, which shall help the organization to offer distinctive products and services. Thus, traits, motives as well as the effectiveness of leaders are essential contributors towards the success of a leader. Leadership Roles An efficient leader has several leadership roles such as of a figurehead, team builder, spokesperson, negotiator, executer, strategic planner, entrepreneur and technical problem solver. Charismatic and transformational leadership has a huge impact on behavior and performance of leaders (Lang et al., 2012). In charismatic leadership, charisma defines special qualities of leaders whose powers, purposes and exceptional determination differentiates them from others. Charisma is a positive and convincing quality that makes its followers to be led by the person who has such leadership style. Charismatic leaders employ impression management for strengthening relationships with his team members (Popper Mayseless, 2013). Communication styles used by these leaders are through inspiration, by storytelling and great use of social networking. There are types of charismatic leaders such as socialized, personalized and celebrity charismatic. Socialized charismatic has the capability to retrain the power use in its team members interests. Their followers possess a great sense of self and values. Leaders with personalized charismatic employ the power that would serve their own interests and their followers are likely to be submissive, obedient and dependent. Leaders having celebrity charismatic tends to overlap their public celebrity with personalized and socialized traits. For instance, in the practical scenario Lee Lacocca possessed charismatic leadership style when he joined Chrysler and rescued the automaker from getting bankrupt. His natural talent along with his signature slogan If you can find a better car, buy it! persuaded government to grant the company a huge loan (Ulrich et al., 2013). Transformational leadership facilitates bringing major positive changes through shifting team members beyond their self-interests and towards the betterment of followers, organization and community. Transformational leadership has a great impact on its followers as it facilitates team members to become more responsible after getting inspired. These leaders have the capability to create common vision, employ moral reasoning, think uniquely, encourage personal development and leading by providing examples. For instance, advancement of the computing technology by Apple, IBM, Microsoft and Intel was a transformational event. Steve Jobs was the co-founder of Apple Inc having such leadership style have transformed business processes by means of software applications, microprocessors with high speed and certain other technological leadership (Lussier Achua, 2015). Cognitive Aspects and Leadership Efficient leaders are considered to have intellectual and problem solving capabilities for collecting, processing and storing necessary information in an efficient manner. Such skills are considered cognitive factors. Leaders having such factors possess cognitive/ analytical and practical intelligence, business knowledge or teamwork, creativity, conceptual thinking and farsightedness. Moreover, these leaders have an in-depth insight into situations and people. For being an effective leader one should need to posses cognitive traits those include knowledge and mental abilities. Cognitive skills of leaders include task/business knowledge that s essential for leaders to complete a particular task. Researchers like Kim et al. (2013) revealed that intelligent leaders make efficient plans, decisions and strategies. Creativity is another cognitive trait that needs to be possessed by effective leaders with which they can be capable to have unique problem solving skills that can offer organizations a competitive advantage. The leaders with cognitive traits also have the capability to solve complex issues and determine the appropriate solution. A farsighted leader is the one who can set goal for an extended term and knows the ways in which such goal can be attained by the organization in future. For instance, Roueche et al. (2014) revealed that in operational decision-making, however the total relationship of cognitive skills is less, the vital behaviors to those it is associated are notable. In such scenario, leaders information analytics skills and their capabilit y to come up with alternative decision options tends to be superior to lower cognitive skills. Conclusion The objective of the essay was to evaluate the relationship between traits, motives and effectiveness of leaders. Moreover, the critical evaluation also offered examples from the public domain and the ways in which these are applied in practice was explained with assessing ways the relationship between theory and practice is demonstrated.From the essay, it was gathered that certain personality traits contribute to the effectiveness of the leaders in several situations as long as the leadership style fits the situation in a better manner. Moreover, leaders are observed to have an intense desire to gain a position of responsibility for others and manage them. The desire for needs and motives are evident in four categories including power, efficient work ethics, achievement, drive, resilience and tenacity. The essay also revealed that charismatic and transformational leadership has a huge impact on behavior and performance of leaders those can encourage them to attain common organizatio nal objectives. References Boyatzis, R. E., Good, D., Massa, R. (2012). Emotional, social, and cognitive intelligence and personality as predictors of sales leadership performance.Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies,19(2), 191-201. Delbecq, A., House, R. J., de Luque, M. S., Quigley, N. R. (2013). Implicit Motives, Leadership, and Follower Outcomes An Empirical Test of CEOs.Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies,20(1), 7-24. Dinh, J. E., Lord, R. G., Gardner, W. L., Meuser, J. D., Liden, R. C., Hu, J. (2014). Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives.The Leadership Quarterly,25(1), 36-62. Gilmore, P. L., Hu, X., Wei, F., Tetrick, L. E., Zaccaro, S. J. (2013). Positive affectivity neutralizes transformational leadership's influence on creative performance and organizational citizenship behaviors.Journal of Organizational Behavior,34(8), 1061-1075. Kim, Y. J., Van Dyne, L., Kamdar, D., Johnson, R. E. (2013). Why and when do motives matter? An integrative model of motives, role cognitions, and social support as predictors of OCB.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,121(2), 231-245. Lang, J. W., Zettler, I., Ewen, C., Hlsheger, U. R. (2012). Implicit motives, explicit traits, and task and contextual performance at work.Journal of Applied Psychology,97(6), 1201. Lussier, R. N., Achua, C. F. (2015).Leadership: Theory, application, skill development. Nelson Education. Nichols, A. L., Cottrell, C. A. (2014). What do people desire in their leaders? The role of leadership level on trait desirability.The Leadership Quarterly,25(4), 711-729. Northouse, P. G. (2015).Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications. Popper, M., Mayseless, O. (2013). Internal world of transformational leaders.Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead,5, 237. Roueche, P. E., Baker III, G. A., Rose, R. R. (2014).Shared vision: Transformational leadership in American community colleges. Rowman Littlefield. Ulrich, D., Zenger, J., Smallwood, N. (2013).Results-based leadership. Harvard Business Press.

Public Relations in the Hospitality Industry free essay sample

Public Relations in the Hospitality Industry Public elations practices and principles Imani Laport Imani Laport Public Relations Practices and Principles Midterm Reaserch paper Public Relations in the Hospitality Industry Public relations and the hospitality industry go hand and hand. Without the help of public relations the hospitality industry would not be successful. Public relations practioners have struggled over the years to find a sound definition for their work. It’s taken over a century to just find a basic overview of the practice. It has been called many things such as image management or perception management. Public relations in a whole, is how you present an organization to its publics. It is a communication process. The job of a PR person is to first create an image for an organization and present it to its public. Once that is done it is their job to uphold that image so that the organization will continue to prosper. We will write a custom essay sample on Public Relations in the Hospitality Industry or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The hospitality industry is the relationship between hosts and guests. It entails many different things depending on the business that you are a part of. Many different jobs fall under the hospitality industry such as the reception and entertainment of guests , visitors, or strangers, resorts, membership clubs, restaurants , attractions, and special events. It is a very profitable industry being that it is one that people rely on. People have very high standards for this industry. All employees must have proper training because of the high standards. When people travel to other places they need the hospitality industry. They need a place to stay when they’re away from there home; they have to find restaurants for food and things like that.Now that the basic need is established then you move into different levels of comfort such as five star hotels instead of motels or top of the line restaurants instead of McDonald’s and Wendy’s. All of this of course depends on a budget but this makes the hospitality industry a very competitive one because you have a bunch of different places competing with the next which can be very stressful which is where public relations comes into play. There could be the best hotel in New York with amazing services and amenities, but if no one knows anything about it then it is useless.The hospitality’s industries public relations department must always be updated and ready for change. They move with their competitors and things are constantly changing. This is good because it keeps people coming to your business. Once they have witnessed your amazing service the first time and perhaps they look into a brochure or and online website and see that you’ve added new things to your business, they will definitely come back. Public relations are not an easy job. It takes a lot of research and planning.Not only do you have to know your organization but you have to know about all other organizations like you. This is because you have to know who you’re competing against if you know nothing about other organizations then how you are going to set standards for yours. Marketing and advertising is a huge part of public relations. PR persons have many different advertising and marketing strategies. It’s like our game plan after the image for the business is created. We have to know of ways we can get that particular organization recognized. This is where the PR person needs to do a lot of research and planning. For example if you are the PR person for a specific hotel you need to know about the other hotels on your level starting with prices. A motel would not be trying to compete with a five star hotel. You compete with the organizations on your level. Then you would work on the amenities and services. You want your staff to very welcoming to your guest. When they are at your hotel they should not have to go through a world of trouble to get something as simple as more towels. This is why you have to do your research about other organizations because you need to see their strengths and weaknesses. A good way of doing that is looking at the reviews on those hotels then you know exactly how the customers feel because they are the ones who write them. Public relations in the hospitality industry could not do without each other. They need to be on the same page at all times. These businesses need publicity in order to make a profit and become reputable and public relations practioners need to have something with a reputation to uphold. That is our whole purpose and what we love to do.

Quote The Raven The Golden Office Rules

Quote The Raven The Golden Office Rules Here it is– another episode  of  #QuoteTheRaven,  TheJobNetwork.com’s  expert job-seeking job-keeping web series!  In this episode, host and job-keeping extraordinaire Raven Chiara welcomes special guest, Gary Bandit. Brace yourself for tried true  advice that’s  going to keep you at your job out of HR.  Watch the video check out the tips below! Tips in this episode include:How to talk about your weekend: Went to Burning Man last week? Maybe don’t highlight the spiritual-drug-filled-mind-beinding-life-altering-rave-naked-bug-filled extravaganza to your Don Draper-esque CEO. Instead, focus on the nature and fresh air†¦and put it in a British accent. Or how about a game of squash? That already sounds responsible†¦here comes that promotion, Junior!Compliments and jokes with your coworkers: Bad jokes suck. What’s worse? Offensive bad jokes. Avoid making a crack about someone’s race, religion, creed, and orientation. Besides, Creed fans are bizarrely defensive.Discussing a woman’s looks: Stay away here, especially all the guys out there. Nobody wants to mistake something you say for SEXUAL HARASSMENT. Raven and Gary suggest the only safe thing to say, if you really want to, is â€Å"nice nails†.Speaking of nails, stop clipping your nails at your desk†¦or at work. #grossFood habits in the office: Your food is good. I am sure you think so. The rest of us think it smells foul. Just stop. You know it stinks. You are self-conscious about it. Don’t blow up the microwave with last night’s fish and chips leftovers. Please. Stop. Now.Use the hashtag #quotetheraven and tag @thejobnetwork, @ravenchiara, or @whybegee to let us know what you think of the show, your nightmare stories from the office, and any questions you have about job seeking and job keeping.- - Missed the previous episodes? See The ABCs of Job Searching here.

Case-Training for Excellence at Wegman Food Market

Case-Training For Excellence At Wegman Food Market Case: Training for Excellence at Wegman Food Market Wegmans Food Markets, â€Å"a regional supermarket chain based in Rochester, New York, is one of the top 75 U. S. supermarkets in terms of sales volume and is widely respected in the industry. Observers agree that training is a big reason why the company stands out,† (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart Wright, 2009, p. 209). In this paper I will discuss how training at Wegmans’ is related to its organizational needs and how Wegmans’ measure the success of their training programs. I will also discuss if an e-learning will be an appropriate training method at Wegman and for what aspect of training might it be most beneficial? I will discuss how on-going training for employees can have a positive impact on employee retention Discuss how training at Wegmans’ is related to its organizational needs. â€Å"Hiring the right people means more than just securing employees who possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform a particular job; these people must also be able to acquire new knowledge and skills as jobs and environments change,†(Dreher Dougherty, 2001, p. ). Wegman Food Market Human Resources department have to ensure that they are hiring the right people that will provide the customers with superior customer service and commit to implementing the knowledge they receive during training. Wegmans organizational strategy is for the employees to â€Å"understand sales and competing on the basis of quality and service,† (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart Wright, 2009, p. 209). Wegman Food Market uses hands on training throughout their stores, to provide the employees with an opportunity to experience making the products themselves. Training content includes practical matters such as product knowledge, food safety, and the ways to cook and bake,† (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart Wright, 2009, p. 209) fits the organizational needs of the Wegman Food Markets. According to the case, how does Wegmans’ measure the success of its training? Increased sales and customer satisfaction reviews are ways that Wegman Food Market executives can mea sure the success of company training. â€Å"Wegmans measures the success of its training based on whether a store’s sales are growing. In fact, sales and profit growth are primary ways the company measures the performance of the company’s director of training and development,† (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart Wright, 2009, p. 209). Wegman Food Market employees’ new positive attitude towards doing their job and providing the best customer service are also ways that executives can measure success of company training. â€Å"Assessment of training also should evaluate training outcomes, such as change in attitude, ability to perform a new skill, and recall of facts or behaviors taught in the training program,† (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart Wright, 2009, p. 07). Do you think e-learning might be an appropriate training method at Wegmans? Why or Why not? For what aspect of training might it be most beneficial? E-learning â€Å"involves receiving training via the Internet or the organization’s intranet, typically through some combination of Web-based training modules, distance learning, and virtual classrooms,† (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart Wright, 2009, p. 192). E-learning â€Å"content may be delivered via the internet, intranet/extranet, audio or video tape, CD-ROM and satellite TV,† (SHRM, 2008, p. ). Wegman Food Market could benefit from implementing an e-learning training method in their stores. The Human Resource department can use the training tool to train new and old employees that may have missed a previous training session due to a scheduling issue. The employees would be able to train on their own time or refresh their knowledge about preparing a particular product without having to ask another employee or supervisor. The employees will be able to assist the customers with confidence and enthusiasm. The e-learning system may also process enrollments, test and evaluate participants, and monitor progress,† (Noe, Hollenback, Gerhart Wright, 2009, p. 192). This training system can help the Human Resource department keep track of all the employees tra ining. They will be able to see which employee’s needs to be trained and which employees passed or failed any training sessions. Implementing an e-learning system at Wegman would reduce the cost of traveling to training locations and the cost of bringing in training coaches from different companies. Discuss how on-going training for employees can have a positive impact on employee retention. Knowledge and skill acquisition will not lead to improved firm performance unless employees are allowed and encouraged to use job–related knowledge and skills when performing their jobs,† (Dreher Dougherty, 2001, p. 7). In order for Wegman Food Market to reduce retention rates, they will need to develop new training programs and make improvements continuously. Training should be offered to Wegman employees annually or quarterly to ensure that they are learning new techniques and different recipes to teach to the customers. â€Å"Effective initial and ongoing training can ge t employees engaged in their work. New employees that are given thorough orientation and training can take their new skills and start performing in their new role with confidence. On going training demonstrates that the organization values the employee in their current role as well as their potential for future personal development,† (Loyaltyworks, 2010). On going training at Wegman Food Market will lead to increased morale and a sense of achievement from the employees. Employees will feel appreciated for their work and want to help the company succeed in reaching any company goals and providing the best customer service to Wegman customers. When employees job satisfaction rates are up, the employees will be less likely to leave the company. In this paper I have discussed how training at Wegmans’ is related to its organizational needs and how Wegmans’ measures the success of their training programs. I have also discussed that e-learning will be an appropriate training method implemented at Wegmans’ and what aspect of training it will be most beneficial. I have also discussed how on-going training for employees can have a positive impact on employee retention rates. Dreher Daugherty. (2001). Human Resources Strategy: Understanding Behavior in Organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill Loyaltyworks. (2010). The 8 Drivers of Employee Satisfaction and Engagement. Retrieved on October 27, 2010 from http://hubpages. com/hub/The-8-Drivers-of-Employee-Satisfaction-and-Engagement Noe, R. A. , Hollenbeck, J. R. , Gerhart, B. , Wright, P. M. (2009). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (3rd ed). New York: McGraw-Hill SHRM. (2010). Introduction to the Discipline of Human Resources Technology. Retrieved on October 29, 2010 from http://www. shrm. org/hrdisciplines/technology/Pages/TechnologyIntro. aspx

Leading change in Haworth Asia Pacific case study Assignment

Leading change in Haworth Asia Pacific case study - Assignment Example Finally the paper presents a guideline for Haworth Asia to manage the change journey in the near future. The guidelines present some standard tools and checklists that may help Frank Rexach in mapping an action plan for the future. 2. Case Summary and Key Issues 2.1 Introduction Haworth Asia is the second largest designer and manufacturer for contract office furniture and has recently started its second round of global expansion. The company wants to move towards a business model which works in a more integrative way. This will be a change from their present model in which sourcing and product development happens largely in isolation in different parts of the world. Thus the case was about a company which was a global organization and has to manage issues that are relevant to international marketing or international finance. The company also has to manage cross cultural management. 2.2 Office Furniture Industry Haworth is one of the four global leaders in the contract office furnitur e industry along with Steelcase, Herman Miller and Teknion. Haworth has been the most aggressive when it comes to global expansion, with presence in Europe, Australia and China. There are different strategies for global expansion and Haworth has been inclined towards acquisitions and others have been more inclined towards joint ventures. In joint ventures or agency relationships, these companies have to bear with agents or partners who try to push their own cheaper products to customers. Any corporation can adopt different methods to expand internationally. As was mentioned in the case Haworth has been able to choose its preferred mode expansion, partly because it was a private corporation. Normally a company starts with joint ventures or agency relations as it expands internationally. The tactics of Haworth, to expand with direct acquisitions, will be considered aggressive by most standards.   2.3  Ã‚   Haworth Asia Pacific Haworth is a private company which has worked to their advantage when it comes to global expansion. Their large competitors have to meet the near term expectations of financial markets, which can be a disadvantage during times of financial crisis (even though the crisis may be due to factors completely external to the furniture business, as in this case it was the dot com bubble burst). Haworth is a global organization since the product design and development takes place largely in USA and Europe, while the sourcing happens largely in Asia, and most of the clients are large multinationals. Haworth Asia pacific differs from Haworth operations in the USA, since Haworth Asia manages both manufacturing and client interaction. In USA, dealers manage the client interface. Haworth Asia was also considering targeting medium-priced segments since they have access to cheap labour and raw material. So when Haworth Asia Pacific decides to shift its head office from Hong Kong to Shanghai, they will be confronted with a unique challenge. For the fir st time in the history and culture of Haworth, the functions of manufacturing and marketing will be reporting to the same leaders. The conflicts and frictions that are usually between manufacturing and marketing in most industry can occur in Haworth Asia Pacific as well. They merit thorough consideration and analysis. 2.4  Ã‚   Market Analysis Haworth Asia was number two or three in all the markets, but in all the markets there

African American Empires Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

African American Empires - Essay Example This was then used for trade along trans-Sahara trade network. (Ancient Civilizations Website). Anything that the Wagadugu society required could be traded for gold, and this meant that the society soon became well established and very wealthy. The introduction of the camel increased the range of trading groups. (The Ghana Guide Website) Resources alone do not make a great nation. The second key success factor was the ability of the people to govern themselves wisely. They also made profits and distributed them widely. Taxes were levied from passing traders. An effective legal system based on tribal chief authority kept order and peace within the territory. Good leadership was a critical factor in Wagadugu’s success. When invaders arrived, there was a ready army for defence. Other nation wanted to have good relations with this territory. It was a beacon of enlightenment in Africa. This it was a combination of good fortune in terms of resources, and hard work in terms of organization that enabled the Wagadugu empire to be so

Is it appropriate to describe Virgil Aeneid Essay Example for Free

Is it appropriate to describe Virgil Aeneid Essay The Aeneid as written by Virgil is the great epic of one man who followed his destiny. He was both aided and hindered in his travels by the gods who watched his movements with great interest. But Aeneas was a hero, he understood what he was fated to do, what destiny needed fulfilling and despite great set backs, of war and loss, Aeneas forges on to complete his task of founding Rome. The Aeneid is in certain respects a poem of tragedy, of what must be lost to regain anything more and in the first books of the poem this loss is focused on. The destruction of Troy, the ruin of a city and of the honorable men within, a city that held against the sons of Atreus for ten years but finally was brought down. Aeneas personal losses in his wife and father, necessary though the former may have been, to allow Aeneas to begin a new family line, it was a painful loss. The death of a parent is not to be taken lightly and Aeneas is distraught over his fathers passing, but regardless of this all he pushes onwards, showing a sense of duty, reaching forever outwards to the goal of Rome, nudged on by the gods who champion him. His piety is unquestionable and proven again and again, this obligation to the gods, his family, and his city. Book four is the episode that encounters Dido, Queen of Carthage, who has suffered tragedy in her own forms, my husband was murdered and our home broken up by my brothers murderous act. Dido whose city and person offer Aeneas what he so longs for. He has craved settlement, to be still in a city he can make his own, to find peace. There seems little other reason for Aeneas to linger in Carthage save that therein he finds a much-needed calm to prepare himself. An audience waits also for Aeneas to gather himself together and set sail, as the gods do, but there is a steady calm in the everyday life of Carthage that is as lethargic and enjoyable to an audience as to Aeneas. The introduction of a romance is a way for Virgil to return Aeneas to the reality of a man and not yet a great hero who is still swayed by temptation. This episode in Carthage exposes a greater view of Aeneas, he is shown as a man but also his understanding of his mission his made obvious and his devotion to his destiny overrides his demands as a man and he is able to remove himself from the comfortable life in Carthage, true commitment to the task set out before him. Book four follows Dido and Aeneas as they experience this relationship and the hiatus in Aeneas plans. They are encouraged from many sides, Didos sister suggests, With the Trojans as our comrades in arms, what heights of glory will not we Carthaginians soar to! , and Juno, growing aware of the love Dido harbors for Aeneas goes to Venus and together they too conspire to bring the two together. How Dido and Aeneas later perceive their connection comes into question as to whether Aeneas was justified in his leaving but also in the tragedy of the story. They were brought together in a cave and Dido began to see her relations with Aeneas as a marriage, though he was not of the same mind. He seems to feel little by the way of obligation towards her, theirs was a political connection, one that allows him power over Carthage and fame throughout Africa. She perceives their bond as a permanent one, the beauteous Dido deigns to have her name linked with his. Perhaps it is in this self deception that lies tragedy, a woman who refuses to see what has been laid before her, to understand the prophecies recited to her by Aeneas that prove he must push on to Italy and that she does not lie in this destiny. By not acknowledging this information she leads herself to her own demise. Virgil had a good understanding of the need for great passion in his poem, the scenes with Nisus and Euryalus are paid long attention by the poet, he draws out their pain as well as their joy for the audience, using the tragic death of the characters to swing the emotions of an audience to and fro, to give a rest between the search of a hero for his destiny and show a level of more personal pain and feeling. The culture Virgil wrote from respect emotion and was enthralled by it, with other great authors producing love poetry, Propertius, Ovid, All his works fully shared the romantic ethos of his culture. (S. Farron. ) Virgil joined the ranks of these poets with The Aeneid, the romantic and destructive love characters possess fascinated Virgil and these episodes appeal to audiences, the culture and Virgil himself. Enabling the poet to include in his poem a contemporary understanding of romance and to allow his audience to exercise a need for cathartic explosion of emotion, swinging between great joy and great hurt. The emotions of Dido and Aeneas in book four are felt by the audience as well as their positions and backgrounds are known to the audience. There is an understanding between Virgil and his spectators, that he will tell a good tale and bring to an audience all emotions and display to them a range of characters. He constructs a situation for Aeneas to display his dedication, simultaneously forming a set of circumstances that make way for tragedy, for drama in the early parts of the poem. Virgil has been required in his epic to draw out Aeneas journey so that he may grow into a hero who was great enough to found Rome, along this journey he must be tested by grief and prove his capabilities as a leader. The first few books of the Aeneid have covered the excitement of war and constant movement, Aeneas cannot linger too long, and audience would weary of him and Virgil thus generates a commotion, the death of Dido, a tragedy that has been formed for these purposes. The nature of tragedy is called into question with the Dido-Aeneas affair. What troubles brought Aeneas to Dido, what caused him to leave, the culture of the ancient Romans, the misunderstanding of the characters, what each has encountered in their lives previous to their meeting and what their parting does to each of them. These subjects all lead to the end of the affair between Dido and Aeneas and to later conflicts but therein lies the tragedy and whether this particular chapter in the Aeneid qualifies as a tragedy. For tragedy has many formats but doubtless the end is the cruel and undeserved death of a character who perhaps merited more from a life, a poet or an audience. The nature of tragedy, as laid out by the Greek tragedies, is one that was used by Virgil. He understood Aristotle in his suggestion that tragedy consists of two emotions, By means of pity and fear effecting a catharsis of such emotions. Virgil builds for the listener the emotions of Dido, her lament takes precedence through thee final pages of the book and fear for her, her own fear, and great pity is created in the audience. These elements of the story aid the idea of tragedy in the book, tragedy that is a disastrous event ending in loss and distress. The Greek plays by Euripides and Aeschylus lay down an example of what tragedy is, what was perceived by the ancient peoples as terrible loss, and these ideas carried through into the Roman era. Tragedy cannot be easily defined, whether a situation is or is not a tragedy by definition cannot be determined through by examination but through emotion, what is felt by the audience, the characters who surround the tragic character. It is difficult to say what is tragic as there are no clear divisions in the understanding of the genre and emotions except what is experienced by the audience. Tragedy is a mood, that lights on an audience hearing of a characters unfortunate fate, though it does not belong to the listener is felt by him regardless. Upon reading the incident between Dido and her lover there is great shock left in the mind of the audience, how can Aeneas have allowed this, how can Dido who was so staid have done this to herself? It is the shock that remains as the an audience encounters the following books, not quite able to get Dido out of mind as Aeneas carries on with his journey that suggests tragedy, it lingers around the poem and in an understanding of Aeneas, for his character and behavior played such a role herein. There are in the Greek plays elements that define a tragedy. The emotions of a tragic play include pity, compassion between characters, grief, pain-at a destructive incident occurring to one who does not deserve it, fear, anger, stress, confusion. A list of emotions that are laid before an audience experienced by both audience and characters, but not positive emotions, deep felt sorrow, but passionately felt. If the Greek tragedies help characterize tragedy and all of its meaning better then Dido and her position in book four can indeed be classified as a tragedy, a short one in regards to a play but heartrending nonetheless. With regards to the physical structure and meaning of tragedy, the odes and chorus that occur in the template plays of the Attic Greeks. These do not exist in this book; it was not designed to mimic a tragedy in its forms but in its emotions. Virgil chose to focus on Dido and play for his audience a scene of great pain, not long and drawn out but a scene of sorrow slotted in between so many others but more poignant and personal to an audience, the loss of love being accessible in the minds of a romantic culture. The tragedy of the piece remains without the traditional structure. Death has a key role in tragedy, most tragedies contain death, if not of the protagonist then of the supporting characters. Oedipus is the focus of his own horror story but it is his wife/mother Jocasta who dies first though the tragedy lies more in Oedipus fate than hers, in the Orestia the deaths of Agamemnon and later Clytemnestra are as much tragedy as the dismal lives of their children. This suggests that perhaps it is not the death or the deceased that is tragic but the misery in the lives of those who live. This would note then that the gory death of Dido is not quite tragedy, for she most likely mourned by those close to her but not by Aeneas. The tragedy of this character is not in those around her but in the life she lived that was not always easy and a death that was public, without glory, and a terribly sad end for a queen, a life cut short that could have been lived longer and successfully. There are to tragedy many pieces, from the structure to the emotions; the same lies in the Aeneid book four. It is the story of the end of a good woman who loved deeply a man out of her reach, fated to greater things than her. Virgil drew from the Greeks before him and fashioned a poem into tragedy drawing on the emotional pieces of conventional tragedy to enhance his own tragic heroine. Her ending is terribly tragic due to the futility of her passing. She was a young woman, a queen, who would have found suitors elsewhere. She was a victim of the gods whim, her own fate and Aeneas, but she was to die at her own will, for whatever reasons, be they Virgils literary desires, the whim of a god or fate. Book four becomes tragic because it finishes with death. Any love that does not happen for any reason is a tragedy. Tragedy is defined by the audience who witness the events, to me, book four of the Aeneid is tragic for its loss of hope and a life. Bibliography Brasher, W. R. The Gorgons Head University of Georgia 1977 Farron, S. Virgils Aeneid a Poem of Grief and Love E. J. Brill 1993 Frye, P. Romance and Tragedy University of Nebraska Press 1908 Kitto, H. D. F. Greek Tragedy Routledge 1939 Monti, R. The Dido Episode and the Aeneid E. J. Brill 1981 Stanford, W. B. Greek Tragedy and the Emotions Routledge 1983 Valency, M. Tragedy New Amsterdam, 1991 Virgil, C. Day Lewis Translation The Aeneid Oxford University Press 1952.

In Favor of Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Problem: A person should be able to drink legally at the age of eighteen. The law that states that it is legal for a person to drink at the age of twenty-one should be changed so that an eighteen-year-old would be allowed to drink alcohol legally. At 18, you are now an adult and you are expected to act that way. Legally you can vote, get married, buy a lottery ticket, serve in the military and be tried as an adult in the United States court system. These are very important responsibilities that are yours to take care of when you become an adult. â€Å"Good grief†¦let them [also] take the responsibility for the consumption of an adult beverage† (Conway 2000). Solutions: In order to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18, I would: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Find laws in other states and countries as examples. We should look to the European countries as an example to solve our problems in the United States. â€Å"The Europeans teach their children to respect [alcohol] from an early age† (Conway 2000). Theses countries do not have the minimum age of consumption at 21 and this has been proven to make a difference. There is less underage drinking because drinking is part of their culture and lifestyle. It starts in the household with their family and they are taught to drink smart and socially. Social drinking is acceptable; it is a time to have fun while still being in control. New Zealand changed their legal age to 18 in 1989. The slogan â€Å"You’re not just a teen when you’re 18† shows that the New Zealand government is taking the change very seriously and so should the men and women that are of the legal age. Maybe the United States should look around the world to try and solve our own problems. â€Å"Isn’t it ironic that the United States has the highest minimum drinking age and for some strange reason the largest problem with underage consumption† (Toomey & Rosenfeld, 1996)? This statement in itself should be one very good point when considering the change of the legal age to 18. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alcohol Consumption among minors:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some might look at this report and argue that at least the amount of alcohol consumption is decreasing among young people since the drinking age has been increased, but what most don’t know is that this has actually been occurring since about 1980. This was long before the states were required to raise the drinking age.

Artificial Intelligence for Speech Recognition Essay

ABSTRACT: When you dial the telephone number of a big company, you are likely to hear the sonorous voice of a cultured lady who responds to your call with great courtesy saying â€Å"welcome to company X. Please give me the extension number you want† .You pronounces the extension number, your name, and the name of the person you want to contact. If the called person accepts the call, the connection is given quickly. This is artificial intelligence where an automatic call-handling system is used without employing any telephone operator. Artificial Intelligence (AI) involves two basic ideas. First, it involves studying the thought processes of human beings. Second, it deals with representing those processes via machines (computers, robots, etc).AI is the behavior of a machine, which, if performed by a human being, would be called intelligent. It makes machines smarter and more useful, is less expensive than natural intelligence. Natural Language Processing (NLP) refers to Artificial Intelligence methods of Communicating with a computer in a natural language like English. The main objective of a NLP program is to understand input and initiate action. The input words are scanned and matched against internally stored known words. Identification of a keyword causes some action to be taken. In this way, one can communicate with computer in one’s language. One of the main application of AI is speech recognition system is that it lets user do other works simultaneously. The speech recognition process is performed by a software component known as the speech recognition engine. A speech recognition system is a type of software that allows the user to have their spoken words converted into written text in a computer application such as a word processor or spreadsheet. The computer can also be controlled by the use of spoken commands. As we can’t design electronic device which recognizes everyone’s voice, based on that it is divided into speaker dependency and speaker independency. The working of the system involves ADC, comparison of this binary version with the stored words. The limitations for this are: must be completely trained by the user, most successful for those competent in the art of dictation. It is applicable in blue eyes technology, telephone applications like travel booking, financial account information, in military for controlling of weapons. By considering all the above factors it differs from other technologies as it produce written text from the user’s dictation, without using, or with only minimal use of, a traditional keyboard and mouse. This is an obvious benefit to many people who, for any number of reasons, do not find it easy to use a keyboard, or whose spelling and literacy skills would benefit from seeing occur. Speech recognition will revolutionize the way people conduct business over the Web and will, ultimately, differentiate world-class ebusinesses the Web, decreases fatigue and created its own path across various fields. INTRODUCTION: Evidence of Artificial Intelligence folklore can be traced back to ancient Egypt, but with the development of the electronic computer in 1941, the technology finally became available to create machine intelligence. The term artificial intelligence was first coined in 1956, at the Dartmouth conference, and since then Artificial Intelligence has expanded because of the theories and principles developed by its dedicated researchers. Artificial intelligence, also known as machine intelligence, is defined as intelligence exhibited by anything manufactured (i.e. artificial) by humans or other sentient beings or systems (should such things ever exist on Earth or elsewhere). With the popularity of the AI computer growing, the interest of the public has also grown. Applications for the Apple Macintosh and IBM compatible computer, such as voice and character recognition have become available. Also AI technology has made steadying camcorders simple using fuzzy logic. With a greater demand for A I-related technology, new advancements are becoming available. Inevitably Artificial Intelligence has, and will continue to affecting our lives. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Effort to develop computer-based systems: that behave like humans: learn languages ï‚ § accomplish physical tasks use a perceptual apparatus With the development of practical techniques based on AI research, advocates of AI have argued that opponents of AI have repeatedly changed their position on tasks such as computer chess or speech recognition that were previously regarded as â€Å"intelligent† in order to deny the accomplishments of AI. They point out that this moving of the goalposts effectively defines â€Å"intelligence† as â€Å"whatever humans can do that machines cannot†. A speech recognition system is a type of software that allows the user to have their spoken words converted into written text in a computer application such as a word processor or spreadsheet. The computer can also be controlled by the use of spoken commands. Speech recognition software can be installed on a personal computer of appropriate specification. The user speaks into a microphone (a headphone microphone is usually supplied with the product). The software generally requires an initial training and enrolment process in order to teach the software to recognize the voice of the user. A voice profile is then produced that is unique to that individual. This procedure also helps the user to learn how to speak to a computer. WORKING: The user speaks to the computer through a microphone, which in turn, identifies the meaning of the words and sends it to NLP device for further processing. Once recognized, the words can be used in a variety of applications like display, robotics, Commands to computers, and dictation .The word recognizer is a speech recognition system that identifies individual words. Following are a few of the basic terms and concepts that are fundamental to speech recognition. Utterances Pronunciations Grammar Accuracy The speech quality varies from person to person. The grammar used by the speaker and accepted by the system, noise level, noise type, position of the microphone, and speed and manner of the user ¶s speech are some factors that may affect the quality of the speech recognition. The computer must be trained to the voice of that particular individual. Such a system is called Speaker-dependent system. Speaker-independent system can be used by anybody, and can recognize any voice, even though the characteristics vary widely from one speaker to another. SPEECH DEPENDENT WORD RECOGNIER: The normal speech has a frequency range of 200 Hz to 7KHz. Recognizing a telephone call is more difficult as it has bandwidth limitations of 300Hz to 3.3KHz.As explained earlier the spoken words are processed by the filters and ADCs. The binary representation of each of these words becomes a template or standard against which the future words are compared. These templates are stored in the memory. Once the storing process is completed, the system can go into its active mode and is capable of identifying the spoken words. As each word is spoken, it is converted into binary equivalent and stored in RAM. The computer then starts searching and compares the binary input pattern with the templates. It is to be noted that even if the same speaker talks the same text, there are always slight variations in amplitude or loudness of the signal, pitch, frequency difference, time gap etc.Due to this reason there is never a perfect match between the template and the binary input word. The pattern matching process therefore uses statistical techniques and is designed to look for the best fit. The values of binary input words are subtracted from the corresponding values in the templates. If both the values are same, the difference is zero and there is perfect match. If not the subtraction produces some difference or error. the smaller the error the better the match. SPEECH INDEPENDENT WORD RECOGNIZER: The search process takes a considerable amount of time, as the CPU has to make many comparisons before recognition occurs. This necessitates use of very high-speed processors. A Large RAM is also required as even though a spoken word may last only a few hundred milliseconds, but the same is translated into many thousands of digital words. It is important to note that alignment of words and speeds as well as elongate different parts of the same word. This is important for the speaker- independent recognizers. APPLICATIONS: HEALTH CARE: Speech recognition is used to enable deaf people to understand the spoken word via speech to text conversion, which is very helpful. Speech recognition is especially useful for people who have difficulty using their hands, ranging from mild repetitive stress injuries to involved disabilities that preclude using conventional computer input devices. (HAND FREE COMPUTING). MILITARY: speech recognizers have been operated successfully in fighter aircraft with applications including: setting radio frequencies, commanding an autopilot system, setting steer-point coordinates and weapons release parameters, and controlling flight displays. TRAINING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS: Training for military (or civilian) air traffic controllers (ATC) represents an excellent application for speech recognition systems. TELEPHONY: Speech is used mostly as a part of User Interface, for creating pre-defined or custom speech commands. LIMITATIONS:   It needs to be completely tailored to the user and trained by the user. It is often set up on one machine, and so can create difficulties for a user who Works from many locations, for example from school and home. It depends on the user having the desire to produce text and be able to invest the Time, training and perseverance necessary to achieve it. It is most successful for those competent in the art of dictation CONCLUSION: Speech recognition had prevailed and achieved tremendous results in different field’s .I t made our interactions with the computer easier than earlier. This technology had reduced the difference between human-to-human and human-to-machine interaction. FUTURE TRENDS: It would yield better results: When it was made noise resistant. Understand our emotions User friendly as accent of a machine differs from human’s It must be portable to use irrespective of the device. REFERENCES: www.seminoron .com www.edu.org www.ibm .com www.dragonsys.com

College Essay Essay

Why is college important to me? College is important to me for many reasons. One being, my future goals will be unattainable without it. Also, I would be setting a good example for my kids once they reach the age to further their education. Another reason being, I never imagined I would finally make it to college. There are many more reasons as to why, but these are just a few reasons why college is important to me. I believe everyone should fight for their dreams. By setting goals, you have a plan and steps to follow in order to accomplish whatever dream you want. The world today runs on how successful a person is as well as how much money an individual has. I have always wanted to be a criminal psychologist. No matter what, I am going to need a doctorate degree. But, what if people cannot afford that or do not want to complete that much schooling? If you do not have some amount of post secondary schooling, you are not going to be as successful as someone who does have that education. â€Å"Occupations that typically require post secondary education for entry have higher wages. (BLS)† America runs on money. Everything costs a certain amount. Therefore having a post secondary education is what will get you far in life. It will help you gain the success you strive for. With a higher education, you can also live a more comfortable life without having to worry about financial problems, because you have a higher education and therefore more knowledge about a profession. I am constantly striving to do my best so that when I have kids they know what it entails to lead, not only a successful life, but also a comfortable, worry free lifestyle. My parents never went to college. The highest level both my parents had was a high school diploma. I never had an example of someone who went to college or got that kind of education. I was never one of those children who always knew where they were going to college because they were going to follow in their parent’s footsteps. Due to my parents lack of post secondary education, as well as no education on how to handle finances, my parents always had bill collectors calling. We were in extreme debt and my parents never knew what they could afford. Instead they would just spend money like it was growing on trees. I do not want any of this for my children. If I want to be able to spend money like there is no limit, then I know I need an education that can support the financial needs for my family and me. If that means getting a doctorate degree and still furthering my education after that, then that is what I will do. I don’t want my children to have to see me getting calls from bill collectors. It can be very scarring. College will always be recommended for that. It will always be something in the forefront of their minds. College was never something that I ever thought I would accomplish. Due to my parents not going to college, I never thought it was expected of me or it was even that important. Once I got into high school, everyone would talk about what kind of profession they wanted to be in and what college they wanted to go to. Everyone would worry about their grades, sports, and the electives they were a part of. They were all worried about what it would look like to college admissions counselors. I was never like that, until I moved out of my mom’s house. I was placed in a foster home during my junior year in high school. It started out okay. I had two sisters and everyone was nice. But after a while, I just wanted out. My senior year had came and I started applying to the colleges that were farthest away. I wanted to be no where near where I was from. I did not want anyone to come visit me. So, Ohio State became my dream. It was cold, always snowing, so naturally, no one would want to go there. It never happened because of other events that ended up occurring in my life. However, if I had never been placed in a foster home, college would have never been a thought in my mind. In the end, I went to cosmetology school and I am now taking online classes majoring in criminal justice. College is one of the most important things someone can do in life. Today, not many professions are attainable without a college degree or being certified in some kind of industry. Children need to be shown from an early age that college is always going to be an expectation for them so they can live a successful life. I am striving to do what I love to do. I am going for my dream, just like what Steve jobs said: â€Å"You’ve got to find what you love†¦ Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way  to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. (Isaacson, 2011)† My grandfather always told me that if I love what I do, I will always be good at it. I truly believe that! Works Cited Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2012. Education and Training Outlook for Occupations. http://www. bls. gov/emp/ep_edtrain_outlook. pdf. Isaacson, Walter. 2011. Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Violence in Latin America during Colonial Era (1521-181)

Violence in Latin America during Colonial Era (1521-181) Violence in Latin America during Colonial Era (1521-181) Violence in Latin America during Colonial Era (1521-181)Violence in Latin America is still an important issue that affects the life of many people causing not only physical but also psychological sufferings. However, the problem of violence existed in the past as well, especially during the colonial era. In this regard, the violence was accompanied by extreme policies, including the policy of genocide which was the ultimate manifestation of violence and resulted to numerous casualties and long run social and demographic effects.Thesis statement: The violence in Latin America persisted before and after colonization but the colonization has brought the shift to traditional violence patterns, which were domestic and military ones mainly, with the expansion of the scope of violence and contributed to the emergence of the oppression of the local population and violence based on the ethnic and racial ground.Research Question: How does the violence in Latin America evolved during the coloni al era under the impact of colonization?The research of the issue of violence and its evolution during the colonial era should focus on the study of different types of violence and changes in violence patterns that occurred during the colonial era.At this point, it is possible to refer to existing studies of the problem of violence in Latin America that refer to the colonial period. The use of both primary and secondary sources helps to reveal the scope of the problem of violence in Latin America, how it affected the society and influenced the social and cultural life of people of that time.At this point, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that many researchers[1] reveal the fact that violence in Latin America before colonization was quite different from that after colonization. To put it more precisely, as a rule, researchers[2] report cases of violence at the dawn of the colonial era related to military conflicts between tribes, while some researchers[3] report cases of ritual violence which was used during religious or other rituals practiced by the native population of Latin America. In fact, such cases of violence were well-known and frequent. In case of ritual violence, this type of violence was systematic and long-lasting because the local population practiced their rituals and observed them carefully[4]. However, ritual violence varied depending on the specific tribe, religious beliefs and cultural norms of specific communities. As a result, some tribes were more violent, while others were more peaceful. In such a way, ritual violence were quite widely-spread but diverse. At the same time, researchers[5] point out that the domestic violence has started to decline overtime as the colonization progressed.As for the military violence, this type of violence persisted and many European colonists were shocked by the violence and cruelty of Native Americans[6]. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact violence associated with military action s, including the extreme violence in relation to captured enemies persisted during the colonial era with the only difference that the change of the enemy had occurred since it was European colonists, who became the main opponents and enemies of the local population of Latin America. The distinct feature of military violence was the extreme cruelty of Native Americans to captured enemies. They were not committed to be merciful in relation to their enemies. Instead, they worked hard on the development of different tortures which they applied to captured enemies.At the same time, it is worth mentioning the fact that cases of domestic violence in Latin American before and during the early stages of colonization were not frequent[7] but this issue may be under-researched because Europeans lacked evidence of domestic violence and this issue has to be studied further in details to find out the scope of this problem and how the problem has evolved in the course of time. Nevertheless, this p roblem did exist but reports on domestic violence were mainly recorded by European colonists and it is difficult to determine the evolution of the problem during the colonial era without the in-depth study of the issue.However, the most distinct shift in the violence that had occurred during the colonial era was the violence of Europeans against the native population of Latin America. This violence included numerous cases of forced removal of the local population from their lands. Furthermore, European virtually slaughtered Native Americans in the course of the military invasion of their lands. Moreover, Europeans also used spiritual violence forcing Native Americans to convert to Christianity that was definitely the new type of violence and was different from conventional violence which normally born physical features but not psychological or spiritual ones.Thus, the study of the problem of violence in Latin American during the colonial era should focus on the development and evolu tion of different types of violence, how violence changed and transformed and what was the impact of European colonists and colonization at large on violence in Latin America.[1] Larson, B. (2012) Cochabamba, New York: Routledge[2] Norman, G. (2007)  The Roman Catholic Church an Illustrated History, New York: Routledge[3] Hamnett, B.R. (1999)  Concise History of Mexico. Port Chester, NY: Cambridge University Press[4] Lipsett-Rivera, S. Johnson, L.L. (2011) The Faces of Honor: Sex, Shame, and Violence in Colonial Latin America, New York: Sage[5] Spalding†ª, K. (2010) Huarochirà ­: †ªAn Andean Society Under Inca and Spanish Rule, New York: Random House[6] Spalding†ª, K. (2010) Huarochirà ­: †ªAn Andean Society Under Inca and Spanish Rule, New York: Random House[7] Spalding†ª, K. (2010) Huarochirà ­: †ªAn Andean Society Under Inca and Spanish Rule, New York: Random House

Critically discuss the relationship between uneven geographic Essay

Critically discuss the relationship between uneven geographic development and globalization - Essay Example As a result of the geographical inequalities manifested in different places of the world, it can be argued that contrary to the popular belief that the globalisation is bridging the economic, social and cultural gap between different regions, it is actually increasing the social, cultural and economic inequality; hence, uneven geographic development. The term globalisation can be traced back to the late 1980s when globalisation became fashionable idea that described contexts related to historical processes where world economic and societal integration was taking place rapidly commonly referred to as structural globalisation in addition to contexts related to policies underlying the historical processes which represents ideological globalisation (Kacowicz 2013). This social and economic integration has had different repercussions for different world’s geographical regions and countries at least in its initial stages. Due to globalisation in the current situation, the increased competition among countries has affected more negatively the Northern countries especially the US compared to the effect it has had on some of the Southern countries. The reason for this imbalance can be argued in terms of exchanges in trade where during the 1970s many developing countries benefited from the higher prices for natural resources like oil in addition to the plentiful supply of credit and investments at highly favourable conditions due to the increased competition among Northern countries (Arrighi 2002). In order to effectively explore the different views on how globalisation impacted on geographic development, it is necessary that different perspectives on globalisation can be identified. Superficially, globalisation can be considered as the deepening, expanding and accelerating international interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life, which covers such diverse contexts as cultural to the criminal and from the financial to the spiritual undertakings (Saxena 2010). A computer programmer located in India is in a position to offer services to an employer in Europe or USA in real time. In addition to the fact that farming of poppies in Burma can have a connection with drug abuse in Berlin is a good enough example of how globalisation links one geographical location to another in a different continent. However, away from the broad perception of the continued escalation of global interconnectedness there is considerable divergent view as to how globalisation is best conceptualized, how its causal dynamics works, and how its structural impact should be characterized. Therefore, due to issues raised by the question of what globalisation represents, three broad schools of thought have developed each having a different perspective of globalisation but all endeavour to comprehend and elucidate this phenomenon. Firstly, there are those who see globalisation as representing a new epoch where people from different geographical regions are pr ogressively being subjected to the controls of the global market. Secondly, there are those who conceptualize globalisation as a myth, which obscure the truth about international economy, which is in reality segmented into geographical blocs characterized by a powerful

Intellectual property Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Intellectual property Master - Essay Example How far can these innovations be protected from being illegally copied The justification on part of the innovator from stopping its innovations or products from being replicated in some other form needs to be debated both on ethical and moral grounds. This argument is particularly common and debated in the pharmaceutical sector. The scope of such protection covers a gamut of industries, professions and products. We shall restrict the scope of this study to the copyright laws, internet sector and particularly focus on the music industry. Bainbridge (2002) describes intellectual property rights as a form of property that can be dealt with just as with any other property, and which can be assigned, mortgaged and licensed. Intellectual property is property in the legal sense: it is something that can be owned and dealt with. Looking at this definition, as suggested by Bainbridge, one can observe that the properties rights do not just include rights associated with land or buildings or any other assets that carries the physical characteristics of a "land-building" asset form. Intellectual property gives rise to rights and duties. It establishes property rights, which give the owner the right to do certain things in relation to the subject matter. Bainbridge, in his study, supports this argument with an example relating to the music industry - if the right is a copyright and the subject matter is a piece of music, the owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to make copies of the sheet music, to make an arrangement of the music and to control the performance of the music unless until he surrenders that right to some music label company. According to the government-backed UK - Intellectual Rights, intellectual property (IP) allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The owner of IP can control and be rewarded for its use, and this encourages further innovation and creativity to the benefit of us all.1 It is essential to protect innovations from being illegally copied or pirated. Such guarantee of protection to innovations and inventions will encourage further innovative research and development and also reward entrepreneurs and innovators for their discovery. The protections come in the form of law and legal proceedings. 1.2 Intellectual Property Law. Bently and Sherman (2001) defines intellectual property law as a means to regulate the creation, use and exploitation of mental or creative labour. Intellectual Prop

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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO - Coursework Example Thus, I have always cherished the dream of pursuing an academic career in engineering with some orientation towards electrical engineering. On the other hand, I also value self dependency and supporting myself in my endeavours to the maximum extent possible without having to depend on my family. Therefore, immediately after completing high school, I sought out a job with HSBC Bank, Dubai, as a business development executive. In this position, I was responsible for marketing several products of the bank and I have been effective in this role. Since I had good connection in the region I was instrumental in bringing several new customers to the bank. During my tenure of six months with the bank, I was also able to learn administrative procedures apart from having here had also enabled me to become more organized in terms of settings goals, planning the achievement of targets as well as how to make good the short falls. However, I did not want to entertain the idea of getting strike to a job which did not entirely fit into the frame work of the carrier of my choice. In the meanwhile I realised that global aviation industry is poised for a sea change in the near future, in the aftermath of globalization. Even in Dubai, the developmental activities were in full swing. Similar was the case with Asian and European countries as well as the US. Travel and tourism industry was flourishing on an unfathomed manner. A realisation of the opportunity in aviation management, coupled with my inherent affinity towards a career in engineering, motivated me take up a course in aerospace systems. Thus, I joined Barry College, South Wales, UK, for a 3 year Diploma Course in Aerospace Systems Management. I selected this college because of its popularity as a premier institution in the field of aviation studies and over 9,000 learners pass out from there every year. They provide state of the art aerospace training and development programmes in maintenance, repair and overhauling and th eir courses are approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. Besides, they also have a vast network of institutions in partnership with several colleges that offer a wide range of aircraft engineering courses. The stint I spent in Barry’s campus was a major turning point in my life. The college had an excellent faculty supported by modern equipment and sophisticated infrastructure. It also provided a congenial environment for me to focus on my studies with full involvement both in terms of academic betterment and personal development. My peers and tutors in there were very supportive and encouraging, which helped me in my overall development not only in my academics but in the personal front also, by inculcating in me several values and ethics. My earlier work experience with HSBC had helped me in properly setting my goals and objectives, planning my studies appropriately as well as executing the plans as prescheduled. The main objectives that I set for myself were to achieve im provement in three subjects, which are: mathematics, electrical engineering and practical work (communication skills). Taking cue from my work experience as stated earlier, I was also able to integrate aspects of personal development into my academic schedule, focusing on values and ethics. Thus, I was able to organize my studies in a proper manner, aligning my plans with the objectives I set for myself and executing my plans as per the predetermined schedules. Besides, I had carried out

NAZI (symbol Swastika ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

NAZI (symbol Swastika ) - Essay Example It wasn’t until the 1930’s that the Swastika began to denote evil implications. For example, the swastika was worn as a shoulder patch of a World War I U.S. Army Division and was a common decoration found on a myriad of objects. As Germany was behind other countries of the region in forming a formal nation (1871), its people felt susceptible to military and societal invasion from outside its borders. As an instrument to promote unification and national pride, German nationalists began to use the swastika from the mid 1800’s to represent the history of the Germanic and Aryan people. The swastika could be found on nationalist German ‘volkish’ publications by the end of the 1800’s and by the turn of the twentieth century, the swastika had grown in popularity throughout many German organizations. It was frequently used as the symbol for German nationalism. The Nazi Party’s aspiration to appeal to a wide German audience led them to chose the symbol in 1920. â€Å"Because of the Nazis’ flag, the swastika soon became a symbol of hate, anti-Semitism, violence, death, and murder† (Rosenberg, 2006). As the industrial age swept across Europe in the mid-1800’s it brought society new opportunities but also inadvertently served to increase the individual’s feeling of remoteness and a loss of personal belonging (Mosse, 1964, p. 13). As Germany became modernized, its people began to feel alone in their own culture and began to desire closer association to their community. â€Å"Joining the Volk (the people of Germany) was a way to intellectually rebel against this new, modern world. The Volk was an intermediary between the extremes of individuality and the quest for cosmic identity† (Mosse, 1964, p. 15). The effect of this National Socialist movement was that it served to replace the capitalist philosophy and ended chances for personal upward mobility. Third

The Operations Management In Hotel Equatorial Tourism Essay

The Operations Management In Hotel Equatorial Tourism Essay Operations management is a part of business concerned about the production of goods and services, and involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient in terms of using as little resource as needed, and effective in terms of meeting customer requirements. It is concerned with managing the process that converts inputs, in the forms of materials, labor and energy into outputs, in the form of goods and services. Traditionally, operation refers to the production of goods and services separately, although the distinction between these two main types of operations is increasingly difficult to make as manufacturers tend to merge product and service offerings. Jobs in services are often less structured than in manufacturing. Customer contact is generally much higher in services compared to manufacturing. In many services, worker skill levels are low compared to those of manufacturing employees. Services are adding many new workers in low-skill, entry-level positions. Employee turnover is high in services, especially in low-skill jobs. Input variability tends to be higher in many service environments than in manufacturing. Service performance can be adversely affected by many factors outside of managers control, such as employee and customer attitudes. Operations managers are concerned with each step in providing a service or product. They determine what equipment, labor, tools, facilities, materials, energy, and information should go into an operating system and how these inputs can best be obtained and used to satisfy the requirements of the market place. Managers are also responsible for critical activities such as quality management and control, capacity planning, materials management, purchasing, and scheduling. Operations management is getting important dramatically in recent years. Significant foreign competition, shorter product and service life-cycles, better-educated and quality-conscious consumers, and the capabilities of new technology have placed increasing pressures on the operations function to improve productivity while providing a broader array of high-quality products and services. With the globalization of markets, firms are recognizing that the operations function can be used to strengthen their position in the market place. Managers in operations management play a strategic and tactical role in satisfying customer needs and making their firms strong international competitors. Hotel Equatorial In this assignment, we will discuss about the operations management in Hotel Equatorial. Hotel Equatorial Corporate has a presence in three major Asia Pacific countries with seven properties in the group, located in the regions gateway cities. These three countries are Malaysia, China and Vietnam. Those Hotel Equatorial in Malaysia are located at Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Malacca, Penang and Cameron Highlands. However, we only focus on the operation management of Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur. Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur is located at Jalan Sultan Ismail. It is an international business-class hotel that emphasises efficiency, comfort, security and value for money, the Equatorial Kuala Lumpur also delivers genuine Malaysian warmth and hospitality. Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur is highly-regarded for its excellent food and beverage services. The 5-star Equatorial Kuala Lumpur is located in the heart of the citys commercial and entertainment district thats within walking distance to major offices, shopping malls, the Petronas Twin Towers or Suria KLCC and entertainment centers. There are total of 300 rooms inside Hotel Equatorial. All of them are equipped with modern amenities. The rooms are pleasantly appointed with details that will make guests feel at home. There are splendid suites that can provide customers ultimate privacy. Beside that customer also can have a choice of Presidential, Senator or Executive Suites to rises a level higher. There is also swimming pool inside Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur. Beside that facilities and services for guest convenience at Hotel Equatorial also include business center with meeting rooms and broadband Internet access, 24-hour room service, laundry and valet service, limousine service, currency exchange, doctor on-call, shopping arcade and basement parking. The Equatorial Kuala Lumpur is also renowned in the city for its award-winning restaurants such as the signature Golden Phoenix Chinese and Kampachi Japanese restaurants. The various food and beverage outlets found here are among Kuala Lumpurs most popular places for corporate or personal entertainment. Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur also provides professional conference facilities with the attentive backing of trained staff that attend to your individual meeting requirements. There are ballroom, function room and business center inside this hotel. Literature Review The hospitality industry today has been recognized as a global industry. Indeed, it has played a vital role in Malaysia in recent years in terms of the hospitality industry itself; to develop a better diversity environment and society, and even contributes to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) Malaysia. There are several types of hotel that have been recognized all around the world, such as budget hotels, apartment hotels, luxury hotels, resorts, and etc. There are other classifications of hotels; however, most of them will fall into one of these or a combination of these. Hospitality usually refers to the hotel industry; it is consider as a service by combining the accommodations, food and beverages services, recreation, entertainment sectors and even for the business purposes. Apart from that, hospitality is actually playing the relationship between a host and a guest by the acting and being hospitable to the public. Hepple, Kipps and Thomson (1990) reviewed the existing literature f or definitions of hospitality, and identified four characteristics of hospitality in its modern sense: (a) It is conferred by a host on a guest who is away from home. (b) It is interactive, involving the coming together of a provider and receiver. (c) It is comprised of a blend of tangible and intangible factors. (d) The host provides for the guests security, psychological and physiological comfort. As a staff in hotel, they have to ensure that they are providing the best service with a good attitude to customers; it will be one of the main challenges facing by hospitality management in order to attract the attention of tourists in this competitive market. In 2006, Chang demonstrates that attitude of employees is correlated with front-line employees overall performance quality in international tourist hotels. According to Chen (1999), employee training must encompass cognitive, affective, and behavioural preparation in order for staff members to effectively address diverse customer needs. Researcher has asserts that employees must be inspired to provide service that exceeds guests expectations (Mayo, 1997). Since a customers satisfaction is influenced by the availability of customer services, the provision of quality customer service has become a major concern of all business (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991). Services provided play an important role in hotel industry while welcoming tourists who come from different places with different requirement might take place. Service quality is so intangible that objective measurement is impossible; the challenge lies mostly in managing appearances and perceptions (Harvey, 1998). Gronroos (1984) found that the perceived quality of a service is affected by the experience that the consumer went through for a service. Among the studies that have examined the relationship between perceived service quality and consumption emotions, Wong (2004) found that service quality in retail services was positively associated with emotional satisfaction. As Bei and Chiao (2001) demonstrate, it was noted that it is generally accepted that a positive relationship exists between perceived service quality and customer satisfaction. Arnauld et al., (2002b, p.327) defined perceived quality whether in reference to a product or service as the consumers evaluative judgment about an entitys overall excellence or superiority in providing desired benefits Growth in the number of tourists leads to higher hotel occupancy rates, rapid hotel development (Wan Yim King Penny, 2007), whereas, consumers will concern about the facilities that provide by hotel. For example, there is an increasing complexity of modern technology, buildings and systems, rising employee expectations regarding the quality of working life and conditions, mounting customer demand for value-added services, and increasing governmental legislation to ensure health and safety as well as a growing pressure for reducing operational costs and improving competitiveness (Alexander, 1996). These changes create new challenges and responsibilities for hotel industry in managing the workplace. According to Ahmed Hassanien and Erwin Losekoot (2002) declared that most of the owners and operators of luxury hotels understood the importance of facilities that should be provided in hotel in order to meet consumers expectations and competition pressures, yet, that appears the problem in strategy planning with regard to facilities management in hospitality. Due to managing facilities well, therefore, it can helps to improve a hotels efficiency and adds value to their performance and services (Okoroh et al., 2002, p. 239). The number of customers will increase because of the good environment that have provided in the hotel. Apart from that, many hotels are having difficulty increasing their market share because of rising international competition, slower growth rates, decreased population growth, and oversupplied and mature markets. Therefore, brand loyalty is very important to hotel industry. According to Reichheld and Sasser (1990), every 5% increasing in customer loyalty can increase the profitability from 25 % to 85%. To maintain customer relationship is one of the vital parts that a hotel wants to survive in hotel industry. Loyal customers are best for hospitality firms because they are easier to serve than non-loyal customers, and they provide higher profitability (Mustafa Tepeci, 1999). Hotels will increase sales and their market shares by decreasing prices, expanding their distribution channels, launching promotional campaigns, and retaining their current customers (Cravens, 1994) to compete with other competitors. In conclusion, as customers satisfaction is widely accepted, the market share of hotel industry will increase. However, low customer demand, lack of hotel managerial knowledge will affect the operation in the hotel. As hospitality firms also face strong competitor environment, therefore, managers may perceive strong customer relationships. It is worth noting, though, that as markets become more competitive firms may have to become more market-oriented simply to survive. With the globalization of the hospitality industry and rapid changes in technology, market turbulence is likely to increase. In the longer term, as hospitality firms become more market-oriented and customer-focused, they are likely to reap other benefits including improved brand awareness, customer satisfaction and loyalty. Operation Strategies Operation strategies means companies and organization making products or delivering services, be it for profit or not for profit relies on a handful of processes to get their products manufactured properly and delivered on time. Each of the process acts as an operation for the company. To the company this is essential. That is why managers find operations management more appealing. Therefore, Hotel Equatorial has their own unique operation strategies in operate their business. Advertising and Promotion Hotel Equatorial have a marketing team whereby they understand the hotel very well from the hotel mission, vision, goal to the products or services offer to the customers. Therefore, marketers or would able to explain well and with confident to the customers. Thus, it would able to attract customers as customers will feel more confident with the hotel services. When customers feel comfortable and confident with their services, they will continue come to hotel for next time tourism or trip and recommend it to their family and friends. Indirectly, Equatorial Hotel have free promotion from their customers to their family and friends as word-of-mouth are more useful and convincing other than promote by their marketers regarding their hotel services to the customers. Quick Respond Other than marketing team Equatorial Hotel have customers service team whereby they will answer all the customers enquires and complains regarding hotel services. The team will respond to the customers enquiries as fast as possible as it shows how efficient the hotels and it shows that our hotels appreciates the customers. They will also accept customers opinion because they know that the reason why customers give the hotel their opinion is because the hotel services and facilities provide by their hotel or some problem they face when they stay at our hotel. It is one of the ways to bring in or improve and update the hotel services to customer. Besides, quick respond to customer is one of the competitive advantages to Equatorial Hotel compare to other same industry competitor. Customer wants and needs Customers are hotel main priority. There are various ways for us to identify customers need and want such as through survey or research. Hotel Equatorial will be able to attract more customers to the hotel when their trip or other purpose when hotel understand their wants and needs. Thus, it is important for them to understand and identify customers need and wants. Hotel Quality Quality may refer to material, facilities, and customer service delivery. In Hotel Equatorial services, quality refers to the service that they offered to the customers. Standard of quality service will be stated clearly and will be well informed to all the employees from manager, marketing team to customer services team. The main purpose is to make sure the customers are satisfied with the service provided and the quality of the hotel services. Besides, Equatorial Hotel will provided training to the employees in order to make sure that the level of service is up-to-standard and keep the employee update and make sure customer satisfied with their hotel services. Management level There will be a hierarchy in all the work place and so do Equatorial Hotel services. It will be divided into Presidents which is the largest shareholder followed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Going down would be the manager and assistant manager followed by the employees. Managers and worker which in this case will refer to the manager or supervisors are the one who deal with customers. Competent among the workers and motivation from the managers would able to increase the level of services offered. The employees would do their best as they want to be the most outstanding employees. Supply Chain Management There are various departments in Hotel Equatorial services. In order to be cost-effective, the company will have internal phone calls whereby the employees may used it for working purposes and internal extranet where they employees and the managers may contact each other through webcam or mail. Furthermore, internal phones and internet able to help the company save cost besides times. Forecasting Forecasting is the process of estimation about the future value of a variable of interest which actual outcome has not yet been know or observed. A forecast process is usually carried out in order to make a decision or planning the future of a company. Forecasting can let the company modify the behavior or strategy to be in a better position if they able to forecast the future of company. Forecasting is important and cannot be neglected in all industries. Thus, hotel industry is also not an exception. The hotel industry is sensitive to fluctuations in demand because of the structure of business. Forecasting in demand has become an important mission in hotel industry because of its nature of business and business characteristics. The crises of a hotel is always appear because of the unexpected in demand reducing. It is needed to predict demand in a hotel to increase occupancy rate not only because of fluctuations that will appear. Forecasting is important to the hotel industry to predict the customer demand in a period, the length of staying and hotel room demand over time. There is a need to know the qualitative and quantitative aspects of demand due to group customers because forecasting in a hotel has a different for group customers and individuals. The accuracy of a forecast will be higher as the hotel always repeats the forecasts during a month. The data that can used to forecast are when the room was consumed and when the reservations was made. The reservation of room and consumption of room can provide extra information for the hotel manager to update the forecast. If fail to do so, the manager only can rely on historical information on the room booked and daily number of guests. Weighted Moving Average There are many methods of forecasting in hotel industry. One of the forecasting methods is weighted moving average. This method is quite frequently used in hotel forecasting. Weighted moving average model is a time-series forecast. It is usually popular for a short term time series forecasting. Weighted moving average is a forecast method that the value for a given time period is replaced by the weighted mean of that value and the values for some number of preceding time periods based on an artificially constructed time series. The formula for weighted moving average is below: Weighted moving average method is able to clear up peaks and troughs in the observations. Moreover, weighed moving average can get a content result than other forecasting methods when the time series to be forecasted encompass trend. Thus, the hotel manager might obtain a better forecast result when there is a trend. It is very suitable to use weighted moving average in a forecast when the data indicates a cyclical pattern around constant trend. It tends to closer to the trend. The more accurate result can get to forecast the customer demand. It is reliable to use to predict few periods in the future. On the other hand, weighted moving average is less weight to the older data and prefers to weight the recent data. The hotel manager should emphasize more information of customer demand on recent period so that the forecasting can proceed smoothly. Weighted moving average method is more susceptible than other methods such as simple moving average because of it is emphasize on recent data. Rely heavily on recent data also allow weighted moving average to provide stronger and earlier signs to trend direction and reversal. Hence, it will manage to response more quickly to changes. The hotel manager needs to change the weighted factors as the time series pattern is changed. The weighting factors are the key in weighted moving average methods and the accuracy of forecast is relying largely on it. Weights are distributed to the previous periods in the weighted moving average. It is important to note that the sum of the weights must be equal to one and it is weights heavily on recent period . Weighted moving average can provide a better volatility in a forecast and it will able to increase the contribution and effect from recent data. Reason of Weighted Moving Average not suitable to forecast customer demand The weighted moving average is not suitable to use to forecast the customer demand because this method does not come out with an actual equation. Hence, this method is not very useful as a medium-long range forecasting tool to predict the customer demand. It is only credible to use to predict a few periods into the future. Weighted moving average method also has a more complicated calculation at each step of the procedure which may lead to intricate to manager in a forecast process. Moreover, it will always appear to lag behind either increases or decrease in the observed value or data since the forecast value for a period is a weighted average of the previous periods. It might cause the hotel manager unable to obtain the forecast result on time. The other reasons that weighted moving average are not suitable to predict customer demand is this method is not adaptive. Thus, it might affect the accuracy of the result. Improper selection of the weights will also have an effect on the re sult of customer demands with errors. The weighted moving average is difficult to construct. Hence, it is time-consuming for a manager to adopt it in forecast customer demand. In addition, weighted moving average is more suitable in short term time series forecasting. The result is unreliable if forecast in a long time horizon. NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve Forecast However, there is still a forecast method which is more suitable to predict the customer demand in a period, the length of staying and hotel room demand over time. NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast is a techniques used to forecast future trends, for example the demand for a product. The result of naive forecast for a time period is equal to the previous time periods value. It is a simplest forecast method and use single previous value of a time series as the basis for a forecast. According to Fred Tolbert (2002), a simple forecasting techniques work better than complex ones. Typical naÃÆ'Â ¯ve models include the moving average, which forecast equals average of last year actual demand and the random walk, which forecast equals last weeks actual demand. Seasonal naÃÆ'Â ¯ve can be used with seasonal data and postulates that the next periods value is equal to the value of the same period in the previous month. The MAPE achieved by a naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecasting method depends entirely on the volatil ity of the demand pattern it is applied to. Smooth patterns will have a lower MAPE than seasonal and erratic patterns. Performance of the naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast establishes the level of accuracy that is reasonable to expect for a given demand pattern. The naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast method is suitable to use to forecast the customer demand because this method does come out with an actual equation. It is an easiest method compare with weighted moving average method. NaÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast do not involve any complicated calculation and make the managers work easier. Furthermore it consumes low cost and it is cost effective. It is best in short run forecasting. In conclusion, Equatorial Hotel should use naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast method to predict the customer demand in a period, the length of staying and hotel room demand over time, because naÃÆ'Â ¯ve approach is reliable, result is more accurate, simple to use and cost effective. Quality Matters Total Quality Management (TQM) is systematic management approaches that originated in the 1950s and has steadily become more popular since the early 1980s. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a structured quality method to organizational management that management philosophy seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback. It is apparent that organizations need to use a TQM process and the critical success factors if they are to attain business quality (Zairi 2002). Hence, Total Quality Management can be used by several type of organization, it originated from the manufacturing sector and now it has been adapted for much organization such as schools, highway maintenance, and hotel management. Nowadays there is a focus of e-business, therefore as for hotel management, the online booking system through their website or check-in and check-out systems be done, Total Quality Management will be based on quality management from the customers point of view. From Hotel Equatorials website, it is apparent to see how the hotel presents the idea of quality, value, and comfort. It presence in three major Asia Pasific countries with seven properties in the group, located in the regions gateway cities, offering the quality accommodation and excellence in food and beverage services. In Hotel Equatorial, the website provides the category of leaving feedback and enquiries purpose. At Hotel Equatorial, customer feedback is very important, positive or otherwise, they willing to hear from customers about the experience of stay or any suggestion given to the hotel for improvement. Hotel Equatorial appreciated the comments from customers and will respond to the particular customer within 24 hou rs. Moreover, it is also with quality reports tracks that Loyal Guest Recognition Programme is available in Hotel Equatorial and guest preference reports are recorded in database. The key components of TQM include persistent enhancement, teamwork, quality being everybodys business, doing it right the first time, training, internal customer care and etc. Hotel Equatorial has actually put in effort to achieve industry-best clean room appearance. Also Equatorial Hotel Penang become known for comfort, value and the friendly attention of a welcoming staff that cares as the hotel staff is responsive and help out with your needs. Combining the flexibility and space options with the hotels unique ambiance and suitable location, have made the hotel a top choice for businessmen and conference organizers. Total Quality Management process included four sequential categories which are plan, do, study and act, which is also called as PDSA cycle. In the planning phase, management define the problem to be addressed, collect relevant data, analyze the data and decide upon a measurement to gauge its effectiveness. In the doing phase, management develop and implement solution, document any changes made, and collect data for analysis. In studying phase, management confirm their results through comparison of before-and-after data while in acting phase, if the results are successful, new method will be standardized and relevant personnel will be communicated, training will also be implemented for the new method. If the results turn out unsuccessful, the plan will be revised and the process will be repeated. Summary Growth in the number of tourists leads hotel occupancy rates increasing. Due to the rapid development of hospitality industry, it has been recognized as a global industry. To maintain good reputation of the hotel, management should to ensure that they are providing the best service with a good attitude to customers. Since a customers satisfaction is influenced by the availability of customer services, the provision of quality customer service has become a major concern of all business. In addition, consumers will concern about the facilities that provide by hotel. It can help to improve a hotels efficiency and adds value to their performance and services with good facilities. As hospitality firms also face strong competitor environment, it is essential to maintain a good relationship with customers. This is one of the vital parts that a hotel wants to survive in hospitality industry. Hotel Equatorial has their own operation strategy in operate their business in services industry. Equ atorial hotel has a well operation management to operate in a well condition. Hotel Equatorial also has their own well strategies in marketing and promotion and response to the customer wants and needs. Besides that, a well hotel quality let the Hotel Equatorial become more productive and profitable the services business. Equatorial Hotel should use naÃÆ'Â ¯ve forecast method to predict the customer demand in a period, the length of staying and hotel room demand over time, because naÃÆ'Â ¯ve approach is reliable, result is more accurate, simple to use and cost effective. Nowadays for hotel management, there is website available for online booking system or check-in and check-out systems to be done; therefore the present of Total Quality Management will be based on quality management from the customers point of view. From Hotel Equatorials website, it is apparent to see how the hotel presents the idea of quality, value, and comfort in offering the quality accommodation and excell ence in food and beverage services. Through Hotel Equatorials website, the category of leaving feedback and enquiries purpose are available as customer feedback is very important, positive or otherwise, they willing to hear from customers about the experience of stay or any suggestion given to the hotel for quality improvement. The key components of TQM include persistent enhancement, teamwork, quality being everybodys business, doing it right the first time, training, internal customer care and etc. Combining the flexibility and continuous improvement of hotels quality, Hotel Equatorial have made the hotel a top choice for businessmen and conference organizers.